1
Q
prenatal stage timeline:
A
when the egg from a woman and the sperm from a man join together, until birth (typically 9 months)
2
Q
a zygote is a:
A
fertilized egg
3
Q
the germinal stage is the period from:
A
conception to 2 weeks after conception
4
Q
What happens during the germinal stage?
A
the one-celled zygote divides into two cells that then divide into four cells that then divide into eight cells, and so on, the zygote migrates down the fallopian tube and implants itself in the wall of the uterus.
5
Q
The moment the zygote successfully implants itself in the uterine wall, it gives up its old name and takes on a new one:
A
embryo.
6
Q
the embryonic stage is a period that starts at:
A
about the 2nd week after conception and lasts until about the 8th week after conception.
7
Q
what happens during the embryonic stage?
A
- the implanted embryo continues to divide, and its cells begin to differentiate.
- Although it is only an inch long, the embryo already has arms, legs, and a beating heart.
- beginnings of female reproductive organs.
- If it is a male embryo, it begins to produce a hormone called testosterone that will ultimately masculinize those organs
8
Q
At about 9 weeks, the embryo gets a new name:
A
fetus.
9
Q
The fetal stage is a period that lasts from:
A
about the 9th week after conception until birth.
10
Q
What traits does the fetus develop in the fetal stage?
A
- a skeleton and muscles that make it capable of movement.
- a layer of insulating fat beneath its skin
- digestive and respiratory systems mature.
- brain cells begin to generate axons and dendrites that allow them to communicate with other brain cells.
these cells begin to undergo myelination.
11
Q
myelination is:
A
the formation of a fatty sheath around the axons of a neuron.
Just as plastic sheathing insulates the wires in a kitchen appliance, myelin insulates the neurons in the brain, preventing the leakage of the signals that travel along the axon.
12
Q
a newborn human’s brain is only of % its adult size, which is to say that % of a human’s brain development occurs after birth.
A
25%, 75%.
13
Q
Why is it beneficial for human brains to develop after birth?
A
- humans have big heads, and tiny birth canals (size issue)
- developing brain for unique birth environments, which vary
14
Q
A teratogen is:
A
any substance that passes from mother to unborn child and impairs development.
15
Q
examples of teratogens:
A
mercury in fish, lead in water, and radon in air (in enclosed spaces like basements), radiation, alcohol, drugs (including tobacco), certain medications (such as lithium and thalidomide), infections.
16
Q
Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is a developmental disorder that stems from:
A
heavy alcohol use by the mother during pregnancy
17
Q
Children born with FAS have:
A
a variety of brain abnormalities and cognitive deficits
18
Q
Babies born to mothers who smoke (tobacco) are:
A
- smaller
- more likely to be born prematurely
- more likely to have perceptual and attentional problems in both infancy and childhood
- Even secondhand smoke can lead to reduced birth weight and deficits in attention and learning
19
Q
The things a pregnant woman ingests can harm her unborn child, but so too can the things she…
A
fails to ingest.
20
Q
Women who receive insufficient nutrition during pregnancy often have babies who have:
A
intrauterine growth restriction or IUGR.
These newborns are extremely small and underweight, and have a greatly increased chance of becoming physically or mentally ill adults
21
Q
Infancy is the stage of development that begins at ____ and lasts ____ ___ __ ___ ______.
A
birth, between 18 and 24 months.
22
Q
Newborns have a limited:
A
range of vision.
newborns can see things that are about 20 to 30 centimetres away, which just so happens to be the distance between a mother’s face and their nursing infant’s eyes.
23
Q
habituation is the tendency for:
A
organisms to respond less intensely to a stimulus each time it is presented.
24
Q
So if a newborn habituates to a visual stimulus, that means:
A
they must have been able to see it.
25
the objects to which newborns are especially attentive are those that look like:
faces.
26
newborns in one study were shown a shape that either had **facial features, scrambled facial features, or no facial features.**
When the shape was moved across their fields of vision, the newborns tracked the movement with their eyes.
They tracked the moving shape that had __________ longer than they tracked either of the others!
facial features.
27
**Motor development** is the emergence of:
the ability to **execute physical actions** such as reaching, grasping, crawling, and walking.
28
**motor reflexes** are:
motor responses that are triggered by **specific patterns of sensory stimulation**
29
the **rooting reflex** causes infants to:
move their mouths towards any object that touches their cheek.
30
the **sucking reflex** causes infants to:
suck any object that enters their mouth.
31
Together, these **two reflexes** allow newborn infants to find their mother’s nipple and begin feeding:
| (name them)
the sucking reflex, and the rooting reflex
32
the **cephalocaudal principle** (or the “top-to-bottom” principle), describes the tendency for:
motor skills to emerge in sequence from the **head** to the **feet**.
## Footnote
(Infants tend to gain control over their heads first, their arms and trunks next, and their legs last).
33
the **proximodistal** principle (or the “inside-to-outside” principle) describes the tendency for:
motor skills to emerge in sequence from the **centre** to the **periphery**.
## Footnote
(Infants learn to control their trunks before their elbows and knees, which they learn to control before their hands and feet)
34
the **timing** of motor skills is influenced by many factors, such as:
the infant’s incentive for **reaching**, body weight, **muscular** development, and general level of **activity**.
35
When infants or young children are allowed to play with an object such as a slide or a car and are then given a **miniature** version of the object, they will often make a ____ ____ by treating the miniature object as though it were the **regular-sized** one
scale error
36
The [1] system that is responsible for the **identification of objects** is neurologically distinct from the [2] system that is responsible for the **control of movements**, which is why certain kinds of brain damage can cause these two systems to become dis-coordinated in adults.
1. perceptual
2. motor
37
____ development is the process by which infants and children gain the ability to **think** and **understand**.
cognitive
38
[this psychologist]'s studies suggested that in the course of cognitive development, infants and children learn **three essential lessons**
Piaget’s
39
What **three lessons** did **Piaget** believe infants and children learn over the course of cognative development?
how the **physical world** works, how **their minds** work, and how **other people’s minds** work.
40
Piaget (1954) suggested that cognitive development occurs in four stages. Name them:
1. the sensorimotor stage
2. the preoperational stage
3. the concrete operational stage
4. the formal operational stage
41
The sensorimotor stage is a stage of cognitive development that begins at ____ and lasts through ____, or ( ___ to __) years of age
birth, infancy
0 to 2 years of age.
42
Traits of an infant in the **sensorimotor** stage:
Infant experiences the world by **sensing** it and **moving** in it, develops “**schemas**,” begins to act **intentionally**, and shows evidence of understanding “**object permanence**.”
infants at this stage are mainly busy using their ability to *sense* (their **perceptual** skills) and their ability to *move* (their **motor** skills) to acquire information about the world.
43
By actively exploring their environments with their eyes, mouths, and fingers, infants **begin to construct these:**
schemas
44
**schemas** are:
theories about the way the world works, **mental frameworks**.
45
**assimilation** is:
the process of applying a schema to novel stimuli, relating new information in relation to prexisting schemas.
46
**accomodation** is:
the process of **adjusting** a schema to incorporate new information. Changing what we already know to fit with new information.
47
**object permanence** refers to:
the understanding that objects exist even when they are not visible.
48
Robert Fantz (1964) developed **which** ingenious technique for finding out what is “going on in a baby’s mind”?
preferential looking time
49
how does the **preferential looking time** test work?
If the average infant looks longer at a novel stimulus compared to a familiar stimulus, this suggests that the infant can discriminate between the stimuli.
50
The long period **following infancy** is called:
childhood
51
according to **Piaget**, when does **childhood begin and end?**
begins at about **18 to 24 months** and lasts until about **11 to 14 years.**
52
the **Preoperational** stage begins at about ___ years and ends at about ____ years.
2-6.
53
What are the characteristics of the **Preoperational** stage?
* Child acquires motor skills but does not understand “**conservation**.” Child begins this stage by thinking **egocentrically** but ends with a basic understanding of other minds.
* Children develop a preliminary understanding of the physical world.
54
The **Concrete operational** stage lasts from about __ to __ years of age.
6 to 11.
55
Some characterists of a **Concrete operational** child are:
* Child can think logically about physical objects and events and understands “conservation.”
* children learn how actions, or operations, can transform the concrete objects of the physical world.
56
Piaget said that children **enter childhood at one stage of cognitive development and leave at another.** Which stages was he referring to?
the **preoperational** and **concrete operational** stages.
57
**Conservation** is the understanding that:
many of the physical properties of an object are conserved (i.e., not changed) by changes in the object’s appearance.
58
**Piaget's test** to measure a childs understanding of **"conservation"** involved these objects:
**eggs and cups.**
Piaget he had children line up the eggs first inside and then in front of the cups, in a longer line. **preoperational** children said there were now **more** eggs, because the line looked longer. **Concrete operational** children understood the number stayed the same, recognizing that **quantity** doesn’t change just because the **arrangement** changes.
59
Children learn to solve _____ problems at the **concrete operational** stage, and they learn to solve _____ problems at the **formal operational** stage.
physical, nonphysical.
60
The **formal operational stage** which is the __________ stage of cognitive development that begins around the age of __, during which children learn to reason about abstract concepts
final, 11.
61
Piaget believed that some people **never advance** to which stage?
Formal operational.
62
what are some characteristics of the **formal operational** stage?
Child can think **logically** about **abstract propositions** and **hypotheticals**.
63
**Egocentrism** is:
the failure to understand that the world appears different to different people.
## Footnote
It is a hallmark of the preoperational stage.
64
what **tests** do psychologists use to determine if a child has a **theory of mind?**
false belief tasks, like the sally-anne test or three mountains task.
65
how does the sally-anne task work?
children were presented with two dolls, Sally (who has a basket) and Anne (who has a box). Sally puts a marble in her basket, and leaves the room. While Sally is away, Anne takes the marble from the basket, and hides it in her box. Finally, Sally returns to the room, and the child is asked three questions:
Where will Sally look for her marble? (The “belief” question)
Where is the marble really? (The “reality” question)
Where was the marble at the beginning? (The “memory” question)
The critical question is the belief question – if children answer this by pointing to the basket, then they have shown an appreciation that Sally’s understanding of the world doesn’t reflect the actual state of affairs.
66
what are the three prniciples of development?
1. development is lifelong
2. development is multicontextual
3. development is multidirectional
67
____ believed that children were *"tabulae rasae"* or **blank slates.**
empiricists
68
_ believed that children were **born with basic information** about the world.
nativists
69
____ believed that a "fully formed human" exists in sperm/egg at conception, with pre-set fixed growth.
preformationists
70
____ believed that genes are primary drivers of development. development occurs in fixed sequences, and skills are set to be developed at fixed times, which cannot be changed.
maturationists
71
three **domains** of developmental psych:
1. physical development
2. cognitive development
3. psychosocial development
72
Who does an infant view as their primary caregiver?
the person who consistantly, quickly fufills their needs. this creates an emotional bond called **attachment**.
73
Attachment: The Harlow Experiments
monkeys preferred the warm terry cloth mother who had no food over the cold wire mother with food, because she provided **contact comfort**.
74
Infants form different **qualities** based on:
| hint- 3 factors
* infants **temperment**/baseline personality
* parent's **attentiveness**, ability to fufill needs
* parents **mind-mindedness**, ability to treat infant as a "mini adult".
75
How can psychologists **measure security of attachment** in 1-2 year olds?
the strange situation experiment
76
How does the **strange situation experiment** work?
experimenters test an infants reactions and exploration when surrounded by different adults, with and without the presence of their caregiver in an unfamilliar room.
77
What are the three most popular **attachment** styles?
* **secure** attachment
* **anxious/ambivalent** attachment
* **avoidant** attachment
78
**Secure** attachment style reaction to the **Strange Situation**:
distress when mom removed, avoidant of stranger without mom, but engages with stranger when mom is there, happy to see mom after seperation.
79
**Anxious/Abivalent** attachment style reaction to the **Strange Situation**:
distressed when mom leaves, significant fear of stranger, approaches mom but avoids contact after seperation.
80
**Avoidant** attachment style reaction to the **Strange Situation**:
no interest in mom leaving, plays happily with stranger, no reaction to moms return.
81
Caregiver **sensitivity** hypothesis:
differences in **babies attachment styles** rely on **caregivers level of attentiveness.**
82
Animism:
the belief that inanimate objects are capable of actions, have life, and/or life-like qualities.
83
Where does **animism** come from in children?
a lack of understanding of logical cause and effect relationships, or pre-causal thinking.
84
Why is **pretend/dramatic play** important for pre-operational children?
helps solidify learning, creativity, probem solving, theory of mind, and social skills.
85
What three **primary emotions** are present from birth?
anger, fear, happiness.
86
What are examples of **secondary** emotions?
envy, pride, shame
87
How can parents help children cope with their emotions?
teaching how to label/name and regulate emotions (its hard to have big feelings and not be able to describe them!)
88
he psychologist Erik Erikson (1959) characterized each stage of life by the **major task** confronting the individual at that stage. His stages of psychosocial development suggest that the **adolescent’s major task** is to:
develop a new, unique adult identity.
89
puberty:
the onset of bodily changes associated with **sexual maturity.**
90
Adolescence is the period of development that begins with: ____ and lasts until: ________
* the onset of sexual maturity (about 11 to 14 years of age)
* the beginning of adulthood (about 18 to 21 years of age)
91
What role do **"role transitions"** play in growing up?
they make you "feel like an adult".
92
Mature minors:
* 16/17 years old.
* Not the same as an adult, but begin to have similar rights.
93
**Cultural** definition of Adulthood:
defined by cultureal rituals/rites of passage that define religious/social maturity
94
**Biological** definition of adulthood:
puberty/**sexual maturity**, measured by **tanner stages.**
95
Tanner Stages:
Used in clinical settings for medical screening/ to council adolescents.
Sub-Stages: external genetalia for males, breast development for females.
96
Age of majority:
the age when one is legally prosecuted as an adult. varies around the world, generally around 18-21
97
Arnett's "Tasks of Adulthood":
Yes or No:
"is this required to be an adult?"
(various things asked like children, moving out, etc.).
## Footnote
"support self financially" ranks much higher than "buy a house" or "get married".
98
**Psychological** definition of adulthood:
| (3 things)
1. accept responsibility for consequences for actions
2. decide personal beliefs/values, independant of parents or peers
3. establish relationship w/ parents as equal adults.
99
Markers of **psychosocial maturity:**
* impulse control
* sensation-seeking
* future orientation
* resistance to peer pressure
* increases over lifespan
100
Markers of cognative maturity:
* short term memory
* verbal fluency
* working memory
* plateaus at 16-30
101
What are the **four parenting styles**:
* permissive
* uninvolved
* authoritarian
* authoritive
102
**permissive** parenting:
parents are engaged, but without rules/expectations.
children struggle with self-discipline.
103
**uninvolved** parenting:
parents are disengaged with no rules.
children struggle with relationships with peers, and with school.
104
**Authoritarian** parenting:
parents are harsh, and have strict rules without explanations for them.
children struggle with authority and rebellion.
105
**Authorative** parenting:
parents are warm, but with rules and guidelines.
children have mutual respect.
106
"Gentle parenting":
* acknowledging motivation behind behaviours
* recognising that children defy as a result of stress
* commands and positive/negative rewards
* problems are narrated; "youre feeling this way because..."
psychology 121
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