Introduction
Developmental psychology describes how the mind and behaviour change from conception to old age. It explains the forces that drive development and the stages that major theories propose. For a doctor this knowledge matters for paediatric care, adolescence, and the psychological needs of older patients.
Basic principles and factors
- Development is lifelong and follows a broadly predictable sequence, although the pace differs between individuals.
- Heredity and environment interact. Maturation determines what a child can do at each age, and learning and experience shape how.
- Critical periods exist, for example for language acquisition and early visual development. Deprivation during these periods can cause lasting deficits.
- Development is cumulative. Early experiences shape later capacities, but development also continues in adulthood.
Infancy and attachment
- Attachment theory (Bowlby) holds that infants form an emotional bond with a primary caregiver, which provides security and a template for later relationships.
- Ainsworth's Strange Situation identified secure attachment and two insecure patterns, avoidant and ambivalent. Main and Solomon later added the disorganised pattern.
- Secure attachment is linked to better emotional regulation, while disrupted attachment is associated with later anxiety and relationship difficulties.