Psychology Exam 2

What is nativism

infants have an innate sense of fundamental concepts & special learning mechanisms for concepts

What is empiricism

infants have a general learning mechanisms to learn

What are the three things infants use to understand behavior

• intentions

• desires

• beliefs

Development of understanding intentions

• 6 months: understand others’ behavior is goal oriented

• 11 months: predict goal of hand, not claw

  • understanding goal-directed actions

• 9 months: attribute intentions to objects that “behave” like humans

  • Expect ball to behave rationally

• 14 months: show rational limitation

Development of desires

• 12-14 months: understand connection between positive desires and actions

  • Don’t understand negative desire and actions - struggle with avoidance (red/green cup & happy/disgust)

• 18 months: more solid understanding of others’ desires

  • Broccoli/cracker study

• 2 years: understand desires ←→ actions

What is Theory of Mind

organized understanding of how others’ mental processes influence behavior

What are the false-belief problems

tests child understanding that others act from their own beliefs even when child knows those beliefs are wrong

What is the one system false-belief problems

infants/toddlers understand false beliefs, tasks for older children are too demanding

• have picked up patterns, but don’t understand underlying mental states

What is the two system false-belief problems

infants/toddlers understand underlying mental states, but only implicitly — can’t reflect/talk about them

What is the Sally-Anne Test - what type of test is it and what age will children pass

1. Sally hides marble then leaves

2. Anne moves marble then leaves

3. Sally comes back — where will she look for the marble?

False-belief problem; 4 years old

What is the false content test - what type of test is it and what age will children pass?

the smarties vs. crayon test

False-belief problem'; 5 years old

In what instance do child show false belief understanding

When involved in deception

What type of theories are psychoanalytic theories and what are they determined by

• Stage theories

• Determined by conflict resolve

What type of psychoanalytic theorist is Sigmund Freud, and what is behavior motivated by

• Psychosexual

• Motivated by the need to satisfy basic drives

What are the 3 personalities theorized by Freud

• Id

• Ego

• Superego

What is the Id

The earliest, most primitive personality structure to develop — early infancy

• Unconscious and operates with the goal of seeking pleasure

• The pleasure principle

What is the Ego and what are its qualities

The 2nd personality to develop (from experience with external world) — end of 1st year

• Rational, logical, problem-solving component

• Reality Principle

What is the Superego and what are its qualities

The 3rd personality to develop — 3-6 years

• Internalized moral standards/rules: conscience emerges

What are the stages in Freud’s theory

1. Oral (satisfaction from oral activity) — 1 yr

2. Anal (satisfaction from defecation) — 2-3 yr

3. Phallic (satisfaction focused on genitalia) — 3-6 yr

4. Latency (sexual energy channeled into socially acceptable activities) — 6-12 yr

5. Genital (complete sexual maturation) — 13+

What type of psychoanalytic theorist is Erik Erikson and what did he believe development is driven by

• Psychosocial

• Driven by a series of developmental crisis related to age and biological maturation

What are the first 5 stages developed by Erik Erikson and what are the age ranges

1. Basic trust vs. Mistrust: 1 yr

2. Autonomy vs. Shame/Doubt: 1-3.5 yr

3. Initiative vs. Guilt: 4-6 yr

4. Industry vs. Inferiority: 6 - puberty

5. Identity vs. Role Confusion: adolescence - adulthood

What do learning theories emphasize

Experience, rewards, punishments, observing

What theory is John B Watson famous for

Behaviorism

What is Behaviorism

Development determined by environment via conditioning

What is classical conditioning and a famous experiment with it

Associating initial stimulus with a stimulus that always evokes particular reflexive response

• Unconditioned stimulus/response

• Conditioned stimulus/response

Little Albert

What is B.F. Skinner responsible for and what is its definition

Operant conditioning: using reinforcement/punishment to either increase/decrease the likelihood of future behavior

What is Intermittent Reinforcement

Inconsistent response to behavior

What is behavior modification

Form of therapy based on principles of operant conditioning — reinforcement contingencies are changed to encourage more adaptive behavior

Who is a famous social learning theorist

Albert Bandura

What is the popular experiment done by Bandura and what did it show

Bobo Doll Experiment: Children learning by watching and imitating

What is reciprocal determinism

Child-environment influences operate in both directions (we are active in our own development)

What is social cognition

children actively process social information

what is self socialization

children play an active role in their own socialization

What idea did Robert Selman propose under social cognition

Role taking

What is role taking and why is important

Thinking from another’s perspective — crucial to understand others’ thoughts, motives, and feelings

What are the 5 stages of role taking development proposed by Selman and what are the ages

1. egocentric

2. know about different perspectives, but assume it’s because the other person doesn’t have the same info (6-8 yr)

3. able to think about another’s perspective (8-10 yr)

4. can compare own perspective to another’s (10-12 yr)

5. understand and compare another’s perspective to those in the social group (the generalized perspective) (12+)

What is the effect of developing an appreciation of other perspectives

Better able to get along

What theory did Dodge propose under social cognition

information-processing theory of social problem solving

What is the emphasis and weaknesses of the information-processing theory of social problem solving

emphasis: children are active seekers of information about the social world

weaknesses: no focus on biological basis

what is the hostile attribution bias

the tendency to assume ambiguous actions stem from hostility

• react with retaliation → self-fulfilling prophecy

what are the orientations proposed by Carol Dweck and what their definitions

• Entity/Hopeless: attribute success/failure to enduring aspect of the self & give up in the face of failure

• Incremental/mastery: attribute success/failure to the among of effort & persist through failure

What is the entity theory and incremental theory

• Entity: person’s intelligence is fixed/unchangeable

• Incremental: person’s intelligence can grow as a function of experience

what is achievement motivation

motivated by competence or by others’ views of their success

what are the characteristics of the evolutionary theory

• applies Darwinian concepts (evolution/natural selection)

• examine behavior/pattern across human societies

• some propose critical periods

what is kindchenschema

the cuter features motivate caregiving

Who is Brofenbrenner and what did he propose

• an ecological theorist

• the bioecological model

what are the systems in the bioecological model and what are their descriptions

1. microsystem: immediate environment a child experiences

2. mesosystem: interconnections among microsystem settings

3. exosystem: environment affects child indirectly

4. macrosystem: larger cultural/social context within which the other systems are embedded

5. chronasystem: historical changes that influence the other systems

what is imprinting

learnng where newborns attach/follow adults (ducklings)

what is parental-investment threory

evolutionary basis of aspects of parenting that benefit their offspring

what is attachment theory (proposed by John Bowl)

children are biologically predisposed to develop attachments to caregivers in order to increase survivial

what is the internal working model of attachment

mental representation of self and the relationships constructed from experience (guides future interactions)

what is the secure base

the presence of a trusted caregiver provides a child with security → child is able to explore environment

what is strange situation (proposed by Mary Ainsworth)

assess a child’s attachment

• noticed importance of reunions after separation

what is secure attachment and the outcomes in strange situation

child has a positive/trusting relationship with caregiver

• sad when caregiver leaves, happy upon return & uses caregiver as a secure base

what is insecure-resistant attachment and the outcomes in strange situation

child is clingy and doesn’t explore

• very upset when caregiver leaves, resists comfort upon return

from inconsistent care

what is insecure-avoidant attachment and the outcomes in strange situation

child is indifferent and maybe avoids caregiver

• upset when alone, easily comforted by a stranger as by a parent

from emotionally distant/unresponsive care

what is disorganizaed/disoriented attachment and the outcomes in strange situation

child has no consistent way of coping with strange situation stress

• confused/contradictory behavior; appear dazed

from frightened/frightening/absent caregiver

What famous experiment did Harry Harlow do and what are its findings

• Rhesus monkey & surrogate mothers (food v. comfort)

• Bond with caregiver develops due to a sense of security rather than needs

what is parental sensitivity

caregiving behavior-warmth/contingent response when child needs assistance or is in distress

• psychological accessibility

• emotional acceptance

effects of childcare on attachment

• Childcare doesn’t interfere with attachment

• high quality childcare can compensate for less sensitive caregiving

• detrimental effects for low quality childcare

which attachment style is best for adulthood

Secure attachment

what is the development of attachments

1. indiscriminate

   1. expect social reciprocity

2. specific

   1. form stranger and separation anxiety

3. multiple

what is family structure

the number of relationships among people in a household

how has family structure changes in the past 60 years

• more single/unmarried parents

• older 1st-time parents

• more children living with grandparents

• families are smaller

• more fluid structures (divorce, step-)

what is the percentage of children who live in 2 parent homes

70%

what is bidirectionality

parents/children are mutually affected by one another’s characteristics/behaviors

What is authoritative parenting and its effects

• high responsiveness and demandingness

  • clearly and firmly enforced standards

  • allow considerable autonomy

  • attentive/respectful of child’s concerns

• children exhibit positive behaviors and competence

what is authoritarian parenting and its effects

• high demandingness, low responsiveness

  • enforce demands with parental power and expect compliance without question/explanation

• children have increased problematic behaviors and are low in competence/friendliness

what is permissive parenting and its effects

• low demandingness, high responsiveness

  • responsive to needs but with no regulation

• children are impulsive and have greater substance abuse, but high self-confidence and social competence

what is uninvolved parenting and its effects

• low demandingness and responsiveness

• children are antisocial and have greater substance abuse

which parenting style has the best outomes

authoritative

what are the 2 parenting methods

• socialization

• discipline

what is internalization regarding discipline

process where the reasons for a desired behavior are learned/accepted

what is a friend

a reciprocated positive relationship

what is the main reason children choose friends

they are friends with who are similar to themselves (age, gender, interest, personality)

what are some other reasons for choosing friends, other than similarity

• proximity

• friendliness

• race/ethnicity

what are the developmental changes in showing/choosing friends within childhood

1. display peer preference with touching, smiling, etc (12-18 mo)

2. greater complexity through imitating, cooperative problem solving, trading roles during play (24 mo)

3. make/maintain friendships; “best friends”; same gender play preference (3-4 yr)

4. communicate, cooperate, fight, negotiate (5 yr)

5. define friendship on actual peer activity (6-8yr)

6. take care of friend’s physical/mental needs; general assistance (9yr)

7. increased time with other-sex peers (10+)

8. important for intimacy/ self-disclosure with honest feedback; less stable (adolescence)

what are the developmental changes in concepts

• Selman: changes related to qualitative shifts in perspective (egocentrism → comprehend other perspectives)

• 9+: complexity in descriptions of “best friend” increases

functions/effects of friendship

• support/validation (for loneliness during transitions and buffers against unpleasant experiences)

• Help develop social skills/positive relationship with others

• Gender differences

  • Girls: desire closeness/dependency (more upset with betrayal and likely to co-ruminate)

  • Few gender differences in stability

• Negative affects

  • affression/disruptiveness

  • substance use

  • bullying/victimization

what is the peer socialization hypothesis

peers selection influences behavior

what is the peer selection hypothesis

behavior influences peer selection

what is the sociometric status

a measurement that measure a child’s ranking in social preference (degree to which children are liked) and social impact (degree to which children are noticed) by their peers

how are popular children defined by the sociometric status

• highly liked and highly impactful

  • tend to be more athletic, attractive, etc.

how are rejected children defined by the sociometric status

• low in acceptance/preference, but highly impactful

  • Aggressive-rejected: prone to physical aggression

  • Withdrawn-rejected: socially withdrawn/depressed

how are neglected children defined by the sociometric status

• low in social impact (neither liked/disliked because they are not noticed)

  • less sociable and disruptive

how are average children defined by the sociometric status

• moderate in preference and impact

  • most stable

how are controversial children defined by the sociometric status

• high impact, average in preference (liked or disliked)

  • have social skills but aggressive

what are the physiological influences on gender development

• hormones/brain functioning

what are androgens and what is an example of one

A class of hormones: testosterone

what are organizing influences regarding gender development

sex-linked hormones affecting brain differentiation and organization at the prenatal stage and puberty

what are activating influences regarding gender development

fluctuations of sex-linked hormones that affect the nervous system and behavior

Cultural effects on gender development

Macrosystem’s (bioecological model) opportunity structure: resources available based on gender/race/etc.

what is the gender schema theory

gender development occurs from gender schema

what is gender schema

mental representations about gender

what is ingroup/outgroup regarding the gender schema theory

organize whether other people/objects are associated with one’s gender ingroup (aka gender schema filter)

what is own-gender schema regarding the gender schema theory

knowledge/beliefs associated with one’s self-identified gender

what is an interest filter

evaluate information as being personally interesting

what is the social cognitive theory regarding the gender schema theory

Ideas of gender occur through 3 steps of learning:

1. Tuition - direct teaching

2. Enactive experience - take into account what reactions of one’s past behavior has evoked in others

3. Observation - watching others and the the consequences others experience from their actions

what is social identity theory’s ingroup bias

the tendency to evaluate members of the ingroup more positively than the outgroup

what is social identity theory’s ingroup assimilation

socialized to conform to the ingroup norms