Developmental Psychology: Lifespan Exam 3 Study Guide

Chapter 7: Cognitive Development Across the Lifespan

• Speed of Processing

  • Refers to the rate at which individuals can process information.
  • Changes throughout the lifespan, with improvements in childhood and declines in older adulthood.

• Attention Types

  • Selective Attention: Focusing on a specific aspect while ignoring others.
  • Divided Attention: Splitting focus among multiple tasks.
  • Sustained Attention: Also known as focus attention; maintaining attention over time.
  • Executive Attention: Refers to managing cognitive processes including planning and decision-making.
  • Developmental Changes:
  • Infancy: Basic attentional processes develop.
  • Childhood: Improved selective and sustained attention.
  • Adolescence: Further development but potential drawbacks in heavy multi-tasking.
  • Adulthood: Varied capacities based on experience and practice.

• Habituation and Dishabituation

  • Habituation: Decreasing response to repeated stimuli.
  • Dishabituation: Renewed response to a new stimulus after habituation.
  • Application in Research: Used in studies to assess infant recognition and learning abilities.

• Joint Attention

  • Refers to the shared focus of two individuals on an object.
  • Tied to language development, attention, and self-regulation.
  • Impaired joint attention is often linked to developmental disorders such as autism.

• Memory Processing

  • Three Stages:
  • Encoding: Initial learning of information.
  • Storage: Retaining information over time.
  • Retrieval: Accessing stored information.

• Types of Memory

  • Atkinson & Shiffrin Model:
  • Sensory Memory: Brief retention of sensory information.
  • Short-term Memory: Limited capacity for information retention.
  • Long-term Memory: Information organization for long-term storage.
  • Magic Number (7±2): Refers to the typical capacity of short-term memory.

• Working Memory

  • Introduced by Alan Baddeley, different from short-term memory as it involves manipulation of information (auditory rehearsal, visual-spatial sketchpad).

• Types of Memory

  • Explicit Memory (Declarative):
  • Episodic Memory: Personal experiences.
  • Semantic Memory: Facts and information.
  • Processed in the medial temporal lobe.
  • Implicit Memory (Procedural):
  • Unconscious skills, like riding a bike.
  • Processed in the basal ganglia.

• Memory Rehearsal

  • Maintenance Rehearsal: Retaining information in short-term memory.
  • Elaborative Rehearsal: Connecting new information to existing knowledge; self-reference effect enhances encoding.

• Infantile Amnesia

  • Inability to recall memories from early childhood.
  • Memories become retrievable around 3-4 years of age.

• Child Memory Factors

  • ADHD Impact: Children with ADHD may have working memory deficits.
  • Accuracy Influences:
  • Susceptibility to Suggestion: How leading questions can alter child memory in legal contexts.

Executive Function and Cognitive Abilities

• Executive Function

  • High-level cognitive processes developed in the prefrontal cortex, essential for self-regulation, decision-making, and problem-solving.
  • Influenced by Parenting Styles and SES: Sensitive parenting promotes better executive function.
  • Marshmallow Study: Assesses delay of gratification; some criticisms regarding environment and interpretation of results.

• Cognitive Flexibility

  • The ability to adapt behaviors and thoughts in response to changing conditions.
  • Self-efficacy: Confidence in ability to perform tasks ties closely to cognitive flexibility.

• Aging and Executive Function

  • Early adulthood: Peak executive function.
  • Middle and late adulthood: Declines in cognitive flexibility and processing speed.
  • Mindfulness Benefits: Can lead to improvements in cognitive function.

• "Use It or Lose It" Principle

  • Neuroplasticity suggests cognitive activity can retain or improve function.
  • Activities like puzzles, reading, and learning languages enhance cognitive health.

Chapter 9: Language Development

• Language Definition

  • A structured system of communication through symbols, sounds, and gestures.
  • Infinite Generativity: Capacity to combine words and phrases to produce novel sentences.

• Language Components

  • Phoneme: Smallest unit of sound.
  • Morpheme: Smallest meaningful unit (e.g., roots or prefixes).
  • Syntax: Rules for sentence structure.
  • Semantics: Meaning derived from words and phrases.
  • Pragmatics: Social language use and context.
  • Prosody: Rhythm and intonation of speech.

• Brain and Language

  • Broca’s Area:
  • Located in the frontal lobe; involved in speech production.
  • Broca’s Aphasia: Difficulty in speech production.
  • Wernicke’s Area:
  • Located in the temporal lobe; involved in language comprehension.
  • Wernicke’s Aphasia: Difficulty in understanding language, often leading to nonsensical speech.

• Early Gestures and Language Development

  • Importance of gestures during infancy linked to vocabulary growth.

• Dr. Kuhl’s Research on Language Learning

  • Citizens of the World: Infants can distinguish sounds of all languages up to 6 months old.
  • Statistical Learning: Understanding patterns in language makes children culture-bound learners.
  • Recommendations: Starting language learning early through interaction enhances success.

Additional Language Concepts

• First Words

  • Usually consist of important nouns; a vocabulary spurt occurs around 18-24 months.

• Word Usage

  • Overextension: Using a word too broadly (e.g., calling all animals dogs).
  • Underextension: Using a word too narrowly (e.g., only referring to the family dog as dog).

• Environmental Impact on Language

  • Studies show that parent education levels significantly affect language development in children.

• Dyslexia

  • Learning disorder affecting reading; prevalence varies internationally.

• Reading Approaches

  • Whole-Language Approach: Focus on meaning and use of language.
  • Phonics Approach: Emphasizes sound-letter relationships; findings suggest a combination approach is often most effective.

• Bilingualism

  • Linked to cognitive advantages, including delayed onset of Alzheimer’s.
  • Subtractive Bilingualism: When learning a second language undermines the first, often associated with feelings of shame.
  • Dual-Language Strategy: Encourages proficiency in both languages.

• Adolescent Jargon and Tip-of-the-Tongue Effect

  • Adolescents often use specific jargon; tip-of-the-tongue refers to temporary failure in retrieving information from memory.

Short-Answer/Essay Topics

• Dr. Kuhl’s stance on language learning, tips for enhancing language ability.
• Factors affecting child memory accuracy and examples from real case studies.
• Drawbacks of heavy multitasking during adolescent years.
• Comparing whole-language and phonics approaches; discussing effectiveness based on recent research.
• Addressing critiques of the marshmallow study results, focusing on SES implications.