CADV 150 Midterm Exam_

Exam Submission and Policies

Deadline for Late Work: May 1st is the last day to submit any late work for grading. This allows students an opportunity to manage unforeseen circumstances while ensuring that grading can be finalized in a timely manner.

Grading Policies:

• Anonymous Grading: This policy is established to maintain fairness in grading. It helps reduce subconscious biases from instructors, ensuring that student performance is evaluated solely based on the quality of their work.

Late Work:

• Reading Checks: Reading checks can be submitted late and will be accepted for full credit, providing flexibility for students who may need extra time without the need for prior communication.

• Discussion Posts: Late submissions of discussion posts will incur a 3-point deduction, emphasizing the importance of timely participation while still allowing for some flexibility.

• Community Contributions: No make-up opportunities are provided for absences that are not approved by the university, reinforcing the value of consistent participation in community discussions.

Observation Paper:

• Students may submit the observation paper up to one week late while still receiving full credit without needing to contact the instructor. This policy encourages students to complete their work even if they face slight delays.

• After the one-week window, students must reach out to the instructor for potential alternative assessments or guidance on how to proceed. This ensures that students can adapt while still adhering to course expectations.

Exam Policies:

• Midterm Exam: Make-up exams will only be provided for documented extenuating circumstances, ensuring that all students have a fair chance to demonstrate their understanding of the material while maintaining academic integrity.

• Final Exam: The final exam will be conducted online and be available for multiple days, recognizing the diverse needs of students, but it cannot be made-up or extended, allowing for consistency in evaluation.

• Final Grades: Final grades are submitted shortly after the final exam period closes, providing prompt feedback to students regarding their performance in the course.

Developmental Psychology Overview

Stages of Development:

• Prenatal Development: This stage spans from conception to birth, laying the foundation for all subsequent development and influencing future health and behavior.

• Infancy and Toddlerhood: Covering the ages from birth to 2 years, this stage is characterized by rapid growth and development. Key milestones include language acquisition and motor skills.

• Early Childhood: Encompasses ages 3 to 5 years, often referred to as the preschool years, where foundational social skills and basic education begin to take root before formal schooling.

• Middle Childhood: This period, from ages 6 to 11 years, is marked by significant cognitive, social, and emotional development, as children begin to interact more complexly with their peers and environment.

• Adolescence: Ranging from ages 12 years to adulthood, this stage includes significant physical changes and the onset of puberty, along with the development of identity and personal values.

Development Principles:

• Plasticity: Refers to the brain's and body’s ability to change and adapt throughout development, highlighting that early experiences can have lasting impacts.

• Nature vs Nurture: A fundamental debate in psychology focusing on the relative contributions of genetics (nature) and environment (nurture) to individual development.

• Continuity vs Discontinuity: Addresses whether development is a gradual, continuous process or occurs in distinct, separate stages.

Domains of Development:

• Cognitive Development: Involves areas such as intelligence, problem-solving abilities, and memory, which are critical for learning and adapting to new environments.

• Physical Development: Concerns growth metrics such as height and weight, the development of motor skills, and changes related to health as individuals grow.

• Social-Emotional Development: Encompasses emotional changes, self-perception, and the formation of relationships with peers and family, vital for interpersonal functioning.

• Lifelong Development: Recognizes that development is multi-directional and that early experiences can significantly influence later life outcomes and choices.

Research Methods in Psychology

• Observational Studies: Provide strength in description but do not establish causality. Observations can be prone to biases of the researcher.

• Experiments: Allow for hypotheses to be tested and can demonstrate cause-and-effect relationships, although they can be complex and challenging to design effectively.

• Case Studies: In-depth analyses of unusual, singular events or situations; while richly informative, the findings may not generalize across broader populations.

Surveys:

• Cross-Sectional: Examines data from different ages at a single point in time; while efficient, this method often lacks the depth of continuous tracking.

• Longitudinal: Tracks the same individuals over time, offering insight into changes and continuities in development, though this method requires prolonged engagement with subjects and carries risks of participant dropout.

• Sequential: Combines both cross-sectional and longitudinal approaches to study multiple age groups across different points in time, enhancing understanding of developmental changes.

Imposter Syndrome

Types:

• The Perfectionist: Holds unrealistically high standards, often leading to feelings of inadequacy when those standards are not met.

• The Expert: Feels inadequate due to a perceived lack of complete knowledge, believing that they must know everything to be competent.

• The Natural Genius: Believes that success should come easily and without effort; therefore, struggling can lead to feelings of being an imposter.

• The Soloist: Feels fraudulent for needing help from others, believing they should be self-sufficient.

• The Superperson: Experiences high anxiety from the pressure of meeting both personal and external expectations, often juggling excessive responsibilities.

Common Traits:

• Individuals may overestimate how much others scrutinize their performance and worry excessively about how others perceive them.

• They often struggle to celebrate their achievements and tend to focus on perceived failures rather than successes.

Identity and Self-Concept

Definition of Identity: Encompasses self-perception as both an individual and as a member of various groups, including consideration of group memberships such as community and cultural affiliations. Social Identity: Derives meaning from group memberships (such as religion, ethnicity), playing a crucial role in self-definition.

Development of Identity:

• A dynamic, complex, and evolving phenomenon throughout life, reflecting various aspects such as religious, political, vocational, and gender identities.

• Self-concept involves not only the defining attributes and characteristics of the individual but also the individual's perception of their worth and abilities.

Theories of Identity Development:

• Marcia's Identity Statuses:

  • Identity Diffusion: Characterized by no commitment or exploration of identity.

  • Identity Foreclosure: Involves commitment to an identity without exploration of alternatives.

  • Identity Moratorium: Involves exploration of identities without having made a commitment.

  • Identity Achievement: Signifies a commitment to an identity following a period of exploration.

• Ethnic Identity Development (Phinney’s stages):

  • Unexamined Identity: Individuals show no consideration of their ethnic background.

  • Search: Prompted by experiences, individuals begin to explore their ethnicities.

  • Achieved Identity: Involves a deep understanding and appreciation of one's ethnicity, reflecting a fully developed self-concept.

Parenting Styles and Their Impact

• Authoritative: Represents a balanced approach that is both warm and supportive while maintaining clear expectations for behavior, fostering mutual respect and independence.

• Authoritarian: Features high control with low warmth; often leads to obedience but can stifle personal growth and independence.

• Permissive: Involves high levels of warmth with low expectations, which can create a lack of structure and discipline.

• Neglectful: Characterized by minimal involvement or demand from parents, potentially leading to significant emotional and developmental challenges in children.

Peer Influence

• Types of Peer Status:

  • Popular: Generally well-liked and positively rated among peers.

  • Rejected: Frequently faces negative ratings and may experience social challenges.

  • Controversial: Receives mixed ratings, with both positive and negative responses from peers.

  • Neglected: Rarely mentioned by peers, which can lead to feelings of loneliness.

  • Average: Receives average ratings in the social hierarchy, representing a typical status among peers.

• The Impact of Peers: Particularly significant during adolescence, where peers heavily influence behaviors, social skills, and self-perception, leading to a critical formative social phase.

Cognitive Development in Adolescence

Jean Piaget's Stages:

• Concrete Operational Stage: Develops logical thinking and reasoning around ages 7-11, focusing on tangible, concrete information.

• Formal Operational Stage: Commences around age 11 onward, characterized by abstract thinking and the ability to engage in hypothetical reasoning.

• Growth Mindset and Praise: Understanding the effects of different types of praise on motivation and learning processes; fostering a growth mindset encourages resilience and a love for learning.

Health and Development

• Teen Health Concerns: Emphasizes the need for adequate sleep, balanced nutrition, and recognizing the psychological implications that accompany the transition through adolescence.

• Social Learning and Role Models: Observational learning plays a significant role in shaping behavior, as individuals often emulate behaviors and attitudes observed in role models.

Family Structures and Impacts

• Types of Families: Various family structures include nuclear, single-parent, blended, extended, and adoptive families, each contributing differently to the socialization and development of children.

• Divorce and its Consequences: While short-term grief is common, the potential for long-term emotional independence and varied coping mechanisms is also a significant aspect.

Theories of Mental Health

Common Disorders:

• Phobias, Anxiety Disorders, PTSD, OCD, Depression, Somatization Disorder, and other mental health challenges that significantly affect individuals' daily lives.

• Impact of Nutrition and Activity on Mental Health: Understanding how dietary habits and physical activity can influence overall mental well-being and emotional states.