DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCH

Ch. 9

Major Themes

Nature and nurture Continuity and stages

gradual, continuous process or sequence of separate stages

Stability and change personality traits persist through life become different people as we age

Baby Development

Conception Prenatal

Zygote Embryo Fetus

Newborn Implicit memories

Physical Development

Brain cells develop very fast in the womb Neural networks grow very fast after birth. The frontal lobe booms next, then the

association areas (thinking, memory, language) Infantile Amnesia

Before age 3½ - we can’t remember

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Jean Piaget

Jean Piaget  - believed that the human mind develops through a series of stages

Schemas - concepts or frameworks that organize and interpret information accommodate -  we

revise and refine them

Piaget – 4 stages

Sensorimotor stage birth – 2 years object

permanence things continue to

exist even when they can’t be seen.

8 months Some evidence of

Logic

Piaget – 4 stages

Preoperational stage age 2 to 6/7 too young to do mental operations

No idea of conservation idea that something can retain or conserve a

characteristic while something else changes

egocentric –unable to view a situation from another person’s point-of-view

Theory of mind - the ability to read another person’s intentions.

Piaget – 4 stages

Concrete operational stage 6/7 – 12 years can think with concrete, physical objects

and understand conservation Cannot think in the abstract

Example - Math

Piaget – 4 stages

Formal operational stage age 12 Thinking changes from being confined to

the concrete to including the abstract symbols and variables if-then statements

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Attachment

stranger anxiety - someone who does not fit the schema (an unfamiliar person)

secure attachment - bond between a 12 month old and a parent is strong

critical period – the only time something happens

Imprinting- attachment hard-wired into the organism

Sensitive Period – Not written in stone People – no critical period attachment imprinting

Harlow’s Monkeys

Harry Harlow wire mesh “mother” or a

wire mesh mother covered with a furry carpet furry fake-mothers

adjusted better Physical Contact

metal “mothers” became panic-stricken with fear.

physical contact - important to healthy child-parent attachment

Strange Situation

Mary Ainsworth  mother and child (12

months) playing in a room

Switch of Adults, then Parent returns

The children of responsive parents showed a more "secure attachment" than children of less-responsive parents

Temperament

temperament - genetic tendency as to how they react and how intensely they react to a situation Evident at few weeks persist as we grow

older Evident by studying twins

Attachment

Don’t forget the fathers Attachment peaks at 13

No Attachment?

person is usually withdrawn and frightened abusive to their kids at a more frequent

rate laundry list of possible problems –

brain/hormonal changes, nightmares, depression, increased substance abuse, binge eating, aggression, crime

Removing Attachment

Similar effects Courts reluctant to remove from parents Day Care?

Idea of “Self”

6 months - gain “self awareness”

grade-school age - identifies terms of gender, group membership, personal characteristics

age 8 to 10 - self-image is very much set.

age 12 -  self-concept an idea of who you are as a

person

Parenting Styles - Diana Baumrind

Authoritarian –children need rules and must obey them

Permissive children should make and learn from their own mistakes; provide few rules.

Authoritative – these parents are demanding and responsive Seen as Best

culture influences Western cultures - value individual strength. Asian and African cultures - more group/family oriented

Parents vs Peers

Parents and peers tend to split “responsibilities”… Parents - long-term

discipline, order, education, stability Peers - for the now

popularity, style and interaction

GENDER DEVELOPMENT

Men and Women are Different 1 Chromosome

Differences Emotion,

aggression, self esteem, aggression

Physiological differences

Gender Roles

Gender type – Male/female Social Learning Theory

Observations and imitation

Current issues – Homosexual marriage and Absentee fathers

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Cognitive Development

Lawrence Kohlberg  studied how people

figure right and wrong

Kohlberg came up with stages…

Lawrence Kohlberg - Stages

Preconventional morality – before age 9 focuses on child’s self-interest Rules obeyed to avoids punishment

Conventional morality – age 9 to the mid-teen there are rules and they are to be obeyed “because it’s the law”

Postconventional morality –later adolescence respect for others rights or human dignity or

basic ethical beliefs

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Erik Erickson

Erik Erickson studied “psychosocial” development 8 stages each stage a person faced

some type of a crisis resolve that crisis before

moving on to the next stage

Erickson’s 8 Stages

Trust vs. mistrust – Infancy – If an infants basic needs are met, they develop trust.

Autonomy vs. shame/doubt – Toddlers – They wish to do things on their own, or they’re ashamed.

Initiative vs. guilt – Preschool – They make and carry out plans, or they’re guilty for failing to do so.

Industry vs. inferiority – Grade school – Kids feel good about being productive, or they feel inferior for failing to do so.

Erickson’s 8 stages

Identity vs. role confusion – Adolescence – Teens test different roles, or they’re confused about who they are.

Intimacy vs. isolation – Young adults – They try to gain a close loved one, or they feel alone.

Generativity vs. stagnation – Middle aged – They gain a sense of adding to the world through family and/or work, or they feel they’ve no purpose.

Integrity vs. despair – Late adulthood – They look back on their lives and either see a sense of worth or failure.

ADULT DEVELOPMENT

Physical Development

Peak in late 20s Middle Aged –

40s Women -

Menopause age 50

Later adulthood – Over 60

Late Life

senses decline with age After 65 - immune system weakens Dementia - small strokes, a brain tumor, or

alcohol dependence Alzheimer’s disease - 3% of people.

Memory goes first, then reasoning. A declining sense of smell signals the onset of

Alzheimer. Causes

loss of brain cells lack of acetylcholine

Cognitive - Adults

Memory - best around age 20 - declines with age

Crystallized intelligence – our sum quantity of knowledge (like vocab words) – increases up to old age.

Fluid intelligence – our reasoning speed and ability (like solving a puzzle) – decreases up to old age.

Social - Adults

Social Clock Love and Work – Most important things

Social - Adults

Grief – No Set in Stone Stages Denial Anger Bargaining Depression Acceptance