PSYC 310 Child Psychology Exam #1

• PSYC 310 Child Psychology Exam #1 covers chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, and 10.
• The test will consist of key terms (10 questions for 10 points), multiple choice (20 questions for 20 points), matching (10 questions for 10 points), and short answer (2 questions at 5 points each for 10 points total).

Chapter 1: Issues and Themes in Child Development

• Development involves quantitative changes which are gradual measurable increases, and qualitative changes which are distinct shifts in development.
• Stage theories propose that development proceeds through distinct phases, while individuals show differences in developmental timing.
• The three domains of development include physical (biological changes and growth), cognitive (changes in thinking and learning), and social-emotional (changes in emotions and social interactions).
• Developmental pathways can be described by equifinality (different paths leading to the same outcome) and multifinality (same path leading to different outcomes).
• Niche picking refers to children's active role in shaping their development.
• Intersectionality involves the interaction of multiple characteristics, and individual differences are significant in development.

Chapter 2: Theories of Development

• Developmental theories provide frameworks that organize knowledge about child development, make predictions about behavior, and guide research and practice.
• Two main approaches in developmental theory are stage-based and continuous development.
• Development is influenced by biological, environmental, and cognitive processes

Psychosocial theory

• Erikson's psychosocial theory focuses on the social world and identity development through eight developmental stages, each presenting a crisis to resolve.
• Modern applications of Erikson's theory include understanding identity development, social-emotional learning programs, and adopting a life-span development perspective.
• Erikson coined "identity crisis." Stages are:
  • 1st year: Trust vs Mistrust
  • 2nd year Autonomy vs Doubt
  • 3rd through 5th years Initiative vs Guilt
  • 6th year to puberty Industry vs Inferiority
  • Adolescence Identity vs confusion
  • Early adulthood Intimacy vs isolation
  • Middle age Generativity vs self-absorption
  • Aging years Integrity vs. despair
  • The favorable and unfavorable outcomes relate to feelings towards the environment, self-control, initiative, industry, identity, the ability to committ to others, overall concern, and satisfaction in life respectively

Social Cognitive Theory

• Bandura's contributions to social cognitive theory involve the importance of observation, the role of imitation, and the self-efficacy concept.
• Real-world applications include educational modeling, behavior modification, and self-confidence building.
• The key points include:
  • Observational Learning - Learning occurs by watching others and modelling their behaviours.
  • Reciprocal Determinism - Behaviour, personal factors, and the environment interact and influence each other.
  • Cognitive Processes - Mental functions influence learning and behaviour.
  • Self-Efficacy - Belief in one's ability to execute behaviours to produce specific performance attainments.
  • Vicarious Reinforcement - Learning from the consequences of others' actions to guide future behaviour.

Piaget’s Cognitive Development

• Piaget's cognitive development theory involves key processes such as assimilation, accommodation, and equilibration.
• Schema development and a constructivist approach are central, likening the mind to a builder constantly constructing and renovating knowledge.
• Piaget's theory includes the following stages:
  • Sensorimotor (0-2 years): Coordination of senses with motor response, sensory curiosity, language for demands, object permanence developed
  • Preoperational (2-7 years): Symbolic thinking, imagination, complex abstract thought still difficult, and conservation is developed
  • Concrete Operational (7-11 years): Concepts attached to concrete situations, time, space, quantity understood, but not as independent concepts
  • Formal Operations (11+): Theoretical thinking, abstract logic, strategy and planning become possible, concepts can be applied to other contexts.

Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory

• Vygotsky's sociocultural theory emphasizes the Zone of Proximal Development, scaffolding, dynamic assessment, social interaction, and cultural influence on learning; "Through others, we become ourselves."
• The model incorporates the following ideas:
  • The student is able to learn on their own within a zone of proximal development. Outside of that zone, they require a knowledgeable other, and/or technology to help them. Beyond that, the concept is still beyond their reach.

Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems

• Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory includes the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem.
• Applications include social policy and holistic development understanding.

Dynamic Systems Theory

• Dynamic Systems Theory integrates biological factors, cognitive development, and social-emotional aspects, considering environmental influences and individual difference patterns; "Development as a symphony, not a solo."

• Modern applications and research in developmental psychology include developmental cognitive neuroscience, applied behavior analysis (ABA), educational practices, clinical interventions, and social policy development.

Chapter 3: How We Study Development

• The scientific method includes observation, checklists, self-reporting, surveys, questionnaires, interviews, standardized tests, physiological measures, and archival records.
• Experimental research design involves random assignment to groups, experimental and control groups, and independent and dependent variables.
• Correlational research measures relationships between variables, noting positive and negative correlations, but correlation ≠ causation

Ethics

• Research ethics with children necessitate protection of participants, informed consent, rights to withdraw, confidentiality, and minimizing risks.
• Modern research tools include technology in data collection, online surveys, physiological measurements, and big data analysis.
• Future directions involve multiple method approaches, emerging technologies, ethical considerations, and addressing future challenges.

Chapter 4: Nature vs. Nurture: Genetics and Environment

• Genotype is the genetic makeup for specific traits, while phenotype is the expressed characteristics.
• Dominant genes express regardless of pairing, while recessive genes need a matching pair or X chromosome condition.
• Polygenic inheritance involves multiple genes affecting one trait, and pleiotropic effects involve one gene affecting multiple traits.
• Mutations are changes in the genetic code.
• Screening methods include maternal blood tests, amniocentesis, and chorionic villus sampling. Ethical considerations include informed consent, privacy concerns, and insurance discrimination.

Gene-Environment Interactions

• Passive gene-environment interactions involve family environment alignment.
• Active interactions involve self-selected experiences
• Evocative interactions are genetic tendencies influencing responses
• The complex interaction of a gene is like a piano, but the environment plays the melody.

Takeaways

• There is a complex nature of the gene-environment interaction along with the importance of ethical considerations.

Chapter 10: Emotional Development and Attachment

• EASY (flexible) child: Regular rhythm, positive mood, ease of approach, adapts to novel stimuli with less irritation (40%)
• DIFFICULT child: Slow to adapt, sleep irregularly, withdraws, is easily irritated with low sensitivity threshold, high reaction intensity, and high distractibility (10%)
• SLOW TO WARM (fearful) child: adapts cautiously, has a low activity level, withdraws, has a low intensity of mood expression, with a somewhat 'down' mood (15%)
• EXTRAVERSION/Surgency: approach, positive participation, seek sensation and pleasure impulsively (similar to Kegan's 'uninhibited')
• NEGATIVE Affectivity: cry easily, frustrated because of social discomfort (similar to Kegan's 'inhibited') with anger, fear, sadness.
• EFFORTFUL Self-control: easily agitated, low self-control. Attention highly focused to have a more adaptive response to inhibitory control
• UNINHIBITED: Bold, extroverted, sociable, outgoing behaviors (25-30%)
• INHIBITED: Shy, subdued, timid, and cautious to unfamiliar peers or adults (15-20%)
• INTERMEDIATE: With experience some inhibited children move into intermediate stage, and show less fear by age 7

Emotional regulation

• Parents roles include creating predictable environments, providing comfort, and modeling self-control.
• Styles include emotion coaching and emotion dismissing.

Attachment types

• SECURE: Comfortable in relationships, strong sense of self-worth, interdependent.
• ANXIOUS PREOCCUPIED: Worry about being abandoned, people-please and approval-seeking, codependent.
• DISMISSIVE AVOIDANT:
• FEARFUL AVOIDANT:

The Strange Situation Procedure SSP

• The test is a way to measure the quality of the relationships of dyad or family groups through observation.
• Bowlby's 4 stages of attachment:
  • Pre-attachment
  • Attachment in making
  • Clear-cut attachment
  • Goal-corrected partnership
• Attachment disorders include reactive attachment disorder, the opposite of which is Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder, the causes of which can be from early abuse.
• Inconsistent caregiving and treatment challenges can reinforce unhealthy attachments.
• Parenting style is based around “goodness of fit” - temperaments.

Temperaments are clustered based on NURTURE and STRUCTURE

• NURTURE runs from responsive, to permissive, to neglect.
• STRUCTURE runs from authoritative, to authoritarian, to abuse.
• This is associated with the child based on temperament with slow to warm up, easy, and difficult.
• The scale of good parenting runs from positive through neutral to negative based on fit.