Psychology LO1 + SAC 1

changes in an organism(human or animal) that occur over time.

Emotional

Cognitive

Social

Physical

involves changes in how an individual experiences different feelings and how these feelings are expressed, interpreted and dealt with.

involves changes in an individual’s mental abilities.

involves changes in an individual’s relationship w/ others and their interacting skills.

involves changes in the body and it’s various systems. (physical and psychological develop. don’t occur independently of each other).

infancy: birth - 2 yrs

childhood: 2 - 12 yrs

adolescence: 12- 20 yrs

early adulthood: 20 - 40 yrs

middle age: 40 - 65 yrs

older age: 65 - beyond

standards by which the progress of development can be measured

internal factors, also known as ‘nature’, that involves the transmission of characteristics from biological factors such as genes

• influences many physical aspects; hair and eye colour, blood types, disorders, rate brain matures.

• genes influence psychological develop. - brain, nervous syst. and hormones play role in thoughts, feelings and behaviours.

refers to all experiences, objects & events to which we are exposed to throughout our lifetime.

• also plays important role in shaping psychological develop. - but less obvious/significant.

• influence psychological develop. are personal and socio cultural factors: origins, income level, life events, health, friendship group.

A debate whether heredity (nature) or environment (nurture) determines how we develop.

• Nature refers to how genetics influence an individual's personality,

• Nurture refers to how their environment (including relationships and experiences) impacts their development.

the emotional bond which form between an infant and another person.

→ formed during infancy influences emotional develop. (healthy attach. = more emotional control)

the strange situation: a standardised test for measuring attachment relo a child has with caregiver.

→ infant and caregiver taken into unfamiliar room before infant is exposed to series of sep. and reunions involving infant, caregiver, and stranger.

→ found that infants can form diff. types of attachments w caregiver. - varies on who strong connection is.

infant shows balance between dependence and exploration. - able to feel safe and depend on caregiver.

infant doesn’t not seek closeness or contact w caregiver and treats them like a stranger.

infant appears anxious even when caregiver is near.

- become upset when separated from cg, re-establishes contact upon reunion but then resists contact after.

shows inconsistent/odd and contradicting behaviours during sep. from and reunion w caregiver.

- no reaction to caregivers’ return etc, or cries when cg leaves but also when cg returns

Exp 1 Wire Surrogate Mother vs Cloth Surrogate Mother

to find out whether provision of food or contact comfort was more important in formation of mother-infant attachment.

8 newborn rhesus monkeys separated from mothers after birth.

Group 1 - 4 isolated in cage where cloth mother provided food and wire mother didn’t.

Group 2 - 4 isolated in cage wire mother provided food and cloth mother didn’t.

Result: all monkeys spent more with cloth surrogate mother → contact comfort over food

→ also found that privation was as important in attachment through exp 2: deprived rhesus monkeys from social contact.

Taken from mothers after birth.

Grp 1 - isolated 3 mths

Grp 2 - 6 mths

Grp 3 - 12 mths

they were more destructive, withdrawn and unable to relate socially the longer they were isolated.

Privation - involves absence of the opp to satisfy something that is needed/desired (social contact in this case)

any action that is influenced, directly/indirectly by the actual/implied/imagined/expected presence of others

early social behaviour:

smiling - first real pos social interaction

crying - early form on comm.

a period of time during development when an organism is more responsive/sensitive to certain types on enviro experiences/learning

‘ windows of opp. for learning ‘

• learning native language in this period is up to 12 yrs, window gradually closing from age 7.

a specific period in develop. during which an organism is most vulnerable to deprivation/absence of certain enviro. exp.

• will not recur at later stage → can have permanent/irreversible effect on develop.

any behaviour that is detrimental or interferes with an individual’s ability to adapt tp enviro and fulfil typical goal in society

any behaviour that enables indiv to adjust to the enviro appropriately and effectively

any deviation from what is considered normal, typical, usual or healthy

refers to ways of thinking, feeling and behaving that indicate that a person is able to perform everyday tasks at a level required to fulfil roles in society (eg free from disabling thoughts)

used to describe people whose neurological development and cognitive functionings are typical, conforming to what is considered normal in the general population.

→ in other words: the brain functions like that of the typical, ‘average’ person.

used to describe people whose neurological development & cognitive functioning are atypical and deviate from what is considered normal/typical in the population.

→ indivs diagnosed w intellectual disability may be described as neurodivergent

any disorder that impairs learning and results in the person learning w greater difficulty.

• learning disability: long term and permanent

• learning difficulty: relatively short term in nature and may change depending on indivs' circum.

• includes:

dyslexia -develop. disorder

dyscalculia -condition that affects ability to acquire mathematical skills

dyspraxia -condition that affects coordination of physical movements

there are range of mental health professionals and organisations who provide support services for the diagnosis and management of atypical behaviour or for mental wellbeing in general.

some qualified mental health professionals deal with all types of psychological & behavioural problems,

while others specialise in diagnosing & treating specific problems.

a professional trained in the science of how people think, feel and behave.

• can only work as psychologist & use psychologist title if they are registered by BPA + Aus Health Practitioner Regulation Agency

a qualified medical doctor who has obtained additional qualifications to become a specialist in diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses

• involves at least 11 yrs of study

social workers,

mental health nurse,

admin., policy/planning positions w psych/professionals,

GP

headspace,

kids helpline,

beyond blue,

SANE,

assessment - involves collecting & interpreting info about how a person thinks, feels & behaves to make a diagnosis - formally referred to as ‘clinical assessment’

assessment where biological, psychological and social factors are considered in order to make a diagnosis and treatment plan.

• usually done through clinical assessments:

face-to-face appointment/interviews,

behavioural observations,

psychological tests,

discovering strengths and weaknesses of abilities.

the process for identifying the type of disorder affecting an individual, as well as signs and symptoms using assessments tools, techniques and evidence.

a system for classifying and diagnosing mental disorders based on recognisable signs and symptoms.

• used for classifying behaviour for Diagnosis

• Categorical approach- does/doesn’t have a disorder.

• Dimensional approach - symptoms along a continuum on which people vary in degrees

is an approach to describing & explaining psychological develop. & wellbeing through the interaction of biological, psychological & social factors.

involve physiologically based or determined influences, often not under our control → genes, age, gender, race, brain chem. etc

involve all those internal, mental processes and influences → effects of prior experiences, resilience, learning and mem., emotions, beliefs etc

involve influences from the external social environment in which we interact with others → interpersonal relos, cultural values & traditions, employment hist. etc

the process of classifying an indiv. according to a specific diagnostic category → outcome is a label/name for their disorder

a sign of social disapproval or social deficiency, often involving shame or disgrace

the negative attitudes and beliefs held in the wider community that lead people to fear, exclude, avoid or unfairly discriminate against people

occurs when an indiv. accepts the negative views and reactions of others, internalises them and applies them to themself.

a neurodevelopmental disorder involving persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactive-impulse behaviour that adversely affects develop./everyday functioning.

• inattention - difficulty maintaining attention on tasks that don’t provide high stimulation or are rewarding.

• hyperactivity - excessive motor activity and difficulty remaining still

• impulsivity - act before thinking of consequences/outcomes

• predominantly inattentive presentation → problems w/ attention -

• predominantly hyperactive-impulsive presentation → ‘ ‘ hyperactivity & impulsivity

• combined presentation → ‘ ‘ all above

neurodevelopmental disorder that affects the way people communicate and interact with others and the world.

• persistent difficulties interacting & communicating,

• more highly restrictive/repetitive behaviour,

• typical activities/characteristics are accompanied by atypical reactions to sensory stimuli.

• biological factors:

- physical or chemical changes in developing brain before birth or early infancy,

- interaction of several genes in brain develop.,

- chromosomal conditions ( fragile X syndrome)

- very low birth weight,

• psychological + social factors that may influence onset/exp. of autism:

indiv differences,

quality of treatment,

schooling,

home enviro.

Behaviour that would usually occur/is appropriate & expected in given situation

Behaviour that differs markedly from what is expected in given situation.

• social norm - widely held standards that govern what people should/shouldn’t do in circum.

• personal distress - when person is extremely upset/suffering emotionally and distress is reasonable response’

• statistical rarity - how common. → more common = more typical

• cultural perspective - is it acceptable/a social norm in their culture

describes the impact of certain social & cultural exp. on our social, emotional & personality develop. at various stages of life span. → based on research, case studies

Age Develop. period Psychosocial crisis

1. birth - 18mth | early infancy | trust vs mistrust → predic. enviro = trust

2. 18mths - 3yrs | late infancy | autonomy vs shame & doubt → indep. vs lacks it

3. 3 - 5 yrs | early childh. | initiative vs guilt → plan 4 oneself v scared 2 overstep

4. 5 - 12 yrs | mid & late childh. | industry vs inferiority →efforts=praised/rewarded vs downgraded or seen as ‘mischeif’

5. 12 - 18 yrs | adolescence | identity vs role confusion → overall image

6. 18 - 25 yrs | young adulth. | intimacy vs isolation → care abt another vs alone

7. 25 - 65 yrs | adulthood | generativity vs stagnation → hope 2 leave mark on future gens. and better future v sameness

8. 65 yrs + | late adulth. | integrity vs despair → satisfaction w ones life vs opp.

suggests that children move through 4 diff stages of learning in cog. develop.

1. Sensorimotor stage (birth - 2 yrs)

infants explore & learn about the world through senses and motor activities

→ develops:

• object permanence (understanding object exists if they can’t be seen, heard or touched),

• goal directed behaviour (perform & complete seq of actions w purpose)

2. Pre-operational stage (2 - 7 yrs)

children become increasingly able to mentally rep. objects & experiences. (to think abt & imagine something)

→ develops:

• symbolic-thinking (use of symbols to rep objects)

• egocentrism (tendency preceives world solely from one’s pov)

• animism (belief that everything that exists has consciousness)

• transformation (understanding one thing can change from one state/form to another)

3. Concrete operational stage (7 - 12 yrs)

capable of true logic and thoughts & can perform mental operations - however, only applied to concrete objects/events

→ develops:

• mental operations (ability to accurately imagine conseqs. of something happening w/o it needing to happen)

• conservation (understanding that certain properties of object can remain same if appearance changes)

• classification (ability to organise into categories based on common ft.)

4. Formal operational stage (12 yrs+)

more complex thought process is evident and thinking becomes more sophisticated.

→ develops:

• abstract thinking (way of thinking that doesn’t rely on able to see,exp., manipulate in order to understand)

• idealistic thinking (ability to realistically think abt future & what is possible, then make plans to achieve goals)

the process of adaptation to the changing world. - involves an ongoing attempt to achieve assim. and accom.

the process of taking in new info and fitting it into and making it part of a pre-existing mental idea about objects/experiences.

→ EG a child may call a truck a car due to their pre-existing mental idea that cars have 4 wheels etc

involves changing a pre-existing mental idea in order to fit new info

→ EG a child may have a schema for birds (feathers, flying, etc.) and then they see a plane, which also flies, but would not fit into their bird schema.

A mental idea of what something is and how to act on it. - can be formed through assim. and accom.

reactions to a personally significant matter/event. → stimulus may be external (eg comment made by someone) or internal (eg thoughts)

• subjective feelings

• expressive behaviour

• physiological response

refers to the inner personal experience of an emotion. (eg embarrassed = turning red, wanting to shrink and disappear)

refers to the overt expressions of behaviour which communicate emotions. (eg facial expressions, body language)

bodily changes that occur when experiencing an emotion. (eg increased heart rate)