Module 8 - Development

What is prenatal development?

Development from conception to birth

What are the three stages of prenatal development?

Germinal, embryonic, fetal

What happens in the germinal stage?

Cell division, migration, implantation

What is a blastocyst?

Inner (embryoblast) and outer (trophoblast) cell mass during early development.

What happens in the embryonic stage?

Cell differentiation and organ formation

Why is the embryonic stage high risk?

Errors lead to major birth defects

What happens in the fetal stage?

Growth, movement, and organ function

What is viability?

Ability to survive outside womb (≈22–26 weeks)

What is the placenta?

Transfers nutrients and waste between mother and fetus

What is maternal nutrition’s effect?

Impacts development and health outcomes

What is fetal alcohol syndrome?

Developmental disorder from alcohol exposure

• Physical signs of FAS at birth include microcephaly (small head) and heart defects. Hyperactivity is common during childhood as is retarded (slowed) mental and motor development. As adults, individuals with FAS are at greater risk of depression, suicide, and criminal behaviour.

What does smoking during pregnancy cause?

Tobacco use reduces the flow of oxygen and nutrients to the fetus, which then increases the risks of miscarriage (aborting the fetus before full term), prematurity (infant born before full term), stillbirth (infant carried full term but born deceased).

What are teratogens?

Harmful substances causing developmental damage

What is pregnancy sickness?

Adaptive aversion to harmful foods

What is attachment?

Emotional bond between infant and caregiver

Who proposed attachment theory?

John Bowlby

What is separation anxiety?

Distress when caregiver is absent

What is stranger anxiety?

Fear of unfamiliar people

What is imprinting?

Following first moving object (in animals)

Is human attachment immediate?

No, develops over time

(Critical period: 6-8 months)

When does attachment form?

Around 6–8 months

Can infants attach to multiple people?

Yes, but primary caregiver is strongest

What is the Strange Situation?

Test to measure attachment style

What is secure attachment?

Explore, protest separation, calm on return

What is anxious attachment?

Anxious, protest, hard to soothe

(I.e. infant explores anxiously when mom is present, protests when mom leaves, but is then difficult to console after she returns)

What is avoidant attachment?

No protest, avoids caregiver, confidently explores

(i.e. infant explores comfortably, just like a securely attached infant, but fails to protest when mom leaves and is reluctant to greet her when she returns)

What is disorganized attachment?

Fearful and inconsistent behavior

• Occurs when the infant expresses a fear response to the caretaker herself. Because the infant perceives the caretaker as a threat, they often oscillate towards and away from their caretaker when feeling vulnerable, wanting to both seek comfort from and avoid danger posed by the caretaker.

What influences attachment?

Caregiver sensitivity, infant temperament, culture

How does temperament affect attachment?

Difficult infants increase risk of insecure attachment

How does culture affect attachment?

Shapes parenting and attachment patterns

What are adult attachment dimensions?

Self-view and view of others

What is secure adult attachment?

Positive self and others

What is preoccupied attachment?

Negative self, positive others

What is dismissing attachment?

Positive self, negative others

What is fearful attachment?

Negative self and others

What is cognitive development?

Changes in thinking and reasoning

Who proposed stage theory?

Piaget

What are Piaget’s stages?

Sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete, formal

What is object permanence?

Understanding objects exist when unseen

What is assimilation?

Fitting new info into existing schemas

What is accommodation?

Changing schemas for new info

What is Vygotsky’s theory?

Learning through social interaction

What is adolescence?

Transition from childhood to adulthood

What drives physical development?

Puberty and hormones

What changes cognitively during adolescence/puberty?

Abstract thinking and metacognition

Why do adolescents take risks?

Reward system develops before control system

What changes socially during adolescence/puberty?

More peer influence and independence

What is identity development?

Forming sense of self

What is identity diffusion?

No exploration or commitment

What is foreclosure?

Commitment without exploration

What is moratorium?

Exploration without commitment

What is identity achievement?

Exploration followed by commitment