Prenatal Development,
2025
Nova Southeastern University
Prenatal Development, Huda Abu-Suwa, Lisa K. Lashley, Charles J. Golden
Essays in Developmental Psychology
Prenatal refers to the period of time between conception and birth. As such, prenatal development is the process in which a fetus develops in its mother’s womb. This period typically lasts nine months. Prenatal development can be divided into three stages: the germinal stage, the embryonic stage, and the fetal stage (Lally & Valentine-French, 2019).
Ethnic Identity Formation (In A Changing World),
2025
Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania
Ethnic Identity Formation (In A Changing World), Kerrie S. Devries, Jonathan B. Santo
Essays in Developmental Psychology
Ethnic identity is a multidimensional construct with varied and changing definitions. Psychologist Jean Phinney (2000, 2003) broadly defines ethnic identity as “an enduring, fundamental aspect of the self that includes a sense of membership in an ethnic group and the attitudes and feelings associated with that group membership.” Typically, members of ethnic groups will share a similar culture, religion, language, race, values, or place of origin. As individuals become aware of their ethnicity in the context of their surroundings, ethnic identity develops and changes over time. Ethnic identity has been shown to impact a broad range of an individual’s feelings, …
Midlife Stress,
2025
Nova Southeastern University
Midlife Stress, Kimberly Diah, Lisa K. Lashley, Charles J. Golden
Essays in Developmental Psychology
Midlife stress occurs naturally through the aging process but can be the result of an external psychological stressor due to loss or change such as occupational stress, health concerns, parental bereavement and divorce. Coping with the psychological suffering associated with these stressors brings challenges throughout all stages of life, but when it occurs during midlife it can be complicated by heightened or unique feelings of bewilderment. For men, recognition of their own mortality and sense of purpose in life can drive the experience of midlife stress. For women, this experience may be derived from feelings of emptiness and sadness, physical …
Information Processing Theory (R.J. Lachman),
2025
Nova Southeastern University
Information Processing Theory (R.J. Lachman), Kimberly Diah, Lisa K. Lashley, Charles J. Golden
Essays in Developmental Psychology
Information Processing Theory is a cognitive approach designed to understand human learning. Several perspectives of this theory emerged from the cognitive revolution in psychology beginning in the 1950s. The invention of the technological age of computers brought with it an innovative way of understanding how information is processed in humans. This lead researcher to draw analogies between the processing ability of humans and computers. The human-computer analogy developed from the foundation that as computers are able to process information so too can humans in a very similar method. Both encompasses ‘cognitive’ processes such as learning or obtaining information, solving problems, …
Mathematical Skills,
2025
University of Cincinnati
Mathematical Skills, Rhonda Douglas Brown
Essays in Developmental Psychology
Mathematical Skills are essential for understanding how the world works and for solving problems that are important to human survival and prosperity. They are used in everyday living in societies across the world. The most basic mathematical skills involve estimating the amount of small sets of items without using symbols, called number sense, and tracking a small number of individual objects through space and time, called parallel individuation. These skills are thought to be present at birth or early in life and to increase in precision into adulthood.
David F. Bjorklund,
2025
University of Cincinnati
David F. Bjorklund, Rhonda Douglas Brown
Essays in Developmental Psychology
David F. Bjorklund is an eminent scholar in the field of developmental psychology. He was born on June 13, 1949 in Worcester, Massachusetts. He received his bachelor’s degree cum laude in psychology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 1971. His graduate degrees include a master’s in psychology from the University of Dayton in 1973 and a doctorate in developmental psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1976, as well as a Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2002. He received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Bern, Switzerland in 2015. Bjorklund is currently a Professor of …
Lifespan Perspective,
2025
Nova Southeastern University
Lifespan Perspective, Leila Eikevik
Essays in Developmental Psychology
Psychologists who study human development have adopted the lifespan perspective, which maintains that important changes occur during every period of development and that these changes must be interpreted in terms of the culture and context in which they occur (Boyd and Bee, 2009). Prior to this understanding, the subject of development was limited to childhood. This view has shifted because it is evident adults continue to experience major life changes and there has been a significant increase in age expectancy. Therefore, all stages of life are equally important. Lifespan development begins at the time of conception and continues up until …
Marriage,
2025
Nova Southeastern University
Marriage, Kim Fitzgibbon
Essays in Developmental Psychology
Official legislation on the touted “fundamental right” of marriage dates back to the 1800s in the United States, showing the prominence and important that the concept of marriage has on society. Changes in laws and policy have increased the opportunity for marriage to a larger population and as such, research on the construct, its benefits, challenges and statistics has become an area of significant interest. The legal and financial implications of a marriage contract have also encouraged researchers due to the serious and long-lasting implications such a contract can have. Reasons to marry are endless, are highly individualized and can …
Naïve Theories,
2025
University of Cincinnati
Naïve Theories, Ethan Fleuchaus, Heidi Kloos
Essays in Developmental Psychology
While the idea of the mind as a blank slate has long been abandoned, the question of what exactly a “non-blank slate” might look like is still debated. In this entry we discuss the claim that children are equipped with naïve theories—primitive, incomplete, or otherwise ill-formed, but nevertheless systematic, mental representations of cause-effect relations. Other terms that reflect this idea include ‘misconceptions’, ‘naïve beliefs’, ‘prior theories’, ‘alternative conceptions’, or ‘intuitive theories’. Their main characteristic is that they interfere with an open-minded exploration of the surrounding. The unfortunate result of such biased exploration is that children ignore evidence that conflicts with …
Heinz Werner,
2025
University of Cincinnati
Heinz Werner, Ethan Fleuchaus, Katie Cunningham, Heidi Kloos
Essays in Developmental Psychology
Heinz Werner (February 11, 1890 – May 14, 1964) was an Austrian psychologist who played an active role in defining the field of developmental psychology at the start of the 20th century. While initially seeking to become a composer and music historian, he changed his mind after listening to a lecture on Immanuel Kant at the University of Vienna. Werner became engrossed in topics of philosophy and psychology (which were combined at the time), and he wrote his dissertation on the psychology of aesthetic experiences. Subsequently he worked at the University of Hamburg, where he published the first edition of …
Patriarchal Violence,
2025
Nova Southeastern University
Patriarchal Violence, Fallon Flowers, Lisa K. Lashley, Charles J. Golden
Essays in Developmental Psychology
Patriarchal violence has been described as a pattern of behavior by men perpetuated against women in order to maintain control over women and their behavior. Ultimately, it is meant to oppress them; resulting in women being relegated to a lower position in society. The need for men to exert control over women via Patriarchal violence has roots in one’s cultural, societal, and moral beliefs. Such beliefs pertain to what is considered appropriate and what is considered inappropriate in a cultural context. One of the burgeoning examples of this form of violence against women is the “honor killing”, the killing of …
Anxiety In Old Age,
2025
Nova Southeastern University
Anxiety In Old Age, Kim Fitzgibbon, Lisa K. Lashley, Charles J. Golden
Essays in Developmental Psychology
Andrew N. Meltzoff was born on February 9, 1950 in the United States. He studied psychology at Harvard University and did graduate work at the University of Oxford, in England, with Jerome Bruner, earning his doctorate there in 1976. Meltzoff began his professional career at the University of Washington in 1977, serving as a Professor of Psychology since 1988. He is currently co-director of the University of Washington Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences, an interdisciplinary research center.
Adolescent Death,
2025
Nova Southeastern University
Adolescent Death, Kim Fitzgibbon, Lisa K. Lashley, Charles J. Golden
Essays in Developmental Psychology
According to recent statistics from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are approximately 9,500 adolescent deaths per year in the United States, as defined by mortality rates for individuals aged 15-19. CDC statistics also show that the leading causes of death for American adolescents were unintentional accidents and injuries, suicide and homicide. Furthermore, according to David Balk’s Handbook of Adolescent Death and Bereavement, gender and racial differences contribute to disproportionate mortality rates, with African American and Hispanic males finding themselves significantly more likely to be killed by homicide than Caucasian counterparts.
Secondary Mental Abilities,
2025
Nova Southeastern University
Secondary Mental Abilities, Kim Fitzgibbon, Lisa K. Lashley, Charles J. Golden
Essays in Developmental Psychology
Mental abilities have commonly been broken down into two main categories; primary and secondary. Primary mental abilities are thought to be large scale groups with similar abilities. Secondary mental ability builds off foundational primary mental abilities of intelligence. Research has suggested that there are six main secondary mental abilities, with the potential for additional abilities to be named or discovered as more research emerges. Expanding research on these abilities has also suggested that they can morph and evolve with age, just as primary abilities related to intelligence.
Brain Study Techniques,
2025
University of Cincinnati
Brain Study Techniques, Rhonda Douglas Brown
Essays in Developmental Psychology
Brain study techniques are used to understand how the brain processes information and manages behavior. They can establish which parts of the brain are responsible for different types of cognition and behavior. One technique, called lesion studies, involves conducting case studies of patients with brain injury and associating damage in specific regions or structures with loss or impairment of specific cognitive processes and behaviors. For example, in the mid1800s, using post-mortem autopsy, Paul Broca observed that patients who had lost the ability to speak, but could understand language, had damage in the posterior sections of the inferior frontal gyrus; whereas, …
Marriage In Old Age,
2025
Nova Southeastern University
Marriage In Old Age, Nicole M. Fornalski, Lisa K. Lashley, Charles J. Golden
Essays in Developmental Psychology
As closely interactive cohorts throughout their adult lives, husbands and wives have been seen to become even closer confidants and partners in older age. These changes may predominate after retirement and the loss of daily work practices and professional systems. Older couples have frequently shared a considerable quantity of time with one another, and subsequently are able to call forth collective memories and years of intercommunications. In addition, older adult couples usually report less conflicts, and appear to acquire more meaning out of their spousal relationships. They also report less psychological distress and rates of illness than older singles. These …
Role Transitions,
2025
Nova Southeastern University
Role Transitions, Nicole M. Fornalski, Lisa K. Lashley, Charles J. Golden
Essays in Developmental Psychology
A role can be defined as one’s position in a relationship or social structure, whereas a role identity consists of the behavioral expectations that are included in that role. While some individuals may view their roles through a fixed set of social standards, others rely on their own subjective perceptions and interpretations of these positions through flexible guidelines. Through the process of a role transition, the literature identifies two types defined as a macro role transition or micro role transition. A macro role transition consists of a psychological or physical change between consecutively held roles. Examples can include career transitions, …
Sexually Transmitted Diseases,
2025
Nova Southeastern University
Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Fallon Flowers, Lisa K. Lashley, Charles J. Golden
Essays in Developmental Psychology
Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) are diseases that can be passed from one person to another via sexual contact. Some STDs can be treated and cured, while others, once contracted, remain for a lifetime. Chlamydia is one of the more common STDs that both women and men are susceptible to. It is the result of exposure to a bacteria called Chlamydia Trachomatis. In women, the infection can occur in the cervix, throat, or rectum, while men who are infected experience the infection inside the penis (urethra), throat, and rectum. With regard to transmission, Chlamydia can be transmitted from one person to …
Formal Operational Period,
2025
University of Cincinnati
Formal Operational Period, Katie Cunningham, Heidi Kloos
Essays in Developmental Psychology
Consider the following prompt: “If you hit a glass with a feather, the glass will break. Ann hit a glass with the feather. What will happen to the glass?” To answer correctly, one would have to first learn the rule about how the feather will affect the glass. The second step then is to apply the learned rule in a logical fashion. The mental activity needed to carry out these steps is known as hypothetico-deductive reasoning. It is required for counter-factual thinking, transitive inferences, and hypothesis testing. Jean Piaget postulated that this type of mental activity is characteristic of children …
Andrew N. Meltzoff: Social Cognition, Imitation, Cross-Modal Perception, Infant Development,
2025
Missouri State University
Andrew N. Meltzoff: Social Cognition, Imitation, Cross-Modal Perception, Infant Development, Jeffrey H. Cornelius-White, Joan E. Test
Essays in Developmental Psychology
Andreas Demetriou was born August 15th, 1950 in Stongylo, Famagusta, Cyprus. Demetriou attended the University of Thessaloniki and obtained a Ph.D. in psychology in 1983. After completing his doctoral degree he was a professor of developmental and educational psychology at the University of Thessaloniki until 1996. Demetriou then became a professor at the University of Cyprus, serving in various leadership positions from 1996 to 2008, including chairing the Department of Educational Science and serving as dean for the School of Humanities and Social Sciences and dean of the School of Social Sciences and Sciences of Education. He also became the …
