Psychology Chapter 9 Lifespan Development

What method did Kohlberg use to assess stages of moral reasoning? (299-300)

He used Piaget's storytelling technique to tell people stories involving moral dilemmas. In each case, he presented a choice to be considered, for example, between the rights of some authority and the needs of some deserving individual who is being unfairly treated.

What evidence is there that newborn infants may prefer the voice of their mothers over the voice of a stranger? (306)

In an interesting experiment, 3-weekold babies were given pacifiers that played a recording of the infant's mother's voice and of a stranger's voice. When the infants heard their mother's voice, they sucked more strongly at the pacifier.

Briefly describe Erikson's psychosocial development theory? What is an example of a specific conflict or development task that Erikson believes needs to be resolved in one of his eight stages? (293-295)

Erikson's psychosocial development theory emphasizes the social nature of our development rather than its sexual nature. An example of this is in stage one when a child is between the ages of 0-1. Trust (or mistrust) that basic needs, such as nourishment and affection, will be me that basic needs, such as nourishment and affection, will be met

What is a teratogen, and what are some examples of teratogens? What is the relationship between teratogens and critical or sensitive periods? (304-305)

A teratogen is any environmental agent—biological, chemical, or physical—that causes damage to the developing embryo or fetus. There are different types of teratogens. Alcohol and most drugs cross the placenta and affect the fetus. Alcohol is not safe to drink in any amount during pregnancy. Alcohol use during pregnancy has been found to be the leading preventable cause of mental retardation in children in the United States. Critical or sensitive period is each organ of the fetus develops during a specific period in the pregnancy. For example, research with primate models of FASD has demonstrated that the time during which a developing fetus is exposed to alcohol can dramatically affect the appearance of facial characteristics associated with fetal alcohol syndrome.

How are the concepts of assimilation and accommodation relevant to learning? (296)

Assimilation is when they take in information that is comparable to what they already know. Accommodation describes when they change their schemata based on new information. For example, 2-year-old Blake learned the schema for dogs because his family has a Labrador retriever. When Blake sees other dogs in his picture books, he says, "Look mommy, dog!" Thus, he has assimilated them into his schema for dogs. One day, Blake sees a sheep for the first time and says, "Look mommy, dog!" Having a basic schema that a dog is an animal with four legs and fur, Blake thinks all furry, fourlegged creatures are dogs. When Blake's mom tells him that the animal he sees is a sheep, not a dog, Blake must accommodate his schema for dogs to include more information based on his new experiences. Blake's schema for dog was too broad, since not all furry, four-legged creatures are dogs. He now modifies his schema for dogs and forms a new one for sheep.

What are some factors that can influence the development of a healthy self concept in children? (313)

Diana Baumrind (1971, 1991) thinks parenting style may be a factor. The way we parent is an important factor in a child's socioemotional growth. Baumrind developed and refined a theory describing four parenting styles: authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and uninvolved. With the authoritative style, the parent gives reasonable demands and consistent limits, expresses warmth and affection, and listens to the child's point of view. Parents set rules and explain the reasons behind them. They are also flexible and willing to make exceptions to the rules in certain cases—for example, temporarily relaxing bedtime rules to allow for a nighttime swim during a family vacation. Of the four parenting styles, the authoritative style is the one that is most encouraged in modern American society. American children raised by authoritative parents tend to have high self-esteem and social skills. However, effective parenting styles vary as a function of culture and, as Small (1999) points out, the authoritative style is not necessarily preferred or appropriate in all cultures.

What is egocentrism? What is theory of mind? (309)

Egocentrism means that they do not have an awareness of others' points of view. Theory of mind is when children come to understand that people have thoughts, feelings, and beliefs that are different from their own.

What is the authoritative parenting style, and how does it impact child development? What role does culture play in the effectiveness of parenting styles? (313-314)

In authoritarian style, the parent places high value on conformity and obedience. The parents are often strict, tightly monitor their children, and express little warmth. Kids raised by authoritative parents are more likely to become independent, self-reliant, socially accepted, academically successful, and well-behaved. They are less likely to report depression and anxiety, and less likely to engage in antisocial behavior like delinquency and drug use. Cultural norms about parenting practices typically influence how children are raised. These norms affect what beliefs and values parents teach their children, what behaviors are considered appropriate, and the methods used to teach these values and behaviors.

Is language development primarily the result of nature or nurture? Defend your answer. (310)

It is both, Behaviorist B. F. Skinner thought that we learn language in response to reinforcement or feedback, such as through parental approval or through being understood. For example, when a two-year-old child asks for juice, he might say, "me juice," to which his mother might respond by giving him a cup of apple juice. Noam Chomsky (1957) criticized Skinner's theory and proposed that we are all born with an innate capacity to learn language. Chomsky called this mechanism a language acquisition device (LAD). Who is correct? Both Chomsky and Skinner are right. Remember that we are a product of both nature and nurture. Researchers now believe that language acquisition is partially inborn and partially learned through our interactions with our linguistic environment.

What does it mean to say that there is a reciprocal interaction between nature and nurture? (291-292)

Nature (biology and genetics) vs nurture (our environment and culture). A recropical relationship is when two things influence each other. They both shape who we become, but the debate continues as to the relative contributions of each.

What did Hart and Risley find when studying parent-child interactions? How has this research improved our understanding of the achievement gap? (292)

Psychologists Betty Hart and Todd Risley spent their careers looking at early language ability and progression of children in various income levels. In one longitudinal study, they found that although all the parents in the study engaged and interacted with their children, middle- and high-income parents interacted with their children differently than low-income parents. After analyzing 1,300 hours of parent-child interactions, the researchers found that middle- and high-income parents talk to their children significantly more, starting when the children are infants. By 3 years old, high-income children knew almost double the number of words known by their low-income counterparts, and they had heard an estimated total of 30 million more words than the low-income counterparts. And the gaps only become more pronounced. Before entering kindergarten, high-income children score 60% higher on achievement tests than their low-income peers

How was the Strange Situation procedure used to study attachment between mothers and their infants? Contrast how a child with secure attachment responds to the Strange Situation as compared to a child with avoidant attachment. (311-312)

She used the Strange Situation procedure to study attachment between mothers and their infants (1970). In the Strange Situation, the mother (or primary caregiver) and the infant (age 12-18 months) are placed in a room together. There are toys in the room, and the caregiver and child spend some time alone in the room. After the child has had time to explore her surroundings, a stranger enters the room. The mother then leaves her baby with the stranger. After a few minutes, she returns to comfort her child. The most common type of attachment—also considered the healthiest—is called secure attachment. In this type of attachment, the toddler prefers his parent over a stranger. The attachment figure is used as a secure base to explore the environment and is sought out in times of stress. Securely attached children were distressed when their caregivers left the room in the Strange Situation experiment, but when their caregivers returned, the securely attached children were happy to see them. Securely attached children have caregivers who are sensitive and responsive to their needs. With avoidant attachment, the child is unresponsive to the parent, does not use the parent as a secure base, and does not care if the parent leaves. The toddler reacts to the parent the same way she reacts to a stranger. When the parent does return, the child is slow to show a positive reaction. Ainsworth theorized that these children were most likely to have a caregiver who was insensitive and inattentive to their needs

Contrast experiments with other methods of research used in psychology. (288-289)

Some other methods include naturalistic observations, case studies, surveys, and experiments. Because experiments have control over other factors they narrow it down and allow us to have a cause and effect relationship. Correlation with numbers don't give us cause and effect.

What is temperament? How can child temperament affect parenting style? (314)

Temperament refers to innate traits that influence how one thinks, behaves, and reacts with the environment. Children with easy temperaments demonstrate positive emotions, adapt well to change, and are capable of regulating their emotions. Conversely, children with difficult temperaments demonstrate negative emotions and have difficulty adapting to change and regulating their emotions. Difficult children are much more likely to challenge parents, teachers, and other caregivers (Thomas, 1984). Therefore, it's possible that easy children (i.e., social, adaptable, and easy to soothe) tend to elicit warm and responsive parenting, while demanding, irritable, withdrawn children evoke irritation in their parents or cause their parents to withdraw.

Briefly describe neural development in infancy. What impact does the rapid growth of the frontal lobes during infancy and preschool years have on child development? (307)

The blooming period of neural growth is then followed by a period of pruning, where neural connections are reduced. It is thought that pruning causes the brain to function more efficiently, allowing for mastery of more complex skill. Blooming occurs during the first few years of life, and pruning continues through childhood and into adolescence in various areas of the brain. Therefore, by the time children reach school age, they are developmentally capable of controlling their attention and behavior. Through the elementary school years, the frontal, temporal, occipital, and parietal lobes all grow in size. The brain growth spurts experienced in childhood tend to follow Piaget's sequence of cognitive development, so that significant changes in neural functioning account for cognitive advances.

What is the normative approach to development? What are developmental milestones? (289)

This approach asks, "What is normal development?" In the early decades of the 20th century, normative psychologists studied large numbers of children at various ages to determine norms (i.e., average ages) of when most children reach specific developmental milestones in each of the three domains. Developmental milestone use these age-related averages as general guidelines to compare children with same-age peers to determine the approximate ages they should reach specific normative events s (e.g., crawling, walking, writing, dressing, naming colors, speaking in sentences, and starting puberty).