Developmental Psychology

Continuous and discontinuous development

continuous:

• Gradual quantitive changes

Discontinuous:

• Relatively sudden, qualitative changes

Nature

• Human behavior and mental experiences are a product of evolution via natural selection

  • Biological factors

  • Genes, physical maturation, aging

Nurture

• Human behavior and mental experiences are modified over time by experiences in the environment

  • Environmental factors

  • Parents, neighborhoods, school, culture, societal norms, historical time and place

    • AKA Contextual factors