7-12 months

INFANCY & TODDLERHOOD

Physical
● sits alone, crawls, and walks
Birth - 6 months
● Shows refined pincer grasp
● Perceives larger speech units crucial to
Physical
understanding meaning
● Rapid height and weight gain
● depth and pattern perception improve further
● Reflexes decline
● Sleep organized into a day-night schedule
Cognitive
● Holds head up, rolls over, and reaches for objects
● Combines sensorimotor schemes
● Can be classically and operantly conditioned
● Engages in intentional, or goal-directed behavior
● Habituates to unchanging stimuli; recovers to novel
● finds object hidden in one place
stimuli
● engages in deferred imitation of adults’ actions with
● Hearing well developed; by the end of this period,
objects
displays greater sensitivity to speech sounds of own
● recall memory for people, places, and objects
language
improves
● Depth and pattern perception emerge and improve
● solves simple problems by analogy
● groups stimuli into wide range of meaningful
Cognitive
categories
● Engages in immediate imitation and deferred
imitation of adults’ facial expressions
Language
● Repeats chance behaviors leading to pleasurable
● babbling expands to include sounds of spoken
and interesting results
languages and the child’s language community
● Violation-of- expectation tasks suggest some
● uses preverbal gestures (showing, pointing) to
awareness of object permanence
communicate
● Attention becomes more efficient and flexible
● Recognition memory for people, places, and objects
Emotional / Social
improves
● anger and fear increase in frequency and intensity
● Forms perceptual categories based on objects’
● stranger anxiety and separation anxiety appear
similar features
● uses caregiver as a secure base for exploration
● shows “clear-cut” attachment to familiar caregivers
Language
● ability to detect the meaning of others’ emotional
● Engages in cooing and babbling
expressions improves
● Establishes joint attention with caregiver, who labels
● engages in social referencing
objects and events

13 - 18 months
Emotional / Social
● Shows signs of almost all basic emotions
Physical
(happiness, interest, surprise, fear, anger, sadness,
● height and weight gain, but not as great as in first
disgust)
year
● Social smile and laughter emerge
● walking better coordinated
● Matches adults’ emotional expressions during
● manipulates small objects with improved
face-to-face interaction
coordination
● Emotional expressions become better organized and
clearly tied to social events
Cognitive
● I-self emerges
● experiments with objects in a trial-and-error fashion

Zulaikhah Hamsain | BSSLP 1-1

 ● finds object hidden in more than one place
● sorts objects into categories
● imitates actions across a change in context – for
example, from home to laboratory
● sustained attention improves
● categorizes self and others on the basis of age, sex,
physical characteristics, and goodness and badness
● shows gender- stereotyped toy choices
● self-control appears

Language EARLY CHILDHOOD

● joint attention with caregiver becomes more accurate
● takes turns in games such as pat- a-cake and
Age 2 years old
peekaboo
● says first word
Physical
● Slower gains in height and weight than toddlerhood
Emotional / Social
● Balance improves, walking becomes coordinated
● joins in play with familiar adults and siblings
● Running, jumping, throwing, and catching develop
● me-self emerges; recognizes image of self in mirror
● Puts on and removes some items of clothing
● shows signs of empathy
● Uses spoon effectively
● complies with simple directives
Cognitive
19 - 24 months
● Make-believe becomes less independent on realistic
toys, less self-centered, and more complex
Physical
● Can take the perspective of others in simplified
● jumps, runs, and climbs
situations
● manipulates small objects with good coordination
● Recognition memory well developed
● Aware of the difference between inner mental and
Cognitive
outter physical event
● Solves sensorimotor problems suddenly
● finds object moved while out of sight
Language
● engages in deferred imitation of actions an adult tries
● Vocabulary increases rapidly
to produce, even if not fully realized
● Sentences follow basic word order of native
● engages in make-believe play
language; adds grammatical markers
● sorts objects into categories more effectively
● Displays effective conversational skills
● recall memory for people, places, and objects
improves further
Emotional / Social
● Begins to develop self-concept and self-esteem
Language
● Cooperation and instrumental aggression appear
● vocabulary increases to 200 words
● Understand causes, consequences, behavioral signs
● combines two words
of basic emotions
● Emapathy increases
Emotional / Social
● Gender-stereotyped beliefs and behavior increase
● self-conscious emotions (shame, embarrassment,
guilt, and pride emerge)
Age 3 - 4 years old
● acquires a vocabulary of emotional terms
● begins using language to assist with emotional self-
Physical
regulation
● Running, jumping, hopping, throwing, and catching
● begins to tolerate caregiver’s absences more easily
become better coordinated
● uses own name or personal pronoun to label self
● Galloping and one-foot skipping appear
● Rides tricycle
Zulaikhah Hamsain | BSSLP 1-1
 ● Uses scissors, draws at first picture of a person ● Shows mature throwing and catching patterns
● Can tell the difference between writing and ● Ties shoes, draws more complex pictures, writes
nonwriting name

Cognitive Cognitive
● Notices transformations, reverses thinking, and has ● Ability to distinguish appearance from reality
a basic understanding of casualty in familiar mproves
situations ● Attention continues to improve
● Classifies familiar objects hierarchically ● Recall, scripted memory, and autobiographical
● Uses private speech to guide behavior in challenging memory improves
tasks ● Understands that letters and sounds are linked in
● Attention becomes more sustained and planful systematic ways
● Uses scripts to recall familiar experiences ● Counts on and counts down, engaging in simple
● Understands both beliefs and desires can determine addition and subtraction
behavior
● Aware of some meaningful features of written Language
language ● Vocabulary reaches about 10,000 words
● Counts small numbers of objects and grasps ● Uses many complex grammatical forms
cardinality
Emotional / Social
Language ● Ability to interpret and predict others’ emotional
● Masters increasingly complex grammatical structures reaction improves
● Occasionally over-extends grammatical rules to ● Relies more on language to express empathy
exceptions ● Has acquired many morally relevant rules and
● Understands many culturally accepted ways of behaviors
adjusting speech to fit the age, sex, and social satus ● Gender-stereotyped beliefs and behavior continue
of speakers and listeners to increase
● Understands gender constancy
Emotional / Social
● Emotional self-regulation improves
● Experiences self-conscious emotions more often MIDDLE CHILDHOOD
● Nonsocial activity declines, and interactive play
increases
Ages 6 - 8 years old
● Instrumental aggression declines, and hostile
aggression increases
Physical
● Forms first friendships
● Slow gains in height and weight continue until
● Distinguishes moral rules from social conventions
adolescent growth spurt
and personal matters
● Gradual replacement of primary teeth by
● Preference for same-sex playmates strengthens
permanent teeth
● Writing becomes smaller and more legible. Letter
Age 5 - 6 years old
reversals decline
● Drawings become more organized and detailed
Physical
and include some depth cues
● Body is streamlines and longer-legged with
● Games with rules become common
proportions similar to adults’
● First permanent tooth erupts
● Skipping appears

Zulaikhah Hamsain | BSSLP 1-1

Cognitive
● Thought becomes more logical, as shown by the
ability to pass Piagetian conservation, class
inclusion, and sensation problems
● Understanding of spatial concepts improves, as
illustrated by the ability to give clear,
well-organized directions and to draw and read
maps
● Attention becomes more selective, adaptable, and
planful
● Uses memory strategies of rehearsal and
organization
● Regard the mind as an active, constructive agent,
capable of transforming information
● Awareness of memory strategies and the impact of
psychological factors (attention, motivation) on
task performance improves
Language
● Vocabulary increases rapidly throughout middle
childhood
● Word definitions are concrete, referring to
functions and appearance
● Language awareness improves
Emotional / Social
● Self-concept begins to include personality traits
and social comparisons
● Self-esteem differentiates, becomes hierarchally
organized and declines to a more realistic level
● Self-conscious emotions of pride and guilt are
governed by personal responsibility
● Recognizes that individuals can experience more
than one emotion at a time
● Attends to facial and situational cues in
interpreting another’s feelings
● Understands that access to different information
often causes people to have different perspectives
● Becomes more responsible and independent
● Distributive justice reasoning changes from
equality to mere benevolence
● Peer interaction becomes more prosocial, and
physical aggression declines
Age 9 - 11 years old
Physical
● Adolescent growth spurt begins 2 years earlier in
girls than in boys
● Gross motor skills of running, jumping, throwing,
catching, kicking, batting, and dribbling are
executed more quickly and with better coordination
● Reaction time improves contributing to motor skill
development
● Representation of depth in drawings expands
Cognitive
● Logical thought remains tied to concrete situations
● Piagetian tasks continue to be mastered in a
step-by-step fashion
● Memory strategies of rehearsal and organization
become more effective. Begins to use elaboration
● Applies several memory strategies at once
● Long-term knowledge base grows larger and
becomes better organized
● Cognitive self-regularization improves
Language
● Word definitions emphasize synonyms and
categorical relations
● Grasps double meaning iof words, as reflected in
comprehension of metaphors and humor
● Use of complex grammatical constructions
improves
● Adapts messages to the needs of listeners in
challenging communicative situations
● Conversational strategies become more refined
Emotional / Social
● Self-esteem tends to rise
● Distinguishes ability, effort, and luck in attributions
for success and failure
● Has an adaptive set of strategies for regulating
emotion
● Can “step into another’s soes” and view the self
from that person’s perspective
● Later, can view the relationship between self and
other from the perspective of a third, impartial
party
● Appreciates the linkage between moral rules and
social conventions
Zulaikhah Hamsain | BSSLP 1-1
 ● Peer groups emerge
● Friendships are based on mutual trust
● Becomes aware of more gender stereotypes
including personality traits and school subjects but
has a more flexible appreciation of what males and
females can do
● Sibling rivalry tends to increase
ADOLESCENCE
Age 11 - 14 years old
Physical
● If a girl, reaches peak of growth spurt
● If a girl, more body fat than muscle
● If a girl, starts to menstruate
● If a boy, begins growth spurt
● If a boy, starts to ejaculate seminal fluid
● Likely to become aware of sexual orientation
● If a girl, motor performance gradually increases and
then levels off
Cognitive
● Becomes capable of formal operational reasoning
● Becomes better at coordinating theory with
evidence
● Can argue more effectively
● Becomes more self-conscious and self-focused
● Becomes more idealistic and critical
● Metacognition and cognitive self-regularization
continue to improve
Emotional / Social
● Moodiness and parent-child conflict increases
● Is likely to show increased gender stereotyping of
attitued and behavior
● Spends less time with parents and siblings
● Spends more time with peers
● Friendships are based on intimacy and loyalty
● Peer groups become more organized around
cliques
● Cliques with similar values from crowds
● Conformity to peer pressure increases
Age 15 - 20 years old
Physical
● If a girl, completes growth spurt
● If a boy, reaches peak and then completes growth
spurt
● If a boy, voice deepens
● If a boy, adds muscle while body fat declines
● May have had sexual intercourse
● If a boy, motor performance increases dramatically
Cognitive
● Is likely to show formal operational reasoning on
familiar tasks
● Masters the components of formal operational
reasoning in sequential order of different types of
taks
● Becomes better at everyday planning and decision
making
Emotional / Social
● Combines features of the self into an organized
self-concept
● Self-esteem differentiates further
● Self-esteem tends to rise
● Is likely to be searching for an identity
● Is likely to engage in societal perspective taking
● Is likely to have a conventional moral orientation
● Gender-stereotyped attitudes and behavior may
decline
● Importance of cliques and crowds declines
● Has probably started dating
● Conformity to peer pressure may decline
EARLY ADULTHOOD
Age 20 - 30 years old
Physical
● Athletic skills that require speed of limb movement,
explosive strength, and gross motor coordination
peak early in this decade and then decline
● Athletic skills that depend on endurance, arm-hand
steadiness, and aiming peak at the end of this
decade and then decline
Zulaikhah Hamsain | BSSLP 1-1
 ● Declines in touch sensitivity; respiratory,
cardiovascular, and immune system functioning;
and elasticity of te skin begin and continue
throughout adulthood
● As basal metabolic rate declines, gradual weight
gain begins in the middle of this decade and
continues through middle adulthood
● Sexual activity increases
Cognitive
● If college educated, dualistic thinking (dividing
information, values, and authority into right and
wrong) declines in favor of relavistic thinking
(viewing all knowledge as embedded in a
framework of thought)
● Narrows vocational options and settles on a
specific career
● With entry into marriage and employment
situations, focuses less on acquiring knowledge
and more on applying it to everyday life
● Develops expertise (acquisition of extensive
knowledge in a field of endeavor), which
enhancesproblem solving
● Creativity (generating useful original products)
increases
● Steady improvement in mental abilities that
depend on accumulated knowledge through
middle adulthood
Emotional / Social
● Leaves home permanently
● Strives to make a permanent commitment to an
intimate partner
● Usually constructs a dream, an image of self in the
adult world that guides decision making
● Usually forms a relationship with a mentor, who
facilitates realization of the dream
● If in a high-status career, acquires professional
skills, values, and credentials (for women, may be
delayed and take longer)
● Begins to develop mutually gratifying adult
friendships and work ties
● May cohabits, marry, and bear children
● Sibling relationships become more companionate
● As people move in and out of relationships,
loneliness peaks early in this decade and then
declines steadily throughout adulthood
Age 30 - 40 years old
Physical
● Declines in vision, hearing, and the skeletal
system begin and continue throughout adulthood
● In women, fertility problems increase sharply in the
middle of this decade
● Hair begins to gray and thin in the middle of this
decade
● Sexual activity declines, probably due to the
demands of daily life
Cognitive
● As family and work lives expand, the capacity to
juggle many responsibilities improves
● Creativity (generating useful original products)
often peaks
Emotional / Social
● Reevaluates life structure and tries to change
components that are inadequate
● Establishes a sable niche within society through
family, occupation, and community activities (for
women, career maturity and authority in the
community may be delayed)
MIDDLE ADULTHOOD
Age 40-50 years old
Physical
● Accommodative ability of the lens of the eye, ability to
see in dim light, and color discrimination decline;
sensitivity to glare increases
● Hearing loss at high frequencies occurs
● Hair grays and thins
● Lines on the face become more pronounced, and skin
loses elasticity and begins to sag
● Weight gain continues, accompanied by a rise in fatty
deposits in the torso, whereas fat beneath the skin
declines
● Loss of lean body mass (muscle and bone) occurs
● In women, production of estrogen drops, leading to
shortening and irregularity of the menstrual cycle
● For men, the quantity of semen and sperm declines
Zulaikhah Hamsain | BSSLP 1-1
 ● Intensity of sexual response declines, but sexual
activity drops but only slightly
● Rates of cancer and cardiovascular disease increase,
more for men than for women
Cognitive Physical
● Consciousness of aging increases
● Crystallized and intelligence increases; fluid
intelligence declines
● Processing speed declines; adults compensate
through practice and experience
● On complex tasks, ability to divide and control
attention declines; adults compensate through
practice and experience
● Amount of information retained in working memory
declines; largely due to reduced use of memory
strategies
● Retrieving information from long-term memory
becomes more difficult
● General factual knowledge, procedural knowledge, Cognitive
and knowledge related to one’s occupation remain
unchanged or increase
● Gains in practical problem solving and expertise occur
● Creativity focuses on integrating ideas and becomes Emotional / Social
more altruistic
● If in an occupation offering challenge and autonomy,
shows gains in cognitive flexibility
Emotional / Social
● Generativity increases
● Focuses more on personally meaningful living
● Possible selves become fewer in number and more
modest and concrete
● Introspection increases as people contemplate the
second half of life
● Self-acceptance, autonomy, and environmental
mastery increase
Physical
● Coping strategies become more effective
● Gender identity becomes more androgynous:
“musculine” traits increase in women, “feminine” traits
in men
● May launch children
● May enlarge the family network to include in-laws
● May become a kinkeeper, especially if a mother
● May care for a parent with a disability or chronic
illness
● Siblings may feel closer
● Numbers of friends generally declines
● Job satisfaction increases
Age 50-60 years old
● Lens of the eye loses its accommodative ability
entirely
● Hearing loss extends to all frequencies but remains
greatest for highest tones
● Skin continues to wrinkle and sag, and age spots
appear
● Menopause occurs
● Continued loss of bone mass, accelerating especially
for women after menopause and leading to high rates
of osteoporosis
● Due to collapse disks in the spinal column, height
may drop by as much as 1 inch
● Changes in cognition described in ages 40-50
continues
● Emotional and social changes described in ages
40-50 continues
● May become a grandparent
● Parent-to-child help giving declines, and
children-to-parent help giving increases
● May retire
LATE ADULTHOOD
Ages 60-80 years old
● Neurons die at a faster rate, but the brain
compensates through growth of new synapses
● Autonomic nervous system performs less well,
impairing adaptation to hot and cold weather
● Declines in vision continue, in terms of increased
sensitivity to glare and impaired color discrimination,
dark adaptation, depth perception, and visual acuity
● Declines in hearing continue throughout the frequency
range
● Taste and odor sensitivity may decline
Zulaikhah Hamsain | BSSLP 1-1
 ● Touch sensitivity declines on the hands, particularly
the fingertips, less so on the arms
● Declines in cardiovascular and respiratory functioning
lead to greater physical stress during exercise
● Aging of the immune system increases risk for a
variety of illnesses
● Sleep difficulties increase, especially for men
● Garing and thinning of the hair continue; the skin
wrinkles further and becomes more transparent as it
loses its fatty layer of support
● Height and weight (due to loss of lean body mass)
declines
● Loss of bone mass leads to rising rates of
osteoporosis
● Intensity of sexual response and sexual acivity
decline, although most healthy married couples report
regular sexual enjoyment
Cognitive
● Processing speed continues to decline; crystallized
abilities are largely sustained
● Amount of information that can be retained in working
memory diminishes further; memory problems are
greatest on tasks requiring deliberate processing and
associative memory
● Modest forgetting of remote memories occurs
● Use of external aids for prospective memory
increases
● Information is more likely to be remembered in terms
of gist than details
● Traditional problem solving remains adaptive
● May hold on of the most important positions in society
such as chief executive officer, religious leader, or
Supreme Court justice
● May excel at wisdom
● Can improve a wide range of cognitive skills through
training
Emotional / Social
● Comes to terms with life, developing ego integrity
● Describes emotional reactions in more complex and
personalized ways; improves in emotional
self-regulation
● May engage in reminiscence and life review
● Self-concept strengthens, becoming more secure and
complex
● Agreeable and acceptance of change increase
● Faith and spirituality may advance to a higher level
● Size of social network and amount of social
interaction decline
● Selects social partners on the basis of emotion,
approaching pleasant relationships and avoiding
unpleasant ones
● Marital satisfaction increases
● May be widowed
● Sibling closeness and support may increase
● Number of friends generally declines
● May become a great-randparent
● May retire
● More likely to be knowledgeable about politics and to
vote
Ages 80 years old and older
Physical
● Physical changes described in ages 60-80 years old
continues
● Mobility diminishes, due to loss of muscle, and bone
strength and joint flexibility
Cognitive
● Cognitive changes described in ages 60-80 years old
continues
● Fluid abilities decline further, crystallized abilities drop
as well
Emotional / Social
● Emotional and social changes described in ages
60-80 years old continues
● As relatives and friends dies, may develop friendships
with younger people
● Relationships with adult children become more
important
● Frequency and variety of leisure activities decline
Zulaikhah Hamsain | BSSLP 1-1