Prenatal Development

1. Germinal stage (first 2 weeks)

a.
2. Embryonic Stage (2 weeks to 2 months)
3. Fetal stage (2 months to birth)
Eriksons Stage Theory (8 Stages)
- Personality is shaped by how individuals deal with these psychosocial crises
(pick between two

- Separation anxiety usually appears six to eight months, out of interplay

between infant and mother
o Secure, anxious-ambivalent, avoidant

Piagets Stage Theory (4 Stages)

1. Sensorimotor period birth to 2 years
a. Coordination of sensory input and motor responses; development of
object permanence
b. Object permanence
2. Preoperational period development of symbolic thought marked by
irreversibility, centration, and egocentrism
a. Development of symbolic thought marked by irreversibility, centration,
and egocentrism
3. Concrete operational period- Mental operations applied to concrete events;
mastery of conservation, hierarchical classification
a. Mental operations applied to concrete events; mastery of conservation,
hierarchical classification
b. Flowers example
4. Formal operational period Mental operations applied to abstract ideas;
logical, systematic thinking
a. Mental operations applied to abstract ideas; logical systematic thinking
Vygotskys Sociocultural Theory
- PCognitive development is fuelled by social interactions with parents,
teachers, and older children who can provide invaluable guidance
- Universal process that should unfold in largely the same way across widely
disparate cultures
- Culture exerts great influence over how cognitive growth unfolds
Theory of Mind: People hold false beliefs?
Review of Key Points
- Like other stage theories. Eriksons theory of personality development
proposes that individuals evolve through a series of stages over the life span.
In each of the eight stages, the person wrestles with two opposing tendencies
evoked by that stages psychosocial crisis
 - According to Piagets theory of cognitive development, they key advance
during the sensorimotor period is the childs gradual recognition of the
permanence of objects. The preoperational period is marked by certain
deficiencies in thinking- notably, centration, irreversibility, and egocentrism.
During the concrete operations period, children develop the ability to perform
operations on mental representations. The stage of formal operations ushers
in more abstract, systematic, and logical thought. Piaget may have under
estimated some aspects of childrens cognitive development and the impact
of environmental factors.
- Vygotskys sociocultural theory maintains that childrens cognitive
development is fuelled by social interactions with parents and others and that
culture influences how cognitive growth unfolds. Recent research has shown
that infants appear to understand surprisingly complex concepts that they
had virtually no opportunity to learn about, suggesting that basic cognitive
abilities are built into humans neural architecture. Childrens theory of mind
progresses gradually as they learn about desires, emotions, beliefs, and then
false beliefs.
- According to Kohlberg, moral reasoning progresses through six stages that
are related to age and determined by cognitive development. Age-related
progresses in moral reasoning has been found in research, although a great
deal of overlap occurs between adjacent stages, and Kohlbergs theory is
more culture-specific then he realized.

Review of Keypoints
- During adulthood, personality is marked by both stability and change. Adults
who move successfully through the three stages of adulthood posited by
Erikson should develop intimacy, generativity, and integrity
- Many landmarks in adult development involve transitions in family
relationships. Premarital cohabitation used to be predictive of an increased
likelihood of marital dissolution later, but the situation seems to be changing.
Difficulty adjusting to marriage is more likely when spouses have different
role expectations, especially about housework. The transition to parenthood
can be stressful, but realistic expectations can help. For most parents, the
empty nest transition no longer appears to be as difficult as it once was.
- During adulthood, age related physiological transitions include changes in
appearance, sensory losses and hormonal changes. Curiously, though, elderly
people tend to feel younger than they are. Most women experience at least
some unpleasant symptoms during menopause, but it is not as problematic
as widely suggested.
- The prevalence of dementia increases as people age. Alzheimers has a
subtle onset marked by chronic forgetting of newly learned information,
followed by a progressive deterioration over eight to ten years. The causes of
this debilitating disease are not well understood, although genetic factors and
chronic inflammation appear to contribute
 - In the cognitive domain, general intelligence is fairly stable, with a small
decline in average test scores seen after the age of 60. Fluid intelligence is
more likely to decline, whereas crystallized intelligence often remains stable.
Many studies have found decreases in older adults memory capabilities.
Mental speed declines in late adulthood, but many people remain productive
well into old age. Some studies suggest that high levels of mental activity in
late adulthood can delay the typical age-related declines in cognitive
functioning.
- Many of our seven integrative themes stood out in this chapter. But above all
else, our discussion of development showed how heredity and environment
interactively shape behavior.
Review of Key Points
- Gender differences in behaviour are fewer in number than gender
stereotypes suggest. In the cognitive domain, research reviews suggest that
there are genuine gender differences in verbal ability, mathematical ability,
and spatial ability. In regard to social behaviour, differences have been found
in aggression, non verbal communication, and sexual behaviour. But most
gender differences in behaviour are very small in magnitude
- Evolutionary theorists maintain that gender differences transcend culture
because males and females have confronted different adaptive demands over
the course of human history. Extensive evidence suggests that prenatal
hormones contribute to human gender differences, but the research is
marred by interpretive problems. Research linking gender differences to
cerebral specialization is intriguing, but much remains to be learned
- A vast research literature shows that gender differences are shaped by
socialization processes. Operant conditioning, observational learning, and
self-socialization contribute to the development of gender differences.
Families, schools, and the media are among the main sources of gender-role
socialization.
Chapter 16
1. Person perception How do we formulate our ideas about what others are
like? To what extent do peoples expectations colour their impressions of
others?
2. Attribution process Whenever we observe the behaaviour of others or
reflect on our own behaviour, we often make attributions about that
behaviour; we try to determine the cause of the behaviour. How do people
use attributions to explain social behaviour?
3. Interpersonal Attraction- What factors affect our attraction other people
4. Attitudes
5. Conformity and obedience
6. Behaviour in groups
7. Social neuroscience- What structures and processes of the brain are
associated with social phenomena such as prejudice and stereotyping?
Review of Key Points
- Attributions are inferences about the causes of events and behaviour.
Individuals make attributions to understand their social world. Attributions
can be classified as internal or external. Internal attributions
-