Everything

Developmental Psychology

Investigates how people grow, change, and adapt throughout their lifespan.

Lifespan Stages

Includes infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and late adulthood.

Physical Development

Growth patterns, motor skills, puberty, and aging processes.

Cognitive Development

Changes in thinking, problem-solving, language acquisition, and memory from infancy to older adulthood.

Social and Emotional Development

Attachment, relationships, self-concept, emotional regulation, and personality formation across life stages.

Nature vs. Nurture

Debate on how genetic factors and the environment interact to shape development.

Attachment Styles

Different patterns of attachment that influence later relationships, influenced by early caregiving.

Cognitive Milestones

Key achievements in cognitive development, such as learning to speak, read, and reason.

Societal Context

Influence of cultural context on growth and identity formation.

Resilience

Ability to thrive despite adversity; factors that contribute vary across life stages.

Infancy

The first two years of life characterized by rapid development and transformation.

Early Development

Weight triples and brain grows to 80% adult volume in the first two years.

Neural Plasticity

The capacity of the brain to change and adapt; most pronounced during infancy.

Kangaroo Mother Care

Skin-to-skin contact recommended for pre-term and low-birth-weight infants to improve outcomes.

Nature (Plato)

Idea that capabilities and personality are genetically encoded and development is maturation.

Nurture (John Locke)

The concept of the mind as a blank slate influenced by sensory experiences.

Gene-Environment Interactions

How genetic predispositions interact with environmental factors affecting behavior.

Epigenetics

Study of how environmental factors can influence gene expression.

Cochlear Implant

Device for the hearing-impaired; effectiveness varies with age of implantation.

Sensory Development

Evolutionary adaptations prepare infants for survival; sensory systems mature unevenly.

Vision Development

Newborns' visual acuity improves over the first months, reaching adult levels by 6-8 months.

Hearing in Infants

Infants are sensitive to sound patterns and can recognize their mother's voice early.

Touch Sensitivity

Development of tactile receptors before birth; infants can detect shapes and textures.

Taste and Smell

Critical for feeding; infants have distinct preferences for sweet and maternal scents.

Reflexes

Innate motor responses present at birth, vital for survival.

Emotion and Temperament

Basic states of emotion develop early; temperament differences can influence later behavior.

Studying Infant Behavior

Research relies on observing natural behaviors like looking and sucking.

Preferential Looking Paradigm

Method to assess infant visual preferences by tracking gaze duration on stimuli.

Physiological Measures

Responses like heart rate and pupil dilation indicate attention and arousal in infants.

Lifespan Aging

Old age primarily defined as 65+, but life expectancy has increased significantly.

Gerontology

Scientific study of aging and the issues faced by older adults.

Geropsychology

Psychologists specializing in the mental health of older adults.

Cognitive Function in Aging

Variability in cognitive aging; some functions improve while others decline.

Emotional Regulation in Aging

Older adults show better emotional control and less negative affect.

Successful Aging

Maintaining health, social connection, and purpose into older age.

Moral Development

Evolving understanding of values and rules shaping behavior.

Bandura's Bobo Doll Experiment

Demonstrated social learning through imitation of aggressive and non-aggressive models.

Piaget's Theory

Cognitive development occurs in distinct stages; moral judgment evolves with cognitive growth.

Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development

Moral reasoning progresses through pre-conventional, conventional, and post-conventional levels.

Parenting Styles

Styles that impact child cognitive and moral development; authoritative is seen as the most beneficial.

Social Learning Theory

Observational learning influences behavior; requires attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation.

Theory of Mind

Understanding that others have different mental states; develops around 4-5 years.

Attachment Theory

Early bonds, especially between infants and their primary caregivers; important for psychological development.

Secure Attachment

Type of attachment where infants feel safe to explore; linked to sensitive caregiving.

Anxious-Avoidant Attachment

Type of attachment characterized by avoidance of closeness.

Anxious-Ambivalent Attachment

Type of attachment marked by clinginess and distress upon separation.

Cultural Differences in Attachment

Variations in attachment classifications influenced by cultural practices.

Cognitive Development Stages

Piaget's framework comprising sensorimotor, pre-operational, concrete operational, and formal operational stages.

Critical Period Hypothesis

Optimal time for language acquisition; sensitive to early exposure.

Media Influence on Body Image

Media portrayals shape adolescents' perceptions and aspirations regarding body image.

Adolescent Risk-Taking

Increased propensity for risky behaviors during adolescence due to developmental factors.

Nucleus Accumbens

Brain region motivating reward-seeking behavior, developing earlier than the prefrontal cortex.

Synaptic Pruning

Process that strengthens commonly used neural pathways while eliminating unused ones during adolescence.

Creative Thinking in Adolescence

Late development of the prefrontal cortex supports flexible and creative cognitive patterns.