exam revision - 1

• biological factors: genetics, hormones, neurotransmitters, genetic predispositions, sleep, nutrition
• psychological factors: anxiety, depression, self-esteem, problem solving, emotional regulation, memory, critical thinking
• social factors: socio economic status, gender, ethnicity, religion, age, sexuality, education
• mental wellbeing is an individual’s current psychological state, involving their ability to think, process information, and regulate emotions
• Attachment is the tendency of infants to form an emotional bond with another person, usually their main caregiver
• Attachment theory: A theory that suggests that the bond formed between children and their primary caregivers determines the nature of the child’s emotional development into adulthood.
• insecure avoidant - distant and protective of itself. They maintain a distance and avoids close contact with others
• insecure resistant/anxious - uncertain and anxious. They constantly check caregivers whereabouts, calling, pleading, trying to re-establish contact, clings to them and then tries to resist contact
• secure attachment - feeling loved & confident. The infant is playful, curious, sociable and explores
• Stages of the Strange Situation:  

  .1 mother & child enter play room 

  .2 child encouraged to explore 

  .3 stranger enters & attempts to interact  

  .4 mother leaves while the stranger is present  

  .5 mother enters & stranger leaves  

  .6 mother leaves  

  .7 stranger returns  

  .8 mother returns & interacts with child  
• strange situation was developed by Mary Ainsworth
• characteristics of securely attached in adulthood:

  • stable relationships
  • trusting
  • confident
  • independent
  • high self-esteem
  • resilient
• insecure attachment in adulthood:

  • Experience anxiety and inner turmoil
  • Lack trust in others
  • Reluctant to form close relationships with others
• behaviours that contribute to attachment style:

  • primary caregiver consistently meeting needs = feed and comfort
• infant and primary caregiver will generally share similar characteristics which can further strengthen the bond between them
• John Bowlby argued that all infants have an inborn, ‘primary drive’ to form an attachment with a caregiver aka social recognition, social engagement & social referencing
• Attachment has an evolutionary function – it increases our chance of survival (physically close to our caregiver, means that they meet our needs & intervene if danger threatens)
• independent variable in Harry Harlow's rhesus monkey investigation is which surrogate monkey mother provided the milk to the infant monkey (Wire mother or cloth covered mother)
• critical periods: A narrow, rigid period in which a specific

  skill or function must be learnt
• sensitive periods: An optimal period for a specific function

  or skill to be learnt
• characteristics of critical periods:

  rigid

  small window

  cannot be learnt later
• characteristics of sensitive periods:

  flexible

  large window

  can be learnt later on
• critical example: 1st language acquisition and sight
• sensitive example: learning a second language
• typical behaviours are expected actions displayed by an individual, which aligns with their normal activity and sociocultural expectations
• atypical behaviours are actions which are unusual or unexpected to be displayed by the person
• criteria for categorising typical behaviours: social norms, cultural perspectives, statistical rarities, maladaptive behaviour and personal distress
• normality: the state of having thoughts, feelings and behaviours considered to be accepted and normal
• abnormality: the state of deviating from the norm, usually in an undesirable way
• approaches to normality:

  socio-cultural approach

  functional

  historical

  statistical

  situational

  medical
• socio-cultural: people perceive things as normal based on social and cultural context
• functional: being able to cope with daily life
• historical: normality changes throughout different historical periods
• statistical: what is normal is what most people do
• situational: normality is based on what is acceptable in different contexts
• medical: things that are abnormal have underlying biological causes and can be diagnosed clearly
• neurotypicality: a term used to describe individuals who display expected neurological and cognitive functioning
• neurodiversity: variations in neurological development and functioning
• adaptive development: being able to adjust to the environment appropriately and function effectively
• maladaptive: being unable to adjust appropriately and effectively