AS PSYCHOLOGY A SOCIAL SCIENCE
Chapter Eleven- Reading Notes
Zygote- one celled organism formed by the union of sperm and egg, conception Prenatal period- conception until birth, nine months of pregnancy Prenatal period is divided into three phases: 1.germinal stage (1st two weeks)- within first 36 hours of conception rapid cell division, on 17th day embryo moves up uterine cavity to implant itself on uterine wall (process takes about a week but far from auto, 20% pregs end here without the women even knowing she was preg. Placenta forms (structure that allows oxygen and nutrients to pass into the fetus from mothers blood stream, also gets rid of waste 2.embryonic stage (2 weeks- 2months)-organs and bodily systems begin to form, cell division becomes more specialized, begins to look human, stage of great vulnerability because most things are just forming 3. fetal stage (2months-birth)- muscles and bones begin to form, senses become functional, final three months brain cells multiply rapidly Age of viablility- 22-26 wks baby can survive in event of premature birth At 22-23 weeks probability of survival is 14-26% but at 26weeks 80-80% FIGURE 11.2 PAGE 421! Low birth weight is associated with increased risk of heart disease and diabetes later on in life Fetal Alcohol Syndrome causes microcephaly, heart defects, irritability, heart defects and delayed mental/motor development Motor development- progression of muscular coordination required for physical activities Cephalocaudal trend- head to foot direction of motor development, children tend to gain control of upper body first Proximodistal trend- center outward direction of motor development Infants typically triple their birth weight during their first year, height increases by about 45%, lengthy periods of no growth punctuated by sudden bursts of growth Maturation- development that reflects the gradual unfolding of one's genetic blueprint, genetically programmed physical changes that come with age New view says infants motor development is driven by their ongoing exploration of their world and their need to master specific tasks Developmental norms- indicate median age at which individuals display various behaviors and abilities Cross-cultural research has highlighted dynamic interplay between experience and maturation motor development, rapid motor development has been observed in cultures that provide special practice in basic motor skills (Kenyan tribes trains babies to walk and sit up) Temperament- characteristic mood, activity level, emotional reactivity Longitudinal design- investigators observe one group of participants repeatedly over a period of time(more sensitive to developmental changes)
Cross sectional design- compare groups of participants of differing age at a single point in time (more quickly, easily and cheaply completed) Thomas and Chess identified three basic styles of temperament in kids 1. easy children- (40%) happy, regular in eating and sleeping, adaptable, not easily upset 2. slow-to-warm-up children- (15%) less cheery and less reg. in eating and sleeping and slower in adapting to change, emotional reactivity was moderate 3. difficult children- (10%) glum, erratic sleep and eat, irritable 4. 35% showed a mixture of these three temperaments Childs temperament at 3 months was a fair indicator of it at age 10 Temperament stabilizes around age one or two Jerome Kagan- 15-20% of infants display an inhibited temperament (shy timid, wary of the unknown) 25-30% uninhibited temperament, less restrained, reasonably stable into young adult hood Attachment- close, emotional bonds of affection that develop between infants and their care givers Attachment is not instantaneous in humans, takes 6-8months for infants to show profound preference fort their mother (1st manifestation of separation anxiety) Separation anxiety- emotional distress seen in many infants when they are separated from people whom they have formed an attachment with Separation anxiety peaks around 14-18months and declines from there Attachment has a biological basis Mary Ainsworth showed that infant-mother attachments vary in quality (3 cat.) 1. secure attachment- comfortable with the mother present, visibly upset when she leaves and quickly calmed when she returns 2. anxious-ambivalent- anxious with mother near, protest excessively when she leaves, not particularly comforted when she returns 3. avoidant- seek little contact with mother and not upset when she leaves Fourth category added later 4. Disorganized-disoriented- confused whether they should approach or avoid their mother, insecure Mothers who are sensitive and responsive to kids needs foster secure attachment, also depends on infants temperament vs. mothers sensitivity Infants with secure attachment tend to become resilient, competent toddlers with high self esteem; in pre-school they display more persistence, curiosity, leadership... Study of mostly white middle class subjects found 65% of infants display secure attachment, 20% avoidant, and 15% anxious-ambivalent John Bowlby focused on evolutionary impact of attachment, increased survival, contemporary evolutionary psychologists say it improves reproductive fitness (passing on their genes) Jay Belsky (PAGE 430) Freud believed that basic foundation of a persons personality was laid down by the age of 5 Erik Erikson (1963) believed foundation was laid down in childhood but was not a permanent stamp, personality evolved over a life time, developed a stage theory
Stage- developmental period during which characteristic patterns of behavior are exhibited and certain capacities become established, (1) stages are cumulative, (2) passing through stages related to age (3) development is marked by major discontinuities that usher in dramatic transitions in behavior Erikson partitioned life span into eight stages, each of which brings a psychosocial crisis involving transitions in important social relationships SEE PAGE 431-432 for more on Erikson's theory Erikson's theory positives- accounts for both continuity and transition in personality development, theory also continues to guide a far amount of research Erikson's theory negatives- theory development depended on heavily illustrated case studies which are open to varied interpretations, cannot explain enormous personality differences between people Cognitive development- transitions in kids patterns of thinking, including reasoning, remembering and problem solving Jean Piaget, administered IQ tests to many children and became intrigued be the reasoning underlying a kids wrong answer, thought how children use their intelligence was more interesting than how intelligent they were Piaget had own stage theory of development (Four stages) 1. Sensorimotor period- (birth to age 2), gradual appearance of symbolic thought, in beginning kids behavior dominated by innate reflexes but by end of the stage kid can used mental symbols to represent objects (object performance- objects continue to exist when they are no longer visible), starts at 4-8months mastered around 18months 2. Preoperational- (age 2-7) (beaker example from class) kids not yet aware of conservation according and to Piaget caused by centration (kids focus on just one feature of a problem, neglecting other important aspects), irreversibility(inability to envision reversing an action) and egocentrism (thinking is characterized by a limited ability to share another persons view point, also animism- belief that all things are living) 3. Concrete Operational- (7-11) kids master decentration and reversibility also marks a decline in egocentrism and leads to gradual mastery of conservation 4. Formal Operational- (11+) can apply operations to abstract thought, use logic in reasoning Piaget believed that interaction with their environment gradually altered the way kids think, kids progress through assimilation and accommodation Assimilation- interpreting new experiences in terms of existing mental structures without changing them Accommodation- changing existing mental structures to explain new experiences Criticisms of Piaget's theory: 1. underestimated young kids cognitive development, researchers have found kids begin to develop object permanence as early as 3-4months 2. Stage theory has little to say about individual differences 3. Piaget thought his theory was universal everywhere, all the time but the timetable that children follow in passing through stages varies considerably across cultures
Lev Vygotsky- sociocultural theory created around same time as Piaget's, principle book was called Though and Language wasn't really read until 1980's even though he died in 1937 Vygotsky thought cognitive development was fueled by social interactions, culture exerts great influence on cognitive growth, language acquisition plays a crucial, central role in cognitive development (countered Piaget's weaknesses) Vygotsky saw cognitive development as more of an apprenticeship than a journey of individual discovery Zone of proximal development (ZDP)- gap between what a learner can accomplish alone and what he or she can achieve with guidance from more skilled partners Scaffolding- when the assistance is provided to a child is adjusted as learning progresses Vygotsky- language is a foundation for kids cognitive processes Habituation- gradual reduction in strength of a response when a stimulus event is repeated over and over Dishabituation- new stimulus elicits an increase in strength of an habituated response Habituation vs. Dishabituation can give insights into which kind of events infants can tell apart At 3-4months kids understand that objects exist and have distinct boundaries... At 9-12months kids can categorize distinct objects, IE food, toys... Nativists- humans are prewired to readily understand certain concepts but don't make any assumptions about why this is Evolutionary theorists- agree with nativists but are interested in why, see it as a product of natural selection but wonder it's adaptive significance Lawrence Kohlberg- Morality Stage Theory, developed from Piaget's theory and thought that morality was determined by cognitive development Kohlberg's theory focuses on moral reasoning rather than overt behavior, he wondered not what decisions people made, but WHY they made them SEE FIGURE 11.17 PAGE 440 Pre-conventional level- kids think in terms of external authority, acts are wrong because they are punished and right because they lead to positive consequences Conventional level- see rules as necessary for maintaining social order, follow rules to be virtuous and win approval from others not avoid punishment, moral thinking relatively inflexible- rules are absolute guidelines Post-conventional level- personal code of ethics Critics of Kohlberg's stage theory: 1. Not unusual to find a person that shows several adjacent levels of moral reasoning at a particular point in development (mixing of stages is a common problem for all stage theories) 2. Researchers have focused too heavily on how people reason about the specific dilemma's devised boy Kohlberg 3. Sizable cultural disparities have been found in people's progress through Kohlberg's stages Rising levels of leptin (hormone that reflects body's fat cell storage) may lead to adolescent growth spurt Growth spurt starts at about age 10 in girls and about age 12 in boys
Pubescence- The two years prior to puberty (not able to reproduce yet) Secondary Sex Characteristics- physical features that distinguish the sexes but are not essential for reproduction Puberty marks the beginning of adolescence In females puberty is signified by menarche- first occurrence of menstruation (12-13) and sexually mature until age 16 In males puberty is signified by spermarche (13-14) and sexually mature until age 18 Girls now-a-days beginning puberty earlier and complete it sooner but not males and scientists don't know why Girls who mature early and boys who mature late find adolescent transition harder Early puberty in boys/girls associated with greater use of alcohol and drugs Volume of white matter increases during adolescence, neurons are becoming more myelinated which leads to increased conductivity and connectivity in the brain Volume of gray matter decreases- synaptic pruning/elimination of less active synapses Changes in gray/white matter are most pronounced in prefrontal cortex-area of brain seen as `executive control center' (high level cognitive functions) G Stanley Hall, proposed adolescent years are marked by instability and inner turmoil Ratio of suicide attempts to deaths can range anywhere from 8-1 to 25-1 when all age groups are lumped together but with adolescents ratio ranges from 100-1 to 200-1 2% of adolescent males attempt suicide each year and 5% of females do BUT completed boys suicide rates are 6x higher than girls Kids under age of 18 accounted for 27% of arrests for serious crimes in 1999 According to Erik Erikson premier challenge of adolescence is to form a clear sense of identity James Marcia- presence or absence of a sense of commitment and a sense of crisis can combine to produce FOUR different identity statuses 1. Identity Diffusion- state of rudderless apathy, lack of direction 2. Identity Foreclosure- premature commitment to visions, values and roles (typically prescribed by ones parents) 3. Identity Moratorium- delaying commitment for a while to explore different ideologies and careers (should be a temporary phase) Associated with selfdoubt and confusion 4. Identity Achievement-arriving at a sense of self and direction after some consideration of the possibilities Some say evolution of personality continues through life while others believe it is relatively stable (correlations of .70 support second belief) Both theories are right, it just depends how you look at the data- psych test scores are relative-meaning you have to compare it to something else Family Life Cycle- sequence of stages that families tend to progress through Transition to parenthood has a greater impact on females, mothers prone to postpartum distress and about 10% experience depression Data shows that parents report lower marital satisfaction than non-parents, mothers of infants report steepest decline in marital satisfaction and more children the couples have the lower their marital satisfaction tends to be