Chapter 14 – Development over the Lifespan

I. Physical Development

A. prenatal

B. infantile reflexes

C. puberty

D. menopause

II. Social Development

A. Attachment

1. Freud: cupboard theory

2. Bowlby: comfort theory

3. assessed via Ainsworth’s Strange Situation

4. separation anxiety

B. Gender development

1. gender identity

a. transgendered, transsexual, intersexed cases

2. gender typing (sex role stereotypes)

3. biological vs social influences

C. Parental influences: discipline methods/styles

1. power assertion vs. induction

2. authoritarian vs. authoritative vs. permissive

III. Cognitive Development – Piagetian Theory

A. assimilation and accommodation

B. Stages:

1. Sensorimotor stage (object permanence)

2. Preoperational stage (egocentricity)

3. Concrete operations (conservation of quantity, volume, mass)

4. Formal operations (abstract thought)

C. Criticisms and new understandings

IV. Moral Development

A. Kohlberg’s stages

1. preconventional

2. conventional

3. postconventional

B. Criticisms: Gilligan, others

C. gender vs. power, role of education or other factors, inconsistencies

V. Lifespan Development:

A. Erikson’s stage theory

1. Eight stages or crises spanning entire life

B. Current views: less emphasis on stages, more on overlapping courses

C. Still are some developmental issues related to specific life stages

1. Life transitions

a. Physical transitions (eg, weaning, puberty, menopause)

b. Social transitions (eg, leaving home, getting married, having a child)

2. Changes related to aging (eg, sensory functioning in older adults)