Developing Through the Lifespan

prenatal development

A zygote is a fertilized egg; at about 14 days it becomes an embryo. This starts the embryonic stage which lasts for two months. Vital organs are produced

What happens after the embryonic stage

At 9 weeks, we have a fetus. Muscles and bones form, movement occurs.

What is the competent newborn

Babies are born with reflexes to help them survive- breathing, blinking, rooting (food), sucking, swallowing; Babies can recognize faces and smells

What is habituation

A decrease in responding to a stimuli over time with repeated exposure. Seeing something for the first time vs the 100th time will have different reactions

Physical development in babies

Brains are formed, it has the most neurons it will ever have. They are not yet connected, they do so by a result of learning new things. The most rapid growth is between the ages of 3 and 7

Developing Brains

Your brain develops as you learn and experience new things. As you stop using certain things, those neurons are pruned

Maturation

It is driven by genes, it sets the course for development but experiences modify that course

motor development

First, infants begin to roll over. Next, they sit unsupported, crawl, and finally walk. Experience has little effect on this sequence.

Maturation and Infant memory

The earliest age of conscious memory is around 3½ years (Bauer, 2002). A 5-year-old has a sense of self and an increased long-term memory, thus organization of memory is different from 3-4 years.

What is the best way for memories to be encoded

Memories are encoded best through speech. At the ages of 3 and under, speech is not encoded to memories are hard to recall

Cognitive development

Our way of thinking changes over time; it is shaped by the errors we make; What we experience impacts what we do and how we think; It is driven first by physical development

What are schemes

A concept or framework that organizes and interprets information

What is assimilation

interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas

What is accommodation

adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information

What are Piaget's stages of cognitive development?

sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, formal operational

What is sensorimotor development

Birth to nearly 2 years; babies take in the world by looking, hearing, and touching. Children younger than 6 months do not have object permanence; stranger anxiety

What is object permanence

the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived

What is preoperational development

It is from 2 years to about 6-7 years; representing things with words and images, using intuitive rather than logical reasoning. The ability to think egocentrically

What is egocentrism

in Piaget's theory, the preoperational child's difficulty taking another's point of view

What is concrete operational development

About 7-11 years; thinking logically about concrete events; grasping concrete analogies and performing arithmetic analogies; They are able to understand conservation

What is conservation

the knowledge that quantity is unrelated to the arrangement and physical appearance of objects; the principle that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes to forms of objects

What is formal operational development

About 12 through adulthood; Abstract reasoning. Abstract logic, potential for mature moral reasoning

What is stranger anxiety

the fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months of age. Infants form shame as during this time for familiar faces and cannot assimilate new ones

Attachment in infants

characterized by desire for physical contact and anxiety when separated; infants need physical touch to promote growth;

What is secure attachment

a relationship in which an infant obtains both comfort and confidence from the presence of his or her caregiver; they are easily calmed after being frightened and go back to normal activities when primary caregiver is there

What is insecure attachment

a fragile emotional bond between a child and caregiver often from inconsistent or unresponsive caregiving; they are not as easily calmed

Why is physical touch so important for babies

It develops relationships with caregivers; it promotes growth; it impacts how an infant experiences the world when they are older

Separation anxiety

emotional distress seen in many infants when they are separated from people with whom they have formed an attachment; it peaks at 13 months no matter the attachment type

Deprivation of attachment

children become withdrawn, frightened, unable to develop speech

Prolonged deprivation

If parental or caregiving support is deprived for an extended period of time, children are at risk for physical, psychological, and social problems, including alterations in brain serotonin levels.

What are the types of parenting methods

authoritarian, authoritative, permissive

What is authoritarian parenting

High behavioral standards, strict punishment of misconduct, and little communication; rules must be followed at all times

What is authoritative parenting

parents set limits and enforce rules but are flexible and listen to their children

What is permissive parenting

High nurturance and communication but little discipline, guidance, or control; parents want to be child's best friend

What is the best parenting style

A mix of all will turn out to be the best. Certain styles are better suited for children with different temperaments

Brain development at puberty

Until puberty, neurons increase; unused neurons are pruned; myelin sheath develops in the frontal lobe until about 25 years of age to help you mature

The frontal cortex during puberty

The frontal cortex lags behind the Limbic system's development; Hormones surges in the Limbic system may explain teen immaturity

Developing morality

How children view what is right and wrong depends on what they experience; people think differently about what is right or wrong at different ages

Basic levels of moral thinking

preconventional, conventional, postconventional

What is preconventional morality

Before age 9, children show morality to avoid punishment or gain reward.

What is conventional morality

By early adolescence, social rules and laws are upheld for their own sake.

What is post conventional morality

actions reflect beliefs in basic rights and self-defined ethical principles