Human Development

1. Human Development

2. Development is the sequence of age related changes that occur as a person progresses from conception to death . It encompasses changes in physical, cognitive and social behaviors. • Major issues • A. Nature versus nurture — are we more affected by heredity or environment? • B. Continuity versus discontinuity — is developmental change gradual, or do we progress through distinct stages ?

3. Developmental Research Methods • A. Cross-sectional research involves studying a variety of ages at a given point in time. • B. Longitudinal research follows the same group of subjects for many years. • C. In cohort-sequential research, several age groups are studied periodically. • D. Historical research revolves around the particular historical circumstances of an era.

4. PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT

5. The prenatal period extends from conception to birth, usually nine months. • It is divided into 3 phases (these are NOT the same as trimesters) • The germinal stage (first 2 weeks) • The embryonic stage (2 weeks to 2 months) • The fetal stage (2 months to birth)

6. The germinal stage • The zygote is formed by the union of sperm and egg. • The zygote moves through the fallopian tubes to uterus. • 7th day, the mass of cells implants itself in the uterine wall • As many as 1 in 5 pregnancies end at this point if implantation is not successful. • Placenta starts to form

7. Embryonic Stage • Vital organs and bodily systems begin to form • Heart, spine, and brain emerge • 1 inch long but arms, hands, feet , fingers, toes, eyes and ears are discernable. • This is a time of great vulnerability • All of the basic systems are forming and interference or damage at this time will have wide ranging and permanent effects • Most miscarriages occur at this time.

8. Fetal Stage • The baby becomes capable of movement • Organs grow and begin to function • Sex organs start to develop in the 3rd month • Final three months • Brain cells multiply • Respiratory and digestive systems mature • Layer of fat deposited under the skin for insulation • Between 22 and 26 weeks the fetus becomes viable or able to live outside the womb.

9. Environmental factors in prenatal development.

10. Maternal nutrition • Severe malnutrition at this time increases the risk of birth complications and neurological defects. • These effects can last for years or the entire lifetime. • This has been linked to schizophrenia, heart disease, diabetes

11. Maternal Drug Use • Most drugs consumed by the mother pass through the placenta • Heroin: babies are born addicted, increased risk of early death, birth defects • Cocaine: birth complications and cognitive/learning problems in childhood • Marijuana: cognitive issues, attention and impulse control issues and problem solving difficulties

12. Alcohol: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome- a collection of physical and psychological problems including irritability, hyperactivity and delayed mental and motor development, depression, suicide, drug problems and criminal behaviour • Tobacco: SIDS, slower cognitive development, attention deficit, hyperactivity and behaviour issues. • Many presciption drugs also can affect the fetus.

13. Maternal Illness • The fetus has a very weak immune system so therefore is basically defenseless against infections • All of this damage depends, in part, on when the mother is exposed to the danger, • Generally speaking an embryo will be much more damaged than a fetus.

14. http://www.tusculum.edu/faculty/home/tharlow/DEV%20Residential/Working%20folder%20clutter%20removal/images/0602.jpghttp://www.tusculum.edu/faculty/home/tharlow/DEV%20Residential/Working%20folder%20clutter%20removal/images/0602.jpg

15. Infancy

16. Infancy: • 1. Growth rate declines throughout infancy but is faster than during any other postnatal period. • 2. Maturation and learning combine to determine skill development and replace reflexes.

17. Motor/co-ordination development • Humans develop in two ways • 1. Cephalocaudal (head to tail) development • Babies gain control over the upper part of their bodies before the lower part • 2. Proximodistal (from the center outward) development • Babies gain control over their torso before their extremities • Motor development is based on the infants’ experimentation and learning and remembering of the consequences of their behaviour • However each baby has their own genetic rate of maturation determined in part by their genetic make up.

18. http://www.westone.wa.gov.au/k-12lrcd/learning_areas/child_fam_com/cfc1d/content/001_change_continuity/page_02.htmhttp://www.westone.wa.gov.au/k-12lrcd/learning_areas/child_fam_com/cfc1d/content/001_change_continuity/page_02.htm

19. Temperament: “Easy” vs “Difficult” Babies • Temperament refers to the characteristic mood, activity level and emotional reactivity • Babies exhibit their own characteristic temperament by between 2 and 3 months. • This is a very good predictor of their personality at age 10. • Temperament can be described in several ways

20. Temperament is heavily influenced by heredity and tends to be stable over time • HOWEVER it is not unchangeable. • Parental reactions and other social experiences can gradually shape children’s personality. • Temperament IS NOT destiny.

21. Temperament: Thomas and Chess 1977 • Easy: happy, regular sleeping and eating patterns, adaptable to change and not easily upset. 40% • Slow to warm up: less cheery, predictable and adaptable. Don’t like new experiences. 15% • Difficult; glum, erratic sleepers and eaters, resistant to change, irritable 10% • 35% of babies are combinations of all three

22. Social and emotional development • Attachment • The close, emotional bonds of affection that develop between infants and caregivers. • By 6-8 months most babies will show a preference for the primary caregiver and protest when separated • Separation Anxiety • Emotional distress seen in many infants when they are separated from those people they have formed an attachment with.

23. Social and emotional development • 1. Harry Harlow's surrogate mother research with monkeys demonstrated the importance of contact comfort. • 2. Attachment style • a. Secure attachment means the infant seeks proximity, contact and interaction with the caregiver after separation. • b. Insecure attachment means the infant cannot be calmed or ignores the caregiver after separation. • 3. Stranger anxiety peaks at about 6 months; separation anxiety peaks at about 18 months. • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrNBEhzjg8I

24. INFANCY: Cognitive development • 1. Infants show a preference for face-Iike patterns. • 2. Visual cliff experiments suggest that infants perceive depth by the time they are able to crawl. • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VPaBcT1KdY&list=PLE8ACCF549E785776 • These also demonstrate the influence of other people’s reactions on behaviour. • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6cqNhHrMJA&list=PLE8ACCF549E785776

25. Childhood and Adolescence

26. I. Childhood • A. Physical Development • 1. More extensive neural networks continue to develop in the brain. • 2. Growth rate continues to decline. • B. Social development • 1. Interaction with the environment provides a sense of gender identity. • 2. A greater sense of independence develops as peer relationships begin td become more important. • C. Cognitive development continues at a rapid rate. There are advances in the areas of • 1. Learning • 2. Language • 3. Thinking skills

27. Feral Children 1 • Feral Children 2 • Feral Children 3 • Feral Children 4 • Feral Children 5 • Genie • Child of Rage

28. II. Adolescence • A. Physical/sexual development-puberty • B. Social development • 1. Peer groups take on an increasingly important role. • 2. Opposite-sex relationships gradually become less recreational and more intimate. • C. Cognitive development • 1. Capability for logical, hypothetical and introspective thinking develops. • 2. Growing awareness of one's own mental processes develops-metacognition. • D. Adolescent development relates to many important societal problems, such as suicide, teen pregnancy and eating disorders.

29. Adult and Later Years

30. I. Adulthood • A. Physical changes • 1. Abilities peak and begin a gradual (1 percent a year) decline. • 2. Women undergo menopause with its hormonal and reproductive changes. • B. Social changes center around such issues as: • 1. Mate selection • 2. Parenting • 3. Career selection • C. Cognitive changes vary significantly with some people showing declines and others not. • 1. Reaction time appears to decline. • 2. Some adults show a decline in memory.

31. II. Later years • A. Physical changes • 1. There is a general decline in muscle tone and sensory abilities. • 2. Senile dementia and Alzheimer's disease are two disorders that may develop. • B. Social issues include: • 1. Retirement • 2. Social isolation, which may be caused by loss of spouse and others, lack of mobility and declining health • C. Cognitive declines are likely to continue.

32. Important Developmental Psychologists Piaget, Kohlberg and Erikson

33. I. Piaget's theory of cognitive development • Essential Processes • a. Cognitive structures/schemaare the means by which humans acquire and apply knowledge about their world. • b. Assimilation is the use of available cognitive structures to gain new information. • c. Accommodation is the process of modifying cognitive structures in the face of newly realized complexities in the environment.

34. A. Sensorimotor stage, birth to 18 months • 2. Developmental achievements • a. Circular reactions are repetitive motions babies engage in as they gradually learn to explore their environment nonreflexively. • b. Object permanence is the understanding that objects continue to exist even when hidden from view.

35. B.Preoperational stage, 18 months to 6 years • 1. Characteristics • a. Egocentrism is a limited ability to comprehend a situation from a perspective one has not experienced. • b. Animism is the tendency to attribute life to inanimate things. • c. Artificialism is the tendency to believe everything is the product of human action. • 2. Developmental achievements • a. Symbolic representation and language • b. Readiness for operational thought

36. C. Concrete-operational stage, 6 years to early adolescence • 1. Characteristics • a. Use of simple logic • b. Use of simple mental manipulations • c. Decline in egocentrism • 2. Developmental achievements • a. Conservation is the principle that matter does not increase or decrease because of a change in form. • b. Reversibility is the understanding that mathematical operations and other actions can be undone. • d.Decentration: ability to focus on more than one aspect of a problem at once

37. D. Formal-operations stage, adolescence and adulthood • 1. Characteristics • a.Hypothetical/ What if thinking? and deductive reasoning How or Why did this happen ? • b. Propositional logic: If this …then that… • c. Abstract thought: Symbolism, discussing Big Ideas • 2. Developmental achievement indicates a readiness for adult intellectual tasks. • 3.Piaget believed that not all adolescents or adults achieve formal operational reasoning ability.

38. Kohlberg Theory of Moral DevelopmentHeinz’s Dilemma

39. Heinz’s Dilemma • Heinz's wife was near death, and her only hope was a drug that had been discovered by a pharmacist who was selling it for an exorbitant price. • The drug cost $20,000 to make, and the pharmacist was selling it for $200,000. • Heinz could only raise $50,000 and insurance wouldn't make up the difference. • He offered what he had to the pharmacist, and when his offer was rejected, Heinz said he would pay the rest later. • Still the pharmacist refused. In desperation, Heinz considered stealing the drug. • Would it be wrong for him to do that?

40. Kohlberg: • Moral development: The ability to tell right from wrong and behave accordingly. • Kohlberg believed that there were levels and 6 stages in the development of moral behaviour. • Kohlberg studied Piaget and tried to apply his ideas to morality.

41. A. Preconventionallevel : toddler and preschool • Stage 1:Right and wrong are determined by what is punished, • so a child does the right thing to avoid something bad. • Stage 2, Right and wrong are determined by what is rewarded • So a child does the right thing in order to get a something good

42. B. Conventional level: school age • Stage 3, Right and wrong are determined by the approval or disapproval of the people close to us • We want our loved ones to see us as good • Stage 4, Right and wrong are determined by society's rules and laws which should be obeyed at all times • We do what’s right because it’s the law even if it could hurt our close friends and family

43. C. Postconventionallevel : begins in teens but may never be attained • Stage 5, There are general rule about what is right and wrong but sometimes exceptions need to be made • Stage 6, Each individual must have their own moral code. • Right and wrong are characterized by universal ethical principles that emphasize equality and justice for all people, not just the ones close to us.

44. Issues • It is not unusual for a person to be operating on more than one level depending on the situation. • These stages tend to represent “Western cultural values of individual human rights” and are not always the same across the globe. • Some believe that Kohlberg did not do enough research on the differences between men and women

45. It appears that males are more interested in the morality of justice: Is this fair? and • women are more interested in the morality of care: How will this affect other people?

48. http://www.cbc.ca/player/Shows/Shows/Doc+Zone/2008-09/ID/1233752062/LIARShttp://www.cbc.ca/player/Shows/Shows/Doc+Zone/2008-09/ID/1233752062/LIARS • http://www.goodcharacter.com/dilemma/archive.html

49. Erik Erikson: The Life-Span Approach

50. Vocabulary • CRISIS: the developmental challenge that must be met at each stage • Basic Strength: the personality characteristics and beliefs that derive from successful resolution of crisis in each stage