Chapter 9Chapter 9Chapter 9Chapter 9

Psychological DevelopmentPsychological Development

Developmental Psychology

• Developmental psychology: The study of how organisms change over time as the result of biological and environmental influences

How Do PsychologistsExplain Development?

Development is a process of growth and change brought about by an interaction of

heredity and the environment

Chapter 9: DevelopmentBiological, Cognitive, Social

Throughout the lifespan

Newborns have innate abilities for finding

nourishment, interacting with others, and avoiding harmful

situations; the developing abilities of infants and

children rely on learning.

Prenatal Development

• Prenatal period : The developmental period before birth– Zygote: up to 14 days– Embryo: 14 days to end of 2nd month– Fetus: 3 months to birth

• Placenta: An organ that develops between the embryo/fetus and the mother

• Teratogens: Toxic substances that can damage the developing organism

Neonatal Period(from birth to one month)

• Sensory abilities• Motor abilities

– Grasping reflex– Rooting reflex– Sucking reflex– Stepping reflex– Startle reflex– Swimming reflex– Postural reflex

Infancy(one month to about 18

months)

• Maturation: The unfolding of genetically programmed processes of growth and development over time

Maturation Timetable• 1 month: responds to sound, vocalizes

occasionally• 2 months: smiles socially, recognizes care-

giver, rolls from side to back, holds head up• 3 months: vocalizes to sounds/smiles,

searches for sound source, sits with support

• 4 months: gaze follows interesting objects, sits with less support

Maturation Timetable• 5 months: discriminates b/w strangers &

familiar persons, distinctive vocalizations• 6 months: lifts objects, smiles at own

image, reaches for objects• 7 months: sits on own, crawls• 8-9 months: verbalizes around 4

syllables, pulls to standing position• 10-11 months: plays hand games, stands

alone• 1 year: walks alone

Social and Emotional Development

• Theory of Mind: An awareness that other people’s behavior may be influenced by beliefs, desires, and emotions that differ from one’s own

• Temperament: An individual’s characteristic manner of behavior or reaction (strong biological origin)– What’s your temperament?

Learning in Infancy(1-18 months)

• Conditioning – classical and operant

• Imprinting – form an immediate attachment– in animals, not really

children

Attachment Styles• Humans apparently have an inborn need

for attachment – deep, enduring socio-emotional relationship with another

• Strange Situation (Ainsworth, 1978)– Secure attachment– Insecure attachment

• Anxious-ambivalent attachment• Avoidant attachment

• Harlow’s Contact Comfort Studies

1. Authoritarian parents2. Permissive parents (permissive-

indulgent)3. Uninvolved parents (permissive

indifferent)4. Authoritative parents

Social and Emotional Development

• Most approaches to child rearing fall into one of the following styles (Baumrind):

What Are theDevelopmental Tasks ofInfancy and Childhood?

Infants and children face especially important

developmental tasks in the areas of cognition and social

relationships – tasks that lay a foundation for further growth in

adolescence and adulthood

Cognitive Development• Jean Piaget• Cognitive development: The process by

which thinking changes over time• Schemas: Mental structures or

programs that guide a developing child’s thoughts

Cognitive Development• These underlie all cognitive growth…• Assimilation: Mental process that

modifies new information to fit it into existingschemas

• Accommodation: Mental process thatrestructures existing schemas so that newinformation is better understood

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development

SensorimotorSensorimotor

PreoperationalPreoperational

Concrete Concrete OperationalOperational

Formal Formal OperationalOperational

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development

SensorimotorSensorimotor

Preoperational

Concrete Operational

Formal Operational

• Birth to about age 2

• Relies on innate motor responses to stimuli

• Schemas – see & touch• Sensorimotor intelligence

• Mastery of these marks end of stage:

• Mental representations

• Object permanence(clip)

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development

Sensorimotor

PreoperationalPreoperational

Concrete Operational

Formal Operational

• About age 2 to age 6/7• Marked by well-developed

mental representation and the use of language

• Seen in this stage:

• Centration (clip)

• Egocentrism

• Animistic thinking

• Artificialism

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development

Sensorimotor

Preoperational

Concrete Concrete OperationalOperational

Formal Operational

• About age 7 - 11• Child is incapable of

abstract thought• Simple logic only

• Conservation (clip)

• Mental operations

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development

Sensorimotor

Preoperational

Concrete Operational

Formal Formal OperationalOperational

• From about age 12 on

• Abstract thought appears

What Changes Mark theTransition of Adolescence?

Adolescence offers new developmental challenges

growing out of physical changes, cognitive changes, and socio-emotional changes

Gender…

• Roles – how one should feel, act, & think• Identity – sense of being male or female• Schema – mental set of what society

deems appropriate behavior for each sex• Role stereotypes – broad categories that

reflect our beliefs about males/females• Androgyny – presence of desirable mas/ fem characteristics in one person

Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages

Age/PeriodAge/Period Principal ChallengePrincipal Challenge

0 to 1 1/2 years0 to 1 1/2 years Trust vs. mistrust

1 1/2 to 3 years1 1/2 to 3 years Autonomy vs. self doubt

3 to 6 years3 to 6 years Initiative vs. guilt

6 years to puberty6 years to puberty Confidence (Industry) vs. inferiority

AdolescenceAdolescence Identity vs. role confusion

Early adulthoodEarly adulthood Intimacy vs. isolation

Middle adulthoodMiddle adulthood Generativity vs. stagnation

Late adulthoodLate adulthood Ego-integrity vs. despair

Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Reasoning

• I. Preconventional morality– Stage 1: Pleasure/pain orientation– Stage 2: Cost/benefit orientation;

reciprocity

• II. Conventional morality– Stage 3: “Good child” orientation– Stage 4: Law-and-order orientation

• III. Postconventional (principled) morality– Stage 5: Social contract orientation– Stage 6: Ethical principle orientation

Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Reasoning

• Not tightly linked to one’s age• Moves from morality based on

reward/ punishment to one based on abstract ethical principles.

• Gender and morality– Carol Gilligan: Kohlberg’s stages are

biased; based on males; female morality embedded in social relationships

What DevelopmentalChallenges Do Adults

Face?

Nature and nurture continue to produce changes throughout life, but in

adulthood these changes include both growth and

decline

The Developmental Challenges of Adulthood

• Early Adulthood (Erikson)– Intimacy versus isolation

• Middle Adulthood (Erikson)– Generativity versus stagnation– Generativity: making a commitment

beyond oneself to family, work, society, or future generations

The Last Developmental Issues You Will Face

• Impact on physical, cognitive, social and emotional abilities:– Vision, hearing, thinking/learning/problem solving,

memory, sexual functioning, selective social interaction, emotions

• 5 Stages of Death/Dying/Grieving (Kubler-Ross): Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance

• Late Adulthood (Erikson)– Ego-integrity vs. Despair– Ego-integrity: ability to look back on life without

regrets and to enjoy a sense of wholeness