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Developmental psychology
Studies physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development
Cross sectional studies
Studying different ages at the same point in time
Longitudinal studies
Follows and retests the same people over time
Nature and nurture
How does nature and nurture influence our development
Continuity and stages
Which parts of development are gradual and continuous and which parts change abruptly in separate stages
Stability and change
Which of our traits persist through life and how do we change as we age
Experience and learning
Development is a slow, continuous shaping process
Biological maturation
Sequence of genetically predisposed stages or steps
Kholberg - moral development
Preconventional → conventional → postconventional
Erikson - psychosocial development
Basic trust → autonomy → initiative → competence → identity → intimacy → generativity → integrity
Jean Piaget - cognitive development
Sensorimotor → preoperational → concrete operational → formal operational
End of history illusion
People recognize how they have changed and think they will change little in the future
Germinal stage
Zygote, fertilized egg, attaches to uterine wall
Inner and outer cells of zygote
Inner: embryo; outer: placenta
6 week embryo
Organs form and heart functions
9 weeks
Embryo turns into a fetus
6 month fetus
Responds to sound
Teratogens
Agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo/fetus and cause harm
Fetal alcohol syndrome
Physical and cognitive deficits in children caused by heavy drinking
Epigenetic effect caused by alcohol
Switches genes on and off abnormally
Habituation
Decreased responsiveness with repeated stimulation
Maturation
Growth process, enables orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience
Critical period
Optimal period early in life when exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces normal development
Fine motor and gross motor skills
Involving small muscles or large muscles
Infantile amnesia
Occurs before age of 4
Two-track mind learning before 4
Nervous system and unconscious mind remember what the conscious mind doesn’t know or can’t put into words
Adolescence
Transition from childhood to adulthood
Puberty
Period of sexual maturation
Age the prefrontal cortex finishes developing
25
Stages of adulthood
Emerging (18-mid 20s) → early (20s-30s) → middle (to age 65) → late (over 65)
Menopause
Time of natural cessation of menstruation
Percentage of world over 65 and factors
13%, living longer and declining birth rate
Impact of chronic anger and depression
Premature death
Key areas impact by aging
Sensory abilities, strength, stamina, health, brain
Impact of exercise on aging
Slows aging
