Human Development Across the Life Span

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Human Development Across the Life Span

• Dr. Shana Pack
• Western Kentucky University

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Lecture Outline

• Some issues in the study of human development
• Prenatal development
• Childhood
• Adolescence
• Adulthood

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Some issues in the study of human development

• Nature versus nurture
• the use of twin studies
• Continuity versus discontinuity
• Research designs specific to the study of
  development
• longitudinal
• cross-sectional

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Prenatal Development

• Genetics (nature)
• Prenatal environment (nurture)
• teratogens
• nicotine
• alcohol
• other drugs
• stress
• nutrition

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ChildhoodPhysical Development

• Cephalocaudal development
• Proximodistal development
• Landmarks in motor development (p.439)
• Norms

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ChildhoodPsychological Development

• Temperament
• mood
• activity
• emotionality
• Thomas Chess studies
• easy
• slow-to-warm-up
• difficult
• Kagans shyness studies

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ChildhoodEmotional Development

• Attachment
• secure
• insecure

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Childhood Social Development

• Eriksons theory of psychosocial development
• Trust versus mistrust
• Autonomy versus shame doubt
• Initiative versus guilt
• Industry versus inferiority

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ChildhoodCognitive Development

• Piagets theory of cognitive development
• Sensorimotor period
• Baby knows world through senses and direct
  interaction
• Preoperational period
• Use of symbolic thought is limited
• Concrete operational period
• Can only solve problems based on prior experiences

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Memories

• In a short paragraph, describe 3 separate events
  one relating an event from your childhood, one
  relating an event from your adolescence, and one
  from your adult life. If you are younger than 20
  years, or so, for your adult memory, write a
  paragraph about something you wish to happen
  sometime during your adulthood.

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AdolescencePhysical Development

• Puberty
• Growth spurt
• Secondary sex characteristics
• Sexual maturity

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AdolescenceSocial Development

• Storm stress?
• The search for an identity
• Eriksons theory of psychosocial development
• identity versus role confusion
• psychosocial moratorium
• Marcias theory of identity formation

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AdolescenceCognitive development

• Piagets theory of cognitive development
• Formal operational period
• Can think hypothetically and abstractly use of
  logic

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AdulthoodPhysical Development

• Vision
• Hearing
• Menopause
• Changes in appearance
• Loss of bone mass

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AdulthoodPsychological Development

• Stability of personality?
• Midlife crisis/midlife review

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AdulthoodSocial development

• Eriksons theory of psychosocial development
• Intimacy versus isolation
• Generativity versus self-absorption
• Integrity versus despair

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AdulthoodSocial development, continued

• Changes in family life
• Marriage
• Parenting
• Empty nest

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AdulthoodCognitive development

• Stability of intelligence
• Dementia and Alzheimers disease
• Fluid and crystallized intelligence