Chapter 4Development

Prenatal Development & the Newborn• Developmental Psychology:• A branch of psychology that studies the physical,

cognitive, and social changes throughout the life span

Prenatal Development & the Newborn

Prenatal Development & the Newborn• Zygote• Fertilized egg • 2 week period of rapid cell division• Develops into an embryo

• Embryo• 2 weeks after fertilization until the second month• Formation of organs

• Fetus• The developing human organism from 9 weeks after

conception until birth

Prenatal Development & the Newborn 40 days 45 days 2 months

4 months

Prenatal Development & the Newborn• Teratogens• Fetal Alcohol

Syndrome (FAS)• Physical and cognitive abnormalities• Pre and post-natal birth deficiencies

Photo courtesy of Teresa Kellerman

Brain Damage from Prenatal Alcohol

• Brain on the left was from a 5 day old child with FAS

Prenatal Development & the Newborn• Reflexes• Newborns are equipped for survival• “Rooting” reflex

• Preferences• Prefer certain sights and sounds• Prefer things that facilitate social interaction • Gaze longer at pictures resembling the human face

Infancy & Childhood: Physical Development• Maturation• Biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior• Relatively uninfluenced by experience

At birth 3 months 15 monthsCortical Neurons

Infancy & Childhood: Physical Development

Babies only 3 months old can learn that kicking moves a mobile--and can retain that learning for a month

(Rovee-Collier, 1989, 1997).

Cognitive Development• Jean Piaget• Developmental psychologist• Administered intelligence tests to children• Became obsessed with their wrong answers• Concluded that a child’s brain is not a miniature version of

an adult’s• But that they think differently

Infancy & Childhood: Cognitive DevelopmentSchemaAssimilationAccommodation

Cognition

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development

Typical Age Range

Description of Stage

Developmental Phenomena

Birth to nearly 2 years SensorimotorExperiencing the world through senses and actions (looking, touching, mouthing)

•Object permanence•Stranger anxiety

About 2 to 6 years

About 7 to 11 years

About 12 through adulthood

PreoperationalRepresenting things with words and images but lacking logical reasoning

•Pretend play•Egocentrism•Language development

Concrete operationalThinking logically about concrete events; grasping concrete analogies and performing arithmetical operations

•Conservation •Mathematical transformations

Formal operationalAbstract reasoning

•Abstract logic•Potential for moral reasoning

Infancy & Childhood: Cognitive Development• Object Permanence• Awareness that things continue to exist even when not

perceived

Infancy & Childhood: Cognitive Development

• Conservation

Infancy & Childhood: Cognitive Development• Egocentrism• Preoperational child’s inability to take another’s point of

view• Birthday parties and presents

• Theory of Mind• Begin forming in preschool• Begin to develop ideas about other people’s mental states

and emotions• Stranger Anxiety• The fear of strangers that infants display • Begins usually around 8 mos

Infancy & Childhood: Cognitive Development• Attachment• Mary Ainsworth• Strange Situation• Studied basic attachment patterns in the first six

months• After spending time with mother/child pair, mother

leaves the room • Findings:• Securely Attached• Comfortable and happy when mother is present• Distressed w

• Insecurely Attached

Attachment• Findings:• Securely Attached• Comfortable and happy when mother is present• Distressed when mother leaves but seeks contact when

mother returns• Insecurely Attached• Ambivalent• Less likely to explore environment and clings to mother• When mother leaves, very upset and stays upset• OR seems indifferent when mother returns

• Avoidant• No signs of distress when mother leaves• Ignores or avoids mother when returns

Social Development• Body Contact• Harry Harlow• “Harlow’s Monkeys”

Social Development• Familiarity• Attach to what is familiar

• Critical Period• Optimal period shortly after birth when an organism’s

exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces proper development

• Imprinting• Process in which certain animals form attachments during

a critical period during very early life• Children do not imprint• Mere exposure breeds familiarity

Social Development• Why is primary caregiver role so important?• Developmental psychologist Erik Erikson• Securely attached children have a sense of basic trust-

that the world is predictable and reliable• Attributed to early parenting• Power of attachment gradually relaxes, but never

ceases

Social Development: Child Rearing Practices• 3 Parenting Styles• Authoritarian• Characterized by little discussion between parent and child about

rules• Parents “say” all the time • Little compromise

• Permissive• Submit to the child• Make few demands of the child• Often characterized by lack of respect for the parent• Little punishment

• Authoritative• Demand and respond• Exert control but not by strict rules• Explain with reasoning and discussion

Adolescence• Adolescence: transition between childhood and

adulthood• Puberty• Menarche• Primary Sex Characteristics• Begin to develop dramatically

• Secondary Sex Characteristics• Non-reproductive sex traits• Breasts, hair growth, deep voice, etc

Adolescence

10 20

7.2 Year Interval

10 20

12.5 Year Interval

Age

Age

1890, Women

1995, Women

In the 1890’s the average interval between a woman’s menarche and marriage was about 7 years; now it is over 12 years

Adolescence Height in

centimeters190

170

150

130

110

90

70

50

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18Age in years

Boys Girls

Throughout childhood, boys and girls are similar in height. At puberty, girls surge ahead briefly, but then boys overtake them at about age 14.

Cognitive Development• Lawrence Kohlberg sought to describe moral

development• Agreed with Piaget, that children’s moral

judgments build on their cognitive development• Understanding right v. wrong• Developed “moral dilemmas” • Asked children, adolescents, and adults if their action was

right or wrong

Kohlberg & Morals• Pass through three

levels of moral thinking

• Kohlberg’s Moral Ladder

• Tied to cognitive development

Preconventional level

Morality of self-interest:to avoid punishment

or gain concrete rewards

Conventional level

Morality of law andsocial rules: to gainapproval or avoid

disapproval

Postconventionallevel

Morality of abstractprinciples: to affirm

agreed-upon rights andpersonal ethical principles

Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development

Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development

Adolescence: Social Development• Identity• Have many “selves”• Role confusion resolves with the formation of an identity• Identity: one’s sense of self • Erikson- one’s goal is to solidify a sense of self by

testing and integrating various roles• Can be life long

• Intimacy• Follows development of an identity• Intimacy: the ability to form close, loving relationships• Primary developmental task in late adolescence and

early adulthood

Adulthood: Physical Development• Menopause• Alzheimer