.

.4 Conceptions of Age- chronological, biological, psychological and social 

• Chronological 

• Number of years since your birth 

• Biological 

• How quickly the body is aging 

• Psychological 

• your psychologically adaptive capacity compared to others of            your chronological age 

• Social 

• based on the social norms of your culture and the expectations your culture has for people of your age group 

2. 9 Age Periods of Development as listed in the book. 

• Prenatal 

• Starts at conception, continues through implantation in the uterine wall by the embryo, and ends at birth 

• Major structures form and health of the mother is the main concern due to possible birth defects (focuses on labor and delivery) 

• Infancy and Childhood 

• Starts at birth and continues to two years of age 

• Transformation of keen sense of hearing and poor vision into walking and talking 

• Early Childhood 

• Starts at two years of age until six years of age 

• Learning language, learning self of self and independence, learn how the world works 

• Middle and Late Childhood 

• Starts at six years of age until the onset of puberty 

• Puberty, the world is academic and focuses on learning and testing new skills. Make comparisons between self and others to assess your abilities and accomplishments. 

• Adolescence 

• Starts at the onset of puberty until 18 years old 

• Overall growth spurt and sexual maturation, think of new possibilities and abstract concepts like love, fear, and freedom. A sense of invincibility makes them more risk-taking. 

• Emerging Adulthood 

• Starts at 18 until 25 

• Transitional time, continued identity exploration and preparation for full independence. Physiological peak but at risk for involvement in crimes and substances. 

• Early Adulthood 

• Starts at 25 until 40-45 

• Intimate relationships, establishing families, and work are primary concerns. 

• Middle Adulthood 

• Starts at 40-45 until 60-65 

• Aging is more noticeable, and people are at peak of productivity in love and work. 

• Late Adulthood 

• Starts at 60-65 onward 

• Relatively healthy, productive, active, live independently.  

• 85+, greater risk of diseases (for both groups but even greater the older you get) 

3. Nature versus Nurture debate 

• Nature vs. Nurture wonders what makes someone the way they are by looking at heredity and the environment. The nature side argues heredity is what makes you who you are while the nurture side argues the environment is what makes you who you are. 

4. Know the following Theorists AND their method/philosophy of development: Locke, Rousseau, Gesell, Freud, Erickson, BF Skinner, Bandura(reciprocal determinism), Piaget, Vygotsky, Bronfenbrenner 

• Locke – Anti-preformationist 

• Proposed children are largely shaped by their social environments, primarily their education 

• Education helps a child learn socialization (what is needed to be an appropriate member of society) 

• Childs mind “Tabula Rosa” or blank state 

• Rousseau - Anti-preformationist 

• Children develop according to a natural plan which unfolded in different stages 

• Children should be allowed to think by themselves according to their own ways and an inner biological timetable 

• Seen as the father of development psychology 

• Gesell – Maturational  

• A child's development was activated by genes, this is known as maturation 

• Development unfolded in fixed sequences, against teaching children ahead of schedule because they will learn it eventually 

• Freud - Psychosexual 

• Importance of early childhood experiences in shaping personality and behavior 

• Childhood makes us social being as we learn to manage instincts and make them socially acceptable 

• Personality forms the first few years of life and parent interaction has a long-lasting impact on child's emotional states 

• Criticized due to being hard to test, darker side of human nature 

• Erickson - Contemporary 

• 8 developmental stages that include the entire lifespan 

• Proposed each period of life has a unique challenge or crisis that the person who reaches it must face known as psychosocial crises 

• Success is dealing with challenge in a positive way and not resolving a stage can hinder progress in other stages 

• Trust vs Mistrust – birth to 12/18 months 

• Autonomy vs Shame – 18 months to 3 years 

• Initiative vs Guilt – 3 to 6 years 

• Industry vs Inferiority – 6 to 12 years 

• Identity vs Role confusion – 12 to 18 years 

• Intimacy bs Isolation – 19 to 40 years 

• Generativity vs Stagnation – 40 to 65 years 

• Ego Integrity vs Despair – 65 to death 

• Critiqued for focusing heavily on stages and assuming completion of one stage is the prereq for the next crisis of development 

• BF Skinner - Learning 

• Ideas of stimulus and response, rewards/reinforcements 

• Developed theories about how to teach children and create society that were peaceful and productive 

• Bandura – Social Learning 

• There is interplay between the environment and the individual, we influence our surroundings 

• Reciprocal determinism: There is interplay between our personality and the way we interpret events and how they influence us 

• Piaget - Cognitive 

• Believed children's intellectual skills change over time and that maturation brings that change 

• Children of differing ages interpret the world differently and children progress through four stages of cognitive development 

• Critiqued for overemphasizing the role physical maturation plays in cognitive development and underestimating the nurture 

• Vygotsky – Cognitive + Sociocultural 

• Sociocultural theory: emphasizes the importance of culture and interaction in the development of cognitive abilities 

• a person not only has a set of abilities, but also a set of potential abilities that can be realized if given the proper guidance from others 

• Bronfenbrenner – Ecological Systems 

• Human interaction is influenced by larger social forces 

• Microsystem: the individual’s setting and those who have direct, significant 
  contact with the person, such as parents or sibling 

• Mesosystem: the larger organizational structures like school, family, or religion 

• Daily routine, school system, assessment methods 

• Exosystem: the larger contexts of community 

• Values, history, and economy; interplay with mesosystem 

• Macrosystem: the cultural elements 

• Global economy, war, tech trends, values, philosophies, societal view of global community 

• Chronosystem: historical context in which the experiences occur 

5. Stages of Piaget’s Cognitive Development 

• Sensorimotor (birth to about 2 years) 

• The child experiences the world through its 5 senses 

• They learn object permanence meaning they know an object is there despite not seeing it 

• Preoperational (2 to 7 years) 

• The child learns to internally represent the world through language and mental imagery, they also begin to see other perspectives 

• They learn theory of mind and overall have a rapid increase in language ability 

• Concrete Operational (7 to 11 years) 

• The child can think logically and perform operations on objects that are real 

• They learn conservation which is understanding that a quantity stays the same even if the way it looks changes 

• Formal Operational (11 to adulthood) 

• Adolescents can think systematically, reason about abstract concepts, and include ethics and scientific reasoning 

• They learn abstract logic which means they can think about things that do not exist physically / presently 

6. Erickson’s Psychosocial Stages 

• Trust vs Mistrust – birth to 12/18 months 

• Trust: The care giver is reliable, consistent, and nurturing. The child develops a sense of trust and thinks the world is safe and people are dependable and affectionate 

• Mistrust: The care giver fails to provide, the child develops mistrust and insecurity 

• Autonomy vs Shame – 18 months to 3 years 

• Autonomy: Encouraged and supported in their independence allows them to be more confident in themselves 

• Shame: Overly controlled or critiqued will make them feel shamed in their independence and thus doubt themself 

• Initiative vs Guilt – 3 to 6 years 

• Initiative: Caregivers encourage the child to take initiative which leads them to assert control over their environment and think for themself 

• Guilt: Caregivers discourage the initiative children may feel guilty about their initiatives and makes them feel guilt and self-doubt 

• Industry vs Inferiority – 6 to 12 years 

• Industry: Children are encouraged by teachers and parents, so they feel competent and believe in their abilities more which raises confidence 

• Inferiority: Children receive negative feedback or can’t demonstrate their skills, so they lack self-confidence and feel inferior 

• Identity vs Role confusion – 12 to 18 years 

• Identity: Adolescents are supported in their exploration and given freedom which helps them form their own identity 

• Role confusion: Adolescents are restricted and not given space to explore which leads to confusion about their identity 

• Intimacy vs Isolation – 19 to 40 years 

• Intimacy: Individuals form close bonds and are okay with mutual dependency, this allowed them to be open and commit to relationships 

• Isolation: Individuals struggle to form close bonds and cannot form meaningful relationships which leads to loneliness and exclusion. 

• Generativity vs Stagnation – 40 to 65 years 

• Generativity: Individuals feel they are of value to the world they feel concern for others and want to contribute more to society 

• Stagnation: Individuals feel they are not of value to the world and feel unproductive leading to lack of growth and self-absorption 

• Ego Integrity vs Despair – 65 to death 

• Ego Integrity: Individuals feel they lived a fulfilling life, so they accept their life and feel fulfillment and wisdom 

• Despair: Individuals feel regretful about things in their past while leads them to feel regret, disappointment, and fear their death 

7. Know the difference between descriptive research, Correlational research, and Experimental research 

• Descriptive Research 

• Research that describes what is occuring at a particular point in time 

• case studies, observations (naturalistic or laboratory), survey, interviews, psychophysiological assessment 

• Correlational Research 

• Research designed to find relationships between variables to allow for prediction of future events from current information 

• Pearson Correlation Coefficient (r = 1 to –1), third variable is a variable that is not part of the research hypothesis but produces the observed correlation between them 

• Experimental Research 

• Research where a researched manipulates one or more variables to see its impact 

• hypotheses, variable, independent/dependent, experimental/control, extraneous variables 

8. Compare all Research methods noting advantages and disadvantages of each: Including and not limited to:  Case study, observations, survey, interviews, longitudinal research, cross sectional, 

• Case Study 

• Pros: Learn something about human nature 

• Very Indepth qualitative data 

• Cons: not always transferable 

• Time-consuming 

• Expensive 

• Observations 

• Pros: Naturalistic allows to see behavior that occurs in everyday life 

• Laboratory allows to control more of the situation 

• Cons: naturalistic- unsure what is causing behavior 

• Laboratory- participants are aware they are being watched and it is hard to generalize their behavior 

• Survey 

• Pros: can represent the population 

• inexpensive 

• Gather information from a vast pool in a short period of time 

• Cons: only get surface information so Indepth understanding of human behavior is not present 

• Respondents may lie 

• Wording of questions can cause people to view them differently 

• Interviews 

• Pros: solve the problem of misinterpreting questions 

• Can read body language and tone 

• Can further get explanations by probing for more clarity and understanding 

• Cons: expensive 

• Time-consuming 

• Respondents may lie 

• Longitudinal Research 

• Pro: examines changes in individuals over time 

• Provides development analysis 

• Con: expensive 

• Takes a long time 

• Participant attrition 

• Practice effects 

• Cannot see cohort effects 

• Cross Sectional 

• Pros: examines changes between participants of different ages at the same point in time 

• Provides information on age-related change 

• Con: cannot examine change over time 

• Cannot examine cohort effects 

• Sequential 

• Pros: examines changes in individuals over time 

• Examines changes between participants of different ages at the same point in time 

• Can examine cohort effects 

• Cons: may be expensive 

• Possibility of practice effects 

9. Know the 5 main APA Code of Ethics : No harm, informed consent, confidentiality, deception and debriefing.  

• No harm 

• Prevent harm to the research participants 

• Informed consent 

• Participants must be explained to as much as possible about the study, most importantly everything that can influence their willingness to participate 

• Participants can withdraw their consent to participate at any point 

• Infants and young children cannot consent so parental consent is needed 

• Confidentiality 

• Privacy of participants must be protected and names or other information that could identify the participants cannot be released 

• Deception 

• Participants are not completely or fully informed about the nature of the research before participating. This happens when the research tells the participants it is about one thing when it is about something else 

• Debriefing 

• This happens at the end of the study which is where the purpose and procedures of the research are explained, and any harmful aftereffects of participation must be rid of 

10. How many chromosomes do humans have? 

• 46 chromosomes, 23 pairs and 1 is from each parent 

11. Know the different genes and phenotypes: such as homozygous, heterozygous, dominant, recessive, polygenic 

• Homozygous 

• The same version of a gene from our mother and father received 

• Heterozygous 

• Different versions of a gene from our mother and father received 

• Dominant 

• In heterozygous, some genes are dominant, so they express themselves in the phenotype even if parents with a different version of the gene 

• Recessive 

• In heterozygous, some genes are recessive, so they do not express themselves in the phenotype if parents with a different version of the gene are received (they only appear if both genes are recessive) 

• Polygenic 

• Characteristics are the result of several genes 

12. What type of environmental factors change gene expression by turning a gene off? 

• Nutrition 

• Stress 

• Teratogens 

13. What are they and how long do the following Prenatal Developmental periods last: Germinal Period, Embryonic Period, Fetal Period,  

• Germinal Period 

• 14 days conception to implantation of the fertilized egg in the lining of the uterus 

• Zygote: the cell containing the combined genetic information from both parents 

• Cell division by mitosis, after 5 days 100 cells are called blastocyst: both an inner and outer group of cells 

• Embryonic disk: inner group of cells that becomes the embryo 

• Trophoblast: outer group of cells that becomes the support system that nourishes the developing organism 

• Embryonic Period 

• Third week blastocyst implanted in the uterine wall 

• Embryo: implantation multi-cellular organism 

• Placenta: a structure connected to the uterus that provides nourishment and oxygen from the mother to the developing embryo by umbilical cord 

• Cephalocaudal development: development from head to tail 

• Proximodistal development: development from the midline outward 

• Head develops in the fourth week, 1 inch in length and 4 grams at the end of 8 weeks 

• Fetal Period 

• 9^th week to birth organism is called fetus 

• Third month fetus has all body parts and will develop hair, nails, etc. About 3 inches and 28g 

• 4-6^th months light + hearing develops and respiratory system as well as reflex 

• Age of viability: first chance of survival outside the womb (24 weeks, neurons fully developed, and fetus can feel pain) 

• 7-9^th months preparing for birth and exercising muscles and lungs. About 5 pounds 7 inch 

• 36 weeks (between 8-9) almost ready for birth and weights 6 inch and 18.5 inch) 

• 37 week all fetus organ systems developed enough it could survive without uterus 

• 40 weeks baby grows and runs out of space, so birth is imminent 

14. What outside factors can affect the fetus and development? (9 of them in Chapter 2) 

• Alcohol 

• Neurocognitive and behavior difficulties, fatal death, or fetal alcohol spectrum disorders like FAS which results in flattened noses, small eye holes, and small heads, cognitive issues like poor judgement and impulse control, etc and addiction 

• Tobacco 

• Exposure to nicotine, carbon monoxide, and tar 

• Ectopic pregnancy: fertilized egg implants outside the uterus 

• Placenta previa: placenta lies low in the uterus and covers all or part of the cervix 

• Placenta abruption: placenta separates prematurely from the uterine wall 

• Still birth, preterm delivery, birth defects, SIDS, low birth weight, etc 

• Prescription/OTC 

• Blood flow issues, should be carefully advised 

• Illicit Drugs 

• Cocaine: low birth weight, stillbirth, spontaneous abortion 

• Marijuana: brain development issues 

• Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome: baby can be addicted to drug before birth and go through withdraw after birth 

• Overall SIDS range of biological, developmental, academic, and behavioral problems 

• Pollutants 

• Lead poisoning: slowed neurological development 

• Pesticide chemicals: birth defects, learning problems, miscarriage, premature birth 

• Biphenol A: birth defects 

• Radiation: slow growth, birth defects, brain development, cancer, miscarriage 

• Mercury: brain damage and hearing/vision issues 

• Toxoplasmosis 

• Toxoplasmosis: tiny parasite causing this infection 

• Premature birth, stillbirth, birth defects 

• STD 

• Can be passed to child 

• Premature birth, premature rupture of amniotic sac, ectopic pregnancy, birth defects, miscarriage, and still birth 

• HIV / AIDS 

• Prenatal, labor, or breastfeeding 

• Rubella / German Measles 

• Mild flu-like symptoms and rash 

• Birth defects, damage to eyes, ears, heart or brain 

15. What are the Maternal Factors that can affect a pregnancy and/or success of birth? (ex: Gestational diabetes) 

• Over 35: increased risks of fertility problems, high blood pressure, diabetes, miscarriages, placenta previa, c section, premature birth, still birth, baby with genetic disorder or birth defects 

• Teenage Pregnancy: greater risk of pregnancy complications (anemia + high blood pressure), premature birth, low birthweight, serious health problems (under 15) 

• Gestational Diabetes: the body has too much glucose in the bloodstream 

• Hypertension / High Blood Pressure: pressure against the wall of the arteries becomes too high 

• gestational: only occurs during pregnancy and goes away after birth 

• chronic: had it before pregnancy and after birth 

• Rh Disease: form of anemia 

• can lead to jaundice, anemia, heart failure, brain damage, and death 

• Weight Gain 

•  gaining too little or too much weight can be harmful 

• Depression 

• premature birth, low birthweight, irritable, less active, less attentive, fewer facial expressions 

• some SSRIs can negatively impact baby 

• postpartum depression for mothers may occur 

• Postpartum psychotic episodes can lead to wanting to kill infant or believe infant is possessed 

16. What is the leading cause of death of a baby 1-12 months old? 

• Sudden Infant Death Syndrome 

• The death of a healthy infant occurs suddenly and unexpectedly, medical findings are inconclusive 

17. What is the difference between Synaptic Blooming and Synaptic Pruning? 

• Synaptic Blooming 

• Period of rapid neural growth 

• Synaptic Pruning 

• Neural connections are reduced which makes those that are used stronger 

• Thus, the main difference is synaptic blooming makes a vast network of potential connections while synaptic pruning refines the network by eliminating weak synapses 

18. How long does a baby stay in REM sleep?  

• About 50% of their sleep time and their sleep time is about 16.5 hours per 24 hour period 

19. What are (according to the book) 7 Common Infant Reflexes? Know them.  

• Sucking 

• Suck on anything that touches the lips 

• Rooting 

• Turning the head when the cheek is touched 

• Grasp 

• Fingers automatically grip anything that touches the palm of the hand 

• Babinski 

• Toes will fan out and curl when the sole of the foot is stroked from heel to toe 

• Moro 

• A sudden noise of loss of support to the head and neck will cause infants to spread out their arms and legs quickly then contract the limbs inward 

• Tonic Neck 

• When lying on the back with the head to one side infants will extend the arm and leg on that side while flexing the limbs on the opposite side 

• Stepping 

• Legs mimic a stepping motion when feet touch a smooth surface 

20. Know Piaget’s Sensorimotor stage: Specifically, Schema, Assimilation and Accommodation 

• Piaget believed we are trying to keep cognitive balance in what we see and know 

• Schema: a framework for organizing information 

• Assimilation: fitting the new information into an existing schema 

• Accommodation: expanding the framework of knowledge to accommodate the new situation 

• Example: All animals with 4 legs are doggies -> new words to more accurately name the animal, like cat and dog 

21. What is nativism? 

• Nativism is a theory that certain abilities are hardwired into the brain at birth. For instance, Chomsky believed human brains contain a Language Acquisition Device so there is a universal grammer that underlies all languages. 

22. Ainsworth’s 4 groups secure or nonsecure attachment style: Secure, Ambivalent, Avoidant, and Disorganized/Disoriented 

• Secure 

• The child explores freely and may engage with the stranger while the caregiver is present and may be upset when the caregiver leaves but is also happy to see the caregiver return 

• Typically happens when there is consistent contact from one of more caregivers who meet the needs of the child 

• Ambivalent 

• Overall wary but more towards the stranger and may cling more to the caregiver, the child is extremely distressed when the caregiver leaves and is ambivalent when the caregiver returns which means they rush to the caregiver but fail to be comforted 

• Typically happens when the parent is insensitive and responds inconsistently to the child's needs 

• Avoidant 

• The child will avoid or ignore the mother and show little emotion when the mother leaves or comes back, the child overall does not explore much, and the stranger and the mother are treated almost the same 

• Typically, the child learns that their needs normally go unmet and learns it cannot rely on the caregiver 

• Disorganized/Disoriented 

• Inconsistent way of coping with the stress of the situation, may cry during desperation but avoid the mother when she returns, or approach the mother but then freeze 

• Typically happens when the child is given mixed, confused, and inappropriate responses from the caregiver 

23. What is the corpus callosum and how does it work? 

• Corpus callosum is a dense band of fibers that connects the hemispheres of the brain. It contains a vast number of nerves, and it works by being a bridge allowing nerve signals to move between the two sides of the brain. 

24. Know the differences in Fine Motor Skills and Gross Motor skills and what happens at each age. 

• Fine motor skills involve small muscles in the hands and fingers and typically involve more precise movements while gross motor skills involve large muscle groups and typically involve larger body movements and coordination. 

25. Piaget’s Preoperational Stage: Specifically things like pretend play, egocentrism, conservation errors and classification errors. 

• Children use symbols to represent words, images, and ideas 

• Children’s logic is based on their own knowledge of the world 

• Pretend play 

• Allows for qualities beyond the way a toy was actually made, children’s play helps children solidify new schema  

• Egocentrism 

• The tendency of young children to only see their own perspectives and applies it to everyone around them, not taking the perspective of others 

• Conservation Errors 

• Conservation is the ability to recognize that moving or rearranging matter does not change the quantity 

• Centration is the focus on only one characteristic of an object to the exclusion of others, for instance a child may think they got more food because theirs was cut into bite sized pieces 

• Classification Errors 

• Their reasoning is transudative, they make faulty inferences from one specific example to another. They cannot comprehend objects can be classified in multiple ways. 

26. Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development and Scaffolding 

• He believed children should be taught in the ZPD 

• ZPD is when the child can almost perform a task but still need some assistance to do it 

• The goal is to assess a child’s ZPD and help them go beyond it by helping them then slowly removing that support 

• Scaffolding is the temporary support that parents or teachers give a child to do a task 

27. Theory of Mind 

• The ability to think about other people’s thoughts 

• Used to help understand and predict reactions of others – key in social development 

• Common test used is the Sally and Anne red ball test (false-belief test) 

28. Language development of the child’s mind: vocabulary growth, literal meaning, overregularization and impact of training. 

• Vocabulary growth 

• 2-6 vast improvement from 200 to over 10k words 

• Happens due to fast-mapping 

• Words are easily learned by making connections between new words and concepts already known 

• Literal meanings 

• Children can easily repeat words and phrases but do not understand them 

• Expressions or figures of speech are taken literally 

• Overregularization 

• May apply rules of grammar inappropriately 

• EX: goed instead of went 

• Impact of training 

• Children are riper for language like Chomsky says but the ZPD is very important in development (using scaffolding) 

29. The three parenting styles 

• Authoritative 

• Parents are supportive and interested but are not overbearing and allow children to make mistakes 

• Parents sometimes allow negotiations 

• Authoritarian 

• The traditional model of parenting where parents make the rules and children are expected to be obedient 

• Typically, demands are high, and parents are distant, children may fear rather than respect their parents 

• Permissive 

• Parenting where expectations are below a reasonable expectation 

• Children basically make their own rules and what they do, while parents are typically warm and close, they do not provide structure for their child, so the child fails to learn self-discipline 

• Uninvolved 

• Parents are disengaged from their child and do not make demands, overall non-responsive 

30. What kind of effect does spanking have? 

• Physical punishment often leads to increased aggression, antisocial behavior, physical injury, and mental health problems for children 

31. Sternberg’s Triarchic theory of Intelligence 

• Suggests people may display analytical intelligence, creative intelligence, and practical intelligence (overall human intelligence has 3 parts) 

• Analytical intelligence 

• Academic problem solving and performing calculations 

• Creative intelligence 

• The ability to adapt to new situations and create new ideas 

• Practical intelligence 

• The ability to demonstrate common sense and street-smarts 

32. What is dyslexia? What is mediation deficiency? What makes a child gifted (aka IQ)? 

• Dyslexia is a disability where someone has difficulty in reading, typically due to reversing letters and overall phonological processing. Rooted in neurological problems in the part of the brain active in recognizing letters, verbally responding, or being able to manipulate sounds. 

• Mediation deficiency is from a deficiency in use of memory strategies where the child does not understand the strategy being taught and cannot benefit from using it 

• Giftedness is children who have an IQ of 130 or higher 

33. Kohlberg’s 3 Stages of Moral Development 

• Preconventional Morality 

• Self-centered approach to moral decision-making, superficial understanding of right and wrong. (decisions were based on what would physically happen) 

• Focus on self-interest, punishment is avoided, and rewards are sought 

• Stage 1: self- interested punishment is avoided 

• Stage 2: rewards are sought 

• Conventional Morality 

• Acknowledges the importance of social norms/laws and wants to be a good member of society (decisions were based on what others would think of the man) 

• People care about the effect of their actions on others 

• Stage 3: situational outcomes impact others and wanting to please and be accepts 

• Stage 4: people make decisions based on laws or formalized rules 

• Postconventional Morality 

• Judgement goes beyond what would happen to the self, based on a concern for others and more ethical than legal 

• Goes beyond convention or what other people think to a higher, universal ethical principle of conduct that could be reflected in the law 

• Stage 5: individuals employ abstract reasoning to justify behaviors 

• Stage 6: moral behavior is based on self-chosen ethical principles n 

34. Fair weather cooperation? 

• Stage 2 of Selman 5 stages of friendship 

• Children are concerned with fairness and reciprocity, so a friend is someone who returns a favor 

35. Boys begin puberty how much longer after girls? (in years) 

• 2 years after girls (mean age is 9 for girls 11 for boys) 

36. What kind of changes does the adolescent brain go through? 

• Overall becomes more interconnected and specialized 

• Myelination and development of connections between neurons continues, increases white matter (improvements in thinking and processing) 

• Synaptic pruning, corpus callosum continues to thicken, hippocampus becomes more strongly connected to the frontal lobes (greater integration of memory and experiences in our decision making) 

37. What is the differences between the limbic system, Prefrontal cortex- What happens because of their 10 years difference in development? 

• Limbic system regulates emotion and reward and is linked to hormonal changes at puberty, also related to novelty seeking and interacting with peers 

• Prefrontal cortex is involved in control of impulses, organization, planning, and making good decisions (not fully developed until the mid-20s) 

• Difference in development time causes risky behavior, poor decision making, and weak emotional control- when puberty starts earlier the mismatch extends further 

38. Why don’t teens get good sleep? 

• Environmental and social factors like work, homework, media, technology, and socializing 

• The adolescent brain, purberty changes the circadian rhythm and push back their sleep time until later in the evening making it hard to get up in the morning and keeps them awake at night 

39. What is the imaginary audience?  

• The adolescent’s belief that those around them are as concerned and focused on their appearance as they are 

• Happens since they fail to differentiate what others are thinking and their own thoughts, results in anticipating the reaction of others 

40. Piaget’s Formal Operations- Does everyone reach it? 

• Adolescents can understand abstract principles which have no physical references and demonstrate hypothetical-deductive reasoning which is developing hypotheses based on what might logically occur. They accept hypothetical situations and understand transitivity which means that a relationship between two things is carried over to other things logically related to the first two 

• Most reach some form of formal operational thinking but use it mostly in areas they are interested in, most adults do not regular demonstrate formal operational thought 

41. What is intuitive thought and analytical thought? 

• Intuitive thought is automatic, unconscious and fast, and more experimental and emotional 

• Analytical thought is deliberate, conscious and rational 

42. Marcia’s Four Identity Statuses 

• Identity diffusion 

• Those who have neither explored the options, nor made a commitment to an identity 

• Drifting aimlessly with little connection to surroundings and little sense of purpose 

• Identity foreclosure 

• Those who have made a commitment to an identity without having explored the options 

• Parents may not grant options, so child follows suit or strongly identifies with parents so follow in their footsteps 

• Identity moratorium 

• Those who are actively exploring to establish an identity, but have yet to make any commitment 

• Can be anxious and emotionally tense due to experimenting, nothing is certain with many questions but few answers 

• Identity achievement 

• Those who after exploration have made a commitment 

• Long process and not often achieved by the end of adolescence 

43. Self-Concept versus Self Esteem 

• Self-concept refers to beliefs about general personal identity 

• Personal attributes: age, physical characteristics, behaviors, and competence 

• Becomes contradicting in adolescence, may be happy with friends but moody with family etc. Which causes a “who am I?” 

• Self-esteem refers to an evaluation of one’s identity 

• Performance, self-assessment, ideal self 

• Typically increases at the end of adolescence due to friendships, athletic abilities, etc. 

44. Autonomy versus Attachment 

• Autonomy is independence which teenagers have a greater desire for 

• Still are attached to parents and peers, must learn to maintain both autonomy and close and supportive family relationships 

45. Deviant Peer Contagion 

• The process where peers reinforce problem behavior by laughing or showing other signs of approval that then increase the likelihood of future problem behavior 

• For instance, being a “class clown”, disrupting the teacher is disrespectful yet some students laugh at the teenagers' antics causing them to continue to be disrupting 

46. Know the 5 characteristics of emerging adulthood 

• Age of identity exploration 

• More identity development occurs are people explore their career choices and intimate relationships 

• Age of instability 

• Change in jobs, relationships, and living places change most frequently than any other age group 

• Age of self-focus 

• Focus more on themselves as they have less obligations to others and this is the key time to do what they want (NOT self-centered!!!) 

• Age of felling in-between 

• Not as dependent as they were as teenagers but may still financially depend on parents to some extent and have not finished their education, got a good full-time job, be in a committed relationship, or be responsible for others 

• Age of possibilities 

• High optimism as they believe someday, they will achieve their goals, dreams have yet to be tested 

• Chance to transform their lives and move away from unhealthy environments, opportunity to become independent and make decisions about what to do in life 

47. What sort of affects does alcohol and substance abuse have on the college student? *Know varying statistics 

• 60% of full-time college students drank alcohol in the past month vs 51.5% 

• 38% engaged in binge drinking vs 33.5% 

• 12% heaving drinking vs 9.5% 

• 1,825 college students die from alcohol-related unintentional injuries (including DUI) 

• 696,000 students are assaulted by another student who has been drinking 

• 1 in 5 meet the criteria for alcohol use disorder 

• 1 in 4 report academic consequences 

• 97,000 experience alcohol related SA or date rape 

• 25% cigarettes, 33% marijuana, 70% cocaine, began using after age 17 

• Highest abusers of prescription opioid pain relievers, anti-anxiety medications, ADHD medications 

• 1700 died from prescription drug OD 

• 6% smoke marijuana daily vs 12% 

• 13% smoke cigarettes daily vs 25% 

• Drug use causes higher rates of violent deaths, impaired judgment, reduced inhibitions, alteration of mood, and increase of dangerous behavior 

48. What connections are there between brain and sex? 

• It translates the nerve impulses from the skin into pleasurable sensations, controls nerves and muscles used during sexual behavior, and regulates the release of hormones (believed to be the physiological origin of sexual desire) 

• Cerebral cortex (thinking and reasoning) is believed to be the origin of sexual thoughts and fantasies, Limbic system (emotions and feelings) are important for sexual behavior 

• Hypothalamus is the most important, consists of several groups of nerve-cell bodies that receive input from the limbic system, it controls the pituitary gland 

• Oxytocin is released during sexual intercourse when an orgasm is achieved 

• Vasopressin is involved in the male arousal phase, testosterone contributes to sexual motivation 

• Estrogen and progesterone typically regulate motivation to engage in sexual behavior, estrogen increases progesterone decreases (changes with menstrual cycle) 

49. Sexual orientation as a continuum.  

• Ranges from exclusive attraction to opposite sex/gender to same sex/gender (Alfred Kinsey conceptualized this) 

• Heterosexuality (opposite), Homosexuality (same), Bisexuality (both / any), pan/polysexuality (all/multiple), Asexuality (none) 

50. Who is Alfred Kinsey? 

• Sexuality researcher who was among the first to conceptualize sexuality as a continuum 

• Created a 7-point scale that ranges from exclusively heterosexual to exclusively homosexual 

• Paved the way for a deeper exploration into sexuality and liberated female sexuality 

51. Post Formal Thought and formal thought in young adults.  

• Postformal thought 

• Base decisions on what is realistic and practical, not idealistic, and can make adaptive choices while not being as influenced by what others think 

• Formal thought 

• The ability to think abstractly and consider ideas about things that were never directly experienced 

52. What are dialectal thoughts and dichotomies?  

• Dialectical thought 

• The ability to bring together important aspects of two opposing positions 

• More realistic because a lot of things aren’t completely right or wrong 

• EX: parent has strengths and weaknesses 

• Dichotomies 

• Ideas are typically black and white, there is no middle ground 

• EX: parent is a devil or angel 

53. 4 Stages of Career Development 

• Stage 1 

• Childhood dream job, basically what is interesting to us without really thinking if we would be good at that job 

• Stage 2 

• Teens include their abilities and limitations and their interest in the job 

• Stage 3 

• Older teens and emerging adults narrow their choices more and begin to look at requirements, rewards, and downsides to careers and compare career paths with personal interests, values, and future goals 

• Some “fall-into” careers due to an ulterior motive rather than an internal interest 

• Stage 4 

• Mid to late thirties most adults settle into their careers, while there is change it is mostly continuous and forward motion in their career 

54. What is a NEET? 

• Neither employed nor in education or training 

55. Sexism and Gender discrimination  

• Prejudice or discrimination based on a person’s sex or gender 

• Linked to stereotypes and gender roles and the belief that males are intrinsically superior to other sexes and genders 

• Extreme forms lead to sexual harassment, rape, and other forms of sexual violence 

• Can exist in hiring, employment opportunities, and education 

• Occupational sexism is discriminatory practices, statements, or actions based on a person’s sex that occurs in the workplace 

• Wage discrimination is most common 

56. What do Bohlin and Hagekull say about shyness in infancy? 

• It is linked to social anxiety in adulthood 

• Early shy behavior may have long-term implications for social interactions later in life 

57. Five Factor Model/Big 5 Personality Traits 

• Openness to experience 

• A general appreciation for art, emotions, adventure, unusual ideas, imagination, curiosity, and variety of experience 

• Individuals are predicted to have unique decorations and a wide variety of things on display 

• Conscientiousness 

• A tendency to show self-discipline, act dutifully, and aim for achievement 

• Individuals are predicted to like plans more than spontaneous  

• Extraversion 

• The tendency to experience positive emotions and to seek out stimulations and the company of others 

• Individuals are predicted to enjoy being with people, assertive, talkitive, and draw attention 

• Agreeableness 

• A tendency to be compassionate and cooperative rather than suspicious and antagonistic toward others; reflects individual differences in general concern for social harmony 

• Individuals are predicted to value getting along with others, considerate, friendly, generous, helpful, and willing to compromise their interests for others 

• Neuroticism 

• The tendency to experience negative emotions (emotional instability) 

• Individuals are predicted to interpret ordinary situations as threatening and minor setbacks as hopelessly difficult, may have problems thinking clearly, making decisions, and coping effectively with stress 

58. What are the two dimensions of Bartholomew’s attachment theory? 

• Attachment-related anxiety 

• The extent an adult worries about whether their partner really loves them 

• They fear their partner will reject or abandon them 

• Attachment-related avoidance 

• The extend an adult can open to others and if they trust and fell, they can depend on others 

• They are uncomfortable with opening up and fear dependency can limit autonomy 

• Overall results in secure, dismissing, preoccupied, and fearful-avoidant attachment styles 

59. What is Erikson’s sixth stage of the psychosocial stages and what does it say? 

• Intimacy vs isolation 

• Focus on establishing intimate relationships or risking social isolation 

• Intimacy  

• Individuals can form intimate, reciprocal relationships with others where there is mutual dependency 

• Isolation 

• Individuals struggle to form close relationships and experience loneliness and exclusion from it 

60. Factor’s influencing attraction 

• Similarity 

• The perceived similarity in values and beliefs 

• Consensual validation: other people liking and believing in what we do makes us feel validated in our own beliefs 

• Self-disclosure 

• Communicating often without fear of reprisal and in an accepting and empathic manner 

• Want to talk openly about needs and goals, needs to be balances and reciprocated 

• Proximity 

• The extent people are physically near us 

• Mere exposure: tendency to prefer stimuli we see often 

• Typically have an initial fear of the unknown so as things become familiar, they seem similar and safe 

61. Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory of Love 

• Passion 

• The intense, physical attraction partners feel toward one another 

• Intimacy 

• The ability to share feelings, personal thoughts, and psychological closeness with one another 

• Commitment 

• The conscious decision to stay together 

• Infatuation, fatuous love, empty love, companionate, liking, romantic love, and consummate love (passion to commitment to intimacy to all three) 

62. Primary aging versus secondary aging 

• Primary aging 

• Age-related changes based on biological factors like molecular changes, cellular changes, and oxidative damage 

• Secondary aging 

• Age-related changes that occur due to controllable factors like lifestyle of exercise and diet 

63. Lack of sleep in middle adulthood- what can be some of the effects? 

• People lack sleep due to sleep disorders, pain, stress, menopause, and overall poor health 

• Sleep deprivation suppresses immune responses, can lead to obesity, memory impairment, hypertension, increased risk of colon cancer, breast cancer, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes 

• Lack of sleep increases stress and cortisol remains elevated and those who have good sleep patterns tend to live longer 

• Decrease in deep sleep contributes to less growth hormone being released 

64. What happens to women in menopause? 

• 12 months without menstruation and is no longer capable of reproduction 

• Decreased production of estrogen and progesterone which can make it hard to fall asleep, surge of adrenaline causes hot flashes, loss of estrogen also impacts vaginal lubrication by lowering it and making it waterier, vaginal wall becomes thinner and less elastic 

• Decrease in bone mass and increase in weight 

65. Crystallized intelligence versus fluid intelligence. 

• Crystallize intelligence 

• The accumulated knowledge of the world we have gained throughout our lives 

• Increases with age 

• Fluid intelligence 

• The capacity to learn new ways of solving problems and performing activities quickly and abstractly 

• Decreases with age 

66. What was the Seattle Longitudinal Study and what did it find? 

• Tracked the cognitive abilities of adults since 1956, every 7 years the participants are evaulated and new participants are added 

• Results showed middle-aged adults perform better on 4/6 cognitive tasks compare to the same individuals as young adults 

• Verbal memory, spatial skills, inductive reasoning, and vocabulary increase with age until 70’s 

• Numerical computation and perceptual speed decline in middle and late adulthood 

67. What can cause a midlife crisis? 

• Difficulty reconciling the dream held about the future with the reality they experienced, impatient and no longer wanting to postpone things they’ve wanted to do, awareness of how much time has gone by and how much time is left, and stress 

68. Erikson’s generativity versus stagnation 

• Generativity encompasses procreativity, productivity, and creativity 

• Generation of new beings, products, ideas and future identity (family and career are established here) 

• Stagnation can happen because they do not feel needed or challenges, so generativity is not needed 

69. According to Erikson, what is the primary generative type? 

• Parenthood 

• Focus on guiding and nurturing for the next generation 

70. What is the virtue achieved when one reaches generativity? 

• Care: Those should care for the persons, products, and ideas they learned to care for 

71. What is the Sandwich Generation?  

• Adults who have at least one parent aged 65 or older and are raising their own children or providing support for their grown children 

72. What is Empty Nest Syndrome? 

• Great emotional distress experience by parents after children have left home 

• Linked to absence of alternative roles for the parent where they could establish their identity 

73. What is a Kinkeeper? 

• Person who keeps the family connected and promotes solidarity and continuity in the family 

74. Why do men divorce at this stage? Why do women? 

• Men 

• Fallen out of love, no longer shared interest or values, and infidelity 

• Women 

• Concerns about verbal and physical abusiveness of their partner, drug/alcohol abuse, infidelity 

75. Remarriage and life after divorce 

• Enhancers 

• Used divorced to better themselves and seek more productive intimate relationships 

• Competent loners 

• Used divorce experience to grow emotionally but choose to stay single (mostly women) 

• Remarriage rates are declining, as we age, we are more likely to remarry 

• Men have higher rate of remarriage at every age group starting at 25 

76. Can ageism lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy? 

• Yes, when the culture had negative stereotypes about elderly, their memory and cognitive skills declined while when there were more positive views, aging did not demonstrate as much cognitive deficits 

77. What is the leading cause of disability in older adults? 

• Arthritis and other rheumatic conditions 

78. What percentage of people are 65 years or older? 

• 16.8% in US in 2020 

• 8% of the world in 2010 

79. According to the Baltimore Longitudinal Study on Aging, what are the characteristics of aging?  

• Heart muscles thickening with age, arteries becoming less flexible, lung capacity diminishing, kidneys become less efficient in removing waste from blood, the bladder loses its ability to store urine, and brain cells lose some functioning (new neurons can still be produced) 

80. What is the Hayflick limit? 

• Normal cells cannot divide indefinitely 

• Key factor of the cellular clock theory that suggests biological aging is due to this 

• Cells divided about 40-60 times before they stopped 

81. Sensory Register 

• Also known as sensory memory and is the first stage of the memory system 

• Stores sensory input in its raw form for a short time (enough for the brain to register and start processing it) 

82. Memory in late adulthood 

• Central executive (oversees working memory, putting resources where needed and monitor if cognitive methods work) is most negatively impacted by age 

• Learning and performing tasks together is too hard for the central executive but working memory tasks that don’t require the central executive as much older adults performed on par with young adults 

• Episodic memory (events) experiences a greater decline- slower processing of information and difficulty of tasks 

• Experience tip-of-the-tongue more than younger adults 

• Implicit memory does not decline much 

• Prospective memory declines are more time-based (remembering to do something in the future) than event-based (remembering to do something when a certain event occurs) 

83. Intelligence and Wisdom in late adulthood 

• Intelligence tests with verbal skills barely decline in score but performance test scores which measure solving problems quickly decline with age 

• Pragmatics of intelligence 

• Cultural exposure to facts and procedures that are maintained as one ages 

• Like crystalized intelligence 

• Little decline and typically increase with age 

• Mechanics of intelligence 

• Dependent on brain functioning and decline with age 

• Like fluid intelligence 

• Wisdom 

• The ability to use the accumulated knowledge about practical matters that allows for sound judgment and decision making 

• Factors other than age are stronger determinants of wisdom 

• Age combined with certain types of experience and personality brings wisdom 

84. Cognitive Reserves 

• Concept that individuals build up a mental capacity through their lives which buffers cognitive decline 

• Use alternative neural pathways, neural efficiency, and adapting strategies 

• Accumulated knowledge, skills, and experience increase this 

85. Erikson’s Integrity versus despair 

• A retrospective accounting of one’s life to date; how much one embraces life being lived well opposed to regretting missed opportunities. Need to achieve acceptance of life and the inevitability of death 

• Integrity 

• Individuals feel they lived a fulfilling life, so they accept their life and feel fulfillment and wisdom 

• Despair 

• Individuals feel regretful about things in their past while leads them to feel regret, disappointment, and fear their death 

86. Socioemotional Selectivity Theory 

• Focuses on changes in motivation for actively seeking social contact with others 

• With increasing age, our motivation goals change based on how much time we have left to live and focus on the emotional aspects of relationships 

• Change from wanting to meet new people to prioritize time with emotionally close ones 

87. Palliative Care 

• Focuses on providing comfort and relief from physical and emotional pain to patients throughout their illness, even while being treated 

88. What are the stages of grief? 

• Denial 

• Disbelief or shock 

• Protects us by allows such news to enter slowly and give time to realize what is happening 

• Anger 

• Protects us being angry energizes us to fight against something and gives structure to a situation that may be putting us in the unknown 

• Gives a sense of control over our future and feel that we have at least expressed our rage 

• Bargaining 

• Trying to think of what could be done to turn the situation around 

• Depression 

• Sadness 

• Feeling the full weight of loss, crying, and losing interest in the outside world 

• Acceptance 

• Learning how to carry on and incorporate this into our normal life 

• Does not mean content or happy, but facing it and continuing to live on and make arrangements