Psychological
Development
Chapter 9—Child, Adolescent, Adulthood
Background Info: Developmental
Psychology
• Is the psychology of growth, change, and consistency through
the life span.
• It looks at how thinking, feeling, and behavior change from
infancy, to adolescence, to adulthood.
Background Info: Developmental
Psychologist
• Developmental Psychologist seek to discover “who we are”.
• They focus on Nature vs. Nurture
• Nature refers to the effects of heredity and nurture refers to the
influence of the environment.
Core Concept
• Development is a process of growth, change, and consistency
brought about by an interaction of heredity and and
environment.
• Heredity and environment are always intertwined in an
inseparable relationship.
• Development, then, is the story of nature-nurture interaction
over a life span.
The Nature-Nurture Interaction
• Shakespeare first brought these terms together.
• He grasped the idea that nature and nurture work in partnership
rather than working as opposing forces.
• Heredity (Nature) establishes your potential but experience
(Nurture) determines how your potential will be realized.
Twins
• Identical Twins (Monozygotic): These twins develop from only one
fertilized egg, that for unknown reasons divide into two separate
eggs.
• Identical twins have the same genes or heredity.
• Fraternal Twins: (Dizyigotic): meaning twins develop from two
different eggs fertilized by two different sperm.
• These twins are no more alike in their genetic makeup (heredity) then
any other siblings.
Twin Studies
• Since twins who were separated at birth are not so common,
Psychologist have started to test their theories of naturenurture from studies comparing identical and fraternal twins
who were reared together.
• These studies have provided valuable info. on: the genetics of
mental and behavioral disorders (alcoholism, Schizophrenia,
depression)
Adoption Studies
• If you adopted a baby, would he/she grow up to resemble you
more than the biological parents?
• Psychologist answer these questions by comparing the
characteristics of adopted children with those of their
biological and adoptive family members.
• Their method for separating the effects of heredity and
environment are:
• Similarities with the biological family point to nature, while
similarities with the adoptive family suggest the influence of
nurture.
• This research has helped in understanding temperament,
intelligence, sexual orientation.
Gradual vs. Abrupt Change
• Does development follow a set, predictable pattern? Or, is it
random and different for each individual?
Continuity View
• In this view, change is gradual.
• Children become more skillful in thinking, talking, or acting in
much the same way that they become taller with age: a gradual
developmental pattern that increases with age.
• Do complex mental processes like thought or language follow
the same pattern?
Discontinuity View
• Psychologist who take this opposing view, see development as
more “abrupt”– a succession of changes that produce
different behaviors in different age specific life periods.
• Developmental Stages:
• periods of life initiated by distinct transitions in physical or
psychological functioning.
• “Terrible Twos”
• Psychologist find that people go through the same stages in
the same order—but not necessarily a the same rate.
Psychology in your Life:
Psychological Traits in your Genes
• Clinical Disorders associated with genetics:
• Huntington’s disease: a rare problem that causes aggressive
behavior and mental deterioration beginning in midlife.
• Depression: Roots in genetics—not always.
• Schizophrenia/Anxiety
Infancy Development
• People used to think newborns began life as a “blank slate”
with essentially no abilities. However, psychologist now know,
that is far from the truth.
• Core Concept: Newborns have innate abilities for finding
nourishment, interacting with others, and avoiding harmful
situations.
Infancy Development Stages
• Three important developmental stages:
• 1. Prenatal Period
• 2. Neonatal Period
• 3. Infancy
Prenatal Period
• Prenatal Period spans the 9 months of pregnancy from
conception—birth.
• Stages:
• After conception, the fertilized egg (zygote) begins to grow
through cell division. (from 1 cell-150)
• Then the zygote implants itself in the lining of the uterus—about
10 days after conception.
• At this point, the egg, is now an embryo.
Prenatal Period- Embryonic Phase
• During this phase, the genetic plan determines how all the organs
will begin to develop and form.
• The cells begin to specialize as components of particular organs—
differentiation.
• The embryo’s cells form distinct layers:
• Outer Layer= nervous system/skin
• Middle Layer= muscles, bones, blood vessels, internal organs
• Inner Layer- digestive system, lungs, and glands
•
By The end of the first month, the initial 1 cell zygote has
developed into an embryo with millions of specialized cells.
Prenatal Period
• The first “behavior” of an embryo is a heartbeat.
• The heartbeat appears when the embryo is about 3 weeks old
and one-sixth of an inch long.
• A few weeks later, the embryo makes reflexive responses to
stimulation.
• These behaviors occur long before the brain has developed to a
point where it can direct behaviors.
• After the 8th week, the embryo is now a fetus.
Teratogens: Prenatal Toxins
• Specialist used to think that the womb protected the
developing organism from nearly all environmental assaults,
but now we know better.
• The placenta screens out some potentially dangerous substances,
many can still pass through.
• These toxic substances are teratogens. (HIV/AIDS)
• The effects vary from slight to devastating.
• Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
http://www.hrmvideo.com/catalog/understanding-fetal-alcoholsyndrome
Prenatal Development of the Brain
• The brain grows new neurons at the amazing rate of up to
250,000 per minute.
• All originate from a proliferation of cells at the top of the
embryo’s hollow neural tube.
• These furiously multiplying cells eventually become the brain.
Neonatal Period
• Birth—1 Month Old
• Neonates are capable of responding to stimulation from all
their senses.
• Ex: newborn babies will turn their heads towards anything that
stroke their cheek and begin to suck it.
• As early as 12 hours after birth, neonates show distinct signs
of pleasure at the taste of sugar water or vanilla.
Neonatal Period (Vision)
• Minutes after their birth, their eyes scan their surroundings.
• Their vision isn’t perfect, babies tend to be born nearsighted.
• At birth, the retina, visual pathways, and the occipital cortex
are not fully developed. But, these immature systems develop
very rapidly and the baby’s visual abilities soon become quite
effective.
Vision in Infants
• Early on, infants can perceive large objects that display a great
deal of contrast.
• By 1 month, a child can detect contours of a head at close
distances
• At 7 weeks—the baby can scan features of the caregivers face.
As the caregiver speaks, the baby can make eye contact.
Newborn Child Abilities
• After a month, babies are capable of differentiating colors.
• 3 months—the baby can perceive depth
• They also have the ability to “count” objects
• They know the difference btw 2 dolls and 3 dolls
• They also have strong auditory preferences.
• Prefer the female voice
• Born with behavioral reflexes that provide a biological
platform for later development.
• Ex: Postural Reflex/ Grasping Reflex
Infancy and Childhood
• This period last till the baby is 18 months old.
• A period of rapid, genetically programmed growth and
“instinctive” reflexes.
• The brain and its circuits are not fully developed at birth, but
during this period, the axons and dendrites branch out and
connect—starting to form the brain.
Infancy and Childhood
• What is synaptic prunning?
Learning in Development
• Classical Conditioning:
• Experiment:
• Social Abilities:
Attachment
• Social development begins with the establishment of a close,
emotional, relationship btw a child and a parent figure.
• This relationship is important b/c it lays the foundation for future
relationships.
• Attachment behaviors appear to occur “instinctively”.
• Imprinting:
Attachment
• Although humans apparently have an inborn need for
attachment, there is no guarantee that parents will always
respond to this need.
• What can babies do to increase the chances of getting the
contact that they want?
• Babies can emit signals—smiling, crying. Anything to promote a
responsive behavior.
• Infants will form an attachment to anyone who consistently
and appropriately responds to their signal.
Mary Ainsworth—Stranger
Situation
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DH1m_ZMO7GU
Strange Situation
• Ainsworth found that the children’s responses
fell into 2 main categories:
• Secure v. Insecure
• Secure Children feel:
• Close to their mothers, safe, and more willing to explore,
confident they could cry out for help and they will be
comforted.
• Insecure:
• Reacted with anxiety/avoidance. Unconcerned about being
separated.
• Attachment problems are good predictors of
later problems with social relationships.
Contact Comfort
• Evolutionary Perspective- attachment safeguards an infants
survival by assuring the support and protection it requires.
Through natural selection, individuals with genetic tendencies
to “attach” will survive, thrive, and pass on those tendencies
to their own offspring.
Cupboard Theory
• Infants become attached to those who provide the “cupboard
theory” containing the food supply.
• This theory has been popular for those who support “nursing”
because they believe it supports the parent-child bond.
• Freud convinced many physicians and parents that young
infants and children were so mentally undeveloped that the
only thing important thing in there life was nursing or a bottle.
He believed they weren’t capable of relationships yet.
Harry and Margaret Harlow
Experiment
• Harlow’s placed orphaned baby monkeys in cages where they
had access to two artificial surrogate mothers.
• One was a simple wire figure that provided milk, but little else.
• The other was a cloth covered monkey that provided no milk but
offered an abundant stimulation from its terry cloth cover.
• Confirming their expectations, the Harlows’ observed that the
monkeys spend many hours nestled close to the cloth monkey and
little time with the wire monkey.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbEdNJ-e-Yc
Contact Comfort
• Human infants need contact too.
• If they lack a close, loving relationship in infancy it can
effect physical growth.
• Observations done of children from emotionally
detached or hostile family environments have children
who suffer from slower growth and bone
development.
• They may grow again if removed from the poor
environment, but their growth can be stunted again if
they are returned = Social Darwfinism.
• Failure to Thrive:
Maturation and Physical
Abilities
• Maturation- the unfolding process of genetically programmed
growth and development over time.
• Heredity and environment interact here again.
•
Example:
Maturation and Physical
Abilities
• Physical growth in humans has always been viewed as a
continuous process whose rate changes with age, slowing over
time after a rapid start in the early years.
• However, research has shown that growth in infants’ bodies
has occurred in “bursts”—saltation (leap).
Cognitive Development
• Infants and children face especially important developmental
tasks in the areas of cognition and social relationships--tasks
that lay a foundation for further growth in adolescence and
adulthood
Piaget’s Theory
• Children of different ages think differently
• Changes in cognitive development
proceed in distinct stages (discontinuous)
• His approach is known as the cognitivedevelopmental approach
• The driving forces behind development
from one stage to the next is maturation
Maturation in Piaget’s Theory
• Piaget portrayed maturation as an active process
• Children seek out information and stimulation in the
environment that matches the maturity of their thinking
Piagetian Schemas
Schemas
Assimilation
Occurs when new
information is altered to fit
an existing scheme
Accommodation
Entails changing the scheme to
adapt to the new information
Schemas, Accommodation,
Assimilation
• Define and give examples.
• For Piaget, Cognitive development results from continual
interweaving of assimilation and accommodation. Through
these 2 processes, the individual’s behavior becomes less
dependent on concrete reality and more reliant on internal
thought.
Piaget’s Stages
Piaget’s Stages of Development
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRF27F2bn-A
Limitations of Piaget’s Theory
The stage of formal operations has been the most critiqued
• Individual differences
• Inconsistent usage
• Differences as the result of schooling
• Cultural differences
• Varies according to cognitive requirements
Social and Emotional
Development
• For a child to grow beyond Piaget’s idea of “egocentrism” a
child must develop a “theory of mind”.
• This consists of an awareness that others may have beliefs,
desires, and emotions different from one’s own and that these
mental states underline their behavior.
• Social and emotional development relies heavily on ones
temperament– our innate disposition.
Temperament
• An individual’s inherited, “wired in” pattern of personality and
behavior.
• Jerome Kagan Study:
• Although basic temperament can be recognized at birth, they are
not written in stone.
• Experience and parenting styles can modify the way temperament
expresses itself.
• Example:
• Lev Vygotsky: Social Cognitive Development
• Social interaction plays a basic and key role in the development of
cognition.
• ZPD:
Socialization
• Life long process of shaping an individual’s behavioral
patterns, values, standards, skills, attitudes, and motives to
conform to those regarded as desirable in a particular society.
• We first learn these things from our parents.
Parenting Styles and Their
Effects
• Psychologist have found 4 distinct parenting styles across the
world.
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1. Authoritarian
2. Authoritative
3. Permissive
4. Uninvolved (Neglectful)
Authoritative
• High Expectations for children combined with high standards.
• But, the child is treated with warmth, respect, and is allowed to share
input and communicate with the parents.
• They try to help their children grow as individuals by making their own
decisions and learning from mistakes.
• Children of authoritative parents
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Independent
Creative
Self-assured
Socially skilled
Authoritarian
• “Dictators”
• High in demand for conformity and obedience
• They expect the child to to follow rules without discussion
• Children of authoritarian parents
• Dependent
• Passive
• Conforming
Permissive
• Parents make few or no demands on the child.
• Wants to be the child’s “friend”
• Loves and cares for the child, but allows them to make their
own decision with little to no guidance
• Children of permissive parents:
• Irresponsible
• Conforming
• Immature
Uninvolved/Neglectful
• Neglectful/disengaged parents
• Parents make few or low demands on the child
• Low in warmth and affection, tend to lack interest in the child.
• Children of neglectful/disengaged parents
• Impulsive
• Delinquent
• Early involvement in sex and drugs
Effects of Day Care
• Over half of all mothers with children under the
age of 3 are employed, and more children are
cared for by paid providers than by relatives.
• Research in this area sends mixed signals.
• Most children thrive in daycare
• Intellectually and socially
• Some poor-quality daycare experiences influence children
to be;
• Aggressive, depressed, or maladjusted.
• Laura Berk
• *Daycare itself is neither good nor bad—it’s the QUALITY of care,
whether given be a parent or paid provider that makes the
difference*
School and Leisure Influences
• Children in the U.S. and other industrialized countries have
much more free time than children elsewhere in the world.
• American children spend less than one-half hour doing some type
of chore,
• The amount of “free time” has increased dramatically.
• What has hard work proven?
• How do children spend their extra time?
Gender Differences in
Socialization
• In Play:
• Boys are typically more aggressive and active.
• Girls typically play more quietly and uniformed.
• Groups:
• Boys: Play in larger groups with a hierarchy, each boy competing
for the “top spot”
• Girls: Tend to play in smaller, organized groups.
Gender Differences
• Gender differences in play and groups is “innate” according to
evolutionary psychologist.
• But, not all gender differences are related to instinct, some
gender differences are learned.
• Like what?
Erik Erikson
• He was a recent immigrant to the U.S.
• His new status caused him to become more aware of the
choices and conflicts he was faced with.
• He created a sequence of “psychosocial stages”
• Defined by common problems that emerge throughout life: from
infancy to old age.
• Erikson believed when people face challenges and make
decisions, these choices influence the growth of their
personalities.
Erikson’s Stages
Erik Erikson
• Erikson created 8 Stages
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1. Trust vs. Mistrust
2. Autonomy vs. Self Doubt
3. Initiative vs. Guilt
4. Competence vs. Inferiority
5. Identity vs. Role Confusion
6. Intimacy vs. Isolation
7. Generativity vs. Stagnation
8. Ego-Integrity vs. Despair
Critical Reflection on Erikson’s
Theory
• Lacks scientific basis
• Does not adequately capture the problems faced by girls and
women.