PSYCH 092 – DEVELOPMENTAL PYSCHOLOGYTEST #2 STUDY GUIDE CHAPTERS 7 through 12 By age 4 to 5, MANY PARTS OF THE CEREBRAL CORTEX HAVE OVERPRODUCED SYNAPSES  The left cerebral hemisphere IS ESPECIALLY ACTIVE BETWEEN 3 and 6 years and then levels off  Language skills EXPAND AT AN ASTONISHING PACE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD  Heritability of left-handedness is WEAK TO MODEST  The RETICULAR FORMATION maintains alertness and consciousness The pituitary gland releases hormones that INDUCE GROWTH  Many children BECOME UNPREDICTABLE, PICKY EATERS  Worldwide, 98 percent of deaths of children under age 5 are IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES  In developing countries, widespread DIARRHEA leads to growth stunting and an estimated 1 million childhood deaths each year Childhood diseases have declined dramatically during the past half-century, largely as a result of WIDESPREAD IMMUNIZATION OF INFANTS AND YOUNG CHILDREN  Many poverty-stricken U.S. children DO NOT RECEIVE FULL IMMUNIZATION PROTECTION UNTIL IT IS REQUIRED FOR SCHOOL ENTRY  Large-scale studies show NO association with autism and NO CONSISTENT effects on cognitive performance  UNINTENTIONAL INJURIES is the leading cause of childhood mortality in industrialized nations  An increase in SYMBOLIC activity is one of the most obvious changes as children move from the sensorimotor to the preoperational stage  Make-believe play is thought to NOT ONLY REFLECT BUT ALSO TO CONTRIBUTE TO CHILDREN’S COGNITIVE AND SOCIAL SKILLS  PIAGET MISSED MANY NATURALLY OCCURRING INSTANCES OF EFFECTIVE REASONING BY PRESCHOOLERS  Vygotsky’s theory HELPS US UNDERSTAND THE WIDE CULTURAL VARIATION IN CHILDREN’S COGNITIVE SKILLS  Erickson - Psychological conflict of the preschool years is INITIATVE VERSUS GUILT When preschoolers are THREATENED, CRITICIZED, AND PUNISHED EXCESSIVELY BY ADULTS, their exuberant play and bold efforts to master new tasks break down  A WARM, SENSITIVE PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIP fosters a more positive, coherent early self-concept The more parents LABEL EMOTIONS, EXPLAIN THEM, AND EXPRESS WARMTH WHEN CONVERSING WITH PRESCHOOLERS, the more “emotion words” children use and the better developed their emotional understanding  SELF-ESTEEM evaluations are among the most important aspects of self-development because they affect our emotional experiences, future behavior,and long-term psychological adjustment  TEACHER SENSITIVITY strongly predicts children’s social competence inearly childhood  At first, a child’s morality is EXTERNALLY CONTROLLED BY ADULTS, according to most theories of moral development  Discipline that relies too heavily on WITHDRAWAL OF LOVE makes children so anxious and frightened that they cannot think clearly enough to figure out what they should do MORAL DEVELOPMENT IS A GRADUAL PROCESS THAT EXTENDSINTO ADULTHOOD HIGHLY AGGRESSIVE CHILDREN TEND TO BE REJECTED BY PEERS AND TO FAIL IN SCHOOL  Children’s gender-stereotyped beliefs STRENGTHEN SO MUCH THAT MANY CHILDREN APPLY THEM AS BLANKET RULES THAT SHOULD NOT BE VIOLATED  Children of AUTHORITARIAN parents are more likely to react with hostility when frustrated and use force to get their way  Self-regulation training is likely to be fully effective in obesity prevention only when STRESSORS IN CHILDREN’S FAMILY LIVES ARE MANAGEABLE  Obesity has caused a dramatic rise in cases of DIABETES in children  In WESTERN SOCIETIES, OBESE CHILDREN ARE STEREOTYPED AS LAZY, SELF-DOUBTING, AND DECEITFUL  Reversibility consists of THINKING THROUGH A SERIES OF STEPS AND THEN MENTALLY REVERSE DIRECTION  CULTURAL FRAMEWORKS INFLUENCE CHILDREN’S MAP MAKING  Impact of culture and schooling – SPECIFIC CULTURAL AND SCHOOL PRACTICES HAVE MUCH TO DO WITH MASTERY OF PIAGETIAN TASKS Forms of logic required by Piagetian tasks do not emerge spontaneously, but, rather, are HEAVILY INFLUENCED BY TRAINING, CONTEXT, AND CULTURAL CONDITIONS  7-to 11-year-olds – Piaget’s CONCRETE OPERATION stage  Heritability evidence suggests CONSIDERABLE genetic contribution to executive function  Erickson – danger in middle childhood is INFERIORITY – pessimism of children who lack confidence in their ability to do things well  Perceived PHYSICAL APPEARANCE correlates more strongly with overall self-worth than does any other self-esteem factor  Racial and ethnic prejudices – OVERLY HIGH SELF-ESTEEM  INTERGROUP CONTACT IN RACIALLY AND ETHNICALLY DIVERSE COOPERATIVE LEARNING GROUPS is an effective way to reduce prejudice  Child sexual abuse – THE ABUSER IS OFTEN A PARENT OR SOMEONE THE PARENT KNOWS WELL  Women who were sexually abused are likely to CHOOSE PARTNERS WHO ABUSE THEM AND THEIR CHILDREN  Resilience ENABLES CHILDREN TO USE INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL RESOURCES TO COPE WITH ADVERSITY BIOLOGICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, AND SOCIAL FORCES COMBINE TO INFLUENCE ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT  A GENE OR GROUP OF GENES ON THE X CHROMOSOME might predispose males to develop same-sex attraction  Girls EXPOSED PRENATALLY TO VERY HIGH LEVELS OF ANDROGENS OR ESTROGENS are more likely to develop lesbian or bisexual orientations Young people from ages 15 to 24 HAVE THE HIGHEST RATES OF SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS OF ALL AGE GROUPS  ABOUT ONE-FOURTH OF ADOLESCENT PREGNANCIES END IN ABORTION – accounts for the number of teenage births being so much lower in U.S. than 50 years ago  Formal operational stage of cognitive development in adolescence NO LONGER REQUIRE CONCRETE THINGS OR EVENTS AS OBJECTS OF THOUGHT  Sophisticated metacognitive understanding is vital for SCIENTIFIC REASONING  The imaginary audience is most likely responsible for adolescents’ SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS AND SENSITIVITY TO PUBLIC CRITICISM LATE ADOLESCENCE AND EARLY ADULTHOOD – absorbed in the task of identity formation  Adolescents with POOR ACADEMIC SELF-ESTEEM tend to be anxious and unfocused  AUTHORITATIVE – parenting style that is predictive of high self-esteem in adolescence  Per Kohlberg’s “Heinz Dilemma”, IT IS THE WAY AN INDIVIDUAL REASONS ABOUT THE DILEMMA THAT DETERMINES MORAL MATURITY  Know the stages of moral development (Kohlberg), esp. Stage 6, the universal ethical principle orientation  Gilligan believes that Kohlberg’s theory of moral understanding DOES NOTADEQUATELY REPRESENT THE MORALITY OF GIRLS AND WOMEN About 70 percent of Americans RATE RELIGION AS VERY