INTERACTIVE PRESENTATION SLIDES FOR INTRODUCTORY PSYCHOLOGY

Prenatal, Newborn, and Infant Development

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Table of Contents

Developmental Psychology

Conception

Prenatal Development

Newborn Competencies

Brain Maturation

Motor Development: Birth to 3 Years

Infant Research: Memory

Fact or Falsehood?

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true

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If a mother drinks heavily, her baby may be mentally retarded.

Newborns gaze longer at a drawing of a face-like image than at a bull’s-eye pattern.

On the day we are born, we have most of the brain cells we will ever have.

Compared with others their own age, children who form a positive self-concept are more likely to be obedient.

Compared with authoritarian parents, authoritative parents are likely to be more responsive.

Psychologists’ debates: Is human development a story of… ▪ Nature or Nurture? ▪ Continuity or Stages? ▪ Stability or Change?

Developmental Psychologythe study of physical, cognitive, and social change over the lifespan

Nature influenced by

heredity

What are some other synonyms?

Psychologists use many different terms for nature and nurture.

Nurture influenced by the

environment

Nature influenced by

heredity

Nurture influenced by the

environment

Hereditary Genetic Inherited

Inborn Pre-wired Innate

Environment Learned

Socialized Educated

▪ Conception occurs when a woman’s ovary releases a mature egg and one of millions of deposited sperm cells penetrates its wall. ▪ A series of chemical events begin that cause sperm and egg

to fuse into a single cell.

Conception

Prenatal Development

Periods of Prenatal Development

Period Length Key events

Zygote 2 weeks■ fertilization ■ implantation ■ start of placenta

Embryo 6 weeks

■ arms, legs, face, organs, muscles all develop

■ heart begins beating

Fetus 30 weeks “growth and finishing”

Periods of Prenatal Development

The formation of the placenta signals the onset of embryonic development.

Prenatal Development▪ Zygote (conception to 2

weeks)—rapid cell division ▪ Embryo (2 weeks

through 8 weeks)—attachment to uterus, heart beat begins, cell differentiation begins, recognizable body parts appear, major body systems form ▪ Fetus (9 weeks to 40

weeks)—body systems mature

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Prenatal Dev: Twins

Identical Twins ▪ develop from a single zygote

(fertilized egg) that splits in two, creating two genetic replicas

Fraternal Twins ▪ develop from separate

zygotes ▪ genetically no closer than

brothers and sisters, but they share the fetal environment

Identical twins

Fraternal twins

Same sex only

Same or opposite sex

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Prenatal Development: TwinsIdentical Twins:

More similar in: ▪ Neuroticism ▪ Divorce ▪ Extraversion ▪ Temperament

Fraternal Twins: Less similar

Gender Development

▪ By three weeks, a primitive neural tube of stem cells has formed.

▪ The neural stem cells divide and multiply, eventually producing neurons and glial cells.

▪ The top of the neural tube gradually thickens into three bulges that develop into the three main brain regions.

Prenatal Brain Development:Embryonic Stage▪Month 4: Quickening

occurs and hearing begins ▪Month 6: Brain cells are

in place and growing in size and complexity ▪Month 6-9: Rapid brain

and body growth, lung development, nerve insulation. (myelinization)

Fetal Stage

Prenatal Development: Risks▪ The placenta transfers nutrients and oxygen from

mother to fetus and filters harmful substances from reaching the embryo or fetus

The greatest risk to the unborn

child from teratogens is

during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy –

many women do not know they

are pregnant the first 8 weeks!

Prenatal Development: Risks▪ Teratogens are harmful substances such as viruses

(HIV, rubella) and drugs (cocaine, alcohol, nicotine) that can slip through and cause abnormal development or birth defects.

▪ These substances can cross the placental barrier and harm an unborn child.

The greatest risk to the unborn

child from teratogens is

during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy –

many women do not know they

are pregnant the first 8 weeks!

Prenatal Development: Risks▪ Fetal Alchohol Syndrome (FAS): physical and

cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman’s heavy drinking.

▪ Symptoms include: small, misproportioned head, with unusual facial features

▪ lifelong brain abnormalities

▪ Mental retardation

The greatest risk to the unborn

child from teratogens is

during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy –

many women do not know they

are pregnant the first 8 weeks!

Prenatal Development: Risks▪ Smoking during pregnancy:

▪ Low birth weight ▪ Lung and respiratory problems

The greatest risk to the unborn

child from teratogens is

during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy –

many women do not know they

are pregnant the first 8 weeks!

Newborn Competencies: Reflexes▪ Newborns come equipped

with reflexes, involuntary responses, ideally suited for survival.

▪ Babies will root for a nipple and begin sucking, which involves tonguing, swallowing, and breathing.

▪ Reflexes are a sign that the neural-motor systems are intact and working.

▪ As babies mature and acquire new voluntary skills, reflexes drop out of their skill repertoire.

Visual Abilities: What do newborns like to look at?Newborn Competencies: Sensory Abilities

Angles Circles and bulls-eyes

Contrasts, especially black and white

Primary colors

Eyes/ Faces

Research shows that newborns

prefer and attend to these visual stimuli in their environment:

Which of these do newborns show the greatest interest?Newborn Competencies: Sensory Abilities

Angles Circles and bulls-eyes

Contrasts, especially black and white

Primary colors

Eyes/ Faces

Research shows that newborns

prefer and show the greatest

visual interest in face like images

Newborns are able to ▪ Imitate facial

expressions (e.g., smile, stick out a tongue). ▪ Distinguish the smell

of his or her mother. ▪ Recognize parents

voices within a day or two. ▪ Respond to touch,

rocking, and music.

Newborn Competencies: Ready to Socialize!

▪ Birth to 3 yrs: Branching neural networks enable walking, talking, and remembering.

▪ 3 to 6 yrs: Frontal lobes develop, enabling rational planning. ▪ 6-13 yrs : Association areas proliferate, enriching thinking,

memory, language and reading skills.

Brain Maturation

▪Opportunities to safely explore the environment develop the body and brain. ▪Myelinization of neurons allows better coordinated

movements and increases speed. ▪Motor skills develop in a predictable, universal sequence.

proximal to distal (head to toes) ▪ Cephalocaudal (trunk to finger tips)

▪ However, each individual grows at his or her own rate.

Motor Development: Birth to 3 yrs

▪ An intriguing mystery: How do we demonstrate what infants know and remember?

▪ Developmental psychologists study how infants respond to changes in stimuli.

▪ The baby in the photo has learned that her foot kicks move the mobile.

▪ Infants respond to changes in the mobile by slowing their kicks and gazing.

▪ Some 2-month-old infants are able to retain information about the mobile for as long as a month.

Infant Research: Memory

SLIDE DESCRIPTION CREDITSlide 1 Brain graphic NLshop/ Fotolia.com

Slide 4 Kids in innertube Comstock Images/Jupiterimages

Elderly people: music on porch John Henley/Corbis

Slide 5 Two girls in mirror Getty images

Slide 7 Sperm cells surrounding an ovum and sperm penetrating it.

Lennart Nilsson /Scanpix

Single sperm cell penetrating ovum Lennart Nilsson /Scanpix

Slide 8 Pregnant woman profile view Getty ImagesSlide 10 3 FAS photos: normal brain of a six-week-old Courtesy of Sterling K. Clarren, MD Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, University of British

Columbia Faculty of Medicine3 FAS photos: the brain of a six-week-old baby with FAS.

Courtesy of Sterling K. Clarren, MD Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine

3 FAS photos: Fetal alchohol syndrome- Swedish toddler

George Steinmetz

Slide 12 Angles iStockphoto/ ThinkstockBullseye Hemera/ ThinkstockButterflies silhouettes iStockphoto/ ThinkstockEyes/face Ralf Nau/ ThinkstockPrimary colors Hemera/ Thinkstock

Slide 13 Man kissing newborn Getty ImagesAge in months graph with five photos- a)baby on its side Bubbles Photolibrary / AlamyAge in months graph with five photos- b) baby sitting up Image Source/Getty ImagesAge in months graph with five photos- c) baby holding chair

Brand X Pictures / Punchstock

Age in months graph with five photos- d) baby girl in dress

Katie Moss/jupiterimages

Age in months graph with five photos- e) baby boy with blocks

jupiterimages/ BananaStock / Alamy

Slide 16 Baby kicking mobile (top photo) Michael Newman/ PhotoEdit

Photo Credits