PSYC100H EXAM 3 DEVELOPMENTAL PROCESSSES Genotype inherited genetic info carried by organism Phenotype actual physical and behavioral characteristics of the organism Environmental Stimulation impacts the expression of genetic info during development epigenetics Developmental changes are NOT gradual Jean Piaget Cognitive Competence Stage Theory Children use mental schemas Assimilation new info is interpreted using existing schemas Accommodation the change of existing schemas by gaining experience Sensory Motor Stage age 0 2 schemas consist of sensory impressions motor actions Object Permanence age 9 mos children know objects do not vanish if out of view A Not B Effect when an object is moved out of view the child continues to look in the old spot Children age 2 5 no longer show the A Not B Effect and engage in pretend play Preoperational Thinking children have difficulty imagining others vantage points Perception is egocentric only about oneself Ex Pretend Play preschoolers cannot accomplish conservation of quantity of number Concrete Operational Stage 7 11 ability to appreciate conservation Formal Operational Thinking 11 comprehension of abstract formal relationships patterns Criticism of Piaget s Theory Habituation Procedure allows more sensitive tests for infants Habituation Procedure infant will continue to look at stimulus if interesting but look away when bored Infants may possess intuitive knowledge of the behavior of objects and numbers Piaget may have over exaggerated egocentrism in preschoolers Changes in ability do not always imply concrete qualitative stage transitions Information Processing many processes memory span rehearsal chunking change during development These stages just reflect the total summation of a child s cognitive functioning CRITICAL AND SENSITIVE PERIODS OF DEVELOPMENT Imprinting early social experience may have a permanent effect on behavior Ex ducklings follow the first moving object they see Attachment social bond that forms between an infant and its caregivers Thought to be essential for normal human socialization Harlow examined attachment of monkeys using cloth v wire surrogate mothers Monkeys ALWAYS preferred cloth mother contact comfort These infants did not develop normal social behaviors Bowlby Ainsworth studied attachment in humans Children gain positive reinforcement from contact Show free floating anxiety when separated from caregivers Spitz Attachment Study cribs covered infants given little contact w caregivers Children showed much poorer development Children acquire values through reward punishment modeling and imitation Moral Reasoning is acquired by cognitive learning Studied by Lawrence Kohlberg using ambiguous vignettes gender bias Preconventional stage avoid punishment seek reward Conventional stage follow rules strictly Postconventional stage follow a social contract based on principle GENDER IDENTITY ROLES Gender identity clear inner sense of being male or female Gender role variety of behaviors associated with each gender Are these roles biologically based Reproductive system development Early fetus has the potential for both male or female organs gonads are undifferentiated Wolffian duct develops into male system Testosterone via development Mullerian duct develops into female system Mullerian regression hormone via atrophy Pseudohermaphroditism partial masculinization of a female fetus when exposed to male hormones early in development Adjustment is better is sex reassignment occurs early Learning is not the only factor in gender identity ablatio penis LIFESPAN DEVELOPMENT Erik Erikson determined 8 life stages each associated with a life crisis 0 1 5 years trust v mistrust 1 5 3 years autonomy v shame doubt 3 6 years initiative v guilt 6 puberty competence v inferiority Adolescence identity v role confusion Early adulthood intimacy v isolation Middle age productivity v stagnation Later years integrity v despair SOCIAL PRESSURE AND BELIEFS Experiment of different line lengths Subjects in a group could be pressured to say that unequal lines are the same Solomon Asch found that 2 3 of subjects did NOT make independent line judgments Socially Shared Reality group size does not matter much beyond 3 Leon Festinger conducted an experiment where subjects performed a boring task Subjects paid 1 were more positive about the experience than subjects paid 20 Proposed that we experience inconsistencies as unpleasant cognitive dissonance We may alter our attitudes to reduce dissonance Justification of Effort a goal is valued more highly if it is difficult to achieve Coercive Persuasion Individuals may change prior beliefs to be consistent with their actual behavior Stockholm Effect Prisoners identify with captors because they feel powerless Post decisional Dissonance Individuals rationalize decisions after the fact especially when in doubt Strange Case of Patty Hearst Kidnapped by Symbionese Liberation Army voluntarily committed their crimes Impressions formed by adjective trait lists are often determined by a single central trait Causes primacy effects increased remembrance Fundamental Attribution Error We attribute others behaviors to dispositions We attribute our own to the demands of the situation Looking Glass Theory self concepts are attributions based on interactions with others The roles we play in society largely determine our self perceptions Emotion Arousal Theories James Lange Theory of Emotion we are afraid BECAUSE we run not the opposite Schacter Singer Theory emotions are cognitive evaluations of behaviors arousal triggered by social stimuli Stimulus Behavior Arousal Cognitive Evaluation Reciprocity Principle People feel obligated to reciprocate favors Bystander Effect when to intervene Most likely to intervene if no one else seems to be available or responsible Most likely to intervene in unambiguous situations Form of ambiguity Pluralistic Ignorance witnesses do not know if anyone else has already intervened Ex Rape and murder of Kitty Genovese witnesses did nothing OBEDIENCE TO AUTHORITY Stanley Milgram told subjects to give others painful electric shocks in a learning experiment Most subjects did this even though they believed the learner was in pain In actuality control panel was phony so there were no real shocks Was this experiment ethical Was there informed consent Game Theory The Prisoner s Dilemma Two prisoners are questioned separately each may confess or remain silent To get the best result both individuals