Chapter 11 - Human Development across Lifespan

Grant Clay

Period 3

11/2/08

 

AP Psychology Outline

Chapter 11: Human Development across Lifespan

 

Red – Definition

Blue - Important Points

Green - Important People & Contributions

 

1. Development – Sequence of Age-Related Changes that occur as a Person Progresses from Conception until Death.
2. Prenatal Development
   
   1. Zygote – 1 Celled Organism formed by Union of Sperm and an Egg.
   2. Prenatal Period – Period from Conception to Birth, usually 9 Months of Pregnancy.
3. Prenatal Development
   
   1. Germinal Stage – First Phase of Prenatal Development, encompassing the first 2 Weeks after Conception.

                                                               i.      Placenta – Structure that allows Oxygen & Nutrients to pass into Fetus from the Mother’s Bloodstream and Bodily Waste to Pass Out the Mother.

2. Embryonic Stage – Second Stage of Prenatal Development, lasting from 2 weeks to End of Second Month.

                                                               i.      Most Vital Organs are Formed.

3. Fetal Stage – Third Stage of Prenatal Development, lasting from 2 Months until Birth.

                                                               i.      Muscles Form, and Bones harden.

                                                              ii.      Age of Viability – Age at which a Baby can survive Pre-Mature Birth, about 22 – 26 Weeks.

4. Environmental Factors & Prenatal Development
   
   1. Maternal Malnutrition – Malnutrition of Mother causes Baby to be more likely to have health problems for rest of life.
   2. Maternal Drug Use – Drugs used by Mother pass through Placenta to Baby and cause many Birth Defects and Health Problems.

                                                               i.      Fetal Alcohol Syndrome – Collection of Inborn Problems associated with excessive Alcohol use during Pregnancy.

3. Maternal Illness – Many Illnesses contracted by Mother can be transmitted to Newborn.

                                                               i.      Aids/HIV can pass from Mother to Newborn in Birth.

4. Parental Health Care – Less Parental Health Care for low-income group causes Many problems for Babies.
4. Childhood
   
   1. Motor Development – Progression of Muscular Coordination required for Physical Activities.
   2. Cephalocaudal Trend – Head–to–Foot direction of Motor Development.
   3. Proximodistal Trend – Center–Outward Direction of Motor Development.
   4. Maturation – Development that Reflects the Gradual Unfolding of one’s Genetic Blueprint.
   5. Developmental Norms – The Median Age at which Individuals display Various Behaviors and Abilities.
   6. Different Cultures develop specific Motor Skills Faster.
   7. Differences on Temperament

                                                               i.      Temperament – Characteristic Mood, Activity Level, and Emotional Reactivity.

                                                              ii.      Longitudinal Design – Study One Group of Participants Repeatedly over a Period of Time.

                                                            iii.      Cross-Sectional Design – Study Compare Groups of Participants of Differing Age at a Single Point in Time.

                                                            iv.      Jerome Kagen – “Temperament at Childhood can change over a Lifetime.”

8. Attachment

                                                               i.      Attachment – Close Emotional Bonds of Affection that Develop Between Infants and their Caregivers.

                                                              ii.      Separation Anxiety – Emotional Distress seen in Many Infants which happens when they are Separated from People who they have formed an Attachment with.

                                                            iii.      Harry Harlow – “Attachment happens because the Mother becomes a Conditioned Reinforcer.”

                                                            iv.      Attachment Patterns

1.        Secure Attachment – Use Mother as Secure base to Venture out.

2.        Resistant Attachment – Anxious when Mother is Present or Leaves.

3.        Avoidant Attachment – Child Doesn’t care when Mother Leaves or is Present.

4.        Attachment Development Norms are same across Culture, but Type of Attachment varies across Culture.

5.        John Bowlby – “Attachment is an Evolutionary Adaptation.”

9. Personality Development

                                                               i.      Stage – Developmental Period During Which Characteristics Patterns of Behavior are Exhibited and Certain Capacities become Established.

                                                              ii.      Erickson’s Stage Theory – Personality is shaped how one deals with 8 Psychosocial crises in the 8 Stages of Life.

10. Cognitive Development

                                                               i.      Cognitive Development – Transitions in Children Patterns of Thinking, including Reasoning, Remembering, and Problem Solving.

                                                              ii.      Jean Paiget Theory of Cognitive Development – All Children goes through 4 Stages of Cognitive Development.

                                                            iii.      Assimilation – Interpreting New Experiences in Terms of Existing Mental Structures without Changing Them.

                                                            iv.      Accommodation – Changing Existing Mental Structures to Explain New Experiences.

1.        Sensorimotor Period

a.        Object Permanence – When a Child Recognizes Objects that Continue to Exist even when they are No Longer Available.

2.        Preoperational Period

a.        Conservation – Awareness that Physical Quantities Remain Constant in Spite of Changes in their Shape or Appearance.

b.       Centration – Tendency to Focus on just One Feature of a Problem, Neglecting other Important Aspects.

c.        Irreversability – Inability to Envision Reversing an Action.

d.       Egocentrism – Thinking Characterized by a Limited Ability to Share Another’s Point of View.

e.        Animism – The Belief that All things are Living.

3.        Concrete Operational Period

4.        Formal Operational Period

11. Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory

                                                               i.      Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) – Gap Between what a Learner can Accomplish alone and what a Learner can Achieve with Guidance from More Skilled Partners.

                                                              ii.      Scaffolding – When the Assistance Provided to a Child is Adjusted as Learning Progresses.

12. Innate Cognitive Abilities

                                                               i.      Habituation – Gradual Reduction in the Strength of a Response when a Stimulus Event is Presented Repeatedly.

                                                              ii.      Dishabituation – Occurs if a New Stimulus Elicits an Increase in the Strength of a Habituated Response.

13. Moral Reasoning

                                                               i.      Kohlberg Stage Theory – Children make Choices based on Reasoning in Stages and not Behavior.

6. Adolescence
   
   1. Pubescence – 2 Year Span Preceding Puberty during which the Changes Leading to Physical and Sexual Maturity take Place.
   2. Secondary Sex Characteristics – Physical Features that Distinguish 1 Sex from the Other but that are not Essential for Reproduction.
   3. Puberty – Stage during which Sexual Functions reach Maturity, which Marks the Beginning of Adolescence.
   4. Primary Sex Characteristics – The Structures necessary for Sexual Reproduction.
   5. Menarche – 1st Occurrence of Menstruation.
   6. Spermache – 1st Occurrence of Ejaculation.
   7. Pre-Frontal Cortex (Control Center) is the Last to Mature in Adolescence.
   8. Search for Identity

                                                               i.      Erik Erikson & James Marcia

                                                              ii.      Identity Diffusion – Refusing to Chart a Life Course.

                                                            iii.      Identity Foreclosure – Premature Commitment to Visions.

                                                            iv.      Identity Moratorium – Delaying Commitment to play with different Ideas.

                                                             v.      Identity Achievement – Arriving at a Sense of Self-Direction.

7. Adulthood
   
   1. Personality Development

                                                               i.      Personality in Adulthood Experiences both Stability and Change.

2. Midlife Crisis – A Difficult, Turbulent, Period of Doubts and Reappraisal of one’s Life.
3. Erikson’s View of Adulthood

                                                               i.      Intimacy v. Isolation

                                                              ii.      Generativity v. Self-Absorption

                                                            iii.      Integrity v. Despair

8. Family Life
   
   1. Family Life Cycle – Sequence of Stages that Families tend to Progress through.
   2. Adjusting to different Stages: Marriage, Parenthood, and Empty Nest.
9. Aging & Physical Changes
   
   1. People Lose Vision as Become Older.
   2. Eyesight goes from Near-Sightedness to Far-Sightedness.
   3. Menopause in Women.
   4. Dementia – Abnormal Condition marked by Multiple Cognitive Deficits that Include Memory Impairment.

                                                               i.      Can Be caused by a Variety of Diseases, Including Alzheimer’s.

10. Aging & Cognitive Changes
    
    1. Aging takes toll on Speed of Memory First.
    2. But Ability Remains throughout age.