Bell Ringer 2.21.2012

1. Bell Ringer 2.21.2012 • Objective: SWBAT define 3 major debates in developmental psych & 3 methods of research. • REMEMBER YOUR READING ASSIGNMENT DUE FRIDAY (TOMORROW)! • On your bell ringer, briefly define “development” in psychology in your own words.

2. Key Ideas: • Nature vs. Nurture • Continuity vs. Discontinuity • Stability vs. Change • Research designs – longitudinal, cross-sectional, cohort-sequential, retrospective • Physical development • Cognitive development • Moral development • Social development • Emotional development • Gender roles and sex differences

3. Developmental Psychology • Developmental psychology: the study of physical, intellectual, social, and moral changes across the life span from conception to death. • Developmental psychologists attempt to describe, explain, and predict age-related behaviors.

4. Nature vs. Nurture • nature–nurture controversy: deals with the extent to which heredity and the environment each influence behavior. • Today, psychologists agree that it is both, but disagree as to the extent of each.

5. Nature vs. Nurture • The nativist (nature) perspective says that the basic structures for our behavior are genetically determined, and their expression depends on interaction with the environment.

6. Nature vs. Nurture • maturation: biological growth processes that bring about orderly changes in behavior, thought, or physical growth, relatively unaffected by experience.

7. Nature vs. Nurture • Behaviorists argue that physical structures are genetically inherited and intellectual structures are learned – environment shapes us. • Twin studies are conducted to try to determine the relative contributions of nature and nurture.

8. Continuity vs. Discontinuity • continuity–discontinuity controversy : deals with the issue of whether development is a gradual, continuous process or a sequence of separate stages. • Continuity focuses on quantitative changes in number or amount. • e.g. height and weight

9. Continuity vs. Discontinuity • Discontinuity focuses on qualitative changes in kind, structure, or organization. • e.g. resolving conflicts or develop abilities in stages through which everyone passes in the same order and that build upon another.

10. Stability vs. Change • stability–change controversy: deals with the issue of whether or not personality traits present during infancy endure throughout the lifespan. • Psychoanalysts believe that personality traits developed in the first 5 years predict adult personality.

11. Stability vs. Change • Changetheorists argue that personalities are modified by interactions with family, experiences at school, and acculturation.

12. Stability vs. Change • Developmental psychologists research which characteristics are most likely to remain stable and constant, and which are most likely to be flexible and subject to change. • e.g. Energy level and outgoingness seem relatively stable. • e.g. Social attitudes are more likely to change.

13. Methods of Studying Development • Developmental psychologists conduct experiments, naturalistic observations, correlational studies, and case studies to assess changes over time. • They use four basic research designs: longitudinal, cross-sectional, cohort-sequential, and retrospective studies.

14. Longitudinal Studies • longitudinal studies: the same participants are tested multiple times with same or similar tests. • e.g. In 1921, Lewis Terman of Stanford University began studying a group of highly intelligent children who have been studied throughout their lives, providing important information about changes in intellectual functioning across the lifespan.

15. Longitudinal Studies • Issues with longitudinal studies: • Can be expensive. • Take a long time to produce results. • You typically lose participants over time.

16. Cross-Sectional Studies • cross-sectional study: different age groups are tested at the same time. • Study 15, 25, 35, 45, 55, 65, and 75-year-olds at the same time. • Less expensive, don’t lose participants, and produce results quickly.

17. Cross-Sectional Studies • cohort effect: observed group differences based on the era when people were born and grew up, exposing them to particular experiences that many affect results of cross-sectional studies. • e.g. growing up with or without computers.

18. Cohort-Sequential Studies • cohort-sequential study: combines cross-sectional and longitudinal to correct for cohort effect. • cross-sectional groups are assessed at least two times over a span of months or years, rather than just once.

19. Cohort-Sequential Studies • Results from one cohort are compared with other cohorts at the same age to evaluate their similarity. • Differences indicate a cohort effect.

20. Retrospective Studies • retrospective (biographical) study: investigate development in one person at a time. • Uses interviews and self-reports typically at the older end of the age span of interest.

21. Retrospective Studies • These can be very detailed but aren’t always correct because memory is not always accurate. • They also cannot be generalized to a larger population.

22. Research Design Practice • With a small group (no more than 4), choose one of the four research types and create a sample experiment to study how intelligence changes over time. • DO NOT tell other groups what your design is. • Then, describe who you will be studying. • Share out to the class, who will guess your research design.

23. Physical Development • Physical development focuses on maturation and critical periods. • Quickest during prenatal development, second quickest during infancy, third quickest during adolescence. • critical period: a time interval during which specific stimuli have a major effect on development that the stimuli do not produce at other times.

24. Prenatal Development • prenatal development: period of development that begins with fertilization, or conception, and ends with birth.

25. Prenatal Development • zygote: a fertilized ovum with the genetic instructions for a new individual, normally contained in 46 chromosomes.

26. Prenatal Development • During the first 2 weeks following conception, the zygote divides again and again forming first a hollow ball of cells that buries itself in the wall of the uterus. • Then a three-layered inner cell mass surrounded by outer cells attached to the uterine lining. • Different genes function in each layer.

27. Prenatal Development • embryo: the developmental prenatal stage (from about 2 weeks through 2 months after fertilization) when most organ development begins. • This is due to differentiation and specialization of cells.

28. Prenatal Development • The placenta, umbilical cord, and other structures form from the outer cells. • By the end of the 8th week, the embryo has a head with partially formed eyes, limbs, and a skeleton composed of cartilage.

29. Prenatal Development • All organs are present in a basic form. • This is when the embryo is most sensitive to environmental stimuli, like chemicals and viruses.

30. Prenatal Development • fetus: the developing human organism from about 9 weeks after conception to birth, when organ systems begin to interact. • Sex organs and sense organs become refined. • Bone replaces cartilage in the skeleton.

31. Bell Ringer 2.22.2013 • Objective: SWBAT describe prenatal development and neonate behaviors. • Take out your reading notes to be checked (if necessary) • On your bell ringer, briefly describe the four types of developmental research IN YOUR OWN WORDS.

32. Birth Defects • Birth defects result from a malfunctioning gene or an environmental stimulus. • If the pregnant woman takes in poisonous chemicals or gets infected with a virus, development errors can result in birth defects that are not hereditary.

33. Birth Defects • teratogen: harmful substances (drugs or viruses) during the prenatal period that can cause birth defects. • Chemicals like alcohol, drugs, tobacco ingredients, mercury, lead, and other poisons.

34. Birth Defects • Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS): a cluster of abnormalities that occurs in babies of mothers who drink alcohol during pregnancy. • Includes low IQ, small head with a flat face, misshapen eyes, flat nose, and thin upper lip, as well as some degree of intellectual impairment. • It is currently the leading cause of mental retardation in the US.

35. Birth Defects

36. Birth Defects • Cigarette smoking is associated with miscarriage, stillbirth, premature delivery, and low birth weight.

37. Birth Defects • Heroin and cocaine exposed fetuses that are born live may undergo withdrawal symptoms, and may be unable to concentrate. • Malnutrition and prescription and OTC drugs can cause birth defects.

38. Birth Defects • Even high doses of certain nutrients can be teratogenic. • e.g. Too much vitamin A can cause heart, nervous system, and facial defects.

39. Birth Defects • Viruses like rubella can cause cataracts, deafness, and heart defects during the first trimester. • During later weeks effects include learning disabilities, speech and hearing problems, and Type 1 diabetes.

40. Behavior of the Neonate • neonate: newborn baby from birth to 1 month old. • They are equipped with basic reflexes that increase their chances of survival.

41. Behavior of the Neonate • reflex: the simplest form of behavior. • rooting: the newborn’s tendency to move its head when stroked on the cheek, turn toward the stimulus as if searching for a nipple, and open its mouth. • Rooting video.

42. Behavior of the Neonate • sucking: the automatic response of drawing in anything at the mouth. • swallowing: automatic contraction of throat muscles that enables food to pass into the esophagus without choking. • Sucking reflex video.

43. Behavior of the Neonate • grasping reflex: infant closes his or her fingers tightly around an object put in hand.

44. Behavior of the Neonate • Moro (startle) reflex: when exposed to a loud noise or sudden drop, the neonate automatically arches his or her back, flings his or her limbs our, and quickly retracts them.

45. Behavior of the Neonate • As the infant matures, developing voluntary control over behaviors, many reflexes disappear. • Neonates also show behaviors that facilitate social interaction.

46. Behavior of the Neonate • Shortly after birth, infants respond to human face, voice, and touch. • They show a preference for the voice and odor of their mothers.

47. Behavior of the Neonate • Their vision is best for objects normally about the distance from their eyes to the caretaker’s face. • They can distinguish among colors, and they prefer certain complex patterns, such as the human face.

48. Behavior of the Neonate • They prefer salty and sweet tastes. • Their hearing is the most developed sense at birth, but as structures in the eye and brain develop during infancy, vision improves, and sight becomes the dominant sense.

49. Behavior of the Neonate • Psychologists depend on gazes, sucking, and head turning in response to changing stimuli to reveal abilities of infants during psychological studies. • Habituation: decreasing responsiveness with repeated presentation of the same stimulus.

50. Behavior of the Neonate • Babies stare at new stimuli longer. Once they habituate, they can remember what they saw before and will stare longer at new stimuli.