PSY100H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Feral Child, Age 13, Behaviorism

• School: UTSG
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSY100H1
• Professor: Ashley Waggoner-Denton

Document Summary

From 20 months old to age 13, kept in a dark room, tied down w/ no stimulation (light, toys, human interaction) When police found her, she was 13 but seemed 6-7 b/c malnourishment + behaviour. Studied to find out what this meant for language development, walking, vision. Development psychology: focuses on physiological, cognitive, and social changes that occur in ppl across the lifespan. The 5 senses: sight, smell, sound, taste, touch. Limited at birth and develop over time. In particular, sight and sound take time to develop. Strong emotional connection that persists over time and across circumstances. Adaptive: encourages proximity between child and mothers. Oxytocin: often dubbed cuddle hormone , released during these moments. Harry harlowe conducted an experiment that showed that rhesus monkeys were more attached to fake mother that provided comfort rather than food. Contradicted the behaviourist belief that love for parents was only out of survival needs, and had widespread societal implications.