Chapter 8 Study Guide Nature vs Nurture o Nature reference to a person s biological inheritance especially his or her genes o Nurture an individual s environmental and social experiences Resilience a person s ability to recover from or adapt to difficult times Life themes there are three domains of life o Physical processes changes in an individual s biological nature Genes inherited from parents the hormonal changes of puberty and menopause and changes throughout life in the brain height and weight and motor skills all reflect the developmental role of biological processes o Cognitive processes involve changes in an individual s thought intelligence and language Observing a colorful mobile as it swings above a crib constructing a sentence about the future imagining oneself as a contestant on the X Factor or as president of the United States memorizing a phone number these activities reflect the role of cognitive processes in development o Socioemotional processes involves changes in an individual s relationships with other people changes in emotions and changes in personality An infant s smile in response to her mother s touch a girl s development of assertiveness an adolescent s joy at the senior prom a young man s aggressiveness in a sport and an older couple s affection for each other all reflect the role of socioemotional processes Stages of prenatal development o Germinal period weeks 1 and 2 begins with conception after 1 week and many cell divisions the zygote is made up of 100 too 150 cells By the end of 2 weeks the mass of cells has attached to the uterine wall o Embryonic period weeks 3 through 8 the rate of cell differentiation intensifies support systems for the cells develop and the beginning of organs appear In the third week the neural tube which eventually becomes the spinal cord starts to take shape Within the first 28 days after conception the neural tube is formed and closes encased inside the embryo Problems in neural tube development can lead to defects By the end of this period the heart begins to beat the arms and legs become more differentiated the face starts to form and the intestinal tract appears o Fetal fetus period months 2 through 9 The fetus grows from about the size of a kidney bean at 2 months to full size by month 9 The last three months of pregnancy are the time when organ functioning increases and the fetus puts on considerable weight adding baby fat The average newborn weighs about 7 pounds Zygote a single cell with 23 chromosome from the mother and 23 chromosomes from the father Teratogen any agent that causes a birth defect They include chemical substances ingested by the mother as well as certain illnesses Preferential looking a research technique that involves giving an infant a choice of what object to look at If an infant shows a reliable preference for one stimulus over another when these are repeatedly presented in differing locations we can infer that the infant can tell the two images apart Habituation a form of learning in which an organism decreases or ceases to respond to a stimulus after repeated presentations Puberty a period of rapid skeletal and sexual maturation that occurs mainly in early adolescence Amygdala involved in processing information about emotion Prefrontal cortex involved in higher order cognitive functioning such as decision making Cellular clock theory Leonard Hayflick s view that cells can divide a maximum of about 100 times and that as we age our cells become less capable of dividing Lateralization the specialization of function in one hemisphere of the brain or the other Free radical theory states that people age because unstable oxygen molecules known as free radicals are produced inside their cells Hormonal Stress Theory argues that aging in the body s hormonal system can lower resistance to stress and increase the likelihood of disease Erikson s stages of socioemotional development from Erikson s perspective each stage represents the developmental task that the individual must master at a particular place in their life span Each stage is viewed as a turning point that results in one of two possible outcomes greater personal competence or greater weakness and vulnerability Eight Stages Name Trust vs Mistrust Age Birth to 1 years Autonomy vs Shame and Doubt 1 to 3 years Initiative vs Guilt Ages 3 5 Industry vs Inferiority 6 years puberty 10 20 years Identity vs Identity Confusion Intimacy vs Isolation Generativi ty vs Stagnation Integrity vs Despair 20s 30s 40s 50s 60s Characteristics A sense of trust requires a feeling of physical comfort and minima amount of fear about the future Infants basic needs are met by responsive sensitive caregivers After gaining trust in their caregivers infants start to discover that they have a will of their own They assert their sense of autonomy or independence They realize their will If infants are restrained too harshly they are likely to develop a sense of shame and doubt They encounter a widening social world are challenged more and need to develop purposeful behavior to cope with these challenges Asked to assume more responsibility Guilt may arise if unable to cope Very enthusiastic imaginative Energy directed towards mastering knowledge and intellectual skills Danger at this stage involves feeling incompetent and unproductive Faced with finding out who they are what they are all about and where they are going in life Important dimension is the exploration of alternative solutions to roles Career exploration is important Individuals face developmental task of forming intimate relationships with others Chief concern is to assist younger generation in developing and leading useful lives Individuals look back and evaluate what they have done with their lives The retrospective glances can be either positive integrity or negative despair Piaget s stages of cognitive development according to Piaget we go through four stages in understanding the world o Sensorimotor stage birth 2 years infants construct an understanding of the world by coordinating sensory experiments with motor physical actions By the end of the stage 2 year olds show complex sensorimotor patterns and are beginning to use symbols or words I their thinking Object permanence understanding that objects and events continue to exist even when they cannot directly be seen heard or touched o Preoperational Stage 2 7 years thought is more symbolic than sensorimotor thought Limited symbolic thought still cannot
View Full Document
Unlocking...