PSYA02H3 Chapter Notes - Chapter 12: Puberty, Egocentrism
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PSYA02H3 Full Course Notes
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Document Summary
Developmental psychologists study both the similarities and the differences among people as they develop and change. Cross-sectional study: a study of development in which individuals of different ages are compared at the same time. Longitudinal study: a study of development in which observations of the same individuals are compared at different times of their lives. The union of the ovum(egg) and sperm, conception, is the starting point for prenatal development. Prenatal period: the nine months between conception and birth. This period is divided into three developmental stages; the zygotic, the embryonic, and the fetal. Zygote stage: the first stage of prenatal development, during which the zygote divides many times and the internal organs begin to form. Near the end, a third layer of cells appears that develop into muscles and the circulatory and excretory systems. By the end of this stage, the major features that define the human body-arms, hands, fingers, legs, toes, shoulders, head and eyes are discernible.
