DevPsych PRELIMS

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Introduction to Developmental Psychology

• Developmental psychology studies physical, social, emotional, moral, and intellectual development across a person's lifespan.
• Development is a progressive series of orderly and coherent changes moving toward maturity.
• Developmental psychology examines various aspects of human development as a lifelong process from conception to death.

Types of Change in Development

• Change in Size involves increases or decreases in physical dimensions like height, weight, and brain size, exemplified by a baby growing taller and gaining weight.
• Change in Proportion: Alterations in the relative size of body parts occur as development progresses; a newborn's large head becomes more balanced with body growth over time.
• Disappearance of Old Features: Characteristics present early in development, such as baby hair and certain reflexes, fade away as they become unnecessary.

Controversies in Human Development

• Inherently Bad vs. Inherently Good: Contrasting views on human nature at birth, ranging from the doctrine of original sin to the belief in innate goodness.
• Inherently Good: Philosophers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau propose humans are born pure and moral, becoming corrupted by society.
• Inherently Bad: Thinkers like Thomas Hobbes suggest humans are born selfish and require structure and discipline to develop morality.
• Nature vs. Nurture: Debate over the influence of heredity (nature) versus environment (nurture) in shaping human beings.
• Nature: Traits are seen as largely inherited from genes.
• Nurture: Experiences, education, culture, and upbringing shape abilities and behavior.
• Activity vs. Passivity: Discussion on whether children actively contribute to their development or are passively shaped by society.
• Activity: Individuals actively seek out experiences and make choices that shape their development (e.g., studying or practicing a skill).
• Passivity: Development is determined by external influences such as genetics, parenting, and social environment.
• Continuity vs. Discontinuity: Focuses on whether development is a gradual, additive process or occurs in distinct stages with sudden changes.
• Continuity: Describes development as slow and cumulative, as with learning language or growing taller.
• Discontinuity: Refers to development that occurs in leaps, with sudden changes similar to those in Piaget's cognitive development stages.

Beginnings of Physical Development

• The Process of Fertilization or Conception is when a sperm and ovum fuse, forming a single cell (zygote).
• Prenatal Stage (Conception to Birth): Hereditary factors, sex, number of offspring, family order, maternal nutrition, maternal emotional state, chromosomal aberration, and genetic defects are determined.
• Infancy Stage (Birth to Two Weeks): The infant makes adjustments for breathing, eating (sucking), and waste elimination.
• Babyhood (Two Weeks to Two Years): Period of rapid development and learning.
• Early Childhood (Two to Six Years): Minds act like sponges during the maximum learning stage, characterized by "teachable moments."
• Late Childhood (Six to Ten/Eleven Years): Described as the "smart age" or "gang age."
• Puberty: Overlaps the end of childhood and the beginning of adolescence (11-13 years old).
• Puberty: Is characterized by an increase in hormone activity, leading to feelings of ambivalence.
• Early Adolescence (13 to 17 Years): Referred to as "Stormy Age," involving attainment of sexual maturity and instability.
• Late Adolescence (17 to 21 Years): Involves lessened hormonal changes, greater stability, less impulsiveness, and a desire for congenial sexual relationships.
• Early Adulthood (21 to 40 Years): Referred to as the "Settling Down" Stage, involving adjustments to work life, marriage, and parenthood.
• Middle Age (40 to 60 Years): Most productive years of a person's life.
• Old Age (60 Years and Onward): Decline in physical function; marked by eccentricities, carelessness, social withdrawal, and emotional deprivation.

Psychoanalysis: Sigmund Freud

• The assumptions are that unconscious factors motivate behavior and experiences in the first 6 years determine later personality.
• Psychic life has three levels of consciousness: the unconscious, conscious, and preconscious/subconscious.
• Unconscious: Beyond awareness but affecting actions and feelings.
• Conscious: Contains available things one is aware of at the moment.
• Preconscious/Subconscious: Bridges the gap between conscious and unconscious and contains readily recalled ideas.

Mental Apparatus

• The Id is mostly unconscious containing emotions and repressed memories
• Governed by the Pleasure Principle and lacks inhibitions
• The Super Ego is formed from the Ego based on societal standards and has two subsystems: the Conscience and the Ego Ideal.
• The Ego: Is partly conscious and partly unconscious
• Primarily functions within the Reality Principle

Anxiety in Freudian Context

• Reality Anxiety: fear from the real world
• Moral Anxiety: feelings of guilt
• Neurotic Anxiety: Anxiety is felt by the ego and comes from the id
• Defense mechanisms protect the ego from anxiety

Defense Mechanisms

• Displacement: Redirect impulses to other objects.
• Sublimation: Displace impulses into higher cultural activity.
• Repression: Push unpleasant memories to the unconscious.
• Reaction Formation: Act opposite to one's true feelings.
• Regression: Revert to a previous stage.
• Projection: Attribute impulses to others.
• Introjection: Adopt positive qualities of others.
• Rationalization: Create a socially acceptable excuse.

Psychosexual Development

• Emphasizes the sexual instinct through erogenous zones.
• Oral Period: Begins at birth; pleasure from mouth, potentially leading to fixation, causing smoking, gum chewing, and pencil biting.
• Anal Period: Centers on anus; involves toilet training- developing control leads to either accomplishment or punitive outcomes.
• Phallic Period: Centers on genital area; evokes male castration anxiety or female penis envy alongside the Oedipus complex.
• Genital Period: Centers on genital area; sexual interest resurged at puberty.

Post-Freudian Theory of Personality: Erik Erikson

• Erik Erikson (1902-1994): Studied child psychology with Anna Freud.
• The Ego is defined as a positive force for self-identity and a person's ability to unify experiences in an adaptive manner.
• Ego has 3 aspects: Body-Ego, Ego-Ideal, and Ego-Identity.
• Ego is shaped by the society and the cultural variations in the child-rearing process
• The Psychosocial Development occurs through the human life span

Erikson's Stages of Development

• Infancy (Birth - First Year): Trust vs. Mistrust - oral-sensory mode.
• Early Childhood (2 to 3 Years): Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt - anal-urethral-muscular mode.
• Play Age (3 to 5 Years): Initiative vs. Guilt - genital-locomotor mode.
• School Age (6 to 11 Years): Industry vs. Inferiority - latency mode.
• Adolescence (12 to 20 Years): Identity vs. Identity Confusion.
• Young Adulthood (20s and 30s): Intimacy vs. Isolation - face forming relationships.
• Adulthood (40s and 50s): Generativity vs. Stagnation - procreativity.
• Old Age (60s Onward): Integrity vs. Despair.