School

Summary: People grow and develop

What is Developmental Psychology?

  • Study of how humans grow, change, and stay the same across the lifespan.
  • Focus on physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development.
  • Key questions: Nature vs. nurture? Continuous or stage-based? Stability vs. change?

Major Theories of Development

a) Piaget’s Cognitive Development

  • Sensorimotor (0–2): Learn through senses and actions. Object permanence develops.
  • Preoperational (2–7): Language grows, but logic is lacking. Egocentrism and symbolic play.
  • Concrete Operational (7–11): Logical thinking about concrete events. Conservation understood.
  • Formal Operational (12+): Abstract and hypothetical reasoning. Problem solving matures.

b) Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory

  • Emphasizes social interaction and cultural tools in cognitive development.
  • Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD): What a learner can do with help vs. alone.
  • Scaffolding: Temporary support to help a child learn.

c) Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages

  • 8 stages, each with a key crisis that shapes identity:
    1. Trust vs. Mistrust (0–1)
    2. Autonomy vs. Shame (1–3)
    3. Initiative vs. Guilt (3–6)
    4. Industry vs. Inferiority (6–12)
    5. Identity vs. Role Confusion (12–18)
    6. Intimacy vs. Isolation (20s–30s)
    7. Generativity vs. Stagnation (40s–60s)
    8. Integrity vs. Despair (60+)

d) Kohlberg’s Moral Development

  • Preconventional: Avoid punishment, gain reward.
  • Conventional: Social rules and approval.
  • Postconventional: Abstract ethics and universal principles.

Stages

Prenatal Development

  • Germinal (0–2 weeks): Zygote forms and implants.
  • Embryonic (2–8 weeks): Organs form, high vulnerability to teratogens.
  • Fetal (9 weeks–birth): Growth, refinement, brain development.

Infancy & Childhood Milestones

  • Attachment: Emotional bond to caregiver. Harlow’s monkeys show importance of comfort.
  • Ainsworth’s Strange Situation:
    • Secure: Comforted by return.
    • Insecure-avoidant: Avoids caregiver.
    • Insecure-resistant: Clingy, hard to soothe.
  • Language:
    • Babbling → First words → Two-word sentences (~2 yrs).

Adolescence

  • Puberty: Physical changes driven by hormones.
  • Cognitive: Abstract reasoning develops (Piaget: Formal Operational).
  • Identity exploration (Erikson: Identity vs. Role Confusion).
  • Egocentrism reappears: Imaginary audience, personal fable.

Adulthood

  • Early (20s–30s): Relationships, career, independence (Erikson: Intimacy vs. Isolation).
  • Middle (40s–60s): Productivity, parenting (Erikson: Generativity vs. Stagnation).
  • Late (60+): Reflection and life satisfaction (Erikson: Integrity vs. Despair).
  • Cognitive aging: Some decline in processing speed; crystalized intelligence remains stable or increases.

Key Concepts & Terms

  • Critical Period: Time when certain development must occur.
  • Sensitive Period: Ideal window for learning skills (e.g., language).
  • Teratogens: Harmful substances that can cause birth defects.
  • Temperament: Inborn personality traits (easy, difficult, slow-to-warm-up).
  • Schemas (Piaget): Mental frameworks to understand the world.
    • Assimilation: Fit new info into old schema.
    • Accommodation: Change schema for new info.