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Developmental Psychology

Discover developmental psychology, the study of how individuals evolve from infancy through adulthood, exploring nature vs. nurture, stages vs. continuity, motor development, reflexes, and perceptual development. Learn about critical periods, reflex actions, and infant sensory perceptions.

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Developmental Psychology

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  1. Developmental Psychology

  2. Developmental Psychology • Field in which psychologists study how people grow and change throughout the life span • Study infancy and childhood to see how early childhood experiences affect people as adolescents and adults

  3. Nature vs. Nurture • Maturation: automatic and sequential process of development that results from genetic signals • Critical Period: a stage or point in development during which a person or animal is best suited to learn a particular skill or behavior pattern • John Locke: infant is like a tabula rasa (blank slate)

  4. Stages vs. Continuity • Stages: sitting, crawling, standing, walking • Continuity: weight and height

  5. Motor Development • First infants roll over. Next they sit unsupported, crawl and finally walk • Experience has little effect on this sequence

  6. Reflexes • Grasping: when an object is placed in an infant’s palm, the fingers will close and they will grasp it with unusual strength

  7. Reflexes • Moro: when an infant is startled with a loud noise or feels that he/she is falling, the infant will extend the arms, legs and fingers and arch the back

  8. Reflexes • Rooting: rubbing or scratching around the mouth causes the infant to turn his/her head towards the stimulus

  9. Reflexes • Babinski: The big toe moves towards the top surface of the foot and the other toes fan out after the sole of the foot has been touched

  10. Perceptual Development • Robert Franz: 2 month old infants prefer pictures of human faces to any other pictures • 5-10 weeks old: look longest at patterns that are fairly complex • Infants respond more to high-pitched sounds • Infants distinguish strong odors • Infants like sweet-tasting liquids

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