PSYCHOLOGY FINAL EXAM STUDY GUIDE Topic One Lifespan Development it Issues specific to developmental research studies how things change over the course of a lifespan challenges that arise 1 post hoc fallacy means after this in Latin the mistake of assuming that because A comes before B A must cause B when we see a phenomenon occur in adulthood we look at childhood to see what causes its easy to say violent media caused school shooting x y and z 2 bidirectionality development is a two way street children s experiences influence their development means that a person interacts with the environment much like the environment interacts but their development also influences their development with them as children grow older they play an active role in altering and selecting environments the parent parents which affects the child and it goes back and forth EX parenting parents don t determine how kids act how the kids act determines how EX children witness violence at school they become more aggressive What are the pros and cons of 1 cross sectional 2 longitudinal research 1 cross selection a design in which researchers examine people of different ages at a single point in time EX sampling 100 000 people ages ranging from 18 to 80 on driving ability cons education differences don t control for cohort effect when things differ between two groups like age people who lived in one time period can differ from people from a different time period ex 80 yr olds will be less knowledgable about computers than 20 yr olds longitudinal tracking the development of the same group of subjects over time cohort effect is avoided using this method allows us to examine true developmental effects and changes over time cons ideal but it takes forever can be decades not practical results in attrition people move away die decide not to participate anymore 2 What are genes segments of DNA that build proteins used for different functions in the body How do they influence our development How do they interact with our environment gene environment interaction the impact of genes on behavior depends on the nature may influence nurture idea that people with genetic predispositions have a environment in which behavior develops tendency to seek out create environments where those predispositions can be expressed thrive what motivates someone to become an athlete or musician some argue that there are genes that accompany music with pleasure or if you re 7ft tall then you are going to play basketball because its expected and shoved down your throat gene expression changes can activate and express different genes in response to what happens around you genes take a long time to change but performance has increased dramatically EX the 4 minute mile that could never be broken or double flip dive that was too insane to do Early development of the brain human development is very important conception zygote blastocyst embryo fetus child proliferation neurons begin developing between 18th day and 6 months 1 4 billion brain cells are created per minute most brain cells you will ever have don t have functional connections between cells pruning brain gets rid of neurons cells that aren t used needed Know what a teratogen is and give some examples of teratogens and known consequences resulting from exposure to them teratogens chemicals that affect development of embryo or fetus 1 alcohol drastic affects on physical and cognitive development results in Fetal Alcohol 2 drugs prescription drugs crack baby Syndrome FAS 1 impaired cognition 2 physical abnormalities acutain acne medication thalidomide stunted limbs cognition is normal more common in Europe 3 smoking tobacco low birth weight from tobacco use not good associated with deficiency in physical and cognitive development genetic disorders down syndrome can predict very early on because you have the most amount of cells you will ever have at conception associated with deficiency in physical and cognitive development impaired hearing and impaired vision premature birth viability life at 35 weeks aka baby can live when born at 35 weeks How does universal physical development give us hints about nature s role in a child s early development What are some examples of universal physical development universal physical development order of progression development happens around the same time regardless of culture heavier babies tend to achieve milestones quicker because lighter babies need time to build up muscle all children acquire motor milestones in the same order 4months socially smiling 6months sitting without support 9months crawling 11months standing 12months cruising 13months walking 18 to 24months running What are infant reflexes Give some examples What is their function infant reflexes automatic motor behaviors that are triggered by types of stimulation and fulfill survival needs what babies CAN do they increase our survival chances gets us along until we can actually do things examples palmers grasp when you stick out your finger and the baby grabs it rooting when you brush an infants cheek they will turn to you looking for a nipple Who is Jean Piaget How did he develop his theories of development Jean Piaget worked with Beigne intelligence test guy French interested in what kids were getting wrong missing instead of what they were getting right noticed that kids answers were different at different ages he concluded that cognitive development was a step by step process and there are four different stage What are Piaget s stages of cognitive development Explain each 1 sensorimotor birth to 2 years they experience the world through senses and actions 2 preoperational 2 6 7 years using intuitive reasoning rather than local reasoning don t have object permanence ex peek a boo hiding a ball etc stranger anxiety babies sony like strange people only their mom and dad able to pretend play they get over egocentrism they don t have theory of mind seeing things from others 3 concrete operational 7 11 yrs able to perform mental transformations on physical objects perspectives don t dream in 3rd person until you get over this mathematical transformations can start doing simple math conservation develops understanding that tall skinny glass and short fat glass the same amount of water abstract reasoning logic there are 4 people on one track and 1 person on another you pull the switch to change the route of the train to hit the one person rather than have 4 formal operaton 12 yrs to
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