Devpsych Thunderdome

Ainsworth

devised “strange situation” to study attachment

Baumrind

studied the relationship between parental style and discipline

Bowlby

studied attachment in human children

Chomsky

linguist who suggested that children have an innate capacity for language acquisition

Erikson

outlined the eight stages of psychosocial development covering the entire lifespan

Freud

outlined five stages of psychosexual development; stressed the importance of Oedipal conflict in psychosexual development

Gesell

believed that development was primarily due to maturation

Gilligan

suggested that males and females have different orientations toward morality

Hall

the founder of dev psych

Harlow

studied the role of contact comfort in bond formation with cloth and wire mothers for monkeys

Kagan

conducted landmark longitudinal study to examine developmental trajectories of children’s temperament

Kohlberg

studied moral development using moral dilemmas

Locke

British philosopher who suggested that infants had no predetermined tendencies; tabula rasa

Lorenz

studied imprinting in birds

Piaget

outlined four stages of cognitive development

Rousseau

French philosopher who suggested that development could unfold without help from society

Terman

performed longitudinal study on gifted children

Tryon

studied genetic basis of maze-running ability in rats

Vygotsky

studied cognitive development; zone of proximal development

gender role differences according to sociobiologists

men and women develop gender-stereotyped behaviors because of the historical survival function of these behaviors

gender role differences according to social learning theorists

importance of social environment; children model their behaviors on those of adults and other children of the same gender

gender role differences according to cognitive developmental theorists

importance of cognitions children have surrounding gender

Kohlberg’s gender stages

1. gender labeling (2-3 years): children achieve gender identity and are able to label others by their sex

2. gender stability (3-4 years): children predict they will still be a boy or girl when they grow up, but this understanding is superficial and dependent upon a physical notion of gender

3. gender consistency (4-7 years): children understand the permanence of gender, regardless of appearance or behavior

Martin and Halverson’s gender schematic processing theory

holds that as soon as children are able to label themselves, they begin concentrating on those behaviors that seem to be associated with their gender and pay less attention to those they believe are associated with the opposite gender

Baumrind’s parenting styles

authoritarian, authoritative, permissive

Kohlberg’s phases of moral thought

1. preconventional (defined by punishment and/or reward)

   1. punishment and obedience orientation

   2. instrumental relativist orientation

2. conventional (defined by social rules)

   1. good boy, nice girl

   2. law and order orientation

3. post-conventional (defined by one’s own ethical principles)

   1. social contract orientation

   2. universal ethical principles

stage 1 of Kohlberg’s stages of moral development

punishment and obedience orientation: “how can I avoid a punishment?”

stage 2 of Kohlberg’s stages of moral development

self-interest orientation: “what’s in it for me?”

stage 3 of Kohlberg’s stages of moral development

interpersonal accord and conformity: “do it for me.”

stage 4 of Kohlberg’s stages of moral development

maintaining authority and social order: “do your duty.”

stage 5 of Kohlberg’s stages of moral development

social contract orientation; the world is viewed as holding different opinions, rights, and values

stage 6 of Kohlberg’s stages of moral development

universal ethical principles-driven; moral reasoning is based on abstract reasoning using universal ethical principles; action is an end of itself

Heinz dilemma

Heinz steals a life-saving drug from an immoral druggist to save his wife. Was Heinz right or wrong, and why?

Bowlby’s attachment stages

1. pre-attachment (first few weeks of infancy): infant reacts identically to every adult and smiling face

2. 3 months: infant discriminates between familiar and unfamiliar faces

3. 6 months: infant seeks out and responds specifically to the mother

4. 9-12 months: stranger anxiety

5. year 2: separation anxiety

6. year 3: child is able to separate from mother without prolonged distress

Ainsworth’s “strange situation” procedure

studied the quality of mother-child attachment relationships; classified behavior into:

1. insecure/avoidant attachment (Type A)

2. secure attachment (Type B)

3. insecure/resistant attachment (Type C)

imprinting

the rapid formation of an attachment bond between an organism and an object in the environment

insecure/avoidant attachment

infants were not distressed when left along with stranger and avoided contact with mother upon her return

secure attachment

infants were mildly distressed when separated but greeted her positively upon return

insecure/resistant attachment

infants were distressed during separation and inclined to resist physical contact with mother upon her return

Freud’s stages of psychosexual development

1. oral (0-1 year): libidinal energy centered on the mouth; fixation can lead to excessive dependency

2. anal (1-3 years): toilet training; fixation can lead to excessive orderliness or messiness

3. phallic (3-5 years): Oedipal/Electra conflict resolved during this stage

4. latency (5-puberty): libido sublimated

5. genital (puberty-adulthood): if previous stages successfully resolved, person enters into normal heterosexual relations

Erikson’s stages of development

1. trust vs. mistrust (0-1 year)

2. autonomy vs. shame and doubt (1-3 years)

3. initiative vs. guilt (3-6 years)

4. industry vs. inferiority (6-12 years)

5. identity vs. role confusion (adolescence)

6. intimacy vs. isolation (young adulthood)

7. generativity vs. stagnation (middle age)

8. integrity vs. despair (old age)

temperament

individual differences and individuals’ patterns of responding to the environment; is somewhat heritable, emerges during infancy, is stable over time, and is pervasive across situations

early social and emotional behavior includes:

1. crying

2. social smiling

3. fear response

phonology

study of the sound stems (phonemes) of languages

categorical perception

the ability to distinguish between differences in sound that do not denote differences in meaning vs. differences in sound that do denote differences in meaning

semantics

the study of word meanings

syntax

the study of how words are put together to form sentences

pragmatics

the study of how context contributes to meaning

holophrasis

a toddler’s use of a single word to express a complete thought

errors of growth

AKA overregularization; the application of a principle of regular change to a word that changes irregularly (ex. “I runned” vs. “I ran”)

language acquisition device (LAD)

the innate capacity for language acquisition, thought to be triggered by exposure to language

sensitive period in language development

as opposed to critical period; the time when environmental input has maximal effect on the development of a particular ability

Moro reflex

An involuntary response in infants, characterized by spreading out the arms and legs upon sudden stimuli, such as loud noises or a sensation of falling.

Babinski reflex

An involuntary response in infants, where the toes fan out when the sole of the foot is stroked, indicating neurological development.

schemata

organized patterns of thought and behavior.

adaptation

The process through which individuals adjust their existing schemata to accommodate new information or experiences.

assimilation

The process of interpreting new information in terms of existing schemata.

accommodation

the process of modifying existing schemata to incorporate new information or experiences.

sensorimotor stage

Piaget, birth to 24 months. Primary and secondary circular reactions and development of object permanence.

primary circular reaction

The coordination of separate aspects of movement in infants; beginning of goal-oriented behavior. 

secondary circular reactions

The manipulation of objects in the environment by infants.

preoperational stage

Piaget, 2-7 years. Predominantly features centration (tendency to focus only on one aspect of a phenomenon).

egocentrism

The inability to take the perspective of other people and inability to understand that relationships are reciprocal.

conservation

The notion that physical properties of matter, such as volume and quantity, do not change when the appearance of the matter changes.

concrete operational stage

Piaget, 7-11 years. Children can conserve and take others’ perspectives, but are limited to concrete objects or already available information.

formal operational stage

Piaget, adolescence onwards. Child is able to form hypotheses and make deductions.

zone of proximal development

The gap between the skills and abilities that have already developed vs. those that are still in development.