Editing Developmental psychology (section)

==Research areas==
===Neural development===
One critical aspect of developmental psychology is the study of neural development, which investigates how the brain changes and develops during different stages of life. Neural development focuses on how the brain changes and develops during different stages of life. Studies have shown that the human brain undergoes rapid changes during prenatal and early postnatal periods. These changes include the formation of neurons, the development of neural networks, and the establishment of synaptic connections.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Regional differences in synaptogenesis in human cerebral cortex |journal=The Journal of Comparative Neurology | year=1997 |doi=10.1002/(sici)1096-9861(19971020)387:2<167::aid-cne1>3.0.co;2-z| pmid=9336221 | last1=Huttenlocher | first1=P. R. | last2=Dabholkar | first2=A. S. | volume=387 | issue=2 | pages=167–178 | doi-access=free }}</ref> The formation of neurons and the establishment of basic neural circuits in the developing brain are crucial for laying the foundation of the brain's structure and function, and disruptions during this period can have long-term effects on cognitive and emotional development.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Johnson |first=Mark H. |date=July 2001 |title=Functional brain development in humans |journal=Nature Reviews Neuroscience |language=en |volume=2 |issue=7 |pages=475–483 |doi=10.1038/35081509 |pmid=11433372 }}</ref>

Experiences and environmental factors play a crucial role in shaping neural development. Early sensory experiences, such as exposure to language and visual stimuli, can influence the development of neural pathways related to perception and language processing.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Werker |first1=Janet F. |last2=Hensch |first2=Takao K. |title=Critical Periods in Speech Perception: New Directions |journal=Annual Review of Psychology |date=3 January 2015 |volume=66 |issue=1 |pages=173–196 |doi=10.1146/annurev-psych-010814-015104 |pmid=25251488 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Genetic factors play a huge roll in neural development. Genetic factors can influence the timing and pattern of neural development, as well as the susceptibility to certain developmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Geschwind |first1=Daniel H. |last2=Rakic |first2=Pasko |title=Cortical Evolution: Judge the Brain by Its Cover |journal=Neuron |date=October 2013 |volume=80 |issue=3 |pages=633–647 |doi=10.1016/j.neuron.2013.10.045 |pmc=3922239 |pmid=24183016 }}</ref>

Research finds that the adolescent brain undergoes significant changes in neural connectivity and plasticity. During this period, there is a pruning process where certain neural connections are strengthened while others are eliminated, resulting in more efficient neural networks and increased cognitive abilities, such as decision-making and impulse control.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Blakemore |first1=Sarah-Jayne |last2=Choudhury |first2=Suparna |date=March 2006 |title=Development of the adolescent brain: implications for executive function and social cognition |journal=Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry |language=en |volume=47 |issue=3–4 |pages=296–312 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7610.2006.01611.x |pmid=16492261 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

The study of neural development provides crucial insights into the complex interplay between genetics, environment, and experiences in shaping the developing brain. By understanding the neural processes underlying developmental changes, researchers gain a better understanding of cognitive, emotional, and social development in humans.

===Cognitive development===
{{Main|Cognitive development|Theory of cognitive development|Neo-Piagetian theories of cognitive development}}
Cognitive development is primarily concerned with how infants and children acquire, develop, and use internal mental capabilities such as: problem-solving, memory, and language. Major topics in cognitive development are the study of language acquisition and the development of perceptual and motor skills. Piaget was one of the influential early psychologists to study the development of cognitive abilities. His theory suggests that development proceeds through a set of stages from infancy to adulthood and that there is an end point or goal.

Other accounts, such as that of [[Lev Vygotsky]], have suggested that development does not progress through stages, but rather that the developmental process that begins at birth and continues until death is too complex for such structure and finality. Rather, from this viewpoint, developmental processes proceed more continuously. Thus, development should be analyzed, instead of treated as a product to obtain.

[[K. Warner Schaie]] has expanded the study of cognitive development into adulthood. Rather than being stable from adolescence, Schaie sees adults as progressing in the application of their cognitive abilities.<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Schaie KW | date = 1990 | chapter = Intellectual development in adulthood. | veditors = Birren JE, Schaie KW | title = Handbook of the psychology of aging | edition = 3rd | pages = 291–309 | location = New York | publisher = Academic Press }}</ref>

Modern cognitive development has integrated the considerations of [[cognitive psychology]] and the psychology of [[individual differences]] into the interpretation and modeling of development.<ref name="demetriou">{{cite book | vauthors = Demetriou A | date = 1998 | chapter = Cognitive development. | veditors = Demetriou A, Doise W, van Lieshout KF | title = Life-span developmental psychology | pages = 179–269 | location = London | publisher =  Wiley }}</ref> Specifically, [[the neo-Piagetian theories of cognitive development]] showed that the successive levels or stages of cognitive development are associated with increasing processing efficiency and [[working memory]] capacity. These increases explain differences between stages, progression to higher stages, and individual differences of children who are the same-age and of the same grade-level. However, other theories have moved away from Piagetian stage theories, and are influenced by accounts of [[domain-specific]] information processing, which posit that development is guided by innate evolutionarily-specified and content-specific information processing mechanisms.

===Social and emotional development===
{{Main|Social-emotional development in childhood|Social psychology}}
Developmental psychologists who are interested in social development examine how individuals develop social and emotional competencies. For example, they study how children form friendships, how they understand and deal with emotions, and how identity develops. Research in this area may involve study of the relationship between cognition or cognitive development and social behavior.

[[Emotional self-regulation|Emotional regulation]] or ER refers to an individual's ability to modulate emotional responses across a variety of contexts. In young children, this modulation is in part controlled externally, by parents and other authority figures. As children develop, they take on more and more responsibility for their internal state. Studies have shown that the development of ER is affected by the emotional regulation children observe in parents and caretakers, the emotional climate in the home, and the reaction of parents and caretakers to the child's emotions.<ref name="pmid19756175">{{cite journal | vauthors = Morris AS, Silk JS, Steinberg L, Myers SS, Robinson LR | title = The Role of the Family Context in the Development of Emotion Regulation | journal = Social Development (Oxford, England) | volume = 16 | issue = 2 | pages = 361–388 | date = May 2007 | pmid = 19756175 | pmc = 2743505 | doi = 10.1111/j.1467-9507.2007.00389.x | url = http://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/PSYCH305-11.2.pdf }}</ref>

Music also has an influence on stimulating and enhancing the senses of a child through self-expression.<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Oaklander V |title=Hidden Treasure: A Map to the Child's Inner Self |date=November 2006 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-85575-490-4}}</ref>

A child's social and emotional development can be disrupted by motor coordination problems, evidenced by the environmental stress hypothesis. The environmental hypothesis explains how children with coordination problems and [[developmental coordination disorder]] are exposed to several psychosocial consequences which act as secondary stressors, leading to an increase in [[Internalizing disorder|internalizing symptoms]] such as depression and anxiety.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite journal | vauthors = Cairney J, Veldhuizen S, Szatmari P | title = Motor coordination and emotional-behavioral problems in children | journal = Current Opinion in Psychiatry | volume = 23 | issue = 4 | pages = 324–329 | date = July 2010 | pmid = 20520549 | doi = 10.1097/YCO.0b013e32833aa0aa }}</ref> Motor coordination problems affect fine and gross motor movement as well as perceptual-motor skills. Secondary stressors commonly identified include the tendency for children with poor motor skills to be less likely to participate in organized play with other children and more likely to feel socially [[isolates|isolated]].<ref name="ReferenceA" />

Social and emotional development focuses on five keys areas: Self-Awareness, Self Management, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills and Responsible Decision Making.<ref>{{Cite web|title = SEL Competencies|url = http://www.casel.org/social-and-emotional-learning/core-competencies|website = CASEL|access-date = 2015-10-22|archive-date = 2015-09-19|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150919011115/http://www.casel.org/social-and-emotional-learning/core-competencies/|url-status = dead}}</ref>

===Physical development===
Physical development concerns the physical maturation of an individual's body until it reaches the adult stature. Although physical growth is a highly regular process, all children differ tremendously in the timing of their growth spurts.<ref name="Eaton">{{cite book | vauthors = Eaton WO | title = Physical Maturation | publisher = University of Manitoba | location = Winnipeg, Canada <!-- | access-date = 16 March 2012 --> }}{{pn|date=January 2025}}{{isbn missing}}{{missing date}}</ref> Studies are being done to analyze how the differences in these timings affect and are related to other variables of developmental psychology such as information processing speed. Traditional measures of physical maturity using x-rays are less in practice nowadays, compared to simple measurements of body parts such as height, weight, head circumference, and arm span.<ref name="Eaton" />

A few other studies and practices with physical developmental psychology are the phonological abilities of mature 5- to 11-year-olds, and the controversial hypotheses of left-handers being maturationally delayed compared to right-handers. A study by Eaton, Chipperfield, Ritchot, and Kostiuk in 1996 found in three different samples that there was no difference between right- and left-handers.<ref name="Eaton" />

===Memory development===
Researchers interested in memory development look at the way our memory develops from childhood and onward. According to [[fuzzy-trace theory]], a theory of [[cognition]] originally proposed by [[Valerie F. Reyna]] and [[Charles Brainerd]], people have two separate memory processes: verbatim and gist. These two traces begin to develop at different times as well as at a different pace. Children as young as four years old have verbatim memory, memory for surface information, which increases up to early adulthood, at which point it begins to decline. On the other hand, our capacity for gist memory, memory for semantic information, increases up to early adulthood, at which point it is consistent through old age. Furthermore, one's reliance on gist memory traces increases as one ages.<ref name="Fuzzy-trace theory and children's false memories">{{cite journal | vauthors = Brainerd CJ, Reyna VF | title = Fuzzy-trace theory and children's false memories | journal = Journal of Experimental Child Psychology | volume = 71 | issue = 2 | pages = 81–129 | date = November 1998 | pmid = 9843617 | doi = 10.1006/jecp.1998.2464 }}</ref>