AP Psych Developmental psychology

developmental psychology

Developmental psychology focuses on the changes in people over the course of their lives. Much of those changes are biological and are generally referred to as maturation. The four superstars in developmental psychology are Piaget, Erikson, Freud, and Kohlberg

piaget stages

cognitive development stages

Piaget- sensorimotor-

0-2) : these are little babies who think in terms of things they can touch and feel. It is during \n this stage that object permanence—the understanding that things that leave the visual field still \n exist (9 months)—develops along with stranger anxiety.

Piaget- preoperational -

(2-6) : kids can’t think logically about abstractions, so fantasy is reality, imaginary friend and beliefs like Santa and the Easter bunny are real.

piaget - concrete operational -

(6-12) : kids do think logically about concrete things, so how could Santa go to all those houses in one night. They also learn that relationships go two ways and reversibility (“I have a sister and so does my sister(me)”). They learn conservation—liquid in a tall container is not \n necessarily more than liquid in a short, wide container).

piaget- formal operation-

(after 12): learn to think and reason abstractly about things like justice and to forecast the future based on the past. Mature moral reasoning also develops

piaget critisms

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Piaget’s tools for assessing weren’t good enough and kids could do some things earlier, but just couldn’t demonstrate them. Also, some say that these stages are not that cut and dry and sometimes children can do some things in some areas but not in others.

Erikson

psychosocial development stages

Erikson- Trust vs mistrust

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

erikson- autonomy vs shame

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

erikson- initiative vs guilt

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

erikson- industry vs inferiority

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

erikson- identity vs confusion

teenagers work at refining a sense of self by testing 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

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

integrity vs despair

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when reflecting on his or her life, the older adult may feel a sense of satisfaction or failure

freud

psychosexual stages

oral

(0-18 months) : pleasure centers on the mouth—sucking, biting, and chewing

anal

(18-36 months) : pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder elimination; coping with demands for control

Phallic

3-6 years) : pleasure zone is the genitals; coping with incestuous sexual feelings

latency

(6-puberty) : dormant sexual feelings

genital

(puberty on) : maturation of sexual interests

Kohlberg

moral development stages

precoventional

right and wrong is determined by whether or not you will be punished

conventional

you decide appropriate behavior based on what society says; “rules are rules”

post conventional

requires formal operational thinking; morality is based on universal principles applied to individual circumstances