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Questions and Answers
What maternal factor is linked to an increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)?
What maternal factor is linked to an increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)?
How might a mother's poor diet affect her infant?
How might a mother's poor diet affect her infant?
What is one of the inborn reflexes infants demonstrate?
What is one of the inborn reflexes infants demonstrate?
Which statement accurately describes the progression of motor control in infants?
Which statement accurately describes the progression of motor control in infants?
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At what age can infants demonstrate the ability to see depth as shown in visual cliff experiments?
At what age can infants demonstrate the ability to see depth as shown in visual cliff experiments?
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What cognitive ability develops around 2 to 3 months in infants?
What cognitive ability develops around 2 to 3 months in infants?
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What type of tones do infants show a preference for as early as 4 months old?
What type of tones do infants show a preference for as early as 4 months old?
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Which theory does not categorize language acquisition?
Which theory does not categorize language acquisition?
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What structure forms when an ovum is fertilized by a sperm?
What structure forms when an ovum is fertilized by a sperm?
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At what stage of development does a baby start being referred to as a fetus?
At what stage of development does a baby start being referred to as a fetus?
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What is the term used for any external agent that can cause damage to a developing baby?
What is the term used for any external agent that can cause damage to a developing baby?
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Which of the following can lead to fetal alcohol syndrome when consumed excessively during pregnancy?
Which of the following can lead to fetal alcohol syndrome when consumed excessively during pregnancy?
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What behavioral change occurs in fetuses around 25 to 34 weeks of gestation?
What behavioral change occurs in fetuses around 25 to 34 weeks of gestation?
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How can maternal illness during pregnancy affect fetal development?
How can maternal illness during pregnancy affect fetal development?
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What behavior in fetuses is potentially linked to their later linguistic abilities?
What behavior in fetuses is potentially linked to their later linguistic abilities?
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What type of external factor can caffeine consumption during pregnancy lead to?
What type of external factor can caffeine consumption during pregnancy lead to?
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What does the term accommodation refer to in cognitive development?
What does the term accommodation refer to in cognitive development?
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Which principle describes the concept that certain properties remain unchanged despite alterations in appearance?
Which principle describes the concept that certain properties remain unchanged despite alterations in appearance?
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What is egocentrism in the context of Piaget's theory?
What is egocentrism in the context of Piaget's theory?
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Which of the following describes secure attachment?
Which of the following describes secure attachment?
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During which age range is separation anxiety typically observed?
During which age range is separation anxiety typically observed?
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What characterizes the preconventional level of moral development according to Kohlberg?
What characterizes the preconventional level of moral development according to Kohlberg?
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Which of the following is NOT a type of attachment identified in the context of emotional development?
Which of the following is NOT a type of attachment identified in the context of emotional development?
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What is a significant challenge to Piaget's theory of cognitive development?
What is a significant challenge to Piaget's theory of cognitive development?
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What does the Language Acquisition Device (LAD) hypothesize?
What does the Language Acquisition Device (LAD) hypothesize?
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What is child-directed speech (CDS) characterized by?
What is child-directed speech (CDS) characterized by?
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At what age do children typically begin to form two-word utterances?
At what age do children typically begin to form two-word utterances?
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What is an example of overextension in language acquisition?
What is an example of overextension in language acquisition?
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What does underextension refer to in children's language development?
What does underextension refer to in children's language development?
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What characterizes an overregularization error in children's speech?
What characterizes an overregularization error in children's speech?
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What is meant by a critical period in language acquisition?
What is meant by a critical period in language acquisition?
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Which term describes the process of adapting existing schemas to new stimuli in Piaget's theory?
Which term describes the process of adapting existing schemas to new stimuli in Piaget's theory?
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What does the postconventional level of reasoning emphasize?
What does the postconventional level of reasoning emphasize?
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What major change occurs during puberty?
What major change occurs during puberty?
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Which cognitive skill is typically developed by some adolescents?
Which cognitive skill is typically developed by some adolescents?
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What is one reason proposed for the earlier onset of puberty today?
What is one reason proposed for the earlier onset of puberty today?
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What cognitive abilities tend to decline by age 50?
What cognitive abilities tend to decline by age 50?
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What sensory changes are associated with aging?
What sensory changes are associated with aging?
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Which factor is a common characteristic of adolescents during their development?
Which factor is a common characteristic of adolescents during their development?
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How does aging generally affect cognitive abilities?
How does aging generally affect cognitive abilities?
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Study Notes
Psychology Over the Life Span
- Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes, one from each parent (one X and one X or Y chromosome)
- A chromosome is a strand of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) in the cell's nucleus
- Maturation is a developmental process of genetically programmed changes in the body, brain, or behaviour with increasing age
Conception
- At conception, a sperm penetrates an egg.
- The egg is not a passive recipient; it actively regulates the sperm's behavior.
Zygote, Embryo, Fetus
- Zygote: A fertilized egg
- Embryo: The developing baby from the stage where the body's major axis is present until all major structures are in place (weeks 2-8 after conception)
- Fetus: The developing baby during the final stage of development in the womb (weeks 8 until birth)
Learning in the Womb
- Fetuses are active from the start, exhibiting automatic and coordinated movements.
- Fetuses are sensitive to sound and light from weeks 20-25 of gestation.
- Discrimination of sounds (including human speech) occurs between weeks 25 and 34.
- Fetuses pay greater attention to music than non-musical sounds from week 33.
- Fetal behaviour in the womb can predict children's behaviours after birth.
Teratogens and Stressors
- Teratogen: Any external agent (chemical, virus, radiation) that harms a zygote, embryo, or fetus.
- Maternal illnesses (e.g., chicken pox, rubella) can disrupt brain development.
- Alcohol and drugs (e.g., alcohol, cocaine) can cause fetal abnormalities, like fetal alcohol syndrome.
- Caffeine and smoking during pregnancy increase the risk of miscarriage, low birth weight, and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
- Poor diet and pollution can impact brain cell development and lead to psychological disorders.
- Stress impacts maternal blood flow and increases cortisol levels, affecting the fetus.
Newborns
- The human brain is not fully developed at birth due to constraints of the birth canal.
- Babies are born sensitive to women's voices and possess a sensitive sense of smell.
- Infants have reflexes (automatic responses) to stimuli
- Babies show signs of individual personalities and temperament differences.
Physical and Motor Development
- Control progresses from head to trunk, arms, and then legs.
- Control extends from the body center to the extremities (hands, fingers, toes).
- By the age of two children usually have good control over all their limbs
- Infants have sophisticated brain systems for controlling movement, even if they cannot physically move.
Perceptual and Cognitive Development
- Infants can perceive depth, evident in visual cliff experiments (as early as 6-months-old)
- Other techniques (e.g., habituation) measure the amount of time infants look at different stimuli
- Face preference and whole object perception start developing between 2-5 days and 2-3 months of age.
- Preference for certain sound tones is seen in infants 4 months of age
Language Acquisition
- Language Acquisition Device (LAD): Hypothesized innate mechanism containing grammatical rules common to all languages.
- Child-directed Speech (CDS): Speech used by caregivers with short sentences, clear pauses, exaggerated intonation, and a high-pitched voice.
Language Acquisition: Further Points
- Infants are sophisticated in their ability to differentiate sounds, but this ability can be temporary.
- Children generally put words together to make the simplest sentences (two-word utterances) at the age of 2.
- Children may overextend (using a word too broadly) or underextend (using a word too narrowly).
- Overregularization errors occur when children apply known speech rules to cases where the rule does not apply
- There is a critical period for certain types of learning
Milestones in Language Acquisition
- Language acquisition typically progresses through a series of stages, progressing from perceiving certain sounds to complex grammar.
Cognitive Development - Piaget's Theory
- Cognitive development is the gradual transition from infancy to adulthood.
- Piaget suggests children begin with innate schemas (simple mental structures).
- Assimilation is the process of using existing schemas for interpreting new stimuli.
- Accommodation is the adapting or creating new schemas needed to cope with new stimuli.
- Object permanence is the understanding that objects still exist when not perceived directly.
Cognitive Development - Piaget's Theory: Stages
- Sensorimotor (0-2 years): Infants act on their world as they perceive it, no thinking of objects in their absence
- Preoperational (2-7 years): Symbolic thought, language, and symbolic play develop; thinking is tied to perceptions
- Concrete operations (7-11 years): Reasoning based on logic tied to what's observable, organizes and reverses mental operations
- Formal operations (11 years, onwards): Reasoning based on logic/abstraction; systematic thought
Preoperational Conservation - Piaget's Theory
- Conservation: Certain properties (amount, mass) remain the same despite changes.
- Egocentrism: Inability to take another person's perspective
Beyond Piaget's Theory
- Infants have capacities besides those Piaget identified.
- Piaget sometimes underestimates the sophistication of young children's thinking.
- Children may not master all skills that should involve similar reasoning at the same age.
- Not all children enter the formal operations stage at high school or even at all.
Social and Emotional Development
- Attachment: An emotional bond where a person wants to be with another and feels loss when separated.
- Attachment is an innate characteristic (the preference to seek out something soft)
- Separation anxiety; fear of being away from the primary caregiver, often occurs between 6 months and 2 years of age.
- Different types of attachment: secure, avoidant, resistant, and disorganized
Moral Development - Kohlberg's Theory
- Kohlberg's theory describes moral development stages.
- The Preconventional level emphasises the role of an authority figure, who determines correct action based on reward and punishment of behaviour
- The Conventional level focuses on social rules, with good behaviour being based on wanting to be viewed as a good person (e.g. by following the golden rule).
- The Postconventional level focuses on abstract principles for accepting or rejecting rules
Physical Development in Adolescence
- Puberty: Period where sex organs mature and secondary sexual characteristics (e.g. breasts, beard) emerge.
- Adolescence: Period between puberty and end of teenage years, with hormonal and physical changes.
Sociocognitive and Emotional Developments
- Adolescent cognitive development includes the ability to reason abstractly about topics like justice, politics, human behaviour and mathematical principles.
- Enhanced cognitive abilities allow for taking different perspectives and understanding one's self as others see them.
- Adolescents often experience conflict with parents, mood swings, and risk-taking behaviours
The Changing Body
- Sensory organs (especially eyes and ears) and the brain change, potentially impairing perception in older adults.
- Semantic memory is relatively stable while episodic memory declines.
- Frontal lobe functioning decreases, affecting tasks requiring working memory and strategies
Cognition in Aging
- Cognitive abilities are relatively stable in most of adulthood but decline in some areas by age 50.
- Fluid intelligence (reasoning in novel ways) shows decline whereas crystallized intelligence is preserved or may even increase
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Description
Explore the fascinating development of humans from conception through the stages of zygote, embryo, and fetus. This quiz covers key concepts including chromosome pairs, maturation, and sensory development in the womb. Test your knowledge about how life begins and progresses during these critical phases.
