universal
most people follow a similar developmental path
context-specific
development deeply intertwined with the context w/in which it (a person's experiences) occur
Behaviorism
Reinforcement and Punishment; Watson & tested by B.F. Skinner
Learning Theory: Social Learning Theory
R & P (behaviorism) are good but people also learn through observable behaviors and imitations; Bandura
Learning Theory: Cognitive Development
children are life scientists & want to know the world, revise theories if needed/as more is learned; Piaget & Vygotsky
Evolutionary Theories
concepts of natural selection and adaptation for human behavior focusing on FUNCTIONS of behaviors and how certain functions ensure survival of species; DARWIN
Critical Periods
a stage in the lifespan of an organism during which the nervous system is especially sensitive to certain environmental stimuli
Kindchenschema
physical features of cuteness in a baby that makes people want to nurture and attach to the cute thing (baby)
Ecological
effect of context on development; emphasizes child's active role in selecting influencing contexts; Bronfenbrenner
Scientific Method
1. Question 2. Hypothesis 3. Method for Testing *** 4. Draw Conclusion
Method: Interview
structured (identical q's for many children) or clinical (prepped q's and then follow child's lead)
pro: in depth data, quick, individualized, convenient
con: can forget, bias
Method: Observations
naturalistic (observe in real-life situations/settings) or structured (created setting designed to highlight certain behavior)
pro: (1) yield info about everyday lives & (2) all children observed in same context
con: (1) observer bias, hard to know which
Research Designs (in order of use/preference)
cross-sectional, longitudinal, micro-genetic
Cross-Sectional
compare children of diff. ages/groups & their behaviors
pro: reveals differences b/t groups & age
con: does not reveal stability or continuity/patterns of change individually
Longitudinal
stability & patterns of change measured @ regular intervals over time with same children
con: participants may move or dropout of study (lost data)
Micro-genetic
eliminates broadness of cross-sectional and longitudinal by recruiting children JUST on verge of major development to study and follow closely
pro: limited, but intensive period of time, find what triggers the occurrence of a developmental chance
Reliability
extent to which a measure provides a consistent index and can be repeated to find similar result
Validity
whether a measure really measures what researchers think it does
Study Types
Correlational, Experimental
Correlational Study
measures whether relationship b/t 2 variables is positive or negative and strength of correlation
con: does not address cause + effect
Experimental Study
finds causal relationships
MUST HAVE:
1) random assignment of child into any group (control or experimental) &
2) a control group
pro: allows for causal testing, allows experimental control to rule out extraneous factors
con: artificial settings, can only
Prenatal Development Stages
Germinal Period, Embryonic Period, Fetal Period
Germinal Period
first 2 weeks after conception, egg + sperm combine to make zygote which under goes mitosis, blastocyst forms, and then implantation occurs
Zygote
fertilized egg that undergoes mitosis (zygote splits into multiple cells)
Mitosis
cell division into identical cells
Blastocyst
(5 days in) cells group together on one side & will become embryo, blastocyst becomes protective layer
Implantation
(6 days in) embeds into uteurine wall
Embryonic Period
3-8 week, ball of cells differentiate and inner cell masses become embryo, all major organs begin to form and rest of cell becomes support system
Embryonic Support System
amniotic sac, amniotic fluid, placenta, umbilical chord
Fetal Period
9 weeks- birth, all internal organs become present, @ 28th week lungs & brain are developed (baby could survive outside of womb)
Developmental Processes
mitosis, cell migration, cell differention, apoptosis, cephalocaudal growth
Cell Migration
movement of newly grown cells away from point of origin
Cell Differention
initially all cells are interchangable & flexible- able to become any organ/function (embryonic stem cells)
Apoptosis
(cell death) cells must know when to die (i.e. webbed fingers)
cephalocaudal growth
areas near head develop first, rest of body catches up later
Fetal Senses
touch (8 weeks, self and parts of umbilical chord, uterine wall), taste (amniotic sac fluid), smell (amniotic sac fluid), hearing (heartbeat, bloodflow, voices), vision (least influenced prenatally)
Hazards
teratogens, SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome)
Teratogens
an external agent causing damage or death during prenatal development
Teratogens: Alcohol
most common human teratogen, can cross placenta and fetus cannot metabolize fast enough
microcephaly
small brain, possible learning developments (common result of Alcohol affecting prenatal development), higher SIDS risk
Teratogens: Cigarettes
reduce oxygen for fetus, slow fetal growth & low birth rate, higher SIDS risk
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
no causes, inadequate reflexive response to respiratory occlusion
Chromosomes
threadlike structures that contain genetic material (parents give 23 chromosomes each which then combine to make 23 pairs of chromosomes)
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic Acid = twisted strands of chromosomes in double helix that carry biochemical instructions for formation and functioning of organisms
Genes
formed by groups of DNA; A functional unit of heredity
Genotype
a complete set of genes that make up a persons heredity
Phenotype
observable expression of genotype (physical, behavioral, physiological features resulting from interaction b/t genotype and environment)
Regulator Genes
Help w/ gene expression by switching genes on @ appropriate time; certain environmental experiences elad to certain triggers of development
Alleles
genes w 2+ different forms (can be dominant or recessive)
Homozygous
two of the same allele (corresponding trait will be expressed)
heterozygous
one of each allele (dominant is expressed)
polygenic
many different genes contribute to a phenotype
plasticity
capacity of brain to be affected by experience
experience-expectant plasticity
our brains evolved to expect certain experiences
experience-dependent plasticity
not experienced by everyone; brain responds to and develops from idiosyncratic experiences that are individualized person-to-person
sensitive periods
times when brain is particularly sensitive to particular environmental stimuli; window gradually closes so TIMING MATTERS
Sensation
processing of sensory, information from external world by sensory receptions in sense organs
perception
process of organizing & interpreting sensory information by brain
preferential looking technique
study that proved babies do have opinions (i.e. prefer to look @ patterns and high-contrast colors)
habituation
respond w/ less attention (boredom) to stimuli that has been experienced repeatedly
disabituation
indicates infant has noticed stimuli is different
visual activity
infants visual system=immature
cones
responsible for visual activity and light-sensitivity; light-sensitive neurons concentrated in central region of retna (fine detail + color)
eye sight
8 months = near acuity, 6 years =clarity like adult
color perception
infant have poor color vision @ first
2-3 months = similar to adults
4 year = distinguish b/t shades
visual scanning
ability to stay w moving objects
<1 month selectively scan areas of high contract
2 months - scan around more & pick up info about faces
2-3 months = able to track smoothly
perception- facial
infants drawn to faces from birth; preference for top heavy images- eventually develop preference for caregiver
can distinguish b/t human faces and monkey species
perception- object
2-4 months = understood separate objects concept (kellman & spelke)
object segregation
boundaries b/t object, ability to distinguish
perception- depth
...
binocular disparity
retinal images of an object are not identical in both eyes due to distance b/t eyes (closer = more disparity_
stereopsis
brain combines differing neural signals leading to perception of death (ability emerges around 4 months)
audition
fairly well developed @ birth, but ears and auditory pathways in brain need to develop
auditory localization
improves over first 2 years
improvement
detecting and differentiate speech sounds
perception- intermodal
integration of information from 2 + sensory modalities
- emerges over first few months
oral-visual
put whatever I see in my mouth
manual-visual
touch integrated w/ visual
auditory-visual
match hearing w/ visual
inborn preferences
cycle of development; i.e. I look @ mom, she likes it, spends more time w me & more attention
habituation & adaptive
infants can ignore familiar, predictable information & attend to new, important information
efficiency of processing
speed of infants habituation to new stimulus reflects how efficiently infant processes info
perceptual learning
finding order and regularity in the objects and events the infants' perceive
differentiation
environment provides abundance of information, constantly changing
affordances
depend on properties of an object and capabilities of user (what does an object afford itself to do; i.e. a chair affords sitting, a door w/ a handle affords pulling)
statistical learning
detecting statistically predictable patterns in the environment; available to infants early on across a range of stimuli (speech, music, action)
kirkham et all 2002
2 & 8 month olds; habituated kids to pattern then show 2 test options (one w pattern and one w/o) @ 2 * 8 months, infants looked longer @ unfamiliar
conditioning
classical, instrumental/operant
classical conditioning
pairing of neural stimulus w/ a stimulus that leads to reflexive response (povlov's dog study)
instrumental/operant conditioning
learning relationship b/t action and consequence
consequences of action
play role (negative or positive) in whether or how infant does action again
observable learning/imitation
reproduction of a witnessed behavior; imitation becomes more flexible + rational