Psychological Development

Question 1

Intro to Developmental Psych

Answer 1

equips us with a map of ones lifetime; a journey, progression, or circling, there is change; fairly predictable and consistent development stages; boundaries between stages are blurry, overlap; something has to happen to punctuate our transition from one classroom to the next; the work that we miss or skip in a developmental stage persists; similar sequences but at different rates; development is not linear- it involves repetition

Question 2

Biology Theory Story and Development

Answer 2

interplay of what is genetically programmed with what the environment influences (blueprint/ building or ingredients) nature vs nurture; keyword: maturation; remember OCEAN acronym; epigenetics; ACES

Question 3

Maturation

Answer 3

the unfolding of what is blueprinted over time, beginning at conception, in response to external influences

Question 4

Teratogenic

Answer 4

external influences; smoking, alcohol exposure to toxic medications

Question 5

Puberty

Answer 5

evidence exists for transitions in the brain structures of children as they enter puberty; progressive slowing of functions later in life

Question 6

Epigenetics

Answer 6

the study of changes in organisms caused by modification of gene expression rather than alteration of the genetic code itself; turns the whole nature/nurture on its head

Question 7

ACEs

Answer 7

Adverse childhood experiences; such as parental conflict, incarceration of family members, use of substances by family, physical, emotional, and/or sexual abuse

Question 8

Behaviorism Theory Story and Development

Answer 8

focus on what happens outside of the person rather than what is “hardwired”; concept of preparedness; do acknowledge that we bring to each set of learnings a preparedness; suggests that most of what we think of a journeying through life is really reducible to our learning history (both cellular and self awareness level), of past experiences with pairing and consequences to our new experiences and decisions

Question 9

Preparedness

Answer 9

partly involves innate (inborn/inherited) ability to detect and form pairings in the environment, and partly relates to what behaviors we are able to exhibit and find reinforcement in

Question 10

Psychoanalysis Theory Story and Development

Answer 10

our experience as humans is our experience as beings in conflict; conflict cant be fixed but we can become more aware of it, moving away from automatic, inaccessible, and primitive unconscious processes to clearer ways of observing and experiencing in life; development of the ego; ego considers social realities and norms, etiquette and rules in deciding how to behave; two components: predictable pathway and management of conflict

Question 11

Predictable Pathway

Answer 11

and map for the unfolding of desire in relation to a conflict

Question 12

Management of Conflict

Answer 12

through ego defenses; some more primitive and problematic; some more developmentally advanced

Question 13

What are the interconnections of psychoanalysis?

Answer 13

preparedness borrows from biology; Freudian thinking about the unconscious influences of our relationships on our development relates to ACEs

Question 14

H/E/T Theory Story and Development

Answer 14

these theory stories are developmental; emphasize a process towards wholeness and integration; thus anything we say about development is risky; look at movement rather than a snapshot of the self; emphasize of unfolding of potential over

Question 15

Potential

Answer 15

refers to an innate, inborn tendency to be everything

Question 16

Humanistic Psychology

Answer 16

see specific developmental maps as varieties of the larger conceptual processes involved with self-actualization

Question 17

Existential Psychology

Answer 17

development flows from fundamental and unavoidable struggles of being involving body, time, and free will; the only fundamental, developmental problem is what some have called a being toward death; maps help but perhaps they are viewed as something entertaining and meaningful to do while the clock is ticking and the body is rusting

Question 18

Transpersonal Psychologies

Answer 18

emphasis on the between and the beyond of human experiences; remind us that we are spiritual beings having an embodied experience ; our struggles to feel connected, compassionate, empathetic, and in relationship to some felt meaning are all important to developmental stages