Psy_280_Developmental_Matrix

Developmental Stages Matrix PSY/280 December 8, 2010 Professor Jeff Dunlap, Ph.D. Developmental Stages Matrix Developmental Stage | Physical changes | Cognitively changes | Socioemotionaly changes | Infancy | The Infant's Development: Studies showed that a newborn infant quickly learn to discriminate things albeit subconsciously. It is for this reason that an infant recognizes the mother's smell and voice. In most cases, an infant cries when cuddled by a stranger showing capability to discriminate sense of touch and warmth. | Piaget's first of four cognitive stages of development is the sensorimotor stage, which claims that infants deal with the world directly through their perceptions/senses and their actions/motor abilities. At this point, they are unable to use any sort of symbols, such as gestures or representative images, to help them mentally devise solutions to problems. Infants learn a great deal about the world and acquire tools for solving problems directly through their sensory and motor experiences. | Infants become attached to their parents largely because they are comfortable, familiar, and responsive. Denied such care, children may become withdrawn, anxious, and eventually abusive. Children with the highest self-esteem, self-reliance, and social competence usually have warm, concerned, authoritative parents. | Early Childhood | Basic skills are mastered. (Walk, talk, and feed ourselves) The beginning of potty training. Opportunity to build autonomy and self-esteem as we gain more control over our bodies and learn new skills, and the difference of right from wrong. Terrible two’s, ability of saying which might be a pain for parents, but it develops important skills of the will. | The child's cognitive development is based on Piaget's preoperational stage, which is when children (ages 2-7) acclaim the capacity for symbolic thought but are not yet capable of logical problem solving. Children at about four or five years old can use words as symbols to talk about a problem and can mentally imagine doing something before actually doing it. However, at this stage, children continue to lack the tools of logical thought, and must rely on their perceptions, which causes them to be easily fooled by appearances. | During this stage children can be very vulnerable. If we're shamed in the process of toilet training or in learning other important skills, we may feel great shame and doubt of our capabilities and suffer low self-esteem as a result.The most significant relationships are with parents. | Middle and Late Childhood | In middle childhood, the child is not yet a teenager. During this stage, there will be changes in the child’s social, emotional and cognitive development, while some of the biggest changes occur physically. Late childhood begins your transition into adulthood. Late childhood is also called puberty. During puberty, you go through several physical and emotional changes. Puberty starts when your brain releases chemical messengers called hormones. These hormones trigger your body to develop into the body of an adult. | The cognitive changes children undergo during the middle childhood era are often more pronounced and noticeable than their physical changes. Children's ability to consciously, thoughtfully and pro-actively choose to pursue goals appears during this developmental period. Children's thinking style gradually becomes more logical, organized, and flexible as they enter Piaget's "Concrete Operational" thinking stage.During late childhood the attention span gradually increases.Children are enthusiastic and often impatient. Children have very limited reasoning ability. | Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory labeled the middle childhood period of life the latency stage, a time when sexual and aggressive urges are repressed. Freud suggested that no significant contributions to personality development were made during this period. Late childhood, children are on a different plane, belonging to a generation and feeling all their own. Children develop a sense of wanting to make things. Their thirst is to know and to understand. They are remarkable for their intelligence and for their curiosity. | Adolescence | Adolescence can be a rough time for a child. In addition to the rapid physical changes he or she experiences, the child also has to deal with the hormonal changes in his or her body causing puberty to occur. Parents should keep a close eye on their teen's physical development while also remembering to be sensitive to his insecurities about his physical appearance during this time. | In early adolescence, children are able to think about ideas and about things that they can't see or touch. They are better able to think through problems and see the consequences of different points of view or actions. For the first time, they can think about what might be, instead of what is. The cognitive changes allow young teens to learn more advanced and complicated material in school. They become eager to gain and apply knowledge and to consider a range of ideas or options. | During adolescence, Erikson’s says individuals experience a crisis of identity versus identity confusion in which they are faced with deciding who they are, what their values are, and where they are going in life. | Early Adulthood | Early adulthood is the peak of good physical health, strength and reflexes.Fewer diseases along with a well developed immune system and fully grown brain are also health milestones. Blood pressure is usually normal and the body can naturally adjust to any disruptions or non-severe illnesses. Nutrition and exercise are at its peak along with powerful sex drive, to which the norm are more frequent orgasms and infertility is rare. | Cognitively, new ideas are easily developed. Experiences aids in connecting emotional and logical. Being self protective at this age is also a cognitive milestone, as been high in self-involvement can help avoid self doubt and overwhelmed emotional problems. Reaching such a complex stage, keeping a balance and keeping an open mind can help solve problems and work well with others. | Stereotype threats may occur due to their race, sex, age or some other innate characteristic. Young adults focus mostly on their family, and are also interested in a higher education. May reach self acceptance and seek romance, marriage, and create a family of his/her own. While developing a better connection with others, choosing better company such as friends and family becomes part of this stage. | Middle Adulthood | The quality of eye sight and hearing decreases. Height begins to decline a 1/2 in. every 10 yrs. Gray hairs appear, skin begins to wrinkle and loose elasticity, teeth start becoming yellowish. Gaining of weight due to the decreasing of metabolism also occurs, which causes body fat increase.Bone loss, muscle strength lessens, blood pressure and cholesterol increases. REM sleep decrease and more chronic disorders may develop. Body produces less estrogen (for women) and testosterone (for men) which decreases fertility. | Ability to reason declines and so does memory and reflexes and reactions.Most adults are becoming a better expert, greater job commitment and have a better work satisfaction. Retirement preparation and examining the meaning of life begins. Funds usually increase for vacations and interest and religion becomes important. | Mid-life crisis takes a toll on social concerning. Focus on leaving a legacy and developing a positive identity may take place. Feeling like one has not done enough for the next generation provides motivation to offer guidance to younger people. Pays more attention to the social clock and desires more family suppor.t Child-care responsibilities lessen along with less conflict with parents and family. More decision-making and power. Affection and compassion increases which result in more successful marriages. | Late Adulthood | Late adulthood is the final stage of physical change. The skin continues to lose elasticity as it did in middle adulthood and the result is deeper lines and wrinkles. Age spots, or brown spots on the skin, often form. Eyesight deteriorates, which causes many seniors to need glasses. Reaction time also slows. | When it comes to cognitive in late adulthood, growth slows down. Just like the legs, heart even the brain becomes less efficiently as you get older. There are a lot of changes in information processing. The Brain slows down. Senescence reduces production of neurotransmitters that allow a nerve to impulse to jump quickly across the synapse from one neuron to another. Neural fluid decreases which myelination thins and cerebral blood circulates more slowly. Your brain starts to shrink, the hypothalamus (good for memory) and the prefrontal cortex. (Coordinating thoughts, planning). Control process in memory and retrieval, selective attention, and rules to or strategies for problem solving. It usually depends on the pre-frontal cortex, which shrinks with age. Cognitive Output is the final step it measure the five primary mental abilities, verbal meaning, spatial orientation, inductive reasoning, number ability, and word fluency all beginning at the age of 60. | Erikson’s Theory: Integrity vs. Despair is the final stage of life. This involves coming to terms with one’s life. If there is a sense of integrity, people feel whole, complete, and satisfied with their life choices and achievements.Disengagement Theory- the idea that social interaction declines because of mutual withdrawal between elders and society in anticipation of death. Activity theory is the theory that there are social barriers to engagement, not just the desires of elders to disengage. Offering older adults opportunities for social contact does not guarantee greater sociability.Socioemotional Selectivity Theory states that social networks become more selective as we age. People limit their contacts to familiar partners with whom they have the most rewarding relationships. | References Berger, K. S. (2010). Invitation to the Life Span. New York: Worth Publishers.