PSYC 3800 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Personal Development, Cerebellum, Information Processing

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 3800
• Professor: Jen Lasenby- Lessard

Document Summary

Development: refers to certain changes that occur in humans between conception and death, is not applied to all changes, but those that appear in orderly ways and remain for a reasonably long period of time, physical development. Generally used for changes in an individual"s personality: social development. Changes in the way an individual relates to others: cognitive development. Changes in thinking, reasoning, and decision making: maturation. Changes that occur naturally and spontaneously, and that are to a large extent, genetically programmed. Most psychologists talk about sensitive periods, not critical periods. Times when a person is especially ready or responsive to certain experiences: beware of either/or. Most psychologists see human development, learning, and motivation as a set of interacting and coacting contexts. General principles of development: people develop at different rates, development is relatively orderly, development takes place gradually. Plays a role in higher cognitive functions such as learning: hippocampus. Critical in recalling new information and recent experiences: amygdala.