Exam 1

3 areas of child development

1. biological processes
2. cognitive processes
3. socio-emotional processes

Why do we study child development?

A. raising/educating children
B. social policy (ex. do not use leading questions in testimonies from children)
C. understanding human nature (the timing of experiences influences their effects - adoption 6 months or earlier)

Plato's view of Child Development

emphasized self-control and discipline; knowledge is innate

Aristotle's view of Child Development

child rearing should be fit to needs of the individual; knowledge comes from experience ( the mind of an infant is like a blackboard)

Locke's view of Child development

tabula rasa- blank slate
instill character and discipline then increase freedom

Rousseau's view of Child development

Children should be given maximum freedom at birth
Form education begins @ 12 - "age of reason"

Social Reform Movements

Industrial revolution - child labor with no legal protection was common; reformers sought to change and instituted earliest child labor laws

Nature

biological endowment, the genes we inherit from our parents influences physical, personality, intellect and mental health

Nurture

a wide range of environments that influence development (can be physical-womb or neighborhood- or social - peer-)

Turkheimer study

The relation between IQ (nature) and home environment (nurture) was stronger for children from impoverished backgrounds

The Active Child

Children increasing contribute to their own development (attention, crib speech, fantasy play); older children select environments, friends and activities

Continuous Development

age-related change occurs gradually

Discontinuous Development

age-related changes include large shifts, children seem qualitatively different

Effortful attention

the voluntary control of one's emotions and thoughts - inhibiting impulses, controlling emotions, and focusing attention

What is poor effortful attention related to?

behavioral problems, poor academic skills, and mental illness (ADHD)

Sociocultural Context

physical, social, cultural, economic, and historic circumstances that make up any child's environment which can be affected by race, ethnicity and SES (social economic status)

Individual Differences in children are due to:

- differences in genes
- interactions with others
- interpretations of interactions
- choice of environments (active child)

Benefits of Research on Children's Welfare

1. Anger control and eye witness testimony
2. Preferential looking tasks can be used to diagnose cataracts even tho the child cannot describe his/her vision
3. View of intelligence as unfixed = students respond better to failure

Steps of the Scientific Method

1. Choose a question
2. Formulate a hypothesis
3. Develop a method to study to test the hypothesis
4. Draw a conclusion

Reliability

consistency - the degree to which the independent measures are consistent

Interrater reliability

results are similar with different raters

Test-retest reliability

when a test is administered over and over again, the same results should be reached

Validity

the test measures what you intended it to measure

Internal validity:

can the effects within the experiment be attributed to the variables that the researcher has intentionally manipulated?

External validity

can the findings be generalized to different children, measures, and experimental procedures across different groups

structured interview

all participants are asked to answer the same questions

Clinical interview

questions are adjusted in accord with the answers the interviewee provides (caution: answers may be biased)

Naturalistic Observation

used when the primary goal of research is to describe how children behave in their usual environments

Limitations of Naturalistic Observations

- it is hard to know which naturally occurring contexts influenced the behavior of interest
- many behaviors occur only occasionally in everyday environments
- it is hard to know what is influencing the behaviors
- time consuming

Structured observation

presenting an identical situation to a number of children and recording each child's behavior, enabling direct comparisons of different children's behavior and making it possible to establish the generality of behaviors across different tasks

Limitations to Structured observations

- does not provide as much information about children's subjective experiences
- not as natural
- could be less generalizable

Direction of Causation Problem

it is not possible to tell which variable is the cause and which is the effect

Third Variable Problem

a correlation between two variables may arise from both being influenced by some third variable

Experimental Designs

- allows inferences about causes and effects
- rely on random assignment
- experimental controls

Experimental controls

the ability of the researcher to determine the specific experiences that children have during the course of an experiment

Cross-sectional design

children of different ages are compared on a given behavior or characteristic over a short period of time

Longitudinal design

used when the same children are studied twice or more over a substantial period of time

Microgenetic design

used to provide an in-depth depiction of processes that produce change
Children on the verge of important developmental change are provided with heightened exposure to the type of experience that is believed to produce the change

Preformation

prenatal life begins with the new individual already preformed-composed of a full set of small parts (lodged in either the sperm or egg)

Epigenesis

the emergence of new structures and functions during development

Conception

the union of two gametes - the egg and the sperm

Germinal Stage of prenatal development

conception to 2 weeks - lasts until the zygote becomes implanted in the uterine wall; rapid cell division takes place

Embryonic Stage

3rd to 8th week - major development occurs in the organs and systems of the body

Fetal Stage

learning experiences in the fetus

4 Major Developmental Processes

1. Cell division results in the proliferation of cells
2. Cell migration - movement of cells from their point of origin to somewhere else in the embryo
3. Cell differentiation transforms the embryo's unspecialized stem cells into different types of cells
4. Apoptosis - genetically programmed cell death (need this 4 development of hands and fingers,etc)

Phylogenetic Continuity

Because of our common evolutionary history, humans share some characteristics and developmental processes with other animals (Especially mammals)

Identical Twins

originate from the splitting in half of the inner cell mass, resulting in the developmental of genetically identical individuals

Fraternal twins

two eggs are released into the fallopian tubes at the same time and are fertilized by different sperm

Neural tube

U-shaped groove formed from the top layer of differentiated cells in the embryo which becomes the brain and spinal cord eventually

Placenta

allows for the exchanged of materials between the bloodstream of the fetus and that of the mother

Umbilical Cord

tube that contains the blood vessels that travels from the placenta to the developing organism and back again

Placental membrane

a barrier against some but not all toxins and infectious agents

Amniotic sac

a membrane filled with fluid in which the fluid floats - providing protection for the fetus

Behavioral cycles

become stable during the 2nd half of pregnancy, circadian rhythms are present, fetus's sleep and wake states are similar to those of the newborn

Habituation

the fetus' decreased response to repeated or continued stimulation

Teratogens

environmental agents that have the potential to cause harm during prenatal development (timing is a crucial factor in the severity of the effects - sensitive periods)

dose-response relation

the effect of exposure to an element increases with the extent of the exposure

Cigarettes

linked to retarded growth and low birth weight
has been linked to SIDS

How to Reduce Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)

not smoking, putting babies to sleep on their backs, using firm mattresses and no pillows, avoid wrapping infants in lots of blankets or clothing

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)

associated with mental retardation, facial deformity, and other problems

Marijuana

affects memory, learning, and visual skills after birth

Cocaine

cognitive and social defects

PCBs - Environmental pollutants and occupational hazards

associated with small head size as newborns and slighter lower IQ scores as long as 11 years later

Factors that Affect Prenatal development

1. Age
2. Nutrition
3. Disease
4. Emotional State

Effects of poor nutrition

- smaller brain size
- more unresponsive, irritable
- higher risk of spina bifida (neural tube defect)

Disease - Rubella

Early in pregnancy can result in malformations, deafness, blindness, and mental retardation (moms need to be vaccinated_

Psychopathology

Schizophrenia and prenatal flu in the first trimester

Emotional State

high levels of stress during pregnancy can result in increased physical activity during gestation, higher levels of behavioral problems - boys showed higher hyperactivity and inattention and girls higher conduct disorder and emotional problems

Squeezing at birth serves important functions

1. temporarily reduces size of baby's oversized head
2. stimulates hormones that aid in oxygen deprivation, as well as forcing amniotic fluid out of the lungs

State of Arousal

the infant's level of arousal and engagement in the environment

Six States of Arousal

1. Active Sleep
2. Quiet Sleep
3. Crying
4. Active Awake
5. Alert Awake
6. Drowsing

REM (rapid eye movement

active sleep state associated with dreaming in adults and is characterized by quick, jerky, eye movements under closed lids

Non-REM sleep

a quiet or deep sleep state characterized by the absence of motor activity or eye movements and by regular slow brain waves and heart rate

Autostimulation theory

brain activity during REM sleep in the fetus and newborn makes up for natural deprivation of external stimuli and facilitates the early development of the visual system

Colic

excessive, inconsolable crying

Infant mortality

death during the first year after birth

low birth weight (lbw)

infants weighing less than 5.5 pounds (2,500 grams)

Premature

LBW infants born at or before 46 weeks after conception

Small for gestation age

LBW infants whose birth weight is substantially less than the normal for their gestational age

Developmental resilience

successful developmental in the face of multiple and seemingly overwhelming developmental hazards

Genotype

the genetic material an individual inherits (chromosomes)

Phenotype

the observable expression the genotype - body characteristics and behavior

Environment

every aspect of the individual and his and her surroundings, other than genes

genes

sections of the chromosomes that are the basic units of heredity

karotype

picture of your chromosomes

Mutations

changes in the sections of DNA caused by random or environmental factors

Random assortment

shuffling of the 23 pairs of chromosomes in the sperm and egg - change determines which member of the pair goes into the new sperm and egg

Crossing over

sections of DNA switch from one chromosome to another during meiosis - increases genetic variability

Regulatory genes

control the continuous switching on and off of genes that underline development across the lifespan

Alleles

two or more different forms of a human gene

Polygenetic inheritance

traits are governed by more than one gene - applies to most traits and behaviors of interest (shyness, aggression ,etc)

norm of reaction

all the phenotypes that can theoretically result from a given genotype in relation to all the environments in which it can survive and develop

PKU - Phenylketonuria

Gene-Environment interaction - children can't metabolize phenylalanine but with early detection and the right diet, retardation can be avoided

Parent's Contribution to Child's Environment

interactions, home, encouragement, experiences
the parent's behavior toward the child and preferences for the environmental experiences that parents select are genetically influenced

Children's Phenotype to Environment

Children are active creators of the environment in which they live - select surrounds and experiences that support their interests, talents, and personality

Neurons

specialized cells that are the basic units of the brain's information system

Cell body

contains the basic biological material that keeps the neuron functioning

Dendrites

receives input form other cells and conducts it toward the cell body

Axon

conducts electrical signals to connections with other neurons

Glial Cells

- brain's whiter matter
-critical support system for the brain
- play a role in communication within the brain

Myelin sheath

structure around certain axons that provide insulation that increases the speed and efficiency of information and transformation

Lobes

major areas of the cortex that are associated with different categories of behavior

Occipital lobe

processes visual information

temporal lobe

involved in memory, visual recognition, and the processing of emotion and auditory information

parietal lobe

governs spatial processing and integrates sensory input with information in memory

frontal lobe

organizes behavior and is responsible for planning

Cerebral lateralization

the two hemispheres are specialized for different modes of processing

Corpus Callosum

a dense tract of fibers through which the cerebral hemispheres communicate

Neurogenesis

the proliferation of neurons through cell division - neurons migrate to their destinations where they grow and differentiate (in the cortex - most intense period occurs after birth)

Myelination

a fatty sheath of myelin that forms around some axons in order to increase speech and information-processing abilities

Synaptogenesis

each neuron forms synapses with thousands of other neurons, resulting in the formation of trillions of connections

Synaptic pruning

Cutting out of neurons and synapses that are not needed or used - occurs at different times in different areas of the brain and is not fully completed until adolescence

How do variations in behavior and development result?

combination of genetic and environmental factors

Mulitfactorial traits

traits affected by environmental factors and genes

Heritability

the amount of variance on a given trait among individuals in a given population due to genetic differences

Limitations of Heritability Estimates

1. only apply to populations, not individuals
2. apply only to a particular group
3. differ greatly for groups who grew up in very different environments
4. high heritability does not imply immutability
4. say nothing about differences between groups

What may the second wave of synaptic production and pruning be due to?

the impulsive and irrational behavior of adolescents

EEG (electoencephalographic)

recordings of electrical activity generated by neurons

What have EEG studies shown?

right side of frontal area more activity for - negative emotions
left - positive emotions

Electrophysiological Recordings (event-related potentials)

record changes in the brain's electrical activity in response to the presentation of a particular stimulus (used to study speech discrimination and memory)

fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging)

uses a powerful magnet to produce powerful colorful images representing cerebral blood flow in different areas of the brain

PET (positron emission tomography)

uses a radioactive material injected into the brain for diagnostic purposes

Plasticity

ability of the brain to be affected by experience

Neural Darwinism

Synapses that are frequently activated are preserved, and ones that are not used are pruned

Timing and Plasticity

1. Worst time to suffer brain damage is when neurogenesis and neuron migration are occurring
2. Greatest plasticity is when synapses generating and pruning are occurring

Failure-to-thrive (FTT)

infants become malnourished and fail to grow for no apparent medical reasons
associated with disturbances in mother-child interactions

In Piaget's Theory Children are seen as:

1. Active
2. Learning many important lessons on their own
3. Intrinsically motived to learn

Assimilation

process by which people translate information into a form in which they can understand (integrating reality into your current view)

Accommodation

process where people adapt current knowledge structure in response to experiences (changing views to match reality)

Equilibration

people balance assimilation and accommodation to create stable understanding

Central properties of Piaget's stage theory

1. Changes are qualitative
2. Brief transitions
3. You can't skip changes (invariant sequences)
4. Broad applicability across topics and contexts

Sensorimotor Stage

(birth - 2 years) infants know the world through their senses and actions (touching, seeing, smelling, hearing)

Pre-operational Stage

(2-7) Acquire the ability to internally represent the world through language and mental imagery; begin to see the world from other' peoples perspectives

Concrete Operational (7-12)

Begin to think logically - use classifications for objects and being to understand that events can be influenced by multiple factors

Formal Operational

(12+) Systematically and reason about what might be as well as what it is- understand politics, sci fi, and engage in scientific reasoning

Symbolic representation

use of one object to stand for another

Egocentrism

perceive the world from only one's point of view

Centration

the tendency to focus on a single object or limitation

Task Analysis

identification of goals, relevant information in the environment, and potential processing strategies (information processing theories)

Information processing theories

precise specification of the processes involved in children's thinking

Sensation

processing of basic information from the external world by the sensory receptors in the sensory organs and the brain

Perception

process of organizing and interpreting sensory information about the objects, events, and spatial layouts of our surround world

Preferentail-looking technique

showing infants two patterns or two objects @ the same time to see if they have a preference over the other - used to look for cataracts in babies

Contrast Sensitivity

the ability to detect differences in light and dark areas

COnes

light sensitive neurons in the eyes

Perceptual constancy

the perception of objects as being constant in size, shape, color, in spite of physical differences in the retinal image of the object

Optical expansion

a depth cue in which an object occludes increasing more of the background, indicating that the object is approaching

Stereopsis

processing by which the visual cortex combines the differing neural signals caused by binocular diversity

Auditory localization

tendency for newborns to turn towards sounds

encoding

the process of representing specific features of memories or objects in the memory

Two things that increase processing speed:

myelination and connectivity

Selective Attention

process of intentionally focusing on information that is most relevant to the current goal

Overlapping Wave Theories

Children use a variety of techniques to solve problems and with age and experience those that become most successful become more prevalent

Core Knowledge Theories

Emphasize the sophistication of infants’ and young children’s thinking in areas that have been important throughout human evolutionary history. - children have specialized learning abilities

Evidence for specialized learning mechanism

Face perception
Language

Guided participation

More knowledgeable individuals set up activities for less knowledgeable individuals which allows them to engage at a higher level than they could on their own

Intersubjectivity

the mutual understand that people share during communication

joint attention

social partners intentionally focus on a common object in the external environment

Social Scaffolding

more competent people provide a temporary framework that supports children's thinking @ a higher level than children could manage on their own

Dynamic Systems theories

Varied aspects of the child function as a single, integrated whole to produce a behavior - children's specific actions shape their development

Exam 1

Psychology 560 with Gagne at University of Wisconsin - Madison

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