chapter one human dev

3 domains of development

physical , cognitive , psychosoical/socioemotional

how to define development

systematic changes and continuities in individual's b/w conception and birth. The changes can be gains, losses, or just differences from what we were like before

what is the lifespan perspective

Views development as a lifelong, multidirectional process that involves gains and loss, is characterized by plasticity, shaped by its historical-cultural context, has many causes, and is best viewed a multidisciplinary perspective

periods of life

prenatal period,

infancy,

preschool,

middle childhood,

adolesence,

emerging adulthood,

early adulthood,

middle adulthood,

late adulthood

prenatal period

conception to birth

infancy period

0-2

preschool period

2-5

middle childhood

6-10

adolesence

10-18

emerging adulthood age and characteristics

18-25

new age group,

college, love, independence, career exploration. exploring identity,

early adulthood

25-40

middle adulthood

40-65

late adulthood

65+

age grade

socially defines age groups that share characteristics and roles/responsibilities

age norms

giving unspoken rules to certain age groups

expectations about what people should be doing or how they should behave at different points in the life span

social clock

a personal sense of when things should be done in life and when an individual is ahead of or behind the schedule dictated by age norms

5 elements in a life course

-Events (what is happening)

- Timing (when does it happen)

- Sequencing (what happens first)

- Duration (how long it happens)

- Transitions (event that happens that makes you different from before it happened and then after; getting married)

younger college student

• first time away from home

• learn study habits and skills

• identity growth

• learn complex issues

  SIGNALS

starting work

going onto grad school

getting engaged/married

older college student

• self-conscious, hesitant

• outside role demands

  SIGNALS

  changing career

  youngest child reaching school age

  divorce or widowhood

  satisfaction of completion

  exploration of new areas

what are SOD

start over dads

• older men having children at a later stage

• more nurturing/ more time for their kids

• children may worry about how long their dad will be there “hes my dad not my grandpa!”

is middle age a new construct

yes

Became a more distinct life phase in the 20th century as parents began to bear fewer children and live long enough to see their children grow up and leave home

- Seen as an emptying of the nest

nature

influences such as heredity, processes guided by genes, evolution, hormones, neurotransmitters, and other biochemicals

nurture

influences by the environment (all the physical and social conditions)

maturation is caused by what

genes (nature)

maturation define

Developmental changes that are biologically programmed by genes rather than caused primarily by learning, injury, illness, or some other life experience

what does maturation contribute to

Maturational changes in the brain contribute to cognitive changes such as increased memory and problem-solving skills and psychosocial changes (increased understanding of others feelings)

what is learning caused by

practice (nurture)

stability vs change

personality traits stay the same, personality phases change

continuity vs discontinuity

the debate about whether human development is best characterized as gradual and continuous or abrupt and stage-like

nature

Universality vs Context Specificity

The debate over the extent to which developmental changes are common to everyone (universal, as in most stage theories) or different from person to person