human development Flashcards
what is developmental psychology?
the study of human physical, cognitive, social, and behavioural characteristsics across the lifespan
* how we grow, develop, change
* age groups: infancy, childhood, adolescene, adulthood
* physical development, langauge, social emotional developmnet, cognitive development, moral development
what are some issues/questions that researchers have grappled with?
- Is development continuous or discontinuous?
- Is development active or passive?
- Is there one course of development or many?
- What are the influences of nature and nurture?
what are the research design types in DP?
cross-sectional design and longitudinal design
what is cross-sectional design? what is it vulnerable to?
examines people of different ages at a given point in time
*vulnerable to cohort effects: differences among people from being born in different time periods
what is longitudinal design? what are the disadvantages?
examines development in the same group of people on multiple occasions over time
*costly, time-consuming, vulnerable to attrition
how could you describe the pattern of development
development involves sudden dramatic growth and change.
*described by the several stages of human development
NOT gradual, smooth, or linear
does nature or nurture shape development?
BOTH are important in shaping development
what is gene-environment interaction?
the impact of genes on behaviour depends on the envrionment where behaviour develops
what is development in a historical/cultural/societal context?
Transmission of patterns of beliefs, values, customs and skills to younger generations
*changes in society accross generations have effect on development - intergenerational or generational trauma
what are the stages of prenatal development?
germinal stage/”period of the zygote”
* spans from conception to 2 weeks
* zygote begins to divide and attaches to uterine lining and placenta forms
embryonic stage
* week 3- 8
* development of major phsycial stuctures in embryo e.g. major systems, organs, structures of body .
* Cephalocaudal and proximodistal development
* embryo attaches to placenta
fetal stage
* week 8-birth
* skeletal, organ and nervous systems become more developed and specialized
* fetus starts to move
what happens in prenatal brain development?
development of brain throughout the stages of prenatal development
* nerve cells develop (embryonic stage)
* neural tube develops into brain and spinal cord
* brain structures develop - around week 11 and continue to develop and outer surface develops in second trimester
* myelination begins prenatally and accelerates through infancy and
how many neurons grow per minute during prenatal development
250,000 neurons per minute at time from day 18-180
what factors affect prenatal development?
environmental influences: teratogens and nutrition
how does nutrition affect prenatal development?
malnutrition has consequences such as underdeveloped prefontal cortices and other brain areas w/ self control
what are teratogens and how does exposure to them impact development?
teratogens: environmental factors that can exert a negative impact on development
e.g smoking, drugs, alcohol, teledomide (sedative for morning sickness that caused defects), stress
alcohol conumption can lead to fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) which involves abnormalities in physical and cognitive development
smoking makes prenature birth more likely
what are preemies?
preterm infants: born earlier than 36 weeks
* children born at 25 weeks have a 50% chance of survival
* children born at 30 weeks have 95% chance of survival
* possible short and long term negative effects on psychological and cognitive functioning and with sensory stimulation and autonomic nervous system
*full term gestation is 40 weeks *
what is kangaroo care and how does it help?
holding technique for preemies that uses skin to skin contact of parent and preemie
benefits
* Four-fold decrease in apnea: mechanically ventilated babies able to tolerate transfer and position changes without increased oxygen
requirements.
* results in more regular heart rate
* improves survival rates and lowering risks of infection
what are the main parts of sensory development for prenatal/infant development
five senses functional at birth but not fully developed
- 8 months of pregancy: babies can listen and remeber sounds coming from outside the womb
- 6 months of infancy 20/20 vision achieved and 8 months objects can be percieved
*hearing is better than vision * - can discriminate agasint odour and taste
- imitate facial expressions - prefer looking at stimuli that look like fases
what are the 2 key processes in synaptic development (starts prenatally)
synaptogensis - the forming of new synaptic connections
synaptic pruning - the loss of weak nerve cell connections