Developmental psychology

• Developmental psychology


  The scientific study of how people change and grow throughout their lifespan
• Goal of studying human development

  • Describe
  • Explain
  • Predict
  • Intervene
• Domains of development


  • Psychosocial
  • Cognitive
  • Physical
• Periods of development


  • Prenatal Period (conception to birth)
  • Infancy and Toddlerhood (birth to age 3)
  • Early Childhood (ages 3 to 6)
  • Middle Childhood (ages 6 to 11)
  • Adolescence (ages 11 to about 20)
  • Emerging and Young Adulthood (ages 20 to 40)
  • Middle Adulthood (ages 40 to 65)
  • Late Adulthood (age 65 and over)
• Influences on development


  • Heredity
  • Environment
  • Maturation
  • Family
  • SES
  • Culture & Race
  • History
• Core principles of developmental psychology

  • Lifespan Perspective: Development is a continuous process that occurs throughout life
  • Multidimensionality: Development occurs in multiple domains - physical, cognitive, social, and emotional
  • Multidirectionality: As people gain in one area, they may lose in another, sometimes at the same time
• Core principles of developmental psychology (cont.)

  • Nature vs Nurture: The process of development is influenced by both biology and culture, but the balance between these influences changes
  • Changing Priorities: Resources may be used for growth, for maintenance, or dealing with loss
  • Plasticity: The brain and behavior have the capacity for change and adaptation throughout life
• Active vs. Reactive (Organismic vs. Mechanistic)


  Contrasting perspectives on human development
• Continuity vs. Discontinuity (Gradual vs. Stage-based)


  Contrasting perspectives on human development
• Psychoanalytic Perspective


  • Focus: Unconscious mind & Psychosexual stages (Freud)
  • Focus: Psychosocial stages & Identity formation (Erikson)
  • Strengths: Explains personality development, long-term influences
  • Weaknesses: Difficult to test, limited role of environment (Freud)

  
• Psychosexual Stages of Development

  • 5 Psychosexual Stages: Oral, Anal, Phallic, Latency, Genital
  • Erogenous Zones: Areas of the body that are a source of pleasure
  • Libido: Psychosexual energy
  • Fixation: Getting stuck in a particular stage
  • Importance: Early experiences can shape adult personality

  
• Psychosocial Stages of Development

  • 8 Stages Across Lifespan: Trust vs. Mistrust, Autonomy vs. Shame, Initiative vs. Guilt, Industry vs. Inferiority, Identity vs. Role Confusion, Intimacy vs. Isolation, Generativity vs. Stagnation, Integrity vs. Despair
  • Psychosocial Crisis: Each stage has a conflict to navigate
  • Ego Identity: Develops throughout life through social interaction
  • Emphasis on Social Interaction: Stages are influenced by relationships
  • Lifelong Process: Development continues throughout life

  
• Learning Perspective (Behaviorism)


  • Focus: Observable behaviors shaped by environment (Classical & Operant Conditioning)
  • Key figures: Pavlov, Skinner
  • Strengths: Emphasis on observable changes, practical applications
  • Weaknesses: Underestimates internal factors, oversimplifies complex behaviors
• Cognitive Perspective (Piaget & Vygotsky)


  • Focus: Stages of cognitive development (Piaget)
  • Key figures: Piaget, Vygotsky (Zone of Proximal Development)
  • Strengths: Explains information processing, intellectual growth
  • Weaknesses: Rigid stages (Piaget), underestimates individual variations

  
• Cognitive Stages (Piaget)


  • 4 Sequential Stages: Sensorimotor (birth-2 years), Preoperational (2-7 years), Concrete Operational (7-11 years), Formal Operational (11 years & up)
  • Focus on How Children Think: Stages represent shifts in cognitive abilities
  • Schema: Mental frameworks for organizing knowledge
  • Assimilation: Fitting new information into existing schemas
  • Accommodation: Modifying schemas to fit new information
  • Equilibration: Striving for mental balance

  
• Ecological Perspective (Bronfenbrenner)


  • Focus: Interacting systems influencing development (Microsystem, Mesosystem, Macrosystem)
  • Key figure: Bronfenbrenner
  • Strengths: Considers multiple contexts, emphasizes cultural variations
  • Weaknesses: Can be complex to grasp, less emphasis on individual characteristics
• Evolutionary Perspective


  • Focus: How development is shaped by natural selection & adaptation
  • Key figures: Darwin
  • Strengths: Explains survival-related behaviors, broadens understanding of development
  • Weaknesses: Difficult to test specific predictions about behavior
• Fertilization


  Union of sperm and ovum to produce a zygote; also called conception
• Prenatal Stages


  1. Germinal – first 2 weeks

  2. Embryonic – 2 to 8 weeks

  3. Fetal – 8 weeks to birth

  
• Teratogen


  Environmental agent, such as a virus, a drug, or radiation, that can interfere with normal prenatal development and cause developmental abnormalities
• Genes


  Small segments of DNA located in definite positions on particular chromosomes; functional units of heredity
• Mutations


  Permanent alterations in genes or chromosomes that may produce harmful characteristics
• Autosomes


  In humans, the 22 pairs of chromosomes not related to sexual expression
• Sex chromosomes


  Pair of chromosomes that determines sex: XX in the normal human female, XY in the normal human male
• Genotype-environment interaction


  The portion of phenotypic variation that results from the reactions of genetically different individuals to similar environmental conditions
• Epigenesis


  Genes are turned off or on as they are needed by the developing body or when triggered by the environment
• Maternal Factors


  • Nutrition and Maternal Weight
  • Physical Activity and Work
  • Drug Intake
  • Maternal Illnesses
  • Maternal Anxiety, Stress, and Depression
  • Outside Environmental Hazards
  • Maternal Age
• Birthing Methods


  • Lamaze Method
  • LeBoyer Method
  • Water Birth
  • Hypnobirthing
• Cesarean Delivery


  • Commonly performed when labor progresses too slowly, when the fetus seems to be in trouble, or when the mother is bleeding vaginally
  • Often needed when the fetus is in the breech position, transverse position, or when the head is too big to pass through the mother's pelvis

  
• Neonatal Period


  First 4 weeks
• Fontanels


  Area on the head where the bones of the skull do not meet
• Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS)


  • Neurological and behavioral test to measure neonate's responses to the environment
  • For infants up to 2 months old
  • Assesses motor organization, reflexes, state changes, attention and interactive capacities, central nervous system instability

  
• Newborn Screening (NBS)


  Simple procedure to find out if your baby has a congenital disorder that may lead to mental retardation or even death if left untreated
• Expanded Newborn Screening (ENBS)

  • Glucose-6 Phosphate Dehydrogenase Deficiency
  • Congenital Hypothyroidism
  • Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia
  • Galactosemia
  • Phenylketonuria
  • Maple Syrup Urine Disease
  • Cystic Fibrosis
  • Biotinidase Deficiency
  • Organic Acid Disorders
  • Fatty Acid Oxidation Disorders
  • Amino Acid Disorders
  • Urea Cycle Disorders
  • Hemoglobin Disorders
• Low-birth-weight babies (LBW)


  Neonates born weighing less than 2,500 grams (5 pounds) at birth
• Preterm (premature) infants


  Babies born before the 37th week of gestation
• Postmature


  Staying too long in the womb
• Neonatal jaundice


  Skin and eyeballs look yellow, develops 3-4 days after birth, more common in premature babies
• Vision


  • Least developed sense at birth, perhaps because there is so little to see in the womb
• Touch


  • First sense to develop, most mature sensory system for the first several months