Developmental Psychology

• Nature vs Nurture- the way you were born vs the way you were raised
• Physical Development- focus on our physical changes over time

Prenatal Development

• Conception begins with the drop of an egg and release of 200 million sperm
• Sperm seeks out egg and attempts to penetrate eggs surface
• once sperm penetrates egg, we have a zygote
• Zygote- first stage of prenatal development; lasts about 2 weeks and consists of rapid egg division; less than half of all zygotes survive first 2 weeks; in 10 days the zygote will attach to uterine wall; outer part of zygote becomes placenta
• Embryo- develops from zygote after 2 weeks; lasts about 6 weeks; heart begins to and organs begin to develop
• Fetus- by 9 weeks; fetus by about the 6th month, the stomach and other organs have formed enough to survive outside of mother

Teratogens- chemical agents that can harm prenatal development such as alcohol, STDs and HIV

Healthy Newborns- turn head towards voices, see 8-12 inches from their faces , gaze longer at human like objects

• Reflexes- inborn automatic responses
• Rooting (cheek)- newborn infant is touched on cheek; the infant will turn its head towards the source of stimulation
• Sucking
• Grasping- if object is placed in baby's palm, the baby will try to grasp the object
• Moro (startle)- when startled, a baby will fling his/her limbs out then quickly retract them
• Babinski- baby's foot is stroked, he or she will spread their toes

Maturation- physical growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, regardless of environment

Cognition- all mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, and remembering

Cognitive Development- Jean Piaget

Schemas- ways we interpret the world around us (concepts)

Assimilation- incorporating new experiences into existing schemas

Accomodation- changing an existing schema to adapt to new information

4 Stages of Cognitive Development

• Sensorimotor (0-2)- experience world through senses; object permanence develops around 6-8 months
• Preoperational (2-7)- begins to use language to represent objects and ideas (think in symbols); egocentric- cannot look at the world through anyone's eyes but their own; conservation- quantity remains the same despite changes in appearance
• Concrete Operational (7-11)- can demonstrate concept of conservation; learn to think logically; understanding of reversibility
• Formal Operational (12+)- abstract reasoning

Social Development

• in about a year, infants develop stranger anxiety
• Attachment- a bond with a care giver
• Konrad Lorenz discovered some animals form attachment through imprinting
• Origins of Attachment- Harry Harlow and monkeys- showed monkeys needed touch or body contact to form attachment
• Critical Period- shortly after birth when an organism's exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produce proper development

3 types of Attachment

1. Secure Attachment- children show some distress when parent leaves, seek contact at the reunion, explore when parent is gone; play and greet when parent is present
2. Stranger Anxiety- fear of strangers that infants commonly display; beginning by about 8 months of age
3. Separation Anxiety- distress the infant shows when object of attachment leaves; peaks between 14-18 months

3 Parenting Styles

1. Authoritarian- strict standards for children's behavior
2. Permissive- gives freedom, lax parenting, no rules consistently
3. Authoritative- encourage independence; willing to bargain

Stage Theorists

• these psychologists believe we travel from stage to stage throughout our lives
• Siegmund Freud- we all have libido (sexual desire) that travels to different areas of our body throughout development

-Oral Stage (0-1)- seek pleasure through mouth

-Anal Stage (1-3)- libido focused on controlling and expelling waste

-Phallic Stage (3-6)- children first recognize gender

-Latency Stage (6-11)- libido is hidden; cooties stage

-Genital Stage (11+)- libido is focused on their genitals; experience sexual feelings towards others

Adolescence/ Adulthood

• Adolescence- transition period from childhood to adulthood
• Puberty- period of sexual maturation during which a person becomes capable of reproducing
• Landmarks for puberty- Menarche for girls and first ejaculation for boys
• Adulthood- all physical abilities essentially peak by mid twenties
• physical milestones- menopause- the natural ending of a woman's ability to reproduce; men do not experience anything like menopause 

Types of Intelligence

• Crystallized-accumulated knowledge and increases with age
• Fluid- ability to solve problems quickly and think abstractly 

5 Stages of Death

1. Denial
2. Anger
3. Bargaining
4. Depression
5. Acceptance