1. Developmental Psychology

2. Basic question: What shapes the way we change over time? Biological? Behavioral? Social? Cognitive?

3. Prenatal Development and the Newborn

4. Fundamental Issues: Is Development Continuous? Development means change - change can be abrupt or gradual Two views of human development: sstage theories: there are distinct phases to intellectual and personality development ccontinuity: development is continuous

5. Fundamental Issues in Developmental Psychology Critical period - Are there periods when an individual is particularly sensitive to certain environmental experiences? EX: Language

6. Developmental Research Methods Cross-sectional - performance of people of different age groups is compared ( Kinsey) Longitudinal - performance of one group of people is assessed repeatedly over time ( attachment) Sequential - combines cross- sectional and longitudinal approaches in a single study

7. Physical and Psychological Development Related Physical development begins at conception Physical maturity sets limits on psychological ability EX:

8. Prenatal Development Conception - when a sperm penetrates the ovum Zygote - a fertilized egg Germinal period - first two weeks after conception Embryonic period - weeks three through eight after conception Fetal period - two months after conception until birth

9. Prenatal Development: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/miracle/pro gram.html# http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/miracle/pro gram.html#

10. Prenatal Influences on Development Teratogen - any agent that causes a birth defect (e.g., drugs, radiation, viruses) Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) EX:

11. Infant Abilities Infants are born with immature visual system  can detect movement and large objects Other senses function well on day 1  Sounds, Smell, Taste.

12. Infant Vision http://www.pbs.org/wnet/brain/episode1/inf antvision/flash.html http://www.pbs.org/wnet/brain/episode1/inf antvision/flash.html

13. Infant Reflexes Rooting - turning the head and opening the mouth in the direction of a touch on the cheek Sucking - sucking rhythmically in response to oral stimulation Babinski - fanning and curling toes when foot is stroked

14. Infancy and Childhood: Physical Development

15. Methods for Studying Infants Infant reflexes provide insight into their mental life- How can we tell?  gaze duration related to visual perception  head turning related to auditory attention  sucking, reaching, kicking can be used to measure interest