Last Minute Lecture

Infant Growth and Brain Development — Summary of Chapter 5 from The Developing Person Through the Life Span The first two years of life represent one of the most critical periods in human development. Chapter 5 of Kathleen Stassen Berger’s The Developing Person Through the Life Span focuses on biosocial development during infancy, including physical growth, brain development, sensory maturation, motor skills, and essential survival factors. This summary offers a comprehensive overview of how infants grow, adapt, and thrive in their earliest months. Watch the video above for a podcast-style walkthrough of all key concepts covered in this chapter, or continue reading below for a detailed and structured study guide. Body Growth and Physical Changes Rapid Growth in the First Year Infants typically triple their birth weight and grow nearly 12 inches within their first year. Head circumference expands significantly, reflecting intense brain development. Growth charts use perce...

Stages of Prenatal Development and Birth — Summary of Chapter 4 from The Developing Person Through the Life Span Human development begins before birth, and the prenatal stage lays the foundation for all future growth. Chapter 4 of Kathleen Stassen Berger’s The Developing Person Through the Life Span offers a detailed overview of prenatal development, the birth process, and the challenges faced by both newborns and parents. This chapter highlights the incredible complexity of early development while addressing common risks and adaptations during and after birth. Watch the full video above for a concise, podcast-style walkthrough of the entire chapter, or continue reading for a structured breakdown of key topics in prenatal and newborn development. The Three Stages of Prenatal Development 1. Germinal Period (First 2 Weeks) This stage begins with the formation of a zygote through the union of sperm and egg. Rapid cell division and cell differentiation begin immediately, b...

How Genes and Environment Shape Development — Summary of Chapter 3 from The Developing Person Through the Life Span How much of who we are is determined by our DNA? How do external factors like nutrition or culture interact with genetics? Chapter 3 of Kathleen Stassen Berger’s The Developing Person Through the Life Span explores the fascinating relationship between genes, environment, and human development. This chapter provides essential insights into how genetic blueprints and life experiences collaborate to shape individual traits, behaviors, and health outcomes. Watch the full summary above or read below for a detailed breakdown of key concepts, from DNA to epigenetics to ethical debates around gene editing. The Blueprint: Genes and DNA At the foundation of human development are genes —segments of DNA located on chromosomes . Humans have 46 chromosomes arranged in 23 pairs. Each gene may exist in different forms, known as alleles , which lead to variations in traits s...

Major Theories of Human Development — Summary of Chapter 2 from The Developing Person Through the Life Span How do we explain human growth, personality, and behavior across the lifespan? Chapter 2 of Kathleen Stassen Berger’s The Developing Person Through the Life Span introduces students to the most influential developmental theories in psychology. This chapter breaks down how leading thinkers like Freud, Erikson, Piaget, Vygotsky, and Skinner interpreted the complex journey of human development. Watch the video above for an audio summary of each theory, or read below for a structured guide to the foundational ideas shaping developmental psychology. Psychodynamic Theory: Freud and Erikson Sigmund Freud proposed that development occurs through a series of psychosexual stages , where unconscious desires and conflicts shape personality. Each stage focuses on different erogenous zones and unresolved conflicts that influence adult behavior. Erik Erikson extended Freud’s ide...

What Is Human Development? A Summary of Chapter 1 from The Developing Person Through the Life Span Human development is a lifelong journey influenced by biology, environment, and culture. Chapter 1 of Kathleen Stassen Berger’s textbook, The Developing Person Through the Life Span , lays the foundation for understanding this complex field of psychology. Whether you're prepping for an exam or looking to grasp the basics of developmental psychology, this summary offers a clear and accessible overview. Watch the full podcast-style breakdown above or read on for a comprehensive review of key concepts and terminology that form the backbone of human development studies. Defining Human Development Human development refers to the scientific study of how and why people grow, change, or remain the same over time. This discipline seeks to understand physical, cognitive, emotional, and social transformations across the entire lifespan. The goal is not only to observe these patterns ...

Problem Solving and Creativity in Cognitive Psychology — Chapter 12 Summary from Cognitive Psychology How do we solve problems, overcome obstacles, and generate creative solutions? Chapter 12 of Cognitive Psychology focuses on the mental processes behind problem solving , including heuristics, algorithms, and sudden insights. This chapter summary by Last Minute Lecture offers an academic yet accessible overview of how humans approach problems, from routine tasks to innovative breakthroughs. Whether you're preparing for an exam or just curious about how creativity works in the brain, this chapter explains key psychological theories and strategies that influence how we identify, represent, and solve problems in everyday life. Types of Problems: Well-Defined vs. Ill-Defined Well-defined problems have clear goals and constraints (e.g., math problems), while ill-defined problems lack obvious solutions or boundaries (e.g., writing a novel). How a problem is mentally repres...

Judgment, Heuristics, and Decision-Making in Cognitive Psychology — Chapter 11 Summary from Cognitive Psychology Why do people make irrational choices, stick with bad investments, or trust gut feelings over facts? Chapter 11 of Cognitive Psychology explores the psychological mechanisms behind judgment and decision-making . In this chapter summary from Last Minute Lecture , we examine how people make choices, the role of mental shortcuts (heuristics), and how biases like overconfidence or framing effects shape decisions under uncertainty. Watch the video above or read on to discover why our minds often take cognitive shortcuts—and how this impacts everything from daily choices to major life decisions. Judgment vs. Decision-Making Judgment involves estimating or predicting outcomes based on incomplete information. Decision-making goes one step further by choosing between alternatives based on judgments. Both are influenced by probability, value, emotion, and context. Norm...

Reading Comprehension and Language Processing in Cognitive Psychology — Chapter 10 Summary from Cognitive Psychology Reading is one of the most advanced cognitive tasks we perform—requiring coordination between vision, memory, and language. Chapter 10 of Cognitive Psychology unpacks how we process written language, from recognizing words and parsing sentences to understanding entire texts. In this chapter summary from Last Minute Lecture , we explore the mental processes behind reading comprehension and the factors that support or impair our ability to make meaning from print. Watch the full summary above or continue reading to understand how we visually scan text, mentally represent meaning, and adapt our reading strategies depending on content and context. How Reading Works: Eye Movements and Visual Processing Reading begins with visual input. We process text through rapid eye movements called saccades , interspersed with brief pauses known as fixations . During fixations...

Language Processing and Speech Perception in Cognitive Psychology — Chapter 9 Summary from Cognitive Psychology Language is a defining feature of human cognition, allowing us to perceive, understand, and generate meaning through speech and writing. Chapter 9 of Cognitive Psychology explores how the brain processes language in real time—examining speech perception, language comprehension, production, and the theories that explain these remarkable abilities. This summary from Last Minute Lecture offers a deep dive into psycholinguistics, the modularity debate, and the neurological basis of language. Watch the full video above or continue reading to learn how we transform sound waves into meaning, retrieve words from memory, and build syntactic structures that make communication possible. Speech Perception: How Do We Understand Spoken Language? Speech perception involves interpreting continuous sound into distinct words. Two major theories explain how this process may occur:...

Memory Distortion and Malleability in Cognitive Psychology — Chapter 8 Summary from Cognitive Psychology Memory is not a perfect recording device—it’s a dynamic, reconstructive system prone to error and distortion. Chapter 8 of Cognitive Psychology explores the malleability of memory , showing how our recollections are shaped by suggestion, emotion, post-event information, and social influence. In this chapter summary from Last Minute Lecture , we dive into the science of false memories, eyewitness errors, and the unsettling realization that our minds often fabricate what we think we remember. Watch the full video above or continue reading to explore how memory works—and how it sometimes fails us—in both everyday situations and high-stakes environments like the courtroom. Memory Is Reconstructive, Not Reproductive Contrary to popular belief, memory is not a literal playback of past events. It is constructive in nature—recreated from stored fragments each time we recall. Th...

Autobiographical Memory and Life Recall in Cognitive Psychology — Chapter 7 Summary from Cognitive Psychology How do we remember who we are, where we've been, and what we've lived through? Chapter 7 of Cognitive Psychology explores the deeply personal domain of autobiographical memory — the memory system responsible for storing and retrieving the events of our lives. In this chapter summary from Last Minute Lecture , we unpack the cognitive and emotional mechanisms that shape how we remember past experiences, how those memories support our identity, and how they influence our future behavior. Watch the full summary above or continue reading to learn how autobiographical memories form, why some events are remembered more clearly than others, and how culture, emotion, and purpose all shape our personal narratives. What Is Autobiographical Memory? Autobiographical memory (AM) is the memory system dedicated to recalling life events and personal experiences. It blends ...

Long-Term Memory Encoding and Retrieval in Cognitive Psychology — Chapter 6 Summary from Cognitive Psychology How do we remember birthdays, facts, or even how to ride a bike? Chapter 6 of Cognitive Psychology explores the structure and function of long-term memory (LTM), a virtually limitless cognitive system that stores knowledge, experiences, and skills across time. In this summary from Last Minute Lecture , we break down the encoding, storage, and retrieval processes that underlie memory — along with distinctions between types of memory and theories that explain why we remember some things better than others. Watch the video above or continue reading to dive into essential concepts like episodic vs. semantic memory, recognition vs. recall, and why survival-related information is easier to remember. What Is Long-Term Memory? Long-term memory (LTM) refers to the cognitive system responsible for the long-term storage of information — potentially lasting from minutes to a ...

Object and Concept Recognition in Cognitive Psychology — Chapter 5 Summary from Cognitive Psychology Recognizing a friend’s face, identifying a coffee mug, or naming a smell — all of these rely on complex cognitive mechanisms of object and concept recognition. Chapter 5 of Cognitive Psychology dives into how we perceive, classify, and mentally organize the objects and concepts that make up our environment. In this chapter summary from Last Minute Lecture , we explore theories of visual recognition, the role of top-down and bottom-up processing, and the specialized processes behind recognizing faces and categorizing concepts. Watch the video above or continue reading to understand how your brain turns patterns and sensory input into meaningful, recognizable information about the world around you. Object Recognition: The Basics Object recognition involves identifying and classifying objects based on stored mental representations. It draws from both bottom-up processing (dri...

Immediate Memory and Working Memory Systems — Chapter 4 Summary from Cognitive Psychology How do we hold and manipulate information in real-time? Chapter 4 of Cognitive Psychology introduces the concept of immediate memory , a critical cognitive system that supports reasoning, problem-solving, and comprehension. In this chapter summary from Last Minute Lecture , we explore foundational memory models, executive attention, and the complex mechanisms that allow us to retain and work with information actively within consciousness. Watch the full summary above or continue reading to understand how immediate memory operates, what limits it, and why it matters for learning, focus, and mental control. What Is Immediate Memory? Immediate memory refers to the active processing and manipulation of information currently held in consciousness. Unlike long-term memory, it is transient and capacity-limited. It plays a vital role in decision-making, problem-solving, and language comprehen...

Mechanisms of Attention in Cognitive Psychology — Chapter 3 Summary How do we focus on what matters while filtering out distractions? Chapter 3 of Cognitive Psychology explores the intricate mechanisms of attention , a fundamental cognitive process that enables us to monitor, select, and prioritize information in a world full of competing stimuli. This chapter summary from Last Minute Lecture breaks down theories of attention, its limitations, and its real-world implications in areas like multitasking, driving, and learning. Watch the full summary above or continue reading to explore how cognitive scientists explain attention, including visual and auditory processing, automaticity, and cognitive overload. What Is Attention? Attention refers to the mental process of selectively focusing on specific aspects of the environment while filtering out others. It’s essential for navigating complex environments and prioritizing what we process, learn, and remember. Selective and ...