development

Circadian Rhythms

24 hr sleep/awake cycle.

What do circadian rhythms control?

Regulation of sleep/other body functions like blood pressure and body temperature

how do you dream throughout the night

Dream more and more throughout the night; and sleep less deeply

REM

rapid eye movement, dreaming. Dream more and longer later in your sleep cycle

NREM

Non- REM

• Beta waves

awake

• Alpha waves

drowsy, light sleep

• Theta waves

light sleep and dreaming

Delta waves

deep sleep

Sleep Stage 1 (NREM)

brain waves: alpha & theta
lasts a few minutes, close to consciousness
Common occurences: hypnagogic halluncinations such as a myoclonic jerk

sleep stage 2

theta waves, sleep spindles, K complexes

sleep stage 3&4

delta waves, deep sleep, growth hormone released, night terrors

rem sleep

muscle paralysis, dreams, nightmares

What controls sleep cycles?

Circadian Rhythms are regulated by the hypothalamus (via the pineal gland) and the Suprachiasmatic nucleus

Night terrors

extreme nightmares (usually during childhood) where the person flails around (occurs during stage 3)

Night terrors cause

Stressful / traumatic experiences

Sleep walking (somnambulism)/ talking / eating

occurs during stage 3, Cause: Fatigue, stress, drugs / alcohol / medications

REM behavior disorder

Malfunction of brain mechanisms normally creating REM paralysis

insomnia

Inability to fall asleep

insomnia causes

worry/anxiety

Narcolepsy

fall into REM sleep out of no where

narcolepsy cause

Deficiency of orexin

sleep apnea

stop breathing at night

sleep apnea causes

Genetics, obesity, faulty breathing mechanisms

manifest content (Freud)

the actual dream you see

Latent Content (Freud)

the "hidden meaning" of the dream

activation synthesis hypothesis

your limbic system fires off random bursts of energy while sleeping to "clean up" the brain. Your brain weaves this into a story so it makes sense.

Developmental psychology

studies the biological, physical, psychological, and behavioral patterns of growth and changes that occur throughout life

Nature or nurture?

Do genes or environment impact more?

Continuous development or stage development?

Does development happen continually or in distinct stages?

Stability vs change?

Once a characteristic is developed - is it permanent or can it still be changed?

Cross-Sectional Study

Study people of different ages at the same point in time

Cross-Sectional Study Advantages

- Inexpensive
- Can be completed quickly
- Low attrition (attrition \= people dropping out of the study over time)

Cross-Sectional Study disadvantages

- Differences may be due to cohort effect rather than age
- Cohort effect \= impact of shared life experiences (born in a certain time, region, etc.)

Longitudinal Study

Study the same group of people over time

Longitudinal Study advantages

- Highly detailed
- Eliminates cohort differences

Longitudinal Study disadvantages

- Expensive and time consuming
- High attrition
- Differences over time may be due to changing assessment tools and not age

Zygote

fertilized egg

embryo

zygote after 14 days

fetus

embryo after 9 weeks

Teratogens

External agents that can cause abnormal prenatal development

PKU (Phenylketonuria)

cause: Body is unable to metabolize the amino acid phenylalanine

effect: Results in intellectual disability, behavioral changes, and seizures

Trisomy 21 (Down Syndrome)

cause: Caused when a baby is born with an extra 21st chromosome
effect: Results in birth defects and learning problems

Fragile X syndrome

cause: The X chromosome is damaged

result: learning disabilities and cognitive impairment

Fetal alcohol syndrome

cause: Occurs in children of women who consume alcohol during pregnancy

effect: Symptoms include facial deformities, heart defects, stunted growth, and cognitive impairments

Autism Spectrum Disorder

cause: not totally known

effect: characterized by an impairment in social relationships /communication and repetitive behaviors

Physical Development

happens in stages

Reflexes

Children are born with several reflexes, most of which disappear as they age.

grasping

curling of fingers around objects when palm is touched

rooting

turning of face towards stimulus when touched on the cheek

sucking

suck anything placed in the mouth

moro

natural startle reflex

stepping

taking of "steps" when feet touch a flat surface

babinski

splaying of baby's toes when bottom of foot is touched

Maturation

The development of the brain unfolds based on genetic instructions, causing various bodily and mental functions to occur in sequence— standing before walking, babbling before talking— this is called maturation.

A infant's vision

is initially limited to following objects with their eyes. Visual acuity develops as the brain learns its world around it.

visual cliff test

Used to measure depth perception abilities in infants

critical period

a critical period is a limited time in which something develops within an organism (if it doesn't develop during that time its either impossible to develop or severely limited, like a first language)

Konrad Lorenz

researcher who focused on critical attachment periods in baby birds, a concept he called imprinting

Imprinting

first thing a bird sees they think is mom (a critical period)

Jean Piaget

Four stage theory of cognitive development

Children (and people) actively construct their cognitive world using

schemas

schemas

concepts or frameworks that organize information to incorporate new information

Assimilation

incorporate new info into existing schemas aSSimilation - Same Stuff

accommodation

adjust existing schemas ACcommodation - All Change

Sensorimotor Stage

in Piaget's theory, the stage (from birth to about 2 years of age) during which infants don't think about past or future and children learn through exploration of the world by touch and movement (lack of object permanence and sense of self, stranger anxiety)

sense of self

Tested with the Dot/rouge/blush test

Object Permanence

Before the age of 1 children think objects out of sight no longer exist

Preoperational Stage

in Piaget's theory, the stage (from about 2 to 6 or 7 years of age) during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic (lack of conservational skills and reversibility and theory of mind, intuitive reasoning, animism, egocentrism)

Conservation Skills

Fail to recognize that substances remain the same despite changes in shape, length, or position

Reversibility

cannot mentally reverse - have to actually do it themselves

Intuitive reasoning

basic guesses to explain the world

animism

belief that artificial objects have thoughts and feelings

egocentrism

Inability to distinguish between one's own perspective and another's

theory of mind

knowledge that people think and have private experiences

Concrete Operational Stage

in Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about 6 or 7 to 11 years of age) during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events

formal operational stage

in Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (normally beginning about age 12) during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts

Evaluating Piaget's Theory

- Some cognitive abilities emerge earlier than Piaget thought
- Piaget placed too much emphasis on discrete stages and ignored individual differences
- Culture and environment also influence development
- Development is a continuous process.

Vygotsky's Theory

Children learn how to think through their interactions with others

scaffolding

the support for learning and problem solving that encourages independence and growth

zone of proximal development

The gap between what a child can do on their own and what a child can do with support

Socioemotional Development

The child's emerging capacity to function as a social and emotional being

Temperament

refers to characteristic patterns of emotional reactions and emotional self-regulation in babies

easy temperament

regular, adaptable, and happy

difficult temperament

a child's general responsiveness marked by a more negative mood, intense responses, slow adaptation to change, and irregular patterns of eating, sleeping, and elimination

slow to warm up temperament

temperamental profile in which the child is inactive and moody and displays mild passive resistance to new routines and experiences

harry harlow

- Removed monkey's from their mother during infancy
- Wire mom fed them, cloth mom was simply present.
- Measured which "mom" they spent more time with.
- realized that contact comfort is important

Ainsworth

theorist that studied types of attachment by use of the strange situation test

strange situation

- parent and child are alone
- child explores room
- stranger enters room and approaches child
- parent leaves
- parent returns and consoles child

secure attachment (65% of 1 year olds)

- Strange Situation: Child openly explores. Is upset when CG leaves but is quickly soothed.
- Cause? : Caregiver (CG) is a consistent source of comfort
- Adult relationships? : Correlated with more stable (trusting) relationships

Anxious - avoidant insecure attachment (20% of 1 yr)

- Strange Situation: Child openly explores. Does not care whether CG is present or not.
- Cause? : CG is distant and not overly responsive to needs (BUT NOT NEGLECTFUL)
- Adult relationships? : Correlated w/ Little interest in relationships, difficulty being open with SO

Anxious - ambivalent (resistant) insecure attachment (10% of 1 yr)

- Strange Situation: Child does not explore. EXTREMELY upset when CG leaves. Indifferent when CG returns.
- Cause? : CG is inconsistent in responding to their child.
- Adult relationships? : Correlated w/ clingy and jealous behaviors. Quick to accuse and VERY distraught when relationships end.

Insecure disorganized / disoriented attachment (

- Strange Situation: Child does not explore. Child acts confused or frightened.
- Cause? : CG is non-responsive and/or abusive with the child.
- Adult relationships? : Too situational to show correlations.

pros and cons of ainsworth

pros: Strange situation has been tested in almost every country, relatively consistent
cons: A 5 minute test cannot perfectly reveal a CG/ child relationship, adult correlation is moderate at best

Authoritarian Parents

- Impose rules and expect obedience
- children have low self-esteem, mid level of achievement, problems in college

Permissive Parents

- parents make few demands and use little punishment.
- children have high self confidence, impulsive behaviors, and low interest in school

authoritative parenting

- parents impose Expectations, but are flexible and understanding. Actively communicate with their children.
- children have high self confidence, less likely to be impacted by peer pressure, high success in school

erik erikson's theory

emphasizes lifelong development

Trust vs Mistrust

- Birth to about 18 months
- Child either learns to trust their parents and the environment, or becomes suspicious, fearful

Autonomy vs Shame and Doubt

- 18 months to about 3 years of age
- Either develop a sense of self-control, or develop feelings of doubt