Term
Describe some of the problems that can result from environmental influences during the prenatal
period of development. |
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Definition
Structural abnormalities in the fetus caused by any environmental factor is called Teratogan.
Mental retardation, deafness, heart defects, eye damage, fetal alcohol syndrome etc... |
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Term
What is a critical period? Give an example from animal research and explain why it is
controversial to argue that there are critical periods in human development. |
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Definition
| Ex. Baby bird learning bird song of it's species. from the 7th-16th day of exposure the bird can learn the song, after the 16th day it's too late. Cannot run experimental tests on humans because it is unethical (Genie the wild child) case study |
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Term
Describe the advantages and disadvantages of the different types of methods for studying
developmental change. (hint: cross-sectional, longitudinal) |
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Definition
| Studying an individual by longitudinal design has its advantages because you can study an individual over a course of time and assess the long term impact. Though it is often difficult to keep up with the same individual over time and data is often times lost very easily. The advantages of cross-sectional design is that you can collect data for a group of people of all different ages though the data might not be accurate to those same ages in a different time period. |
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Term
| How has perceptual development been studied in infancy? What is the ‘visual cliff’? |
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Definition
| Eleanor Gibson and Richard Walk, made experiment called a visual cliff. Showed that children who had not yet experienced much crawling would crawl over the deep end whereas those who had experience would not. Therefore shows that depth information is not prewired it is based on experience. |
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Term
| Describe important physical changes in infancy, adolescence, and adulthood |
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Definition
| During infancy a child is growing rapidly though their brain is already 60% of the adult size. In adolescence a child begins to gain more weight and goes through puperty growing hair on legs under arm, and genital areas etc... In adulthood is when people start to lose abilities like hearing, sight, and a very important notion is "use it or lose it" |
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Term
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Definition
| the mental structures that enable individuals to interpret the world. |
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Term
How does Piaget characterize the way that infants understand their world? (Hint: define sensorymotor
development and object permanence) |
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Definition
| Piaget characterized an infants initial schemes as sensorimotor intelligence, which were sucking, grasping, pushing, or looking. These were building blocks to more complex tasks. Object permanence is when the child is aware of an objects existence, and behave independently of their actions or awareness. |
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Term
What are the major ways that preoperational and concrete operational thought differ, according
to Piaget? |
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Definition
| The difference between the preoperational stage and the concrete operational stage is that the preoperational stage focuses on egocentricism where the child cannot take the perspective of another person and centration when they focus on one part of a situation and disregard all relevant aspects. Conrete is when they overcome all of that and begin thought processes like conservation: They know that the physical properties of objects do not change when nothing is added or taken away. |
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Term
What is the main accomplishment of Piaget’s formal operational period?
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Definition
| Absract thinking, being able to think logically and realize that their reality is only one of countless imaginable realities. |
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Term
| What are assimilation and accommodation? |
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Definition
| Assimilation modifies new environmental information to fit into what is already known; the child accesses existing schemes to structure incoming sensory data. Accommodation restructures or modifies the child’s existing schemes so that new infor-mation is accounted for more completely. |
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Term
Describe a conservation task and how it would be answered by a preoperational child and by a
concrete operational child. |
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Definition
| For example the two glasses with the same amount of water that are the same size are put in front of a child and upon recognizing they have the same amounts of water, one of the glasses is poured into a tall glass that makes the quantity look like a larger amount. Yet the child knows that because nothing was added or taken away, they both have the same amount. |
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Term
What is the sociocultural approach to developmental psychology? (Hint: Vygotsky) Give an
example of how this approach questions some of the assumptions of previous theories. |
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Definition
| Vygotsky argues that Piaget's theorys are slightly incorrect because based on certain cultures children do not ever reach the formal operations stage. He also states that children develop through a process of internalization where they absorb knowledge from their social context that has a major impact on how cognition unfolds over time. |
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Term
| Discuss some of the cognitive changes that occur with aging. |
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Definition
| In intelligence there is not a significant decline in the transition to late adulthood, merely that if performing social tasks and other activities help keep one's ind sharp. Memory does tend to decline with age, though it does not affect them with knowing general knowledge and personal information. |
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Term
How do the children in the video on “First Errands” illustrate aspects of developmental
psychology and cultural variation? |
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Definition
| They demonstrate it by always doing the tasks in the order as given as well as following instructions even though they do not have the understanding of other relevant aspects of the situation. |
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Term
| What is attachment and why is it important for early development? |
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Definition
| attachment is during a child's development when they have to rely on someone for protection, food, etc.. and they develop a strong bond for their cargiver. |
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Term
| Erikson’s stages of development. |
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Definition
| 8 stages in the life cycle |
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Term
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Definition
- The Basic sense of trust an individual develops with a caregiver who offers comfort and protection, when basic needs are not met the child often develops a sense of anxiety and insecurity.
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Term
| 2. Autonomy Vs. Self-Doubt |
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Definition
| With the development of walking and talking the child begins to feel a sense of autonomy/independence but when excessive criticism or restriction occurs the child develops self-doubt. |
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Term
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Definition
- When a child develops trust both in the immediate environment and in themselves they begin to initiate both motor and intellectual activities. The way parents respond to the childs initiative by encouraging or not makes the child feel confident or guilt (unwelcomed into the adult world).
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Term
| 4. Competence Vs. Inferiority |
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Definition
| When a child is in the stage where they can begin the development of competencies. When a child's successful efforts lead to competence or when failure leads to feelings of being inferior to others. |
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Term
| 5. Identity Vs. Role Confusion |
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Definition
| discovering one's true identity vs confusion though all of the different roles taken for the different audiences in the social world. |
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Term
| 6. Intimacy Vs. Isolation |
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Definition
| full emotional, moral, sexual commitments vs inability to connect with others in psychologically meaningful ways |
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Term
| 7. Generativity Vs. Stagnation |
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Definition
| occurs in midlife, 30-40, ability to focus on self, partner, family, work, society and future generations vs those who haven't resolved earlier developmental tasks and are self indulgent, question decisions of the past, and pursue freedom in the place of security. |
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Term
| 8. Ego Integrity Vs Despair |
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Definition
| looking back without regret with a sense of wholeness vs aspirations remaining unfullfilled with realling of remorse or despair. |
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Term
How do Harlow’s studies on monkeys help us to understand human relationships? What ideas
about attachment did Harlow’s findings address? |
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Definition
| Harlow found that infants need a sense of comfort and security, and would rely on a cargiver who made them feel that way, feeding was not what triggered the attachment. |
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Term
| What is the strange situation? |
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Definition
| The strange situation is an experiment led by Mary Ainsworth where the mother and child are in a room with various toys and the child is encouraged to explore the room and play. Then a stranger enters the roomand speaks to the mother for a brief time then the mother leaves child with stranger. Then the mother returns and leave again and the reactions to the reunion each time are the data. |
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Term
Describe the different types of attachment described by Mary Ainsworth based on the strange
situation. Which type of attachment is “healthiest” according to Ainsworth, and why? |
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Definition
• Securely attached children show some distress when the parent leaves the room; seek proximity, comfort, and contact upon reunion; and then gradually return to play.
• Insecurely attached– avoidant children seem aloof and may actively avoid and ignore the parent upon her return.
• Insecurely attached– ambivalent/ resistant children become quite upset and anxious when the parent leaves; at reunion, they cannot be comforted, and they show anger and resistance to the parent but, at the same time, express a desire for contact.
Securely attached children are the healthier because it has been studied that those who were securely attached were more popular and sociable at ages 8 and 9 whereas the insecurely attached were socially anxious. |
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Term
What are some reasons for questioning the idea that healthy attachments are the same all around
the world? Describe some of the research findings on attachment in different countries. |
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Definition
The idea of which attachments are healthy vary around the world.
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Term
What evidence is there that observed gender differences could be related to socialization
patterns? |
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Definition
| Children begin to segregate themselves at an early age and have various social tendencies. Girls tend to engage in one on one conversations and share information about themselves to each other whereas boys tend to gather in groups. |
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Term
Discuss the differences among authoritarian, authoritative, indulgent (or permissive), and
neglectful parenting styles. Which one is associated with more positive outcomes in children? Is
this a universal finding? |
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Definition
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Term
| Describe a research finding exploring how adolescents are influenced by peers. |
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Definition
Studies show that adolescents when surrounded by peers are more likely to engage in riskier activities. And some are even more succeptible to peer influence
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Term
Why might perspective taking be an important cognitive ability when it comes to social
relationships? (thought question!) |
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Definition
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Term
| Give an example of a research finding on adult relationships and relate it to Erikson’s theory. |
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Definition
| Erikson’s supposition that social intimacy is a prereq-uisite for a sense of psychological well- being across the adult life stages |
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Term
| Explain how Kohlberg’s theory of moral development assesses children’s “level of morality.” |
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Definition
| Children from ages 3-4 often base the morality off of the outcome of a situation whereas most 5 year olds take into account the intentions. |
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