Unit 9 - Developmental Psychology Flashcards
prenatal period
9 months - period from conception to birth during which a fertilized egg grows into a human baby (fastest, most rapid growth)
embryonic period
2 weeks after conception
During this period, cells are firmly implanted on uterine wall and turns into a human embryo
fetal period
begins at 8 weeks after conception and lasts until birth
infancy and toddlerhood
(birth to 2 years of age)
At birth babies cannot hold up their own heads, eat solid food, or sleep through the night. No social relationships. By age 2, babies have learned to walk, talk, eat, and sleep through the night. They also form emotional bonds with their parents.
early childhood
2-6 Children grow taller stronger, conscience, and self control. Thinking and language skills surge, and pretend play emerges during preschool years. They make friends outside of family.
middle childhood
6-11 Friendships become more significant, thinking and reasoning capabilities continue to grow. Increased physical coordination and strength. Self understanding becomes more complex.
adolesensce
(11 or 12 to 18 or 20)
Transitions of puberty transform children’s bodies into adult ones. Social roles change - teenagers define their own goals. Adolescents become capable of idealistic and abstract thought. School - preparation for adulthood
developmental psychology
examines our physical, cognitive, and social development across the lifespan with focus on three major issues:
three major developmental psych issues
- Nature vs. nurture
How our genetic inheritance interacts with our experiences - Continuity and stages
What parts of development are gradual and continuous and what parts are abrupt and sudden - Stability and change
What traits persist through life and how do we change as we age
Universality and Diversity
Those who advocate the universal view see the sequence of development as being the same everywhere to everyone
Diversity - more likely to note connections between development and the contexts or cultures
zygote
the fertilized egg; it enters and 2-week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo
embryo
developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the second month
fetus
the developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception until birth
teratogens
teratogens (literally, “monster maker”) agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm.
fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)
physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman’s heavy drinking. In severe cases, signs include a small, out-of-proportion head and abnormal facial features.
apgar test
quick physical test given to every newborn at birth (1-5 mins after birth)
Score of 7-10 considered normal
Appearence, Pulse, grimace, activity, respiratory
habituation
decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner
maturation
biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience
cognition
all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.
adaptation
involves the joint operation of assimilation and accommodation.
accomodation
adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information.
assimilation
interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas.
schema
a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information.
Jean Piaget
development psychologist (swiss and uses his own children as experiments)
Focused on the natural cognitive processes
Came up with four different stages in their development
Sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, formal operational
sensorimotor stage
in Piaget’s theory, the stage (from birth to about 2 years of age) during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities.
object permenance
the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived.
preoperational stage
in Piaget’s theory, the stage (from about 2 to about 6 or 7 years of age) during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations
of concrete logic.
conservation
the principle (which Piaget believed to be a part of concrete operational reasoning) that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects.
egocentrism
in Piaget’s theory, the preoperational child’s difficulty taking another’s point of view.
theory of mind
people’s ideas about their own and others’ mental states—about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict.
autism spectrum disorder
a disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by significant deficiencies in communication and social interaction, and by rigidly fixated interests and repetitive behaviors.
concrete operational stage
in Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about 6 or 7 to 11 years of age) during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think
logically about concrete events.
formal operational stage
in Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development (normally
beginning about age 12) during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts.
stranger anxiety
the fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months of age.
attachment
an emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to the caregiver and showing distress on separation.