Introduction to Developmental Psychology

Developmental psychology is the scientific study of how and why human beings change over the course of their life, from conception to death. It covers physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development, and is influenced by both genetic and environmental factors.

Domains of Development

• Physical: Body, brain, health

• Cognitive: Thinking, memory, learning, language

• Personality/Social-Emotional: Relationships, identity, emotions

Influences on Development

• Cohorts: Groups of people born at the same time who share similar life experiences

• Individual Differences: Unique genetic and environmental factors

• Types of Influences:

  • Age-graded

  • History-graded

  • Sociocultural/ethnic

  • Non-normative

Major Theoretical Perspectives

• Psychodynamic: Freud (psychosexual), Erikson (psychosocial)

• Behavioral: Pavlov, Watson (classical conditioning), Skinner (operant), Bandura (social learning)

• Cognitive: Piaget (stages of cognitive development)

• Humanistic: Rogers, Maslow (self-actualization, free will)

• Contextual: Bronfenbrenner (bioecological model), Vygotsky (sociocultural theory)

• Evolutionary: Darwin/natural selection

Freud's Psychosexual Stages

• Oral stage

• Anal stage

• Phallic stage

• Latency stage

• Genital stage

Erikson's Psychosocial Stages

• Trust vs. mistrust

• Autonomy vs. shame and doubt

• Initiative vs. guilt

• Industry vs. inferiority

• Identity vs. role confusion

• Intimacy vs. isolation

• Generativity vs. stagnation

• Integrity vs. despair

Behavioral Theories

• Classical Conditioning (Pavlov): Learning through association of stimuli.

• Operant Conditioning (Skinner): Learning through consequences (reinforcement and punishment).

• Social Learning (Bandura): Learning by observing and imitating others.

Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development

• Sensorimotor

• Preoperational

• Concrete operational

• Formal operational

Humanistic Theories

• Rogers' Client-Centered Therapy: Emphasizes self-responsibility, unconditional positive regard, and non-directive therapy.

• Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs:

  1. Physiological Needs

  2. Safety and Security

  3. Relationships, Love and Affection

  4. Self Esteem

  5. Self Actualization

Contextual Theories

• Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Theory:

  1. You (individual)

  2. Microsystem (family, school, peers, work, church)

  3. Mesosystem (connections between microsystems)

  4. Exosystem (economic, political, education, government)

  5. Macrosystem (overarching beliefs and values)

  6. Chronosystem (dimension of time)

• Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory: Emphasizes the role of culture and social interaction in cognitive development.

Research Methods in Developmental Psychology

• Longitudinal: Studying the same individuals over a long period.

• Cross-sectional: Comparing individuals of different ages at one time.

• Sequential: Combining longitudinal and cross-sectional designs.

• Case studies, naturalistic observation: In-depth or real-world observation.

Genetics and Prenatal Development

Genotype vs. Phenotype

• Genotype: The underlying genetic makeup of an individual.

• Phenotype: The observable trait expressed.

Dominant vs. Recessive Inheritance

• Dominant trait: Expressed when two competing traits are present.

• Recessive trait: Only expressed if both alleles are recessive.

Genetic Disorders

• Down syndrome: Extra chromosome in the 21st pair

• Sickle cell anemia: Misshaped red blood cells

• Tay-Sachs, Fragile X, Klinefelter syndrome

Prenatal Stages

• Germinal (0-2 weeks): Zygote divides, implants, placenta forms

• Embryonic (2-8 weeks): Organogenesis, heartbeat, greatest vulnerability

• Fetal (8 weeks-birth): Organ refinement, brain development, viability (22-24 weeks)

Environmental Influences (Teratogens)

• Drugs, alcohol (FASD), maternal nutrition, stress, illness, father's health

Stages of Birth

• Contractions and cervix dilation

• Delivery of infant

• Expulsion of placenta

Birth Methods and Complications

• Natural, epidural anesthesia, cesarean (C-section)

• Preterm (42 weeks), low birth weight (

Infancy and Early Childhood

Newborn Abilities

• Reflexes: Rooting, sucking, Moro, Babinski, grasping

• Sensory: Vision (limited at birth), hearing (functional), smell/taste (strong), touch/pain (sensitive)

• Learning: Habituation, imitation

Body Growth and Principles

• Weight triples by first year, doubles height by second year

• Cephalocaudal: Head to toe growth

• Proximodistal: Center outward growth

• Hierarchical Integration: Simple to complex skills

• Independence of Systems: Body systems grow at different rates

Brain Development

• Synaptic pruning: Elimination of unused neurons/connections

• Myelination: Coating of axons with fatty substance to speed neural transmission

• Plasticity: Brain's adaptability to experience

• Sensitive period: Time when individual is especially responsive to certain experiences

Motor Skills

• Gross motor: Roll (3 months), sit (6 months), crawl (8-10 months), walk (12 months)

• Fine motor: Grasping, pincer grip

Nutrition

• Breastfeeding recommended

• Malnutrition risks: Marasmus (wasting), Kwashiorkor (protein deficiency)

Cognitive and Language Development

Information Processing Theory

• Development as continuous change in how children encode, store, and retrieve information

• Encoding: Process of taking in information

• Storage: Maintaining information over time

• Retrieval: Bringing stored information into awareness

Memory Types

• Implicit memory: Unconscious memory (skills, habits)

• Explicit memory: Conscious memory of facts and experiences

• Infantile amnesia: Inability to retrieve memories from before age 3

Language Development

• Crying, cooing (2 months), babbling (6 months), first words (1 year), telegraphic speech (2 years)

• Holophrase: Single word used to represent a whole phrase/idea

• Telegraphic speech: Short, simple combinations of words

• Infant-directed speech: Slower, higher-pitched, exaggerated speech adults use with babies

• Language acquisition device (LAD): Chomsky's concept of an innate mechanism of language learning

Key Terms and Concepts Table

Example: Application of Theories

• Example: A child learning to say "milk" to mean "I want milk" is using a holophrase, demonstrating early language development as described by Piaget and Chomsky.

• Example: A child who observes a parent clapping and then imitates the action is demonstrating social learning (Bandura).

Additional info: Some content was inferred and expanded for clarity and completeness, such as the structure of Erikson's stages and the definitions of key terms.