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Developmental Psych Ch. 1&2

Terms in this set (55)

age-graded expectations (Ch. 1)
Views held in societies about what would be appropriate behavior at a given time in life
biological system
Includes all those processes necessary for the physical functioning of the organism. Sensory capacities, motor responses, and the workings of the respiratory, endocrine, and circulatory systems
biopsychosocial
the integration of biological, psychological, and societal systems lead to a complex biopsychosocial system
continuity
A condition that characterizes a culture when a child is given information and responsibilities that apply directly to his or her adult behavior.
culture
refers to the socially standardized ways of thinking, feeling, and acting that are shared by members of a society
developmental change
the patterns of growth and reorganization
identity
the concept that an object is still the same object even though its shape or location has been changed
life expectancy
the average number of years, from birth to death
life span
refers to the number of years one lives
longevity
the length or duration of life
Factors that contribute to longevity:
-high levels of education
-high family income
-being married
-no hypertension/arthritis
-nonsmoker
-normal body weight
-moderate amount of alcohol
-daily activity
meaning-making
psychological system that seeks out info, integrates info, and evaluates experiences as positive or negative
plasticity
the capability of being shaped or molded
poverty
the condition of having little money or material possessions.
Conditions Leading to Poverty:
-Decline in well-paying, blue-collar jobs
-Large increases in single-mother households
-Erosion of the economic safety net for poor children
-Decline in purchasing power of minimum wage
-Economic recession in 2008 leading to increased unemployment and homelessness
The Psychosocial Impact of Poverty
-African American, Hispanic, and Native American families are overrepresented among those living in poverty in America
-Chronic poverty is linked with greater problems with health, cognitive development, school achievement, and reduced life expectancy
-Some children living in poverty are resilient, escape its negative effects, and continue to develop optimally
psychological system
Includes those mental processes central to the person's ability to make meaning of experiences and take action. Emotion, memory, perception, problem solving, etc.
psychosocial approach
seeks to understand development as a product of interactions among biological, psychological, and societal processes. Changes in one of these systems brings about changes in the others.
self-insight
to be more aware of one's thoughts and feelings, and less defensive.
social cognitive neuroscience
explores the neurological processes associated with the ways we perceive social information and reason about others.
societal system
includes those processes through which a person become integrated into society
worldview
A system for thinking about how the world works & how people should behave in it & in relationship to one another
Theory (Ch. 2)
A logical system of concepts that helps explain observations and contributes to the development of a body of knowledge.
In order to understand a theory, one must answer:
-Which phenomena is the theory trying to explain?
-What assumptions does the theory make?
-What does the theory predict?
A formal theory should be logical and make assumptions
range of applicability
The nature of the concepts and principles that a theory is trying to explain
Theories of Human Development Should Provide Explanations about Six Questions:
1. What is the direction of change over the lifespan?
2. What are the mechanisms that account for growth from conception through old age? Do these mechanisms vary across the life span?
3. How relevant are early experiences for later development?
4. How do physical, cognitive, emotional, and social functions interact?
5. How do the environmental and social contexts affect individual development?
6. What factors are likely to place the person at risk at specific periods of the life span?
Theory of evolution
Explains how diverse and increasingly more complex life forms come to exist
Darwin emphasized the adaptive value of behavior and physical characteristics to specific environments:
-Natural selection (species gradually change to fit environment)
-Fitness (contribution to the next generation's gene pool)
-Inclusive fitness
Ethology
Studies the survival value of unique adaptive behavior and its evolutionary history
Evolutionary psychology
Studies long-term historical origins of mental structure, emotions, and social behavior.
Implications for Human Development
Evolutionary theory highlights three phases of the life span:
-Healthy growth and development leading up to the reproductive period
-Success in mating and the conception of offspring
-Parenting offspring so they can survive and bear their own offspring
Links to Psychosocial Approach
1. Psychosocial Evolution: The process through which human beings influence their own adaptation
2. Individual-level adaptation occurs through psychosocial crises and coping
Psychosexual Theory
-Children move through a series of stages in which they confront conflicts between biological drives and social expectations
-Healthy personality development is determined by how parents manage their child's early sexual and aggressive drives
-Focus is on how individuals resolve conflicts between drives
Psychosexual Theory: Motivation and Behavior
-Freud believed that all behavior is motivated
-Area of the mind, called the unconscious, stores powerful, primitive motives
-Drives, or libido, are the sexual and aggressive forces that desire to be satisfied
Domains of Consciousness
1. Conscious- only makes up small part of mind
2. Preconscious- Material here can be made conscious if attention is directed to it
3. Unconscious- hidden from view. Explains our wishes, dreams, fears etc. Plays a major role in guiding behavior
Psychosexual Theory: 3 Structures of Personality
1. Id- Source of instincts and impulses. Makes up entire part for infants. Unconscious
2. Ego- Experiences and interprets reality. Perception, memory, reasoning, and problem solving
3. Superego- Embodies moral precepts and moral sanctions. Punishing consequence
The relations between the id, ego, and superego determine an individual's basic personality
Psychosexual Theory: Stages of Development
Oral: 1st year of life. Mouth is site of sexual gratification
Anal: 2nd year of life. Development of sphincter muscles leads to child being able to expel or hold feces at will.
Phallic: Ages 3-6. Heightened genital sensitivity due to absence of puberty hormones.
Oedipal complex (boys)/ Electra complex (girls): the child has a strong sexual attraction to the parent of the opposite sex, and the same-sex parent is competition.
Latency: 7 years-puberty. Maturation of the ego
Genital: puberty-death. Sexual experimentation
Cognitive Developmental Theories
Cognition: process of organizing and making meaning of experience
Two Cognitive Developmental Theories:
-Piaget's Cognitive Developmental Theory
-Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory
Piaget's Cognitive Theory: Basic Concepts
-Occurs in stages as children actively manipulate and explore the environment
-Adaptation leads to a balance between internal structures and information children encounter in their everyday worlds
-Scheme is an organized way of making sense of experience that changes with age
Piaget's 4 Stages of Cognitive Development
1. Sensorimotor Stage (0-18 months)
2. Preoperational Stage (18 months-6 years)
3. Concrete Operational Stage (7-11 years)
4. Formal Operational Stage (11 years on)
Piaget's Implications for Human Development
-Knowledge is created through active engagement
-Novelty promotes cognitive development
-Concrete operational thought enables scientific reasoning and metacognition
-Learning about principles for objects in the physical world can enhance learning about social principles
Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory: Basic Concepts
Vygotsky is referred to as an interactionist with views that:
-Human development can only be understood within a social-historical framework
-Cognitive development is a socially mediated process
Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development
A range of tasks that the child cannot yet handle alone but can accomplish with the help of adults and more skilled peers
Vygotsky's Implications for Human Development
-Piaget viewed cognitive development as a universal process
-Vygotsky argued that parents and peers influence learning experiences, and thus, the structure of thinking
Piaget's and Vygotsky's Links to Psychosocial Theory
Piaget and psychosocial theory focus on development as a result of discrepancies where each stage of development grows from the achievements of earlier stages.
Vygotsky's theory, like psychosocial theory, emphasizes the importance of culture in guiding development, and in the ongoing interaction between person and cultural context.
Theories of Learning
Social Learning Theory

Cognitive Behaviorism
Social Learning Theory
Albert Bandura promoted social learning theory:
-Emphasizes learning in a social context and the role of modeling
-Learning via vicarious reinforcement
-Emphasizes social cognition rather than a social learning approach
Efficacy is the culmination of this learning process
Cognitive Behaviorism
-Criticism: Operant and classical conditioning do not describe and explain what happens in a learner's mind
-Edward Tolman said that the learner develops a cognitive map or an internal mental representation of the learning environment
Six Cognitive Dimensions of Cognitive Behaviorism
-Encodings
-Expectancies
-Affects
-Goals and values
-Cognitive competencies
-Self-regulatory plans
Learning Theories: Links to Psychosocial Theory
Although psychosocial theory does assume growth and change occur throughout the life span, learning theories provide explanations for the ways in which growth and change occur.
Cultural Theory
-Emphasizes the meaning and behavior shared by a group of people, transmitted from one generation to the next.
-An individual's psychological experiences are shaped through :
cultural pathways
cultural determinism
enculturation
-Individualism vs. Collectivism
Cultural Theory: Links to Psychosocial Theory
Cultural theory suggests that the structure, ideas, and goals of developmental pathways differ across cultures, which is in line with the views of psychosocial theory
Social Role Theory
Social roles serve as a bridge between the individual and society and suggest that learning is organized around a key social function, called roles
Social Role Theory: Three Elements of Concern
Role Enactment
Social Roles
Role Expectations
Four Dimensions of Social Roles Exist
Number of roles
Intensity of role involvement
Amount of time the role demands
Degree of structure or flexibility
Social Role Theory: Links to Psychosocial Theory
Role relationships provide a central mean through which socialization takes place
The reciprocity in roles is closely linked to the developmental crises of each psychosocial stage
Systems Theory
Systems are characterized by the relationships among component parts, where the whole is more than the sum of its parts
Open system
Adaptive self-regulation
Ecological Systems Theory
Urie Bronfenbrenner argues that the individual develops within a multilayered system of relationships:
Microsystem
Mesosystem
Exosystem
Macrosystem
Chronosystem
Systems Theory: Links to Psychosocial Theory
System and psychosocial theories both suggest that development requires an analysis of the person within context.
Systems theory predicts that change is not patterned and occurs through adaptive self-regulation and self-organization, whereas psychosocial theory suggests that change is patterned.
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