Developmental Psychology Concepts

Developmental Psychology Concepts

• Plasticity: The brain's ability to adapt and change throughout life.
• Nature-Nurture Issue: Debate on the relative contributions of genetics and environment to development.
• Continuity-Discontinuity Issue: Whether development is gradual or occurs in distinct stages.
• Universality-Context Specificity Issue: Whether developmental changes are universal or depend on cultural context.

Bioecological Systems Theory (Bronfenbrenner)

• Microsystem: Immediate environment (e.g., family, school).
• Mesosystem: Interaction between microsystems (e.g., family-school).
• Exosystem: External environments influencing development (e.g., parent's workplace).
• Macrosystem: Cultural and societal influences.
• Chronosystem: Changes over time in environments and experiences.

Genes and Development

• Genotype: Genetic makeup.
• Phenotype: Observable traits influenced by genes and environment.
• Gene-Environment Correlation: The interaction between genes and environment.
  • Passive: Parents transmit both genes and environment.
  • Active: Children seek environments matching their genetic tendencies.
  • Evocative: Children's traits trigger responses from others.

Prenatal Development

• Germinal Period: First two weeks after conception.
• Embryonic Period: 3-8 weeks; major organ formation.
• Fetal Period: 9 weeks to birth; growth and maturation.
• Teratogen: Any factor harming development (e.g., drugs, radiation).

Brain Development

• Synaptogenesis: Formation of new synapses in the brain.
• Synaptic Pruning: Elimination of unused synapses.
• Myelination: Coating neurons with myelin for faster transmission.
• Dual Process Model: Brain development involves strengthening connections and eliminating unused ones.

Sensation and Perception

• Sensation: Receiving stimuli from the environment.
• Perception: Interpreting sensory information.
• Motor Skills: Development of gross (large muscle) and fine (small muscle) motor skills.

Cognitive Development

• Scheme: Mental framework for organizing and interpreting information.
• Assimilation: Integrating new information into existing schemes.
• Accommodation: Adjusting existing schemes to fit new information.
• Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD): Tasks children can do with guidance.
• Scaffolding: Support to help children within their ZPD.

Death and Dying

• Euthanasia: Ending a life to relieve pain.
  • Active: Direct action to end life.
  • Passive: Withholding life-saving treatment.
• Kubler-Ross Stages of Dying (possible): Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance.

Language Development

• Phoneme: Smallest unit of sound in language.
• Pragmatics: Social use of language.
• Overextension/Underextension: Applying words too broadly or narrowly.

Personality Development

• Big Five Traits: Openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism.
• Self-Esteem: Sense of self-worth.
• Temperament Types: Easy, difficult, slow-to-warm-up.

Social and Gender Development

• Gender Identity: Internal sense of being male, female, or otherwise.
• Sexual Orientation: Romantic or sexual attraction to others.
• Theory of Mind: Understanding others' thoughts and feelings.

Moral Development

• Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Reasoning: Preconventional (consequences), Conventional (social rules), Postconventional (abstract principles).

Emotional and Social Development

• Primary Emotions: Basic emotions like joy, sadness.
• Social Referencing: Looking to others for emotional cues.
• Attachment Types: Secure, avoidant, resistant, disorganized.

Parenting and Family

• Co-Parenting: Shared parenting responsibilities.
• Parenting Styles: Authoritarian, authoritative, permissive, neglectful.