Human Development 1 What does developmental psychology study Definition study of how our psychology changes over the lifespan Cognitive emotional behavioral and social changes from birth to old age 2 Be able to define and differentiate between cross sectional design and longitudinal design What are the problems with each Ways to measure developmental change Cross sectional design design that examines people of different ages at a single point o Problem Cohort effects effects due to individuals growing up in the same Longitudinal design design that examines development in same group at multiple o Problem Costly selective attrition people dropping out in time time period time points gene expression 3 Is our development due to nature or nurture What is nature via nurture What is Nature via nurture tendency of genetic predispositions to encourage people to seek out create certain environments Predisposition i e aggressive tendencies Environment i e exposure to violent media Often bi directional effect Instead of blaming violence on environment blame it on genetic violent tendencies Gene expression activation deactivation of genes by environmental experiences throughout development Example stress gene mainly in people with depression or stress gene is dormant until they are involved in a stressful event gene is activated and has an effect 4 Who was Piaget and what were his three important contributions to understanding cognitive development in children discussed in class Piaget First to present comprehensive account of cognitive development Major contribution children are not mini adults understanding of world is different from an adult s point of view Posited stages of development marked by radical reorganization 5 What are schemas What is equilibration Be able to define and differentiate between assimilation and accommodation Be able to give an example of each Schema knowledge structures mental models of our world Equilibration maintain a balance between our experience of the world and our thoughts about it Assimilation fitting new experiences into existing mental models Accommodation changing mental models to account for new experiences 6 Know Piaget s four stages of development when they generally occur and what cognitive abilities and limitations occur in each Piaget identified 4 stages Sensorimotor birth 2 years o Learning through own actions consequences o No thought beyond immediate experience o Object permanence understanding that objects exist even when out of sight Preoperational 2 7 years o Able to think beyond immediate situation understand symbolic representation o Egocentric inability to see the world from another s perspective o Unable to perform mental transformations Fail conversation tasks Concrete Operational 7 11 years o Mental operations but only physical objects Difficult to imagine hypothetical situations Formal Operations 11 years adulthood o Can think abstractly model hypothetical situations 7 What are two problems with Piaget s stages of cognitive development discussed in class Two major limitations Lee Vygotsky o Development appears to be more continuous not stage like o Some children show cognitive abilities sooner 8 What did Vygotsky emphasize in his theory of cognitive development What is scaffolding What is the zone of proximal development Caretakers facilitate learning and development by structuring environment emphasized social and cultural learning Scaffolding initial assistance by caretakers in children s learning gradually remove structure as child becomes more competent Zone of proximal development 9 What is the self concept What is theory of mind What is the false belief task and how does it demonstrate theory of mind Self concept important cognitive milestone understanding self as separate from others Around age 1 can recognize self in mirror Around age 2 can recognize pictures of self and can refer to self by name Theory of mind ability to reason about what other people think believe around age 4 False belief task Had box of crayons ask little kid what is in box little kids says crayons but it s actually candles When asked what they thought they said candles Someone with theory of mind would have been able to say I thought it was crayons but it was actually candles 10 What is attachment Attachment strong emotional connection we share with others First developed with our primary caregivers As a baby you can t care for yourself so you have emotional attachment towards people that give you food shelter etc Solid attachments form a secure base From which an individual can explore the world To which an individual can return to rest and restock depleted resources 11 In textbook What is imprinting Do humans exhibit imprinting Imprinting Once a young one is attached to someone usually the first person they see usually mother or father they tend to follow them around everywhere and stick to them We make bonds with people who care for us shortly after birth 12 Be able to describe Harry Harlow s experiment with rheseus monkeys What does it tell us about how attachment bonds form What is contact comfort Infant bonding originally believed to be related to nourishment but Harry Harlow reasoned it was because of physical touch Harlow provided infant monkeys with a wire mother and a terry cloth mother Monkeys preferred terry cloth mother Contact comfort positive emotions afforded by touch 13 What is the Strange Situation and what is it used to measure Know the way infants of each attachment style tend to respond to this situation Strange Situation Mom and baby are in room with toys Stranger comes in and Mom leaves after a few minutes leaving just baby and stranger Then mom comes back and stranger leaves Three styles based on response to situation Secure attachment 60 upset at mother s departure but greets with her joy upon return Insecure avoidant 15 20 indifference to mother s departure and return Insecure anxious 15 20 panicked at mother s departure mixed reaction upon return 14 Where does infant attachment come from What does it predict Infant attachment fundamentally related to child caregiver relationship it is bi directional Attachment styles predicts later behavior Secure tend to better adjusted helpful empathetic Anxious more likely to be disliked and mistreated 15 According to Hazan and Shaver what is adult attachment Their theory said interactions with caregiver early in life shape the beliefs and expectations about later relationships including
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