psy223 exam 2 study guide

PSY223 EXAM 2 STUDY GUIDE

Spring 2025

Chapter 5

Terms

Concepts

How can we use the cephalocaudal pattern of development to explain the physical growth changes in early childhood?

-       Cephalocaudal: head-to-tail growth pattern

-       Balances out during early childhood

o   2 year old has a proportionally bigger head than 5 year old

-       Extension of the limbs - legs

What are the primary functions of the prefrontal cortex in the brain?

-       Executive function

o   Focus, plan, and solve problems

o   Manage daily tasks

o   Adapt to new situations

o   Think about consequences of actions

-       Emotion regulation (inhibit behaviors – tantrums)

What changes do we see in early childhood in gross and fine motor skills?

-       Gross motor skills

o   3 years old

§  Movement start to become automatic

§  Need practice to maintain behaviors

§  Skip and jump bc its fun

o   4 years

§  Learn to walk up/down stairs

§  climbing

o   5 years

§  Start to do tricks

-       Fine motor skills

o   3 years

§  Better at picking up small objects but can’t manipulate them

o   4 years

§  Can manipulate small obejcts better

o   5 years

§  Line things up, more complicated designs

What factors contribute to children’s sleep length and quality during early childhood, and what are the consequences of poor sleeping habits?

-       Sleep length

o   Better relationship with parents

o   WHO recommends 10-13 hours

-       Consequences

o   ADHD development

o   Better relationship with parents

How can caregiver behavior influence a child’s eating habits?

-       A model

-       What caregivers eat, how they approach food

What benefits have been observed in women and children who participate in the Women, Infant Children (WIC) program?

-       WIC program supplies supplemental food and health care referrals

-       Better birth outcomes

-       Better cognitive development

-       The longer children are in the program, the better diet in the long run

How is prefrontal cortex development associated with children’s behavior and chance of accidents? What are the most common accidents that lead to death in childhood?

-       Prefrontal thinks about the consequences of our action

-       Underdeveloped with children

-       Drowning and car accidents are the most common

What are the characteristics of Piaget’s preoperational stage? How do children respond to the conservation task in this stage?

-       2 substages: symbolic function, intuitive thought

-       Symbolic function

o   Start to use symbolic representations of things

o   Language, drawing stuff, pretend play

o   Egocentrism: child believes they are the main character

§  Everyone else sees the world in the same way

-       Intuitive thought

o   Asking why

-       Conservation task: liquid is poured in different size cups but the same volume

o   Child believes the taller glass has more liquid

o   Centration: focus only on one feature of something

How does Vygotsky explain the development of thought? Be able to apply his explanation to an example.

-       Develops in 3 steps

-       Other’s statements -- direct child behavior

-       Private speech – child verbally talks to themselves

-       Internalized private speech

What are the two different types of attention? How do they relate to other developmental outcomes like school readiness?

-       Executive

o   Overall organizing yourself

o   Ex. What class is after this

-       Sustained

o   Focusing all attention on 1 thing

What are the different types of memory, and how do they operate in early childhood age children?

-       Short term (working) – actively holding info in attention

o   Digit span task theory- children have a full capacity but they develop strategies to remember more numbers at once

§  Ex. Chunking, rehearsal

-       Long term

o   First long term memories begin around early childhood

o   Malleable – young children are susceptible to suggestion and relies on others to help remember things

o   Autobiographical

§  Type of long term memory

§  Experiences that the child has

What is theory of mind? How do we measure children’s theory of mind ability?

-       Awareness that others have different thoughts

-       Measured by using a false-belief task on Sally and Anne

o   Anne moves Sally’s toy somewhere else while Sally wasn’t looking

o   If a child says Sally will think the toy is in the OG spot, they have developed the theory of mind

o   3-year-olds fail but 4/5-year-olds understand ppl have false beliefs (theory of mind)

What are phonology and morphology? How do young children use these concepts?

-       Phonology: a sound system of a language, how different sounds can be combined to make words

-       Morphology: knowledge that diff sounds can change the meaning of the word

o   Ex. Adding -ed

o   Beyond two-word utterances

-       Overgeneralization: learning one rule and using it on everything

o   Berko 1958 tested this with the “wug” task

What factors can influence the likelihood that a child will learn a vocabulary word?

-       Hearing them often

-       Interest

-       Active context – actively engaging with the word

-       Meaningful to them

-       One clear meaning

-       Learn vocab and grammar at the same time

Evaluate the pros and cons of the different educational approaches in early childhood. Which would you recommend to new parents?

-       Child-centered kindergarten

o   Focused on educating the whole child – physical, cognitive, socioemotional

o   Unique developmental pattern

o   Firsthand experience

o   Play is just as important as academic instruction

-       Montessori

o   Environment scaled down to child-size

o   Freedom to choose activities

o   Teacher as a facilitator

Chapter 6

Terms

Concepts

How can we apply Erikson’s Initiative vs. Guilt stage to personality development in early childhood?

-       Initiative vs guilt

o   Curiosity on how the world works

o   Taking initiative and exploring

o   Punished – feel guilty and less likely to take initiative in the future

o   First step in developing an identity

In what ways do young children describe themselves? How does this indicate their self-understanding?

-       With psychological traits

o   Ex. I am happy, I am friendly

-       Primarily focused on immediate experiences

-       Shows developing self-awareness

-       Matches how other people describe them

o   Social interactions

What new understandings do early children develop in relation to how others think and feel?

-       Developing theory of mind

o   Understand that others think differently

-       Learn that others can be dishonest

-       Joint commitments

-       Observational learning

What types of emotions become more common in early childhood? What understanding do children have about emotions and emotional expression in early childhood?

-       Increase in self-conscious emotions

o   Ex. Jealously, guilt, shame

-       Learn about emotional expression from parents

-       Situations evoke emotions

-       Emotions impact behavior

-       Learn to describe emotions

-       Individual differences

-       Learn display rules (social standards)

What are the different factors related to emotional regulation (i.e. parent behaviors)? What developmental outcomes are related to emotional regulation?

-       Emotion coaching

o   Monitor teach and label emotions

-       Supportive socialization

o   Positive emotional demeanor when interacting with the child

o   Validate emotion

o   Talk about and teach emotional strategies

-       Social competence – do you make friends easily, are you well-liked

o   High social competence = higher emotional regulation

o   Lower social competence = more externalizing problems

§  Yelling, angry outbursts

-       Better deal with emotions

-       Better attention

-       Fewer behavior issues

How can we use Piaget’s theory of moral development to explain young children’s understanding of moral judgements and behavior? How would children respond to Piaget’s moral dilemma in the lecture slides differently based on their moral reasoning stage?

-       Heteronomous morality

o   Can’t change/break rules

o   Outcome > intention

o   Immanent justice (immediate consequence)

-       Autonomous morality

o   Rules and changeable

o   Intention > outcome

What are the different ways children learn gender roles? How do gender roles influence the way children behave and think?

-       Social role theory

o   Gender diff of how ppl act within society

o   Men

§  Power and status

§  Represented in CEO

o   Women

§  Domestic work

§  Less time in paid employment

§  Paid less

§  Overrepresented in teaching and childcare

Understand gender schema theory and the flow chart in the slides. Be able to use the flow chart to predict a child’s decision regarding a gender-typed toy or item.

-       Cognitive theory, information processing approach

-       Schemas form about men/women’s roles

o   They change as the child develops

-       Schema is incorporated in the child’s self-concept and guides behavior

How are gender roles enforced differently in girls and boys? Which gender has more rigid enforcement and expectations? Why is there a difference?

-       Modeling

-       Reward and punishment

-       Peer rejection

-       Boys have more pressure to conform to masculinity

-       More acceptable for girls to exhibit masculine features

What are different strategies parents use to discipline their children? What strategies are most effective? Least effective? Why?

-       Punishment – reduces behavior

o   Physical punishment

§  Ineffective bc doesn’t address behavior

§  Illegal in 59 countries

o   Reasoning

§  Explaining why behavior is bad

o   Timeout

§  Removing child from an environment they want to be in

What are the ways in which parents can be effective and ineffective coparents?

-       Effective

o   Same parenting style

o   The child is more emotionally mature, less behavioral problems, good marital satisfaction

-       Ineffective

o   Diff parenting styles

o   Parents undermine each other

o   Cause behavioral/developmental issues for the child

How did COVID-19 impact family relations and parent-child relationships? What were the positives and negatives?

-       Extended amount of time together

-       Positives

o   Increase parental warmth

o   Increase quality time

-       Negatives

o   Increase conflict

o   Increase maltreatment potential

What are the different types of child maltreatment? Which is most common? What are the developmental effects of childhood maltreatment?

-       Physical abuse

-       Neglect

o   Most common

-       Sexual abuse

-       Emotional abuse

-       Causes behavioral, cognitive, and emotional problems in children

o   Lower emotional regulation

o   Attachment issues

o   Trouble in peer relationships

o   Problems in school (academic and behavior)

o   High internalizing problems

§  Depression, anxiety

What are the characteristics of sibling relationships? How can sibling relationships be beneficial or harmful to a child? In what ways can parents influence sibling relationships and children’s development?

-       Emotional quality

-       Familiarity/intimacy

-       Variation

o   Some siblings are very close, others aren’t

-       Beneficial

o   Social skills development

-       Harmful

o   Parents show favoritism, other siblings have lower self-esteem

-       Parent

o   Promote positive interactions

o   Fair treatment

o   Teach conflict resolution

What are the developmental impacts of divorce on children? What are the most effective ways to help children adjust during a divorce?

-       More academic problems

-       Increase in externalizing and internalizing problems

-       Lower social competence

-       More likely to abuse substances when older

-       Help adjust

o   Calm, limit conflict

o   Don’t talk bad about other parent

o   Validate feelings

o   Maintain consistent routine

o   Help them understand the situation

What are the specific developmental factors of children of ethnic minorities or immigrant families?

-       Larger families more common

-       Less educated

-       Live in low-income circumstances

-       Single-parent households more common

o   More limited resources (time, money, energy)

-        

What are the developmental concerns for children living in low socioeconomic status?

-       Less access to resources

o   Nutrition

o   Healthcare

o   Protection from danger

o   Enrichment

o   Socialization opportunities

In what ways are peer socialization opportunities different than socializing with one’s family?

-       Same developmental stage

-       Comparative judgments to assess own skills/abilities

-       Socioemotional development

o   How to communicate with others, how to make friends

What are the developmental benefits of play? In what ways can play promote language and communication development?

-       Alleviate anxiety

o   Freud – bc children are always thinking about sex

-       Cognitive development

o   Explore and learn how to manipulate the environment

-       Exploratory drive

-       Language and communication development

What are the types of play? What is an example of each?

-       Sensorimotor

o   Babies and toddlers

o   Interact with stuff

-       Practice

o   Repeat same action to get better at it

o   Ex. sports

-       Pretense/symbolic

o   Imaging stuff is smth else

o   Ex. Couch is pirate ship

-       Social

o   Interaction with others

-       Constructive

o   Sensorimotor/practice + symbolic

o   Ex. Build pirate ship w blocks

-       Games

o   Have rules

o   competition

What developmental concerns are caused by screen time? Can screen time ever be beneficial?

-       WHO recommends 1 hour or less

o   For 3-5 y/o

-       Recommend educational programs

-       Extended amounts of time sitting

-       Violence in media  increase externalizing problems

-       Delay in language acquisition

-       Issues with social skills development

-       Issues with attention span

-       Behavioral issues

-       Sleep pattern issues

-       Obesity

-       Internalizing issues

Chapter 7

Terms

Concepts

What are the primary changes we see in body growth, brain development, and motor skills in middle and late childhood age children?

-       body

o   Slower, more consistent growth

o   Cephalocaudal pattern evens out

o   More muscle mass and strength

-       Brain

o   Total brain volume stabilizes

o   Synaptic pruning

o   Increase in brain region connections

-       Motor

o   Increased coordination

o   Males perform better in gross motor skills

o   Females perform better in fine motor skills

What are the health disparities experienced by children? What factors are related to the development of illness or disability? What demographics are most likely to experience poor health outcomes?

-       More chronic conditions in lower income/ppl of color

o   Ex. Asthma, diabetes

-       More hospital visits for Black

-       Hazardous conditions for parents can bring it home

-       Discrimination in healthcare system

-       Less healthcare access in low income

-       Covid-19 has more effect on low income and ppl of color

What causes contribute to children being overweight? What are some developmental concerns of children being overweight?

-       Heredity

-       Environment

o   Healthy food, parents eating habits, screen time

-       Medical concerns

o   Diabetes, hypertension

-       Psychological concerns

o   Sleep problems, low self-esteem, depression, anxiety

What are the different types of disabilities? How are disabilities addressed in schools?

-       Learning

o   difficulty in understanding or using spoken or written language

o   maybe caused by diff parts of the brain not communicating

o   dyslexia: difficulty reading and spelling

o   dysgraphia: difficulty handwriting and matching sounds and letters

o   dyscalculia: difficulty understanding numbers and performing math equations

-       ADHD

o   Inattention – trouble paying attention

o   Hyperactivity – high levels of physical activity

o   Impulsivity – trouble w behavior inhibition

o   Exact cause unknown

§  Less cortical thickness (less branching out, less synaptic connections)

§  Trouble with executive function

-       ASD (autism)

o   Trouble w social interaction, communication, stimming (repetitive behaviors)

o   Identified more in boys

o   Cause by abnormalities in brain structure and neurotransmitters

-       School

o   IDEA (individuals with disabilities education act)– requires all children to have access to public school

o   IEP (individualized education plan)—accommodate needs

o   LRE (least restrictive environment)—educate in a classroom-like environment

o   inclusion

What are the characteristics of Piaget’s concrete operational stage?

-       7-11 y/o

-       More logical reasoning

-       More classification/understanding of interrelationships

-       Seriation: put stuff in order using a rule

-       Develop transitivity

o   Use what to you know to develop a conclusion about another relationship

What is working memory, and how is it different from short-term memory?

-       Actively manipulating/analyzing

-       Short-term memory is more passive

o   Holds info briefing without any processing involved

How does the accumulation of knowledge and expertise influence someone’s long-term memory? What are some strategies children can learn to enhance their long-term memory retrieval?

-       Influences how to organize, represent and interpret info

o   Affects ability to solve problems

-       Experts tend to have good memory regarding that subject

-       Mental imagery

-       Comprehension > memorization

-       Elaboration: process in more detail

o   Ex. Relate it to your own life

What are the different types of thinking? What type of thinking do children typically focus on in schools?

-       Critical

o   Evaluating info to come to own conclusion

o   Deep understanding

-       Convergent

o   Intelligence

o   Tested in schools

-       Divergent

o   Creativity

§  Using a new strategy to solve problems

What are some ways to improve children’s metacognition?

-       Metacognition: knowledge about thinking

o   Strategies for thinking

-       Modeling, thinking out loud

-       Identify the most confusing parts

o   Self assessment

-       Goal setting

o   Review progress

What are the different theories of intelligence? What are the strengths and weaknesses?

-       Binet tests

o   IQ = mental age / chronological age x 100

o   Mental age is performance based on others of the same chronological age

-       Wechsler scales

o   Scale for child, adolescent, and adult

o   IQ score

o   Individual scores for verbal comprehension, processing speed, fluid reasoning, visual-spatial

o   Very long

-       Sternber’s Triarchic theory

o   Analytical

§  Academic, make judgments, analyze info

o   Creative

§  Imagine, design, invent

o   Practical

§  Street smarts, relate to other ppl socially

-       Gardner’s Eight Frames of Mind

o   Verbal

o   Mathematical

o   Spatial: ability to manipulate objects

o   Interpersonal

o   Intrapersonal: knowledge about yourself, thoughts, feelings

o   Naturalistic: observing patterns in nature

-       Multiple-intelligence

o   Pro: encourage to look at people as a whole, see strengths and weaknesses

o   Con: don’t exactly know what they are

-       General intelligence (IQ)

o   Pro: highly related to performance

o   Con: doesn’t say much about the person

How can we use environmental influences and stereotype threat to explain differences in IQ between different demographics?

-       Stereotype threat: when a negative stereotype is salient in someone’s brain, it can make them perform worse

o   White ppl score higher on IQ than Black ppl

-       When everyone has the same accessibility to resources, there is less IQ range

o   School

o   Income

o   Socioeconomic status

o   Education

o   Health

-       Flynn effect: IQ is increasing over time

What are the two extremes of intelligence? What are characteristics of people at each extreme?

-       Intellectual disability

o   Mild can live independently

o   Either organic intellectual disability (cause identified, genetic variation or brain damage) or cultural familial intellectual disability (no cause specified)

-       Giftedness

o   IQ 130+ or superior talent in a skill

o   Precocity: start to learn things earlier than peers

o   Marching to a diff drummer: don’t benefit from the same type of instruction, like to figure stuff out on their own

o   Show a passion to master

How are elementary aged children’s vocabulary skills different from young children (early childhood)?

-       Categorized speech

-       More grammar

o   Comparatives

o   Subjective – “If you were in this situation how would you respond?”

-       Metalinguistic awareness – knowledge about language (grammar rules, syntax, word definitions)

Explain the phonics approach to reading and the progression of the phonics approach to fluency.

-       Sounding our phonemes (smallest unit of sound)

-       Correspondence rules – matching sound to the written letter

-       Then shift to visually-based retrieval

o   Skip sounding it out, remember written word and what it means

What factors contribute to successful learning of a second language? What challenges do students face who are English Language Learners?

-       Sensitive period

o   To produce no accents, to master a language

-       Bilingualism

o   Better cognitive abilities

o   Better overall language abilities

o   Subtractive – shift from native language to environment language

§  Can cause feelings of shame

§  Contributes to stigmatization

-       ELL

o   English only education

§  Full English immersion

§  Hard to learn concepts in a language you don’t understand

o   Dual language approach

§  Give instruction in English + native language

§  Higher academic achievement

Chapter 8

Terms

Concepts

How does perspective taking relate to a child’s frequency of prosocial behavior?

-       Prosocial behavior: helpful to others

-       When better at perspective taking, more likely to engage in more prosocial behavior

How do parenting practices and gender influence a child’s self-esteem?

-       very responsive, very warm, positive relationship with children = high self esteem

-       parent is neglectful, abusive, not nice = lower self esteem

What causes children to have an inflated self-esteem? What are strategies to improve self-esteem when children have low self-esteem?

-       Result of being praised for everything

-       Improve self esteem

o   Identify causes

o   Provide support

o   Help children achieve

o   Help children cope

What are the developmental benefits of good self-regulation? What are the ways to promote self-regulation in children?

-       Benefits

o   Higher social competence

o   Higher achievement

o   Fewer signs of physical aging

-       Promote

o   Emotion coaching (instead of dismissing)

o   Teach strategies to reduce unpleasant emotions

o   Pause and evaluate before acting out

o   Identify causes of negative emotions

o   Perspective (not the end of the world)

o   Reinforce self regulation

How can we apply Erikson’s Industry vs. Inferiority stage to children’s personality development?

-       Curiosity about the world and how it works

-       How useful you feel

-       Industry – encourage doing and exploring how things work/are made

-       Inferiority – met with punishment, told they are making a mess

How does children’s understanding of emotion and emotional regulation change in elementary school?

-       Improved emotional understanding

-       Situations evoke multiple emotions

-       Awareness of emotional reactions

-       Increase of suppression of negative emotions

-       Better ability to redirect feelings

-       Building empathy

What are concerns about stress in children, and what are ways to help children who experience trauma adjust?

-       Trauma can develop

o   Acute stress reactions

o   Depression

o   Panic disorders

o   PTSD

-       Provide support, comfort, routine

-       Help them feel in control

-       Encourage them to share feelings

Understand Kohlberg’s levels of moral reasoning and how children from each level would respond to his moral dilemma. Understand the critiques of Kohlberg’s theory.

-       Moral dilemma: the man stealing expensive drug for a sick wife

-       Preconventional – bad man

o   Stage 1: punishment and obedience orientation (rules are the rules)

o   Stage 2: instrumental exchange orientation (an eye for an eye)

-       Conventional – meh man

o   Stage 3: mutual interpersonal expectations (right/wrong based on other ppl’s perspective)

o   Stage 4: social system (keep society moving)

-       Postconventional – good man

o   Stage 5: social contracts (maximize benefits for majority)

o   Stage 6: universal ethics (individual code of ethics)

-       Critics

o   Focused on moral thought instead of behavior

o   Ppl have a lot of time to think

o   All research was done on teenage boys

§  Justice perspective (boy) vs care perspective (girl)

§  Not representative of other cultures

o   Didn’t consider the effect of families

Differentiate between prosocial and antisocial behavior. Understand the factors associated with each.

-       Prosocial – helpful to others

o   Altruism, empathy, helping

o   Good developmental outcomes (less externalizing and internalizing problems)

-       Antisocial – harmful to others

o   Lying, cheating, stealing

o   Result of authoritarian parenting style (high control, low warmth)

Understand gender stereotypes and how they can contribute to gender differences.

-       General impressions and beliefs

-       Boys have more rigid stereotypes

-       Stereotype threat: becomes true bc it is salient in someone’s brain

-       Shaped by adults’ and peers’ reactions

How does the parent-child relationship change in middle and late childhood? How do stepfamilies influence development?

-       Spend less time together because of school

-       Parents set expectations and provide support for academic achievement

-       Parents are in control of extracurricular activities

o   Keep track of social calendar

-       Child has more control of minute-by-minute decisions

-       Stepfamilies introduce new realtionships

o   Best development when good relationships btwn child and step family and other parents is supportive of the new relationship

How are children evaluated in relation to their peers? What are the characteristics of each sociometric status?

-       Comparison

o   Socially

o   Cognitively

o   Academically

-       Sociometric status

o   Popular (well liked)

o   Neglected (forgotten about)

o   Rejected – aggressive or withdrawn (disliked)

o   Controversial (lots of likes, lots of dislikes)

How does social cognition explain peer interactions? What is a hostile attribution bias, and how does it influence peer interactions?

-       Attribute intent to social cues/goals

-       Hostile attribution bias: assumes everyone has bad intentions

o   Self-fulling prophecy – disliked by peers (rejected, aggressive)

o   Caused by harsh parenting

What are the characteristics of bullying, and what developmental outcomes do we see in victims?

-       Verbal or physical behavior intended to disturb someone

-       Victims developmental outcomes

o   Internalizing problems

o   Low self-esteem

o   Trouble in future relationships / socialization

What are the characteristics of friendships in middle and late childhood?

-       Receive companionship, stimulation, physical support, ego support, social comparison, affection and intimacy

-       Have good friends is best for development

What are the ways school systems remain accountable to their students and their achievement?

-       Set milestones and expectations for students

-       No child left behind

o   State wide school standards

o   Standardized testing

o   Con: causes teachers to teach to test instead of mastery of content

-       Common core state standards

o   Federal standards

o   Con: overreach of federal gov, one size fits all approach

-       Every student succeeds act

o   Meant to replace no child but not yet implemented

In what ways did COVID-19 impact children’s school experience and achievement?

-       Rough transition to online

-       Not everyone had internet/computer access

-       Learning disabilities and sensory impairments didn’t have their accommodations

-       Math scores dropped 50%

o   Higher drops in low income areas

-       Mental health concerns

-       Bad nutritional health

What challenges do students from low-income backgrounds face in schools?

-       Lower academic achievement bc of lower parental expectations

-       Worse nutrition

-       More time in poverty  worse off learning outcomes

-       Worse resources in low-income schools

How does ethnicity impact a student’s school experience? Particularly for children of minority groups.

-       Minorities tend to go to larger school districts

o   Underfunded

o   Possibly segregated

o   Not the same learning opportunities

-       Discrimination from teachers/admin

How does U.S. school achievement compare to global standards? How do parenting styles relate to children’s school achievement?

-       Lower than other countries (esp in math and science)

-       Chinese mothers (authoritarian)

o   Tie own self worth to child’s performance

o   Worse for emotional development, but higher academic scores

What is achievement mindset, which kind is better, and how can mindsets be adjusted?

-       Fixed mindset: abilities and permanent and unchangeable

-       Growth mindset: qualities can improve over time

-       Adjust mindset

o   Identify and understand why negative thoughts

o   Start small