User:Koryna22/sandbox/assignment

SAVING EXACTLY WHAT I'M GOING TO BE PUTTING IN THE EDIT PART OF THE PAGE SO IT'S ALL TOGETHER IN THE ORDER I WANT IT TO BE FOR WHEN WE GO LIVE ON FRIDAY SO JUST IGNORE THE FACT THAT IT'S DOUBLED UP

Theorists and theories

• Attachment Theory- John Bowlby, Harry Harlow, Mary Ainsworth
• Ecological Systems Theory- Urie Bronfenbrenner
• Constructivism- Lev Vygotsky, Jerome Bruner, Jean Piaget
• Stages of Moral Development- Lawrence Kohlberg, Jean Piaget
• Stages of Psychosocial Development- Erik Erikson
• Theory of Cognitive Development- Jean Piaget
• Psychosexual Development –Sigmund Freud
• Zone of Proximal Development- Lev Vygotsky

Attachment theory

Also see: Attachment theory, John Bowlby, Harry Harlow, and Mary Ainsworth

Attachment theory, originally developed by John Bowlby, focuses on open, intimate, emotionally meaningful relationships. Attachment is described as a biological system or powerful survival impulse that evolved to ensure the survival of the infant. A child who is threatened or stressed will move toward caregivers who create a sense of physical, emotional and psychological safety for the individual. Attachment feeds on body contact and familiarity. Later Mary Ainsworth developed the Strange Situation Protocol and the concept of the secure base. See also the critique by developmental psychology pioneer Jerome Kagan.

There are three types of attachment styles; secure, anxious-avoidant, and anxious-resistant. Secure attachment is a healthy attachment between infant and caregiver characterized by trust. Anxious-avoidant is an insecure attachment between infant and caregiver characterized by indifference on the part of the infant toward the caregiver. Anxious-resistant is an insecure attachment between infant and caregiver characterized by distress at separation and anger at reunion.

Unfortunately, there are 10 situations that inhibit a child from forming attachments. Some babies are raised without the stimulation and attention of a regular caregiver, or locked away under conditions of abuse or extreme neglect. The possible short-term effects of this deprivation are anger, despair, detachment, and temporary delay in intellectual development. Long-term effects include increased aggression, clinging behavior, detachment, psychosomatic disorders, and an increased risk of depression as an adult.

Ecological Systems Theory

Also see: Ecological Systems Theory and Urie Bronfenbrenner

Also called "Development in Context" or "Human Ecology" theory, Ecological Systems Theory, originally formulated by Urie Bronfenbrenner specifies four types of nested environmental systems, with bi-directional influences within and between the systems. The five systems are microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem. Each system contains roles, norms and rules that can powerfully shape development.

The microsystem is the immediate environment surrounding as individual. The mesosystem is the combination of two microsystems. The exosystem is the interaction among two or more environments. The macrosystem is broader taking into account social economic status, culture, beliefs, customs and morals. Lastly, the chronosystem refers to the chronological nature of development.

Since its publication in 1979, Bronfenbrenner's major statement of this theory, The Ecology of Human Development has had widespread influence on the way psychologists and others approach the study of human beings and their environments. As a result of this conceptualization of development, these environments—from the family to economic and political structures—have come to be viewed as part of the life course from childhood through adulthood.

Constructivism

Also see: Constructivism, Lev Vygotsky, Jerome Bruner, and Jean Piaget

Constructivism is a paradigm in psychology that characterizes learning as a process of actively constructing knowledge. Individuals create meaning for themselves or make sense of new information by selecting, organizing, and integrating information with other knowledge, often in the content of social interactions. There are two ways in which constructivism can occur; individual and social. Individual constructivism is when a person constructs knowledge by using cognitive processes to gain knowledge from experience rather than by memorizing facts provided by others. Social constructivism in when individuals construct knowledge through an interaction between the knowledge they bring to a situation and social/cultural exchanges within that content.

Stages of Moral Development

Also see: Stages of Moral Development, Lawrence Kohlberg, and Jean Piaget

Theories of morality that stem from Jean Piaget’s cognitive-developmental viewpoint emphasize shifts in the type of reasoning that individuals use in making moral decisions. Changes in the content of the decision they reach or the actions they take as a result does no occur. Lawrence Kohlberg expanded on this issue specifically during adolescence. He suggested three levels of moral reasoning; preconventional moral reasoning, conventional moral reasoning, and postconventional moral reasoning. Preconventional moral reasoning is typical of children and is characterized by reasoning that is based on rewards and punishments associated with different courses of action. Conventional moral reason occurs during late childhood and early adolescence and is characterized by reasoning that is based on the rules and conventions of society. Lastly, postconventional moral reasoning is the stage during which society’s rules and conventions are seen as relative and subjective rather than as authoritative.

Stages of Psychosocial Development

Also see: Stages of Psychosocial Development and Erik Erikson

Erik Erikson became a child psychoanalyst like his mentor Anna Freud, Sigmond Freud’s daughter. He went on to reinterpret Freud’s psychosexual stages by incorporating the social aspects of it. He came up with eight stages, each of which has two crisis (a positive and a negative). Stage one is trust versus mistrust, which occurs during infancy. Stage two is autonomy versus shame and doubt which occurs during early childhood. Stage three is initiative versus guilt which occurs during play age. Stage four is industry versus inferiority which occurs during school age. Stage five is identity versus identity diffusion which occurs during adolescence. Stage six is intimacy versus isolation which occurs during young adulthood. Stage seven is generativity versus self-absorption which occurs during adulthood. Lastly, stage eight is integrity versus despair which occurs during old age. In each of these stages either one or the other crisis is developed. The ideal thing would be to have the positive crisis more developed than the negative crisis.

Stages of Cognitive Development

Also see: Theory of Cognitive Development and Jean Piaget

Jean Piaget believed that intellectual development took place through a series of stages which caused him to come up with his Theory on Cognitive Development. Each stage consisted of steps which the child had to master before moving on to the next step. He believe that these stages where not separate from one another but rather each stage built on the previous one, hence learning was continuous. His theory consisted of four stages; sensorimotor, pre-operational, concrete operational, and formal operational. Though he did not believe these stages occurred at any given age, many studies have determine when these cognitive abilities should take place.

Psychosexual Development

Psychosexual Development and Sigmund Freud

Sigmund Freud believed that we all had a conscious, preconscious, and unconscious level. In the conscious we are aware of our mental process. The preconscious involves information that though we are not currently thinking about can be brought into consciousness. Lastly, the unconscious includes those mental processes which we are unaware of. He believed that the conscious and unconscious had tension because the conscious would try and hold back what the unconscious was trying to express. To explain this he developed three structures of personality; the id, ego, and superego. The id, being the most primitive of the three functioned according to the pleasure principle. The pleasure principle states that the id’s motivation is to seek pleasure and avoid pain. Based on this he proposed five universal stages of development. The first is the oral stage which occurs from birth to 12 months of age, second is the anal stage which occurs from one to three years of age, third is the phallic stage which occurs from three to five years of age (most of a person’s personality is formed by this age), the fourth is called latency which occurs from age five until puberty, and lastly stage five is the genital stage which takes place from puberty until adulthood.

Zone of Proximal Development

Also see: Zone of Proximal Development and Lev Vygotsky

Lev Vygotsky was a Russian psychologist who believed that the environment played an important role in how we develop. He came up with the Zone of Proximal Development which he believes is the best way to learn. He suggested that someone would be able to reach a more advanced level of performance with the help of a more experienced person (adult or child). The way we help them reach this level is by scaffolding. The Zone of Proximal Development includes three parts. The first is the what that person already knows (he/she can do it on their own), the second part is what the person is capable of (he/she can attain it with the help of someone else), and lastly the third part being the frustration level (they can’t attain it even with the help of someone else).

THIS IS WHERE WE STARTED OUR OUTLINE

-"Theorists and theories

Main article: Developmental stage theories

John Bowlby, Harry Harlow, Mary Ainsworth: Attachment theory Urie Bronfenbrenner: The social ecology of human development

Jerome Bruner: Cognitive (constructivist); learning theory / narrative construction of reality

Erik Erikson: Erikson's stages of psychosocial development

Sigmund Freud: Psychosexual development

Jerome Kagan: A pioneer of developmental psychology

Jean Matter Mandler: Early development – theory of early conceptual thinking

Lawrence Kohlberg: Kohlberg's stages of moral development

Jean Piaget: Theory of cognitive development, genetic epistemology

Lev Vygotsky: Social constructivism, zone of proximal development

Reuven Feuerstein: Structural Cognitive Modifiability

Judith Rich Harris: Modular theory of social development

Eleanor Gibson: Ecological psychology

Robert Kegan: Adult development

Watson, Skinner, Bandura: Behaviorism and Social learning theory[1]:17"

I propose we change the title name from Theorists and Theories to Theories and Theorists because there are some theories that have been developed by a number of theorists, not just one, so it would be better to classify this section by the theories and then state who contributed. I would also alphabetize the theories to make it easier to find. I also propose to eliminate Judith Rich from this list because her ‘theory’ is not.

Theories and Theorists

• Attachment Theory- John Bowlby, Harry Harlow, Mary Ainsworth
• Ecological Systems Theory- Urie Bronfenbrenner
• Constructivism- Lev Vygotsky, Jerome Bruner, Jean Piaget
• Stages of Moral Development- Lawrence Kohlberg, Jean Piaget
• Stages of Psychosocial Development- Erik Erikson
• Theory of Cognitive Development- Jean Piaget
• Psychosexual Development –Sigmund Freud
• Zone of Proximal Development- Lev Vygotsky

-"Attachment theory

Main article: Attachment theory

Attachment theory, originally developed by John Bowlby, focuses on open, intimate, emotionally meaningful relationships. Attachment is described as a biological system or powerful survival impulse that evolved to ensure the survival of the infant. A child who is threatened or stressed will move toward caregivers who create a sense of physical, emotional and psychological safety for the individual. Attachment feeds on body contact and familiarity. Later Mary Ainsworth developed the Strange Situation Protocol and the concept of the secure base. See also the critique by developmental psychology pioneer Jerome Kagan. Unfortunately, there are 10 situations that inhibit a child from forming attachments. Some babies are raised without the stimulation and attention of a regular caregiver, or locked away under conditions of abuse or extreme neglect. The possible short-term effects of this deprivation are anger, despair, detachment, and temporary delay in intellectual development. Long-term effects include increased aggression, clinging behavior, detachment, psychosomatic disorders, and an increased risk of depression as an adult.[6][7]"

I propose the three types of attachment styles be briefly mentioned between the first and second paragraph.

Attachment theory

Also see: Attachment theory John Bowlby Harry Harlow Mary Ainsworth

Attachment theory, originally developed by John Bowlby, focuses on open, intimate, emotionally meaningful relationships. Attachment is described as a biological system or powerful survival impulse that evolved to ensure the survival of the infant. A child who is threatened or stressed will move toward caregivers who create a sense of physical, emotional and psychological safety for the individual. Attachment feeds on body contact and familiarity. Later Mary Ainsworth developed the Strange Situation Protocol and the concept of the secure base. See also the critique by developmental psychology pioneer Jerome Kagan. There are three types of attachment styles; secure, anxious-avoidant, and anxious-resistant. Secure attachment is a healthy attachment between infant and caregiver characterized by trust. Anxious-avoidant is an insecure attachment between infant and caregiver characterized by indifference on the part of the infant toward the caregiver. Anxious-resistant is an insecure attachment between infant and caregiver characterized by distress at separation and anger at reunion. Unfortunately, there are 10 situations that inhibit a child from forming attachments. Some babies are raised without the stimulation and attention of a regular caregiver, or locked away under conditions of abuse or extreme neglect. The possible short-term effects of this deprivation are anger, despair, detachment, and temporary delay in intellectual development. Long-term effects include increased aggression, clinging behavior, detachment, psychosomatic disorders, and an increased risk of depression as an adult.[6][7]

-"Ecological Systems Theory

Main article: Ecological Systems Theory

Also called "Development in Context" or "Human Ecology" theory, Ecological Systems Theory, originally formulated by Urie Bronfenbrenner specifies four types of nested environmental systems, with bi-directional influences within and between the systems. The four systems are microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem. Each system contains roles, norms and rules that can powerfully shape development. Since its publication in 1979, Bronfenbrenner's major statement of this theory, The Ecology of Human Development[4] has had widespread influence on the way psychologists and others approach the study of human beings and their environments. As a result of this conceptualization of development, these environments—from the family to economic and political structures—have come to be viewed as part of the life course from childhood through adulthood.[5]"

I propose the list of systems be revised seeing that there are five not four. I also propose to briefly explain each system

Ecological Systems Theory

Also see: Ecological Systems Theory Urie Bronfenbrenner

Also called "Development in Context" or "Human Ecology" theory, Ecological Systems Theory, originally formulated by Urie Bronfenbrenner specifies five types of nested environmental systems, with bi-directional influences within and between the systems. The five systems are microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem. Each system contains roles, norms and rules that can powerfully shape development. The microsystem is the immediate environment surrounding as individual. The mesosystem is the combination of two microsystems. The exosystem is the interaction among two or more environments. The macrosystem is broader taking into account social economic status, culture, beliefs, customs and morals. Lastly, the chronosystem refers to the chronological nature of development. Since its publication in 1979, Bronfenbrenner's major statement of this theory, The Ecology of Human Development[4] has had widespread influence on the way psychologists and others approach the study of human beings and their environments. As a result of this conceptualization of development, these environments—from the family to economic and political structures—have come to be viewed as part of the life course from childhood through adulthood.[5]

-"Ecological Systems Theory or bioecological theory

• The varied systems of the environment and the interrelationships among the systems shape a child's development.

• Both the environment and biology influence the child's development. The environment affects the child and the child influences the environment."

I propose this section be eliminated because not only is it in a bulleted format unlike the rest of the paper but it has already been mentioned above.

-I propose a section on Constructivism, Stages of Moral Development, Stages of Psychosocial Development, Theory of Cognitive Development, and Psychosexual Development be added to the theories.

Constructivism

Also see: Constructivism Lev Vygotsky Jerome Bruner Jean Piaget

Constructivism is a paradigm in psychology that characterizes learning as a process of actively constructing knowledge. Individuals create meaning for themselves or make sense of new information by selecting, organizing, and integrating information with other knowledge, often in the content of social interactions. There are two ways in which constructivism can occur; individual and social. Individual constructivism is when a person constructs knowledge by using cognitive processes to gain knowledge from experience rather than by memorizing facts provided by others. Social constructivism in when individuals construct knowledge through an interaction between the knowledge they bring to a situation and social/cultural exchanges within that content.

Stages of Moral Development

Also see: Stages of Moral Development Lawrence Kohlberg Jean Piaget

Theories of morality that stem from Jean Piaget’s cognitive-developmental viewpoint emphasize shifts in the type of reasoning that individuals use in making moral decisions. Changes in the content of the decision they reach or the actions they take as a result does no occur. Lawrence Kohlberg expanded on this issue specifically during adolescence. He suggested three levels of moral reasoning; preconventional moral reasoning, conventional moral reasoning, and postconventional moral reasoning. Preconventional moral reasoning is typical of children and is characterized by reasoning that is based on rewards and punishments associated with different courses of action. Conventional moral reason occurs during late childhood and early adolescence and is characterized by reasoning that is based on the rules and conventions of society. Lastly, postconventional moral reasoning is the stage during which society’s rules and conventions are seen as relative and subjective rather than as authoritative.

Stages of Psychosocial Development

Also see: Stages of Psychosocial Development Erik Erikson

Erik Erikson became a child psychoanalyst like his mentor Anna Freud, Sigmond Freud’s daughter. He went on to reinterpret Freud’s psychosexual stages by incorporating the social aspects of it. He came up with eight stages, each of which has two crisis (a positive and a negative). Stage one is trust versus mistrust, which occurs during infancy. Stage two is autonomy versus shame and doubt which occurs during early childhood. Stage three is initiative versus guilt which occurs during play age. Stage four is industry versus inferiority which occurs during school age. Stage five is identity versus identity diffusion which occurs during adolescence. Stage six is intimacy versus isolation which occurs during young adulthood. Stage seven is generativity versus self-absorption which occurs during adulthood. Lastly, stage eight is integrity versus despair which occurs during old age. In each of these stages either one or the other crisis is developed. The ideal thing would be to have the positive crisis more developed than the negative crisis.

Nature/nurture

Main article: Nature versus nurture A significant issue in developmental psychology is the relationship between innateness and environmental influence in regard to any particular aspect of development. This is often referred to as "nature versus nurture" or nativism versus empiricism. A nativist account of development would argue that the processes in question are innate, that is, they are specified by the organism's genes. An empiricist perspective would argue that those processes are acquired in interaction with the environment. Today developmental psychologists rarely take such polarised positions with regard to most aspects of development; rather they investigate, among many other things, the relationship between innate and environmental influences. One of the ways in which this relationship has been explored in recent years is through the emerging field of evolutionary developmental psychology. One area where this innateness debate has been prominently portrayed is in research on language acquisition. A major question in this area is whether or not certain properties of human language are specified genetically or can be acquired through learning. The empiricist position on the issue of language acquisition suggests that the language input provides the necessary information required for learning the structure of language and that infants acquire language through a process of statistical learning. From this perspective, language can be acquired via general learning methods that also apply to other aspects of development, such as perceptual learning. The nativist position argues that the input from language is too impoverished for infants and children to acquire the structure of language. Linguist Noam Chomsky asserts that, evidenced by the lack of sufficient information in the language input, there is a universal grammar that applies to all human languages and is pre-specified. This has led to the idea that there is a special cognitive module suited for learning language, often called the language acquisition device. Chomsky's critique of the behaviorist model of language acquisition is regarded by many as a key turning point in the decline in the prominence of the theory of behaviorism generally.[8] But Skinner's conception of "Verbal Behavior" has not died, perhaps in part because it has generated successful practical applications.[8]"

I propose this part be eliminated from the Theorists and Theories section and either be made into a section of it’s own or incorporated into a section which speaks about similar issues in psychology.

-"Mechanisms of development

Developmental psychology is concerned not only with describing the characteristics of psychological change over time, but also seeks to explain the principles and internal workings underlying these changes. Psychologists have attempted to better understand these factors by using models. Developmental models are sometimes computational, but they do not need to be. A model must simply account for the means by which a process takes place. This is sometimes done in reference to changes in the brain that may correspond to changes in behavior over the course of the development. Computational accounts of development often use either symbolic, connectionist (neural network), or dynamical systems models to explain the mechanisms of development."

I propose that like the Nature/Nurture part this part too be eliminated form the Theorists and Theories section seeing that it is not a theory.

Original Section: Research methods

Research methods

Developmental psychology employs many of the research methods used in other areas of psychology. However, infants and children cannot be tested in the same ways as adults, so different methods are often used to study their development. [edit]Research methods and design Developmental psychologists have a number of methods to study changes in individuals over time. Common research methods include systematic observation, including naturalistic observations or structured observations; self-reports, which could be clinical interviews or structured interviews; clinical or case study method; and ethnography or participant observation.[1]:31-35 Research designs also vary. In a longitudinal study, a researcher observes many individuals born at or around the same time (a cohort) and carries out new observations as members of the cohort age. This method can be used to draw conclusions about which types of development are universal (or normative) and occur in most members of a cohort. As an example a longitudinal study of early literacy development examined in detail the early literacy experiences of one child in each of 30 families.[14] Researchers may also observe ways in which development varies between individuals and hypothesize about the causes of variation observed in their data. Longitudinal studies often require large amounts of time and funding, making them unfeasible in some situations. Also, because members of a cohort all experience historical events unique to their generation, apparently normative developmental trends may in fact be universal only to their cohort.[1]:40 In a cross-sectional study, a researcher observes differences between individuals of different ages at the same time. This generally requires less resources than the longitudinal method, and because the individuals come from different cohorts, shared historical events are not so much of a confounding factor. By the same token, however, cross-sectional research may not be the most effective way to study differences between participants, as these differences may result not from their different ages but from their exposure to different historical event.[1]:41 A third study design, the sequential design, combines both methodologies. Here, a researcher observes members of different birth cohorts at the same time, and then tracks all participants over time, charting changes in the groups. While much more resource-intensive, the format aids in a clearer distinction between what changes can be attributed to individual or historical environment from those which are truly universal.[1]:42 Notably, these are all correlational, not experimental, designs, and so one cannot readily infer causation from the data they yield. Nonetheless, correlational research methods are common in the study of development, in part due to ethical concerns. In a study of the effects of poverty on development, for instance, one cannot easily randomly assign certain families to a poverty condition and others to an affluent one, and so observation alone has to suffice.[1]:37-39

Proposed changes

edit I propose that we change "Research Methods" to "Research Designs in Developmental Psychology" add subsection title: "Main Methods Used in Developmental Research"
edit I propose that we take the first sentence under the section "Research Methods and Designs" quote "Developmental psychologists have a number of methods to study changes in individuals over time. Common research methods include systematic observation, including naturalistic observations or structured observations; self-reports, which could be clinical interviews or structured interviews; clinical or case study method; and ethnography or participant observation.[1]:31-35" and move it under the proposed titled section "Main Methods Used in Developmental Research" edit of title

Main Methods Used in Developmental Research

first proposed sentenced Developmental psychologists have a number of methods to study changes in individuals over time. Common research methods include systematic observation, including naturalistic observations or structured observations; self-reports, which could be clinical interviews or structured interviews; clinical or case study method; and ethnography or participant observation.[1]:31-35
add sentence These sentences differ in the extent to which researchers impose control over the conditions of the study and how they have constructed ideas about which variables to be studied. Every developmental investigation can be characterized in terms of whether its underlying strategy involves the experimental, correlational, or case study approach. The experimental method involves "actual manipulation of various treatments, circumstances, or events to which the participant or subject is exposed; the experimental design points to cause-and-effect relationships. This method allows for strong inferences to be made of causal relationships between the manipulation of one or more independent variables and subsequent behavior, as measured by the dependent variable. The advantage of using this research method is that it permits determination of cause-and-effect relationships among variables. On the other hand, the limitation is that data obtained in an artificial environment may lack generalizability. The correlational method explores the relationship between two or more events by gathering information about these variables without researcher intervention. The advantage of using a correlational design is that it estimates the strength and direction of relationships among variables in the natural environment; however, the limitation is that it does not permit determination of cause-and-effect relationships among variables.. The case study approach allows investigations to obtain an in-depth understanding of an individual participant by collecting data based on interviews, structured questionnaires, observations, and test scores. Each of these methods have its strengths and weaknesses but the experimental method when appropriate is the preferred method of developmental scientists because it provides a controlled situation and conclusions to be drawn about cause-and-effect relationships..

proposed edit After the conclusion of the first subsection, it would be a good idea to title the following subsection as Research Designs in Developmental Psychology

Research Designs in Developmental Psychology

edit I propose that this section should start with the sentence "Most developmental studies, regardless of whether they employ the experimental, correlational, or case study method, can also be constructed using research designs. Research designs are logical frameworks used to make key comparisons within research studies such as:

• cross-sectional design
• longitudinal design
• sequential design
• microgenetic design
  

edit I propose to copy and paste the previous information about the relevant research designs: " In a longitudinal study, a researcher observes many individuals born at or around the same time (a cohort) and carries out new observations as members of the cohort age. This method can be used to draw conclusions about which types of development are universal (or normative) and occur in most members of a cohort. As an example a longitudinal study of early literacy development examined in detail the early literacy experiences of one child in each of 30 families.[14] Researchers may also observe ways in which development varies between individuals and hypothesize about the causes of variation observed in their data. Longitudinal studies often require large amounts of time and funding, making them unfeasible in some situations. Also, because members of a cohort all experience historical events unique to their generation, apparently normative developmental trends may in fact be universal only to their cohort.[1]:40 In a cross-sectional study, a researcher observes differences between individuals of different ages at the same time. This generally requires less resources than the longitudinal method, and because the individuals come from different cohorts, shared historical events are not so much of a confounding factor. By the same token, however, cross-sectional research may not be the most effective way to study differences between participants, as these differences may result not from their different ages but from their exposure to different historical event.[1]:41 A third study design, the sequential design, combines both methodologies. Here, a researcher observes members of different birth cohorts at the same time, and then tracks all participants over time, charting changes in the groups. While much more resource-intensive, the format aids in a clearer distinction between what changes can be attributed to individual or historical environment from those which are truly universal.[1]:42"
edit deletion of the sentence "Notably, these are all correlational, not experimental, designs, and so one cannot readily infer causation from the data they yield. Nonetheless, correlational research methods are common in the study of development, in part due to ethical concerns. In a study of the effects of poverty on development, for instance, one cannot easily randomly assign certain families to a poverty condition and others to an affluent one, and so observation alone has to suffice.[1]:37-39"
edit I would like to end the section with "Because every method has some weaknesses, developmental psychologists rarely rely on one study or even one method to reach conclusions by finding consistent evidence from as many converging sources as possible.

Prenatal Development

- "Most of the brain's billions of neurons also are developed by the second semester”.

I propose to make a grammatical change in the sentence.

Instead of semester it should be trimester. Most of the brain's billions of neurons also are developed by the second trimester

- “Several environment agents—teratogens—can cause damage during the prenatal period. These include prescription and nonprescription drugs, illegal drugs, tobacco, alcohol, environmental pollutants, infectious disease agents such as the rubella virus and the toxoplasmosis bacterium, maternal malnutrition, maternal emotional stress and Rh factor blood incompatibility between mother and child".

I propose to make a grammatical change in the sentence. I would insert a comma towards the end of the last sentence to conclude the list of things that can cause damage during the prenatal period.

Several environment agents—teratogens—can cause damage during the prenatal period. These include prescription and nonprescription drugs, illegal drugs, tobacco, alcohol, environmental pollutants, infectious disease agents such as the rubella virus and the toxoplasmosis bacterium, maternal malnutrition, maternal emotional stress, and Rh factor blood incompatibility between mother and child.

Infancy

- "Infant Perception: Infants respond to stimuli differently in these different states.[16]"

I propose to further elaborate on infant perception. I would also like to put that infant perception is what a newborn can see, hear, smell, taste, and feel. These five features are better known as ones “five senses”.

Infant Perception: Infant perception is what a newborn can see, hear, smell, taste, and touch. These five features are better known as ones “five senses”. Infants respond to stimuli differently in these different states.[16]

- "Vision is significantly worse in infants than in older children. Infant sight, blurry in early stages, improves over time. Color perception similar to that seen in adults has been demonstrated in infants as young as four months, using habituation methods.[15] Infants get to adult-like vision in about six months.[1]:191 Hearing is well-developed prior to birth, however. Newborns prefer complex sounds to pure tones, human speech to other sounds, mother's voice to other voices, and the native language to other languages. These are probably learned in the womb.[1]:151 Infants are fairly good at detecting the direction from which a sound comes, and by 18 months their hearing ability is approximately equal to that of adults. Smell and taste are present, with infants showing different expressions of disgust or pleasure when presented with pleasant odors (honey, milk, etc.) or unpleasant odors (rotten egg) and tastes (e.g. sour taste). Newborns are born with odor and taste preferences acquired in the womb from the smell and taste of amniotic fluid, in turn influenced by what the mother eats. Both breast- and bottle-fed babies around 3 days old prefer the smell of human milk to that of formula, indicating an innate preference.[1]:150 There is good evidence for older infants preferring the smell of their mother to that of others.[15] Touch is one of the better-developed senses at birth, being one of the first to develop inside the womb. This is evidenced by the primitive reflexes described above, and the relatively advanced development of the somatosensory cortex.[17] Pain: Infants feel pain similarly, if not more strongly than older children but pain-relief in infants has not received so much attention as an area of research"

I propose to revise the bullets under infant perception due to lack of clarity and organizational flow. I would also like to incorporate the pain bullet with the touch bullet.

Vision is significantly worse in infants than in older children. Infant sight tends to be blurry in early stages but improves over time. Color perception similar to that seen in adults has been demonstrated in infants as young as four months, using habituation methods.[15] Infants get to adult-like vision in about six months.[1]:191 Hearing is well-developed prior to birth unlike vision. Newborns prefer complex sounds to pure tones, human speech to other sounds, mother's voice to other voices, and the native language to other languages. Scientist believe these features are probably learned in the womb.[1]:151 Infants are fairly good at detecting the direction from which a sound comes, and by 18 months their hearing ability is approximately equal to that of adults. Smell and taste are present, with infants showing different expressions of disgust or pleasure when presented with pleasant odors (honey, milk, etc.) or unpleasant odors (rotten egg) and tastes (e.g. sour taste). Newborns are born with odor and taste preferences acquired in the womb from the smell and taste of amniotic fluid, in turn influenced by what the mother eats. Both breast- and bottle-fed babies around 3 days old prefer the smell of human milk to that of formula, indicating an innate preference.[1]:150 There is good evidence for older infants preferring the smell of their mother to that of others.[15] Touch/Feel is one of the better-developed senses at birth considering it’s one of the first senses to develop inside the womb. This is evidenced by the primitive reflexes described above, and the relatively advanced development of the somatosensory cortex.[17] Infants feel pain similarly, if not more strongly than older children but pain-relief in infants has not received so much attention as an area of research.[18]

-"Main articles: Infant and child psychology and Infant cognitive development From birth until the first year, the child is referred to as an infant.[1] Developmental psychologists vary widely in their assessment of infant psychology, and the influence the outside world has upon it, but certain aspects are relatively clear. The majority of a newborn infant's time is spent in sleep. At first this sleep is evenly spread throughout the day and night, but after a couple of months, infants generally become diurnal. Language: Babies are born with the ability to discriminate virtually all sounds of all human languages.[1]:189 Infants of around six months can differentiate between phonemes in their own language, but not between similar phonemes in another language. At this stage infants also start to babble, producing phonemes. Critical Periods of Development There are critical periods in infancy and childhood during which development of certain perceptual, sensorimotor, social and language systems depends crucially on environmental stimulation.[23] Feral children such as Genie, deprived of adequate stimulation, fail to acquire important skills which they are then unable to learn in later childhood. The concept of critical periods is also well-established in neurophysiology, from the work of Hubel and Wiesel among others."

I propose to include the section on language and the next main topic of Critical Periods of Development in the introduction of Infancy.

From birth until the first year, the child is referred to as an infant.[1] Developmental psychologists vary widely in their assessment of infant psychology, and the influence the outside world has upon it, but certain aspects are relatively clear. There are critical periods in infancy and childhood during which development of certain perceptual, sensorimotor, social and language systems depends crucially on environmental stimulation.[23] Feral children such as Genie, deprived of adequate stimulation, fail to acquire important skills which they are then unable to learn in later childhood. The concept of critical periods is also well-established in neurophysiology, from the work of Hubel and Wiesel among others.Babies are born with the ability to discriminate virtually all sounds of all human languages.[1]:189 Infants of around six months can differentiate between phonemes in their own language, but not between similar phonemes in another language. At this stage infants also start to babble, producing phonemes. The majority of a newborn infant's time is spent in sleep. At first this sleep is evenly spread throughout the day and night, but after a couple of months, infants generally become diurnal.

-"Infant Cognition: The Piagetian Era An early theory of infant development was the Sensorimotor stage of Piaget's Theory of cognitive development. Piaget suggested that an infant's perception and understanding of the world depended on their motor development, which was required for the infant to link visual, tactile and motor representations of objects. According to this view, it is through touching and handling objects that infants develop object permanence, the understanding that objects are solid, permanent, and continue to exist when out of sight.[16] Special methods are used in the psychological study of infants. Piaget's Sensorimotor Stage comprised six sub-stages (see sensorimotor stages for more detail). In the early stages, development arises out of movements caused by primitive reflexes.[19] Discovery of new behaviors results from classical and operant conditioning, and the formation of habits.[19] From eight months the infant is able to uncover a hidden object but will persevere when the object is moved. Piaget came to his conclusion that infants lacked a complete understanding of object permanence before 18 months after observing infants' failure before this age to look for an object where it was last seen. Instead infants continue to look for an object where it was first seen, committing the "A-not-B error." Some researchers have suggested that before the age of eight to nine months, infants' inability to understand object permanence extends to people, which explains why infants at this age do not cry when their mothers are gone ("Out of sight, out of mind"). Recent Finding in Infant Cognition In the 1980s and 1990s, researchers have developed many new methods of assessing infants' understanding of the world with far more precision and subtlety than Piaget was able to do in his time. Since then, many studies based on these methods suggest that young infants understand far more about the world than first thought. Based on recent findings, some researchers (such as Elizabeth Spelke and Renee Baillargeon) have proposed that an understanding of object permanence is not learned at all, but rather comprises part of the innate cognitive capacities of our species. Other research has suggested that young infants in their first six months of life may possess an understanding of numerous aspects of the world around them, including: - an early numerical cognition, that is, an ability to represent number and even compute the outcomes of addition and subtraction operations;[20] - an ability to infer the goals of people in their environment;[21] - an ability to engage in simple causal reasoning.[22]"

I propose to combine Infant Cognition: The Piagetian Era and Recent Finding in Infant Cognition in order to make the information on Infant Cognition flow better.

Infant Cognition: The Piagetian Era An early theory of infant development was the Sensorimotor stage of Piaget's Theory of cognitive development. Piaget suggested that an infant's perception and understanding of the world depended on their motor development, which was required for the infant to link visual, tactile and motor representations of objects. According to this view, it is through touching and handling objects that infants develop object permanence, the understanding that objects are solid, permanent, and continue to exist when out of sight.[16] Special methods are used in the psychological study of infants. Piaget's Sensorimotor Stage comprised six sub-stages (see sensorimotor stages for more detail). In the early stages, development arises out of movements caused by primitive reflexes.[19] Discovery of new behaviors results from classical and operant conditioning, and the formation of habits.[19] From eight months the infant is able to uncover a hidden object but will persevere when the object is moved. Piaget came to his conclusion that infants lacked a complete understanding of object permanence before 18 months after observing infants' failure before this age to look for an object where it was last seen. Instead infants continue to look for an object where it was first seen, committing the "A-not-B error." Some researchers have suggested that before the age of eight to nine months, infants' inability to understand object permanence extends to people, which explains why infants at this age do not cry when their mothers are gone ("Out of sight, out of mind"). In the 1980s and 1990s, researchers have developed many new methods of assessing infants' understanding of the world with far more precision and subtlety than Piaget was able to do in his time. Since then, many studies based on these methods suggest that young infants understand far more about the world than first thought. Based on recent findings, some researchers (such as Elizabeth Spelke and Renee Baillargeon) have proposed that an understanding of object permanence is not learned at all, but rather comprises part of the innate cognitive capacities of our species. Other research has suggested that young infants in their first six months of life may possess an understanding of numerous aspects of the world around them, including: - an early numerical cognition, that is, an ability to represent number and even compute the outcomes of addition and subtraction operations;[20] - an ability to infer the goals of people in their environment;[21] - an ability to engage in simple causal reasoning.[22]

Toddlerhood

-“Babies between ages of one and two are called toddlers. In this stage, intelligence is demonstrated through the use of symbols, language use matures, and memory and imagination are developed. Thinking is done in a non-logical, nonreversible manner. Egocentric thinking predominates.”

We could not verify some of the information in the original text. Inconsistencies with information from references are deleted.

Infants shift between ages of one and two to a developmental stage known as toddlerhood. In this stage, an infant’ transition into toddlerhood is highlighted through self-awareness, developing maturity in language use, and presence of memory and imagination.

-“Socially, toddlers are little people attempting to become independent at this stage, which they are commonly called the "terrible twos." They walk, talk, use the toilet, and get food for themselves. Self-control begins to develop. If taking the initiative to explore, experiment, risk mistakes in trying new things, and test their limits is encouraged by the caretaker(s) the child will become autonomous, self-reliant, and confident. If the caretaker is overprotective or disapproving of independent actions, the toddler may begin to doubt their abilities and feel ashamed for the desire for independence. The child's autonomic development will be inhibited, and be less prepared to successfully deal with the world in the future.”

References much needed and not found in the original text were proposed to be added. We propose revising and expanding the original text, while additionally changing the format by separating the “terrible twos” part into its own paragraph.

During toddlerhood, babies begin learning how to walk, talk, and make decisions for themselves. An important characteristic of this age period is the development of language, where children are learning how to communicate and express their emotions and desires through the use of vocal sounds, babbling, and eventually words. Self-control also begins to develop. At this age, children take initiative to explore, experiment, and learn from making mistakes. Allowing toddlers to try new things and test their limit is encouraged by caretakers in order to allow the child to become autonomous, self-reliant, and confident. If the caretaker is overprotective or disapproving of independent actions, the toddler may begin to doubt their abilities and feel ashamed for the desire for independence. The child's autonomic development will be inhibited, and be less prepared to successfully deal with the world in the future. Toddlers also begin to identify themselves to gender roles, acting according to their perception of what a man or woman should do REF: UPTON

Socially, the period of toddlerhood is commonly called the "terrible twos". Toddlers often use their new-found language abilities to voice their desires, but are often misunderstood by parents due to their language skills just beginning to develop. A person at this stage testing their independence is another reason behind the stage’s infamous label. Tantrums in a fit of frustration are also common.

Early Adulthood

-“The person must learn how to form intimate relationships, both in friendship and love. The development of this skill relies on the resolution of other stages. It may be hard to establish intimacy if one has not developed trust or a sense of identity. If this skill is not learned the alternative is alienation, isolation, a fear of commitment, and the inability to depend on others.[25]"

We propose changing the first sentence for better clarity. We also propose adding more substantial information with references.

The people in early adulthood, according to theorists such as Erik Erikson, are mainly focused on maintaining intimacy . Examples include creating intimate relationships, sustaining friendships and ultimately making a family. Some theorists state that development of intimacy skills rely on the resolution of previous developmental stages. It may be hard to establish intimacy if one has not developed trust or a sense of identity. If this skill is not learned the alternative is alienation, isolation, a fear of commitment, and the inability to depend on others.[25]

-"Middle age"

I propose to change the subtitle from Middle age to Middle Adulthood because it sounds more professional and it flows better.

Middle Adulthood

-"Old age"

I propose to change the subtitle from Old age to Maturity because it sounds more professional and it flows better.

Maturity