10/5/04module 4,5&6: developmental psychology module 4: prenatal and childhood development...
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10/5/04 Module 4,5&6: Developmental Psychology
Module 4: Prenatal and Childhood Development
• Developmental Psychology: applied vs. basic research
• Basic issues:1. Nature and Nurture
• Bouchard Study
2. Continuous vs. Discontinuous development3. Longitudinal vs. cross-sectional studies
10/5/04 Module 4,5&6: Developmental Psychology
Prenatal DevelopmentThe birds and the bees, a quick review:
• Eggs and sperm• Chromosomes • DNA• Genes• Zygote • Embryo• Fetus• Teratogens
– Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
10/5/04 Module 4,5&6: Developmental Psychology
Newborn Development
• Tabula Rasa? (nope)
• Reflexes:
1. Rooting
2. Moro (startle)
3. Babinski
4. Grasp
5. Step
10/5/04 Module 4,5&6: Developmental Psychology
Newborn Development, cont’d
Newborn senses - most are fully developed, some development occurs as we age
• Sight• Hearing• Touch• Taste• Smell
10/5/04 Module 4,5&6: Developmental Psychology
Newborn Temperament
Babies seem to be born with a basic social temperament that generally sticks with us as we age
1. Easy babies
2. Difficult babies
3. “slow to warm up” babies
10/5/04 Module 4,5&6: Developmental Psychology
Brain Development
• We are born with just about all the neurons we’ll ever have
• Neurons are not yet well connected (few synaptic connections)
• As we learn, dendrites grow to make new connections
• Brain Plasticity
10/5/04 Module 4,5&6: Developmental Psychology
Motor Development
• Progresses through various predictable stages
• Not dramatically affected by our environment except in extreme cases
• Cerebellum is developing at its own pace
10/5/04 Module 4,5&6: Developmental Psychology
Attachment
• Imprinting: Konrad Lorenz (1937) – critical period– Do humans have critical periods?
• Harry Harlow1950’s monkey experiment– Effects of attachment deprivation
• Mary Ainsworth - Secure vs. Insecure attachment– The strange situation study
• Implications for Divorce and Day care
10/5/04 Module 4,5&6: Developmental Psychology
Harry Harlow’s Attachment Study - wire frameand soft mom
10/5/04 Module 4,5&6: Developmental Psychology
Parenting Styles
Baumrind’s research (1971)
• Authoritarian
• Permissive
• Authoritative
• Effects of different styles:
10/5/04 Module 4,5&6: Developmental Psychology
Stage theories of development
Several significant stage theories for different areas of development
1. Piaget’s Cognitive Developmental Theory
2. Erikson’s Social Development Theory
3. Kohlberg’s Moral Development Theory
10/5/04 Module 4,5&6: Developmental Psychology
Piaget’s Cognitive Theory of Development
• Three major concepts drive cognitive development:
1. Scheme
2. Assimilation
3. Accomodation• In any new situation, we try to use our existing
scheme first (assimilation), then we change our scheme (accommodate) if we have to.
10/5/04 Module 4,5&6: Developmental Psychology
Piaget’s Cognitive Theory of Development
Stage 1: Sensorimotor• Babies are forming schemes about their sensory
world and their place in it• Missing Object permanence at the beginning• Develops early
– Impossible situation studies
• As soon as babies develop object permanence, they are ready to learn schemes in the next stage
10/5/04 Module 4,5&6: Developmental Psychology
Piaget’s Cognitive Theory of Development
Stage 2: Pre-operational stage• Learning schemes about manipulating real-world
objects(beginning of logic)• Learning concepts of conservation
– Number– Area– Volume
• Learning Reversibility• Egocentrism
10/5/04 Module 4,5&6: Developmental Psychology
Piaget’s Cognitive Theory of Development
Stage 3: Concrete Operations• Have schemes for real-world objects, can’t
think abstractly yet• Won’t be fooled by the concepts of
conservation again• Theory of mind - some will have and some
won’t• Can Decenter - less egocentrism
10/5/04 Module 4,5&6: Developmental Psychology
Piaget’s Cognitive Theory of Development
Stage 4: Formal Operations
• Has schemes for real-world objects and can think abstractly
• Formal logical thought, hypotheses, etc.
• Metacognition
• Spotlight syndrome
10/5/04 Module 4,5&6: Developmental Psychology
Evaluation of Piaget
• Recent studies indicate:
1. Piaget has the right stages in the right order
2. Development is more continuous than he thought
3. He underestimated children • Research methods were flawed
10/5/04 Module 4,5&6: Developmental Psychology
Module 5: Adolescence
• Definition of adolescence
• Biological or social concept?
• Changes across cultures and history
• Physical changes during puberty
10/5/04 Module 4,5&6: Developmental Psychology
Kohlberg’s theory of moral development
• Happens throughout life, most of us reach the final stages during adolescence
• Three levels:1. Pre-conventional
2. Conventional
3. Post-conventional
10/5/04 Module 4,5&6: Developmental Psychology
Erikson’s theory of social development
• Student of Freud - all these social “decisions” happen at an unconscious level
• Very difficult theory to test
• Coined the term “identity crisis” and “mid-life crisis”
• 8 stages of life
10/5/04 Module 4,5&6: Developmental Psychology
Erikson’s theory of social development - Stages
1. Infants - Trust vs. Mistrust
2. Toddlers - Autonomy vs. Shame/Doubt
3. Pre-schooler - Initiative vs. Guilt
4. Elem. School - Industry vs. Inferiority
10/5/04 Module 4,5&6: Developmental Psychology
Erikson’s theory of social development - Stages
5. Adolescents - Identity vs. Role confusion• Experimentation• Rebellion• Self-ishness• Optimism and energy
6. Young adults - Intimacy vs. Isolation
7. Middle age - Generativity vs. Stagnation
8. Older adults - Integrity vs. Despair
10/5/04 Module 4,5&6: Developmental Psychology
Gender Development
• Starts early in childhood, keeps developing through our lives
• Early influences are very important• Gender vs. Sex• Gender identity
• gender typing
• biological vs. cognitive explanations for gender differences
• Gender schemata
10/5/04 Module 4,5&6: Developmental Psychology
Sexual Orientation• Very controversial research regarding how we
develop our sexual orientation• Researchers agree it’s a combination of nature and
nurture– Some brain based differences– Twin studies– No one knows what the environmental influences are– They are NOT: early sexual experiences, orientation of
parents, masculinity/femininity of parents, identification with parents
– Researchers do not view orientation as a choice
10/5/04 Module 4,5&6: Developmental Psychology
Module 6: Adulthood and Aging
• Most psychological developmental stage theories stop at adolescence (except for Erikson)
• Most of the research done on adulthood and aging investigates specific psychological issues
10/5/04 Module 4,5&6: Developmental Psychology
Aging and Intelligence
Fluid Intelligence• One’s ability to reason speedily and abstractly• Can be used to solve novel logic problems• Declines as people get older
Crystallized intelligence• One’s accumulated knowledge and verbal skills• Tends to increase with age
10/5/04 Module 4,5&6: Developmental Psychology
Overall Life Satisfaction
• Most studies show the elderly as happy and satisfied with life.
• People tend to mellow with age.
• Most regrets focus on what the person didn’t do rather than mistakes they have made in life.