Unit 6: Developmental

Developmental Psychology

is a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the lifespan.

Nature and Nurture

how does our nature interact with our nurture

Discontinuous development

marked by age-specific periods of time

continuous development

even process without distinct stages

Stability and Change

which of our traits persist through life and how do we change as we age

temperament

stays roughly the same throughout our life, as does our personality, but social attitudes change drastically

conception

occurs when a single sperm cell penetrates the outer coating of the egg and fuses to form one fertilized cell

zygote

a fertilized egg

embryonic stage

organic development begins as cells continue to divide, replicate, and create new growth(2 months-2 weeks)

fetal alcohol syndrome

occurs when a pregnant woman engages in drinking, in severe cases, signs include a small out of proportion head and abnormal facial features

fetal stage

lasts two months until birth, arms and legs continue to develop along with the CNS, eyes, and external genitalia

grasping

curl fingers around objects when palm is touched, will be replaced around 3-4 months by voluntary grasping action

rooting

when the baby is touched on the cheek and turns their face towards the stimulus, disappears around five months

sucking

suck objects placed in mouth, works together with rooting reflex, allows infant to receive nourishment

moro

sudden move or loud noise produced by absence of support

stepping

the appearance of taking steps when the baby’s feet touch a flat surface

Babinski

toe curling when the bottom of the foot touches something

dynamic systems approach

theory that explains how children develop their motor behaviors

Jean Piaget

developmental psychologist who spent his life searching for the answer to “once conscious, how does the mind grow?”

schemas

concepts or mental molds into which we pour our experiences

mental sets

impact retrieval and encoding of memories

assimilation

relating one animal to another animal with a schema, and putting it into this other schema

accommodation

changing the existing schema and adding new characteristics to distinguish different objects(ex: dogs from cats)

sensorimotor stage

occurs from birth to 2 years old, consists of object permanence and stranger anxiety

object permanence

**children lack object permanence until about eight months old. Object permanence is understanding that objects exist outside of your perceptual field.**

stranger anxiety

**begins partially due to a lack of object permanence (if you can't see your parents, are they really gone forever?), continues even afterwards.** 

preoperational stage

Occurs from 2 to the ages of 6 to 7.

Consists of symbolic and egocentric thinking

• Pretend Play: Engaging imagination to alter reality - playroom is a schoolroom, etc.

• Theory of the Mind: people’s ideas about their own and others’ mental states—about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict

• Egocentrism: Seeing the world only through their own perspective.

conservation

physically, an object remains the same even though its appearance changes

irreversibility

when a child is unable to reverse the sequence of events

concrete operational

From 7 to 11/12 

Children can think logically about concrete objects and do simple math.

Conservation develops. 

**Two-dimensional thinking - ability to solve problems by manipulating images in one's mind.** 

Children also acquire **mental reversibility** - for example, if a dog is an animal, than some animals are dogs. 

formal operational stage

From 12 to adult

Consists of abstract and hypothetical thinking and the ability to make predictions.

Strategy and planning become possible.

Thinking more about issues concerning love, acceptance by peers, etc. 

Metacognition: "Thinking about Thinking"

Lev Vygotsky

Vygotsky emphasized how the child's mind grows through interaction with the *social* environment. 

Vygotsky argued that children's progress in intellectual development is less linear and more anchored in their **mentors** and **models**.

All children have a **Zone of Proximal Development** - the difference between what a child can or cannot do with help. Parents should help bridge that gap (**scaffold)** by helping them learn new tasks and slowly letting them do it on their own. 

autism spectrum disorder

a disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by significant deficiencies in communication and social interaction, and by rigidly fixated interests and repetitive behaviors.

attachment

an emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to their caregiver and showing distress on separation

critical period

an optimal period when certain events must take place to facilitate proper development. (Bornstein, 1989).

Imprinting

 the process by which certain animals form strong attachments during early life.

sensitive period

 children do become attached, during a less precisely defined **________,** to what they’ve known. Mere exposure to people and things fosters fondness.

deprivation of attachment

Causes socially deprived children to have lower intelligence scores, reduced brain development, abnormal stress responses, and quadruple the rate of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) found in children assigned to quality foster care settings.

epigenetic marks

chemical tags that can alter normal gene expression.

parenting styles

a combination of two traits: how responsive and how demanding parents are.

authoritarian

**impose rules and expect obedience.** 

permissive

**make few demands, set few limits, and use little punishment.**

negligent

**are neither demanding nor responsive. They are careless, inattentive, and do not seek to have a close relationship with their children.**

authoritative

**are both demanding and responsible, by setting rules but also encourage open discussion and allow exceptions.** 

adolescence

the transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence.

puberty

 the period of sexual maturation, during which a person becomes capable of reproducing. For both males and females, the *sequence* of physical changes is a lot more predictable than their timing.

Lawrence Kohlberg

posed moral dilemmas (for example, the Heinz dilemma which questioned whether a person should steal medicine to save a loved one’s life) and asked children, adolescents, and adults whether the action was right or wrong. His analysis of their answers led him to propose three basic levels of **moral thinking**

the stages of moral thinking

preconventional, conventional, and postconventional

preconventional morality

self interest; obey rules to avoid punishment or gain concrete rewards

conventional morality

uphold laws and rules to gain approval or maintain social order

postconventional morality

actions reflect belief in basic rights and self-defined ethical principles

Erik Erikson

neo-freudian who created a stage theory involving social conflict

trust vs. mistrust

if needs are independently met, infants develop a basic sense of trust

autonomy vs. shame and doubt

toddlers learn to exercise their will and do things for themselves, or they doubt their abilities

initiative vs. guilt

preschoolers learn to initiate tasks and carry out plans, or they feel guilty about their efforts to be independent

competence/industry vs. inferiority

children learn the pleasure of applying themselves to task, or they feel inferior

identity vs. role confusion

teenagers work as refining a sense of self by testing/experimenting on different roles and then integrating them to form a single identity, or they become confused about who they are

intimacy vs. isolation

young adults struggle to form close relationships and to gain the capacity for intimate love, or they feel socially isolated

generativity vs. stagnation

middle-aged people discover a sense of contributing to the world, usually through family and work, or they may feel a lack of purpose

integrity vs. despair

reflecting on their lives, older adults may feel a sense of satisfaction or failure

death-deferral phenomenon

you try to make it to a holiday or birthday, then you can die

reminiscence bump

older adults are able to recall more easily their favorite athletes, movies, songs, etc.

terminal decline

in the last three to four years of life and especially as death approaches, negative feelings and cognitive decline typically increase

alzheimers disease

a neurocognitive disorder marked by neural plaques, often with onset after age 80, and entailing a progressive decline in memory and cognitive abilities