Psychological development

Psychological development

the changes in an individual’s social, emotional and cognitive abilities from infancy through to old age

Genes

the basic units of heredity or inheritance that contain genetic information and form a section of DNA

Hereditary factors

biological influences on development that result from the genetic information passed from biological parents to their offspring

Environmental factors

different external influences within a person’s environment that can affect their development

Twin studies

used to investigate the role of environment and genetics in the development of characteristics and behaviours

Adoption studies

By examining the similarities and differences of adopted children and their adopted and biological parents

Sensitive periods

Period of time during development when an individual is more responsive to certain types of environmental experiences or learning

Critical period

a short period of time in the lifespan to be exposed to certain environmental triggers for development to occur.

Imprinting

When a new born animal forms an attachment to the first thing it sees

Biopsychosocial model

An interdisciplinary model that looks at the interconnection between biology, psychology and social factors.

Biological factors

A range of factors that relate to the physiological functioning of the body

Social factors

A range of factors that relate the condition in which people live and grow

Psychological

A range of factors that relate to the functioning of the brain and mind, including cognitive and affective processes such as patterns and memory.

Stages of piaget’s theory

1. Sensorimotor

2. Pre-operational

3. Concrete

4. Formal operational

Object permanence (sensorimotor 0-2 years)

Learning that a person/object still exists even if you can’t see them

Goal-directed behaviour (sensorimotor 0-2 years)

Doing things with a predetermined purpose

Egocentrism (Preoperational 2-7 years)

Unable to see things from other peoples perspectives

Animism (Preoporational 2-7 years)

Believing that all objects have some kind of consciousness

Transformation

Understanding that an object can change from one sate or form to another

e.g ice can melt into water

Centration (Preoperational 2-7 years)

Only focusing on one quality or feature of an object at a time

Reversibility

Refers to the idea that children understand that actions can be undone or reversed.

Conservation (Concrete operational 7-12 years)

Understanding that an object doesn’t change in mass volume, or area even if it’s shape or appearance changes.

Classification (Concrete operational 7-12 years)

Ability to organise information into categories based on common features

Abstract thinking (Formal operational 12+ years)

Considering concepts that are not concrete or tangible (able to touched)

Logical reasoning (Formal operational 12+ years)

The ability to objectively consider a problem or scenario from multiple different pathways

Psychologist

Assess an individual’s mental health overall and provide management plans and treatments for mental disorders. They can provide counselling or psychotherapy to change thinking patterns and behaviours to improve mental wellbeing

Psychiatrist

A qualified medical doctor who has obtained additional qualifications to a become a specialist in diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses. Unlike psychologists they can prescribe medications and perform medical procedures.

Mental Health worker

Work specifically with people who are working with mental disorders, their families, carers and friends.

DSM

The Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders

Cultural responsiveness

An attitude and approach towards working with people that demonstrates and understanding that culture is central to peoples experiences.

Support organisation

Provide people with information, access to treatment and advice on how to deal with a range of mental health issues.