Lifespan Development - AP Psychology

A child normally, if applicable, begins having imaginary companions at 4 years of age. During this time they are also expected to be able to hop on one foot, copy a cross, play cooperatively with other children, and express themselves clearly verbally. A child is not expected to be able to copy a square until age 5. Children learn to tie shoelaces and read by the age of 6.

Bloom's Taxonomy contains six cognitive levels that a student progresses through as intellectual capacities increase. Here, they are listed in ascending order of complexity: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Bloom and his followers posited that by assessing a student's level of intellectual capacity, educators could best meet and test their students' learning development.

Bloom's Taxonomy contains six cognitive levels that a student progresses through as intellectual capacities increase. Here, they are listed in ascending order of complexity: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. According to Bloom, the level of "synthesis" is being exercised when the student is peicing together elments or parts to form a whole.

A child is expected to be able to catch a ball with both hands by 5 years. During this time they are also expected to be able to copy a square, skip using both feet, and may show romantic feelings for the opposite sex (4-5 years of age). At the age of 2, most children can kick a ball. At 3 years, most children can climb stairs using alternate feet. At the age of 4, children are expected to be able to catch a ball with their arms.

According to Baumrind (1966), permissive parents do not establish themselves as role models or authority figures. Instead, they act more like peers, allowing their children to do as they please. Baumrind's work suggested that the most effective style of parenting is authoritative, which combines the warmth and compassion of permissive parenting with the boundary setting that is characteristic of authoritarian parenting.

Companionate love occurs after a long period of partner union. It lacks the passion associated with the first 5-10 years of a relationship, by Sternberg's model. This is the difference between companionate love and consummate love, which includes passion, commitment and intimacy.

Stranger anxiety begins around 7 months and lasts until 11 months. Of note, separation anxiety can set in between 12-15 months. At 1-6 months is too young to demonstrate these characteristics, so babies are typically comfortable with strangers during this time.

Animism, or the belief that objects are alive and have personalities, is a common childhood belief, which was extensively studied by Jean Piaget. Piaget attributed animism to a failure of the child to distinguish its own interior world from its exterior world.

A child generally develops a sense of self as a male or a female at 3 years. During this time they are also expected to be potty trained (achieve bladder control), ride a tricycle, and use around 900 words. By 4 years, the child will start to engage in play with other children and start role playing (ex. playing house).

Errors of growth, also known as overregulation, occur when a child learning a language incorrectly applies a general rule to all words. In English, adding the suffix "ed" to a verb, generally puts it into past tense; however, there are exceptions (such as with the verb to go). Babbling also occurs in language development, but it is spontaneous nonsense syllables that are a precursor to language. Phonology has to do with the basic building blocks of words such as letters. Pragmatics is the most complex component of language that has to do with the efficient use of language such as tone.

Infants are expected to be able to lift their head, smile socially, and coo between the age of 1-3 months. Infants begin to crawl between 7-11 months. Infants start walking between 12-15 months. Lastly, infants can begin to sit unassisted between 4-6 months.

The Flynn Effect can be described as the significant statistical research finding that intelligence, as measured by standardized tests, has increased across time in first world nations. That is, the average scores on intelligence tests have been climbing over the last several decades. For example, where the average score on a standardized intelligence test in the 1950's was 100, examinees today would score on average closer to 105. This has required a restandardization of normative data and has led researchers to investigate the phenomenon.

Thurstone concentrated on only three areas of intelligence, which he called Primary Mental Abilities. His three Primary Mental Abilities are comparable to three of the four indices of the Weschler intelligence scales which have become the gold standard of intelligence testing; however, "working memory," which is measured by the Weschler set of tests, is not considered by Thurstone.

Similar to Thurstone's Primary Mental Abilities, the Stanford-Binet intelligence test focuses on three and not four (as with the Weschler scales) primary areas of intelligence. The Stanford-Binet, however, includes working memory in place of perceptual speed whereas Thurstone includes perceptual speed to the exclusion of working memory. As such, "perceptual speed" is not an index of intelligence measured by the Stanford-Binet.

An infant is not expected to be able to crawl until 7-11 months, where they are also expected to show stranger anxiety, use gestures, and imitate sounds. The rest of the listed behaviors are typical of an infant between 4-6 months.

An infant is expected to be able to walk unassisted, can show separation anxiety, and say their first words (not necessarily 5 new words) at 12-15 months. By 1.5 years (18 months) of age, a toddler is expected to say around 10 words and throw a ball. A child is expected to be able to copy a square around age 5.

At 1.5 years of age, a child is expected to be able to stack 3 blocks and use about 10 individual words. A toddler can say around 250 words by the age of 2. Secondly, a child is expected to be able to copy a circle by the age of 3. Lastly, a child is expected to catch a ball with two hands by the age of 5.

During early childhood (age 2 to 6 years) the child begins to engage in social interaction. He or she wants to be the center of attention. By encouraging the child to respect boundaries and providing discipline to control impulsive behavior, the child will learn a responsible way of living.

Adolescence (age 12 to 18 years) is a time of identity crisis. At this stage, the child asks, "Who am I?" If the child can integrate values learned during previous childhood stages (trust, independence, impulse control, and intellectual curiosity), then they will have a strong identity and readiness to be an adult. If not, confusion can occur and they will be unable to make decisions about their role in life.

The regressed behaviors of this client are characteristic of the “trust vs. mistrust” stage. When a child experiences trauma or neglect during this stage they are unable to develop a secure sense of trust with himself or herself or their caregiver. This leaves them feeling either excessively dependent or excessively detached. The client also demonstrates early development behaviors such as thumb sucking, which are indicative of an emotional age of about 1 year old in Erickson's model.