Developmental psychology Complete Exam

Developmental psych - -Description, explanation and prediction of age-related changes in behavior, thinking, emotions and social relationships. Identification of variables that influence development and explanation of how they work together to shape an individual's life. Supports development, e.g. through scaffolding to speed up development. Multi-disciplinary- mainly based in psychology but also draws on genetics and biology, neuroscience, anthropology, sociology and education. What is gained by taking a developmental stance? - --Important knowledge about the emergence, manifestation, consistency and change of specific psychological phenomena, (e.g. language, personality) across the life span. -Better understanding of when, how and why change occurs -Helps us understand normative and non-normative development- spot changes and concerns about development. Quantitative vs qualitative change - -Quantitative form = gradual increase in a characteristic Qualitative form = fundamental shift in behaviour or ability Continuity / discontinuity and stability vs instability in development - --Continuity / discontinuity = develop continuously throughout life gradually, e.g. intelligence, or occurs in distinct stages, e.g. an infant learning object permanence. Some characteristics are continuous, whilst others are discontinuous. -These characteristics can be seen in a group level, e.g. look at a group of 5 year-olds and observe them over time, or at an individual level, looking at their changes over time. -Stable vs instable = characteristics that either increase or decrease over time, e.g. height increases but memory capacity decreases, vs characteristics that can increase and decrease over time, e.g. weight. -Characteristics can be stable at a group level but not stable at an individual level, e.g. an individual's IQ increases over time but the groups IQ remains similar. -Freud said that a child's personality is solidified by age 5, but this has been highly disputed. Nature vs nurture in development - -Nature = hereditary causes of behaviour (those based on the genetic makeup of an individual that influence growth and development throughout life) PSYCHOLOGY PSYCHOLOGY Nurture = environmental causes of behaviour (the influence of parents, siblings, friends, schooling, nutrition etc.) Twin studies (start with the same genetic base) show nurture has some influence. Generally believed that development is the interaction between the two. Behaviour genetics - -The study of how variation in behaviour can be explained by separating environmental (shared, non-shared) and genetic influences, e.g. diet, stress influencing gene expression. Epigenetics - -The idea that experience can determine the turning on and off of genes Multi-level systems model development (Gottlieb, 1992) - -Levels of development that all influence one another- bidirectional influence in all layers. Levels are environment, behaviour, neural activity, genetic activity. Sensitive periods - --Organism is particularly susceptible to experience during specific periods in development, e.g. language development -Due to brain maturation and plasticity: brains very plastic at birth, becomes specialised as it gets older, e.g. .learning to drive. E.g. harder to learn languages as you get older Romanian Orphan study - --Severely deprived in institutional care, adopted before and after 6 months of age -Outcome is most optimal if children were adopted before 6 months -About who were 50% adopted after 6 months show problems -Duration of deprivation after 6 months little effect -Possible evidence for a developmental sensitive period -Development is a holistic process- change in one will affect change in other domains 4 basic goals for understanding development for change - - 1. Describe (any aspect of development) 2. Explain (how it happens) 3. Predict (age related changes) 4. Influence Experimental designs used to explore change - -1. Cross-sectional designs 2. Longitudinal designs 2. Sequential / cohort designs Cross-sectional designs - --Studies at one time point but looks at different age groups. -Rather than longitudinal studies that follow the same person through multiple time points. -Tests different age groups simultaneously PSYCHOLOGY PSYCHOLOGY -Fenson et al. (1994) asked parents of toddlers to describe longest sentence used by their child. 1130 pps between 16-30 months old. Rapid growth of number of words in a sentence during this age Advantages and disadvantages of cross-sectional designs - -+Quick and economical +Demonstrate age differences and indicate developmental trend -Age trends may reflect extraneous differences between cohorts (rather than developmental change) -No data on the development of individuals (sequences), therefore, provide no information about determinants of change -Events like lockdowns might have influenced results at all levels. Longitudinal designs - --Measure individuals at different time points -Allows sone measurement of individual change and stability -Allows an exploration of the dynamic nature of change Five goals of longitudinal research: 1. To consider change in individuals 2. To look at change and differences between individuals 3. To consider factors that drive change 4. To look at causes of change within individuals 5. To investigate cause Wood et al. (2012): Showed links between symptoms of psychopathology and absenteeism over time using an autoregressive cross-lagged model -Ages 6-17, used teacher report symptoms of psychopathology (anxiety, depression, conduct problems) and attendance records -Found that all autoregressive pathways were significant (stability) -Reciprocal relationships between absenteeism and psychopathology in childhood and adolescence (cross-lagged pathways) -Clearest for psychopathology predicting absenteeism -Also for absenteeism predicting psychopathology (in adolescence) Advantages and disadvantages of longitudinal designs - -+Explores individual change over time +Explore patterns of continuity and discontinuity +Can account for extraneous things that happen, e.g. covid +Same cohort -Costly and time consuming -Often require large data sets -Multiple (repeated) testing -Attrition- people dropping out of study, e.g. if they move out of the area -Equivalence of methods over time- study designs and methods change over time, lowering validity when results are published -Changing questions -Cohort effects PSYCHOLOGY PSYCHOLOGY Microgenetic measures - --Longitudinal study but examines more often, e.g. rather than measuring height monthly, microgenetic measures would measure height every week. -Examine changes as they occur -Small samples but dense data collection- takes a lot of effort -Provides valuable info about changes as they occur, e.g. some days a child wouldn't grow at all but then the next day they do- more accurate account of growth Sequential (cohort) designs - --Combines across sectional and longitudinal designs to examine age related change across multiple cohorts -E.g. takes groups of each age decade and measures them for a decade. -E.g. measures 40 year olds until they are 50, but also measures 50 year olds until they are 60 etc. -Measures all ages for longitudinal times but not same people the whole time. Advantages and disadvantages of sequential / cohort designs - -+Discriminates true developmental trends from cohort effects +Indicates whether developmental changes experiences by one cohort are similar to those experienced by other cohorts +Often less costly and time consuming than longitudinal approach -Still more costly and time consuming than cross-sectional approach -Attrition and biases Challenges for developmental research - --Developing measures that are reliable and valid- often based on self-report measures which is open to bias and lower validity / reliability etc. -Representative samples -Reporting Children, teachers, parents observation- everyone sees a different side of the person and give different answers De LosReyes & Kazdin (2005) -Objective measurements to try and reduce biases: can use brain function (fMRI, PET, EEG) and physiological arousal (HR, cortisol) measures. 4 main types of methodology - -1. Observational studies- video recording (data rich but time-consuming) 2. Eye movement technology- give visual stimuli and see how eyes move to gauge reactions. Attention- cognition (preferences, habituation, anticipation of events, pupil size) 3. Imaging- fMRI (blood flow and neural activity). Difficult to work with children younger than 5-6 years 4. EEG and ERP- all measured brain activity vs event related activity. Good temporal resolution and neural response. Difficulties with localisation Developmental functions graphs - -5 of the most common trends in development- illustrating the ways in which people typically change with age. (See graph in notes). 1. Continuous, increasing ability 2. Continuous, decreasing ability 3. Step or stage like PSYCHOLOGY PSYCHOLOGY 4. Inverted U-shape 5. Upright U-shape Sensorimotor skills - -Integrating sensory input and responding properly to the environment. The process of receiving sensory inputs and producing motor outputs. Proprioception - -The ability to tell where one's body is in space. Motor skills coming from sensory inputs - --Bilateral coordination (using both sides of the body to do an activity) -Muscle strength and tone -Gross and fine motor skills (gross = the ability to use the large muscles in the body to perform coordinated movements, fine= ability to use small muscles in the hand and wrists to make precise movements) -Vestibular balance and posture -Visual tracking and coordination -Rhythm and timing -Dominance Sensorimotor skills and development - --Walking -Hand-eye coordination -Reading -Writing -Speaking- control of the larynx and vocal system -Playing a musical instrument -Coordinating eye contact with speech and gesture during a conversation -Facial expression -Sport -Social interactions -Following instructions -Eating -Pain perception Vision development - --The only unstructured sensory input at birth, other senses much more formed. -Newborns have extremely blurry vision, not being able to detect colour until 3 months old. -Preference for upright face and direct gaze- babies automatically look at faces -Sensitive to biological motion and direction of motion -Sensory information helps the infant to make sense of the surrounding world- brain motivated to develop. -Cannot control their eyes, saccades= not smooth pursuit (until 2-3 months), jump between objects, disengagement inefficiency- struggle to disengage attention from a stimulus, even a stressful one (mature gradually until middle childhood) PSYCHOLOGY PSYCHOLOGY Motor system development - --Structured at 2-months post conception (2 months into pregnancy)- baby starts to be able to move -But after birth, motor development needs sensory input to occur -Hands/feet movement- non-specific and random initially- nerves activating muscles randomly. Piaget's stages of cognitive development - -1. Sensorimotor: 0-2 years. Infant explores world through direct sensory and motor contact. Object permanence and separation anxiety develop during this stage. 2. Preoperational: 2-6 years. Child uses symbols (words and images) to represent objects but does not reason logically. Has the ability to pretend. Egocentric during this stage. 3. Concrete operational: 6-12 years. Child can think about concrete objects logically and can thus add and subtract. Also understands conversation. 4. Formal operational: 12-adult. Adolescent can reason abstractly and think in hypothetical terms. Sensorimotor loops - -Linking sensory information with voluntary (motor) actions --- support nervous system and skills development. At birth, sensorimotor skills are the expression of cognition- only way babies show they can understand the world. Neonatal reflexes - -Reflex= sensorimotor loop organised at a spinal or paraspinal level (involuntary movement) Moro & stepping: disappear at 2 months. Moro reflex is when the baby feels they are falling, they spread their arms. Stepping is when they know how to move their legs as if they were walking. Tonic neck reflex (fencing): 5-7 months (this has, however, some active purposes) Neonatal goal directed actions - --Rooting, sucking, stepping, reaching, and grasping are hardwired reflexes, but goal-directed. -Hard wired (innate) -Visual-manual loops: crucial to provide more and more refined sensory input, e.g. via touch, and to train hand-eye coordination, balance, attention, etc. Not sensory loops yet as mostly involuntary but goal directed actions. Loop - -Behavioural association between sensory input and voluntary action Postural control and vision - --Vision and proprioception are key to develop postural control. -Walking independently is one of the clearest delays in the motor development of blind infants (Fraiberg, 1977) -Infant compensates for head movements with smooth counter rotations of the eyes, even before 8 weeks of age. -Understanding of gravity? Predicting movement, e.g. falling. PSYCHOLOGY PSYCHOLOGY Gowen and Hamilton (2013) computational model of grasping - --Info from the different senses (vision, proprioception) is integrated to form a state estimate of the current location of the body and surrounding environments, e.g. how far from an object (stages 1 and 2) -This state estimate (ability to reach something) is used by the inverse model to plan movement to obtain the desired state (stage 3) -The resulting motor command is used by the forward model to predict the motor and sensory outcome of the intended movement and is compared to the actual sensory state to check for errors (stage 4) -The motor plan is converted into muscle activity in order to execute the movement (stage 5) and sensory feedback is used to update the estimate. Sensorimotor skill development age 2 - --In the second year of life, infants become confident in manipulating objects and can plan different movements to reach, grasp, catch and combine objects. -This is evidence of having acquired mental rotation of objects, anticipation of goal states, and understanding of means-end relationships. -As sensory loops are strengthened, we need less of them to complete an action. Object permanence - --By 4 months of age, infants anticipate the reappearance of a moving object that is temporarily occluded (vision = key to start understanding the physical properties of objects and surrounding world). -However, object permanence (awareness that objects continue to exist even when they are no longer visible) is usually acquired around 8-9 months according to Piaget. -Evidence that knowledge of objects' properties (i.e. permanence) is not innate. -Experiments by Baillargeon A-not-B error - --After acquiring knowledge of object permanence, babies still do not move away from knowledge created through actions. -A-not-B error = infant searches for a hidden object where they last found it rather than its current location -Even when object is under a transparent cloth and the infant can see the toy, they still look where they last found it- trust their actions more than their vision -Evidence of incomplete schema of object permanence -When child is over 12 months, error not anymore evident Baillargeon et al (1985) object permanence and solidity - --5-month old babies -Habituation to a screen that moved back and forth through a 180-degree arc, in the manner of a drawbridge- shown many times -A box was centred behind the screen. -Possible event- screen stopped at block -Impossible event- screen went through block -Found that babies look at something more that surprises them- looking time = shock. -In possible event, looking time stays the same after habituation- expected it. -When shown the impossible even, looking time was higher- recognised it was unusual PSYCHOLOGY PSYCHOLOGY Baillargeon (1987)- solidity - --7 month old infants -They expected screen to stop rotating sooner when an object 20cm high as opposed to 4cm high stood behind it. -They also expected the screen to stop sooner when an incompressible (wooden block) vs compressible (sponge) object stood behind it- looked longer at impossible event. -Representation of the properties of hidden objects in 7 month old infants (looked longer at impossible event) Karmiloff-Smith (1992) cognitive development model - --Reconciling nativism and constructivism Genes (predispositions) + environmental influence -The expression of certain genetic traits affect how we engage with the environment -Acquisition of knowledge about the physical world emerges from dynamic changes in neural and brain structures that support perception and action, in response to environmental stimulation. -But how we engage with the environment also affects the influx of information (e.g. social) that we need to develop certain skills and support specialisation of cognitive and neural / brain functions. 1.Implicit, procedural knowledge- in the mind, innate. 2.Representational re-description 3.Explicit declarative knowledge- available to the mind. Object support - --Gradual mastery over the first year -Increased sophistication and important role of experience of playing with and placing objects (constructivism) vs mere observation of the world. -Tested by infants judging whether a box would fall (Baillargeon et al., 1992) -Even adults can have the wrong intuitions about the physical world- heavier objects do not fall faster but bigger objects may encounter more air resistance, which influences speed. Naive (intuitive) theories in children - --Conceptual frameworks children spontaneously generate to make explanations and predictions about the world, e.g. simplifications or misunderstandings -Resistant to counter-evidence (like over-generalisation in grammar) -Naïve theories may reflect cognitive mechanisms present throughout development within many domains of reasoning, incl. reasoning about the physical world. -The Gravity Error Even after feedback, pre-school children believe that falling objects always travel straight down. E.g. Tubes task (Hood, 1995/8) Tubes task (Hood, 1995/1998) - -Error persists at 2-3 years with opaque tubes (but not transparent), only with down motion, not up. See video- children are unable to choose the correct box a ball lands in after a tube changes its direction from going straight down to the expected box. PSYCHOLOGY PSYCHOLOGY Balance development- Karmilloff-Smith and Inhelder, 1975 - --U-shaped behavioural performance in balancing symmetrical and asymmetrical blocks -4-5 year olds perform well (implicit, procedural knowledge, trial and error strategy) -6-7 year olds use naïve 'centre theory' of balance (all things must balance in the centre) -8-9 year olds are successful (explicit theory) Knowledge of object use - --Children begin to know about conventional object properties such as the functional use of objects at approx. 1 year old, and begin exhibiting object function through action: -Show correct use of everyday objects, e.g. bringing spoon to mouth -Play with objects functionally, e.g. bring cup to mouth, insert key in lock. -But knowledge does emerge before action- E.g. Hunnius and Bekkering (2010) Hunnius and Bekkering (2010) - --Used an anticipatory-looking technique to find out if 6 to 16 month-olds have expectations about how everyday objects are used. -Analysed where infants looked during the lifting phase of the stimuli (anticipatory looking) -Compared the frequency of anticipatory looking to the target area when infants watched a functional vs non-functional object-goal combination e.g. looks to the mouth when actor lifts sup vs brush. -Found infants more frequently looked to the mouth area (cup) and to the ear (phone) when they watch the correct object being lifted than when they observed the unrelated object being lifted. -Displayed this from 6 months of age. -At 6 months, they know which actions are associated with everyday objects- phone and cup (brush results were negative). 3 ways parents act as socialisation agents - -1. Modelling and observational learning- to learn ways of interacting with others 2. Social signals- conveying social and emotional information. Messages surrounding feelings, e.g. love, frustration 3. Managing interactions- choose socialisation circles, e.g. choosing the child's school, arranging playdates- controlling peer interaction From birth, infants are dependent of their caregivers for survival. They depend on them not just for nutrition but also for protection and for making sense of the world around them. From this perspective, humans are born to be dependent on social experience. Early signs of active participation as a social partner (imitation) - --Instances of 'correlated' or mutual seeing and doing- fostering connectedness. -'Parents imitate their infants behaviours and expression, often without realising it. The behaviour is often so natural and intuitive that adults often fail to realise they are doing it.' PSYCHOLOGY PSYCHOLOGY -Shows willingness to engage and connect with others- beginning of socialisation Early signs of active participation as a social partner (still face experiment) - --Parents were interacting with their child and then suddenly stopped -When the baby's expectation of communication stopped, they became distressed and unhappy. -Infants work really hard to elicit some response and get them to return to usual social interaction. Early signs of active participation as a social partner (social referencing) - -1. The visual cliff experiment: -Used in development of perception Infants (6m+) in lab and put on apparatus where there appears to be a sudden drop -Typically wont cross the gap in fear of falling -But, when mother was there, encouraging them, they often moved across it. -Parents emotional communication guides child through ambiguity and uncertainty 2. The role of emotion expression to guide behaviour Attachment - -A selective, enduring, affective tie of an infant to their caregiver(s) based on the infant's need for protection, comfort and nurturance. Interplay between attachment behavioural system and exploration system - --Infants are born with proximity-promoting behaviours, e.g. crying, calling, seeking, clinging. -Healthy development depends on interplay between the attachment behavioural system and exploration system: When feeling threat -- attachment behaviours, e.g. crying, to achieve proximity to caregiver and regulate distress When feeling security -- exploration behaviours (to learn about the world) Attachment formation (internal working model) - -Experiences of care with primary attachment figures --- internal working models of self, other and relationships --- relating to others psycho-social functioning Selective attachment with specific caregivers, e.g. Romanian Orphans who weren't able to form specific attachments (Bowlby's work) Variations in attachment organisation (Ainsworth's work) -Early attachment relationships are argued to provide the template for later relationships and social adjustment -Attachment theory is a framework to study and understand both normal and abnormal development. PSYCHOLOGY PSYCHOLOGY -Attachment is an organisational construct- the quality is determined by the organisation of behaviours, and how and when they happen. Bowlby's 1969 development of attachment - -According to Bowlby, attachment is undergoing distinct shifts in each phase, but he emphasised that the boundary between one phase and the next is blurred. 0-3 months: non-focused orienting and signalling. Baby begins with a set of innate behaviour patterns that orient them towards others- proximity promoting behaviour. Not aimed towards specific adults 'Roots of attachment' 3-6 months: focus on one or more figures. Aims behaviour towards people who regularly take care of them. 'Attachment in the making' 6 months +: secure base behaviour. Attachment behaviours are evidently and flexibly altered to achieve the goal of proximity- an attachment can be inferred- goal corrected behaviour begins to be evident, as the infant begins to use the caregiver as a secure base from which to explore the environment and as a safe haven to retreat to in times of threat or challenge. The infant will use the most important person as safe base, show proximity seeking behaviours, show separation anxiety and stranger weariness. 2+ years: internalised attachment experiences from internal working models of relationships Goal-corrected parnership (attachment) - -When infants are more able to express themselves, e.g. through language and think in more concrete terms, they can understand that other people have feelings, thoughts and needs other than themselves- meaning parent can negotiate with the child and they can understand why longer separations are needed -Language, cognitive advances, e.g. theory of mind, enable the child to weigh both the parent's and their own goals -Attachment needs can increasingly be negotiated collaboratively between parent and child -The behaviours enlisted by the attachment system are expected to change over the course of development, with, for example, distance interaction (incl. language) becoming more significant in toddlerhood than in infancy Variations in the quality of attachment - --The attachment system, according to Bowlby, Ainsworth and others, operates at the level of the goal-directed organization of attachment behaviour within the individual, and in a given context. -The emphasis thus is not on specific attachment behaviours, but on the patterning. -The distinction between attachment behaviours and the attachment behavioural system is fundamental to the operationalisation