Pysch 2700 Exam 1

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