Q&A Developmental Psychology [Universiteit van Amsterdam]

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!

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.

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

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!

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!

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! :)

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!