Midterm 1 Flashcards
What are the three intertwining factors that make up the developmental process?
1) biological processes
2) cognitive processes
3) socioemotional processes
What are the 7 different kinds of developmental periods (times)?
1) prenatal (conception to birth)
2) infancy (birth to 18-24 months)
3) Childhood (24 months - 11 years)
4) Adolescence ( 10-12 – 18/22 years)
5) Early Adulthood ( 20-30’s)
6) Middle Adulthood (40-60)
7) Late adulthood ( 60 – X )
what are the characteristics of the prenatal period?
- tremendous growth!
- single cell into a complete organism
- before birth
what are the characteristics of infancy?
-psychological activities include:
- very dependant on caregiver
- psychological activities include:
- learning language
- symbolic thought
- coordination
What are the characteristics of childhood?
Early childhood (up until the age of 5 or 6) children learn to become more self sufficient, and care for themselves
-the development of school readiness skills, and social skills
- middle / late childhood:
- kids master basic skills such as:
- reading
- writing
- arithmetic
Kids are also exposed to the world outside of their family and prevailing culture.
What are the characteristics of Adolescence?
- rapid physical changes (height, weight, body contour, sexual characteristics)
- pursuit of independence and identity
- more logical thought - abstract / idealistic
- more time spent outside the family
- increased risk taking
What are the characteristics of early adulthood?
- establish personal / economic independence
- become proficient in career, select a partner, and start a family
what are the characteristics of middle adulthood?
- expanding personal/ social involvement and responsibility
- assisting next generation to become competent, mature individuals
- achieving / maintaining career satisfaction
What are the characteristics of late adulthood?
- life review
- retirement
- adjusting to new social roles involving decreasing strength and health
What are the four TYPES of age when it comes to the nature of development?
1) chronological age - years since birth
2) biological age - age in terms of biological health: functional capacities of vital organs.
3) psychological age - adaptive capacities compared with those of the same chronological age
4) social age - connectedness with others and the social roles individuals adopt
What are the three PATTERNS of aging? and how are they characterized?
1) NORMAL - (most individuals)
- psychological function peaks in early middle age
- relatively stable until the late fifties to early sixties
- modest decline through the early 80’s
- marked decline can occur as individuals near death
2) PATHOLOGICAL
- early old age
- may have mild cognitive impairment
- develop Alzheimers or have chronic dease that effects functioning.
- (being old for 50)
3) SUCCESSFUL
- physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development is maintained longer
- decline later in old age than is the case for most people
- ( being a young 70)
Developmental issues:
Describe what Nature and Nurture means
it refers to the extent to which development is influenced by nature and nurture
Nature - the organisms biological inheritance (DNA, genetics, ect)
Nurture - environmental factors that effect development.
Developmental issues:
describe ‘Stability and change’
the degree to which early traits/ characteristics persist or change over time.
e.i. shyness, agression, ect.
Developmental issues:
what is meant by ‘continuity and discontinuity’?
the degree to which development involves gradual change (nurture) versus distinct and more abrupt changes (nature)
example: does a a child learn to think abstractly over time, or once they reach a particular age does their cognitive ability change rapidly?
“did you slowly become who you are, or were there rapid changes in your life that changed you”.
what are the 5 steps of the scientific method?
1) conceptualize a process or problem to be studied
2) collect research information (data)
3) analyze the data
4) draw conclusions
5) replication
what is a theory?
is an interrelated, coherent set of ideas used to explain a phenomena and make preditcitons
what is a hypothesis?
specific assertions and predictions that can be tested
Theory’s of development:
describe the psychoanalytic theory.
who preposed this?
describes development primarily in terms of UNCONSCIOUS processes and are heavily influenced by emotion.
This is Freud’s theory.
- behaviour is merely a surface characteristic
- true understanding of development request analysis of symbolic meanings of behaviour and the deep inner workings of the mind
- development related to pleasure and SEXUAL IMPULSES
describe Eriksons Theory
PsychoSocial Theory
- human’s develop in psychosocial stages
- motivation is social
- change occurs diffring lifespan.
ERIKSON’S STAGES:
infancy = trust vs mistrust
toddlerhood = autonomy vs shame and doubt
preschool = initiative vs guilt
elementary school = competence vs inferiority
adolescence = identity vs role confusion
young adulthood = intimacy vs isolation
middle adulthood = generatively vs stagnation
late adulthood = integrity vs despair
Describe Piaget’s theory of development
Cognitive Theory of development
- children construct personal understandings (schemas)
- engaged in personal cognitive development
- age related stages with distinct thinking/ understanding
- child’s cognition is qualitatively different in each stage.
What are the 4 stages of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development?
1) sensorimotor stage (0-2)
2) preoperational stage (2-7)
3) concrete operational stage (7-11)
4) formal operational stage (11-adult)
describe Piaget’s sensorimotor stage
0-2
infant learns world through coordinating sensory experiences with physical actions.
learning:
object permanence + stranger anxiety
describe Piaget’s pre operational stage
2-7
child begins to represent the world with images.
child develops symbolic thinking.
milestones:
- pretend play
- egocentricism
limitation:
conservation
describe Piaget’s concrete operational stage
7-11 years old
- the child can now reason logically about concrete evens and classify objects into different sets
milestones:
- mathematic thinking
- conservation
limitation:
- abstract thinking