Understand key questions/themes that are of interest to development psychologists - created from Mind Map

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development psychology is the discipline that seeks to identify and explain the changes that individuals undergo from the moment of conception until they die

what are the sources of development changes?

nature vs nurture

nature: development primarily driven by genetic processes

nurture: development is influenced by the social environment that the child experiences

development proceeds as an INTERACTION of biological and environmental factors

it is clear that genetic contribute to behavioural development, but to what extent and thus what is the extent of the contribution of the environment

can the course of development change, and to what extent?

early experience vs later experience

to what DEGREE and under what CONDITIONS does experience influence development

critical periods: period of time during development when certain experiences are crucial for a particular feature to develop

sensitive period: period of time during which experience is optimal for the development of a particular function, but is not crucial

what is the nature of developmental change?

continuous vs discontinuous

continuous = gradual change

discontinuous = different stages which are clearly defined

development is lifelong

development is multi-dimensional

development is flexible

can be affected by predictable and unpredictable elements

is useful for knowing when a child should achieve a milestone

stages are ages

at the beginning of the stage the child doesn't have the ability fully developed but throughout will achieve this

paths to development are influenced by?

universal vs cultural

universal = will happen to all children

cultural = the environment in which the development takes place will influence the development

Understand key questions/themes that are of interest to dev…