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What is the primary focus of developmental psychology?
What is the primary focus of developmental psychology?
According to Freud, which period is critical in shaping a person's future personality?
According to Freud, which period is critical in shaping a person's future personality?
What does synaptogenesis refer to in postnatal brain development?
What does synaptogenesis refer to in postnatal brain development?
Which of the following is NOT a factor influencing prenatal development?
Which of the following is NOT a factor influencing prenatal development?
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What is a teratogen?
What is a teratogen?
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What does postnatal development study primarily focus on?
What does postnatal development study primarily focus on?
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What was a significant consequence of the Thalidomide tragedy?
What was a significant consequence of the Thalidomide tragedy?
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Which question do developmental psychologists explore regarding prenatal experiences?
Which question do developmental psychologists explore regarding prenatal experiences?
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What is self-serving bias?
What is self-serving bias?
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What is the fundamental attribution error?
What is the fundamental attribution error?
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What typically increases the likelihood of conformity?
What typically increases the likelihood of conformity?
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What is informational conformity?
What is informational conformity?
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What does groupthink refer to?
What does groupthink refer to?
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What does the bystander effect describe?
What does the bystander effect describe?
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Which attribution type explains behavior based on personal traits?
Which attribution type explains behavior based on personal traits?
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What is an outcome of positive illusions?
What is an outcome of positive illusions?
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What is the first stage in the 5-stage model of helping?
What is the first stage in the 5-stage model of helping?
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What percentage of participants obeyed orders in Milgram's experiment?
What percentage of participants obeyed orders in Milgram's experiment?
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Which factor is NOT a condition that can reduce prejudice through intergroup contact?
Which factor is NOT a condition that can reduce prejudice through intergroup contact?
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What does implicit prejudice refer to?
What does implicit prejudice refer to?
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Which cognitive bias involves favoring one’s own group over others?
Which cognitive bias involves favoring one’s own group over others?
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Which of the following is considered a basic emotion according to Paul Ekman?
Which of the following is considered a basic emotion according to Paul Ekman?
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What role do facial expressions play in emotional communication?
What role do facial expressions play in emotional communication?
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What does the Just-World Fallacy imply?
What does the Just-World Fallacy imply?
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What coping mechanism involves actively working to reduce stressors?
What coping mechanism involves actively working to reduce stressors?
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What impact does stress have on telomeres?
What impact does stress have on telomeres?
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Which type of coping focuses on reducing emotional distress?
Which type of coping focuses on reducing emotional distress?
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Which of the following enhances the prefrontal cortex function during stress management?
Which of the following enhances the prefrontal cortex function during stress management?
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How does aerobic exercise help manage stress?
How does aerobic exercise help manage stress?
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What is the primary role of the amygdala in fear processing?
What is the primary role of the amygdala in fear processing?
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Which pathway processes fear in a fast, unconscious manner?
Which pathway processes fear in a fast, unconscious manner?
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What are some physiological effects of the sympathetic nervous system activation during stress?
What are some physiological effects of the sympathetic nervous system activation during stress?
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How does chronic stress impact the hippocampus?
How does chronic stress impact the hippocampus?
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Which type of stressor is categorized as catastrophic events?
Which type of stressor is categorized as catastrophic events?
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What is a common example of chronic daily difficulties?
What is a common example of chronic daily difficulties?
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What does chronic exposure to cortisol potentially lead to?
What does chronic exposure to cortisol potentially lead to?
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What defines a psychophysiological illness?
What defines a psychophysiological illness?
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What characterizes ambivalent attachment in children?
What characterizes ambivalent attachment in children?
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In Haidt’s Moral Foundations Theory, what does he emphasize about moral judgments?
In Haidt’s Moral Foundations Theory, what does he emphasize about moral judgments?
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What is a characteristic of preconventional morality in Kohlberg’s theory?
What is a characteristic of preconventional morality in Kohlberg’s theory?
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Which of the following describes how nature and nurture influence development?
Which of the following describes how nature and nurture influence development?
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Social Psychology examines how people's behavior is influenced by:
Social Psychology examines how people's behavior is influenced by:
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What question addresses the concept of group dynamics in Social Psychology?
What question addresses the concept of group dynamics in Social Psychology?
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What aspect of the self is suggested to be important for relationship management?
What aspect of the self is suggested to be important for relationship management?
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What concern arises regarding profiles on social media?
What concern arises regarding profiles on social media?
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Study Notes
Developmental Psychology Overview
- Developmental Psychology studies changes and continuities in human behavior over time, encompassing social, emotional, cognitive, personality development, and mental illness.
- Developmental psychology traditionally focused on infants and children, but now expands to lifespan development (from conception to death).
Freud's Influence on Development
- Sigmund Freud posited that early childhood development is pivotal in shaping the psyche and personality.
- He highlighted the first five years of life as crucial for personality development.
Key Questions Developmental Psychologists Ask
- How do prenatal experiences affect later brain development and behavior?
- What innate knowledge do humans possess at birth, and how does it develop?
- How do postnatal experiences influence emotional, social, cognitive, and moral development?
- How does development continue into adulthood?
Prenatal Development Stages
- Zygote (1-2 weeks): The initial fertilized egg.
- Embryo (3-8 weeks): Early development phase.
- Fetus (9-40 weeks): Major organ development. Nervous system development begins around 3rd week.
Maternal Factors Influencing Prenatal Development
- Chemicals (e.g., mercury, BPA)
- Drugs (prescription and recreational)
- Malnutrition (e.g., vitamin deficiencies)
- Infections (e.g., viruses)
- Stress (physical and emotional)
Teratogens
- Teratogens are substances that can harm a developing fetus.
- Thalidomide and BPA are examples.
Postnatal Brain Development
- Babies are born with reflexes for survival (e.g., sucking reflex).
- Brain development significantly accelerates during the first year.
- Synaptogenesis (new synapse formation) occurs, followed by synaptic pruning (unused synapse elimination).
Critical Periods
- Sensitive periods in brain development, during which particular experiences are crucial.
- Examples include visual perception, motor learning, and language development.
- Attachment with caregivers plays a crucial role in development.
Piaget's Cognitive Development Theory
- Children actively construct knowledge through interaction with their environment.
- Schemas (mental frameworks) develop and adapt through assimilation (integrating) and accommodation (modifying).
Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development
- Sensorimotor (0-2 years): Knowledge based on sensory and motor experiences; object permanence emerges.
- Preoperational (2-7 years): Use of symbols, but thinking is egocentric and lacks logical operations.
- Concrete Operational (7-12 years): Logical thinking about concrete objects and events; conservation understanding.
- Formal Operational (12+ years): Abstract and hypothetical reasoning develops.
Object Permanence
- Understanding that objects continue to exist even when out of sight. This develops during the sensorimotor stage.
Social & Emotional Development (Attachment Theory)
- Harry Harlow's research with monkeys highlighted the importance of contact comfort in attachment.
- Bowlby & Ainsworth proposed that early attachment experiences shape internal working models of relationships.
- Attachment styles (e.g., secure, ambivalent, avoidant) were identified through the Strange Situation experiment.
Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development
- Morality develops through stages: Preconventional, Conventional, and Postconventional (based on abstract principles).
Haidt's Moral Foundations Theory
- Criticized Kohlberg's focus on reasoning, proposing that moral judgments are more intuitive and emotional.
Infants' Sense of Morality
- Research suggests infants may have an innate sense of right and wrong, preferring "prosocial" behaviors.
Nature vs. Nurture
- Both innate capacities (nature) and environmental experiences (nurture) are crucial for cognitive, social, and moral development.
- This is an ongoing interaction between biology and life experiences.
Social Psychology Overview
- Social psychology examines how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by others.
Questions Social Psychologists Ask
- How do we define ourselves in relation to others?
- How does the presence of others influence our thinking and behavior?
- What causes attraction and repulsion between people?
- How do group memberships affect behaviors?
- What conditions promote conflict/harmony between groups?
The Self: Who Are We?
- The self is a bridge between our inner world and the social world, encompassing strengths, weaknesses, beliefs, desires, and group memberships.
The Self & Impression Management
- We constantly manage how others perceive us, often subconsciously, to portray desired identities.
Social Media and the Self
- Questions arise about whether online profiles truly represent our identities or are curated versions of our self.
Self-Evaluation and Defense
- We maintain self-esteem by employing cognitive biases like the self-serving bias, for instance, to defend against negative judgments.
Social Cognition (Thinking About Others)
- Social cognition encompasses how we think about others.
Self-Serving Bias
- Attributing success to internal factors and failure to external factors.
Positive Illusions
- Optimistic but inaccurate beliefs, like overestimating abilities. These can be beneficial for well-being.
Attribution Theory - Fundamental Attribution Error
- Explaining/attributing behaviors to internal factors or external forces. Overgeneralizing internal attributions for others' behavior.
- Easier and quicker to assume someone's behavior is due to internal factors rather than external ones.
Actor-Observer Bias
- Attributing one's own positive actions to internal factors and negative actions to external factors, whereas attributing others' behaviors to internal factors in all situations.
Group Dynamics - Conformity
- Adjusting behavior to align with group norms.
- The Asch Experiment demonstrated the power of social influence.
Conditions of Conformity
- Task ambiguity
- Agreement of others
- Permission to express personal opinion
Types of Conformity
- Informational conformity (believing the group is right)
- Normative conformity (avoiding social disapproval)
Groupthink
- Poor decision-making due to the group suppressing dissent to maintain harmony.
The Bystander Effect
- Diffusion of responsibility in groups, leading to decreased individual likelihood of helping.
- Kitty Genovese case highlights this effect.
- 5-stage model of helping: Notice, interpret, assume responsibility, know how to help, help.
Obedience to Authority
- Milgram's Experiment demonstrated the power of authority figures influencing obedience.
- Variables included authority figure proximity, learner proximity, and perceived authority.
Prejudice and Discrimination
- Prejudice involves biased beliefs, while discrimination is biased behavior. Prejudice can be reinforced by cognitive bias like confirmation bias.
Implicit Prejudice
- Unconscious biases affecting behavior, even in those who consciously reject prejudice, may be measured with Implicit Association Tests (IAT).
Reducing Prejudice Through Intergroup Contact
- Conditions include equal status, common goals, and intergroup cooperation.
Group Conflict and Cognitive Biases
- Stereotyping: Overgeneralized beliefs about groups.
- In-group bias: Favoring one's own group.
- Availability heuristic: Focusing on vivid examples.
- Just-world fallacy: Believing good things happen to good people.
Emotion
- Psychological state involving physiological arousal, behavioral response, and subjective experience.
The Role of Facial Expressions
- Facial expressions are crucial for communication and emotional recognition. Basic emotions are often universally recognised.
Basic Emotions
- Universal and hardwired emotions like anger, fear, disgust, surprise, happiness, and sadness. Cross-cultural studies show universality.
Facial Perception and Emotion Recognition
- Our brains focus on facial features (e.g., eyes) to discern emotional states, particularly for emotional recognition. Different emotions have distinct perceptual features our eyes are trained to recognise.
The Amygdala & Fear
- Amygdala plays a role in processing fear by activating the fight-or-flight response.
Fear Response Pathway
- Low-road is automatic, direct pathway to the amygdala.
- High-road is more conscious, involves the cortex processing before the amygdala.
Fear Processing Example (Patient S.M.)
- Patient with amygdala damage demonstrating how a lack of amygdala processing can prevent emotional responses like fear.
Stress: Stressors and Their Impact
- Stressors can be catastrophic events (e.g., natural disasters) or chronic daily difficulties (e.g., poverty, bullying).
The Stress Response: Sympathetic Nervous System Activation
- Physiological effects: Increased glucose levels, heart rate, lung capacity, and focused attention.
- Cortisol release: Initiated by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, a critical stress hormone involved in many biological functions.
Chronic Stress and Health
- Chronic stress can affect the hippocampus (memory region), impairing memory and learning.
- Chronic stress can trigger psychophysiological illnesses (e.g., heart disease, ulcers).
Chronic Stress & the Hippocampus
- Chronic stress damages hippocampal neurons, especially under stressful conditions.
Chronic Stress & Heart Disease
- High stress can increase hypertension prevalence.
Stress and Cellular Aging
- Telomeres, protective caps at the ends of chromosomes, shorten with chronic stress, potentially accelerating aging.
Managing Stress: Coping Mechanisms
- Problem-focused coping: actively reducing stressors.
- Emotion-focused coping: reducing distress through support, relaxation or altering perceived interpretation of the stressor.
- Appraisal of stress: stress is judged and interpreted. A positive appraisal of the stressor, rather than a threat, leads to better stress management.
- Social support: Reducing stress via social connections and support, including social contact with pets. Aerobic exercise, meditation, mindfulness assist stress management.
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Description
Explore the key concepts of developmental psychology, including its focus on human behavior changes from infancy to adulthood. Learn about Freud's influence on personality development and the critical stages of prenatal development. This quiz addresses essential questions within the field and provides insights into social, emotional, and cognitive growth.
