Introduction

Book Chapters Papalia (1) ; Santrock (1)

Initial @01/30/2024

Progress Done

Developmental Psychology

scientific study of the systematic processes of change and stability in people

life-span development

womb to tomb

from conception to death

goals (DEPI):

description

explanation

prediction

intervention

Basic Concepts in Human Development

Domains of Development

Physical Development → growth of the body and brain, sensory capacities, motor
skills, and health

Cognitive Development → learning, attention, memory, language, thinking, reasoning,

and creativity

Psychosocial Development → emotions, personality, and social relationships

Note: each aspect of development affects the others

Periods of the Life Span

it is a social construction

Introduction 1
 concept or practice that is an invention of a particular culture or society

age divisions are approximate and somewhat arbitrary

there are no clear-cut social or physical landmarks to signal a shift from one period to
the other

Influences on Development

Heredity, Environment, and Maturation

heredity → biological roll of the dice; inborn traits and characteristics provided by
biological parents

environment → influences outside the body; starts at conception and continues

throughout life

maturation → unfolding of a natural sequence of physical changes and behavior

patterns

Contexts of Development

Family

nuclear → one or two parents and their children, whether biological, adopted, or
stepchildren

extended → multigenerational network of grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and

more distant relatives; traditional family form in Asia, Africa, and Latin America

polygamy → one parent (more commonly the father) is married to multiple

spouses; primarily in Muslim countries

Socioeconomic Status

based on family income and the educational and occupational levels of the adults in
the household

issues include COVID-19 pandemic and climate change which drive people into
poverty

risk factors → conditions that increase the likelihood of a negative outcome

the earlier poverty begins, the longer it lasts

Introduction 2
 buffers include supportive parenting or particular temperament profiles

Culture

society’s or group’s total way of life, including its customs, traditions, laws,
knowledge, beliefs, values, language, and physical products, from tools to artworks

all of the behavior and attitudes that are learned, shared, and transmitted among
members of a social group

individualistic → prioritize personal goals and encourage people to view

themselves as distinct individuals

collectivistic → concerned with collective goals and group dynamics

people are more likely to view themselves with respect to their relationships
with others

Ethnicity and Race

ethnic group → consists of people united by a distinctive culture, ancestry, religion,

language, or national origin, all of which contribute to a sense of shared identity
and shared attitudes, beliefs, and values

ethnic minorities → ethnic groups with national or cultural traditions different from
the majority of the population, and are often affected by prejudice and
discrimination

BIPOC → black, indigenous, and people of color

race → grouping of humans distinguished by their outward physical characteristics

or social qualities from other groups; not a biological construct

ethnic gloss → overgeneralization that obscures or blurs variations in ethnic groups

(e.g. Hispanics, Asians)

Normative and Nonnormative Influences

Normative Influences

Age-graded → highly similar for people in a particular age group

e.g. puberty, menarche, menopause, time at which children go to school

for the first time

Introduction 3
 History-graded → significant events that shape the behavior and attitudes of a
historical generation

group of people who experience the event at a formative time in their lives

e.g. COVID-19, World War

age cohorts

group of people born at about the same time

historical generation may contain more than one cohort, but cohorts are
part of a historical generation only if they experience major, shaping
historical events at a formative point in their lives

Nonnormative Influences

unusual events that have a major impact on individual lives because they
disturb the expected sequence of the life cycle

either typical events that happen at an atypical time of life (e.g. death of
parents at a young age) or atypical events (e.g. surviving a car crash)

people could create their own nonnormative influences (e.g. deciding to have a
baby in the midfifties)

Timing of Influences

Konrad Lorenz

imprinting

newly hatched goslings will instinctively follow the first moving object
they see, whether it is a member of their species or not

usually the automatic and irreversible bond is with the mother

result of the readiness of an organism’s nervous system to acquire certain

information during a brief critical period in early life

critical period

specific time when a given event, or its absence, has a specific impact on
development

Introduction 4
 if a necessary event does not occur during a critical period of maturation,
normal development will not occur, and the resulting abnormal patterns may be
irreversible

cannot be learned

sensitive periods

times when a developing person is especially responsive to certain kinds of

experiences

periods wherein the effects of external stimuli are greater

effects can be reversible

responsive and can still be learned

plasticity

modifiability of performance or molding of brain through experience

Principles of Life-Span Developmental Approach

Paul Baltes & colleagues (2004)

Development is lifelong

lifelong process of change

each period of the life span is affected by what happened before and will affect what is
to come

no period is more or less important than the other

Development is multidimensional

occurs along interacting dimensions of biological, social, and psychological

each may develop at varying rates

Development is multidirectional

as people gain in one area, they may lose in another, sometimes at the same time

Relative influences of biology and culture shift over the life span

Introduction 5
 development is influenced by both biology and culture, but the balance between these
influences changes

biological abilities decline with age, but cultural supports may help compensate

Development involves changing resource allocations

individuals choose to invest their resources of time, energy, talent, money, and social
support in varying ways

Three functions:

growth → childhood and young adulthood

maintenance or recovery → adulthood

dealing with loss when maintenance and recovery are not possible → old age

in midlife, resource allocation is more evenly balanced among the three functions

Development shows plasticity

many abilities can be improved significantly with training and practice, even late in life

Development is influenced by the historical and cultural context

each person develops within multiple contexts

human beings not only influence but are also influenced by their historical-cultural
context

Introduction 6