Chapter 9 - Lifespan Development Flashcards
physical development
involves growth and changes in the body and brain, the senses, motor skills, and health and wellness
cognitive development
involves learning, attention, memory, language, thinking, reasoning, and creativity
psychosocial development
involves emotions, personality, and social relationships
normative approach
- tries to determine what normal development looks like
- term often requires deeper consideration, some psychologists don’t use them anymore
- can be used to determine if a child has a undiagnosed condition
developmental milestones
- age-related averages as general guidelines to compare children with same-age peers to determine the approximate ages they should reach specific normative events
- not all events are universal
- ex. crawling, walking, writing, speaking in sentences
continuous development
- views development as a cumulative process, gradually improving on existing skills
- gradual development throughout life
- is a theoretical approach regarding human development
nature
- the effects our biology and genetics have on who we are
nurture
- the effects our environment and culture have on who we are
discontinuous development
- believe that development takes place in unique stages: It occurs at specific times or ages
- change is more sudden
- is a theoretical approach regarding human development
nature vs. nurture
- debate that seeks to understand how our personalities/traits are the product of our genetic makeup and biological factors/environment
- debate centers on relative contribution of each
psychosexual development
- Freud’s theory of childhood development
- children’s pleasure-seeking urges are focused on a different area of body at five stages of development: oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital
- not supported by research, main takeaway is personality is effected by childhood
psychosocial development
- Erik Erikson’s theory of child development
- emphasizes the social nature of our development rather than its sexual nature
- personality development takes place all through lifespan
- how we interact with others is what affects our sense of self called ego identity
schemata
- concepts (mental models) that are used to help us categorize and interpret information
- children develop schemata to help them understand the world
assimilation
- taking in information that is comparable to what they already know
- way of changing your schemata as you develop
accommodation
- changing your schemata based on new information
- process continues as children interact with their environment
- way of changing your schemata as you develop
sensorimotor
- first stage of cognitive theory of development (birth - 2yrs)
- children learn about the world through their senses and motor behavior
- ex. put objects in mouths to see if edible, and once they can grasp objects, they may shake or bang them to see if they make sounds.
object permanence
- happens between 5-8 months old
- the understanding that even if something is out of sight, it still exists
preoperational stage
- second stage of cognitive theory of development (2yrs - 7yrs)
- children can use symbols to represent words, images, and ideas
- begin to use language in the preoperational stage, but they cannot understand adult logic or mentally manipulate information
conservation
- the idea that even if you change the appearance of something, it is still equal in size as long as nothing has been removed or added
- children can struggle to grasp this
egocentrism
-child is unable to take perspective of others (thinks that everyone sees, thinks, and feels like them)
- part of preoperational stage
concrete operational stage
- third stage of cognitive theory of development (7yrs - 11yrs)
- children can think logically about real events, can understand numbers and employ memory strategies
- can understand conservation
reversibility
- objects can be changed and then returned back to their original form or condition
- what children can understand in concrete operational stage
formal operational stage
- fourth stage of cognitive theory of development (11yrs - adult)
- can deal with abstract ideas and hypothetical situations to problem solve, look at solutions, and test them - In adolescence, a renewed egocentrism occurs
stages of moral reasoning
- idea that like cognitive development, we develop morally overtime
- an individual progresses from capacity for pre-conventional morality (before age 9) to the capacity for conventional morality (early adolescence), and toward attaining post-conventional morality
cognitive theory of development
- by Jean Piaget, focuses on children’s cognitive growth
- thinking is a central aspect of development, children are naturally inquisitive, but don’t think/reason like adults
- our cognitive abilities develop through specific stages (discontinuity approach)
- thought to not be fully accurate
sociocultural theory of development
- suggested that human development is rooted in one’s culture
- ex. A child’s social world forms basis for the formation of language