synaptic overproduction/synaptic pruning
in the first few months of life, we make tons of neural connections. This is followed by synaptic pruning; the ones we don’t often use are pruned away. “use it or lose it”
Developmental Plasticity
Changes in neural connections as a result of environmental interactions and neural changes from learning
Sensorimotor Stage
- 0-2
- influenced by sensory information and motor movement
- understand association between actions and consequences
- 3-6 months- no object permanence, out of sight of out mind mindset. Usually thought to be 9 months
- 12 months- little scientist stage. Learns that world is orderly. Expresses agency, experiments with cause and effect
- 12-24 months- express symbolic representation. Can think of objects that aren’t there in front of them, and can use objects to symbolize other objects
Preoperational
- 2-7
- child understands symbolic representation, but still swayed by sensory information
- expresses centration- focusing more on sensory information.
- example of centration: doesn’t understand conservation of volume. If water is moved to a taller container, thinks there’s more water in it. Still heavily swayed by sensory information
- extremely egocentric processing- can’t take another person’s visual perspective until 4-5 years old
Concrete Operational
- 7-12
- a child understands symbolic representation and conservation: understands that a change in sensory information isn’t a change in the substance
- good at reasoning with concrete objects or knowledge in the world. Not good at reasoning with hypothetical knowledge or knowledge that goes against concrete knowledge
Formal Operational
- 12+
- end of qualitative change in cognition- no more distinct stages of growth
- can understand hypothetical reasoning, analogies, abstract concepts
- are able to use systematic reasoning and knowledge. This is why math and science are taught after age 12
What do current psychologists think of Piaget’s theory?
- the growth is continuous/gradual and does not have distinct steps (qualitative)
- this current theory is backed up by new technology that tests infant cognition
Do babies understand math?
- 8-10 month olds have mathematical intuition and understand simple addition and subtraction
- primates also have this
- improved with experience
Do babies understand physics?
- kind of
- 2-4 month olds
- have “intuitive physics” and are surprised at impossible events
- understanding of gravity and causality (if ball is going to hit ball 2 but doesn’t, and ball 2 still rolls away, they’re surprised)
- improved with experience
What are babies born with?
ability to learn environmental contingencies
born with reflexes
What are Piaget’s four stages of development and the ages?
Sensorimotor (0-2)
Preoperational (2-7)
Concrete Operational (7-12)
Formal Operational (12+)
How do babies learn words?
- we use nouns rather than adjectives because babies learn nouns easier
- When we say “look at the puppy”, this is an inferential problem. What are they talking about?
- verb- sitting
- adjective- fuzzy
- Babies use scaffolding to identify what we’re talking about
- syntactic clues- our sentence structure
- social cues- what we’re looking or pointing at
Forming categories with nouns
- babies hardwired to form categories with nouns. Easiest like this
- by 13 months- can find categories with nouns and can extend to other same nouns
- learn “blicket” to mean dinosaur and identify other dinosaurs as blicket
Forming categories with adjectives
- takes babies longer to form categories with adjectives
- 21 months- can identify what adjective means what feature and apply this to others
- can’t learn blikish to mean purple and extend this to other purple objects
Theory of Mind
- one of Piaget’s theories
- knowing that others have knowledge and intentions
- common in humans and other social animals: elephants, porpoises, pigs, dogs, birds
Chimp Theory of Mind experiment
- understand the chimp’s intentions and desires, and to see if the chimp recognizes the participants’ intentions and desires
- 1 person stumbles and drops juice
- 1 person dumps juice out
- chimp more mad at the participant who dropped juice purposefully
- 6-month babies show similar behavior with toy caregivers
Explain Infant social judgment
- by 6 months old, babies show theory of mind behavior with toy caregivers- less mad at caregivers who drop the toy than forcibly remove it
- by 8 months old, they prefer helpful toys rather than unhelpful ones. They understand intentions and goals. Prefer puppets who help others achieve goals
Outline the three attachments
secure attachment- comfortable with making relationships, easily formed
anxious attachment- want relationships but are insecure
avoidant attachment- dismissive of relationships, uncomfortable relying on others
- attachment visible at 18 months
At what age are secure, anxious, or avoidants visible?
18 months
Discuss the types of attachment we see in an airport study.
secure- say goodbye ok, remain close to person
anxious- frantic and cry
avoidant- remain distant and don’t cry
Explain the “All grown up” Ainsworth kids study
- identified females in college with boyfriends
- put them in room and said this is a pain study to stress them out, then sent them into waiting room with their boyfriends
- secure attachment- sought and received consoling from partner
- anxious- traumatized, didn’t receive consoling
- avoidant attachment- females sat further away from their partner and didn’t seek consoling. Sometimes they didn’t even tell their partner
Are babies smarter than what Piaget had thought?
yes
there are no concrete stages of cognitive development in infants
infants have intuitive math and physics, have social preferences, fast word learning
Outline Puberty
Girls
- start between 8-14 years old
- end around 16 years old
Guys
- start between 10-14 years old
- end around 18 years old
- puberty- ability to reproduce and be sexually mature
- adolescent growth spurt- increase in weight and height because of hormone increase
- formation of primary sex characteristics- formation of female and male sex organs. Results in ability to ejaculate and have period
- formation of secondary sex characteristics- pubic hair, boobs, hips, enlargement of penis
How can puberty in girls be a biological phenomenon?
- start months earlier when in environment where nongenetically related adult male
- start puberty earlier when in stressful situations
- environment influences production of hormones
- environment increases need to reproduce comes earlier because female needs to mate to continue gene pool
