Download Physical Development - PSYC DWEEB

Physical Development
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Growth is rapid
Requires large
amounts of food
and sleep
Physical Development
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Brain is fastest growing organ
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Neural connections form rapidly
Myelination causes increase in brain mass
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Continues through life but slows down
Synaptic pruning removes unused networks
Physical Development
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Brain develops in sequence with other capacities as they emerge
Highly plastic
Growth spurts occur intermittently from infancy to adolescence (and
more recently believed beyond)
Heredity and Environmental stimulation contribute to growth
75% of adult weight by age 2
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Full adult weight by early adulthood
Physical Development
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Lateralization
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specialization of function
within hemispheres
lessens with age
Hemispheric preference
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initially indicated by
handedness
Physical Growth
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With age, growth slows and is more consistent.
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Children add about 2 to 3 inches in height and about 5 to 7lbs.
of weight a year until puberty.
Growth is the basically the same for both sexes.
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By age 9 this trend can change as girls enter the adolescent growth spurt
Motor Development
Motor Development
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Gross Motor Development:
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control of actions which help a child get around in its environment.
Fine Motor Development:
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ability to do things with smaller movements such as reaching or
grasping.
Motor Development
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Dynamic Systems Theory
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Mastery of motor skills
involves:
 Differentiation
 Integration
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Joint product of:
 Central Nervous
System Development
 Movement
capabilities of body
 Goals of the child
 Environmental
supports
Motor Development
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4 main areas of growth over time:
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Flexibility
Balance
Agility
Force
Contemporary Issues:
Childhood Obesity
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U.S.: 2nd highest rate in world
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Causes:
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Changes in food type
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More sedentary lifestyles
Increased physical, emotional, and social problems
Life long habits formed
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25 -30% of U.S. adults are considered obese
(Okinawa) (McDonald’s)
Adolescent Physical
Development
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Adolescence: transitional period
Puberty: the physical changes allowing sexual
reproduction
Sexual Development
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Primary sex characteristics
Secondary sex characteristics
Menarche
Semenarche
Responses to Development
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Girls are more critical of their appearance and more likely to be
dissatisfied.
Boys are more likely to be pleased
Responses to Development
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Rate of Maturation
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Early maturing males:
 Rate higher on measures of adjustment and physical
attractiveness
 Exhibit more self confidence
 Exhibit more success in social situations
Responses to Development
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Rate of Maturation
 Early maturing females:
 Often less socially accepted
 Often more stress with family
 Report more symptoms of depression and anxiety
Responses to Development
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Anorexia & Bulimia
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Anorexia is a disorder marked by a persistent refusal to eat and an irrational
fear of being overweight.
 Have distorted body image.
 As many as 15% of adolescents with anorexia die.
Bulimia consists of binge eating and purging by vomiting or with laxatives.
Both often begins during the middle school years.
3 of 4 college women have disordered eating
Young Adulthood (20s)
 Physical
Prime !!
Young Adulthood (30s)
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Maximum bone density occurs
Muscles begin to lose elasticity and tone
Muscle strength begins decline
Hearing and eyesight begin to decline
Basal Metabolism Rate begins to decline with increase weight gain
Immune Response declines due to stress
Middle Age (40s & 50s)
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Height begins to shrink about ½ inch per decade
Muscle strength decreases noticeably (back and legs)
Loss of bone mass begins then accelerates
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Take longer to heal
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Osteoporosis concern for women
Middle Age (40s & 50s)
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Arthritis often begins causing joint pain and loss of movement.
Appearance changes may include:
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Graying hair
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Hair loss
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Facial Wrinkles
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Sagging bodies
Middle Age
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Changes in vision and hearing
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Presbyopia: lessened ability to focus on near objects
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Myopia: nearsightedness
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Presbycusis: gradual loss of hearing high pitched sounds
 Males tend to experience hearing loss greater and sooner than
females
Changes in sensitivity to taste, touch, and smell
Middle Age
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Climacteric (Loss of ability to bear children)
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Menopause
 The disruption and eventual end of menstruation
Andropause
Midlife Crisis
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No scientific evidence validating this
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Points more to a Midlife Review
Middle Age
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Cardiovascular Disease
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Cholesterol increases
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Blood pressure increases
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Equal problem in men and women
Late Adulthood
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Brain neurons decrease (5 to 30% from young adulthood)
Vision declines
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Night vision
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Smaller visual field
Reaction time slows
Late Adulthood
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Hearing declines
Lung capacity and elasticity declines
Decreased muscle tone and strength
Late Adulthood
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Chronic disorders become more common
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Arthritis
- Cardiovascular disease
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Osteoporosis
- Diabetes
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Heart conditions
- Asthma
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Sinus problems
- Cancer
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Parkinson’s Disease
Nearly ¾ of all older adults die from heart disease, cancer, or
cerebrovascular disease (strokes).
Aging
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Once body structures reach maximum capacity and efficiency in the
teens and twenties, senescence or biological aging begins.
Primary aging: basic, underlying aging process
Secondary aging: product of environmental influences, health habits, or
disease, and is neither inevitable nor experienced by all adults.
Physical Development and
Health
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Less active lifestyles rather than biological aging account for most
of the age-related decline in athletic skill and motor performance