Chapter 9 – Human Development

Development

The pattern of continuity and change in human capabilities across the life span.

Physical development

Changes in the body and physical abilities throughout life.

Cognitive development

Changes in thinking, reasoning, and mental abilities throughout life.

Socioemotional development

Changes in emotions, relationships, and social functioning throughout life.

Cross-sectional study

Different people of different ages are assessed at one point in time.

Longitudinal study

The same participants are assessed multiple times over a long period.

Cohort effects

Age differences that come from the historical period people grew up in, not from aging itself.

Nature

Biological inheritance, especially genes.

Nurture

Environmental and social experiences that influence development.

Schemas

Mental frameworks for organizing and interpreting information.

Assimilation

Fitting new information into existing schemas, such as calling a cat a "doggy."

Accommodation

Adjusting existing schemas to fit new information.

Sensorimotor stage

Piaget's stage from birth to age 2; infants coordinate senses with motor actions and develop object permanence.

Object permanence

Understanding that objects continue to exist even when they are out of sight; a major achievement of the sensorimotor stage.

Preoperational stage

Piaget's stage from ages 2 to 7; children use words, images, and drawings but lack conservation and show egocentrism.

Conservation

Understanding that an amount stays the same even when its shape or appearance changes.

Preoperational egocentrism

A young child's difficulty seeing another person's point of view.

Concrete operational stage

Piaget's stage from ages 7 to 11; children think logically about concrete situations, understand conservation, and classify objects into groups.

Formal operational stage

Piaget's stage from ages 11 to 15 and beyond; abstract, idealistic, and logical thinking develops.

Hypothetical-deductive reasoning

The ability to reason logically about hypothetical situations; associated with the formal operational stage.

Attachment

A close emotional bond between an infant and caregiver; Bowlby believed infants and mothers instinctively form attachments.

Harry Harlow

Researcher who found that infant monkeys preferred a soft cloth mother over a wire mother that provided milk, showing the importance of contact comfort.

Contact comfort

The comfort and emotional security provided by physical closeness; demonstrated by Harlow's monkey experiments.

Ainsworth's strange situation

A procedure in which a caregiver leaves an infant with a stranger and returns; researchers observe the infant's reactions to study attachment.

Secure attachment

An infant uses the caregiver as a secure base for exploring and is comforted when the caregiver returns.

Insecure attachment

Attachment characterized by avoidant or anxious/ambivalent responses to a caregiver.

Trust vs. mistrust

Erikson's stage from birth to 18 months; infants depend on caregivers to establish that the world is predictable and friendly.

Autonomy vs. shame and doubt

Erikson's stage from 18 months to 3 years; toddlers seek independence.

Initiative vs. guilt

Erikson's stage from ages 3 to 5; preschoolers develop their own interests, friendships, and responsibilities.

Industry vs. inferiority

Erikson's stage from age 6 to puberty; children work to master academic and intellectual skills.

Authoritarian parenting

Strict and punitive parenting with little discussion; "because I said so."

Authoritative parenting

Warm parenting that sets clear limits while encouraging independence and discussion.

Neglectful parenting

A parenting style characterized by little involvement in the child's life.

Permissive parenting

A parenting style with few limits that lets children do what they want.

Preconventional morality

Kohlberg's level of moral reasoning based on external rewards and punishments.

Conventional morality

Kohlberg's level of moral reasoning based on standards set by parents or the law.

Postconventional morality

Kohlberg's level of moral reasoning based on a personal moral code developed after considering alternatives.

Adolescence

The transition from childhood to adulthood, beginning around ages 10-12 and continuing until approximately ages 18-21.

Puberty

A period of rapid skeletal and sexual maturation at the start of adolescence.

Adolescent egocentrism

Believing others are as focused on you as you are on yourself; adolescents may also underestimate risks and feel invincible.

Identity vs. identity confusion

Erikson's adolescent stage involving figuring out who you are and where you are going.