Chapter Two

• Psychological development


  An individual’s changes in functioning across multiple domains, including the lifelong growth across emotional, cognitive, and social domains
• Hereditary factors


  Factors that influence development and are genetically passed down from biological parents to their offspring
• Environmental factors


  Factors that influence development and arise from an individual’s physical and social surroundings
• Genetic predisposition


  The increased likelihood to develop certain traits, including diseases, if certain conditions are met
• Biopsychosocial model


  A holistic, interdisciplinary framework for understanding the human experience in terms of the influence of biological, psychological, and social factors
• Biological factors


  Internal genetic and/or physiologically based factors
• Psychological factors


  Internal factors pertaining to an individual’s mental processes, including their cognition, affect, thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes
• Social factors


  External factors relating to an individual’s interactions with others and their external environment, including their relationships and community involvement
• Mental wellbeing


  An individual’s current psychological state, involving their ability to think, process information, and regulate emotions
• Emotional development


  The continuous, lifelong development of skills that allow individuals to control, express, and recognise emotions in an appropriate way
• Attachment


  A long-lasting emotional bond between two individuals
• Cognitive development


  The continuous, lifelong development of the ability to think, comprehend, and organise information from the internal and external environment
• Social development


  The continuous, lifelong development of certain skills, attitudes, relationships, and behaviours that enable an individual to interact with others and to function as a member of society
• Maturation


  The biologically programmed process of growth that has a fixed sequence and facilitates all aspects of our development as we grow
• Plasticity


  The brain’s ability to physically change shape in response to experience and learning
• Critical periods


  The narrow, rigid developmental period in which a specific function or skill must be learnt
• Sensitive periods


  The optimal developmental period for a specific function or skill to be learnt in the fastest and easiest way