Unit 2: Physical
Development
Throughout the
Lifespan
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Areas of Focus:
 The human body and how it changes physically
 The human brain
 Factors that affect physical and brain development
(both positively and negatively)
Test Date: HHG4MI-01: Monday December 15th
HHG4MI-02: Tuesday December 16th
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Continuous vs Discontinuous Growth
Critical Periods vs Sensitive Periods
Nature vs Nurture
Stability vs Change
Conceptions of Age
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Chronological age
Biological age
Mental age
Psychological age
Social age
Definition of Physical
Development
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Emphasis on how brain, nervous system, muscles, sensory
capabilities, needs for food/drink/sleep affect behaviour
Development
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Cephalocaudal Development
Proximodistal Development
Prenatal Development (PPT)
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Length of prenatal period (days, weeks, months)
3 phases
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Germinal (Weeks 1 and 2)
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Embryonic (Weeks 2-8)
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What does a human look like at the START of this period? At the END?
Cell layers (endoderm, ectoderm, mesoderm)
Fetal (Week 9 to birth)
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What is happening during this period?
What is primarily happening to the baby in the last 3 months of prenatal
development?
Muscles, cartilage to bone, sex organs, body movements, details, weight is put
on
When are the critical periods for prenatal development?
Why is this time a time when babies are most susceptible to factors that
impede on development?
When are genetics/sex determined?
When is baby most susceptible to factors affecting development?
Prenatal Development (HO)
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What month is the baby susceptible to spina bifida?
Why does spina bifida occur? (nutrient that is deficient?), What
happens to those with spina bifida?
What month are vital organs fully functional?
Around what month does the baby encounter their first
movements?
When can a baby hear (month)?
When can the sex of the baby be seen on ultrasound (month)?
When does the skull fuse together?
When do spinal nerves stretch from the spinal cord?
When is brain fully developed?
Prenatal BRAIN Development
(HO)
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At what week are nerve cells and synapses forming?
Myelin begins to form around spinal cord during which week?
Sensory development reaches its peak at which week?
At what week does the baby respond to touch and light?
With sound being more consistant at week ___, the network of
nerves in the ears is complete!
When does a baby start dreaming (week)?
What do dreams tell us about the baby’s brain?
Are the baby’s brain and nervous system fully formed by the time
a baby is born?
Prenatal Development: Birth
Defects (research activity)
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Description
Causes
Preventable?
Cure? Treatment?
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Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
Spina Bifida
Down Syndrome
Cleft Palate/Lip
Cerebral Palsy
Infancy and Toddlers (PPT)
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Fine vs Gross Motor Skills
Cephalocaudal development during infancy
Infant Reflexes
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Rooting
Sucking
Grasping
Moro
Palmer
Stepping
Sensation vs Perception
How does vision change in the first few weeks/months of life
outside the womb?
Factors affecting development (+ and -) during infancy?
Childhood Development
(PPT)
Major Concepts about Develompent
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Continuous
Predictable
Different rates
Growth depends on previous growth
Growth is unique individually
Faster in early childhood than late childhood
Gross and Fine Motor Skills of children
How do children explore their surroundings?
Gender differences in growth (muscles vs fat)
Improved coordination, greater lung capacity
How do connections between neurons strengthen?
Purpose of Myelination and pruning
Factors affecting development
Adolescence (HO/Movie Q’s)
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Period marked by rapid increase in height and weight
Females are often ___ years ahead of males
Asynchrony
Puberty
Hormonal changes (hormones triggered in males and females and result in
terms of reproductive cycle)
Synaptic pruning
Neuron axon diameters and myelination increase which means what is
happening?
What 3 parts of the brain are increasing?
Factors affecting development??
Which part of the brain causes teens to be impulsive and indecisive?
What is happening to the brain if someone has schizophrenia?
What kind of research is done by psychologists to try to detect early signs of
schizophrenia? What are they looking for (motor development)?
Why do researchers say that if you have a low response to alcohol you are
more likely to develop alcoholism?
Is alcoholism genetic?
How does recover for alcoholism work with respect to brain changes?
Adulthood Development
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Are the number of physical developments high or low at this
stage of the life span?
What does a lot of physical development depend on in
adolescence? (Activities, genetics)
What is menopause and what does it signify? When does it
occur?
Describe some of the physical developments that change from the
beginning of adulthood to the end of adulthood
What are + and – brain changes that occur in adulthood?
What are 5 factors that affect development (at least 2 positive, and
negative) Explain HOW they do so.
Old Age and Development
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At what age are you considered to be in this life stage?
What are some physical developments/changes that are occurring
during this stage of life? (taste, smell, sight, hearing, feeling,
visible appearance, sexual function, height, bone density,
metabolism)
What is happening to brain development during this life stage?
(parietal cortex and temporal cortex work harder – why?, why is
there less communication between neurons (shrink and dendritic
loss)
Factors affecting development (+ and -)
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(retirement, social interactions, exercise, diet, stress, depression,
medical care, dental care, weather, sleep – heart attacks, vision loss,
hearing loss etc…)
Short Answer Examples
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What determines the sex of a child?
What are the outward signs of internal aging?
What are 3 aspects of yourself that have changed over the last
10 years and 3 that have remained the same
If someone had researched your personal development over
time, where would they have noticed the MOST change?
LEAST change?
***Examples from jeopardy game!!**
Short Answer
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When it comes to physical development, how important is chronological
age?
Is there a clear timetable for development? Explain using specific
examples.
Overall, would you say that physical and brain development is continuous
or discontinuous? Explain using specific examples.
If you were planning to become a child-care provider for infants in your
home, what would you plan to do to provide them with physical activity?
Explain using specific examples and how those activities would promote
healthy physical development.
For the quote “one foot in childhood and one foot in adulthood”, do you
agree or disagree with what the author has said? Explain using specific
examples to support your argument.
Why do many young people choose adolescence as the time to begin
experimenting with smoking, drinking, drugs, sex and other risky
behaviours?