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• These are notes for Unit 6 Development from an AP Psychology course

Reflexes

• Rooting reflex involves a baby turning their head when their cheek is touched.
• Moro reflex causes a baby to extend their arms and throw their head back.
• Babinski reflex makes a baby's toes spread out when the bottom of the foot is stroked.
• Reflexes are innate abilities possessed at birth

Habituation and Learning

• Habituation refers to the decreasing responsiveness to repeated stimulation.
• Assimilation is the process of organizing new information into existing schemas.
• Accommodation involves adding new schemas to differentiate between similar ideas.

Piaget's Cognitive Development

• Object permanence is when a child understands that an object or person exists even when out of sight.
• Object permanence occurs when a child realizes that an object or person still exists even when out of sight, which leads to separation and stranger anxiety.
• Egocentrism is a young child's difficulty seeing things from another person's perspective.
• Animism is a tendency to believe that all things are living.
• Conservation is the understanding that properties such as quantity, volume, and mass remain the same even when the shape or arrangement changes.

Stages of Development

• The sensorimotor stage occurs from birth to about 2 years old.
• During the sensorimotor stage infants experience the world through senses and actions like looking, touching, mouthing, and grasping.
• Object permanence, stranger, and separation anxiety occur during the sensorimotor stage.
• Separation anxiety peaks at 13 months old, regardless of whether children are at home or in daycare.
• The preoperational stage occurs from ages 2-6 years old.
• During the preoperational stage children learn about words and numbers and make connections between things.
• During the preoperational stage children become more independent.
• Egocentrism and animism are dominant at the beginning of the preoperational stage, but lessen as the child develops
• Multi-stepped thinking develops during the concrete operational stage.
• Logical thinking forms during the concrete operational stage, but is still very concrete, and related to simple math.
• The formal operational stage involves thinking more hypothetically and represents the highest level of thinking.

Zone of Proximal Development

• The zone of proximal development is the difference between what a child can do and what they can't do.

Ecological Systems Theory

• The microsystem involves direct relationships with the child's family, peers, school, and neighborhood.
• The mesosystem involves relations between microsystems, such as connections between parents and teachers, or family and a coach, or parents and a child's friends.
• The exosystem includes experiences in a social setting where an individual doesn't have an active role but influences the child.
• Examples of the exosystem include parents' jobs, social media, local government, school curriculums, family's financial situation, and parents' friends.
• he macrosystem is the larger socio-cultural context, including nationality, religion, and political influences, in which a child grows up.
• The chronosystem relates to time and life transitions.
• Traditional, expected, normative transitions include graduating from school, marriage, and the birth of a child.
• Non-normative, less expected life transitions include accidents, winning the lottery, and parental divorce.

James Marcia's Identity Theory

• Diffusion of identity involves low exploration and low commitment.
• Those experiencing identity diffusion have not established goals or direction and are not seeking out either.
• Foreclosure of identity involves low exploration and high commitment.
• Those experiencing foreclosure of identity made a commitment to an identity without much exploration, often based on the expectations of others.
• Moratorium of identity involves high exploration and low commitment.
• Those experiencing moratorium of identity are actively looking at multiple possibilities and pathways but have not committed to one pathway.
• Achievement of identity involves high exploration and high commitment.
• Those with achievement of identity have tried different things, explored multiple pathways, done some research, and figured out who they want to be and what they want to do.

Erikson's Stages of Development

• Trust vs. mistrust occurs from birth to 1 year old.
• During the trust vs. mistrust stage children are completely dependent on others; and are trying to make sense of whether they were well taken care of as a baby.
• Autonomy vs. shame occurs from 1-3 years old
• During the autonomy vs. shame stage a child is developing a sense of control, beginning to be independent; and assessing whether they encouraged to try new things even if they made mistakes or not?
• Initiative vs. guilt occurs from ages 3-6 years old.
• During the initiative vs. guilt stage a child is beginning to assert control and personal power, often during play and school.
• During the initiative vs. guilt stage a child will assess whether they were encouraged to meet new people and try new things outside of the home
• Industry vs. inferiority occurs from ages 6-11 years old.
• During the industry vs. inferiority stage a child is choosing to do well, and taking pride in accomplishments and abilities.
• Identity vs. confusion occurs from ages 12-20 years old.
• During the identity vs. confusion stage a child is exploring independence, testing boundaries, and developing a sense of self
• During the identity vs. confusion stage a child will assess whether they are encouraged to try to find themselves or forced to be who your family wants you to be?
• Intimacy vs. isolation occurs from ages 20-40 years old.
• During the intimacy vs. isolation stage a child is exploring personal relationships; and will assess whether they have a good support system or not.
• Generativity vs. stagnation occurs from ages 40-65 years old.
• During the generativity vs. stagnation stage a person will look outside of self, care for others, and need to create a living legacy.
• During the generativity vs. stagnation stage a person will asses is they are a good mentor? Or more selfish?
• Integrity vs. despair occurs from 65 years old to death.
• During the integrity vs. despair a person is reflecting back on life; and will assess if they look at their life with happiness or regrets?

Attachment Styles

• Secure attachment: babies are upset when the caregiver leaves and happy/comforted when they return.
• It the caregiver is a safe base, this leads to a well adjusted, trusting adult
• Insecure avoidant: babies does not seem to care if the caregiver leaves, or upon return.
• Insecure ambivalent or anxious: babies are devastated when the caregiver leaves and are NOT comforted upon return, rejection of caregiver upon return

Temperament Types

• Easy temperament: babies that readily adapt to new experiences, exhibit positive moods and emotions, and have regular sleeping and eating patterns.
• Difficult temperament: babies that are intensely emotional, irritable, and fussy, and cry a lot, and also have irregular sleeping and eating patterns.
• Slow to warm temperament: babies that are cautious and nervous with new experiences, people, or situations.
• Those with a slow to warm temperament typically require time to adjust to changes

Parenting Styles

• Authoritarian parents are very judgmental and controlling, overly strict and unreasonable.
• Authoritarian parents set strict standards for behavior and apply harsh punishments for violations of rules, and punishment is used more often than reinforcement.
• Permissive parents give their children relaxed or inconsistent direction and, although warm, require little of them.
• Authoritative parents have consistent, reasonable, explained standards, leading to well-adjusted adults.
• Authoritative parents encourage children to be independent, but not violating rules.

Types of Intelligence

• Crystallized intelligence: accumulated knowledge and verbal skills that tends to increase with age
• Fluid intelligence: the ability to reason speedily and abstractly that tends to decrease during late adulthood

Other Important Topics For Development

• Social clock: the culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement
• Harlow's study results: the need for tactile or contact comfort explains how attachment develops.
• In Harlow's study monkeys preferred the cloth mother who provided contact comfort over the wire mother who provided nourishment.