LIFE SPAN DEVELOPMENTAL  PSYCHOLOGY  

What is bowlby’s attachment theory?

EXAM 1 STUDY GUIDE

CHAPTER 1

Human development- the way people grow and change across the life span  (biological, cognitive, psychological, and social functioning)

Culture- total pattern of groups customs, beliefs, art and technology  *total fertility rate in a population – the number of births per woman DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 

∙ Most affluent countries in world

∙ Richer, more people, have an abundance of food and other materials ∙ Can lead to problems (fast food= obesity)

∙ 18% of total world population

∙ 50% go on to tertiary education (college)

DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 

What are the four subscale assessment according to arnold gesell?

We also discuss several other topics like What is the definition of deinstitutionalization?
We also discuss several other topics like What does cohesion mean?

∙ 82% of total world population  

∙ Less access to education  

∙ Don’t use as much material

∙ Poorer

∙ About 20% of children don’t complete primary school (elementary) reasons USA follows different demographic path  

- Total fertility rate is higher than most developed  

- US allows more legal immigrants

- Also has millions of undocumented immigrants

- US is becoming more diverse

40% of worlds pop lives on less than 2$ per day

80% of worlds pop lives on a family income of less than $6000 per year  

Individualistic cultures- values such as independence and self-expression (value a  person than to a group)

What is the meaning plasticity?

Collectivistic cultures- values such as obedience and group harmony (not just  individual schievement but as a whole) (Japan)

Traditional culture- rural culture that adheres traditions than urban people  Globalization- increasing connections between different parts of worldWe also discuss several other topics like What is the attractive force that holds two atoms together?
Don't forget about the age old question of Define national powers, state powers, and shared powers under the constitution.
We also discuss several other topics like Explain the utility of dalton's law of partial pressure.

**** people are moving to cities to make up more of civilization

Urban

- More interactive people  

- Faster pace

Rural  

- IQ scores are lower than when they moved to cities (interaction with other people are said to raise scores)  If you want to learn more check out What is the content of article 19 of the universal declaration of human rights?

Evolutionary beginnings

∙ Larger brains  

∙ Wider pelvis (female)

∙ Longer dependency  

∙ Control of fire

∙ Development of tools

Evolutionary psychology- branch of psych that examines how patterns of human  functioning and behavior have resulted from adaption to evolution conditions  

- Development is partly based on evolution

- Little biological change since homo sapiens

Ancient conceptions of development 

- Youth is for preparation  

- Adulthood is for experience  

- Old age is for wisdom and peace

Major theories

1) Psychoanalytic theory

a. Psychosexual- Freud

b. Psychosocial- Ericson

2) Ecological approach

a. Bronfenbrenner

FREUD’S PSYCHOSEXUAL THEORY

- ID: basis is pleasure principle  

- Superego: basis of conscience

- Ego: basis of reality

Psychosexual stages focused on areas of sensation and fixation  Limits include complexity of human behavior and Freuds research  

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Stages:  

1) Infancy- oral

2) Toddlerhood- anal

3) Early childhood- phallic (genitals)

4) Middle childhood- latency (genitals)

5) Adolescence- genitals  

Erikson psychosocial theory  

-focuses on social and cultural environment and not on sexuality -continued throughout life span and not just beginning on life  Stages:

1) Infancy: trust vs. mistrust

2) Toddlerhood: autonomy vs shame and doubt

3) Early childhood: initiative vs guilt

4) Middle childhood: industry vs inferiority

5) Adolescence: identity vs identity confusion  

6) Early adulthood: intimacy vs isolation

7) Middle adulthood: generativity vs stagnation

8) Late adulthood: ego integrity vs despair

Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory

-focuses on multiple influences that shape behavior and Is not a stage theory 5 levels  

1) Microsystem- immediate environment  

2) Mesosystem- interconnections

3) Exosystem- societal institution

4) Macrosystem- cultural beliefs and values

5) Chronosystem- time, historical, context

SCIENTIFIC METHOD

1) Identify a question of interest

2) Form hypothesis

3) Choose a research method and design  

4) Collect data to test the hypothesis

5) Draw conclusion

Reliability- consistency of measurement

Validity- truthfulness of the measure

CHAPTER 2

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Building blocks of life: chromosomes that include genetics info, DNA that express  themselves by genes in them, genes that are part of DNA

Genotype- totality of an individual genes

Phenotype- actual characteristics (what is seen)

Dominant genes- express each characteristic

Recessive genes- not expressed

Allele- alternative form of a gene

Incomplete dominance- influenced primarily but not exclusively by the dominant  gene

Polygenic inheritance- interaction of multiple genes

23rd chromosome – determines male or female

Males are more vulnerable to x-linked recessive disorders

Nature vs nurcher = environment vs what your made of

Heritability- an estimate of the extent to which genes are responsible for difference  among persons with in a specific population

*reaction range= your potential

Genotype environment effects 

- Passive- result for the fact both genes come from parents

- Evocative- results when parent inherited characteristics evoke  responses from environment  

- Active- result when people seek out environment that corresponds  to their genotype characteristic

Beginning of life

- Sperm meets egg

- Ovulation releases ovum and if sperm is available, fertilization can  occur

Germinal period- first 2 weeks  

- During travel from fallopian tube to the uterus cell division is taking  place

- Blastocyst- ball of about 100 cells formed by 1 week after  

conception

- Trophoblast- outer layer of cell that will form structures that nourish  and protect embryo  

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o Amnion- fluid filled membrane in womb

o Embryonic disk- inner layer of cells which will form embryo

Embryonic period- weeks 3-8  

- Embryonic layers

o Ectoderm becomes skin and hair nails sensory organs and  

nervous system

o Mesoderm0 becomes the muscles bones reproductive and  

circulatory system  

o Endoderm becomes digestive and respiratory system

o Neural tube develops by week 3

o Eyes nose mouth and heart beat by week 4

o Buds that will be arms and legs start to develop in week 5

o Liver digestive system and hearts separate chambers by  

week 8

Fetal period- week 9 – birth

- Longest period

- Genitals form by month 3  

- Movement by month 4

- Breath hiccops and responds to sounds by end pf month 6  

Parental care- can vary by ethnicity and SES

- Developing countries less likely to receive  

- Diet and exercise  

o Continued physical exercise in encouraged during pregnancy  - Teratogens: are environmental and bodily conditions that could be  harmful

o Tabaco, alcohol, medications, other drugs

- Being exposed to toxic chemical  

- Malnutrition most common  

o Eating healthy is hard in developing countries because of  

lack of clan water and food

- Iron and iodine deficiencies can lead to issues (needed for healthy  pregnancy)

- AIDS

o Can help prevent by cesarean sections

o Help prevent by using infant formula instead of breast  

feeding

- Chromosomal disorders

o Sex linked ( down syndrome)

o Relationship between mother and fathers age

- Infertility causes:

o Too few sperm

o Quality of sperm

o Low motility  

o Ovulation

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- Infertility treatments

CHAPTER 3

Oxytosin – hormone

Fontinels- skull pieces

Stages of birth  

1) Labor

a. Longest  

b. Contractions in uterus cause cervix to dilate

2) Delivery

a. Can take up to an hour  

b. Expels placenta and umbilical cord

c. Forceps- large tongs to help get baby out

∙ Infection is #1 risk for mother and baby

∙ Electoral fetal monitor- attach to fetus during delivery

∙ Cesarean- retrieving baby from uterus  

Pre 15th century – midwives suspected of being witches

18th century- medical schools and physician delivers

20th century- doctors not properly trained led to misuse of drugs Late 20th century- natural childbirth  

Currently there are several improvements in birthing process

- Collaborating during birth

- Father more involved

- Medications are safer

- Use of monitoring  

Neonate- fuzzy hair called lanugo

- Misshapen head with soft spots called fontanels

- About 20 in 7.5 pounds

- Yellow skin

Neonates assessment is critical in first few minutes

*Apgar scale- assessed on appearance, pulse, grimace, activity, and reparation Rated 0-2 total of 10 points

Measures 2x first minute and after 5 minutes

LOW birth weight

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causes: malnutrition, drugs, lack of parental care

consequences: high mortality rate

treatment: kangaroo care: skin to skin contact for 2-3 hours a day, massage neonates sleep/wake cycle governed more by hunger than day/night cycle

- REM sleep dominates

- Stimulates brain activity

*NEONATAL REFLEXES  

- if you put baby on tummy should move head if cant breath  Senses

Touch- earliest to develop

Taste and smell- developed  

Hearing- have problems locating sound  

Vision- last developed (depth perception when they become mobile) Breast feeding - substitute milk, wet nurse, formula became alternatives Benefits: colostrum- high in calories help baby gain weight  

- Disease protection

- Cognitive development

- Reduces obesity

- Better health in childhood

Formula fed= less chance of obesity  

3 distinct crying signals  

-fussing: soft volume, unsteady whimper

- anger: large volume of air

-pain: sudden oneset

SWADDLING shown to reduce crying  

Post-partum- combination of hormone changes and deep feelings of anxiety  sadness for mother  

Runination- a way of thinking that is going over things that happened already in  your head

CHAPTER 4  

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Infants grow at faster rate during first year than any other time Weight doubles in first 5 months and triples by end of first year  2key growth patterns

1) Cephalocaudal- brain progress from top down

2) Proximodistal- inside out internal system is developed first  Teeth appear between 5-9 months  

Symptoms: saliva production, coughing, rash

Brain is one quarter the size of adults

-by age 2 it will reach 70%

-growth in brain due to exuberance- dendritic (potential to learn things) - myelination- axons become encased in a myelin sheath

Synaptic pruning- use it or lose it

BRAIN

- Hind brain needed for basic  

- Mid brain things (breathing )

- Forebrain

o Limbic system : hypothalamus, thalamus, hippocampus

o Primitive brain  

o Cerebral cortex- lobes

- 4 lobes: frontal, parietal, occipital, temporal

Plasticity- ability to relearn motor functions (important for infant brain to develop) Babies sleep 16-17 hours

At 3 or 4 months 6-7 hours and night  

Infants between 2-4 months have high risk of SIDS

- Leading cause of death in developed countries

- Risk factors

o Sleeping on tummy vs back

o Low birth weight & APGAR score

o Smoking

o Soft bedding

o Don’t sleep with infant  

6 months’ solid food introduced

Malnutrition at this time could be severe

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Infant mortality: malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea

Children tend to develop motor skills in sequence

Development  

Age stage capable of:

0-2 sensorimotor coordinating activities of the senses w/ motor activities  

2-7 peroperation language with limited ability to use  mental operations

7-11 concrete operations mental operations, difficulty thinking  hypothetically

11-15 &up formal operations capable of thinking logically, more complex

Object permanence- object continue to exist even when not aware of them  Under 4 months- no understanding  

4-8 months- some uncertainty about existence

8-12 months- developing awareness  

Stimulus info sensory memory attention short term memory response  Attention studies using  

- Habituation: gradual decrease in attention

- Dishabituation: revival of attention with a new stimulus

Neonates- several minutes before dishabituation

4-5 months- only several seconds

Infants become better at perceiving and processing stimuli  

Short term and long term memory increases during first year

Arnold Gesell- 4 subscale assessment

1) Motor skills

2) Language use

3) Adaptive behavior

4) Personal social behavior

Nancy Bayley produces a contemporary measure of infant development 9

1) cognitive  

2) language

3) motor

limited by low reliability of scales

cooing and gurgling starts at 2 months

babbling 4-6 months

gestures 8-10 months

first words about 10-12 months  

*infants prefer high pitch sounds when speaking to them

Goodness- of-fit: good fit between temperament of child and environment demands Infant emotions 

- we share w other animals (primary emotions)

- secondary emotions develop later and are called socio-moral  emotions  

- primary- distress, interest, pleasure in first weeks of life

o becomes anger sadness fear surprise and happiness

- sadness is rare only if mother is depressed  

cultural themes of infant social life

1) infant are with mother for early months

2) after 6 months most daily care done by older girls rather than mother 3) infant among many other people in course of day

4) are held or carries almost constantly

5) fathers are usually remote or absent during first year

Ericson’s first stage focuses on trust vs mistrust

- developing trust is infant provides foundation for further social  development

Bowlby’s attachment theory focus on early quality relationship

- focused on primary caregiver being sensitive and responsive - attachment theory has evolutionary basis- happens with animals  also

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