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developmental psychology
a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span; nature vs. nurture, continuity and stages, stability and change
nature and nurture
how does our genetic inheritance interact with experiences to influence our development
continuity and stages
what parts of development are gradual and continuous and what parts change abruptly in separate stages
stability and change
which of our traits persist through life and how do we change as we age
stage theorists
emphasize biological maturation tend to see development as a sequence of genetically predisposed stages or steps; although process through the various stages may be quick of slow, everyone passes through the stages in the same order
life
requires both stability and change
stability
provides our identity, enabling us to depend on others and on ourselves
prenatal development
life begins at conception and continues through several stages in the womb
conception
begins with the release of an egg from the mother's ovary, then the deposited sperm approaches an egg cell, and the small number reaching the egg released digestive enzymes that eat away the egg's protective coating
how the egg is fertilized
one sperm penetrates the coating and enters through the egg's surface blocking out the other sperm; the egg nucleus and the sperm nucleus fuse (two become one)
germinal stage of prenatal development
first 10-day to 2-weeks of development when the fertilized egg (zygote) undergoes rapid cell division; one cell becomes 2, then 4, and continues to divide; then cells begin to differentiate to specialize in structure and function to become brain tissue, intestine tissue, heart, tissue, etc.
zygote becomes embryo
about 10 days after conception, the germinal stage completes as the zygote attaches to the mother's uterine wall, beginning approximately 37 weeks of the closest human relationship; then over the next 6 weeks, the embryo's organs begin to form and function and heart begins to beat
embryo becomes fetus
by 9 weeks after conception, an embryo looks unmistakably human; during the sixth month, organs such as the stomach develop enough to give the fetus a good chance of surviving and thriving if born prematurely
fetal stage
by the start of the ninth week, facial features, hands, and feet have been formed
teratogens
chemicals and viruses that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm (monster makers); ex: alcohol consumption by the mother, tobacco use by the mother, drug use by the mother, viruses contracted by the mother, certain medications taken by the mother
alcohol
reduces activity in both the mother's and baby's central nervous systems when it is in the mother's bloodstream; can affect the brain and cause dangerously low birth weight, birth defects, future behavior problems, lower iq
fetal alcohol syndrome
the most serious of all fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, marked by lifelong physical and mental abnormalities
habituation
decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation; as infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner
rooting reflex
when the corner of the baby's mouth is stroked or touched the baby will turn their head and their mouth to follow and root in the direction of the stroking; helps the baby find the breast or bottle to begin feeing and lasts about 4 months
sucking reflex
when the roof of the baby's mouth is touched, the baby will begin to suck
grasping reflex
stroking the palm of a baby's hand causes the baby to close their fingers in a grasp; lasts until the baby is about 5 to 6 months old
startle (moro) reflex
in response to a loud sound or sudden movement, the baby throws back their head, extend out their airms and legs, cries, then pulls the arms and legs back in; lasts until the baby is about 2 months old
babinski reflex
occurs after the sole of the foot has been firmly stroked; big toe then moves upward or toward the top surface of the foot and the other toes fan out
zygote
when one sperm cells unites with an egg
embryo
the zygote's inner cell and when the body organs begin to form and function
phonemes
smallest distinctive sound units in a language
language
spoken, written, or signed words, and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning
morphemes
smallest language units the carry meaning; usually a combination of two or more phonemes
grammar
language's set of rules that enable people to communicate; guide us in deriving meaning from sounds (semantics) and in ordering words into sentences (syntax)
noam chomsky
a linguist that has argued that language is nature's gift, an unlearned human trait, separate from other parts of human cognition; theorized that a built-in predisposition to learn grammar rules (universal grammar), helps explain why preschoolers pick up language so readily and use grammar well
universal grammar
built in predisposition to learn grammar rules
babbling stage
before nurture molds babies' speech, nature enables a wide range of possible sounds; begins at around 4 months; usually consonant-vowel pairs formed by simply bunching the tongue in front of the mouth or by opening and closing the lips
one word stage
children have already learned that sounds carry meanings, begins around their first birthday; a single inflected word may equal a sentence
two word stage
beginning about age 2, the stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly two-word statements
critical period
an optimal period early in the life of an organism when exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces normal development
adolescence
the transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence; time when teens crave social acceptance but often feel socially disconnected
puberty
the period of sexual maturation, during which a person becomes capable of reproducing; sequence of physical changes occur in individuals
menarche
the first menstrual period for girls
spermarche
the first ejaculation for boys
brain in puberty
brain cells increase their connections, like trees growing more roots and branches
brain in adolescence
selective pruning of unused neurons and connections
frontal lobe
develops as a teen mature; myelin continues growing and the fatty tissue that forms around axons and speeds neurotransmission enables better communication with other brain regions; this development brings improved judgement, impulse control, and long-term planning
formal operation
created by piaget; stated that adolescents apply their new abstract reasoning tools to the world around them when they achieve intellectual summit; may thin about what is ideally possible and compare that with the imperfect reality of their society, their parents, and themselves
piaget and kohlberg
proposed the moral reasoning guides moral actions
moral reasoning
children learn to empathize with others, and an ability that continues to develop in adolescence; to think morally and act accordingly; the thinking that occurs to determine right from wrong
piaget
believed that children's moral judgments build on their cognitive development and that they constructed their understanding of the world while interacting with it; heavily studied children's cognitive development
kohlberg
sought to describe the development of moral reasoning; proposed moral dilemmas; his analysis led to the three basic levels of moral thinking
preconventional morality, conventional morality, postconventional morality
kohlberg's three basic levels of moral thinking
preconventional morality
before age 9; self interest and obey rules to avoid punishment of gain concrete rewards
conventional morality
early adolescence; uphold laws and rules to gain social approval or maintain social order
postconventional morality
adolescence and beyond; actions reflect belief in basic rights and self-defined ethical principles
jonathan haidt
believed that much of our morality is rooted in moral intuitions and that the mind makes moral judgements in much the same way that it makes aesthetic judgements (quickly and automatically)
moral intuitions
quick gut feelings, or affectively laden intuitions
menopause
the time of natural cessation of menstruation; also refers to the biological changes a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declines
telomeres
at the tip of chromosomes and wear down as individuals age; wear down is accelerated by smoking, obesity, or stress
males
more prone to dying as they are more impulsive during their adolescent years; by age 100, women outnumber them 5 to 1
genetically and physiologically
biology influences our gender psychology ...
genetically
males and females have differing sex chromosomes
physiologically
males and females have differing concentrations of sex hormones, which trigger other anatomical differences
testosterone
the main male hormone; promotes male sex organ development
flood of hormones
triggers another period of dramatic physical change during adolescence, when individuals enter puberty
primary sex characteristics
the reproductive organs and external genitalia; ovaries, testes
secondary sex characteristics
non reproductive sexual characteristics; ex: breasts, larger hips, facial hair
intersex
when individuals are born with unusual combinations of male and female chromosomes, hormones, and anatomy
early adulthood
a peak time for some types of learning and remembering
cross sectional study
research that compares people of different ages at the same point of time
longitudinal study
research that follows and retests the same people over time
neurocognitive disorder
acquired (not lifelong) disorders marked by cognitive deficits; often related to alzheimer's disease, brain injury or disease, or substance use; formerly called dementia
alzheimer's disease
a neurocognitive disorder marked by neural plaques, often with onset after age 80, and entailing a progressive decline in memory and other cognitive abilities
sexual orientation
direction of our sexual interest
homosexual orientation
enduring sexual attraction toward members of our own sex
heterosexual orientation
enduring sexual attraction toward members of the other sex
bisexual orientation
enduring sexual attraction toward both sexes
brain anatomy and genes
may influence sexual orientation
assimilation
interpreting new experiences in terms of existing schemas
accomodation
adapting current understandings 9schemas) to incorporate new information
sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, formal operational
piaget's four major stages of cognitive development
sensorimotor stage
from birth to nearly age 2; babies take in the world through their senses and actions, through looking, hearing, touching, mouthing, and grasping
object permanence
the awareness that objects continue to exist even when not perceived; young infants lack this but it unfolds gradually
preoperational stage
age 2 until age 6 or 7; a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic
mental operations
imagining an action and mentally reversing it
conservation
the principle, which piaget believed to be a part of concrete operational reasoning, that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects; lacked by children
symbolic thinking and pretend play
appear at an earlier age that piaget supposed; discovered by judy deloache
egocentric
in piaget's theory, the preoperational child's difficulty of taking another's point of view
theory of mind
people's ideas about their own and others' mental states about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict
concrete operational
age 7 to 11; thinking logically about concrete events; grasping concrete analogies (such as conservation) and performing arithmetical operations
formal operational
age 12 through adulthood; reasoning abstractly; individuals are able to ponder hypothetical propositions and consequences
lev vygotsky
emphasized how the child's mind grows through interaction with the social environment
scaffold
a framework that offers children temporary support as they develop higher levels of thinking
telegraphic speech
early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram like "go car"; mostly using nouns and verbs
aphasia
impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage to either broca's area or to wernicke's area
broca's area
helps control language expression; an area of the frontal lobe, usually in the left hemisphere, that directs the muscle movements involved in speech
wernicke's area
a brain area involved in language comprehension and expression usually in the left temporal lobe
stranger anxiety
the fear of strangers that infants commonly display; beginning by about 8 months of age; children this age have schemas for familiar faces so when they are unable to assimilate the new face into these remembered schemas, they become distressed
attachment
an emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to their caregiver and showing distress on separation
harry and margaret harrlow
separated baby monkeys from their mothers and gave them a choice to choose a cloth mother or a wire form mother with an attached feeding bottle; monkeys preferred the comfy cloth mother even though she did not have a feeding bottle; found that attachment is not associated with nourishment
imprinting
the process by which certain animals form strong attachment during early life
konrad lorenz
explored imprinting; experimented whether ducklings would follow the first moving creature they observed; animals imprint but children do not
strange situation
a procedure for studying child-caregiver attachment; a child is placed in an unfamiliar environment while their caregiver leaves and them returns, and child's reactions are observed
mary ainswroth
carried out a strange situation experiment on children
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