Child and Adolescent Psych: Intro to Developmental Psych

development

age-related changes that occur between the moment of conception and the day one dies

• life-long process

age

What is development linked to?

preschool compared to adolescents and adults the ability to understand other’s thoughts more deeply increases

a baby learns to crawling, stand, walk, then run

What are some examples of development being generally sequential and moving towards greater complexity?

physical, cognitive, social-emotional

What are the three types of development?

physical development

the process of physical growth and the development of sensory and motor abilities

physical, gross

Standing, crawling, walking, running are all ___________ development. What kind of motor skills are these?

physical, fine

Writing, zipping up a jacket, and stacking blocks are all _________ development. What kind of motor skills are these?

growth in weight and height, sensation and perception like vision, hearing, interpreting sensory information such as object and depth perception, brain development

What are some examples of physical development not involving motor skills?

cognitive development

development of thinking, reasoning, and problem-solving skills

cognitive

What type of development: memory, conceptual understanding, problem-solving, logic, intelligence, academic achievement, language (learning words, putting words into sentences)

social cognition

type of cognitive development: thinking about people and relationships (ex. perspective-taking)

social and emotional development

development of the ability to express and regulate emotions, acquire a sense of self/identity, interact with others, and form relationships with others

relationships with parents, siblings, peers/friends, teachers, grandparents

personality

self/identity

self processes like self-concept and self-esteem

What are some examples of social and emotional development?

description, explanation, prediction, prevention and intervention, and education

What are the goals of developmental psychology?

description

a goal of developmental psychology: describe how children feel, think, and act at different ages/different periods of development

description

how children act when they are young

how children think at a specific age/period of development

What goal is this?

young children at more likely to behave aggressively

self-esteem decreases overall in middle childhood

explanation (causation)

goal of developmental psychology: Explain WHY children think and act differently

at different ages

The Explanation goal has two different categories

Which one is this?

Young children are more likely to behave aggressively BECAUSE they have more difficulty regulating their emotions

compared to each other

The Explanation goal has two different categories

Which one is this?

Some children are more aggressive than others their age due to brain issues, parenting strategies/parenting type

prediction

a goal of developmental psychology: predict from early development to later development

prediction

which goal is this?

Children who are highly aggressive in early childhood are more likely to engage in violence as adolescents.

Children with secure attachments with parents early in development later have higher self-esteem, are more emotionally healthy, and have better relationships with others.

Children rejected by peers are more likely to drop out of school.

prevention

a goal of developmental psychology: helping children, prevent developmental problems from occurring

intervention

a goal of developmental psychology: intervene to help children who have problems

parent training for at-risk families, social skills training for children who are very shy

What are some ways we can reach the goal of prevention?

School counselors can work with children who are rejected by their peers to develop better social skills and social confidence

Children who have low self-esteem can go to counseling and family therapy

What are some ways we can reach the goal of intervention?

education

a goal of developmental psychology: educate people who interact with and work with children about child development

Ex. training of child care providers, parenting programs, nursing, TED (teacher education), OT, and PT students taking child development courses

• continuity/discontinuity

• nature/nurture - role in development

• similarity/difference in development

What are the three major issues/controversies in theory and research in development?

Is development continuous (occurring slowly and gradually over time without abrupt shifts/changes?) straight line on graph

OR

• Is development discontinuous - occurring in stages - children are in one stage and then rather abruptly transition to a new way of being? (stairs on graph) abrupt shift to next stage

Explain the continuity/discontinuity issue

cognitive development (information processing theory) straight line

example of continuity

cognitive development (Piaget’s theory) stairs on graph abrupt change

example of discontinuity

Piaget says both are relevant and have a role.

What does Piaget say about nature/nurture?

Attachment theory says nurture is important. (parents)

What does attachment theory say about nature/nurture?

has to do with age!

cognitive abilities of 4 year olds vs 8 year olds vs 12 year olds

• Piaget

What are normative developmental differences?

same age!

Ex. Why are some 4-year-olds more aggressive or more intelligence as compared to other 4 year olds?

Ex. Baumrind - effects of different parenting styles; developmental behavior genetics

What are some examples of individual differences?