UWRF Psych: Developmental psychology

Developmental psychology

A branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the lifespan

Stability

Aspects of ourselves that remain consistent over time

Change

How we grow and evolve throughout our lives

Continuous development

Gradual steady changes over time

Discontinuous development

Distinct stages with clear shifts

Zygote

The fertilized egg

Blastocyst

Produces HCG implantation

Embryo

2-8 weeks

Heartbeat

6 weeks

Fetus

9 weeks

Full term

36 weeks

Placenta

An organ in the uterus of a pregnant mammal that nourishes and maintains the fetus through the umbilical cord

Teratogen

Things that can cause harm to an embryo or fetus

APGAR test

Activity (muscle tone), pulse, grimace (reflex irritability), appearance (skin color), respiration

Developmental disorder

A severe, chronic disability of an individual who has a mental or physical impairment

Habituation

Decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation

Maturation

Biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior

Physical development

Involves changes in the body, nervous system, senses, and motivational drives related to growth and aging

Two levels of physical development

Gross motor and fine motor

Gross motor

Big muscle movement, things you do with larger parts of your body

Fine motor

Smaller movement, things you do with fingers

Infantile amnesia

The inability for adults to remember episodic memories from before age 2

Adolescence

The transition from childhood to adulthood

Primary sex characteristics

Reproductive organs, genitalia, hormones associated with reproductive organs

Secondary sex characteristics

Other physical traits such as deeper voice and body shape changes

Andropause

Men have a decrease of testosterone which leads to changes in energy level, muscle mass, irritability, depression