EDP Development Vocab

Definition of Development

Development is how we change throughout our lives towards eventual maturation. There three main processes of development that overlap:

• Biological Processes - Genetic inheritance and actual physical changes to the body (ex. puberty)

• Cognitive Processes - Increased ability for critical thinking, memory storage, decision-making (frontal lobe development) and metacognition

• Socioemotional Processes - Increased personality development, social skills, emotional regulation, moral development

Stages of Development

From conception to death

• Prenatal (from conception to birth)

• Neonatal (from birth to 2 months)

• Infancy (from 2 months to 2 years)

• Toddlerhood (from 2 years to 3 years)

• Early Childhood (from 3 years to 6 years)

• Middle Childhood* (from 6 years to 9 years)

• Late Childhood/Preadolescence* (from 9 years to 11 years)

• Adolescence* (from 11 years to 17 years)

• Young Adulthood (from 17 years to 35 years)

• Middle Adulthood (from 35 years to 65 years)

• Late Adulthood (from 65 to death)

* emphasized in this course

Issues in Development

• Nature vs. Nurture - biological/genetic factors on development vs. environmental factors

• Continuity vs. Discontinuity - Continuous/quantitative development (height, etc.) vs. discontinuous/qualitative (stage theories, etc.)

• Critical periods - Times in life that we are more susceptible to environmental influences. If one is exposed/not exposed to certain things during a critical period, they may experience long-term negative effects. Controversial, because some theorists don’t believe critical periods exist.

Principles of Development

• The sequence of development tends to be universal

• Individuals develop at different rates

• Even within individuals, different areas develop and reach maturation at different rates (Ex. We typically reach physical maturation before cognitive maturation)

• Our abilities become more specialized and integrated with development

Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory

The individual (you) is at the center. Around you is your microsystem, people and institutions you interact with on a regular basis. The mesosystem is for events that occur that affect you, but you are not directly involved with them. The exosystem is for people and insituitions we don’t have regular contact with, but they have influence on our lives (Ex. politicians, celebrities, etc.) On the outside is the macrosystem, the attitudes and ideologies of the culture that surrounds you. The chronosystem describes the vertical dimension of this diagram, the way these systems change throughout our lives.

Brofenbrenner’s Theory in the Classroom

• Think about children embedded in several environmental systems and influences

• Attend to connections between school and families

• Recognize the importance of community, culture and socioeconomic status

Sigmund Freud

• Developed the psychoanalytic approach to therapy

  • His theory is very biologically based (interested in nature, rather than nurture)

  • Believed the unconscious mind had much to tell about us about disorders and conscious choices

  • Created one of the first personality theories

    • Id - Your base desires, immediate pleasures

    • Ego - Our public face

    • Superego - Moral standards and conscious

  • His theories are based on his practice, his developmental theory is based on people in institutions

Freud’s Psychosexual Developmental Stage Theory

• Oral (birth - 18 mo.) - Completely id-driven. We primarily seek pleasure through the mouth (Ex. nursing, eating, using a pacifier). If an infant is coddled during this stage, they may grow up to be too trusting and gullible. If an infant is neglected during this stage, they will grow up too skeptical and jaded.

• Anal (18 mo. - 3 yrs.) - Completely id-driven. Toilet-training is an important part of this stage. Child develop a sense of independence. Individuals toilet-trained too early become anal-retentive, people fixated on control. Individuals toilet-trained too late develop anal-expulsive, people too laid-back and passive.