Chapter 9 Psychology Notes

Developmental Psychology:

the study of how people change physically, cognitively, and socially throughout the lifespan.

What is the prenatal lifespan?

conception to birth

Infancy and toddlerhood

Birth to 2 years

Early childhood

2 to 6 years

Middle Childhood

6 to 12 years

Adolescence

12 to 18 years

Emerging adulthood

18 to 25 years

Young adulthood

25 to 40 years

Middle adulthood

40 to 65 years

Late adulthood

65 years to death

What reflexes are newborns born with?

1. rooting reflex; where infant turns towards the source of the touch and opens their mouth.

2. sucking reflex, touching the newborn’s lips.

3. grasping reflex. if a finger is put on each of the newborn’s palms.

what senses are they born with?

vision, hearing, smell, and touch

what happens in physical development for babies?

the top of the body develops faster than the bottom. for example: the head develops the legs.

what is the attachment theory?

an infant’s ability to thrive physically and psychologically depends in large part on the quality of attachment.

secure attachment

Generally, when parents are consistently warm, responsive, and sensitive to their infant’s needs, the infant develops that attachment.

Authoritarian Parents

demanding and unresponsive toward their child’s needs or wishes

Permissive Parents

extremely tolerant and not demanding

what is the sensorimotor stage?

the first stage of cognitive development, from birth to about age 2, the period during which infants acquire knowledge about the world through actions that allow them to directly experience and manipulate objects.

what is the preoperational stage?

The second stage of cognitive development, which lasts from about age 2 to age 7 and is characterized by increasing use of symbols and prelogical thought processes.

what is the concrete operational stage?

the third stage of cognitive development, which lasts from about age 7 to adolescence and is characterized by the ability to think logically about concrete objects and situations.

what is the formal operational stage?

the fourth stage of cognitive development, which lasts from adolescence through adulthood and is characterized by thinking logically about abstract principles and hypothetical situations.

Adolescence

the transitional stage between late childhood and the beginning of adulthood, during which sexual maturity is reached.

What changes is adolescence defined by?

It is a transition marked by sweeping physical, social, and cognitive changes as the individual moves toward independence and adult responsibilities.

emerging adulthood

in industrialized countries, the distinct stage of the lifespan from the late teens through the twenties, characterized by exploration and flexibility in social roles, vocational choices, and relationships.

Adulthood USED to be defined by:

stable work, marriage, and parenthood

what is the first stage of death?

thinking that death is imminent, perhaps insisting that their doctors are wrong or denying the seriousness of their illness.

what is the last stage of death?

accepting their fate.