Developmental Psychology Summary PDF

Table of Contents Week Lecture Topic Reading 1 Introduction and Main Theories 1+2 2 Biology and Development...

Table of Contents Week Lecture Topic Reading 1 Introduction and Main Theories 1+2 2 Biology and Development 3+4+5 3 Perception, Action, and Cognition 6+7 4 Memory and Intelligence 8+9 5 Language, Education, and Self 10 + 11 6 Social Emotional Development and the Family 13 + 14 + 15 7 Disorders Across Development 15 + 16 I appreciate and thank you for any donation; all this money will (probably) go toward getting uni books :) → paypal / buymeacoffee 1  paypal / buymeacoffee Introduction - chapter 1 Defining Development development → systematic changes and continuities that occur between one’s conception and death ↳ changes are systematic (orderly, patterned, and relatively enduring) - development implies continuities as well → remaining the same - the changes and continuities fall into 3 broad domains 1. physical development → body and organs 2. cognitive development → perception, language, learning, memory, problem-solving 3. psychosocial development → emotions, personality, relationships, skills, roles growth → physical changes that occur from conception to maturity biological aging → deterioration of the organism that inevitably leads to death - developmental change involves both gains and losses at any age ↳ not always improve or worsen, just become different aging → a range of physical, cognitive, and psychosocial changes, positive or negative, in the mature organism Conceptualizing the Life-Span - a new period of the life-span has been added recently: emerging adulthood → transitional period between adolescence and full-fledged adulthood ↳ young adults spend years getting education and saving money to start a life ↳ distinct developmental period primarily in developed countries period of life age range prenatal conception → birth - emerging adults: infancy 0 → 2 years → explore their identities preschool (toddler) 2 → 5 years → live unstable lives (lots of changes) middle childhood 6 → 10 years → are self-focused and relatively free of adolescence 10 → 18 years obligations to others emerging adulthood 18 → 25 years → feel in between → believe they have limitless early adulthood 25 → 40 years possibilities middle adulthood 40 → 65 years late adulthood 65+ years cultural differences culture → the shared understandings and way of life of people including beliefs, values etc. age grade → socially defined age group in society ↳ each age grade is assigned different roles, statuses, privileges, and responsibilities 2  paypal / buymeacoffee rite of passage → ritual marking the passage from one status to another (ex: quinceañera) age norms → what people should and shouldn’t do at different age grades ↳ have been recently weakening social clock → a person’s sense of when things should be done subcultural differences - age grade and norms differ from culture to culture and subculture to subculture ethnicity → people’s affiliation with a group based on common heritage or traditions socioeconomic status (SES) → rank in society based on education, income, and occupation historical changes - childhood as an age of innocence: since the 17th century ↳ before, kinds were seen as little adults - adolescence: recognized as distinctive phase since late 19th century - emerging adulthood: since the 21st century - middle age as emptying of the nest: since the 20th century - old age as retirement: since the 20th century (before people worked until they died) projecting the future life expectancy → the average number of years a newborn is expected to live ↳ generally greater for females than males - wealth is associated with longer life Framing the Nature-Nurture Issue nature-nurture issue → the question of how biological and environmental forces act and interact to make us who we are nature - on this side of the debate are those who emphasize the influence of heredity maturation → the biological unfolding of the individual as sketched by genes nurture - on this side of the debate are those who emphasize change in response to environment environment → all external physical and social conditions, stimuli, and events learning → the process of permanently changing one’s thoughts, feelings, or emotions through experience Goals and Uses of Studying Development - the goals driving the study of life-span are: describing predicting explaining optimizing development Early Beginnings - first scientific investigations of development: in the 19th century with baby biographies 3  paypal / buymeacoffee - G. Stanley Hall is considered to be the founder of developmental psychology The Modern Life-Span Perspective gerontology → the study of aging and old age - in the 60s and 70s, the perspective shifted to a life-span perspective on human development that laid out 7 key assumptions about development: 1. a lifelong process 2. multidirectional → different aspects change differently 3. involves both gain and loss 4. characterized by lifelong plasticity → neuroplasticity 5. shaped by historical-cultural context 6. multiply influenced → development is a product of nature and nurture 7. must be studied by multiple disciplines Conducting Culturally Sensitive Research - we need to study development in different contexts using culturally sensitive methods to discover what is universal and what is culturally specific about human development WEIRD people → people in Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic societies - to make their research more sensitive, researchers should involve community members when designing and conducting studies ethnocentrism → the belief that one’s group or culture is superior 4  paypal / buymeacoffee Theories of Human Development - chapter 2 - different theories provide distinct lenses through which to view developmental phenomena - a theory of human development: → provides needed organization → offers a lens through which researchers can interpret and explain specific facts → guides the collection of new facts and observations, making clear: → what is most important to study → what can be hypothesized or predicted about it → how it should be studied → how to interpret findings nature - nurture supporters of the nature side propose ideas about: - universal maturational processes guided by genes → importance of genetic makeup - biologically based predispositions built into genes over the course of evolution - other biological influences shape development exclusively ↳ considering a sufficient environment is present supporters of the nurture side suggest: - the influences of the physical and social environment on development - development can take many paths depending on the individual’s experiences activity - passivity ↳ the extent to which humans are active in creating and influencing their environment - 2 stands: 1. humans actively influence their environment, producing their own development 2. humans are passively shaped by forces beyond their control (strong biological and environmental forces) continuity - discontinuity ↳ whether the changes people undergo over the life span are gradual or abrupt supporters of the continuity side say ↳ changes are gradual and quantitative - development is a process that occurs in small steps without sudden changes - changes are in degree and quantitative (person grows taller) supporters of the discontinuity side propose ↳ changes are abrupt and qualitative - development as a series of stairs steps that elevate the individual to a new level of functioning - changes are in kind and qualitative → make the individual fundamentally different in some way - people progress through developmental stages developmental stages → distinct phases of development characterized by particular sets of abilities, motives, emotions, or behaviors that form a pattern 5  paypal / buymeacoffee universality - context specificity ↳ the extent to which developmental changes are universal or culturally specific Psychoanalytic Theory - Sigmund Freud and Erik Erikson proposed that humans are driven by motives and emotional conflicts of which they are largely unaware and that they are shaped by their earliest experiences in the family instincts and unconscious motivation - humans have biological urges (drives) that must be satisfied instincts → inborn biological forces that motivate behavior ↳ are the source of the psychic (the energy that fuels human behavior) unconscious motivation → the power of instincts to influence behavior without our awareness id, ego, and superego id → the impulsive, irrational, and selfish part of the personality, whose mission is to satisfy the instincts by seeking immediate gratification even if not rationally possible ↳ the only one present at birth ego → the rational side of the personality that tries to find realistic ways of gratifying instincts by taking the form of cognitive processes (perception, learning, problem-solving) ↳ emerges during infancy, making the kid more capable of postponing pleasures superego → the individual’s internalized moral standards (assimilated from the parents) ↳ develops from the ego around 3-6 years old - the superego forms a parental voice in the head of the kid, making them feel guilty and ashamed when they violate society’s rules id → communicates basic needs ego → restrains the id long enough to find a realistic way superego → decides whether the ego’s problem-solving is morally acceptable - the ego has to balance the opposing demands of the id and the superego while taking into account the environment → imbalance produces psychological problems Freud’s Psychosexual Stages. libido → the psychic energy of the sex instinct stage age range description oral stage birth → 1 year libido is focused on the mouth as a source of pleasure → oral gratification from a mother figure anal stage 1 → 3 years libido is focused on the anus → toilet training creates conflict between instincts and societal demands phallic stage 3 → 6 years libido focuses on the genitals → desire of the opposite sex parent → identification with the same-sex parent and the development of the superego latent period 6 → 12 years libido is quiet → psychic energy is invested in schoolwork 6  paypal / buymeacoffee and play with same-sex friends genital stage 12+ years puberty reawakens sexual instincts → goal of reproduction identification → an individual’s tendency to emulate, or adopt, the attitudes and behaviors of the same-sex parent defense mechanisms → mechanisms used by the ego to defend itself against anxiety caused by conflicts between the id’s impulses and social demands repression → removing unacceptable thoughts or traumatic memories from consciousness regression → defense mechanism that involves retreating to an earlier, less traumatic stage fixation → defense mechanism in which development is arrested and part of the libido is tied to an earlier stage of development Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory. - Erikson places less emphasis on sexual urges as the drivers of development, and more emphasis on social influences (parents and peers, teachers, schools, and the broader culture) - he emphasized less on the unconscious and more on the rational ego and its adaptive power ❗ Erikson put more emphasis on development after adolescence and held a more positive view on the human nature stage age range description trust vs mistrust birth → 1 year infants must learn to trust caregivers → responsive parenting critical autonomy vs 1 → 3 years children must learn to be autonomous → otherwise they shame & doubt will doubt their abilities initiative vs 3 → 6 years preschoolers develop initiative by making and carrying guilt plans → must learn to respect others’ rights industry vs 6 → 12 years children must develop social and academic skills → inferiority otherwise they will feel inferior identity vs role 12 → 20 years adolescents must establish social and vocational confusion identities → otherwise they remain confused about their adult roles intimacy vs 20 → 40 years young adults seek a shared identity → but may fear isolation intimacy and experience loneliness and isolation generativity vs 40 → 60 years middle-aged adults must feel like they create something stagnation that will outlive them (work or kids) integrity vs 65+ years older adults must view their lives as meaningful and despair accept death without regrets 7  paypal / buymeacoffee strengths and weaknesses strengths → Freud’s 3 major contributions: 1. called attention to unconscious processes underlying behavior 2. stressed the importance of early experiences in the family to development 3. emphasized the importance of emotions and emotional conflicts in development - Erikson had an especially great impact on research on adolescence and adulthood weaknesses: - ambiguous, internally inconsistent, and not easily falsifiable theory - not well-supported by evidence - doesn't provide an adequate explanation of development (more like a description) Learning Theories - early learning theorists believed babies had no inborn tendencies and their development depends entirely on their environment ↳ behavior changes in direct response to environmental stimuli Watson’s classical conditioning classical conditioning → a type of learning in which a stimulus that initially had no effect on the individual comes to elicit a response because of its association with a stimulus that already elicits the response - Watson supported the idea that emotional responses can be learned Skinner’s operant conditioning operant conditioning → form of learning in which freely emitted acts become more or less likely to be repeated based on the consequences they produce reinforcement → consequence that strengthens the probability of repeating a behavior punishment → consequence that weakens the probability of repeating a behavior - through operant conditioning, an individual can learn new skills and habits extinction → gradual weakening and disappearance of a learned response when no longer reinforced - physical punishment is not recommended, but it can be effective if: → administered immediately after the act → administered consistently after each offense → not overly harsh → administered by an otherwise affectionate person → used sparingly and combined with efforts to reinforce positive behavior Bandura’s social cognitive theory social cognitive theory → people can learn new responses by observing the behavior of a model, making connections, and anticipating the consequences based on the model’s experience observational learning → learning by observing others’ behavior ↳ is seen as a more cognitive form of learning than conditioning 8  paypal / buymeacoffee ↳ occurs by paying attention, constructing and remembering mental representations of the observed action, and retrieving from memory to guide behavior latent learning → learning that occurs but is not evident in behavior vicarious reinforcement/punishment → model’s consequence that strengthens or weakens how likely it is to repeat the observed behavior overimitation → universal tendency for kids to imitate every detail of the model’s behavior, even actions that are not useful in achieving the goal ↳ is adaptive for humans, helps people fit in, and transmits culture from to the next generation self-efficacy → one’s belief that they can effectively produce a particular desired outcome reciprocal determinism → social-cognitive theory which argues that behavior, cognition, and environment all interact with and influence one another strengths and weaknesses strengths: - precise and testable - can be used to understand behavior at any age - are the basis for many effective developmental optimizations and treatments weaknesses: - don’t provide a clear description of the typical course of human development - don’t demonstrate that learning is responsible for developmental changes - too little emphasis on biological influences Cognitive Developmental Theory - Piaget - Piaget viewed intelligence as a process that helps a person adapt to their environment - as humans mature, they acquire more complex cognitive structures that help them adapt constructivism → humans actively create their own understandings of the world based on their experiences - children use their current understandings to solve problems, but also revise their understandings to make them fit better to reality - the interaction between biological maturation and experience is responsible for a child’s development stages of cognitive development - Piaget’s stages for an invariant sequence → all children progress through all the stages in the given order, without skipping or regressing to earlier stages stage age range description sensorimotor birth → 2 years babies develop cognitive skills such as object stage permanence, goal directed action, and deferred imitation preoperational 2 → 7 years children develop cognitive skills such as symbolic thought stage (language) yet remain egocentric (cannot see things from others’ perspectives) concrete 7 → 11 years students develop more complex logical thinking skills and operations master the skill of conservation (changes in appearance ≠ 9  paypal / buymeacoffee changes in volume, mass etc.) formal 11 → 12+ years teenagers start developing deductive reasoning, operations metacognitive skills, abstract thought, and complex moral reasoning strengths and weaknesses strengths: - largely supported by evidence - encouraged teachers to mold curriculums to children’s level of understanding weaknesses: - underestimated the cognitive abilities of infants - too little emphasis on cultural and social influences other perspectives on cognitive development sociocultural perspective → cognitive development is shaped by the sociocultural context in which it occurs and grows out of children’s interactions with members of their culture information-processing approach → development involves changes in the capacity and speed of brain processing, and in the strategies used to process information Bioecological Model - Bronfenbrenner bioecological model → model of development that emphasizes the importance of both nature and nurture as the person interacts with a series of environmental systems over time 10  paypal / buymeacoffee proximal processes → recurring, reciprocal interactions between the individual and other people, objects, or symbols that move development forward toward more effective functioning PPCT model → a call for examining development as a function of 4 factors: process, person, context, and time strengths and weaknesses strengths: - are complex - manage to capture the complexity of human development weaknesses: - don’t provide a clear picture yet because of lack of testing and partial formulation theories in perspective - most 21st century developmentalists have adopted a systems theory perspective eclectics → people who rely on multiple theories 11  paypal / buymeacoffee Genes, Environment, and Development - chapter 3 Evolution and Species Heredity species heredity → genetic features that members of a particular species have in common ↳ it is a contributor to universal species traits and patterns of maturation - Darwin’s evolutionary theory makes 3 main arguments: 1. there is genetic variation in species: - each member has different genes (if it wasn't for this, there wouldn’t be any changes in genes over time → no evolution) 2. some genes are more useful to adaptation than others: - some genes are more useful for environmental adaptation, making the individual adapt more easily 3. useful genes will be passed on to offsprings more often than useless ones: - genes that increase survival and reproduction chances will become more common over time natural selection → evolutionary principle that individuals with genes that are useful for adapting to their environment are most likely to survive and reproduce - evolution is all about the interaction between genes and the environment ↳ which genes are useful depends entirely on the environment evolutionary psychology → the application of evolutionary theory and its concepts of natural selection to understand why humans think and act as they do cultural evolution → changes in a species achieved through learning and passing new ways of adapting to the environment to the next generations (not through genetics) ↳ this type of evolution works much faster than biological evolution Individual Heredity conception → the moment of fertilization, when the sperm penetrates the ovum → zygote the genetic code - a sperm cell and an ovule contribute to the zygote with 23 chromosomes each zygote → cell resulting from the fusion of a sperm and an ovum (a fertilized ovum) chromosomes → threadlike structure of genes present in each cell meiosis → type of cell division resulting in 4 cells each with half the number of chromosomes of the parent cell, as in the production of gametes - ovules are formed prenatally and mature one by one during menstrual cycles - sperm production starts in puberty and continues throughout adulthood mitosis → a type of cell division that results in two cells, each having the same number and kind of chromosomes as the parent cell - except for gametes, all human cells contain copies of the 46 chromosomes provided at conception DNA → deoxyribonucleic acid → our genetic foundation ↳ made of series of 4 nitrogen bases → A (adenine), C (cytosine), G (guanine), T (thymine) - there are around 20.000-25.000 functional genes in the human DNA - each gene provides instructions for the production of particular proteins (the building blocks of all cells) 12  paypal / buymeacoffee the Human Genome Project Human Genome Project → scientific research project with the goal of identifying, mapping and sequencing all the genes of the human genome - there are around 3.1 billion nitrogen bases, but only 3% of them are called ‘genes’ ↳ the rest of them play critical roles in regulating the activity of genes - 999 of 1000 nitrogen bases are identical in all humans → the remaining 1 makes us unique genetic uniqueness and relatedness crossing over → the exchange of genes between homologous chromosomes, resulting in a mixture of parental characteristics in offspring - the average genetic resemblance between siblings is 50% - the average genetic resemblance between 2nd degree relatives is 25% determination of sex - 22 chromosomes are similar in both males and females - the 23rd pair of chromosomes are the sex chromosomes males → XY females → XX X chromosome → the longer of the 2 sex chromosomes Y chromosome → the shorter of the 2 chromosomes present only in males - the father is the one providing the sex chromosome → his chromosomes decide the sex from genotype to phenotype genotype → genetic constitution of an individual organism phenotype → set of observable characteristics of an individual resulting from the interaction of its genotype with the environment - genes and the environment combine to determine how a particular genotype is translated into a particular phenotype - all cells contain the same genetic information → cells differ based on which genes are expressed, not on which genes are present gene expression → the appearance in a phenotype of a characteristic or effect attributed to a particular gene mechanisms of inheritance - 3 mechanisms: single-gene pair, sex-linked, and polygenic inheritance single-gene pair inheritance single-gene pair inheritance → genetic mechanism through which a trait is influenced by only one pair of genes dominant gene → relatively powerful gene that is expressed phenotypically and masks the effects of recessive genes recessive gene → less powerful gene that is not expressed phenotypically when paired with a dominant gene - in some cases a dominant gene incompletely dominates a recessive gene resulting in blend of their traits (dark + light skin → mixed skin) 13  paypal / buymeacoffee sex-linked inheritance sex-linked inheritance → mechanism of inheritance in which a characteristic is influenced by single genes located on sex chromosomes (usually X chromosome) polygenic inheritance polygenic inheritance → mechanism of inheritance in which multiple gene pairs interact with environmental factors to influence a trait mutations mutation → the changing of the structure of a gene, resulting in a variant form that may be transmitted to subsequent generations - the odds that mutations occur are increased by environmental hazards (ex: radiation) - mutations are more likely to happen as both parent age copy number variations copy number variations (CNVs) → phenomenon in which parts of the genome are repeated chromosome abnormalities chromosome abnormalities → conditions in which an individual has too few or too many incomplete chromosomes because of errors in sperm or ova formation sex chromosome abnormalities → chromosome abnormality in which a child receives too many or too few sex chromosomes syndrome affected sex chromosomes features Down syndrome both 3 ✕ 21st distinctive features and intellectual chromosome disability Turner syndrome female single X (X0) small and underdeveloped with low spatial and mathematical abilities Klinefelter male XXY long limbs, big ears, long face, feminine syndrome features at puberty, language learning disabilities XYY syndrome male XYY tall and strong, learning disabilities genetic diseases and their diagnosis carriers → person that presents a recessive gene for a disease, doesn’t have it, but can pass it to their offspring disease description genetics hemophilia deficiency in blood clotting, more common sex-linked inheritance in males (gene on X chromosome) passed by the mother 14  paypal / buymeacoffee Huntington’s deterioration of nervous system in middle dominant gene, a CNV - disease age abnormal number of repetitions of DNA parts phenylketonuria lack of enzyme for phenylalanine, resulting recessive gene pair in acid that attacks the nervous system sickle-cell sickle-shaped blood cells that cause recessive gene pair, disease breathing difficulties, swelling of joints, and carriers were protected blood clots from malaria in Africa Studying Genetic and Environmental Influences behavioral genetics → study of how genetic variation affects psychological traits, including cognitive abilities, personality, mental illness, and social attitudes heritability → measure of how well differences in people's genes account for differences in their traits - the variability in a trait that is not associated to genetic differences is associated with environmental differences twin, adoption, and family studies twin study → studies conducted on identical/fraternal twins, aiming to reveal the importance of environmental and genetic influences for traits, phenotypes, and disorders adoption study → studies that check whether adopted children are more similar to their adoptive or biological parents estimating influences concordance rates → the proportions of pairs of individuals that share a particular attribute, given that one of the individuals has that characteristic - if concordance rates are higher for more genetically related than for less genetically related pairs of people, the trait is heritable - research suggests that genes contribute to both men and women’s sexual orientation - emotionality is heritable shared environmental influences → experiences people living in the same environment share ↳ are evident but weak nonshared environmental influences → experiences unique to the individual molecular genetics molecular genetics → the analysis of particular genes and their effects ↳ involves identification of specific genes that influence traits and comparison of individuals with and without the genes Gene-Environment Interplay gene-environment interactions 5-HTTLPR gene → gene that affects stress reactivity by affecting levels of serotonin in the brain gene-environment interaction → phenomenon in which the effects of people’s genes depend on their environment, and in which the effects of the environment depend on people’s genetics 15  paypal / buymeacoffee diathesis-stress model → the view that psychopathology results from the interaction of a person’s predisposition to psychological problems and the experience of stressful events - some “risk genes” are now turning out to make people not only susceptible to the damaging effects of stressful environments, but also allow them to benefit more than others from nurturing environments differential susceptibility hypothesis → the concept that some people’s genes make them more reactive than others to both good and bad environmental influences gene-environment correlations gene-environment correlations → systematic interrelationship between one’s genes and their environment interactions → people with different genes react differently to their experiences correlations → people with different genes have different experiences passive gene-environment correlations → because parents provide a kid both their genes and their home environment compatible with the genes, the home environment is correlated with the genes ↳ is most obvious in infants evocative gene-environment correlations → one’s genotype evokes certain kinds of reactions different from others so that their genetics and experiences are correlated ↳ happens throughout the whole life active gene-environment correlations → one’s genes influence what kind of environments they seek out and thus experience ↳ happens as humans develop implications of gene-environment correlations - genetic makeup is related to: → aspects of parenting → time spent watching television → number of stressful life experiences genetically informed studies → studies designed to check for genetic explanations of apparent environmental effects and establish whether environment matters ↳ 2 approaches to genetically informed studies: → checking if an environmental influence is as obvious in adoptive kids as in biological kids → studying identical twins to see if developmental differences are systematically related to differences in their experiences epigenetic effects on gene expression epigenesis → process by which nature and nurture, genes and environment, work together to produce development in unpredictable ways 16  paypal / buymeacoffee epigenetic effects → ways in which environmental factors modify gene expression and thus the influence of genes on traits (particular genes in particular cells) epigenetic effects and differences between twins - in infancy, genes of young twins share very similar patterns - in contrast, the older, the more differently genes are expressed based on longer nonshared environmental experiences epigenetic effects of nurturing and neglect - kids of rat mothers that were nurturing in infancy turned out to be stress resistant adults - neglecting rat mothers led their kids to be timid and easily stressed adults ↳ regardless of their biological parentage epigenetic effects and obesity - eating high-fat diets and being overweight leads to changes in epigenetic marks on genes in the father’s sperm ↳ this leads to changes in the offspring’s physiology and makes them more prone to obesity - characteristics acquired through one’s lifetime can be inherited by their descendants ↳ through social transmission (ex: behaviors), or through epigenetic inheritance controversies surrounding genetic research gene therapy → medical field which focuses on the genetic modification of cells to produce a therapeutic effect or the treatment of disease by repairing or reconstructing defective genetic material 17  paypal / buymeacoffee Body, Brain, and Health - chapter 5 Building Blocks of Growth and Lifelong Health - at certain times and for certain developments, genetic influences dominate, whereas, for others, environmental influences are more powerful celiac disease → condition where one’s immune system attacks its own tissues when eating gluten → malnutrition and stunts growth catch-up growth → accelerated growth of an organism following a period of slowed development, particularly as a result of nutrient deprivation the endocrine system endocrine glands → organ that secretes hormones into the bloodstream - to the whole body gland hormones effects on growth and development pituitary growth hormone ➔ regulates growth from birth to adolescence activating hormones ➔ triggers adolescent growth spurt ➔ signals other glands to secrete their hormones thyroid thyroxine ➔ affects growth and development of the brain ➔ helps regulate the growth of the body during childhood testes testosterone ➔ develops the male reproductive system during the prenatal period ➔ directs male sexual development during adolescence ovaries estrogen and ➔ regulate the menstrual cycle progesterone ➔ directs female development during adolescence ➔ progesterone allows conception and supports pregnancy adrenal adrenal androgens ➔ support the development of muscles and bones glands ➔ contributes to sexual motivation the brain and the nervous system - the nervous system is made of the central and peripheral nervous system neuron → the fundamental unit of the nervous system synapse → connection between two nerve cells, consisting of a space through which impulses flow via neurotransmitter diffusion myelination → the depositing of a fatty sheath around a neuron’s axon that insulates them, speeding the transmission of neural impulses principles of growth cephalocaudal principle → development and growth occur from heat to toe proximodistal principle → development and growth occur from the middle to the outside 18  paypal / buymeacoffee orthogenetic principle → development of more difficult tasks begins with the mastery of simple tasks first The Infant. synaptogenesis → the formation of synapses between neurons in the nervous system, especially in the developing brain synaptic pruning → the process by which extra neurons and synaptic connections are eliminated in order to increase the efficiency of neuronal transmissions - because of plasticity, an infant can often recover successfully from injuries ↳ neurons that are not fully specialized can take the functions of damaged neurons - the critical, sensitive, period for brain development is during the late prenatal period and early infancy ↳ the time when development proceeds most rapidly newborn capabilities reflex → unlearned, automatic response to a stimulus survival reflexes developmental course significance breathing, permanent eye-blink, and pupillary reflex rooting reflex weakens by 2 months, disappears by 5 turning a cheek toward a months tactile stimulus sucking reflex gradually modified by experience over the first months, disappears by 7 months swallowing reflex permanent, but modified by experience primitive reflexes developmental course significance Babinski reflex disappears by 12-18 months fanning, then curling toes when bottom foot is stroked grasping reflex disappears in the first 3-4 months, is curling fingers around replaced by a voluntary grasp objects Moro reflex disappears by 4 months throw arms outward, arch ↳ triggered by loud noise or sudden back, then bring arms toward change of head position each other swimming reflex disappears in first 4-6 months active movements of arms ↳ underwater and legs, and holding breath stepping reflex disappears in first 8 weeks unless infant if held upright, step as if to has regular opportunities to practice it walk 19  paypal / buymeacoffee - primitive reflexes usually disappear during the early months of infancy, as they are not useful - the presence and absence of reflexes can serve as a general indicator of neurological health behavioral states - by 3 months, infants begin to establish a predictable sleep-wake pattern which becomes fairly stable by 6 months of age - newborns spend half of their sleeping hours in REM sleep, but by 6 months of age they spend only 25-30% ↳ this kind of sleep (REM) allows them to integrate and learn all the information acquired throughout the day health and wellness congenital malformations → structural or functional anomalies that occur during intrauterine life (= “birth defects”) The Child. - growth is characterized by a slow and steady process throughout childhood Brain Lateralization lateralization → the specialization of the 2 hemispheres of the brain - if one hemisphere is damaged, because of neuroplasticity, the other can “take over” the lost functions - the left hemisphere is often called the thinking side of the brain and the right one, the creative side Physical Behavior - children master the ability to move capably in a changing environment ↳ they learn to integrate multiple body movements Health and Wellness - main influences to children’s health are: accidents, nutrition, and physical activity - children should do physical activity for at least 60 minutes daily ↳ the ones that live in a neighborhood that provides a safe environment for play, do, on average, more physical activity than others - some kids are predisposed by temperament to live a sedentary lifestyle - regular physical exercise seems to support effective executive functions 20  paypal / buymeacoffee The Adolescent. puberty → process of biological change that leads an individual to sexual maturity The Adolescent Brain - the volume of gray matter in the brain increases, peaks, and then decreases during adolescence - the volume of white matter in the brain increases following a linear pattern - part of the brain involved in regulating self-control is not yet fully developed in adolescence - the reward system of the brain is hyper-responsive - neurons in the frontal lobes are last to be myelinated → high-order mental activities ↳ an adolescent’s desire for reward increases before their ability to think through all the consequences of their actions The Growth Spurt - boys lag behind girls 1-2 years adolescent growth spurt → the rapid increase in physical growth that occurs in adolescence Sexual Maturation adrenarche → period of increased production of androgens, around the age of 6-8 years, that precedes puberty in both sexes menarche → the first menstruation of a girl (avg. age: 12.5) - sexual maturation proceeds at different rates in different ethnic groups semenarche → the first ejaculation of a boy ↳ boys often produce viable sperm only after the semenarche secular trend → trend in industrialized societies toward earlier maturation and larger body size - family situations can affect the timing of puberty psychological implications girls: → become more self-conscious and worry about their appearance → lack energy and do fewer activities → mood changes boys: → increase in body image → tend to become preoccupied with their athletic skills → exhibit a decrease in anxiety teens in the family: → engage in less body contact, especially with fathers → avoid being seen naked → become more independent and less close to their parents → experience conflicts with parents, usually on minor issues - the relationship between child and parent tends to become warmer once the pubertal transition is completed early vs late development early maturing girls → more likely to experience negative feelings and bad entourages 21  paypal / buymeacoffee early maturing boys → positive feelings but aggressive behavior and bad friend groups late maturing girls → anxiety at first, but effects level once they start to mature late maturing boys → great anxiety, bullying The Adult. The Changing Brain - brain development is never truly complete neurogenesis → the process of generating new neurons across the lifespan - different patterns of brain activity are associated with different cultures: Eastern cultures → collectivist focus Western cultures → individualistic focus - neuron loss is greater in areas that control sensory and motor activities than in areas that control thought or basic functions ❗ middle age brings greater integration of the left and right hemispheres ↳ increase creativity and cognitive functioning scaffolding theory of aging and compensation (STAC) ↳ explains how the adult brain compensates losses by increasing activity in other areas of the brain (ex: prefrontal cortex) The Changing Reproductive System premenstrual syndrome (PMS) → physical symptoms women can have in the weeks before their period premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PDD) → severe form of PMS that adds affective symptoms female menopause menopause → drop in female hormones leading to loss of the menstrual cycle and marks the end of the reproductive ability ↳ around the age of 51 (45-54 years) male andropause ↳ decreasing levels of testosterone lead to low libido, erectile issues, lack of energy, memory problems, and loss of pubic hair Health and Wellness osteoarthritis → degenerative joint disease that causes pain, stiffness, and decreased mobility osteoporosis → bones become weak and brittle, increasing the risk of fractures Theories of Aging programmed theories of aging → aging occurs according to a species-specific genetic program ↳ maximum life span of humans ~ 125 years Hayflick limit → theoretical limit to the number of times a cell can divide before it dies ↳ support for programmed theories of aging 22  paypal / buymeacoffee damage theories → aging is the result of accumulated damage to cells and tissues error theories → aging is caused by errors in DNA replication and other biological processes that accumulate over time - antioxidants neutralize the damage that free radicals do to the body - a caloric restriction lifestyle extends the average longevity and slows down the progression of many age-related diseases 23  paypal / buymeacoffee Sensation, Perception, and Action - chapter 6 Perspectives on Perception constructivists - come down to the side of nurture - perceptions of the world are constructed over time through learning nativists - the nature side - perception is driven by innate capabilities → the brain automatically understands the meanings of different retinal images - perception doesn't require an interpretation based on prior experience Gibson’s ecological model - information essential for perception is readily and directly available in the environment The Infant. - main methods used to study infants: habituation: - present a stimulus repeatedly until habituated, or bored by it - present a new stimulus, and measure response to check whether the infant perceives a difference between the stimuli preferential looking: - present 2 visual stimuli side by side and measure looking time for each stimulus - if the infant looks longer at one stimulus → they can differentiate between them evoked potentials: - record electrical brain activity in different areas of the brain while the infant is exposed to stimuli operant conditioning: - infant is conditioned to react a certain way to a stimulus through reinforcement - change stimulus and if they react the same, they don’t perceive a difference Vision visual acuity → sharpness or clarity of vision ↳ 40 times worse than an adult’s but improves in the first month of life - at 4 months, infants can differentiate colors and categorize similar colors form perception ↳ process whereby the brain interprets the shapes, patterns, and designs of visual stimuli to create a meaningful perceptual experience 1-month-old → focus on contours (boundaries) of objects → tendency for gaze to remain ‘stuck’ on the object 2-months-old → explore interiors of objects thoroughly → get better at shifting attention from one object to another 4-months-old → expect all parts of an object to move in the same direction at the same time → use common motion to determine what’s part of an object - infants show preference for certain patterns: 24  paypal / buymeacoffee - high contrast contours - dynamic or containing movement - moderately complex face perception newborns: - can distinguish a human face from a monkey but don’t show preference for humans - can recognize their mother (at least in simplified displays) - preference for patterns with more information in the upper visual field depth perception 4-months-old: - understanding of size consistency → object is same size despite changes in distance from the eyes visual cliff → research method used to study depth perception in infants and animals ↳ consists of a table with a clear glass surface that creates the illusion of a drop-off ↳ allows researchers to observe one’s tendency to avoid the apparent edge 7-months-old +: - clearly perceive depth and fear drop-offs 2-months-old: - perceive depth but haven’t learned to fear drop-offs yet intuitive theories → innate knowledge about the world that shape perception and learning Hearing - newborns can hear well and localize sounds - prenatal auditory experiences can shape the neural architecture of the brain speech perception - young infants: especially responsive and show preference for speech sounds - newborns begin life ready to learn any language - fetuses can differentiate their mother’s voice from a stranger’s The Chemical Senses: Taste and Smell newborns: - can distinguish: sweet, bitter, and sour - show preference for sweet tastes - can differentiate different concentrations of a substance - basic tastes are innate but more complex flavor perception is learned first 4-6 months after birth: - sensitive period where exposure to certain tastes can influence later acceptance of it - olfaction is working well at birth Somaesthetic Senses ↳ touch, temperature, pressure, kinesthetic sense (where your body is related to other body parts and the environment) - tactile stimulation develops in the cephalocaudal direction - pain is responsive to learning 25  paypal / buymeacoffee Influences on Early Perceptual Development - the visual system requires stimulation early in life to develop normally ↳ first 3 months are critical for later sensitivity to detail and holistic face processing ↳ same principle applies to hearing The Child. - visual acuity improves to adult levels between 4 and 6 years Locomotion - the young child must learn to integrate perception with action in order to move effectively gross motor skills → ability to use large muscle groups to perform movements and actions ↳ ex: crawling, walking, running, jumping ↳ acquired before mastering fine skills fine motor skills → ability to use small muscle groups for precise movements and actions ↳ ex: grasping, manipulating small objects, writing ↑ (gross before fine skills) - early motor development follows the cephalocaudal and proximodistal principles of growth dynamic (action) systems theory ↳ complex motor behaviors emerge over time through a self-organizing process ↓ children modify their motor behavior in adaptive ways based on input from the environment rhythmic stereotypies → repetitive movements or behaviors common in infants ↳ noticed to be performed shortly before the emergence of a new skill - young toddlers can adjust their walking to changes in their body dimensions (ex: weight) and the slope of a walkway - falling while walking helps children learn which surfaces are safe and which are problematic 3-years-old: - can walk and run in a straight line but can’t easily stop or turn while running Integrating Sensory Information cross-modal perception → the ability to integrate and coordinate information from multiple sensory systems (ex: vision, sound) to form a coherent perception of the world ↳ allows individuals to connect and process different types of sensory information Advances in Attention orienting system → helps an individual react to the environment focusing system → helps maintain focus on a particular task (selective attention) - as children get older, 3 things change: 1. longer attention span (5 - 10 years) 2. more selective attention (3½ - 4 years) 3. more systematic attention (6+ years) → plan and carry systematic investigations 26  paypal / buymeacoffee The Adolescent. Attention - improved ability to sustain attention due to increased myelination in brain areas involved in attention - better able to switch attention from one task to another and + ignore irrelevant information + divide attention more systematically - many adolescents engage in multitasking which decreases academic performance Hearing - due to listening to music on high volumes, visual acuity can become compromised tinnitus → most common outcome of noise exposure, constant ringing sound Chemical Senses taste - slight decline in preference for sweets and increase for sour tastes - open up to experimenting with foods smell - women have greater sensitivity to smell - both men and women say that odor is important for selecting a partner The Adult. - sensory and perceptual capacities gradually decline with age sensory thresholds → the point at which low levels of stimulation can be detected ↳ raise with age, stimulation below the threshold can’t be detected Vision pupil → less responsive to changes in lighting conditions and to dim light lens cataract cloudiness of the lens presbyopia thickening or hardening of the lens retina age-related macular photoreceptors in the middle of the retina deteriorate degeneration (AMD) retinitis pigmentosa (RP) deterioration of photoreceptors outside the macula eyeball glaucoma increased fluid pressure in the eyeball - sustained attention is relatively stable during adulthood, peaks at ~ 43 years, then declines - older adults have trouble processing visual information in novel and complex situations 27  paypal / buymeacoffee Hearing - hearing impairment is ~ 3 times as prevalent as visual impairment - hair cells and sensory neurons degenerate gradually ↳ leads to loss of sensitivity to high-pitched sounds = presbycusis - older adults have more difficulty understanding conversation than young adults ↳ they are able to use contextual cues to interpret what they hear Chemical Senses - general decline in sensitivity to taste - produce less saliva - the ability to perceive odors also decreases with age ↳ serious loss of smell impairs quality of life and enjoyment of food Somaesthetic Senses - touch detection threshold increases and sensitivity is gradually lost - sensitivity to temperature changes decreases - sensitivity to pain is not lost 28  paypal / buymeacoffee Cognition - chapter 7 Piaget’s Constructivist Approach - Piaget used the clinical method to discover how children think about problems ↓ open-ended questions, tasks, and problems addressed to children intelligence ↳ ‘basic life function that helps an organism adapt’ - infants’ brains respond to the environment by creating schemas - developmental processes of intelligence: 1. organization → systematically combining existing schemas into more complex ones 2. adaptation → adjusting to the demands of the environment - assimilation → interpreting new experiences in terms of existing schemas - accommodation → modifying existing schemas to better fit new experiences - when new events seriously challenge old schemes → cognitive conflict → cognitive growth equilibration → the process of achieving mental stability challenges to Piaget - 4 common criticisms to Piaget’s theory: 1. underestimated young minds 2. wrongly claiming that broad stages of development exist 3. failing to adequately explain development 4. limited attention to social influences modern take neuroconstructivism theory → knowledge is formed through changes in neural structures in response to experiences Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Perspective - intelligence is held by the group, not the individual closely tied to the language system - children acquire their society’s mental tools by interacting with parents and other older members of the culture zone of proximal development → gap between what one can learn alone and with guidance from others ↳ skills within the range are ripe for development and should be developed - skills outside the proximal zone are either well mastered or too difficult guided participation → method of learning through active participation in culturally relevant activities scaffolding → process that enables a child or novice to solve a problem, carry out a task or achieve a goal which would be beyond his unassisted efforts - tools of thought: → spoken language → shapes thought → private speech → speech to oneself that guides thought and behavior 29  paypal / buymeacoffee ↳ helps with problem-solving Fischer’s Dynamic Skill Framework ↳ proposes that skill levels change and develop (Piaget proposes cognitive structures change) developmental range → abilities vary depending on the context ↳ optimal levels in highly supportive contexts lower levels in unsupportive situations The Infant. Object Permanence object permanence → fundamental understanding that objects continue to exist even if they are no longer visible A-not-B error → infants continue to search for a hidden object in a previously successful location (A), even after seeing it moved to a new location (B) 18 - 24 months of age → capable of mentally representing invisible moves and conceiving of the final location of the object Emergence of Symbols symbolic capacity → the ability to use images, words, or gestures to represent objects substages of the sensorimotor period reflex activity behavior is predominantly reflexive and does not involve coordination or adaptation primary circular reactions coordinate reflexes and body movements to produce repeated patterns that are pleasurable secondary circular reactions intentionally repeat actions that produce interesting or novel effects on the environment coordination of secondary use more complex and intentional actions to achieve goals schemes tertiary circular reactions experiment with different ways of achieving goals, (ex: trying out different solutions to a problem, trial-and-error) beginning of thought begin to use mental symbols and representational thinking to solve problems and plan actions 30  paypal / buymeacoffee The Child. Preschoolers: Symbolic Thinking imaginary companions → play companion invented by a child in the preoperational stage, that has developed symbolic thought ↳ children know their companion is not real, but they help with cognitive and social development and creativity lack of conservation conservation → the idea that some properties of an object don't change when its appearance is altered decentration → the ability to focus on 2 or more dimensions of a problem centration → tendency to focus attention on one aspect of the problem reversibility → the process of mentally reversing an action transformational thought → the ability to conceptualize changes from one state to another ↳ preoperational thinkers have trouble with all of these processes ↳ they engage in static thought → thought fixed on end states transductive reasoning → combining unrelated facts to generate a faulty conclusion egocentrism ↳ difficulty recognizing other points of view difficulty with classification - children change their sorting criteria from moment to moment ↳ they lack the concept of class inclusion → logical understanding that the parts are included within the whole Elementary-Aged Children: Logical Thinking ↳ they get to master: → decentration → transformational thought → reversibility of thought → logical thinking → inductive reasoning → draw cause-effect conclusions logically based on facts → multiple classification → classify objects by multiple dimensions seriation → the ability to arrange objects or events in a specific order transitivity → the ability to understand and logically combine relations between objects or events based on their serial order 31  paypal / buymeacoffee The Adolescent. Emergence of Abstract Thought - formal operations are mental actions on ideas - adolescents can invent ideas contrary to facts and think logically about their implications hypothetical-deductive reasoning → reasoning from general ideas to specific implications Progress Toward Formal Operations - 2 forms of reasoning - intuitive and scientific - coexist in older thinkers ↳ they adopt an intuitive strategy and if the conclusion is clearly incorrect, they switch to scientific reasoning decontextualize → ability to separate prior knowledge from the demands of the task Implications of Formal Thought - adolescents gain a sense of identity, think more complexly, and understand people better adolescent egocentrism → difficulty differentiating one’s own thoughts from others imaginary audience → confusing your own thoughts with those of a hypothesized audience ↳ adolescents feel extremely self-conscious personal fable → tendency to think one’s own thoughts and feelings are unique and nobody can understand them ↳ may also lead to believing rules that apply to others don’t apply to them The Adult. - adults show difficulty with tests of formal operations when they lack expertise in the domain ↳ they use concrete operations in less familiar areas Growth Beyond Formal Operations - formal operations involve applying logic to a closed set of ideas, and not an open one (that characterizes most adult issues) postformal thought → ways of thinking that are more complex than formal operational ones relativistic thinking → understanding that knowledge depends on the context and the subjective perspective of the knower - postformal thinkers seem able to conceive more than one logical solution to a problem dialectical thinking → detecting paradoxes and inconsistencies among ideas and trying to moderate them - older adults tend to categorize objects on the basis of some functional relationship rather than similarity 32  paypal / buymeacoffee Memory and Information processing - chapter 8 Conceptualizing Memory memory → the ability to store and later retrieve information about past events information-processing approach → theoretical framework that conceptualizes the mind as a complex information processing system ↳ mental processes (attention, perception, memory, reasoning) are compared to computer operations - 3 memory components according to the information-processing model: sensory register → shortly holds environmental sensory input short-term memory → holds a limited amount of information for a short time long-term memory → holds information relatively permanently and seems unlimited - steps: encoding, consolidating, storage, retrieval recognition memory → the ability to recognize previously encountered information or stimuli recall memory → the ability to retrieve previously encountered information or stimuli from memory without any cues or prompts ↳ cued recall memory → using a hint to facilitate retrieval working memory → short-term memory used to achieve a goal ↳ 4 component model: central executive → controlling and coordinating the flow of information between: phonological loop (PL)→ temporary stores verbal and auditory information visual-spatial sketchpad (VS)→ temporary stores visual and spatial information episodic buffer → integrates information from PL, VS, and long-term memory into coherent chunks of information implicit and explicit memory implicit memory → unintentional, automatic way of responding, without awareness explicit memory → deliberate and effortful recollection of events ↳ further divided into: semantic memory → general facts episodic memory → specific experiences ↳ the hippocampus is essential for creating new episodic memories neural bases of memory procedural (part of implicit) memory → striatum (forebrain), basal ganglia, and cerebellum explicit memory → medial temporal lobe problem-solving executive control processes → process that guides the selection, organization, manipulation, and interpretation of information parallel processing → process that carries out multiple cognitive activities at the same time 33  paypal / buymeacoffee The Infant. Research Methods Used For Studying Infants habituation ↳ through habituation, researchers discovered that fetuses can show learning and remembering capabilities operant conditioning ↳ research suggests that early memories are cue-dependent and context-specific ↳ even little changes can remove the “remembering” object search ↳ like the A-not-B task by Piaget imitation ↳ infants as young as 6 months show deferred imitation ↓ (the ability to imitate a novel act after a delay) ↳ gets better as infants age - infants present recognition memory from birth and cue recall memory by ~ 2 months The Child. Memory Development - 4 major hypotheses: changes in basic capacities - the brain physically improves, thus working memory gets better - encoding and consolidation processes improve - the speed of mental processes improves due to neuron’s myelination changes in memory strategies preservation errors → continuing to use the same strategy that was successful in the past, despite it not working in the current situation - children learn to use encoding and retrieval improving methods rehearsal → repeating new information to maintain it in working memory or transfer it to long-term memory organization → grouping new information into meaningful categories to enhance storage and retrieval elaboration → actively engaging with new information and making connections to existing knowledge encoding strategies → strategies applied at the time information is presented retrieving strategies → strategies applied when retrieval is sought strategy deficiencies production deficiency → children can use strategies but can’t produce their own utilization deficiency → children can spontaneously produce a strategy but can’t use it yet mediation deficiency → inability to use strategies even if taught how to use them 34  paypal / buymeacoffee increased knowledge of memory metamemory → knowledge of memory and the monitoring and regulating of one’s memory processes metacognition → knowledge of the human mind and its range of cognitive processes increased knowledge of the world knowledge base → organized knowledge used for decision-making in a specific field ↳ affects learning and memory performance Autobiographical Memory autobiographical memories → episodic memories of personal events childhood amnesia → inability of adults to retrieve infancy or early childhood autobiographical memories ↳ 6 reasons for childhood amnesia: 1. lack of space in working memory to properly encode and consolidate 2. lack of language (autobiographical memory relies heavily on language skills) 3. level of sociocultural support (support from caregiver) 4. lack of sense of self 5. verbatim vs. gist storage: fuzzy-trace theory → children store verbatim and general accounts of an event separately verbatim information (word-for-word) → likely to be lost over time gist information (general points) → easier to remember 6. neurogenesis in early life can refresh one’s memory state scripts general event representations (GERs) → scripts about habits ↳ become more detailed with age Problem-Solving rule assessment approach → children’s problem-solving is guided by rules, and they fail when they don’t encode all aspects of the problem and have faulty rules - Siegler ↑ concluded that children use multiple strategies for problem-solving rather than moving from one way to another overlapping waves theory → the development of problem-solving skills is a matter of → knowing many strategies → getting better at selecting the appropriate strategy → changing the strategies if needed → getting better at using known strategies The Adolescent. - strategies become more deliberately used, and new strategies emerge (relevant for school) - the memory strategy elaboration is fully mastered - working memory improves - knowledge base and metacognition improve → ex: adolescents can regulate their study time 35  paypal / buymeacoffee The Adult. Autobiographical Memory - 4 factors that may influence autobiographical memory: 1. personal significance → high significance leads to easier recall 2. distinctiveness → unique events are easier to recall 3. emotional intensity → impactful emotional experiences are easier to recall 4. life phase of event → people remember more from their 20s (reminiscence bump) life script → one’s life story, repeated over and over again, and biased toward positive events Older Age - elders present a large gap between recognition ability and recall ability ↳ information is encoded and stored but not easily recalled without cues - semantic memory > episodic memory - implicit memory > explicit memory - age-related memory loss can be prevented and reduced by reducing stress - knowledge base and metamemory is still good for elders - the use of spontaneous strategies seems to decrease with age problem-solving - older adults don’t do well on traditional problem-solving tasks ↳ don’t ask constraint-seeking questions (questions that rule out more than one item) ↳ they ask very specific questions - problem-solving performance improves when the task is more familiar - elders tend to generate less possible solutions, and the solutions are more goal-focused and selective (quality over quantity) selective optimization with compensation → explains how elders cope and compensate for their decreasing cognitive abilities ↳ 3 processes involved: 1. selection → focus on a limited set of goals and the needed skills 2. optimization → practicing those skills 3. compensation → develop ways around the missing needed skills 36  paypal / buymeacoffee Intelligence and Creativity - chapter 9 Defining Intelligence and Creativity - Piaget defined intelligence as thinking or behavior that is adaptive to the situation and environment - other experts defined intelligence as abstract thinking or effective problem-solving psychometric approach - defines intelligence as a set of traits that characterizes some more than others - Spearman 2-factor theory of intelligence: 1. general mental ability → performance on all kinds of tasks 2. special abilities → specific to a particular kind of task fluid intelligence → the ability to use your mind actively to solve problems, in a flexible way ↳ reasoning, seeing relationships between stimuli, raw information processing power crystallized intelligence → the use of knowledge acquired throughout life IQ = mental age/chronological age) ✕ 100 Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences - 8 or 9 distinct intellectual abilities: spatial → visualizing the world in 3D naturalist → understanding living things and reading nature musical → discerning sounds (pitch, tone, rhythm, timbre) logical mathematical → quantifying things, making and proving hypotheses existential → tackling the questions about life and death interpersonal → being empathic bodily-kinesthetic → coordinating the mind with the body linguistic → finding the right words to express intentions intrapersonal → understanding oneself, one’s own feelings and desires savant syndrome → a person can be very good at one thing but very bad at others prodigies → people with one or more extraordinary abilities Sternberg’s triarchic theory of intelligence - 3 components that contribute to intelligence: 1. practical intelligence → the ability to apply knowledge and skills to solve real-life problems and adapt to new situations 2. creative intelligence → the ability to generate novel and useful solutions to problems 3. analytic intelligence → the ability to analyze, compare, and evaluate information to solve problems successful intelligence consists of being able to: → establish and achieve realistic goals (consistent with skills and situations) → optimize strengths and minimize weaknesses → adapt by selecting and adapting to a good environment → use all 3 components of intelligence Creativity convergent thinking → finding the correct answer to a problem 37  paypal / buymeacoffee divergent thinking → generating multiple, creative solutions to a problem ideational fluency → the sheer number of different ideas one can come up with investment theory of creativity - creativity emerges from a junction of 6 factors: 1. the 3 types of intelligence (triarchic model) 2. enough knowledge of something to assess the current state and what’s missing 3. thinking style that involves mentally playing with ideas 4. personality style that can go outside the box 5. motivation to stay focused and not give up 6. environment that supports creativity The Infant. - standard IQ tests can’t be used for infants Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID): 1. motor scale measurements → movement abilities (ex: grasping) 2. cognitive scale → thinking style and reactions 3. language scale → preverbal communication, developing vocabulary skills ↳ General Adaptive Composite → score that compares to others of the same age - from around 2 years of age real individual differences emerge - infant IQ doesn’t seem to predict later IQ, but the speed of habituation, reaction time, and preference for novelty do ↳ information processing efficiency can predict later intelligence The Child. - throughout childhood IQ is quite stable but depends on the individual - children who show changeable IQ scores tend to live in unstable environments - child poverty leads to decreased levels of IQ - gains in IQ and creativity occur due to good and stimulating home environments The Emergence of Creativity - creativity initially increases until age 6 but the decreases due to pressures to group conformation in school - possible increases in creativity occur from high school to adulthood - in education, convergent thinking is emphasized - genetic influences are important for individual differences in IQ insignificant for creativity ↳ home environments and parents have a significant impact on creativity 38  paypal / buymeacoffee The Adolescent. - changes in the brains of teenagers reflect: → impressive cognitive advances → better and more stable IQ scores that predict later IQ more strongly Flynn Effect Flynn effect → phenomenon where the average IQ scores have increased everywhere ↳ cannot be caused by genetic evolution, thus the environment - education and improved economic conditions - must be the cause IQ and School Achievement - IQ tests are very good predictors of academic achievement in adolescence ↳ motivation and work habits are also influential - the ability to elaborate on ideas (which is creative) increases in adolescence because it is rewarded by education Fostering Creativity - talent and motivation are important for people to flourish in creative fields - good knowledge base in a field is a necessary component of creativity The Adult. - general intelligence is related to income, occupation, and job performance - IQ is correlated with health and longevity dysrationalia → inability to think and behave rationally despite having good intelligence dual process approach to cognition - suggest 2 ways of thinking: system 1: (cognitive miser) - automatic → based on heuristics - can generate responses almost without thinking - easy and quick - can generate incorrect answers system 2: - slow and deliberate - rational - usually generates correct answers Changes In IQ With Age - intelligence seems stable over adulthood ↳ cohort differences are noticed - fluid intelligence declines earlier and more than crystallized intelligence - the working memory weakens as people age - cognitively stimulating activities can reduce the decline of fluid intelligence ❗ ↳ intellectual decline is not universal 39  paypal / buymeacoffee predictors of decline - poor health and an unstimulating lifestyle are good predictors of decline in intelligence terminal drop → decline in intellectual abilities within a few years of death due to diseases - married adults intellectually influence each other Wisdom - wisdom is not the same as intelligence - definitions of wisdom: → a mix of rich factual knowledge about life, and procedural knowledge (ex: strategies for giving advice) → successful intelligence combined with creativity to solve problems that require balancing multiple perspectives ↳ knowledge of life prosocial values self-understanding emotional balance spirituality acceptance of uncertainty - age is not a good predictor of wisdom ↳ knowledge base, life experiences that sharpen insight, and social context influence wisdom Creative Efforts - in youth, creative achievement requires enthusiasm ↳ in the old years, it requires experience - Simonton suggests that creative activity involves: ideation → generating creative ideas elaboration → executing ideas to produce something - creative behavior becomes less frequent later in life, but is still possible Factors That Influence IQ Scores Over The Life Span genes and environments - individual differences exist because of an interaction between genetics and environment - the influence of genes increases over the life span from 20% in infancy to 80% in elders ↳ still, genes need the environment to express - the socioeconomic status affects IQ scores and the rate of intellectual growth cumulative-deficit hypothesis → impoverished environments inhibit intellectual growth, and the effects of this accumulate over time - most influential factors on child IQ scores are: → parental involvement with the child → opportunity for stimulation (the stimulation must match the child’s competencies) race and ethnicity - racial and ethnic differences in IQ scores exist but could be the result of: → biased tests → motivational factors (fear of judgment, stereotype threat → fear of confirming a stereotype) → genetic and environmental differences 40  paypal / buymeacoffee The Extremes of Intelligence intellectual disability → significantly below-average intellectual functioning with limitations in adaptive behavior, originating before the age of 18 ↳ IQ of 70-75 or lower: mild (52-70) moderate (35-51) severe (20-34) profound (below 19) → usually biological causes - intellectually impaired children usually have other impairments as well giftedness → significantly above-average intellectual functioning, usually with very special abilities or talents - the Characteristics of Giftedness Scale used to identify gifted children found that gifted children have the following attributes: rapid learning extensive vocabulary good memory long attention span perfectionism preference for older companions excellent sense of humor early interest in reading strong ability with puzzles and mazes maturity perseverance on tasks - research suggest there is a strong genetic influence on giftedness 41  paypal / buymeacoffee Language and Education - chapter 10 The System of Language language → communication system in which many signals are combined according to rules to produce an infinite number of messages basic components phonemes → units of sound that can change the meaning of a word morphemes → units of meaning that exist in a word - to learn a language one must master: syntax → systematic rules for forming sentences semantics → rules about meanings pragmatics → rules for appropriate language use in different contexts - producing meaningful speech involves prosody (how sounds are produced: pitch, intonation) biology - language is mainly produced in the left hemisphere: Broca’s area → speech production Wernicke’s area → comprehension of language ↳ connected through the arcuate fasciculus - the right hemisphere deals with processing the melody or rhythm of speech - acquiring language has a genetic basis: FOXP2 gene associated with necessary motor skills for speech theories: nature and nurture - nativists believe humans are born with knowledge of universal grammar (system of common rules to learn any language) - exposure to a language activates the language acquisition device to aid learning a specific language poverty of the stimulus → concept that argues that the input from the environment is not sufficient to account for the remarkable speed and success of language acquisition - conversational parents help the language development of their child by: → expanding their spoken words → using child-directed speech - sign language development is similar to regular spoken language development 42  paypal / buymeacoffee The Infant. Mastering Language word segmentation ability → understanding a sentence is a string of words, not a long word ↳ present by 7.5 months the first words - by 5 months, infants realize sounds can affect their caregiver’s reactions 6-8 weeks → cooing (repeating vowels - ‘aaah’) 4-6 months → babbling (‘dadada’) - at first, infants understand words based on attentional cues (they think the speech is about what they’re looking at) - by 12 months they start using social and linguistic cues such as joint attention → two people looking at the same thing syntactic bootstrapping → using a word’s location in a sentence to understand the meaning holophrases → single word conveying a sentence’s worth of meaning ↳ nouns are first vocabulary spurt → rapid increase in an infant’s vocabulary (~ 18 months) fast mapping → process by which children learn and remember the meaning of a new word after hearing it only a few times, often with minimal context or feedback - common errors in infant’s speech overextension → using a word too broadly (using dog for all animals) underextension → using a word too narrowly (using dog only for their own dog) ↳ these errors fade around 2.5 - 3 years - 2 words sentences emerge around 18-24 months telegraphic speech → short, concise utterances consisting of mainly content words without grammatical markers or unnecessary words, similar to telegrams - between 2 and 5 years there is a dramatic increase in sentences overregularization → overapplying new learned rules (ex: foots instead of feet) transformational grammar → rules for turning sentences into questions or negatives mastery motivation → innate and universal striving for competence in infants The Child. Expanding Language Skills metalinguistic awareness → knowledge of the language as a system achievement motivation fixed mindset → beliefs that one’s abilities are fixed, leading to low motivation growth mindset → belief that one’s abilities are changeable, leading to increased motivation - factors that influence the development of a fixed or growth mindset: child contributions: → mastery goals → wanting to learn new things to improve their abilities → performance goals → wanting to prove an ability → involvement in self-regulated learning 43  paypal / buymeacoffee parent contributions: → providing good balance of structure for daily activities → offering consistent and supportive responses → giving opportunities to observe healthy responses to challenges school contributions: → schools create performance goals (not so good) Learning to Read ↳ requires direct instructions - children must first understand the alphabetic principle (written letters represent sounds): 1. pre-alphabetic phase → memorize visual cues to remember words 2. partial alphabetic phase → learn the shapes and sounds of letters 3. full alphabetic phase → know all letters and can make full connections ↳ rely on phonological awareness → enables to segment words into phonemes 4. consolidated alphabetic phase → group letters that commonly occur together emergent literacy → developmental precursor of reading skills ↳ knowledge, skills, and attitudes that facilitate learning to read dyslexia → learning disability that causes reading problems due to different neural pattern activity in response to speech sounds The Adolescent. - expectations of success and self-perception of abilities decline - to maintaining and stimulate good achievement: → give students more control → try to match their interests more → stimulate mastery goals → offer a supportive environment Cultural Differences - Asian individuals do better on academic achievement due to: → differences in work ethic → having a growth mindset → feeling greater pressure from parents → stereotype promises → individuals attempt to conform to the stereotypes associated with their social group Pathway to Adulthood - IQ generally remains stable from childhood to adulthood - working