Podcast
Questions and Answers
What is a primary focus of developmental psychology in relation to prenatal development?
What is a primary focus of developmental psychology in relation to prenatal development?
Which aspect of development is primarily concerned with how individuals form relationships during infancy?
Which aspect of development is primarily concerned with how individuals form relationships during infancy?
In operant conditioning, what is the purpose of reinforcement?
In operant conditioning, what is the purpose of reinforcement?
What distinguishes classical conditioning from operant conditioning?
What distinguishes classical conditioning from operant conditioning?
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Which statement accurately reflects how cognitive processes influence conditioning?
Which statement accurately reflects how cognitive processes influence conditioning?
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What is a key characteristic of memory construction errors?
What is a key characteristic of memory construction errors?
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What is a common critical thinking point regarding memories of childhood sexual abuse?
What is a common critical thinking point regarding memories of childhood sexual abuse?
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What is the main concern of studying memory retrieval?
What is the main concern of studying memory retrieval?
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Which statement accurately describes physical development during adolescence?
Which statement accurately describes physical development during adolescence?
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What factor primarily influences cognitive development during infancy?
What factor primarily influences cognitive development during infancy?
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Which of the following best represents a key concept in operant conditioning?
Which of the following best represents a key concept in operant conditioning?
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Which aspect of social development is most significant during childhood?
Which aspect of social development is most significant during childhood?
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What is a primary challenge of memory retrieval?
What is a primary challenge of memory retrieval?
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During emerging adulthood, which cognitive development trend is commonly observed?
During emerging adulthood, which cognitive development trend is commonly observed?
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In classical conditioning, which process explains the elimination of a conditioned response?
In classical conditioning, which process explains the elimination of a conditioned response?
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What is a significant biological constraint on conditioning?
What is a significant biological constraint on conditioning?
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Study Notes
Developmental Issues, Prenatal Development, and the Newborn
- Nature vs. nurture: Understanding the roles of genetics and environment in development.
- Continuity vs. stages: Examining whether development is a gradual process or one with distinct steps.
- Stability vs. change: Investigating if early personality traits persist throughout life.
- Prenatal development: Three stages: germinal (conception to 2 weeks), embryonic (2 to 8 weeks), and fetal (9 weeks to birth).
- The newborn: Reflexes like rooting, sucking, and grasping provide survival mechanisms.
Infancy and Childhood
Physical Development
- Rapid growth: Brain and body development are rapid, driven by genetics and environment.
- Motor skills: Develop in predictable stages: rolling, sitting, crawling, standing, walking.
Cognitive Development
- Piaget's theory: Cognitive development occurs in stages: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational.
- Information processing: Focuses on mental processes like encoding, storage, and retrieval.
Social Development
- Attachment: Strong bonds with caregivers provide security and influence social development.
- Temperament: Inborn personality traits influence social interactions and development.
- Parenting styles: Influences child development; types include authoritarian, permissive, and authoritative.
Adolescence
Physical Development
- Puberty: Biological growth and development signaled by hormonal changes.
Cognitive Development
- Formal operational thinking: Ability for abstract reasoning and hypothetical thinking.
- Decision-making: Developing competence in evaluating risks and making responsible choices.
Social Development
- Identity formation: Adolescents explore different roles and values to develop a sense of self.
- Peer relationships: Become increasingly important and influence social development.
Emerging Adulthood
- Transitional period: Spanning from late teens to mid-twenties, characterized by exploration, instability, and self-focus.
Adulthood
Physical Development
- Peak performance: Physical abilities peak in early adulthood and decline gradually later on.
- Menopause and andropause: Hormonal changes mark the end of reproductive capacity in women and men.
Cognitive Development
- Fluid intelligence: Ability to reason speedily and abstractly, peaks in early adulthood and declines gradually.
- Crystallized intelligence: Accumulated knowledge and skills, continues to grow throughout life.
Social Development
- Erikson's psychosocial stages: Individuals navigate conflicts related to intimacy, generativity, and integrity.
Basic Learning Concepts and Classical Conditioning
How Do We Learn?
- Learning: Relatively permanent change in behavior due to experience.
- Associative learning: Learning that certain events occur together.
- Cognitive learning: Learning that involves mental processes.
Classical Conditioning
- Pavlov's experiment: Demonstrated how dogs could learn to associate a bell with food, leading to salivation.
- Unconditioned stimulus (UCS): Naturally triggers a response.
- Unconditioned response (UCR): Natural response to the UCS.
- Conditioned stimulus (CS): Previously neutral stimulus that, after association, triggers a response.
- Conditioned response (CR): Learned response to the CS.
Operant Conditioning
Skinner's Experiments
- Reinforcement: Any event that strengthens the behavior it follows.
- Punishment: Any event that weakens the behavior it follows.
- Shaping: Gradually guiding behavior toward a desired outcome.
Skinner's Legacy
- Applications: Operant conditioning principles have wide-ranging real-world applications, including behavior therapy and education.
Contrasting Classical and Operant Conditioning
- Classical: Learning by association between two stimuli; involuntary behaviors.
- Operant: Learning by associating a behavior with its consequence; voluntary behaviors.
Biology, Cognition, and Learning
Biological Constraints on Conditioning
- Preparedness: Tendency for certain species to learn associations more readily than others.
- Instinctive drift: Tendency for learned behavior to revert to instinctive behavior.
Cognition's Influence on Conditioning
- Cognitive map: Mental representation of an environment.
- Latent learning: Learning that occurs without reinforcement but is not demonstrated until reinforcement is available.
- Insight learning: Sudden realization of a solution to a problem.
Learning by Observation
- Bandura's Bobo doll experiment: Demonstrated that children could learn aggressive behavior by observing adults.
- Mirror neurons: Neurons in the brain that fire both when observing an action and when performing that action.
Thinking Critically: The Effects of Viewing Media Violence
- Exposure to violence: Concerns about the potential for media violence to desensitize individuals and increase aggression.
Studying and Encoding Memories
Studying Memory
- Memory: Persistence of learning over time through the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information.
- Three-stage memory model: Sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory.
Encoding Memories
- Automatic processing: Unconscious encoding of incidental information.
- Effortful processing: Encoding that requires attention and conscious effort.
- Spacing effect: Encoding information over multiple sessions rather than cramming.
- Testing effect: Enhanced memory after retrieving information rather than simply rereading it.
Storing and Retrieving Memories
Memory Storage
- Sensory memory: Brief, fleeting memory that holds sensory information.
- Short-term memory: Working memory; holds a limited amount of information for a short time.
- Long-term memory: Relatively permanent storage system with a vast capacity.
- Explicit memory: Consciously retrieved memories; includes semantic and episodic memory.
- Implicit memory: Non-conscious memories; includes procedural and priming memory.
Memory Retrieval
- Retrieval cues: Stimuli that help us access information stored in long-term memory.
- Priming: Exposure to one stimulus influences the response to a subsequent stimulus.
- Context-dependent memory: Retrieving information more easily in the same context in which it was encoded.
- State-dependent memory: Retrieving information more easily when in the same emotional or physiological state as when it was encoded.
Forgetting, Memory Construction, and Improving Memory
Forgetting
- Encoding failure: Information was never properly encoded into long-term memory.
- Storage decay: Fading of memories over time.
- Retrieval failure: Inability to access information stored in memory due to interference or lack of retrieval cues.
- Proactive interference: Past learning interferes with new learning.
- Retroactive interference: New learning interferes with past learning.
Memory Construction Errors
- Misinformation effect: Incorporating misleading information into a memory.
- Source amnesia: Misremembering the source of a memory.
- Imagination inflation: Vividly imagined events can be mistaken for real memories.
THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT: Can Memories of Childhood Sexual Abuse Be Repressed and Then Recovered?
- Repressed memories: Debate about if it's possible to repress traumatic memories and later recall them.
- False memory syndrome: False memories created by suggestive techniques.
Improving Memory
- Rehearse information: Actively process and repeat information.
- Use mnemonic devices: Memory strategies to enhance encoding and retrieval.
- Minimize stress: High stress levels can impair memory function.
- Get enough sleep: Sleep enhances memory consolidation.
- Exercise regularly: Physical activity can improve cognitive function and memory.
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Description
Explore critical developmental issues from prenatal to childhood stages. This quiz covers nature vs. nurture, stages of development, and the reflexes of newborns. Test your knowledge on cognitive theories like Piaget’s and the physical growth patterns in infants.
