Human Development Across the Lifespan

Define development.

The sequence of age-related changes that occur from conception to death.

What are the four periods of development?

Prenatal, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.

What is the span of the prenatal period?

Approximately nine months from conception to birth.

What are the three phases in the course of prenatal development?

Germinal, embryonic, and fetal.

What is the span of the germinal phase of prenatal development?

The first two weeks after conception.

What is the span of the embryonic phase of prenatal development?

From two weeks to two months after conception.

What is the span of the fetal phase of prenatal development?

From two months after conception to birth.

What is a zygote?

A fertilized egg cell.

What is the placenta?

A structure between fetus and mother made to pass nutrients, oxygen, and waste.

True or False: Fetus and mother share a bloodstream.

False: Membranes in the placenta exclude blood cells from passing, keeping the bloodstreams separate.

About how long is an embryo?

About 2.5 centimetres.

At what stage of prenatal development do most miscarriages and structural birth defects occur?

The embryonic stage.

When does a fetus become capable of movement?

In the first two months of the fetal stage.

In what month do sex organs form?

In the third month of the fetal stage.

When do respiratory and digestive systems form?

In the last three months of the fetal stage.

What is the threshold of viability for a fetus?

At 23 weeks’ gestation, the fetus has a 20% chance of surviving premature birth; at 25 weeks, 67%.

Define teratogen.

An agent (e.g. a virus, a drug, radiation) that causes malformation of an embryo or fetus.

What is the most common cause of intellectual disability?

Fetal alcohol syndrome (FASD).

What is motor development?

The progression of muscular coordination required for physical activities.

What is maturation?

Development that reflects the gradual unfolding of one’s genetic blueprint.

True or False: Maturation depends on experience.

False: Maturation is a result of genetic programming.

What are developmental norms?

The median age(s) at which individuals display certain behaviours and abilities.

What is temperament?

Characteristic mood, activity level, and emotional reactivity.

What are Alexander Thomas and Stella Chess known for?

Conducting a longitudinal study of temperament establishing three temperament styles.

What are Thomas and Chess’ three temperamental styles?

Easy, slow to warm up, and difficult.

What is a longitudinal study?

An observation of one group repeatedly over time.

What is a cross-sectional study?

A comparison of groups of differing age at a single point in time.

When do cohort effects occur?

When differences between age groups are due to the groups growing up in different time periods.

Temperament is: (a) unchangeable (b) influenced by heredity and/or (c) subject to modest cultural differences.

(b) and (c)

What does attachment refer to?

The close, emotional bonds of affection that form between infants and their caregivers.

Harry Harlow…

Studied attachment in infant rhesus monkeys and found that attachment is related more to comfort than to reinforcement via feeding.

John Bowlby…

Argued that infants are biologically programmed to behave in ways that trigger an affectionate, protective response from adults.

Mary Salter Ainsworth…

Performed the "strange situation procedure" and described three patterns of attachment.

What are the three patterns of attachment outlined by Mary Salter Ainsworth? What is the fourth that was added later?

Secure, anxious-ambivalent, and avoidant. The fourth is disorganized-disoriented.

True or False: Maternal sensitivity to need impacts attachment.

True

True or False: Infant behaviour has no impact on attachment.

False: Infants are active participants in attachment, and difficult temperaments can make for a difficult attachment process.

What is a stage theory?

A theory that divides psychological development into distinct stages characterized by qualitative differences in behaviour.

What is a “stage” in a stage theory?

A developmental period in which characteristic patterns of behaviour are exhibited and certain capacities become established.

How many stages are there in Erik Erikson’s stage theory?

Eight.

What are the eight polarities of Erikson’s stage theory?

1) Trust vs. mistrust; 2) autonomy vs. shame; 3) initiative vs. guilt; 4) industry vs. inferiority; 5) identity vs. confusion; 6) intimacy vs. isolation; 7) generativity vs. self-absorption; 8) integrity vs. despair.

What kind of development did Jean Piaget study?

Cognitive.

What are Piaget’s four major stages of cognitive development?

Sensorimotor (birth to age 2), preoperational (age 2 to 7), concrete operational (age 7 to 11), and formal operational (age 11 onward).

What are the characteristics of the sensorimotor stage of cognitive development?

coordination of sensory input, motor responses; development of object permanence

What are the characteristics of the preoperational stage of cognitive development?

development of symbolic thought; irreversibility, centration, egocentrism

What are the characteristics of the concrete operational stage of cognitive development?

mental operations applied to concrete events; mastery of conservation, hierarchical classification

What are the characteristics of the formal operational stage of cognitive development?

mental operations applied to abstract ideas; logical, systematic thinking

Define conservation.

Piaget’s term for awareness that physical quantities remain constant despite changes in shape or appearance.

Define centration.

The tendency to focus on one aspect of a problem, ignoring others.

Define irreversibility.

The inability to envision reversing an action.

Define egocentrism.

The limited ability to share another person’s viewpoint.

What is Lev Vygotsky known for?

Responding to Piaget’s theory of cognitive development with the argument that it is not fuelled by a child’s exploration but by sociocultural factors and influences.

How do Piaget and Vygotsky differ in their views of the role of language acquisition in cognitive development?

Piaget believes language acquisition is just another aspect of cognitive development, whereas Vygotsky argues that language acquisition plays a crucial, central role in fostering cognitive development.

What is the zone of proximal development?

The gap between what a learner can accomplish alone and what they can achieve with guidance from more skilled partners.

Define habituation.

The gradual reduction in strength of response when a stimulus event is presented repeatedly.

What is Lawrence Kohlberg known for?

Expanding on Piaget’s idea that moral development is determined by level of cognitive development.

True or False: Kohlberg studied moral behaviour in children.

False: Kohlberg studied moral reasoning in children.

What are the three levels of Kohlberg’s stage theory?

Preconventional, conventional, and postconventional.

What are the two levels in Kohlberg’s preconventional stage?

1) Punishment and 2) Naïve Reward.

What are the two levels in Kohlberg’s conventional stage?

3) Good Boy / Good Girl and 4) Authority.

What are the two levels in Kohlberg’s postconventional stage?

5) Social Contract and 6) Individual Principles & Conscience.

What is menarche and when does it occur?

The first occurrence of menstruation, usually around the age of 12 to 13 years.

What is spermarche and when does it occur?

The first occurrence of ejaculation, usually around the age of 13 to 14 years.

In the adolescent brain, _____ matter is growing while _____ matter declines.

In the adolescent brain, white matter is growing while grey matter declines.

What are the effects of the growth and decline of particular types of matter in the adolescent brain?

An increase in white matter indicates neurons becoming myelinated, which makes for enhanced connectivity. A decrease in grey matter indicates synaptic pruning.

In which cortex of the adolescent brain is change most pronounced?

The prefrontal cortex.

What process in the adolescent brain helps to explain risky behaviour?

The relatively early maturation of subcortical dopamine circuits, which creates an elevated sensitivity to reward, compared with the relatively late maturation of the prefrontal cortex, which is the seat of executive function.

What are the two senses that James Marcia proposes are combined to produce four different identity statuses?

A sense of commitment (to goals and values) and a sense of crisis (active questioning and exploring).

Define Marcia’s Identity Achievement status and situate it in his commitment/crisis chart.

Identity Achievement is the status in which one has successfully achieved a sense of identity. It is reached when both commitment and crisis are present.

Define Marcia’s Identity Foreclosure status and situate it in his commitment/crisis chart.

Identity Foreclosure is the status in which one unquestioningly adopts parental or societal values. It is reached when commitment is present but crisis is absent.

Define Marcia’s Identity Moratorium status and situate it in his commitment/crisis chart.

Identity Moratorium is the status in which one is actively struggling for a sense of identity. It is reached when commitment is absent but and crisis is present.

Define Marcia’s Identity Diffusion status and situate it in his commitment/crisis chart.

Identity Diffusion is the status in which one is not struggling for identity and has no obvious concern about that fact. It is reached when both commitment and crisis are absent.

When does dishabituation occur?

When a new stimulus elicits an increase in strength of a habituated response.