Themes in Human Development

• Human development involves examining how and why people change or remain the same across their lifespan, from birth to death and includes physical, cognitive, emotional, and social changes
• Study of human development is devoted to understanding constancy and change throughout lifespan
• The biopsychosocial model uses biological, psychological, and social factors to understand development with each aspect affecting how people grow and change

Themes in Human Development

• Continuity/Discontinuity: Development can be a smooth, continuous process or occur in distinct stages
• Nature and Nurture: Development is shaped by the interaction between genetic inheritance (nature) and environmental factors (nurture)
• Mechanisms of Development: Include the processes and factors that drive development such as; learning, genetics, and environmental influences
• Individual Differences: Variations in development among individuals are due to genetics, experiences, and other factors

Research Methodology

• Self-reports: Collecting data by having individuals report their own feelings, thoughts, or behaviors (e.g., surveys or questionnaires)
• Pros of self-reports: Identical questions from research participants
• Cons of self-reports: Potential for bias or inaccurate self-reporting
• Interviews: Data collected through direct conversation between the researcher and participant to gather detailed information
• Pros of interviews: Easy Data and allows for deeper understanding
• Cons of interviews: Time-consuming and interviewer bias
• Clinical interviews: In depth data about research participants, but hard to compare

Observations

• Naturalistic observations: Watching participants in their natural environment
• Pros of naturalistic observations: Research participants observed in their usual environment, realistic data
• Cons of naturalistic observations: Lack of control over variables
• Structured observations: Designed to elicit behavior by observing in a controlled environment with specific variables
• Pros of structured observations: Control over variables
• Cons of structured observations: Less ecological validity, which may not represent real-world behavior

Designs

• Cross-Sectional Designs: comparing different age groups at one time, looking at behavior ability and characteristics
• Cons of Cross-Sectional Designs: All research participants are studied at the same time
• Longitudinal Designs: Follows the same group of individuals over time
• Cons of Longitudinal Designs: Losing participants can affect conclusion

Experimental Designs

• Experimental Designs: test design, with control, manipulating one variable to see its effect on another (can establish cause and effect)
• Correlational Designs: Examining the relationship between two variables without manipulating them, cannot establish cause and effect

Bioecological Model (Bronfenbrenner):

• Microsystem: Immediate environments like family members and school
• Mesosystem: Interactions between different microsystems like teacher-parent on the same page= academic success
• Exosystem: External environments that indirectly affect the individual
• Macrosystem: Cultural and societal influences
• Chronosystem: Changes over time

Genetics

• Parent genotype to child genotype: Genetic information passed from parent to child, such as inheriting eye color
• Child genotype to child phenotype: How the child's genes are expressed, such as having blue eyes
• Child phenotype to child environment: the child's traits can influence their environment
• Child environment to child phenotype: The environment can affect gene expression
• Child environment to child genotype (epigenetics): Investigates how experience changes our genetic expression.
• Environment creates changes in genetic expression and can be passed on to the next generation
• Differential Susceptibility: Some children are more sensitive to their environment due to their genetic makeup

Prenatal and Infant Development Key terms:

• Embryology: The study of prenatal development
• Epigenesis: Emergence of structures and forms during developmental process
• Stages of prenatal period: Zygote (0-2 weeks) to Embryo (2-8 weeks) to Fetus (9 weeks-birth)

Prenatal brain development:

• Neurogenesis: Birth of neurons through cell division( complete after 18 weeks after birth)
• Synaptogenesis: The creation of synaptic connections between neurons.- Trillion of connections
• Synapse elimination: The removal of extra synapses
• Synaptic pruning: Strengthening of important synapses and elimination of unused ones

Brain Development

• Experience-Expectant (EE): Brain development occurs in response to common, expected experiences
• Experience-Dependent (ED): Brain development shaped by unique, individual experiences
• Teratogens: Harmful substances that affect/harm prenatal development
• Timing/Critical Periods: When exposure matters the most and amount and length of exposure matter, dose-response relationship
• Hazards to Prenatal development: Harmful substances

Drugs

• Accutane: severe birth defects or fetal death
• Antidepressants: Some pre-term, low birth weight(LBW), withdrawal
• Cigarettes: slowed fetal growth, LBW
• Opioids (pain killers): LBW, breathing & feeding problems, seizures
• Alcohol: leading cause of fetal brain injury and Fetal alcohol syndrome
• Marijuana: Some effects emerge later in childhood (~4yrs)

Sensation and Perception

• The fetus experiences sensory input like sounds, tastes, and possibly light
• Hearing: from at least 6mos of gestation, Fetus reacts by changes in heartbeat and movement
• ~32 weeks→ the fetus shows signs of habituation, which is measured by changes in heartbeat
• ~37 weeks- fetus shows signs of Long-term memory and learning
• 1st mos- They like high-contrast patterns, but poor contrast sensitivity
• 8 mos- close to adult- 20/120 vision (can see E on chart)Color distinguishes few shades from white

Perception of Faces:

• Infants are drawn to faces and are Equally interested in human and monkey faces(right side up)
• Behavior of others is purposive and goal-oriented
• Older infants attribute intentions and goals to objects/ entities

Piaget and Vygotsky

• Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development: includes Sensorimotor (0-2 years), Preoperational (2-7 years), Concrete Operational (7-11 years), Formal Operational (12+ years)
• Vygotsky: Sociocultural Theories focus on social interactions and the role of culture in cognitive development.

Language Development

• Critical period: Defined as " A stage or point in development during which a person or animal is best suited to learn a particular skill or behavior pattern" before age 5.
• Ex: Genie- severe neglect and child abuse→ never fully acquired a first language
• We use habituation to assess what infants know using speech perception

Stages of Word Learning

• Holophrastic period- one word used to express a whole phrase
• 50 words - 18mos - vocab spurt
• Mutual exclusivity- process of elimination
• Telegraphic speech- nonessential elements are missing

Temperament

• Temperament: Individual difference(biologically based) in emotional, motor, attention, self-regulation, unlike personality which is developed over time and influenced by experiences
• Rothbart and Bates: 6 dimensions of temperament include activity level, emotional reactivity, and attention span
• Duration orienting towards things of interest.
• Self- Regulation- Marshmallow Test: Tests the delay of gratification and has been assessed over 4 decades

Emotional Development

• Emotional Intelligence: Factor that predicts how well people do in life
• Factors of emotional intelligence: Motivate oneself, Control impulses, Identify and Understand one's own and others' feelings, Regulate one's mood and expression of emotion in social interactions, and Empathy.
• Emotions include Neural Responses, Physiological factors, Subjective feelings- “I feel", Cognitions on Perceptions and desire to take action or actual behavior
• First neg. emotion= generalized distress→ hunger, pain..etc. show by cries

Attachment and Parenting

• Attachment: A strong emotional bond formed between child and caregiver
• Bowlby's Internal Working Models: Early experiences with caregivers shape future relationships and emotional responses
• Parenting Styles: Authoritarian, Authoritative, Permissive, and Neglectful.
• Outcomes of different parenting styles: Authoritative: Positive social and academic outcomes, Authoritarian: Can lead to anxiety and poor social skills, Permissive: May result in impulsivity and lack of responsibility, and Neglectful: Often associated with poor emotional regulation and attachment issues.
• Peer relationships provide unique opportunities for social development and learning.