DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
PAPALIA & MARTORELL (13th Ed.); SANTROCK
(17th Ed.)
2 Developmental Processes
1.Maturation-biological unfolding of the
individual according to species-typical
biological influence and individual biological
inheritance
2.Learning- process through which our
experiences produce relatively permanent
changes in our feelings, thoughts, and
behaviors,
-changes in response to environment, as
actions and reactions of people around
A. PERSPECTIVES ON NATURE AND NURTURE
ROLE OF HEREDITY AND ENVIRONMENT IN HUMAN
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Development- systematic continuities and changes
occurring between conception and death, con
Developmental Psych- study of the phenomena of
individual continuities and changes
Life-span development- womb to tomb, from
conception to death

3 goals of dev psychologist:
1. Description of development- observing people` s
behavior at different ages, specify how we change
over time
-focus on normative development (typical patterns
of change) and idiographic development (individual
variations in patterns of change)
2. Explanation of development- determine why
people develop as they typically do and why some
people develop differently than others
3. Optimize development- practical application of
dev psych
Development is: (Paul Baltes)
a. lifelong (no age period dominates),
b. multidimensional (an interplay of biological,
cognitive/psychological,
socioemotional/social dimensions with
components),
c. multidirectional (some dimensions and
some of their components expand and/or
shrink),
d. plastic (understanding plasticity and its
constraints is a key agenda for
developmental research),
e. multidisciplinary (questions cut across
disciplines)
f. contextual (occurs within a changing
context/setting that contribute to changing
man:
family
(nuclear/extended),
socioeconomic status (poverty/affluence),
culture (ethnic group, race, ethnic gloss)
*Socioeconomic status- based on family
income and educational and occupational
levels of adults in household
*Ethnic gloss- terms (Black, Hispanic) that
overgeneralize and obscure variations
3 influences of Context:
1.
2.
3.
Normative age-graded influences
-influences that are similar for
individuals in same age (puberty,
menopause, formal education and
retiring from workforce)
Normative history-graded influences
-common to people of a particular
generation (different from a cohort)
caused by historical circumstances
(experience of integrating computers
and cellphones in everyday life during
1990s, boomers experiencing Cuban
missile crisis, WWII etc.)
Nonnormative life events/influences
-unusual occurrences with major
impact on lives of individual people
(early adolescence pregnancy, homedestroying fire)
g. Involves changing resource allocations
(growth, maintenance, and regulation of
loss- 3 goals of human development that
contributes to mastery of life)
h. Co-construction of biology, culture, and
individual (brain shapes culture but also
shaped by culture and individual
experiences)
Nature of Development (interplay of 3 processes)
Biological processes- changes in physical nature
Cognitive Processes- changes in thought, intelligence,
and language
Socioemotional Processes- changes in interpersonal
relationships, emotions, personality
Developmental period- time frame in person`s life
characterized by certain features, a social
construction
4 Ages of life-span development (Baltes et al.,)
First Age- childhood and adolescence
Second Age- Prime adulthood, 20 to 59
Third Age- app. 60 to 79
Fourth Age- approximately 80 up
Major
Emphasis
3 Developmental Patterns of Aging:
1.
2.
3.

Normal Aging- most individuals, peak psych
functioning in early middle age, stable until
late 50s to early 60s, modest decline
through early 80s, marked decline
approaching death
Pathological Aging- show greater decline as
they age through adult
Successful
Agingpositive
physical,
cognitive, and socioemotional development
maintained longer, declining later in old age
than most
An overall age profile involves a
chronological, biological, psychological, and
social age
Influences on Development:
2.
Heredity- inborn traits or characteristics inherited
from biological parents
Environment- world outside self, beginning in womb
and learning from experiences
Many typical changes in infancy and early childhood
are tied to Maturation – unfolding of natural
sequence of physical changes and behavior patterns
Individual differences and Life experiences then play
greater role in adolescents and adults
Rate and timing of development
Timing of Influence:
Imprinting (Konrad Lorenz)- instinctive form of
learning during critical period in early dev`t, young
animal forms attachment to first moving object it
sees
Critical Period- specific time when given event or its
absence has specific impact on dev`t, controversial
due to the plasticity of most aspects of development
3.
Stability and Change Issue
-degree to which early traits and
characteristics persist through life or
change/roles of early and later experiences
in dev`t
-Stability is argued to be result of heredity
and possible early experiences
-Change is more optimistic view that later
experiences can produce change
Continuity and Discontinuity Issue
-Continuity is when development occurs in
gradual, cumulative change that is
quantitative in nature (e.g. oak seedling to
giant oak), change in number/amount
-Discontinuity focuses on development occurring in
distinct stages, a qualitative, discontinuous change
(e.g., insect to caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly),
change in kind structure or organization
B. ETHICS ON RESEARCH
DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
METHODS
IN
Sensitive periods- times in dev`t when a person is
particularly open to certain experiences


There is growing evidence on the individual
diff. in plasticity of responses to
environmental events
Genie, 13 yrs. old tested Eric Lenneb
er`s hypothesis on early infancy to puberty
being critical period for language
acquisition
Developmental
Issues
(Each
perspective
characterize Development through Lifespan):
1.
Nature- Nurture Issue
-development is influenced by an
organism`s biological inheritance and/or its
environmental experiences
-Nature theorist believe development is
orderly and flattened by unfriendly
environment, more on commonalities
-Epigenetic view sees development as an
ongoing bidirectional interchange between
genes and environment
Quantitative Research- deals with objectively
measurable data, based on scientific method, asks
how much/many? often done in controlled
laboratory settings
Qualitative Research- focuses on nonnumerical data
(subjective
experiences,
feelings,
beliefs),
perspective informs how they collect data and
interpret it, asks the how and why of behavior,
conducted in everyday settings
Population- group to whom the findings may apply
Sample- smaller groups within a population selected,
must adequately represent the population to
generalize findings
Research Designs
-quantitative study seek representativeness
through a random sample
-qualitative research tends to have focused
sample who are chosen for their ability to
communicate nature of experience
*Observation doesn`t work well with rare events
*Observation (Naturalistic/Laboratory), Survey and
Interview, Standardized Test (mostly personality and
intelligence testing), Case Study, Physiological
Measures
*In Michael Rehbein`s case study, much of the left
side of his brain is removed at 7 years of age to end
severe epileptic seizures
*Physiological measures are used to study dev`t at
different points in life span (e.g., hormone levels as
cortisol used for temperament, emotional reactivity,
and peer relations studies, blood levels, fMRI
(electromagnetic waves construct images of
person`s brain and biochemical activity), EEG
(monitor brain electrical activity), heart rate
(indicator of infants` and children`s dev`t of
perception, attention, memory), eye movement, ad
genes
*Ethnographic studies are the case study of culture,
can be qualitative or quantitative, and uses a
combination of methods as informal unstructured
interviews and participant observation (a naturalistic
observation where researchers live and participate
in societies or small groups they observe)
*The only way to show with certainty that one
variable causes another is through experimentation.
*An experiment has 2 kinds of groups: an
experimental and control group. To ensure
objectivity, a double-blind experiment (neither
participants nor researchers know who is receiving
the treatment or placebo) is sometimes used. An IV
is something which experimenter has direct control.
A DV is something that may or may not change
depending on the IV. DV also known as “end
measures” as it`s used to check whether you`re right
at end of study. Controlled experiment allow causeeffect relationship and permit replication.
-Random
assignment
is
assigning
participants in an experiment to groups such that
each person has equal chance of being placed in any
group.
-Laboratory experiment
determining cause and effect.
-Field experiment is
conducted in everyday setting.
is
best
controlled
for
study
-Natural experiment/Quasi-experiment is a
correlational study (controlled manipulation and
random assignment not possible) used when
impossible to conduct true experiment. It compares
group who have been accidentally assigned to
separate groups by life circumstance from those who
were not.
3.
4.
3 Principles in resolving ethical dilemmas:
1. Beneficencemaximize
potential
benefits, minimize potential harm to
participants
2. Respect for participants` autonomy and
protection for those unable to exercise
own judgement
3. Justice- inclusion of diverse groups
together with sensitivity to any special
impact the research may have
Developmental Research Designs
Developmental research study changes over time.
2 most common dev`tal research strategies:
1.
2.
3.
Cross-sectional
Longitudinal
Sequential research combines the 2
*Oakland Growth Study is a groundbreaking
longitudinal study of physical, intellectual, and social
development of 167 5th and 6th graders in Oakland.
Findings reported the societal disruption of The
Great Depression seemed to have negatively affect
family process and child development.
*The issue of attrition in longitudinal study is not
random. It is almost always biased in a way. Such as
most who drop out have chaotic lifestyles etc.
*Sequential design tracks people of diff. ages (crosssectional) over time (longitudinal).
Ethics in Research
-APA Guidelines (2002)





Informed consent (consent freely given with
full knowledge of what research entails)
Avoidance of deception
Protection from harm and loss of dignity
Privacy and confidentiality
Right to decline/withdraw from experiment
at any time
Responsibility to correct any undesirable
effects (researchers)
4 important issues (Santrock)
1. Informed consent
2. Confidentiality
(keep
confidential/anonymous)
Society for Research in Child Development (2007)
-avoidance of physical and psychological harm to
children
-obtaining child`s assent and guardian`s informed
consent
-responsibility to follow up info that could jeopardize
children
*Gender, Cultural, and Ethnic Bias must also be
minimized
*Ethnic gloss- using an ethnic label in a superficial
way portraying the group as being more
homogenous than it is.
-presence of institutional review boards

Debriefing (participants informed of
research`s purpose and methods used
after study)
Deception (ensure it will not harm
participants and told of the nature of
study
data
C. DEVELOPMENTAL THEORIES and
D. Developmental Principles
Theory- set of logically related concepts or
statements seeking to describe
and explain
development and predict kinds of behavior that
might occur under certain conditions
-organize data, generate hypothesis (predictions
tested by further research), can be disproved but
never proved, incorporate new findings,
Theoretical Issues in DevPsych
1.
Active or Reactive Development?
2 Models of Development
1. Mechanistic Model- based on 18th century
English philosopher John Locke`s idea of a
young child as tabula rasa (Blank slate)
upon which society writes and how they
develop depends entirely on their
experiences
-people are like machines that react to
environmental input, human behavior
results from operation of biological parts in
response to external or internal stimuli.
-Researchers are concerned on identifying
factors that make people behave as they
do
2. Organismic Model- from Jean Jacques
Rosseau`s belief: children are “noble
savages” who develop according to their
own positive natural tendencies if not
corrupted by society.
-people as active, growing organisms that
set their own development in motion,
initiate events, driving for change is
internal. Environmental influences do not
cause dev`t , only speed or slow it.
2. Continuous or Discontinuous Development?
-Mechanists believe in continuous (gradual)
development, governed by same processes involved
in gradual refinement and extension of early skills
into later abilities. Makes prediction of future
characteristics based on past performance.
Quantitative change- change in number, amount
(height, weight, vocabulary size). Measure same
thing over time.
-Organicists believe in discontinuous
(abrupt/uneven)
development
marked
by
emergence of new phenomena that couldn`t be
predicted based on past functioning. Qualitative
change- change in kind, structure, organization.
Proposed Stage theories- build up each other and
can`t be skipped.
Theoretical Perspectives
1.
Psychoanalytic Perspective
-human
development
shaped
by
unconscious forces that motivate behavior
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939):
Development
Psychosexual
-Humans born with innate, biological drives and
motivated to satisfy those urges in a socially
acceptable way. Early experience shape later
functioning/adult behavior. Vast unconscious
reserve to our psyche.
-Id operated by pleasure principle (immediate
satisfaction of desires and needs). Ego
(represents reason) gradually develops when
gratification/feeding of infant is delayed on 1st
year and operated by reality principle (realistic
way of gratifying id that is acceptable to
superego (mediates)). Superego develops by
5/6 y/o includes the conscience, should and
should nots to value system. Demanding,
becomes guilty and anxious if not met.
-First 3 stages crucial to perdev. Fixation (arrest
in dev`t) takes place when too much/little
gratification happens in these stages. Phallic
stage is key in development. Oedipus and
Electra Complex take place where sexual
attachment to parents of opposite sex is formed
and aggressive urges to the rival, same-sex
parent. Anxiety over hostile feelings to parent
resolve through identification with same-sex
parent.
-Latency stage is period of emotional and
intellectual and social exploration. Genital stage
lasts till adulthood. Repressed sexual urges
resurface to flow in socially approved channels.
Erik
Erikson
Development
(1902-1994):
Psychosocial
-modified and extended Freudian theory. Covers 8
stages across life span. Talks about the socially and
culturally influenced process of development of the
ego(self).
-Each stage involves a personality crisis- major
psychosocial challenge important at that time and
may remain an issue to some degree throughout life.
These issues must be successfully resolved for
healthy ego development. It requires balancing
syntonic (harmonious) and dystonic (disharmonious)
elements. Successful outcome results into a
particular virtue/strength and puts person in a good
position for next life crisis.
2. Learning Perspective (Behavioral and Social
-American behaviorist John Watson`s Little
Albert experiment is an application to children, by
teaching 11-mo. Baby to fear furry white objects
through repeated association of loud noise as white
rat is stroked. Fear can be conditioned. (Food likes,
dislikes also)
2. Operant Conditioning
Cognitive Theories)
-long lasting change in behavior is due to experience
or adaptation to environment. Development as
Continuous. Made human development study more
scientific. Precisely defined terms. Observable
behaviors. Theories can be laboratory-tested.
a. Behaviorism
-behavior
as
predictable
response
to
environment/experiences, mechanistic, focus on
associative learning:
1. Classical Conditioning
-from Ivan Pavlov`s dog salivation
experiment, learning based on repeated association
of stimulus that does not ordinarily elicit a response
(neutral stimulus to conditioned stimulus) with
another stimulus that does elicit response
(unconditioned stimulus).
-individual learns based on association of
behavior with its consequences, involves voluntary
behavior and its consequences rather than
predictors
-formulated by American Psychologist BF
Skinner. Reinforcement strengthens behavior by
increasing likelihood that it will be repeated and
most effective immediately following behavior.
Punishment weakens behavior by decreasing
likelihood of repetition. Extinction happens when
behavior is not reinforced anymore. Behavior
Modification Therapy is form of operant
conditioning that eliminates undesirable behaviors
and instill desirable behaviors
Theory)
3. Social Learning Theory (Social Cognitive
-American Psychologist Albert Bandura
suggested that impetus for development is
bidirectional in reciprocal determinism- person acts
on the world as the world acts on person.
-People learn appropriate social behaviors
by observing and imitating models. Models that are
prestigious, rewarded, and valued in their culture.
(Imitation in learning language by children,
aggression, developing moral sense, genderappropriate behaviors).
-Social Cognitive Theory is update version
with greater emphasis on cognitive process as
central to development. Cognitive processes at work
in observing models, learning behavior chunks and
mentally putting them to complex behavior. From
feedback children form standards in judging their
behavior and become more selective in models as
well as form self-efficacy (confidence that they have
what it takes to succeed).
3. Cognitive Perspective
c. Equilibrium- children`s strife for balance between
cognitive structures and new experiences, driving
force behind cognitive growth. When understanding
of the world does not match what they`re
experiencing
disequilibrium
takes
place.
Disequilibrium pushes for accommodation to
happen.
2.
-
-
-focus on thought processes and behavior that
reflects those processes. Organismic + Mechanistic.
1. Jean Piaget (1896-1980): CognitiveStage Theory
-Swish theoretician viewed development
organismically as product of children`s efforts to
understand and act on their world. Discontinuous
development. Observation + questioning children is
his clinical method.
-
3.
Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934): Sociocultural
Theory
Russian Psychologist’s theory about how
contextual
factors
affect
children`s
development, cognitive growth as a
collaborative process, learning through
social interaction. Emphasis on language as
essential tool for learning and thinking
about the world.
Adults or advance peers must help direct
and organize children`s learning before they
can master and internalize it. Zone of
proximal development is the gap between
what a child can do alone and what he/she
can with help. In a process called scaffolding,
temporary support to help a child master a
task.
used in assessing what children learned
through standard IQ tests, and preschool
curricula.
Information-Processing Approach (IPA)
a. Organization- tendency to create categories or
systems of knowledge
-study of cognitive development by observing
and analyzing mental processes (e.g., attention,
memory, planning, decision and goal setting etc.)
involved in perceiving and handling information.
Framework supporting may theories and
research.
schemes- complex cognitive structures
children create, their ways of organizing info about
the world that govern the way they think and
behave in particular situation. Become more
complex, the more info acquired. Concrete to
abstract over time.
-Brain as a computer with certain inputs
(sensory info) and outputs (behavior). IPA
researchers are interested in what goes on
between a stimulus and a response. IPA sees
people as active thinkers of the world and
development as continuous and incremental.
b. Adaptation- children`s adjustment to new info.
about the environment achieved through:
-used to estimate infant`s later intelligence,
enhancement strategies for parents & teachers,
used by psychologists to test, diagnose, and
treat learning problems
-cognitive development begins with innate
ability to adapt to environment through 3
interrelated processes:
assimilation (incorporation of new info. to existing
cognitive structure) and accommodation (changes in
cognitive structure to include new info.)
4. Contextual Perspective
-view of human development that sees individual as
inseparable from the social context.
-American Psychologist Urie Bronfenbrenner`s
Bioecological Theory is an approach to
understanding processes and contexts of human
development that identifies 5 levels of
environmental influence:
1. Microsystem- everyday environment of
home, school, work, neighborhood, including ftf
relationships with spouse, children, parents, friends,
classmates, teachers, employees, or colleagues.
2. Mesosystem- interlocking(linkages) of
various
microsystems,
as
parent-teacher
conferences and family-peer group influence.
Interaction between microsystems
3.Exosysteminteraction
between
microsystem and outside system or institution,
indirect but profound effect to children, as parent
and maternal leave accommodation in a country to
newborn development.
4. Macrosystem- overarching cultural
patterns, as dominant beliefs, ideologies, economic,
and political systems
5. Chronosystem- adds dimension of time:
change or constancy in the person and environment,
as changes in family composition, place of residence,
parent`s employment, wars, ideology, political
system and economic cycles.
-person is not merely an outcome of development
but also a shaper of it.
5. Evolutionary/Sociobiological Perspective
-focus on evolutionary and biological bases of
behavior, draw findings of anthropology, ecology,
genetics, ethology, and evolutionary psychology to
explain adaptive, survival value of behavior for
individual/species. Influenced by Darwin`s theory of
evolution, and the processes of survival of the fittest
and natural selection.
-People develop evolved mechanisms- behaviors
that are developed to solve problems in adapting to
environment (e.g., food aversion during pregnancy,
intelligence to solve problems). Evolved mechanisms
are tailored to specific problems.
-Ethology is the study of adaptive behaviors of
animals in natural contexts by comparing diff. animal
species to see which behaviors are universal and
specific. From proximity-seeking (staying close to
mommy’) in animals, British psychologist John
Bowlby drew the idea for attachment in humans,
where attachment to caregiver is an evolved
mechanism to protect infants from predators.
-Evolutionary psychology focus on humans and apply
Darwinian principles to human behavior. Believes
that humans have aspects for solving adaptive
problems and strive to perpetrate genetic legacy.
Places more wight on environment to which humans
must adapt and flexibility of mind.
*From organismic to mechanistic theories, there`s
now a focus on biological and evolutionary bases of
behavior. There`s shift towards gradual advances
leading to qualitative change and continuous
behavior change. Bidirectional development (both
reactive and active
E.F.G.H.
DEVELPMENTAL
ISSUES,
TASKS,
CHALLENGES , AND MILESTONES ACROSS LIFE
SPAN
and guanine (G)—are the “letters” of the genetic code
(sequence of bases within DNA molecule; governing
formation of proteins that determine the structure and
functions of living cells), which cellular machinery
“reads”
Conceiving New Life

Fertile window- time during which
conception is possible, usually between 6th and 21st day of
menstrual cycle, but timing of fertile window still highly
unpredictable

Fertilization/conception- process by which sperm and
ovum (gametes/sex cells)combine to create a single cell
called a zygote, which then duplicates itself again and
again by cell division to produce all the cells that make
up a baby. Occurs when ovum is passing through
fallopian tube. If it doesn`t occur, sperm are absorbed by
woman`s white blood cells, ovum passes uterus and exit
vagina
-girl has 2 million immature ova in 2 ovaries at birth, each
ovum in its follicle(small sac).Ovulation(rupture of mature
follicle in ovary/expulsion of its ovum) occurs once every 28
days until menopause. Ovum is swept through the fallopian
tube by the cilia to uterus/womb
-sperm are produced in testicles(testes)with several hundred
million a day and ejaculated in semen at sexual climax,
deposited in vagina, swim though cervix (uterus`opening) to
fallopian tube

Dizygotic/fraternal twins- 2 separate eggs fertilized by 2
diff sperm to form unique individuals, run in families,
result of multiple eggs released one time, more common,
rate varies

Monozygotic/identical twins- twins resulting from
division of single zygote after fertilization, can still differ
outwardly, genetically similar, difference magnify when
older, rate is constant

twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome- blood vessels of
placenta form abnormally and placenta is shared
unequally between twins

Chromosomes- coils of DNA that consist of genes(small
segments of DNA located in definite positions on
particular chromosomes; functional units of heredity)

Human genome- complete sequence of genes in human
body
-46 chromosomes, 23 pairs. 22 pairs of autosomes. 23rd pair is
sex chromosome related to sexual expression. Meiosis
develops sex cells. Mitosis is process when non-sex cells
divide in half over and over again, DNA replicates so each
newly formed cell has same DNA structure as others and
original cell

Mutation- permanent alterations in genes or
chromosomes that may produce harmful characteristics
-it is father`s sperm that determines child`s sex.Ovum
contains X sex chromosome. Sperm has X/Y chromosome
with Y chromosome containing gene for maleness (SRY gene).
75 % of genes in X chromosome are inactive, 15 % active, 10%
active in some. Gene activity variation explain gender diff n
normal traits & disorders linked to X chromosomes, and the
healthier and longer life of women
-6-8 weeks after conception, male embryos produce male
hormones testosterone , hormones must first signal RY gene
which trigger cell differentiation & testes formation. Female
reproductive system uses the Wnt-4 signaling molecule.
Patterns of Genetic Transmission
1860s- Gregor Mendel crossbred pea plants, finding
dominant and recessive traits and laid foundations for
modern genetics

alleles- genes that produce alternative expressions of a
characteristic, one maternal and paternal allele

Homozygous- possess 2 identical alleles for a trait
2 factors in rise if multiple births:

Heterozygous- possessing differing alleles for a trait
(1) the trend toward delayed childbearing
1.Dominant inheritance- pattern of inheritance in which,
when a child receives different alleles, only the dominant one
is expressed, ex: dimples
(2) the increased use of fertility drugs, which spur ovulation,
and of assisted reproductive techniques
-multiple births assoc w/ increased complications
Mechanisms of Heredity

DNA- double-helix structure resembles a long, spiraling
ladder whose steps are made of pairs of chemical units
called bases as adenine (A), thymine (T), cytosine (C),
2.Recessive inheritance- pattern of inheritance in which a
child receives identical recessive alleles, resulting in
expression of a nondominant trait
3.Only few traits are determined by dominant & recessive
inheritance, most result from Polygenic inheritance (pattern
of inheritance, multiple genes at different sites on
chromosomes affect complex trait, ex: intelligence,
individuals variations in complex behavior/traits)
4.Multifactorial transmission- Combination of genetic and
environmental factors to produce certain complex traits.
Phenotype is product of both genotype and environmental
influence. ex: height & weight, intelligence & music ability,
ADHD

Phenotype- observable characteristics of person

Genotype- genetic makeup of person, contain both
expressed and unexpressed characteristics
-Difference between genotype & phenotype explain why
different genotype may exhibit same phenotype and why
identical twin/clone is never exact duplicate of person.
5. Epigenesis/Epigenetics- mechanism that turns genes on
or off and determines functions of body cells, controls gene
expression w/out affecting structure of cell`s DNA . Cells are
susceptible to epigenetic modification during critical periods
(puberty, pregnancy)
-attached to a gene that alter the way a cell “reads” the
gene’s DNA, chemical tags that differentiate various type sof
body cells turning on and off those who are needed and not
-contribute to common ailments: cancer, diabetes, heart
disease

Genome/Genomic imprinting- example of epigenesis,
differential
expression
of
certain
genetic
traits(depending on whether/not trait`s inherited from
mother/father)
Genetic and Chromosomal Abnormalities
-birth disorders are fairly rare but they`re leading cause of
infant death in US. Cleft lip/palate are most prevalent. Not all
genetic/chromosomal abnormalities are apparent at birth ex:
Tay Sachs & sikcle-cell anemia appear at 6 mos age, cystic
fibrosis at 4 y/o, glaucoma & huntington at middle age
-most times, normal genes are dominant , but sometimes
abnormal trait is dominant. Defects by dominant inheritance
are less lethal at early age. Recessive defects are lethal at
early age and most die before reproduction.
6. Incomplete Dominance- pattern of inheritance which
child receives two different alleles, resulting in partial
expression of a trait, ex: sickle-cell anemia
7. Sex-linked inheritance- pattern of inheritance which
certain characteristics carried on X chromosome inherited
from mother are transmitted differently to her male and
female off spring.
-Sex-linked recessive disorders more common in males than
females and result from genes located in X chromosome. Ex:
red-green color blindness, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, etc
Chromosomal Abnormalities- result from errors in cell
division, extra/missing chromosomes, errors increase in
offspring by women of 35 above

Down
Syndrome-most
common
chromosomal
abnormality, 1in 700 babies, chromosomal disorder
characterized by moderate-to-severe mental retardation
and by such physical signs as a downwardsloping skin
fold at the inner corners of the eyes. Also called trisomy21. Risk of having child w/ DS rise w/ age. Brains nearly
normal at birth then shrink by YA esp hippocampal area
and prefrontal cortex. Early intervention leads better
prognosis. Benefit from being in regular classrooms and
being provided regular intensive therapies. Elevated risk
of early death.

Edwards Syndrome- child born w/ extra
chromosome, suffers variety of birth defects

Genetic Counseling- clinical service advising prospective
parents of their probable risk of having children with
hereditary defects, eliminated Tay-sachs in jewish
population and beta thalassemia in Mediterranean
countries
18th
-takes family history, gives physical examinations, laboratory
investigation of blood, urine, fingerprint, analyze and
photograph chromosomes & body tissues . Photographs the
enlarged and arranged acc to size and structure in chart
called karyotype (show chromosomal abnormalities and
indicate whether person might transmit genetic defects to
child)
-human genome contains 20,000 to 25, 000 genes.

Genomics- scientific study of the functions and
interactions of the various genes, has untold
implications for medical genetics (application of genetic
information to therapeutic purposes)
determine the relative influences of genes versus
environment.
Ways Inheritance and Environment work together:
1. Reaction Range- range of potential expressions of a
hereditary trait,potential variability, depending on
environmental conditions, in the expression of a hereditary
trait, heredity can influence whether reaction range is wide
or narrow (mild/severe)
Ex: body size is genetically regulated but range of sizes is
possible, depending on environmental opportunities and
constraints and a person’s behavior
2. Canalization- limitation on variance of expression of
certain inherited characteristics
-highly canalized traits are strongly programmed by genes
and so the little opportunity for variance in expression, these
traits are necessary for survival (takes extreme change in
environment to alter) ex: eye color
-cognition and personality aren`t highly canalized and more
subject to variations in experience
3. Genotype-environment Interaction
-portion of phenotypic variation that results from the
reactions of genetically different individuals to similar
environmental conditions
-include genetically similar children who often develop
differently depending on home environments
4. Genotype-environment
environment covariance
Correlation/Genotyoe-

Genetic determinism- misconception a person w/ gene
for disease is bound to get disease, major concern of
genetic counseling & testing
-tendency of certain genetic and environmental influences to
reinforce each other; may be passive, reactive (evocative), or
active

Gene
therapyexperimental
technique
for
repairing/replacing defective gene/ regulating extent to
which gene is turned on or off
-3 ways to strengthen phenotypic expression of genotypic
tendency:

Passive correlation- Parents, who provide the genes
that predispose a child toward a trait, also tend to
provide an environment that encourages the
development of that trait, most applicable to young
children, function only when child live w/ biologically
related parent

Reactive/Evocative correlation- Children with differing
genetic makeups evoke different reactions from others,
other people react to child`s genetic makeup, common
in younger children

Active correlation- As children get older and have more
freedom to choose own activities and environments,
they actively select or create experiences consistent
Nature and Nurture: Influences of Heredity & Environment

Behavioral genetics- quantitative study of relative
heredity and environmental influences on behavior,
measures how much of trait is due to
heritability/environment

Heritability- statistical estimate of contribution of
heredity to individual differences in specific trait within
a given population. Percentage rating from 0.0 to 1.0.

Concordant- tendency of twins to share same
trait/disorder. By comparing concordance rates of family
members of known genetic relatedness, we can
with genetic tendencies, does niche-picking (seek out
environments compatible with own genotype, esp
among older children, adolescents,adults)
5. Nonshared Environment
experience outside home)
(ex:
illnesses,
accidents,
-heredity accounts for sibling similarities and nonshared
environment for differences; Genotype-environment
correlations may play important role in nonshared
environment as children’s genetic differences may lead
parents and siblings to react to them/treat them differently

Nonshared environmental effects- unique environment
in which each child grows up, consisting of distinctive
influences or influences affecting one child differently
than another
Some Characteristics influenced by Heredity & Environment:
1. Physical & Physiological Traits
-monozygotic twins are more alike and concordant in their
risk for medical disorders
-Obesity (measured by BMI) define overweight (between
85th-95th percentile), and above 95th percentile as obese.
Obesity is multifactorial condition (430 genes associated +
environmental influences)
-Percentage of body fat used in adults: 25% or more for men
and 30 % or more for women
2. Intelligence
-strong hereditary influence on general intelligence, lesser on
specific abilities (memory, verbal &spatial ability), depends on
brain size & structure (genetic). Genetic influence in cognitive
performance increases w/ age due to niche-picking
-experience counts; environmental influence is greater
among poor families, similar effect is seen in parents`
educational levels
3. Personality & Psychopathology
-genes assoc w/ personality aspects as neuroticism,
heritability of personality traits between 40 & 50% with little
evidence of shared environmental influence

Temperament- characteristic disposition, style of
approaching & reacting to situation, largely inborn and
consistent over years. Siblings (twins/not) share similar
temperament
-strong hereditary influence for mental disorders as
schizophrenia, autism, alcoholism, depression which can also
be triggered by environmental influence. Monozygotic twins
not always concordant in Schiz. Gene mutations increase risk
for Schiz as well as nongenetic influences. Fetal malnutrition
and advanced paternal age linked to Schiz
Prenatal Development
-even before missed menstruation, subtle changes take
place in a pregnant woman body
-Gestation (37 to 41 wks) is period between conception
and birth. Gestational age is dated from 1st day of
mother`s last menstrual cycle.
3 stages of PD:
1.
Germinal Stage (Fertilization -2 weeks)
-36 hrs. after fertilization- zygotes goes
through mitosis (rapid cell division &
duplication). 72 hrs. after to 1 day- 16, to 32,
64 cells. While dividing, ovum is making way to
the uterus (3-4 days journey). Blastocyst (fluidfilled cell) is formed. 6th day-implantation to
uterus. Cells around the blastocyst form into
embryonic disk (thickened cell mas where
embryo develop). This disk differentiate to 3
layers: Its other parts develop into amniotic
cavity/sac, amnion, chorion, placenta, and
umbilical cord.
Ectoderm- upper layer, becomes skin
outer layer, nails, hair, teeth, sensory organs,
nervous system (brain and spinal cord).
Mesoderm- middle layer, develop to
inner layer of skin, muscles, skeleton, excretory
and circulatory systems.
Endoderm- inner layer, become
digestive system, liver, pancreas, salivary gland,
respiratory system.
*Amniotic sac- fluid-like membrane encasing &
protecting developing embryo.
*Placenta- allow oxygen, nourishment, waste to pass
between mother and embryo connected by umbilical
cord. Helps combat internal infection and give
immunity to unborn child. Produce hormone for
pregnancy, prepare breasts for lactation, and
stimulate contractions.
2.Embryonic Stage (2-8 wks.)
-organogenesis (organs and major body systems develop)
happens, critical period, most vulnerable to destructive
influence. Brain growth and development begins and
continue after birth beyond.
-Spontaneous abortion(miscarriage) is expulsion of
embryo/fetus from uterus. Stillbirth is miscarriage after 20
wks. Of gestation. Males more likely to be stillborn and
continue vulnerability even after death. 125 males over 100
females due to greater mobility of sperm carrying Y
chromosome.
3. Fetal Stage (8 wks-birth)
-8 weeks, appearance of first bone cells, fetus grows 20 times
in length and organs and systems more complex. Finishing
touches finger/toenails, eyelids). Fetus` limited movement
and feel pain.
-Ultrasound use high-frequency sound waves to detect fetus
outline. Male fetus are more active and more vigorous than
female ones, attributed to boys being more active than girls.
Swallowing and inhaling some amniotic fluid by 12 wks,
stimulate sense of taste and smell and dev`t of breathing and
digestion organs. 14 wks, mature taste cells. 26 weeks after
gestation, fetus respond to sound and vibration from
mother`s body. Recognize mother`s voice and native
language heard in womb and can mirror those voices. 30
weeks gestation, fetal memory begins and remember up to 1
month by 34 weeks.
-harmful drugs: antibiotics, tetracycline, barbiturates,
opiates, CNS depressants, anticancer drugs, Accutane,
epilepsy and antipsychotic drugs. ACE inhibitors and
NSAIDs cause birth defects. Antipsychotic drugs cause
withdrawal symptoms at birth. No medication be taken
unless essential for mother and child health.
4. Alcohol
-prenatal alcohol exposure= most leading cause of mental
retardation and birth defects in US. Small, social drinking
still affects fetus. Drinking disturbs neurological and
behavioral functioning affecting early social interaction
w/mother.
-Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (retarded growth, face and body
malformations, disorders of CNS. Reduced responsiveness
to stimuli, slow reaction time, and visual acuity in infancy,
short attention span, distractibility, restlessness,
hyperactivity, learning disabilities, memory deficits, mood
disorders, aggressiveness, problem behavior in childhood.
Early diagnosis and stable homes can prevent mental and
behavioral probs.
Environmental Influences:
Maternal side
Teratogen- environmental agent (virus, drug, adiation)
depending on exposure time, dose, duration can interfere
with normal prenatal development.
1. Nutrition and Maternal Weight
-pregnant women need 300 to 500 additional calories + extra
protein. Too little/too much weight gain is risky. Too little
gain causes retardation in the womb, premature birth, and
distress during labor and delivery. Too much gain=large baby,
induced labor/cesarian section. 28 to 40 pound gain for
underweight, 25 to 35 pounds gain for normal weight, and 11
to 20 pounds for obese woman.
-Foods to eat: rich in DHA for mature sleep patterns, folic
acid/folate (5 mg/day to prevent neural tube defects). Milder
deficiency in folate lead to ADHD in 7-9 y/o child.
2.Malnutrition
-fetal undernutrition linked to schizophrenia, dying
earlier,low bone mineral content (for mothers with low vit.D).
Taking more zinc-rich and dietary supplements.
3. Physical Activity and Strenuous work
-Regular exercise prevent constipation, improve respiration,
circulation, muscle tone, and skin elasticity for safer delivery.
Strenuous work conditions, long hours, and occupational
fatigue risk premature birth.
3. Drug Intake
5. Nicotine
-maternal smoking is the single most important factor in low
birth weight in developed countries (1 ½ times likely than
opposite) and cause other birth defects. Effect of exposure to
secondhand smoking is worse for those with socioeconomic
hardships in first 2 years of life. Some genotypes are more
robust against the effect. Safe drinking levels is not
determined.
6. Caffeine
-Caffeine is not a teratogen but 4 or more cups of coffee/day
may increase risk of sudden death in infancy.
7. Marijuana, Cocaine, Methamphetamine
-Marijuana use= birth defects, low birth weight, withdrawallike symptoms, attention and learning problems, affects
frontal lobe functions.
-Cocaine use= spontaneous abortion, delayed growth, low
birth weight, small head size, birth defects, impaired neuro
development, withdrawal, and behavior probs.
-Methamphetamine use= low birth weight for gestational age
and brain damage to learning, memory, and control areas,
lesser white matter.
8. Maternal Illness
-Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) – caused by
HIV undermines immune system, may cause perinatal
transmission through blood entering fetu`s bloodstream
during pregnancy, labor, or breastfeeding. Rubella (German
measles) if contracted before 11th week of preg. Cause
deafness and heart defects in baby.
evenly distributed. Ethnic disparity in fetal and post birth
mortality (higher in blacks, Hispanics, minorities).
-Toxoplasmosis (parasite harbored in bodies of cat, cattle,
sheeps , pigs etc.) cause fetal brain damage, sever blindness
or impairment, seizures, miscarriage, stillbirth or death. Avoid
eating raw meat, thoroughly wash hands and food. Diabetic
mothers have 3-4 times have infants with birth defects.
*Preconception care includes: physical examination & taking
medical and family histories, vaccinations for Rubella and
Hepatitis B, Risk screening (genetic disorders, infectious
diseases STDs), counseling women to avoid smoking, alcohol,
maintain healthy body weight, take folic acid supplements.
9. Maternal Anxiety, Stress, Depression
-moderate maternal anxiety spur organization of developing
brain by accelerating neurological development, scoring
higher on motor and mental development than agemates.
Self-reported stress and anxiety assoc. with active and
irritable temperaments in newborns, inattentiveness,
negative emotionality, childhood behavioral disorders.
Chronic stress= preterm delivery. Depressed mothers= violent
and antisocial behaviors in adolescence of offspring.
10. Maternal Age
-Chance of miscarriage/stillbirth rise w/ age. 90% risk for
miscarriage 44 older mothers. 30 to 35 y/o mothers suffer
complications, higher risk of premature delivery, retarded
fetal growth, birth defects, chromosomal abnormalities
(Down Syndrome). Adolescence mothers= premature or
underweight babies.
11. Outside Environmental Hazards
-air pollution, chemicals, radiation, extreme humidity & heat,
hazardous waste sites cause birth defects, IQ deficits. Fetal
exposure to low levels of environmental toxins= explain rise
in asthma, allergies, autoimmune diseases (lupus). Asthma
and exposure to hydrocarbons assoc. with ACSL3 gene which
affects lungs. X-rays during pregnancy= risk of low-birth
babies, mental retardation, small head size, chromosomal
abnormalities, down syndrome, seizures, poor performance
in school and IQ tests.
Paternal Side
-man`s exposure to lead, marijuana, tobacco/smoke, large
amounts of alcohol/addiction, pesticide, ozone, result in
abnormal/poor quality sperm. Smoking men transmit genetic
abnormalities, cause low birth weight, SID, respiratory
infections, cancer. Older fathers= deteriorated sperms,
dwarfism, schizophrenia, autism, bipolar disorders etc.
*On monitoring and promoting prenatal development,
noninvasive procedures as ultrasound and blood tests detect
chromosomal abnormalities. Amniocentesis and chorionic
villus sampling have higher miscarriage risk than latter.
*On disparities in prenatal care, rates of low birth and
premature rises, because 1) increasing number of multiple
births within first year and 2) benefits of prenatal care not
BIRTH
-demedicalization of childbirth to reestablish an environment
where tenderness, security, and emotion carry as much
weight
Labor- apt term for process of giving birth.
Parturition- act/process of giving birth, begin 2 wks before
delivery as rising estrogen levels stimulate uterine
contractions and more flexible cervix. Contractions begin 266
days after conception. Braxton-Hicks (false) contractions. Real
contractions more frequent, painful, increase in intensity and
frequency.
3 Stages:
1.
Dilation of Cervix- longest (12-14hrs) for first
mothers and shortens in succeeding births. 15 to 20
mins uterine contractions dilate and shorten cervix
until it occurs every 2 to 5 mins and cervix fully open
(10 cm/4 in.) for baby to descend.
2.
3.
Descent and Emergence of Baby- 1-2 hrs. Bab`s head
moves through cervix until out of mother`s body.
More than 2 hrs. of this stage, baby need help. Still
attached to placenta in mother`s body.
Expulsion of Placenta (and remainder of umbilical
cord)- 10 mins. to 1 hr., umbilical cord is cut
*Fetal heart monitoring track fetus heart during labor and
delivery and how it responds to stress of uterine contractions.
*Vaginal delivery is the usual. Cesarian delivery is increasing,
surgically removes baby from uterus through incision in
mother`s abdomen. Performed when labor`s slow progress,
fetus in trouble, breech (buttock/feet first), or transverse
(crosswise in uterus), vaginal bleeding, big head. Serious
complications for mother, deprive baby of normal delivery
benefits, breastfeeding, and doesn`t stimulate release of
oxytocin as VD. VBAC is attempted with caution.
Alternatives to natural/prepared childbirth:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Lamaze method- French OB Fernand Lamaze,
expectant mothers work actively actively with their
bodies through controlled breathing aided by
father/partner present during delivery.
LeBoyer method- giving birth in quiet room with low
lights, newborn is massaged to ease crying
Submersion in pool of water (Michael Odent)
Bradley method- reject all obstetrical procedures
and med. Interventions
Local anesthesia/pudental block/Analgesic (painkiller,
depress activity in CNS to reduce pain perception)
Epidural/Spinal injections- Regional anesthesia
injected in the spinal cord block nerve pathways that
carry pain sensation to brain. Epidurals shorten labor.
Duola in traditional cultures- experienced helper
staying throughout labor to provide emotional
support. (Shorter, easier deliveries)
Neonatal Period- first 4 weeks of life
*Most newborns weigh between 5 ½ to 10 lbs and 18-22
inches long. Have large heads, fontanels (skull bones don`t
meet) for easy passage to birth canal, pinkish, very hairy due
to unshed lanugo (prenatal hair), covered by vernix caseosa
(cheesy varnish) for infection protection, has witch`s milk
secretion.
*4-6 hrs. after delivery, all systems of newborn must work.
Needs more oxygen. Repeated compression of placenta and
umbilical cord during contraction leads to anoxia (reduced
oxygen supply or hypoxia = permanent brain damage,
retardation, behavior probs., death. Meconium a greenishblack waste matter is secreted. Neonatal jaundice- yellowish
skin and eyeballs that may lead to brain damage.
*Apgar scale- 1 minute and 5 minute again after delivery,
assessed using 5 subtest from 0 to highest 10. 7-10 score=
excellent condition, 5-7= need help to establish breathing,
below 4= immediate life-saving treatment. Brazelton
Neonatal Behavior Assessment (NBAS)- assess neonate`s
responsiveness to physical and social environment to identify
neurological functioning. Neonatal screening for medical
conditions as PKU is also done.
*Newborns sleep for about 18 hrs. /day, wake up every 3-4
hrs. for feeding. They alternate between quiet (regular, 50 %
of their sleep, REM in adults) sleep and active (irregular) sleep.
Amount of sleep decline over time.
Childbirth Complications:
1.
Low-birth-weight babies (LBW) weigh less than 5 lbs.,
due to:
-Preterm (premature) infants
-Small-for-date(small-for-gestational-age)
infants
(less than 90 percent weight as agemates)
-LBBs are either placed in an isolette or had
Kangaroo care (skin-to-skin contact of newborn whose face
laid between mother`s birth 1 hr. or more after birth)
2. Respiratory distress syndrome- lack of lung-coating
substance called surfactant cause irreg. or stop breathing
*Protective factors: individual attributes, affectionate ties,
and rewards reduce impact of early stress.
3. Postmaturity- did not labor even after 42 wks or more after
gestation.
4. Stillbirth- sudden death of fetus after 20th week of
gestation, called as ambiguous loss (Pauline Boss) leaving
more questions.
Postnatal deaths:
1.
2.
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (crib death)- caused
by biological factors, 6 gene mutations, brain stem
defects, low serotonin, sleeping on stomach,
abbacies sleeping faced sown or on their sides are
not waking /turning heads when they breath stale
air with CO2 from blanket
Deaths from injuries: Suffocation, motor vehicle
traffic, drowning, residential fires/burns
FIRST THREE YEARS
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
-before birth, development is guided by cephalocaudal/top
down principle (developments proceeds in head to toe
direction, upper parts before lower parts develop first, bigger
head becomes smaller as leg and lower past develop after)
and proximodistal (inner to outer) principle rom within to
without, body parts near center first as head and trunk
before extremities as fingers and toes.
-Weight and height growth faster in first few months then
tapers off at 3. Boy gain 5 ½ lbs by 2nd bday and 3 lbs more at
3rd bday, gains 10 inch in height by 1st year, 5 inch during 2nd
year, 2 ½ inch during 3rd year. Girls follow similar patter but
smaller at most ages. Slender body by 3 y/o.
-Teething begins at 3-4 mos. (grab and put everything to mouth), first tooth at 8-9 mos. 6-8 tooth by 1 year and 20 at 2 ½ y/o.
-Breastfeeding is best for infants. Feeding is an emotional and physical act of emotional linkage between mother and baby. Exclusive
breastfeeding for 6 months (nothing else), continue to 1 year. Inadvisable if mother w/ AIDS, tuberculosis, exposed to radiation,
taking drugs. Children below 3 with obese parents more likely obese as adults.
-CNS & spinal cord (nerves running through backbone) responsible for reflex behaviors, Brain at birth is ¼ of adult volume, and adult
size at 6 y/o. It grows in fits and spurts called brain growth spurts. Brain spurt starts 3rd trimester of gestation to 4th year.
-Brain Development: 3 wks after conception, long hollow tube to spherical mass of cells. Birth, growth spurt of spinal cord and brain
stem (basic bodily function, breathing, heart rate, body temperature, sleep-wake). 1st year, cerebellum grows fastest. Cerebellum
(largest brain part) divided into left (language, logical thinking) and right hemispheres (visual, spatial functions) with specific
functions. Lateralization is the specialization of hemispheres. Corpus callosum, band of tissue connect hemispheres. Each side has 4
lobes. Occipital= smallest, visual processing. Parietal= integrate sensory info from body, move and manipulate self and objects in
environment. Temporal= interpret smells and sounds, memory involvement. Frontal= newest region, higher-order processes.
connection account for much of brain`s growth and
emergence of perceptual, cognitive, and motor abilities.
Neurons undergo integration (coordinate their activities) and
differentiation (takes specialized structure and function). Cell
death is the pruning of unused paths helping brain work more
efficiently.
-Myelin, is a fatty substance coating neural pathways.
Myelination enables signals to travel faster, more smoothly.
Sense of touch myelinated at birth, visual pathways at birth –
5 months in life, hearing at 5-month gestation to 5 y/o, cortex
on young adulthood. Hippocampus until 70 y/o. Myelination
of sensory and motor pathways before and after birth
account for appearance and disappearance of early reflexes.
Regions of cerebral cortex govern vision, hearing, other
sensory info. mature at 6 mos. Parts for abstract thought,
associations, remembering, and motor responses stay
immature for years
-Glial cells and neurons compose brain. More than 100 billion
neurons are developed. Neurons migrate to diff brain parts as
brain grows. It then sprouts axons (send signals to other
neurons) and dendrites (receive incoming messages from
synapses (tiny gaps helped by neurotransmitters released by
neurons.)) Multiplication of dendrites and synaptic
-Reflex behavior- automatic, innate response to stimulation.
Estimated 27 reflexes in human infants. Primitive reflexesrelated to instinctive needs for survival and protection (e.g.
grasping reflex, rooting for nipple, moro reflex. Postural
reflexes- reactions to change sin position/balance (parachute
reflex, extending arms when tilted downward). Locomotor
reflexes (swimming and walking reflexes) resemble voluntary
movements that do not appear until months after the
reflexes disappeared. Reflexes mostly appear during first 6-12
months.
-Plasticity- malleability of brain, enable learning, physical
structure of brain a reflection of experiences we had. Lack of
environmental input may inhibit normal process of cell death
and streamlining of neural connections leading to smaller
brain size and reduced brain activity. Enriched experience
spur brain development.
-Senses: Touch and Pain- touch is first to develop and most
mature sense. Infants can feel pain, perception started 3rd
trimester of pregnancy. Smell and Taste- begin at womb to
early childhood. Preference for pleasant odors learned in
utero and through breastmilk. Innate sweet taste preference
and evolved dislike for bitter taste. Hearing functions before
birth, recognition of voice and language in womb. Sight- least
developed at birth as there`s little to see at womb. Following
rapid movement and color perception develop at 1st month.
Binocular vision- use of both eyes to focus, enabling
perception of depth and distance at 4-5 month.
movement and control ( from precision grip, all fingers
closing palm) to pitcher grasp (thumb and index finger meet
at tips to form small circle for picking tiny things. It measures
gross motor skills (using large muscles) and fine motor skills
(using small muscles.
MOTOR DEVELOPMENT (MD)
-Babies learn simple skills first then combine them into
complex systems of actions that permit wider range
*Milestones include head control (from turning heads side to
side at birth to keeping erect neck sitting at 4 months), hand
control, (inborn grasp reflex) and locomotion (rolling at 3
months, sit, creep and crawl at 6-10 months where social
referencing happens, stand alone at 11 ½ months, to walking
(major motor milestone of infancy), climbing stairs at 2).
*Sensory and motor activity are fairly well coordinated from
birth. As such, reaching for example, depended on visual
guidance- use of eyes to guide movement of hand (or body
parts). Depth perception- ability to perceive objects and
surfaces in 3 dimensions: depends on several cues affecting
image of object on retina. Cues involve binocular
coordination and motor control as well as kinetic cuesproduced by movement of object/observer (3 month). Haptic
Perception (5-7 months, acquire information through touch)
is developed after babies reach/grasp objects.
Cultural Influence on MD:
*Richard Walk and Eleanor Gibson`s Ecological Theory of
Perception- 6-month-old babies sit over a plexiglass tabletop
laid over two ledges, and there was an illusory drop between
ledges. Researchers investigated factors that helped babies
decide whether to move across a ledge/slope. Theory states
that locomotor development depended on infants` increasing
sensitivity to interaction between their changing physical
characteristics and new and varied characteristics of their
environment. Babies “learn how to learn” test alternatives,
and flexible problem solving as an outcome of perception and
action.
1.
* Esther Thelen`s Dynamic Systems Theory- answers how
motor development takes place, in such that there are
systems of dynamic influences that affect all motor events
(not only maturation, even environment etc.). Argues that
behavior emerges in the moment from self-organization of
multiple component. Infant and environment form an
interconnected, dynamic system, and a solution emerges as
baby explores various combination of movements and
assemble those that most efficiently contribute to that end.
Infant Memory
-MD follows a universal sequence but different pace
contributed by culture`s child-rearing and temperament.
African babies more advance than Americans in sitting.
Handling
routines encourage early development of motor
skills. Children of Ache people are discouraged from early MD.
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT (CD)
6 approaches explaining CD:
Behaviorist Approach- studies basic mechanics of
learning, concerning how behavior changes in response
to experience.
Classical Conditioning- infant learns to make a reflex or
involuntary response that originally didn`t bring
response (associating camera to light and doing blinking
reflex). Enable infants to anticipate events. Extinct if not
reinforced.
Operant Conditioning- how consequences of behavior
affect likelihood of it occurring again (babbling to get
parents attention)
-Infantile amnesia happens because early procedural
knowledge and perceptual knowledge are not the same as
the explicitly, language-based memories used by adults.
Operant conditioning techniques can be used to ask infants
what they remember and found that length of time of a
conditioned response last increases with age. Younger infant
remember those events/responses but there memory is
specifically linked to the original cue (object, original
train/truck etc.) encoded during conditioning.
-Sensorimotor Stage, infants learn through senses and motor
activity.
2. Psychometric Approach
-psychometric and intelligence testing, as IQ (Intelligent
Quotient tests) consists of questions or tasks that are
supposed to show how much of the measured abilities a
person has by comparing that person`s performance with
norms
-Virtually impossible to measure infant`s intelligence, so
developmental tests are used to test their functioning.
Ex: Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development- assess
children (1 month- 3 1/2 yrs.) in terms of competence in each
5 devt`al areas: cognitive, language, motor, social-emotional,
& adaptive behavior. Developmental Quotients (DQ) are
calculated for each scale.
-Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment
(HOME)- trained observers rating a yes/no checklist on a
home`s intellectual stimulation and support. Parental
responsiveness is also rated alongside no. of books, presence
of playthings, parents involvement in child play.
7 conditions considered:
-Encouraging exploration of environment, Mentoring in basic
cognitive and social skills, Celebrating developmental
advances, Guidance in practicing and extending skills,
Protection from inappropriate disapproval, teasing, and
punishment, Rich and responsive communication, Guiding
and limiting behavior
-Early intervention- systematic process of planning and
providing therapeutic and educational services for families
that need help in meeting infants, toddlers, and preschool
children`s developmental needs.
1st substage- practice reflexes in behavior even when normal
stimulus not present
2nd substage- repeat purposely present bodily sensation first
achieved by chance, begin to turn towards sounds, coordinate
diff. Kinds of sensory info.
3rd substage- new interest in manipulating objects and learning
their properties
4th substage- modify and coordinate previous schemes to find
one that works, marks development of complex, goal-directed
behavior
5th substage- experiment with new behavior to see what
happens, originality in problem solving
6th substage- Representational ability (mentally represent
objects and actions in memory, largely through symbols as
words, numbers, mental pictures to free them from immediate
experience
3. Piagetian Approach
-looks at changes/stages in the quality of cognitive
functioning, concerned with how mind structures its activities
and adapts to the environment
Piaget VS. Other Findings
Object Permanence is still
gradually developing during
the
sensorimotor stage ,
starting from the 3rd to 6th
substages.
Symbolsinternal
representations of reality.
Pictorial competence- an
aspect
of
symbolic
development,
ability
to
understand the nature of
pictures
Piaget
Visible
imitation(imitation
with parts of one`s
body that one can
see) develop first
before
Invisible
imitation(imitation
with parts of body
that one cannot see)
at 9 months
Under 18 months, children
could not engage in deferred
imitation (reproduction of an
observed behavior after the
passage of time)
Elicited imitation- research
method, infants and toddlers
induced to imitate a specific
series of actions they have
seen but not necessarily done
before.
Object concept- idea that
objects have their own
independent
existence,
characteristics, and locations
in space, a later cognitive
development fundamental to
an orderly view of physical
reality.
Research
Finding/Other Notes
Babies less than 72
hrs old imitate adults
by opening mouths
and sticking tongues,
then
ability
disappears by 2
months of age.
Deferred
imitation
findings at 6 weeks
happened., becomes
complex with age,
and then deferred
imitation of novel
complex
events
begin at 6-9 months.
By 9 month-old,
elicited
imitation
already happens.
Scale
errormomentary
misperception of the relative
sizes of objects. Attributed to
lack of impulse control children wanted to play with
objects badly that they
ignored
perceptual
info.
about
size.
Another
explanation is the Dual
representation
hypothesisit`s difficult for toddlers to
represent both the actual
object (miniature chair) and
the symbolic nature of what it
stands for.
Infants and toddlers are more
cognitively competent than
Piaget imagine and he may be
mistakened in emphasizing
motor experience as primary
engine of cognitive growth (as
their perceptions are far
ahead their motor abilities).
4. Information-Processing Approach
-aims to discover how children process information from the
time they encounter it until they use it
-Much information -processing research with infants is based
on infantuation- learning type, repeated/continuous
exposure to a stimulus reduces attention to that stimulus
(familiriaty breeds loss of interest). Dishabituation is the
increase in responsiveness after presentation of new stimulus.
Speed of habituation and other information-processing
abilities show promise as predictors of intelligence.
-Visual reference is the tendency of infants to spend more
time looking at one sight than another. Visual recognition
memory is the ability to distinguish a familiar visual stimulus
from unfamiliar one when shown both at the same time.
Speed of processing visual info. Increases by 1-3 years, and
toddlers are better able to distinguish new info. From info.
They already processed.
-Newborn can tell and remember up to 24 hrs the sound
they heard from those they didn`t. Contrary to Piaget,
integration of sensory info begins almost immediately after
birth as shown in Cross-modal transfer- ability to use info.
gained by one sense to guide another.
-From birth-2 months, amount of time to gaze at new sight
increases and continues until 2 yrs, all along the looking time
increases. Joint attention(10-12months)happens when
babies follow an adult`s gaze by looking or pointing in the
same direction. Joint attention predicts larger vocabulary and
is an early warning sign of autism.
-Does information processing predict intelligence?
Weak correlation between infants` scores on developmental
test and later IQ. Children efficient at taking in and
interpreting sensory information score well on later
intelligence tests. Habituation, attention-recover abilities,
and visual recognition modestly predict childhood IQ. Visual
reaction time (how quickly gaze shifts to picture that just
appeared) and visual anticipation (place where infant
expects the next picture to appear) can be measured by
visual expectation paradigm.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------Piagetian Abilities in First 3 Years
1.Categorization
- ability to group things into categories appear around 18
months. Infants ` categories first become perceptual and
then become conceptual (as function) at 12-14 months. At 2
language becomes a factor in ability to categorize.
2. Causality
-principle that one event causes another , develops at age 1.
By 4-6 months, they cab grasp and begin to recognize they
can act in the environment and only know that cause comes
before effect when close to 1 year. IP studies suggest as
early as 6 1/2 months, causality already emerge. 7-month
olds appear to know 1) an object in motion has a causal
agent, 2)a hand is more likely a causal agent than a block
etc., and 3)existence and position of unseen causal agents
can be inferred from motion of inanimate object.
3. Object Permanence
-investigated through Violation-of-expectations ,which
begins with infants` familiarization phase when they see
normal events happen. After they become bored and
habituated, the event will be changed in a manner violating
their normal expectations. If the baby looks longer on the
change event, it is assumed that they are surprised. Because
of this, studies assumed that a rudimentary form of object
permanence is present in the early months of life (early as 3
1/2 months)
4.
Number
--Violation-of-expectations paradigm also used to ask
babies` understanding of numbers and
researchers
concluded that humans possess an early system supporting
numerical combination and manipulation (on 9 months-old
subjects)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------5. Cognitive Neuroscience: brain`s cognitive structures
-brain growth spurts coincide with changes in cognitive
behavior similar to those Piaget described
-brain scans provide physical evidence of location of 2 longterm memory systems:
Implicit memory- remembering w/out effort or conscious
awareness, ex: habits, skills (tying shoes etc.), develops in
early infancy
Explicit/Declarative
memoryconscious/intentional
recollection of facts, names, events, things that can be
stated/declared, develops in late infancy and toddlerhood
-maturation of hippocampus coordinated w/ development of
cortical structures= longer-lasting memories
-prefrontal cortex and its circuitry develop the capacity for
working memory during the 2nd half of 1st year
Working memory- short-term storage of information the
brain is actively processing/working on, can be interrupted,
late development, responsible for late development of
object permanence which develops during the 12th month in
rear area of prefrontal cortex
6.
Social-Contextual Approach: Learning from interactions
with caregivers
Guided participation
- adult`s participation in a child`s activity that helps to
structure it and bring the child`s understanding of it closer to
the adult`s, occurs in shared play and everyday activities
where children informally learn their culture
-cultural context influences the way caregivers contribute to
cognitive development
Language Development
Language- communication system based on words and
grammar, used to represent objects and actions
Sequence of Early Language Development
1ST: Prelinguistic Speech- forerunner of linguistic speech,
utterance of sounds that are not words, as crying, cooing,
babbling, and accidental and deliberate imitation of sounds
without understanding their meaning
End of 1st year- first word
2nd
Early Vocalization- crying as first means of
communication, diff pitches, patterns and intensities signaling
hunger, sleepiness, or anger
6 wks.-3 mos= cooing when happy, squealing, gurgling,
making vowel sounds (ahhh)
13 mons= representational gestures, hold empty cup to
mouth signifying wanting to drink, hold up arms if want to be
picked up
Symbolic gestures- blowing, sniffing, emerge around time
baby say first word, same function with words
Gesture-word combination- signal child`s about to use
multiword sentences
First Words
Linguistic speech- verbal expression that convey meaning, as
“mama” / “dada”, or a syllable as “da” that has more than
one meaning depending on context , 10- 14 mons
Holophrase- single word that conveys complete thought,
“Da”
-pointing is primary scaffolding for learning word
10 mons- association of names to interesting objects
24 mons- recognizing names of familiar objects in absence of
visual cues
Receptive vocabulary- what infants understand (grow s as
verbal comprehension becomes more accurate and faster)
18 mons- children understand 150 words, say 50 words
16-24 mons- naming explosion occurs (usually expressive
language develops slowly)
2nd year- increase in speed and accuracy of word recognition
-Nouns easiest words to learn
6-10 mons= Babbling- repeated consonant-vowel strings ,
“ma-ma-ma”
6-12 mons= learning phonological rules of their language
9-10 mos= deliberate sound imitations without
understanding, Imitation is key to early language
development
-sounds then stringed together in prelinguistic speech
patterns and after sounds of words and phrases were
familiarized, meaning is attached
-On perceiving language sounds and structure:
-Sound discrimination begins in the womb, fetus respond to
linguistic sound their mother use, cry with native language`s
accent etc.
Phonemes- smallest unit of sound, d, o, g, in dog, infants can
discriminate sounds of any language , but their neural
networks commit to learning patterns of native language and
constrains future learning of nonnative language
-language changes are due to 1) infants` mental computation
of relative frequency of particular phonetic sequence
(esp. Native language), 2)modification in their neural
structures facilitating progress toward word detection
and pattern in native language
First Sentences (18-24 mons)
-prelinguistic speech is closely related to chronological age,
but not linguistic speech
Telegraphic speech- early form of sentence use consisting of
only few essential words,
Ex:“damma deep “ for grandma is sweeping
20-30 mons- increased competence in syntax- rules for
forming sentence in a language, more comfortable with
articles, conjunctions, plurals, verb endings, verb in past
tense, increased awareness of communicative purpose of
speech and whether their words are understood
3 yrs- fluent, longer, more complex speech
Gestures- pointing used before babies speak,
12 mons= conventional social gesture, waving bye-bye, headnodding and shaking (yes/no)
Skinner: Learning Theory- language learning is based on
experience and learned associations, children learn through
operant conditioning,by uttering sound at random which are
reinforced when it resembles adult speech , such reinforced
sounds are then repeated to gradually shape language
-Early speech
is simplified, understand grammatical
relationships that cannot yet be expressed, underextended/
overextended word
meaning, overregularized rule
(inappropriate application of syntactical rule , as
inappropriately applying rule of adding -ed to past tense of
verb)
Classic Theories of Language Acquisition: Nature-Nurture
Debate
-adult speech is unreliable model to imitate
-learning theory doesn`t account children`s imaginative way
of saying things they haven`t heard
Noam Chomsky:
-Nativism emphasize active role of leader, human brain has
innate capacity for acquiring language and has inborn
language acquisition device (LAD) that programs brain to
analyze language as they hear and figure out ts rules
(localized in left hemisphere for most)
-deaf babies learn sign language in same fashion hearing
infants learn speech, and do hand-babbling (stringed
meaningless motions repeated together) at 7-10th month as
hearing infants do voice-babbling
Influences on Early Language Development:
a.Brain Development
- newborn`s cries controlled by brain stem and pons
-repetitive babbling emerge with maturation of motor cortex
(phonetic perception linked to motor systems by 6 to 12
mons)
-toddlers with large vocabularies has brain activation focused
in the left temporal and parietal lobes
-98% of people, left hemisphere dominant for language
b.Social Interaction- Language is a social act, requires
interaction with live communicative partner
-parent`s imitation of babies sounds affect amount of infant
vocalization in prelinguistic period
-Caregivers can boost vocabulary development by repeating
their first words and pronouncing them correctly
-Mothers` specific words, talkativeness, and high
socioeconomic status is related to larger spoken vocabularies,
but parental responsiveness and sensitivity count ever more
than the words they use.
-Bilingual children use elements of both language in same
utterance sometimes (code mixing) and able to shift from one
language to another (code switching). They have smaller
vocabularies in each language.
Benefits of reading aloud:
-Frequency to which caregivers read to them influence how
well they speak and develop literacy
-Early language ability affected more by home environment
than genetic
3 reading styles of parents:
Describer- describing what is going on in the picture and
inviting child to do so, greatest overall vocabulary and print
skill benefits
Comprehender- encourage child to look more deeply at
meaning of story and make inferences and predictions
Performance-oriented- reads story straight through ,
introducing themes beforehand and asking questions after,
beneficial for children with larger vocabularies
PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
-Each baby show distinct personality. Personality
development is intertwined with social relationships and this
combination is called psychosocial development
Emotions- subjective reactions to experience that are
associated with physiological and behavioral changes, begin
development in infancy, basic element of personality,
influenced by culture
First signs of emotions:
-newborns plainly show when they`re unhappy but harder to
tell when they`re happy
a.Crying- most powerful way of communicating babies needs
Hunger cry- rhythmic cry, not always associated with hunger
Anger cry- rhythmic cry, excess air forced through the vocal
cords
Pain cry- sudden onset of loud crying without preliminary
moaning, sometimes followed by holding the breath
Frustration cry- two or three drawn-out cries, with no
prolonged breath-holding
-mothers’ rapid and sensitive response to crying is associated
with later social competence and positive adjustment
b.Smiling and Laughing
-earliest smile occur spontaneously after birth due to
subcortical nervous system actvity, during periods of REM
sleep
1 mon- smile elicited by high pitched tones
2 mons- smile at visual stimuli
Social smiling- begin at 2 mons, newborn infants gaze at
parents and smiles at them, signal positive participation in
the relationship
6 mons- smilings as emotional exchange with a
partner/parent
12-15 mons, infants intentionally communicating about
objects
Anticipatory smiling- 8-10 mons, infants smile at an object
and then gazes at adult while smiling
Emotional Development- simpler to complex emotions
First 6 mons- primary/basic emotions
2nd year- self-conscious emotions, result of emergence of selfawareness (cognitive understanding that they have identity
separate and diff. from rest of the world) combined w/
knowledge of societal standards. Early kind of embarassment
does not involve evaluation of behavior.
3yd year- self-evaluative emotions, as evaluative
embarassment- mild form of shame
Lying- a developmental milestone associated with selfawarenesss and understanding others can think things you
know are not true
4 shifts in brain organization correspond to changes in
emotional processing:
First 3 months- cerebral cortex becomes functional,
differentiation of basic emotions begin
9-10mons- frontal lobe interact with limbic system and limbic
structures like hippocampus become larger, adultlikt, infants
experience and interpret emotions at same time
2nd year- myelination of frontal lobes, leading to selfawareness,self- consciousness emotions, and emotional
regulation
3 yrs- hormonal changes in ANS (involuntaryNS), PNS matures
Guilt- develop 2 1/2 to 3yrs
Altruistic behavior- activity intended to help another with no
expectation of reward, before 2nd birthday
Empathy- ability to put oneself in another person`s place and
feel what other person feels, early infancy, 2-3 mons react to
other`s emotional expressions, 6-months old engage in social
evaluation (valuing someone based on perosn`s treatment of
others)
-Mirror neurons underly empathy and altruism.
Neurons that fire when person does something or observes
someone else doing the same thing
-Social cognition also explain empathy, ability to
understand others have mental states and gauge their
feelings and actions, 1st year
-Young children engage in overimitation
Temperament- characteristic disposition or style of
approaching and reacting to situations, derive from biological
makeup, and core of developing personality
-Infant temperament at age 3 predicts aspects of personality
at 18-21 yrs. Temperament is stable as it is inborn , hereditary
but not fully formed at birth.
-Goodness of fit (match between child`s temperament and
environmental demands and constraints he/she must deal w/)
is key to healthy adjustment. Infants w/ difficult
temperaments more susceptible to parenting quality and
those easy/slow to warm up need more emotional support
Behavioral inhibition- how boldly/cautiosuly a child
approaches familiar objects and situations. Babies high in
behavioral inhibition become overly aroused whe presented
w/ new stimulus, due to excitable amygdala. Those low in it,
relax in new situations, show little distress or motor activity.
Experience can moderate/accentuate these tendencies.
Earliest Social Experiences of Infant in Family:
Mother`s role- mothering includes comfort of bodily contact
and satisfaction of innate need to attach (cling for monkeys
who chose clothed dummy mother than wired mother, Harry
Harlow)
Father`s role- fathering is a social construction and have diff
meaning in diff cultures, which role can be taken or shared by
someone other than biological father, college-educated
fathers want more intimate relationship w/ children
Gender Differences in Toddlers
Gender- significance of being male or female
Boys to Girls
Both
Longer,
heaver,
stronger,
more
physically
vulnerable from
conception
-equally sensitive to touch, teethe, sit up,
walk achieve motor milestones, at same
time
-earliest behavioral difference between
boys and girls is their preference for toys
More active
Brain 10x larger
and play activities and for playmates of
same sex (1-2 yrs)
-2-3 yrs, boys ad girls say words pertaining
to their sexes more, and start to associate
gender-typical toys with face of correct
gender at 2 yrs. Old
-Infants perceive diff. between males and
females long before their behavior is
gender-differentiated and before they
talk
-Fathers promote gender-typing(children learn behavior that
are culture-appropriate for their sex), they treat girls more
differently than boys at 1 yr, and spend more time with sons
at 2 yrs as mothers to their daughters
DEVELOPMENTAL ISSUES IN INFANCY
Stage of Psychosocial Development: Basic Trust vs.
Mistrust(Infancy-18 mons)
-ideally, balance between trust (enables to form intimate
relationship) and mistrust (enable to protect self)
Core Strength: Hope
Core pathology- Withdrawal (retreat from outside world to
psychological disturbance)
Social situation: Feeding w/ mother (sensitive, responsive,
consistent caregiving)
Attachment- reciprocal tie between 2 people- esp between
caregiver and infant, each of whom contributes to quality of
the relationship, adaptive ensures physical and psychosocial
needs of babies are met, parent0baby biologically
predisposed to attach
John Bowlby- studied bonding in animals, importance of
mother-baby bond
Mary AInsworth- his student, naturalistic observation of
Ugandan babies and devised Stranged Situation- classic,
laboratory-based technique designed to assess attachment
patters between infant and adult, concern on baby`s
response when mom returns
3 patterns:
1. Secure attachment- 60-75%, flexible, resilient amid stress,
cry when caregiver lives but obtain comfort when returns ,
comfortable being left w/ stranger, prefer caregiver when
returns
2 forms of In secure/Anxious attachment:
2. Avoidant attachment- 15-25%, outwardly unaffected by
caregiver leaving/returning, continue to play and interact w/
stranger, ignore/reject caregiver when return, show little
emotion
3.Ambivalent/Resistant attachment- anxious before caregiver
leaves, approaches caregiver for comfort when stranger
looks/approaches them, reactive, upset when caregiver
leaves, and upset for long even when caregiver returns, mix
of proximity-seeking and angry behavior
4. Disorganized-disoriented attachment- 4th added pattern,
babies lack cohesive strategy to deal with strange situation,
10% in low-risk infants, prevalent in insensitive, abusive,
intrusive, fearful mothers w/ unresolved loss and childhood
attachments, predictor of behavioral and adjustment
problems
-Susceptibility to disorganized attachment of some infants
explained by:
Gene-environment interaction (DRD4 gene variant, risk factor
for this attachment, 190fold risk in mother w/ unresolved loss)
Gene-environment correlation(infant`s inborn characteristics
may place stressful demand on parent eliciting parenting
behaviors that promote this attachment)
1 yr old- established style of attachment present, babies have
different attachment styles to different people
-Strange situation criticized as it takes place in laboratory w/
parents following a script
Waters and Deane Attachment Q0set (AQS)- method
devised to study attachment, mother/home observers sort
set of descriptive words or phrases into categories ranging
from most to least characteristic of child then compare with
expert descriptions of prototypical secure child
Functional MRIs suggest attachment have neurological basis
(activation of mother`s brain upon seeing baby cry/smile)
Stranger anxiety- wariness of person baby doesn`t know.
Babies don`t react negatively to strangers at 6 months but do
so by 8 mons due to cognitive development
Separation anxiety- distress when familiar caregiver leaves, a
matter of quality of substitute care (warm, responsive, stable
care)
Long-term effects of Attachment
Secure Attachment
Insecure Attachment
Toddlers
-larger, varied vocabularies,
more positive peer interactions,
more joyful
3-5
-more curious, competent,
empathetic,
self-confident,
close relationship with friends
and positive interaction w/
parents, positive self-image
Middle childhood/adolescence
-most stable friendships
Young adulthood
-influence quality of attachment
to romantic partner
-negative
inhibitions
emotions,
- hostility to other children
- dependency in school
years,
externalizing
behaviors,
C.U.
larger negative effects for
disorganized
attachment
than the 2 anxious styles
-Attachment can be intergenerationally transmitted as
parents early experiences w/ their caregivers is related to
their emotional well-being and how they respond to their
children (can be broken)
Mutual regulation- process when infant and caregiver
communicate emotional states to each other and respond
appropriately, helps babies learn to read others behaviors
and respond appropriately
Social referencing- understanding an ambiguous situation be
seeking (babies) another`s perception (mother) of it, 12
months. As children age, social referencing is less dependent
to facial expression and more dependent on language. 4-5 yrs
olds trust info coming from mother than others
DEVELOPMENTAL ISSUES IN TODDLERHOOD
3 psychological issues:
1. Emerging sense of self
Self-concept- image, total picture of our abilities and traits,
what we know and feel about ourselves and guides our
actions, extracted from experiences
3 mons- infants pay attention to their mirror images
4-9 mons- more interest in images of others
4-10 months- experience personal agency, as they learn to
reach, grasp, and make things happen. Self-coherence (sense
of being physical whole w/ boundaries separate from word)
develops
15-18 mons- conceptual self-awareness develops
-Emergence of self-awareness (conscious knowledge of self as
distinct, identifiable being) builds on perceptual distinction
between self and others
20-14 mons- toddlers use first-person pronouns
19-30 mons- apply descriptive terms(small etc) and evaluative
(good/bad etc)terms to themselves, coupled with language
development that incorporate think and talk about self and
parent`s verbal descriptions to self-image
C.U. Rouge task- self-recognition task
2. Development of Autonomy (18 mons- 3 yrs)
-2nd stage of personality development, marked by shift from
external control to self-control, toddlers substitute their own
judgement for their caregivers
-Virtue: Will
Pathology: Compulsion- too little will , leads to lack of
purpose (play age) and self-confidence (school age)
Social situation: Toilet training and language (for expressing
wishes)
-Shame and doubt help toddler recognize their need for limits
-Negativism -tendency to shout No to resist authority, an
expression of self-will
Roots of Moral Development : Socialization and
Internalization
Socialization- development of habits, skills, values, and
motives shared by responsible, productive members of
society, rest on internalization of societal standards that
started as compliance with parental standards
Internalization- children accept societal standards or conduct
as their own during socialization
Self-regulation
-child`s independent control of behavior to conform to
understood social expectations, foundation of socialization
and links physical, cognitive, emotional, social, all domains of
development
-Attentional regulation and modulating negative emotions
has to be done before they can control their own behavior
-growth of self-regulation parallel development of selfconscious and evaluative emotions (shame, guilt, empathy),
correlated with measures of conscience development (resist
temptation, amend wrongdoing)
Origin of Conscience (Grazyna Kochanska nd colleagues)
-goal of parenting is development of conscience (internal
standards of behavior, control one`s conduct and produce
emotional discomfort when violated)
Situational compliance- obedience of a parents orders only in
the presence of signs of ongoing parental control
Committed compliance- wholehearted obedience of parents
orders without reminders or lapses, goes back to infancy (810 mos) when infant refrain touching when told NO, have
gentle guiding mother
Receptive cooperation- eager willingness to cooperate
harmoniously with parent in daily interactions, routines,
chores, hygiene, and play, child as active partner in
socialization, likely in secured child with responsive mothers
Factors in Success of Socialization (Conscience development)
-secure attachment, warm , mutually-responsive parent-child
relationship
-Children with mutually-responsive relationship with parent
tended to show:
* moral emotions (guilt empathy)
*moral conduct (in face of strong temptation)
*moral cognition
-Constructive conflict (conflict involving negotiation,
reasoning, and resolution) over misbehavior help develop
moral understanding by allowing to see another perspective
-Discussion of emotions in conflict situations
Contact with Siblings
-Constructive conflict with siblings helps children recognize
each other’s needs, wishes, and point of view, and it helps
them learn how to fight, disagree, and compromise within
the context of a safe, stable relationship

Sociability w/ nonsiblings
6-12 mons- look, smile, coo at other babies
1 yr- pay less attention to other
1 1/2 to 3 yrs- interest in what other children do and
understanding of how to deal w/ them
-imitate others and participate in games leading to verbal
interaction
-2-3 yrs, cooperative activity develops
-conflict has purpose of helping children learn how to
negotiate and resolve disputes
Effects of maternal employment- negative effects on
cognitive development at 15 mons to 3 yrs when mother
worked 30 hrs or more at 9 months of child,
-maternal sensitivity , a high-quality home environment, and
high-quality child care lessened these negative effects
-those whose mothers worked full-time in the 1st year after
giving birth were more likely to show negative cognitive and
behavioral outcomes at ages 3 to 8 than children whose
mothers worked part-time or not at all
Factors impacting on childcare:
-shy and insecure children experience greater stress at being
in childcare than sociable and securely attached children,
boys more vulnerable than girls to stress
-Quality of care, critical factor determining effects of
childcare, measured by:
Structural characteristics (staff training, staff-child ratio)
Process characteristics (warmth, sensitivity,
responsiveness of caregiver, appropriateness of
activities)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------Elements of Quality of care:
-Caregiver- most important, responsive, shouldn`t be
intrusive and overcontrolling
-Low staff turnover
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------children in child-care centers with low child-staff ratios, small
group sizes, trained , sensitive, responsive caregivers scored
higher on tests of language comprehension, cognition, and
readiness for school, and fewer behavioral problems
-family characteristics as income, home environment, amount
of mental stimulation of mother, and mother`s sensitivity to
child better predicted developmental outcomes regardless of
time in childcare
Maltreatment: Abuse and Neglect
-maltreatment is deliberate or avoidable endangerment of
child
Types:
 Physical abuse, injury to the body through punching,
beating, kicking, or burning


Neglect, failure to meet a child’s basic needs, such as
food, clothing, medical care, protection, and supervision
Sexual abuse, any sexual activity involving a child and an
older person
Emotional
maltreatment,
including
rejection,
terrorization, isolation, exploitation, degradation,
ridicule, or failure to provide emotional support, love,
and affection
-Highest rates of victimization and death from maltreatment
happen in children 3 yrs or younger
Nonorganic failure to thrive- Slowed or arrested physical
growth with no known medical cause, accompanied by poor
developmental and emotional functioning.
-poverty is the greatest single risk factor of failure to thrive
worldwide
Shaken baby syndrome- form of maltreatment in which
shaking an infant or toddler can cause brain damage,
paralysis, or death, under 2 years old due to weak neck
muscles and large head
-Bronfrenbrenner`s ecological view suggested that
contributing factors to abuse and neglect are found in all of
the spheres in society:
Parents/Families:
-8/10 cases of maltreatment committed by mother
-disproportionate number of abused and neglected children
are in large, poor, or single-parent families, which tend to be
under stress and to have trouble meeting children’s needs
-most low-income parents do not neglect their children
-likelihood that a child will be physically abused has less do
with the child’s own characteristics and more to do with the
household environment:marital problems, disorganized, no
one to turn to, substance abuse present
Communities:
-2 cultural factors associated with child abuse: societal
violence and physical punishment of children
-in high-abuse community, criminal activity was rampant, and
facilities for community programs were dreary
-When authorities remove children from their homes, the
usual alternative is foster care. Foster care removes a child
from immediate danger, which is often unstable, alienates
the child from the family, and may turn out to be another
abusive situation
-Long-term consequences of maltreatment may include poor
physical, mental, and emotional health; impaired brain
development, cognitive, language, and academic difficulties;
problems in attachment and social relationships, memory
problems, in adolescence, heightened risks of poor academic
achievement, delinquency, teenage pregnancy, alcohol and
drug use, and suicide. Sexually abused children may become
sexually active at an early age
-Some abused children doesn`t become antisocial/abusive
because; their genotype is more resistant to trauma. Low
serotonin levels are present in abusive mothers.
EARLY CHILDHOOD
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
-children slim down and shoot up
-3-6 yrs, grow rapidly but not as fast as before
-3, slender athletic appearance losing roundness, trunk &
arms longer, body becomes more adult-like
-boys & girls grow 2-3 inches per year and gain 4-6 lbs per
year, boys slight edge in weight and height continue until
puberty
-muscular & skeletal growth, bones become harder ,
increased capacity of respiratory and circulatory system
Sleep Patterns and Problems
-average 11 hrs. Sleep at night , daytime nap given up by 5
-sleep problem, such as frequent night waking or talking
while asleep, caused by accidental activation of the brain’s
motor control system or by incomplete arousal from a deep
sleep
Sleep (or night ) terror- 3-13 yrs, awaken abruptly early in the
night from a deep sleep in a state of agitation, scream and sit
up in bed, breathing rapidly and staring or thrashing about,
not really awake, quiets down quickly, and the next morning
remembers nothing,more in boys, harmless but may danger
hurting self
Nightmares- common, frequent, persistent ones may signal
excessive stress
Enuresis —repeated, involuntary urination at night by
children old enough to be expected to have bladder control,
not unusual, if persist beyond 8-10, sign of poor self-concept
and psychological problems
Brain development
-3 yrs, brain 90% of adult weight
-3-6, growth in frontal areas regulating planning and goal
setting
-synaptic connections between neurons and myelination
from, myelination of of pathways for hearing peak,
myelination of corpus callosum continues till 15 yrs
-6-11, growth n areas supporting associative thinking,
language, and spatial relations
Motor Skills
-preschool children make great advances in gross motor
skills,as running and jumping, which involve the large muscles.
Because their bones and muscles are stronger and their lung
capacity is great. Active, unstructured play is best for physical
development to flourish
fine motor skills- physical skills that involve the small muscles
and eye-hand coordination, allow for personal care
Systems of action- increasingly complex combinations of
skills (motor & fine),permitting wider or more precise range
of movement and more control of the environment
Handedness- preference for particular hand, because the left
hemisphere of the brain is usually dominant, most people
favor their right side, not always clear-cut, boys are more lefthanded, less on genetics more with environment
Artistic Development
-2 yrs , scribbles in patterns (zigzag, vertical lines)
-3 yrs, shape
-4-4, pictorial stage
-Rhoda Kellog studied drawing of children under 6,
developmental sequence occurs by processes internal to the
child; the less adult involvement the better
-Vygotsky, development of drawing skills as occurring in the
context of social interactions.Children pick up the features of
adult drawing within their zone of proximal development
(ZPD) and also learn by looking at and talking about each
other’s drawing
Health & Safety
Obesity- serious prob among preschoolers, BMI at or above
95th percentile for their age, 22 million obese children under
5 worldwide
-can be hereditary, but main factors are environmental
(caloric intake, lack of exercise). Early childhood goof for
preventing it since diet is still subject to parental influence
-3 factors critical in the prevention of obesity: (1) regularly
eating an evening meal together as family, (2) getting
adequate amounts of sleep, and (3) watching less than 2
hours of TV/day. Key is serving appropriate portions
Undernutrition- underlying cause of more than half death
before age 5, South Asia highest, negative impact to physical,
psychosocial, cognitive development (poor verbal, scholastic,
reading, neuropsychological performance). Countered by:
improved diet, early education.
Food allergy- abnormal immune system response to a
specific. 90% food allergies can be attributed to eight foods;
milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, soy, wheat, and shellfish.
Equal for boys and girls. Theory that children`s immune
system less mature because they`re not exposed to enough
dirt and germs (society is too clean) explored
Deaths and accidental injuries
-7/10 deaths occur under 5 in poor, rural regions of
Subsaharan africa, south asia
-accidents, leading cause of death from infancy to
adolescence. Most deaths from injuries among preschoolers
occur in the home— fires, drowning in bathtubs, suffocation,
poisoning, or falls
Environmental Influences to Health in EC:
-Greater risk for children`s illness, injury, or death among
family`s with Low SES and those in minorities (Hispanics,
Asian americans due to language and cultural barriers)
-Homelessness. homeless children spend their early years in
unstable, insecure, and often unsanitary environments, cut
off from ready access to medical care and schooling, suffer
more physical health problems,depression and anxiety, have
academic and behavior problem
-Exposure to Smoking, Air pollution, pesticide, lead.
Parental smoking increase risk for respiratory infections, slow
lung growth. Low-dose pesticide affect developing brain. Lead
poisoning interfere with cognitive development, cause
neurological and behavioral problems
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Piagetian Approach
2nd Stage: Preoperational Stage
-symbolic thought expands but children cannot yet use logic
Advances in Preoperational Thought:
1. Symbolic Function- ability to use mental representations
(words, numbers, or images) to which a child has attached
meaning
Varieties:
Deferred imitation- children imitate an action at some point
after having observed it, more robust after 18 month
Pretend play- fantasy play, dramatic play, or imaginary play,
children use an object to represent something else
Language- most extensive use of the symbolic function,
system of symbols
2.Understanding of objects in space- age 3, understand
symbols describing physical spaces, grasp the relationships
between pictures, maps, or scale models and the objects or
spaces they represent, can use map
3. Understanding of Causality
-children unable to logically reason cause and effect, use
transduction- mentally link two events, especially events
close in time, whether or not there is logically a causal
relationship (bad thoughts to sister`s illness) (Piaget)
-Piaget was incorrect, young children can grasp cause and
effect using physical and socioconventional explanations
4.Understanding Identities and Categorization
Identities- concept that people and many things are basically
the same even if they change in outward form, size, or
appearance,
underly
emerging
self-concept
and
understanding of others identities
Categorization/ classification,-requires
a child to identify similarities and
differences
-4 yrs,classify color and shape
-classifying living and nonliving (attribute animism to items
that share characteristics with living things: move, make
sounds, or have lifelike features such as eyes)
Animism- attribute life to objects that are not alive
5. Understanding of Number
4 1/2 mons- rudimentary concept of number
9-11 mons- ordinality(comparing quantities , as
smaller/bigger/less, begin)
4 yrs- have words for comparing numbers (bigger/more etc)
3 1/2 & older- apply cardinality principle in counting (when
asked to count, they count from 1 to 6 for example, than
saying how many (6) items altogether)
5 yrs- count 20 /more , know relative size of numbers,
counting strategies (fingers, objects use)
Elementary- basic number sense: counting, number
knowledge (ordinality), number transformations (simple
addition and subtraction), estimation, and recognition of
number patterns (2 plus 2 equals 4, and so does 3 plus 1).
6.Theory of mind
- awareness of the broad range of human mental states—
beliefs, intents, desires, dreams, and so forth—and the
understanding that others have their own , allowing to
understand and predict others
-Piaget concluded that children younger than 6 cannot
distinguish between thoughts or dreams and real physical
entities and have no theory of mind. However, recent
research indicates that between ages 2 and 5, children’s
knowledge about mental processes is growing
-Preschoolers believe mental activity starts and stops, that
they can dream anything they wish. At Middle childhood,
they knew mind is active. 11yrs,realize they can`t control
dreams.
-Recognition that others have mental states = decline of
egocentrism and the development of empathy
-ability to distinguish between appearance and reality
happens at 5/6 yrs, begins before 4
-distinguishing between real and imagined events happen
between 18 mons-3 yrs old. Magical thinking at 3 years old is
means to explain events w/ no obvious explanations and
means to simply indulge in pleasure of pretending
-Development of theory of mind is positively influenced by:
maturation of cognition,infant social attention, social
competence and language development, mother talk
referencing others` thoughts and knowledge, encouraging
pretend play, being bilingual, neural activity in prefrontal
cortex
-Empathy arises in children whose families talk a lot about
feelings and causality
-Incomplete or ineffective theory of mind may be a sign of a
cognitive or developmental impairment, as in people with
autism
Immature Aspects of Preoperational Thought:
1. Centration- tendency to focus on one spect of a situation
and neglect others, cannot decenter —think about several
aspects of a situation at one time, so they come to illogical
conclusions
2. Egocentrism- form of centration, young children center so
much on their own point of view that they cannot take in
another’s (evidenced by Piaget`s three-mountain task)
-Rubber-duck task provided another perspective: young
children may show egocentrism primarily in situations
beyond their immediate experience
3. Failure to understand Conservation
Conservation- two things that are equal remain so if their
appearance is altered, as long as nothing is added or taken
away, fully grasped in concrete operations
Why the error?
-centration (preoperational child cannot consider height and
width at the same time)
-irreversibility (failure to understand that an action can go in
two or more directions)
Information-processing Approach: Memory Development
-IPA focuses on processes that affect cognition, memory as
filing system with 3 steps:
1. Encoding- information is prepared for long-term storage
and later retrieval by assigning code/label
2. Storage- information is accessed or recalled from memory
storage, 3 types:
 Sensory memory- temporary storehouse for incoming
sensory information, show little change from infancy,
fade quickly
 Working memory- short-term storehouse for
information a person is actively working on, located in
prefrontal cortex, limited capacity. At 4, 2 digits. At 12, 6
digits. Its growth permit development of executive
function (conscious control of thoughts, emotions, and
actions to accomplish goals or solve problems, emerge
end of 1st yr)
 Long-term memory- storage of virtually unlimited
capacity that holds information for long periods. Central
executive (element of working memory, control info
processing) orders information encoded for transfer to
long-term memory. (Baddeley`s model)
3.Retrieval- information is accessed or recalled from memory
storage, 2 types:
 Recall- ability to reproduce material from memory
 Recognition- ability to identify a previously encountered
stimulus, preschool children do better at
Forming,Retaining Childhood Memories:
-early childhood memories are rarely deliberate, 3 types of EC
memory:
1.Generic memory- memory that produces scripts of familiar
routines to guide behavior,begins at 2
2.Episodic memory- long-term memory of specific
experiences or events, linked to time and place, temporary
until transferred to LTM
3.Autobiographical memory- Memory of specific events in
one’s life, emerge at 3-4
-uniqueness of event, emotional impact (attention focused on
central than peripheral aspects), active participation, selfawareness, way adults talk increase memory retention
*Social interaction model (Vygotsky`s sociocultural theory)children construct autobiographical memories through
conversation with adults about shared events
*How parents talk with children?
Low elaborative style- repeat their own previous statements
or questions
High elaborative style- ask a question that elicits more
information, children recalled richer memories if used,more
in Western cultures
Psychometric and Vygotskian Approaches: Intelligence
-intelligence affects strength of early cognitive skills
-2 ways Intelligence is measured:
1. Traditional Psychometric Measures
-intelligence tests with more verbal items used for 1-5 year
olds
2 individual tests commonly used:
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales- ages 2 and up,45 to
60 minute,measure fluid reasoning, knowledge,
quantitative reasoning, visual-spatial processing, and
working memory, yield full scale IQ, verbal & nonverbal
IQ, composite scores on 5 dimensions. 5th ed(2003)
allowed verbal-nonverbal performance comparison and
nonverbal methods on 5 dimensions
 Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence,
Revised (WPPSI-IV)- 30-60 mins, separate for 2 1/2 to 4
and 4 to 7yrs, measure verbal and nonverbal fluid
reasoning, receptive versus expressive vocabulary, and
processing speed,yields verbal and performance scores
as well as a combined score,validated for special
population
-IQ score, a measure of how well a child can do certain tasks
at a certain time in comparison with other children of the
same age. Influenced by both genetics and environment, and
Family income/SES (cognitive development and achievement
in preschool years up)
2. Testing & Teaching based on Vygotsky`s theory
-children learn by internalizing the results of interactions
with adult, interactive learning most effective in helping
children cross their ZPD (Zone of proximal development),
which is assessed by dynamic tests-more effective than
traditional psychometric test, assess potential and processes
of learning than present achievement. Combined w/
scaffolding (supportive assistance that a more sophisticated
interaction partner provides, aimed at the ZPD).
-Scaffolding
lessens/ceases
as
children
gain
skills.Prekindergartens receiving scaffolding are better able
to regulate their own learning when they get to kindergarten

Language Development
-3-6,rapid advances in vocabulary, grammar, syntax
Vocabulary
-at 3, knows and can use 900 to 1,000 word
-at 6,has an expressive (speaking) vocabulary of 2,600 words
and understands more than 20,000
-with formal schooling, passive/receptive vocabulary (words
understood)quadruple to 80,000 by Highschool
Fast mapping-child absorbs the meaning of a new word after
hearing it once or twice in conversation. reason for
vocabulary rapid expansion. Forms hypothesis about word`s
meaning then refine by further exposure. Noun easier to
fastmap than verb
Grammar and Syntax
--more complex
-sophisticated combining of syllables-words-sentences
Grammar-underlying structure of a language
Syntax- rules for putting together sentences in a particular
language
-3,use plurals, possessives, and past tense and know the
difference between I, you, and we, ask &answer where &
what questions, short, simple, declarative sentences
-4-5, average four to five word sentences, declarative,
negative (w/ not), interrogative, imperative, multiclause
sentences,immature comprehension,affected by peer strong
language
-5-7, adultlike speech,longer, complicated sentences, more
conjunctions, prepositions, and articles, compound and
complex sentence, part of speech. Rare use of passive voice,
conditional sentence, aux verb “have”
-Young children often make errors as they haven`t yet
learned exceptions to rules
Pragmatics and Social Speech
Pragmatics- practical knowledge of how to use language to
communicate, related to theory of mind (understand how to
use language socially)
Social speech- speech intended to be understood by a listener
-3 yrs, pay attention to effect of speech on others
-4 yrs, simplify language, use higher register
-5 yrs, adapt speech to what listener knows, words for
conflict resolution, more polite, fewer direct command
Private Speech
-talking aloud to oneself with no intent to communicate with
others
- sign of cognitive immaturity, egocentric children unable to
communicate meaningfully, so vocalize whatever is on their
minds (Piaget)
-Vygotsky, PS not egocentric,special communication
(conversation w/ self),stimulated by social experience (mostly
used by sociable children), increase when trying to solve
/perform difficult problems/tasks
-increase at preschool, fade at middle childhood
-Language delays associated w/ hearing problems and head
and facial abnormalities, not necessarily lacking home
linguistic input. Can be catched up, esp. If comprehension is
normal
Emergent Literacy- development of fundamental skills that
eventually lead to being able to read, preparation for literacy
2 prereading skills:
1.Oral language skills- vocabulary, grammar, syntax,
narrative structure, and the understanding that language is
used to communicate;
2. Phonological skills- (linking letters with sounds) that help
in decoding the printed word
-word recognition appeared critically dependent on
phonological skills, whereas oral language skills more
important predictors of reading comprehension
-Social interaction (parents giving conversational challenges)
& reading to children are important factors in literacy
-preschool age children comprehend the symbolic nature of
television and can readily imitate behaviors they see on
media, active media users by 3, program content a mediator
to cognitive effects
Early Childhood Education
-kindergarten as beginning of real school
Preschool types:
1. Montessori Method
-Maria Montessori new and better methods for educating
children with disabilities, school for underpriviledged and
living in slums (Case Dei, 1907)
-based on the belief that children’s natural intelligence
involves rational, spiritual, and empirical aspect, importance
of children learning independently at own pace, grouping in
multiage classrooms:
 infancy to age 3 is considered “the unconscious
absorbent mind,”
 and age 3 to 6 is considered the “conscious absorbent
mind”
-Teachers serve as guides, and older children help younger
one, individualized curriculum, definite scope & sequencing,
orderly classroom
2.Reggio Emilia Approach (Leo Malaguizzi, social
constructivist)
-a plan to revitalize a crumbling, post–World War II
society through a new approach to education (late 1940s,
by italian educators)
-goal was to improve the lives of children and families by
encouraging nonviolent dialogues and debates,
developing problem-solving skills, and forging close, longterm relationships with teachers and classmate
-less formal, follow children’s interests and support them
in exploring and investigating ideas and feelings through
words, movement, dramatic play, and music, teachers
ask questions that draw out children’s ideas and then
create flexible plans to explore these ideas, carefullly
constructed classrooms
3.Compensatory preschool programs
-designed to aid children who would otherwise enter school
poorly prepared to learn, work within a model of the whole
child, seeking not just to enhance cognitive skills but also to
improve physical health and to foster self-confidence and
social skills
- ex: Project Headstart
-Children from program less likely to be placed in special
education or to repeat a grade and are more likely to finish
high school than low-income children who did not attend
such program
PK-3 approach- systematic program extending from
prekindergarten
through
third
grade:
(1)
offer
prekindergarten to all 3- and 4-year olds, (2) require full-day
kindergarten, and (3) coordinate and align educational
experiences and expectations from prekindergarten through
Grade 3 through a sequenced curriculum based on children’s
developmental needs and abilities, means for most effective
way to ensure that gains achieved in early intervention and
compensatory education program
-Since the late 1970s, an increasing number of
kindergarteners spend a full day in school. Kindergarten
initially associated with growth in reading & math but only
small to moderate,
-resources with which children come to kindergarten—
preliteracy skills & richness of home literacy environment—
predict reading achievement in first grade, and persist or
increase throughout the first 4 years of school
PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT: Developing Self
Key Advances
1.Self-concept- total picture of our abilities and traits,
cognitive construction, system of descriptive and evaluative
representations about the self” that determines how we feel
about ourselves and guides our action, social aspect of how
others see them, develops in toddlerhood as self-awareness
does
Self-definition- the way you describe oneself changes
between ages 5-7 reflecting self-development
 5-7 shift in 3 steps:
Single representations- 4, one-dimensional self-statements,
cannot imagine having 2 emotions at once, thinks of self as
all-or-nothing, cannot acknowledge that real self is different
from ideal self
Representational mappings- 5/6, begin logical connections
between one aspect of self to another, image still expressed
in positive, all-or-nothing terms
Representational systems- middle childhood, integrate
specific features of self into general, multidimensional
concept, more balanced and realistic self-descriptions
Self-esteem - 8, self-evaluative part of self-concept,
judgement about overall worth, children overestimate their
abilities, not based on reality (partly due to positive,
unrealistic feedback of adults), unidimensional
2 types:
 Contingent (on success) self-esteem - view failure and
criticism as indictment of worth and feel helpless to do
better, learned helplessness, demoralized w/ failure
 Noncontingent self-esteem- high self-esteem and
motivated
to
achieve,
attribute
failure
or
disappointment to factor outside selves, parents &
teachers give specific, focused feedback than criticize
child as person
2. Understanding and Regulating (Controlling) Emotions
-Emotional self-regulation helps children guide their behavior
and their ability to get along w/ others
-Preschool, children can talk about their feelings and can read
others` feelings. Emotional understanding more complex w/
age, shift in abilities at 5-7.
 Individual differences in understanding conflicting
emotions evident by 3. These children have families that
often discuss why people behave as they do.
 Emotions directed towards self (guilt, shame, pride)
develop by end of 3 after gaining self-awareness and
accepting standards of behavior parents` set. However,
they lack cognitive sophistication to recognize these
emotions and what brings them on.
5 to 7 shift in understanding feelings about self:
-4-5, children did not say either they or their parents
would feel pride or shame and used other terms
-5-6, said their parents would be ashamed or proud
of them but did not acknowledge feeling these emotions
themselves
-6-7, said they would feel proud/ashamed but only if
they were observed
-7-8, say they would feel ashamed or proud of
themselves even if no one saw them
Erikson`s Theory: Initiative vs. Guilt
-at heart is the need to deal with conflicting feelings about
self
-preschool children knows that they can do and want more
things and also learning that some things they want to do
meet social approval (conflict between a part of self that
remains a child and a part that is becoming an adult). When
they learn to regulate the opposing drives, they develop
purpose (courage to envision and pursue goals without being
unduly inhibited by guilt or fear of punishment)
3. Gender Identity- awareness of one`s femaleness or
maleness, and all it implies in one`s society of origin,
important in self-concept
Gender differences
- psychological or behavioral differences between males and
females
-some gender differences become more pronounced after
age 3, boys and girls on average remain more alike than
different (gender similarities hypothesis)
-differences in playtime preference and style
Boys
(boys` brain 10x larger than
girls)
-higher testosterone= male
typical play
-girls with Congenital adrenal
hyperplasia (CAH) have high
prenatal levels of androgen.
Estrogen w/ less influence on
gender-typed behavior
-hermaphrodites
Girls
Physical
-higher
activity
level,
motor
performance,
propensity
for
physical
aggression
Cognitive
-intelligence
scores show no
difference
-equally capable
learning math
-better in verbal
analogies,
mathematical
word
problems,memory
for
spatial
configurations
-mathematical
abilities between
boys vary more
-better on tests of
verbal
fluency,
mathematical
computations,
memory
for
locations (objects)
-use
more
responsive
language in preand adolescence

Evolutionary approach
-gendered
behaviors
are
biologically based w/ a
purpose
-theory of sexual selection
(Darwin)
-male competitiveness and
aggressiveness and female
nurturance develop during
childhood as preparation for
these adult roles
-Not deterministic, evolution
has given us a slight “push” in
one direction or another that
can
be
minimized
or
maximized by cultural and
environmental influences
-Gender roles are sensitive to
environmental input, dynamic,
and were not bound to them.

Psychoanalytic approach
-identification will occur when
one represses or gives up the
wish to possess the parent of
the other sex and identifies
with the parent of the same
sex,
Identification
-adoption of characteristics,
beliefs, attitudes, values, and
behaviors of the parent of the
same sex

Cognitive approach
-Lawrence
Kohlberg`s
Cognitive-Developmental
Theory:
-gender knowledge precedes
gendered behavior (no longer
today), children actively search
for cues about gender in their
social world.. As they realize
which gender they belong to,
they adopt behaviors they
perceive as consistent with it.
-gender role acquisition hinges
-3 related aspects of gender identity:
a.Gender roles- behaviors, interests, attitudes, skills, and
personality traits that a culture considers appropriate for
males or female. Today`s gender roles more diverse and
flexible
b.Gender typing- socialization process whereby children, at
an early age, learn appropriate gender roles,children vary
greatly in degree they`re gender-typed
c.Gender stereotypes- preconceived generalizations about
male or female behavior

Biological approach
-5,
boys
have
greater
proportion of gray matter in
cerebral cortex, girls have
greater
neuronal
density
on gender constancy (sexcategory constancy)- child’s
realization that his or her
gender will always be the same
which develops in 3 stages:
1.Gender identity- awareness
of one’s own gender and that
of others,ages 2 and 3
2.Gender stability- awareness
that gender does not change,
based
on
superficial
appearance and stereotypes
behaviors
3.Gender consistency- Once
children realize that changes in
outward appearance will not
affect their gender, they may
become less rigid in their
adherence to gender norms
-gender-typing may only be
heightened by the more
sophisticated understanding
that gender constancy brings


Gender-Schema Theory
Social Learning approach
-children as actively extracting
knowledge about gender from
their environment before
engaging in gender-typed
behavior
-a problem with
genderschema theory and Kohlberg’s
theory
is
that
genderstereotyping does not always
become
stronger
with
increased gender knowledge
-4-6, construct and consolidate
gender schemas, notice &
remember
information
consistent with schema and
exaggerate it
-5-6, rigid stereotypes of
gender tat apply to self &
others
-7-8, more complex gender
schema,
integrating
contradictory
info.,
more
flexible
-Traditional: Walter Mischel
(1966):
children
acquire
gender roles by imitating
models and being rewarded
for
gender-appropriate
behavior (lost favor)
-Social
Cognitive
Theory:
Albert Bandura: observation
enables children to learn much
about gender-typed behaviors
before performing them, can
mentally
combine
observations
of
multiple
models and generate their
own behavioral variations
-There is a substantial shift
from socially guided control to
self-regulation of genderrelated behavior, 3-4
3 Influences:
1. Family influences- Boys tend
to be more strongly gendersocialized concerning play
preferences than girls.Girls
have more freedom than boys
in their clothes, games, and
choice of playmates.
2. Peer influences- age 3,
preschoolers play in sexsegregated
groups
that
reinforce
gender-typed
behavior, influence of the peer
group increases with age
3. Cultural influences- TV,
Children`s books, and movies
transmit cultural attitudes of
gender
-major strengths of the
socialization approach include
the breadth and multiplicity of
processes it examines and the
scope for individual differences
it reveals. But this very
complexity makes it difficult to
establish
clear
causal
connection
Play: Business of Early Childhood
-important to healthy development of body and brain,
enables children to engage with the world around them, to
use their imagination, to discover flexible ways to use objects
and solve problems, and to prepare for adult roles, the
context in which much of the most important learning occurs.
Contributes to all development domains.
 Physical play- infancy, from aimless rhythmic
movements to using muscles as gross motor skills
improve
 Rough-and-tumble play- wrestling, kicking, chasing,
common among boys
-Play is categorized by:
a.Cognitive complexity
b.Social dimensions
A. 4 Cognitive levels of play
1. Functional play/locomotor play
-repeated practice in large muscular movements, such as
rolling a ball
2. Constructive play/object play
-use of objects or materials to make something, such as a
house of blocks or a crayon drawing
3. Dramatic play/pretend,fantasy, imaginative play
-involves imaginary objects, actions, or roles, rests on the
symbolic function, involves combination of cognition,
emotion, language, and sensorimotor behavior,helps
strengthen the development of dense connections in the
brain and promotes later capacity for abstract thought, may
further development of theory of mind skills, peaks during
preschool years
4. Formal games with rules
-organized games with known procedures and penalties,as
hopscotch and marbles
B. Social dimension of play
-Mildred Parten`s 6 types of play range from least to most
social, children of all ages engage in all categories
-certain types of nonsocial play, particularly parallel play and
solitary independent play, may consist of activities that foster
cognitive, physical, and social development
-solitary play sometimes can be a sign of shyness, anxiety,
fearfulness, or social rejection
-Reticent play (unoccupied + onlooker categories) is often a
manifestation of shyness
-Dramatic play with imaginary companions, most common,
normal often in firstborn, only child, girls
-Children who have imaginary companions can distinguish
fantasy from reality, play more imaginatively than other
children, more cooperative and do not lack for friends
Gender segregation- girls select girls as playmates, boys to
other boys
 Boys play spontaneously, engage in exploratory play,
and their pretend play often involves danger/discord ,
competitive, dominant roles 9mock battles)


Girls choose more structured, adult supervised activities,
enjoy symbolic and pretend play, pretend play focus on
social relationships, nurturing, highlight domestic roles
(playing house). Mixed-sex groups play masculine
activities.
Cultural values affect the play environments adults set
up for children, and these environments in turn affect
the frequency of specific forms of play across cultures
Parenting
Discipline- methods of molding character and of teaching
self-control and acceptable behavior
Forms of Discipline:
1.Reinforcement- children learn more from being reinforced
 External Reinforcement- may be tangible (treats, more
playtime) or intangible (smile, word praise, special
privilege)
 Internal Reinforcement- eventually behavior externally
reinforced will provide internal reinforcement (sense of
pleasure or accomplishment)
2. Punishment- isolation and denial are necessary sometimes
and effective if consistent, immediate, and clearly tied to
offense esp. if accompanied by short explanation and desired
behavior made clear
 Corporal Punishment- use of physical force with the
intention of causing a child to experience pain, but not
injury, for the purpose of correction or control of the
child’s
behavior
(spanking,
hitting,
slapping,
pinching,shaking), instill respect for authority but
counterproductive. Children may fail to internalize
moral messages, develop poor parent-child relationships,
and show increased physical aggressiveness or antisocial
behavior
 Spanking
negatively
associated
w/
cognitive
development
3. Inductive Reasoning- encourage desirable behavior or
discourage undesirable behavior by setting limits,
demonstrating logical consequences of an action, explaining,
discussing, negotiating, and getting ideas from the child
about what is fair, most effective method of getting children
to accept parental standards, arouse empathy on other for
wrongdoing and guilt on wrongdoer
4. Power Assertion- stop or discourage undesirable behavior
through physical or verbal enforcement of parental control,
demands, threats, withdrawal of privileges, spanking etc,
harmful
5. Withdrawal of Love- ignoring, isolating, or showing dislike
for a child, harmful
Parenting Styles
-Diana Baumrind studied 103 preschool children from 95
families found 3 parenting styles:
Authoritarian
parentingemphasize
control,
unquestioning obedience, children conform to set
standard of conduct , forcefully punished for violation,
less warm, produce discontented, withdrawn, distrustful
children
 Permissive parenting- emphasize self-expression and
self-regulation, make few demands, consult children
about policies, rarely punish, warm, warm,
noncontrolling, produce immature, least self-controlled ,
least exploratory children
 Authoritative parenting- emphasize individuality while
stresses social constraints, loving, accepting, but
demand good behavior and firm in standards, use
inductive discipline, encourage verbal give-and-take,
children secure knowing they`re loved and what`s
expected of them, most self-reliant, self-controlled, selfassertive, exploratory, and content
-Eleanor Maccoby and John Martin added 4th style:
 Neglectful/Uninvolved- children who because of stress
and depression focus on their needs rather than the
child, linked to behavioral disorders

-4 aspects of early supportive parenting: warmth, use of
inductive discipline, interest and involvement with
children’s peers, and proactive teaching of social skills—
predicted positive behavioral, social, and academic outcomes
Criticism:
-suggest one right way to raise children
-correlational not causal findings
-impossible to confirm style used in children studied
-did not consider innate factors (temperament)
-dominant North american view
Special Behaviors
1. Prosocial Behavior- voluntary, positive actions to help
others
Altruism- motivation to help another person w/ no
expectation of reward, heart of prosocial behavior
3 preferences for sharing resources in young children:
 preference to share with close relations
 reciprocity (a preference to share with people who have
shared with you)
 indirect reciprocity (a preference to share with people
who share with others
-There`s a prosocial personality/disposition emerging early
and consistent through life
-Gene-environment correlation (gene & environment
contributes)
-Parent showed affection and positive (inductive discipline).
prosocial themselves
2. Aggression
Instrumental aggression- aggression used as
instrument to reach a goal—the most common type,
between 2 1/2 and 5, during social play, children who
fight most tend to be most sociable and competent,
necessary for social development, shift to using words
w/ better self-control and ability to express self
 Overt/direct aggression- boys openly direct aggressive
acts at target, prepare to compete for mate
 Relational aggression- Girls in indirect social aggression,
as interfering with relationships, reputation, or
psychological well-being,through teasing, manipulation,
ostracism,bids for control, include spreading rumors,
name-calling, put-downs, or excluding someone from
group, either overt or cover
-Influences on Aggression:
 Temperament (intensely emotional, low self-control)
 Physical aggression: 50-60% heritable + nonshared
environmental influence.
 Social aggression: 20% genetic, 20% shared
environmental influence, 20% nonshared experiences
 Stressful,unstimulating home atmosphere, harsh
discipline, lack of maternal warmth & social support,
family dysfunction, exposure to aggressive adults &
neighborhood violence, poverty,transient peer groups
3. Fearfulness
2-4 = afraid of animals, esp dogs
6= afraid of dark
-fears stem largely from their intense fantasy life and
tendency to confuse appearance with reality, more likely to
be scared by something that looks scary than something
capable of harm. More realistic and self-evaluative as they
age
-normal and appropriate for young children, outgrown as
they get better at distinguishing the real and the imaginary.
-Parents prevent it by instilling sense of trust and normal
caution, encouraging open expression of feelings

Sibling relationships:
-earliest disputes are over property rights. Sibling disputes
are socialization opportunities(to stand on principle and
negotiate)
-joint dramatic play (let`s pretend) develop shared
understanding
-sibling rivalry not main pattern, but affection, interest,
companionship, and influence
-same-sex siblings (esp girls) closer, peacefully play together
than boy-girl pair.
-quality of relationship determined by emotional & social
adjustment of older one and carry over to relationship w/
other children
Only Child:
-perform slightly better academic outcome and work success,
more motivated to achieve, higher self-esteem, do not differ
in emotional adjustment, sociability , popularity
-Evolutionary theory suggests that these children do better
because parents, who have limited time and resources to
spend, focus more attention on only children, talk to them
more, and expect more of them than do parents with more
than one child
-about the same physical growth w/ those who have siblings,
-outperform in memory, language, math
Playmates and Friends
-3, begin to have friends
-through playmates and friendships, they learn to get along
w/ others, solve problems in relationships, learn moral values
and gender-role norms
-preschoolers likely play with same age and sex
-most important features of friendships as doing things
together, liking and caring for each other, sharing and helping
one another, and to a lesser degree
-well-liked preschoolers and kindergartens cope well w/
anger, those who aren`t hit back/tattle
MIDLLE CHILDHOOD
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
Height
-grow 2-3 inch/ year at 6-11
Weight
-double their weight, girls more fatty tissues than boys and
persist till adulthood
Brain Development
-changes in structure & functioning resulting in faster, more
efficient information processing, increased ability to ignore
distracting information
-MRI shows brain consist of gray matter (closely packed
neurons in cerebral cortex)and white matter (made of glial
cells, which provide support for neurons, and of myelinated
axons (transport info across neurons))
-Maturational changes:
 Loss in gray matter density due to pruning of unused
dendrites, brain becomes more tuned to child`s
experience

Different lobes, different peak on changes in GM
volume:
A. Caudate - peaks at 7 for girls, 10 for boys
B. Parietal lobes (spatial understanding)- 11 for girls,
12 for boys
C. Frontal lobe (higher-order functions)- same with
latter
D. Temporal lobe (language)- 16 for girls & boys
 Increase in white matter- connections between neurons
thicken & myelinate from frontal lobe to rear
 Changes in thickness of cortex (5-11 yrs) in frontal and
temporal lobes. Thinning in rear part if frontal, parietal
cortex, left hemisphere
Note: Caudate is part of basal ganglia involved in control of
movement and muscle tone and in mediating higher cognitive
functions, attention, and emotional states
-amount of GM in frontal cortex linked to IQ differences
Motor Development
-improve, less time on outdoor activities, more hours on
schooling, homework, tv, computer
Nutrition
-schoool children need average of 2, 400 calories (more for
older, less for younger) of varied diet
Sleep
-sleep needs decline from 11 hrs at 5 to more than 10 hrs at 9,
9 hrs at 13
-sleep problems (resistance to sleep, insomnia, daytime
sleepiness) common as they`re allowed to set sleep times and
have TVs at room
Physical Play
 Recess-time play
-informal, spontaneous
-boys more physically active games
-girls on games w/ verbal expression/counting aloud
 Rough-and-tumble play
-peaks in middle childhood, universal, more engaged by boys
-Evolutionary standpoint: hones skeletal and muscle
development, offers safe practice for hunting and fighting
skills, and channels aggression and competition
-by 11, way to establish dominance within peer group
-Active children= active adults
Obesity
-major worldwide health issue
-boys more likely overweight than girls, more in mexicanamerican boys, nonhispanic girls
body Image (how one believes one looks)- important concern
esp for girls which may develop into eating disorders
-Causes:
 Inherited tendency aggravated by too little exercise/ too
much wrong food
 Poor nutrition, eating out
 Inactivity= major factor
-children are at risk for behavior problems, depression, low
self-esteem, falling behind in physical and social functioning
-medical problems: hypertension (high blood pressure), high
cholesterol, high insulin levels, childhood diabetes etc
-recommended 150 minutes physical ed/ week for
elementary students from 85-90 mins only offered
-if starts in childhood, shorten life expectancy by 2-5 yrs
-prevention more effective: only 10% saturated fat, efforts
from home, school, communities, cultures, with parental
involvement crucial factor
-Girls playing barbie more likely feel body dissatisfactionnegative thoughts about their bodies, lead to low self-esteem
as early as 6
Other Medical Conditions
-illness in Middle childhood tend to be brief
 Acute medical conditions—occasional, short-term
conditions, such as infections and warts—are common,
along with colds, flu, viruses
 Chronic medical conditions-physical, developmental,
behavioral, or emotional conditions that persist for
3 months or more
 Asthma- chronic, allergy-based respiratory disease
characterized by sudden attacks of coughing, wheezing,
and difficulty breathing, 30% more in boys than girls,
gene mutation involved, environmental factors (tightly
insulated houses), allergies to pets
 Diabetes- one most common, characterized by high
levels of glucose in the blood as a result of defective
insulin production, ineffective insulin action, or both
-Type I Diabetes, insulin deficiency when insulinproducing cells in the pancreas are destroyed,5 to 10 percent
of all diabetes cases and for almost all diabetes in children
under 10 years
-Type II Diabetes, insulin resistance and used to be
found mainly in overweight and older adult, similar
symptoms with latter
Accidental Injuries
-leading cause of death in school-aged US children, majority
from traffic accidents, drowning (about half do so within 25
yards adult), burns
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Piagetian Approach
3rd Stage: Concrete Operations/Operational
-(approximately ages 7 to 12),children develop logical but not
abstract thinking
Cognitive Advances:
1. Spatial Relationship
-interpret a map, find way to and from school, estimate the
time it would take to go from one place to another,remember
routes and landmarks;experience plays a role in easily
navigating spaces
2.Causality
-ability to make judgments about cause and effect, improve
w/ age
3.Categorization
 Seriation- arranging objects in a series according to one
or more dimensions;as time (earliest to latest), length
(shortest to longest), or color (lightest to darkest)
 Transitive inferences (if a < b and b < c, then a < c)ability to infer a relationship between two objects from
relationship between each of them and a third object
 Class inclusion- ability to see the relationship between a
whole and its parts, and understand categories within a
whole
4.Inductive Reasoning
-making observations about particular members of a class of
people, animals, objects, or events,then drawing conclusions
about the class as a whole; tentative
Deductive Reasoning
-starts with a general statement—premise— about a class
and applies it to particular members of the class
Note:
-Piaget believed children in concrete operations only used
inductive reasoning and deductive reasoning only developed
in adolescence. But research suggests evidence of 2
reasoning earlier than predicted.
5. Conservation
-children can already work out these problems in their head,
as influenced by 3 abilties:
 Principle of identity
 Principle of reversibility- can picture what would
happen if they go back in time
 Ability to decenter
Types:
Conservation of matter- clay task, 7-8 yrs
Conservation of weight- 8/9 yrs
Conservation of volume- rarely answered correctly before 12
yrs
-knowledge in each type not transferrable
6. Number & Mathematics
6/7 yrs- can count in their heads and count on
2-3 yrs after latter- learn to subtract
9 yrs- count up & down
-adept solving story problems, but harder when operation
not clearly indicated
-ability to add develop universally & intuitively in cultural
context
4 yrs-intuitive understanding of fraction
-ability to estimate progresses w/ age as in number line
estimation, computational estimation (estimating the sum in
an addition problem); numerosity estimation (estimating the
number of candies in a jar), & measurement estimation,
(estimating the length of a line)
*today`s schoolchildren doesn`t advance as rapidly as their
parents
7. Moral Reasoning (reflect cognitive maturation)
-children’s ways of thinking might influence their ability to
reason about morality. Immature moral judgments center
only on degree of offense; more mature judgments consider
intent
3 stages of moral reasoning (Piaget):
-children w/ more nuanced moral reasoning than this acc. to
research
 1st stage (app. 2 to 7/preoperational stage):Rigid
obedience to authority- egocentric, rigid views, rules
can`t be bent/changed, behavior either right/wrong,
offense deserves punishment despite intent
 2nd stage (7/8 - 10/11) Concrete operations: Increasing
flexibility- discard absolute right/ wrong standard,
develop own sense of justice based on fairness/equal
treatment
 3rd stage (11/12/formal reasoning): Ideal of equity
(everyone should be treated alike)- increased focus on
intention not just on what happened w/ age
Information-Processing Approach
executive function- conscious control of thoughts, emotions,
and actions to accomplish goals or solve problems, involved
in capacity to make good decisions and monitor whether
goals are being met
Development of Executive Functioning/ Skills:
-develops
gradually
from
infancy
to
adolescence,accompanied by brain development,notably in
prefrontal cortex
-unneeded synapses pruned and pathways myelinated,
processing speed improves. The faster processing, increased
info kept in working memory
-develop more complex thinking & goal directed planning
-quality of family environment: available resources, cognitive
stimulation, and maternal sensitivity
-parenting practice and culture affect pace
selective attention— ability to deliberately direct one’s
attention and shut out distractions—may hinge on executive
skill of inhibitory control
(voluntary suppression of
unwanted responses), due to neurological maturation, one
reason memory improves in this stage
Working memory- short-term storage of information being
actively processed,a mental workspace. By 5 and 7, the
brain’s frontal lobes undergo significant development and
reorganization improving it
-6 & 10, improved processing speed and storage
capacity, can directly affect academic success, linked to
ability to acquire knowledge & new skills
Metamemory- understanding of processes of memory,
advance steadily from kinder to 5th grade
Mnemonic device
-strategy to aid memory
External memory aids- prompts by something outside the
person, most common
Rehearsal- conscious repetition
Organization- mentally placing information into categories to
make it easier to recall
Elaboration- associate items with something else, such as an
imagined scene or story
-young children use a memory strategy in particular context
they`re taught
-older children use different strategy for different probs
*Improvements in memory may contribute to mastery of
conservation tasks
Psychometric Approach: Assessing Intelligence
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV)- test for
ages 6 through 16 measures verbal and performance abilities,
yielding separate scores for each as well total score. Subtest
scores pinpoint a child’s strengths and help diagnose specific
problem
Otis-Lennon School Ability Test (OLSAT8)-w/ levels for
kindergarten through 12th grade, classify items, show an
understanding of verbal and numerical concepts, display
general information, and follow directions. Yield separate
scores
IQ controversy
- use of psychometric intelligence test is controversial
- critics said tests underestimate children in ill health and
those who don’t do well (esp those who work slowly as tests
are timed)
-test do not directly measure native ability, instead infer
intelligence on what children know
-controversy over single, general ability or many types of
intelligence
--focus on abilities only useful at school (serious criticism)
Influences on IQ:
-moderate correlation between brain size or amount of gray
matter and general intelligence (esp. In reasoning &
problem-solving)
-children of average IQ has prefrontal cortex peaks in
thickness by age 8, then gradually thins as unneeded
connections are pruned.Most intelligent 7-year-olds` cortex
does not peak in thickness until age 11/12 representing
extended critical period for high level thinking circuits
-speed & reliability of transmission of messages in brain
-environmental factors: schooling (increases intelligence, IQ
drops during vacation), culture
-heritability, increase w/ age when selecting environment
fitting tendencies
-ethnic differences in IQ to inequalities in environment—
income, nutrition, living conditions, health, parenting
practices, early child care, intellectual stimulation, schooling,
culture, or effects of oppression and discrimination
-high SES strengthens genetic influence on intelligence; low
SES tends to override it
-culture/cultural bias,intelligent behavior differs within
culture. Schooling and competencies taught in each culture is
different, might not be used in reality. Test questions may call
for vocab, info, and skill familiar to some groups
culture-free tests—tests with no culture linked content—by
using nonverbal tasks, unable to eliminate cultural influence
culture-fair tests- test consisting only of experiences common
to people in various cultures, virtually impossible
Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences
-neuropsychologist and educational researcher at Harvard,
assessed intelligence by directly observing its products nor
through standardized tests, purpose not to compare but
reveal strengths and weakness of people
Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory of Intelligence
-focuses on the 3 processes/elements involved in intelligent
behavior:
 componential element- analytic aspect of intelligence;
determines how efficiently people process information,
helps people solve problems, monitor solutions, and
evaluate the results.
 experiential element- insightful or creative; determines
how people approach novel or familiar tasks. enables
people to think originally
 contextual element- practical;helps people deal with
their environment, ability to size up a situation and
decide what to do
-everyone has these 3 abilities to greater/lesser degree
Sternberg Triarchic Abilities Test (STAT) -measure each of
the three aspects of intelligence through multiple-choice and
essay questions
-Conventional IQ tests mainly measure componential ability
(which most school tasks require), it’s not surprising that the
tests predict academic success. Failure to measure
experiential (insightful or creative) and contextual (practical)
intelligence may explain why their lesser utility predicting
outcomes in the real world
tacit knowledge- Sternberg’s term for information that is not
formally taught or openly expressed but is necessary to get
ahead
Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC-II)
-nontraditional individual intelligence test designed to
provide fair assessments of minority children and children
with disabilities, for 3-18 yrs olds, minimized verbal
instructions
Dynamic tests- emphasize potential, capture the dynamic
nature of intelligence by measuring learning processes
directly, contain items up to 2 years above current
competency level, testing itself a learning situation and more
interactive w/ examiner, showcasing intelligence party an
ability to learn in scaffolded interactions, points out what a
child`s ready to learn, labor intensive, difficult to precisely
measure ZPD
Static tests- measure current abilities
Language and Literacy
-language abilities grow, able to understand & interpret oral
& written communication
1. Vocabulary, Grammar, Syntax- grows, increasingly use
precise verbs, learn words can have one more meaning and
meaning depends on context, figures of speech increasingly
common, more sophisticated understanding of rules of syntax,
More elaborate sentence structure, use of more subordinate
clauses on older children
2. Pragmatics- social context of language in both
conversational & narrative skills, show individual and gender
differences. Boys use more controlling statements and
negative interruptions, girls use more tentative, conciliatory
phrases. 6 year olds can tell plot of story/something and
stories become more complex by 2nd grade. Word use more
varied, characters doesn`t show growth, plots partially
developed. Older children focus more on characters` motives
& thoughts and think how to resolve problem
3. Second-language learning
 English-immersion approach- approach to teaching
English as second language in which instruction is
presented only in English
 bilingual education- system of teaching non-English
speaking children in their native language while they
learn English, and later switching to all-English
instruction, encourage learning in 2 languages while
feeling pride in cultural identity, these programs
typically outperform those in all-English programs on
tests of English proficiency
 two-way (dual-language) learning- approach to secondlanguage education in which English speakers and non
English-speakers learn together in their own and each
others languages, value both language by reinforcing
self-esteem and improving school performance
Becoming Literate
Reading & writing
- learning happens through: remembering distinctive features
of letters, recognizing different phonemes by breaking down
words into constituent parts, decoding (matching visual
features of letters and phonemes and remembering which
ones go together). Then children can begin to read
2 ways of identifying printed words:
phonetic (code emphasis) approach)- child sounds out the
word, translating it from print to speech before retrieving it
from long-term memory
whole-language approach- emphasizes visual retrieval and
the use of contextual cues, approach is based on the belief
that children can learn to read and write naturally
-use visually based retrieval (child looks at word then
retrieves it), feature real literature and open-ended, studentinitiated activities
Metacognition- children monitor their understanding of what
they read and develop strategies to address challenges,
encourage through recall, summarize, asking questions
-Early reading difficulties doesn`t condemn reading failure
Writing- associated w/ reading, difficult for young children as
they have to judge whether communication goal was met and
mind constraints: spelling, punctuation, grammar,etc
Child in School
First Grade- marks entry to real school where interest,
attention, and active participation are positively associated
with achievement test scores and with teachers’ marks
Influences on School Achievement:
Self-efficacy beliefs- students high in self-efficacy believe
they can master schoolwork and regulate their own learning
(self-regulated learners), more likely to succeed.Those who
do not tend to become frustrated and depressed
Gender
Girls- better grades on every subject, more advantage in
writing and reading
Boys- better in science and math tests not related to material
taught in school
Parenting Practices
-Parents of high-achieving children create an environment for
learning, parenting style affect motivation and school success.
-Authoritative parents produce high-achieving children, not
authoritarian and permissive parents.Temperament respond
to parenting style, temperamentally difficult child positively
responsive to sensitive parenting and not to otherwise
Socioeconomic status- powerful factor due to its influence on
family atmosphere, neighborhood choice, parenting practices
& expectations to child. Social capital- the networks of
community resources children and families can draw on, is
the reason why some young people form disadvantaged
backgrounds do well in school.
Peer acceptance- well liked accepted= better at school
Educational methods & innovations- laws and programs
supporting educ. Social promotion- promoting children to
keep up w/ age mates despite academic standards not met
has to end. Only solution to high failure rate is identifying atrisk students early, intervene beforehand
Class size- small class size to achievement
Media use- access to internet, tv as dominant influence and
assoc w/ displacement of other beneficial experiences.
Computer increase achievement, problem-solving abilities for
girls, not boys (violent games)
Educating Children w/ Special Needs
-there`s more focus on children w/ learning or behavioral
problems, not always on children who are gifted, talented,
creative
Learning Problems
1. Intellectual Disability
- significantly subnormal (IQ of 70 or less) cognitive
functioning. Also referred to as cognitive disability or mental
retardation. 30-50% of cases have unknown causes. Known
causes include genetic disorders, traumatic accidents,
prenatal exposure to infection or alcohol, and environmental
exposure to lead or high levels of mercury, mildly or
moderately disabled can benefit from schooling, borderline
(70 to 85 IQ)need constant care and supervision
2. Learning disorders
-2 most commonly diagnosed are Children w/ learning
disability(LD) and Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD)
3. Learning Disabilities
- disorders that interfere with specific aspects of learning and
school achievement resulting to performance lower than
expected of one`s age
-children w/ LD have near-average to higher than average
intelligence, normal vision & hearing, have trouble processing
sensory info.
-high heritability for language, reading, mathematical
disability, environmental factors, neurological defect
disrupting recognition of speech sounds, can be taught
through systematic phonological training
-educating them should be individualized, in least restrictive
environment (regular classroom in inclusion programs)
Dyslexia- developmental disorder in which reading
achievement is substantially lower than predicted by IQ or
age, chronic, persistent, tends to run in families
ADHD- most common mental disorder in childhood,
syndrome characterized by persistent inattention and
distractibility, impulsivity, low tolerance for frustration, and
inappropriate overactivity, 2-11%
in schoolchildren
worldwide. Children grow in normal pattern, but process is
delayed by 3 years in certain brain region (esp. Frontal cortex).
Motor cortex is the only are that matures faster than normal,
with the latter, it causes mismatch leading to its restlessness
& fidgeting characteristics
-80% heritability, polygenic, variation of gene for dopamine
involved, prenatal factors
-ADHD chidren can be helped by breaking down tasks into
small chunks, providing frequent prompts about rules & time,
giving
frequent
immediate
rewards
for
small
accomplishments
Gifted Children--traditional criterion is IQ score of 130 or
higher, but it also encompasses children w/ intellectual,
creative, artistic, or leadership capacity or ability in specific
academic fields and need special educational services and
activities, also achievement test scores, grades, classroom
performance, creative production, parent & teacher
nominations, student interviews
-gifted children unlikely to show exceptional achievement
w/out motivation & hardwork, grew up in enriched family
environment, unusual independence, parents high achiever
and have high expectations
Creativity- ability to see situations in a new way, to produce
innovations, or to discern previously unidentified problems
and find novel solutions
2 diff. kinds of thinking:
convergent thinking- thinking aimed at finding the one right
answer to a problem
divergent thinking- thinking that produces a variety of fresh,
diverse possibilities.
-tests of creativity call for divergent thinking, can be assessed
via the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (problems is its
partly scored on speed,and there`s dispute over validity)
Educating gifted children:


enrichment programs- programs for educating the
gifted that broaden and deepen knowledge and skills
through extra activities, projects, field trips, or
mentoring.
acceleration programs- programs for educating the
gifted that move them through the curriculum at an
unusually rapid pace
PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT: Self-concept
development: Representational systems
7/8 yrs old- Representational systems- neo-Piagetian
terminology, characterized by breadth, balance, integration
and assessment of various aspects of self
-can compare real self and ideal self and measure
how well she stands up to social standards, contributing to
dev`t of self-esteem and global self-worth
Erikson: Industry vs. Inferiority
-children must learn the productive skills their culture
requires or else face feelings of inferiority and retreat to
protective embrace of family, not venturing far away from
home
-children`s view of their capacity for productive work is a
major determinant of their self-esteem developed in this
stage
-an emphasis on developing responsibility and motivation to
succeed. If the stage is successfully resolved, children develop
a view of themselves as being able to master skills and
complete tasks. If children become too industrious, they may
neglect social relationships and turn into workaholics
Emotional Growth and Prosocial Behavior
-children become aware of culture`s rules for acceptable
emotional expression and behave accordingly
-when parents respond w/ disapproval/punishment, their
emotions may become more intense or they may become
secretive and anxious about negative feelings
Emotional self-regulation- effortful (voluntary) control of
emotions, attention, and behavior, show individual
differences and developmental changes
Children low in effortful control tend to be visibly angry
or frustrated when interrupted or prevented from doing
something they want to do,cannot easily hide these
signals, higher risk for behavioral probs.
 Children with high effortful control can stifle impulse to
show negative emotion at inappropriate times.
-More inclined to be empathic and prosocial in middle
childhood. Empathy associated with prefrontal activation in
children as young as 6 yrs old. Children w/ high self-esteem=
more willing to volunteer which build self-esteem.

Child in the Family
-school-aged children spend more time away from home
visiting and socializing w/ peers, more time at school &
studies, less time at family. Layers of influence from
Bronfrenbrenner`s theory and culture help shape family
environment and child dev`t
Family atmosphere- key factor, esp presence/absence of
conflict at home, family conflict produce childhood behaviors
as:
-Internalizing behaviors- behaviors which emotional problems
are turned inward, anxiety, fearfulness, depression, anger
-Externalizing behaviors- behaviors which a child acts out of
emotional difficulties, as aggression, fighting, disobedience,
hostility, anger
 Parenting issues- control of behavior gradually shifts
from parents to child, social power becomes more equal
and parent and child engage in coregulation. Children
more apt to follow their parents’ wishes when they
believe the parents are fair, concerned about their
welfare and“know better” out of experience.Use more
inductive techniques (appeal to self-esteem, moral
values, consequence). Decreased use of physical
discipline as children get older. Constructive resolution
of family conflict help child see need for rules and
standards. For culture who innately stress family
interdependence and authoritarian parenting, the
parenting isn`t associated with negative maternal
feelings or low self-esteem
 Effects of Parent`s work- impact of mother`s work
depends on many factors, but how well parents keep
track of their children is more important than whether
mother work for pay, part-time work preferable to full
time
-minority of children engage in self-care (caring for
themselves at home w/out adult supervision)
 Effect of poverty to parenting- poor children more likely
to have emotional/behavioral problems, impact parents`
emotional state and parenting practices and the home
environment they create
Family structure
-changed dramatically, children tend to do better in families
with two continuously married parents than other family
arrangements
-Family instability may be more harmful to children than
family type. Father’s frequent and positive involvement is
directly related to the child’s well-being and physical,
cognitive, and social development
 Divorced Parents- stress from marital conflict, parental
separation & departure of 1 parent, where children may
not fully understand event. Negative parenting, dropped
living
standard. Children emotional, behavioral
problems. Younger ones suffer more behavioral
problems. Older ones higher risk to academic and social
outcomes.
-Children do better after divorce if custodial parent
is warm, supportive, authoritative, monitors child activities,
holds appropriate expectations. Children living with divorced
mothers adjust better when the father pays child
support.Quality of the father-child relationship and the level
of parental conflict more important than contact frequency.
Joint custody advantageous for child if parents can cooperate.
In the long term: anxiety connected with parental divorce
may surface as children enter adulthood and try to form own
intimate relationships.
 One-Parent Family- Children do fairly well overall but
tend to lag socially and educationally behind peers in
two-parent families. Child’s age and level of
development, family’s financial circumstances, frequent
moves, and a nonresident father’s involvement make a
difference. Mother’s educational and ability level
accounted for most negative effects of single parenting
on academic performance and behavior.
 Cohabiting Family- more disadvantaged parents,
showed worse emotional, behavioral, and academic
outcomes for 6- to 11-year-old children living with
cohabiting biological parents than for those living with
married biological parents. More likely to break up.
 Stepfamily/Blended families- Boys—who often have
more trouble than girls in adjusting to divorce and living
with a single mother—benefit from a stepfather. A girl
may find new man in the house a threat to her
independence and to her close relationship with her
mother.
 Gay/Lesbian Families- No special concerns.No consistent
difference between homosexual and heterosexual
parents in emotional health,parenting skills and
attitudes. Differences tend to favor gay and lesbian
parents.Usually have positive relationships with their
children. Children no more likely to be homosexual or to
be confused about their gender than are children of
heterosexuals.
 Adoptive Families- Agency adoptions (confidential),
independent adoptions (direct agreement between birth
& adoptive parents / open adoptions more common).
Children do as well as biological two-parent families. No
sig. probs for adoption of foreign-born children.
Sibling relationships- Sibling relations can be a laboratory for
conflict resolution.Children more apt to squabble w/ samesex siblings.
Child in Peer Group
Peer Relations
Positive Effects
Negative Effects
-develop skills needed for
sociability and intimacy, gain
-reinforce prejudice , biased
towards
children
like
sense of belonging, attain
sense of identity, learn
leadership
and
communication skills, gauge
abilities realistically (clear
sense of (self-efficacy), group
offer emotional security.
Same-sex peer groups help
children
learn
genderappropriate behaviors and
incorporate gender roles into
their self-concept.
themselves. Peer group
foster antisocial tendencies.
Note:
Prejudice against refugees
reduced
by
extended
contact: reading them stories
about
close
friendships
between English children and
refugee children.
Popularity
-peer group`s opinion of child ,important in middle childhood,
when liked by peers more likely to be well-adjusted.
 Positive nomination
 Negative nomination
 Sociometric popularity- a measure of popularity thru a
tally that may be composed of positive nominations,
negative nominations, or no nominations:
 Popular- receive many positive nominations, good
cognitive abilities, high achievers, good at social
problem-solving, kind, help other children, assertive
 Unpopular- by being rejected (large negative
nominations) or neglected (few nominations any kind).
Insensitive to other children`s feelings, do not adapt
well to situation.
 Average- no unusual number of either nominations
 Controversial- many positive & negative nominations
Friendship
-Children look for friends who are like them in age, sex, and
interests. Strongest friendships involve equal commitment
and mutual give-and-take. Rejection and friendliness in
middle childhood may have long term effect of low selfesteem in young adulthood as well as depression. Deeper,
stable friendships. Girls w/ fewer, more intimate friends than
boys.
Aggression
-declines and changes form after 6/7 yrs old as children
become less egocentric, more empathetic, cooperative etc.
-Instrumental aggression (achieve objective) less common.
Hostile aggression (intended to hurt another) increases. Boys
use more direct aggression. Girl more social/indirect
aggression. Physically aggressive boys and some relationally
aggressive girls perceived most popular in classroom.
Instrumental/Proactive aggressors- view force and coercion
as effective ways to get what they want. They are aggressive
because they expect to be rewarded for it (social information
processing/social learning theory).
Hostile/reactive aggression- has hostile attribution bias
(tendency to perceive others as trying to hurt one and to
strike out in retaliation or self-defense)
Media Violence Stimulate Aggression
- Exposure increases children`s risk for long-term effects
based on observational learning, desensitization, and
enactive learning that occur automatically in human children.
-Children imitate filmed models more than live ones.
Influence is stronger if child believes the violence on the
screen is real, identifies with violent character, finds
character attractive, and watches without parental
supervision (Classic social learning theory). Greater long-term
increase in violent behavior for video games than TV and
movies (active participants).
Bullying
-aggression deliberately and persistently directed against a
particular target, or victim, typically one who is weak,
vulnerable,
and
defenseless.
Physical,
verbal,
relation/emotional(fatal). Proactive (show dominance ,
bolster power/admiration) or Reactive (respond to
real/imagined attack). Cyberbullying increasingly common.
-Genetic tendency to aggressiveness + environmental
influences.
-Risk factor for victimization: do not fit, anxious, depressed,
cautious, quiet, submissive, cry easily, argumentative,
provocative, few friends, harsh, punitive family environment.
Lead to low self-esteem. Those with internalizing behaviors
more attractive targets for bullies.
Mental Health
-misnomer as it refers to emotional health. Half of all mental
disorders begin by age 14
1. Common Emotional Problems- affect daily activities
often w/ chronic physical conditions, 55% have
emotional, behavioral, developmental problems
(disruptive conduct disorders) and 43 % have
anxiety/mood disorders
Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD)- pattern of
defiance, disobedience, and hostility toward adult
authority figures lasting at least 6 months and going
beyond the bounds of normal childhood behavior
 Conduct disorder (CD)- repetitive, persistent pattern of
aggressive, antisocial behavior violating societal norms
or the rights of others. Some 11-13 yr olds w/ CD
progress from CD to criminal violence to antisocial
adults
Note: Neurobiological deficits(weak stress-regulating
mechanism) may fail to warn children to restrain themselves
from dangerous risky behavior plus genetics or adverse
environments may lead antisocial tendencies to being
chronically antisocial.
 School phobia- unrealistic fear of going to school; may
be a form of separation anxiety disorder (Condition
involving excessive, prolonged anxiety for atleast 4
weeks concerning separation from home or from people
to whom a person is attached) or social phobia/social
anxiety (extreme fear and/or avoidance of social
situations, ex: speaking in class etc., runs in families
often triggered by traumatic experiences). Social anxiety
increase w/ age. Separation AD decreases.
 General Anxiety Disorder- anxiety not focused on any
single target, worry about everything
 Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)-anxiety aroused
by repetitive, intrusive thoughts, images, or impulses,
often leading to compulsive ritual behaviors, less
common
Note: Anxiety runs in families, 2x common in girls who are
also more susceptible to depression.
 Childhood depression- mood disorder characterized by
such symptoms as a prolonged sense of friendlessness,
inability to have fun or concentrate, fatigue, extreme
activity or apathy, feelings of worthlessness, weight
change, physical complaints, and thoughts of death or
suicide, exact cause unknown, from families with high
levels of parental depression, anxiety, substance abuse,
or antisocial behavior, assoc. To 5-HTT and SERT-s short
form genes
Treatment
1. Individual Psychotherapy- therapist sees a troubled
person one-on-one, helpful at a time of stress, even
when child has not shown signs of disturbance
2. Family therapy Psychological- a therapist sees the whole
family together to analyze patterns of family functioning
3. Behavior therapy, or behavior modification- using
principles of learning theory to encourage desired
behaviors or eliminate undesired ones
 Cognitive behavioral therapy- seeks to change negative
thoughts through gradual exposure, modeling, rewards,
or talking to oneself, proven the most effective
treatment for anxiety disorders in children and
adolescents

4.
Art therapy- allows a person to express troubled feelings
without words, using a variety of art materials and
media; those w/ limited verbal and conceptual skills and
suffered emotional trauma
5. Play therapy- uses play to help child cope with
emotional distress
6. Drug therapy- administration of drugs to treat emotional
disorders
 SSRIs
-Severe stressors have long-term psychological and physical
effects
Stresses of Modern Life
Ch-ild psychologist David Elkind called today’s child the
“hurried child.” He warns that the pressures of modern life
are forcing children to grow up too soon and are making their
childhood too stressful. Exposed too soon to adult probs in TV
and real life,knew about sex and violence, tightly scheduled
pace of life. Fears of danger and death the most consistent in
children of all ages.Poor children more fearful than children
of higher SES. Human-caused disasters psychologically harder
than natural disasters.
-Children’s responses to a traumatic event typically occur in
two stages:
1st:fright, disbelief, denial, grief, and relief if their loved ones
are unharmed.
2nd:developmental regression and signs of emotional
distress—anxiety, fear, withdrawal, sleep disturbances,
pessimism about the future, or play related to themes of the
event(days/weeks later)
Resilient Children
-Children who weather adverse circumstances, function well
despite challenges/threats, or bounce back from traumatic
events
-2 most important protective factors:
 Good family relationships
 Cognitive functioning
 Others:
-child`s temperament/personality
-compensating
experiences
(supportive
school
environment/successful experience compensating destructive
home life)
-reduced risk (only 1/few risk factor)
-Liz Murray`s story
hormones result in girls, increased levels of FSH leading onset
of menstruation. In boys, LH initiates release of two
hormones: testosterone and androstendione
2 stages of puberty:
1st stage: Adrenarche- between ages 6-8, adrenal glands
secrete
increasing
levels
of
androgens,
esp.
dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)influences the growth of
pubic, axillary (underarm), and facial hair, faster body growth,
oilier skin, and the development of body odor
ADOLESCENCE
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
Adolescence- developmental transition between childhood
and adulthood entailing major physical, cognitive, and
psychosocial changes, ages 11-19/20
Adolescence is:
 A social construction
-first recognized in the Western world during 20th
century as a unique life period. Lasts longer and less clear cut
than the past due to beginning of puberty earlier than the
past and increased amount of training (schooling and skills)
before entering labor force.
 Time of opportunities and risks
-opportunities for growth in cognitive and social
competence, autonomy, self-esteem, and intimacy and time
of risks
-Why is adolescence such a risky stage in the life span?
Tendency to engage in risky behaviors may reflect the
immaturity of the adolescent brain.
Puberty- Process by which a person attains sexual maturity
and the ability to reproduce, involves dramatic biological
changes
-Hypothalamus release elevated levels of gonadotropin
releasing hormone (GnRH) which triggers rise in lutenizing
hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). These
2nd stage: Gonadarche- maturing of sex organs triggering 2nd
burst of DHEA production; ovaries increase their input of
estrogen stimulating growth of female genitals, breasts, and
development of pubic and underarm hair. Testes increase
production of androgens, esp. Testosterone leading to the
growth of male genitals, muscle mass, and body hair.Both
hormones present in either sex only greater/lesser
Determinants of timing when puberty begins:
 Reaching critical amount of body fat necessary for
successful reproduction (Hormone leptin assoc. with
obesity signal pituitary and sex glands to increase
secretion of hormones (mostly in girls))
-Puberty lasts 3 to 4 years; begins at about age 8 in girls and
age 9 in boys
primary sex characteristics- organs directly related to
reproduction, which enlarge and mature during adolescence
(ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus, clitoris, and vagina,testes,
penis, scrotum, seminal vesicles, and prostate gland)
secondary sex characteristics- physiological signs of sexual
maturation (such as breast development and growth of body
hair,changes in voice etc.) that do not involve the sex organs
Signs of puberty:
-First external signs:
girls- breasts tissue, pubic hair, enlarge and protruding
nipples, enlarge areola, breast become rounder
boys- enlargement of testes, temporary breast enlargement
(lasts 18 months); voice deepens, acne common
-pubic hair first silky, straight to coarse, dark, curly; skin
coarser and oilier
adolescent growth spurt
-rapid increase in height, weight, and muscle and bone
growth during puberty,begins in girls between ages 9½ and
14½ (about 10) and between 10½ and 16 in boys (12/13),
lasts about 2 years, contributed by both growth and sex
hormones
-girls’ growth spurt occurs 2 years earlier than the boys,
between ages 11 and 13 tend to be taller (full height at 15),
heavier, and stronger than boys (larger after spurt, full height
at 17)
-girl’s pelvis widens for childbearing be easier, layers of fat
accumulate under skin giving more rounded appearance. Fat
accumulates twice as rapidly in girls
Signs of sexual maturity:
-maturation of reproductive organs
-principal sign of sexual maturity,boys: production of sperm.
 first ejaculation/spermarche- occurs average age of 13
-principal sign of sexual maturity in girls is menstruation, a
monthly shedding of tissue from the lining of the womb
 first menstruation/menarche- occurs late in the
sequence of female development,vary from age 10 to
16½
Secular trend —a trend in the onset of puberty: a drop in the
ages when puberty begins and when young people reach
adult height & weight and sexual maturity (earlier than past
100 yrs), due to:
 Higher standard of living (such that age of sexual
maturity earlier in developed countries)
-Menarche is heritable, similar to mother`s.Earlier menarche
associated with maternal smoking during pregnancy and
being firstborn. Having highly affectionate or involved fathers
equals later menarche than conflicted homes. Effect of timing
of puberty depends on interpretation of adolescent.
Adolescent Brain
 Risk-taking result from the interaction of two brain
networks:
(1) socioemotional network, sensitive to social and
emotional stimuli as peer influence; more active at
puberty and
(2)cognitive-control network, regulates responses to stimuli;
matures more gradually into early adulthood
 Increase in white matter (esp. in corpus callosum,and
lobes except for occipital)- allows nerve impulses to be
transmitted more rapidly,helps neurons synchronize
firing rate
 Spurt in gray matter production in frontal lobes- density
declines after growth esp in prefrontal cortex as unused
synapses pruned, used ones strengthened
 Changes in white & gray matter in amygdala &
prefrontal cortex= reason teens make bad choices based
on emotions, amygdala matures before prefrontal
cortex, explain rash decisions, substance abuse,
risktaking behavior in adolescents (underdeveloped
frontal cortical systems)
Physical and Mental Health
-solidified lifestyle patterns by adolescence
-adolescents from less affluent families report poorer
health,more frequent symptoms.Those from affluent families
tend to have healthier diets and more physically active
-atleast 30 minutes/day physical activity
Sleep needs and problems
-Sleep deprivation becoming epidemic when adolescents
need as much or more sleep same when they`re younger. It
sap motivation,cause irritability, concentration and school
performance suffer
-pattern of late bedtimes and oversleeping lead to insomnia
-Sleep experts recognize that biological changes also behind
adolescents’ sleep problems. Timing of secretion of hormone
melatonin- gauge of when the brain is ready for sleep- takes
place later at night after puberty
Nutrition and Eating Disorders
-Deficiencies of calcium, zinc, and iron common at this age.
Poor nutrition in economically depressed societies.
 Obesity- common industrialized societies, BMI above
85th percentile of age & sex, 50% more in poor families.
Genetic, depressive symptoms, obese parents increase
likelihood.Lack of exercise main risk factor.
 Concern w/ body image lead to obsessive efforts at
weight control. Girls increased body dissatisfaction in
mid-adolescence. Boys, more muscular, more satisfied
w/ their bodies.
 Anorexia Nervosa/self-starvation- 0.3 to 0.5% in girls,
growing small percentage for boys. Distorted body
image, severely underweight, think they`re too fat, good,
but withdrawn students, repetitive, perfectionistic
behaviors, afraid of losing control and becoming
overweight, 10& mortality
Treatment: gain weight, individual/family therapy (parents
take control of child`s eating patterns, cognitive behavioral
therapy (change distorted body image, rewards eating w/
privileges), hospital admission, combined
 Bulimia Nervosa- 1-2% in population, person regularly
eats huge quantities of food and then purges body by
laxatives, induced vomiting, fasting, or excessive
exercise. 30% recovery rate
Treatment: CBT,Individual/family therapy, combined
 Binge-eating disorder- frequent binging w/out
subsequent fasting, exercise, or vomiting
Drug use &abuse, Alcohol, Marijuana, Tobacco
-only significant minority abuse drugs, nearly half of US
adolescents tried drug before leaving HS
Substance abuse- repeated, harmful use of a substance,
usually alcohol or other drugs, leads to
Substance dependence- addiction (physical, or psychological,
or both) to a harmful substance
-Central nervous stimulant (methamphetamine and
cocaine)shown gradual decline. LSD, ecstacy, and
psychoactive drugs (vicodin) held steady.Marijuana and
anabolic steroids shown signs of increased usage.Recent
trend on nonprescription cough and cold medications.
-Majority of HS student engage in binge drinking- consume
5/more drinks in 1 occasion. Affect memory (damage white
matter), poor school performance, risky behaviors.13/14,
average drinking age.
-Marijuana, most widely used illicit drugs (US), smoke has 400
carcinogens, doubled potency.
-Smoking rates declined among 8th to 12th graders. Nicotine
replacement therapy plus behavioral skills training can be
effective stopping it. Smoking begins in early teenage years
as sign of toughness, rebelliousness, and passage from
childhood to adulthood. Adolescents who believe that their
parents disapprove of smoking are less likely to smoke.
Depression
-increase during adolescence, 12-17% experienced atleast 1
episode, increasing rate w/ age.
-appears as irritability, boredom, or inability to experience
pleasure in young children
-more likely in adolescent girls than boys. Gender diff.
Related to biological changes in puberty and the way girls are
socialized and greater vulnerability to stress in social
relationships
-Alcohol,drug use, sexual activity more likely lead to
depression in girls than boys. Body image issues and eating
disorders aggravate depression.
Adolescence Death
-63% due to motor vehicle crashes, unintentional injuries,
homicide, suicide.
-Motor vehicle collisions are the leading cause of death.
Alcohol a major factor in fatalities.
-Firearm-related deaths, 15- to 19-year-olds (including
homicide, suicide, and accidental deaths)far more common in
the United States
-Suicide, 4th leading death cause. Hanging preferred by girls.
Firearms for boys. High among native americans boys gay,
lesbian, bisexual youths, those with emotional illness, have
prev. attempted or have relatives who attempted
-Key factor is tendency toward impulsive aggression. Also
neurocognitive deficits in executive function, risk assessment,
and problem solving
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT



Formal Operations- develop capacity for abstract
thought, around age 11,use symbols to represent other
symbols,better appreciate hidden messages in
metaphor and allegory, find richer meanings in
literature,think in terms of what might be. Combination
of brain maturation and environmental opportunities
responsible for shift to FO
Hypothetical-Deductive Reasoning- Ability to develop,
consider, and test hypotheses
3 criticisms for Piaget`s theory:
-time of age which advance precisely
occurs
-too little attention to individual
and cultural differences
-did not adequately consider cognitive advances as
gains in information-processing capacity, accumulation of
knowledge,expertise in specific fields, role of metacognition
Changes in Information Processing
-due to maturation of frontal lobes
-2 categories of change in adolescent cognition:
1.changes in working memory capacity (enable dealing w/
complex problems)
2.Increasing amount of stored knowledge in LTM, stored
information can be:
 Declarative knowledge (knowing that)- all the factual
knowledge a person acquired
 Procedural knowledge (knowing how to)-acquired skills
of person
 Conceptual knowledge (Knowing why)- acquired
interpretive understandings
Functional Changes:
-changes in obtaining, handling, retaining info, as:
1.continued increase in processing speed and
2.further development of executive function,includes skills as
selective attention, decision making, inhibitory control of
impulsive responses, and management of working memory
Language Development
-vocabulary grows, reading matter more adult
-16-18 yrs age, know app 80, 000 words
-define and discuss abstractions (love, justice etc.)
-more conscious of word symbols w/ multiple meanings
-more skilled in social perspective-taking 9tailor speech to
other`s POV)
 Pubilect (Marcel Danesi)- social dialect of puberty,
serving to strengthen their social identity and shut
outsiders. Teenage slang part of the process of
developing an independent identity separate from
parents and adult world
Moral Reasoning
-depicted in Heinz Dilemma
-Kohlberg and colleagues posed hypothetical dilemmas to 75
boys ages 10, 13, and 16,continued to question them
periodically for more than 30 years thru interview
methodology. Believe moral development consequence of
moral reasoning (depends on cognitive dev`t). Justice, at the
heart of every dilemma.
 Level I: Preconventional morality- act under external
controls,obey rules to avoid punishment or reap
rewards, or they act out of self-interest
 Level II: Conventional morality (or morality of
conventional role conformity)- W/ internalized
standards of authority figures, concerned about being
“good,” pleasing others, maintaining the social

order.Many people never move beyond it, even in
adulthood.
Level III: Postconventional morality (or morality of
autonomous moral principles)- recognize conflicts
between moral standards and make own judgments on
the basis of principles of right, fairness, and justice
-Kohlberg added transitional level between levels II and III,
when people no longer feel bound by society’s moral
standards but haven`t yet reasoned out own principles of
justice. People must first recognize relativity of moral
standards before moving on to Level 3. Proposed 7th stage,
people consider effect of their actions to universe as whole.
-Criticized on doubts in the delineation of some stages.
Variability in ages in his theory due to how high level of
cognitive development do not always reach comparable high
level of moral development. People at postconventional
levels do not necessarily act more morally than those at
lower levels.
Carol Gilligan`s Theory
-asserted that Kohlberg’s theory was sexist and oriented
toward values more important to men,argued that men
viewed morality in terms of justice and fairness. Women held
different set of values, however, that placed caring and
avoiding harm as higher goals than justice (little research
support)
Prosocial moral reasoning- reasoning about moral dilemmas
in which one person’s needs conflict with those of others in
situations in which social rules or norms are unclear or
nonexistent-increases with age; while reasoning based on
stereotypes (it`s nice to help) decreases w/ age
-girls more prosocial behaviors as their parents emphasize
social responsibility more than boys` parents, also more likely
to volunteer
-those w/ high SES volunteer more
Ex situation: Child faced with the dilemma of deciding
whether or not to intervene when a friend is being teased
might run the risk of becoming a target of the bullies too.
Educational and Vocational Issues
-School as central organizing experience in adolescent`s lives
Influences on School Achievement:
1. Student Motivation and self-efficacy
-motivation declines entering HS
-Future-oriented cognitions—hopes and dreams about future
jobs—e related to greater achievement, but this effect seems
explained extracurricular participation
-students high in self-efficacy do well in school, discipline 2x
as important as IQ for grades and achievement tests
2. Gender
Girls- better readers and in verbal tasks, more gray matter
with earlier peak growth, more neuron connections, evenly
balanced hemispheres, larger corpus callosum, better
integrate verbal, analytical and spatial, holistic tasks
Boys- ahead at mathematical literacy, visual & spatial
function, science & math, more connective white matter
(more myelin coating axons), cerbrospinal fluid, brain
optimized for activity in each hemispheres
Others: Home influences- parent level of education, parental
involvement, gender attitude assoc to math achievement,
School influences- teacher treatment, Neighborhood
influences- boys benefit more from enriched neighborhoods,
Women`s and men`s roles, Cultural influences- size of gender
equality in society directly assoc to math performance
3. Authoritative parenting affect school achievement- due
to greater involvement in schooling and encouragement
of positive attitudes toward work
-Family income, SES also important predictors
4. School- quality of schooling, high teacher expectations
the most consistent positive predictor of students’ goals
and interests, and negative feedback the most
consistent negative predictor of academic performance
and classroom behavior, decline in academic motivation
and achievement during transition to middle school (less
supportive environment)
-Critical thinking and analysis declined with increased use of
computers and video games.Visual skills improved.
Multitasking prevent deeper understanding of info.
Dropping out of School
-Minority students more likely to drop out due to ineffective
schooling: low teacher expectations/differential treatment;
less teacher support; and perceived irrelevance of the
curriculum to culturally underrepresented groups
Active engagement- Personal involvement in schooling, work,
family, or other activity, important factor distinguishing
successful completers
Higher Educ or Vocation;
-self-efficacy beliefs, parents` values on academic
achievement,
and
gender-stereotyping
influence
occupational options. Girls in social welfare and teaching
professions.Boys more in engineering, computer science,
physics etc
-Vocational counseling done for non-college bound youths,
demonstration programs help in the transition
-majority of adolescents employed during high school
-2 groups working students fall into:
 Accelerators- accelerated path to adulthood,work more
than 20 hours a week during high school and spend little
time on school-related leisure activities, early exposure
may leas to alcohol, drug use, delinquent behavior
 Balancers- come from more privileged backgrounds, see
effects of parttime work as benign but still does not
deter them from their educational path
identity.Women define selves through
motherhood(identity through intimacy)
marriage
and
James Marcia: Identity Status
-identity statuses are states of ego development,
distinguished thru 30-minute, semi-structured interview
Crisis- period of conscious decision making related to identity
formation; not a stressful event but process of grappling what
to believe, who to be
Commitment- personal investment in an occupation or
ideology
 Identity achievement (crisis leading to commitment)resolved identity crisis after much thought & emotional
struggles, made choices w/strong commitment
 Foreclosure (commitment w/out crisis)- accept
someone else`s plan for life, happy, self-assured,
PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
-focus on search for identity (coherent conception of the self,
made up of goals, values, and beliefs to which a person is
solidly committed)
-cognitive development enables to construct a “theory of the
self”
identity versus identity confusion/role confusion- Erikson’s
5th stage of psychosocial development,adolescent seeks to
develop coherent sense of self, including role she or he is to
play in society
-Identity forms as young people resolve 3 major issues:
choice of an occupation, adoption of values to live by, and
development of satisfying sexual identity
-Psychosocial moratorium/time-out period, ideal for identity
dev`t and searching commitments. Some degree of identity
confusion is normal (Erikson)
Fidelity- sustained loyalty, faith, or sense of belonging results
from the successful resolution of 5th stage
-Cliquishness and intolerance are defense against identity
confusion
-Men is not capable of real intimacy until achieved stable
dogmatic when opinions questioned, obedient
Moratorium (crisis w/ no commitment yet)- grappling
w/ identity and deciding what he wants and path to
take, talkative, self-confident, scrupulous, anxious &
fearful
 Identity diffusion (no commitment, nor crisis)- has not
seriously considered options & commitment,
uncooperative
-Most commonly trace path from foreclosure to moratorium
to identity achievement. More on moratorium and
achievement during adolescence.

Gender difference in identity formation:
-female sense of self develops through establishing
relationships, process of identity formation earlier than boys
-male self-esteem linked w/ striving for individual
achievement. Female self-esteem depend on connection w/
others. Self-esteem drops during adolescence (2x for girls)
then rises by adulthood. Exploration tied to increase in selfesteem.
Ethnic Factors to IF:
-Identity formation in whites not troublesome. Minority
groups` see race/ethnicity central to identity formation.
 Diffused- no or little exploration about heritage and
what she thinks of it
 Foreclosed- strong feelings about identity, but absorbed
attitudes of important people in life
Moratorium- thinks about what ethnicity means but still
confused
 Achieved- understands and accept ethnicity, most likely
view race central to their identity
3 aspects of racial/ethnic identity (buffer drop in grades &
connection to school):
-connectedness to one’s own racial/ethnic group
-awareness of racism
-embedded achievement (belief that academic achievement
part of group identity)
-cultural socialization lead to stronger, positive ethnic
identities

Sexuality
Sexual identity- constituted of seeing oneself as a sexual
being, recognizing one’s sexual orientation, and forming
romantic or sexual attachments, biologically drive, culturally
defined expression
Sexual orientation- focus of consistent sexual, romantic, and
affectionate interest, either heterosexual, homosexual, or
bisexual (first crush usually at 10)
Origins of sexual orientation:
-partly genetic (3 stretches of DNA 7, 8,10 in male sexual
orientation)
-nongenetic factors as shared family influences more on
women, not men
-variation 34% genes in men, 18% in women
-The more older biological brothers a man has, the more
likely he to be gay. Each biological brother increases chances
-Brains of gay men and straight women are symmetrical.
Lesbians and straight men right hemisphere is slightly larger.
Gays and lesbians` connections in the amygdala, are typical
of the other sex. Difference in the size of the
hypothalamus,governs sexual activity, in heterosexual and
gay men. Same trend on pheromones (odors attracting
mates).
Sexual Behavior
-77% young people in US had sex by 20
-average age for sex: girls at 17, boys at 16, earlier in African
americans and latinos
-2 major concerns about adolescent sexual activity: 1)risks of
sexually transmitted infections (STIs); 2)pregnancy
-Reasons for early sexual activity:
 early puberty, poverty, poor school performance, lack of
goals, a history of sexual abuse or parental neglect,
cultural or family patterns of early sexual experience,
absence of a father (strong factor), perception of peer
group norms
-Sexual act can be delayed thru: close relations w/ mother,
father knowing friends & activities
-Increased noncoital forms of activity. Increased use of
contraceptives in adolescence, esp. condom.
-Friends, parents, sex education in school, media (largely)
source of info about sex. Programs encouraging abstinence +
STI discussion and safer sex delay sexual initiation.
Abstinence-only courses do not delay. Virginity pledges
decrease sex precautions.
Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)
-diseases spread by sexual contact, 19 million diagnoses each
year, teens personally perceive low risk themselves though
they have high risk
-most likely to develop undetected in adolescent girls
-Human Papilloma Virus (HPV/genital warts), most common
STI among 15-24 y/o, leading cervical cancer cause in women.
Gonorrhea and chlamydia most common curable STIs. Genital
herpes (chronic, recurrent, painful contagious) is fatal to
those with weal immune system and newborns. Hepatitis B is
prominent despite vaccines. Trichomoniasis (parasitic
infection) passed thru moist towels and swimsuits.
-HIV causing AIDS, transmitted thru body fluids and sex
attacks immune system. AIDS incurable.
Teenage pregnancy/birth
<7/10 girls in US pregnant before 20
-35 % choose to abort, 14 % cause miscarriage/stillbirth
-decline in teenage pregnancy (15-19 y/o) accompanied
steady decreases in early intercourse and sex with multiple
partners,as increase in contraceptive use
-90% more describe unintended pregnancy, 50% occur within
6 months of sexual act
-Outcomes: risk for premature, small babies, birth
complications, health and academic problems, abuse, neglect,
developmental disabilities in child
-Us rates high, Europe had more universal comprehensive sex
education and access to reproductive services
Relationship w/ Family Peers, Adult Society
-spend more time with peers, less w/ family, parents are a
secure base
Adolescent Rebellion
-pattern of emotional turmoil, characteristic of a minority of
adolescents,may involve conflict with family, alienation from
adult society, reckless behavior, and rejection of adult values
-Full-pledged rebellion is relatively uncommon. Those coming
from disrupted families are the ones deeply troubled.
-Negative emotions, mood swings most intense during early
adolescence (due to the stress of puberty). By late
adolescence, emotionality become more stable.
-Family conflict, depression, risky behavior more common
-Disengagement is not a rejection of the family but a
response to developmental needs- time to step back from the
demands of social relationships, regain emotional stability,
and reflect on identity issues (vary w/ culture).Down time
usually used to consume media.Ethnicity also affect family
connectedness.
Adolescents to Parents
-relationship w/ parents grounded on emotional closeness in
childhood and set stage for quality of relationship w/ partner
-most adolescents however report good relations w/ parents.
Agreeableness in adolescents and extraversion in parents
predict relationship warmth.
Individuation
-adolescents’ struggle for autonomy and personal identity,
important aspect is carving out boundaries of control
between self and parents, may entail family conflict.
-Both family conflict and positive identification with parents
highest at age 13 then diminish until age 17. Shift reflects
increased opportunities for independent adolescent decision
making.
-Adolescent given more decision-making opportunities report
higher self-esteem. Negative family interactions related to
depression. Autonomy support by parents associated with
more adaptive self-regulation of negative emotions and
academic engagement.
-Authoritative parenting continue to foster healthy
psychosocial development, bolster self-image, exercise
appropriate control over a child’s conduct (behavioral control,
preferable) but not over the child’s feelings, beliefs, and
sense of self (psychological control, harmful). While,
authoritarian parenting lead to rejection of parental support
and seeking peer support and approval at all costs.
Expression of disappointments more effective motivating
responsible behavior than harsh punishment.
-Parental monitoring, a consistently identified protective
factor. Both adolescents and parents saw prudential issues,
behavior related to health and safety most subject to
disclosure; followed by moral issues (lying); conventional
issues (bad manners or swearing); and multifaceted, or
borderline, issues (seeing an R-rated movie). Both
adolescents and parents saw personal issues (how teens
spend time & money) least subject to disclosure. Relationship
quality matter for girls willingness to confide to parents.
-Home conflict affect individuation process , as divorce.
Parental cohabitation more troublesome for adolescents than
younger children.
-Impact of mother’s work outside home depend on how
many parents are present in the household.Those w/ low-
income single mothers more likely to drop out of school,
show declines in self-esteem and mastery.
Adolescents to Siblings
-siblings spend less time together, relationships more equal,
and more similar in their levels of competence,closer to
friends, sisters more intimate, mixed-siblings less intimate
during adolescence. Sibling conflict decline by midadolescence.Older siblings may influence younger ones to
smoke, drink, drug use.
Adolescent to Peers
 Dyadic (one-to-one) begin to form in middle childhood
 Cliques—structured groups of friends who do things
together
 Crowd,not normally exist before adolescence, is not
based on personal interactions but on reputation, image,
or identity, membership a social construction(nerds etc.)
-all 3 may simultaneously exist
-12-13, peer influence peaks and declines to mid-adolescence
-13-14, popular adolescents engage in mildly, antisocial
behaviors (demonstrate independence from parental rules).
Risk-taking higher w/ peers.
Friendships
-intensity and amount of time spent w/ friends greater
-more reciprocal, equal, stable
-more intimate and confide w/ friends more than w/ parents
-girls` friendships more intimate thru frequent confidings
-good relationships foster adjustment, which in turn fosters
good friendships
Romantic Relationships
-central part of most adolescents` worlds
-involve passion and commitment
-Early adolescents think primarily about how a romantic
relationship affect their status in the peer group.In
midadolescence, most have at least one exclusive partner
lasting for several months to a year, and the effect of the
choice of partner on peer status tends to become less
important. By 16, adolescents interact with and think about
romantic partners more than parents, friends, or siblings.
Dating Violence (1 in 4 adolescents)
Physical— hit, pinched, shoved, or kicked Emotional—
threatened or verbally abused, higher rates
Sexual—forced to engage in a nonconsensual sex act
-Boys report slightly higher levels of victimization. Girls
disproportionately victims in cases of severe violence.
Antisocial Behavior and Juvenile Delinquency
-antisocial behavior runs in families, Genes account 40-50%
variation, environmental influences affect gene expression.
Neurological deficits in brain portion regulating reaction to
stress found.
-2 types of antisocial behavior:
 early-onset type- begin age 11,tends to lead to chronic
juvenile delinquency in adolescence, influenced by
Bronfenbrenner`s systems
 milder, late-onset type- begin after puberty,arise
temporarily in response to the changes of adolescence,
commit minor offense (parents failed to reinforce good
behavior, harsh, inconsistent, not involved)
-Open hostility may exist between parent-adolescent. Choice
of antisocial peers, deviancy training,poor family economic
circumstance, weak neighborhood influence.
-Involved parenting + Collective efficacy (neighborhood-level
influence involving the willingness of individuals in a
neighborhood to work together to achieve a common goal)
discourage assoc. with deviant peers
-majority of juvenile delinquents do not become adult
criminals, delinquency peaks at 15, but declines as most
adolescents & families come to terms with their need to
assert independence
-Prevent delinquency: attack multiple factors, programs
operating mesosystem by affecting interactions between
home and school/child care center, spotting troubled
adolescents and preventing gang recruitment, scouts, sports,
church activities (integrate deviant to non-deviant youths)
EMERGING YOUNG ADULTHOOD
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
A person becomes an adult when:
 Sexual maturity (adolescence); Cognitive maturity
(longer);Legal adulthood (18/18-21 age); Sociologicalself-supporting, chosen career, married, formed
relationship/family;
Psychological
maturityindependent from parents, developed value systems,
formed relationships, discovered identity
 3 criteria define adulthood for laypeople:
(1) accepting responsibility for oneself (2)making
independent decisions(3)financially independent
 1950s- shifting upward age of first marriage and
childbirth due to technological revolution`s need for
higher educ or specialized training. Multiple milestones
of adulthood.
Emerging adulthood- distinct transitional period between
adolescence and adulthood commonly found in industrialized
countries, usually Western countries when they figure out
who they are and what they want to be
HEALTH AND FITNESS
-most emerging & young adults report good to excellent
health
-arthritis & muscular & skeletal disorders, most common
cause of activity limitations
-accidents, leading cause of death (20-44 age)
-health issues mirror adolescents`, rates of injury, homicide,
and substance use peak. Asians & America good prognosis,
worst for Native Americans.
-highest poverty rate,lowest level of health insurance in any
group, no regular access to health care
-HIV,AIDS, Cholesterol level (increased risk for coronary heart
disease), and depression have genetic predispositions but
environmental factors interact in their expression/not
Behavioral Influences in Health & Fitness
1. Diet and Nutrition
-recommends“Mediterranean” style diet rich in fruits,
vegetables, whole grains, and unsaturated fats- associated
with reduced risk for variety of cancers (WHO)
2. Obesity/Overweight (BMI greater than 25)
-global obesity rate doubled, 4-8-9.8 % (men), 7.913.8%(women), obesity rates for women haven`t changes in
10 years, men`s creeped up
-Causes: inexpensive fast foods, supersized portions, high-fat
diets, labor-saving technologies (processed foods,and
sedentary recreational pursuits
-Lead to depression & vice versa, risk hbp, muscular &
skeletal disorders, cancer etc. Calorie restriction,attendant
weight maintenance of thinner frame associated with
increased health and longevity over the life span.
3. Eating disorders
-attempts to keep weight low, low prevalence but
rising, ,most common are anorexia nervosa & bulimia nervosa
4. Physical Activity
-exercise related to cognitive functioning, moderate exercise
also has benefits, adults ages 18-54 should engage in 75-150
minutes aerobic exercise 2 days/week
-yo-yo dieting/weight cycling = lowered metabolism, difficult
weight management
5.Stress
-generally positive experiences for most young adults, but
dynamics of this stage lead to increased perceive stress
-Differences in how stress handled lead YAs to engage in risky
behavior,eat junk foods, less exercise.
-2 types of coping:
 Emotion-focused coping- attempts to manage the
emotions associated with experiencing event by refusing
to think about an issue or reframing event in a positive
light. More on college-aged women (higher stress)
 Problem-focused coping- addressing issue head-on and
developing action-oriented ways to manage and change
it, more in men
6.Sleep
-20s-30s busy times, insomnia due to family & academic
stress
-Sleep deprivation,make more mistakes, impatient, get upset,
impair performance, road danger, impaired verbal learning.
Chronic sleep deprivation (>6hrs sleep, for 3< nights) worsen
cognitive performance, liked to depression (include
postpartum). Adequate sleep learning complex motor skills &
consolidates prev. learning.
7.Smoking
-leading preventable cause of death in US adults , 5 million
people smoke worldwide. Passive, or secondhand, smoke
shown to cause circulatory problems and increase the risk of
cardiovascular disease.
-emerging adults more likely to smoke than other age group,
40% 21-25 y/o smoke. Tendency for addiction genetic and
strongest when start young.Smoking associated with
socioeconomic level (less than HS education), cessation
programs have low success rates
8.Alcohol use
-college is prime time & place for drinking
-light to moderate alcohol consumption reduce risk of fatal
heart disease, stroke, dementia in later life, heavy drinking
leads to several diseases
-assoc with other risks in emerging adults, as traffic accidents,
crime, HIV infection, illicit drug & tobacco use, sexual assault
Risky drinking- consuming <14 drink per week or 4 drinks per
day for men, and <7 drinks per week or 3 drinks per day for
women, high among Native Americans
Indirect Health Influences:
1.Socioeconomic status
-higher income and education indirectly related to
environmental and lifestyle factors causing good health
-African Americans more likely diagnosed w/ diabetes & die
from diseases as they for example metabolize more nicotine
in their blood, high risk of lung cancer and has hard time
breaking habit
2.Relationships & Health
-2 aspects of social environment:
 Social integration- active engagement in a broad range
of social relationships, activities, and roles (spouse,
parent, neighbor, friend, colleague, and the like).Having
wide networks more likely survive heart attacks, less
likely anxious/depressed. Social networking sites may
provide benefits
 Social
supportmaterial,
informational,
and
psychological resources derived from the social network,
on which a person can rely for help in coping with stress.
Marriage benefits health esp men. Young adulthood,
tend to be healthier physically and psychologically than
never-married, cohabiting, widowed, separated, or
divorced. Negative effect is found when remaining in a
bad relationship. People in an unhappy marriage have
poorer health than single adults.Higher negative
consequences for same-sex relations (less likely have
health insurance, more likely delay/not receive health
care)
Mental Health Problems:
1.Alcoholism
-alcohol abuse & dependence, most prevalent substance
disorder
Alcoholism- long-term physical condition characterized by
compulsive drinking a person is unable to control, 50-60%
heritability. Addictions result from long-lasting changes in
patterns of neural signal transmission in the brain.
-6-48 hrs after drink, physical withdrawal symptoms
appear,tolerance also develops.
2.Drug Use and Abuse
-by 18-25, use of illicit drug peaks
-usage rates drop by 20s then continue decline entering later
adulthood & old age
-Marijuana, most popular illicit drug among YAs. Persons w/
SUDs also have mood (depression) and anxiety disorders, a
well as personality disorders.
3.Depression
-adolescence and emerging adulthood are sensitive periods
for depressive disorders` onset
 Depressive mood is extended period of sadness.
Depressive syndrome is extended period of sadness plus
variety of other symptoms. Major depressive disorder is
clinical diagnosis considered to be most serious, more in
women (who are more likely show atypical symptoms,
have additional psychopathology, and suicide attempt).
 Childhood-or-adolescent-onset depression- Adolescents
who are depressed, and whose depression carries over
into adulthood, tend to have had significant childhood
risk factors and have difficulty negotiating transition to
emerging adulthood
 Adult-onset depression- have low levels of childhood
risk factors, possess more resources to deal w/
challenges of emerging adulthood, but sudden decline in
life structure and support threw them off course
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE ISSUES
-Sexual and reproductive activities are prime preoccupation
of this stage
1. Sexual Behavior and Attitudes
-75% US adults had premarital sex before 20, variety of sexual
activities common among ages 25-44 in order include;vaginal
intercourse, oral sex w/ other sex, anal sex w/ other sex, and
sex with same-sex partner
-emerging adults have more sexual partners than older age
groups,when sexually active during this stage, they engage in
fewer risky behaviors may lead to STIs than adolescents
-Casual sex is common esp.in college campuses, and sexual
abuse on women also a problem. LGBT people become clear
about identity and first come out during this period. Men
come out 2 years earlier than women. Ethnic minority open
sexuality to friends,keep it from parents.
2.Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)/STDs
-illnesses transmitted by having sex, highest rates among
emerging adults (18-25), esp those using alcohol/illicit drugs
-worst affected in sub-Saharan Africa, transmitted thru body
fluids, hypodermic needles(drug abusers, sex among
gay/bisexual, commercial sex w/ prostitutes
-mortality rate dropped, lifespan increased to 35 yrs with
antiviral therapy. AIDS being leading cause of death for ages
25-44. Condom use most effective prevention.
3.Menstrual Disorders
 Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)- disorder producing
symptoms of physical discomfort and emotional tension
for up to 2 weeks before a menstrual period 85%
menstruating women have. Include cramps but not the
same.Affect 30s or older.
Cause: normal monthly surges of estrogen &
progesterone
 Dysmenorrhea (painful menstruation/cramp)- affect
younger women, caused by uterus` contractions caused
by hormone-like substance prostaglandin
4.Infertility
-inability to conceive after 12 months of sexual intercourse
without the use of birth control
-women fertility start decline in late 20s, many not ale to be
pregnant w/out ART by 40s. Men`s fertility less affected by
age.
Causes of Infertility
Men
Women
Too few sperm, blocked
ejaculatory duct, sperm unable
to swim in cervix, overweight,
men under fertility treatment
(produce
sperm
w/
chromosomal abnormalities)
Failure to produce ova/normal
one, mucus in cervix (prevent
sperm penetration), disease in
uterine lining, deteriorated ova
quality after 30(major cause),
blockage of fallopian tubes
(most
common),
disorders
(PCOS), overweight, stress,
substances, pollution
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
New Ways of Thinking:
 Reflective Thinking- type of logical thinking prominent
in adulthood, involving continuous, active evaluation of
information and beliefs in the light of evidence and
implications,being able to do critical thinking,few attain
optimal proficiency in it and apply it to solve probs, may
be stimulated by college education
 Postformal thought- mature type of thinking that relies
on subjective experience and intuition as well as logic
and allows room for ambiguity, uncertainty,
inconsistency,
contradiction,
imperfection,
and
compromise, characterized by:
-flexibility (draw on diff aspects of cognition as
Needed, help people cope in less structured,
emotion fraught situations)
-relativistic (acknowledge more than 1 valid way of
viewing an issue, to transcend logical system and
reconcile/choose among conflicting ideas
SCHAIE: Life-span Model of Cognitive Development
-7 stages revolving what motivates cognition at various life
stages/ intelligence depends on life stage, not everyone goes
through the stages within suggested time frames
1. Acquisitive stage- childhood & adolescence, acquire info
and skill for own sake to prepare for participation in
society
2. Achieving stage- late teens to early 20s/30s, acquiring
knowledge to use it in pursuing goals, as career and
family
3. Responsible stage- late 30s to early 60s, middle aged
people using their minds to solve practical probs assoc
w/ responsibility to others
4. Executive stage- 30s/40s to middle age, people are
responsible for societal systems (gov or business orgs.
Etc) or social movements. Deal w/ complex relationships
in multiple levels
5. Reorganizational stage- end of middle age, start of late
adulthood, entering retirement and reorganize their
lives and intellectual energies in meaningful pursuits
6. Reintegrative stage- late adulthood, older adults may be
experiencing biological and cognitive changes and more
selective about what tasks they expend effort
7. Legacy-creating stage- advanced old age, near end of
life, older people create instructions for disposition of
prized positions, funeral arrangements, make oral
histories, write life stories as legacy to love ones
Sternberg: Insight and Know-How
3 elements of intelligence:
1.Componential knowledge- analytical abilities, not always
sufficient to do well in life
2.Experiential knowledge- how insightful/creative is a person
3.Contextual knowledge- practical aspect of intelligence,
original thinking, important aspect is tacit knowledge (“inside
information,” “know-how,” or “savvy”, common sense
knowledge,information that is not formally taught but
necessary to get ahead)
3 elements of tacit knowledge:
-self-management (knowing how to motivate oneself and
organize time and energy)
-management of tasks (knowing how to write a term paper
or grant proposal)
-management of others (knowing when and how to reward
or criticize subordinates)
*tacit knowledge +IQ +Personality tests= performance
variations
Emotional Intelligence (Peter Salovey & John Mayer)
-4 related skills:abilities to perceive, use, understand, and
manage, or regulate, emotions—self and others—to achieve
goals to deal more effectively w/ social environment
-Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT),
40-minute battery of questions that generates a score for
each of the four abilities of EI as well as a total score
-EI affects quality of personal relationships and effectiveness
at work (High EI= higher salaries & more promotions)
MORAL REASONING
-Kohlberg believed that postconventional morality was
primarily a function of experience, experience shapes moral
reasoning. Those exposed to war and suffer PTDS have
reduced tendency to reach Kohlberg`s higher level of moral
reasoning
-Kohlberg believed certain cultures were more likely to
provide opportunities for people to attain the highest levels
of moral reasoning. This belief in the superiority of a
particular worldview has been criticized as being too narrow,
and as being biased toward Western cultural norms of
individuality and a nonreligious mindset.
-Carol Gilligan perceived a male bias in Kohlberg’s
approach.Believed that women’s central dilemma was the
conflict between their needs and the needs of others
(selfishness vs. Responsibility)rather than the principles of
abstract justice and fairness acc. Kohlberg. No back-up
evidence.
-Brain imaging studies showed more activity in women`s
areas of brain associated with care-based reasoning (the
posterior, anterior cingulated, and anterior insula) and men
in areas of the brain associated with justice-based processing.
EDUCATION AND WORK
-many emerging adults today do not have a clear career path,
there`s also increasing number of students of nontraditional
age (25 and up)
College Transition
-increasingly important part of adulthood but not the most
common
-college courses available in distance learning, online
enrollment is growing faster than traditional enrollment
numbers, increasing hybrid courses, colleges offering massive
open online courses (MOOC) taken by anyone for free but
suffer high attrition rates and cheating. Learning outcomes
similar for online, hybrid, and traditional students.
-Larger percentage of women in student population, due to
decline in gender discrimination, and women`s growing
awareness of need to support themselves. Women have
higher postsecondary enrollment than men in European
countries & others , postgraduates (57%) and almost as likely
than men to complete doctoral programs. They still enroll in
more traditional fields but score lower on entrance tests due
to men’s advantage at upper end of the mathematical, visual,
and spatial ability range, or differences in the way both solve
novel problems
-SES (low/middle income families have difficulty, would work
which slow progress and then drop out) and race/ethnicity
(more whites have bachelor`s degree)affect access to
postsecondary education
-Family support is a key factor in freshmen`s adjustment as
well as building strong social and academic networks w/
peers and instructors
-College is a time of intellectual discovery and personal
growth in verbal, quantitative skills, critical thinking, moral
reasoning. Going to college any college is more important
than which college.
-Going to college result in fundamental change in the way
people think, where thinking progressed from rigidity to
flexibility, and choosing their own beliefs based on reflection.
With more experience and accumulated knowledge, they
realize diff individuals or cultures hold different values than
theirs. To decide on what to believe, they achieve what`s
called commitment within relativism- students make their
own judgments; decide for themselves, finally, what they
want to believe. Diverse (racial/ethnic) student body
contributes to cognitive growth.
-1 out 4 young people received a degree after 5 years,
finishing college not common, as students increasingly spend
more than 5 years in college, switch from 2-year to 4-year
institutions and other personal & environmental factors
Entering World of Work
-by mid-20s, most emerging adults are either working or
pursuing advanced education/both. Pattern of employment is
changed from remaining in one company until retirement to
being self-employed, working at home, telecommuting,
flexible work schedules, independent contractors, more
competitive job market and demand for highly skilled
workforce (more educ & training)
-Higher
education
expands
employment
opportunities,earning power,enhances long-term quality of
life worldwide. There`s decline in self-sufficiency among 1834 y/o and workers in their 20s concentrated in low wage,
low skilled positions, frequently changing jobs. Earning gaps
between men and women (earn only 69% of male
counterparts)
-Juggling school and work has no significant effect during first
2 yrs.By 3rd year, part-time work show positive effect (time
management, better habits). But working more than 15-20
hrs a week have a negative impact and associated to failure
to graduate. Work is related to difficulties in meeting criteria
for graduate programs
-People grow cognitively in challenging jobs. There`s a
reciprocal relationship between the substantive complexity
of work—degree of thought and independent judgment work
requires—and person’s flexibility in coping with cognitive
demands. Full development of frontal lobe during young
adulthood better equip people to handle and transition to
several tasks at the sane time.Other brain development
influences how people less likely take risks, better control
behavior during adulthood.
Spillover effect- spillover hypothesis Hypothesis that there is
a carryover of cognitive gains from work to leisure that
explains the positive relationship between activities in the
quality of intellectual functioning
4 key factors for successful transition from school to work:
1.competence (general and at work)
2.personal
characteristics
(initiative,
flexibility,
purposefulness, sense of urgency)
3.positive personal relationships
4.links between schooling and employment
PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Emerging adulthood
-time of experimentation before assuming adult roles and
responsibilities,developmental tasks as finding stable work
and developing long-term romantic relationships postponed
until the 30s or later. Those w/ highest well-being were not
yet married, had no children, attended college, and lived
away from their childhood home.
-Some have more resources & better ego developmentcombination of ability to understand oneself and one’s world,
to integrate and synthesize it and take charge of planning life
course. Parents who have inhibited their 14-y/o`s autonomy,
devalued, and hostile are stuck at 25, the opposite have
highly developed egos, ready to stand alone.
Identity Development
-Identity dev`t is lifelong task largely focused on the EA/YA
stage.
Recentering- primary task of EA, 3 stage process when power,
responsibility, decision making shift from family to young
adult
Stage 1. Emerging adult still embedded to family but
expectations of self-reliance & self-directedness begin
increase (HS student still living at home but expected to
monitor own activities)
Stage 2. Emerging adult connected to family but no longer
embedded, as temporary, exploratory involvements in a
variety of college courses, jobs, and intimate partners mark
this stage. Move to serious commitments and gaining
supporting resources
Stage 3. Age 30 and individual moves into young adulthood.
Independent from family (with maintained close ties) and
commitment to career, partner, children.
Contemporary moratorium- only about a third of Western
youth go through Marcia`s moratorium status. Approximately
15 percent seem regress during emerging adulthood, and
about half show no significant changes. Many adapt diffused
then foreclosure approach. Identity confusion will persist for
those who lack fidelity.
Racial/Ethnic Identity Exploration- Minority youth, often take
adult responsibilities earlier than peers, value close and
interdependent family relations, feel obligated to assist their
families financially, may be under pressure to marry and have
children at an early age, or enter workforce immediately. To
have secure ethnic identity, they must understand
themselves and have positive view of both majority and
minority cultures they live. Secure ethnic identity= higher
self-esteem, greater acceptance of other groups, reduced
discrimination.
Adult relationships w/ parents- EAs still need parental
acceptance, empathy,support, and attachment to parents
and this is key ingredient of their well-being. Relationships
are better when young adult is married but childless,
engaging in productive activity, not living in the childhood
home. Parents and young adult children get along best when
the young adult is following a normative life course. Quality
of the parent–adult child relationship affected by relationship
between the mother and father (not caught in the middle).
-Some adult child still living w/ parents increasingly common
and constitute failure to launch. European families view this
event in positive light.
In-house adulthood- live-in adult children and their parents
treat each other as equals.
-These adult children are forced to remain somewhat
dependent due to economic concerns and need to obtain
training or schooling to greater degree than previous
generations.They may have trouble renegotiating their
relationship.
4 Views of Personality Development

Normative-Stage Models
 Erikson: Intimacy vs. Isolation
- Young adults either form strong, long-lasting bonds with
friends and romantic partners or face a possible sense of
isolation and self-absorption.
-If adults cannot make deep personal commitments to others,
they risk becoming overly isolated and self-absorbed. When
YAs resolve this conflicting demands, they develop an ethical
sense and the virtue of love. Theory criticized for excluding
single, celibate, homosexual, childless people from his
blueprint of healthy development and for describing male
pattern of developing intimacy after identity as norm.
-Important message of normative-stage models is that people
continue to change and develop throughout their entire lives,
not just during childhood.
Big 5 Evaluation- McCrae have modofied perspectove and
acknowledge change of personality throughout life span. Jack
Block criticized FFM as based largely on subjective ratings
thereby lacking validity and that factors associated in its
facets aren`t all-inclusive
Timing-of-Events Model
-describes adult psychosocial development as a response to
the expected or unexpected occurrence and timing of
important life events. People usually are keenly aware of
both their timing and the social clock —their society’s norms
or expectations for the appropriate timing of life events.
Normative life events/normative age-graded eventscommonly expected life experiences that occur at customary
times
-Personality diff also influence: Resilient people have easier
adulthood transition than anxious persons. Culture also
influence timing of events. This model emphasized individual
life course and challenge idea idea of universal, age-related
change.
Trait Model: Costa and McCrae`s Five Factors
-focus on measurement and examination of these different
traits,
Five-factor model- consist of factors, or dimensions, that
seem to underlie five groups of associated traits/“Big Five.”.
 Neuroticism includes six factors: anxiety, hostility,
depression, self-consciousness, impulsiveness, and
vulnerability.
 Extraversion six facets: warmth, gregariousness,
assertiveness, activity, excitement-seeking, and positive
emotions.
Open to experience are willing to try new things and
embrace new ideas.
 Conscientious people are achievers: they are competent,
orderly, dutiful, deliberate, and disciplined.
 Agreeable people are trusting, straightforward, altruistic,
compliant, modest, and easily swayed.
-Continuity and change studies about Big 5 found
agreeableness and conscientiousness generally increased,
while neuroticism, extraversion, and openness to experience
declined, due to maturation (universal across cultures)
between adolescence and age 30.Another research also
found mostly positive changes in Big 5 in young adulthood ,
increase in social dominance, conscientiousness and
emotional stability due to environmental life experiences in
YA. People with successful satisfying careers in YA have
increases in conscientiousness and emotional stability.
Typological Models
-approach that identifies broad personality types, or styles
3 personality types;
1.ego-resiliency-adaptability under stress,well-adjusted: self
confident, independent, articulate, attentive, helpful,
cooperative, and task-focused.
2.ego-control/self-control
-Overcontrolled people are shy, quiet, anxious, dependable;
keep their thoughts to themselves, withdraw from conflict,
and most subject to depression. 9Focused & planful/ rigid &
inhibited style)
-Undercontrolled people are active, energetic, impulsive,
stubborn,
and
easily
distracted.
(creative
&
resourceful/externalizing & antisocial behaviors)
*Ego resiliency interacts with ego control to determine
whether or not behavior is adaptive or maladaptive.
Overcontrolled and Undercontrolle d types have more
difficulty asusming adult social roles. This doesn`t however
mean personalities never change. They may be influenced by
certain events.
FOUNDATIONS OF INTIMATE RELATIONSHIPS
-development of intimate relationships is crucial task of
young adulthood. Personality & relationships co-influence
each other (highly neurotics end up in relationships they feel
insecure at making the more insecure)
1. Friendship
-less stable in YA than in adolescence/later adulthood, due to
frequent relocation than any other stage . Some still maintain
high quality , long-distance friendships thru social networking
sites (double in use), strengthen ties, increase participation in
political discussion & activities). YAs rely more on friendships
to fulfill their social needs than young married adults/young
parents.
-number of friends and time spent decreases. Women have
more intimate friendships than men, share more confidences
with friends (marital probs, relationship advice, support).
Men share info about activities.
Fictive kin- close supportive friendships treated as family
members (gay& lesbian people w/straight friends)
Larger amygdala- larger social circle
2.Love
-Robert J. Sternberg`s Theory of Love: the way love develops
is a story, lovers as authors, story reflects their personalities
3 elements of love:
 Intimacy- emotional element, involves self-disclosure,
which leads to connection, warmth, and trust,
communication an essential part
 Passion- motivational element, based on inner drives
that translate physiological arousal into sexual
desire.Feelings of sexual attraction, intrusive thoughts of
the romantic partner, or sexual activity.
 Commitment- cognitive element,the decision to love
and to stay with the beloved (to be exclusive/marry)
-identity achievement necessary for high quality relationship
MARITAL AND NONMARITAL LIFESTYLES
Commuter marriages- married couples with separate careers
-No such thing as typical marriage
1.Single Life
-proportion of young adults aged 25-34 not yet married
tripled, decline in marriage across all age groups but mostly in
young adults, esp. African American women
-those attending church regularly more likely to marry, some
haven`t found right mate, by choice, self-supporting, less
pressure to marry, postponed marriage and children for
economic stability, desire for self-fulfillment, enjoy sexual
freedom, fear of divorce
2. Gay and Lesbian Couples/Marriage
-40 to 60 percent of gay men and 45 to 80 percent of lesbians
in the United States are in romantic relationships
-greater social acceptance of homosexuality, those close w/
gay/lesbian couple more likely to be supportive of gay
marriage and laws for them. More supported by Democrats
than Republicans
-gay and lesbian relationships mirror heterosexual
relationships, they are as satisfied and factors predicting
quality of their relationship is similar (traits, perception of
relationships, communication and resolution of conflict,
social support)
-Diff. To heterosexual couples: gay and lesbian couples more
likely to negotiate household chores to achieve a balance
working for them;tend to resolve conflicts in more positive
atmosphere; less stable due to lack of institutional supports
3. Cohabitation
-unmarried couple involved in sexual relationship live
together
-majority of cohabiting women never been married.
Cohabitors who do not marry stay together longer in
countries which cohabitation is alternative or tantamount to
marriage than in countries where it usually leads to marriage
Consensual/informed unions- almost indistinguishable from
marriage, accepted in Latin America for low SES couples who
gained same legal benefits & obligations as married couples
-75 million unmarried couples in US by 2010, increased
among all racial/ethnic groups, educational levels, less
religious, less traditional, less confident, negative &
aggressive in communication w/ partners.
- Cohabiting couples who marry tend to have unhappier
marriages and greater likelihood of divorce than those who
marry first, but women who cohabited or had premarital sex
only with their future husbands had no special risk of marital
dissolution. Cohabiting couples likely to be younger, black,
less religious, see cohabitation as substitute for marriage
4.Marriage
-Weakening of social norms about marriage, altered marriage
dynamics, only 4% in women made more money than
husband in 1970 but increased to 22% by 2007. Marriage now
associated with increases in economic security for both sexes.
-Emerging and young adults think about marriage differently,
view traditional marriage no longer viable today, put more
emphasis on friendship & compatibility, less on romantic love.
Their primary purpose of marriage is mutual happiness and
fulfillment of adults than based on parenting and children.
Only marrying after being an adult and feeling ready.
-Marriage age risen in industrialized countries to 28.3 (first
time grooms) and 25.8 for brides. Arrangement (by
parents/professional matchmakers) is the most common
mate selection method across cultures. Decreased
expectation of intimacy & love, emphasized responsibility &
commitment. Semi-arranged marriages become more
common (arranged by parents, young adult have veto power).
-Married Americans do sex less often than media suggests,
have more sex than singles & cohabitors, and report more
emotional satisfaction from it. 18% of married couple have
extramarital affairs, twice as common in young adults, affairs
occur earlier in marriage. US society have greater disapproval
of extramarital sex.
-Married people happier than unmarried ones, but unhappy
marriage less happy than divorced/unmarried. Married
people are better off financially (esp women), as happy as
marriage before but couple spend less time doing things
together. Sharing house chores is important to marital
success, yet it lowers marital satisfaction among husbands
and increase in wives. Large diff. in wage earning potential
decrease happiness. Women place more importance on
emotional expressiveness.
-Factors in Marital Success: partners’ happiness with the
relationship,sensitivity to each other,validation of each
other`s feelings, communication and conflict management
skills mattered more.Among newlyweds, it is empathy,
validation, and caring.
- Those who perceived the cohesiveness of their marriage as
based on rewards (love, respect, etc.) more likely to be happy
in marriage and remain married after 14 years than people
who referred to barriers to leaving the marriage (children,
religious beliefs,etc)
PARENTHOOD
-fewer children in industrialized cities today, ave age of
first births in US rose to 25.4 yrs. Percentage of women giving
birth in late 30s, 40s, 50s increased (mostly w/treatment).
First birth age varies with ethnic & cultural background. No.
of children born in unwed mothers rose. Higher fertility rate
in US than UK , Japan other developed countries. Increasing
childless couples, due to delayed marriage and birth, choice,
financial burdens of parenthood and difficulty to do both
work and parenthood.
-Along with positive feelings of new parents, anxiety about
responsibility of caring for child, commitment & permanence
it entails is also felt. Pregnancy and recovery from childbirth
may increase intimacy or create barriers. Relationship
becomes more traditional after childbirth.
-Only 30% children live in breadwinner fathers, stay home
mothers set-up. Married (12.9 hrs/wk) and single mothers
(11.8 hrs/wk) increased amount of time in childcare. Due to:
delayed parenting till they want to spend more time w/
children, feel more pressure to invest time and energy in
child rearing, need to keep closer eye of children. Most
fathers not as involved as mothers, but time spent rose and
married ones spend 2x time in childcare and house chores.
On weekend and as children get older, both parents spend
more equal time w/ children.
Parenthood to Marital Satisfaction:
-Mixed results. Marital satisfaction declines during child
raising years and the more children are. Due to: Difficulty
taking care of newborn babies, often comes w/ sleep
deprivation (1st reason of reduced marital satisfaction by
child`s 1st year), uncertainty, isolation,and division of
household tasks.
-Other studies found no difference while others said it
depends on whether couple was happy before pregnancy and
if it`s planned. Generally, decrease happens in 1-2 yrs after
childbirth but it`s also found in childless couples.
-In dual income families, both parents work and women
increasingly provide more to family income. They face extra
demands on time and energy, conflict between work and
family,rivalry between spouses, anxiety and guilt on meeting
children’s needs.Not having work-life balance may have
negative effects spill over from work to family and vice versa,
where work stress affects family life to greater
degree.Women more likely scale back esp in early years of
child rearing.
MARRIAGE ENDS
Divorce- 1 in5 adults have been divorced . Sharpest drop in
divorce among younger cohorts (born mid-1950s). College
women became less permissive about it, women w/ lower
educational levels more permissive and likely to divorce.
Decline assoc with higher educ needs, later first marriages
(both assoc w/ marital stability) and rise in cohabitation.
Marital disruption rates higher in black women, more likely in
interracial than same-race couples.
Reasons for Marriage failure:
-most frequently cited reasons were (1)incompatibility and
lack of emotional support;(2)lack of career support (younger
women),(3)Spousal abuse
Intimate partner violence (IPV)/domestic violence- physical,
sexual, or psychological maltreatment of spouse, former
spouse, or intimate partner. Men more likely do partner
violence. Women`s violence less injurious and not motivated
by control/domination on partner.
3 types of violence:
1. Situational couple violence- physical confrontations
that develop in the heat of an argument; initiated by
either, unlikely to escalate, often due to drug/alcohol
use
2. Emotional abuse- insults and intimidation, may occur
either with or without physical violence, occur when
women`s education, occupational status,income higher
than men, to assert dominance
3. Intimate terrorism- systematic use of emotional abuse,
coercion,
threats,
violence
to
gain/enforce
power/control to partner. Often female victims. Has
control-seeking motivation.
-the more equal resources and smaller financial obligations
between couple produce greatest likelihood of bringing up
divorce. Divorce breeds more divorce and is catching.
-Divorce reduce long term well being for partner who didn`t
initiate it,more physical and mental negative effects in men,
women have more reduced economic resources & living
standards. Women benefit from dissolution of unhappy
marriage than men and those who thought they were happily
married adjust slow. Highly conflicted marriage benefit from
improved well being. Emotional detachment from ex is key.
Remarriage
-divorce more likely than first marriages, rate s are rising.
Often happens 3-4 yrs after first marriage. Men and women
living with children from previous relationship most likely to
form new union with someone who also has resident
children,forming his-and-hers stepfamily. The older
stepchildren, the harder step parenting. Women have more
difficulties in raising stepchildren than in raising biological
children.
MIDDLE ADULTHOOD
Middle age
- a social construct, term midlife first came in dictionary in
1895 after life expectancy lengthened. Some people in India
and Kenya do not recognize it.
-4-65 yrs, no consensus over when it begins or ends. Boomers
are the best educated , most affluent cohort to reach middle
age anywhere. Many are at the peak of their careers,
enjoying a sense of freedom, responsibility, and control over
their lives and making important contributions to social
betterment.
-Most are in good physical, cognitive, and emotional shape
and feel good about the quality of their lives, but experiences
vary with health.
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
-middle adulthood is a time of loss and gains. Use it or lose it
stage
Sensory & Psychomotor Functioning
-hearing loss (2x more in women) and visual difficulties
common, age-related visual problems in 5 areas: near vision,
dynamic vision (reading moving signs), sensitivity to light,
visual search (locating a car in a parking lot), and speed of
processing visual information. To adjust to losses in vision,
they need more brightness.
 Presbyopia- age-related, progressive loss of the eyes’
ability to focus on nearby objects due to loss of elasticity
in the lens
 Myopia- nearsightedness
 Presbycusisage-related,
gradual
loss
of
hearing,accelerates after age 55, esp with regard to
sounds at higher frequencies
-sensitivity to taste and smell begins decline.Taste buds less
sensitive and number of olfactory cells diminishes, foods
seem more bland. Women retain these senses longer
-loss of muscle & strength noticeable by 45, 10-15%
maximum strength gone at 60
-Basal metabolism (minimum amount of energy, typically
measured in calories, that your body needs to maintain vital
functions while resting). Amount of energy needed to
maintain the body goes down, particularly after age 40
-Manual dexterity less efficient after mid-30s, simple reaction
time slows till 50, choice reaction time slows till adulthood.
Brain
-works more slowly and having difficulty juggling multiple
tasks, with ability to ignore distractions declining,
multitasking is challenging. Due to breaking down of myelin
w/ age leading to slowed
processing speed.
-w/ atrophy in the left insula,
associated
with
speech
production,
the
more
frequently experience the
tip-of-the-tongue
(TOT)
phenomenon. These declines
are not permanent and
middle age brain still flexible
& can respond positively.
Knowledge
based
on
experience
compensate
physical changes
Structural and Systemic Changes
-noticeable change in appearance, skin less taut & smooth
(thinner below-surface fat, rigid collagen muscles, brittle
elastin fibers)
-Thinner hair (slowed replacement rate & declined melanin
production)
-weight gain & lose height (shrinkage of intervertebral disks)
-Bone loss (more calcium absorbed than replaced, thinner &
brittle, 2x rapid in women leading to osteoporosis)
-most have little/ no decline in organ functioning, but other`s
heart pumps more slowly & irregularly in midfifties and lose
40% aerobic power by 60 . Arterial walls thicker and heart
disease more common in late 40s/50s. Vital capacity
(maximum air volume lungs draw in and expel) diminish by 40.
Weakened temperature regulation & immune response. Less
deep sleep.
Sexuality & Reproductive Functioning
-sexual enjoyment continues till adulthood
 Menopause
- cessation of ovulation, menstruation and ability to bear
children, mostly at age 45 & 55, 1 yr after last mense
-a process called menopausal transition beginning w/
perimenopause/climacteric (from declined production of
mature ova, less estrogen produced by ovaries, less regular
menses & less flow to cessation. Begins mid30s/40s taking 35 yrs). Viewed as disease in early 19th century and today as a
positive natural process
-Treatment: short-term, low dosage artificial estrogen
(reduce hot flashes w/ serious risks), antidepressant drugs,
antihypertensive, anticonvulsive drug (high adverse effect &
cost), alternative therapy & phytomedicine,etc found
ineffective.
 Male sexual functioning
-remain fertile through lifespan, doesn`t have menopause but
have a biological clock. 1% testosterone decline/year at 30.
Sperm count & its genetic quality declines.Advanced paternal
age assoc with birth defects.
-decline in testosterone associated with reductions in bone
density and muscle mass, decreased energy, lower sex drive,
overweight, emotional irritability,
depressed mood,
cardiovascular disease, diabetes, mortality.
-Erectile dysfunction (Inability to achieve or maintain an
erect
penis
sufficient
for
satisfactory
sexual
performance)among older men.Sildenafil (viagra) and
testosterone therapies effective.
-frequency and satisfaction of sex life diminish by 40s/50s.
Nonphysiological causes: monotony in a relationship,
preoccupation
with
business/financial
worries,
mental/physical fatigue, depression, sex isn`t high priority,
fear of failure to attain an erection, or lack of a partner.
PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH
-most middle aged in industrialized countries are healthy with
but limited activities (chronic conditions of arthritis
&circulatory related). Ages 60-69 cohort show sharper
increase in health probs (activities assoc w/ daily living,
everyday chores, mobility issues), which is not seen in older
cohorts. People now entering 60s face significant
disabilities—more than their counterparts in previous
generations
Health Trends
-less energy, experience chronic pains and fatigue
 Hypertension- chronically high bp, increasing concern,
risk factor for cardiovascular
& kdney disease.
Consuming more vegetable protein lowers risk for this.
Impatience and hostility risk factor to developing it
 Cancer- in US, replaced heart disease as leading cause of
death for ages 45-64, but death rate decline due to
improvements in treating heart attacks.
 Chest pain is most common symptom of heart attack in
both men & women. Women experience other
symptoms
 Diabetes- prevalence double in 1990s
Mature-onset (Type 2)- develops after 30, more
prevalent w/ age, glucose levels rise because cells lose ability
to use the insulin, which the body compensates by producing
too much insulin
Juvenile-onset (Type 1)- insulin-dependent, level of
bp rises because body does not produce insulin
Health: Behavioral influences
-behavioral patterns in young adults, smoking, overweight,
high bp and high blood sugar (using these lowers life
expectancy to 4 yrs)
-Excessive weight increase risk of health impairment & death,
interacts with ethnicity (Hispanics w/ highest prevalence)
-Physical activity a protective factor, increase chances of
remaining mobile and avoiding weight gain. Those with
cardiovascular disease benefit most form it.
-Loneliness and cumulative effect of stress in physical &
mental health in middle age
Socioeconomic status-Health
-People with low socioeconomic status have poorer health,
shorter life expectancy, more activity limitations due to
chronic disease, lower well-being, and more restricted access
to health care. Connection between SES and health may be
psychosocial. People with low SES have more negative
emotions and thoughts, live in more stressful environments,
and even when younger,tend to engage in unhealthy
behaviors at higher rates
Race/Ethnicity-Health
-Research has found distinctive variations in the DNA code
among people of European, African, and Chinese ancestry.
These variations are linked to predispositions to various
diseases.
-Poverty is the largest single underlying factor in this link,
which is related to poor nutrition, substandard housing, poor
access to health care among African Americans.They also
have higher death rates, incidence of hypertension, obesity,
poorer cardiovascular fitness.
-Hispanic Americans have disproportionate incidence of
stroke, liver disease, diabetes, HIV infection, homicide, cervix
and stomach cancers. W/ their limited English proficiency,
they`re less likely to have health insurance and regular health
care.
Gender-Health
Women
-higher life expectancy &
lower death rates (longevity
attributed to protection of
2nd X chromosome and
beneficial
effects
of
estrogen.)
-more likely to report having
fair/poor health, go to doctor
- rising heart attacks (due to
rising rates of diabetes &
obesity in women & doctor`s
tendency to assume heart
disease is less likely in
women)
-increased
risk
for
osteoporosis, cancer &stroke
after menopause
Men
-lower
life
expectancy
(attributed to risk-taking)
-less
likely
to
seek
professional help, longer
hospital stays, chronic & lifethreatening problems
-may feel admitting illness is
not masculine and seeking
help a loss of control
-Impotence treatment &
screening tests are available
-better focus on controlling
their risk for heart disease
 Bone loss & Osteoporosis
-bone less more rapid after menopause as estrogen which
help in calcium absorption falls.
Osteoporosis- porous bones, bones become thin & brittle w/
calcium depletion. Signs: loss in height, hunchbacked posture.
Occurs more in white women, fair skinned, small frame, low
weight & BMI, w/ surgically removed ovaries, family history
(genetic basis).
-To slow bone loss, do high-intensity strength training and
resistance training.Women over age 40 should get 1,000 to
1,500 milligrams of dietary calcium/day, with recommended
daily amounts of vitamin D, which helps the body absorb
calcium.
 Breast Cancer
-increases w/ age, 5-10% are hereditary (inherited mutations).
Most common mutations are BRCA1 or BRCA2 in women
leads to 80% of development. Majority are due to
environment.
Overweight
women,who
drink
alcohol,experienced early menarche and late menopause,
with a family history, have no children or who bore children
later in life have a greater risk.
Treatment:
 Mammography- diagnostic examination of breasts, has
greatest benefits for women over 50
 Hormone therapy- treatment with artificial estrogen,
sometimes in combination with hormone progesterone,
to relieve or prevent symptoms caused by decline in
estrogen levels after menopause.(to address most
troublesome effect of menopause, reduced level of
estrogen.) Benefits are challenged and comes w/
risks.HT either provides no cardiovascular benefit to
high risk women or increases their risks.
-Estrogen therapy reduce clogging of coronary
arteries, but assoc w/ higher risk for ovarian cancer,
gallbladder
disease,
and
dementia/cognitive
decline.Professionals are against HT.
 Stress
-damage that occurs when stressors exceed person`s capacity
to cope w/ them. Capacity to adapt to stress involves the
brain, which perceives danger (real or imagined);adrenal
glands, which mobilize the body to fight it; and immune
system, which provides defenses.
-Middle aged experience higher and more frequent stress
than other stages.Most stressed by family relationships, work,
money,housing,role changes, career transitions, grown
children leaving home, and the renegotiation of family
relationships, esp high in financial &children matters.Fewer
stressors where they have no control and better equipped to
cope.Women report more extreme stress and concern. Tend
and befriend are women`s response pattern activated by
oxytocin. Fight or flight are for men`s,activated by
testosterone.
 Emotions
-affect body and immune functioning
Negative Emotions &
Positive Emotions &
Personality traits
Personality traits
-associated w/ poor physical
and mental health, increase
susceptibility to illness
-Neuroticism & hostility
assoc w/ illness & reduced
longevity
-associated w/ good health &
longer life, enhance immune
functioning
-Hope and curiosity found to
lessen likelihood of having
hypertension,
diabetes,
respiratory tract infections,
soften impact of stressor
-Optimism
&
conscientiousness assoc w/
better health longer life
 Mental Health
-middle aged more likely to suffer psychological distress,
show depressive symptoms which is assoc with poor health,
high stress, lack of social support.
-Effect of Stress to Health: Stress response system and
immune system are closely linked and work together to keep
body healthy. The more stressful event, higher likelihood of
illness the next 2 yrs.
-Highly stressful life events:divorce, death of a spouse or
other family member, loss of a job,even positive change—is
stressful.Presence of supportive social relationships buffer
stress.
-study from 1956 with 500 randomly chosen men and women
across a variety of age brackets from 22 to 67. Participants
were followed longitudinally, and assessed every 7 years on
timed tests of six primary mental abilities. Used multiple
cohorts.
-Some showed stability over time. Others showed wide
individual differences. No uniform patters of age-related
change. Numerical ability, memory recall, verbal fluency
between ages 39 & 53 declined. Verbal meaning also declined.
Successive cohorts scored progressively higher at same ages
in most abilities.
-Individuals who scored highest have high educational levels,
have flexible personalities,intact families,pursue cognitively
complex occupations and other activities,married to someone
more
cognitively
advanced,satisfied
with
their
accomplishments, high in openness to experience. Cognitive
decline for younger than 60 indicate neurological problem,
esp decline in memory recall and verbal fluency.
-Postmortem studies showed that genes involved in memory
and learning become damaged w/ age.
2.Horn and Cattell: Fluid & Crystallized Intelligence
 Fluid intelligence- applied to novel problems and is
relatively independent of educational and cultural
influences.Perceiving relations, forming concepts,
drawing inferences.Largely determined by neurological
status.Peak in young adulthood (perceptual speed peaks
in the 20s)
 Crystallized intelligence- involves ability to remember
and use learned information;largely dependent on
education and culture.Measured by tests of vocabulary,
general information,responses to social situations and
dilemmas
-Working memory declines w/age. Losses in FI can be offset
by improvements in CI, which increase through middle age
until end of life.
DISTINCTIVENESS OF ADULT COGNITION
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
-cognitive status in middle adulthood a subject of much
debate
2 studies measuring Cognitive Abilities:
1.K. Warner Schaie: Seattle Longitudinal Study of Adult
Inteligence
Role of experience
 Special knowledge/expertise/Expert thinking- form of
CI related to process of encapsulation, reason why
mature adults show increasing competency in solving
problems in their field. Advances in expertise continue
to middle adulthood and not related to general
intelligence or the brain`s information-processing.
Superior reasoning also unrelated to IQ. Automatic &
intuitive. Characteristic of postformal thought.
 Adult`s FI abilities become more encapsulated.
Encapsulation- makes knowledge easier to access, add,
and use. Allows expertise to compensate for declines in
information-processing by bundling relevant knowledge
together.
-Experts notice diff aspects of situation, process and solve
info differently, more flexible and adaptable thinking, more
efficiently assimilate & interpret new knowledge, sort info.
based on underlying principles, and more aware of what they
don`t know. Ability for expert judgement depends on
familiarity w/ how things are done (cultural expectations &
demands).
 Integrative Thought- important feature of postformal
thought. Mature adults` ability to integrate logic with
intuition and emotion;put together conflicting facts and
ideas;compare new information with what they
know,interpret what they read, see, or hear in terms of
its meaning for them,filtering info through their life
experience and previous learning.
 Creativity
-Creative performance is not strongly related to general
intelligence, and genetic contributions. What matters in
adults is creative performance- what & how much creative
mind produces.
-A product of social context and individual proclivities. Selfstarters,
risk-takers,
independent,
nonconformist,
unconventional, flexible, open to experience, unconscious
thinking process leading to illumination. Extraordinary
creative achievement requires deep, highly organized
knowledge of subject, and strong emotional attachment to
work.
WORK AND EDUCATION
-In industrialized societies, occupational roles typically are
based on age. In postindustrial societies, people make
multiple transitions throughout their adult lives.
Retirement
-average of retirement steadily moving downward. Before
retiring,people first reduce work hours or days, gradually
moving into retirement in a process called phased retirement
or switch to another company or new line of work, a practice
called bridge employment(half of 55-65 y/os do this)
-Some people continue working to maintain physical,
emotional health, personal & social roles,enjoy stimulation of
work, due to financial reasons, or effect of recession. Many of
today’s middle-aged and older workers also have inadequate
savings or pensions or need continued health insurance.
Work-Cognitive Development
-work& occupational choices influence and affect cognitive
development.
-Flexible thinkers tend to seek out and obtain substantively
complex work— which requires thought and independent
judgment. In turn, complex work stimulates more flexible
thinking, and flexible thinking increases the ability to do the
work. Work includes complex household work.People who
are deeply engaged in complex work tend to show stronger
cognitive performance than their peers. Having high
openness to experience assoc with retaining faculties and
showing high work performance.
Mature Learner
-Middle-aged people engaged in formal education because
education enables them to develop their cognitive potential,
improve self-esteem, help children with homework, keep up
with the changing world of work. Some seek specialized
training to update their knowledge and skills, train for new
occupations, move up career ladder,have business, or reenter
job market (esp mothers).
-Employers see benefits of workplace education in improved
morale, increased quality of work, better teamwork &
problem solving, and greater ability to cope with new
technology and other workplace changes.
 Literacy- ability of adults to use printed and written
information to function in society, achieve goals, and
develop knowledge and potential.
-Middle-aged & older adults have lower literacy
levels than young adults, but average literacy level of adults
ages 50 to 59 increased since 1992. Adults below basic
literacy are less likely to be employed than their
counterparts.74 million (1 in 5) adults are illiterate, mostly in
Sub-Saharan Africa, East & South Asia, and among women in
developing nations.2003-2012 is the Literacy Decade (UN).
PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
-midlife is viewed by developmental psychologists
objectively(trajectories & pathways) and subjectively (how
people construct their identity & structure of their lives)
-there are diff between early and late middle age, lives do not
progress in isolation, personal roles are interdependent and
roles affect trends in larger society.
Change at Midlife (According to Theories)
Freud- a settled period, personality is formed well before it
Maslow- self-actualization comes w/ maturity
Rogers- full-human functioning requires bringing self in
harmony w/ experience
Trait Models- believed Big 5 is continuous and do not change
after age 30, but research shows slow change in midage (ex:
Conscientiousness is highest in midage due to work
experience, increases in social maturity & emotional stability.
Individual life trajectories affect expression of traits.
Normative stage Models:
1. Jung: Individuation and Transcendence
-healthy midlife development calls for individuation
(emergence of true self through balancing/integration of
conflicting personality parts). Until age 40, adults concentrate
on reaching external goals for family and society. At midlife,
they preoccupy to their inner, spiritual selves. (Giving up
youth image and acknowledging mortality as 2 difficult tasks
of midlife)
2.Erikson: Generativity vs Stagnation
-midlife as an outward turn, thru generativity they find
meaning through contributing to society and leaving legacy
for future generation producing virtue of care (widening
commitment to care of persons, products, ideas) or become
self-absorbed,
self-indulgent,
disconnected
from
communities.
Forms of generativity:
Biological generativity- have offspring
Parental generativity- nurture and guide children
Work generativity- develop skills passed down to others
Cultural generativity- create, renovate, conserve some
aspects of culture that survives
-Generativity is salient during midlife because of demands
placed on adults through work & family, age, strength, and
people vary on it. Women have higher generativity by early
adulthood and fades later. Those with low levels can catch up
w/ peers
Levinson- 30s are for occupational striving, 40s for drastic life
restructuring, 50s for relative stability,men more concerned
with relationships and showed generativity such that midlife
transition is stressful and considered crisis
The Season`s of Mans Life
End of teens- transition from dependence to independence,
marked by formation of a dream about career & family, 2
major tasks: exploring possibilities of adult living &
developing stable life structure
28-33= more serious questions about goals, focus on family &
career dev`t, becoming one`s own man (BOOM) in later
periods and becoming stable in career at 40
40-45= transition to middle adulthood, come to grips with
four major conflicts that existed in life since adolescence: (1)
being young vs being old, (2) being destructive vs being
constructive, (3) being masculine vs being feminine,(4) being
attached to others vs being separated from them (tumultous
and psychologically painful, success relies on effectively
reducing and accepting polarities)
Grant study (Harvard men in 30`s that were also interviewed
as undergraduates)
Vaillant- lessening of gender differentiation at midlife, men
become more nurturant & expressive, forties are decade of
reassessing and recording the truth about adolescent and
adulthood years, only minority of adults experience a midlife
crisis
-cognitive skills and inductive reasoning, peak in midlife, and
many individuals reach the height of their career success in
midlife. Midlife crisis show individual variations
Bernice
Neugartenconcern
for
inner
life
(introspection/introversion) in middle age
Timing of Events ; Social Clock
-social clock describe ages at which people were expected to
reach certain milestones, timing of events suggest
development more affected by events in person`s life than
chronological age as middle adulthood today has blurred
boundaries and meaning of work more variable
Issues and Themes of Self at Midlife
1. Midlife Crisis
-normative-crisis models, stressful life period precipitated by
the review and reevaluation of one’s past, typically in the
early to middle 40s.
-more aware of mortality, considered inaccurate
representation and fairly unusual, some experience it while
others are at their peak,not as stressful as some events of
young adulthood (quarterlife crisis- mid-20s to early 30s,
emerging adults settle to satisfying work and relationships)
-just a turning point (psychological transitions that involve
significant change or transformation in the perceived
meaning, purpose, or direction of a person’s life)
-turning point often involves introspective review and
reappraisal and revision of values and curiosities esp in
midlife at this stage (midlife review). It comes with regret
over failure to achieve dream and awareness of
developmental deadlines (time constraints). Extent to which a
turning point becomes a crisis or not depends on individual
circumstance and resources as having ego-resiliency (ability
to adapt flexibly & resourcefully to potential source of stress)
2. Identity Development
 Susan Krauss Whitbourne: Identity Process Theory (IPT)
-identity is made up of accumulation perceptions of self that
are incorporated into identity schemas (accumulated
perceptions of self shaped by incoming information from
intimate
relationships,
work-related
situations,community,other experiences). Self perceptions
continually revised in response to incoming info.
*Identity assimilation- holding onto a consistent sense of self
in the face of new experiences that do not fit the current
understanding of the self.Overuse may lead to inflexbility and
inability to learn from experience as having difficulty
confronting aging
*Identity accommodation- adjusting the identity schema to fit
new experiences; overuse may make one weak and highly
vulnerable to criticism, as well as overreact to signs of aging
*Identity balance- - ideal, people maintain stable sense of self
while adjusting self-schemas to incorporate new info as
effects of aging
(Erikson saw those who achieved identity had greatest degree
of generativity. Generativity paves way for positive life
outcomes , positive feelings on marriage and motherhood,
and successful aging)
 Narrative Psychology: Identity as Life Story
-view development of self as continuous process of
constructing life story, personal myth to make sense of past,
present, & future. Story provides a person with narrative
identity and view identity as script/story. Midlife is a time of
revision of life story. People`s scripts reflect their
personalities
-Highly generative adults construct generativity scripts w/
theme of redemption (deliverance from suffering,
psychological wellbeing) . Main characters in redemptive
stories had advantaged childhoods but troubled by others`
sufferings, so they give back to society and anticipate future
optimistically.
Life Satisfaction- Most adults of all ages and aces report being
satisfied w/ lives. Reasons include:
*Positive emotions assoc w/ pleasant memories persist and
contrary fades
*Good coping skills, social support (friends & spouses),
religiosit, extraversion and conscientiousness, quality of life &
work are important contributor of life satisfaction
*Physical health, capacity to enjoy life, positive feelings about
self assoc to life satisfaction
*Enhanced life satisfaction an outcome of midlife
review/revision
U-shaped curve- life satisfaction rose and peaked at 65, then
slowly decline. 40s a time of turmoil, 50s high quality of life;
same goes for self-esteem as it increase until middle
adulthood then peak at 60 and decline
Carol Ryff`s Multiple dimensions of Wellbeing
-happiness is multidimensional
-created model of 6 dimensions of wellbeing called Ryff
Wellbeing Inventory, higher score on dimensions has stronger
wellbeing
Gender Identity to Gender Roles
- identity is closely tied to social roles & commitments, and
changing roles & relations in midlife affect gender identity.
Men express more feminine characteristics (open, interest in
intimate relationships, nurturing). Women become more
masculine (assertive, self-confident, achievement-oriented)
-Gutmann saw traditional gender roles to have developed to
ensure children`s wellbeing then after active parenting is over
reversal of gender roles happen (gender crossover). These
changes are normative in preliterate, agricultural societies
but not universal. Little support.
3. Psychological Well being and Positive Mental Health
-positive mental health involves sense of psychological
wellbeing, hand in hand with healthy sense of self
Emotionality- MIDUS survey found gradual average decline in
negative emotions through midlife and beyond. Positive
emotionality increases on average among men but falls
among women in middle age then sharp rise for both sexes in
late adulthood. Physical health had consistent impact on
emotionality in all ages. Marital status and education had
significant impact in middle age (married & highly educated=
more positive emotions). Personalities low in neuroticism,
high in extraversion & conscientiousness tend to feel
happiest (subjective wellbeing)
Midlife Relationships: Theories of Social Contact
 Social Convoy theory
- proposed by Kahn and Antonucci, that people move through
life surrounded by concentric circles of intimate relationships
on which they rely for assistance, well-being, and social
support
-characteristics of a person and his/her situation influence
size & composition of convoy, amount and kinds of social
support received and satisfaction from it. Convoys have longterm stability but composition can change.Middle age in
industrialized countries and women have larger convoys
 Socioemotional selectivity theory (Laura Carstensen)
-assume people select their friends/people based on ability to
meet 3 goals of social interaction: 1)source of info, 2)helps
develop & maintain sense of self, 3)source of pleasure,
comfort, emotional well being.
-Infants seek social contact for emotional comfort,
adolescents and young adults for information seeking, middle
ageds and on for emotional needs
-Relationships are most key to well being for middle ageds.
Having partner and good health are biggest factor for
women`s well being in 50s, Having or not having children has
little difference. Women`s well being can be impaired by their
sense of responsibility and concern for others, explaining
their susceptibility to depression, mental health probs, and
why their unhappier in marriage than men.
Consensual Relationships
1. Marriage
-most commonly, marriages are broken by death and
survivors remarry. More ends in divorce yet those who stay
together can look forward to 20-30 yrs of marriage till last
child leaves.
-Quality of long-time marriages are U-shaped curve. By first
20-24 yrs, the longer married the less satisfied. At 35-44 yrs,
couple is more satisfied than during first 4 yrs. Marital
satisfaction hits bottom at middle age as couple have teenage
children and involved in careers. Satisfaction reaches height
when children are grown, retired/entering, accumulated
assets lessening financial worries. Sexual satisfaction affects
marital satisfaction and stability.
Benefits:
-social support, encourage health promoting behaviors,
greater SES, physically & mentally healthier, longer life. Good
marital relationships buffer against life stressors and
vulnerable to it in contrary(in form of friend/confidante).
Relationship between health and marriage may be mediated
by immune function (bolster/weaken immune functioning).
Midlife women who are divorced, remarried, cohabiting have
higher well being for they see life experience as an asset.
2. Cohabitation
-half as common in midlife as in young adulthood, middle
aged men don`t reap same rewards as married couple.
Cohabiting men likely depressed as they anticipate needing
care wives traditionally provide and worry about not getting
it. For women though, they can enjoy intimate
companionship w/out commitment of formal marriage as
caring for infirm husband
3. Divorce
-more emotionally devastation than losing job, as devastating
as major illness, less devastating as spouse death. Midlife
divorce is hard for women who are more negatively affected
by it at any age. Increases chronic health conditions.
-concept of marital capital (financial and emotional benefits
built up during a long-standing marriage, which tend to hold a
couple together) prevents long-standing marriages to break
up.Finances also prevent it esp for educated couple who
accumulated marital assets and have much to lose.
-Reasons for divorce: Number 1 is partner abuse, then
differing values/lifestyle, infidelity, alcohol/drug abuse, fall
out of love. Another reason is women`s increasing economic
independence. More of a threat to young adults than middle
adults, as they can less adapt to it.
4.Gay and Lesbian Relationships
-quality of their relationship affected by extent to which they
have internalized negative views on homosexuality. Those
who internalized homophobic attitudes, show symptoms of
depression, which affects their self-concept.
-Timing of coming out affects development. Gay men coming
out at midlife undergo prolonged search for identity, marked
w/guilt, heterosexual marriage, conflicted relationships w/
both sexes. Those who come out and accept orientation early
in life cross barriers w/in gay community.Midlife friendships
or fictive kins(gay mens rely) have special importance for
homosexuals.
5.Friendships
-social networks become smaller, more intimate at midlife.
Friendships persist and strong source of emotional support
and wellbeing esp for women (often work, parenting,
neighborhood, volunteer friends). Quality makes up for lack
in quantity of time esp during crisis. Affects health.
Relationships w/ Maturing Children
-parenthood is a process of letting go, such process reaches
its climax during parent`s middle age, deal w. issue of
children soon leaving home. Middle age parents, esp women,
are family kinkeepers (maintain ties among various branches
of extended family). Wellbeing hinged on how children
turnout. Parent-child relationship improve w/ age.
Adolescent children
-middle age parents and adolescent child often live in the
same house where both periods linked w/ emotional crises.
Parents also have to cope w/ children undergoing great
changes.
-some rejection of parental authority is necessary as parents`
task is to accept maturing children as they are and not what
they hoped children would be
-being parents assoc w/ more psychological distress, but
brought greater psychological wellness and generativity.
Mothers w/ adolescent daughters often have close and
conflict-filled relationships.
Empty Nest
-transitional phase of parenting when last child leaves home;
some may have problems adjusting but this is outnumbered
by those who found departure liberating
-brings relief to “chronic emergency of parenthood”, which is
they can now pursue own interests and bask in children`s
accomplishments. This is difficult if children are not
accomplished. Men are more affected by children`s successes
and failures.
-Good marriage= departure of grown children a second
honeymoon and increase marital satisfaction.
-Harder for couples whose identity is dependent on parental
role and now face marital probs they pushed aside due to
parental responsibilities.
Parenting Grown Children
-middle aged parents give more help to children than help
and support they get from young adult establishing career
and family. Adult children`s probs reduce parent`s wellbeing.
Most young adults and parents enjoy each other`s company
 Tight-knit- geographically and emotionally, frequent
contact w/ mutual help & support
 Sociable- less emotional affinity/commitment
 Obligatory relationship- much interaction, little
emotional attachment
 Detached- emotionally and geographically
 Intimate but distant- spend little time together but
retain warm feelings that might lead to renewal of
contact and exchange
(adult children closer to mothers)
Cluttered Nest
-prolonged parenting
 Revolving door syndrome- tendency for young adults
who have left home to return to their parents’
household in times of financial, marital, or other trouble
(esp men)
-lead to intergenerational tension when contradicts parent`s
normative expectations. Delayed departure produce family
stress. Parents and children get along when young adults are
employed and living on their own. When living w/ parents,
relationship is smoother if they see adult child moving toward
autonomy.
-Now, coresidence is seen as expression of family solidarity,
extension of normative expectation of assistance from
parents to children.
Other Kinship Ties
-ties of family origin recede during young adulthood and
reassert during midlife
Relationship w/ aging parents
-middle aged people look at parents objectively (someone w/
strengths & weaknesses and may need care)
-most middle-aged adults and parents have warm,
affectionate relationships. Help and assistance continue from
parent to child (majority in every needs, less commonly in
emergencies and crises).
 Filial maturity- new life stage proposed by Marcoen and
others, in which middle-aged children, as the outcome
of a filial crisis, learn to accept and meet their parents’
need to depend on them
 Filial crisis- Marcoen’s terminology, normative
development of middle age, in which adults learn to
balance love and duty to their parents with autonomy
within a two-way relationship
-More than 25% of relationship between adult children and
aging parent/in-law is characterized by ambivalence (surface
in trying to juggle competing needs). Couples respond more
to needs of wife`s parents (wife is close to)
Caregiving for Aging Parents
-burden of caring for older people may strain relationship,
daughter usually take the role, sons also but less likely
provide primary, personal care
Strains:
-physical, emotional, financial burden
-elderly parents may become dependent at a time when
middle-aged adults need to launch their children or, if
parenthood was delayed, to raise them
-cause marriage probs
 Sandwich generation- Middle-aged adults squeezed by
competing needs to raise or launch children and care for
elderly parents
-women more likely suffer
 Caregiver Burnout- physical, mental, and emotional
exhaustion affecting adults who provide continuous care
for sick or aged persons
-family caregivers regard experience as rewarding, caregiving
is an opportunity for personal growth in competence,
compassion, self-knowledge, and self-transcendence
Relationship w/ Siblings
-sibling ties are longest relationship in most people, most
contact at childhood and middle to late adulthood, least
contact during child-rearing years. Sibling conflict diminish w/
age. Sisters closer than brothers. Care for aging parents can
bring them closer or cause resentment & conflict.
Grandparenthood
-begins before end of active parenting, usually 45,
grandparenting is most valued aspect of getting older.
Middle-aged grandparents tend to be married, active in their
communities, and employed thus less available to help out
with grandchildren, also likely to be raising one or more
children.
-in Latin America and Asia, extendedfamily households
predominate, and grandparents play an integral role in child
raising and family decisions. In US, extended family is more
common in minority groups and households are more nuclear.
-grandmothers have closer, warmer, more affectionate
relationships
with
their
grandchildren
(especially
granddaughters) than grandfathers do, and see them more.
Having frequent contact makes them feel good about
grantparenthood.
-after divorce and remarriage, grandparents and
grandchildren may sever relationships. More contact and
stronger relationship to maternal than paternal grandparents.
 Skip-generation families- grandparents as sole/primary
caregivers for grandchildren
 Parents by default- for children whose parents unable
to care for them
 Surrogate parenting by grandparents
 Kinship care- care of children living without parents in
the home of grandparents or other relatives, with or
without a change of legal custody
-age difference can become a barrier, and both generations
may feel cheated out of their traditional roles.Grandparents
have to deal with a sense of guilt because the adult children
they raised have failed their own children, and with the
rancor they may feel toward adult children. For some
caregiver couples, the strains produce tension in their
relationship. If one or both parents resume their normal roles,
it may be emotionally wrenching to return the child.
LATE ADULTHOOD
-aging is generally seen as undesirable
Ageism- prejudice or discrimination against a person (most
commonly an older person) based on age
Graying of Population
-global population is aging. In 2010, nearly 524 million people
worldwide were age 65 or older, by 2050 the total population
in that age group projected to reach 1.5 billion
-fastest growing age group are people in their 80s and older
-due to high immigration rates in early to mid-20th century
and trend toward smaller families
 primary aging- gradual, inevitable process of bodily
deterioration throughout the life span
 secondary aging- aging processes that result from
disease and bodily abuse and disuse and are often
preventable (nurture)
 Young old= 65 to74 (active, vital, vigorous)
 Old old= 75 to 84
 Oldest age= 85 above (frail, infirm, difficulty managing
activities of daily living (essential activities that support
survival, such as eating, dressing, bathing, and getting
around the house)
 Functional age- measure of a person’s ability to function
effectively in his or her physical and social environment
in comparison with others of the same chronological age
 Gerontology- Study of the aged and the process of aging
 Geriatrics- branch of medicine concerned with aging,
are concerned with differences among the elderly
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
life expectancy- age to which a person in a particular
cohort is statistically likely to live (given his or her
current age and health status), on the basis of average
longevity of a population, gains in this reflect declines in
mortality (death rates)
New view of LE: number of years a person can expect to live
in good health, free of disabilities
 Longevity- length of an individual’s life. life span The
longest period that members of a species can live
 life span- longest period that members of a species can
live
Life expectancy is influenced by:
 Gender differences- women live longer & have lower
mortality rates at all ages than men (attributed to
women`s taking care of selves, seeking medical care,
higher level of social support, rise in women`s SES). Gap
between sexes narrowed to 5 years
 Regional and Racial/Ethnic Differences- child born in
developed country expected to live 14 yrs more than
child in developing country, most dramatic
improvement in East Asia (expectancy grew from 45 yrs
to 74). Almost all nation improved except for Africa
(AIDS epidemic). African american men more vulnerable
than white americans to illness & death from infancy to
middle adulthood. Hispanic Americans have highest life
expectancy (81.2 yrs).

WHY PEOPLE AGE
Senescence- period of the life span marked by declines in
physical functioning usually associated with aging; begins at
different ages for different people
2 theories about biological aging:
1. Genetic-programming theories- biological aging resulting
from genetically determined developmental timetable,
studies show genetic diff account for 1/4 of variance in adult
human life span, genetic influence stronger after 60, many
gene variants w/ small effects
 Epigenesis- aging influenced by genes switching on and
off (by molecular tags/instructions) after age-related
losses occur; involve changes in expression of genes (not
in genetic code), epigenetic changes are dynamic &
modificable by environmental influences
 Process within cells
-mitochondria help cells survive under stress, but its
fragmentation prompted cell to self-destruct thus majorly
causing aging
-telomeres, become shorter everytime a cell divides. When
cells no longer divide, body loses ability to repair damaged
tissue thus aging begins, related to early death predicting
how many years will you be healthy
 Endocrine theory- biological clock acts through genes
that control hormonal changes, related to it are losses in
muscle strength, fat accumulation, atrophy of organs

Immunological theory- certain genes cause problem in
the immune system increasing susceptibility to diseases,
infections, and cancer
 Evolutionary theory of aging- reproductive fitness is
primary aim of natural selection; if a trait favoring
reproductive output in the young is present, it will be
spread throughout the population, even if effects are
damaging to the individual later in life.Natural selection
results in energy resources being allocated to protect
and maintain body until reproduction, but not after
reproduction (such time,the molecular integrity of the
body cells and systems deteriorate beyond the body’s
ability to repair them.
2. Variable-rate theories/Error theories- biological aging as
result of processes that involve damage to biological systems
and vary from person to person; damage due to chance
errors or environmental assaults in biological systems
 Wear-and-tear theory- body ages as result of
accumulated damage to system at molecular level.As
cells age, some become damaged or useless and must
be replaced in order for organs and body systems to
function effectively. If person’s body is unable to do this,
it runs down
 Free-radical theory- aging results from formation of free
radicals, a by-product of metabolic processes which
damage cell membranes, cell proteins, fats,
carbohydrates, and DNA. Free-radical damage
accumulates with age and associated with arthritis,
muscular dystrophy, cataracts, cancer, late-onset
diabetes, and neurological disorders as Parkinson’s
disease.
-Antioxidants are molecules that stabilize the action of free
radicals and theoretically might be used to prevent their
negative effects
 Rate-of-living theory- postulates that there is balance
between metabolism, or energy use, and life span;
reduced calorie diets, which result in slowed metabolism,
increase longevity across variety of species
 Autoimmune theory- aging immune system can become
“confused” and release antibodies that attack body’s
own cells, this autoimmunity is thought to be
responsible for some aging-related diseases and
disorder
Extend Life Span?
 Luigi Cornario- Italian nobleman, people can control
length and quality of their lives by practicing moderation
in all things
 Centenarians- people who lived past 100
 Survival curve- curve on a graph showing percentage of
people or animals alive at various ages, humans curve
ends at roughly 100 yrs
 Hayflick limit (Leonard Hayflick)
- Genetically controlled limit, on the number of times cells
can divide in members of a specie, limit estimated at 110 yrs,
maximum life span for humans is at 126 yrs
-research suggests it is possible to delay senescence
-dietary restriction (inspired by rate-of-living theory)extend
life in all studied animal species and can have effects on
human aging and life expectancy
PHYSICAL CHANGES
-skin becomes paler, less elastic, fat and muscle shrink, then
wrinkle; varicose veins appear, head hair thins, grays, whites
become sparse. Become shorter as invertebral disks atrophy.
Women experience osteoporosis. Thinning of bones cause
kyphosis (dowager`s hump, 50-59), bone chemical
composition changes and has greater risk for fractures
1.Organic and Systematic Changes
-highly varied, older adults` chronic stress related to chronic
low-grade inflammation, digestive system remains efficient,
slower & irregular heart rhythm, fat deposits accumulate
around the heart, blood pressure rises
 reserve capacity/organ reserve (ability of body organs
and systems to put forth 4 to 10 times as much effort as
usual under acute stress), drops w/ age that`s why they
can`t respond to extra physical demands
2.Aging Brain
-brain’s continued flexibility and plasticity is responsible for
the fact that although processing speed, memory, and
inhibition all decline with advanced age, there are increases
in prefrontal activity
-brains of older adults show diffused activation when
engaged in cognitive tasks than younger adults
(compensatory)
-brain gradually diminish in volume & weight(attributed
before to neuronal loss-which isn`t actually substantial &
doesn`t affect cognition)
-decrease in number/density of dopamine neurotransmitters
due to losses of synapses (neuronal connections) resulting to
slow response time
-myelin sheating is assoc w/ cognitive & motor declines by
mid-50s
-DNA damage in genes affecting learning & memory
-older brains can grow new nerve cells through stem cells
-physical activity + cognitive challenges are most effective in
promoting growth of new cells in hippocampus
-amygdala show lessened response to negative but not
positive events
Sensory & Psychomotor Functioning
-indiv diff in these two increase w/ age
1.Vision and hearing
-older eyes need more light to see, have trouble locating &
reading signs, difficulty w/ depth/color perception, loses in
visual contrast sensitivity cause difficulty reading very
small/very light print, women are more impaired
Cataracts- cloudy or opaque areas in the lens of the eye,
which cause blurred vision
 Age-related macular degeneration- Condition in which
the center of the retina gradually loses its ability to
discern fine details; leading cause of irreversible visual
impairment in older adults
*macula- small spot in center of retina helping us keep
objects directly in our line of sight`s focus
 Glaucoma- irreversible damage to the optic nerve
caused by increased pressure in the eye, cause blindness
if untreated, early treatment lowers eye pressure &
delay onset, 2nd leading cause of blindness
-On hearing loss, men more likely experience, white people
over black, hearing aids can help though expensive and
magnify background noises, changes in environmental design
can help
2. Strength, Endurance, Balance, Reaction Time
-lose 10-20% strength at age 70 beyond; endurance declines
esp in women, declined muscle strength(natural
aging+decreased activity+disease)
-losses are partly reversible; weight training, power training,
or resistance training programs lasting 8 weeks to 2 years
increased muscle strength, size, and mobility; speed,
endurance, and leg muscle power; and spontaneous physical
activity (weight training more effective than physical therapy);
taekwondo effective in improving balance and walking ability
-falls and injuries are leading cause of elderly hospitalization
3. Sleep
-older people sleep & dream less, restricted hrs of deep sleep,
awaken more easily due to physical problems, light exposure,
changes in circadian rhythm`s ability to regulate
Chronic insomnia (sleeplessness) can be a symptom of or
forerunner of depression, can be treated w/ benzodiazepine
and CBT
4. Sexual Functioning
-consistent sexual activity (most important factor in
maintaining sexual functioning)
-men more likely remain sexually active in old age and more
likely to have spouse/partner, but take longer to erect and
ejaculate. Women`s breast engorgement and other sexual
arousal signs are less intense. Health problems more likely to
affect in both sexes.
-sexual activity in older people is normal and healthy, interest
in and having sex strongly related to life satisfaction,
cognitive functioning, and psychological wellbeing

PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH
1. Health status
-poor health inevitable, poverty strongly related to poor
health and limited access to and use of healthcare
2.Chronic Conditions and Disabilities
-leading causes of death at age 60 and above are heart
disease, stroke, chronic pulmonary disease, lower respiratory
infections, and lung cancer (worldwide). Many could be
prevented by healthy lifestyle.
-cancer deaths have declined
-hypertension
and
diabetes
increasing
in
prevalence,hypertension affect 56 and 19% older population
and risk factor for stroke
-most common chronic conditions are arthritis (50 percent),
heart disease (31 percent), and cancer (21 percent)
3.Disabilities & Activity Limitations
-proportion of older adults w/ chronic physical
disabilities/activity limitations declined perhaps due in part to
increasing number of older people who are educated and
knowledgeable about preventive measures. But proportion of
people who have difficulty with functional activities
sharply rising w/ age
Lifestyle influences on Health & Longevity:
1.Physical Activity
-lifelong program of exercise may prevent many physical
changes once associated with normal aging, may improve
mental alertness and cognitive performance, help relieve
anxiety and mild depression, and enhance feelings of mastery
and well-being, moderate intensity aerobic activity is
beneficial to wellbeing
2.Nutrition
-older women than men have healthier diets
-Nutrition plays large part in susceptibility to chronic illnesses
as atherosclerosis, heart disease, diabetes as well as
functional and activity limitation. Excessive body fat linked to
several cancer types.
-Excesisve weight loss= muscle weakness & frailty, as
debilitating as weight gain
-diet high in olive oil, whole grains, vegetables, and nuts has
found to reduce cardiovascular risk ,in combination with
physical activity, moderate alcohol use, refraining from
smoking—cut 10-year mortality from all causes in healthy 70to 90-year-old. Vitamin C lowers risk for cancer & heart
disease
 Peridontal disease- chronic gum inflammation, caused
by plaque bacteria and lead to eventual teeth loss,
adults w/ fewer than 20 teeth suffer malnutrition
Mental and Behavioral Problems
-Many older people with mental and behavioral problems
tend not to seek help for their issues (primary reason:
difficulty accessing support services, and shortage of trained
mental health professionals
1.Depression
-heredity accounts 40-50% risk, vulnerability result from
interaction of multiple genes and environmental factors
-often coupled w/ medical conditions, played more pervasive
role in mental functional status, disability, quality of life
2.Dementia
-deterioration of cognitive and behavioral functioning due to
physiological causes, cognitive impairment increases w/ age
and not inevitable (most forms of dementia reversible)
 Alzheimer`s
diseaseprogressive,
irreversible,
degenerative brain disorder characterized by cognitive
deterioration and loss of control of bodily functions,
leading to death
 Parkinson`s
diseaseProgressive,
irreversible
degenerative neurological disorder, characterized by
tremor, stiffness, slowed movement, and unstable
posture
 The previous 2 along with multi-infarct dementia (MD),
caused by a series of small strokes, account for at least 8
out of 10 irreversible cases of dementia
-high extraversion, low neuroticism, high conscientiousness
protect from developing dementia, cognitive characteristics
can also buffer, education is protective, along w/ lifelong
bilingualism, early life high linguistic ability, drinking small
amounts of alcohol, exercise program (even late in life)
3.Alzheimer`s disease
-one of the most common and most feared terminal illness
among aged people, 6th leading cause of death in US
Symptoms:
-memory impairment, deterioration of language,deficits in
visual and spatial processing, inability to recall recent
events/take in new info.,early signs may be overlooked
because they look like ordinary forgetfulness/may be
interpreted as signs of normal aging (most prominent
-personality changes (rigidity, apathy, egocentricity, impaired
emotional control) occur in its early development
Causes & Risk factors:
- main culprit: accumulation of abnormal protein called beta
amyloid peptide
-excessive amounts of neurofibrillary tangles(twisted masses
of protein fibers found in brains of persons with Alzheimers
disease); and excessive amounts of amyloid plaque(waxy
chunks of insoluble tissue found in brains of person`s with AD)
-age onset heritable; APOE gene contribute to susceptibility
to late-onset AD(most common, after after age 65); SORLI
gene stimulate formation of amyloid plaque; Cathepsine D
gene(involved in manufacture of amyloid precursors),
Epigenetic decided which gene is activated
-Diet and physical activity implicated for those w/ genetic
risk;food rich in Vitamin E, Omega-3, fatty acids,
unhydrogenated unsaturated fats are protective; use of
NSAIDs cut risk;education and cognitive stimulation reduced
risk (due to how ongoing cognitive activity build cognitive
reserve and delay onset of dementia)
*cognitive reserve- hypothesized fund of energy that may
enable deteriorating brain to continue to function normally
Diagnosis & Prediction:
-AD can only be diagnosed effectively w/ postmortem
examination of brain tissue, neuroimaging is useful in
including alternative causes of dementia; and allowing
researchers to see brain lesions indicative of AD in living
patient
-reduced metabolic activity in hippocampus on healthy adults
predicts who will get Alzheimer`s or related memory
impairment
-certain blood tests and EEG results may predict AD in early
stages
-degenerative changes in brain structure forecast AD (less
gray matter in memory processing area of brain)
-cognitive tests distinguish normal and functioning related to
AD
-women with densely packed ideas in autobiographies were
least likely to be cognitively impaired or develop AD
-genetic testing has limited role in diagnosis & testing
Treatment:
-no cure, early diagnosis and treatment can slow progress; 5
drugs slow progression: including memantine (nameda)
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Aspects of Cognitive Dev`t
1.Intelligence & Processing Abilities
-speed of mental processes and abstract reasoning decline,
declines in functioning are inevitable and preventable
-impact of cognitive changes influenced by earlier cognitive
ability, SES, and educational status, higher childhood
intelligence predict overall level of functioning
 Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)
- intelligence test yielding verbal and performance scores and
combined score
-older adults perform as well as younger adults on WAIS, but
diff is primarily in processing speed and nonverbal
performance scores dropping with age, verbal scores fall only
slightly (Classic aging pattern). This pattern is a consequence
of muscular and neurological slowing. Less declines likely for
tasks not requiring speed
Seattle Longitudinal Study of Adult Intelligence: Use it or lose
it
-measured six primary mental abilities: verbal meaning, word
fluency, number (computational ability), spatial orientation,
inductive reasoning, and perceptual speed
-perceptual speed declines earliest and most rapidly, fairly
healthy older adults showed only small losses until the late
60s or 70s. Not until the 80s did they fall below the average
performance of younger adults
-men w. low educational levels most likely show declines,
dissatisfied w/ success in life, and exhibited significant
decrease in flexibility of personality
-participants engaged in cognitively complex work and good
in health retain abilities longer
-cognitive training enable older adults to recover lost
competence and surpass their previous attainments,cognitive
deterioration is related to disuse
Everyday Problem-solving
-has not been found early decline and some research show
their improvement (familiarity)
--age diff reduced in studies focused on interpersonal
problems than on instrumental problems
Changes in Processing Abilities
-general slowdown in central nervous system functioning is
major contributor to losses of efficiency of information
processing and changes in cognitive abilities. Speed of
processing, one of the first abilities to decline. Ease switching
from one task to another slows.
-Folic acid (B-12), vitamin D have facilitative effect on
cognitive
processes
(memory,
processing
speed,
sensorimotor speed)
-older adults naturally compensate for losses by showing
fewer negative moods and more positive moods, using vast
reservoir of knowledge, and doing better at tasks on
ingrained habits and knowledge
Cognitive Abilities and Mortality
-boys who scored an average of 15 points higher on an IQ test
were 79 percent more likely to live to age 76
-reaction time at age 56 more strongly predicted mortality by
age 70 than did IQ, suggesting that efficiency of information
processing may explain the link between intelligence and
timing of death. Intelligent people learn information and
problem-solving skills that help them prevent chronic disease
and accidental injury and cooperate in their treatment
Memory
1. Short-term memory
-assessed by asking a person to repeat sequence of numbers
the way they are presented (digit span forward, holds up w/
age) or in reverse (digit span backward, doesn`t hold up w/
age) . Forward repetition requires sensory memory. Backward
repetition requires working memory.
sensory memory- initial, brief, temporary storage of sensory
information, retains through life
working memory- short-term storage of information being
actively processed, shrinks w/age
-key factor in memory performance is the complexity of the
task. Tasks that require only rehearsal, or repetition, show
very little decline. Tasks that require reorganization or
elaboration show greater falloff
2.Long-term Memory
3 major systems:
 Episodic memory
-long-term memory of specific experiences or events, linked
to time and place, older adults lesser able than YAs as they
focus more on the gist than details
 Semantic memory
-long-term memory of general factual knowledge, social
customs, and language (meanings, facts, concepts
accumulated), mental encyclopedia,little decline w/ age
though infrequent /highly specific info may sometimes be
difficult to retrieve. Vocabulary and knowledge of language
rules increase w/ age
 Procedural memory
-relatively unaffected, characteristic of automaticity, new
procedural memories formed in old age may be retained for
at least 2 years
3.Speech and Memory
-minor difficulties in language w/ getting older resulting from
problems of accessing and retrieving info from memory (thus
considered memory rather than language problems), Tip of
the tongue phenomenon more common w/ age, errors in
naming pictures of objects aloud, more ambiguous references
and slips of the tongue in everyday speech, more use of
nonfluencies (such as “um” and “er”) in speech, and tendency
to misspell words (such as indict ) that are spelled differently
than they sound,declines in the complexity of grammar
Reasons to Memory Systems Decline:
1.Neurological change
-decline in info processing is fundamental contributor to agerelated memory loss esp involved dysfunction in frontal lobes
causing false remembering and early decline in prefrontal
cortex leading to inability to pay attention and difficulty
performing task w/ several steps.
-Lesions in hippocampus and other brain structures involved
in episodic memory result in loss of recent memories
-brain often compensates for age-related declines in
specialized regions by tapping other regions to help (older
adults used both left and right frontal lobes to compensate
for harder tasks, using more brain areas than YAs)
-brain`s ability to shift functions help explain why symptoms
of Alzheimer`s disease often do not appear until disease is
well advanced
2.Problems in Encoding, Storage, and Retrieval
-older adults have greater difficulty encoding new episodic
memories because of difficulties in forming and later recalling
coherent and cohesive episode, less efficient and precise in
using memory strategies
-“storage failure” may occur with age, however, traces of
decayed memories are likely to remain, and it may be
possible to reconstruct them, or at least to relearn the
material speedily. It appears memories that contain an
emotional component are more resistant to the effects of
decay
Wisdom
-defined as “exceptional breadth and depth of knowledge
about the conditions of life and human affairs and reflective
judgment about the application of this knowledge. Involve
insight and awareness of the uncertain, paradoxical nature of
reality and may lead to transcendence, detachment from
preoccupation with the self”.
-Some theorists define it an extension of postformal thought,
a synthesis of reason and emotion.Wisdom is the ability to
navigate the messiness of life. People who are wise are also
comfortable with uncertainty and understand that different
people have different viewpoints and that sometimes there is
no one right answer
-most extensive research conducted by Paul Baltes and
colleagues, participants showed more wisdom on decisions
applicable to their own life stage
-wisdom is not necessarily a property of old age—or of any
age. It is a rare and complex phenomenon that shows relative
stability or slight growth in certain individuals.Personality and
life experience— either direct or vicarious—may contribute
to it as well as guidance from mentors