Module 45: Developmental Issues, Prenatal Development, and the Newborn Flashcards
Developmental Psychology
A branch that studies physical, cognitive, and social development across a life span
What are the 3 major issues?
Nature & Nurture, Continuity & Stages, Stability & Change
Nature & Nuture
Genes predispose both our shared humanity & individual differences
- not one or the other but the interaction together
Continuity & Stages
Stage: Sees development as a sequence of genetically predisposed stages/steps.
- provides a beneficial basis
Continuity: states that people develop in a continuous process over time and are constantly changing/shaping themselves.
What were the stage theorists & what did they propose?
Jean Piaget –> Cognitive Development
Lawrence Kohlberg –> Moral Development
Erik Erikson –> Psychosocial Development
Stability & Change
Stability provides our identity, it enables us to depend on others and be concerned about the healthy development of children
-Stability is the notion that a person’s personality traits are persistent and constant throughout a person’s lifetime.
Change can provide a brighter future - lets us adapt & grow with experience
- Change suggests that people’s personalities adjust over time due to environmental factors/interactions.
Zygotes
A fertilized egg (enters 2 week period of rapid cell division and discerns what role it is supposed to take on)
Embryos
The developing human organism starting 2 weeks after fertilization till the 2nd month of pregnancy.
Placenta
The outer cells of an embryo that provides nutrients and oxygen from the mother to the embryos
Fetus
Developing human starting from week 9 till birth
- most of the body parts have developed/organs
Who does the Fetus prefer listening to?
The mum
- mimicks the mothers speaking rhythm in its cries/whines
Teratogens
“monster makers”
- chemicals or viruses that slip through the placentas screening and causes harm to the embryo or fetus during development
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
(FAS) Physical & Cognitive abnormalities in children as a result of heavy drinking during pregnancy
- disproportionate head, abnormal facial features, birth defects, behavior, and intelligence problems
- could lead to alcoholism/addiction later in their life.
- alcohol has an epigenetic effect
Habituation
Decreasing responsiveness after repetitiveness
As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes, and they look away sooner.
What do infants pay attention to first?
The Face
Moro Reflex
Hold baby up w/o holding their neck and their arms will flail out
A child with flail their limbs (arms & legs) outwards, throw their head back, and/or cry when they get frightened by a loud noise or movement. After extending the child will bring their limbs back towards their body.
Aids in developing walking skill
Survival instinct that allows children to grasp their mother if they start to fall
Grasping Reflex
If a person strokes the inside of a child’s palm the baby will wrap their fingers around the finger or object stroking their palm.
We have it from our ancestors - provides safety and a way to hold on to the child/ stand them up/lift them up
Sign of nervous system development - crucial to developing motor skills
Rooting Reflex
A child will turn their head and open their mouth in search of food as a result of touching their cheek or corner of their mouth.
Occurs as an instinctual motion to aid babies in eating before they have the capability to move on their own.
Sucking Reflex
Touching the roof of the child’s mouth triggers the baby to starts sucking.
Occurs as an instinctual motion to aid babies in drinking before they have the capability to do so on their own.
Babinsky Reflex
Stroking the sole of a child’s foot will result in the child’s toe bending towards the body (extension) and the other toes fanning out.
Indicates a healthy nervous system
