C4: Development

• Developmental psychologists study life cycles from conception to death; examines how we develop physically, cognitively and socially
• Issues involving development:

  • Nature vs nurture
  • Continuity and stages
  • Stability and change
• Nature vs nurture is our interaction of genetic inheritance with our experiences and its influence on development
• Continuity and stages is the question of it development of gradual/continuous or sequence predetermined stages
• Stability and change is how much a personality remains stable or changes over lifespan
• Cross-sectional Studies is research that compares people of different ages at the same point in time
• Longitudinal Studies is research that follow and retests the same people over time
• Normative Development is the typical sequence and timing of developmental milestones that most experience within a population
• A zygote is a fertilized egg; enters 2 week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo
• An embryo is a developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the second month
• A fetus is a developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth
• Teratogens are agents that can reach the embryo/fetus during prenatal development and cause harm (eg. Chemicals, viruses, etc.)
• Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is the physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a mother's large consumption of alcohol
• Rooting Reflex is the tendency for a baby to open its mouth when cheek is touched in search for the nipple; Automatic response
• Maturation is the biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience
• Critical Period is the optimal period shortly after birth when an organism's exposure to certain stimuli/experiences produces proper development
• Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development has 4 stages; Sensorimotor, Preoperational, Concrete operational and Formal Operational
• Sensorimotor is the first stage of development that occurs from birth to nearly 2 years
• Sensorimotor is experiencing the world through senses and actions (eg. looking, touching, mouthing, grasping)
• Sensorimotor focuses on the events of object permanence and stranger anxiety
• Preoperational is the second stage of development that occurs around 2-6 or 7 years
• Preoperational is the representation of things with words and images but lacking logical reasoning
• Preoperational focuses on the events of pretend play, egocentrism and language development
• Concrete operational is the third stage of development that occurs at around 7-11 years
• Concrete operational is thinking logically about concrete events; grasping concrete analogies and performing arithmetic operations
• Concrete operational focuses on the events of conservation and mathematical transformations
• Formal operational is the fourth stage of development that occurs at around 12 years and through adulthood
• Formal operational is the ability to use abstract reasoning
• Formal operational focuses on the events of abstract logic and potential for mature moral reasoning
• Erikson's Stages of Psychosexual Development has 8 stages of development one goes through
• First stage of development is Infancy (1 year); its issues are trust vs mistrust
• Infancy focuses on the development of a sense of basic trust if needs are dependably met
• Second stage of development is Toddlerhood (1-2 years); its issues are autonomy vs shame and doubt
• Toddlerhood focuses on the ability to exercise will and do things for themselves or doubt their abilities
• Third stage of development is preschooler (3-5 years); its issues is initiative vs guilt
• Preschooler focuses on the initiation of tasks, carrying out plans or feeling guilt about efforts to be independent
• Fourth stage of development is elementary school (6 years - puberty); its issues are competence vs inferiority
• Elementary School stage learns the pleasure of applying themselves to tasks or the feeling of being inferior to others
• Fifth stage of development is adolescence (teen to 20s); issues are identity vs role confusion
• Adolescence focuses on refining the sense of self by testing roles before integrating them to form a single identity or become confused about who they are