Developmental Psychology

Developmental Psychology - The study of you from womb to tomb
- Study how we change physically, socially, cognitively, and mentally over our lifetimes

Nature v. Nuture

Nature - The way you were born

Nurture - The way you were raised

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Prenatal Development - Conception begins with the drop of an egg and the release of about 200 million sperm
-The sperm seeks out the egg and attempts to penetrate the eggs surface

...Once the sperm penetrates the egg, we have a fertilized egg called...the zygote

Zygotes - Less than half of all zygotes survive first two weeks
-About 10 days after conception, the zygote will attach itself to the uterine wall
-The outer part of the zygote becomes the placenta (which filters nutrients)

...After two weeks, the zygote ddevelops into...an embryo

Embryo - Lasts about six weeks
-Heart begins o beat and the organs begin to develop

...By nine weeks, we have...a fetus

Fetus - About the 6th month, the stomach and other organs have formed enough to survive outside the mother
-At this time the baby can hear (and recognize) sounds and respond to light

Teratogens - Chemical agents that can harm the prenatal environment

• Alcohol (FAS)
• STDS
• HIV
• Herpes

Healthy Newborns - Turn head towards voices
-See 8 - 12 inches from their faces
-Gaze longer at human like objects right from birth

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Reflexes - Inborn automatic responses
-Rooting
-Sucking
-Graping

Maturation - Physical growth, regardless of the environment

Puberty - The period of sexual maturation during which a person becomes capable of reproducing

Primary Sexual Characteristics - Body structures that make reproduction possible
- Testes - Ovaries etc.

Secondary Sexual Characteristics - Non-reproductive sexual characteristics
-Widening of the hips
-Deeper voices
-Breast Development
-Body Hair

Landmarks for Puberty

• Menarche for girls (Aunt Flow, Red Niagara Falls)
• Spermarche for boys (Popping a bottle of champagne)

Physical Milestones

• Menopause

Death - Elizabeth Kubler-Ross's Stages of Death/Grief

1. Denial
2. Anger
3. Bargaining
4. Depression
5. Acceptance