WARM UP ACTIVITY
May semester (222)
SESSION DATE TOPICS
eT 1 4 June TOPIC 1 & 2: INTRODUCTION, BIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY
eT2 11 June TOPIC 3 & 4: SENSATION & PERCEPTION, CONSIOUSNESS
eT3 18 June TOPIC 5 & 6: LEARNING, MEMORY
eT4 25 June TOPIC 7: THINKING, INTELLIGENCE & LANGUAGE
eT5 2 July TOPIC 8: DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
eT6 9 July TOPIC 9 & 10: MOTIVATION, SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
eT7 16 July TOPIC 11 & 12: PERSONALITY & PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDER
eT8 23 July REVISION
Summary: Topic 7
Thinking, Language & Intelligence
Cognition refers to the mental processes involved in acquiring, storing, retrieving and using
knowledge.
According to the dual-coding hypothesis, we think by encoding information using an imagery
system and a verbal system, each working independently.
We tend to mentally group objects or events, which have similar characteristics when we form
concepts.
There are three main stages of problem-solving: preparation, production and evaluation.
Algorithm involves trying out random solutions to a problem in a systematic manner while
heuristics are educated guesses developed from experience with similar problems.
Two of the most influential alternative theories of intelligence are Robert Sternberg’s Triarchic
Theory of Intelligence and Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences.
Our cognitive processes such as language and thought share a complex interaction with one another.
TOPIC 8
DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
1. Define developmental psychology;
2. Explain the issues in studying human development;
3. Explain the three major developmental theories;
4. Evaluate your own personality development; and
5. Compare the three main concerns during middle adulthood
according to EriksonÊs theory of personality development.
DEFINITION
A STUDY ON HOW PEOPLE CHANGE FROM BIRTH TO OLD AGE
WHAT?
• PHYSICAL CHANGES
• CHANGES IN COGNITION
• PERSONALITY
• MORAL JUDGEMENT
ISSUES IN STUDYING HUMAN
DEVELOPMENT
(a) Individual Characteristics versus Shared Human Traits
Each individual’s development is unique in some ways although there are many common patterns in human
development.
(b) Stability versus Change
Some personality traits continue to persist even after major life-changing experiences. Has your personality changed
dramatically since you were a child or has it remained stable throughout the years?
(c) Nature versus Nurture
The nature versus nurture debate has been going on since the time of Plato and Aristotle. The extreme nature position
believes that human behavior and development are determined by our genetic code, while the extreme nurture
position believes that our environment, the way we are raised and the experiences that we have will determine how
we develop.
PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT
GERMINAL STAGE:
1-2 weeks : fertilization – zygote – implant to uterus - placenta
EMBRYONIC STAGE:
3-8 weeks : vital organs - limbs becoming recognizable
FOETAL STAGE:
9-38 weeks : Muscle & bones - sex organs – body fat – brain cell multiply –
respiratory & digestive system matures
INFANCY & CHILDHOOD
DEVELOPMENT
BIRTH: smell, taste, hearing & touch well developed but not visual
perception
Motor skill: reflexes (sucking & grasping)
Do not show individual personality but temperament
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT –
JEAN PIAGET
SENSORIMOTOR (0-2 years) – using 5 senses, Egocentric
PRE-OPERATIONAL (2 – 7 years) – acquisition of motor skills, cannot
think logically
CONCRETE OPERATIONAL (7-11 years) – can think logically, not
egocentric
FORMAL OPERATIONAL (11-15 years) – can think abstractly & logical
reasoning
• VIDEO
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhcgYgx7aAA
MORAL DEVELOPMENT - KOHLBERG
LEVEL 1: PRE-CONVENTIONAL MORALITY
Stage 1: punishment-avoidance and obedience
Stage 2: exchange of favours
LEVEL 2: CONVENTIONAL MORALITY
Stage 3: Good boy/girl
Stage 4: Law & order
LEVEL 3: POST CONVENTIONAL MORALITY
Stage 5: Social contract
Stage 6: Universal ethical principle
• VIDEO
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bounwXLkme4
PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT -
ERIKSON
• CHILDHOOD
• TRANSITION YEARS
• ADULTHOOD
VIDEO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XxFmXkD8M8
ADOLESCENT
GROWTH SPURT – BETWEEN CHILDHOOD & ADULTHOOD
CHANGES IN PUBERTY DIFFERS INDIVIDUALLY
ADULTHOOD
ERIKSON STAGE THEORY:
Intimacy vs. isolation – ability to make commitment to others
Generativity vs. self-absorption – concern for family and society in
general
Integrity vs. despair – A sense of integrity and fulfilment
LATE ADULTHOOD
• Many physical changes – wears out
• Cognitive change – memory loss (Alzheimer’s disease), mental
impairment due to stroke, vitamin deficiency.
summary
Developmental psychology is the study of how people change from birth to
old age.
The major issues in studying human development are individual
characteristics versus shared human traits, stability versus change and nature
nurture.
The prenatal period refers to the time between conception and birth.
Prenatal development consists of three stages: germinal, embryonic and
foetal.
Cognitive development can be defined as changes in patterns of thinking such
as reasoning, problem-solving and remembering.
Erikson’s theory of personality development suggests that people evolve
through eight stages during the span of their life.
Erikson’s stage theory of personality development divides adulthood into
three stages: intimacy versus isolation, generativity versus self-absorption and
integrity versus despair.
