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PSYC 307 Exam 1
Nurture |
empiricism: Locke, babies come into this world not knowing anything & learn through experiences; not specific to development but to learning principles; development is SLOW, to see change need lots of experiences
PROBLEMS: babies have at least rudimentary knowledge when born (not naive), there are universal aspects of development regardless of experiences, development happens FAST |
Nature |
-nativism; babies come into world with knowledge systems special to just humans, not about experiences but by biology (everything is predetermined), can only study babies
PROBLEM: predetermined not true, a lot of evidence of interaction between biology and environment, |
Continuity |
a process of gradually adding more of the same types of skills that were there to begin with; knowledge gets bigger and bigger
-development is a smooth, continuous process
- adults are just bigger version of babies! tree analogy |
Discontinuity |
a process in which new ways of understanding and responding to the world emerge at specific times
-children change rapidly as they step up to a new level of development and change very little for awhile; with each step, the child interprets and responds to the world in a qualitatively different way
-caterpillar to butterfly analogy; adults not bigger version of babies! |
Stage theories |
qualitative changes in thinking, feeling, and behaving that characterize specific periods of development; development is like climbing a staircase, with each step corresponding to a more mature, reorganized way of functioning
- change is sudden as they step up from one stage to the next, alternating with plateaus during which they stand solidly within a stage |
Context |
unique combinations of personal and environmental circumstances that can result in different paths of change
personal: heredity, biological makeup
environmental: home, child-care, school, community resources, historical time period
|
reliability |
degree to which independent measures of behaviors are consistent (i.e. observers must agree on what they see) |
inter-rater reliability |
in observational research, observers are asked to evaluate the same behaviors, and agreement between them is obtained |
test-retest reliability |
reliability of self-report and neurobiological data can be demonstrated by comparing children's responses to the same measures on separate occassions |
validity |
degree to which a test or an experiment measures what it is intended to measure |
internal validity vs. external validity |
- conditions internal to the design of the study permit an accurate test of the researcher's hypothesis or question
- findings generalize to settings and participants outside the original study |
what are 3 contexts for gathering data |
interviews, naturalistic observation, structured observation |
interviews: clinical |
clinical: (unstructured) questions adjusted in accord with the answers the interviewee provides; researchers use a flexible, conversational style to probe the participants point of view
PROBLEM: accuracy with which people report thoughts, feelings, etc. (want to please interviewer, trouble recalling experiences)
STRENGTHS: permits people to display their thoughts in terms that are close as possible to the way they think in everyday life |
interviews: structured |
all participants get same questions,
STRENGTHS: more efficient, answers are briefer, researchers can obtain written responses form an entire group at the same time
PROBLEMS: dont yield same depth of information as a clinical interview, inaccurate reporting |
Interviews: case studies |
-brings together wide range of information on one child; aim is to complete best picture possible of child
STRENGTHS: yields richly detailed case narratives that offer valuable insights into development
PROBLEMS: researcher's bias can get in way, researchers can't assume conclusions can apply or generalize to anyone other than child studied |
Naturalistic observation |
observation of behavior in natural contexts
STRENGTHS: reflects participants' everyday behaviors
PROBLEMS: cannot control conditions under which participants are observed (not all children have the same opportunity to display a particular behavior in everyday life); accuracy of observations may be reduced by observer influence and observer bias |
structured observation |
-observation of behavior in a lab, where conditions are same for everyone
STRENGTHS: grants each participant an equal opportunity to display the behavior of interest; permits study of behaviors rarely seen in everyday life
PROBLEMS: can't yield observations typical of everyday life |
ethnography |
like case study, ethnographic research is a descriptive, qualitative technique; directed at aiming to understand a culture of social group through participant observation |
Correlational design |
- look at relationships between participants characteristics and behavior or development
association between two variables
PROBLEMS: correlation doesn't equal causation, third variable problem, |
experimental design |
-Controlled setting
-experimental group receives an experience of interest, the independent variable
-Those in the control group do not receive this experience
-The dependent variable is a behavior that is hypothesized to be affected by the independent variable
Random assignment- protect against confounding variables |
Natural experiments |
- investigator compares already existing treatments in real world ; studies differ from correlational research only in that groups of participants are carefully chosen to ensure that their characteristics are as much alike as possible
PROS: permit researchers to examine impact of conditions that cannot be experimentally manipulated for ethical reasons |
longitudinal design |
- people are studied repeatedly at different ages, and changes are noted as they get older
PROS: tracks performance of each person over time so researchers can identify common patterns and individual differences in development; permits investigator to examine relationships between early and later events and behaviors
CONS: age-related changes may be distorted b/c of biased sampling, selective attrition, practice effects, and ***cohort effects |
cross-sectional design |
-investigator studies groups of participants differing in age at the same time
PROS: more efficient, avoids all cons of long.
CONS: doesn't permit study of individual developmental trends; age differences may be distorted b/c of cohort effect |
sequential design |
- investigator conduct several cross-sectional or longitudinal investigations (sequences); they might study people over same ages but in different years or study people over different ages but during same years
PROS: reveals cohort effects! |
microgenetic |
investigator presents children with a novel task and follows their mastery over series of closely spaced sessions |
mutations,
crossing over,
random assortment |
- all mechanisms contributing to genetic diversity
- a sudden but permanent change in segment of DNA
- chromosome next to each other break at one or more points along their length and exchange segments, so that genes from one are replaced by genes from another
- random way of sperm/ovum cells splitting |
X-linked characteristics seen more in boys or girls? |
boys, b/c sex chromosomes do not match (XY) |
Name 4 disorders that are included under sex chromosome abnormalities |
males: XYY syndrome, Klinfelter syndrome: XXY
females: turner syndrome: XO, XXX syndrome |
males: klienfelter's syndrome, XYY syndrome |
- extra X chromosome; incomplete development of sex characteristics at puberty, sterile, look like females
- extra Y chromosome; phenotypically normal, typical males, but have accelerated growth & height is above average for racial ethnic group |
females: turner syndrome, XXX syndrome |
- missing X chromosome, have ovaries, look like peers but don't develop 2ndary sex characteristics (can be sterile)
- extra X chromosome, sexual development and fertility normal |
canalization |
- gene-environment interaction
- tendency of heredity to restrict the development of some characteristics to just one or a few outcomes; a behavior that is strongly canalized develops similarly in a wide range of environments; only strong environmental forces can change it |
Gene-enviornment correlation: passive, evocative, and active |
- child has no control over it, parents provide environments influenced by own heredity
- responses children evoke from others are influenced by child's heredity and these responses strengthen child's original style
- actively seek environments that fit with their genetic tendencies |
niche picking |
- tendency to actively choose environments that complement our heredity |
grey matter vs. white matter |
- cell bodies and dendrites
-neuronal axons and myelin sheaths |
6 developmental events of brain maturation |
1) Neurogenesis
2) Migration of cells
3) Cell differentiation
4) Synaptogenesis
5) Myelination
6) Synaptic pruning |
Experience-expectant brain growth |
-refers to young brain's rapidly developing organization, which depends on ordinary experiences-opportunities to interact with people, hear language, etc.; as a result of evolution, brains of young children expect to encounter these experiences
- occurs naturally |
experience-dependent brain growth |
- consists of additional growth and refinement of established brain structures as a result of specific learning experiences that very widely across individuals and cultures |
3 periods of prenatal development |
1) germinal: conception-2 wks
2) embryonic: 2- 8 wks
3) fetal: 8wks-9 months |
Major events in germinal |
-zygote->blastocyst-> implantation into uterine lining |
major events in embryonic |
-major development of organ and organ systems (i.e. 3 layers form
-support systems develop (umbilical cord, amnion, placenta)
- sense of touch, embryo can move at 4-8 wks!! |
major events in fetal |
-most vital organs have formed
-rapid increase in size
- sex evident at 3rd month
|
teratogens |
any environmental
agent that causes damage during the prenatal period |