UNIT 9

1. UNIT 9 DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

2. Developmental Psychology • Examines how people are continually developing • Physically, Cognitively and Socially • Mainly focuses on three major issues • Nature vs Nurture – genetics vs environment • Continuity and Stages- are we constantly changing or do we go step by step through our lives • Stability and Change – Are we destined to be the same person for our whole life or does our personality change

3. Conception • Women are born with all the eggs they will ever have • Men start producing sperm at puberty • 200 million sperm released, all trying to get to 1 egg, 85,000x their size • Sperm release a digestive enzyme to break down its protective coating

4. Prenatal Development • Zygotes- fertilized eggs • Inner cells become embryo • Over 6 weeks time, organs form and heart beats • By 9 weeks, it’s a fetus • 6 mos, fetus has almost fully developed, and has the highest chance of survival • Also responsive to sound, hear the mother’s voice • Newborns will respond to their mother and recognize their voice compared to other women

5. Prenatal Development • Out cells of the Zygote become the placenta • responsible for transferring nutrients and oxygen from mother to fetus • Also screens toxins that may harm baby • Teratogens – harmful agents like viruses and drugs • Not everything can get filtered out though • HIV, heroine, smoke, alcohol • Fetal Alcohol Syndrome • prolonged exposure to alcohol can cause birth defects (disproportional head) and life long brain abnormalities

6. The Newborn • Babies come equipped with certain behaviors that will ensure their survival • Withdrawing limbs to avoid pain • moving head away from something not block airway • touching on the cheek will get their attention for feeding • Babies can see and categorize things • Habituation – no longer responding to a stimulus • Focus on faces • 8 – 12 inches away grabs our attention more

7. Brain Development • At birth, you have most of the brain cells you will ever have • 23 billion neurons • Connections grow as you age • from 3 to 6 frontal lobes grow rapidly • Association areas – thinking and memory – are the last to develop • after puberty, connections that aren’t used are pruned

8. Motor Development • Movt in babies is almost universal • Roll over before they sit up • crawl before they walk • Identical twins often end up sitting up or walking on nearly the same day • Genetic influence • Muscle control, including toilet training takes time

9. Infant Memory Earliest memories usually from about 3 years and older Infantile Amnesia – inability to remember or misremember things before the age of 4 • Babies are also capable of learning • Mobile Experiment

10. Cognitive Development Cognition – all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering and communicating Jean Piaget Intelligence tests for children Studied their wrong answers Many kids got the same questions wrong for the same reasons Children reason differently than adults

11. Cognitive Development Schemas Concepts or frameworks that we use to interpret new ideas Assimilation – interpreting new ideas in terms of old ones (schemas) Accommodation – adjusting our schemas to new information

12. Piaget’s Theory Children go through 4 stages of development Sensorimotor stage Birth – almost 2 We learn through our senses Touching, mouthing, looking, grasping Out of sight out of mind Object permanence

13. Piaget Preoperational Stage 2 – 6 or 7 Using intuitive rather than logical reasoning Conservation Quantity remains the same despite its shape Egocentrism Difficulty perceiving things from another’s POV Theory of Mind Being able to think from another’s perspective Teasing, empathy, persuasion

14. Theory of Mind • Anne the Doll and Band Aid box experiments • Lev Vygotsky • Inner speech • Children learn better and can work through problems easier when they are speaking out loud

15. Concrete Operational Stage • 7 – about 11 • Changes in understanding • Grasping of logic and reason • Understand conservation • Mathematics and language • Better understanding of word problems • Reversing equations • 8 + 4 = 12, so what is 12 - 4 = ?

16. Formal Operational By 12 abstract thinking deducing consequences and hypothetical questions If this, then that If John is in school, then Mary is in school. John is in school, so what can you deduce about Mary?

17. Piaget Today One of the most influential researchers of the 20th century Researchers think today that development is more continuous rather than going through distinct stages

18. Social Development • Infant parent bonding • at about 8 months, there is a development of stranger anxiety • hard to assimilate new faces with existing schemas • Origins of attachment • Harlow’s monkey experiment • Attachment – emotional tie with another person • Monkeys grew attached to blankets in their cages • Surrogate mothers

19. Attachment • Familiarity • Imprinting • the forming of attachments during critical periods of a child’s life • In some animals, the first moving thing they see becomes their mother • Kids like to watch the same movies and tv shows, read the same books, eat the same foods • Familiarity is safety

20. Parenting and temperament • secure vs insecure attachment • Parents who are more sensitive to their children’s needs tend to have more securely attached children • easy babies vs difficult babies • shy 2 yr olds usually become shy 8 yr olds • and introverted teens • Nurturing Nature • Mothers with training on how to handle difficult babies

21. Mother Care vs Father Care More research has been done looking at mothers caring for children than fathers Maternal deprivation vs father absence A father’s affection and acceptance is comparable to the mothers when raising a healthy child Erikson’s basic trust Kids see the world as predictable and reliable Trust rather than fear

22. Neglect • Humans and primates who are neglected as babies grow up without social skills • Often fear being in environments with others and can act aggressively • More likely to commit child abuse • When placed in homes where they wont be neglected, most kids can recover • Day Care – when stimulating can be good for kids, when boring can have negative effects on development and grades

23. Self Concept • An understanding and assessment of you you are • Usually have this idea by 12 • Darwin thought it happens when we can recognize ourselves in the mirror • happens gradually over the first year • When make up is applied to kids, they recognize that it is on their face, not another person in the mirror

24. Parenting styles • 1. Authoritarian • impose strict rules and expect obedience • “because I said so!” • 2. Permissive • parents submit to their kids desires • make few demands and rarely punish • 3. Authoritative • both demanding and responsive • Set rules and enforce them, but also explain them • Allow exceptions to rules when discussing rules with older kids

25. Parenting Styles • Researchers agree that kids with • highest self esteem • self reliance • social competence all come from parents with authoritative styles • Why? • Children’s traits may influence parenting techniques more than vice versa • Genetics? • Competent children the offspring of competent parents

26. Gender Development • We are in most ways, alike • There are a number of differences • Women • enter puberty 2 yrs earlier • live 5 yrs longer • carry 70% more fat • have 40% less muscle • is 5 inches shorter • express emotion more freely • more susceptible to depression • but less likely to become alcoholics or commit suicide

27. Gender Gaps • men admit to more aggression • physical vs verbal • men are perceived as more dominant, forceful and dominant • men place more importance on this too • Social connectedness • Boys more often play in large groups and engage is less intimate conversations • More competitive • Male Answer Syndrome

28. Gender Gaps Women hold bonds more important as well as feelings of support Men value freedom and self reliance

29. The Nature of Gender X chromosomes come from Women Y chromosomes come from men Responsible for producing testosterone Exposing a female to testosterone in the womb will have an impact on their development and behavior Tomboys – even with some physical traits Still identify themselves as girls

30. Nurture of Gender Gender roles Expectations about how sexes are supposed to behave Who does the following Drives the car? Picks up the check? Does laundry? Does yard work? Cooks dinner? Decorates the home? Selects gifts?

31. Child Rearing Gender Identity Sense of being male or female Social learning theory says that we learn this through our interactions, observing and imitating as well as being punished or rewarded for these behaviors Schemas and cognition also play a role Children are aware that 2 different types of people exist and can categorize behaviors done by these types Forms stereotypes

32. Parents and Peers • Genes decide the structure of our brain, but experience fills in the details • More experience increases brain development as infants grow • Exposure to toys and touch increases brain weight too • Pruning • This is why its easier to learn new languages at younger ages

33. Credit or Blame the Parents • Is it right to blame parents for their kids shortcomings or give them credit for their successes? • Pushy and overbearing vs uninvolved and distant • Family values show up in political beliefs, religious beliefs and personal matters • However, many researchers have found that kids from the same family are often as different as any two kids interviewed at random • Parents may not be the sole reason that kids turn out the way they do

34. Peers • especially during childhood and adolescence we seek to fit in • This can have major impacts on our behavior • Kids who don’t like a type of food, will eat it around other kids that do • Accents will be more like the ones they hear at school than at home • Teens smoking modeled by friends, even when no smokers at home

35. Adolescence • The years spent changing from a child to an adult • Tension between biological maturity and social dependence • A time of storm and stress • Sexual maturation causes a flood of hormones to be released – mood swings • Secondary sex characteristics • Facial hair, breast development, deeper voices

36. Cognitive Development in Teens • Reasoning is usually focused on the self • “You wouldn’t understand!” • “You don’t know what its like!” • Grows to being able to think about others point of view • Being able to think hypothetically • developing morality

37. Morality • Preconventional morality • Kids before 9 • Only do things to avoid punishment or gain a concrete reward • Conventional • early adolescence • caring for others, following the rules simply because they are the rules • Postconventional • Things are right because others have rights, ethics come into play

38. Morals Social intuitionist Moral feelings precede moral reasoning Moral paradoxes Runaway trolley examples Gut feelings Emotional areas of the brain activate differently depending on the situation

39. Social Identity • Identity • Our sense of self, often found by trying out different versions through our lives • Social Identity • Who am I – based on group memberships • Erik Erikson • stages of life each have certain tasks that we must complete before we can mature and have our identity

40. Erikson’s Stages of Development • Infancy – up to 1 yr old • Trust vs Mistrust • If needs are met, infants will develop a sense of trust • Toddlerhood – 1-3 yrs • Autonomy vs self doubt/shame • Figuring things out on their own • Preschool – 3-6 yrs • Initiative vs guilt • accomplishing things of feeling guilty about not being able to

41. Erikson • Elementary School – 6 – puberty • Industry vs inferiority • Applying yourself to a task or feeling like a failure • Adolescence – teens into 20s • identity vs role confusion • refining sense of self or becoming confused about who you really are • Young adulthood – 20s-40s • intimacy vs isolation • having close relationships or being socially isolated

42. Erikson • Middle Adulthood – 40s – 60s • Generativity vs stagnation • Contributing to society through work or family, or feeling worthless • Late adulthood – 60’s and up • Integrity vs despair • looking back at life with satisfaction or regret

43. Emerging Adulthood From 18 to mid 20’s some teens pull away from parents, but are not completely able to care for themselves Happens more in the West than in other parts of the world In between stage of life

44. Adulthood • Development continues as we age • Physically • 20’s • Strength, reaction time, sensory keenness are all at their height • As we age, physical tasks get harder, sounds mute, and visual ability declines • More susceptible to life threatening ailments, less to colds

45. Cognitive Ability • Dementia • mental erosion • can be caused by small strokes, tumors, alcohol dependence • Alzheimer’s • affects 3% of the population • Memory goes first then reasoning • Physically active, non obese are at less of a risk • As well as those who continue to challenge their mind – active readers

46. Cognitive Ability Aging and Memory Early adulthood is the peak time for memories Prospective Memory “Remember to..” remains strong through life Recalling information declines with age

47. Cognitive Ability Aging and Intelligence Research has been done in phases Phase I – Cross Sectional Comparing people to one another Looking at various age groups Phase II – Longitudinal Retesting the same people over the course of time Sometimes intelligence increased Phase III – Depends on various factors Maybe smarter people live longer Intelligence slows down, doesn’t make you less intelligent

48. Cognitive Ability Crystallized vs Fluid Intelligence Crystallized increases over time Accumulated knowledge Vocab and analogies Fluid decreases over time Reason quickly and abstractly Most mathematicians and scientists produce their best work in their 20s Creative writers tend to produce their best later in life