Human Development

I. Early Development

A. Conception

B. Zygotes: fertilized eggs.

C. Embryo: the human organism from 2 weeks to2 months of age.

D. Fetus: from 8 weeks to birth.

E. Teratogens

F. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome:1) occurs when pregnant mothers drink heavily2) affects 1 in 750 children3) small heads and distorted facial features4) brain abnormalities5) the leading form of mental retardation

II. Early Behaviors

A. Rooting Reflex: when something touches a baby’s cheek, it immediately opens its mouth and searches for a nipple.

B. Crying: let’s people know that something is wrong.

C. Human Sensory Preferences: infants prefer human sights and sounds.

D. Mother’s Scent: within days of birth, we know our mother’s scent.

E. Habituation: a decrease in responding with repeated stimulation.

F. Attraction to Novelty: a demonstrated interest in a temporally or historically new stimulus.

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III. Brain Development

IV. MotorDevelopment

V. Psychosexual Development

A. Sigmund Freud’s 5 Stages:

1) Oral (0-18 months)

2) Anal (18-36 months)

3) Phallic (3-6 years)

4) Latency (6 years - puberty)

5) Genital (puberty and up)

VI. Cognitive Development: Jean Piaget

A. Schema: a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information.

B. Assimilation: we integrate new and similar experiencesinto our existing schemas.

C. Accommodation: we adapt our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new and different information.

D. Jean Piaget’s 4 Stages

1) Sensorimotor: experiencing the world through our senses and our actions, such as looking, touching, tasting, etc., (age 0 to 2).

Lack of…Object Permanence: the awareness that objects continue to exist even when not perceived.

2) Pre-operational: representing things with words and images, but lacking logical reasoning (age 2 to 6).

Kids realize that they exist, understand time, and the permanence of objects, but they do not understand the...

Conservation of Mass: the understanding that physical propertiesdo not change when nothing is added or taken away, even thoughappearances may change.

They suffer from…Egocentrism: the inability to take another person’s physical view.

3) Concrete Operational: the ability to think logically about concrete events and engage in inductive reasoning. The ability to do basic math and understand the conservation of mass (age 7 to 11).

4) Formal Operational: engage in abstract reasoning and deductive reasoning. Capable of moral and ethical thought (age 11 and up).

VII. Cognitive Development: Lev Vygotsky

A. Zone of Proximal Development: the distance between what a child can do alone and what a child can do with assistance from others.

B. Scaffolding: temporary support to help a child master a task.

VIII. Social & Emotional Development

B. The 4 Attachment Styles

1) Secure: the child explores environment when mother is present, cries briefly when she leaves, is happy when mother returns, goes off and plays again.

2) Anxious/Ambivalent: the child clings to mother, cries uncontrollablywhen she leaves, clings to mother once again when she returns, yetkicks and squirms.

A. Attachment: a reciprocal, enduring tie between an infantand a caregiver, each of whom contributes to the quality of the relationship.

3) Avoidant: the child ignores mother while she’s there, when she leaves and when she returns.

4) Disorganized: the child doesn’t seem to notice mother or looks away when approaching her, alternates between approach and avoidance.

D. Stranger Anxiety: fear of strangers.

E. Critical Period: an organism’s exposure to certain stimuli or experiences must occur during this time to ensure proper development.

F. Body Contact: Harlow’s Monkeys

G. Imprinting

H. Deprivation of Attachment

I. Separation

C. Gender Identification: an individual’s sense of maleness or femaleness.

J. Parenting Styles

1) Authoritarian: relentlessly imposing rules anddemanding obedience.

2) Permissive (indulgent): parenting style emphasizingself-expression and self-regulation.

4) Authoritative: have rules and control, but explain whythey are necessary in a loving and caring way.

3) Uninvolved (indifferent): do whatever you want.

K. Temperament: characteristic disposition, or style of approaching and reacting to situations.

1) Easy

Generally happyResponds well to change and novelty

2) Slow to Warm UpGenerally mild reactionsHesitant about new

experiences

3) DifficultIrritableIntense emotional

responses

L. Nursery School

N. Nontraditional families

O. Divorce

P. Sex Differences

M. School During Middle Childhood: Issues of Prejudice and Discrimination

IX. Adolescence

A. Identity Development

1) Identity Crisis: concern with decisions about the future and achieving self-understanding.

2) Crisis: whether or not one is actively exploring the issues of identity development.

3) Commitment: whether or not one has made any decisions.

X. Social & Emotional Development over theLifespan: Erik Erikson

XI. Adulthood

A. Midlife Transition: a reassessment of personal goals that many people experience in adulthood.

XII. Old Age

A. Happiness = satisfaction with accomplishments and very few regrets.

1) Denial: this can’t be happening to me!2) Anger: why me?3) Bargaining… for extra time.

“If only I can…I won’t ask for anything else.”4) Depression5) Acceptance

B. Five Stages of Coming to Terms with Death