Psychological Development Flashcards
Lifespan Development
Refers to the age-related changes that occur from conception until the time of death.
Maturation
Refers to physical growth of the body and all its physical components (biological growth process)
Areas of Development
- Physical
- Cognitive
- Emotional
- Social
Physical Development
Changes to the body and its various systems.
- Motor – physical skills development such as tying shoe laces
Cognitive Development
How we think and learn.
Emotional Development
How we experience, express and interpret feelings.
Social Development
How we interact with others.
Stages in Lifespan Development
- Infancy: 0-2 years
- Childhood: 2-10 years
- Adolescence: 10-20 years
- Early Adulthood: 20-40 years
- Middle Age: 40-65 years
- Old Age: 65+ years
Infancy: 0-2 years
- Rapid development of perceptual abilities
- Language development
- Social skills
- Emotional attachment
Childhood: 2-10 years
- Independence from adults
- Intellectual development
- Play and social development
- Moral development
Adolescence: 10-20 years
- Puberty – major physical changes
- Seeking independence from parents
- Strengthening peer groups
- More logical and abstract thinking than childhood
- Personality changes
- Developing identity
Personal fable – Cognitive distortion leading to an inflated sense of self-worth, uniqueness and importance
Early Adulthood: 20-40 years
- Establishing personal relationships
- Financial independence
- Career
- Select life partners
- Development of intimate relationships
- Start family
Middle Age: 40-65 years
- Expand social and personal involvements
- Increased responsibility
- Supporting children in their development
Old Age: 65+ years
- Change of self perceptions
- Decreased work, strength, health.
- Death of friends and family
- Increased freedom: travel, social opportunities
- New hobbies, new roles in society
Progression of Development
Psychologists argue that development can be continuous or discontinuous.
Continuos Development
Involves gradual ongoing changes throughout life.
Discontinuous Development
Involves specific stages with bursts of rapid development within those stages.
Nature vs Nurture
Refers to the question of whether our development is due mainly to genetics (heredity) or the environment.
Sensitive Periods
The period of time when an organism is more responsive to certain stimulation.
Critical Periods
The narrow period of time where development in an animal is preprogrammed for learning to occur.
Principle of Readiness
States that unless the necessary physical maturation has occurred, no amount of practice will produce a particular mental process or behaviour.
Epigenetics
Epigenetics is the study of how environmental factors affect how our genes are expressed.
Twin Studies
Twin studies involve research using identical (monozygotic) twins and non-identical (dizygotic) twins.
Criticism:
Parents tend to treat identical twins in a more similar way than non-identical twins
Monozygotic Twins
Formed when a single (mono) fertilized egg (zygote) spontaneously splits into two and develops into two foetuses. Monozygotic twins share 100% of their genes.
Dizygotic Twins
Develop when two (di) eggs are released at the same time and fertilized by two different sperm. They share 50% of the same genes
Adoption Studies
Involve research using people who have been adopted, as well as their adoptive and biological parents, as participants.
By making comparisons between adopted children and their biological and adoptive parents, researchers can draw conclusions about the influence of heredity and environment.
