Page 101 - Understanding Psychology

Summary and Vocabulary
Developmental psychology is the study of the changes that occur as people grow up and grow older. It covers the entire life cycle, from conception to death.
Physical, Perceptual, and Language Development
Chapter Vocabulary
developmental psychology (p. 61)
grasping reflex (p. 62)
rooting reflex (p. 62)
maturation (p. 64)
telegraphic speech (p. 67)
schema (p. 71)
assimilation (p. 71)
accommodation (p. 71)
object permanence (p. 72)
representational thought (p. 72)
conservation (p. 73)
egocentric (p. 73)
imprinting (p. 75)
critical period (p. 75)
authoritarian family (p. 79)
democratic/authoritative family (p. 79)
permissive/laissez-faire family (p. 79)
socialization (p. 81) identification (p. 82) sublimation (p. 82) role taking (p. 84)
Main Idea: Infants are born equipped to experi- ence the world. As infants grow physically, they also develop per- ceptions and language.
s Some psychologists believe that most behaviors are the result of genetics—nature. Others believe that most behaviors are the result of experience and learning—nurture.
s The newborn is capable of certain inherited, auto- matic, coordinated movement patterns, called reflexes, which are triggered by the right stimulus.
s Infants experience rapid development through maturation and learning.
s Depth perception increases in older infants. s There are several steps involved in learning
language.
Main Idea: As the thought processes of children develop, they begin to think, commu- nicate and relate with others, and solve problems.
s Children’s knowledge of the world changes through the processes of assimilation and accommodation.
s Piaget described the changes that occur in chil- dren’s understanding in four stages of cognitive development.
s Infants begin to develop emotionally by attaching to specific people, usually their mothers.
Main Idea: Children face various social decisions as they grow and progress through the stages of life.
s There are four basic parenting styles—authorita- rian, democratic or authoritative, permissive or laissez-faire, and uninvolved.
s Socialization is the process of learning the rules of behavior of one’s culture.
s Freud’s theory of psychosexual development suggests that all children are born with powerful sexual and aggressive urges, and in learning to control these impulses, children acquire a sense of right and wrong.
s Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development sug- gests that the need for social approval is important. s The cognitive-developmental theories of develop-
ment suggest that social development is the result of the child trying to make sense out of his experiences.
s Kohlberg suggested that humans progress through six stages of moral reasoning.
Cognitive and Emotional Development
Parenting Styles and Social Development
Chapter 3 / Infancy and Childhood 87