AP Psychology: Lifespan Development

AP Psychology: Lifespan Development Study Notes

Developmental Psychology is the branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span. It focuses heavily on three major issues: Nature vs. Nurture, Continuity vs. Stages, and Stability vs. Change.

Prenatal and Newborn Development

Life begins at conception, where a single sperm cell unites with an ovum (egg) to form a Zygote. From this point, development occurs in three distinct phases.

The Three Stages of Prenatal Development

1. Zygote (Conception to 2 weeks): Rapid cell division; less than half survive past two weeks.
2. Embryo (2 weeks to 8 weeks): Organs begin to form and function; the heart begins to beat. This is the most critical period for teratogens.
3. Fetus (9 weeks to birth): Organs develop sufficiently for survival; responsiveness to sound begins.

Key Concept: Teratogens
Agents, such as chemicals, viruses, or drugs, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm.

• Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS): Physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman's heavy drinking. Symptoms include noticeable facial misproportions.

The Competent Newborn

Infants are born with specific reflexes—unlearned, automatic responses to sensory stimuli that aid survival.

Habituation: Decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner.

Cognitive Development (Piaget & Vygotsky)

Jean Piaget’s Stage Theory

Piaget believed that children construct their understanding of the world through Schemas (concepts or frameworks that organize and interpret information). We process new info via:

• Assimilation: Interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas (e.g., calling a cat a "dog" because it has four legs).
• Accommodation: Adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information (e.g., realizing not all four-legged animals are dogs).

The Four Stages of Cognitive Development

1. Sensorimotor Stage (Birth to ~2 years)

   • Experiencing the world through senses and actions.
   • Object Permanence: The awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived. (Developed around 8 months).

2. Preoperational Stage (2 to ~6/7 years)

   • Representing things with words and images; using intuition rather than logic.
   • Egocentrism: The preoperational child’s difficulty taking another's point of view.
   • Animism: Believing inanimate objects have feelings/life.
   • Lack of Conservation.

3. Concrete Operational Stage (7 to 11 years)

   • Thinking logically about concrete events.
   • Conservation: The principle that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects.

4. Formal Operational Stage (12 through adulthood)

   • Abstract reasoning and hypothetical logic.

Lev Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory

Unlike Piaget, who focused on physical interaction, Vygotsky emphasized social interaction.

• Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD): The specific range of tasks a child can perform with help (scaffolding) but cannot yet perform independently.
• Scaffolding: Temporary support given by a teacher/parent to help the learner.

Social and Emotional Development

Attachment Theory

Attachment is an emotional tie with another person.

Harry Harlow’s Monkey Studies:
Harlow separated infant monkeys from mothers and provided two artificial mothers: one made of wire (with food) and one made of cloth (no food). The monkeys overwhelmingly preferred the cloth mother.

• Conclusion: Contact Comfort is more important than feeding in forming attachment.

Konrad Lorenz and Imprinting:
Certain birds form an attachment during a Critical Period very early in life. This rigid attachment process is called Imprinting.

Mary Ainsworth’s "Strange Situation":
Ainsworth observed infants in a strange room when the mother left and returned.

1. Secure Attachment: Distress when mother leaves; seeks contact when she returns (result of responsive parenting).
2. Insecure Avoidant: Little distress when she leaves; ignores her upon return.
3. Insecure Ambivalent/Resistant: Extreme distress when she leaves; upset/angry upon return.

Parenting Styles (Diana Baumrind)

Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages

Erikson believed we pass through 8 stages of social development, each with a crisis to resolve.

1. Trust vs. Mistrust (Infancy): If needs are dependably met, infants develop a sense of basic trust.
2. Autonomy vs. Shame/Doubt (Toddler): Toddlers learn to exercise their will and do things for themselves.
3. Initiative vs. Guilt (Preschool): Learn to initiate tasks and carry out plans.
4. Industry vs. Inferiority (Elementary): Learn the pleasure of applying themselves to tasks.
5. Identity vs. Role Confusion (Adolescence): Teenagers work at refining a sense of self by testing roles.
6. Intimacy vs. Isolation (Young Adulthood): Struggling to form close relationships.
7. Generativity vs. Stagnation (Middle Adulthood): A sense of contributing to the world (family/work).
8. Integrity vs. Despair (Late Adulthood): Reflecting on life, feeling satisfaction or failure.

Moral Development (Kohlberg & Gilligan)

Lawrence Kohlberg’s Levels of Moral Thinking

Kohlberg posed moral dilemmas (e.g., the Heinz Dilemma) to determine how people reason about ethics.

1. Preconventional Morality (Before age 9): Self-interest.
   • "I follow rules to avoid punishment or gain a reward."
2. Conventional Morality (Early adolescence): Upholding laws and social rules.
   • "I follow rules because they are the law and to gain social approval."
3. Postconventional Morality (Adolescence and beyond): Abstract principles.
   • "I follow rules because they affirm agreed-upon rights or basic ethical principles."

Carol Gilligan’s Critique:
Gilligan argued Kohlberg’s study was gender-biased (only tested boys). She suggested men prioritize an "ethics of justice" (rules), while women prioritize an "ethics of care" (relationships).

Adolescence and Adulthood

Adolescence

• Puberty: The period of sexual maturation.
• Brain Development: The Limbic System (emotion) develops faster than the Frontal Lobes (judgment/impulse control), explaining risky teenage behavior.
• Personal Fable: The belief that one is unique and invulnerable (form of adolescent egocentrism).

Adulthood and Aging

• Physical Changes: Women experience Menopause (end of menstrual cycle) around age 50. Telomeres shorten, leading to cellular aging.
• Cognitive Changes:
  • Fluid Intelligence: Ability to reason speedily and abstractly (e.g., solving puzzles). Decreases with age.
  • Crystallized Intelligence: Accumulated knowledge and verbal skills (e.g., vocabulary). Increases or stays stable with age.

Common Mistakes & Mnemonics

Mnemonics

• Piaget’s Stages: Some People Can Fly
  • Sensorimotor, Preoperational, Concrete, Formal.
• Kohlberg’s Levels: PCP
  • Preconventional, Conventional, Postconventional.
• Parenting Styles: AuthoritaTive vs. AuthoritaRian
  • AuthoritaTive = Teacher (Good, explains things).
  • AuthoritaRian = Rigid (Bad, strict, no explanation).

Common Student Pitfalls

1. Assimilation vs. Accommodation: Students often swap these. Remember: Assimilation has two s's—Same Schema (fitting new into old). Accommodation has two c's—Change/Create (changing the schema).
2. Imprinting vs. Attachment: Humans do NOT imprint. Imprinting is immediate and rigid (ducks/geese). Humans form attachment gradually.
3. Fluid vs. Crystallized Intelligence: Students forget which one declines. Think: Fluid dries up (declines); Crystals grow stronger over time (increases/stable).
4. Sex vs. Gender: In AP Psychology, "Sex" refers to biological traits; "Gender" refers to the social characteristics and roles. Do not use them interchangeably.