Chapter 4        The Developing Person          (CR9, CR15, CR16)

Chapter 4 Objectives:

1. Discuss the course of prenatal development and the destructive impact of teratogens.

2. Describe the capacities of the newborn and the use of habituation for assessing infant cognition.

3. Discuss the influence of maturation and experience on brain and motor development.

4. Describe Piaget’s view of how the mind develops, and discuss his stage theory of cognitive development, noting current thinking regarding cognitive stages.

5. Discuss the impact of body contact, familiarity, and responsive parenting on infant social attachments.

6. Describe the benefits of a secure attachment and the impact of parental neglect and separation as well as day care on childhood development.

7. Describe the early development of a self-concept and discuss possible effects of different parenting styles on children.

8. Define adolescence and identify the major physical changes that occur during this period of life.

9. Describe the adolescent’s growing reasoning power and Kohlberg’s theory of moral development, noting the relationship between thoughts and actions.

10. Discuss the search for identity and the development of intimate social relationships during the adolescent years.

11. Identify the major physical changes that occur in middle and older adulthood.

12. Describe the impact of aging on adult memory and intelligence.

13. Explain why the path of adult development need not be tightly linked to one’s chronological age.

14. Discuss the importance of family and work commitments in adult development.

15. Describe people’s life satisfaction across the life span and their reactions to death or the prospect of dying.

16. Summarize current views regarding continuity versus discontinuity and stability versus change in lifelong development.