AP Psych - Developmental Psychology

behavior genetics

the study of the relative power and limits of genetic and enviromental influences on behavior

enviroment

every nongenetic influence

chromosomes

threadlike structures made of DNA that contain genes

DNA

molecule containing the genetic information that makes up the chromosomes

genes

small segments of DNA

genome

the complete instuctions for making an organism, consisting of all the genetic material in that organism’s chromosomes

identical twins

twins who develop from a single fertalized egg that splits into two

fraternal twins

twins who develop from seperate fertilized eggs

temperment

a person’s characteristic emotional reactivity and identity

heritability

the proportion of variation among individuals we can attribute to genes

molecular genetics

subfield of biology that studies the molecular structure and function of genes

evolutionary psychology

study of the evolution of behavior and the mind, using priciples of natural selection

natural selection

the principle that, among a range of inherited trait variations, those that lead to increased reproduction and survival are most likely to be passed on to succeding generations

mutation

a random error in gene replication that leads to a change

culture

the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next

norm

an understood rule for accepted an expected behavior

individualism

prioritizing one’s own goals over group goals and defining one’s identity interms of personal attributes rather than group identification

collectivism

prioritizing the goals of one’s group and defining one’s identity accordingly

social learning theory

theory that we learn social behavior by observing and imitating and by being rewarded and punished

developmenal psychology

a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span

zygote

• fertilized egg

• conception - 2 weeks

embryo

• developing organism

• 2 weeks - 8 weeks

fetus

• developing organism

• 9 weeks - birth

tetrogens

agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm

fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)

physical and cognitive abnormalities caused by a pregnant person’s heavy drinking

habituation

decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation

maturation

biological growth processes that enable changes in behavior

cognition

all the mental activities associated w/ thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

schema

a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information

assimilation

interpreting our new experience in terms of our existing schemas

accommodation

adapting our curent understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Deveopment

Sensorimotor

• birth - 2 years

• experiencing the world through senses and actions (looking, hearing, touching, mouthing, grasping)

• object permanence, stranger anxiety

Preoperational

• 2 - 6/7 years

• represinting things with words and images, using intuitive rather than logical reasoning

• pretend play, egocentricism (difficulty percieving things from another’s point of view)

Concrete operational

• 7 - 11 years

• thinking logicially about concrete events, grasping concrete analogies and performing mathmatical transformations

• conservation (properties like volume remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects), mathmatical transformations ( 8 + 4 = 12, 12 - 4 = ?)

Formal operational

• 12 - adulthood

• abstract reasoning

• abstract logic, potential for mature moral reasoning

attachment

• an emotional tie with another person

• seen in young children through seeking closeness with a caregiver and showing distress upon separation

critical period

optimal period when certain events must take place to facilitate proper development

imprinting

the process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life

basic trust

according to Erik Erikson, a sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy

• said to be formed during infancy through responsive caregivers

self-concept

our understanding and evaluation of who we are

cross-sectional study

a study in which people of different ages are compared w/ one another

longitudinal study

research in which the same people are studied and retested over a long period

crystalized intelligence

• our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills

• tends to increase with age

fluid intelligence

• our ability to reason speadily and abstractly

• tends to decrease during late adulthood

social clock

the culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement

Jean Piaget

• cognitive development

• stage theorist

  • sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, formal operational

Lev Vygotsky

• Soviet psychologist

• believed that cognitive abilities aren’t biologicially determined, but rather shaped by the use of language and tools in the process of interacting w/ the cultural and social enviroment

• zone of proximal development - the gap btwn what a child is currently able to do unsupported and the level they are capable of reaching with tools provided by others (friends, adults, technology)

• inner speech - communication w/ oneself

Erik Erikson

• German-American psychologist/psychoanalyst

• personality development - psychosocial

• stages of psycho-social development

  • trust vs. mistrust

    • infancy (1st year)

    • if needs are dependable met, infants develop a sense of basic trust

  • autonomy vs. shame and doubt

    • toddler (2nd year)

    • toddlrs learn to exercise will and do things for themselves, or they will doubt their abilities

  • initiative vs. guilt

    • preschooler (3 - 5 years)

    • preschoolers learn to initiate tasks and carry out plans, or they feel guilty about plan to be independent

  • competence vs. inferiority

    • elementary (6 years - puberty)

    • children learn the pleasure of applying themselves to tasks, or they feel inferior

  • identity vs. role confusion

    • adolescence (teens - 20’s)

    • teenagers work at refining a sense of self by testing roles and then integrating them to form a single identity, or they become confused about who they are

  • intimacy vs. isolation

    • young adult (20's - 40’s)

    • young adults find close relationships and gain the capacity for intimate love, or they feel socially isolated

  • generativity vs. stagnation

    • middle adult (40’s - 60’s)

    • the middle-aged discover a sense of contributing to the world, or they may feel a lack of purpose

  • integrity vs. despair

    • late adult (late 60’s onward)

    • when reflecting on their life, the older adult may feel a sense of satisfaction or failure

Lawrence Kohlberg

• American psychologist

• stages of moral development

  • preconventional

    • 7 - 11 years

    • moral judgements to obtain rewards and avoid punishment

  • conventional

    • 11 on

    • moral decisions based on what they think others will think of them, based on rules/laws

  • principled

    • occasionally after 13

    • judge actions on the basis of ethical principles, rather than the consequences

Carol Gilligan

• American psychologist

• stages of moral development, critiqued Kohlberg for only studing moral reasoning of boys

  • Morality as Individual Survivor

    • follows rules to obtain rewards and avoid punishments

  • Morality as Self-Sacrifice

    • obtained after becoming aware of the needs of others

    • believes that they must sacrifice their own needs and meet the needs of others

  • Morality as Equality

    • the person views their own needs as equal to those of others

    • believes that everyone’s needs should be met when possible, and that sacrifices should be shared

Harry Harlow

• American psycholgist

• cloth/wire monkey experiments

  • the importance of caregiving and companionship to social and cognitive developments

Sigmund Freud

• Psychoanalyst

• Unconscious

• Id, ego, superego

• Free association

Mary Ainsworth

• American-Canadian developmental psychologist

• strange situation procedure

  • attachment styles

Jerome Kagan

• American psychologist

• showed that an infants temperament is quite stable over time + that certain behaviors in infancy are preductive of behaviors patterns in adolescence

Judy DeLoache

• American psychologist

• dual representation - the concept that the ability to use a symbolic object (such as a map or a model) arises from mentally representing the object in two different ways, as an actual object and as a symbol for the object

Karen Wynn

• Canadian psychologist

• cognative capabilities of infants and young children

Diana Baumrind

• clinical and developmental psychologist

• parenting styles

  • authoritarian, permissive, authoritative

Konrad Lorenz

• American zoologist, ethologist, ornithologist

• instinctive behavior in animals

  • imprinting