Hockenbury Discovering Psychology 5th txtbk

CONCEPTMAPLIFESPAN DEVELOPMENTDevelopmental PsychologyStudy of how people changeover the lifespanGenetic Contributionsto Your Life StoryThe genotype is a person’s unique set of inherited genetic information,which is found in every body cell except reproductive cells.• Genetic information is encoded in chromosomes, which are made ofdeoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).• Each chromosome includes thousands of DNA segments called genes.• Alleles are different forms of a particular gene.The phenotype is the collection of characteristics that an organismactually displays and is the result of gene-environment interaction.• Environmental factors trigger gene expression.• Different genotypes react differently to environmental factors.• Epigenetics is the study of the factors that control gene expression.• Most characteristics involve the interaction of multiple genes.Prenatal DevelopmentGerminal period: Conception to week 2Single-celled zygote divides and develops into multicellular embryoEmbryonic period: Week 3 to week 8Major body systems form; period of greatest vulnerability toteratogens; brain development beginsFetal period: Week 9 to birthBody systems maturePhysical development:• Many reflexes are present at birth.• Newborn sensory abilities are notfully developed but attuned to caregivers.• Motor skills develop in a predictable,universal sequence, although ages atwhich skills are acquired vary.Language development:Universal stages include cooing, babbling,the one-word stage, and thetwo-word stage.At every stage, comprehensionvocabulary is larger than productionvocabulary.Gender-role development:Social learning theory is based on the principlesof learning; through reinforcement, punishment,and modeling, children learn appropriatebehaviors for each gender.Gender schema theory, developed by SandraLipsitz Bem (b. 1944): children actively developmental categories for each gender.Development During Infancyand ChildhoodPersonality and socialdevelopment:Temperament seems to beinborn and biologicallybased but can be modifiedby environmental influences;basic temperamentalpatterns include easy, difficult,slow-to-warm-up.Attachment refers to theemotional bond betweeninfants and caregivers;Mary Salter Ainsworth(1913–1999) devised theStrange Situation to measureattachment.Cognitive development:Jean Piaget (1896–1980) proposed that childrenprogress through distinct stages of cognitivedevelopment.• Renée Baillargeon (b. 1954) used visual tasksto study object permanence, which isacquired through the sensorimotor stage.• Symbolic thought is acquired during the preoperationalstage. Preoperational thought isegocentric and characterized by irreversibilityand centration. The preoperational child cannotgrasp the principles of conservation.• Children become capable of logical thoughtduring the concrete operational stage.• During the formal operational stage, theadolescent can engage in logical mentaloperations involving abstract concepts.Lev Vygotsky (1896–1934) stressed the importanceof social and cultural influences in cognitivedevelopment.• Zone of proximal development: children canprogress to higher cognitive levels throughthe assistance of others who are morecompetent.The information-processing model of cognitivedevelopment emphasizes basic mental processesand stresses that cognitive development is aprocess of continuous change.