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Psychology

Unit 7

Development

6 topics · 24 practice questions · Free responseNot yet reviewed

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Notes

Nature and nurture

  • Development results from heredity and environment together. Twin and adoption studies separate their effects. Longitudinal studies follow the same people; cross-sectional studies compare different ages at one time.
  • Attachment: Harlow showed contact comfort matters; Ainsworth identified secure and insecure attachment. Baumrind's authoritative parenting is linked to positive outcomes.

Cognitive and moral development

  • Piaget: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, formal operational. Key ideas: schemas, assimilation, accommodation, object permanence, conservation.
  • Vygotsky: zone of proximal development and scaffolding. Kohlberg: preconventional, conventional, postconventional moral reasoning.

Erikson and adolescence

  • Erikson: eight stages, such as trust vs mistrust (infancy), industry vs inferiority (school age) and identity vs role confusion (adolescence).
  • Adolescence brings puberty, a still-developing prefrontal cortex, and the search for identity.

Topics in this unit

Each topic has its own short notes and practice.

Practice

Researchers compare 8-year-olds, 12-year-olds and 16-year-olds on a memory test in the same month. This is a:
A 4-year-old believes the moon follows her car and cannot see things from another person's perspective. In Piaget's theory she is in the:
A child sees a dolphin and calls it a "fish." After being told it is a mammal, she changes her idea of what a mammal is. This change is:
A student reasons, "Cheating is wrong because a society needs fairness and trust for everyone." This reflects which level of Kohlberg's theory?
A 9-year-old who works hard on a science fair project and is encouraged by teachers is most likely developing:
Which statement about the teenage brain is accurate?

Free response

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Free-response question

Ravi, age 16, is trying out different clubs and friend groups and is unsure what career he wants. His parents set clear rules but listen to his opinions. His 5-year-old sister insists that a banana cut into pieces is "more banana" than a whole one.

(a) According to Erikson, which stage is Ravi in and what is the central conflict?

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Adolescence; identity vs role confusion.

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(b) Identify Ravi's parents' parenting style and explain one likely benefit.

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Authoritative parenting, because they combine clear rules with warmth and listening. This style is linked to higher self-esteem and better school and social outcomes.

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(c) Which Piagetian concept has Ravi's sister not mastered, and in which stage does it typically develop?

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She has not mastered conservation. It typically develops in the concrete operational stage (about ages 7 to 11).

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