Unit 4: Development

In this unit, students examine how individuals grow and change physically, cognitively, socially, and emotionally across the lifespan. Beginning with prenatal development, the unit explores key developmental stages from infancy to late adulthood, emphasizing both nature and nurture influences. Students analyze major theories of cognitive, moral, psychosocial, and social development, comparing the contributions of psychologists such as Piaget, Erikson, Kohlberg, Harlow, Ainsworth, and Baumrind. The unit also addresses how biological and environmental factors impact development, how attachment forms, and how individuals experience physical, cognitive, and social changes in later life.

Nature vs. nurture

The debate about whether human behavior and traits are determined more by genetics (nature) or by environment and experiences (nurture).

Continuity vs. stages

The debate about whether development is a gradual, continuous process (continuity) or occurs in distinct, separate stages (stages)

Stability vs. change

The debate about whether personality traits and behaviors remain consistent throughout life (stability) or change significantly over time due to experiences (change).

zygote

The fertilized egg formed when a sperm and egg unite; it is the earliest stage of prenatal development.

embryo

The developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the end of the 8th week, when major organs begin to form.

fetus

The developing human organism from about 9 weeks after conception until birth, when growth and maturation of organs occur.

Teratogens (e.g., alcohol, drugs, chemicals, viruses)

Harmful agents, can cross the placenta and negatively affect prenatal development, causing physical or cognitive defects.

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)

physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman’s heavy drinking; in severe cases, signs include a small, out-of-proportion head and abnormal facial features

Maturation

The orderly sequence of biological growth processes that occur naturally over time, largely independent of experience.

Reflexes

Automatic, unlearned responses to stimuli that are present at birth, such as sucking or grasping

Rooting

An infant’s automatic response of turning the head and opening the mouth when the cheek is touched, helping the baby find food

Sucking

An infant’s automatic, unlearned response of sucking on objects placed in the mouth, essential for feeding and survival

Grasping

An infant’s automatic response of curling fingers around an object placed in the palm, demonstrating early motor development.

Moro

An infant’s automatic response to a sudden loss of support or loud noise, involving flinging of limbs

habituation

decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation; as infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner

neural pruning

neural connections develop rapidly in childhood and then are whittled away if unused in adolescence; helps with efficiency

myelineation

myelin sheath becomes thicker and stronger, speeds neural communication

critical periods

highly sensitive periods for environmental input, especially vision + language

puberty

period of sexual maturation, during which a person becomes capable of reproducing

cognition

all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

Piaget

Theory and Current Thinking, experiment on own children, cognitive development (stopped @ 12)

schema

a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information

assimilation

interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas

accomodation

adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information

Sensorimotor stage (0-2 yrs)

experiencing the world through senses and actions (looking, hearing, touching, mouthing, and grasping)

object permanence

the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived

stranger anxiety

wary of strangers + unknown

Preoperational Stage (2-6/7 yrs)

representing things with words and images; using intuitive rather than logical reasoning

egocentrism

child’s difficulty taking another’s point of view, difficulty perceiving thing’’s from another’s pov

theory of mind

people’s ideas about their own and other’s mental states - about their feelings, pereptions, and thoughts and the behaviors these might predict

pretend play

roleplaying, exploring identity through play

concrete operational stage (7-11 yrs)

thinking logically about concrete events; grasping concrete analogies and performing arithmetical operations

conservation

he understanding that physical properties of objects (such as mass, volume, or number) remain the same despite changes in shape or appearance

logical thinking

The ability to reason systematically and draw conclusions based on rules and evidence, typically developing during the concrete and formal operational stages.

formal operational stage (12-death)

reasoning abstractly

abstract reasoning

The ability to think about ideas, concepts, and principles that are not concrete or physically present, characteristic of the formal operational stage.

hypothetical thinking

The ability to consider possible outcomes and think about "what if" scenarios, a key feature of the formal operational stage.

Lev Vygotsky

psychologist who emphasized the role of social interaction and culture in cognitive development, introducing concepts such as the zone of proximal development and scaffolding.

zone of proximal development

what a child can do with help but cannot yet perform independently

scaffolding

a framework that offers children temporary support as they develop higher levels of thinking

attachment (Harlow’s monkey studies, contact comfort)

an emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to their caregiver and showing distress on separation

Mary Ainsworth’s Strange Situation (secure vs. insecure attachment)

A structured observation used to assess attachment style in infants, distinguishing between secure attachment (infants feel safe and explore) and insecure attachment (infants are anxious or avoidant).

authoritarian parenting

TIGER MOM - parent-driven, sets strict rules and punishment, one-way communication with little consideration of child’s social-emotional and behavioral needs

authoritative parenting

GOLD STANDARD - solves problems together with child, sets clear rules and expectations, open communication and natural consequences

permissive parenting

child-driven, rarely enforces or gives rules, overindulges child to avoid conflict

negligent parenting

uninvolved or absent, provides little nurturance or guidance, indifferent to child’s social-emotional and behavioral needs

temperament

A person’s characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity

Preconventional Morality

self interest, obedience and punishment, obey rules to avoid punishment or gain concrete rewards, authority figures determine right and wrong

Conventional morality

focus on social relationships and rules, individuals value conformity and maintaining social order, moral reasoning is based on societal norms and expectations and being percieved as “good” by others, maintaining social order

Postconventional morality

focus on principles and universal ethics, individuals recognize that laws and rules may need to be questioned or changed to align with universal principles of justice or morality, morality is based on social contract that values human rights and welfare, laws are seen as flexible tools that should promote the greatest good for the greatest number

Carol Gilligan's critique (ethics of care perspective)

criticized Kohlberg’s stages of moral development for being male-centered and proposed the ethics of care perspective, emphasizing relationships and care as central to moral reasoning, especially in women.

trust vs. mistrust

Occurs in infancy; infants learn to trust caregivers to meet their needs or develop mistrust if needs are not consistently met.

Erik Erikson

A developmental psychologist known for his theory of psychosocial development, outlining 8 stages across the lifespan, each with a central conflict that contributes to personality development.