Table of Contents
What is developmental psychology? :Definition...............................................1
What are some of the things children need to learn?.......................................1
What is studied in the area of developmental psychology and
developmental psychologists study?......................................................................2
What makes developmental psychologists so interested in childhood?......2
Explain what is meant by nature vs nurture.......................................................2
Describe the difference between critical and sensitive periods.....................3
Explain what is meant by continuous versus stage development..................3
Hypothesis testing................................................................................................4
Describe the difference between cross-sectional, longitudinal and cross
sequential research studies......................................................................................4
What can Newborn Babies Do.............................................................................6
Which senses are well-developed in babies? Give at least 2 examples.........6
Which sense is not well developed? How fast does it develop and when
does it reach the level of an adult?...........................................................................6
Describe the visual cliff and why it is used in developmental psychology
research. What has it taught us?..............................................................................7
What are schemas?...............................................................................................8
Explain some of the critiques of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development.
....................................................................................................................................11
What is Vgotsky’s zone of proximal development and how does if differ
from Piaget’s theory?...............................................................................................11
What is theory of mind and why is it important?............................................15
Give an example of how infant perception is used to form relationships with
primary caregivers....................................................................................................16
Describe mutual regulation in relation to parent-infant communication.....16
Define temperament and explain the concept of inhibition and its
importance.................................................................................................................16
Name and describe the 4 key stages of Erikson’s psychosocial theory of
development relevant to first year psychology.....................................................17
What is developmental psychology? :Definition
• Developmental Psychology studies the way in which humans develop and
change over time
What are some of the things children need to learn?
, Lean to communicate
Learn to walk
Learn to engage in higher order reasoning
o Eg: delayed gratification
o It is predictor of a range of positive outcome in adulthood
Delayed gratification
Learn empathy
learn to develop peer relationships
Learn pro-social behaviours
Learn how to behave in a variety of different contexts
o Their behaviour cannot be same across different contexts
conceptual,
Learn to be adaptable
What is studied in the area of developmental psychology and developmental
psychologists study?
Find out how and why organisms/humans change over time.
Study time periods during which abilities and functions first appear.
o when particular abilities first appear
Observe how those abilities are modified as we grow older.
Central notion that vital aspects of human nature change throughout the
entire life cycle.（核心概念是，人性的重要方面在整个生命周期中都会发变化。）
developmental psychologists interested in a wide range of areas including
cognitive development, language development, social behaviour and
developmental psychology as a life cycle
What makes developmental psychologists so interested in childhood?
• Developmental psychologist actually consider the development across
lifespan
• Childhood is a period of rapid development.
• What happens in childhood affects adult life.
o Ability to design and provide interventions where necessary
o If we understand the predictive or positive outcome in the adulthood
come from childhood we can design and providing interventions where
necessary to improve wellbeing and mental health to adult and
adolesences
• Insight into complex adult behaviours
• Inherently interesting
• This focus is now extended to a life-span development approach
o Consistency and change
o Gains and losses
Explain what is meant by nature vs nurture.
NATURE: Gentically programmed maturation
NURTURE: Learning and experience from the environment and other
influences
, Most debate: particular abilities or characteristics appear and develop due
to our genes (nature) or due to learning and experience (nurture).
Most psychologists believe that development reflects an interaction
between genes and the environment
So the question becomes how these two interact, rather than which is the
most important
Describe the difference between critical and sensitive periods.
Critical periods: periods of sensitivity into specific types of learning
o with the idea being that if you are not exposed to a stimuli during a
specific time frame, then you may never develop the skill or ability
o critical periods are critical or compulsory for the development of certain
abilities and skill
sensitive periods:
o periods which are particularly important but a skill can still be learnt after
this period has passed.
o Although the learning will be less efficient.
Language especially sensitive to timing and quality of early experiences
Experiences of abuse of neglect in very early childhood also leads to a
range of negative outcomes, BUT children do respond differently
o many children will eventually learn to talk.
o Although may never catch up to their peers
Leads to concept of sensitive periods – times that are more important to
subsequent development that others
o psychologists today tend to think of sensitive periods rather than critical
periods.
Explain what is meant by continuous versus stage development.
o Development occurring in stages
o Discrete steps through which everyone progress in the same order
o Steps differ from each other
o need to be mastered before continuing to the next step with everyone
progressing in the same order these steps differ from one another in very
clear ways.
o Continuous change
o Change occurs gradually and steadily
o What may look like a sudden change has actually been slowly
developing over time
o which occurs gradually sometimes change may look sudden, but in fact it is
the result of small and steady changes over time as with nature versus
nurture debates.
o Development involves both
o More stage-like in childhood
o We often think that development requires both types of change with some
skills or stage like and others more continuous often changing childhood
occurs in stages and becomes more continuous as we get older
What is developmental psychology? :Definition...............................................1
What are some of the things children need to learn?.......................................1
What is studied in the area of developmental psychology and
developmental psychologists study?......................................................................2
What makes developmental psychologists so interested in childhood?......2
Explain what is meant by nature vs nurture.......................................................2
Describe the difference between critical and sensitive periods.....................3
Explain what is meant by continuous versus stage development..................3
Hypothesis testing................................................................................................4
Describe the difference between cross-sectional, longitudinal and cross
sequential research studies......................................................................................4
What can Newborn Babies Do.............................................................................6
Which senses are well-developed in babies? Give at least 2 examples.........6
Which sense is not well developed? How fast does it develop and when
does it reach the level of an adult?...........................................................................6
Describe the visual cliff and why it is used in developmental psychology
research. What has it taught us?..............................................................................7
What are schemas?...............................................................................................8
Explain some of the critiques of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development.
....................................................................................................................................11
What is Vgotsky’s zone of proximal development and how does if differ
from Piaget’s theory?...............................................................................................11
What is theory of mind and why is it important?............................................15
Give an example of how infant perception is used to form relationships with
primary caregivers....................................................................................................16
Describe mutual regulation in relation to parent-infant communication.....16
Define temperament and explain the concept of inhibition and its
importance.................................................................................................................16
Name and describe the 4 key stages of Erikson’s psychosocial theory of
development relevant to first year psychology.....................................................17
What is developmental psychology? :Definition
• Developmental Psychology studies the way in which humans develop and
change over time
What are some of the things children need to learn?
, Lean to communicate
Learn to walk
Learn to engage in higher order reasoning
o Eg: delayed gratification
o It is predictor of a range of positive outcome in adulthood
Delayed gratification
Learn empathy
learn to develop peer relationships
Learn pro-social behaviours
Learn how to behave in a variety of different contexts
o Their behaviour cannot be same across different contexts
conceptual,
Learn to be adaptable
What is studied in the area of developmental psychology and developmental
psychologists study?
Find out how and why organisms/humans change over time.
Study time periods during which abilities and functions first appear.
o when particular abilities first appear
Observe how those abilities are modified as we grow older.
Central notion that vital aspects of human nature change throughout the
entire life cycle.（核心概念是，人性的重要方面在整个生命周期中都会发变化。）
developmental psychologists interested in a wide range of areas including
cognitive development, language development, social behaviour and
developmental psychology as a life cycle
What makes developmental psychologists so interested in childhood?
• Developmental psychologist actually consider the development across
lifespan
• Childhood is a period of rapid development.
• What happens in childhood affects adult life.
o Ability to design and provide interventions where necessary
o If we understand the predictive or positive outcome in the adulthood
come from childhood we can design and providing interventions where
necessary to improve wellbeing and mental health to adult and
adolesences
• Insight into complex adult behaviours
• Inherently interesting
• This focus is now extended to a life-span development approach
o Consistency and change
o Gains and losses
Explain what is meant by nature vs nurture.
NATURE: Gentically programmed maturation
NURTURE: Learning and experience from the environment and other
influences
, Most debate: particular abilities or characteristics appear and develop due
to our genes (nature) or due to learning and experience (nurture).
Most psychologists believe that development reflects an interaction
between genes and the environment
So the question becomes how these two interact, rather than which is the
most important
Describe the difference between critical and sensitive periods.
Critical periods: periods of sensitivity into specific types of learning
o with the idea being that if you are not exposed to a stimuli during a
specific time frame, then you may never develop the skill or ability
o critical periods are critical or compulsory for the development of certain
abilities and skill
sensitive periods:
o periods which are particularly important but a skill can still be learnt after
this period has passed.
o Although the learning will be less efficient.
Language especially sensitive to timing and quality of early experiences
Experiences of abuse of neglect in very early childhood also leads to a
range of negative outcomes, BUT children do respond differently
o many children will eventually learn to talk.
o Although may never catch up to their peers
Leads to concept of sensitive periods – times that are more important to
subsequent development that others
o psychologists today tend to think of sensitive periods rather than critical
periods.
Explain what is meant by continuous versus stage development.
o Development occurring in stages
o Discrete steps through which everyone progress in the same order
o Steps differ from each other
o need to be mastered before continuing to the next step with everyone
progressing in the same order these steps differ from one another in very
clear ways.
o Continuous change
o Change occurs gradually and steadily
o What may look like a sudden change has actually been slowly
developing over time
o which occurs gradually sometimes change may look sudden, but in fact it is
the result of small and steady changes over time as with nature versus
nurture debates.
o Development involves both
o More stage-like in childhood
o We often think that development requires both types of change with some
skills or stage like and others more continuous often changing childhood
occurs in stages and becomes more continuous as we get older
