Psychology of Human Development Final  Study Guide

What is phonology?

*This is exam is cumulative therefore will include the material from exam 1,  exam 2, and chapters 10,12, and 14. The fill in the blank portion of the exam will also be cumulative. The answers to 10 of the fill in the blank questions  will come from the new list. The answers to the other 5 questions will come  from the 2 previous keyword sheets. GOODLUCK and don’t forget a blue  scantron!!�

New List 

Phonology- sounds of language, produce sounds and hear sounds correctly  

Morphology – rules for components of words, ex: “S” doesn’t mean  anything on its own until added to something  

Syntax- rules for combining words

What is morphology?

Semantics- meanings of words and phrases

Pragmatics -social rules of communication, ex: saying “sir” or “ma’am” in a respectful situation

Overextension – apply a word too broadly, “a child calling a cow a dog” Underextension – limit word uses to one context

Mutual exclusivity assumption- assume that each object rather than its  individual properties or actions. Ex: Make up a word “dax” and apply it to an  object and then test the child.

Telegraphic speech – Contains only content words, no function words.  Minimum words to get message across Don't forget about the age old question of pnb 2265 uconn

Overregularization – apply morphological rule too broadly also add  endings to made up words Don't forget about the age old question of wapfeest

Attachment – strong emotional tie between two people, first attachment for most people is with a caregiver

What is syntax?

Imprinting -certain birds and mammals form attachments during a critical  period very early in their lives. During this point in development, the birds  are so available to form attachments, that even if there is no mother bird, or  no bird at all, they may develop attachments to a substitute  

Undiscriminating Social Responsiveness – child’s actions keep adults  nearby, does not mind being left with unfamiliar adult

Discriminating Social Responsiveness – child responds more favorably to familiar adult, still does not mind separation from parent

True attachment – separation anxiety when parent leaves, separation  anxiety in the presence of an unfamiliar person Don't forget about the age old question of biol 3306

Goal-corrected partnership – child understands reasons for separation,  can predict when parent will return. Reduction in separation anxiety  If you want to learn more check out geog216

Separation anxiety - a state of extreme emotional agitation, fear, and  distress, that some people, especially children, experience when separated  from a loved one.

Stranger anxiety- refers to a developmental situation in which infants  become anxious and fearful around strangers. This usually occurs around 8  months of age and includes outward, fearful behaviors by the child in the  presence of strangers, including crying, recoiling, clinging,

Strange Situation- a test created by Mary Ainsworth to explore childhood  attachments patterns. Throughout the procedure, the child is observed on  four aspects: play behavior, reactions to departure and to the mother's  return, and behavior when the stranger is around. Don't forget about the age old question of esrm 100

Secure attachment – prefer parent to stranger, use as secure base  

Resistant attachment - stay very close to parent, upset at separation,  angry at return

Avoidant attachment- unresponsive to parent, no separation anxiety

Disorganized/disoriented attachment- dazed facial expression when  parent returns

Social referencing- children’s use of parent’s emotional responses to  regulate their own emotions and behavior, ex: pushes something over and  looks for parent’s reaction for understanding.

Emotion regulation- Processes involved in initiating, maintaining, and  altering, emotional responses

Easy temperament- happy, open to new experiences, regular routines Difficult temperament- irritable, react negatively, irregular, routines

Slow to warm up temperament- inactive, withdraw from new people and  situations

Goodness of fit- match or mismatch between parenting style and a child’s  temperament

Authoritative Parenting- demanding and responsive, set rules and explain the reasons for them. Encourage discussion of rules, ex: “Look both ways  before crossings, because if you don’t then cars might be coming”If you want to learn more check out chromadin

Authoritarian Parenting- demanding and unresponsive, demand  compliance with rules but don’t explain the reasons for them, ex: “Because I  said so”.

Permissive Parenting- responsive but not demanding, loving but impose  few rules. Kid does their own thing

Neglectful Parenting- unresponsive and undemanding. Parents absent or  involved in own problems. Do not take the time to express love or to impose  rules

Gender role norms- patterns of behavior expected of males and females in  society. Ex: women clean and cook while men are breadwinners

Gender stereotypes- beliefs about characteristics of males and females.  Ex: men are aggressive, and women are nurturing

Gender typing- when children acquire these masculine and/or feminine  roles and identify with these roles

Gender identity- is one's own perception or sense of being male or female

Gender stability- children know that boys become men and girls become  women

Gender consistency-children know that sex stays the same despite  changes in appearance

Exam 1 Keywords 

Theory: a set of concepts and propositions designed to organize, describe and  explain a set of observations. Ex- Children model aggressive behavior that they see  on TV (this predicts that children who see aggression on TV will act aggressively)

Hypothesis: A theory-based prediction about what will hold true if we observe a  phenomenon. Ex- children who watch TV show aggressive behavior

Independent variable- The variable being changed, Ex- Amount of caffeine  consumed before a test

Dependent variable- The variable being measured, Ex- Performance of the test

Correlation- A mutual relationship or connection between two or more things,  measured with a correlation coefficient

Cohort effect- People of different ages were born in different times, may differ in  ways other than age. Ex- A 20-year-old born in 1998 compared to an 85-year-old  born during the Great depression have different experiences.

Longitudinal design- each participant is tested at a number of ages, follow the  same individuals to see how they changed over time.

Cross-sectional design- different aged groups are tested at same time

Sequential design-combination of cross sectional and longitudinal designs, Follow  one group of participants longitudinally

Mitosis- Process in which a cell duplicates its chromosomes and then divides into  two genetically identical daughter cells

Meiosis- the process in which a germ cell divides, producing sperm or ova, each  containing half of the parent cell’s original complement of chromosomes.  

Genotype-the genetic makeup of an individual organism

Phenotype- The way a person’s genotype is expressed in physical characteristics,  ex- hair color, eye color, height

Ultrasound- method of examining physical organs by scanning them with sound  waves, Ex- scanning the womb to create a visual outline of the fetus to detect any  abnormalities or gender

Amniocentesis- process of sampling amniotic fluid. A long needle is inserted into  mother’s belly button and can test for any genetic factor

Chorionic villus sampling- Process of taking sample projections from the  membrane surrounding the fetus and is faster than amniocentesis.  

Concordance- likelihood that one person in a pair has a trait if the other person  has it, Ex- identical twins vs fraternal twin traits. Schizophrenia is one twin results in 40% likelihood in the other whereas fraternal twins is 17%.

Shared environmental influences- experiences that individuals living in the  same home environment share and that work to make them similar

Non-shared environmental influences- variability among individuals with  identical genetics and home environments, different experiences cause differences  between the individuals

Gene-environment interaction- effects of genetics are dependent upon the  environment in which you are raised. Ex- There is a strong genetic influence on  height but in a deprived environment people with high and low potential end up  being the same height

Gene-environment correlation- One’s genetics influence the environment in  which one is raised

Zygote- name for a fertilized egg, formed at conception from the union of sperm  and egg

Blastocyst- a hollow sphere of about 100 to 150 cells that the zygote forms by  rapid cell division as it moves through the fallopian tube

Embryo- name for human offspring from the weeks 2-8 after fertilization Fetus- a name for human offspring beyond 8 weeks after fertilization

Placenta- an organ formed to provide nourishment of the unborn child and the  elimination of it s metabolic wastes. Allows exchange between mother and child’s  blood and protects from an immune response against baby.  

Amnion-membrane that forms around the embryo

Teratogen-environmental agents that can lead to harm in a developing organism,  Ex- alcohol, drugs, nicotine

Critical period- a defined period in the development of an organism when it is  particularly sensitive to certain environmental influences, outside this period the  same influences will have far less effect, Ex- language development within the first  few years of life

Apgar scale- how to measure if a baby is okay or needs special care, (>= 7 is  normal)

Plasticity- the ability for nerve cells to change though experiences such as learning Myelin- fatty substance that insulates a neuron

Cephalocaudal principle- the principle that growth proceeds from the head to the tail

Proximodistal principle-the principle that growth proceeds from the center of the  body to the extremities

Orthogenetic principle- the principle that development proceeds from global and  undifferentiated states towards more differentiated and integrated patterns of  response

Pincer grasp- a grasp in which the thumb is used in opposition to the fingers,  enabling an infant to become more dexterous at liftin and manipulating objects.  

Exam 2 Keywords 

Habituation – boredom, loss of interest in repetitive stimulation. Ex: a baby  looking away from an image on a screen

Preferential Looking- present two stimuli side by side, preference for one  stimulus over the other indicates that the infant can discriminate them. Ex:  newborn vision is unfocused and so they don’t show preference over a blurry  or focused picture

Brain evoked potentials- electrodes in a cap worn by the infant to  measure electrical activity in the brain, we can use this as a method of  understanding a baby’s perception of a stimuli

Operant Conditioning – change the probability of a behavior through  reinforcement. Ex: training a dog to sit with the reward of a treat

Phoneme- category of speech sounds. Infants discriminate phonemes from  all languages

Cataracts- yellowing of the lens, usually due to exposure to UV, common,  can be treated with Lasik surgery  

Glaucoma- fluid pressure leads to nerve damage, less common, optic nerve  damage, loss of vision starts on the outward and moves inward. If caught  early enough medicine can reduce the pressure

Assimilation- interpret environment in terms of existing schemes. Taking  new information in and fit it into a scheme. Ex: child knows a cat vs a dog  but when they see a cow for the first time they mistake it for a dog.

Accommodation – change in schemes to make them more consistent with  the environment. Ex: parent corrects the child’s mistake

Sensorimotor stage – 0-2 years, thinking only in terms of here and now,  whatever child is currently seeing/hearing is the only thing they can think  about

Preoperational stage- 2-7 years, can think about past/future events but  often illogical. Can think about things that aren’t happening at the moment  

Concrete operations stage – 7-11 years, logical thinking about concreate  objects but no abstraction

Formal operations stage – 11-adulthood, abstract scientific thinking

Primary circular reaction – is a substage of the sensorimotor stage, 1-4  months, repetition of behaviors involving the baby’s body that leads to  interesting results, Ex: thumb sucking

Secondary circular reaction – is a substage of the sensorimotor stage, 4-8 months, repetition of behaviors involving external objects. Ex: splash water  in bath tub or smacking a toy on the table

Object permanence – can think of things even if they are not visible, but  still make A not B error

Conservation – understanding that the physical properties of an object  remain the same despite changes in appearance

Centration – focus on only one aspect of a situation

Reversibility - the ability to recognize that numbers or objects can be  changed and returned to their original condition.

Egocentrism -inability to distinguish the perspective of another from your  own. Ex: 3 mountains problem, a child struggles to distinguish what a person on one side of the table might see versus what they see.

Private speech- internalized instruction for self guidance, sometimes talk  to yourself through a problem

Zone of proximal development -set of skills that a child can perform with  assistance but not alone. All the skills children have been working on. Ex:  child tries to ride a bike for the first time without training wheels, the child  can do this with a little help from an adult

Sensory register – brief representation of presented sights and sounds

Short-term (or working) memory – conscious, limited capacity  component of memory, selecting up to 7 pieces of information to take in  while old items are displaced when new items are added

Long-term memory – limitless, permanent store of memories, the system  we want to get our information into.  

Rehearsal – repeat information over and over again

Organization – group similar information together

Elaboration – forms images to link information

Metamemory - knowledge and awareness of your own memory, including  the contents and processes of your memory

Recognition – easiest type of retrieval, decided whether something has  been seen before. Ex: multiple choice exam

Recall – memory for information that is no longer present, is the hardest  type of retrieval, requires one to actively search memory for the relevant  information

Implicit Memory – facilitated processing of a stimulus as a result of prior  exposure to that stimulus. Often occurs in the absence of awareness

Explicit Memory – deliberate attempts to remember an earlier event,  typically tested using recall and recognition tests

Reliability - refers to the extent to which a test or other instrument is  consistent in its measures. For example, a weight scale can be judged  reliable if measures for a 25-pound weight do not vary over time or change

Validity - If the test does indeed measure what it is intended to measure,  Tests that are valid are also reliable. However, a test might be reliable  without it being valid.

Cumulative deficit hypothesis - refers to the notion that impoverished  environments inhibit intellectual growth and that these inhibiting effects  accumulate over time.

Chapter 1 

Development: Systematic changes and continuities in the individual that occur  between conception and death.

What causes Development? 

1. Maturation- changes dictated by genetic programming

2. Learning- changes dependent upon interactions with the environment Methods of Testing 

#1 Behavioral observation- observe the children on the playground and keep  track of aggressive behavior. There are two types of behavioral observation.  

a.) Naturalistic observation- everyday environment

b.) Structured observation- set up an environment for the children, a lab  setting. An example is Bandura’s Bobo doll experiment

Limitations of Behavioral Observation  

1.) Observer influence- may act differently when they know they are being  watched. Solution? The use of an adaptation period can help this by letting  the child get used to the observer or have the observation be conducted by  people the child already knows

2.) Observer bias- Interpret behavior to be consistent with one’s theory. Solution? Blind scoring helps because the observers are not aware of what is supposed  to happen. The ideal situation is “double blind”. For example, an experiment  where there is a real drug vs a Placebo.

#2 Verbal Reports  

Ex: Self reports, interviews, and questionnaires.  

Participants provide information about their thoughts, feelings and past  experiences. For example, if someone were to ask “How many times does your child watch an aggressive act on tv?”

Two types of Interviews

a.) Clinical interviews- different for each person, the interviewer can change  the question based on the previous response.

b.) Structural Interview- everybody gets the same questions, can make  comparisons because everyone was treated the same.

*Limitation because may not be accurate. Ex. “How often do you zone out while  driving?” (Not a specific answer)

#3 Physiological Measurements

∙ fMRI- involves putting a person’s head in a magnetic field, can measure  where there is blood flow in the brain

∙ PET- same thing as fMRI, measures blood flow but does so by injecting a  radioactive tracer into blood

∙ EEG- putting a cap full of electrical sensors on a head, measures electrical  activity. Faster than the others, Limited spatial resolution and don’t know  exactly where activity is occurring

∙ Heart rate- heart rate activity, for instance if a child is scared by a stimulus

∙ Skin conductance- lie detectors, measures the sweat on the skin, if there is  an emotional response to a question then the sweat will increase. Not 100%  reliable

Research Designs 

1.) Correlational Design- most straightforward, measures two variable to see if  they relate and to see if there is a correlation. A correlation coefficient is used and varies from -1 to 1. If there is no relationship found, then the correlation  coefficient is 0. The sign reflects direction of relationship where as absolute  value reflects degree of relationship/strength.  

Y-Values

6

4

2

0

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

20 15 10 5

0

Y-Values

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Positive correlation

Ex. Negative correlation

*You’re not attempting to change or influence a participant’s performance on either  variable, just measuring to see if there is a relationship

Limitation?

∙ Cannot infer cause and effect relationship

∙ Don’t know which variable is cause and which is effect

∙ Third variable effect- may infer two variables have a casual relationship when there is an actual 3rd variable involved (ex: Pellagra disease. Researchers  found that houses that had indoor housing sewage disposal didn’t have  pellagra disease compared to those who used outhouses. However, the third  variable involved was diet. People who were able to afford high protein and  high-quality food did not obtain the disease. (3rd variable= socioeconomic  status)

Experimental Designs 

∙ Directly manipulate the independent variable, the variable expected to cause changes in the second. IV= exposure to drug DV= prevalence of  disease

∙ Groups must be equal prior to manipulation of IV to infer cause and effect,  typically achieved by random assignment to groups

Problem? Not always ethical, ex: smoking causes lung cancer, it would be unethical  to put babies in a room full of cigarette smoke to prove this. This is why animals are  often times used for experimental designs because when combined with  correlational experiments we can develop a conclusion.  

Quasi-Experimental design 

∙ Natural situation in which two groups seem to differ only on variable of  interest

∙ Ex: cholera disease, researchers thought that it was spread through  exposure. There were two districts in London that were equally similar except  how they received their water. One received it upstream and one  downstream. Researchers found that upstream had less cholera than  downstream

∙ Can use this design because even though the experiment could be deemed  unethical, its already happening in the world

∙ Also called natural experiment

∙ Cannot be sure that groups differ on no other variables

Developmental Research Designs- Human development

1.) Cross sectional (most widely used)

∙ Different aged groups are tested at same time

∙ Weakness- does not allow on to study changes in an individual, also the  cohort effect (people of different ages were born in different times. May differ  in ways other than age). Ex: A 20-year-old born in 1998 compared to an 85  year old who was born into the Great depression.

2.) Longitudinal design

∙ Each participant is tested at a number of ages, follow the same individuals to  see how they changed over time.  

∙ Cohort effect is decreased

∙ Weakness- can require a long time to complete the study. Practice effects  (participants may learn from testing) for example students who take the ACT  and SAT normally score better the second time not because they are smarter  but because they learned HOW to take the test. Participant morality  (participants who drop out may differ from those who remain) this could  effect the statistical data from the study. And finally, results from one cohort  may not generalize. For example, the obesity epidemic. The average body  weight growth charts have changed over the years.  

3.) Sequential design- combination of cross sectional and longitudinal designs

Chapter 2 

Key development issues 

1.) Nature vs Nurture- nature theorists propose that development is driven by a  maturational program contained within one’s DNA whereas nurture theorists  propose that development involves changes in response to environmental  events

2.) Activity vs. Passivity- Passivity theorists propose that development is shaped  by environmental and genetic factors beyond one’s control. Ex: The  behaviorists view point believe you could make a child into anything due to  the environment. Activity theorists propose that people select and shape  their environments in order to influence their own development. Ex: we chose to stay in school longer than we had to in order to better shape our future.

3.) Continuity vs Discontinuity- Continuity theorists propose that development  involves gradually expanding the same structures and skills that were  present at birth. Ex: babies can see at birth but develop better eyesight over  time. Discontinuity theorists propose that development involves dramatic  reorganizations in structures or skills. Ex: butterfly cycle from a larvae to a  butterfly.  

Stage theory: a series of qualitatively different forms or ways of thinking,  basically means that we possess skills now that were not even possible when  we were young.

4.) Universality vs context-specificity- Universality is when people all go through  the same set of developments and context specificity is the idea that  development can follow different paths depending upon the circumstances of  development

Chapter 3 “Genetics”

Chromosomes: stores genetic information that we obtain from parents. Total of 46 in every cell

DNA- chemical substance that makes up chromosomes and can reproduce through  mitosis

Gene- segment of DNA that codes for a protein, we have about 20,000 genes Genetics and Heredity 

∙ Sperm and egg each have 23 chromosomes

∙ Created through process of meiosis

∙ They combine to form zygote with 23 pairs of chromosomes

Genetic Differences 

∙ Each child receives just one of 2 chromosomes in each pair from each parent  (2^23 possibilities)

∙ Crossing over occurs which is when the ends of a chromosomes switch  positions before assorting into sex cells

Twins 

∙ Identical twins- single fertilized egg (zygote) splits in 2 individuals after  conception. They are genetically identical

∙ Fraternal twins- two different eggs fertilized by two different sperm. Therefore they are no more similar than ordinary siblings

Genetic Counseling and Testing

Diagnostic procedures after conception 

1. Ultrasound- No risk, sound waves reflected off uterus, can get a good  estimate of due date, can see if there are any abnormalities

2. Maternal blood sampling- no risk, test fetal blood cells in mother’s  bloodstream

3. Amniocentesis- some risk, sample amniotic fluid. Long needle inserted into  mother’s belly button. Downside is it takes a couple of weeks for information,  cannot do it until around 12 weeks. Can test for any genetic factor

4. Chronic Villus sampling- sample projections from the membrane surrounding  the fetus. Advantage is that you can do it early (8 weeks). You get more

genetic material, so it is faster than amniocentesis. Some risk and is a rare  procedure.  

Behavioral Genetics

Examines the extent to which a trait is influenced by genetics and environment. Heritability: proportion of variation in a trait that can be linked to genetic differences Two measures of heritability 

1. Concordance- likelihood that one person In a pair has a trait if the other  person has it. “Either or traits”. Ex: Identical twins vs fraternal twins traits.  Schizophrenia in one twin results in 40% likelihood in the other whereas  fraternal twins is 17%

2. Correlation- degree of similarity on a trait between people with similar  genetics. Ex: if one twin’s IQ score is above average its likely the other  identical twin’s score is too

Causes of Variability on a trait 

1. Genetics- greater similarity on a trait by people with higher genetic similarity 2. Shared environmental influence

3. Non-shared environmental influences- variability among individuals with  identical genetics and home environment, different experiences cause  differences

Gene-Environmental Interactions

Do we get a trait from our environment? Genetics? Both?

∙ Effects of genetics are dependent upon the environment in which you are  raised  

∙ Ex: strong genetic influence on height. But in a deprived environment people  with high and low potential end up being the same height. Whereas in an  enriched environment your genetic potential will be expressed

∙ Genetics and environment work together  

Gene-Environment Correlations

*One’s genetics influence the environment in which one is raised

1. Passive correlations- Parents provide an environment consistent with  their genetics. We don’t have control over genetics or environment  because parents give both to us

2. Evocative correlation- the child becomes more active in shaping  environment. Ex: outgoing child, due to genes, will most likely be put  into an environment that compliments this

3. Active correlation- people seek out environments that match their  genetics abilities. Ex: college students choose to stay in school beyond  the time that they have to

Chapter 4 

Stages of Prenatal development

 1. Germinal Period (shortest) 

∙ 0-2 weeks after fertilization

∙ Fertilized egg=zygote

∙ 50% of fertilized eggs attach or miscarry

 2. Embryonic Period 

∙ 2-8 weeks after fertilization

∙ Amnion= membrane that forms around embryo

∙ Amniotic fluid= protects organism from external impact, cushions  embryo

∙ Chorion= sends hair-like projections to uterine wall for nourishment  ∙ Placenta= organ that allows exchanges between mother’s and  embryo’s blood. Protects from an immune response against baby ∙ Umbilical cord= connects embryo to placenta

3.) Fetal Period 

∙ 8 weeks after fertilization until birth (longest period)

∙ The baby is now known as a fetus

∙ This period is divided into trimesters

a) First trimester (3rd month) 

- The nervous system starts to connect with the muscles

- The fetus begins to kick, suck thumb, but is too small to feel - External genitals form and you might be able to tell on an  

ultrasound

 b.) Second trimester (4-6 months) 

- Movement can be felt by mother

- Most neurons are in place by 24 weeks

- The fetus is now 2-3 pounds

 c.) Third trimester (7-9 months) 

- The fetus is viable between 22-26 weeks

- Gains 5 lbs of weight during 3rd trimester

- Brain enlarges because of an increase in supporting cells

- Fetus becomes top heavy, turns upside down

- In breech: when fetus does not turn upside down, greater likelihood the umbilical cord will get pinched and stop flow of oxygen to fetus

Influences of Maternal Health

 1. Illness 

- Rubella (German form of measles) causes heart defects, mental  retardation

- Syphilis (STD) can lead to mental retardation or blindness. Doctors can  treat if identified in time.

- HIV, can be passed to children in 3 ways

a.) Through mixing of blood to placenta (rare)

b.) During childbirth, baby might be exposed

c.) Through breastfeeding- women in this situation are advised  

to use formula and not breastfeed

 2. Nutrition 

- Malnourishment during 1st trimester can cause miscarriage or  deformities

- During the 3rd trimester, malnourishment can cause low brain weight  - Mother should gain at least 25-35 lbs during pregnancy

 3. Stress 

- Directs mother’s blood to heart, muscles, and brain for a fight or flight  response rather than to the uterus

- Stress is associated with miscarriage, prematurity, and low birth weight - Extreme stress such as fear for life ex: WWII mothers living in bomb  shelters

 4. Age  

- Increase in chromosomal abnormalities with age which can lead to  miscarriage

- Women 35 and above have a higher risk of Down Syndrome

- Amniocentesis is routinely performed for mothers over 35

- Teen mothers often have complications due to poor prenatal care  rather than physical readiness to have children

 Teratogens: Environmental factors that can affect pregnancy 

1.) Thalidomide- a drug used to help morning sickness. If a mother took  thalidomide in 4-6 weeks of pregnancy, then the limbs of the fetus would not  be fully developed or not developed at all

2.) Alcohol- fetal alcohol syndrome can occur and cause mental retardation. Can also cause facial effects that are associated with extreme alcohol use. Fetal  alcohol effects are a less dramatic form than the syndrome

3.) Nicotine- higher rate of women using nicotine, one of the most addictive  substances. The most common effect is low birth weight. Can lead to  hyperactivity in child

4.) Over the counter prescriptions and illegal drugs- Ex: antidepressants  and Aspirin. Aspirin is associated with low birth rate and slowed motor  development. Illegal drugs are highly addictive, and the baby becomes  addicted and goes through withdrawal when born.  

5.) Radiation- Ex: Hiroshima bombing. Any pregnant women within a mile  miscarries and those women who were a couple miles farther gave birth to a  child with deformities.

6.) Pollution- such as lead, older paint, and mercury which is found in fish

Four rules regarding teratogens  

1. Effects of teratogens are worst during critical period in which an impacted  organ system is developing  

2. Susceptibility is determined by the genetic makeup of mother and child 3. The higher the exposure, the higher the risk

4. Effects often depend on the quality of the prenatal and postnatal  development

Birth Complications

∙ Oxygen deprivation (anoxia)

- Puts baby at risk if more than 3 minutes

- Breech delivery: umbilical cord can get pinched  

- Can deliver by sea section

∙ Rh incompatibility: mother can develop antibodies to baby’s blood cell - Becomes a problem if a mother is Rh – and father is Rh +

- A vaccination can be given to avoid the development of the antibodies ∙ Birth Weight is low (less than 5 ½ lbs)

- Associated with greater risk of death, sensory and cognitive defects.  Two types of babies with low birth weight.

1.) Preterm- delivered early, may develop normally if given good  postnatal environment

2.) Small for date- baby is on time but small; may be indicative for  exposure to risk factors during pregnancy such as drug and alcohol  abuse

Apgar scale (>=7 is normal) – this is a way to measure if the baby is okay or needs special care. Calculated by adding together different points of each category. Things that are measured are…

1.) Heart rate- high heart rate is normal

2.) Respiration

3.) Reflexes- reacts to a light shining  

4.) Muscles- strong movements are healthy

5.) Color- pink means good blood flow

Chapter 5 

Newborn Survival reflexes

1.) Breathing

2.) Eyeblink

3.) Pupillary- pupils constrict to bright light

4.) Rooting- turn head toward brushed check, helps in breastfeeding 5.) Sucking- suck on objects placed in mouth

6.) Swallowing

7.) Moro- embracing motion when dropped or startled, ex: Gorilla babies are  grabbing mother’s stomach while the walk

8.) Stepping- lift feet in alternation when they touch the ground, however lose  this reflex around 6 months

9.) Swimming- flap arms and legs in water, survival instinct and with stay afloat  long enough to be saved

10.) Grasping- grasp object placed in palm, eventually replaced by a  voluntary grasp, learn to do it when they want to

Babinski- fan and curl toes when foot is touched, trying to grab something with feet

Principles of Physical Growth 

1.) Cephalocaudal (head to tail) principle- head develops earlier than lower body  parts

2.) Proximodistal (center-outward) principle- center of body develops before  extremities

3.) Orthogenetic (uniform origins) principle- start the same and over time  develop differentiations.

Locomotor Milestones: Self Movements 

1. Lift head while on stomach 2 months

2. Roll over onto back 3 months

3. Sit up without support 5 months

4. Crawl 7 months

5. Walk while holding on “Cruising” 9 months

6. Stands 11 months

7. Walks 12 months

Other milestones: object manipulation 

1. Pre-reaching: flail arms at object at birth

2. Ulnar grasp- curl palm/fingers around object 4 months 3. Transfer object between hands 5 months 4. Pincer grasp- hold object between thumb and finger7 months

Chapter 6 “Sensation vs Perception” 

Two theories of human perception 

1. Empiricist theory (John Locke)  

∙ Perceptual abilities are learned through experience

∙ Babies perceive the world differently from the way we do

2. Nativist Theory (Rene Descartes)

∙ Perceptual abilities are built into us

∙ Babies and adults perceive the world the same way

*These theories were hard to prove because there wasn’t an experimental way to  test them

Methods used to test infant perception 

1. Habituation (boredom)

∙ Loss of interest in repetitive stimulation

∙ Dishabituation- renewed interest in new stimuli, ex: hearing a new  song on the radio

∙ Can use habituation to test because babies must know the difference  between a new and old stimulus

∙ Supports behavioral methods because we can observe babies eye  movement

2. Preferential looking 

∙ Present two stimuli side by side

∙ Preference for one stimulus over the other indicates that the infant can discriminate them, ex: Newborn vision is unfocused, and they don’t  show a preference over a blurry or focused picture because they look  the same to them.

3. Brain evoked potentials (Neurophysiological method)

∙ Electrodes in a cap worn by the infant measure electrical activity in the brain

∙ Related to an EEG, measuring electrical activity

∙ We can use this as a method of understanding a baby’s perception of a stimuli

4. Operant Conditioning 

∙ Change the probability of a behavior through reinforcement, ex:  training a dog to sit with the reward of a treat

 ∙     Two ways to test perception 

a) Use two different stimuli as reinforcers, ex: if the baby can tell  

Shows that  

babies have a functioning  

auditory  

system in  

mother’s

the difference between stimuli they might change behavior to  get one over the other. For instance, a newborn will suck faster if they hear their mother’s voice as a reinforcer, while a baby will  suck slower when hearing a female stranger’s voice. This shows  they are familiar with their mother’s voice.

b) Use change in stimuli to indicate when reinforcement will follow  behavior. Discriminative stimulus: stop light, reinforced at green  light, not reinforced at red light.

Visual Development

- Vision is the least developed sense when a baby is born  - Three limiting factors 

1. Muscles of the lens, newborns see things unfocused

2. Density of neurons in the retina

3. Pathways in the brain, not all detail is transmitted

- Newborns have a visual acuity of 20/60 (considered blind)

- Use a checkerboard test to test this

- Limited visual accommodation, newborns have limited vision

Early visual abilities (strengths)  

1. Color vision

- Babies see color

- Best at seeing bright yellow, reds, and blues

- Worst at seeing pastels such as baby pink

2. Size and shape constancy

- An object stays the same size no matter how close or far away. - Shape constancy example: closed door= rectangle but a cracked door  looks like a trapezoid

3. Depth perception

- Used a visual cliff to see if a baby has depth perception, if the baby  crawls over it then they can’t tell there is a drop off

Aging and Perception 

∙ Cataracts: yellowing of the lens, usually due to exposure of UV, common, can  be treated with Lasik surgery

∙ Presbyopia: difficulty focusing on near objects, means “old eyes”, can be  fixed with glasses

∙ Glaucoma: fluid pressure leads to nerve damage, less common, optic nerve  damage, loss of vision starts on the outward and moves inward. If caught  early enough medicine can reduce pressure  

∙ Macular degeneration: rare and most severe, loss of neurons in retina, affects the center visual field first, no cure yet!

Hearing Problems 

∙ Loss of high frequency from exposure to noise, difficulty attending to speech  in noisy setting.

∙ These problems are dependent upon your environment

∙ More common in men than women

∙ Can prevent by wearing ear protection

∙ Young people are losing hearing because of listening to music through ear  buds too loudly

Chapter 7 “Cognition” 

Piaget’s theory of cognitive development

Three core Ideas 

1.) Child plays active role in their own development

∙ Child builds psychological structures (schemas) to interpret and interact with  the environment

∙ Was a controversial idea in the age of behaviorism

∙ Views child as a scientist because they create theories

2.) Children go through an invariant series of stages (meaning everyone goes  through them)

∙ Most famous idea

∙ Thought progresses from concrete to abstract

3.) Schemas change because of 2 processes

∙ Adaptation: schemas change to fit with environment, ex: a child’s small dog  compared to their friend’s large dog, change mental understanding of a dog ∙ Organization: change in relations among schemas, ex: a child who sees cats  wandering around the neighborhood and when they see their friend’s cat  they understand that cat’s and dogs play the same role

Two processes of Adaptation 

1. Assimilation: interpret environment in terms of existing schemes. Taking  new information in and fit it into a scheme. Ex: child knows cats vs. dogs but  when they see a cow for the first time they mistake it for a dog.

2. Accommodation: change in schemes to make them more consistent with  the environment. Ex: the parent corrects the child’s mistake

*Piaget says there is a delicate balance between the two processes.

Piaget’s Stages of Development 

1. Sensorimotor (0-2 years)

∙ Thinking only in terms of here and now, action based  

∙ Thinking only in sensory world, whatever they are currently seeing, or hearing is the only thing they can think about

2. Preoperational (2-7 years)

∙ Can think about past and future events but are often illogical ∙ Can think about things that aren’t happening at the moment

3. Concrete operational (7-11 years)

∙ Logical thinking about concrete objects but no abstraction

4. Formal operational (11- adulthood)

∙ Abstract scientific thinking

 Substages of the SENSORIMOTOR state  

1. Reflex activity (birth- 1 month)

∙ Indiscriminate performance of reflexive actions

∙ Sensorimotor egocentrism: have no conception that there is more than what  they see to the world

2. Primary circular reactions (1-4 months)

∙ Repetition of behaviors involving the baby’s body that leads to interesting  results

∙ Ex: thumb sucking

3. Secondary circular reactions (4-8 months)

∙ Repetition of behaviors involving external objects  

∙ Ex: splash water in the bath tub or smacking a toy on the table 4. Coordination of secondary schemes (8-12 months)

∙ Intentional, goal directed behavior

∙ Doing one thing to allow yourself to do another

∙ Ex: push object out of the way to reach the thing you want

∙ Marks an important milestone, Object Permanence: can think of things even if they are not visible, but still make A not B error which is when they do not  know the difference between location A and B

5. Tertiary Circular reactions (12-18 months)

∙ Creative exploration of external objects

∙ Trying out different variations

6. Beginning of thought (18-24 months)

∙ Internal images of absent objects and events

∙ A child can tell you about a prior event or the day before

∙ Ex: a child telling their parents what they had for breakfast

∙ Deferred imitation: imitating or acting something out that happened in the  past

Recent Evidence Regarding the sensorimotor stage 

∙ Circular reactions- newborns are subject to reflex actions, newborns will suck  to produce interesting event

∙ Object permanence- 3.5 months olds are surprised when an out of sight  object disappears

∙ Ex: box and train example

∙ A not B error seems to reflect a difficulty in inhibiting a dominant response  ∙ Infants remember absent objects

Preoperational Stage (2-7 years) 

∙ Operation- mental representation of an action that obeys logical rules. Ex:  water experiment, pour the same amount of water into two separate glasses  of differing heights and they are still the same amount of water.  

∙ Conservation- understanding that the physical properties of an object remain  the same despite changes in appearance. Children do not understand  conservation

∙ Centration- focus on only one aspect of a situation

∙ Irreversibility- focus on states, not transformations

∙ No hierarchical classification- levels of classification, Piaget’s test for  hierarchical classification was the flowers task.  

∙ Preoperational egocentrism- inability to distinguish perspective of another  from their own, Ex: 3 mountains problem.

∙ They now realize things that exist outside their world yet struggle to take on  another person’s viewpoint

∙ Animistic thinking- think that inanimate objects have thoughts and feelings,  Ex: tuck a stuffed animal into bed because it is tired. Animistic thinking is  limited to objects that seem to move on their own accord

Concrete Operational stage (7-11 years) 

∙ Succeed at conservation, hierarchical classification. Ex: all types of flowers  are flowers

∙ Transitive inference: if A>B and B>C then A>C

∙ Less egocentric- can start to give directions from locations they don’t  currently occupy

Limitations 

- Only succeed when reasoning about physical objects

- Can’t do hypothetical version of transitive inference  

- Horizontal decalage: children master different conservation tasks at  different ages

- Do not understand abstract principle of conservation

Formal Operational Stage 

∙ Around 11 years to adulthood

∙ Propositional thought- can think logically about hypothetical ideas ∙ Ex: if a feather hits a glass it will break, if I hit a glass with a feather what  happens:

Hypothetical- deductive reasoning 

- Think of hypothesis that could explain an event

- Test each hypothesis while holding other hypothesized factors constant

- Ex: pendulum problem

Adolescent egocentrism- can’t distinguish abstract perspectives of others from own. There are two examples of this…

1.) Imaginary audience phenomenon- you think you are most important, and  everyone is always looking at you

2.) Personal fable- you view yourself as the main character. You can do things  that others can’t, other people’s experiences are less important

Recent evidence regarding the concrete and formal operations stages 

- Piajet viewed these stages as universal

- Success at conservation may depend upon specific skills and  experiences

- Western schooling promotes the development of transitive inference,  we learn how to solve hypothetical problems

- Formal reasoning does not appear in nonliterate societies

Evaluation of Piajet  

- Underestimated children’s abilities

- Failed to distinguish between competence and performance

- His claim of broad stages of development may have been overstated - Did not explain development so much as describe it, he characterized  it

- Underestimated social influences, people learn a lot from school and  interactions with other people

*However, despite his criticisms Piaget was the dominant thinker in developmental  psychology. His theory was developed from 1930’s to 1960’s*

Vygotsky Bio 

- Born in 1896

- Died at 38

- Born in Russia

- Always liked language

- His theories were banned because they went against the norm of the  time

Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory 

∙ Learning information through other people in culture

∙ The social environment facilitates children’s learning

∙ Language allows children to learn through instruction, he emphasized  importance of language

∙ Private speech: internalized instruction for self-guidance, sometimes talk to  yourself through a problem.

Two social contributions to cognitive development

1. Intersubjectivity: two people with different views move toward a common  understanding

2. Scaffolding: adjustments in social support with changes in abilities

Zone of Proximal development- set of skills that a child can perform with  assistance but not alone, all the skills children have been working on, so provide  enough scaffolding for them to solve a problem. Ex: child tries to ride a bike for  the first time without training wheels. The child can do this with a little help

Evaluation of Vygotsky 

-Vygotsky’s suggestion that the social environment influences cognitive  development seems intuitively correct

- His theory is not as well defined as Piajet’s

Chapter 8 “Information Processing” Information processing approach 

∙ Likens a person to a computer

∙ 3 steps to processing information

1. Receive an environmental input

2. Perform some processing on that input

3. Produce a behavioral output

Multi-store model of information processing 

- Three major memory systems

1. Sensory register: brief representation of presented sights and  sounds

2. Short term or working memory: conscious, limited capacity  

component of memory, selecting up to 7 pieces of information to  take in. Old items are displaced when new items are added

Chunking: taking several pieces of information at one time and  dividing them

Ex: NBC.PHD.SAT.CBS- you can remember them because they all  have distinctive meanings; another example is a phone number.  Chucking allows more information to be remembered.

3. Long term memory: limitless, permanent store of memories, the  system we want to get our information into

How do we know the difference between systems? 

∙ Recency effect: being able to recall items at the end of the list, this reflects  working memory

∙ Primacy effect- being able to remember items at the beginning of the list, this reflects long term memory, the extra processing allows us to form  associations  

Types of Retrieval 

1. Recall

- Memory for information that is no longer present

- Hardest type of retrieval

- Requires one to actively search memory for the relevant information - Use one piece of information to remember another, retrieval cue, Ex:  fill in the blank test

2. Cued recall

- Recall is aided by the provision of a retrieval cue

- Given a hint to remember the answer

- Something that is strongly associated

3. Recognition  

- Easiest type  

- Decide whether something has been seen before

- Multiple choice exam

Implicit vs Explicit Memory 

1. Explicit Memory

- Deliberate attempts to remember an earlier event

- Typically tested using recall and recognition tests

2. Implicit memory

- Facilitated processing of a stimulus as a result of prior exposure to that  stimulus

- Often occurs in the absence of awareness

- May influence performance on recognition tests

- Often occurs in advertising, a product will register familiar

Memory Development in children 

Four reasons why memory improves over time

1. Speed of processing increases

- Can keep more information activated at the same time

- Myelination causes faster processing

- Able to store more information at one time

2. Use of memory strategies improves

- Rehearsal: repeat information over and over

- Organization: group similar information together

- Elaboration: forms images to link information

3. Increases in metamemory

- Understanding of how memory works

4. Increased knowledge of the world

- If children have more knowledge they can do better than adults at  certain tasks

Chapter 9 “Intelligence” 

Intelligence Tests 

1. Binet and Simon

- IQ=mental age/actual age x 100

- Now based on performance relative to age mates

- IQ of 100 reflects average performance at all ages

2. Wechsler intelligence scale for children

- Separate verbal and performance scales

- Verbal intelligence may be dependent on culture situation

3. Infant tests

- Sensorimotor tasks do not predict future IQ

- Habituation moderately predicts IQ

Reliability of IQ scores 

Reliability: stability of test scores over repeated administrations -more stable when tests are administered close together in time - more stable in older children and adults

- IQ fluctuates during childhood and adolescence

- schooling increases IQ

Validity of IQ scores 

Validity: ability of a test to predict performance in tasks presumed to be dependent  upon the tested ability or trait

- IQ predicts performance in school

- Also predicts occupational attainment

- Ex: doctors and lawyers tend to have higher IQ

- Does not predict psychological well being

Genetic and Environmental influences on Intelligence 

1. Genetics- people who are genetically similar also tend to be similar in  intelligence

2. Environment- deprivation is associated with lower IQs.  

- Cumulative deficit hypothesis: children’s IQs continue to fall as they  remain in an impoverished environment

- Older kids have lower IQs than younger siblings

Sources of cultural bias 

1. Tests of general knowledge- typically involve information prominent in middle class culture

2. Answers to some questions may vary in different cultures

3. Language of testing is more familiar to some groups than others

Chapter 10 “Language and Education” 

Components of Language 

-Children learn about 9 new words a day

1.) Phonology- sounds of language, produce sounds and hear sounds correctly 2.) Semantics- meanings of words and phrases

3.) Grammar- rules for combining elements, kids do really well compared to adults Syntax- rules for combining rules

Morphology: rules for components of words, ex: “s” doesn’t mean anything on its own until added to something.

4.) Pragmatics- social rules of communication, ex: saying “sir” or “ma’am” in a  respectful situation

Phonological development 

∙ Phones- speech sounds

∙ Phonemes- categories of speech sounds, ex: “spit” vs “pit”, the p sounds  different  

∙ Categorial speech perception- difficulty in perceiving differences between  sounds from same category, ignoring things/sounds that don’t really matter ∙ Newborns can distinguish all phonemes, use the head turning technique to  see this

∙ By one year, no longer hear differences that are not relevant in their  language

Development of sound production 

1. Crying- from birth

2. Cooing- 2 months, production of vowel sounds

3. Babbling- 6 months, start to block airflow, even babies who are deaf babble 4. First words- 12 months, consistent production of certain sounds. May not  occur until the early elementary school years. “Th” and “L” are usually hard  for children to say

Semantic Development 

∙ Comprehension precedes production

∙ First words refer to moving objects and simple actions, ex: “uh-oh” and “bye  bye”

∙ Vocabulary spurt- rapid acceleration in word learning after learning first 50  words

∙ Errors in early words use

1. Under extension- limit word use to 1 context

2. Overextension- apply a word too broadly, ex: a child calling a cow a dog Constraints on Word Learning 

1. Whole object assumption- assume that label refers to whole object rather  than its individual properties or actions, ex: Make up a word such as “dax”  and apply it to an object then test the child.

2. Mutual exclusivity assumption- assume that each object has only one label,  so new label must refer to new object, ex: if you already know the word dog  then you see cat you assume the word “cat” is the other animal

3. Syntactic bootstrapping- use the syntax of a sentence to infer a verb’s  meaning, use whatever information available to infer the meaning of a word

Individual differences in word use 

1. Referential style- use large vocabulary of words for individual objects,  predictor for this style is having parents who label or read

2. Expressive style- reproduce whole phrases spoken by parents, ex: mimicking  parents, “Go sit down!”. Predictor for this style is having parents who give  lots of commands.

*Kids can have a mixture of both styles

Cultural differences in words use 

1. American children produce many nouns

2. Korean children and Chinese children produce more verbs

*American culture emphasizes objects (such as the name game) compared to  other cultures

Early Grammatical Development 

- First evidence of syntax typically comes from 2-word sentences (1 ½ - 2 ½  years)

- Termed telegraphic speech: contains only content words, no function words.  Minimum words to get message across

- Words that are produced are typically produced in the correct order

Later Grammatical Development 

- Children proceed from 2 words to 3-word sentences

- Start to add morphological endings to words, ex: -ing is usually the first one  used because it is consistent throughout, -ed is not consist because “eat”  turns into “ate” not eated.

- First unequivocal evidence for morphology comes from overregularization (2  ½ to 3 ½ years), apply morphological rule too broadly

- Also add endings to made up words

Theories of Language Acquisition 

1. Learning Perspective- can explain language acquisition in terms of three  basic learning mechanisms.

a.) Operant conditioning

b.) Classical conditioning

c.) Imitation- copy behaviors

Evidence against 

I. Children produce sentences they have never heard

II. Parents reinforce sentences that are ungrammatical

2. Nativist Perspective- Biological predisposition to learn language. Language acquisition device hardwired into the brain.

Supporting evidence 

I. Learned by all people, not learned by animals

II. Brain areas that specialize in language function

III. Children impose grammar on pidgin languages (drawing vocabulary from  multiple languages or cultures) to produce creole languages

IV. Critical period for language acquisition

Ex: Genie- lived in isolation for 13 years. Researchers later attempted to teach her  English and sign language. Never mastered grammar, ex: “Like go ride yellow  school bus”

Evidence for critical period= younger Korean and Chinese immigrants to the US  exhibited better ultimate mastery of English grammar than did later immigrants.

3. Interactionist Perspective- children learn language using powerful,  general purpose cognitive mechanisms (working memory) coupled with a  supportive environment

Supporting evidence 

I. Children with delays in language acquisition often show more general  cognitive deficits

II. Adults speak and respond to children in ways that promote language  acquisition

Development of Reading Ability 

Two different ways to teaching children to read

1. Phonics approach

- Teach children letter-sound correspondence rules

- Children sound out unfamiliar words

- Less effective with exception words

2. Whole language approach

- Teach children to recognize words by sight or to make guesses on the basis of context

Developmental Dyslexia 

- Reading disability in the absence of other cognitive impairments - Two different types of dyslexia

1. Visual dyslexia: difficulty perceiving letter orientations and order 2. Phonological dyslexia: difficulty decomposing spoken words into sound,  may stem from congenital auditory perception deficit. Difficult to learn  letter sound correspondence rules

Chapter 12 

Gender Development Key Terms 

Biological sex- Physical characteristics of males and females

Gender- Characteristics that one’s society considers typical or appropriate for males and females

Gender role norms- Patterns of behavior expected of males and females in a society Gender stereotypes- Beliefs about characteristics of males and females Gender typing- Adoption of motives, values, and behaviors consistent with one’s  biological sex

Developing Gender Stereotypes 

Infants

4- month old distinguish male and female faces

One-year-olds match faces with gender-consistent voices

Two-year-old are surprised by gender inconsistent behaviors

Preschoolers

View stereotypes as if they were rigid rules

Often don’t understand true indicators of one’s biological sex

Gender stereotypes may define what it means to be male or female

Early elementary school

Understand that stereotypes can be violated

Don’t approve of violations, especially from boys

Gender segregation leads to separate play groups for boys and  girls

Later school years

Greater tolerance of violations of stereotypes

Still use stereotypes to explain male and female behaviors

e.g., attribute male success at math to ability, but attribute female success to  effort

Actual Gender Differences 

Mental abilities

1.Verbal 

-Girls acquire language earlier

-Males catch up in standardized tests of verbal ability

2. Spatial 

-Boys do better at mental rotation, spatial perception

3. Math 

-Boys do better on geometry and word problems

-Girls do better at calculation problems

-Actual Gender Differences

Physical traits

1. Aggression 

-Males exhibit more physical aggression

-Females display more covert aggression

2. Activity 

-Males are more active even from  

 birth

-May contribute to different play styles in childhood, perhaps encouraging gender   Segregation

3. Disease incidence 

Males are more susceptible to most diseases and developmental disorders

Social/Personality traits

1.Compliance 

-Females are more compliant with requests of adults

2.Empathy 

-Females exhibit greater empathy, interest in babies

3.Anxiety/Self-esteem 

-Females are more anxious, prone to anxiety disorders

-Males have higher self-esteem

4.Risk-taking 

-Males are more likely to engage in risky behaviors

Causes of Gender Typing 

1.Biology 

-Y chromosome leads to development of testes

-Release of testosterone leads to development of male sexual characteristics and  behaviors

-Prenatal androgen exposure in females can lead to ambiguous genitalia,  “masculine” interests, and homosexual or bisexual orientation

-Higher concordance rate for sexual orientation in identical twins than in  fraternal twins

2.Modeling and Reinforcement 

-Society provides models of male and female behavior

-Children are rewarded for engaging in gender-appropriate behavior

3.Cognitive factors 

-Children come to know their gender and to understand that it is consistent  over time

-Related to Piaget’s notion of conservation

Three stages 

1. Gender identity- children know their sex

2. Gender stability- children know that boys become men and girls become  women

3. Gender consistency- children know that sex stays the same despite  changes in appearance

Chapter 14 

Attachment: strong emotional tie between two people. First attachment for most  people is with a care giver

Theories of Attachment 

1.) Drive Reduction theory- mother satisfies infant’s drive for food, becomes  associated with tension relief

2.) Psychoanalytic theory- mother satisfies need for oral stimulation 3.) Ethological theory- caregiver provides contact comfort, child seeks contact  even in the absence of food. Attachment behaviors keep child close to parent

Phases of Attachment 

1.) Undiscriminating social responsiveness (birth- 2 or 3 months) - Childs actions keep adults near by

- Does not mind being left with unfamiliar adult

2.) Discriminating Social responsiveness (2-3 months to 6-7 months) - Child responds more favorably to familiar adult

- Still does not mind separation from parent

3.) True Attachment (6-7 months to 3 years)

- Separation anxiety when parent leaves

- Separation anxiety in the presence of an unfamiliar person

4.) Goal corrected partnership (3+ years)

- Child understands reasons for separation

- Can predict when parent will return

- Reduction in separation anxiety

The strange situation 

*Episodes 

1) Experimenter leaves parent and baby alone

2) Parent sits while baby plays

3) Stranger enters and talks to parent

4) Parent leaves baby alone with stranger

5) Parent returns and stranger leaves

6) Parent leaves baby all alone

7) Stranger enters  

8) Parent returns

Behaviors in Strange situation 

1. Secure attachment (60-65%), prefer parent to stranger, use as secure base 2. Avoidant attachment (15%), unresponsive to parent, no separation anxiety 3. Resistant attachment (10%), stay very close to parent, upset at separation  and angry at return

4. Disorganized attachment (5-10%), dazed facial expression when parent  returns

Effects of Lack of Attachment 

∙ Geese- no longer imprint after a critical period following birth

∙ Rhesus monkeys- no longer play with other monkeys after several months  without a mother

∙ Institutionalized human infants- cannot form a stable relationship, some are  emotionally starved, others withdrawn

Attachment and Emotional development 

- Attachment figures may communicate the appropriate emotion in a given  situation

- Babies appear to be born with a primitive form of empathy

- Social referencing: children use of parent’s emotional responses to regulate  their own emotions and behavior (starts at 8-10 months). Ex: Child pushes  something over and looks to parent for understanding.  

- Babies come to have similar emotions to those of parents in a given situation Early Emotional Development 

1. Happiness- newborns smile to touches, mother’s voice, social smile (6-10  weeks) evoked by faces

2. Anger- first sustained expressions at 3-4 months, related to development of  motor capabilities

3. Sadness- displayed as a distinct emotion at 3-4 months, typically a result of  social separation, mother leaves

4. Fear- no evidence of fear in young infants, stranger anxiety at about 6-7  months

5. Self-conscious emotions- involve injury or enhancement of self-concept Ex: embarrassment, pride, guilt. Not evident until 18 months, dependent upon  culture

Emotional Regulation 

∙ Processes involved in initiating, maintaining and altering emotional responses ∙ Minimal control in infancy

- Babies turn away from unpleasant stimuli

- Parents often have to regulate infant’s emotions

∙ Children later learn from parents how to regulate their own emotions

Four Parenting Styles

 1.) Authoritative 

- Demanding and responsive

- Set rules and explain the reasons for them

- Encourage discussion of rules

- Ex: look both ways before crossing the street because if you don’t you might  not see a car coming

2.) Authoritarian 

- Demanding and unresponsive

- Demand compliance with rules but don’t explain the reasons for them - Ex: “because I said so”

- Often use physical punishment to enforce rules  

- Child is more likely to repeat behavior

 3.) Permissive 

- Responsive but not demanding

- Loving but impose few rules

- Kid does their own thing

- Marshmallow experiment

- Buys kid’s affection

 4.) Neglectful 

- Unresponsive and undemanding

- Parents absent or involved in own problems

- Do not take the time to express love or to impose rules

- More likely to have relationship problems

*Often times the parenting style your parents used are the one you will use when  you have children.