Chapter 9 - Developmental Psychology Flashcards
Developmental Psychology
a sequence of age related changes that a person progresses through from conception to death
Theories of Development:
- nature v nurture
- continuity v stages
- stability v change
Developmental Theories: nature v nurture
we are who we are based on genetics or based on our environment, life experiences and upbringing
○ They are both as equally important however there are nurture factors which impact development § Gender § Culture: normals, values, beliefs and traditions passed down § Peer vs parental influence: parents teach us authority while peers teach cooperation § Prenatal environment
Developmental Theories: Continuity v Stages
(continuous v discontinuous): do we see development as one smooth process or in well-defined linear stages
Theory of Developmental Stages: stability v change
- Stability and change: says personality is associated with one’s age or your personality changes over time as a result of nurture and the ability to adapt
Newborn(Birth-2yrs): physical development
- Rapid brain developments
- Head develops faster than body
- Control over head is developed faster than body
- Motor development is in a universal sequence but individual timing
Brain Developments in a NewBorns Physical Development
- Neural pathways develop rapidly
- The frontal lobes grow
- Neural pathways supporting language and agility continue growing into puberty
- A critical period where exposure to certain stimuli is needed for proper development
Motor Skill Development in a Newborns Physical Development
○ develop as nervous system and muscles mature
○ Develop universally in sequence but not in timing
○ Are guided by genes(nature)
Reflexes newborns develop in motorskill development
Rooting reflex: the involuntary muscular responses to stimulation in their mouth
- Grasping reflex: Involuntary muscular response in the hand when something is placed there - Stepping reflexes(nurture): when they are held upwards, their legs involuntarily walk
Newborns(birth-2yrs): Social Development:
- bonds of attachment: emotional relationship between an infant and their caregiver
○ Secure:
○ Insecure:
§ Avoidantly attached: not noticing or caring parents departure or return
§ Anxiously attached: cling to mothers and cry when they leave - Stranger Anxiety: fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months
○ Children have schemas for familiar faces
○ Protects babies who evaluate unfamiliar people and possible threats - Temperaments: the nature of a person which affects their personality
○ Difficult: irritable, intense and unpredictable
○ Easy: cheerful and relaxed
○ Slow to warm up
Newborns(birth-2yrs): Cognitive Development:
Sensorimotor: experiencing the world through senses
Abilities of Sensorimotor:
- Object permanence: the awareness that objects and people continue to exist even when not perceived
- Kids don’t understand this yet
- Stranger Anxiety: fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months - Children have schemas for familiar faces Protects babies who evaluate unfamiliar people and possible threats
Early Childhood(2-7yrs): Social Development
- Play:
navigates through these 3 distinct processes○ Solitary: by them selves ○ Parallel: by themselves but side by side of others ○ Cooperative: with others
Early Childhood(2-7yrs): cognitive development:
Preoperational stage: thinking is illogical, symbolic thought, imaginary friends
Abilities in the preoperational Stage:
- Pretend play: enjoyed by children who can think in symbols
- Egocentrism: a child's difficulty in taking in another point of view Kids can't put themselves in another peoples shoes
Middle Childhood(7-11yrs): Social Development
- Still close to parents
- Peer relationships become more important
Middle Childhood(7-11yrs): Cognitive Development:
Concrete Operational Stage: they can’t think abstractly and can only think in things that are tangible
- Can only think about things they can see or put their hands on
Abilities in the Concrete Operational Stage:
- Conservation: properties such as mass, volume and numbers remain the same despite changes in shape
○ Two same amounts of milk were poured into different shaped glasses
○ Piaget’s tested this and the visually preoperational child is unable to understand the principle of conversion but the concrete operational stage can
- Mathematical Transformation: wouldn’t know that 3x5 is the same as 5x3
Adolescents(12-adulthood) Physical Development:
- Primary sex characteristics: development of sex organs
○ E.g. growth and dropping of testicles- Secondary sex characteristics: external signs of development
○ E.g. voice deepens, hair growth
- Secondary sex characteristics: external signs of development
Adolescents(12-adulthood): Social Development: parental relationships
- issues stem around forging your own identity
- parent child arguments increase
○ Normally gender related- Parents have influence in shaping religious and political views
- Choosing college and major
Adolescents(12-adulthood): Social Development: Peer relationships
- Select others similar to them
- Sort themselves into likeminded groups
- Focus more on immediate rewards and discount the future
- Talk, dress and act like their peers
Adolescents(12-adulthood): cognitive Development:
- Formal Operations: Develop reasoning power
○ Can apply new abstract thinking ○ Reason logically ○ Search for spirituality and a deeper meaning of life
Early Adulthood(20’s-30’s): physical Development:
- Muscular strength, reaction time and sensory keenness and cardiac output peak in their mid-twenties
Early Adulthood(20’s-30’s): Social Development:
Intimacy V Isolation:
- Young adults struggle to form close relationships and to gain the capacity for intimate love, or they feel socially isolated