Developmental Psychology âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€- A branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and
social change throughout the life span.
- with a focus on three major issues:
* Nature and nurture: how does our genetic inheritance (our nature) interact with our experiences
(our nurture) to influence our development?
* Continuity and stages: What parts of development are gradual and continuous like riding an
escalator? What parts change abruptly in separate stages, like climbing rungs on a ladder?
* Stability and change: which of our traits persist through life? How do we change as we age?
zygote âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€The fertilized egg; it enters a 2-week period of rapid cell division and develops into an
embryo
Teratogens âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€(literally, "monster maker") agents such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach
the embryo or fetus during prenatal developmental and cause harm
Stress Hormone âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€When women experience stress during pregnancy the stress hormones
flooding her body may indicate a survival threat to the fetus and produce an earlier delivery
Maturation âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€biogical growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively
uninfluenced by experience
Schema âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€a concept or framkework that organizes and interprets information
Jean Piaget âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€a Swiss clinical psychologist known for his pioneering work in child development.
Piaget's theory of cognitive development and epistemological view are together called "genetic
epistemology".
Assimilation âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas
Accommodation âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new
information
Object Performance âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€the awareness that objects continue to exist even when not perceived
Preoperational Stage âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€in piagets theory, the stage (from about 2-6/7) during which a child learns
to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic
Postconventional âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€Postconventional level is the third and final level of Kohlberg's moral
development taxonomy where individuals enter the highest level of morale development. People
who have reached this stage of development are concerned with the innate rights of humans and
guided by their own ethical principles
Concrete Operational Stage âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€In pPiagets theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about
7 -11) during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about
concrete events
Formal Operational Stage âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€(normally beginnign aroung age 12) during which people begin to
think logically about abstract thinking
Lev Vygotsky âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€Lev Vygotsky was an early 20th century developmental psychologist who
developed a sociocultural theory of child development designed to account for the influence of
culture on a child's growth and development.
Attachment âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€an emotional tie with another person: showon in young children by thier seeking
closeness to the caregiver and showing distress on separation
Imprinting âœâ€Ã¢Å“â€the process by which certain animals form strong attachments during early lifeÂÂ