human development

• Fine motor skills, such as grasping objects and picking up small items, develop during the first year of life.
• Studying development is key to understanding changes over the course of development, what stimulates and constrains developments, and what problems may develop along the way
• Understanding what occurs in infancy, early childhood, or adolescence can provide clues to understanding adult mental states and behaviors
• Human development involves physical, cognitive, and psychosocial development throughout the lifespan
• Development is a pattern of movement or change that begins at conception and continues through the human lifespan
• Development involves systematic continuities and changes in the individual over the course of life
• Developmental continuities refer to ways in which individuals remain stable over time or continue to reflect their past
• Conception marks the onset of development, from the moment the father's sperm penetrates the mother's ovum, creating a new organism
• Development is a lifelong process and does not stop at a certain age
• Physical development involves growth and changes in the body and brain, motor skills, senses, and health
• Cognitive development includes learning, attention, memory, language, thinking, reasoning, and creativity
• Psychosocial development encompasses emotions, personality, self-esteem, and social relationships
• The continuity/discontinuity issue in human development involves a debate about whether changes are quantitative and continuous or qualitative and discontinuous
• The nature vs. nurture debate questions whether human development is primarily influenced by biological forces (nature) or environmental forces (nurture)
• There is a reciprocal interaction between nature and nurture in shaping human development
• The active/passive theme debate in developmental psychology questions whether children are active contributors to their own development or passive recipients of environmental influence
• The holistic nature of development theme explores how different aspects of human development are interrelated and influence each other as the child matures
• Periods of human development are divided into eight stages: prenatal development, infancy and toddlerhood, early childhood, middle childhood, adolescence, early adulthood, middle adulthood, and late adulthood
• Prenatal development involves the germinal, embryonic, and fetal periods, where major structures of the body form and the mother's health is crucial
• Infancy and toddlerhood are characterized by dramatic growth, brain development, and interactions with primary caregivers
• Early childhood, around ages 2-6, involves gaining a sense of self, learning about the physical world, and developing social skills
• Middle childhood, ages 6-11, focuses on academic skills, social relationships, and motor skill refinement
• Adolescence, roughly between 12-18, is marked by puberty, cognitive changes, and socioemotional development
• Adolescence is a time of cognitive change where new possibilities are considered, and abstract concepts like love, fear, and freedom are explored
• Teens often have a sense of invincibility that can put them at greater risk
• A major developmental task during adolescence involves establishing one's own identity
• Teens typically struggle to become more independent from their parents
• Adolescents strive for a sense of belonging and acceptance
• New roles and responsibilities are explored during adolescence
• Early adulthood, roughly ages 20-40, may be split into a category of "emerging adulthood" with profound differences between younger and older adults
• Love and work are primary concerns in early adulthood
• Middle adulthood spans the years between ages 40-65
• Late adulthood is generally viewed as age 65 and older, with variations in health and lifestyle between different age groups
• Dying and grieving are processes that may share certain stages of reactions to loss
• The third stage is the phallic stage, where children become aware of sexual differences and may experience Oedipus or Electra complexes.
• Baltes' Lifespan Perspective includes key principles such as development occurring across one's entire life, being multidimensional, multidirectional, plastic, influenced by contextual and socio-cultural factors, and multidisciplinary
• Development occurs across the entire lifespan, from conception to death
• Development is a complex interaction of biological, cognitive, and socioemotional changes
• Development results in gains and losses throughout life
• Development is malleable or changeable