Development over the lifespan Flashcards
Developmental psychology
Examins biological, physical, psychological and behavioural changes that occur throughout life.
What are the four brod issues developmental psychology is guided by
- Nature (heredity) vs nurture (environment)
- Sensitive vs criticah periods
- Continuity (continuous & gradual) vs discontinuity (progressing through qualitively distinct stages)
- Stability vs change
Sensitive periods
Is an optimal age range for certain experiences, but if those experiences occur at another time, normal development is still possible
Critical periods
Is an age range during which certain experiences must occur for development to proceed normally or along a certain path
Cross-sectional design
Compare people of different ages at the same point in time.
Benefit of Cross-sectional design
Data from many ages groups can be collected relatively quickly
Limitation of cross-sectional design
Different age groups (cohorts) grew up in different historical periods
Longitudinal design
Repeatedly tests the same cohort as it grows older
Limitation of the longitudinal design
It can be time consuming and as years past the sample may shrink as people move, drop out or die
Sequential design
Is a combination of both the cross-sectional and the longitudial approaches. It tests different age groups and then retests them in later years to come
Prenatal Period
Is approximately 266 days in which humans are developed from a singled-cell organism to a newborn
Germinal stage
Occurs approximately in the first two weeks of development which begins when a sperm fertilises a female egg (ovum). The zygote goes through repeated cell divison becoming a mass of cells attached to the mother’s uterus general 10-14 days after conception.
Zygote
Is a fertilised egg
Embroynic stage
The cell mass is now called an embryo develops from the end of the second week through to week 8 after conception.
The two life-support structures called the placenta and umbilical develop at the start of this stage. Supplied with nutrients the embryonic cells divide rapidly and become specialised cells forming different organs and systems. By the end of week 8 the heart of the 2.5cm long embryo is beating, the brain is forming and facial features such as eyes can be recognised
The placenta
Contains membrances that allow nutrients to pass from the mother’s blood to the umbilical cord. It also prevents many dangerous substances from reaching the embryo and foetus.
The umbilical cord
Contains blood vessels that carry these nutrients and oxygen to the embryo and transport waste products back from the embryo to the mother
The foetal stage
Occurs from week 9 after conception until birth. In this stage muscles strengthen and other bodily systems continue their development. At about 24 weeks the eyes open and by 27 weeks the feotus attains the age of viability meaning it is likely to survive outside the womb in case of premature birth
Teratogens
Are external agents that cause adnormal prenatal development
Foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD)
Involves physical deficits caused by prental exposure to alcohol. The amount of alcohol necessary to produce FASD is unknown. Social drinking, or a single episode of binge drinking can increase the risk of prenatal damage and long-term cognitive impairment
Foetal alcohol syndrome
Involves a cluster of severe developmental abnormalities including facial abnormalities, small, malformed brains and psychological impairments such as mental retardation, attentional and preceptual deficits, impulsivity and poor social skills.
Smoking
Meternal smoking can increase the risk of a miscarriage, premature birth and low birht weight. If someone such as the father is smoking causes secondhand smoke inhalation in the mother has also been linked to low infant birth weight and increased risk of respiratory infections
Mothers who regularly use heroin or cocaine during pregency
Often results in their babies being born addicted to it and experience withdrawal symptoms after birth. It can also affect their cognitive functioning and ability to regualte their arousal and attention may also be impaired.
Perception of newborn babies
Visual systems of newborn babies are immature. Their eye movements are not well coordinated and are very shortsighted. They see objects that are 30cm away the most clearly. Which is the distance between their eyes and their mothers’ eyes while feeding .
Preferntial looking procedure (Robert Fantz 1961)
Found that infants preffered to look longer at more compex patterns such as a drawing of a human face in comparison to simple patterns and solid colours
Accomodation
Is the process by which new experiences cauuse existing schemas to change
What are the four stages of Piaget’s cognitive development model
Sensorimotor
Preoperational
Concrete operational
Formal operational
Sensoritmotor (Piaget’s Model)
From birth to age two infants understand the world through primarily though sensory experiences and physical (motor) interactions with objects. They achieve object permanence as well as they begin to think symbolically.
Object permanence
The understanding that an object continues to exist even when it can no longer be seen
Preoperational (Piaget’s Model)
From ages 2-7 they represent the world symbolically through words and mental images but do not yet understand basic mental operations or rules
Conservation
The principle that basic properties of objects, such as their volume, mass or quantity stay the same even when their outward appearance changes
Irreversibility
The act of reversing an action mentally
Egocentrism
Difficulty in viewing the world from someone else’s perspective.
Major characteristics of the preoperational stage of Piaget’s model
Child uses symbolic thinking (words and images) to represent objects and experiences
SYmbolic thinking enables children to engage in pretend play
Thinking displays egocentrism, irreversibility and centration
Concrete operational stage (Piaget’s model)
Occurs from age 12 to 7 They can perform basic mental operations concerning problems if they involve tanigble (i.e. concrete) objects and situations.
Major characteristics of the concrete operational stage of Piaget’s model
A child can think logically about concrete events and grasp concepts of conservation and serial ordering
Formal operational stage
Occurs from ages from 12 onwards. In which individuals can think logically about concrete and abstract problems, form hypotheses and systematically test them
Majore characteristics of the formal operational stage of Piaget’s model
Adolescents can think more logically, abstractly and flexibly
Can form hypotheses and systematically test them
Theory of mind
Refers to a person’s belief about the ‘mind’ and the ability to understand other people’s mind state
Erikson’s psychosocial theory
Erikson believed that personality develops through a series of eight psychosocial stages which each involve a different ‘crisis’ (i.e. conflict) over how we view ourselves iin relation to other people and the world
Attachement
Refes to the strong emotional bond that develops between children and their primay caregivers
Physical development biological principle (cephalocaudal principle)
Reflects the tendenct for development to proceed in a head-to-foot direction. The head of a foetus (and infant) is disproportionately large because physical growth concentrates first on the head
Physical development biological principle (Proximodistal principle)
States that development begins along the innermost parts of the body and continues toward the outermost parts. Thus the foetus’s arms develop befor the hands and fingers
Maturation
The genetically programmed biologicla processes that govern our growth
Environmental and culutral influences in physical development
Physical development is driven by genes in interaction with experience
Environmental influence on physical development
There is convincing evidence that human infants’ brains develop most in an environment rich in stimuli, that is, opportunities to interact with others and to manipulate This leads to thicker cortex’s, more synpatic connections and more complex dendritic arbours and more brain neurotransmitters that enhance learning.
Authoritive style of parenting
Are controlling but warm. It is a restrictive style of parenting that uses warmth and acceptance to demand will also being caring. This style of parenting is associated with more-positive childhood outcomes. Children with authoritative parents tend to have higher self-esteem, to be higher achievers in school and to have fewer conduct problems
Authoritarian Parent
Exert control within a cold, unresponsive or rejecting relationship. Children tend to have lower self-esteem, be less popular with peers and perform more poorly in school than children with authoritarian parents
Indulgent Parents
Have warm, caring relationships with their children but do not provide the guidance and discipline that help children learn responsibility and concern for others. Their children tend to be more immature and self-centred
Neglectful Parent
Provide neither warmth nor guidance. Their children are likely to be insecurely attached, to have lower achievement motivation and disturbed peer relationships, and to be impulsive and aggressive. This parenting style is associated with the most neglectful developmental outcomes
Preconventional moral reasoning (Kohlberg)
Is based on anticipated punishments or rewards
Conventional moral reasoning (Kohlberg)
Is based on conformity to social expectations
Postconventional moral reasoning (Kohlberg)
Is based on well-thought-out, general moral principles.
Stranger anxiety
Is distress over contact with unfamiliar people. It often emerges around 6 to 7 months and ends aroudn 18 months. When an infant is approached by a stranger they become afraid, cries and reaches for the caregiver
Separation anxiety
Distress over being separated from a primary caregiver. It peaks arond 12 to 16 months and disappears between 2 and 3 years of age. The infant becoms anxious, cries when the caregiver is out of sight.
Attachment development
Attachments form in the first few years of life (seeming to be a sensitive period) where people can most easily form the secure bond with caregivers that enhances our adjustment later in lfe.
Attachment deprivation
Infancy appears to be a sensitive period during which an initial attachment to cargivers forms most easily, facilitating subsquent development. Prolong deprivation creates developmental risks (e.g. emotionally and socially retarded, cognitively and socially impaired), but when deprived children are placed into a nurturing environment at a young enough age, many become attached to their care-givers and grow into well-adjusted adults.
Erikson’s Psychosocial stages
Basic trust vs mistrust (first year) Autonomy vs shame and doubt (1-2) Initative vs guilt (3-5) Industry vs inferiority (6-12) Identitiy vs role confusion (12-19) Intimacy vs isolaion (20-39) Generativity vs stagnation (40-64) Integrity vs despair (65+)
Adolescent egocentrism
A self-absorbed and distorted view of one’s uniqueness and importance
Puberty
A period of development and gradual transition between childhood and adulthood
Adult brain
Brain’s neural networks continue to become more efficiently integrated
Identity diffusion
These individuals have not yet gone through an identity crisis and seem unconcerned or even cynical about identity issues and were not committedd to a coherent set of values
Foreclosure
These individuals have not yet gone through an identity crisis as they have not committed to an identitty and set of values before experience a crisis,
Moratorium
These people want to establish a clear identity, were currently establishing a crising but had not yet resolved it
Identity achievement
These individuals had gone through an identity crisis, successfully resolved it and emerged with a coherent set of values
Adolescence
Is a socially constructed transition period between childhood and adulthood
