Name _________________
AP Psychology
Unit 6: Development
NOTE: Please have all readings listed on a given day done for that day’s class!
Remember, there may be a reading quiz each day!
All page numbers refer to the Myers’ Psychology for AP text.
Agenda
Reading
Day 1
Tues. Oct. 8
Day 2
Wed. Oct.9
Day 3
Thurs.
Oct.10
Day 4
Fri. Oct.11
Day 5
Mon. Oct.
14
Day 6
Tues. Oct.
15
Day 7
Wed. Oct.
16
Day 8
Thurs. Oct.
17
Day 9
Fri. Oct. 18
Day 10
Mon. Oct.
21
Tues. Oct.
22
Pass out Development study guides
Go over exams
Intro Scrapbook Project
Scrapbook Title Page & Page 1: Birth Page
Evolutionary and Environmental Influences PP
Boy-Girl Social Learning Theory Book
Scrapbook Page 2: 0-10 years old
Psychosocial Stages of Development PP/Skits
Scrapbook Page 3: 11-20 years old
Article Choice
 Meet the Twixters, Reading Your Baby’s
Mind, or The Trouble with Boys
Scrapbook Page 4: 21-30 years old
Pre-natal, Physical, and Motor Development PP
Scrapbook Page 5: 31-40 years old
103-110, 435444
450-454
410-417
Puberty Letter assignment (summative)
Computer Lab – work day on letter
Cognitive and Social Development PP
Scrapbook Page 6: 41-50 years old
417-435
Moral Dilemma Scenarios / Morality PP
Scrapbook Page 7: 51-60 years old
PROJECT #2 DUE!!!!!
Puberty Letters due
Old Age and Grieving PP
Scrapbook Page 8: 61-70 years old
Scrapbook Page 9: Death / Obituary
Review Sheets/review questions/ all parts of
Scrapbook Project Due
Study Guides Due
DEVELOPMENT EXAM
455-477
AP Psychology
Development
Big Question: Is nature or nurture more influential in determining our course of development?
Development Objectives:
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Identify the major aspects of evolutionary psychology such as natural selection and survival of one’s genes.
Describe the evolutionary psychologists’ explanation for gender differences and discuss the major criticisms of
the evolutionary explanation
Identify the major findings of twin, adoption, and temperament studies and how they contribute to the question of
nature vs. nurture in development.
Describe the studies of behavior genetics and molecular genetics.
Discuss the influence of parents, experience, and peers on development.
Define cultural norms and memes.
Discuss the influence the social learning theory and the gender schema theory have had on gender behavior.
Discuss the proposal that adult development involves chronological stages and explain why it is controversial.
Describe the capacities of the newborn.
Describe Piaget’s view of how the mind develops and discuss his theory of cognitive development in the light of
current research.
Describe the impact of aging on adult memory and intelligence.
Identify and describe Erikson’s stages of social development.
Identify and describe Kohlberg’s stages of moral development and major criticisms of his theory.
Summarize current view regarding continuative vs. stages and stability vs. change in lifelong development.
Development Overview
Developmental psychologists study the life cycle, from conception to death, examining how we develop
physically, cognitively, and socially. The Development chapter covers prenatal, infant, and childhood development and
introduces three major issues in developmental psychology: (1) the relative impact of genes and experience on behavior,
(2) whether development is best described as gradual and continuous or as a discontinuous sequence of stages, and (3)
whether the individual’s personality remains stable or changes over the life span.
Research and theoretical issues introduced in this chapter are the foundation of the overarching developmental
unit. Pay particular attention to the research of Piaget on cognitive development, Harlow and others on attachment and
social deprivation, and to the studies of twins and adopted children.
A key assumption of modern developmental psychology is that development is lifelong. The Development unit
explores physical, cognitive, and social development during adolescence and adulthood. On the basis of this discussion,
this chapter will revisit the issue of continuity in development. Although there are not too many terms to learn in this
chapter, there are a number of important research findings to remember. Pay particular attention to the discussions
regarding intellectual stability or decline and social changes during adulthood. A major challenge in this chapter is to
become familiar with two stage theories: Kohlberg’s theory of moral development and Erikson’s theory of psychosocial
development. Writing carefully prepared answers to the guided study items should be especially helpful in mastering the
material of this chapter.
Development Chapter Study Guide
Complete the following study guide as you read the assigned pages for class and listen to class lectures/discussions. All answers
MUST be in COMPLETE SENTENCES. Do NOT copy word-for-word from the book. Answer in your OWN WORDS.
1. You’ve been asked to research the effects that playing excessive video games has on grade point
average. Which would you use: a cross-sectional study or a longitudinal study? Why?
2. Think about the following three topics – your education, your drug behaviors (or lack thereof), and your
ways of interacting with authority figures. For each of these three topics, were they more influenced
by your parents or by your peers? Does this match up with the research you learned in class? If
not, why do you think there are differences?
3. What is your reaction to social learning theory? Do you think the theory has merit (the idea that we
are “taught” what it means to be a girl or to be a boy)? Explain your answer.
4. According to Erik Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development, which stage/conflict are you
currently in right now? How do you think you are “dealing” with this conflict?
5. Which of the various reflexes we discussed in class do you find the most interesting? Why do you think
babies come “equipped” with that particular reflex (how does it aid their survival)?
6. Imagine you have a five-year-old little brother or sister. Which stage of Piaget’s Cognitive
Development would they be in? What characteristics or developments are associated with this stage?
7. Imagine that your schema for a dog is a “four legged creature with a tail.” Give examples of events that
would make you assimilate or accommodate your schema. (one for each)
8. What type of parenting style (authoritarian-permissive-authoritative) do you believe your
parent/guardian has used on you? Give examples.
9. According to your answers to the moral dilemma scenarios, which stage of Morality (preconventional,
conventional, or postconventional) do you typically fall under? Do you agree with these results – why
or why not?
Key Terms
Using your own words, write a brief definition or explanation of each of the following. Feel free to be as succinct as possible as long
as the definition makes sense to you. Do this after or while reading the assigned pages for class.
1. chromosomes a. identical twins b. fraternal twins 2. behavior genetics a. nature b. nurture c. heritability d. interaction 3. cross-sectional study 4. longitudinal study 5. natural selection 6. placenta 7. “handling” 8. peer influences 9. parent influences 10. culture 11. norm 12. biological sex 13. gender 14. social learning theory a. gender role b. gender identity c. gender-typing 15. Erik Erikson -
16. Psychosocial Stages of Development a. trust vs. mistrust b. autonomy vs. shame & doubt c. initiative vs. guilt d. industry vs. inferiority e. identity vs. role confusion f. intimacy vs. isolation g. generativity vs. stagnation h. integrity vs. despair 17. Prenatal development a. zygote b. embryo c. fetus d. teratogens i. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome 18. habituation 19. reflexes a. rooting reflex b. sucking reflex –
c. grasping reflex d. moro reflex e. babinski reflex 20. maturation 21. infant memory 22. gross motor skills 23. fine motor skills -
24. puberty a. primary sexual characteristics –
b. secondary sexual characteristics c. menarche d. ejaculation 25. life expectancy 26. Jean Piaget a. sensorimotor stage i. object permanence ii. baby mathematics b. preoperational stage i. egocentric ii. pretend play c. concrete operational stage i. conservation d. formal operational stage i. metacognition 27. schemas a. assimilation –
b. accomodation 28. attachment a. imprinting b. harlow’s monkey experiments c. critical period d. temperament i. Mary Ainsworth “strange situation” -
1. secure attachment 2. avoidant attachment 3. anxious/ambivalent attachment e. stranger anxiety f. separation anxiety 29. authoritarian parenting style 30. permissive parenting style 31. authoritative parenting style32. Lawrence Kohlberg –
a. pre-conventional morality b. conventional morality c. post-conventional morality 33. menopause 34. dementia 35. Alzheimer’s Disease 36. crystallized intelligence 37. fluid intelligence 38. social clock 39. five stages of death/grief -