DEVELOPMENTAL
PSYCHOLOGY
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
 CONCEPTION
 INFANCY
 CHILDHOOD
 ADOLESCENCE
 ADULTHOOD
 AGING
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
 CONCEPTION:
 SPERM + EGG = ZYGOTE >> 2 WEEKS>> EMBRYO >> 9
WEEKS >> FETUS (born around 40 weeks)
 While in utero, the embryo can be harmed by various substances
(teratogens): smoke, alcohol (fetal alcohol syndrome), drugs,
and disease (flu, STDs, etc.)
Baby at 15 weeks:
BABY COLLAGE
NAME
DÉCOR
CLOTHING (0-5 YEARS)
TOY (0-5 YEARS)
INFANCY & CHILDHOOD
DEVELOPMENT
 REFLEXES
 MATURATION
 MILESTONES
 COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
 TEMPERAMENT
PHYSICAL & MENTAL DEVELOPMENT
 NEWBORN-CHILDHOOD
 Newborn reflexes: rooting, startle, pain avoidance, sucking
 Preferences: human voices, human faces, contrast, 8-12” range (distance
from breast to face), mother’s smell & voice
 Maturation sets the course, experience adjusts it.
 Maturation: genetically determined, naturally unfolding course of growth
 Developing neural connections explain lack of memories prior to age 3.
 Motor development: all roll, sit, crawl, then walk (maturation not
modeling)
 MENTAL DEVELOPMENT
Schemas-concept or framework that organizes and interprets information.
 Assimilate-interpreting one’s new experience in terms of one’s existing
schemas.
 Accommodation-adapting one’s current understandings (schemas) to
incorporate new information.

PHYSICAL & MENTAL DEVELOPMENT
 TEMPERAMENT
 Stable individual differences in quality and intensity of
emotional reaction, activity level, attention, and emotional selfregulation. Many researchers believe this to be the cornerstone
of adult personality.
 Thomas & Chess, longitudinal study, initiated in 1956, found
that temperament is not fixed and can be influenced by
parenting.
 3 types of children
 Easy- generally happy and adaptable
 Difficult-reacts negatively & intensely, not good with change
 Slow-to-warm-up-inactive, mildly reactive, negative in mood, adjusts
slowly
ADOLESCENCE AND ADULTHOOD
 PHYSICAL CHANGES
 SOCIAL CHANGES
 SOCIAL CLOCK
 DECLINE: PHYSICAL & MENTAL
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
 CHILDHOOD-PUBERTY
 Maturation and experience influences all stages of development
(cognitive, social, physical, etc.)
 Adolescence is the period between childhood and adulthood and
begins at puberty. It is getting to be a longer period of time due to:
 Nutrition and earlier physical development
 Extended education, mandatory secondary ed. & college becoming more
accessible >> delaying careers and families
 Puberty begins around 11 for girls and 13 for boys, primary &
secondary sex characteristics develop.
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
 ADULTHOOD
 Post-puberty until death.
 Muscular strength, reaction time, sensory keenness, & cardiac
output peak during the 20’s. As with other life stages, physiological
changes can impact psychological states.
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
 Significant physiological change for women is menopause around
age 50. (Has not been found to be as psychologically dramatic.)
 More antibodies to fight off common ailments, but more susceptible
to life-threatening disease
 On average, women live 4 yrs. longer than men; brains shrink
slower as well. Estrogen may be related to a decrease in age-related
mental decline and Alzheimer’s disease…caution, HRT (hormone
replacement treatment) has been related to other cancers, though!
FREUD
STAGES OF PSYCHOSEXUAL DEVELOPMENT
SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT-FREUD
 Disclaimer: Yes, Freud truly believed that all humans from
infancy until death were driven by animalistic urges such as
aggression and sex. Though it is difficult for us to imagine infants
having these types of drives, Freud believed they existed. Keep
in mind the context of his research, late 1800’s, “hysterical”
women, and no psychological research to support or refute his
claims.
SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT-FREUD
 ORAL STAGE (Infancy-~18 months)
 Infant “pleasure seeking” is focused on the mouth. Sucking
on a breast or bottle provides nourishment but also
comfort and pleasure. Pacifiers do the same.
 Someone who becomes “fixated” in this stage may show
such qualities as passive dependence or an exaggerated
denial of dependence (fiercely independent), excessive
smoking, eating, or gum chewing may satisfy infant
deprivation.
SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT-FREUD
 ANAL STAGE (~18 mo – 3 years):
 Infant pleasure seeking is focused on the process of
elimination (going to the bathroom). Child is learning
control over their body functions and the role this place is
social development.
 Those who fixate in this stage may be overly controlling (anal
retentive) or overly non-controlling (messy/disorganized).
SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT-FREUD
 PHALLIC STAGE (3-6 years):
 Pleasure zone shifts to the genitals. Freud’s focus was on a boy’s
desire for his mother but also guilt and fear of the father possibly
castrating him known as the Oedipus Complex. Though others later
speculated the same for girls, the Electra Complex, Freud did not
believe it existed. He believed that girls suffered from “penis envy.”
SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT-FREUD
 LATENCY PERIOD (~6-puberty):
 Sexual desires are suppressed; children begin to explore their world
and learn new things, especially socially. (A lot happening
cognitively as well!) Freud speculated that sexual impulses were
being redirected into a more socially acceptable manner
(sublimation) onto learning new things.
SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT-FREUD
 GENITAL STAGE (adolescence):
 Sexual desires are renew with the onset of puberty and the
development of primary and secondary sex characteristics.
With greater cognitive development, individuals can understand
others’ feelings, and giving and receiving of pleasure is
rewarding. Freud believes that personality development ends
here.
PIAGET
STAGES OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
 PIAGET’S STAGES OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
 SENSORIMOTOR STAGE (BIRTH – 2 YEARS): experience the world
through the senses (taste, touch, sound, sense of body)
 Will develop the concept of object permanence: out of sight out of
mind > looking for a hidden object. Peek-a-boo!
 Will also develop stranger anxiety.
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
 PIAGET’S STAGES OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
 PREOPERATIONAL STAGE (~2-6 YEARS OLD): Preschool, very
egocentric (self-centered), difficulty doing mental tasks
Lacks the concept of Conservation
 http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=c95fcba76
d0fe0429563
 Begins developing theory of mind, being able to see things from
other’s perspectives. (Individuals with autism often struggle with this
developmental stage.)
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
 PIAGET’S STAGES OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
 CONCREATE OPERATIONAL STAGE (~7-11 YEARS): Problem
solving becomes more mental, have grasped conservation, get jokes,
understand mathematical transformations (+/- and x/÷ are opposite
operations)
http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=d26085ee3fa
d631ebb37
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
 PIAGET’S STAGES OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
 FORMAL OPERATIONAL (~12 TO ADULT): Reasoning becomes
more abstract, imagine alternative realities, hypothetical thinking; Do
you remember when you first GOT algebra?
Research shows cognitive development unfolds basically the same for
all, but researchers today feel it is more continuous than Piaget once
thought.
Words to Know
 Schema: a concept or framework that organizes
and interprets information ex: Erin knows what
dogs are because we have two.
 Assimilation: interpreting one’s new experience in
terms of one’s existing schemas Ex: Erin saw
horses for the first time this weekend, she called
them dogs.
 Accommodation: adapting one’s current
understandings (schemas) to incorporate new
information Ex: Erin’s understanding of
domesticated animals will eventually include
separate categories for dogs and horses.
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
 VYGOTSKY’S PERSPECTIVE
 A child’s cognitive development is shaped by social, cultural, and
historical forces; humankind is improvable by building on the
knowledge prior generations have gleaned from their experiences.
Advances lead to higher intellectual functioning of later generations.
 Differed from Piaget in terms of “egocentric speech” in that he
believed it was the child’s way of problem solving not just an
expression of egocentrism.
 Zone of Proximal Development: The difference between the level of
intellectual or academic tasks children can handle on their own and
the level of problem they can manage with assistance from an adult.
PARENTING & ATTACHMENT
HARLOW, AINSWORTH, & BAUMRIND
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
 ATTACHMENT
http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=79ac9b2ae91a8b
47927b
Harry Harlow’s research in the 1950’s showed us that feeding wasn’t the
primary process for building attachment.
Body contact is key…see “Harlow monkeys” on Youtube.com; baby monkeys
would spend more time on the cloth monkey than on the wire/food
monkey. This helps explain why strong attachments are formed between
infants and people and objects that are not involved in feeding the child.
Critical period exists after birth for attachments to be made and imprinting
to occur…Lorenz. (More common in animals than humans.) “Fly Away
Home” movie
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
 ATTACHMENT IN HUMANS (Ainsworth)
 “Strange situation” experiment where brief separation and reunion
between child and caregiver occurs and the child’s response is measured.
4 patterns emerged:
 Secure attachment (may cry when separated, but that ends when reunited)
 Insecure attachment
 Avoidant attachment (unresponsive to separation and reunion)
 Resistant attachment (clingy prior to separation and respond in anger at reunion)
 Disorganized attachment (at reunion displayed confused/contradictory behaviors)
 Responsive parents often have securely attached children; secure vs. insecure
may be a product of innate personality, though.
 Verdict is still out on “at home” child care vs. “day-care.” People have strong
opinions about both, but no conclusive evidence support one over the other
if the quality of care is equitable.
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
 PARENTING (Baumrind is the primary researcher)
 STYLES: Authoritarian (rules & obedience)
Permissive (submissive, child makes rules)
Authoritative (democratic, provide choices)
Uninvolved (neglectful, unresponsive)
Authoritavite/democratic style is correlated with positive outcomes
such as self-confidence, self-control, social and moral maturity,
academic achievement, etc.
Baumrind found children of permissive parents were often very
immature with poor impulse control, and children with
authoritarian parents, though well behaved & high achieving,
were sometimes anxious and/or withdrawn.
At its extreme, the uninvolved parent borders on
maltreatment/neglect and may result in lack of interest, drug
abuse, poor emotional self-regulation & school performance
ERIKSON
STAGES OF PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
ERIKSON’S STAGES OF PSYCHOSOCIAL
DEVELOPMENT
1. Trust vs Mistrust (infant)
Needs maximum comfort with minimal uncertainty
to trust himself/herself, others, and the environment
2. Autonomy vs Shame and Doubt (toddler)
Works to master physical environment while maintaining
self-esteem
3. Initiative vs Guilt (preschooler)
Begins to initiate, not imitate, activities; develops
conscience and sexual identity
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
ERIKSON’S STAGES OF PSYCHOSOCIAL
DEVELOPMENT
4.
Industry vs Inferiority (School-Age Child)
Tries to develop a sense of self-worth by refining skills
5.
Identity vs Role Confusion (Adolescent)
Tries integrating many roles (child, sibling, student, athlete, worker)
into a self-image under role model and peer pressure
6.
Intimacy vs Isolation (Young Adult )
Learns to make personal commitment to another as
spouse, parent or partner
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
ERIKSON’S STAGES OF PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
7. Generativity vs Stagnation (Middle-Age Adult)
Seeks satisfaction through productivity in career, family, and civic
interests
8. Integrity vs Despair (Older Adult)
Reviews life accomplishments, deals with loss
and preparation for death
 www.thepsychfiles.com
(A clever way of remembering Erikson’s 8 stages!)
MARCIA
ADOLESCENT SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
MARCIA: ADOLESCENT IDENTITY
CRISIS
 Identity diffusion: Not exploring, not deciding
 Have not given any serious thought to making important
decisions & have not clear identity; identity is significantly
influenced by others.
 Identity foreclosure: Not exploring, decisions made by
others
 Have made a firm commitment about issues but is based on
other’s opinions, not own.
MARCIA: ADOLESCENT IDENTITY
CRISIS
 Identity moratorium: Exploring but not deciding
 Seriously considering issues but have not made a commitment on
any matters facing him/her
 Identity achievement: Exploring issues and making decisions
 Has considered many possibilities and has committed
himself/herself to important life matters
AGING
SOCIAL CLOCK
 The culturally preferred timing of social events
such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement.
KOHLBERG
STAGES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT
MORAL DEVELOPMENT
 KOHLBERG
 PRECONVENTIONAL (0-6 YEARS OLD)
 Obey to either avoid punishment or to receive rewards. Reward could be
something tangible or doing something that feels good or right
(altruistic). The reference group is ultimately the self.
MORAL DEVELOPMENT
 KOHLBERG
 CONVENTIONAL: (7-12 YEARS)
 With cognitive development comes the ability to take other’s perspective
and to uphold laws and rules. Because of this fact, laws and rules shape
this stage. Actions may be motivated by social approval or to maintain
social order.
MORAL DEVELOPMENT
 KOHLBERG
 POSTCONVENTIONAL (13 YEARS +):
 This stage of moral development parallels formal operational cognitive
development and abstract thinking. This stage allows someone to affirm agreed
upon rights and ethical principles, even in the case that these principles go
against the law. Some may never reach this stage. (This stage has not been
found to be universal in all cultures or all genders (Gilligan), so it is
controversial in its universality.)
METHODS OF RESEARCH
 To study developmental psychology, various methods can be
used:
 Longitudinal studies: same population over a long period of
time is ideal, but not always feasible
 Cross-sectional studies: samples taken from different
populations of different age groups, more affordable and
feasible, but many confounding variables (individual differences)
DEVELOPMENTAL PRACTICE
QUESTIONS
 How would Ainsworth describe an
child who is not comforted by the
return of her caregiver after
separation?
A. Securely attached
B. Insecurely attached
C. Lacks imprinting
D. Orally fixated
E. Preoperational
 Jules’ parents are very strict. Even
on the weekends his day to day
activities are very structured. His
parents believe their job is provide
structure and the children are not to
question it. What type of parenting
style?
A. Democratic
B. Permissive
C. Authoritarian
D. Oppressive
E. Neglectful
DEVELOPMENTAL PRACTICE
QUESTIONS
 Arthur is 4 years old and will get very
upset if he thinks his older brother is
getting more snack than he is.
Arthur’s mom simply cuts his smaller,
so it looks to be the same amount.
Arthur is in which stage of cognitive
development?
A. Sensorimotor
B. Preoperational
C. Concrete operational
D. Formal operation
E. Latency
 Even though the shape changes,
the amount does not, but Arthur
doesn’t realize this. He clearly
lacks
A. Theory of the mind
B. Separation anxiety
C. Object permanence
D. Conservation
E. Hypothetical thinking
DEVELOPMENTAL PRACTICE
QUESTIONS
 Which of the following lists below
illustrates the proper order for
Freud’s stage theory?
A. Oral, anal, genital, latency, phallic
B. Oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital
C. Oral, anal, phallic, genital, latency
D. Anal, oral, phallic, latency, genital
E. Oral, anal, latency, phallic, genital
 Mr. Smith has a difficult time working
in a messy environment. He spends all
of his time between classes
straightening desks, picking up the
paper scraps from the floor, and
dusting around his computer. Freud
might say he is fixated in which stage?
A. Oral
B. Anal
C. Phallic
D. Genital
E. Latency
ANSWERS
 B
C
B
D
B
B