Unit IX - Developmental Psychology Flashcards
(348 cards)
What is developmental psychology?
a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social CHANGE throughout the LIFE SPAN
What three issues have engaged developmental psychologists?
Nature vs nurture
Continuity and stages
Stability and change
How do genes form our nature?
Genes PREDISPOSE both our shared HUMANITY
and our individual DIFFERENCES.
How does our environment shape our nurture?
But our EXPERIENCES also FORM us, in the
womb and in the world.
Even differences rooted in our nature may be STRENGTHENED by our nurture.
We are not formed by either nature or nurture,
but by their interrelationships—their __________.
Interaction
How do stage theorists view development?
EMPHASIZE biological maturation- SEQUENCE of genetically predisposed stages/ steps
EVERYONE passes through stages in SAME ORDER
What evidence supports the theory of stable development over time?
One research team that studied 1000 people from ages 3 to 38 was struck by the CONSISTENCY
of temperament and emotionality across time.
Out-of-control 3-year-olds were the most likely to become teen smokers, adult criminals, or
out-of-control gamblers.
What additional research on nature v. nurture exists?
In another study, 6-year-old Canadian boys with
CONDUCT problems were four times MORE likely than other boys to be convicted of a VIOLENT
crime by age 24.
Can temperament predict divorce?
In one longitudinal study of 306 college alums, 1 in 4
with yearbook expressions MEH later divorced, as did only 1 in 20 with
smiles like the one on the right.
are people’s personalities mostly stable over time?
People PREDICT that they will NOT change much
in the FUTURE.
As people grow OLDER, personality gradually STABILIZES
But we do change, too, right?
Social attitudes- less stable than temperament especially during late adolescent years
Older children- NEW ways to COPE
Delinquent children do NOT always become troublign adults
Are both stability and change important?
Life requires BOTH stability and change.
Stability provides our IDENTITY, enabling us
to DEPEND on others and on ourselves.
Our potential for change gives us our HOPE for a
brighter future, allowing us to adapt and GROW with experience.
What is the course of prenatal development?
Life begins at CONCEPTION and continues through SEVERAL stages in the WOMB.
How does conception occur?
Ovary-> Egg
Sperm-> Digestive enzymes -> Egg
How is the egg fertilized?
One sperm PENETRATES the coating and enters through the egg’s surface BLOCKING out the other sperm.
Within hours, the egg nucleus and the sperm nucleus FUSE:
the two become one.
What happens in the germinal stage of prenatal development?
the first 10-day to 2-weeks of development is when the fertilized egg undergoes rapid CELL DIVISION.
Cells begin to SPECIALIZE into different tissues
Zygote
fertilized egg
How does the zygote become an embryo?
Completion of Germinal- zygote ATTACH to UTERINE WALL
Healthy mother-> healthy baby
Over next 6 WEEKS -> organ formation/ Heart beats
Embryo
Zygote’s inner cell
Placenta
Outer cells- LIFE-LINK transfer nutrients & oxygen from mother to embryo
How does an embryo become a fetus?
By 9 WEEKS after conception, an embryo looks unmistakably HUMAN.
It is now a FETUS (Latin for “offspring” or “young one”).
Sixth month-> organs develop enough to allow for successful premature birth
What happens in the fetal stage?
Start of ninth week-> beginning of fetal period
FACE, HANDS, and FEET formed
How big is a fetus?
16th week-> only 3 ounces-> fit into palm
What is the prenatal development sequence?
Zygote
Embryo
Fetus