Development Note Guide

Before you begin reading, consider the following:

● To maintain academic integrity and maximize your learning, each response should be answered in your
own words. Please do not copy and paste from the textbook or another source.
● Successful students
○ develop their own note-taking strategies as they work through the course. You can use bullets,
paraphrasing, acronyms, etc. The goal is to create a way to process the information you are
reading in a way that makes sense to you and helps you remember it most accurately.
○ master the definitions for the key vocabulary for each lesson. You can define the terms in your
note guide or use note cards. Some students use an online source to create digital flashcards.
● Note that modules in your e-text are not aligned with modules in the course. Read the modules in the e-
text that are assigned with each lesson.

Lesson 04.01 Themes and Methods in Developmental Psychology

Read Unit 3 Introduction and Module 3.1 in the e-text. Complete the note guide as you read.

Key Vocabulary
Be sure you know the meaning of the following terms from the lesson:

 cross-sectional  stability and change  continuous and

 longitudinal  nature and nurture discontinuous (stages)
 lifespan

Module 3.1 Themes and Methods in Developmental psychology

Guided reading questions:

⇒ In Your Own Words:

They study how people grow, develop, and change physically, cognitively, and socially
What do developmental psychologists study?

throughout life.

3.1-1.1 Explain the methods of research utilized in developmental research.

Cross-sectional: Compares people at different ages at one point in time
Longitudinal: follows the same people over time to observe changes
Other methods: experiments, observations, surveys, and case studies
3.1-1.2 Summarize the three themes that dominate developmental psychology.
 Nature and nurture
Genetics and environment influence development
 Continuity and discontinuity (Continuity and stages)
Development can be gradual or in stages
 Stability and change
Some traits stay the same, some change

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 ⇒ AP Science Practice: Exploring Research Methods and Design (page 300)
After reading the scenario provided on pg. 300, answer the following questions:
 What method of research was used in the study? Random sample
 Identify the sample of the study. The 12,198 people ages 17-76
 What conclusion could be drawn from the data? Middle aged adults have the best emotion-detecting
ability

Lesson 04.02 Physical Development Across the Lifespan

Read Unit 3, Modules 3.2a–3.2b and Modules 3.3a–3.3c in the e-text. Complete the note guide as you read.

Key Vocabulary
Be sure you know the meaning of the following terms from the lesson:

 teratogen  adolescent growth spurt  menarche

 reflex-rooting  puberty  spermarche
 visual cliff apparatus  primary/secondary sex  menopause
 critical or sensitive period characteristics

Module 3.2a Physical Development Across the Lifespan: Prenatal Development, Infancy, and
Childhood

Guided reading questions:

3.2-2.1 Describe the dangers associated with teratogens during prenatal development.

⇒ In Your Own Words

Substances that harm prenatal development

Describe fetal alcohol syndrome.

Abnormalities in a baby caused by prenatal alc exposure

3.2-2.2 Identify reflexes associated with infancy.

⇒ In Your Own Words

Rooting, sucking, grasping, moro reflex

Baby stops reacting to repeated stimulus

Give an example of habituation that could be experienced by a newborn.

3.2-3.1 How can maturation and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) interact to impact development?
Genetics and experiences can influence development outcomes
3.2-3.2 Describe how the brain developments during the first years of life.
Rapid growth, synaptic pruning, myelination
3.2-3.3 Summarize the research conducted by Rosenweig and Krech on brain stimulation and development.
They enriched environments to increase brain size and neural developemtns
⇒ In Your Own Words
How do critical periods (sensitive periods) impact human development?
They are windows of optimal development for skills and traits. If this is interrupted, kids may not adopt
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 necessary skills to develop.

3.2-3.4 Explain how culture can impact physical development in infants.

Parenting practices, nutrition, and stimulation effect growth. Depending on your cultural practices, your growth
could be hindered.
3.2-4.1 What is infantile amnesia, and how does it support the idea of unconscious memory?
Early life memories are largely unconscious due to brain immaturity.
Module 3.2b Physical Development Across the Lifespan: Adolescence and Adulthood

Guided reading questions:

⇒ In Your Own Words
Summarize G. Stanley Hall’s explanation of adolescence.
Phase of stress, followed by emotional instability, mood swings, conflicts with parents, and risky behaviors due to
puberty.

3.2-5.1 Identify potential consequences of the early onset of puberty.

Can cause social, emotional, and health challenges
3.2-5.2 Describe the changes that occur in the adolescent brain.
Prefrontal cortex develops slowly, limbic system develops early risk-taking

⇒ AP Science Practice: Data Interpretation (page 313)

After reviewing Figure 3.2-6, answer the following questions:
 How would you summarize the data presented on the graph?
As age goes up, impulse control also goes up. As age goes up, sensation seeking peaks and then falls.

Any experiences in their adolescence, such as abuse

 What confounding variables could impact the results presented?

⇒ In Your Own Words:

Adolescents are less culpable due to brain immaturity lesser sentences and juvenile justice
How has our understanding of brain development in the adolescent been applied to the justice system?

system separated from adult.

3.2-6.1 Explain how adulthood is divided up.

Young, middle, late adulthood
3.2-6.2 Complete the chart with physical changes that occur during each stage of adulthood.
Middle Adulthood Late Adulthood
Decreased metabolism, strength, vision, fertility Sensory decline, slower reflexes, cognitive changes

3.2-6.3 Describe how your senses and health change throughout aging.
Vision difficulties, hearing issues, taste and smell decreases, touch sensitivity declines
Bone density decreasing, muscle mass decreases, CV system lowering, immune system weakening
3.2-6.4 What changes occur in the brain during aging?
Brain shrinks, reduced processing speed and working memory, decline in neurotransmitters
3.2-6.5 Explain how exercise benefits the aging brain and body.
Exercise maintains brain elasticity, cardiovascular health, strength, and memory

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Module 3.3a Gender and Sexual Orientation: The Biology and Psychology of Sex

Guided reading questions:

3.3-1.1 How are sex and gender different?
Sex: biological attributes
Gender: socially constructed roles, behaviors, identity
3.3-2.1 How do genders differ as related to aggression, social power, and social connectedness?
Aggression: men more physically aggressive, women more relationally aggressive
Social Power: men hold more social and political power
Social connectedness: Women prioritize relationships, men more independent
3.3-3.1 What role do sex hormones play in prenatal and adolescent development?
Prenatal: Influence development of reproductive organ sand brain differentiation
Adolescence: Trigger puberty, secondary sex characteristics, and sexual drive
3.3-3.2 Differentiate between primary and secondary sex characteristics.
Primary: Reproductive organs
Secondary: Non-reproductive traits
3.3-4.1 How does culture influence gender roles?
Cultures shape expectation of behavior, career, family roles, and expression of emotions
3.3-5.1 How is gender identity formed?
Combination of biological, environmental, and social learning factors
Module 3.3b Gender and Sexual Orientation: Gender Development

Guided reading questions:

3.3-6.1 How is sexual motivation influenced by hormones?
Testosterone and estrogen influence libido and sexual behaviors
3.3-7.1 Summarize the biopsychosocial explanation for sexual motivation.
Biological: Hormones and genetics
Psychological: Experiences, learning, beliefs
Social: culture, relationships, societal expectations
3.3-8.1 What factors can contribute to sexual behavior among teenagers?
Peer pressure, hormones, family influences, media, cultural norms

Nature: Genetic and hormonal influences

3.3-9.1 Explain how nature and nurture can influence gender roles and sexuality.

Nurture: Social learning, parental modeling, cultural norms

Module 3.3c Gender and Sexual Orientation: Sexual Orientation

Guided reading questions:

3.3-10.1 Describe what is known about sexual orientation.
Pattern of emotional, romantic, and sexual attraction to certain genders
3.3-11.1 Summarize research findings related to our understanding of sexual orientation.
Influenced by genetics, prenatal environment, hormones, and social fatcors

Lesson 04.03 Cognitive Development Across the Lifespan

Read Unit 3, Module 3.4 in the e-text. Complete the note guide as you read.
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Key Vocabulary
Be sure you know the meaning of the following terms from the lesson:

 Piaget  egocentrism  scaffolding

 sensorimotor stage  theory of mind  zone of proximal development
 object permanence  preoperational stage  crystallized intelligence
 conservation  concrete operational stage  fluid intelligence
 reversibility  formal operational stage  dementia
 animism  Vygotsky

Module 3.4 Cognitive Development Across the Lifespan

Guided reading questions:

3.4-1.1 Explain the difference between assimilation and accommodation.
Assimilation: new experiences into existing schemas
Accommodation: changing schemas to fit new info
3.4-1.2 Complete the organizer with information about each stage in Piaget’s cognitive development theory.
Stage Summary
Sensorimotor stage Birth-2yrs: learning through senses and actions. Object permanence develops
Preoperational stage 2-7 yrs: Symbolic thinking, egocentrism, animism, no conservation
Concrete Operational stage 7-11 yrs: logical thinking about concrete events, understand conservation and
reversibility
Formal Operational stage 12+ yrs: abstract and hypothetical thinking, deductive reasoning

3.4-2.1 Discuss Vygotsky’s theory and explain how it differs from Piaget’s theory.
Emphasizing social interaction and cultural context
Introduces scaffolding and zone of proximal development
Piaget focuses on stages and individual discovery

Understanding others have thoughts, feelings, and perspectives different from one’s own
3.4-3.1 Explain the concept of theory of mind and how it differs in children with autism spectrum disorder.

Children with ASD often have delayed or impaired theory of mind

3.4-4.1 How does an adolescent’s reasoning and moral judgment change as they development and progress
through puberty?
Abstract reasoning develops

⇒ In Your Own Words:

They have a greater capacity for hypothetical thinking, moral reasoning, and perspective-taking

Discuss a time you have experienced delayed gratification.

I waited to buy an expensive Lego set to save my money and get it later

3.4-5.1 Using the data provided in Figures 3.4-5 and 3.4-6, describe the changes that have been observed in
memory because of aging.
Decline in working memory, processing speed, and recall
Recognition remains mostly stable
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3.4-5.2 Explain what prospective memory is.
The ability to remember to perform a task at a future time or in response to a specific cue

Lesson 04.04 Communication and Language Development

Read Unit 3, Module 3.5 in the e-text. Complete the note guide as you read.

Key Vocabulary
Be sure you know the meaning of the following terms from the lesson:

 phonemes  syntax  telegraphic stage

 morphemes  cooing stage  overgeneralization
 semantics  babbling stage
 grammar  one-word stage

Module 3.5 Communication and Language Development

Guided reading questions:

⇒ In Your Own Words:
Explain what language is.
A system of symbols, sounds, and rules used to communicate meaning

3.5-1.1 What is the difference between phonemes and morphemes?

Phonemes: smallest unites of sound
Morphemes: smallest units of meaning
3.5-1.2 How does universal grammar help the language development process?
Universal language structures allow humans to acquire any language efficiently
3.5-2.1 Describe receptive language.
Ability to understand words and language
3.5-2.2 Complete the chart with unique examples of the different stages in language development.
Stage Unique example
Babbling Ba ba, da da
One-word cat
Two-word Want milk
Telegraphic speech Go school now?

3.5-2.3 Explain how the following situations impact language development:

 Critical (sensitive) periods: optimal window for language development
 Culture/environment: exposure to language influences vocab and usage
 Age: younger brains learn languages faster

3.5-3.1 Summarize the function of Broca’s and Wernicke’s area and what happens when a person experiences aphasia in
that area.
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Broca’s: Speech production difficulty speaking
Wernicke’s: language comprehension difficulty understanding
3.5-4.1 How do linguistic determinism and linguistic relativism differ?
Determinism: Language limits thought
Relativism: Language influence though doesn’t determine it
3.5-4.2 Summarize the research findings on bilingualism and language use and development.
Bilingual kids have enhanced executive function, cognitive flexibility, and delayed dementia onset in adulthood

Lesson 04.05 Social- Emotional Development Across the Lifespan

Read Unit 3, Module 3.6a–3.6b in the e-text. Complete the note guide as you read.

Key Vocabulary
Be sure you know the meaning of the following terms from the lesson:

 ecological systems theory (5)  avoidant (insecure attachment)  emerging adulthood

 microsystems  anxious (insecure attachment)  attachment theory (Ainsworth)
 mesosystem  disorganized (insecure attachment)  8 psychosocial stages
 exosystem  temperament  adverse childhood experiences (aces)
 macrosystem  separation anxiety  achievement (identity process)
 chronosystem  monkey studies (cloth vs wire  diffusion (identity process)
 authoritarian (parenting style) mother)  foreclosure (identity process)
 authoritative (parenting style)  parallel play  moratorium (identity process)
 permissive (parenting style)  pretend play  identities developed: racial, gender,
 secure attachment  adolescent egocentrism via sexual orientation, religious,
 insecure attachment imaginary audience/personal fable occupational, familial

Module 3.6a Social-Emotional Development Across the Lifespan: Infancy and Childhood

Guided reading questions:

⇒ In Your Own Words:
Refer to Figure 3.6-1 and explain the ecological systems theory.
Development influenced by many en, layers: micro, meso, exo, macro, chrono

3.6-1.1 Summarize the research of Harry and Margaret Harlow.

Monkeys pref cloth mother for comfort over wire mom with food attachment driven by comfort
3.6-1.2 How is human infant attachment like that found in the study?
Infants seek comfort and security from caregivers
3.6-1.3 Describe the difference between animal imprinting and human infant sensitive periods for attachment.
Animals: immediate and rigid
Human: Attachment develops gradually during sensitive periods with caregiver interactions

3.6-2.1 Summarize the “strange situation” study by Mary Ainsworth.

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Mary Ainsworth’s “strange situation” was when she observed infant attachment types through caregiver separation and
reunion
3.6-2.2 Discuss the studies that showed how genetics affect temperament and in turn temperament affects attachment
style.
Genetic temperament affects attachment style
3.6-2.3 What have studies shown about the impact of dual parenting on infants and children?
Dual parenting has a positive impact on development
3.6-2.4 Identify the connections Erik Erikson found between attachment during infancy and adulthood relationships.
Infant attachment adult relationship patterns
3.6-3.1 Complete the organizer with information discussing how each topic can impact child development.
Topic Impact on development
Deprivation of attachment Difficult to form healthy relationships, increased anxiety, lower self-esteem, emotional
withdrawal, ad long-term social and cognitive delays
Trauma Emotional dysregulation, stress responses, difficulties trusting, PTSD, bad development
Abuse Depression, anxiety, aggression, bad attachment, poor academics, higher likelihood of
future abusive relationships
Poverty Limited education, healthcare, nutrition, cognitive delays, increased stress, poor
health, low academic achievement
3.6-4.1 How are self-concept and self-esteem different?
Self concept= who I am
Self esteem= how I feel about who I am
3.6-5.1 Create definitions for each parenting style.
Authoritarian: strict, high expectations, low warmth
Authoritative: firm but responsive, high warmth and structure
Permissive: lenient, low control, high warmth
⇒ In Your Own Words: Consider the following scenario. Describe how you think each parenting style would
respond.

A college freshman earns poor grades during their first semester at the university. If their grades don’t
improve during the second semester, they could lose financial aid that helps with their tuition and housing
costs.
Authoritarian : Punishment ot strict consequence
Authoritative: support and guidance to improve
Permissive: minimal response, may ignore it

⇒ AP Science Practice: Developing Arguments (page 382)

After reviewing the information presented in the infographic, respond to the following scenario:
 You overhear two friends discussing their parents. One friend says, “I’m so lucky! My parents let me
do whatever I want and don’t ask me any questions.” How would you respond to that statement? Use
evidence from the lesson to support your answer.
It’s actually not so great to be doing whatever you want. Studies show that when your parents are permissive, you will
be more aggressive and immature.

3.6-5.2 What role does culture play in parenting styles?

Culture shapes parenting expectations, discipline method, and values

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Module 3.6b Social-Emotional Development Across the Lifespan: Adolescence, Emerging
Adulthood, and Adulthood

Guided reading questions:

*Table 3.6-2 provides a full explanation of Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development. This is important to your
learning.

3.6-6.1 What factors contribute to identity formation?

Family, peers, culture, experiences, personal exploration
3.6-6.2 Describe the stage of identity formation outlined by researchers.
Achievement: explored and committed
Moratorium: exploring, not yet committed
Foreclosure: committed without exploration
Diffusion: no exploration or commitment
3.6-6.3 Discuss the differences in intimate relationships in individualistic cultures versus collectivist cultures.
Individualistic: emphasize romantic love and personal choice
Collectivist: emphasize family, duty, and social harmony
3.6-7.1 Identify some contributing factors to parent and adolescent relationships.
Communication, autonomy, cultural expectations, and parenting style
3.6-8.1 Characterize the period of emerging adulthood.
Identity exploration, instability, self-focus, possibilities, feeling in-between
3.6-9.1 Compare actual midlife crises to the way they are portrayed in movies or on television.
Less dramatic, gradual transitions. People reflect on their life choices and goals
⇒ In Your Own Words:
Explain what the social clock is.
Culturally expected timeline for major life events

3.6-9.2 How do adult commitments like love and work change?

They tend to deepen, and shift focus over time
Goes from finding to stabilizing what you already have
3.6-10.1 Summarize the biopsychosocial perspective on successful aging.
Physical health, mental activity, social engagement, emotional regulation, genetics
3.6-11.1 What has research learned about the impacts of grief on surviving loved ones?
Physical and emotional stress, social isolation, potential long-term health consequences

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