The Developing Person

1. The Developing Person … he allowed himself to be swayed by his conviction that human beings are not born once and for all on the day their mothers give birth to them, but that life obliges them over and over again to give birth to themselves. Gabriel Garcia Marquez

2. Developmental Psychology • Studies physical, cognitive & psychosocial changes across the life span • Two methods of conducting research • Longitudinal research • Study the same participants over a long period of time • Problems: expensive and possible drop-outs • Cross-sectional research • Groups of Ps, of different ages, studied at same time • Problem: cohort peculiarities

3. Physical Development - Prenatal • Zygote stage: conception to week 2 • Moves to embryonic stage when multicell ball attaches to uterine wall • Embryonic stage: end of wk 2 to wk 8 • Genes are in the background directing progress • Boys become boys when testosterone is secreted, producing male sex organs • Fetal stage: end of wk 8 to birth • Movement felt by mom by 4th month • By 7th most everything is developed • Focus is on growth!

4. Physical Development • Premature birth • Smaller in weight, though not always in length • Less physically & cognitively developed, hearing problems common • Usually up to 2 months early still has a fighting chance • Teratogens • Noxious substance or factors that can disrupt prenatal development • X-rays: disrupt development of brain cells • Drugs: abnormal physical & psychological development • Alcohol: FAS; mental retardation, facial disfigurement

5. Physical Development • Infancy: birth to 2 yrs • Babies are born to survive • Rooting reflex • Cry when hungry, smile to reinforce closeness of caregiver • Quickly learn to recognize mother’s smell, voice, and face • Perception • Newborns can’t focus on distant objects • Visual cliff (see page 167 in book) • Depth perception develops between 4th & 6th month • Motor development • Cephalocaudal trend (head to foot growth and motor control) • Proximodistal trend (center out growth and motor control)

6. History of Developmental Ψ • Medieval Times (500 – 1500 AD) • Preformationism: Children were viewed as miniature adults • Reformation (1500’s) • Puritanism: Children are born evil and stubborn • Enlightenment (1600’s and 1700’s) • John Locke – tabula rasa • Rousseau – children are noble savages • Darwin (1800’s) • Ontogeny & Phylogeny, and Baby Biographies • Logs of infant development • Focus on maturation & development

7. History of Developmental Ψ • 1890s • G. Stanley Hall • Founder of child psychology • Focus on heredity • 1920s • Remember behaviorism? • 1950s • First look at other ages in the lifespan (Erikson & Piaget) • 1960s • Behavioral genetics • How heredity & life experience interact in affecting development • Ex: divorce, empathy, attachment styles

8. Piaget • A proponent of the belief that intelligence develops qualitatively with age, as well as quantitatively • Genetic Epistemology • Intellect develops in gradual stages, much as the body does • Hence the term ‘genetic’ does not refer to our genes’ influence on our intelligence but rather as a reference to development

9. Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Dev. • Themes of cognitive development • Schemas • Assimilation • Accommodation • Sensorimotor • Birth to 2 years • Learn to coordinate sensory experience & motor behavior • Object constancy (a.k.a. object permanence)

10. Object Permanence

11. Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Dev. • Preoperational • Age: 2 to 7 years • Language more sophisticated but still have trouble with mental manipulation of information • Can’t engage in certain mental operations • Conservation • Reversible mental representations • Egocentrism

12. Conservation

13. Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Dev. • Concrete Operational • Age: 7 to 11 years • Child learns to logically reason about objects • Understands • Conservation (can make transitive inferences) • Formal Operational • Adolescent reasons in more abstract, idealistic and logical ways

14. A B Water task Figure A shows a bottle with some water in it. In B, the bottle has been tilted. Draw a line to show how the water line would look.

15. Moral Development - Piaget • Focused on moral understanding, rather than moral behavior • Three stages of moral development • Moral Realism (0 to 7 yrs) • Morality of Cooperation (7 to 11 yrs) • Moral Relativism (12 yrs & up)

16. Moral Development - Kohlberg • Preconventional • Punishment and obedience orientation • Individualism and purpose • Conventional • Good boy - Nice girl orientation • Society - maintaining orientation • Post-conventional • Community rights vs. personal rights • Universal ethical principle orientation

17. A. I find it relatively easy to get close to others and am comfortable depending on them and having them depend on me. I don’t often worry about being abandoned or about someone getting too close to me. • B. I am somewhat uncomfortable being close to others. I find it difficult to trust them completely, difficult to allow myself to depend on them. I am nervous when anyone gets too close, and often, love partners want me to be more intimate than I feel comfortable being. • C. I find that others are reluctant to get as close as I would like. I often worry that my partner doesn’t really love me or want to stay with me. I want to merge completely with another person, and this desire sometimes scares people away.

18. Attachment Theory • Harlow’s monkeys • Wire mesh vs. cloth mothers • Bowlby • Orphans in London • Attachment • An emotional bond to one’s caregiver as an infant • Three components of attachment • Proximity maintenance • Safe haven • Secure base

19. Attachment Theory Research • Ainsworth • Strange Situation • Examines reaction of child to three situations • Exploration • Mom leaves • Mom returns • Attachment styles • Based on history with caregiver, we develop a tendency to relate to others in a certain manner • Can I count on my attachment figure to be available and responsive when I need them?

20. Three Primary Attachment ‘Styles’ • Secure • Yes: Infants feel comfortable to explore, trust a responsive mother • Adults find it easy to trust, want love, don’t fear rejection, see themselves as worthy of affection • Avoidant • No: Infants appear detached from unresponsive or rejecting mother • Adults are aloof, emotionally distant, skeptical of others’ love, fear rejection but still want closeness • Anxious-ambivalent • Maybe: Infants cling to inconsistent caregiver and protest extremely when needs aren’t met • Adults see themselves as misunderstood, lacking in confidence, can be clingy or needy in a relationship

21. A. I find it relatively easy to get close to others and am comfortable depending on them and having them depend on me. I don’t often worry about being abandoned or about someone getting too close to me. • B. I am somewhat uncomfortable being close to others. I find it difficult to trust them completely, difficult to allow myself to depend on them. I am nervous when anyone gets too close, and often, love partners want me to be more intimate than I feel comfortable being. • C. I find that others are reluctant to get as close as I would like. I often worry that my partner doesn’t really love me or want to stay with me. I want to merge completely with another person, and this desire sometimes scares people away.

22. Attachment Styles • Attachment styles can change over time • Either through self-motivated growth/deterioration or because of secure/insecure relationship partners • Pairing up • Most secures bond with other secures • Most avoidants bond with secures (a few with anxious-ambivalent, rarely with other avoidants) • Most anxious-ambivalents bond with secures, a few with avoidants (rarely with other anxious-ambivalents)

23. Erikson’s Stages of Development • Trust vs. mistrust • Birth to 1 year • Treatment by caregivers creates trust in a good world • Autonomy vs. shame and doubt • 1 to 2 years • Child is allowed to make independent decisions or is made to feel ashamed/full of doubt about own decisions • Initiative vs. guilt • 3 to 6 years • Child either develops own purpose/direction or is made to feel guilty by overly controlling caregivers

24. Erikson’s Stages of Development • Industry vs. inferiority • 6 to 11 years • Child either feels competent working with others or inferior • Identity vs. role confusion • Adolescence • Adolescent either grasps sense of identity or becomes confused about possible future roles as adult • Intimacy vs. isolation • Young adulthood (ages 20 to 40) • Forming deep/intimate relationships with others or becoming socially isolated

25. Erikson’s Stages of Development • Generativity vs. self-absorption/stagnation • Middle adulthood (ages 40 to 65) • Determining what to leave behind for future generations or failing to grasp a sense of meaning in life • Integrity vs. despair • Late adulthood (ages 65 and up) • Feeling that life was worthwhile or feeling despair about one’s life and fearing death