Psychology 2301 - Study Guide (ch9a) - Professor Ray Saenz         GO TO PAGE 2

Life Span Development THE NEONATE (NEWBORN) Sit up by age 6.5 months
Developmental Psychology Newborn- reflexes serve survival purpose Crawling by 10 months on average
Study of how people change from birth to old age Reflexes at Birth: rooting, sucking, swallowing, grasping- Walking around 1 year
Uniqueness, stability/change, nature vs nurture - palmar, stepping, moro, startle, Babinski Proximodistal fashion- gross motor to fine motor control
RESEARCH METHODS Imitate facial expressions of adults Maturation- biological processes & experience affect it
Cross-sectional: test different ages at same time Prefer oval shapes, high-contrast areas- face, eyes Cognitive Development
Cohorts- group of people born same time in history Prefer real face, over mask face, over jumbled features Jean Piaget- Father of Cognitive Psychology
Longitudinal: same people at different ages Smile- six weeks of age Trained as a biologist/zoologist but worked with Alfred Binet
Biographical/retrospective: reviewing someone's life Temperament- cuddlers, non-cuddlers Binet/Simon created first IQ test
PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT Thomas-Chess: Easy, difficult, slow to warm up Studied his own 3 children and others
Development from conception to birth Kagan: shy child Piaget- kids intrincically motivated to explore & understand
From one-cell to complex human being Perceptual Abilities Active participants in their understandings
Cephalocaudal- head to trunk Vision- fixed focus 8 to 10 inches away Four Periods of Cognitive Development
Proximodistal- center (spine) outward (extremities) Variable focus by 6-8 months Sensorimotor Period (birth to 2 years)
Germinal Period (Zygotic)-conception to end 2nd week Walton/Bower- prototypical schema of mental images Reflex acts- react with reflexes
Mitosis- cell division, doubling Depth Perception- see world in three dimensions Primary circular reactions- discover body
Genetic material around a central axis Well developed by crawling, between 6 to 12 months Secondary circular reactions- discover world (crib, etc)
Cell groupings, clusterings Walk/Gibson- Visual Cliff experiments Coordination of secondary schema- combine schema
Fertilized ovum travels to uterus Six to fourteen month olds did not cross glass area Tertiary circular reactions- use secondary schema
Implants self in uterine wall Younger than 6 month-olds, heart rate increased Beginning of thought (12-18 months)- mental representations
Placental, amniotic sac, umbilical established Other Senses- Object permanence- objects exist out of sight
Embryonic Period- End 2nd week to end of 8th week Hearing- functions prenatally, turn in direction of sound Preoperational Period (2-7 years)
Differentiation of the body- complete, fingerprints Taste- prefer sweet flavors, 'sweet-tooth' Egocentrism prevails- see only from their perspective
About 1 inch long INFANCY & CHILDHOOD Fantasy play, imitative play, not independent operations
Teratogens- toxic agents can cause death or defects Physical Development Misperceptions due to Centering- look at one factor only
Deformities possible only in Germinal & Embryonic Stages First year- grows 10" & gains 15lbs Famous experiment: glasses with liquid- which has more?
Critical Period- point at which factors have more influence Growth occurs in fits & starts- 1 inch overnight Concrete Operational Period (7-11 years)

Fetal Period- End 2nd week to birth

Bigger head proportionately- 3/4 of adult size by age 2 Decenter- look at two factors
Growth and strengthening Head growth complete by age 10 Conservation- liquid, mass, area, length, number
All glands, organs function, movement, breathing Motor Development Change of shape does not alter amount
Doubles in size and weight monthly Skills such as grasping, crawling, walking Reversibility- being able to reverse the procedure (math)
Last two months adds insulating & protective fat Developmental norms- average ages Classification- superordinate and subordinate classes
Toxins, disease = deafness, blindness, brain injury, death Stand up holding on by age 9 months Limited to here & now- what can see, the concrete
Deformities not possible in Fetal Stage Different babies at different rates; 3-4 months plus or minus Formal Operational Period (11-15 years)
FAS- facial deformites, heart defects, stunted growth, etc Lift head/shoulders by 2 months Abstract thought- symbolic, hypothesis, see multiple factors
Copyright 1985-2008 by Professor Ray Saenz Del Mar College