Get Psychology help

Discussions and homework support for your

Psychology Class

History and Fundamentals

Developmental Psychology

Human Development

  • The scientific study of age-related changes in behavior, thinking, emotion, and personality.
  • Interdisciplinary- psychology, sociology, anthropology, biology, medicine, neuroscience, education, etc. 
  • 3 Domains
      • Physical Development – motor skills, body size, physical health, etc.
      • Cognitive Development – Intellectual abilities, problem solving, creativity, language, etc
      • Emotional and Social Development – Emotional communication, self-understanding, interpersonal skills, moral reasoning, etc.
 
Periods of Development
  • Prenatal Development (conception – birth)
    • most rapid time of change
  • Infancy and Toddlerhood (birth- 2 years)
    • Emergence of motor, perceptual, and intellectual capacities (beginning of language)
    • Infancy – spans the first year
    • Toddlerhood – spans the second year
  •  Early Childhood (2 – 6 years)
    • Motor skills are refined
    • Cognitive maturity (thought and language) develop at incredible pace
    • Sense of morality becomes evident
    • Establish ties with peers
  • Middle Childhood (6 – 11 years)
    • Master responsibilities that resemble adulthood
    • Academic knowledge and skills (read, writing, math)
    • Greater understanding of the self
  • Adolescence ( 11-18 years)
    • Puberty
      • Transition from childhood to adulthood
      • Reach sexual maturity
    • Thought becomes abstract and idealistic
    • Begin to establish autonomy from family
    • Begin to define persona values and goals
  • Emerging Adulthood ( 18-25 years)
    • New developmental period in industrialized nations
      • Due to prolonged transition to adulthood.
    • Exploration of love, career, and personal values before making enduring commitments
  • Early Adulthood ( 20 to 40 years)
  • Middle Adulthood ( 40 – 65 years)
  • Late Adulthood ( 65 to death)

Basic Issues

  • Theory—an orderly, integrated set of statements that describes, explains, and predicts behavior.
    • Guide and give meaning to what we observe
    • Verified by research
      • Must be tested by established research procedures
  • No single theory can explain the physical, cognitive, emotional and social changes a person goes through.

 

Nature vs Nurture

  • Nature—inborn biological givens
    • Hereditary information received by parents
  • Nurture—environmental forces
    • Culture, parenting style, SES, etc.
  • Stability—children will remain the same as adults
  • Plasticity—open to change in response to influential experiences

 

One Course of Development or Many

  • Development is viewed by contemporary theorists as multi-layered and complex
    • Beyond heredity and biological makeup
    • Considering cultural diversity more than ever

 

Historical Foundations

  • John Locke (1632-1704)—viewed children as “tabula rasa” Latin for blank slate
    • Children are shaped entirely by experience
    • Believed in reinforcing with praise instead of sweets
    • Opposed physical punishment
      • Causes fear and anger
  • Jean-Jaques Rousseau (1712-1778)—viewed children as “noble savages”
    • Naturally endowed with a sense of right and wrong
  • Adult training harms children’s innate morality

  • Believed adults should be receptive to children’s needs from infancy through adolescence

  • Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
    • Survival of the fittest
    • Physical and personality traits are genetically inherited
  • Normative Period—measures of behavior are taken on large numbers of individuals and age-related averages are computed to represent typical development.
    • Foundation of child-study movement
    • Development is genetically determined; process unfolds automatically

 

 

Psychology Homework

Stuck with a homework question?  Find quick answer to Accounting homeworks

Ask Psychology Tutors

Need help understanding a concept? Ask our Accounting tutors

Psychology Exams

Get access to our databanks of Discussion questions and Exam questions

How We Safeguard Your Tutor Quality

All tutors are required to have relevant training and expertise in their specific fields before they are hired.  Only qualified and experienced tutors can join our team 


All tutors must pass our lengthy tests and complete intensive interview and selection process before they are accepted in our team

 

Prior to assisting our clients, tutors must complete comprehensive trainings and seminars to ensure they can adequately perform their functions

Interested in becoming a tutor with Online Class Ready?

Share your knowledge and make money doing it

1. Be your own boss

2. Work from home

3. Set your own schedule

Psychology 041 – Life Span Psychology

1.  History and Fundamentals