Developmental Psych - Unit 3

Zygote

An egg has been fertilized (cell division - 2 week period)

Embryo

Developing organs & nervous system (2nd week to 2nd month)

Teratogens

Environmental agent that can reach the baby and cause harm

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

Exposure to alcohol

Fetus

Final stage of prenatal development: brain, bones, muscles (9 weeks - 9 months)

Rooting reflex

Touch the corner of an infants mouth and they will turn their head in that direction

Developmental norms

Universal sequence but not timing

Gross motor skills

Develop during toddlerhood; involves movement of large muscles (kicking ball, walking upstairs)

Fine motor skills

Less developed until school age; involves movement of smaller muscles (writing)

Puberty

Start of adolescence

Primary

Involves in reproduction

Secondary

Not involved in reproduction (body hair)

Menopause

End of women's menstrual cycle

Prefrontal cortex

Responsible for planning, judgement, impulse control (not developed until 20s)

Erik Erikson

Famous for theory of psychosocial development

Attachment

Emotional bond formed between an infant and their caregivers

Mary Ainsworth

Studied differences in attachment

Harry & Margaret Harlow

Did not believe attachment is formed due to nourishment

Diana Baumrind

Identified 4 parenting styles

Permissive Parenting

Low demands, rules don't exist

Neglectful Parenting

Low demands, low affection, not around to model good behavior

Authoritarian Parenting

High demands, strict rule, harsh punishments

Authoritative Parenting

Reasonable expectations, rules, and punishments

Imprinting

Rigid attachment (exp. Jacob Black)

Konrad Lorenz

Studied imprinting in ducks

Temperament

Refers to a persons emotional disposition

Self concept

Understanding of who they are

Self esteem

Falls during adolescence

Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Believed there were 5 stages to understanding death

Jean Piaget

Believed a child's mind was not a mini version of an adults

Schemas

"Building blocks" of understanding (5 senses)

Assimilation

Interpret new information using existing schemas

Accommodation

When presented with new info, we change our schemas to match it

Sensorimotor

Birth-2yrs experience world through senses and actions

Object permanence

Awareness objects continue to exist when not perceived

Preoperational

2-7yrs symbolic thought (pretend play)

Egocentrism

Inability to understand others point of view

Theory of mind

Sense of what others think/feel

Reversibility

Objects can be changed and returned to original form (water can be frozen, melted, and refrozen)

Conservation

Quantity remains constant despite changes in shape

Formal operational

Understand inconsistencies in others actions/thoughts

Lev Vygotsky

Emphasized the minds growth through interaction with social development

Zone of proximal development

Space between what we can do with or without assistance

Lawrence Kohlberg

Conducted a study on moral development

Conventional

Morals are based on social approval

Pre-conventional

Morals are based on rewards and punishments

Post-conventional

Morals are based on personal definition of justice

Carol Gilligan

Criticized kohlbergs research for not accounting for differences in men and women

Classical conditioning

Type of learning where two or more stimuli are linked

Ivan Pavlov

explored classical conditioning

Unconditioned Response UR

Happen automatically without conditioning

Neutral stimulus NR

Will not produce a response

Conditioned response CR

Produces a response

Higher order conditioning

Neutral stimulus becomes a second conditioned stimulus

Acquisition

Moment where conditioning has happened

Extinction

"Unconditioning"; breaking link between stimuli

Spontaneous recovery

Long break after attempting extinction

Conditioned stimulus CS

Response after learning has taken place

Unconditioned stimulus US

Unconditionally triggers a response (will say ow)

Stimulus Generalization

The greater the similarity, the stronger the response (instead of fear of the dog, fear of all dogs)

Stimulus discrimination

Ability to differentiate between conditioned response and other

Flooding

Person exposed to harmless stimulus until fear developed

systematic desensitization

People are taught relaxation technique

Counter conditioning

Pleasant stimulus is paired repeatedly with a fearful one

operant conditioning

Organisms associate their own actions with consequences

Edward Thorndikes law of effect

Rewarded behaviors are more likely to occur

BF Skinner

Influential behaviorism approach

positive reinforcement

Adding a desirable stimulus

negative reinforcement

Removing an unwanted negative stimulus

Fixed ratio schedule

Reinforcement is given after a specific number of responses

Variable ratio schedules

Reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses

Variable interval schedule

Reinforces a response after a random amount of time

Fixed interval schedules

Reinforces a response after a specific time has elapsed

Positive punishment

Adds an unwanted stimulus

Negative punishment

Removes an enjoyable stimulus

Shaping

Form of operant conditioning where reinforces guide behavior closer to a desired behavior

Superstitious behavior

Proceed desired outcome

Preparedness Biological predisposition

How genetics show likelihood of survival

John Garcia

Challenged the idea that all associations can be learned equally well

Taste aversion

Prepared rats to learn taste aversion from toxic foods

Edward Tolmon

Researched cognitive effects on operant conditioning

Cognitive map

Mental representation of physical environment

Latent learning

Not using knowledge unless you need to

Insight learning

Learning that happens suddenly and abruptly

Fixed

Specific

Variable

Random

Ratio

Number of responses

Interval

Time

Positive

Applies stimulus

Negative

Removes stimulus

Reinforcement

Increases the frequency of desirable behavior

Punishment

Decreases frequency of undesirable behavior

Observational learning

Learning by observing others behavior

Modeling

Imitating an observed behavior

Mirror neurons

Frontal lobe neurons that fire when we perform certain actions

Albert Bandura

Studied observational learning in his BoBo doll experiment; adults beat doll and child would mimic them

Social Learning Theory

People learn from each other through observation, imitation, and modeling

Antisocial modeling

Negative and harmful; numb to what many others consider wrong

Pro social modeling

Positive and helpful; lead to confidence and pro social effects on society

Behavior modification

Attempts to change behavior through various techniques