© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved Slide 1 Developmental Psychology 9

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Slide 1

Developmental Psychology

9


Slide 2


• Focuses on development across life span – a field of psychology that focuses on development across the life span.

• Development – More-or-less predictable changes in behavior

associated with increasing age

• Nature or nurture?– Nature: behavior unfolds like a plant over time

– Nurture: behavior is molded by experiences



Slide 3Developmental Psychology

Nature view



What do they see?


Slide 5

Basic Processes of Development

• Maturation– Biological process of systematic physical

growth

– Experience plays a role in specific contexts

– McGraw’s study of toilet training twins

• Children change dramatically from birth to adulthood




200 300

Age in days

500 600 700 800

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in p

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nt

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60

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HiltonHugh

Importance of maturational readiness in McGraw’s study of toilet training twin boys


Slide 7

Early Experiences and Critical Periods

• Imprinting (Lorenz)– Inborn tendency or instinct

– Sensitive period – critical period

• Early social deprivation– Harlow’s monkeys, social isolation, and

continuing detrimental effects

– Controversy over effects on children

• Some abnormal effects may be irreversible



Slide 8

Variations in Development

• Normal for children to be variable in their development– Discontinuities in development are the rule

– Parents make important decisions about raising children that impacts on development

• Raising deaf child

• Impact of technology and medicine



Slide 9

Stage Theories of Development

• Stages – series of abrupt changes from one period to another – – All children must pass through in same order– Many advocate unfolds over time– More qualitative than quantitative (such as

child mastering physical properties of object)• Decentered thought allows

conservation problem solutions



Slide 10

Piaget’s Developmental Theory

• Identified 4 stages of cognitive development– Sensorimotor stage – infant experiences world

in sensory information and motor activities– Preoperational stage – children sometimes

think illogically by adult standards– Concrete operational stage – increased abilities– Formal operational stage – use of full adult

logic




Birth to 2 yrs

Sensorimotor Uses senses and motor skills, items known by use; Object permanence

2 - 7 yrs Pre-operational Symbolic thinking, language used; egocentric thinking, imagination/ experience grow, child de-centers

7 - 11 yrs Concrete operational

Logic applied, objective/rational interpretations; conservation, numbers, ideas, classifications

11 yrs on Formal operational

Thinks abstractly, hypothetical ideas; ethics, politics, social/moral issues explored

Piaget’s cognitive development theory


Slide 12

Kohlberg’s Theory

• Moral development– Three level, six stage theory– Premoral level – child has no sense of morality

as adults understand it– Child’s moral view based on what others think

until highest level of development creates independent thinking



Slide 13

Kohlberg’s Theory

• Moral development– Gilligan critical of Kohlberg’s research

results – had her own theory• Morality as Individual Survival• Morality as Self-Sacrifice• Morality as Equality




Level I: Preconventional moral reasoning

Stage 1 “might makes right”

Punishment/obedience orientation: self-interest

Stage 2 “look out for number one”

Instrumental/relativist orientation: quid pro quo

Level II: Conventional moral reasoning

Stage 3 “good girl, nice boy”

Proper behavior for the social approval

Stage 4 “law and order”

Proper behavior of the dutiful citizen, obey laws

Level III: Postconventional moral reasoning

Stage 5 “social contract”

Mutual benefit to all, obey society’s rules

Stage 6 “universal ethical principles”

Defend right/wrong, not just majority, all life is sacred (reflective)

Kohlberg’s theory of moral development


Slide 15

Development Across the Life Span

• Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory– Focuses on the individual’s developing

relationships with others in social world– Eight stages - development continues over

life span– Crisis at each stage of development




Autonomy vs. Shame/doubt

Initiative vs. Guilt

Industry vs. Inferiority

Identity vs. Role confusion

Intimacy vs. Isolation

Generativity vs. Stagnation

Integrity vs. Despair

Trust vs. Mistrust

Erikson’s psychosocial

theory


Slide 17

Development Across the Life Span

• Average ages at which changes in development take place portray pattern of age-related changes– Neonatal Period– Infancy– Early childhood– Middle childhood– Adolescence– adulthood



Slide 18

Development in Infancy and Childhood

• Neonatal period– First two weeks of life– Marks transition from womb to independence– Reflexively grasps anything placed in hand

– Rooting reflex



Slide 19


• Infancy – Age: 2 weeks until 2 years– Time of rapid physical, perceptual, cognitive,

linguistic, social, and emotional growth– During sensorimotor stage – infants stare at

interesting visual stimuli– Preference for human faces



Slide 20


• Infancy – Physical development– Cognitive development

• Object permanence• Telegraphic speech

– Rovee-Collier’s studies of memory




Rovee-Collier’s studies tested the memory of young infants


Slide 22


• Infancy – emotional and social development– Visual cliff and depth perception– Attachment

• Strong attachments formed between infants and caregivers

• Separation anxiety• Fear of strangers




Gibson and Walk’s visual cliff tested infant depth perception


Slide 24

Early Childhood

• Growth less explosive and rapid than during infancy– Lasts 2 to 7 years of age– Cognitive development

• Children in preoperational stage show egocentric thought

• Animism• Transductive reasoning



Slide 25

Early Childhood

• Emotional and social development– Most notable changes in peer relationships

and types of play• Solitary play• Parallel play• Cooperative play




Early Childhood

Solitary play

Parallel play

Cooperative play


Slide 27

Middle Childhood

• Lasts from 7 to 11 years of age– Characterized by slow physical growth– Important cognitive changes occur– Conservation and reversibility

– Child decenters – allows conservation problems to be solved; learns some matter changes shape but not volume



Slide 28

Middle Childhood

• Emotional and social development– Child enters with close ties to parents – Peer relationships become increasingly

important• Friendships more important, last longer• Cliques or groups formed, mostly same

sex• Terms boyfriend and girlfriend have little

meaning at this stage



Slide 29

Adolescent Development

• Adolescence – Physical changes of puberty– Adolescent growth spurt– Heightened sexual and romantic interest– Peers become more important than parents– Cognitively – capable of abstract reasoning

• Ponders abstract issues like justice or equality– No clear cut end to adolescence in society



Slide 30

Adolescent Development

• Physical development– Puberty becomes production of sex hormones – Primary sex characteristics appear

• Females – menarche: menstruation, ovulation– Secondary sex characteristics appear

• Females – breasts, pubic hair, wider hips• Males – testes and penis growth, facial and

pubic hair, broadened shoulders



Slide 31

Adolescence

• Cognitive development– Formal operations stage entered

• Ability to use abstract concepts• Shift to stage varies among individuals;

some never reach this stage, others reach it in early adulthood

– Piaget’s classic experiment with weights




C D

A B

7-yr-old4-yr-old

Piaget’s Balance Test - task: make the weight times the distance equal on both sides of center

10 kg

5 kg

8 kg

5 kg

5 kg2 kg

5 kg

14-yr-old10-yr-old


Slide 33

Adolescence

• Adolescent egocentrism– Imaginary audience – everyone is watching– Personal fable – belief that s/he is unique– Hypocrisy – okay for one to do it but not

another– Pseudostupidity – use of oversimplified logic

• Social development– Time of drifting or breaking away from family



Slide 34

Adolescence

• Emotional development– G. Stanley Hall – time of storm and stress– Most adolescents are happy, well-adjusted– Areas of problems

• Parent-child conflicts• Mood changes - self-conscious, awkward,

lonely, ignored• Risky behavior - aggression, unprotected

sex, suicide, use of substances or alcohol



Slide 35

Adulthood

• Young adulthood through older adulthood– Developmental changes continue throughout

adulthood: not a single phase of life

– Taking on adult responsibilities in work and social relationships

– Challenges: love, work, play continue changing



Slide 36

Adulthood

• Physical development– Growth and strength in early adulthood, then

slow process of decline afterwards• Speed and endurance• Vision and ability to see in weak lighting• Hearing and detection of tones• Taste – intact until later in life; men tend to

lose hearing and taste earlier than women– Decline affected by health and lifestyles



Slide 37

Adulthood

• Cognitive development– Continues throughout adulthood; some abilities

improve while others decline• Fluid intelligence peaks in 20s, declines

therafter • Crystallized intelligence improves until 30s;

then declines slowly afterwards • Overall, individual rates vary depending on

lifestyle and health



Slide 38

Adulthood

• Emotional and social development– Many aspects of personality are fairly stable

over time, and changes are predictable• On average, adults become

– less anxious and emotional, socially outgoing, and creative

• People become more dependable, agreeable, and accepting of life’s hardships

• Gender differences lessen over time



Slide 39

Adulthood

• Emotional and social development– Much disagreement about when and how

changes occur during aging – differences between stages of infant/child development and adult development• Not all adults go through every stage• Order of stages can vary for individuals• Timing of stages not controlled by

biological maturation



Slide 40

Stages of Adult Life

• Early adulthood– Erikson

• Intimacy versus isolation (17 to 45 years)

– Levinson - Early adulthood has three stages

• Entry into early adulthood (17-28)

• Age 30 transition (28-33)

• Culmination of early adulthood (to age 40)

– Challenges of career, marriage, and parenthood



Slide 41

Middle Adulthood

• Erikson – – Generativity versus stagnation (40-65 years)

• Taking stock of what one has, who s/he is

• Some are happy, some are disappointed

• Generativity – reaching out, not self-centered



Slide 42

Middle Adulthood

• Levinson – four brief stages– Midlife transition (early 40s)– Entry to middle adulthood stage (45 to 50)– Age 50 transition– Culmination of middle adulthood

• Climactic – – Female sexual ability to reproduce declines – Not all adult development timed by social

clock rather than biological clock



Slide 43

Later Adulthood• Erikson (age 65 and onward)

– Integrity versus despair • Looks back over life as a whole: satisfying

existence or merely staying alive

• Levinson devotes little to later years

• Life expectancy dramatically increased as have conceptions of old age– many have healthy years after retirement– Second careers and activism launched



Slide 44

Evaluating Stage Theories

• Gender differences – more focus on men

• Cultural differences and historical change– Few cultural comparison studies done

• Inconsistent evidence

• Questions about idea of stage theories– Mid-course correction, not mid-life crises– Predicted changes do not occur at ages indicated



Slide 45

Causes of Aging

• Biological – human body deteriorates

• Psychological – Happy or unhappy aging – Social activity and slowed intellectual decline or

disengagement and isolation– Maintain healthy or unhealthy lifestyle– Optimism linked to happier, healthier, longer life



Slide 46

Death and Dying: The Final Stage

• Kübler-Ross – five stages– Denial– Anger– Bargaining– Depression– Acceptance



Slide 47

Application of Psychology: Parenting

• Parents play a key role in children’s lives– Parenting and infant attachment– Parenting and discipline style– Effect in childrearing: Two-way street– Common discipline mistakes

• Lax parenting, verbosity, overreactivity, and reinforcement of inappropriate behavior

– Sociocultural factors in parenting – Myth of the perfect parent– Day care, divorce, and parenting



Slide 48

Baumrind: Three Parenting Styles

Style Authoritarian Permissive Authoritative

Warmth low high high

Discipline strict rare moderateExpected Maturity high low moderateCommunication: parent-child

high low high

Communication: child-parent

low high high


Slide 49

The End

9Developmental Psychology

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© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved Slide 1 Developmental Psychology 9