life cycle

• Module 3: The Phases of the Life Cycle
• Psycho-social life tasks of each phase


  • infancy
  • childhood
  • adolescence
  • adulthood
• Domains


  • Physical Domain
  • Cognitive Domain
  • Social/Emotional Domain
• Phases of Development


  • Prenatal development and the newborn
  • Infancy and Childhood
  • Adolescence
  • Adulthood
• The course of prenatal development

  1. Germinal stage (first two weeks)

  2. Embryonic stage (two weeks to two months)

  3. Fetal stage (two months to birth)
• Germinal stage


  The first phase of prenatal development, encompassing the first two weeks after conception
• Germinal stage


  1. Zygote created through fertilization

  2. Cell divides and migrates to uterine cavity

  3. Implantation in uterine wall

  4. Placenta begins to form
• Embryonic stage


  The second stage of prenatal development, lasting two weeks until the end of the second month
• During the embryonic stage most of the vital organs and bodily systems begin to form in the developing organism, which is now called an embryo
• The embryonic stage is a period of great vulnerability, and if anything interferes during this phase, the effects can be devastating. Most miscarriages occur during this period
• Teratogens


  External agents, such as drugs and viruses, that can damage the developing embryo or fetus
• Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)


  Cognitive, behavioral, and body/brain structure abnormalities caused by exposure to alcohol in the fetal stage
• The fetal stage


  1. Rapid body growth

  2. Muscles and bones begin to form

  3. Fetus becomes capable of physical movements

  4. Organs continue to grow and gradually begin to function

  5. Brain cells multiply at a brisk pace

  6. A layer of fat is deposited under the skin

  7. Respiratory and digestive systems mature
• Around the 23 weeks and 26 weeks, the fetus reaches the threshold of viability-the age at which a baby can survive in the case of a premature birth. However infants born near the threshold go on to experience a wide range of developmental problems
• Newborns


  Equipped with automatic reflex responses to aid survival, such as rooting, sucking, and stepping
• Within days after birth the infant's brain is stamped with the smell of their mother's body
• From ages 3 to 6, the most rapid growth is in the frontal lobes, which enable rational planning. This explains why preschoolers display a rapidly developing ability to control their attention and behaviour
• The association areas, linked with thinking, memory and language are the last areas to develop
• Motor development


  • Sequence is universal (roll over, sit, crawl, walk)
  • Maturation takes place in the body and cerebellum
  • Physical training generally cannot change the timing
• Habituation


  Familiarity with a stimulus reduces, slows or stops a response
• Dishabituation


  Increase in response after the presentation of a new stimulus
• Babies are attracted to novelty
• Assimilation


  Process of matching external reality to an existing cognitive structure
• Accommodation


  When there's an inconsistency between the learner's cognitive structure and the thing being learned, the child will reorganise their thoughts
• Piaget believed that a child's mind develops through a series of stages
• Piaget's stages of cognitive development

  • Sensorimotor Stage (birth to 2 years)
  • Preoperational Stage (2 to 6/7 years)
  • Concrete Operational Stage (6/7 to 11 years)
  • Formal Operational Stage (by age 12)
• Sensorimotor Stage


  Babies take in the world through their senses and actions - looking, hearing, touching, mouthing, and grasping
• Object permanence


  Infants younger than 6 months seldom understand that things continue to exist when they are out of sight
• Egocentrism


  Difficulty perceiving things from another's point of view
• Theory of Mind


  People's ideas about their own and others' mental states - feelings, perception, thoughts, and the behaviours they predict
• Infants as young as 7 months show some knowledge of others' beliefs, which develops further with time
• 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 years - children realise others may hold false beliefs
• Preoperational Stage


  Characterised by language development and egocentric thought
• Concrete Operational Stage


  Children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events
• Formal Operational Stage


  Reasoning expands from concrete to include abstract thinking
• Formal Operational Stage


  • Abstract thinking
  • Idealistic thinking
  • Logical thinking
• Lev Vygotsky


  Mind grows through interaction with the social environment, and language provides the building block for thinking
• Zone of proximal development


  The distance between the actual development level and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers
• Scaffolding


  Supportive activities provided by the mentor or teacher that help guide the learner through the zone of proximal development
• More Knowledgeable Other


  Someone who has a higher level of knowledge than the learner and provides critical guidance and instruction