Developmental Psychology

Developmental Psychology The specialized study of how an individual’s physical, social, emotional, moral, and intellectual development occur in sequential interrelated stages throughout the life cycle

Infancy and Childhood • Chapter Project: • Interview your parents about • how you acted in the early ages • from birth to now. • 2)Collect pictures of yourself • during the same period. • 3)Using the information obtained, • create a child development book • of yourself discussing your physical, • motor, social, emotional, cognitive, • & language development.

Infancy and Childhood In your book, try to include: a)height & weight at birth and various stages of your development. b)age when first crawled, walked, rode a bicycle, spoke a word, developed special skill such as dancing, drawing, or singing.

Infancy and Childhood To begin the next segment of this chapter, you will take on the roles of child psychologists. Take out a writing implement and some paper and be prepared to take notes on the films you are about to see. Record specific behaviors you note at the various ages shown. The Green Mile Rule is in effect—no discussion of these tapes outside of this classroom. • Physical • Motor • Cognitive • Social • Emotional • Language

Infancy and Childhood Peter—3 hours old; Niki—3 years old Peter—4 months old; Niki—3 years old Peter—11 months old; Niki—4 years old Niki—1 year old Niki—18 months old Peter—2 years old; Niki—5 years old Niki—2 ½ years old; friends—2 ½ & 3 Peter—3 years old

Infancy and Childhood People learn faster and learn more in their early years than at any other time in their lives. Developmental psychology: the study of changes that occur as people grow up and older.

Infancy and Childhood Birth: from total protection to a world of lights, sounds, touches and temperature extremes. Inherited, automatic, coordinated reflexes. Grasping reflex— stimulus of touch on palm of baby’s hand.

Infancy and Childhood Inherited, automatic, coordinated reflexes. Rooting reflex: if baby is touched anywhere near the mouth, move head and mouth toward source of the touch. Part of the feeding process

Infancy and Childhood Inherited, automatic, coordinated reflexes. Sucking reflex: baby can suck, breathe air and swallow milk twice a second without getting confused. Direct gazes toward bright patterns and faces.

Infancy and Childhood Infancy Infancy: a period that lasts until approximately 18-24 months in age—when speech becomes well developed

Infancy and Childhood The Maturation Process The infant will generally: Lift head at 3 months Smile at 4 months Grasp objects at 5-6 months

Infancy and Childhood The Maturation Process Crawl at 8-10 months Pull self into standing position also at 8-10 months Walk 3-4 months after pulling into a standing position

Infancy and Childhood Maturation process: internally programmed growth. MonthActivity 0 Fetal posture 1 Chin up 2 Chest up 3 Reach and miss

Infancy and Childhood MonthActivity 4 Sit with support

Infancy and Childhood MonthActivity • Sit on lap; • grasp object 6 Sit on high chair; grasp dangling object 7 Sit alone

Infancy and Childhood MonthActivity 8 Stand with help 9 Stand holding furniture 10 Creep 11 Walk when led • Pull to stand by • furniture

Infancy and Childhood MonthActivity 13 Climb stairs 14 Stand alone 15 Walk alone

Infancy and Childhood Remember, the maturational plan inside each child is unique. No two babies are exactly alike, and no two mature according to the same time table.

Infancy and Childhood The Development of Language Language and thought are closely intertwined Grammar: the ability to arrange symbols in new combinations to produce new meanings. Especially well developed in the human brain.

Infancy and Childhood The Development of Language Step 1: One must learn to make signs—hand or mouth Step 2: Learn to give signs meaning Step 3: Learn grammar Children learn steps at own speed

Infancy and Childhood The Development of Language First year: average child makes many sounds. Late first year: sounds begin to sound more like language the child hears Imitate speech they hear React to praise Usually says first word

Infancy and Childhood The Development of Language During 2nd year: leap in language development—using sounds as symbols Early words often pertain to things the child can see or touch Primitive, incomplete words

Infancy and Childhood The Development of Language Age 2: 500-1,500 word vocabulary Join words into 2-word phrases 18 months-5 years: children add 5-10 words per day to their vocabulary 4-5 years, vocabulary of several thousand words.

Infancy and Childhood The Development of Language Grammar at 2: telegraphic speech: words left out, but meanings usually clear “Where my ball?” “Daddy fall down” Understand some rules—such as keeping words in same order as adults.

Infancy and Childhood The Development of Language At first, use correct form of verb. Example: “Daddy went yesterday.” Later, after learning grammar rule for forming past tenses, they replace correct form with a combination of the rule & what they hear: “Daddy goed yesterday.”

Infancy and Childhood Learning Do things that produce rewards and avoid doing things that produce punishments. Imitate other people Respond to the environment.

Infancy and Childhood Intellectual Development Jean Piaget Swiss psychologist Studied intellectual development of children Most influential of child psychologists

Infancy and Childhood Intellectual Development Intelligence, or the ability to understand, develops gradually as the child grows. Children aren’t “dumb” in the sense of lacking a given amount of information.

Infancy and Childhood Intellectual Development Rather, they think a different way than older children and adults—they use a different kind of logic. Thus, intellectual development involves quantitative changes (growth in the amount of information) . . .

Infancy and Childhood . . . as well as qualitative changes (differences in the manner of thinking.) Understanding the world involves the construction of schemas, or mental representations of the world.

Infancy and Childhood Assimilation—we try to fit the world into our schema. Accommodation— change our schema to fit the characteristics of the world.

Infancy and Childhood Intellectual Development Piaget: newborns have a set of ready-made responses: Blink in bright light Grasp objects Suck things put near their mouths

Infancy and Childhood Intellectual Development Object Permanence If you hide a toy of an infant, she acts as if it had ceased to exist—grabs whatever else she might find.

Infancy and Childhood Intellectual Development If you hide a toy of a 7-12 month old, while she is watching, she will search for it, near where she saw you hide it. If you do more than once and hide it once behind your back, she will continue to search in the original place.

Infancy and Childhood Intellectual Development Object Permanence If you hide a toy of a 12-18 month old, she will search in the last place she saw it. But if you try to conceal it as you pretend to hide it, the child will act surprised but continue to search in other places. She knows that it must be some- where.

Infancy and Childhood Intellectual Development Object Permanence Latter step is major-- the child has progressed from a stage where her own actions were “the center of the world” to one where she realizes that people and objects are independent of her actions.

Infancy and Childhood Intellectual Development Object Permanence: “Things continue to exist even though I cannot see or touch them.” When a child achieves object permanence, Piaget says she has begun to engage inrepresentational thought.

Infancy and Childhood Intellectual Development That sure is a cool car that our neighbors bought.

Infancy and Childhood Representational thought: the child’s intelligence is no longer one of action only; the child can now picture (or represent) things in her mind. Piaget’s daughter and the temper tantrum— an excellent imitation using symbols.

Infancy and Childhood Intellectual Development Principle of Conservation The principle that a given quantity does not change when its appearance is changed. Most children acquire around ages 5-7

Infancy and Childhood Intellectual Development Principle of Conservation Children under 5 do not generally think about 2 dimensions They do not seem to understand that a change in width can be compensated for by a change in height

Infancy and Childhood Intellectual Development Principle of Conservation Children 7 and older will be able to determine that the second jar contains the same amount as the first.

Infancy and Childhood Intellectual Development Between 5 & 12, children develop a working knowledge of the world— cognitive advancement. But, their thinking is very “concrete”—must physically work out problems—can’t solve in their heads or use abstract reasoning.

Infancy and Childhood Piaget: four stages of cognitive development Sensorimotor Stage Birth to 2 years Thinking displayed in action 18 months—understands concept of object permanence

Infancy and Childhood Piaget: four stages of cognitive development Preoperational Stage 2-7 years Beginning of symbolic representation First language; drawing of pictures that represent things Problem solving: cannot do in head

Infancy and Childhood Piaget: four stages of cognitive development Preoperational Stage Egocentrism—self-centered focus Animistic thinking Centration Irreversibility

Infancy and Childhood Piaget: four stages of cognitive development Concrete Operational Stage 7-11 years Can think of several dimensions at same time Elementary arithmetic problems

Personal Development Piaget: four stages of cognitive development Formal Operational Stage 11-adult Thinking: more abstract and hypothetical Able to consider many alternative solutions to problems Contemplate future; form values

Infancy and Childhood Other issues in intellectual development Sexual identity 4-5 years—boys want to play with boys; girls with girls 4 years—children believe that people can change their sex by wearing clothes designed for the other sex & similar external changes

Infancy and Childhood Emotional Development Konrad Lorenz—pioneer in the field. 1973 Nobel prize for medicine or physiology Used animals and their behavior to study human emotional development.

Developmental Psychology