9.3 Stages of Development — The Ship Always Being Built | Psychology 2e

• Learn the three distinct stages of human development from conception to birth.
• Understand how environmental agents can harm prenatal development, causing conditions like FASD.
• Explore the unintended psychological consequences of a 1990s drug policy on pregnant individuals.
• Discover the innate survival reflexes and acute sensory abilities of newborns.
• Understand the two crucial processes of neural pathway growth and refinement in infant brains.
• Learn how modern research disproved Piaget's theory on infant cognitive understanding of objects.
• Explore the foundational experiments and four styles of human attachment.
• Learn how self-concept emerges and how societal factors like race influence it.
• Understand how children actively process and assign meaning to their environments, shaping identity.
• Learn Diana Baumrind's four parenting styles and their cultural implications.
• Understand the biological and psychological impacts of puberty and its timing during adolescence.
• Discover the neurological reasons behind teenage impulsivity and risk-taking behavior.
• Understand emerging adulthood as a developmental stage influenced by Western economic and cultural factors.
• Explore the physical changes and two types of intelligence that define adulthood and aging.
• Learn how social networks evolve in older age, prioritizing quality over quantity in relationships.
• Up next in “Psychology 2e — Full Course (OpenStax) | Intro Psychology Lectures”9.4 Death and Dying — How We Face the End of Life | Psychology 2e

This lesson walks through the full arc of human lifespan development, from the fragile first days of prenatal life to the social and cognitive shifts of late adulthood. Drawing on Section 9.3 of OpenStax Psychology 2e, the discussion unpacks the biological, psychological, and cultural forces that shape who we become at every stage. Whether you're studying for an exam or just curious about why the teenage brain seems wired for risk, this deep dive covers it all with real research and memorable analogies. In this video: • Prenatal development's three stages — germinal, embryonic, and fetal — and why fewer than half of all zygotes survive the first two weeks • How teratogens like alcohol cause fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, and the unintended consequences of South Carolina's 1990s fetal protection law • Newborn survival reflexes (rooting, grasping, Moro) and MacFarlane's gauze-pad study showing week-old babies recognize their mother's scent • Neural blooming and pruning in infancy, plus Baillargeon's truck experiment disproving Piaget's blank-slate view of infant cognition • Harlow's wire-vs.-cloth monkey experiment and Ainsworth's four attachment styles: secure, avoidant, resistant, and disorganized • The adolescent brain's underdeveloped frontal lobe, parenting styles from Baumrind, and Spencer's PVEST framework for identity and meaning-making • Crystallized vs. fluid intelligence in adulthood, Alzheimer's disease and mitigation strategies, and socioemotional selectivity theory in late life #OpenStax #DevelopmentalPsychology #Psychology #LifespanDevelopment OpenStax Content adapted from "OpenStax Psychology 2e", by OpenStax licensed under CC BY 4.0. Content based on Web Version: Apr 23, 2026. Read the textbook online https://openstax.org/details/books/psychology-2e Music first girl talking to me. by ikkun (ex. Barradeen) | https://soundcloud.com/ikkunwastaken Royalty Free Music by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons / Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en_US