UNIT 1

• Developmental Psychology


  Primarily concerned with CHANGE
• Developmental Psychology


  Concerned with the description and explanation of changes that occur in psychological processes at any point in the life span
• Perspectives of Developmental Psychology


  • Lifelong: womb to tomb; no age period dominates development
  • Multidirectional: The study of change from multiple directions of influence
  • Multicultural: There are many, many cultures around the world that influence individuals
  • Multidisciplinary: We have to use many different fields to effectively study development
  • Plasticity: Developmental changes occur throughout the lifespan and can be drastically altered at any point in time
• Contexts that affect human development

  • Normative age-graded influences
  • Normative history-graded influences
  • Nonnormative life events
• Development

  Involves Growth, Maintenance, and Regulation of Loss
• Development


  A Co-construction of Biology, Culture, and the Individual
• The brain shapes culture, but it is also shaped by culture and the experiences that individuals have or pursue
• We can go beyond what our genetic inheritance or environment give us
• Development


  The pattern of change that begins at conception and continues through the life span
• Life-span perspective


  Development is lifelong, multidimensional, multidirectional, plastic, multidisciplinary, and contextual; involves growth, maintenance, and regulation; and is constructed through biological, sociocultural, and individual factors working together
• The more you learn about children, the better you can deal with them
• Life-span development allows you to see yourself at different stages of life and think about how experiences influence your development
• Life expectancy


  The average time that a human being is expected to live, based on birth year, current age, and other demographic factors
• Internal factors affecting development

  • Genetics
  • Physical maturation
  • Cognition
• External factors affecting development

  • Socioeconomic status
  • Availability of resources
  • Social influences
• Developmental periods

  • Prenatal period
  • Infancy
  • Toddlerhood
  • Early childhood
  • Middle and late childhood
  • Adolescence
  • Emerging adulthood
  • Early adulthood
  • Middle adulthood
  • Late adulthood
• Theories of Development
• Biological Processes

  produces change in an individual's physical nature
• Cognitive Processes


  refers to changes in the individuals thought, intelligence and language
• Socioemotional Processes


  involves changes in the individual's relationship with other people, changes in emotions and personality
• Prenatal


  Conception to birth
• Infancy

  birth at full term to about 18 months
• Early childhood

  about 18 months to 6 years
• Middle childhood

  6 years to 11 years
• Adolescence

  11 years to 20 years
• Early adulthood

  20 years to 40 years
• Middle adulthood

  40 years to 65 years
• Late adulthood

  65 years and older
• Internal factors


  things that are unique to the individual that can influence development
• External factors


  things that are outside of the individual that can influence the developemnt