Introduction to Psychology

1. Introduction to Psychology Human Development

2. Developmental Psychology • The focus of developmental psychologyis on how humans develop and change over time • Change can occur across the life span of the person • Cradle to grave developmental psychology • Assumes that change is inevitable • Change can be continuous or discontinuous

3. Core Developmental Issues • Delineate the interacting forces of nature and nurture • Maturation: Refers to biologically determined changes that follow an orderly sequence • Determine the importance of early experiences • The notion of “critical periods” • Assess whether change is continuous or in qualitative stages

4. Critical Periods • Critical period concept suggests that the brain is set to acquire a function during a limited period of time. • If key experiences do not occur during a critical time period, the function may not develop or may not be fully developed • The case of Genie: a girl who was isolated until the age of 13. Although Genie made some gains in language, her syntax never approached normal levels. The case of Genie supports a critical period for language acquisition (yet some point to her gains later in life) • Measles can cause mental retardation if contracted during certain fetal periods

5. Developmental Methodology • Cross-sectional method compares groups of different ages at the same time • Useful for assessing age differences • Not useful for examining age changes • The problem is that each age group (cohort) has different life experiences • Longitudinal method compares same group at multiple time points • Sequential studies examine different age groups at multiple time points (reduce cohort effects)

6. Physical Development • Prenatal period has 3 phases: • Germinal period (1st 2 weeks after conception) • Embryonic period: 3rd to 8th weeks of gestation • Fetal period: from 9 weeks to birth

7. Teratogens • During the embryonic period, the developing fetus is susceptible to toxins • Teratogensare environmental agents that harm the fetus (viruses, chemicals) • Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: If the mother consumes alcohol during pregnancy, the fetus is exposed to the alcohol, which can lead to abnormal physical development and to learning disabilities • Crack Cocaine: Fetal exposure to cocaine alters motor and emotional development

8. Infant Reflexes • Reflexes are innate motor responses elicited by critical stimuli • Reflexes are adaptive • Examples of infant reflexes: • Rooting reflex: A touch on the cheek induces the infant to move its mouth toward the source of the touch (helps guide feeding) • Sucking reflex: Tactile stimulation of the mouth produces rhythmic sucking

9. Motor Development (Figure adapted from Frankenburg & Dodds, 1967).

10. Emotional Development • Temperament • Attachment: • Secure • Anxious-ambivalent • Avoidant

11. Cognitive Development • Piaget’s interest was epistemology: the branch of philosophy concerned with the acquisition of knowledge • Piaget argued that children have schemas which are organized patterns of thought or behavior • Cognitive development for Piaget involved the modification of intellectual schemas as the child seeks to understand its world

12. Assimilation and Accommodation • The cognitive schemas developed by children must be able to handle new information and situations • Piaget proposed 2 intellectual processes: • Assimilation: Involves interpreting new information in light of an old schema • All 4-legged animals are viewed as a “dog” • Accommodation: Process by which old schemas are modified to fit new situations • A horse is not a “dog”

13. Piaget’s Stage Theory • Senorimotor period (birth to 2 years) • Preoperational period (2 to 7 years) • Concrete operational period (7 to 11) • Formal operational period (11 to adult) - Centration, irreversibility, animism

14. Issues in Cognitive Development • Object permanence refers to the realization by a child that an object continues to exist even if it cannot be seen • Egocentrism refers to a cognitive view in which a child understands the world to have only their view (has great difficulty in understanding the views of others) • Conservation: Understanding that the basic properties of an object are constant even if the object changes shape

15. Conservation Tasks

16. Moral Development • Lawrence Kohlberg • Preconventional – Punishment to Naïve Reward orientation • Conventional – Good boy/Good girl to Authority orientation • Post conventional – Social contract to Individual principles orientation

17. Personality Development • Trust vs. Mistrust (1st year) • Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt (2 - 3) • Initiative vs. Guilt (4 - 6) • Industry vs. Inferiority (6 - puberty) • Identity vs. Confusion (Adolescence) • Intimacy vs. Isolation (Early adulthood) • Generativity vs. Self-Absorbtion (Middle adult) • Integrity vs. Despair (Late adulthood)