Unit 3 Review - Developmental Psychology
Unit 3 Review: Developmental Psychology
Key Concepts:
Developmental Psychology:
Defined as the branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social development throughout the lifespan.
Research Methods:
Longitudinal Studies: A research method that follows and retests the same people over time.
Cross-Sectional Studies: Research comparing people of different ages at the same point in time.
Physical Development:
Prenatal Development:
Conception: Forms a zygote.
Zygote: Enters a 2-week period of rapid cell division and forms an embryo.
Embryo: Stage from 2 weeks to 2 months, protected by the placenta.
Fetus: Stage from 9 weeks until birth; reaches the threshold of viability at 22-23 weeks, meaning they can survive if born prematurely.
Teratogens: Agents such as chemicals and viruses that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause potential harm (i.e., environmental factors, stress, diet, medicine, drugs & alcohol).
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: Physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by excessive drinking during pregnancy.
Motor Development:
Linked to cognitive development.
Notable declines in muscular strength, reaction time, sensory abilities, and cardiac output are observed after the mid-20s.
Women typically experience menopause around age 50.
Cognitive Development:
Jean Piaget's Theory:
Proposed stages in which children experience the world through actions and understanding:
Sensorimotor Stage (0-2 years): World experienced through actions, and lacks object permanence.
Preoperational Stage (2-7 years):
Develops language, utilizes pretend play, and shows egocentrism (difficulty seeing other viewpoints).
Concrete Operational Stage (7-11 years):
Begins logical thinking about concrete events and understands conservation (properties remain unchanged despite changes in form).
Formal Operational Stage (12-adulthood):
Develops logic and abstract reasoning, as well as potential for moral reasoning.
Lev Vygotsky's Theory:
Focused on social interaction as a key to cognitive development.
Introduced the concepts of scaffolding (temporary support for developing skills) and Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) (tasks a child can perform with help).
Discussed theory of mind: one's understanding of their own and others' mental states, including feelings, perceptions, and thoughts.
Moral Development:
Moral Reasoning: Develops through adolescence and adulthood; thinking morally leads to moral actions.
Jean Piaget & Lawrence Kohlberg contributed to the understanding of moral reasoning and its influence on behaviour.
Terminal Decline: Terminal decline noted in the final years of life
Neurocognitive Disorders (NCDs), are marked by cognitive deficits.
Social-Emotional Development:
Attachment Differences:
Secure Attachment: Results from responsive parenting; the child feels safe and secure with consistent care.
Insecure Attachment: Results from inconsistent or neglectful parenting; characterized by anxieties or avoidance.
A study by Harry Harlow showed infant monkeys preferred comfort from a soft surrogate mother over food, suggesting that attachment is driven by emotional security rather than just nourishment.
Temperament: Defined as a person's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity.
Influenced by genetics and environment.
Parenting Styles:
Authoritative: High warmth and control; leads to the best outcomes.
Authoritarian: Low warmth, high control; emphasizes strictness and obedience.
Permissive: High warmth, low control; involves little punishment.
Neglectful: Low warmth, low control; associated with the worst outcomes.
Dual Parenting: Involvement of both parents in the upbringing.
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): Potentially traumatic events occurring during childhood (ages 0-17).
Self-Concept and Erik Erikson's Theory of Psychosocial Development:
Self-Concept: Understanding and evaluation of oneself evolves through childhood.
Recognized around 18-24 months.
School-age Children: Describe themselves with more complexity; by age 8-10, children have a more developed self-image.
Erik Erikson's Development Stages:
Infancy (<1 year): Trust vs. Mistrust
Toddlerhood (1-3 years): Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt
Preschool (3-6 years): Initiative vs. Guilt
Elementary (6 years - puberty): Competence vs. Inferiority
Adolescence (teen years - 20s): Identity vs. Role Confusion
Young Adulthood (20s-40s): Intimacy vs. Isolation
Middle Adulthood (40s-60s): Generativity vs. Stagnation
Late Adulthood (60s+): Integrity vs. Despair
Emerging Adulthood: A transitional period from adolescence to full adulthood (ages 18 to mid-20s).
Social Clocks: Culturally preferred timings for social events (e.g., marriage, parenthood).
Ecological Systems Theory:
Micro System: Immediate environment (family, school, friends).
Meso System: Connections between microsystems (e.g., parent-teacher conferences).
Exo System: Indirect environmental influences (e.g., parents' workplace).
Macro System: Cultural and societal norms.
Chrono System: Time-based influences across the lifespan (e.g., moving, divorce, historical events).
Language:
Key Concepts:
Defined as the spoken, written, or signed words and the way we communicate meaning.
Phonemes: Smallest units of sound.
Morphemes: Smallest units of meaning (e.g., prefixes, roots).
Syntax: Rules for combining words.
Grammar: Organization of words to convey meaning.
Semantics: How words and their combinations provide meaning.
Linguistic Determinism: The hypothesis that language determines our thought processes.
Linguistic Relativism: Language influences but does not determine our thinking.
Critical Period: A time in development when specific skills can be most readily acquired. For language, this is by age 7, an example being the case of Genie, a child who missed this window.
Language Development Stages:
0-4 months: Receptive language; associating sounds with gestures and recognizing sound breaks.
4-12 months: Productive language; babbling in various sounds reflective of the household language.
12-24 months: One-word stage; understanding and beginning to articulate nouns.
24+ months: Two-word (telegraphic) stage; forming basic sentences that may omit words.
Further Development: Progressing to full sentences and understanding complex structures.
Theories of Language Development:
Nativist Theory (Noam Chomsky): Proposes an innate predisposition to learn grammar; suggests the existence of a universal grammar.
Behaviorist Theory (B.F. Skinner): Argues that language is learned through imitation and reinforcement.
Sociocultural Theory (Lev Vygotsky): Emphasizes language acquisition through social interaction.
Classical Conditioning:
Definition: Classical conditioning is a type of passive learning where two or more stimuli are linked to evoke a response.
Unconditioned Stimulus (US): Naturally elicits a response (e.g., food causing salivation in dogs).
Unconditioned Response (UR): The natural response to the unconditioned stimulus (e.g., salivating when presented with food).
Neutral Stimulus (NS): Does not naturally elicit a response until associated with an unconditioned stimulus.
Conditioned Stimulus (CS): A previously neutral stimulus that now elicits a conditioned response after association with an unconditioned stimulus.
Conditioned Response (CR): The response elicited by the conditioned stimulus (same as UR before conditioning).
Acquisition: Initial learning phase; NS and US become associated.
Extinction: Diminishing of a conditioned response when the CS is no longer paired with the US.
Spontaneous Recovery: Reappearance of an extinguished CR after a pause.
Higher-Order Conditioning: Pairing CS with a new neutral stimulus to create a second CS.
Generalization: Similar stimuli to the CS produce similar responses.
Discrimination: Learning to differentiate between a CS and similar non-CS stimuli.
Aversive Conditioning: Associating a stimulus with an unpleasant outcome to condition avoidance (e.g., learned taste aversion).
Pavlov's Dog Experiment:
The unconditioned stimulus (food) caused salivation (UR).
The bell (NS) was paired with the food (US).
The bell became a conditioned stimulus (CS).
The bell caused the dogs to salivate (CR).
The Case of Little Albert:
Conducted by John B. Watson, demonstrated that fears could be conditioned in infants. Little Albert showed fear towards a white rat after a hammer strike against a steel bar created a loud noise, associating the rat with the fear response.
Operant Conditioning:
Key Concepts:
Operant Conditioning: Learning where behaviour is modified based on consequences (reinforcement or punishment).
Law of Effect: The principle that behaviours are strengthened when followed by rewards and weakened when followed by punishments (Edward Thorndike).
B.F. Skinner: Known as the "Father of Operant Conditioning," created the Skinner box for experiments on animal behaviour.
Shaping: Gradually guiding behaviour towards a desired response by rewarding successive approximations.
Discriminative Stimulus: A stimulus that elicits a response based on past reinforcement.
Instinctive Drift: Reversion of learned responses to biological instincts.
Reinforcement:
Definition: Any event that strengthens or increases the likelihood of a behaviour following it.
Positive Reinforcement: Increases behaviours by presenting rewarding stimuli (e.g., giving food when hungry).
Negative Reinforcement: Increases behaviours by removing aversive stimuli (e.g., fastening a seatbelt to stop beeping).
Types of Reinforcers:
Primary: Innate, unlearned reinforcers (e.g., food).
Conditioned/Secondary: Learned through association with primary reinforcers (e.g., money).
Immediate: Reinforcer presented right after the behaviour.
Delayed: Reinforcer presented after a delay.
Schedules of Reinforcement:
Continuous Schedule: Reinforcing desired responses every time they occur.
Partial/Intermittent Schedule: Reinforcing responses only part of the time can lead to superstitious behaviours.
Types of Partial Reinforcement Schedules:
Fixed-Ratio Schedule: Reinforcement after a specified number of responses (e.g., buy 10 coffees, get 1 free).
Variable-Ratio Schedule: Reinforcement after an unpredictable number of responses (e.g., fishing).
Fixed-Interval Schedule: Reinforcement after a fixed amount of time (e.g., discounts on Tuesdays).
Variable-Interval Schedule: Reinforcement after an unpredictable amount of time (e.g., checking phone for messages).
Punishment:
Definition: Any event that tends to decrease the behaviour that it follows.
Positive Punishment: Adding an aversive stimulus (e.g., scolding).
Negative Punishment: Taking away a desirable stimulus (e.g., removing privileges).
Learning:
Key Concepts:
Latent Learning: Learning that occurs but is not immediately apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it.
Insight Learning: The sudden realization of a problem's solution (the aha moment)
Cognitive Map: A mental representation of one's physical environment,
Observational Learning: Learning that occurs by watching others and imitating their behaviours, often emphasized in Bandura's social learning theory.
Modelling: The process of observing and imitating a specific behaviour
Mirror Neurons: Neurons believed to fire when we perform or observe others performing certain actions; may enable imitation and empathy.
Prosocial behaviour: Positive, constructive, helpful behaviour.
Antisocial Behaviour: Negative, destructive, harmful behaviour.
Social Learning Theory: Social behaviours are learned by observing and initiating, and by being rewarded or punished.