Introduction to developmental

psychology

sharoon rufan Bsn,RN

Objectives
• By the end of this session students
will be able to
• Define developmental psychology
• Identify various stages of
development
• Describe different theories of
development
• Explain interaction between
hereditary and environment.
Developmental
psychology?
• Developmental psychology is a
scientific approach which aims to
explain growth, change and
consistency though the lifespan.
Developmental psychology looks
at how thinking, feeling, and
behavior change throughout a
person’s life.
Conti..

• The study of developmental

psychology is essential to
understanding how humans learn,
mature and adapt. Throughout their
lives, humans go through various
stages of development.
Developmental psychologists study
how people grow, develop and
adapt at different life stages.
Prenatal stage
• Human development begins with conception, the
fertilization of an egg by a sperm
• The prenatal months not only a time of dramatic
developmental change, but also most hazardous
period of life course.
• The nine month of prenatal development are
usually divided into three stages:
– Germinal stage
– Embryonic stage
– Fetal stage
• Germinal stage:
– The germinal stage begins at conception
when the sperm and egg cell unite in one of
the two fallopian tubes.
• Embryonic stage:
• The mass of cells is now known
as an embryo. The beginning of
the third week after conception
marks the start of the embryonic
period, a time when the mass of
cells becomes distinct as a
human. The embryonic stage
plays an important role in the
development of the brain.
• Fetal stage:
• The fetal period of prenatal
develop marks more important
changes in the brain. This period
of development begins during the
ninth week and lasts until birth.
This stage is marked by amazing
change and growth.
Theories of development

• Erikson's Psychosocial
Developmental Theory.
• Freud's Psychosexual
Developmental Theory.
• Piaget's Cognitive
Developmental Theory.
• Erikson's theory described the
impact of social experience across
the whole lifespan. Erikson was
interested in how social interaction
and relationships played a role in the
development and growth of human
beings.
• The preconscious consists of anything that
could potentially be brought into the
conscious mind.
• The conscious mind contains all of the
thoughts, memories, feelings, and wishes of
which we are aware at any given moment.
This is the aspect of our mental processing
that we can think and talk about rationally.
This also includes our memory, which is not
always part of consciousness but can be
retrieved easily and brought into awareness.
• The unconscious mind is a reservoir of
feelings, thoughts, urges, and memories that
are outside of our conscious awareness. The
unconscious contains contents that are
unacceptable or unpleasant, such as
feelings of pain, anxiety, or conflict.
• Freud's psychoanalytic theory
(1923) saw the psyche structured
into three parts (i.e., tripartite), the
id, ego and superego, all
developing at different stages in
our lives. These are systems, not
parts of the brain, or in any way
physical.
• According to Freud, the id is the source of all
psychic energy, making it the primary component
of personality.
• The id is the only component of personality that is
present from birth.
• This aspect of personality is entirely unconscious
and includes instinctive and primitive behaviors.
• The id is driven by the pleasure principle, which
strives for immediate gratification of all desires,
wants, and needs. If these needs are not satisfied
immediately, the result is a state anxiety or
tension. For example, an increase in hunger or
thirst should produce an immediate attempt to eat
• The Ego develops from the id and ensures
that the impulses of the id can be expressed in a
manner acceptable in the real world.
• The ego functions in the conscious,
preconscious, and unconscious mind.
• The ego is the component of personality that is
responsible for dealing with reality
• The ego operates based on the reality principle,
which strives to satisfy the id's desires in realistic
and socially appropriate ways. The reality
principle weighs the costs and benefits of an
action before deciding to act upon or abandon
impulses.
The superego
• The superego holds the internalized moral standards
and ideals that we acquire from our parents and society
(our sense of right and wrong

• The superego has two parts:

1. The conscience includes information about things that are
viewed as bad by parents and society. These behaviors
are often forbidden and lead to bad consequences,
punishments, or feelings of guilt and remorse.
2. The ego ideal includes the rules and standards for
behaviors that the ego aspires to.

• The superego tries to perfect and civilize our behavior. It works

to suppress all unacceptable urges of the id and struggles to
make the ego act upon idealistic standards rather that upon
realistic principles. The superego is present in the conscious,
preconscious, and unconscious.
Jean Piaget Theory of
cognitive development

• Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive

development suggests that intelligence
changes as children grow. A child's
cognitive development is not just about
acquiring knowledge, the child has to
develop or construct a mental model of
the world.