DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

TERMINOLOGIES  Young Adulthood (20 – 40 y.o)

Growth - Apparent, or observable, changes can be seen in  Middle Adulthood (40 – 65 y.o)
the person’s height and increase in size.  Late Adulthood (65 and over)
Development - Emotional and intellectual changes
Decline - manifested in atrophy as in intellectual and PRE-NATAL PERIOD
perceptual decline
Urge – doing what one is fitted to do in development while
its expression depends on one’s innate abilities and the
effect of training.
Changes - occur as part of development or is the result of
maturation training.

Early theories on Development

 Locke: Blank Tablet Theory (Tabula Rasa) STAGES OF PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT
o Results of learning and experience are
1. Germinal Stage ( ferti. – 2 weeks)
recorded in the blank tablet, segment by a. Cell division of the zygote and being
segment. implanted in the wall of the uterus.
o Rousseau: Children are born with a natural i. 36 hours – rapid
set of knowledge (contradiction to Locke). ii. 72 hours – 16-32 cells
 G. Stanley Hall: Surveyed children and recorded iii. 6-7 days – blastocyst (a fluid filled
behavior. Considers adolescence as very important sphere form that consists of
period as a transition stage between childhood and hundreds of cells) attaches itself to
adulthood. the uterine wall.
 Piaget: Stage Theory 1. Inner Layer/Embryonic Disk
o the infant develops as he is being related (becomes the embryo)
actively by another human being. a. Ectoderm – skin,
o Emphasis is on cognition and interaction nails, teeth, hair,
with environment. sensory organs and
o A stage is built upon the information one nervous system.
has gathered. (layering bricks) b. Endoderm –
 Erickson: Psychosocial Development digestive system,
o Development is an interaction between the liver, pancreas,
person’s individual’s characteristics and his salivary glands, and
interaction with the social environment and respiratory system
the amount of support he gets from there. c. Mesoderm –
middle layer of the
4 Approaches in Studying Developmental skin, muscles,
skeleton, excretory
Changes
and circulatory.
1. Physical: result of growth (increase in weight or
2. Outer Layer/Trophoblast
size)
(support system that
2. Musculature: development of the nervous system
nourishes)
and motor skills and the effect on the individual
o Amniotic sac –
3. Cognitive: study on mental processes like
encase the
perception, learning, memory, language and
developing embryo
thinking.
o Placenta – allows
4. Psychosocial: personality, social and emotional
oxygen,
factors
nourishment and
wastes to pass
between the
Life Span Periods mother and
 Pre-natal Period (conception to birth) embryo.
 Infancy and Toddlerhood (birth to 3 y.o) o Umbilical cord –
 Early Childhood (3 – 6 y.o) connects the
 Middle Childhood (6 – 11 y.o) placenta and the
 Adolescence (11 – 20 y.o) embryo
DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
2. Embryonic Stage (2-8 weeks)
a. rapid development of organs and major
body systems.
b. spontaneous abortion may occur.
3. Fetal Stage (8 weeks to birth)
a. increased differentiation of body parts
and greatly enlarged body size.
b. fetus are able to breathe, kick, turn, do
somersaults, swallow, squint, make fists,
hiccups and suck thumbs.
12th week – child is able to breathe and
swallow
14TH week – taste and olfactory system
26th week – respond to sound and vibration

INFANCY AND TODDLERHOOD

PRINCIPLES OF DEVELOPMENT

1. Cephalocaudal – head to foot

2. Proximodistal – center of body to the extremities

 Children first develop their fine motor skills before

gross motor skills.

REFLEXES : automatic involuntary response to a stimuli

 Vision is poorly developed at birth.

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
Depth perception is present by 6 months. Children generate theories to explain experiences/concepts.

Hearing is almost fully developed at birth. It is the ability to consider other’s thoughts which are crucial
Touch and pain as well as smell and taste are fully for social interaction.

developed at birth.
 Diverse-desires – People may have different desires
 Newborns prefer sweet tastes and can recognize
 Diverse-beliefs – People may have different beliefs
and prefer their mother’s scent.
 Knowledge access – People may not have access to
information
EARLY CHILDHOOD  False belief – People may believe something not
true
 Hidden emotion – People may not express real
feelings

MIDDLE CHILDHOOD

SELMAN’S STAGES OF
FRIENDSHIP

PLAY is the business of early childhood.

COGNITIVE LEVELS OF PLAY

 Functional - play involving repetitive large muscular

movements
 Constructive - – Play involving use of objects or
materials to make something
 Dramatic - Play involving imaginary people or
situations.

PARTEN’S CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM

 Unoccupied Play – random and goalless

 Solitary Play – themselves or different activity
 Parallel Play – alongside but no direct interaction
 Associative Play – interact but not with common
goal
 Cooperative Play - interact with common goal

THEORY OF THE MIND

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YOUNG ADULTHOOD
ADOLESCENCE

TRIANGULAR THEORY OF LOVE

 Intimacy - – emotional element, involves self

disclosure, which leads to connection, warmth and
trust
 Passion - Motivational element , based on inner
TERMINOLOGIES drives that translate physiological arousal to sexual
 Adolescence– Developmental transition between desire
childhood and adulthood entailing major physical,
 Commitment - Cognitive element, decision to love
cognitive, and psychosocial changes.
and to stay with the beloved.
 Puberty – Process by which a person attains sexual
maturity and the ability to reproduce
 Adrenarche – Maturation of adrenal glands.
 Gonadarche – Maturation of testes or ovaries.
 Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) – secreted from
the adrenal gland, responsible for growth of pubic
hair, axillary (armpit), and facial hair, as well as
faster growth, oilier skin, and development of body
odor.
 Primary sex characteristics – Organs directly
related to reproduction, which enlarge nad mature
during adolescence.
 Secondary sex characteristics –Physiological signs
of sexual maturation (such as breast development
and growth of body hair) that do not involve in the
sex organs.
 Adolescent growth spurt – Sharp increase in height
and weight that precedes sexual maturity
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o Detached (17%) - emotionally and
geographically aloof
o Intimate but Distant (16%) - spending little
time together but retaining warm feelings
that might lead to renewal.

Prolonged Parenting: the Cluttered Nest

Boomerang Phenomenon – also called as revolving door
syndrome; tendency for young adults who have left home
to return to their parents' household in times of financial,
marital, or other trouble.
Prolonged parenting may lead to intergenerational tension
when it contradicts parents' normative expectations, which
is to be independent.
MIDDLE ADULTHOOD
SENESCENCE / LATE ADULTHOOD
 Young–old (65-84) – Good health, social
engagement, cognitive functioning
 Oldest-old (85- 99) – Increased health problems,
care needs
 Centenarians (100+) – Often in good health until
90s, rapid terminal decline close to death
 Perimenopause – Ovaries stop releasing eggs and
hormone production decreases
 Menopause – 12 months without menstruation
 Possible effects:
– Hot flashes
– Surges of adrenaline
– Disrupted sleep
– Painful intercourse
– Increased osteoporosis risk
 Depression, irritability, and weight gain not Atchley’s Retirement Stages
menopausal 1. Remote pre-retirement phase – Thinking about
retirement
Relationships with Maturing Children 2. Immediate pre-retirement phase – Making concrete
An important task for parents is to accept maturing plans
children as they are, not as what the parents had hoped 3. Actual retirement
they would be. 4. Honeymoon phase – Participate in activities
Children Leave: The Empty Nest 5. Disenchantment phase – Experience emotional let-
A supposedly difficult transition, especially for women, down
that occurs when the youngest leaves home. People 6. Reorientation phase – Adjust to retirement
• Simplify plans
who find empty nest as a difficult situation is
• Regular routing
outnumbered by those who consider it as liberating.
Parenting Grown Children
Some parents have difficulty treating their children as
adults. SUCCESSFUL AGING
Kinkeeping:
Keeping the family connected and promoting solidarity
and continuity in the family  Rowe and Kahn (1997):

TYPES OF GROWN CHILDREN-PARENT RELATIONSHIP
o Tight knit (25%) - They have frequent
contact with mutual help and support.
o Sociable (25%) - Good interaction but less
emotional affinity.
o Obligatory (16%) - much interaction but
little emotional attachment
– Relative avoidance of disease, disability, and risk
factors
– Maintenance of high physical and cognitive
functioning
– Active engagement in social and productive
activities
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 Baltes: Selective optimization with compensation

– Elder makes adjustments to continue living as

independently and actively as possible

– Compensate by choosing other ways to achieve

their goals

• Example: Finding alternative

transportation when can’t drive