09.+Developmental+Psychology

Developmental psychology deals with the behavior of organisms from conception to death and examines the processes that contribute to behavioral change throughout the life span. The major areas of emphasis in the course are prenatal development, motor development, socialization, cognitive development, adolescence, and adulthood.
 * IX. Developmental Psychology (7–9%) **

Cross-sectional: compares people of different ages with one another Longitudinal: study the same people at different times in their life
 * Methods of Testing **

//Stage theories//: development is a discontinuous process involving distinct stages that are characterized by qualitative differences in behavior; criticism of these theories is that they fail to recognize variations in the social clock, and each individual's experiences and their historical and cultural setting
 * Important Developmental Psychologists **

__Jean Piaget__: 4 stages of development. Before Piaget, people believed that a child’s mind was merely a miniature model of an adult’s. //Sensorimotor//: from birth to age 2; children experience the world through movement and senses (use five senses to explore the world) //Preoperational//: from ages 2 to 7; acquisition of motor skills, egocentrism begins strongly and then weakens, no conservation or logical thinking. //Concrete operational//: from ages 7 to 12; concrete, logical thinking, no egocentrism, conservation and abstract reasoning skills begin to develop. //Formal operational//: from age 12 onwards; development of abstract reasoning, children can easily conserve and think logically in their mind.

//Object permanence//: they understand that objects continue to exist even when they can't see them; stranger anxiety develops soon after this concept //Conservation//: to logically determine that a certain quantity will remain the same despite adjustment of the container, shape, or apparent size. //Criticism//: underestimated children’s abilities especially at ages four to five, and he failed to recognize environmental factors pushing development

__Harry Harlow__: maternal-separation and social isolation experiments on rhesus monkeys which demonstrated the importance of care giving and companionship in social and cognitive development. Socially deprived monkeys showed abnormal physical and psychological development.

__Erik Erikson__: psychosocial theory (first theory to assert that development is a life-span process Year 1: trust (whether the baby trusts that its basic needs will be met) vs. mistrust Years 1-3: shame vs. doubt (sense of control over bodily functions and environment)  Years 3-6: initiative (learn to assert themselves socially without overstepping bounds) vs. guilt  Years 6-12: industry (pride and accomplishment in work, sense of competence) vs. inferiority  Teen years: identity (develop own values, fidelity=truthfulness to one’s self) vs. role confusion  Young adult: intimacy (attempt to form loving, lasting relationships) vs. isolation  Adult: generativity vs. stagnation (struggle to be productive, leave mark on the world)  Old age: integrity (come to terms with one’s life, accepting both successes and failures, wisdom) vs. despair

//Child-Parent Attachment Patterns//
 * Secure: child uses parent for support (common)
 * Insecure: child is not sure whether parent will be supportive (rare)
 * Avoidant: child does not use parent for support, abusive parents (rare)

//Parenting Styles//
 * Authoritarian: high expectations to comply with rules, corporal punishment
 * Authoritative: except compliance with rules, encourage independence, punish/forgive
 * Permissive: few expectations, punishment is rare

__Lawrence Kohlberg__: theory of moral development and ethical reasoning Preconventional Morality: child has fear of punishment, then they focus on individualism and work for their own interests Conventional Morality: internalizing of society’s rules and morals, trying to live up to expectations of others, development of conscience Postcovnentional Morality: internal rules conflict with societal rules, must reach a balance, few reach the final stage of the belief in universal principles of justice //Criticism//: he did not account for the fact that the development of moral reasoning is culture-specific

//Maturation//: emergence of personal and behavioral characteristics through growth processes, not influenced by nurture (Early-maturing boys are more popular and self-assured than boys who mature late)
 * Maturation from Prenatal to Adolescence **

__Prenatal Stages of Development__ 1. germinal: zygote undergoes cell division (2 weeks) 2. embryonic: organ formation (until third month) 3. fetal: sexual differentiation, movement occurs, rapid growth, teratogens (drugs or harmful substances) may affect development //Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS//): physical abnormalities and cognitive deficiencies in fetuses exposed to alcohol

__Reflexes__ Sucking: triggered by placing something in baby’s mouth Palmar: automatic grabbing Babinski: toes splay out when bottom of foot is stroked Rooting: baby turns head when its cheek is touched Moro: splaying out of limbs when loud noise occurs Orienting: babies orient themselves to sudden changes in surroundings

__Vocabulary__ onto the subject, has a critical period (limited time in which an event can occur) that others have beliefs, desires and intentions that are different from one's own  academics, gender roles and sexuality, racial identity, and many others, becomes more positive after puberty  teenage years, shaping of personality continues as the person ages, diminishing parental influence and increasing peer influence,
 * //Imprinting//: phase-sensitive learning where an animal or person learns the characteristics of some stimulus, which is therefore said to be "imprinted"
 * //Theory of mind// is the ability to attribute mental states—beliefs, intents, desires, pretending, knowledge, etc.—to oneself and others and to understand
 * //Schema//: organized pattern of thought or behavior, a structured cluster of pre-conceived ideas
 * //Assimilation//: incorporate new ideas into existing schemas
 * //Accommodation//: modify schemas to include new information
 * //Self-concept//: a multi-dimensional construct that refers to an individual's perception of "self" in relation to any number of characteristics, such as
 * //Adolescence//: transitional stage of physical and mental h uman development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood (age of majority),
 * //Puberty//: physical changes by which a child's body becomes an adult body capable of reproduction, normally occurs at 13 in boys and 11 in girls
 * //Menarche//: first menstrual cycle
 * //Menopause//: transition period in a woman's life when her ovaries stop producing eggs, her body produces less estrogen and progesterone, and menstruation becomes less frequent, eventually stopping altogether

Motor development occurs in the same stages for all children, although not always at the same intervals and time. Most people’s earliest memories are from age 3 up.

//Social clock//: culturally accepted specific timetable for events to occur //Fluid intelligence//: ability to think in terms of abstract concepts and symbolic relationships, decreases with age, mathematics and science //Crystallized intelligence//: specific knowledge of facts and stored information, increasing with age //Dementia//: loss of memory, from stroke, brain tumor, or alcoholism //Alzheimer’s Disease//: deterioration in neurons that produce acetylcholine //Facts about American marriage//: fewer than 23% of unmarried adults, but nearly 40% of married adults, report being “very happy” with life; the divorce rate is now one-half the marriage rate; and of those who divorce, 75% remarry.
 * Intelligence, Diseases, and Adulthood **

The aging process can be significantly affected by the individual's activity patterns. Susceptibility to short-term illnesses decreases with age and susceptibility to long-term ailments increases with age.