UNIT 1 EXAM PSYCH 103 HONORS STUDY GUIDE
Chapter 1 – Introduction to Lifespan Development
Definition & Goals
Lifespan development is the scientific study of how people grow, change, and stay the same
from conception to death (“womb to tomb”). Goals: describe, explain, predict, and help optimize
development.
Key Issues
Nature vs. Nurture – genes/biology vs. environment/experience (modern view: interaction of
both).
Continuity vs. Discontinuity – gradual quantitative change (height) vs. qualitative stage-like
shifts (Piaget).
Stability vs. Change – enduring traits vs. capacity for modification across life.
Domains of Development
Physical – body, brain, motor skills, health.
Cognitive – thinking, memory, language, problem solving.
Psychosocial – emotions, personality, relationships.
Periods of Development
Prenatal → Infancy/Toddlerhood → Early Childhood → Middle Childhood → Adolescence →
Early Adulthood → Middle Adulthood → Late Adulthood.
Major Theories
Freud – psychosexual stages (oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital). Early conflicts can shape
personality.
Erikson – psychosocial crises across eight stages (trust vs. mistrust … integrity vs. despair);
emphasizes social/cultural factors and lifespan approach.
Piaget – cognitive stages: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, formal operational.
Vygotsky – sociocultural theory; learning occurs in a Zone of Proximal Development with
scaffolding.
Bronfenbrenner – ecological systems: micro-, meso-, exo-, macro-, chronosystem.
Research Methods
Experiments (cause/effect), Surveys, Naturalistic Observation (real-world behavior), Case
Studies (in-depth).
Cross-sectional vs. longitudinal designs; beware cohort effects.
Normative/Non-normative Influences
Age-graded (puberty), History-graded (pandemic), Non-normative (winning lottery).
Chapter 2 – Pregnancy & Prenatal Development
Stages of Prenatal Development
Germinal (0–2 wks): zygote, rapid cell division, implantation.
Embryonic (3–8 wks): organogenesis, neural tube, heartbeat.
Fetal (9 wks–birth): growth, maturation; brain development; viability ~22–24 wks.
Viability & Critical Periods
Viability: ability to survive outside womb (~22–24 wks).
Critical periods: windows when organs/body systems are most vulnerable to harm.
Teratogens
Agents causing harm (alcohol → FASD, thalidomide → limb defects, smoking → low birth
weight). Severity depends on dose, timing, genetic susceptibility.
Maternal Health & Prenatal Care
Adequate nutrition (folic acid to prevent neural tube defects), stress reduction, avoidance of
toxins essential for healthy outcomes.
Epigenetics
Environmental factors can turn genes on/off without altering DNA (e.g., maternal stress
influencing gene expression).
Prenatal Screening/Diagnostics
Ultrasound, maternal serum screen, noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT), chorionic villus
sampling (10–13 wks), amniocentesis (15–20 wks).
Chapter 3 – Physical & Cognitive Development in
Infancy/Toddlerhood
Physical Growth
Cephalocaudal: head-to-tail (head control before sitting).
Proximodistal: center-out (shoulder before finger control).
Brain Development
Synaptogenesis (rapid connections), Synaptic pruning (eliminates unused synapses), Myelination
(faster neural transmission).
Motor Skills
Newborn reflexes: rooting, sucking, Moro, grasp, Babinski.
Gross motor (rolling, crawling, walking) vs. fine motor (pincer grasp).
Cognitive (Piaget Sensorimotor Stage)
Infants learn via senses/motor actions; object permanence (~8–12 mo); A-not-B error; deferred
imitation shows memory and representation.
Language Development
Cooing → babbling → holophrases (~12 mo) → telegraphic speech (18–24 mo).
Receptive language develops before expressive.
Fast mapping allows quick word learning.
Influences
Adequate nutrition and responsive, stimulating caregiving foster healthy brain and cognitive
growth.
Chapter 4 – Social & Emotional Development in
Infancy/Toddlerhood
Erikson’s Stage
Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt (1–3 yrs): toddlers seek independence; supportive caregivers
promote autonomy.
Temperament
Easy, difficult, slow-to-warm-up. Goodness-of-fit = parenting matches child’s temperament.
Attachment Theory (Bowlby & Ainsworth)
Secure, Insecure-Avoidant, Insecure-Resistant, Disorganized.
Strange Situation assesses attachment by observing reactions to separations/reunions.
Self-Awareness & Identity
Mirror (rouge) test ~15–24 mo signals self-recognition; toddlers begin describing self.
Emotions
Primary (joy, anger, fear) from birth; Self-conscious (pride, guilt, embarrassment) after self-
recognition.
Emotion regulation develops with caregiver support.
Social referencing: checking caregiver’s cues in ambiguous situations.
Caregiving
Sensitive, consistent responsiveness is key for secure attachment and healthy emotional
development.
CHAPTER 1 – Introduction to Lifespan Development
1. What is the definition and scope of lifespan development?
Lifespan development is the scientific study of how people grow, change, and remain the same
from conception to death (“womb to tomb”).
It examines physical, cognitive, and psychosocial change across the entire life course, including
both normative patterns and individual differences.
2. How do major developmental issues like nature vs. nurture and continuity vs.
discontinuity frame our understanding of human growth?
Nature vs. nurture: development results from interaction between genetic/biological factors and
environment/experience.
Continuity vs. discontinuity: some changes are gradual and quantitative (continuity), while others
occur in distinct, qualitative stages (discontinuity).
These issues guide research questions and methods.
3. Describe the physical, cognitive, and psychosocial domains of development.
Physical: growth of body/brain, health, motor skills.
Cognitive: learning, memory, problem solving, language.
Psychosocial: emotions, personality, relationships, social context.
4. What are the major developmental periods across the lifespan?
Prenatal → Infancy/Toddlerhood → Early Childhood → Middle Childhood → Adolescence →
Early Adulthood → Middle Adulthood → Late Adulthood.
5. Summarize Freud’s psychosexual stages and their importance to personality
development.
Oral (0–1), Anal (1–3), Phallic (3–6), Latency (6–puberty), Genital (puberty+).
Each stage focuses on different pleasure centers; unresolved conflicts can cause later fixation.
Emphasized unconscious processes and early experience.
6. Explain Erikson’s psychosocial stages and how they differ from Freud’s theory.
Eight crises from infancy to late adulthood (e.g., Trust vs. Mistrust, Autonomy vs. Shame,
Identity vs. Role Confusion, Integrity vs. Despair).
Emphasizes social/cultural influences and continues across the entire lifespan, unlike Freud’s
early-childhood emphasis.
7. What are Piaget’s stages of cognitive development, and why are they important?
Sensorimotor (0–2), Preoperational (2–7), Concrete Operational (7–11), Formal Operational
(11+).
Show qualitative changes in thinking and how children actively construct knowledge.
8. How does Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory differ from Piaget’s cognitive theory?
Vygotsky stresses learning through social interaction and cultural tools, highlighting the Zone of
Proximal Development and scaffolding; Piaget focused on individual discovery and universal
stages.
9. What is Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, and how does it explain
environmental influences?
Development occurs within nested contexts: Microsystem (family, school), Mesosystem
(connections between microsystems), Exosystem (indirect influences), Macrosystem (culture,
laws), and Chronosystem (time/history).
10. Compare and contrast different research methods in developmental psychology:
experiments, surveys, naturalistic observation, and case studies.
Experiments allow causal inference; surveys collect large self-report data but risk bias;
naturalistic observation captures real-world behavior but lacks control; case studies give rich
detail but limited generalizability.
11. What are normative age-graded, history-graded, and non-normative life events?
Provide examples.
Normative age-graded: typical events tied to age (puberty, starting school).
History-graded: events affecting a generation (pandemic, war).
Non-normative: unique individual experiences (winning lottery, early parental death).
12. What are the strengths and limitations of cross-sectional and longitudinal study
designs?
Cross-sectional: quick, inexpensive, compares ages at one time; limitation—cohort effects.
Longitudinal: tracks same people over time; shows individual change; limitation—expensive,
time-consuming, attrition.
13. How does the cohort effect influence interpretation of developmental research findings?
People born in the same period share historical experiences that can affect results, so age
differences might reflect cohort membership rather than true developmental change.
CHAPTER 2 – Pregnancy and Prenatal Development
1. What are the three stages of prenatal development, and what key processes characterize
each stage?
Germinal (0–2 wks): fertilization, zygote formation, implantation.
Embryonic (3–8 wks): organogenesis, neural tube forms, heartbeat begins.
Fetal (9 wks–birth): rapid growth, brain maturation, organs refine.
2. How does the timing of teratogen exposure affect the severity and type of fetal
abnormalities?
Exposure during critical periods (especially embryonic stage) can cause major structural defects;
later exposure more often affects growth or function.
3. Define viability and explain its significance for prenatal and neonatal care.
Viability is the ability of the fetus to survive outside the womb, typically about 22–24 weeks; it
guides medical decisions and neonatal care planning.
4. What role does maternal nutrition and health play in shaping prenatal development
outcomes?
Adequate nutrients (e.g., folic acid) reduce birth defects; poor nutrition, illness, or stress
increases risk of low birth weight and complications.
5. How do epigenetic mechanisms influence the interaction between genes and the prenatal
environment?
Environmental factors (stress, diet) can switch genes on/off (DNA methylation), altering
development without changing DNA sequence.
6. Why are critical periods important to understanding prenatal vulnerability?
They mark windows when specific organs/systems form; teratogens during these times can cause
irreversible damage.
7. What prenatal screening and diagnostic techniques are commonly used, and what are
their purposes?
Ultrasound (growth/structure), maternal serum screening, NIPT, chorionic villus sampling
(genetic analysis 10–13 wks), amniocentesis (genetic/structural analysis 15–20 wks).
8. How can maternal behaviors such as smoking or stress impact fetal growth and later
child development?
Smoking → low birth weight, respiratory issues; chronic stress → preterm birth, altered stress
reactivity.
9. Compare and contrast the germinal, embryonic, and fetal periods in terms of growth,
risk factors, and developmental milestones.
Germinal: implantation risk; Embryonic: organogenesis, highest structural risk; Fetal: growth
and refinement, risk of functional problems.
10. Discuss why longitudinal research designs are particularly valuable for studying
prenatal influences on development.
They follow individuals from prenatal life onward, revealing long-term effects of prenatal
conditions and separating prenatal from later influences.
CHAPTER 3 – Physical and Cognitive Development in
Infancy and Toddlerhood
1. Describe the cephalocaudal and proximodistal patterns of physical growth and provide
examples of each.
Cephalocaudal: head-to-tail (head control before walking).
Proximodistal: center-to-out (shoulder control before fingers).
2. What is synaptic pruning, and why is it important in early brain development?
Elimination of unused neural connections to increase efficiency and specialization.
3. How do nutrition and environmental stimulation interact to influence cognitive and
physical development in infancy?
Adequate nutrition supports brain growth; stimulation strengthens neural pathways—both are
necessary for optimal development.
4. Explain the concept of object permanence and how it relates to infant cognitive
development.
Understanding that objects exist even when out of sight; shows mental representation and marks
Piaget’s sensorimotor progress.
5. What is the significance of motor milestones such as grasping and walking for overall
development?
They enable exploration and social interaction, which promote learning and independence.
6. Describe the stages of early language development, including babbling, holophrases, and
telegraphic speech.
Babbling (~6 mo), holophrases (~12 mo, single words convey whole ideas), telegraphic speech
(~18–24 mo, two-word sentences).
7. How does joint attention facilitate social and language learning in infants?
By sharing focus with a caregiver, infants link words to objects and learn communication skills.
8. Discuss the potential long-term cognitive effects of malnutrition in early childhood.
Can cause stunted growth, lower IQ, attention problems, and learning difficulties.
9. What is fast mapping, and how does it contribute to vocabulary growth?
Rapidly linking a new word to its meaning after minimal exposure, enabling vocabulary spurts.
10. Explain the difference between receptive and expressive language and their
developmental trajectories.
Receptive (understanding) develops earlier and is larger than expressive (spoken) vocabulary.
11. Describe deferred imitation and its role in memory and learning during infancy.
Imitating an action after a delay shows memory and symbolic thought.
12. Why is myelination important for motor skills and cognitive processing?
It speeds neural transmission, improving coordination and information processing.
13. How can caregivers support optimal physical and cognitive development in infants?
Provide balanced nutrition, safe exploration, responsive interaction, language-rich environment,
and consistent routines.
CHAPTER 4 – Social and Emotional Development in
Infancy and Toddlerhood
1. How and when does self-awareness typically emerge in infants and toddlers?
Around 15–24 months; shown by recognizing themselves in the mirror (rouge test).
2. Compare the easy, difficult, and slow-to-warm-up temperament types, and describe how
these can influence caregiving.
Easy: regular routines, positive mood—care is straightforward.
Difficult: intense reactions—benefit from patient, structured care.
Slow-to-warm-up: shy, needs gradual exposure and gentle encouragement.
3. What is attachment, and how do different attachment styles develop?
An enduring emotional bond; secure attachment forms with sensitive, responsive caregiving;
inconsistent or rejecting care leads to insecure types.
4. Describe the Strange Situation procedure and what it reveals about infant-caregiver
attachment.
A structured series of separations/reunions to observe exploration, distress, and comfort-seeking,
classifying attachment style.
5. How do toddlers develop emotional regulation skills, and why are these important for
social functioning?
Through maturation and caregiver modeling/coaching; regulation supports peer relationships and
learning.
6. What is social referencing, and how does it influence infant behavior in uncertain
situations?
Infants look to caregivers’ facial expressions or tone to guide their own actions.
7. Explain the “goodness of fit” model and its relevance for supporting children with
different temperaments.
Development is best when parenting style matches the child’s temperament.
8. Distinguish between primary emotions and self-conscious emotions in early development.
Primary (joy, anger, fear) appear early; self-conscious (pride, guilt, shame) require self-
awareness and emerge in the second year.
9. Describe Erikson’s stage of autonomy versus doubt and its significance in toddlerhood.
Toddlers strive for independence; supportive caregiving fosters autonomy, while overcontrol
leads to shame/doubt.
10. How can caregivers effectively provide emotional coaching to toddlers?
By labeling emotions, validating feelings, offering coping strategies, and modeling calm
responses.
11. What behaviors characterize disorganized attachment, and what are the typical
caregiver interactions associated with it?
Contradictory, confused behaviors (freezing, approach–avoidance); often linked to abuse or
frightening caregiving.
12. Why is sensitive and consistent caregiver responsiveness important for secure
attachment and emotional development?
It builds trust, promotes effective emotion regulation, and shapes positive expectations for future
relationships.
