Lifespan Development Flashcards
What is the definition of Development?
The sequence of changes over the full life span of an organism, a continuous process from conception to death.
Development includes both prenatal and postnatal changes and refers to qualitative changes.
How is Growth defined in the context of lifespan development?
Changes that occur in the fetus after fertilization in the womb, referring to quantitative changes.
Examples include measurable changes such as weight, size, and shape.
What does Maturation refer to?
Changes determined largely by our own genes, following an orderly sequence dictated by the genetic blueprint.
Maturation produces commonalities in growth and development.
What are the key differences between Growth, Development, and Maturation?
Growth is quantitative changes; Development includes physical, emotional, socio-cultural, cognitive changes; Maturation is influenced by genetic makeup.
Development occurs from birth to death.
What determines the interaction of heredity and environment?
Genetic influence and environmental factors.
Variations in characteristics such as skin color, intelligence, and learning abilities arise from this interaction.
Define genotype.
The actual genetic material or a person’s genetic heritage.
It is not all apparent in observable characteristics.
What is phenotype?
The way an individual’s genotype is expressed in observable and measurable characteristics.
Includes physical traits and psychological characteristics.
How does the environment influence development?
The environment can modify genetic predispositions and affect developmental outcomes.
For example, an introverted child in an extroverted environment may become slightly more extroverted.
What is the lifespan perspective in development?
The view that significant modifications occur throughout development across all age groups from conception to old age.
It emphasizes multidimensional and multidirectional changes.
List the characteristics of development according to Paul Baltes.
- Development is life-long
- Development is multi-dimensional
- Development is multidirectional
- Development is highly plastic
- Development is multicontextual
What are normative age-graded influences?
Specific age groups that share particular experiences and developmental changes.
Examples include toddlers, adolescents, or seniors.
What are non-normative life influences?
Unique experiences that shape an individual’s development, despite sharing age and history with peers.
Example: losing a parent at a young age.
What is Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory?
A theory stating that understanding human development requires focusing on relationships between individuals and their environment at various levels.
It includes microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem.
Define the microsystem in Bronfenbrenner’s theory.
Settings in which the developing person interacts directly with people and objects.
Examples include family, peers, and school.
What is the macrosystem?
Widely shared cultural values, beliefs, and laws that influence all inner systems and an individual’s life and development.
It encompasses the broader societal context.
What is the significance of the Chronosystem?
It involves events in the individual’s life course and socio-historical circumstances that affect development.
Examples include parental divorce or economic setbacks.
What is the period known as Infancy?
The period from birth to around 18 to 24 months, during which language, attachment, and basic motor movement develop.
Simple cognitive abilities also begin to develop during this time.
What are motor milestones?
Major developmental tasks that depend on movement by the muscles, reflecting physical growth and strengthening.
Achievements develop systematically from simple to complex actions.
What are reflexes in infants?
Innate, involuntary behavior patterns in response to stimulation in certain areas of the body.
Examples include rooting, grasping, and the Moro reflex.
What does Piaget’s stage theory suggest?
All human beings move through an orderly and predictable series of changes regarding cognition.
It emphasizes the development of knowledge as a form of adaptation.
Define Assimilation in Piaget’s theory.
The tendency to understand new information in terms of existing mental frameworks.
Example: A child calling a banana a jet is assimilating new information.
Define Accommodation in Piaget’s theory.
The process of changing existing mental frameworks to incorporate new information.
It involves adapting one’s understanding based on new experiences.
What is Piaget’s stage theory?
A type of theory suggesting that all human beings move through an orderly and predictable series of changes with regards to cognition.
Define cognitive development according to Piaget.
Development of knowledge as a form of adaptation involving the interplay of assimilation and accommodation.
What is assimilation?
The tendency to understand new information in terms of existing mental frameworks.
Provide an example of assimilation.
A child hoists a banana and runs around in a circle shouting “Look – it is a jet.”
What is accommodation?
The modification of existing mental frameworks to take account of new information.
Provide an example of accommodation.
A child sees a zebra and calls it a horse because it has 4 legs, then is corrected by the parent.
What is equilibration in Piaget’s theory?
The tendency of the developing individual to stay in balance intellectually by filling in gaps in knowledge.
What is the sensorimotor stage?
The earliest stage of cognitive development lasting from birth until 18-24 months.
What do infants learn during the sensorimotor stage?
The relationship between their actions and the external world, including basic cause and effect.
What is object permanence?
The understanding that objects continue to exist even when they are hidden from view.
What is a schema according to Piaget?
An action sequence guided by thought.
What are the four attachment styles identified by Ainsworth?
- Secure attachment
- Insecure-Avoidant Attachment
- Insecure-Ambivalent Attachment
- Disorganized/Disoriented Attachment
Describe secure attachment.
Infants freely explore new environments and actively seek contact with their caregiver upon return.
Describe insecure-avoidant attachment.
Infants do not cry when the caregiver leaves and may avoid or be slow to greet the caregiver upon return.
Describe insecure-ambivalent attachment.
Infants seek contact with the caregiver before separation but resist or reject comfort after reunion.
Describe disorganized/disoriented attachment.
Infants show contradictory responses and may perceive the caregiver as frightening.
What is the age range for childhood development?
From 2 years to before the onset of puberty.
What are gross motor skills?
Larger movements made with arms, legs, feet, or entire body, such as crawling and jumping.
What are fine motor skills?
Smaller movements involving wrists, hands, fingers, feet, toes, lips, and tongue.
What is the preoperational stage?
A cognitive stage from ages 2 to 7 where children form mental representations and begin to use verbal symbols.
What is egocentrism in children?
The inability to understand that others may perceive the world differently.
What is the principle of conservation?
Knowledge that certain physical attributes of an object remain unchanged despite alterations in appearance.
What is the concrete operational stage?
A stage occurring roughly between ages 7 and 11 where children understand the permanence of objects and can solve simple problems.
What does gender identity refer to?
Understanding of the fact that one is male or female.
What is gender stability?
Children’s understanding that gender is stable over time.
What is gender identity?
Understanding of the fact that one is male or female
Gender identity is established early in life, often by age two.
What is gender stability?
Children’s understanding that gender is stable over time
Typically understood by age four.
What is gender consistency?
Understanding that sex identity remains the same even if one dresses or behaves like members of the opposite sex
Usually develops by age six or seven.
What does sex-category constancy (SCC) refer to?
Complete understanding of one’s sexual identity involving gender identity, stability, and consistency
Emphasizes the link between gender and biological sex.
What differentiates biological sex from gender?
Biological sex refers to the physical characteristics of male or female, while gender relates to societal beliefs about traits and behaviors characteristic of males and females.
What are gender stereotypes?
Beliefs, often exaggerated, about traits possessed by males and females and differences between them.
What are gender roles?
Expectations concerning the roles males and females should fill and the ways they should behave.
What is the sequence of gender constancy development in children according to Chauhan, Shastri, and Mohite (2005)?
- Gender identity for self
- Gender stability
- Gender consistency
At what age do children typically establish gender identity?
By age two.
At what age do children typically understand gender stability?
By age four.
What is the significance of peer relationships in childhood?
They provide learning opportunities for social-emotional skills such as empathy, cooperation, and problem-solving.
What is solitary play?
Play where children prefer to be near others but engage in independent activities.
What is parallel play?
Play where children use similar materials and engage in similar activities but do not interact much.
At what age do children begin to show cooperative play?
By age three.
What is Kohlberg’s preconventional level of moral development?
Children judge morality largely in terms of consequences.
What are the two stages of the preconventional level?
- Punishment-and-obedience orientation
- Naive hedonistic orientation
What characterizes the conventional level of moral development?
Children judge morality in terms of what supports and preserves societal laws and rules.
What are the two stages of the conventional level?
- Good Boy-Good Girl orientation
- Social Order maintaining orientation
What is the postconventional level of moral development?
Individuals believe that certain obligations and values transcend societal rules.
What are the two stages of the postconventional level?
- Legalistic orientation
- Universal ethical principle orientation
What criticism is often directed at Kohlberg’s theory?
It may not apply well to females, as noted by Gilligan (1982).
What is adolescence?
Period beginning with the onset of puberty and ending when individuals assume adult roles and responsibilities.
What are the physical changes associated with puberty?
Rapid changes that signal the attainment of sexual maturity.
What is egocentric thinking?
A type of reasoning focused on oneself, often disregarding others’ perspectives.
What are the three stages of moral development according to the age ranges?
- Preconventional: below 7 years
- Conventional: 7-11 years
- Postconventional: 11 years onwards
Define adolescence.
The period beginning with the onset of puberty and ending when individuals assume adult roles and responsibilities.
What physical changes characterize puberty?
Rapid physical growth and sexual maturity.
At what age do girls typically experience their growth spurt during puberty?
Around age ten or eleven.
At what age do boys typically experience their growth spurt during puberty?
Around age twelve or thirteen.
What are primary sex characteristics?
Characteristics directly related to reproduction.
What are secondary sex characteristics?
Features or signs of achieving sexual maturity.
At what age do most girls begin menstruating?
By age thirteen.
At what age do most boys begin to produce sperm?
By age fourteen or fifteen.
What is the formal operational stage?
The final stage of cognitive development where individuals acquire deductive or propositional reasoning.
What is hypothetico-deductive reasoning?
A type of reasoning that involves formulating a general theory and deducing specific hypotheses from it.
What is interpropositional thinking?
Thinking in which multiple propositions are tested for validity.
What is reflective thinking?
The process of evaluating or testing one’s own reasoning.
What is identity according to Erikson?
Who you are and what your values, commitments, and beliefs are.
What is the primary task of adolescence?
To establish an identity separate from parents.
What is the identity versus role confusion stage?
A stage where teenagers ask themselves questions about their identity.
What are the four identity statuses identified by Marcia?
- Identity achievement
- Identity moratorium
- Identity foreclosure
- Identity diffusion
What factors influence adolescent identity formation?
- Cultural background
- Family and societal values
- Ethnic background
- Socioeconomic status
What is gender identity?
Understanding of oneself as male or female.
What is gender dysphoria?
The distress a person feels due to a mismatch between their gender identity and sex assigned at birth.
What is sexuality?
Sexual feelings, thoughts, attractions, and behaviors towards others.
What is delinquency?
A variety of behaviors including legal offenses and criminal acts.
What age range is referred to as delinquent?
7-18 years.
What are some characteristics of delinquent behavior?
- Theft
- Gambling
- Cheating
- Violence and assault
What are the causes of delinquency?
- Hereditary factors
- Psychological factors
- Intelligence factors
- Environmental and social factors
What is substance abuse?
A maladaptive pattern of substance use resulting in significant adverse effects.
What are some symptoms of substance abuse?
- Failure to meet obligations
- Repeated use in hazardous ways
- Legal problems related to the substance
What is substance abuse?
A maladaptive pattern of substance use that results in repeated, significant adverse effects and maladaptive behaviours
List some symptoms of substance abuse.
- Failure to meet obligations at work, school, or at home
- Repeated use of a psychoactive substance in hazardous ways
- Recurrent legal problems related to the substance
- Continued use despite negative effects on social relationships
What are the most widely used drugs in the world?
- Caffeine
- Nicotine
- Alcohol
What is a common age for first marijuana use?
14
What are some physical signs of substance abuse in adolescents?
- Fatigue
- Repeated health complaints
- Red and glazed eyes
- Lasting cough
What emotional symptoms might indicate substance abuse in adolescents?
- Personality change
- Sudden mood changes
- Irritability
- Low self-esteem
- Depression
How is the diagnosis of substance use made?
Through careful interview, observations, laboratory findings, and history provided by reliable sources
What is the treatment for substance abuse?
- Use of medicines
- Counselling
- Behavioural therapy
- Support groups
True or False: Substance abuse disorder and substance abuse are the same.
False
Define alcoholism as a concern in adolescence.
A complex disorder that includes social and inter-personal issues, often leading to harmful consumption affecting personal and social responsibilities.
What is Anorexia Nervosa?
An intense and excessive fear of gaining weight, leading to severe restriction of food intake.
What are the two subtypes of Anorexia?
- Restricting type
- Binge eating/purging type
What is Bulimia Nervosa?
A disorder involving recurrent episodes of binge eating followed by compensatory behaviors to prevent weight gain.
What are some symptoms of Bulimia?
- Preoccupation with body shape and weight
- Fear of gaining weight
- Episodes of abnormal eating
- Loss of control during bingeing
What role does psychotherapy play in the treatment of eating disorders?
It involves discussing issues with a mental health professional to improve symptoms.
What is the difference between anorexia-purging type and bulimia?
Anorexia involves being underweight with a fear of gaining weight, while bulimia usually involves normal or above-average weight with guilt from binge eating.
Fill in the blank: Eating disorders are illnesses in which people experience severe disturbances in their _______.
eating behaviors and related thoughts and emotions
What are some gastrointestinal symptoms of Anorexia Nervosa?
- Constipation
- Vomiting
True or False: Eating disorders only affect females.
False
What is a common psychological treatment for Bulimia?
Cognitive behavioral therapy
List some causes of alcohol abuse.
- Internal and external motivation
- Impairment of brain levels of dopamine
