Developmental Psychology Chapter 7 College level reading assignment for unit (read this over next month): Pages 246 – 287 textbook Prepared by J. W. Taylor

Developmental Psychology

Chapter 7

College level reading assignment for unit (read this over next month):

Pages 246 – 287 textbook

Prepared byJ. W. Taylor V

College level reading HW tonight

Page 247 to 254 (up to Section Summary) Brief review next class. Bring text book to class.

Imagine…

What if all people had the sexual organs of men and women and there was no male and female anymore?

Is it worse to accidentally break 20 plates or deliberately break 1 plate?

What do 3 year olds think about death? What if every man looked like Brad Pitt and

every woman looked like Angelina Jolie?

Developmental psychology unit keywords

Key concepts

Conception/fertilization Embryo/fetus Prenatal development Nature vs nurture Biological development Cognitive development Social development

Moral development 7 stages of human

lifespan Infant reflexes Assimilation Accommodation Schema Language acquistion

Babies/young kids (pre school age) at home?

Please see me – would like a class visit if possible

Developmental Psychology

The scientific study of Biological

Cognitive

Social

Moral

Personality

development throughout the life span

Do our traits and behaviors result from heredity (nature) or the environment

(nurture)?

Do our traits and behaviors result from heredity (nature) or the environment

(nurture)?

Seven Stages of Development

Prenatal Conception to Birth

Infancy Birth to 2 years

Childhood 2 to 12 years

Adolescence 12 to 18 years

Young Adulthood 18 to 40 years

Middle Adulthood 40 to 65 years

Late Adulthood 65 years and over

http://learner3.learner.org/series/discoveringpsychology/development/dev_flash.html

Demo Complete table – describe the biological,

cognitive or psychosocial development of individuals in each life stage on your worksheet table

May use ipad for non-flash version

Spare some change?An exploration of my biological, cognitive and social development over my lifespan

DQ: How does my ongoing bio/cog/soc development contribute to identity over my lifetime?

Deliverable: Personal timeline One month duration

Your timeline Due in 3 weeks (maybe 4) Create a timeline of your life up till now, and How you predict your life will be until you die See rubric for components

Digital version: http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/ap-psych-dev

elopment-through-the-lifespan-project-meagan-carr

Prenatal Development and Infancy

Prenatal Development

How We Develop During Infancy

College reading – quiz on reading next class

We will review and then have a short quiz on the content. Bring your text book to class.

Page 254 – 265 (from “How we think throughout our lives” to Vygotsky)

Prenatal Development

Conception: a human begins as a fertilized egg (zygote). Combo of genes from mother and father.

Prenatal weeks 0 – 8: Embryo. A bunch of cells with some (but not much) definition.

Prenatal weeks 8 – 38: Fetus. Organs and cell specialization occurs. Growth.

Birth: At 9 months.

Prenatal development animations

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhoU4y0Jt04

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjkFL54Uado

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHybTthWwn0

What determines your personality?

Combination of genetics (nature) And experience/environment (nurture)

Genes from both parents give you your basic biological structures (your body) and some aspects of your personality, disposition and intelligence

Sex chromosomes determine if you are male XY or female XX

Twins 1 egg, 1 sperm = 1 zygote. This divides into 2 and

each forms a baby: identical (monozygotic) twins 2 eggs, 2 sperm = 2 zygotes with diferent genetic

material forms fraternal (dizygotic) twins

Things that influence prenatal development Teratogens are environmental agents (such

as drugs or viruses or chemicals), Diseases (such as German measles), Physical conditions (such as malnutrition)

may impair prenatal development and lead to birth defects or even death

How We Develop During Infancy

MotorDevelopment

MotorDevelopment

Sensory-Perceptual

Development

Sensory-Perceptual

Development

Homework, all classes:Parent interview about your infancy

What were you like as a baby? You cant remember, but your parents can! Ask them some interesting questions (this is a component of your project)

Sample questions: What was my birth like for you mom? What were some of my likes and dislikes as a

baby/toddler? How was my potty training? Tell me about a time when I really embarrassed

you/made you laugh

Motor Development – infant reflexes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dI1UOziOgg

A reflex is an unlearned response to a specific stimulus The Babinski reflex occurs when an infant

fans her toes upward when her feet are touched

The grasping reflex occurs when an infant grasps any object that touches their palms

The rooting reflex leads an infant to turn its mouth toward anything that touches its cheeks and search for something to suck

The sucking reflex leads an infant to suck anything that touches its lips

The stepping reflex occurs when an infant is held upright, used to learn to walk

Infant reflex modeling

Pretend you’re a baby and perform the basic reflexes.

How do these reflexes help a baby? Babies have basic survival needs – food, physical

protection Babies can’t talk and ask for what they need

Sensory-Perceptual Development Preferential-looking technique is used to

study vision Two visual stimuli are displayed side by side, and

the researcher records how long the infant looks at each stimulus

If the infant looks at one stimulus longer, it is inferred he can tell the difference between the two stimuli and has a preference

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8J-JflThHks

Sensory-Perceptual Development

Habituation: decrease in response to a stimulus once it becomes familiar. Getting used to something. Infants look longer at novel (new) stimuli This tells us the baby can tell the difference

between new and old Infants also intensity their sucking of a pacifier in

their mouths when confronted with a novel stimulus


Vision is the least-developed sense at birth Newborns’ visual acuity is 20/400 to

20/800 Reaches 20/20 within the first year Color vision develops by 2 to 3 months Such stimulation is necessary for

proper development of the visual pathways and cortex during infancy

Newborns need to practice looking to form good eyesight


Hearing in the newborn is more fully developed than vision Can distinguish mother’s voice This develops in the womb before birth By 6 months, an infant’s hearing is comparable

to that of an adult Steadily declines from there. Never as good

again


The senses of smell, taste, and touch are also fairly well-developed at birth Infants can differentiate the smell of their

mother Infants have innate understanding of

objects and movement – ex, solids cannot pass through each other.


The brain contains about 100 billion neurons at birth

Infant’s brain is immature, connections between neurons (neural networks) need to be formed Without visual experiences, the visual pathways do

not develop, and vision will be permanently lost During infancy, the networks of neurons that are

used become stronger. Those not used disappear. (Lemur video!)

How We Think Throughout Our Lives

How We Learn Language

Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development

Key concepts

Language acquisition Motherese/baby talk Babbling Holophrases Telegraphic speech Overextension Underextention Piaget

Sensorimotor stage Preoperational stage Concrete operations Formal operations Object permanence Symbolic representation Conservation

How We Learn Language

Language unique to humans. Children in different cultures learn to speak

very different languages, but they all seem to go through the same sequence of stages

Some brain regions see language (written). Others hear it. Some interpret language (understanding). Others generate it (speaking). The right and left hemispheres perform logical and emotional functions.

Language Stages http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxtLhgzntg8 Infants communicate through

crying, with different cries for hunger and for pain, movement facial expressions

Prefer baby talk (or motherese) – calming, melodious speech, short sentences.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZclOL7vIQQ

Language Stages

At about 6 or 7 months, babbling, the rhythmic repetition of various syllables, including both consonants and vowels, begins

At about 1 year of age, the infant begins to speak a few words, which usually refer to their caregivers and objects in their daily environment Infants use holophrases, words that express complete

ideas

Language Stages

Vocabulary grows slowly until about 18 months, and then infants learn about 100 words or more per month Overextension: The application of a newly learned

word to objects that are not included in the meaning of the word (e.g., calling any female person “mama”)

Underextension: The failure to apply the new word more generally to objects that are included within the meaning of the new word (e.g., not extending the category of “dog” to include dogs that are not the family pet)

Language Stages

Between 18 and 24 months, children experience a vocabulary-acquisition spurt and words are combined into sentences Telegraphic speech is the use of 2-word sentences with mainly

nouns and verbs (e.g., “Dada eat” for “Dad is having dinner”) These 2-word statements begin to be expanded and between

the ages of 2 and 5 years, the child implicitly acquires grammar of the native language

Language Stages

Language development is a genetically programmed ability However, this ability is not developed without

exposure to human speech Thus, both nature and nurture are vital to

language development

JEAN PIAGET – studied children’s cognitive abilities

Born: August 9, 1896 Neuchâtel, Switzerland Died: September 17, 1980 Geneva, Switzerland

Write these questions. Answer them later. What age can kids start doing algebra (which uses abstract thinking)?

What age do kids learn and use many new words?

What age would a kid understand how volcanoes erupt due to

pressure build up, only when the teacher uses a physical model to

explain it?

What age would a kid forget about the existence of a person when

they hide behind a corner?

What age would a kid realize that a clump of clay briken into two

smaller clumps is still the same amount of clay?

What age can a child discuss the existence of God and argue for and

against it?

Real live observations!

What life stage are these kids in? Observe their

Reflexes Motor/sensory coordination Language capability/level Walking Personality/social self Piaget level – sensory motor? preoperational?

Concrete operational? Formal operational?

Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development

Piaget posed problems for children to solve, observed their actions carefully, and questioned them about their solutions Interested in children’s error, thought processes Assumed that a child is an active

seeker of knowledge and gains an understanding of the world by operating on it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRF27F2bn-A

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development

Sensorimotor Birth to 2 years

Preoperational 2 to 6 years

Concrete operational 6 to 12 years

Formal operational 12+ years

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development

Sensorimotor Stage

Infant learns about the world through their sensory and motor interactions (including reflexes)

Lack object permanence, the knowledge than an object exists independent of perceptual contact

Symbolic representation of objects and events starts to develop during the latter part of the sensorimotor stage (e.g., use of telegraphic speech)

Preoperational Stage

The child’s thinking becomes more symbolic and language-based, but remains egocentric and lacks the mental operations that allow logical thinking

Egocentrism is the inability to distinguish one’s own perceptions, thoughts, and feelings from those of others Cannot perceive the world from another person’s perspective

The child, however, can pretend, imagine, and engage in make-believe play


Conservation is the knowledge that the quantitative properties of an object (such as mass, volume, and number) remain the same despite changes in appearance Some grasp of conservation

marks the end of the preoperational stage and the beginning of the concrete-operational stage

The liquid/beakers problem is a common test of conservation ability


A major reason why a preoperational child does not understand conservation is that the child lacks an understanding of reversibility, the knowledge that reversing a transformation brings about the conditions that existed before the transformation

Child’s thinking also reflects centration, the tendency to focus on only one aspect of a problem at a time

Tests of Conservation

Concrete Operational Stage Children gain a fuller understanding of

conservation and other mental operations that allow them to think logically, but only about concrete events Conservation for liquids, numbers, and matter

acquired early, but conservation of length acquired later in the stage

Develops transitivity (e.g., if A > B, and B > C, then A > C)

Develops seriation, the ability to order stimuli along a quantitative dimension (e.g., a set of pencils by their length)

The reasoning of concrete operational children is tied to immediate reality (i.e., what is in front of them and tangible) and not with the hypothetical world of possibility

Formal Operational Stage

The child gains the capacity for hypothetical-deductive thought Can engage in hypothetical

thought and in systematic deduction and testing of hypotheses


In one scientific thinking task, the child is shown several flasks of what appear to be the same clear liquid and is told one combination of two of these liquids would produce a clear liquid

The task is to determine which combination would produce the blue liquid

The concrete operational child just starts mixing different clear liquids together haphazardly

The formal operational child develops a systematic plan for deducing what the correct combination must be by determining all of the possible combinations and then systematically testing each one


The formal operational child can evaluate the logic of verbal statements without referring to concrete situations

For example, the formal operational child would judge the statement “If mice are bigger than horses, and horses are bigger than cats, then mice are bigger than cats” to be true, even though in “real life” mice are not bigger than cats

Evaluation of Piaget’s Theory

Recent research has shown that rudiments of many of Piaget’s key concepts (e.g., object permanence) may begin to appear at earlier stages than Piaget proposed For example, research that involved tracking

infants’ eye movements has found that infants as young as 3 months continue to stare at the place where the object disappeared from sight, indicating some degree of object permanence

Evaluation of Piaget’s Theory

1. Not all people reach formal operational thought

2. The theory may be biased in favor of Western culture

3. There is no real theory of what occurs after the onset of adolescence

4. Despite refinements, recent research has indeed shown that cognitive development seems to proceed in the general sequence of stages that Piaget proposed

Schemas Organized units of knowledge about objects, events,

and actions Cognitive adaptation involves two processes

Assimilation is the interpretation of new

experiences in terms of present schemes

Accommodation is the

modification of present schemes to fit with new experiences

Assimilation or accommodation?

Suzy is 3 and knows how to use a spoon. She’s given a fork for the first time, and immediately figures out how to use it.

Tom is 4 and believes that all cars have 4 doors. When his aunt shows up in a 2 door sports car, he realizes that car door numbers vary. He changes his idea about car door numbers.

Think of a personal example of Assimilation Accommodation

Schemas

For example, a child may call all four-legged creatures “doggie” The child learns he needs to accommodate

(i.e., change) his schemes, as only one type of four-legged creature is “dog”

It is through accommodation that the number and complexity of a child’s schemes increase and learning occurs

Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Approach to Development

Stressed that cognitive abilities develop through interactions with others and represent the shared knowledge of one’s culture

The zone of proximal development is the difference between what a child can actually do and what the child could do with the help of others (i.e., potential development less actual development)

In scaffolding, the parent or teacher adjusts the level of help in relation to the child’s level of performance, while directing the child’s learning progress toward the upper level of her zone of proximal development

How Intelligence Changes in Adulthood

Two methods for studying intelligence changes In a cross-sectional study, people of different ages are

studied and compared with one another In a longitudinal study, the same people are studied

over a long period of time The cross-sectional method consistently finds that

intelligence declines with age However, using the longitudinal method, later studies

found that intelligence did not decline with age, but remained rather stable and even increased until very late in life when it showed a decline

How Intelligence Changes in Adulthood

Problem with cross-sectional research Cohort effect – people of a given age are affected by

factors unique to their generation (e.g., differences in educational opportunities), leading to differences in performance between generations

Problems with longitudinal research Time consuming Expensive Repeated testing necessary Participants die/drop out of the research Those who participate over the entire course of the

research may have been the most intelligent and healthiest participants whose intelligence would be the most likely not to decline

Types of Intelligence

Crystallized intelligence refers to accumulated knowledge, verbal skills, and numerical skills that increase with age

Fluid intelligence involves abilities such as abstract thinking, logical problem solving, and spatial reasoning that decrease with age

Types of Intelligence

The Seattle Longitudinal Study is a major attempt to learn if intelligence declines with age Started in 1956 with more than 5000 participants being tested

every 7 months through 1998 Groups of new participants were added periodically, making the

research part cross-sectional and part longitudinal Found that most intellectual abilities decline somewhat by age 60,

but the decline is not great until a person reaches age 80 or more Those who suffer the least decline are those who stayed healthy,

of higher socioeconomic status, and are in intellectually stimulating environments

Moral Development and Social Development

Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Reasoning

Attachment and Parenting Styles

Erikson’s Psychosocial StageTheory of Development

Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Reasoning Built on an earlier theory of moral reasoning proposed by

Piaget, using a series of stories that involved moral dilemmas to assess a person’s level of moral reasoning

Discerned three levels of moral reasoning based on responses to the stories and the reasoning behind the responses given

Kohlberg’s Levels of Moral Reasoning

1. At the preconventional level of moral reasoning, the emphasis is on avoiding punishment and looking out for your own welfare and needs Moral reasoning is self-oriented

2. At the conventional level of moral reasoning, moral reasoning is based on social rules and laws Social approval and being a dutiful citizen are important

3. At the highest level, the postconventional level of moral reasoning, moral reasoning is based on self-chosen ethical principles Human rights taking precedent over laws; the avoidance of

self-condemnation for violating such principles


Level 1 Preconventional Morality

Stage 1 Punishment orientation

Compliance with rules to avoid punishment

Stage 2 Reward orientation

Compliance with rules to obtain rewards and satisfy own needs


Level 2 Conventional Morality

Stage 3 Good-girl/ good-boy orientation

Engages in behavior to get approval of others

Stage 4 Law and order orientation

Behavior is guided by duty to uphold laws and rules for their own sake


Level 3 Postconventional Morality

Stage 5 Social contract orientation

Obeys rules because they are necessary for social order but understands rules are relative

Stage 6 Universal ethical principles orientation

Concerned about self-condemnation for violating universal ethical principles based on human rights


Kohlberg proposed that we all start at the preconventional level as children and as we develop, especially cognitively, we move up the ladder of moral reasoning The sequence is uniform; however, not

everyone reaches the postconventional level


Shortcomings of Kohlberg’s theory Studied moral reasoning and not moral

behavior

May not have adequately represented the morality of women

The higher stages may be biased toward Western cultures

Attachment and Parenting Styles

Attachment is the lifelong emotional bond that exists between the infants and their mothers or other caregivers, formed during the first six months of life

Attachment and Harlow’s Monkeys

Harry Harlow separated infant monkeys from their mothers at birth and put them in cages containing two inanimate surrogate mothers, one made of wire and one made of terry cloth


Half of the monkeys received their nourishment from a milk dispenser in the wire and half from a dispenser in the terry cloth mother All of the monkeys preferred the cloth monkey

regardless of which monkey provided their nourishment The monkeys being fed by the wire mother would only

go to the wire mother to eat and then return to the cloth mother

Thus, “contact comfort,” not reinforcement from nourishment, was the crucial element for attachment formation



When confronted with a strange situation (e.g., an unfamiliar room with toys) without the surrogate mother, the infant monkey would be fearful When the surrogate mother was brought into the strange

situation, the infant monkey would initially cling to the terry cloth mother to reduce its fear, but then begin to explore the new environment and eventually play with toys

Types of Attachment

Discerned via the strange situation devised by Ainsworth, in which an infant’s behavior is observed in an unfamiliar room with toys, while the infant’s mother or caregiver and a stranger move in and out of the room in a structured series of simulations

SecureSecure Insecure-avoidant

Insecure-avoidant

Insecure-ambivalent

Insecure-ambivalent

Insecure-disorganized

Insecure-disorganized

Types of Attachment

Secure attachment is indicated when an infant explores the situation freely in the presence of the mother, but displays distress when the mother leaves, and responds enthusiastically when the mother returns Caregivers who are sensitive and responsive to an infant’s needs

are more likely to develop a secure attachment with the infant

Insecure-avoidant attachment is indicated by exploration, but minimal interest in the mother, the infant showing little distress when the mother leaves, and avoiding her when she returns

Types of Attachment

Insecure-ambivalent attachment is indicated by the infant seeking closeness to the mother and not exploring the situation, high level of distress when the mother leaves, and ambivalent behavior when she returns by alternately clinging to and pushing away from her

Insecure-disorganized (disoriented) attachment is marked by the infant’s confusion when the mother leaves and when she returns The infant acts disoriented, seems overwhelmed by the

situation, and does not demonstrate a consistent way of coping with it

Types of Attachment Infant temperament, a set of innate tendencies or

dispositions that lead us to behave certain ways, is also a factor in determining type of attachment Specifically, how an infant’s

temperament matches the child-rearing expectations and personality of its caregiver is important in forming the attachment relationship

Secure attachments have been linked to higher levels of cognitive functioning and social competence in adulthood

Daycare does not appear to be detrimental to the formation of secure attachments

Parenting Styles

Authoritarian Parents are demanding, expect unquestioned obedience, are not responsive to their children’s desires, and communicate poorly with their children

Authoritative Parents are demanding but set rational limits for their children and communicate well with their children

Permissive Parents make few demands and are overly responsive to their child’s desires, letting their children do pretty much as they please

Uninvolved Parents minimize both the time they spend with the children and their emotional involvement with them, doing little more than providing for basic needs

Parenting Styles

An authoritative parenting style seems to have the most positive effect on cognitive and social development Children are the most independent, happy,

self-reliant, and academically successful of the four parenting styles

Erikson’s Psychosocial Stage Theory of Development

Emphasized the impact of society and culture upon development Lead to an increase in research on life-

span development Criticized for the lack of solid

experimental data to support it Eight stages of development, each

with a major issue or crisis that has to be resolved Each stage is named after the two sides

of the issue relevant in that stage

Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages

1 Trust vs. Mistrust

(birth to 1 year)

Infants learn that they can or cannot trust others to take care of their basic needs

2 Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt

(1 to 2 years)

Children learn to be self-sufficient in many activities such as toilet training, walking, and exploring; if restrained too much they learn to doubt their abilities and feel shame

3 Initiative vs. Guilt

(3 to 5 years)

Children learn to assume more responsibility by taking the initiative but will feel guilty if they overstep limits set by parents

4 Industry vs. Inferiority

(5 years to puberty)

Children learn to be competent by mastering new intellectual, social, and physical skills or feel inferior if they fail to develop these skills


5 Identity vs. Role Confusion

(adolescence)

Adolescents develop a sense of identity by experimenting with different roles; no role experimentation may result in role confusion

6 Intimacy vs. Isolation

(young adulthood)

Young adults form intimate relationships with others or become isolated because of failure to do so


7 Generativity vs. Stagnation

(middle adulthood)

Middle-aged adults feel they are helping the next generation though their work and child rearing, or they stagnate because they feel that they are not helping

8 Integrity vs. Despair

(late adulthood)

Older adults assess their lives and develop sense of integrity if they find lives have been meaningful; develop sense of despair if not meaningful


Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory of Development

Probably the greatest impact of Erikson’s theory is that it expanded the study of developmental psychology past adolescence into the stages of adulthood (young, middle, and late)

The sequence in the theory (intimacy issues followed by identity issues) turns out to be the most applicable to men and career-oriented women Many women may solve these issues in reverse order or

simultaneously For example, a woman may marry and have children and then

confront the identity issues when the children become adults

Documents

Developmental Psychology Chapter 7 College level reading assignment for unit (read this over next month): Pages 246 – 287 textbook Prepared by J. W. Taylor