Development

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developmental psychology

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studies the way humans develop and change over time.

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maturation

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biologically based changes that follow an orderly sequence, each step setting the stage for the next step according to an age-related timetable.

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critical periods

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periods central to specific types of learning that modify future development

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sensitive periods

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times that are particularly important but not definite for subsequent development.

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cross-sectional

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compare groups of participants of different ages at a single time to see whether differences among them.

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cohort effects

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differences among age groups associated with differences in the culture

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longitudinal studies

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assess the same individuals over time, providing the opportunity to assess age changes rather than age differences

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sequential studies

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minimise cohort effects by studying multiple cohorts longitudinally.

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what are the developmental periods

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prenatal: conception to birth

infancy: birth to 2 years

childhood: 2-11 years

adolescence: 11-18 years

adulthood (early, middle and late): 18+

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the prenatal period

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growth before birth (sperm + ovum) consists of 3 stages: zygote, embryo and foetus.

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zygote (germinal) period

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first 2 weeks: fertilised egg is implanted in uterus

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embryonic period

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3-8 weeks: development of central nervous system and organs. human features become recognisable and heart has begun to beat.

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foetal period

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9 weeks-birth: muscular development is rapid, external sex visible, rapid brain growth (uses 50% of energy), most organs in place and movement is felt by mother.

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Neurobiological disorders in prenatal period

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conditions such as: down syndrome, Velo-cardio syndrome, or fragile x.

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environmental disorders in prenatal period

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teratogens are environmental agents: drugs (cigarettes), alcohol, radiation or viruses. conditions such as foetal alcohol syndrome - have physical abnormalities and mental (learning disabilities).

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infancy/childhood

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develop adaptive reflexes such as: rooting, sucking, and swallowing. theres a universal sequence of when motor developments are acquired but it varies.

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motor milestones

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the age at which they achieve significant motor developments such as: crawling, sitting, standing, walking etc.

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childhood and adolescence

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involves the change in body size/shape and facial features and puberty.

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puberty

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this is the stage at which they become capable of reproduction, usually for girls its 11-13 and boys 14, but it varies. Hypothalamus sends signal to pituitary gland to excrete hormones.

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adulthood

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decline in physical abilities, muscular strength, and reaction time. for women: menopause

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cognitive development in infancy

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able to distinguish subtle differences such as: mothers voice vs. another woman.

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intermodel processing

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they can associate sensations of an object from different senses and match their own actions to behaviours they have observed visually.

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plasticity

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children are able to recover from brain damage greater than adults

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infantile amnesia

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when people lack memories before the age of 3 or 4 (varies).

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memories present/develop

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implicit is present at birth, rudiments of explicit memory exist in infancy and the maturation of the hippocampus in first 18 months. working memory is slowest developing.

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Piaget's theory of cognitive development

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that children develop knowledge by constructing reality out of their own experience, mixing what they observe with their own ideas about how the world works. they do this through: equilibrium, assimilation and accommodation.

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equilibrium

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balancing assimilation and accommodation.

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assimilation

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fitting reality into their existing knowledge.

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accommodation

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modifying schemas to fit reality.

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stages of cognitive development

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according to Piaget people assimilate and accommodate when they're confronted with new information. at each stage children use a structure of thought to guide thinking.

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sensorimotor stage (0-2)

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infants think with hands, mouth, senses. (develop imagination by 2). major achievement is object performance and are egocentric.

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object performance

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recognition that objects exist in time and space independent of the child's actions.

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egocentric

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embedded in their own point of view.

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proportional stage (2-7)

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emergence of symbolic thought (words to represent concepts).

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centration

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tendency to focus or centre on one perpetually striking feature of an object without considering other features that might be relevant.

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operations

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internalised actions the individual can use to manipulate, transform and then return an object to its original state.

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concrete operational stage (7-12)

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can mentally manipulate representations of concrete objects in ways that are reversible. unable to understand conservation.

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conservation

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object remains stable even though superficial properties may be changed (smily faces).

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formal operational stage (12+)

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ability to manipulate abstracts as well as concrete objects, events, and ideas mentally.

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Vygotsky's sociocultural theory of cognitive development

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emphasises the role of social interaction for children as motivation for cognitive gains and learning.

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zone of proximal development (ZPD)

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stretches from sole development performance to collaborative cooperation .

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information processing theories

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how fast information gets to the brain: knowledge base, automatisation and metacognition.

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knowledge base

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store of accumulated knowledge

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automatisation

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executing mental processes automatically and relatively effortlessly, with increasing efficiency and decreased attention.

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metacognition

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knowledge about how ones mind works or, cognition about cognition.

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Neo-Piagetian theorists

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attempt to integrate an understanding of the broad stages of Piaget's theory with an information processing approach.

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cognitive ageing

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changes in cognition vary from: psychomotor and memory.

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psychomotor slowing

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increase in time required to process and act on information.

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memory changes

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working memory declines, explicit memory retrial becomes difficult, problem-solving less efficient and fluid memory declines.

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dementia

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globale disturbance of higher mental functions. most common cause of dementia is Alzheimers disease.