Pyschology Quicknotes

Studying Infants

babies do not have very clear vision (20/600)

babies hear differently than adults

they have reflexes which are specific to babies

babies do not have fine-motor capabilities

ethics

Memory and Aging

recall may suffer. Recognition does not appear to suffer

longitudinal designs:

- testing the same amount of people over set amount of time

cross-sectional designs:

- compare people of different age groups

- matched if possible--all at one point in time

numerous theories about why the deficits occur as we age

maybe because of inhibition is not as good

maybe because of cultural stereotypes about aging-self fulfilling prophecies

Jean Piaget

schemata- mental models of the world that we use to guide and interpret our experiences

assimilation- fitting new experience into existing schemata

accommodation- adjust the existing schemata to fit our new experiences

Piaget's 4 Stages of Development

#1. Sensorimotor Period: birth-2 years

reflexes: sucking, rooting, Moro, etc.

once these reflexes wane, babies start to actively choose to interact within the world. Use sounds, movement

Towards the end of the period, babies develop a sense of object permanence

- the ability to recognize that objects still exists when they are no longer in sight.

#2. Preoperational stage: 2-7 years

solid understanding of object permanence

imagination abilities begin

these children do not however understand "conservation"

- they do not understand different physical properties of items

( play-dough, water)

#3 Concrete Operational Period 7-11 years

can perform very concrete mental operations, but still lack the ability to perform more abstract mental operations.

they can start solving some logic problems in their heads by the end of the period

imagination is still strong, but it is based on concrete objects, that actually exist

#4 Formal Operational Period 11+ years

begin to solve abstract mental operations

can understand hypothetical situations, artificial concepts, logical deductions about things which they have no concrete schema about (making inferences)

not everyone achieve this stage

Piaget missed the boat

Ex: object permanence- babies as young as 1 month show clears signs of understanding object permanence in the "vanishing" experi.

Ex: children may understand a concept for some objects, but not for others.. conservation number -vs.- conservation of mass or volume.

Are all 4 stages important in all cultures? Many cultures in which there is no formal schooling fail to reach stage4, but is this a problem?

children do not spontaneously offer much information about certain ideas, but when probed, may have a very clear understanding of what is going on.

Is stage all there is?

Post formal stages- relativistic thinking.

Adults are less rigid about rules, and are flexible in solving certain types of problems.

Moral Development

Morality: "the ability to distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate actions."

Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development

- Heinz dilemma....

- the reasoning behind the answer to any dilemma is what is important

Kohlberg's Stages:

Conventional Stage-- reasoning based on internalized rules. Focus is on social order

- Heinz shouldn't steal b/c it is against the law -or- should b/c a man should protect his wife.

Post conventional Stage--Morality based on abstract principles that can conflict with societal standards. Focus on personal codes of ethics, not societal norms.

- Heinz can stead the drug b/c saving a life is more important than society's dictum against stealing.

Problems: evaluated with an abstract code of "justice" which ensures fairness to the individual, rather than concern of the welfare of others.

- Women tend to adopt a "caring" moral code; men tend to have a moral code based on "justice", thus there may be a gender bias in Kohlberg's theory.

Culture seems to matter more than gender

- Is it OK to beat your wife?

- Individualist Societies -vs.- Collectivist Societies

People around the world tend to progress through the stages in the same way, but the final decisions are driven by cultural standards.

Attachment Theory

attachments "strong emotional bonds formed to one or more of your intimate companions."

attachment behaviors are reciprocal

Harlow's rhesus monkey experiment

- contact comfort