Psyco105 CH8,9,10

• Developmental psychology


  How we grow, develop, and change
• Areas of interest in developmental psychology

  • Physical
  • Language
  • Social
  • Cognitive
  • Moral
• Controversial issues in developmental psychology

  • Nature vs Nurture
  • Continuous vs Discontinuous
  • Quantitative vs Qualitative
  • Stability vs Instability
• Nature vs Nurture


  Hereditary vs environmental
• Stability vs Instability


  Stable or not over time
• Longitudinal studies


  Same individuals measured at different ages
• Cross-sectional studies


  Groups of different ages measured at the same time
• Genes


  Basic units for transmission of hereditary traits
• Zygote


  Single cell formed at conception
• Chromosome


  Carries genes and hereditary information
• Sex chromosome


  23rd pair of chromosomes
• Dominant trait


  Trait that will be expressed
• Recessive trait


  Trait that will only be expressed if paired with another recessive gene
• Polygenic


  Several genes produce a trait
• Multifactorial


  Influenced by hereditary and environment
• 3 Stages of Prenatal development

  1. Period of zygote (week 1)

  2. Embryonic Stage (week 3-8)

  3. Final Fetal Stage (weeks to birth)
• Period of zygote (week 1)


  Conception (sperm fertilization), Zygote to uterine wall
• Embryonic Stage (week 3-8)


  • Major systems, organs, and body structure develop
  • Cephalocaudal (brain) proximal development
  • Beating heart
• Final Fetal Stage (weeks to birth)

  • Rapid growth, further development on body
  • Respiratory, digestive, blood systems begin
  • Rapid brain growth, age of viability (able to survive)
  • Reflexes, 5 senses (hearing, vision, smell, taste, touch) develop
• Puberty


  Adolescent growth spurt, rapid growth, development of secondary sexual characteristics (male vs female)
• Menarche


  Beginning of menstrual period
• Menopause


  Period stops
• Jean Piaget's stage theory

  • Schema - Cognitive structures or concepts used to interpret the world
  • Assimilation - Fit new objects, events, experiences into existing schemas
  • Accommodation - Existing schemas modified or new schemas created
• Piaget's stages of cognitive development

  • Sensorimotor (0-2 years)
  • Preoperational (2-7 years)
  • Concrete operational (7-11 years)
  • Formal operational (11+ years)
• Piaget believed humans are naturally organized and born to adapt, both wanting equilibrium
• 5 areas of interest in developmental psychology

  • Physical
  • Language
  • Social
  • Cognitive
  • Moral
• 3 controversial issues in developmental psychology

  • Nature vs Nurture
  • Continuous vs Discontinuous
  • Stability vs Instability
• Longitudinal studies


  Same individuals measured at different ages
• Cross-sectional studies


  Groups of different ages measured at the same time
• Basic concepts of heredity

  • Genes
  • Zygote
  • Chromosomes
  • Sex chromosomes
  • Dominant traits
  • Recessive traits
  • Polygenic traits
  • Multifactorial traits
• Erikson's 8 stages of psychosocial development

  • Trust vs Mistrust (birth-1 year)
  • Autonomy vs Shame/Doubt (1-3 years)
  • Initiative vs Guilt (3-6 years)
  • Industry vs Inferiority (6 years-puberty)
  • Identity vs Role Confusion (adolescence)
  • Intimacy vs Isolation (young adulthood)
  • Generativity vs Stagnation (middle adulthood)
  • Ego Integrity vs Despair (late adulthood)
• Attachment theory


  Investigates the nature of attachment between infants and caregivers
• Parenting styles


  • Authoritarian
  • Permissive
  • Indifferent
  • Authoritative
• Kohlberg's stages of moral development

  • Preconventional (based on physical consequences)
  • Conventional (internalized standards of others)
  • Postconventional (weigh moral alternatives)
• Yerkes-Dodson law


  • Performs best when arousal level is appropriate for the task
  • Higher arousal for simpler tasks
  • Moderate arousal for moderate tasks
  • Low arousal for difficult tasks
• Intrinsic motivation


  Motivation that comes from within
• Extrinsic motivation


  Motivation that comes from external factors (e.g. rewards)
• When arousal level is too high or too low for the task


  Performance suffers
• Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

  • Needs arranged in order of urgency
  • Psychological needs are lowest
  • Self-actualization needs are highest
• Primary drives


  • Types of thirst
  • Extracellular thirst (body tissue loses fluid)
  • Intracellular thirst (loss of water from inside body cells)