Psych 105 Chapter 11 part 1

Focus on developmental psychology: The study of continuity and change across the lifespan, encompassing stages such as infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.

Definition: The study of how and why humans change throughout their life from birth to old age.

Human sperm: Fertilization typically occurs 1 to 2 days after intercourse but can happen up to 5 days later.

Germinal Stage: 2-week period from conception; formation of the zygote.
Zygote: The fertilized egg containing genetic material from both parents.
Embryonic Stage: Lasts from the 2nd to 8th week post-conception.
Fetal Stage: Begins at 9 weeks until birth; characterized by rapid brain growth and myelination (formation of a fatty sheath around neuron axons).

Newborns are born with underdeveloped brains to facilitate passage through the birth canal and to allow for adaptation to varying environments throughout life.

The womb significantly influences fetal development.
Placenta: Connects mother’s bloodstream to the fetus for material exchange.
Maternal intake affects baby development.
Teratogens: Harmful agents that can affect development (e.g., drugs, viruses).
- Alcohol: Can cause Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS).
- Tobacco: Known to affect fetal health.
- Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR): Resulting from insufficient nutrition.

Newborns have limited distance vision (8 to 12 inches) and habituate to stimuli.
Capable of recognizing shapes and mimicking facial expressions shortly after birth.
Infants show preference for social stimuli (e.g., faces).

Importance of strengthening muscles for actions such as reaching, crawling, and walking.
Motor reflexes: Basic innate responses to stimuli (e.g., rooting, sucking).
Motor skills follow:
- Cephalocaudal Rule: Development proceeds from the head to the feet.
- Proximodistal Rule: Development proceeds from the center of the body outwards.

Motor skills develop through practice (average infant takes approx. 2,368 steps and falls 17 times in an hour).

Cognitive development involves the ability to think and understand.
Jean Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development:
- Sensorimotor Stage (Birth–2 years): Acquiring knowledge through sensory and motor experiences.
- Preoperational Stage (2–6 years): Developing motor skills and rudimentary reasoning but lacking understanding of conservation.
- Concrete Operational Stage (6–11 years): Logical thinking about concrete events and understanding conservation.
- Formal Operational Stage (11 years+): Abstract thinking and problem-solving capabilities.

Knowledge gained through movement exploration.
Key concepts:
- Schemas: Models of reality.
- Assimilation: Integrating experiences into existing schemas.
- Accommodation: Adjusting schemas to incorporate new information.
- Object Permanence: Understanding that objects continue to exist without seeing them.

Preoperational children struggle to appreciate different viewpoints; proven by false-belief tasks.
Children gradually learn that perspectives can vary among individuals.

Emphasizes the role of social interaction in cognitive development.
Key concepts:
- Joint Attention: Focusing on the same object as another person.
- Social Referencing: Using another's emotional reactions to interpret events.
- Imitation: Learning through the observation of others.