10.1 lifespan development Flashcards
developmental psychology
the study of physical and psychological changes commonly associated with the different stage of our life
cross sectional designs
involves measuring groups of ppl at a single point in time, but that differ in their age
-have the potential confound of cohort effects-ppl that are diff ages, also developed in diff time periods
longitudinal designs
involves measuring the same group of ppl at diff points of time
-these designs are time-consuming and there is a high risk of attrition- the withdrawal of participants from a study over time
developmental stages
lifespan changes proceed through patterns of stability followed by periods of more rapid transition
sensitive periods
the points of rapid change that mark points of transition bw developmental stages
diff abilities have
diff sensitive periods
conception
sperm and ovum
germinal stage
zygote
cell division takes place
blastocyte reaches uterus
blastocyte makes its way down the fallopian tube and is implanted on the inner lining of the uterus
inner cluster of cells forms the developing embryo
the outer ring of the cells forms the developing placenta
embryonic stage
lasts 2 to 8 weeks after conception
-forms major body parts
the fetal stage
8 weeks to birth (ideally, around 40 weeks)
100,000,000 million neurons
40,000 neurons per second
maternal malnourishment
increases the risk of giving birth to lower weight newborns that are more prone to illness and deficits in mental functioning
babies born during world war II experienced a variety of serious physical and psychological problems
Teratogens
substances that negatively affects the process of development in utero
-thalidomide
Thalidomide
- pills pregnant women took
- caused severe birth defects, including blindness, deafness and limb deformities called phocomelia
fetal alcohol syndrome
-infants have both problems with mental functions and physical features
smoking and pregnancy
- lowers the amount of oxygen needed for the fetus to consume
- adds nicotine and carbon monoxide to the vulnerable fetuses environment
- smoking while pregnant is correlated with miscarriage and infant mortality, premature birth, underweight baby
preterm infants
the chance of a baby’s survival if it is born at only 25 weeks is about 50% and the babies that do survive suffer permanent damage to their brain and other organs
sudden infant death syndrome or SIDS
a syndrome in which infants die because they stop breathing
- infants and particularly preterm ones have very vulnerable respiratory systems
- exposure to 2nd hand smoke triples the risk that a baby will die of SIDS
infant sensory abilities
infants enter the world preferring their mother’s voice over other voices
- infant vision is especially well designed to facilitate interacting with their mother while breastfeeding
- infants tasting ability is about equivalent to adults, as well as their smell abilites
infant social abilities
infants imitate adults facial expressions
-in experiments that measure infants looking time to diff stimuli, babies show a preference for human faces over other comparison stimuli
newborn human babies are unusually helpless
- compared to newborn members of other species, they are able to walk and swim
- humans are born with a lot of brain development left to do
after birth, brain development continues in human infants
- myelination of axons to speed transmission of signals
- synaptogenesis (or the creation of neural connections)
- synaptic pruning (deleting unnecessary or weak neural connections)
infant reflexes
involuntary motor actions that help newborn infants adapt to life outside of the uterus
rooting reflex
stimulating the corner of an infants mouth causes the baby to move their head toward the source of the stimulation and start sucking
moro reflex
newborns react with a startle response whenever they lose support of their head
