Week 4 flashcards

Notes for Digital Intro: Development

Overall summary

The video "Digital Intro: Development" by OpenLab explores the intricate process of human development, focusing on prenatal development, cognitive development, social skills, attachment, and moral development. It emphasizes the interplay between genetic and environmental factors throughout the lifespan, highlighting key theories and research findings in developmental psychology.

Section 1: Prenatal Development

• Development begins at conception when sperm and egg unite to form a zygote.

• The zygote undergoes rapid division, forming a blastocyst that attaches to the uterus wall.

• The embryonic stage begins, during which cells differentiate into three types:

  • Nervous system and outer skin

  • Skeletal system and voluntary muscles

  • Gut and digestive organs

• Major organ systems, including the heart and lungs, begin to develop within a month after conception.

Section 2: Genetic and Environmental Factors

• Both genetic and environmental factors are crucial in shaping prenatal development.

• The genome provides genetic instructions, but environmental influences, such as maternal blood supply and hormones, significantly impact development.

• The environment includes the mother's health and lifestyle choices, which can affect the fetus.

Section 3: Teratogens and Environmental Factors

• Teratogens are environmental factors that can disrupt development, including:

  • Air pollution

  • Radiation

  • Lead and mercury

  • Cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs

• The risk of harm from teratogens increases with higher exposure levels and during critical periods of rapid fetal growth.

Section 4: Cognitive Development

• Cognitive development is a key aspect of human growth, with Jean Piaget's theory outlining distinct stages:

  • Sensorimotor Stage (0-2 years): Infants learn through sensory experiences and motor actions. Object permanence develops.

  • Preoperational Stage (2-7 years): Children begin to use language and think symbolically but lack logical reasoning. They exhibit egocentrism and struggle with conservation tasks.

  • Concrete Operational Stage (7-11 years): Logical thinking develops, allowing children to understand conservation and perform operations on concrete objects.

  • Formal Operational Stage (12 years and up): Abstract thinking emerges, enabling deductive reasoning and systematic problem-solving.

• Piaget's theory has been criticized for oversimplifying cognitive development and not accounting for individual differences.

Section 5: Social Skills Development

• Social skills are crucial for forming relationships and understanding oneself.

• Self-awareness, or consciousness, develops into a self-concept, which includes beliefs about personality traits, abilities, and roles.

• Infants recognize themselves in mirrors by about 18 months, indicating early self-awareness.

Section 6: Attachment

• Attachment is the emotional bond between a child and caregiver, essential for healthy development.

• Different attachment styles include:

  • Secure Attachment: Child explores freely, shows distress when separated, and is happy upon reunion.

  • Ambivalent Attachment: Child is clingy and distressed when separated but ambivalent upon reunion.

  • Avoidant Attachment: Child avoids or ignores the caregiver, showing little emotion during separation and reunion.

  • Disorganized Attachment: Child exhibits inconsistent behaviors, showing confusion or fear towards the caregiver.

• Attachment styles are influenced by both genetic temperament and the caregiver's responsiveness.

Section 7: Moral Development

• Lawrence Kohlberg proposed a theory of moral development consisting of three levels:

  • Preconventional Morality: Focus on self-interest and avoiding punishment.

  • Conventional Morality: Emphasis on social rules and approval from others.

  • Postconventional Morality: Recognition of universal ethical principles and individual rights.

• Kohlberg's theory has been critiqued for being based primarily on upper-class white males and not considering gender differences in moral reasoning.

• Carol Gilligan argued that females may approach moral dilemmas differently, focusing on relationships and care rather than abstract principles.

Takeaways

• Prenatal development is influenced by a complex interplay of genetic and environmental factors, with teratogens posing significant risks.

• Cognitive development follows distinct stages as proposed by Piaget, though these stages may occur earlier than he suggested.

• Social skills and attachment are critical for emotional and social development, with secure attachment leading to better outcomes in adolescence.

• Moral development is a nuanced process that varies by individual and is influenced by both cognitive and emotional factors.

Notes for Digital Intro: Language

Overall summary

Human language is a complex cognitive function that enables real-time comprehension and communication. It serves not only to transmit information but also to access knowledge, draw conclusions, and set goals. The study of language encompasses various aspects, including its acquisition, processing, and representation in the brain.

Language as a Complex Function

• Human language is described as the most complex behavior on the planet.

• It includes both spoken and written forms, as well as signed languages.

• Language serves multiple functions beyond mere information transmission, such as:

  • Accessing existing knowledge (e.g., survival tips).

  • Understanding complex social relationships.

  • Facilitating thought processes.

Language in the Brain

• Language functions are localized in the brain, but the specifics are complex.

• Aphasia: A neurological impairment affecting language abilities.

  • Broca's Aphasia: Damage to Broca's area (left frontal lobe) leads to difficulty in speech production while comprehension remains intact.

  • Wernicke's Aphasia: Damage to Wernicke's area (left temporal lobe) allows fluent speech that lacks meaning and comprehension.

• Some individuals with brain damage may not develop aphasia, while others can relearn language through practice.

• Language areas are typically in the left hemisphere, but can also be found in the right hemisphere or distributed across both hemispheres in some individuals.

Psycholinguistics

• The study of how language is processed and represented in the mind and brain.

• Key areas of focus include:

  • Phonetics and Phonology: Study of speech sounds and their processing.

  • Morphology: Study of word structures and formation rules.

  • Syntax: Study of sentence structure and word combination.

  • Semantics: Study of meaning in words and sentences.

  • Pragmatics: Study of context in meaning interpretation.

Language Acquisition Theories

• B.F. Skinner's Behaviorism: Proposed that language is learned through reinforcement and conditioning.

  • Children associate words with meanings through rewards.

• Noam Chomsky's Universal Grammar: Argued against Skinner, suggesting that humans are born with an innate ability to acquire language.

  • Universal grammar posits that all languages share basic structural elements.

  • Children are hardwired to learn grammatical rules, not just linguistic blank slates.

Evidence of Language Acquisition

• Studies with newborns show responsiveness to language sounds, indicating innate language processing abilities.

• Infants can differentiate sounds from any language until about 6-12 months, after which they specialize in their native language.

• Babbling: Infants produce sounds that reflect preferences for certain consonants and vowels, regardless of the language they are learning.

• By 10-12 months, infants begin to pick apart language into words, and by 18 months, they typically know around 50 words.

Vocabulary Development

• Rapid vocabulary growth occurs after the first words are learned.

• By age 2, children can have around 500 words and learn new words at a rate of about 10 per day.

• Children demonstrate an understanding of language rules even when they make mistakes, indicating an innate grasp of language structure.

The Wug Test

• Developed by Jean Berko Gleason, this test assesses children's understanding of language rules.

• Children can apply grammatical rules to made-up words, demonstrating their innate knowledge of language structure.

• Results show that children can pluralize unfamiliar words correctly, indicating they are not merely memorizing but understanding language rules.

Language Structure and Generativity

• Language allows for the creation of new sentences to express novel ideas.

• The relationship between form and meaning is complex; syntax and semantics are interconnected.

• Example: "Colorless green ideas sleep furiously" illustrates that a sentence can be grammatically correct without coherent meaning.

Limitations of Language

• Language can struggle to convey complex ideas without visual aids.

• Effective communication often requires context, gestures, or additional information.

Conclusion

• The study of language reveals it as a biological process beginning at birth, with humans possessing an innate ability to acquire language.

• Universal grammar provides a framework for understanding language processing and representation in the brain.

• Language is a powerful tool that enables abstract thought, future planning, and the expression of desires.