● Developmental Psychology: studies age related changes in behavior and mental
processes from conception to death.
● Nature V. Nurture: Hereditary vs. environment
● Community vs. Stages: continuous and gradual vs. periods of abrupt change followed by
periods of little change.
● Stability Vs. Change: characteristics maintained v. characteristics vary over time.
● Most psychologists support the interactionist perspective, which recently evolved into the
biopsychosocial model.
Physical Development-Three Stages of Prenatal Development
● Germinal Period: conception to uterine implantation
● Embryonic Period: uterine implantation through the eighth week
● Fetal period: eighth week until birth
Hazards to Prenatal Development
● Teratogens: environmental agents that cause damage during prenatal development
○ Categories of teratogens:
■ Illegal drugs
■ Alcohol
■ Disease and malnutrition
■ Exposure to x-rays and stress
Early Childhood
● Three key areas of early childhood development:
○ Brain
○ Motor
○ Sensory
● AS a child develops, his or her neurons grow in size and the number of dendrites and
axons increase.
● Smell, taste, touch, and hearing are well developed at birth. Vision is poor at birth.
Adolescence
● Puberty occurs in male and females
Adulthood
● Middle age: Female menopause and Male Climacteric
● Late Adulthood: Primary aging, gradual, inevitable vs. age changes due to disease,
disuse, or neglect.
Cognitive Development
● Jean Piaget: believed infants begin at a cognitively “primitive” level and progress in
distinct stages.
● Piaget’s schemas are the most basic unit of intellect, which act as patterns that organize
interactions with the environment
● Schemas grow and Change Due To:
, ○ Assimilation: absorbing new information into existing schemas
○ Accomodation: adjusticn old schemas or developing new ones to better fit with
new information
Piaget’s Four Stages
● Sensorimotor: birth 2 years
○ Abilities: Uses senses and motor skills to explore and develop cognitively.
○ Limits: beginning of stage lacks object permanence(understanding things
continue to exist even when not seen, heard, or felt)
● Preoperational: 2-7 years
○ Abilities: Has significant language and thinks symbolically.
○ Limits: Cannot perform “operations”
○ Egocentric thinking (inability to consider another’s point of view)
○ Anitmistic thinking(believing all things are living)
● Concrete Operational: 7-11 years
○ Abilities: Can perform “operations” on concrete objects and understands
conservation(realizing changes in shape or appearance can be reversed)
○ Limits: Cannot think abstractly and hypothetically.
● Formal Operational: 11 years and up
○ Abilities: Can think abstract and hypothetically.
○ Limits: Adolescent egocentrism at the beginning of this tatge, with related
problems of personal fable and imaginary audience.
● Assessing Piaget’s Theory-Two Major Criticisms
○ Underestimated abilities: newborns can imitate facial expressions
○ Underestimated genetic and cultural influences.
● Social-Emotional Development
○ Attachment: strong affectional bond with special others that endures over time
○ Harlow’s work with monkeys--feeding or contact comfort?
● Social-Emotional Development-Three levels of attachment
○ Ainsworth’s strange situation procedure identified three types of attachment in
children:
■ 1.)Securely Attached: Child states close to mother, showers moderate
distress when separated, and is happy when other returns.
■ 2.) Avoidant: Child treats mother and stranger the same and rarely cries
when mother leaves.
■ 3.)Anxious: Child is upset when mother leaves. When mother returns, the
child seeks closeness, but also squirms away.
● Social-Emotional Development-Baumrind’s Three Parenting Styles
○ Permissive
■ a.)Permissive-Neglectful: Few limits or Control, little warmth and
responsiveness
■ b.)Permissive-Indulgent: Few limits or control, high warmth and
responsiveness
○ Authoritarian
■ Highly controlling, little warmth or responsiveness
processes from conception to death.
● Nature V. Nurture: Hereditary vs. environment
● Community vs. Stages: continuous and gradual vs. periods of abrupt change followed by
periods of little change.
● Stability Vs. Change: characteristics maintained v. characteristics vary over time.
● Most psychologists support the interactionist perspective, which recently evolved into the
biopsychosocial model.
Physical Development-Three Stages of Prenatal Development
● Germinal Period: conception to uterine implantation
● Embryonic Period: uterine implantation through the eighth week
● Fetal period: eighth week until birth
Hazards to Prenatal Development
● Teratogens: environmental agents that cause damage during prenatal development
○ Categories of teratogens:
■ Illegal drugs
■ Alcohol
■ Disease and malnutrition
■ Exposure to x-rays and stress
Early Childhood
● Three key areas of early childhood development:
○ Brain
○ Motor
○ Sensory
● AS a child develops, his or her neurons grow in size and the number of dendrites and
axons increase.
● Smell, taste, touch, and hearing are well developed at birth. Vision is poor at birth.
Adolescence
● Puberty occurs in male and females
Adulthood
● Middle age: Female menopause and Male Climacteric
● Late Adulthood: Primary aging, gradual, inevitable vs. age changes due to disease,
disuse, or neglect.
Cognitive Development
● Jean Piaget: believed infants begin at a cognitively “primitive” level and progress in
distinct stages.
● Piaget’s schemas are the most basic unit of intellect, which act as patterns that organize
interactions with the environment
● Schemas grow and Change Due To:
, ○ Assimilation: absorbing new information into existing schemas
○ Accomodation: adjusticn old schemas or developing new ones to better fit with
new information
Piaget’s Four Stages
● Sensorimotor: birth 2 years
○ Abilities: Uses senses and motor skills to explore and develop cognitively.
○ Limits: beginning of stage lacks object permanence(understanding things
continue to exist even when not seen, heard, or felt)
● Preoperational: 2-7 years
○ Abilities: Has significant language and thinks symbolically.
○ Limits: Cannot perform “operations”
○ Egocentric thinking (inability to consider another’s point of view)
○ Anitmistic thinking(believing all things are living)
● Concrete Operational: 7-11 years
○ Abilities: Can perform “operations” on concrete objects and understands
conservation(realizing changes in shape or appearance can be reversed)
○ Limits: Cannot think abstractly and hypothetically.
● Formal Operational: 11 years and up
○ Abilities: Can think abstract and hypothetically.
○ Limits: Adolescent egocentrism at the beginning of this tatge, with related
problems of personal fable and imaginary audience.
● Assessing Piaget’s Theory-Two Major Criticisms
○ Underestimated abilities: newborns can imitate facial expressions
○ Underestimated genetic and cultural influences.
● Social-Emotional Development
○ Attachment: strong affectional bond with special others that endures over time
○ Harlow’s work with monkeys--feeding or contact comfort?
● Social-Emotional Development-Three levels of attachment
○ Ainsworth’s strange situation procedure identified three types of attachment in
children:
■ 1.)Securely Attached: Child states close to mother, showers moderate
distress when separated, and is happy when other returns.
■ 2.) Avoidant: Child treats mother and stranger the same and rarely cries
when mother leaves.
■ 3.)Anxious: Child is upset when mother leaves. When mother returns, the
child seeks closeness, but also squirms away.
● Social-Emotional Development-Baumrind’s Three Parenting Styles
○ Permissive
■ a.)Permissive-Neglectful: Few limits or Control, little warmth and
responsiveness
■ b.)Permissive-Indulgent: Few limits or control, high warmth and
responsiveness
○ Authoritarian
■ Highly controlling, little warmth or responsiveness
