Human Development

Major Themes in Development

Stability vs change: Examines which traits persist over time and which are altered by
experiences. Example: long-term studies that track the same people from birth into adulthood.

Nature vs nurture: Considers how genetic factors (heredity, biology) and environmental factors
(family, peers, culture) jointly shape development; twin and adoption studies are highlighted.

Continuous vs discontinuous: Continuous development: Gradual, quantitative change (skills

build steadily). Discontinuous development: Stage-like, qualitative shifts between distinct
phases (e.g., Piaget’s cognitive stages, Erikson’s psychosocial stages).

Prenatal Development

Prenatal development begins at conception when a sperm fertilizes an egg, forming a zygote.
The zygote undergoes rapid cell division for about two weeks as it travels to the uterus and
becomes an embryo. From 2 to 8 weeks, the embryo develops with support from the placenta,
and major organs and the nervous system begin to form. From about 9 weeks until birth, the
organism is called a fetus. By 22–23 weeks, the fetus reaches the age of viability, meaning it can
potentially survive outside the womb.

Influences on Prenatal Development

A developing fetus is fully dependent on the pregnant person, so their environment, health, and
choices can greatly affect fetal development. Teratogens are harmful agents—like chemicals,
illnesses, drugs, or certain medications—that can reach the embryo or fetus and cause damage.

Stress: High stress increases cortisol levels, which can contribute to early delivery.

Diet: Nutritious food supports healthy development; risky foods (like deli meats, soft cheeses,
certain fish, raw meat/eggs) should be avoided to prevent infection or developmental problems.

Medicine: Some medications are unsafe during pregnancy and may cause birth defects; all
medicines should be approved by a healthcare provider.

Illness: Certain infections (e.g., Zika) can harm fetal development and should be avoided when
possible.

Drugs and Alcohol: These can cause serious health complications, withdrawal symptoms after
birth, and developmental defects. Alcohol can lead to Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, which involves
physical abnormalities and cognitive impairments.
Infancy: Reflexes and Motor Skills

Infant reflexes: Involuntary survival responses that appear at birth and fade around 4–6 months;
used by doctors to check nervous system functioning.

Reflex examples:

 Palmar grasp: Baby closes hand around a finger placed in the palm.
 Plantar grasp: Toes curl when a finger is placed under them.
 Babinski: Toes fan out and big toe moves up when the sole of the foot is stroked.
 Rooting: Baby turns toward a touch on the cheek with mouth open to feed.

Order of motor development: Skills (like rolling over, then sitting) usually emerge in the same
sequence, but exact ages vary due to genetic, environmental, and cultural factors.

Gross motor skills: Large movements (crawling, walking) that let the child move through the
environment.

Fine motor skills: Small movements (grasping a spoon, drawing) important for self-care and
play.

Teenage Years

Puberty: Physical changes that make a person able to reproduce.

Adolescence: The stage between childhood and adulthood that includes puberty plus emotional
and cognitive changes.

Primary vs Secondary Sex Characteristics

During adolescence, a surge of hormones—mainly estrogen in girls and testosterone in boys—

starts puberty.

Growth spurts occur: girls usually start earlier and may be taller temporarily, but boys typically
become taller by around age 14.

Primary sex characteristics (reproductive organs like ovaries and testes) grow and mature,
making reproduction possible.

Secondary sex characteristics (non-reproductive features) also develop:

Girls: breast growth, wider hips

Boys: facial hair, deeper voice

Both: pubic and underarm hair

These changes are side effects of puberty, not directly involved in reproduction.
Cognitive Development in Adolescence

During adolescence, selective pruning removes unused neural connections, making the brain
more efficient. The frontal cortex (responsible for planning, reasoning, and judgment) is still
developing until about age 25, which—along with hormones and an active limbic system—
contributes to teen impulsiveness and weaker decision-making. Early teens often show self-
focused thinking, believing their experiences are unique and caring a lot about others’ opinions.
As they mature, their ability for abstract and more advanced reasoning steadily improves.

Habituation

Habituation is a decrease in response after repeated exposure to the same stimulus.

Changes in Middle and Adulthood

Adulthood begins sometime after a person’s mid-twenties. After the mid-twenties, muscular
strength, reaction time, sensory abilities, and cardiac output begin to decline. Around age 50,
women go through menopause, the natural cessation of menstruation, while men experience
decreased hormone levels and reduced fertility.

Social Clock

Adulthood doesn’t follow a strict order, and random events can affect life choices. Most adults
don’t have a midlife crisis (a person feels uncertain, stressed, or unhappy about their life,
accomplishments, or aging.) The social clock is society’s idea of when major events like
marriage, kids, or retirement should happen, but not everyone follows it. According to Erikson,
the main goals of adulthood are intimacy (forming close relationships) and generativity (helping
others and the next generation).

Cognitive Decline

As we age, recall memory declines, especially for meaningless information, but recognition
memory stays strong. Crystallized intelligence (knowledge from experience) increases, while
fluid intelligence (problem-solving) peaks in our 20s and then declines. Terminal decline is the
drop in cognition near the end of life. Neurocognitive disorders (NCDs), like Alzheimer’s disease,
involve serious memory and thinking problems, often caused by brain disease, injury, or
substance abuse. Alzheimer’s is marked by neural plaques and a progressive loss of memory
and reasoning.
Piaget Theory (Cognitive)

Freud’s Psychosexual Stages of Development

Lawrence Kholberg and Moral Reasoning

Erikson’s Stage of Psychosocial Development

Language

What is language?

Language is our spoken, written, or signs words and the ways we combine them to
communicate.

Components of Language

 Phonemes: smallest units of sound

 Morphemes: smallest units of meaning (ex. Anti, pro)
 Syntax: rules for language
Grammar: how words in a language need to be organized
Semantics: how words and their combinations provide meaning

Developing Language

Receptive language is the ability to understand and interpret the language input we receive
from others.
Critical Periods

A critical period is a time during someone’s development in which a particular skill or

characteristic is believed to be most readily quired, and if not quired by a certain time, it may be
impossible to learn.

Linguistic Determinism

Benjamin Lee Whorf’s linguistic determinism is the idea that the language we speak shapes and
limits our thinking, making it harder to think about concepts that our language doesn’t have
words for.

Theories of Language Development

Noam Chomsky - Nativist Theory

● Universal grammar: Believed we are naturally equipped with a “language acquisition

device” that helps us acquire language easily and rapidly but if language acquisition does
not occur by a certain time, it may be impossible

B.F. Skinner - Behaviorist Theory

● Believed we learned language through imitation & reinforcement

Lev Vygotsky - Sociocultural Theory

● Believed we learned language through social interaction