UNIT 9 DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

Developmental PsychologyExamines 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, gradually

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?

ConceptionWomen 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

Prenatal DevelopmentZygotes- 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

Prenatal DevelopmentOuter 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

The NewbornBabies come equipped with certain behaviors that will

ensure their survival Withdrawing limbs to avoid pain moving head away from something blocking airway touching on the cheek will get their attention for feeding

(rooting reflex)

Babies can see and categorize things Habituation – no longer responding to a stimulus Focus on faces 8 – 12 inches away grabs our attention more

Brain DevelopmentAt 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 Strengthens pathways that exist

Motor DevelopmentMovt 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

Infant MemoryEarliest 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

Cognitive DevelopmentCognition – 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

Cognitive DevelopmentSchemas

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

Piaget’s TheoryChildren 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

PiagetPreoperational 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

Theory of MindAnne 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

Concrete Operational Stage7 – 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 = ?

Formal OperationalBy 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?

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

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

AttachmentFamiliarity

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

Parenting and temperamentsecure 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

Mother Care vs Father CareMore 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

NeglectHumans 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

Self ConceptAn 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

Parenting styles1. 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

Parenting StylesResearchers 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

Gender DevelopmentWe 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

Gender Gapsmen 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

Gender GapsWomen hold bonds more important as well as

feelings of support

Men value freedom and self reliance

The Nature of GenderX 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

Nurture of GenderGender 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?

Child RearingGender 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

Parents and PeersGenes 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

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

Peersespecially 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

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

Cognitive Development in TeensReasoning 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

MoralityPreconventional 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

MoralsSocial intuitionist

Moral feelings precede moral reasoning Moral paradoxes

Runaway trolley examples Gut feelings Emotional areas of the brain activate differently

depending on the situation

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

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

EriksonElementary 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

EriksonMiddle 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

Emerging AdulthoodFrom 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

AdulthoodDevelopment 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

Cognitive AbilityDementia

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

Cognitive AbilityAging and Memory

Early adulthood is the peak time for memories

Prospective Memory “Remember to..” remains strong through life

Recalling information declines with age

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

Cognitive AbilityCrystallized 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