Book

• Human Development is an ever-evolving field
• Human Development


  The study of how and why people change over the course of a lifetime
• Domains of development


  • Physical
  • Cognitive
  • Psychosocial
• Periods of the life span

  • Prenatal
  • Infancy
  • Early childhood
  • Middle childhood
  • Adolescence
  • Emerging and young adulthood
  • Middle adulthood
  • Late adulthood
• Heredity


  Biological factors passed down from parents to offspring
• Environment


  The physical and social conditions that influence development
• Maturation


  Biological unfolding of inherited characteristics
• Contexts of development


  • Family
  • School
  • Community
  • Culture
• Normative influences


  Typical or expected influences on development
• Nonnormative influences


  Unusual or unexpected influences on development
• Critical periods


  Specific times when certain experiences are necessary for normal development
• Sensitive periods


  Times when certain experiences have a particularly strong influence on development
• Paul B. Baltes proposed a life-span developmental approach that views development as a lifelong process influenced by multiple factors
• Active development


  Development driven by the individual's own efforts and initiatives
• Reactive development


  Development driven by external influences and events
• Continuous development


  Development that occurs gradually and steadily
• Discontinuous development


  Development that occurs in distinct stages or steps
• Theoretical perspectives


  • Psychoanalytic
  • Learning
  • Cognitive
  • Contextual
  • Evolutionary/Sociobiological
• Research methods


  • Sampling
  • Data collection
  • Research designs
• Developmental research must adhere to ethical guidelines to protect participants
• Fertilization


  The process by which a sperm cell fuses with an egg cell to form a new organism
• Genetic code


  The hereditary information encoded in the DNA of genes
• Chromosomal abnormalities


  Errors in the number or structure of chromosomes
• Genetic counseling


  Providing information and support to individuals and families about genetic disorders and risks
• Prenatal development


  The process of growth and development before birth
• Stages of prenatal development

  • Germinal
  • Embryonic
  • Fetal
• Preconception care


  Health care and education provided to women and men before pregnancy to improve pregnancy outcomes
• Childbirth


  The process of giving birth to a child
• Cesarean delivery


  Surgical delivery of a baby through an incision in the mother's abdomen and uterus
• Low birth weight


  Birth weight less than 5.5 pounds (2,500 grams)
• Postmaturity


  Remaining in the uterus beyond the normal 40-week gestation period
• Stillbirth


  The birth of a dead fetus
• Motor development


  The development of physical skills and abilities
• Classical conditioning


  Learning that occurs when a neutral stimulus is paired with a stimulus that naturally produces a response
• Operant conditioning


  Learning that occurs through the consequences of behavior
• Sensorimotor stage


  Piaget's first stage of cognitive development, characterized by the use of senses and motor skills to understand the world
• Information processing


  The mental processes involved in acquiring, storing, and using information
• Attachment


  The strong emotional bond that develops between an infant and their primary caregiver
• Social referencing


  The process of looking to others for cues about how to interpret and respond to a situation
• Autonomy


  The ability to think and act independently