Dev Psy

• 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
• Life-span development is intriguing and filled with information about yourself at different life stages
• Life expectancy


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

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

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


  A time frame in a person's life that is characterized by certain features
• Developmental periods


  • Prenatal period
  • Infancy
  • Toddlerhood
  • Early childhood
  • Middle and late childhood
  • Adolescence
  • Emerging adulthood
  • Early adulthood
  • Middle adulthood
  • Late adulthood
• Theories of Development
• Synaptic pruning begins around age 3-4 years old.
• Brain growth occurs rapidly during this time, with synapses forming at an incredible rate.
• The first year is the most critical period for brain development.
• Piaget’s theory focuses on cognitive development, specifically the stages of sensorimotor (birth to 2), preoperational (ages 2–7), concrete operational (ages 7–11), and formal operational (adolescence).
• By the end of adolescence, there are more than twice as many connections between neurons compared to adults.
• Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory emphasizes the role of social interaction in learning and development, with three main components: language, culture, and history.
• By age 2, there are more than twice as many neurons as needed to run the adult brain.
• As we grow older, some of these connections become stronger while others disappear through a process called "synaptic pruning."
• This process continues into adolescence and early adulthood.
• Neuronal connections (synapses) form quickly but then begin to be eliminated through a process called synaptic pruning.
• This process helps us focus on what is important and eliminates unnecessary information.