psych ch 11
A driver accidentally dents a neighbor's car. The damage is minor and the neighbor might not even have noticed it, but the driver decides to tell the neighbor and offers to pay repair costs. Which explanation for the decision would, according to Lawrence Kohlberg, represent the final, most mature stage of development? (11.19)
"It's only right. If someone dented my car, it's what I would want them to do."
formal operational (12 years and up)
Can think logically about abstract propositions; becomes concerned with the possible as well as the real
concrete operational (7 to 12 years)
Can think logically about concrete objects; achieves conservation of number, mass, and weight
insecure attachment
Infants are wary of exploring the environment and resist or avoid the mother when she attempts to offer comfort or consolation; two different styles
preoperational stage (2 to 7 years)
Learns to use language and to represent objects with images and words; classifies objects by a single feature
sociocultural view of development
Lev Vygotsky's idea that the child's mind grows through interaction with the social environment
Alzheimer's disease
a disorder characterized by a progressive and widespread loss of nerve cells, leading to memory problems, disorientation, and eventually total helplessness
emerging adulthood
a distinct developmental period between adolescence and adulthood
zygote
a fertilized egg containing 23 pairs of chromosomes; half from the mother and half from the father
In experiments conducted by Harry Harlow in the late 1950s, infant monkeys showed a clear preference for an artificial "surrogate mother" that gave no milk, but was covered in soft terry cloth, over a bare wire surrogate that gave milk. What, according to Harlow, did the infant monkeys gain from the cloth, milk-less surrogate? (11.11)
a greater sense of emotional security
adolescence
a period of transition between childhood and adulthood
secure attachment
a relationship in which an infant obtains both comfort and confidence from the presence of his or her caregiver; Whenever the caregiver leaves, these infants will show minor distress. When she returns, they greet her with great enthusiasm and are quickly reassured.
maturation
a series of genetically determined biological processes that enable orderly growth
social clock
a set of norms that govern the typical timing of milestones like marriage, parenthood, and retirement
attachment
a strong and enduring emotional bond
qualitative change
abrupt change in kind, structure, or organization, such as the change in psychology
During which years is a person's fluid intelligence (the ability to deal with new and unusual problems) at its highest level? (11.22)
ages 21 to 30
scaffolding
aims within the range between what a child can accomplish alone and what she can accomplish with considerable help; works best when the child is challenged but not overwhelmed
down syndrome
an extra chromosome leads to delays in later motor skills, intellectual disabilities, and increased risk for a range of health problems
What did Erik Erikson consider the final task in a person's life? He called this the challenge of achieving integrity. (11.24)
answering the question "what has my life meant"
Three-year-old Michael, who is visiting the park, watches a group of children eating cake next to a pile of presents. He also watches as they prepare to hit a piñata with a stick. Although he has never seen a piñata before, he points to the scene and says "birthday" to his father. What did Piaget call the process that Michael has just illustrated? (11.8)
assimilation
reflexes
automatic patterns of motor responses that are triggered by specific types of sensory stimulation
When a newborn infant listens to her mother's voice, the infant tends to suck more vigorously on a pacifier than when she hears another woman's voice or even the voice of her own father. What does this demonstrate? (11.6)
babies are capable of learning while still in the womb
ectoderm layer
becomes the cells of the nervous system and outer skin
authoritative parents
both very responsive and very demanding. They establish and enforce clear rules and structure, but they explain their reasoning; are flexible in response to children's opinions and reasonable requests
cognitive development
changes in all of the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating
motor development
changes in the developing child's ability to coordinate bodily movements
assimilation
child can use an existing schema to interpret the new experience
fetal alcohol syndrome
children with this syndrome experience psychological problems (learning disorders and behavior difficulties) and physical abnormalities
What do we mean when we say cigarette smoke is a teratogen? (11.5)
cigarette smoke is an environmental toxin that can interfere with development
cross-sectional design
compares participants of different ages directly to one another at one point in time
Two researchers are interested in the development of reading comprehension. Dr. Vargas conducts a study comparing the reading comprehension of a group of 6-year-olds with that of a separate group of 10-year-olds. Dr. Byrne conducts a study tracking the reading comprehension abilities of a group of 6-year-olds over the course of four years. Dr. Vargas' study uses a _____________ design, and Dr. Byrne's study uses a ______________ design. (11.2)
cross-sectional; longitudinal
sensorimotor stage (birth to 2 years)
differentiates self from objects; achieves object permanence and realizes that hidden objects continue to exist
egocentrism
difficulty perceiving situations from another's point of view; children experience this in the preoperational period
neural tube
emerges after about a month after conception; has three identifiable parts: one that will develop into the brainstem, cerebellum, and spinal cord; a second that will develop into the midbrain; and a third that will develop into the forebrain
teratogens
environmental agents that can interfere with development
What determines how the dividing cells in an embryo first begin to differentiate, preparing to become, for example, heart tissue, eye tissue, or spinal cord tissue? (11.3)
environmental influences switch different parts of each cell's genetic blueprint on or off
developmental psychology
examines how people change—physically, cognitively, socially, and emotionally—from infancy through old age
preconventional stage
focuses on self-interest and on obeying rules to avoid punishment or to gain concrete rewards
fetal stage
follows the embryonic stage, beginning in the 9th week and continuing until birth. During this period, the fetus's sensory systems make great strides as ears begin to function and respond to sound
social identity
formed by group memberships such as "I am a student" or "I am a woman"
endoderm layer
forms the gut and digestive organs
mesoderm layer
forms the skeletal system and voluntary muscles
Which item best expresses the meaning of the phrase "nature versus nurture"? (11.1)
genetics versus experience
quantitative changes
gradual changes in the amount or degree of functioning, much like a gradually sloping hill
permissive parents
high on responsiveness and low on the demanding scale. These parents are very warm and attentive to their children, but they set few rules and restrictions; indulge in child's needs and wishes; punishment is rare
dishabituation
if something new is presented, and if the infant can tell the difference between the new stimulus and the old one
insecure/avoidant attachment
infants act distant and aloof while the caregiver is present, and although they sometimes search for her in her absence, they typically ignore her when she returns
A 6-month-old baby, watching an object disappear beneath a blanket, will typically make no attempt to lift the blanket or otherwise retrieve the object. What did Jean Piaget conclude from this phenomenon? (11.9)
infants do not realize that hidden objects continue to exist
insecure/ambivalent attachment
infants so not explore, even in the caregiver's presence, and they become quite upset when she leaves. Upon reunion, the act ambivalent- crying and running to her to be picked up ,but then kicking or slapping her and struggling to get down
A mother leaves her child with day-care workers every day. The child consistently becomes distressed when the mother leaves. When the mother returns, the child cries and runs to her to be picked up, but then immediately slaps her and struggles to get back down. To which attachment pattern does this behavior correspond? (11.12)
insecure/ambivalent attachment
operations
involve imagining how things like people or objects might be different than they are, or imagining the consequences of some event without needing to see it happen
accomodation
involves revising schemas to incorporate information from the new experiences
schemas
mental structures that represent our experiences
postconventional stage
moral judgments flow from a sense of broad principles or ideals.
conventional stage
morality becomes less self-focused and more focused on caring for others and upholding social roles and rules
disengaged parents
neither responsive nor demanding. These parents impose few rules and responsibilities but they are also relatively insensitive to their children's needs
Which statement best describes how neurons in the developing brain end up in their final locations? (11.4)
neurons migrate according to a rough writing diagrams specified by genes
secondary sex characteristics
nonreproductive body structures like hips, torsos, voices, and body hair that make the body look more adult
socioemotional selectivity theory
our emotional lives are greatly affected by our perception of how much time we have left in life
authoritarian parents
ow on responsiveness and highly demanding. They provide minimal emotional support yet impose strict rules and standards for behavior; children must follow rules out of respect and do not need an explanation; failure to follow rules may end in harsh punishment
Which evidence most strongly suggests that some parenting styles are generally better for children than others? (11.17)
parents can improve child outcomes by changing parenting styles
Which form of activity has been shown to counteract age-related decline in cognitive functioning? (11.23)
physical exercise
In a study, 2½-year-old children had trouble inferring the location of a toy hidden in a room after seeing a miniature toy placed in the same location in a scale model of the room. Which maneuver by the researchers would have improved the children's performance? (11.13)
placing the model out of reach behind a glass partition
childhood
refers to the time span between the end of infancy (roughly age 2) and the start of adolescence
social referencing
relying on the facial expression of their caregiver or some other adult as a source of information for how to react
Given the general rules of motor development, which of the following would you expect a child to master first? (11.7)
sitting without support
When children of age 4 or 5 are asked to sort a set of cards based on either the color or the shape of the object shown on the card, which aspect would you expect the children struggle with? (11.14)
sorting by one criterion and then sorting by the other one
object permanence
the awareness that objects continue to exist even when those objects are temporarily out of sight
primary sex characteristics
the body structures like ovaries, testes, and external genitalia that make sexual reproduction possible
germinal stage
the cells of the zygote multiply rapidly until it has grown to about 100 cells
temperament
the characteristic pattern of emotion and behavior that is evident from an early age and believed to be largely determined by genetic patterns
blastocyst
the clump of cells which implants itself in the uterus two weeks after conception
neural proliferation
the creation of new synaptic connections
Which scientific finding was the basis of a U.S. Supreme Court decision banning the death penalty for 16-year-olds? (11.18)
the decision-making portions of a teenager's brain do not work like an adult's
conservation
the idea that the physical properties of an object, such as mass, volume, and number, remain the same despite changes in the object's shape or form
A one-year-old infant is at the park with her mother when an older child approaches whom the infant doesn't know. The infant quickly turns to look at her mother's face. What is probably going on? (11.10)
the infant wants to see how her mother is reacting to the new child
embryonic stage
the inner cells of the blastocyst form the embryo and the placenta begins to form (2 to 8 weeks)
habituation
the most basic form of learning, involves a decreased response to repeated stimulation
menopause
the natural end of menstruation
puberty
the period of sexual maturation during which males and females become capable of reproduction
imprinting
the process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life
myelination of axons
the process of insulating axons in myelin, which speeds their conductivity and allows information to move more rapidly through the brain and body
What does a person's "social identity" consist of? (11.20)
the social groups to which the person belongs
synaptic pruning
the trimming back of unnecessary synapses according to a "use it or lose it" principle—connections that get used are maintained, and unused connections are eliminated
theory of mind
the understanding that we and other people have minds, that these minds represent the world in different ways, and that these representations explain and predict how people behave.
symbolic representation
the use of words, sounds, gestures, visual images, or objects to represent other things
Which two tasks, according to Erik Erikson, are the two major challenges of adulthood? (11.21)
to build a romantic partnership and to make a difference in the world
longitudinal design
tracks individuals at different time points and looks for differences across those time points
sequential design
tracks multiple age groups across multiple time points
Under what circumstance would a parent's attempt to use Vygotsky's concept of scaffolding be the most effective? (11.16)
when it allows a child to feel challenged without feeling overwhelmed
What did Jean Piaget mean when he said that the thinking of young children is egocentric? (11.15)
young children cannot see the world through others' eyes
