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Developmental psychology—study of physical, intellectual, social, and moral
changes across the lifespan from conception to death.
Three controversies:
Nature–nurture controversy—deals with the extent to which heredity and the
environment each influence behavior.
Continuity–discontinuity controversy—deals with the issue of whether development
is a gradual, continuous process or a sequence of separate stages.
Stability–change controversy—deals with the issue of whether or not personality
traits present during infancy endure throughout the lifespan.
Research methods of developmental psychologists include experiments, naturalistic
observations, correlational studies, and case studies. These designs are conducted to
assess change over time:
cross-sectional—different age groups are tested at the same time.
longitudinal—same participants are tested multiple times with same or similar tests.
cohort sequential—combines cross sectional and longitudinal to correct for cohort effect.
cohort effect—observed group differences based on the era when people were
born and grew up, exposing them to particular experiences that may affect results
of cross-sectional studies.
Physical development (quickest during prenatal development; second quickest during
infancy; third quickest during adolescence):
Critical period—a time interval during which specific stimuli have a major effect on
development that the stimuli do not produce at other times.
Prenatal development—period of development that begins with fertilization, or
conception, and ends with birth.- Zygote—a fertilized ovum with the genetic instructions for a new individual,
normally contained in 46 chromosomes; - Embryo—the developmental prenatal stage (from about 2 weeks through 2 months
after fertilization) when most organ development begins; - Fetus—the developing human organism from about 9 weeks after conception to birth
when organ systems begin to interact; sex organs and sense organs become refined; - Teratogen—harmful substances (drugs or viruses) during the prenatal period that
can cause birth defects;
Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)—a cluster of abnormalities that occurs in babies
of mothers who drink alcoholic beverages during pregnancy, which includes low
intelligence, small head with flat face, misshapen eyes, flat nose, and thin upper lip,
as well as some degree of intellectual impairment.
Neonate—newborn baby from birth to 1 month old; shows reflexive behavior.
Reflex—the simplest form of behavior. Reflexes of neonate include: - Rooting reflex—the newborn’s tendency to move its head when stroked on the
cheek, turn toward the stimulus as if searching for a nipple, and open its mouth;
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