Unit 3
Developmental Psychology
Def: the study of physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the lifespan
2 ways to look at changes:
Chronological: over time
Thematic: themes (relationships, identity, etc.)
Some traits change and some traits stay the same (stability)
Can be genetic (nature) or environmental (nurture)
Either one big process (continuity) or one step at a time (stages)
Associated with cross-sectional studies and longitudinal studies
Cross-sectional: one slice of population at one point in time
Longitudinal: over many, many years
Physical Development
Prenatal development: development from conception to birth
Split into 3 trimesters
Teratogens: substances that disrupt prenatal development
Motor development: changes to muscle control
Fine: specific digits and sections
Gross: movement of the entire limb
Reflexive reactions; go away after a few months
Rooting: open the mouth ~ hunger
Moro: reaching out arms ~ falling/startled
Major milestones
tummy time → rolling over → sitting up straight → crawling → walking
Critical/Sensitive periods: limited time frames to develop in some way
Vision
Language acquisition
Adolescence: begins w/ puberty and ends with transition into adulthood
Begins earlier in women than men -Nov 17-
Brain development
Neural pruning: losing reflexes as you age
Prefrontal cortex development
Myelination: Thickening of the myelin sheath (which insulates the axon)
Emotional centers and rewards pathways also develop
Physical peak in early 20s
Metabolism, hearing, vision, etc.
Brain functions
Crystalized intelligence: all the facts we have
Fluid intelligence: ability to handle situations n junk
Late adult development begins at 60
Gender & Sexual Orientation
45/46 chromosomes are shared b/w men and women
Gender
Identity: male, female, and non-binary
Roles: schema about gender; social norms (stereotypes)
Cognitive Development
Jean Piaget
Children develop schemas via continuous and discontinuous processes such as assimilation and accommodation; four stages
Sensorimotor: object permanence, separation anxiety; 0-2 yrs
Babies learn through senses (mouth)
Preoperational: symbolic though, pretend play, animism, egocentrism; 2-7 yrs
Concrete Operational: conservation, reversibility; 7-11 yrs
Formal Operational: abstract thinking, hypothetical reasoning, metacognition; 11 and onwards -Nov 18-
Vgotsky
Zone of proximal development (can’t (guidance (can) ) )
Scaffolding: identifying the necessary steps to some thing
info n junk
Fluid intelligence
Crystalized intelligence
Dementia: a significant deviation from normal cognitive aging
Language
Def: a system of communication using spoken, written, and signed works
Phonemes: basic units of sound; 44 in English
Morpheme: the smallest bit of language that has meaning
Communication & Language Development
Language consists of spoken, written, and signed words. Language appears to be so close to thinking that it might actually be thinking. Language is innate and all kids have the ability to learn
Phonemes & Morphemes
Basic units of sound (44)
Smallest bot of language that holds meaning (un)
Semantics & Syntax
Meanings of words
Rules of words; grammar
Language Acquisition (Chomsky)
Cooing → Babbling → One-Word Stage → Telegraphic Speech (two words; describing something)
Overgeneralization – error when learning a language and applying grammatical rules too broadly
Social-Emotional Development
Ecological Systems Theory –
Individual – you
Microsystem – the people with direct and immediate influence on your development
Mesosystem – the interactions between the groups in the microsystem
Exosystem – indirect environmental factors
Macrosystem – broader cultural context
Chronosystem – the time we live in; historical or life events that change our development
Types of Parenting Styles (Baumrind)
Authoritarian: High demands with low responsiveness
Authoritative: High demands with high responsiveness
Permissive: Low demands with high responsiveness
Negligent: No demands with no responsiveness
Cultural differences exist in the ways different parenting styles affect outcomes in caregivers and children
Attachment & Temperament – Harlow & Ainsworth Studies
Attachment Styles
Secure: good in group settings and good with getting into group settings
Anxious: Good in group; bad alone
Avoidant: Dismissive
Fearful: Last minute; disorganized
Relationship w peers diff from parents, siblings, and other adults
Adolescent relationships
Frontal lobe still developing
Presence of an imaginary audience that is constantly looking at you
Personal fable that your life is different
Adults
Don’t have social groups compared to adolescents
Spawn from:
W*rkplace
Neighborhood
Children’s friendgroups (parents); school
Diff cultures address adulthood differently
Psychosocial Theory of Social Development ~ Erikson
Conflict between positive and negative outcomes
Theory of Identity Status ~ Marcia
People are are identified by race, gender, etc.
Commitment vs. Exploration
C & E = Achievement
E w/o C = Moratorium (put off)
C w/o E = Foreclosure (forced)
No C or E = Diffusion (worst)
Development of identity relies on trying new things and seeing what fits
Behaviorism
Classical Conditioning = stimuli pairing
Pavlov found that a neutral stimulus paired with a natural reflex-producing stimulus led to a learned response; discovered this by experimenting with dogs
Four components (Pavlov’s Dogs)
UCS: unconditioned stimulus (food)
UCR: unconditioned reflex (salivating w/o bell sound)
CS: conditioned stimulus (bell sound)
CR: conditioned reflex (salivating w/ bell sound)
Ex: Little Albert
UCS - slapstick sound
UCR - crying from sound
CS - presence of bunny
CR - crying from bunny
Processes
Acquisition: initial learning of the CR
Extinction: the CS is presented without UCS
Spontaneous recovery: presenting the UCS with CS after extinction; takes a shorter amount of time
Discrimination: individual reacts differently to UCS
Generalization: associating CS as if it was the CS
Operant Conditioning = actions and outcomes
Law of Effect ~ Thorndike
Actions that are rewarded will continue
Actions that are punish will not continue
Experiments
Skinner Box - experimental cage used for animals
Shaping - rewarding successive approximate behaviors that get closer to the desired outcome
Problems
Limited to the intelligence of the animal
Instinctive drift - without effects, they will revert to natural instincts
Can lead to superstitions
Processes
Reinforcement - encouraging a behavior
Punishment - discouraging a behavior
Positive
pos reinf - adding something desirable to encourage a behavior (candy)
pos punish - adding something undesirable to discourage a behavior (detention)
Negative
neg reinf - removing something desirable to encourage a behavior (taking away candy)
neg punish - removing something undesirable to discourage a behavior (less detention)
Has to happen immediately, or else the outcome will not be associated with the action
Schedules of Reinforcement
Continuous - every time
Partial
Fixed - set amount
Variable - random amount
Interval - length of time
Ratio - number of instances
Fixed Interval - working with set paydays
Variable Interval - fishing
Fixed Ratio - rewards system
Variable Ratio - sales on commission; lottery
Levels
Primary reinforcers - natural; pain, hunger
Secondary reinforcers - represents primary; money, sticker chart
Consequences
Learned helplessness - persistent punishment that eventually teaches a being not to try
Superstition
Social, Cognitive, and Neural Factors in Learning
Terms
Social learning - learning by observation
4 Keys:
Must observe the action
Must observe the outcome
Must have an opportunity for the same action
Must come from a respected person
Latent learning - learning that isn’t demonstrating until you need to use it
Cognitive maps - mental pictures meant to find the solution of a problem
Bobo Doll Experiment ~ Bandura
Kids mimic the behavior of their parent