Developmental Psychology Open-Ended Questions
According to Piaget, how would the problem-solving abilities and thinking of a 17 year old differ from those of a 35 year old? How might other researchers describe how teenagers think about problems compared to middle-aged adult?
A 35 year old has acquired a large body of knowledge and skill that helps them to compensate for loss and solve problems within their area of expertise more efficiently than younger adults do. When asked to recall a story, younger adults were more likely to report specific events or actions in the story, while middle-aged adults recalled more of the psychological motivations of the characters and offered more interpretations of the story in their recall. What this may mean is that, along with a shift in schematic processing, the encoding process changes as we get older. We may not attempt to encode as much detail but may store more summarizing information.
Why does it take middle-aged adults longer to preform cognitive tasks than younger adults?
A larger area of the cortex is activated; therefore it takes longer to process information
Neurologists have found a major spurt in the growth of the frontal lobes that begins sometime around age 17 and continues into early adulthood. What are the consequences of this spurt for logical, planning and emotional control? How does this change in late adulthood affect the way developmental psychologists view the period between adolescence and early adulthood?
A major growth spurt in the growth of the frontal lobes- the area of the brain devoted to logic, planning, and emotional control, begins around age 17. This continues until 21 or 22. Also cognitive skills that emerge in the middle of the early adulthood period that seem to depend on changes in the brain. Neurologists suggest that this kind of response inhibition may depend on the ability of the frontal lobes of the brain to regulate the limbic system, or emotional part of the brain. Teenagers are more impulsive because the development of the prefrontal cortex is slower than that of the limbic system. Gradual loss of brain volume in the early adulthood period. As you age your reaction time takes longer.
What does Erikson see as the developmental crisis of adolescence?
Achieving autonomy and independence from their parents (although the form this takes varies across cultures) and Forming an identity, which means creating an integrated self that harmoniously combines different elements of the personality, identity vs. role confusion- in Erikson's theory, the stage during which adolescents attain a sense of who they are
Define adolescence. When does it start? When does it end?
Adolescence is the transitional time between childhood and adulthood, 13-19. Begins with puberty and ends with high school
Defining the boundaries of stages is often difficult, but especially so in adulthood. Why is that? Compare the way stage boundaries are defines in early childhood and early adulthood.
Adults become more diverse as life goes on and don't reach the same milestones as closely as they would if they were younger. Younger stages are based primarily on physical/cognitive development, whereas the stages in adulthood are more focused on social stages, which everybody experiences at different times. Also non-normative changes increase as life goes on.
How do the relative effects of age-graded, history-graded, and non normative changes change over the lifespan?
Age-graded: changes that are common to every member of a species; dependent on physical norms (walking, thinning skin) and age norms (when to date); rapidly decline from childhood to adulthood, then slowly increase to old age Normative history graded: changes that occur in most members of a cohort as a result of factors at work during a specific, well-defined historical period; affect each generation differently; increase to adolescence, decrease to old age Non-normative changes: changes that result from unique, unshared events; steadily increase from childhood to old age
how does aging affect memory?
As you age, your memory declines. Research has showed that this decline is associated with changes in the ration of gray to white matter in the brain. A reduction in the volume of the hippocampus is associated with memory deficits among the elderly as well. Forgetfulness among the elderly may result from the kind of general slowing you read about earlier. Older adults take longer to register some new pieces of information, encode it, and retrieve it. Some of the clearest evidence of the important role of speed memory decline in old age comes fro an extensive series of studies done by Timothy Salthouse. (TEXT) Sensory memory declines. Speed of working memory decreases. May take longer to organize, rehearse, and encode information. Overall, age-related declines in memory are gradual and non-consequential, unless disease processes are involved. Decline in memory likely is associated with slowing of nervous system and shrinking of frontal lobes in the brain. The brain seems to compensate for declining size older individuals show increased neural activity compared to younger adults (PowerPoint)
What does research show about the role of peer groups and peer group pressures in teenagers' development?
Associate w/ people of same value, attitudes, behaviors, identity's. When the values that drive the group are good, peers are an important source of reinforcement that keeps teens of good pathways. Children in "cool" group are more likely to be influenced by their friends than kids who are friends w/ peers who are nice, kind, well-liked. Conform more in the popular group than the nice group. Popular group associated with higher rates or risky behavior and social aggression.
There are many ways to characterize adolescents' independence from their parents. Give examples of each of the four types of independence that were presented in class.
Conflictual independence- degree to which one is free from excessive guild, anxiety mistrust, responsibility, inhibition, resentment, and anger in relation to parents Attitudinal independence- degree to which one has an image of oneself as distinct from parents and having one's set of beliefs, attitudes, values Emotional independence- degree to which one is free form the need for parental approval, closeness, togetherness, and emotional support Functional independence- degree to which one manages practical and personal affairs w/o parental help
Describe the developmental tasks for each of the periods of development we have studied since the second exam.
Early Adolescence- physical maturation, emotional development, membership in peer groups, sexual relationship Later Adolescence- autonomy from parents, sex-role identity, internalized morality, career choice Early Adulthood- stable relationships, child rearing, work etc. Middle Adulthood- nurture close relationships, management of career and household, parenting Later Adulthood- promote intellectual vigor, redirect energy to new roles and activities, develop a point of view about death Old Age- Cope with physical changes of aging, develop a historical perspective, and storytelling
Are there any abilities which appear to improve or increase with advancing age into older adulthood?
Enhanced creativity and wisdom may increase with advancing age into older adult years
How does logical thinking and problem-solving change from middle childhood through adulthood? Give examples of how the adolescent and the child in middle childhood differ in their approaches to cognitive problems such as the pendulum problem, the colorless liquid, and the 20 questions game.
Ex. Colorless liquid problem: 4 beakers w/ colorless liquids which need to be mixed to form yellow. Which combo creates yellow? - Sensorimotor (birth-2): like playing in water - Preoperational (2-7): random mixing, results in mess; hit or miss approach; use symbols to represent discoveries, imaginative, egocentric - Concrete (7-11): somewhat systematic, but only partially; can't isolate factors; focused and logical, understand reversibility and conservation, can use inductive reasoning - Formal (11-adult): systematic, isolates one factor at a time; develops hypothesis to think
How do friendships change across adulthood? Describe some of the predictable ways that people value and experience friendships as they grow older.
Friends are important, but not reliable for long term care. Mounting evidence shows that contact with friends has a significant impact on overall life satisfaction, on self-esteem, and on the amount of loneliness reported by older adults. Moreover, for those elders whose families are unavailable, friendships seem to provide an equally effective support network. Friends meet different kinds of needs than do family members. For one thing, relationships with friends are likely to be more reciprocal or equitable, and these relationships are more valuable and less stressful. Friends provide companionship, opportunities for laughter, and shared activities.
What are the consequences of early and late onset of puberty for boys and for girls?
Girls early: more negative body image, more sexually active, more depressed Boys early: more prosocial, higher leadership, predicts later success Overall early- more sexually active, more substance abuse, children whose physical development occurs markedly earlier or later than they expected or desire show more negative effects than do those whose development is "on time."
Based on the information in the text and presented in class, if you were to do two things that would give you the best chance of avoiding or limiting normal, age-related declines in brain and cognitive functioning, what would they be? If you could advise the world of ONE thing that research has shown would help people avoid age related declines in cognitive function in adulthood, what would that be?
I would recommend that everyone participate in some typeof physical activity daily to improve their overall health and mental stability. Physical exercise has proved to increase longevity, decrease risk of disease and improve scores on test. I would also recommend a healthy diet so that you are not under or overweight, because that can decrease longevity and increase your likelihood to develop disease.
identify some of the typical questions people at difference ages might ask that characterize each of the Eriksonian stages from adolescence through old age.
Identity vs. role confusion: Have you moved out yet? Where are you working? Intimacy vs. isolation: How is your significant other? Did you go to settlement on your new house? Generativity vs. stagnation: Did you help your child apply to college? Integrity vs. despair: What was your favorite memory from your younger years?
In Erikson's psychosocial theory of development, how does the individual's resolution of crisis in one stage affect their resolutions of later crisis? Do developmental issues from earlier life stages ever reappear in later stages of development?
If a stage goes unresolved, they struggle to complete the next stage. For example, if a person never establishes a sense of identity, they will struggle to form relationships because they don't know themselves.
Describe the Eriksonian crisis characteristic of each stage from adolescence through old age.
Intimacy vs. isolation- the capacity to engage in supportive, affectionate relationships without losing one's sense of self, isolation-results from relationships that are inadequate- that feature lack of self-disclosure- and from unresolved identity crises Generativity vs. stagnation- be active in home and community; be proud of accomplishments and be close with husband or wife Integrity vs. despair - wisdom, people conduct life review, integrates earlier stages and comes to terms with basic identity, develops self-acceptance
How does martial satisfaction often change after the birth of child? Why do you think that is?
It declines after the birth of the child (peaks before child, remains low until last kid leaves home) b/c of division of labor. Less of a loss if they develop conflict resolution strategies beforehand.
What lifestyle or behavioral changes are most likely to moderate the effects of primary aging?
Lose 10% of body weight if overweight - Add 20-30 g of fiber: decreases risk of colon cancer, reduces BP, improves insulin function - Engage in moderate physical activity q day - Stop smoking - Get recommended annual or 5-year screenings beginning at these ages
How does James Marcia explain identity development? Give some examples of different ways young people might resolve the crisis of identity.
Marcia's descriptions of identity statuses, which are rooted in Erikson's general conceptions of the adolescent identity process. Argues that adolescent identity formation has two key parts: a crisis and a commitment. Crisis- means a period of decision making when old values and old choices are reexamined. This may come to the reevaluation of a commitment to some specific role, value, goal, or ideology. Statuses- Identity achievement, Moratorium, Foreclosure, and Identity Diffusion
The text suggests that older adulthood is best thought of as consisting of distinct age-related periods. Why is the stage of older adulthood, but not other adult stages of development, divided into "substages"?
Older adults differ more dramatically from each other age groups. Adults in these sub stages may differ based on how they preform activities of daily life, so gerontologist often refer to the concept of functional age (combo of chronological, biological, mental, and emotional age)
What does the study of developmental psychology add to our knowledge of the significant dimensions of human experience?
Predictable changes across the life span Many of the most interesting developmental changes are qualitative in nature Developmental tasks appropriate for each stage can be defined Not succeeding at these tasks and not resolving predictable "crises" may pose challenges for future task completion and for facing future challenges Trajectories may be more predictive of subsequent change that early experience Researchers are exploring and identifying productive factors for each cohort at each age
How do self-concepts change as teenagers progress through adolescence?
Self-definition becomes more abstract (less on physical traits, more on internal traits/ideas). Advances in self-understanding among adolescents are both facilitated by and contribute to the increasing stability of the big 5 traits, so enduring traits show up in adolescents' self-descriptions more often than they do those of younger children. Self-concepts for different roles in life are formed, which influences behavior. Teens self-concept is hierarchical in nature: perceived competencies in various domains serve as building blocks for creating global academic self-concept. Social self-concept determines behavior.
If you were to compare the performance on a set of tasks given to a group of 30 year olds and a group of 70 year olds, what would be the the most noticeable differences?
The 70 year old would preform the tasks much slower, with difficulty using fine motor skills and seeing smaller writing or pieces involved in the task. The 30 year old should be able to think and process the skill much faster and with much more ease.
Describe two ways in which healthy older adult cognitive processing differs from younger adult cognitive processing?
The elderly experience difficulty in a variety of mental processes, which appear to reflect a general slowing of the nervous system and perhaps a loss of working memory capacity. Wisdom and creativity may be important aspects of cognitive functioning in old age. According to Baltes, decision making that is characterized by wisdom includes factual knowledge, procedural knowledge, an understanding of the relevance of values, and recognition that it is impossible to know in advance how a decision will affect one's life. Cohen proposed that creative individuals over the age of 50 pass through a series of stages in which they evaluate and reshape their lives.
In Erikson's theory, what happens if a person in middle-adulthood is not able to develop a sense of generativity?
Those who fail to develop generativity often suffer from a "pervading sense of stagnation and personal impoverishment [and indulge themselves] as if they were their own one and only child"
What are the two most important developmental tasks of emerging adulthood and early adulthood? Of middle age? Of older adulthood?
a. Adolescents: achieving autonomy and independence from their parents, forming an identity (creating an integrated self that harmoniously combines different elements of the personality) b. Early adulthood: Family, career, maintaining identity, forming relationships w/ others c. Middle adulthood: Help others, develop own activities d. Older adulthood: Promoting intellectual vigor, redirecting energy to new roles and activities, accepting one's life, developing a point of view about death
What are some of the criticisms of research supporting stage theories or normative models (such as Erikson's or Shaie's or Levinson's) of adulthood? Think about what some of the strengths of these models might be.
a. Criticisms: they ignore uniqueness of individuals, they undervalue interactive nature of multiple contexts, they often reflect values and experiences of a particular cohort group, small non-representative samples, biological/social clocks have changes b. Strengths: good to show the hierarchical fashion of life; includes all roles and relationships/conflicts and balances between them; cycles through stability and instability while regarding formation of intimate relationships as central developmental task
What are the big Five? How do these change over the course of adulthood?
a. Extraversion i. Active, assertive, enthusiastic, outgoing ii. High activity level, sociability, positive emotionally, talkativeness b. Agreeableness i. Affectionate, forgiving, generous, kind sympathetic, trusting ii. Perhaps high approach/ positive emotionality, perhaps effortful control c. Conscientiousness i. Efficient, organized, prudent, reliable, responsible ii. Effortful control/task persistence d. Neuroticism (emotional instability) i. Anxious, self-pitying, tense, touchy, unstable, worrying ii. Negative emotionality, irritability e. Openness/intellect i. Artistic, curious, imaginative, insightful, original, wide interests ii. Sociable, low inhibition f. Relatively stable from childhood through old age Openness, extraversion, and neuroticism decline as adults age Agreeableness and conscientiousness increase through age 70
How does the individual's sense of self change from adolescence through late adulthood?
a. Have a stronger sense of self and develop important attachments to people other than parents; changes less as sense of self becomes more rooted in morals and goals b. academic: come from both internal and external comparisons; competency in one domain contributes to how they feel about a different domain; influence behaviors like doing homework c. social self-concepts also predict behavior; runaways will think they're incompetent at having a give-and-take family relationship
are there genetic factors that affect longevity and health? What evidence, if any, is there to support this?
a. Identical twins are more similar in length of life than are fraternal twins, and adults whose parents and grandparents were long lived are also more likely to live longer. Twins are more likely to have similar illness rates than do fraternal twins. Small but significant correlation between health and the longevity of each man's parents and grandparents. b. Heredity, overall health, current and prior health habits (particularly exercise) and availability of adequate social support influence longevity. Proof that heredity affects longevity and health lies within twin studies. Identical twins are more similar in length of life than are fraternal twins, and adults whose parents and grandparents were long lived are also likely to live longer. Twin studies in Sweden also showed that identical twins have more similar illness rates than do fraternal twins
Why does physical exercise help maintain cognitive abilities in middle age?
a. Physical exercise seems to help maintain cognitive abilities in middle adult years, very likely because it helps to maintain cardiovascular fitness. These effects are not restricted to those who participate in formal, structured, exercise programs. Among physically healthy middle-aged and older adults, those who are more physically active-doing everyday activities such as gardening and heavy housework-score higher on tests of reasoning, reaction time, and short-term memory.
In what ways does the thinking of a young or middle-aged differ from the thinking of a teenager?
a. Postformal thought: emerges in early adulthood in response to kinds of problems that are unique to adult life; adaptation of formal thinking to fit adult life (not higher, just different) b. Relativism: idea that some propositions can't be adequately described as true or false (ex. High schooler learns that slavery is main cause of Civil War, labels all other reasons as false; college kid is presented multiple facts and they develop a post formal approach to such a complex issue; leads to ambiguity) c. Dialectical thought: turn away from purely logical, analytical approach to more open, deeper understanding of uncertainty (helps them deal with fuzzier problems of adulthood; no single solution or if some critical pieces of information may be missing; ex. Formal thought for type of fridge, use post formal thought for thinking about adoption) d. Reflective judgement: ability to identify the underlying assumptions of differing perspectives on controversial issues
What is the difference between primary aging and secondary aging? Give examples of each. How are primary and secondary aging related to social class and income?
a. Primary aging (senescence): age related physical changes that have a biological basis and are universally shared and inevitable (ex. Wrinkles, declining vision) Secondary aging: changes that are d/t environmental influences poor health habits, disease; not experienced by all adults; subject to social class differenced (ex. High crime areas, can't exercise) People who are unhappy w/ their economic situation are more likely to be sick than those who are satisfied
how do cognitive skills and abilities change over the course of adulthood? Use the data from cross-sectional and longitudinal studies to make you point.
a. Some cognitive abilities may go down, but it's not so clear. Different studies measure different abilities. Different research designs yield different findings. Longitudinal studies show less cognitive decline than cross sectional studies. Tasks that decline LEAST are sensory memory, procedural memory, and verbal ability. Tasks that decline MOST are those that require manipulation of info in working memory (reorganization or elaboration), newly encountered events (episodic memory), and "tip of the tongue" effects. Tasks that decline, but less, are reasoning, spatial ability, and memory.
why is the study of developmental psychology in the college of liberal arts?
it involves predictable change. The college of liberal arts is an institution in which people of different attainments and capabilities regularly come together in a serious, persistent, and systematic efforts to understand the significant dimensions of human experience- their possibilities and limits, their place in the universe, and in life