developmental psych exam 2

cognition

the activity of knowing & processing, through which knowledge is acquired

flexible question-answer techniques, standardization

piaget's clinical method involved _____ rather than _____

schema

an organized way of thinking or acting that allows us to interpret our experiences

example of a behaviorist schema

grasping a block or a bottle of milk

example of a symbolic schema

creating a mental model of a horse or bear

adaptation

adjusting to the demands of one’s environment

assimilation

interpreting new experiences in terms of already existing schema. (Ex: the first time a child sees a plane, they assume it is a large, loud bird)

accommodation

the process of modifying existing schema to better fit new experiences (Ex: the first time a child sees a lamb, they assume its a dog and are corrected; they now have to modify what they know of as a dog and introduce the schema of a lamb)

disequilibrium

cognitive conflict, which a person attempts to resolve through, for example, accommodation

sensory-motor stage

piaget's first stage of intellectual development (0-18 months)

reflex activity substage

birth-1 month old, involves exercising inborn reflexes

primary circular reactions substage

1-4 months, interesting acts on the child’s own body are repeated

secondary circular reactions substage

4-8 months, repetition of interesting acts on objects

coordination of secondary schemes substage

8-12 months, in which there is a combination of acts to solve a problem/achieve a goal

tertiary circular reactions substage

12-18 months, an infant finds new ways to solve problems or produce interesting results

beginning of thought substage

18-24 months first evidence of insight & ability to solve a problem mentally using symbols to stand for objects

object permanence

a concept in which children realize that things don’t necessarily cease to exist just because they can no longer be detected by the five senses. this ability implies that the child can retain a mental image.

example of object permanence

a child cries and reaches for a favorite toy they were playing with after it had been put inside a toy box

18 months

piaget believed that object permanence was grasped at age _____, but recent evidence shows that it develops earlier than he thought.

example of tertiary reactions

a child stuffing cereal in the mouth, then the ears, then the hair, then the floor, and is experimenting to find new solutions to problems

example of beginning of thought

a child is not allowed to play with dad’s ring of keys, but they discover that they can “pretend” that a ring of metal tabs are the car keys. they are using a symbol to stand in for the actual car keys

preoperational stage

piaget's second stage of development, occurring from age 2-7, titled as such because, supposedly, logical thinking does not yet exist in this stage; is coupled with increased symbolic capacity and language usage.

earlier

logical thinking actually occurs _____ than piaget thought

egocentrism

a key feature of the preoperational stage, involves the inability to take another person’s point of view (quite literally so)

example of egocentrism

a child holding up their fingers to mime how old they are when asked how old they are over the phone, believing that, since they can see their fingers, the person on the other line must be able to as well

animism

an example of illogical thinking during the preoperational stage, involves attributing human qualities to non-human entities

example of animism

thinking that clouds move by walking through the sky on their legs, because they get bored staying where they are

lack of ability to conserve

an illogical feature of the preoperational stage involving a child’s notion that all aspects of things change once there is a change in some superficial appearance of an object, the idea that once something has changed, it is impossible to change it back

reversibility

the process of mentally undoing an action

concrete operations stage

piaget's third stage of development (ages 7-12) in which a child is noticeably less egocentric, can understand conservation, and is capable of utilizing reversibility; the way the world appears physically is something that the child can imagine readily and is capable of understanding

seriation

the ability to order things from smallest to largest, shortest to tallest, lightest to darkest, etc., a feature of the concrete operations stage

formal operational stage

piaget's fourth stage of development (entered at age 12), differentiated from the concrete operational stage in that these thinkers can think about and imagine hypotheticals and possibilities and engage in hypothetical deductive thinking

example of hypothetical deductive thinking

a teacher asks their class what would happen if gravity didn’t exist, and a student answers that they would have to redesign classrooms with desks on the ceiling; the child can invent ideas that are contrary to actual facts

generating all possible hypotheses

the first step in hypothetical deductive thinking

more likely to rebel against the inconsistencies they are able to detect in the world

one implication of formal operational thought is that adolescents are _____than children are.

imaginary audience

the teen feels as though they are on display, much like an actor on a stage (ex: spilling water on your pants and refusing to go to class because people might stare at you)

personal fable

a story the teen tells themselves about themselves that is not inherently true (“no one could experience the heartache that I have had since I broke up with my partner”; “I will never die”). this can cause teens to take unnecessary risks

post-formal thinking

goes beyond Piaget and beyond formal operations., involving a consideration of relativistic thinking

absolutist thinking

involves the notion that there is only one right answer to a question (one truth)

relativistic thinking

assumes that there may be a number of answers to a given question

absolutist, relativistic

perry found that many students tended to be _____ in their thinking when they first entered college, but grew to be _____ thinkers by the end of college

characteristics of post-formal thinking

understanding that knowledge is relative, accepting that the world is full of contradictions, and integrating contradictions into a much larger understanding

do not

older adults (65+) _____ perform as well as younger adults on formal operational tasks

describing, explaining

piaget’s theory does a nice job of _____ development, but it does a poor job of _____ it.

sociocultural theories

suggest that in order to help students learn, teachers should make learning a cooperative activity among peers

scaffolding

involves the guided assistance that a skilled individual provides to a less skilled person; as the student’s performance improves, the teacher or parent provides less and less assistance

private speech

what we say to ourselves under our breath, suggested by vygotsky to be a sign of cognitive maturing

example of private speech

4-year-old jackie mutters to herself the order of blocks as she stacks them while playing

charles spearman’s formula for intelligence

g + s; "g" referring to general intelligence, "s" referring to specific types of intelligence (reading comprehension, arithmetic, spatial ability, etc.)

fluid intelligence

reflects skills that are not learned or taught in school/life, but are innate (inborn) intellectual capacity

examples of fluid intelligence

visual-spatial skills, inductive reasoning (reasoning from the particular to the general), verbal nonsense memory

crystalized intelligence

reflects skills that are learned in school and through the process of living

examples of crystalized intelligence

vocabulary, reading comprehension, & general information

decreases, increasing

as fluid intelligence _____, crystallized intelligence is _____

gardner’s theory of intelligence

reflects the notion that no single IQ score can meaningfully assess intelligence

interpersonal intelligence

exceptional sensitivity to others’ motivations and moods

bodily-kinesthetic intelligence

use of one’s body to create or perform things, like athletics and dance

spatial intelligence

the ability to visually understand and interpret things in 2 and 3 dimensions, as is evident in the work of architects who visually and mentally transform structures and buildings

speed of habituation score

best reflector of later intelligence from infancy; intelligent infants are ones that tend to get bored with familiar material more quickly (and thus seek out more novel information)

cumulative deficit hypothesis

used to explain how the negative effects of an impoverished environment snowball over time to create lower and lower IQ scores as a child gets older

early intervention programs

tend to result in IQ gains to some extent, but these gains tend to fade as the program ends

terminal drop

a rapid decline in elderly peoples’ intellectual abilities a few months/years prior to their death

culture fair test

a test that includes questions that are equally familiar or unfamiliar to kids from all cultures. few tests meet this standard, and there are no culture-free tests

terman’s longitudinal study of gifted children

indicated that children with IQs of 130 and above are (generally) well adjusted, mentally mature, happy, healthy, & productive

advanced language

one primary way that gifted children stand out is through their _____ skills

information processing perspective

sees changes in adolescents’ cognitive abilities as evidence of gradual transformations in the capacity to change, to use, and to store information

risk factors that have a negative impact on a child’s IQ score

a father being absent from the family, having a mother with poor mental health, and the head of the household being unemployed

creativity

the ability to produce novel responses that are valued by others, involving the production of ideas that are original and meaningful

convergent thinking

involves tasks with one correct answer

example of convergent thinking

how much is 5+3

divergent thinking

involves tasks where a variety of answers to one question are possible

ideational fluency

involves the ability to generate many interesting new ideas

rarely

research on intelligence and creativity has shown that highly creative people _____ have below-average IQs

childhood adversity

many early studies suggested that _____ was the driving force behind childhood creativity, as children may use fantasy play as a form of escapism

methods to foster creativity

allowing a child the freedom to explore their environment, allowing them to experiment, and encouraging nonconformity (NOT warmness and closeness between parent and child).

simon & bennet's IQ test

developed in france in order to be able to identify kids who were too “dull” intellectually to be able to benefit from the regular school system/curriculum, places children on a “bell curve” of scores

looking-glass self

our understanding of self being a reflection of how others respond to us; a reflective appraisal of others’ views of us

"big five" traits of personality

Openness to experience, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism (OCEAN)

self-recognition

the act of an infant recognizing themselves and their appearance in a reflection/photograph, developed at around age 18 months; most newborns have no sense of self

categorical self

involves classifying oneself into different social categories, the first of which are usually age and gender

temperament

a genetically based tendency to respond in a predictable way that is first seen in early infancy; can sometimes be shaped by environment

easy temperament

characterized by happiness and openness to new experiences, summarizing the majority of children

difficult temperament

involves high irritability and negative reactions to change

slow-to-warm-up temperament

involves a child who is relatively inactive and has mild reactions to changes in routine

behavioral inhibition

defines children who are high in neuroticism and low in extroversion; even though it's biologically rooted, it can change throughout the course of a person’s lifetime depending on their upbringing and experiences

surgency

the tendency to actively approach a new situation in a positive way

negative affectivity

a person who tends to be irritable, fearful, sad, and easily frustrated

self-concept of preschoolers

based on physical traits like size rather than psychological ones

self-description of those 8 and up

focuses more on social qualities, such as generosity

social comparison

increases as a child begins second or third grade. by this stage, kids realize that some other kids are better than they are at certain things

self-conception/social-comparison of preschoolers

tend to see themselves as the greatest at doing things. as such, they tend to be devastated if they are outdone by others, especially a member of the opposite sex. they also tend to be very poor at making comparisons between their skill level and that of their peers

harter’s self-perception research with older children

indicated that self-esteem is multidimensional, consisting of several dimensions, which may include scholastic ability, social acceptance and popularity, behavioral conduct, athletic competence, physical appearance, etc.

ideal self

represents positive things that we wish were true of ourselves (wanting to be smarter, less fearful, etc.)

8

personality tends to fully "gel" around age _____

diffusion identity status (diffusion status)

having no conflict, no crisis, and “no clue” about future plans; the person has no idea what they want to be as an “adult” and could not care less, even about exploring possibilities. parents tend to be neglectful or rejecting of those in this status.

foreclosure identity status (foreclosure status)

having put little thought into the future, but forming one’s opinions based on those around them (especially their parents/caretakers). while there is commitment, the person has no goals of their own, and only works off of the goals that others have laid out for them. there is no crisis because the decision has already been made by someone else; parents of these individuals tend to be rather autocratic and authoritarian

moratorium identity status (moratorium status)

a very active exploration of options without a firm commitment yet. often involves a lot of crisis because the person doesn’t yet know which choice to make. it is a “time out” where the person is relatively free from long-term commitments; there is time to actively explore different options.

identity achievement status

the search is over; a person has made a firm commitment to one option among several. the rate of this can differ across domains of identity (other than career, these domains include religious commitment, political affiliation, romantic life, etc.)

negative identity

identification with all those behaviors and roles that are seen as negative and wrong by those in positions of authority, such as parents and society at large

ideal-real self gap

older people may retain a high sense of self-image by reducing the ____

ways to reduce the ideal-real self gap

accepting a lower standard for what is ideal, improving one's life skills to bring them closer to the ideal.

elderly adult

the ideal self, present self, and real self are most similar in the _____ years

self-esteem of elderly people

often involves comparing themselves to older and more unhealthy people in order to remain positive about their situation

trust vs mistrust stage

occurs in infancy; if an infant’s needs are dependently met, infants should develop a sense of basic trust

autonomy vs shame and doubt

2.5-year-old anthony is throwing a temper tantrum when he does not get his way. this is his way of trying to assert his independence or autonomy

initiative vs guilt

preschoolers tend to start tasks and carry them out or they tend to feel regretful about their efforts to be independent (ex: four-year-old christy is in the kitchen making dinner (as well as a big mess). she says to her mother, “surprise! I am making dinner!”)

industry vs inferiority

characterizes elementary school children. this is the time when kids become successful at sports, school subjects, and making friends or, if these acquisitions did not work out, the child may tend to feel sub-par

ego identity vs role confusion

occurs in teen year when the teen is testing certain roles in order to integrate them into a single identity or they become confused about who they are

intimacy vs isolation

encompasses the experiences of young adults; is the person able to form emotionally close relationships (especially with one specific person), or do they feel socially separated?

generativity vs stagnation

in their 40s and 50s (middle age), people hopefully discover joy in contributing to the world or to the welfare of their children. If not, they may lack a sense of purpose

ego integrity vs despair

in old age, is a person comfortable with their own mortality, or do they fear death? does the person feel as though their life has been worthwhile, or are they angry and bitter because life did not turn out the way they wanted it to?

midlife crisis

most middle-aged people experience some questioning of self, but few experience a true _____

optimization

responsible for a continued high level of performance

example of optimization

joan has been an attorney for 35 years and takes many hours of extra legal education courses in order to keep her skills sharp. she practices on her own as if she were in court arguing a case

honeymoon phase of retirement

a month or so after retirement when a person loves the freedom of being retired and not having to work

disenchantment stage of retirement

a person feels as though they have nothing left to do in life, and retirement is no longer blissful- the retiree is now “bored” with their condition

reorientation phase of retirement

a person begins to develop realistic and satisfying expectations, interests, and hobbies

pre-retirement phase

a person is not yet retired, but is talking with their spouse and/or their peers about their financial status and when they might be able to afford to retire

involuntary retirement

typically a negative retirement experience involving someone being "forced" to retire, often due to things like poor health

activity theory on aging

suggests that we take an active role in dealing with aging, such as taking up new hobbies to occupy spare time (tends to result in the most successful aging)

disengagement theory on aging

argues that elderly, retired individuals passively disengage from people, places, and activities as a preparation for death

gender roles

society’s set of expectations regarding behaviors and traits considered to be appropriate for men as compared to women

gender role norms

desirable characteristics in culture or time in history for a particular gender

example of gender role norms

in the 1950s, women were socialized to believe that they should take care of the home/children while men go off to work

gender role stereotypes

fixed, rigid overgeneralizations regarding what men and women enjoy or are good at doing (most are incorrect, with a select few actually being based in fact)

instrumental role

being essential to providing financial & physical security for one’s family, typically expected of men

expressive role

nurturing the children emotionally & responding to their behavior, typically expected of women

sex cleavage/gender segregation

the phenomenon in which young children initially segregate themselves into same-sex play groups because their play styles are “too different” from one another

2.5-3 years of age

children learn gender roles and their stereotypes around the point that they become aware of their basic gender identities, at around age _____

6

by about age _____, most children have formed fixed, rigid ideas about gender, and will be quite upset by violations of gender norms

9

by age _____, children have a more firm sense of their own gender identity, and, as a result, they develop more flexible rules about appropriate gendered behaviors

young elementary school children (kindergarteners), adolescents

the two groups that view violations of gender roles most negatively are _____ and _____

secretion of testosterone

biological event that directly results in the growth of a penis in a male fetus

androgenized females

girls/women who have been exposed prenatally to androgens (“male” hormones), tend to have masculinized genitalia and act more masculinely

differential reinforcement

when parents, especially fathers, reward some behaviors based on their child’s gender; used by social learning theorists to explain the acquisition of "appropriate" gender role behaviors

inappropriate differential treatment

a phenomenon in which, for example, some parents attribute their daughters’ math successes to luck rather than ability, which may have their daughters become convinced that they are not good at math, but is just always lucky

kohlberg's cognitive-developmental theory of gender typing

sees kids as being more active in the socialization process, in contrast to social learning theory

self-socialization

the idea that children want to do the things that they learn are "meant" to be done by their gender and will thus actively carry out these behaviors

gender stability

one's gender becoming stable over time, but not necessarily across situations (occurs around age 3.5)

gender consistency

when one's sense of gender is salient across both time and situations (occurs around age 5-7, last stage of gender acquisition)

androgyny

refers to people who are high in both masculine and feminine traits

androgyny shift

during the middle of their life, people begin to adopt some of the gender traits associated with different genders

infant sexuality

the idea that babies seem to derive pleasure from oral stimulation, their genitals are sensitive to stimulation, and they undergo what appear to be “orgasms.”

repress

according to freud, during the school-age years (6-9), children _____ their sexuality

impacts of sexual abuse

seem to be most severe when it is a frequent, long-term event involving a close relative

common, not necessarily

homosexual experimentation is fairly _____ during adolescence, and is _____ an indicator of lasting homosexuality later in life.

permissiveness with affection

sex/sexual acts in a committed relationship are seen to be much more accepted than casual sex

low-risk teens

research on abstainers, low-risk takers, and high-risk takers found that _____ were the most likely to be in a committed relationship

components of "new teen sexuality"

there is greater confusion about sexual norms than in the past (ex: some very religious teens may see pre-marital sex as “sinful,” whereas those who are non-religious may see it as very natural), sex with affection is deemed as okay, and the double standard of what is okay for men/boys is not okay for women/girls is declining.

learning theory of language

states that we learn a language the same way we learn everything else- through observation and imitation

semantics

the meaning of words and language, acquisition best explained by learning theory

language acquisition device

chomsky's nativist theory idea of an inborn mechanism for sifting through language that we hear as well as for generating rules for that language

syntax

the rules that indicate how words are to be combined to form meaningful/intelligible sentences, acquisition best explained by nativist theory/the concept of a language acquisition device

interactionist view of language

states that biological factors and one’s environment are both critical parts of language development

child-directed speech

when adults change their speech when talking to infants and young children so that their speech patterns become simpler, clearer, and more repetitive than normal

expansion

the process of responding to a child in a more “grammatically correct/complete” expression of the same idea, used to foster more effective communication rather than to "teach" grammar

symbolic schemes

mental symbols (such as words or images) are used to represent some experience, favored by piaget to explain language development in young children

moral affect

how a person feels about an action; negative feelings include shame, guilt, and anxiety, whereas positive feelings include pride and self-satisfaction

moral reasoning

how a person makes a decision about whether an action is “right” or “wrong”

moral behavior

how a person actually behaves in a situation when faced with temptation

preconventional level of moral reasoning

a person behaves in ways to avoid punishment; if there’s no chance of being punished, the person will cheat, lie, steal, etc. to get what they need or want

conventional level of moral reasoning

a person behaves in ways that can earn approval and avoid disapproval from others (for example, refusing to cheat on school exams because you know it goes against the rules and others will look down on you for it)

post-conventional level of moral reasoning

while the rules of society are usually obeyed, sometimes it is considered okay or morally correct to break the rules when they violate some central ethical principle (for example, in the 1960s, civil rights workers in the south violated certain rules about where it was "appropriate" for black individuals to eat lunch, sit on a bus, etc.)

immanent justice

the concept or belief that wrongdoing will surely be punished

example of immanent justice

if a child steals 5 dollars from their parent’s purse, they may believe that something bad will happen to them; after school, Jeff has some Kool-Aid in the living room, even though he knows the rule is to eat and drink in the kitchen- his rat later dies, and he decides that it is dead due to his bad actions.

inductive discipline

involves explaining to a child why it is bad to do something, like breaking a rule, rather than engaging in physical punishment to deter a child from breaking a rule.

better

debating moral matters with peers promotes the development of moral reasoning _____ than lectures from parents, listening to religious sermons, and/or discussing moral matters with parents

verbal nonsense memory

memory for “nonsense” syllables, like “ferk” or “juxaf,” an example of fluid intelligence

identical twins reared apart are more alike than fraternal twins reared together

the strongest piece of evidence showing that genetics influence intelligence is _____

a good person-environment fit

_____ can change a child's temperament

a child who has just moved and is starting middle school (2 different significant life changes)

who is most likely to experience a decline in self-esteem?

identity achievement

_____ represents religious experimentation that leads to a firm commitment to join a particular group

false

it is true/false that most adolescents identity issues regarding career choice, religion, and politics are resolved around the same time

example of negative identity

dropping out of school and engaging in petty crime to get back at one’s unsupportive parents

positive

with age, people generally take a more _____ view of what they did in the past

poor physical and mental health

declines in intellectual performance in old age are often related to _____

60s

self-esteem ratings tend to be highest when people are in their _____ (age)

example of gender role norms

a man thinking that men aren't as emotional as women, so he won't cry at a funeral

don't have

most gender role stereotypes have/don't have empirical support

same-sex

in order to resolve the internal conflict that arises during the phallic stage, a child tends to identify with the _____ parent

issue with social learning theory

it presents children as being rather passive participants in the development of gender norms

issue with kohlberg's cognitive developmental theory on gender typing

the idea that children develop gender-typed behaviors and preferences before they acquire gender stability

prenatal hormones

research on sexual orientation shows that _____ may predispose people to develop certain orientations

fairly stable

broad personality elements tend to be _____ across adulthood

example of understanding gender consistency

knowing that a boy dressing in feminine clothes does not actually make them girls

kids begin to attempt to explain why people do what they do

what important advancement in social cognition occurs at age 11-12?

example of secondary circular reactions

once, when she was about to take a nap, baby caroline accidentally sucked on her blanket. she now does this every time she is trying to go to sleep

example of lacking conservation

being asked to choose between two cookies and choosing the broken one because three cookies are better than one