Learning Goals for Modules 8 & 9

Module 8

After completing their study of this module, students should be able to:

1. State the three areas of change that developmental psychologists study, and identify the three major issues in developmental psychology.
2. Describe the union of sperm and egg at conception.

3. Define zygote, embryo, and fetus, and explain how teratogens can affect development.
4. Describe some abilities of the newborn, and explain how researchers use habituation to assess infant sensory and cognitive abilities.

 

Module 9

After completing their study of this module, students should be able to:

1. Describe some developmental changes in a child’s brain, and explain why maturation accounts for many of our similarities.
2. Outline four events in the motor development sequence from birth to toddlerhood, and evaluate the effects of maturation and experience on that sequence.
3. Explain why we have few memories of experiences during our first three years of life.
4. State Piaget’s understanding of how the mind develops, and discuss the importance of assimilation and
accommodation in this process.
5. Outline Piaget’s four main stages of cognitive development, and comment on how children’s thinking changes during these four stages.
6. Discuss psychologists’ current views on Piaget’s theory of cognitive development.
7. Define stranger anxiety.
8. Discuss the effects of nourishment, body contact, and familiarity on infant social attachment.
9. Contrast secure and insecure attachment, and discuss the roles of parents and infants in the development of attachment and an infant’s feelings of basic trust.
10. Assess the impact of parental neglect, family disruption, and day care on attachment patterns and
development.
11. Trace the onset and development of children’s self-concept.
12. Describe three parenting styles, and offer three potential explanations for the link between authoritative parenting and social competence.