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Attachment Styles
Ainsworth: Secure, Anxious, Avoidant — SAA
Attachment Styles
Three primary attachment patterns based on caregiver responsiveness
Secure: explores freely, upset at separation, easily comforted. Anxious: clingy, very distressed, hard to soothe. Avoidant: indifferent to caregiver, suppresses attachment needs.
Secure
Explores freely, calmed by reunion
Anxious
Clingy, hard to soothe
Avoidant
Indifferent to caregiver
Object Permanence
Object permanence develops ~8 months: things exist when hidden
Object Permanence
Before 8 months, out of sight literally means out of mind
Infants under ~8 months won't search for a toy hidden under a blanket — they don't understand it still exists. After object permanence develops, they'll search for it.
Zone of Proximal Development
Vygotsky's ZPD: the gap between what you can do alone vs with help
Zone of Proximal Development
Learning happens best just beyond current ability with the right support
ZPD = what a learner can do with guidance but not yet alone. Scaffolding = teacher support that bridges this gap. Gradually remove support as competence grows.
Kohlberg's Moral Development
Kohlberg's 3 levels of moral development: Pre-conventional, Conventional, Post-conventional
Kohlberg's Moral Development
Three levels of moral reasoning — from self-interest to universal principles
Pre-conventional: morality based on consequences to self (punishment and reward). Conventional: morality based on social rules and laws. Post-conventional: morality based on universal ethical principles.
Germinal: fertilization through implantation (~2 weeks). Embryonic (2-8 weeks): major organs and structures form — most vulnerable to teratogens (alcohol, drugs, infections). Fetal (8 weeks to birth): growth and refinement of systems. Teratogens cause most damage during embryonic stage when organs are forming.
Infant Temperament
Temperament: easy, difficult, slow-to-warm-up — largely innate, influences parenting and development
Infant Temperament
Inborn differences in emotional reactivity and self-regulation
Thomas and Chess: Easy (40%): adaptable, positive mood, regular routines. Difficult (10%): intense reactions, slow to adapt, negative mood. Slow-to-warm-up (15%): initially withdraws, gradually adapts. Goodness of fit: match between child's temperament and parenting style predicts outcomes.
Parenting Styles
Authoritative parenting: high warmth + high control = best outcomes. Authoritarian: low warmth + high control.
Parenting Styles
Baumrind's four parenting styles and their outcomes
Authoritative: warm, responsive, consistent boundaries → children: confident, socially skilled, academically successful. Authoritarian: strict, low warmth, punitive → children: obedient but lower self-esteem. Permissive: warm but few rules → children: impulsive, lower achievement. Uninvolved: low warmth and low control → worst outcomes.
The key developmental tasks and changes of adolescence
Physical: puberty — hormonal changes, primary and secondary sex characteristics. Cognitive: formal operational thought — abstract reasoning, hypothetical thinking. Social: Erikson's identity vs role confusion — 'Who am I?' Peer influence peaks. Risk-taking increases — prefrontal cortex not fully developed until ~25.
How different types of intelligence change across the lifespan
Fluid intelligence: raw processing speed, working memory, novel problem-solving — peaks in 20s, declines gradually. Crystallized intelligence: accumulated knowledge, vocabulary, expertise — maintained or increases into old age. Successful aging: staying physically active, mentally engaged, and socially connected.
Infant Social Development
Stranger anxiety: ~8 months. Separation anxiety: peaks ~14 months. Both signal healthy attachment.
Infant Social Development
Two normal anxiety responses that signal healthy development
Stranger anxiety: distress at unfamiliar people — emerges ~6-8 months when infants can distinguish familiar from unfamiliar faces. Separation anxiety: distress when attachment figure leaves — peaks ~14 months, gradually decreases. Both signal that healthy attachment has formed. Absence may indicate attachment problems.
Theory of Mind
Theory of mind: understanding that others have different beliefs, desires, and knowledge than you do
Theory of Mind
The ability to understand other people's mental states
Develops around age 4. False belief task: child understands that another person can have a false belief. Before theory of mind: children assume everyone knows what they know (egocentrism). Autism spectrum disorder often involves theory of mind deficits. Foundation of empathy and social understanding.
Kohlberg's three levels of moral reasoning — each with two stages
Kohlberg extended Piaget's work — moral reasoning develops in stages tied to cognitive growth
Pre-conventional (childhood): Stage 1 — obedience to avoid punishment; Stage 2 — self-interest and exchange. Conventional (adolescence/adults): Stage 3 — good interpersonal relationships; Stage 4 — law and social order. Post-conventional (few adults): Stage 5 — social contract and individual rights; Stage 6 — universal ethical principles. Gilligan's critique: Kohlberg's model is male-biased — women use an ethics of care, not just justice.
Pre-conventional
Punishment and reward — self-centered reasoning
Conventional
Rules and social order — most adults stop here
Post-conventional
Abstract principles — justice and human rights
Language Acquisition
BWST — Babbling, Words, Short phrases, Telegraphic speech
Stages of language development in the first three years of life
Language follows a universal sequence — LAD vs. learning theory debate shapes how we explain it
0-6 months: cooing. 6-12 months: babbling (all languages, then narrows). 12 months: first words. 18-24 months: vocabulary explosion (word spurt). 2 years: two-word utterances. 2-3 years: telegraphic speech (content words, no grammar). Chomsky's Language Acquisition Device (LAD): innate grammar mechanism — universal grammar. Behaviorist view (Skinner): imitation and reinforcement. Critical period hypothesis: language learning impaired if delayed past puberty.
LAD
Chomsky — children are pre-wired for language grammar
Critical period
Language delayed past puberty is severely impaired
Five key features of adolescent psychological development
Adolescence is shaped by formal operational thinking, identity formation, and social-emotional changes
Piaget's formal operations: abstract and hypothetical thinking emerges. Erikson's identity vs. role confusion: who am I? Marcia's identity statuses: diffusion, foreclosure, moratorium, achievement. Peer relationships become paramount — peer pressure and conformity peak. Adolescent egocentrism (Elkind): imaginary audience (everyone's watching me) + personal fable (I'm unique and invincible). Prefrontal cortex not fully mature until mid-20s — explains risk-taking.
Imaginary audience
Belief that everyone is watching and judging you
Personal fable
I'm special and invincible — explains risk-taking
Marcia's statuses
Diffusion, Foreclosure, Moratorium, Achievement
🎓 Common Exam Questions
Q: What are Piaget's four stages and what cognitive ability defines each?
A: Sensorimotor (0-2 years): object permanence — understanding that objects exist even when out of sight. Preoperational (2-7): egocentrism and symbolic thinking, but lacks conservation (can't understand same amount in different shapes). Concrete Operational (7-12): conservation mastered, logical thinking about concrete objects, reversibility. Formal Operational (12+): abstract and hypothetical reasoning, systematic problem-solving. Vygotsky's critique: Piaget underestimates the role of social interaction and language in cognitive development.
Q: Compare and contrast Ainsworth's four attachment styles and their long-term effects.
A: Secure (60%): consistent sensitive caregiving → child explores freely, returns to caregiver, positive internal working model → better social competence, relationships, mental health in adulthood. Anxious-Ambivalent (15%): inconsistent caregiving → clingy, distressed, hard to soothe → adult anxious attachment, relationship anxiety. Avoidant (20%): consistently unresponsive caregiving → suppresses attachment needs → adult dismissing attachment, discomfort with intimacy. Disorganized (5%): frightening or abusive caregiving → no coherent strategy → highest risk for psychopathology, dissociation, borderline personality.
Q: Explain Vygotsky's key concepts and how they differ from Piaget's approach.
A: Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD): the gap between what a child can do alone and what they can do with guidance from a more skilled partner — where learning optimally occurs. Scaffolding: temporary support from more skilled partners that is gradually withdrawn as competence grows. Language is the primary tool of cognitive development — internalized self-talk becomes inner speech and guides thinking. Contrast with Piaget: Piaget saw development as internal and biologically driven; Vygotsky saw it as fundamentally social and cultural. Piaget: development leads learning; Vygotsky: learning leads development.
Q: What are the three parenting styles (Baumrind) and which is associated with best outcomes?
A: Authoritative: high warmth plus high demandingness — clear rules with explanation and emotional responsiveness. Associated with best outcomes: high self-esteem, academic achievement, social competence, lower rates of problem behavior. Authoritarian: low warmth plus high demandingness — strict rules without explanation, obedience required. Associated with: obedient but anxious children, lower self-esteem. Permissive: high warmth plus low demandingness — few rules or consequences. Associated with: impulsive, low self-control. Uninvolved/neglectful: low warmth plus low demandingness — associated with worst outcomes across all domains.
Q: What is adolescent brain development and how does it explain adolescent behavior?
A: The prefrontal cortex (PFC) — responsible for impulse control, planning, risk assessment, and emotional regulation — is not fully mature until the mid-20s. The limbic system (emotional reward center) matures earlier. This mismatch produces the adolescent pattern: heightened emotional reactivity and reward-seeking with immature executive control. Explains: risk-taking behavior, sensation-seeking, susceptibility to peer influence (especially in presence of peers, which activates reward circuits), emotional volatility, and poor long-term decision-making. Has policy implications for juvenile justice and age limits on various activities.