Developmental Psychology Overview

Developmental Psychology

• Developmental psychology explores the changes in thoughts, feelings, and behavior across the lifespan.
• Development refers to progressive and sequential changes over time, encompassing both quantitative and qualitative changes.
• Growth is an increase in physical dimensions, such as size, height, and weight.

Factors in Development

• Heredity is the passing of physical or mental characteristics from one generation to another through genes.
• Environment is the influence of the natural world, including human activity, on development.
• "Nature vs. Nurture" debate explores whether human behavior is primarily determined by genetics (nature) or environmental factors (nurture).

Life Span Approach

• The life span approach examines individual development from conception to old age.
• This approach emphasizes that development continues throughout life, with lifelong adaptive processes involved.
• It recognizes that development can be used to organize evidence of lifelong adaptive processes, requiring a reformulation of the traditional concept of development.

Stages of Development in the Life Span

• Infancy: 0-2 months
• Babyhood: 2 months - 2 years
• Childhood:
  • Early childhood: 2 years - 6 years
  • Late childhood: 6 years - 12 years
• Adolescence/Puberty: 12 - 18 years
• Early Adulthood: 18 years - 40 years
• Middle Adulthood: 40 years - 60 years
• Old Age: 60 years and above

Study of Developmental Psychology

• Charles Darwin documented his son's behavior in "A Biographical Sketch of an Infant," pioneering early child development studies.
• G. Stanley Hall's "Notes on the Study of Infants" marked the beginning of systematic research on infancy and childhood, using interviews to understand children's thoughts.

Goals of Developmental Psychology

• Determine typical behaviors, thoughts, and feelings for specific populations at specific times.
• Establish developmental norms within a particular culture.
• Examine how events and different family structures influence child development.
• Challenge common assertions and misconceptions about individuals.

Methods in the Study of Development

• Longitudinal studies track individuals over time.
• Cross-sectional studies compare different age groups at a single moment.
• Experiments investigate the causal relationship between factors and behavior.

Developmental Theories

• Developmental theories explain human growth from infancy to old age, detailing changes throughout life.
• Stage theories divide child development into distinct stages marked by qualitative behavioral differences.

Principles of Development

• Development is generally gradual.
• Each stage is marked by milestones.
• Sensitive periods exist for certain kinds of development, during which normal development can't occur if interrupted.
• Progress through developmental stages cannot be forced.

Psychosexual Theories (Sigmund Freud)

• These theories focus on the stages of psychosexual development, where libido (sexual drives) fixates on different areas of the body.

Psychosocial Stages (Erik Erikson)

• Each stage in Erikson's theory builds on the preceding and paves the way for future stages.
• Each stage involves a conflict that serves as a turning point in development.
• Each stage focuses on becoming competent in an area of life.
• Successfully navigating a stage leads to a sense of mastery or ego strength.

Cognitive Development (Jean Piaget)

• Piaget's theory suggests that children progress through four stages of mental development.
• The theory focuses on how children acquire knowledge and the nature of intelligence.
• Key concepts:
  • Schema: Categories of knowledge that aid in understanding the world.
  • Assimilation: Integrating new information into existing schemas.
  • Accommodation: Altering existing schemas or creating new ones.
  • Equilibration: Balancing assimilation and accommodation.

Stages of Development

• Human development progresses through distinct and orderly stages that are interconnected and vary between individuals.
• Cephalocaudal principle: Development occurs from head to foot.
• Proximodistal principle: Development advances from the center of the body outwards.
• Developmental tasks: Societal expectations placed on individuals.

Prenatal Stages

• Prenatal development lays the foundation for future psychological development.

• Stages:

  • Germinal stage: Begins at conception with the formation of a zygote.
  • Embryonic stage: The zygote becomes an embryo, forming basic organs and body systems.
  • Fetal stage: The embryo becomes a fetus, with continued growth and development.

Essentials in Prenatal Development

• Nutrition
• Maternal stress
• Attitude of significant others

Stages of Postnatal Development

• Infancy: Birth to 2 weeks
• Babyhood: 2 weeks to 2 years
  • Babyhood shapes behavior and emotions.
  • Foundation age for personality, behavioral patterns, morality, communication and motor development.
• Childhood: 2 years to 12 years
  • Increased mobility and exploration of the environment.
  • Continued development of physical abilities, refinement of muscle use, and engagement in structured play.

Puberty

• Puberty marks the transition from childhood to adolescence.
• It involves significant physical, emotional, and social changes, including growth, sexual development, and hormonal changes.
• Brain development continues into the mid-20s.

Factors Affecting Physical Development

• Heredity
• Nutrition
• Immunization
• Ventilation
• Endocrine glands
• Prenatal period
• Family
• Sex differences
• Intelligence
• Socio-economic status

Language Development

• Stages of Language Development:

  • Crying
  • Cooing and babbling
  • Gestures
  • Emotional expressions

• Development of Language:

  • Increase in comprehension.
  • Building vocabulary:
    • General vocabulary
    • Specific vocabulary

This quiz covers key concepts in developmental psychology, including the life span approach and factors that impact development such as heredity and environment. Explore the intricate debate of nature versus nurture and how these elements influence growth and changes throughout life.