development 1

Question 1

development

Answer 1

• gene-environment interactions across a person’s lifespan
• changes and continuities that occur within the individual between conception and death

Question 2

evolution

Answer 2

gene-environment interactions across the evolutionary history of a species

Question 3

neuroscience

Answer 3

study of the nervous system

Question 4

what two processes lead to developmental change?

Answer 4

• maturation
• learning

Question 5

maturation

Answer 5

• biologically-timed changes within a person according to that individuals genetic plan
• plan is influenced by environmental conditions that shape genetically determined processes

Question 6

learning

Answer 6

• relatively permanent changes in out thoughts, behaviours, and feelings as a result of our experiences
• acquisition of neuronal representations of new info through learning processes

Question 7

can controlled processes become automatic?

Answer 7

• yes through practice
• i.e. looking both ways before crossing is automatic in adulthood

Question 8

interactionist perspective

Answer 8

• maturation and learning interact during development and cause the most developmental changes

Question 9

how does maturation impact learning? how does learning impact maturation?

Answer 9

• can’t teach four month old to talk (not mature)
• properly fed child put in isolated room (mature, but no learning = slowed development)

Question 10

when does most human development occur?

Answer 10

infancy and childhood

Question 11

4 ways to study an infant’s basic sensory abilities

Answer 11

• habituation
• event-related potentials (ERP)
• high-amplitude sucking method
• preferential looking method

Question 12

habituation

Answer 12

• “a decrease in the responsiveness to a stimulus following its repeated presentation”
• if infants can detect differences between two stimuli
• infants tend to show interest in novel stimuli
• habituate infant to one stimuli, introduce new stimuli
• measure physiological changes (heart rate/breathing) OR behavioural orienting responses (head/eye movements)
• new stimuli = burst of activity
• once habituated = return to baseline levels

Question 13

dishabituation

Answer 13

• increase in responsiveness to stimulus that is somehow different than habituated stimulus
• i.e. habituate blue square, present green square = more attn given to green square = infant can discriminate colours

Question 14

event-related potentials (ERP)

Answer 14

• cap w/ electrodes placed on scalp of infant
• presenting visual stimulus = activity in occipital lobe
• presenting auditory stimulus = activity in temporal lobe

Question 15

high-amplitude sucking method

Answer 15

• special pacifier used to measure baseline sucking rate
• shaping procedure: infant given control over presentation of stimulus (i.e. musical notes)
• if infant sucks on pacifier at faster rate, switch in pacifier makes stimulus present itself
• if infant likes stimulus, they increase sucking rate and if not, they suck at baseline rate
  *works bc infants can control their sucking

Question 16

preference method

Answer 16

• infant put in looking chamber to look at two stimuli
• researchers can measure which direction the infant is looking in
• i.e. kids prefer looking at faces

Question 17

issue with preference method

Answer 17

• if infants look at both stimuli for same amnt of time: can be preference OR unable to discriminate
• thus, pref. method mostly used after researchers know that infants have developed discrimination skill