correct PSYA02 final

preferential looking

a research technique that involves giving an infant a choice of what object to look at

when do babies achieve adult-like acuity?

6 months after birth

what do newborn's reflexes consist of?

grasping

sucking

rooting

swallowing

tonic neck reflex

cephalocaudal rule

the "top-to-bottom" rule that describes the tendency for motor skills to emerge in sequence from the head to the feet (significant changes occur in the brain and the head before changes happen in the extremities)

proximodistal rule

the "inside-to-outside" rule that describes the tendency for motor skills to emerge in sequence from the center to the periphery (significant development occurs first at centrally located features, such as the heart or the lungs, before occurring at more peripheral locations, including the hands or fingers)

When are teratogens most harmful?

the period of embryo

The period of fetus

From 9 weeks after conception to birth, classified as a period of growth and minor refinements. The fetus gains weight and moves into the head down position that is preferred for child birth. fetal brains develop sulci and gyri

constructivist

children are active contributors to their own learning, that is, they construct their own knowledge

dialectical

the growth of cognitive structures occurs when individuals encounter conflicting information that alters their existing perspectives on the world

what are the four stages of children's cognitive development?

sensorimotor stage

pre-operational stage

concrete operational stage

formal operational stage

theory of mind

the understanding that human behavior is guided by mental representations, and that these mental representations differ across individuals

what task is used to measure theory of mind?

false belief task

attachment

the emotional bond between an infant and the primary caregiver

Mary Main identified three attachment styles in adults that parallel those observed in infants. What are they?

secure or autonomous, anxious or preoccupied, and avoidant or dismissive

attachment style can predict what outcomes in adulthood?

academic achievement

emotional health

relationship quality

self esteem

positivity bias

young children almost always describe themselves positively

young children describe themselves...

in physical terms and almost always positively

why does positivity bias decline quickly at school age?

social comparison begins

cognitive skills increase (perspective-taking increases)

school begins objective evaluations

rank order stability

children with lower self-esteem tend to have lower self-esteem as adults

identity formation

the chief task of adolescence

achievements in adolescence

abstract thinking and self-socialization

challenges in adolescence

personal fable and imaginary audience

identity confusion

an incomplete and sometimes incoherent sense of self that often occurs in Erikson's stage of identity versus identity confusion

identity foreclosure

premature commitment to an identity without adequate consideration of other options

negative identity

identity that stands in opposition to others/social norms

Which of the two declines more quickly? Episodic or semantic memory?

Episodic memory

Why do older adults feel happier?

They tend to remember positive stimuli better than negative stimuli

Their amygdalae are more activated by positive emotions than negative ones

Why do older adults tend to value having close social groups?

it is related to their shorter futures

Binet-Simon intelligence test consists of...

puzzles

object-naming

counting

IQ scores positively correlated with protective factors. What are they?

high parental involvements, stimulating physical environment etc

IQ scores negatively correlated with risk factors. What are they?

low socio-economic status, low maternal education etc

three of the eight types of intelligence in Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences are tested in standard IQ tests. What are they?

linguistic intelligence

logical-math intelligence

spatial intelligence

Evidence for Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences

the areas of intelligence have different developmental patterns

damage to a specific brian area may impact only one type of intelligence and not other

What does emotional intelligence consist of?

the ability to reason about emotions and to use emotions to enhance reasoning

description of one's own emotions

management of one's own emotions

detection of other's emotions

the two dimensions of emotions

valence (positive or negative)

psychological arousal (severity)

two major neural structures related to emotion

the amygdala and prefrontal cortex

the universality hypothesis

facial expressions are evolved in order to aid in survival and therefore may be somewhat universal in the human population

four strategies to hide our emotions

intensification

de-intensification

masking

neutralizing

reliable muscles

facial muscles that are resistant to conscious change

duration of sincere facial gesture

0.5 to 5 seconds

motivation

the psychological reason for producing an action

hedonic principle

all motivation extends from attraction to pleasure and avoidance of pain

drives & incentives

drives are basic needs for nuitrition and sex and incentives are ways we satisfy the drives

three psychological dimensions of motivation

intrinsic vs extrinsic

conscious vs unconscious

approach vs avoidance

three major stages of prenatal development

the period of the zygote, the period of the embryo and the period of the fetus

the primary characteristic of the period of the zygote

rapid cell division

ectopic pregnancy

a pregnancy that results from the implantation of the blastocyst into one of the fallopian tubes instead of the uterine wall

why are ectopic pregnancies dangerous?

Whereas the uterus is a muscle that can expand (as the zygote grows) and contract (to expel the fetus during childbirth), the fallopian tubes do not have this ability. For this reason, pregnant women may have to terminate their pregnancy to avoid the possibility of a ruptured fallopian tube, which can result in death.

monozygotic twins

Also known as "identical" twins, monozygotic twins have 100% shared genetics. During conception, one egg was fertilized by one sperm and then splits into two separate cells with identical DNA. Identical twins are always the same sex.

dizygotic twins

Also known as "fraternal" twins or non-identical twins. In relatively rare cases a woman's ovaries will release more than one egg at a time. Dizygotic twins occur when two eggs are each fertilized by separate sperm cells. The level of shared genetics is approximately 50% and is similar to any siblings born apart from the same parents. Fraternal twins may be of different sexes.

assimilation

the incorporation of new information into existing cognitive structures

accommodation

the creation of new cognitive structures to house new information

equilibration

states in which cognitive structures agree with external realities

disequilibration

states in which cognitive structures do not agree with external realities. when this occurs, cognitive structures must be modified through assimilation or accommodation

primary circular reactions

in the second sub stage of sensorimotor development, infants learn about the world by repeatedly engaging in actions on their own bodies

secondary circular reactions

in the third sub stage of sensorimotor development, infants learn about the world by repeatedly engaging in actions outside their own bodies

tertiary circular reactions

in the fifth substage of sensorimotor development, infants learn about the world through their activities as "little scientists" they actively explore the world using different combinations of items to see how these changes affect their observed outcomes

mental representation

in the final substage of sensorimotor development, infants remember and re-enact situations and events that happened previously without any ongoing perceptual supports

concrete operational period

The third stage of cognitive development, according to Piaget, lasting from ages 7 to 11, marked by increased cognitive ability in reasoning about concrete events. They can evaluate and make sense of what they can physically see in the world around them, but thinking about hypothetical situations is difficult.

three transformative principles children learn during the concrete operational period

identity

compensation

inversion

object permanence

an understanding that objects and individuals continue to exist even if they cannot be seen, a development that occurs around nine months of age

preoperational period

the second stage of cognitive development, according to Piaget, lasting from ages two to seven: this stage is marked by a child's increasing ability to use symbols and engage in logical thinking

two sub stages of preoperational period

preconceptual thinking and intuitive thinking

symbolic thinking

The ability to use symbols (e.g., language) to stand for other things (e.g., complex feelings, ideas).

animism

preschooler belief that stuffed toys and other inanimate objects have feelings

egocentrism

difficulty of children in adopting the perspective of another individual

sociocultural theory

cognitive development is a continuous process that is intimately linked to the context in which children are raised

scaffold

Cognitive support offered by a teacher to a learner to assist the learner to acquire new skills or knowledge. Such support is withdrawn when the learner can perform the skill on his/her own.

zone of proximal development

the distance between what a child can accomplish alone and what a child can accomplish with some assistance.

What was Harry Harlow's experiment about?

examine whether attachment to a "mother" was based on sustenance (the provision of food) or comfort (the provision of warmth and the ability of the mother to serve as a secure base