I) Human Heredity
A) Genes:
1 ) Hereditary blueprints
that are passed on from generation to generation
2) Each of us have an
unique genotype
3) Phenotype: Genes that
are likely to be expressed
4) Chromosomes: 23 pairs
or 46 total, that are located in the nucleus of each cell
II) Reproduction
A) Conception:
B) Moment of fertilization, when
a sperm penetrates an ovum forming the zygote
C) Sex-linked Chromosome:
D) 23rd chromosome; XX or XY
E) Y chromosome is the testes determining
factor
III) Genetic Disorders
A) Fragile-X Syndrome:
1) 1:1000 births
2) Abnormality of 23rd
X chromosome caused by defective gene
3) Associated with mental
retardation
B) Down Syndrome:
1) Caused by an extra
21st chromosome
2) Distinctive physical
appearance
3) Mental retardation
IV) Teratogens
A) Viruses, drugs, chemicals, and
radiation that can harm a developing embryo or fetus
B) Cocaine and Heroin: Miscarriage,
prematurity, birth defects
C) Alcohol: Fetal alcohol syndrome,
motor development problems, low
intellectual
ability
D) Smoking: Reduces oxygen flow,
increases CO2, increases odds of prematurity, low birthweight, and miscarriage
V) Temperament
A) Characteristic ways of
responding to the environment that vary from infant to infant
VI) Attachment
A) Primary Drives Theory
1) Attachment results
from associating the satisfaction of primary drives with the being who satisfies them.
B) Harlow’s Study
1) Tested primary drives
theory in Rhesus monkeys
2) 2 surrogate mothers:
3) a wire surrogate that
fed the infant
4) a cloth surrogate
that did not feed the infant
5) Results:
a) Despite the wire surrogate being a source of food, the infant monkeys
attached to
the cloth surrogate mother
VII) Separation Anxiety
A) Begins at around 8 months
B) Peaks at 12-18 months, then
declines
C) Found in all cultures
D) Enhances survival chances
VIII) Ainsworth’s View
A) Securely attached kids use caretaker
as a secure base
B) Ambivalent infants first seek
and then avoid caretaker
C) Avoidant infants are not attached
at all
D) Parental responsiveness highest
in securely attached kids, lowest in avoidant kids, and
inconsistent in ambivalent kids.
IX) Piaget’s Theory
A) Schema
1) Mental structures
B) Assimilation
1) Fitting new objects,
events, etc. into an existing schema
C) Accommodation
1) Modifying a schema
to fit new events, objects, etc.
D) Piaget’s Stages
1) Sensorimotor (0-2
years)
a) Understand the world through senses and motor actions
b) Develop object permanence
2) Preoperational (2-7
years)
a) Understand intuitive relations
b) Thinking is egocentric, dominated by perception
3) Concrete Operational
(7-12 years)
a) Can do logical operations
b) Understand reversibility
c) Can do conservation & classification tasks
4) Formal Operations
(12 and up)
a) Can do abstract & hypothetical reasoning
b) Can reason contrary to experience
E) Imaginary Audience
1) The strong focus on
self leads adolescents to feel that everyone else is focused on them as well
F) Personal Fable
1) Adolescents assume
their thoughts and feelings are unique (no one has ever loved so deeply, etc.)
X) Vygotsky’s View
A) Private speech helps guide early
cognition
B) Readiness to learn falls in
the "Zone of Proximal Development"
XI) Parenting Styles
A) Authoritarian Parenting
1) Effects:
a) Low intellectual performance
b) Lack social skills
c) Particularly harmful for boys
B) Authoritative Parenting
1) Effects:
a) Higher intellectual performance
b) Independence
c) Internalized moral standards
C) Permissive Parenting
1) Effects:
a) Poor academic performance
b) Drinking problems
c) Promiscuous sex
XII) Kohlberg’s Theory
A) Pre-conventional Level:
1) Stage 1 -- Punishment
avoidance is "right”
2) Stage 2 -- Whatever
benefits the individual is "right"
B) Conventional Level:
1) Stage 3 -- Behavior
that pleases others is "right”
2) Stage 4 -- Authorities
& rules determines what's "right"
C) Post-Conventional Level:
1) Stage 5 -- Protecting
both society and individual is “right”
2) Stage 6 -- Universal
principles determine what is “right”
D) Research on Kohlberg
1) Stages 1-4 seem universal
& invariant in order
2) Stage 5 found in urban
cultures, uncommon in tribal & village societies
3) Possible gender &
cultural biases
XIII) Later Adulthood
A) Some physical and sensory decline
is common
B) Exercise slows physical decline
dramatically
C) Continued sexual activity common
among those over 80
D) Dementias such as Alzheimer's
disease strike 4-6 % of those over 65, 25% those over
85
E) Life satisfaction is at about
the same relatively high level throughout life
F) Intelligence & Aging
1) Intellectual abilities
peak in the mid-40's
2) Intellectual decline
generally doesn't set in until the mid-60's, and is modest until the 80's
3) Performance by Age
a) Only 13% of those over 65 are below the poverty line
b) The majority of people view retirement positively
c) Losing a spouse increases both mortality and suicide rates
XIV) The Kubler-Ross Stages of Dying
A) Denial and Isolation
B) Anger
C) Bargaining
D) Depression
E) Acceptance
XV) Related Links
