WGU C217 Human Growth and Development Questions and Answers

Nature versus nurture controversy experiences (nurture) or genetics (nature) influences development Nature versus nurture differences nature preprogrammed and nurture experiences Continuity theories Steady growth process Discontinuity (stage) vs Continuity Stage is qualitative Child development vs. Life Span Perspective Freud and Piaget = child development Erikson = life span Child Development theory complete once reach adolescence Life Span theory continues throughout life span Universality vs. context-specific development Universality (Piaget) = same order and same age Context-specific (Bronfenbrenner) = takes place in various contexts Context-specific development Collectivist cultures vs. individualistic cultures changes development Cognitive development theory Based on the notion that cognitive abilities are developed as individuals mature physiologically and have opportunity to interact with environment (Piaget)Equilibration of accommodation and assimilation Piaget argues that normally we are in this state, when a new stimulus presents we enter state of disequilibrium Accommodation Adjusting prior knowledge gained through former experiences and interactions Assimilation Fitting together the new information with what has been previously known or understood Constructivism Piaget position on learning. Children construct schema, organized patterns of thought or action, Based on the experiences that they have actively exploring the environment Piaget Constructivism considered a stage theory Piaget Constructivism Four Stages 1. Sensorimotor (birth - 2) 2. Preoperational (2-7) 3. Concrete Operations (7-11) 4. Formal Operaitons (11-15) Preoperational stage egocentrism, rigidity of thought, semi logical reasoning, limited social cognition Concrete Operations Beginning of operational thinking, can perform transformations, understand reversibility, inversion, reciprocity, and conservation, group into categories, make inferences, inductive reasoning Formal Operations higher ordered critical thinking, adult thinking, ultimate stage of cognitive development, scientific method, logical, abstract and hypothetical thought, deductive and inductive reasoningKohlberg extended Piaget model to study of moral reasoning Information processing approach newer approach to studying cognitive development, uses computer as metaphor for human mind Learning theory (or behaviorist theory) Developmental change as the product of learning Learning To find as changes in observable behavior Behavioral psychology important figures Pavlov, Watson, Skinner, Bandura Learning theory behavior is controlled by stimuli in the environment Pavlov Classical Conditioning Learning takes place when reflexive behavior comes under the control of a novel stimulus in the environment Reflex unlearned behavior present at birth, unconscious Generalization Observed when a conditioned response solicited by stimuli similar to the original CS Discrimination Opposite of generalization. Process of conditioning a response to occur only after specific stimulus is presented Extinction Unlearning of a CR Emotional responses at birth Love, anger, and fear Skinner Operant conditioning