Q&A Developmental Psychology [Universiteit van Amsterdam]

What?

On this page we discuss questions students have with the 2022/2023 course "Developmental Psychology" at the University of Amsterdam
You have the opportunity to ask any questions you might have and I will try and answer them
On 30/1/2023 you can ask questions!
I will be online during that day and will try to answer all your questions as soon as possible!
If for some reason I need some more time to prepare an answer, I will make sure to answer in the couple of days following the questions, so you still have plenty of time to prepare for the exam afterwards
Please be nice :). I have put in a lot of effort in this

Where?

You can ask your questions, read other's and view the answers in the comment section on this page, below
I am looking forward to your questions!

Questions and answers are in the comment section below! ↓

Why?

You might ask: why should I trust JesperN with my questions? I will give some bullet points as to why it might be useful:

I have made the same exam you are going to make and have passed the course with a 9.5.
I have specialized in Developmental Psychology.
I am doing the Clinical Developmental Psychology Master's degree at the University of Amsterdam.
I work as a psychologist in a school setting, meaning I am actively applying all the knowledge from the course in the field.

Who?

When you want to optimally prepare for your exam, it can be very useful to ask questions about the literature.
Formulating these questions, reading the answers to your own questions and the questions that others posed make your learning process more active which, in turn, enhances your ability to remember the material.
It is thus super useful to ask as many questions as you might have, not just for yourself, but also for others!

Alternatively, you can check out my:

Content categories

Learn & Study

Universiteit Amsterdam: UVA

Developmental psychology

Comments, Compliments & Kudos

Hi Jesper, thank you for this JuliaV contributed on 27-01-2022 21:53

Hi Jesper, thank you for this Q&A! I have a question regarding theory of mind. Since there are children that develop ToM more strongly than others (possibly resulting in problems in adulthood); what are factors that influence the development of theory of mind?

Reply to JuliaV JesperN contributed on 28-01-2022 14:06

Hi Julia,

That is a great question! Theory of Mind is influenced by factors that stimulate perspective taking. For example, having siblings will stimulate perspective taking as siblings tend to joke around with each other and prank each other. This eventually will make sure that your ability to understand the other's thoughts improves.

Study strategy Alexandra contributed on 28-01-2022 13:31

Hey Jesper, thank you for this opportunity. My question is which information to prioritise when studying? What is the balance between lecture-based and book-based exam questions and does it make sense to learn all the keywords in the book by heart? Thank you in advance for your time. Best, Alexandra

Reply to Alexandra JesperN contributed on 28-01-2022 14:51

Hi Alexandra,

Thank you for your question! My strategy is always to focus on the information that is given in lectures. Typically, the most important exam information will be given during lectures. After listening to the lectures, it is best to then look up that information in the book to have a full understanding of the literature. Of course, reading the rest of the book always adds to your understanding, but the majority of the exam questions will be based on literature that is discussed in the lectures!

You can, of course, learn all the keywords in the book by heart, but I don't think this adds a lot to your understanding of the literature. Try to take a helicopter view of the literature and focus on patterns and connections. If learning the keywords help you in achieving this, that is great! Otherwise, it is okay to not spend a lot of time focusing on it!

Study Strategy Alexandra contributed on 28-01-2022 13:16

Hey Jesper, thank you for this opportunity. My question is what study strategy to adapt for this exam? Should we prioritize book or slides information and does it make sense to learn all keywords from the book by heart? Thank you in advance! Best, Alexandra

Hi Jesper, Stan contributed on 28-01-2022 14:00

Hi Jesper,

I was wondering, what is the mesosystem in Bronfenbrenner’s model? Thank you in advance

Best,

Stan

Reply to Stan JesperN contributed on 28-01-2022 14:02

Hi Stan, thank you for your question. The mesosystem in Bronfenbrenner's model refers to the interaction between the microsystem (the environment that has a direct influence on the child, such as parents) and the ecosystem (the environment which does not contain the child but influences the child indirectly, such as the parent's workplace). Hope this answers your question!

Piaget rasalemink contributed on 28-01-2022 14:02

Hey Jesper, thank you! Could you explain the difference between Piaget's concrete operations stage and formal operations stage with an example?

Reply to rasalemink JesperN contributed on 28-01-2022 14:00

Hi, thank you for this question! The difference between Piaget's concrete operations stage and the formal operations stage is that in the formal operations stage, children will be able to show abstract thought and reasoning. For example, children in the formal operational stage will start to think about morals and society at large whereas children in the concrete operations stage do not.

Is everything up to date? Joselyn M. contributed on 28-01-2022 14:35

Is everything up to date?

Reply to Joselyn JesperN contributed on 28-01-2022 14:05

Hey Joselyn! Everything should be as up-to-date as possible! :)

Hello! Joselyn contributed on 28-01-2022 14:46

Hello Jesper! Thank you for this info session. Could you explain how twin studies can help understand the effect and interaction of nature and nurture?

Reply to Joselyn JesperN contributed on 28-01-2022 14:31

Hi Joselyn! That is a great question! By looking at twins we can more clearly differentiate the effects between nature and nurture, as their genetics are identical. Therefore, any differences in character, behaviour, etc, has to be due to nurture. Therefore, the twin studies give us great insight in understanding nature and nurture!

development Rohan Pitai contributed on 28-01-2022 14:22

Hey Jesper,

I know the age of the mother is a risk factor for a baby but why is the age of the father also a risk factor?

greets, rohan

Reply to Rohan Pitai JesperN contributed on 28-01-2022 14:50

Thank you for your question Rohan. The age of the father is a risk factor for the development of several psychological disorders, such as schizophrenia. Thus, the older the father is, the higher the probability that a child will eventually develop any form of psychopathology. I hope this answers your question!

parents Joost Glas contributed on 30-01-2023 11:15

Hey Jesper,

I have a question; can a child be permamently damages by missing a father in his life?

Best,

Joost

Reply to Joost Glas JesperN contributed on 30-01-2023 12:42

Hi Joost,

Thanks for your question! That's a good question! Though I wouldn't say that a child is necessarily permanently damaged as a result of the father not being present, I would say that it can have a significant impact. Whether something like this has an influence on the child's development depends on the resilience of the child. In general, it is most beneficial if children are raised by two agreeing parents compared to a single parent, but this, of course, does not hold for all children.

Hope this helps! Let me know if you have more questions! :)

Language Sophia contributed on 30-01-2023 11:05

Hi Jesper,

could you maybe explain the difference between phones and morphemes? I cannot keep them apart when I have to answer questions where they give examples and I have to say which one of them the right one is/

Thank you!

Reply to Sophia JesperN contributed on 30-01-2023 14:17

Hi Sophia! Thanks for your question.

The difference between phonemes and morphemes can be a bit confusing! A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound that can distinguish one word from another in a language. For example, take the sound /b/, which may help you differentiate between the word 'bill' or 'pill'. A morpheme, on the other hand, is the smallest unit of a language that carries a meaning. Take for an example the bound morpheme /un/, which gives meaning to a word (unbreakable or breakable). Hope this clarifies it! Let me know if you have any more questions!

Influence of genes IrisM contributed on 30-01-2023 17:45

I don't know how relevant this is, but in one of Annemies lecture slides, it says that the influence of genes is "passive, evocative, and active". She only mentioned it briefly during her lecture, and I was a little confused. Do you know what she meant?

Reply to IrisM JesperN contributed on 31-01-2023 11:08

Hi Iris, good question!

Passive influence of genes refers to the correlation between a person's environment and their genotype. For a child, this means that their environment is influenced by their parents' genes, which makes this a passive influence of genes. Evocative influence refers to genes influencing a person's behaviour in a way that evokes a reaction from the environment and thus has an influence on their development. Lastly, active influence of genes refers to a person's preference for an environment being influenced by their genes. For example, a person who is extraverted would typically choose social environments.

Hope this explains it a bit!