- Multidisciplinary - We have to

Foundations of use many different fields in order to

Human Development effectively study development.

- Plasticity - Developmental
DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY AS A changes occur throughout the
BRANCH OF PSYCHOLOGY lifespan and can be drastically
altered at any point in time.
Developmantal Psychology
- Concerned with description and - Multi-contextual - There are many
explanation of changes that occur contexts that affect human
in psychological processes at any development.
point in the life span. • Normative age-graded influences
- Study how heredity and • Normative history-graded
environment interact to produce influences
change from conception • Nonnormative life events
throughout life span.
- Development Involves Growth,
- Genes and Heredity Factors Maintenance, and Regulation of
- Physical Appearance Loss:
- Personality characteristics Example: a 75 year-old man might
- Environmental Variables aim not to improve his memory or
- Childhood experiences his golf swing but to maintain his
- how we were raised independence and his ability to
- social relationship play golf at all.
- sorounding culture
- Development is a
SEVERAL PERPECTIVE OF Co-construction of Biology,
DEVELOPMANTAL PSYCHOLOGY Culture, and the Individual
- The brain shapes culture,
- Lifelong - womb to tomb but it is also shaped by culture and
- no age period the experiences that individuals
dominates development. have or pursue.
- We can go beyond what our
- Multidirectional - the study of genetic inheritance or environment
change from multiple directions of give us.
influence.
- Butterfly effect: one small action BIOLOGICAL, COGNITIVE, AND
or event set much larger chain of SOCIO-ECONOTIONAL PROCESSES
major events.
Biological Process - Produces changes
- Multicultural - There are many, in an individuals physical nature.
many cultures around the world! Ex. Genes inherited from parents,
• Each one is influential development of the brain, height and
• Each one has separate values, weight gains, changes in motor skills,
traditions, living standards, etc. nutririon, exercise, hormonal changes of
that influence the individuals of that puberty, and cardiovascular decline.
society.
Cognitive Processes - refers to the
Adolescence 1 years - 20years
changes in individuals thought,
intelligences, and language. Early Adulthood 20years - 40years
Ex. Watching colorful mobile swinging
above the crib, memorizing poem, solving Middle Adulthood 40years - 65 years
crossword puzzle. Late Adulthood 65years and older

Socio-emotional Processes - involve

changes in individuals relationship with
others, changes in emotion, and chanes in BASIC PRINCIPLES OF
personality. DEVELOPMENT
Ex. Infants smile in reposnse to a parents
touch, toddler’s aggressive attact on a Life Span Perspective
playmate. - is the perspective that
development is lifelong,
PERIOD OF DEVELOPMENT multidimensional, multidirectional,
plastic, multidisciplinary, and
contextual; involves growth,
Prenatal Conception to maintenance, and regulation; and
birth is constructed through biological,
Infancy Birth to 18-24 sociocultural, and individual factors
months working together.
- Approach to human development
Early Childhood 3-5 years which examines changes at all
ages, through adolescence and
Middle and Late 6-10/11 years
Childhood adulthood, to late adulthood, up
until death.
Adolesence 10-12 to 18-21
years Life Expectancy - the average expected
time of a human being to live, based on
Early Adulthood 20’s and30’s
birth year, current age, and other
Middle Adulthood 40’s and 50’s demographic factors such as gender and
country birth.
Late Adulthood 60’s - 70’s to
Death
FACTORS AFFECTING DEVELOPMENT

DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES Internal Factors - things that are unique

to individual that can influence dev.
Prenatal Conception to EX.: Genetics, Physical Maturation,
Birth Cognition.

Infancy Birth at full term - External Factors - things that are outside
18 months of the individual that can influence dev.
Early Childhood 18months - 6 EX.: Socio-economic status, availabilty of
years resources, social influences.

Middle Childhood 6 years - 11 years

DEVELOPMENTAL PEDRIOD ADOLESCENCE
- Refers to the time frame of a - Begins with rapid physical
person/individuals life that is changes—dramatic gains in height
characterized by centuries. and weight, changes in body
contour, and the development of
PRENATAL PERIOD sexual characteristics such as
- Involves tremendous growth enlargement of the breasts, growth
- From single cell to an organism of pubic and facial hair, and
complete with barin and deepening of the voice.
behavioral capabilities - The pursuit of independence and
- Takes place in approximately an identity are preeminent.
9months. Thought is more logical, abstract,
- During pregnacy and idealistic. More time is spent
outside the family.
INFANCY
- Many psychological activities— *The transition from adolescence to
language, symbolic thought, adulthood has been referred to as
sensorimotor coordination, and emerging adulthood, the period from
social learning, for example— are approximately 18 to 25 years of age.*
just beginning.
- The term toddler is often used to EARLY ADULTHOOD
describe a child from about 1 1⁄2 to - A time of establishing personal and
3 years of age and in a transitional economic independence,
period between infancy and the advancing in a career, and for
next period, early childhood. many, selecting a mate, learning to
live with that person in an intimate
EARLY CHILDHOOD OR PRESCHOOL way, starting a family, and rearing
- Time where young children learn to children.
become more self-sufficient.
- Care for themselves, develop MIDDLE ADULTHOOD
school readiness skills (following - A time of expanding personal and
instructions, identifying letters), social involvement and
and spend many hours playing responsibility; of assisting the next
with peers. generation in becoming competent,
mature individuals; and of reaching
MIDDLE AND LATE CHILDHOOD and maintaining satisfaction in a
- Children master the fundamental career.
skills of reading, writing, and
arithmetic, and they are formally LATE ADULTHOOD
exposed to the larger world and its - A time of life review, retirement,
culture. and adjustment to new social roles
and diminishing strength and
health. Late adulthood has the
longest span of any period of
development, and as noted earlier,
the number of people in this age
group has been increasing
dramatically.
 - They gain an average of 5-6
NEONATAL ounces per week during the first
DEVELOPMENT -
month.
Doubled their birth weight by the
- REFERS TO NEWBORN age of 4months
CHILDREN (OTHER MAMMALS) - Have nearly trippled it by their
- ALSO KNOWN AS “INFANCY” first birthday.
- Infants grow about 1 inch per
PATTERNS OF GROWTH month during the first year.
- Doubling their birth lenght by
Cephalocaudal Pattern - The earliest their first birthday.
growth occurs at the top to the head — - Growth slows in the 2nd year of
with physical growth in size, weight, and life.
feature differentiation gradually working - At the age of 2, infants weigh
from top to bottom. approximately 26 - 32 pounds.
- Gains quarter to half pound per
*Infants see objects before they can month during 2nd year to reach
control their torso, and they can use their about one-fith of their weight.
hands long before they can crawl or walk.* - At 2years old, the average
height of an infant is 32-35
Proximodistal Pattern - The growth inches, which is nearly half of
starts at the center of the body and their adulth height.
moves towards the extermities.
• By the time the infant is born, the
*Infants control the muscles of their trunk infant that began as a single cell is
and arms before they control their hands estimated to have a brain that contains
and fingers, and they use their whole approx. 100 billion neurons.
hands before they can control their • The infant’s head should be protected
several fingers. * from falls or other injuries, and should
not be shaken.
CHANGES INPROPORTION OF THE • Shaken baby syndrome includes brain
HUMAN BODY DURING GROWTH swelling and hemorrhaging.
• EEG is best used to measure an infant
- As individual develop from infancy brain’s electric activity.
through adulthood, the most
noticeable physical changes is
the sizde of their head, it BRAIN DEVELOPMENT
becomes smaller in relation to
the rest of the body. - At birth, new borns barin is about
25% of its adult weight.
HEIGHT AND WEIGHT - By 2nd birthday, the barin is about
75% of its adult weight.
- In first several years, most new
born lose 5-7% of their body
weight before they adjust to
feeding by sucking, swallowing,
and digesting.