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AP Psychology: Unit 3 - Development & Learning
3.1 Themes and Methods in Developmental Psychology
developmental psychologists focus on three key themes
stability and change - psychologists look to see whether our traits, behaviors, and personalities remain constant throughout life or if they change
nature vs nurture
relate nature with heredity - predisposed characteristics that influence an individual’s physical behavioral, and mental traits and processes
relate nurture with environment - external factors that an individual experiences, such as a person’s family, friend group, school, etc…
continuous and discontinuous stages of development
continuous development - suggests development is a gradual and ongoing process, where changes happen little by little over time
discontinuous development - suggests development happens in stages, with big stages coming at specific points in life
ex) jean piaget’s stages of cognitive development
to gain insight into these themes, psychologists use…
cross-sectional research methods - studying different groups of people at different ages all at the same time
ex) a researcher could compare different stress levels of freshman, sophomores, juniors, and seniors all at the same time
immediate results across different age groups
doesn’t show individual’s change over time
longitudinal research methods - studying the same group of people over a long period of time
ex) a researcher could study a group of children at age 5; again at age 10; and again at age 15
provides insight on how an individual changes and develops over time (😸)
takes a long time to complete and can become very -expensive (😿)
3.2 Physical Development Across the Lifespan
prenatal development
five key influences on prenatal development
teratogens - harmful substances that can disrupt fetal development
ex) alcohol, drugs, or other toxins can cause birth defects and abnormalities
if a mother drinks during pregnancy, it could lead to fetal alcohol syndrome - causing a range of physical, cognitive, and behavioral problems in children
maternal illness - any health condition that can impact a women’s health and well-being during pregnancy, childbirth, or after giving birth
genetic mutations - mutations or abnormalities in a fetus’s genes that can lead to developmental disorders or disabilities
ex) down syndrome
hormonal factors - imbalances in hormones can lead to atypical brain development which may affect behavior and cognitive abilities
environmental factors - include maternal stress, malnutrition, or exposure to harmful environmental factors
physical development in infancy and childhood
infant reflexes - involuntary movements present in newborns and young infants that help with survival and indicate healthy neurological development
rooting reflex - when a baby’s cheek is gently stroked near their mouth, they turn in that direction, mouth open, ready to eat
gross motor skills - involve larger movements, such as crawling and walking, allowing a child to navigate their environment
fine motor skills - involve smaller movements, such as holding a spoon, critical for tasks such as feeding, drawing, or playing
visual cliff experiment - explores how infants develop depth perception at an early age
researchers use a visual cliff apparatus to give the illusion of a drop-off
if the infant did not crawl across the glass to their mother, it would indicate the infant had developed depth perception
critical period - window of time when a particular skill or behavior must be acquired; if the necessary experiences or stimuli are missing during this time, the development of the skill may be significantly hindered or impossible to achieve later
imprinting - when a newborn forms an attachment to the first moving object they see, which is critical to survival (common in birds)
if the animal does not see a moving object after birth, they may not form a bond, affecting their chance of survival
sensitive period - time when brain is primed to develop a certain skill
ex) developing language skills in early childhood // if children are not exposed to language during this time, they may struggle to acquire language later in life
physical development in adolescence
adolescence - critical period for an individual; during adolescence, teens become more aware of their bodies, often comparing themselves to others
puberty - when a child’s body begins to transition into an adult body
primary sex characteristics - directly related to the reproductive system and the ability to reproduce
menarche - first time girls menstruate
spermarche - first time boys ejaculate
secondary sex characteristics - physical changes that occur, but are not directly involved in reproduction
ex) deepening of one’s voice, facial and body hair, growth spurts
individuals will often seek new experiences and challenges, and engage in more risky, impulsive behaviors
due to changes happening in the brain (limbic system and prefrontal cortex)
physical development in adulthood
early adulthood is characterized as peak physical health and abilities
in late adulthood, individuals experience loss in muscle mass and flexibility
reaction times, hearing, and vision slow with age
menopause - usually occurs in middle adulthood, marking the end of a woman’s menstrual cycle and ability to conceive
symptoms include hot flashes and mood changes
3.3 Gender and Sexual Orientation
sex - biological differences between males and females
primary sex characteristics
secondary sex characteristics
gender - social, physical, and behavioral traits that are considered normal for men or women
gender schema theory - ability for a child to create mental categories for masculinity and femininity
comes from different socialization factors
family (early in life, this is the biggest factor)
school (become a larger influence as you grow older)
peer groups (become a larger influence as you grow older)
media (become a larger influence as you grow older)
sexual orientation - individual’s sexual attraction towards a member of the same or different sex
homosexual - attracted to the same sex
heterosexual - attracted to the opposite sex
bisexual - attracted to both sexes
3.4 Cognitive Development Across the Lifespan
assimilation - when new information is put into an existing schema
adds new info to schema and DOES NOT alter it
accommodation - when an individual changes or modifies a schema to incorporate new information
adds new info to schema and DOES alter it
jean piaget’s stages of cognitive development
sensorimotor stage (0-2 yrs) - when a child gains access to their hands and begins to explore and understand the world around them
object permanence - the child understands that an object continues to exist even when the object is out of sight
preoperational stage (2-7 yrs) - the child begins to develop symbolic thinking, learns to use language, but will struggle with concepts such as conservation
starts off as egocentric, but will develop the theory of the mind over time
egocentric - the child will struggle to understand other people’s perspectives, assuming everyone sees the world the way they do
theory of the mind - the child is able to understand that other people have thoughts, feelings, and perspectives that are different from their own
three mountains task
mental symbols - mental building blocks we use to think, reason, and remember information
animism - belief that inanimate objects have feelings, thoughts, or other human characteristics
can come up during pretend play
concrete operational stage (7-12 yrs) - when a child starts to think logically
child is no longer limited by egocentrism, and can solve problems that involve real world situations
can understand conservation, mathematics, and reversibility
classification - when an individual can organize objects based on multiple attributes, such as sorting objects by color and shape simultaneously
seriation - when an individual can arrange items in qualitative order, such as arranging sticks in order from shortest to longest
while the child will be able to think logically, they will still struggle with systematic and abstract thinking
formal operational (12+ yrs) - individuals can think about hypothetical situations or questions, apply logic to different situations, develop moral reasoning, and can start to use this reasoning when dealing with different situations
can approach problems methodically and logically, even when the situation is abstract
deductive reasoning - involves starting with a general principle and applying it to specific situations
conservation - idea that properties such as volume and mass remain the same, even if they are transferred into different containers
reversibility - mental operation where an individual can reverse a sequence of events
ex) 2 + 2 = 4 ; 4 - 2 = 2
lev vygotsky’s sociocultural theory - highlights the importance of social interaction, guidance, and support in cognitive development
vygotsky believed individuals have a zone of proximal development - what an individual can learn with assistance from another individual
children are deeply influenced by social interactions
if a problem is outside of an individual’s zone of proximal development, it will be difficult for the individual to learn, even with assistance
scaffolding - when an individual provides support and guides the learner to an understanding of unfamiliar concepts, but does not simply give them the answer
crystallized intelligence - accumulation of knowledge, facts, and skills through experience and education
INCREASES with age
fluid intelligence - individual’s ability to reason quickly, think abstractly, solve problems, and adapt to new situations
DECREASES with age
cognitive disorders
dementia - broad term for cognitive disorders that significantly impair memory, reasoning, and other mental abilities
3.5 Communication and Language Development
language - a shared system of symbols that represents objects, actions, and ideas
phonemes - distinct units of sound in a language, often the first sounds an infant will make
morphemes - smallest unit of meaning, containing a minimum of two phonemes
ex) root words, prefixes, suffixes
semantics - meaning of words and sentences // involve understanding how words and phrases relate to each other and how context influence meaning
allow us to understand sarcasm and humor
surface structure semantics - literal meaning of words
deep structure semantics - underlying meaning of a sentence
grammar - set of rules that a language follows, enabling people to communicate and understand the meaning of different sentences
syntax - rules used to order words in a sentence
in english, the syntax says to put adjectives before nouns
in spanish, the syntax says to put adjectives after nouns
before an individual develops a language, they utilize nonverbal gestures such as pointing, waving, or showing objects to communicate
the cooing stage (2-3 months) - infants begin to make simple vowel sounds
ex) ooh, ah
babbling stage (6-8 months) - infants are able to produce repetitive consonant-vowel combinations
ex) baba, dada
one word stage (12-18 months) - children start using holophrases → single word to communicate meaning
ex) if a child says “food,” it does not just mean food, but that they are hungry and want to eat
telegraphic speech stage (18-24 months) - the child can start to connect two or three words together to create phrases
ex) go outside, want toy
overgeneralization errors - a mistake children make when learning language by applying grammatical rules too broadly, beyond their exceptions
ex) runned instead of ran, mouses instead of mice
trial-and-error process
3.6 Social-Emotional Development Across the Lifespan
ecological system theory - looks at how a person’s development is influenced by different layers of their social environment
microsystem - the most immediate environment that has direct contact with the individual
family
friends
peers
mesosystem - connections and interactions between groups within the microsystem
relationship between child’s parent and child’s teacher can affect relationships child has
exosystem - indirect factors that affect an individuals life
a parent’s workplace may involve working long hours, resulting in the child getting less parental involvement
macrosystem - broader cultural, social, and economic factors that shape the environment in which individuals and their families live
cultural norms
politics
economic influences
chronosystem - refers to time; includes the individual’s current stage of life and the historical context in which they live
teenagers now experience growing up differently compared to teenagers 50 years ago
different parenting styles
authoritarian parent - strict, have high expectations, and enforce rules without much flexibility
authoritative parent - clear expectations and rules for child
permissive parent - lenient, loose rules, often not demanding much from the child
negligent parent - parents completely uninvolved in their children’s lives
different attachment styles
secure attachment - children feel safe and supported by parent
insecure attachment
avoidant attachment - children tend to avoid or ignore their parent, showing little emotion when their parent leaves or returns to them
anxious attachment - aka ambivalent or resistant; children are overly dependent on parent, and show extreme distress when separated
disorganized attachment - children have often experienced inconsistent or possibly even frightening caregiving
temperament - a child's emotional style and how easily they adapt to situations
difficult temperament - more likely the child will have larger emotional reactions or possible be harder to soothe
more prone to an insecure attachment
separation anxiety (start at 6-8 months and end at 10-18 months) - child experiences heightened distress, fear, or anxiety when they are separated from from their parent
harlow’s monkey study - a baby monkey was given two surrogate mothers, one made with wires, and one that was covered in a soft cloth; the wire monkey had food for the monkey, while the cloth monkey only offered comfort
study found that monkeys would go to the wire monkey for food, and immediately after would go to the cloth monkey for comfort
when something startled the monkey, it immediately ran to the cloth monkey
children often interact with other children in one of two ways
parallel play - when children play alongside each other without much interaction
generally occurs in toddlers and preschoolers
pretend play - when children use their imagination, acting out scenarios with toys, objects, and other children
adolescence and their interactions
egocentrism - being more concerned with what others think about them
imaginary audience - where a person feels like others are constantly watching and evaluating them
personal fable - individual believing all of their experiences are unique, which can result in the individual not believing that certain challenges or setbacks in life will happen to them, or lead an individual to believe that no one can understand them
social clock - the societal expectations about when major life events should happen
emerging adulthood - a transition phase that generally happens when a person is in their mid twenties
adverse childhood experiences (ace) - traumatic or challenging events that occur during childhood, such as abuse or neglect
erik erikson’s 8 stages of psychosocial development
trust vs mistrust
infants learn to trust their caregivers to meet their needs, leading to a trusting relationship for the infant to form with the world
if a child does not experience affection, feeding, and security, they may form an insecure attachment, leading to mistrust
autonomy vs shame/doubt
where a toddler starts to explore their independence
positive reinforcement allows a toddler to adopt autonomy
if the caregivers are overly strict, it can lead the toddler to develop shame and doubt in their abilities
initiative vs guilt
when preschoolers start asking lots of questions and try to control more and more of their lives
if children are given positive reinforcement, allowed to have control over different aspects of their lives, and allowed to partake in independent activities, it will often lead to the development of a sense of purpose and confidence
if the child is constantly met with discouragement and micromanagement, it can lead them to question their ability to perform different tasks
industry vs inferiority
where elementary and middle school children start to make their own decisions, grapple with the concept of good and bad, and start to develop skills, promoting a sense of industry
if a child experiences repeated failure with little to no support, they may start developing feelings of inferiority
identity vs role confusion
teenagers explore their identity and personal values and, peer groups become extremely important, with individuals conforming to their friend groups
if individuals develop a strong sense of self, they will be confident in who they are
if individuals struggle to understand their identity and can’t resolve their internal conflicts, it can lead them to question their role in life
intimacy vs isolation
in early adulthood, individuals often start their careers, get married, and possibly start a family
success in this stage results in strong relationships, commitment, and purpose
failure in this stage results in isolation and loneliness
generativity vs stagnation
in middle adulthood, individuals continue to advance in their career, participate in their communities, and raise their families
integrity vs despair
older adults will often reflect on their life, and think about their accomplishments
if an individual has little to no regrets in life, they will often have a sense of fulfillment, allowing them to accept their older age and death more easily
if an individual feels they have not done enough in life and has many regrets, they may struggle with their old age, and the concept of death
four stages adults goes through when figuring out their identity
foreclosure - when an individual has a high degree of commitment to a particular identity or idea, however, they have not explored other options
diffusion - when an individual has not committed to a set idea or identity and has not explored any possibilities, often resulting in a lack of direction for the individual
moratorium - when an individual is actively exploring their identity and possible options, however, do not have a commitment to one particular identity or idea
achievement - when an individual has a set identity and has explored their
options, meaning the individual was able to come to their own conclusion about their identity and not rely on someone else’s
3.7 Classical Conditioning
3.8 Operant Conditioning
3.9 Social, Cognitive, and Neurological Factors in Learning
