AP Psych Review Sheet #3 PDF

AP Psych Review Sheet #3 Behavioral Genetics Dual track mind: ​ Unconscious mind (below level of awareness) - influences behavior and mental process and the decisions we make ○​ The unconscious mind works in the background, shaping how we see and react to things...

AP Psych Review Sheet #3 Behavioral Genetics Dual track mind: ​ Unconscious mind (below level of awareness) - influences behavior and mental process and the decisions we make ○​ The unconscious mind works in the background, shaping how we see and react to things ​ Conscious mind (what we are aware of) - also influences behavior and mental processes. Behavioral Genetics - The field attempts to identify + understand links between genetics & behavior: ​ Nature vs. Nurture ○​ Genotype - an individual's genetic profile ○​ Phenotype - observable/measurable characteristics ​ Genetics ○​ Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes (46 separate - 23 from each parent) ○​ Chromosomes are long twisted strands of DNA ​ Last chromosomes: sex chromosomes → determine chromosomal sex ​ Male - xy ​ Female - xx ○​ Genes - segments of the chromosome ​ They are the basic units of heredity + contain the instructions for making a particular type of protein ○​ Allele - different versions of a gene can give rise to different phenotypic traits ​ Dominant vs. recessive ​ Sex linked traits (X linked) - traits controlled by genes on the X chromosome ​ Males (XY) have one X chromosome, so they show the trait if the gene is present ​ Females (XX) have two X chromosomes, so they can be carriers (not show the trait) if only one X has the gene ​ Ex: Color blindness + hemophilia ​ Environmental influences ○​ Parents - really influential when you are younger ○​ Peers - when you are a teen peers become highly influential ​ Culture - behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people + transmitted from one generation to the the next ○​ Individualistic - prioritize individual goals ○​ Collectivist - emphasize group goals (group>individual) ​ Behavioral Genetic Designs ○​ Family studies - pedigree studies ​ See what other family members genes are  ○​ Twin studies - concordance rates of MZ vs DZ twins (if one twin has ‘it’, what is the rate that the cotwin has ‘it’) ○​ Identical twin- monozygotic = 100% genes ○​ Fraternal twin- dizygotic twin = 50% genes ​ Same environment ​ Shows if something is nature or nurture ○​ Adoption strides - look at biological vs. adopted parents ​ Epigenetic Influences ○​ A field of science that studies heritable changes caused by the activation or deactivation of genes without changes in the underlying DNA sequence of the organism ​ Ex: Mice ​ Turned on - yellow fur and obese ​ Turned off- brown fur and normal weight ​ Mother rats licking their pups- influenced the expression of genes that determine responses to stress (the release of Cortisol) ​ Holding infants can leave traces in their genes ​ Trauma in early childhood → can make you have disorders in later life Unit 9: Psychology's History and Approaches Development Psychology - the scientific study of the changes that occur in people as they age, from conception until death ​ Domains of Development: 1)​ Physical - changes in the body, brain, motor skills, and sensory abilities 2)​ Cognitive - improving thinking, reasoning, and problem-solving skills as individuals grow 3)​ Socio-Emotional - forming emotional bonds, personality ​ Fundamental Issues: ○​ Is development due to nature or nurture? ○​ Is development continuous? (change can be abrupt or gradual) ​ Some parts of development is continuous + some are in stages of change ○​ Do critical periods exist? - Are there periods where an individual is particularly sensitive to certain environmental experiences? ​ Sensitive Periods = the periods when an individual is particularly sensitive to certain environmental experiences (if not, then can never obtain that skill) ​ Attachment (first 6 months really, but they say 2 years) ​ Trust (first year of life) ​ Language (if you don’t learn a language in the first 12 years of life, you can’t learn one) ​ Research Designs:  ○​ Longitudinal Design - one group of people is followed and assessed at different times as the group ages ​ Advantage: looking at real age-related changes ​ Disadvantage: time, money, attrition (dropout rate) ○​ Cross-Sectional Design - several different age-groups are studied at one time ​ Advantage: quick, relatively inexpensive ​ Disadvantage: No longer looking at age changes rather just age differences ​ Cohort Effects - the particular impact on development that occurs when a group of people share a common time period or common life experience ○​ Cross-Sequential Design ​ A combination of the longitudinal and cross-sectional designs ​ Ex: 5 - 15 years, 15 - 25 years, 25 - 35 years Prenatal Development ​ Conception - when the egg is fertilized by the sperm (forms a zygote) ​ Zygote = a fertilized egg ​ 3 periods of prenatal development: (not the trimesters!!!) 1)​ Germinal period: (10-14 days long) - first 2 weeks after conception ○​ Begins at conception ○​ Ends with implantation (or not → misscarriage) ​ Ectopic Pregnancy - zygote implanted in the fallopian tube → dangerous + not viable (not an organism) ​ Will cause it to rupture b/c that structure is not prepared to expand (only uterus is) ○​ The dividing cells begin to differentiate (begin to have a purpose) ​ At first: all cells are the same - not specialized ​ At the end: Outside cells become protection (placenta) and for CNS. Inside cells become the embryo 2)​ Embryonic Period: (weeks 3-8 after conception) ○​ Begins at beginning of week 3 and ends at the end of week 8 ○​ Most vulnerable time for embryo ​ If something happens → has a big effect ○​ Foundations are being laid down - systems + organs start to develop 3)​ Fetal Period: (from the beginning of week 9 - birth) ○​ Systems + organs continue develop ○​ Fetus is getting prepared to live outside of uterus ​ Teratogens - agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development + cause harm ○​ Ex : Alcohol → can cause Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: ​ Causes intellectual disability, delayed growth, facial malformation, learning difficulties, and smaller than normal heads ​ Other Prenatal Influences on Development  ○​ Nutrition - eat healthy (morning sickness causes aversions which is good because then not eating bad things) ○​ Try to minimize anxiety + stress ○​ Mothers general health ○​ Maternal age - not too young or old Newborn Mental Abilities ​ Perinatal - time that surrounds the birth (few months after) ​ Habituation - a decrease in responding with increased stimulation (basic form of learning) ○​ Ex: Keep showing baby pen → they will lose interest b/c they have seen it before Newborn Sensory Abilities ​ Infants are born with immature visual system - considered legally blind ○​ Can detect movement + large objects ○​ Visual Acuity - ability to see in fine detail → babies don't have this ○​ Born color blind (black, white, and red) → Have adult vision at 3 months ​ Other senses function well on day 1 (babies start hearing 7 months after conception) ○​ Will orient sounds ○​ Turn away from unpleasant odors ○​ Prefer sweet to sour tastes ○​ Able to experience touch - very important (skin-skin contact) Newborn Motor Abilities ​ Born with a number of reflex behaviors ○​ They are automatic, inborn behaviors, necessary for survival ​ Rooting - turning the head + opening the mouth in the direction of a touch in the cheek ​ Sucking - sucking rhythmically in response to anything placed in their mouth ​ Babinski - when foot is stroked, toes fan and then curl → if absent - sign something is wrong ​ Moro - throwing the arms, arching the back ​ In response to a loud noise or sudden change in position of the head ​ Grasping - curling the fingers around an object placed in the palm Physical Development ​ Continuous in childhood - gradually develop new skills ​ Maturation - genetically designed biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior → mostly nature Brain Development - fully developed at 26 ​ Brain is immature - neurons continue to mature through young adulthood ○​ Dendritic growth - making synaptic connections ​ Periods of rapid growth → pruning - gets rid of connections you won't use (makes brain more efficient) ​ Use it or lose it  ○​ Brain is myelinating - as we get older, we become faster in movement + thinking Maturation & Infant Memory ​ Infant Amnesia ○​ The earliest age of conscious memory is around 3.5 years old ○​ Hippocampus ( memory formation) is developing Motor Skills Development ​ Gaining control over muscles ​ First gain control over neck ​ Legs are last - walking at 12 months Cognitive Development ​ Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development (2nd domain of development): ○​ Jean Piaget (1896-1980) swiss psychologist who became the leading theorist in 1930’s ○​ Piaget believed that “children are active thinkers, constantly trying to construct more advanced understandings of the world” (schemas = how we understand the world) ​ Schemas - frameworks that develop to help organize knowledge (develop as we get older) ​ Assimilation - process of taking new information or a new experience + fitting it onto an already existing schema ​ Accommodation - process by which existing schemas are changed or new schemas are created in order to fit new information Piaget's Approach ​ Proposed that development occurs as a series of ‘stages’ differing in how the world is understood ​ In each stage there are cognitive attachments and limitations ​ 4 Stages: 1)​ Sensorimotor Stage (0-2 years) ○​ Info is gained through the senses + motor actions ○​ In this stage, a child perceives + manipulates but does not reason  ○​ 18 months - child develops object permanence ​ Object continues to exist even if they don't see/perceive it 2)​ Preoperational Stage (2-7 years) ○​ Emergence of symbolic thought (ex: pretend play - a stick might become a sword) ​ Language becomes advanced ​ Cannot understand logic + reason ○​ Animism - children animate inanimate objects (magical thinking) ​ Limitation of logical reasoning ○​ Centration - they can only focus on one thing at a time ​ Egocentrism - don’t have the ability to take someone else’s perspective ○​ Irreversibility - can't mentally reverse things (ex: if you ask what 2 + 3 is they will know 5, but if you ask 5 - 3 they don’t know/ can’t immediately reverse it) ​ Lack conservation - the principle that properties such as mass, volume, and numbers remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects (2 diff cups video) 3)​ Concrete Operational Stage (7-12 years) ○​ Understanding of mental operations leading to increasingly logical thought ​ Concrete = physical materials, actual experiences ○​ Less egocentric ○​ Inability to reason abstractly ○​ The major advancement = logic reasoning 4)​ Formal Operational Stage (age 12 - adulthood) ○​ Capable of abstract thinking ​ Involving imagined realities (what if) ○​ Think more like scientists: hypothetical propositions + deduce the consequences ​ If this, then that ​ Adolescent Egocentrism - David Elkind ○​ Personal fable - phase where “nobody can understand what I'm going through” ​ Even if they can understand, you still have the feeling ○​ Imagining audience - feeling that everyone is judging/observing you ​ Critiques of Piaget's Theory ○​ Underestimated children's abilities ​ Example: Sensorimotor stage: baby mathematics ​ When shown a numerically impossible outcome, infants stare longer (Piaget thinks they should stare the same) ○​ Vagueness about the process of change ○​ Underestimates the role of the social environment Vygotsky's Sociocultural Perspective  ​ Emphasized the role a child's interaction with the social world has on development ​ He believed language to be the foundation for social interaction = thought (he believed language was a byproduct of thought) ​ Children learn from interactions with other people ○​ Zone of proximal development - the range of what a child can do alone to what a child can do with help ​ Mentors to children provide a scaffold (support) - any form of help ​ Then eventually the child needs less + less scaffolding Theory of Mind ​ Being able to infer the full range of mental states (beliefs, desires, intentions, emotions, etc.) that cause action ​ Having a theory of mind means one is able to reflect on the contents of one's own + other minds ○​ Test: False belief test - ask a child what they think is inside the box and then ask what others will think (crayon vs. candy) Autism Spectrum Disorder ​ A disorder that appears in childhood (if symptoms appear by age 7) marked by: ○​ Significant deficiencies in communication and social interaction ○​ Rigidly fixated interests and repetitive behaviors ​ Less activity in Mirror Neuron system in Frontal Lobes: ○​ Mirror Neurons: Brain cells that activate both when you perform an action and when you observe someone else performing the same action ○​ Lack empathy ○​ Poor imitation Socio-Emotional Development ​ Attachment - strong emotional bond (between infant & caregiver): ○​ Separation anxiety: ​ Distress that an infant displays when their caregiver leaves the immediate environment ​ Beginning by about 6-12 months ○​ Stranger anxiety: ​ Fear of strangers that infants commonly display ​ Beginning by about 6-12 months of age ○​ Contact Comfort (Harlow’s surrogate mother experiments): ​ Monkeys preferred contact with the comfortable cloth monkey, even while feeding/nursing from the wire monkey ​ Critical Period for attachment - (John Bowlby) ​ Imprinting (Konrad Lorenz, Ethologist) - the process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life ○​ Ex: Ducklings will imprint onto whatever they see after birth (usually mom) and they will follow them around ​ Mary Ainsworth - studied quality of attachments  ○​ Children can form secure or insecure attachments: → Strange Situation Test ○​ Mother + child pairs observed in playroom under 4 conditions: 1)​ Initial mother-child interaction ○​ If the child walks away, clings, or looks back 2)​ Mother leaves infant alone in playroom ○​ Mid separation anxiety = secure ○​ Extreme separation anxiety or child doesn't care = insecure 3)​ A friendly stranger enters playroom ○​ Mild stranger anxiety = secure ○​ Extreme separation anxiety or child doesn't care = insecure 4)​ Mother returns and greets child ○​ Positive reunion behaviors = secure ○​ Doesn't care = insecure ○​ Secure attachment: Secure base (not cling to mom but look back), Separation Anxiety (mild), Stranger Anxiety (mild), Positive Reunion Behavior (excitement), seeking closeness ○​ Insecure attachment: avoidant, ambivalent/resistant ​ What causes insecure attachments? ​ Parenting style ○​ Abusive, neglectful or erratic ​ Stressful circumstances in the family ​ Abondamment + deprivation in the first 2 years ​ Child's genetically influenced temperament Types of Parenting Styles ​ Diana Baumrind - 3 parenting styles that may affect the quality of attachment: 1)​ Authoritarian Parenting - the dictator ○​ Strict rules with severe punishments ○​ Will more often lead to insecure attachment 2)​ Permissive Parenting - Allows a child to do whatever they want, no rules ○​ 2 types: The parents are never there or the parents can’t say no → insecure attachment 3)​ Authoritative Parenting - best style: has rules but not crazy strict ○​ Where there are rules, so if you break rules you are punished within reason ○​ Secure attachment Temperament - biological theory of personality ​ 3 types - the style they interact with the world will influence the quality of attachment 1)​ Easy - most likely to form an attachment ○​ They have regular sleeping and eating patterns (so it's easier to tell why they are crying/upset - ex: b/c it's time for them to take a nap) ○​ Easily soothed + adjusts well to new situations ○​ When they grow up, they will likely be easygoing  2)​ Difficult - most likely to form an insecure attachment ○​ Always crying ○​ Irregular sleeping and eating habits ○​ Struggles with adapting to changes 3)​ Slow to warm up ○​ Difficult at first but will eventually adjust + become easier Erikson's Theory of Psychosocial Development ​ Student of Freud ○​ Freud believes childhood is super important + your personality finishes developing at 6 (Erikson's changes this) ○​ We are born with certain drives (sex + aggression) + we are unconsciously motivated by them ​ Erikson's theory ○​ We have innate drives to develop social relationships that are essential for survival ○​ Each stage has a crisis that needs to be fixed ○​ 8 stages: 1)​ Trust vs. Mistrust (0-1 years) - critical period ○​ Can develop trust or mistrust in their caregiver + the world 2)​ Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt (1-3 years) ○​ Parents have to give kids a sense of independence (tell them they can do it even if they cant) ○​ If not, they will feel shame or doubtful about being independent 3)​ Initiative vs. Guilt (3-5 years) ○​ Play age - playing with other kids ○​ If they are able to begin games → develop the ability to start things + take leadership ○​ If kids don't let them → feel bad about trying to assert themselves (so parents should step in) 4)​ Industry vs. Inferiority (5-12 years) ○​ School age - learn new skills ○​ Important for kids to develop a sense of “I will be able to master this skill” ○​ Develop a sense of accomplishment → if not, they can feel inferior 5)​ Identity vs. Role Confusion (12-18 years) ○​ Identity crisis - figure out who you are + experiment ​ Try out different things + see what you like ○​ If you are unable to do this → Role confusion - change behavior when you are around different groups ​ Confused about your role in society/your identity 6)​ Intimacy vs. Isolation (18-40 years) ○​ All about forming meaningful, intimate relationships  ○​ If you didn't resolve your identity crisis → you may copt your partner + eventually go through a midlife crisis ○​ People may feel isolated or unable to connect with others 7)​ Generativity vs. Stagnation (40-65 years) ○​ “Did I live a full life?” ○​ Focus on contributing to society + the next generation 8)​ Integrity vs. Despair (65+) ○​ Reflection on life accomplishments + meaning ○​ People may feel despair over unfulfilled goals or mistakes (negative) or feel fulfilled and satisfied (positive) Moral Development ​ Kohlberg - believed that moral reasoning guided moral actions ​ Proposed moral dilemmas to see different age groups answers & why (he was more focused on the why) ​ Based on this he developed stages of moral thinking: 1)​ Preconventional Morality (before age 9) ○​ Guided by self interest ○​ Obey rules to avoid punishment or to gain reward 2)​ Conventional Morality (early adolescence) ○​ Uphold laws + rules to gain social approval or maintain social order 3)​ Postconventional Morality (adolescence & beyond) ○​ Actions reflect belief in basic rights + self-determined ethical principles Criticism of Kohlberg ​ Carol Gilligan ○​ Stages were biased towards western cultures ○​ Also biased in favor of (white) men ​ Men more frequently reached stage 3 ​ Woman's moral reasoning differed, not deficient  ​ Women scored lower on Kohlberg’s scale not because their moral reasoning was inferior but because they focused on care and relationships, unlike the justice-based reasoning ○​ Proposed 2 models/perspectives on morality 1.​ Ethics of Justice (Independent) ​ Judge actions that protect the rights of people, and actions that make sure justice is upheld, as moral ​ Traditional male approach 2.​ Ethics of Care ​ Judge actions that are nonviolent & hurt the fewest people, as moral ​ Traditional female approach ○​ Argues that ‘androgyny’ (masculine + feminine behaviors & personality); integrating both is the best Key Terms Developmental Psychology: Study of how people grow, learn, and change throughout life​ Zygote: A fertilized egg, the earliest stage of human development​ Embryo: The developing organism from 2 to 8 weeks after conception​ Fetus: The stage of human development from 9 weeks to birth​ Teratogens: Harmful substances that can damage a developing fetus​ Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS): Birth defects caused by alcohol exposure during pregnancy​ Habituation: Decreasing response to a stimulus after repeated exposure​ Maturation: Biological growth processes that occur naturally over time​ Cognition: Mental processes like thinking, learning, and problem-solving​ Schema: A mental structure to organize and interpret information​ Assimilation: Incorporating new information into existing schemas​ Accommodation: Adjusting schemas to fit new information​ Sensorimotor Stage: Infants learn through sensory experiences and actions (birth–2 years)​ Object Permanence: Knowing that things exist even when you can’t see them​ Preoperational Stage: Kids start using symbols but lack logical reasoning (2–7 years)​ Conservation: Understanding that quantity stays the same despite changes in shape​ Egocentrism: Difficulty seeing things from someone else’s point of view​ Theory of Mind: Understanding that others have thoughts and feelings​ Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): A developmental condition affecting social skills and communication​ Concrete Operational Stage: Understanding of mental operations leading to increasing logical thought (7-12 years) Formal Operational Stage: Abstract and logical thinking develops (12+ years)​ Stranger Anxiety: Fear of unfamiliar people, common in infants around 8 months old​ Attachment: An emotional bond, usually between a child and caregiver​ Critical Period: A limited time when certain skills or attachments must develop​ Imprinting: Early attachment process in animals, often to the first moving object they see​ Temperament: A person’s natural personality and emotional reactivity​ Basic Trust: A sense that the world is predictable and reliable, formed in infancy​ Self-Concept: Understanding and evaluation of one’s own identity​ Aggression: Behavior intended to harm or dominate others​ Role: A set of expected behaviors for a given social position​ Social Learning Theory: Learning behaviors by observing and imitating others​ Adolescence: Transition period from childhood to adulthood, marked by puberty and identity exploration​ Identity: A person’s sense of self, including values and beliefs​ Social Identity: The part of identity linked to group membership​ Intimacy: Ability to form close, loving relationships​ Emerging Adulthood: The transition phase from late teens to mid-20s, focusing on exploration and independence​ X Chromosome: A sex chromosome present in both males and females​ Y Chromosome: A sex chromosome found only in males​ Cross-Sectional Study: A study comparing different age groups at one point in time​ Longitudinal Study: A study that follows the same group of people over time​ Cross-Sequential Study: A combination of cross-sectional and longitudinal study methods