Stages of Development
What are the six main stages of the lifespan?
Infancy, Childhood, Adolescence, Early Adulthood, Middle Age, Older Age
What is neural plasticity?
The brain’s ability to change and adapt as a result of experience.
What is a schema?
A mental idea or framework that helps organise information.
What did Harlow study using rhesus monkeys?
The role of comfort and contact in forming attachment.
Who conducted a cross-cultural study of attachment using Ainsworth’s Strange Situation?
Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg.
During which stage does puberty typically occur?
Adolescence.
What is synaptic pruning?
The elimination of weak or unused neural connections.
What are the four stages of Piaget’s cognitive development?
Sensorimotor, Pre-operational, Concrete operational, Formal operational.
What did Harlow conclude from his experiment?
Comfort and security are more important than food for attachment
What did Kroonenberg find about cultural differences in attachment?
Secure attachment was most common in all cultures, but variations existed in avoidant and resistant types.
What is one major physical change that occurs in older age?
Decline in strength, slower reaction times, or memory loss.
What part of the brain continues developing during adolescence?
The prefrontal cortex.
In which stage does a child learn object permanence?
Sensorimotor stage.
According to Bowlby, what is attachment?
A strong emotional bond between an infant and caregiver that is biologically based.
What does an “enriched” environment mean?
One that provides stimulation, learning, and social interaction.
Which domain of development is most associated with thinking and problem-solving?
Cognitive domain.
What is the difference between developmental and adaptive plasticity?
Developmental occurs during growth and learning; adaptive occurs after injury or new experience.
What does conservation refer to in Piaget’s theory?
Understanding that quantity remains the same despite changes in shape or appearance.
What are the three attachment types identified by Ainsworth?
Type A – Avoidant
Type B – Secure
Type C – Resistant (Ambivalent).
What were the effects of deprivation seen in Genie, the wild child?
Severe cognitive and language delays due to lack of social and emotional stimulation.
How might an enriched environment influence development across the lifespan?
It promotes stronger cognitive, emotional, and social development through stimulation and learning opportunities.
Why can adolescents show increased risk-taking behaviour?
The prefrontal cortex (responsible for decision-making and impulse control) develops later than brain areas involved in emotion and reward.
Give one example of a Piagetian task and what it measures.
Three Mountains Task – measures egocentrism
Conservation of Volume, Mass, or Number Tasks – measure logical thinking
Pendulum Task – measures the ability to think scientifically and use hypothetical reasoning.
What did Bowlby mean by “monotropy”?
The idea that infants form one primary attachment that is central to development.
How do enriched and deprived environments affect the domains of development?
Enriched = promotes growth across domains; Deprived = delays or impairs development, especially cognitive and emotional.