Psychological Development

1. Chapter 5 Psychological Development

2. Developmental Psychology • Developmental psychology –The study of how organisms change over time as the result of biological and environmental influences • Development is a process of growth and change brought about by an interaction of heredity and the environment

3. The Nature-Nurture Interaction • Nature-nurture issue –Long-standing discussion over relative importance of nature (heredity) and nurture (environment) in their influence on behavior and mental processes • Twin studies – Developmental investigations in which twins, especially identical twins, are compared in the search for genetic and environmental effects • When separated at birth they often display similarities in habit, lifestyle, intelligence, and personality • Jim Twins

4. The Nature-Nurture Interaction • Identical twins– A pair who started life as a single fertilized egg, monozygotic, which later split into two distinct individuals • Fraternal twins– A pair who started life as two separate fertilized eggs that happened to share the same womb • Adoption studies – Studies in which the adopted child’s characteristics are compared to those of the biological family and the adoptive family

5. Performance Discontinuity view Age Gradual versus Abrupt Change • Developmental stages – Periods of life initiated by significant transitions or changes in physical or psychological functioning • Continuity – Gradual • Discontinuity - Stage-like Continuity view

6. Periods of Pregnancy • Germinal period - first two weeks after fertilization, during which the zygote moves down to the uterus and begins to implant in the lining • Embryonic period - the period from two to eight weeks after fertilization, during which the major organs and structures of the organism develop. • Fetal period- time from about 8 weeks after conception until birth (development of fetus)

7. Periods of Pregnancy

8. Periods of Pregnancy • Placenta –An organ that develops between the embryo/fetus and the mother • Critical periods- times during which certain environmental influences can have an impact on the development of the infant. • Teratogen - any factor that can cause a birth defect. • Fetal alcohol syndrome- leading cause of mental retardation • Smoking • X-rays • Lead • Disease

9. Psychological Traits in Your Genes • While psychological traits are formed by interaction of heredity and the environment, many traits have a strong genetic influence • Newborns have innate abilities for finding nourishment, interacting with others, and avoiding harmful situations; the developing abilities of infants and children rely on learning

10. Neonatal Period(from birth to one month) • Sensory abilities- all senses are functioning, vision is limited for first 4-6 weeks • Infants use these abilities to learn • Motor abilities • Rooting reflex- food source • Sucking reflex • Grasping reflex • Stepping Reflex • Babinski Reflex- rub bottom of foot the toes fan out and curl back in • Moro reflex (startle reflex)- pulling arms and legs into the body then extending them out

11. Maturation • Maturation refers to development that largely unfolds on it’s own. All humans (especially infants) develop in the same orderly way. (we stand before we walk, babble before we talk, use nouns before adjectives…) • The time can vary depending on the person • Maturation sets the course of development, experience adjusts it.

12. Motor Development • The sequence of motor development is nearly the same in all parts of the world. • 90% of all babies will begin walking by 15 months. • Roll over, sit up unsupported, crawl, walk etc. • Identical twins typically begin sitting up and walking on nearly the same day. • EX.- t-ball; hitting and throwing pretty equal among players

13. Toilet Training • NO MATTER WHAT, THE BABY NEEDS THE PHYSICAL MATURATION TO HOLD HIS OR HER BLADDER OR BOWEL MOVEMENTS BEFORE TOILET TRAINING. • NO TRAINING WILL WORK IF THE CHILD IS NOT PHYSICALLY READY.

14. Cognitive Development • Cognitive development–the development of thinking, problem solving, and memory scheme (plural schemas) • This field is Dominated by a man named Jean Piaget. • He was developing IQ tests and noticed that many children got the same answers wrong. • Thought to himself, “maybe these kids are not stupid, but instead think differently than adults.”

15. Piaget’s Important Concepts • Children are active thinkers, always trying to make sense of the world. • To make sense of the world, they develop schemas. • Schema- a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information formed through experiences with objects and events

16. Piaget’s Important Concepts • Assimilation – Mental process that modifies new information to fit it into existing schema • Ex. Child sees a cougar for the first time and points and says “doggie” because they have a dog at home • Accommodation –Mental process that restructures existing schemas so that new information is better understood • Ex. Child now knows that cougars are bigger and have different features- accommodating their original schema (four legs, furry, inside a house, etc.)

17. Piaget’s Stage Theory of Cognitive Development • Sensorimotor stage – first stage in which the infant uses its senses and motor abilities to interact with objects in the environment. • Birth to 2 years • At 4 to 8 months of age, the child will learn that she can make things move by banging them and shaking them • Object Permanence - the knowledge that an object exists even when it is not in sight.

18. Piaget’s Stage Theory • Preoperational stage – second stage in which the preschool child learns to use language as a means of exploring the world; begin to pretend play (Approx. ages 2 to 6 or 7) • Think Symbolically- one thing can represent something else • Egocentrism - the inability to see the world through anyone else’s eyes. • Centration - in Piaget’s theory, the tendency of a young child to focus only on one feature of an object while ignoring other relevant features. • Irreversibility - in Piaget’s theory, the inability of the young child to mentally reverse an action.

19. Piaget’s Stage Theory • Concrete Operational stage - third stage of cognitive development in which the school-age child becomes capable of logical thought processes but is not yet capable of abstract thinking. (about 7 to 11 years old) • marked by logical thinking, mental representations, mathematical transformations, and mastery of conservation • Conservation - in Piaget’s theory, the ability to understand that simply changing the appearance of an object does not change the object’s nature.

21. Piaget’s Stage Theory • Formal Operational Stage - Piaget’s last stage of cognitive development in which the adolescent becomes capable of abstract thinking. (11 and beyond) • Abstract thinking, moral reasoning and hypothetical situations • Consider future possibilities and imaginary scenarios • God is love. Love is Blind. Stevie Wonder is Blind. Stevie Wonder is god.

22. Lev Vygotsky’s Theory • Impact of the social context on a child’s cognitive growth • Scaffolding - process in which a more skilled learner gives help to a less skilled learner, reducing the amount of help as the less skilled learner becomes more capable. • Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) - The difference between what a child can do with help and what the child can do without any help or guidance • Reach the top of this range when given instruction

23. Social and Emotional Development • Socialization –The lifelong process of shaping an individual’s behavior patterns, values, standards, skills, attitudes and motives to conform to those regarded as desirable in a particular society • (Commonly referred to as manners, beliefs or customs) • Temperament - the behavioral characteristics that are fairly well established at birth. • Easy - regular, adaptable, and happy • Difficult - irregular, nonadaptable, and irritable • Slow to warm up - need to adjust gradually to change.

24. Attachment • Attachment - the emotional bond between an infant and the primary caregiver. Measured with Mary Ainsworth’s Strange Situation. Humans have an inborn need for attachment • Secure - willing to explore, upset when mother departs but easily soothed upon her return. • Avoidant – unattached; explore without “touching base”, can attach to stranger • Ambivalent/Resistant - insecurely attached; upset when mother leaves and then angry with mother upon her return. • Disorganized-disoriented – insecurely attached and sometimes abused or neglected; seemed fearful, dazed, and depressed. Strange Situation

25. Deprivation of Attachment • John Bowlby’s types of Anxiety • Separation Anxiety- distress at being separated from parents or caregiver • Stranger Anxiety- distress upon encountering new, unfamiliar people • Early attachments form the basis for our adult relationships • Critical periods exist for attachment and bonding just like language development. If those critical periods pass without adequate attachment, it can rewire a child’s brain with lifelong consequences.

26. Harry Harlow’s Contact Comfort • Contact Comfort- human newborns need physical touch and nurturance Video

27. Social and Emotional Development • Imprinting- rigid attachment process during an organisms critical period, usually immediately after birth, as if it is their mother • Konrad Lorenz- baby ducklings • Transitional Object- blanket

28. Diana Baumrind’s Parenting Styles • Parenting styles-Most approaches to child rearing fall into one of the following four styles: • Authoritarian parents-establish rules and expectations; expect obedience; punishment • Authoritative parents- establish rules but also listen to input from children; reinforcement and punishment • Correlate with positive outcomes for children • Permissive parents- parents submit to their children; children given freedom • Neglectful or Uninvolved parents

29. The Transitions of Adolescence • Adolescence – Developmental period beginning at puberty and ending at adulthood • the period of life from about age 13 to the early twenties, during which a young person is no longer physically a child but is not yet an independent, self-supporting adult. • Puberty- the physical changes that occur in the body as sexual development reaches its peak. • Period of about four years when we become sexually mature • Primary and Secondary Sex Characteristics • Rites of passage – Social rituals that mark the transition between developmental stages, especially between childhood and adulthood

30. Cognitive Development in Adolescence • Formal operational stage – Piaget’s final stage of cognitive growth (abstract and complex thought) • Hormones rise to high levels • This leads to sensation seeking and risk taking, and preoccupation with body image and sex • The frontal lobes undergo a “remodel” • Emerging Adulthood- transitional period between adolescence and adulthood • 18 traditionally meant you were an adult; college has changed this and delayed responsibilities

31. Social Identity in Adolescence • Identity crisis- sense of self changes and is shaped by the question “who am I ?” which is often answered by the group memberships we hold. • The increasing influence of peers- diminishing parent influence • We talk, dress, and act more like our peers than our parents.

32. Egocentric Thinking (David Elkind) • Personal fable - type of thought common to adolescents in which young people believe themselves to be unique and protected from harm. • Imaginary audience - type of thought common to adolescents in which young people believe that other people are just as concerned about the adolescent’s thoughts and characteristics as they themselves are.

33. Lawrence Kohlberg’s Moral Development • Moral development —growth in the ability to tell right from wrong, control impulses, and act ethically. • Preconventional level— 4-10 (preoperational stage of cognitive development) Do the right thing • stage 1—avoid punishment, obey authority • stage 2—further self-interests, gain reward • Conventional level— 10-13 (concrete operational stage of cognitive development or formal operational stage for most people) Social Conventions • stage 3—conform, live up to expectations of others • stage 4—maintain law and order, do your duty • Postconventional level— over 13 (reached by only some people in the formal operational stage) Internal Judgments • stage 5—social contract, to promote the society's welfare • stage 6—to promote justice

34. Developing Morality- Lawrence Kohlberg • “The Heinz Dilemma”- would you steal a drug in order to save a life?

35. Debating Kohlberg’s Moral Development • Criticized by Carol Gilligan • Felt he missed the fact that males and females view moral dilemmas differently • Men- more absolute and justice-based • Women- more relationship-based and caring

36. Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages

37. Trust vs. mistrust 0 to 1 1/2 years Autonomy vs. self doubt 1 1/2 to 3 years Initiative vs. guilt 3 to 6 years Industry vs. inferiority 6 years to puberty Identity vs. role confusion Adolescence Intimacy vs. isolation Early adulthood Generativity vs. stagnation Middle adulthood Integrity vs. despair Late adulthood Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages Age/Period Principal Challenge