Early Beginnings and Infancy

Exam 1

Development

The continuous processes of change and growth that occur in an individual throughout life.

Developmental Psychology (Professor's Definition)

• The scientific study of physical, mental, and behavioral changes occurring from conception to old age, investigating biological, neurobiological, genetic, emotional, social, cognitive, and psychological components.

• Example/Context: Examines how individuals change or remain stable across their lifespan to reflect the totality of the human experience.

Lifespan Age Ranges (General Working Knowledge)

Standard working categories used to group stages of human lifespan development.

Milestones/Ranges: Infancy

0 to 2 years

Milestones/Ranges: early childhood

2 to 6 years

Milestones/Ranges: Middle Childhood

6 to 11 years

Milestones/Ranges: Adolescence

11 to 18 years

Milestones/Ranges: emerging adulthood

18 to 25 years

Milestones/Ranges: adulthood

25 to 65 years

Milestones/Ranges: late adulthood

65+ years

Dynamic Systems Approach

• A framework viewing human development as multi-directional and shaped by continuously dynamic, reciprocal interactions within surrounding systems.

• Example/Context: An individual continuously affects and is affected by surrounding systems like environment, culture, social groups, family, and socioeconomic status.

Socioeconomic Status (SES)

• A multi-contextual factor defined by income, wealth, occupation, and education that fundamentally influences surrounding developmental systems.

• Example/Context: Differences in family, school, and neighborhood environments stemming from underlying economic resources.

Cohort

• A group of individuals born within the same historical time frame who experience similar historical events together.

• Example: All individuals who collectively experienced the COVID-19 pandemic during their formative developmental years.

Culture

• A system of shared beliefs, norms, behaviors, and expectations that persist over time and prescribe social behavior within a community.

Lev Vygotsky (Cultural Learning)

• A prominent developmental psychologist who emphasized that learning and cognitive growth occur through cultural contexts and social relationships rather than in isolation.

• Example: Children learn language, problem-solving, and societal norms through interaction with parents, peers, and mentors in their specific community culture.

Continuity

• Gradual, accumulated changes in degree over time (quantitative change).

• Example/Context: A child steadily growing taller or expanding their vocabulary word by word.

Discontinuity

• Abrupt, categorical shifts in development that occur in distinct stages (qualitative change).

• Example/Context: A caterpillar transforming into a butterfly, or a child suddenly mastering abstract logic.

Plasticity in Development

• The capacity for human traits and capabilities to be molded, altered, or adapted over time while maintaining a degree of durability.

• Example/Context: Brain recovery or learning new skills after undergoing trauma or changing environments.

Three Domains of Development

The three interrelated, multidisciplinary processes that drive overall human change throughout life.

Domain of Development: Biological Processes

Changes in an individual's physical nature (e.g., genetics, brain development, motor skills).

Domain of Development: Cognitive Processes

Changes in thought patterns, intelligence, and language abilities.

Domain of Development: Socioemotional Processes

• Changes in relationships with others, emotional expression, and personality traits.

Psychoanalytic Theory (Freud)

• A theory proposing that irrational, unconscious drives and motives—often originating in early childhood—underlie human behavior.

• Key Insight: Prioritizes inner workings of the subconscious over outward behavior and emphasizes that early parent-child experiences heavily shape development.

Sigmund Freud

The founder of psychoanalysis who proposed five psychosexual stages where sensual satisfaction is linked to developmental needs and conflicts.

Freud's Personality Structures

Id, Ego, Superego: The three components of personality proposed in Freud's psychoanalytic theory.

Id

Driven by basic instincts; decisions are made purely by instinct.

Ego

Develops as social realities and expectations are learned; decisions are based on reason.

Superego

Represents the moral aspects of personality; decisions are based on consciousness/conscience.

Fixation (Freud)

• A developmental stall that occurs when a person's need for pleasure at a specific psychosexual stage is under- or over-gratified.

Erikson's Psychosocial Theory

A theory proposing that developmental challenges occur across eight lifespan stages, framing psychosocial crises as a healthy part of human growth.

Piaget's Cognitive Development Theory

A theory stating that children actively construct their understanding of the world by organizing their experiences.

Critique: Often criticized for lacking sufficient attention to cultural and social influences on cognitive growth. He thought things were universal. Role of training for development.

Piaget's 4 Stages of Cognitive Development

The developmental stages proposed by Jean Piaget describing how cognitive abilities mature over time.

Sensorimotor (Birth to 2 years)

Progresses from reflexive/instinctual actions at birth to intentional behavior; key milestone is object permanence.

Preoperational (2 to 7 years)

• Characterized by increased symbolic thinking.

Concrete Operational (7 to 11 years)

The ability to reason logically about concrete events.

Formal Operational (11 to 65+ years)

• Characterized by abstract and logical thinking.

Classical Conditioning

A learning process in which a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a meaningful stimulus to elicit an involuntary response.

Skinner's Operant Conditioning

A learning model where voluntary behaviors are modified through a series of rewards and punishments.

Rewards

Introduced to increase a behavior.

Punishments

Introduced to decrease a behavior.

Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory

A learning theory stating that individuals acquire new behaviors through observation, modeling, and imitation of others.

Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory

A framework organizing developmental influences into nested environmental systems surrounding the individual.

Microsystem

Direct environment (e.g., immediate family, school, peers).

Mesosystem

Connections and interactions between microsystems (e.g., parent-teacher relationships).

Exosystem

Indirect environment affecting development (e.g., parent's workplace, community resources).

Macrosystem

Overarching social and cultural values, laws, and customs.

Chronosystem

Sociohistorical conditions and changes over time.

Descriptive Research

Designed to systematically observe and record behavior.

Correlational Research

Determines the strength and direction of a relationship between two or more variables (Note: Correlation does not equal causation).

Cross-Sectional

Compares individuals of different ages at one specific point in time.

Longitudinal

Follows and retests the same group of individuals repeatedly over an extended period.

Cross-Sequential

Combines cross-sectional and longitudinal approaches by studying multiple age groups over time.

Mesosystem (Bronfenbrenner)

The component of Bronfenbrenner's ecological framework focused on the interactions between different microsystems in an individual's life.

Natural Selection & Adaptation (Charles Darwin)

The evolutionary process by which individuals of a species best adapted to their environment are the ones most likely to survive and reproduce.

Critiques of the Evolutionary Perspective

• Reductionist view that everything stems from a biological need to reproduce.

• Evolution provides bodily structures and biological potential, but does not strictly dictate behavior.

• It is difficult to formulate as a directly testable theory.

• Questions remain on how specific characteristics/behaviors pass down across generations.

Genes

The fundamental units of hereditary information that code instructions telling cells how to reproduce and create proteins.

Genotype

An individual's complete set of genetic material.

Phenotype

An individual's observable, physical, and behavioral characteristics.

Human Genome Project Insights

Shifted the understanding of genetic expression away from a simple 1:1 single-gene-to-single-protein ratio.

Behavioral Genetics

A field of study seeking to discover the relative influence of heredity and environment on individual differences in human traits and development.

Gene-Environment Correlations (rGE)

The concept that an individual's genes influence their exposure to certain environments, categorized into three types: evocative, active, and passive.

Evocative Gene-Environment Correlation (rGE)

Occurs when an individual's genetically influenced characteristics evoke specific environmental reactions or responses from others.

Active Gene-Environment Correlation (rGE)

Occurs when genetically influenced traits lead individuals to actively seek out or create environments that complement those abilities.

Passive Gene-Environment Correlation (rGE)

Occurs when the environment exposed to a child is influenced by the genetic traits of their parents.

Gene-Environment Interaction (G×E)

Refers to an interaction where environmental context moderates or alters the expression of genetic influences.

Additive Genetic Effects

The effect of genes summed over genetic loci.

Shared (Common) Environment

Nongenetic influences accounting for increased similarity among family members.

Non-Shared (Child-Specific) Environment

Nongenetic influences (including measurement error) accounting for decreased similarity among family members.

Polygenic Risk Scores (GWAS)

Genome-Wide Association Study metrics that evaluate a collection or group of genes associated with a trait, rather than focusing on a single isolated gene.

Epigenetics

• Modifications in cell functioning and gene expression resulting from environmental interactions rather than changes to the underlying DNA sequence.

• Key Insight: Development and environment actively influence how genes are expressed, shaping individual developmental trajectories.

Overview of Prenatal Development

• Germinal Period (Zygote)

• Embryonic Period (Embryo)

• Fetal Period (Fetus)

Germinal (Zygote) Period

The first period of prenatal development, lasting approximately 2 weeks from fertilization through implantation.

Germinal (Zygote) Milestones

• Fertilization: Sperm and egg unite to form a zygote.

• Cell Division: Begins 24–36 hours after conception.

• Separation into Two Cell Masses: Outer cells form the placenta; inner cells form the embryo.

• Implantation: Attaching to the uterine wall at about 10 days after conception.

• Protective Structures: Amnion, placenta, and umbilical cord begin forming.

Period of the Embryo

The developmental period spanning weeks 3 through 8, establishing the foundational groundwork for all body structures and internal organs.

Embryo Milestones

• ~4 Weeks: Neural tube forms (Central Nervous System), later developing into the brain and spine.

• ~8 Weeks: Embryo weighs approximately 1 gram and is about 1 inch in length.

Amnion

• A protective bag containing clear fluid in which the developing embryo floats, providing temperature and humidity control.

Umbilical Cord

Contains two arteries and one vein, connecting the developing baby to the placenta.

Placenta

A disk-shaped tissue structure where small blood vessels from the mother and offspring intertwine without directly joining.

Period of the Fetus

Spans from week 9 until birth and is characterized as the "growth and finishing stage" marked by rapid organ differentiation and function.

fetus Milestones

• 3rd Month: Organs and nervous system become organized; movements like opening the mouth begin.

• Week 12 (Beginning of 2nd Trimester): Biological sex can be determined via ultrasound.

• Weeks 17–20: Movements can be felt by the mother; sex can be visually identified.

• Week 24: Almost all brain cells are in place; fetus can be stimulated or irritated by external sounds.

Developmental Age of Viability

• The point in the 3rd trimester (between 24 and 26 weeks) at which a fetus can first survive outside the womb.

• Key Context: Lungs are not yet fully matured at this stage.

Onset of Labor

At approximately 38 weeks, signals from the fetal brain trigger the release of hormones that initiate labor.

Apgar Scale

• A quick assessment given to newborns 1 to 5 minutes after birth to evaluate overall health across 5 vital indicators.

• Scoring Criteria (0, 1, or 2 per indicator):

  • A: Appearance (skin color)

  • P: Pulse (heart rate)

  • G: Grimace (reflex irritability)

  • A: Activity (muscle tone)

  • R: Respiration (breathing)

• Score Interpretation: 7+ = healthy; 5 = potential difficulties; 3 or below = emergency medical attention needed.

Neonatal Weight and Birth Conditions

• Standard medical categories for birth weight and gestational timing.

• Categories:

  • Low Birth Weight: Under 5.5 pounds.

  • Very Low Birth Weight: Under 3 pounds, 4 ounces.

  • Extremely Low Birth Weight: Under 2 pounds, 3 ounces.

  • Preterm: Born 3 or more weeks before full term (prior to the 35th week).

  • Small for Gestational Age (SGA): Birth weight is below normal when considering length of pregnancy.

Postpartum Period

The roughly 6-week period after childbirth during which the mother's body returns to a nearly pre-pregnant state.

Involution

The physiological process where the uterus returns to its pre-pregnant size.

Emotional Adjustments

• Navigating life transitions, including distinguishing between postpartum blues and postpartum depression.

Teratogens

• Any environmental agent that causes damage during the prenatal development period.

• Factors Influencing Harm:

  • Dose amount

  • Heredity/genetics

  • Other negative environmental influences

  • Age of the organism at the time of exposure

Prenatal Alcohol Use & FASD

• The leading preventable cause of mental disabilities in children.

• Key Impacts: Associated with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD), causing developmental problems and delays that persist into adulthood.

Maternal Stress (Prenatal Impact)

• High stress levels during pregnancy can negatively influence offspring development across physical, cognitive, and emotional domains.

• Associated Risks:

  • Low birth weight and pre-term birth

  • Differences in temperament, cognitive ability, and behavioral fearfulness

  • Problem behaviors in young children

  • Increased risk of ADHD, anxiety, and depression

Fetal Programming Hypothesis

• the concept that environmental exposures experienced by prior generations (such as a grandmother) can directly affect present generations.

• Core Example: All female eggs are formed while a biological mother is still a fetus inside the grandmother's womb, making the grandmother's environment an early influence on the egg cell.