Infant and Child Lecture Notes
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DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
Developmental psychology: the study of how people change
physically, mentally, and socially throughout the lifespan. Not
temporary changes (or are they), illness, growth spurt, When
does a person stop developing? If never then what is the
artificial concept / prototype human?
If humans are always changing, how do we get a baseline?
Every psychological study has the confounding variable of age.
Continuity view
Discontinuity view / Stage
Theories
Heritability – how much
do genetics influence
behavior or a trait?
development is gradual
and smooth
development is
disconnected stages
Environmentability – how much
the environment or culture
influences a trait or behavior
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VS.
These are abstract
concepts that apply to
a population – not an
individual. You can’t
say that any one
person’s shyness is
due to one gene or
one part of the
environment.
Genotype: the underlying genetic make-up of a particular
individual 1. DNA
2. Gene
3. Chromosome
Epigenetics – just cause you have a gene, doesn’t mean it is
active
Maturationism – children grow according to genetic instructions
and environment plays a secondary role
XXY
Xtra 21st chromosome
Down Syndrome
Missing X chromosome
Turner’s Syndrome
Xtra 23rd chromosome
Klinefelter’ syndrome
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Phenotype: refers to the traits that are actually
displayed
• Dominant Genes
• Recessive Genes – blond hair – red hair
➢ Genetic disease
• Polygenic – many traits are controlled by more than 1 gene
• Some genes often occur together –
What about eye color gene and behavioral gene? Scary
o Genes and behavior are bidirectional –
o Environmental input and mental habits
o Epigenetics – study of how environment
affects genes
o Methylation – process by which genes turn off due to
protein interaction
▪ Maternal stress hormones can change which
genes are turned on and turned off
PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT – just as we must study the
environment of what makes a person act a certain way, we must
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study the prenatal environment to discuss a baby’s mental
health.
Placenta: - a filter, allowing oxygen & nutrients to pass through,
while keeping out some toxic or harmful substances.
Amniocentesis: a test for genetic abnormalities – ETHICS! a
medical test done between weeks 14 and 20 of pregnancy,
Very
fragile
• Germinal (zygotic) Period: the first 2 weeks of prenatal
development. The zygote
undergoes rapid cell division
before becoming implanted on the 2 most likely
stages for a
uterine wall.
miscarriage
• Embryonic Stage: the 3rd week –
8th week. It is a period of rapid
growth & cell differentiation. The
organs & major systems of the body form genes on the
sex chromosomes & hormonal influences trigger the
initial development of the sex organs.
• A. Cephalocaudal – C.N.S. top to bottom
• B. Proximaldistal – inside out
• Fetal Stage: the final & longest stage of prenatal
development. The next 7 months the body systems grow
& reach maturity in preparation for life outside the
mother’s body Myelination
Infant and Child Lecture Notes
Teratogens: - prenatal poisons -harmful agents of substances
that can cause abnormal development or birth defects. The
greatest vulnerability to teratogens occurs during the embryonic
stage.
o The mother’s own hormones
o Stress
o Testosterone levels
▪ All babies are pretty much female at conception
▪ Too little vs too much?
▪ When should testosterone exposure happen?
• Radiation: high rate of cancers, physical deformities
• industrial chemicals – mental retardation
• diseases: depend on the disease
AIDS syphilis –
rubella• Marijuana: anxious, irritable infant
• Alcohol - F.A.S.
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: is caused by
heavy maternal drinking during
pregnancy, especially in the first 12
weeks. It can result in a combination of
physical changes and psychological
deficits, such as degrees of mental
retardation & hyperactivity
Change in medicine. 40 years
ago, it was OK to have alcohol
while pregnant
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INFANCY
Babies can do more than we used to think
they can – they can fake cry!
1. Though the cerebral cortex is not yet mature – some
parts of the brain are ‘wired’ randomly within
genetic parameters
2. Parts associated with learning grow(are more plastic) more
than parts associated with sensation
3. babies have too many neurons and synapses
4. Synaptic “pruning” of neurons and synapses
a. This does not stop until age 25
5. reflex actions. Sucking, rooting, facial
mimicry, swimming, standing
6. body is out of proportion but arms and legs
grow to catch up to the ridiculously big drooling
head
7. 70% of the time newborns are asleep – but
not during
the night!
REM is when synapses are formed & pruned
entrainment Maturationism – children grow according to genetic
instructions and environment plays a secondary role
Infant and Child Lecture Notes
Physical Development
Vision
1. They do not yet have a fovea (no cones).
2. Eye movements are slow and jerky
3. Gradually they look longer
a. attention span?
b. Muscle control?
4. Vision = 20:600
5. Infants “like” large patterns
Visual Cliff
1. Young baby can’t perceive cliff
2. After 9 months can see, depend on
mommy for information
Hearing - at 1 day infants can discriminate in tones that are 1
note apart - evolution
1. does not develop fully for years
2. does that explain why little kids don’t listen?
3. Newborns like female, high-pitched, rising sounds =
baby talk
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Oral signals
1. Like sweet tastes & smells
2. Can distinguish between their mother’s milk and others –
evolution – breast milk has immune supporters
Motor skills
Nature = all humans are genetically programmed to know
how to stand up
Nurture = babies learn to stand up because of
environmental cues
Recent research shows environment plays a factor but
only when development reaches a certain stage – critical
stage
You can’t teach someone something until they are ready
for it! - Would Watson, Skinner, Thordike, Pavlov agree?
Month
Physical Ability Acquired
1
can hold chin up
3
can reach for an object
4
can sit up, with support
7
can sit alone
8
can stand with help
11
can walk when led
14
can stand alone
15
can walk alone
Preschool Age child:
o Physical- to toddle = awkward walking. gradually feet
moved closer together when walking
o Mental grasping & drawing ability improves
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Middle Childhood: body grows rapidly, motor skills
continue to improve, girls match & exceed growth of boys
by age 10,
o boys -better gross motor skills
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o girls - better fine motor skills
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Moral Development – there is increasing evidence
humans are basically prosocial
Yale baby study – babies were shown a puppet show where
one shape doesn’t help another shape. Babies universally prefer
the one who is hurt vs. the one who does the hurting.
Lawrence Kohlberg – moral development stages
Heinz Dilemma – it’s not what you say it’s why
1. preconventional a. obedience and punishment
b. exchange of favors
2. conventional
a. interpersonal relationships
a. authority & social order
3. postconventional a. social contract
b. universal principles
Language development
-
Early views were based on reinforcement (skinner)
Chomsky disagreed L.A.D.(language acquisition device)
Babies understand more than they can say
Cooing – 2 months old - vowel sounds
Babbling - 6 months old add consonant
Holophrases – one word phrases Telegraphic speech – “juice spill” only use words that
have meaning
- Whole sentences
Bilingual brains are structurally different and have more
synapses
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Memory of children
12
5 years old
1. Freud said we repress troubling memories – but few
childhood memories are troubling or are they?
2. Some cognitive psychologists think since young kids don’t
have a sense of self, they can’t remember well – no schema
3. Earlier memories are implicit rather than explicit.
4. maybe we do not have language skills to help us encode stuff.
– specifics get blurred
5. Biological psychologists say our brain(hippocampus) is not
mature enough to chemically store the basis of memories
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Mental Development - Cognitive
development is affected by an enriched
environment –
Environmental factors (SES) are huge in a
child’s cognitive development parents
reading, different languages, siblings,
educational games, books in the home,
computers, internet access, family expectations,-
POVERTY CAUSES BRAIN DAMAGE
There is a critical period when children must develop certain
things. If stimulation or instruction is not given during that
time, the window closes and the person will not develop
correctly.
• Visual cortex – kittens – Hubel & Weisel
• No plasticity
Sensitive period start and end gradually – afterwards learning is
still possible
• Language
• plasticity
Lev Vygotsky – stressed the mental interaction of children with
more advanced children and adults
Scaffolding – “teachers” start the learning process
Zone of proximal development – what a child can do
with the help of a “teacher” - different than IQ
Cooperative learning
Reciprocal learning
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Jean Piaget Different stages- it’s not that adult minds have more
quantity – they have different qualities.
Piaget introduced the idea of SCHEMA a representation of how
the world works
1. assimilation – fit small, new info into existing schema
2. accommodation – replace old schema to accommodate
new info
schema of doggie changes when kid sees a horse
STAGE 1 = sensorimotor “Thoughts” are confined to
sensing and doing there is no real cognition
1. Thinking = doing
2. This ends when infants can think outside of here and now
Object permanence
3. In very young infants even partially visible things will not
trigger “thoughts”
a. When they do look for a missing thing, it is random
searching that is quick to end
b. 18-24 months is time when children learn things exist
without them
-is the age of onset a cue about future
intelligence?
Piaget’s observations were primitive. He could not gather
accurate data so his theory might be a little off. With advanced
tests, psychologists have found infants do “think” at an early
age.
- simple addition
- videos and sound tracks
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- Piaget’s test of object permanence was difficult –
requiring a child to pull a blanket off a hidden toy –
infants might know it is their but be unable to do
anything about it.
Renee Baillargeon – showed infants impossible feats of
gravity. Infants stared longest at these suggesting they
have some idea of basic physical components.
Mental models
STAGE 2 pre-operational period
Gaining the idea of conservation – a thing is what it is
despite what it looks like
two water glasses – kids watched the
same amount of fluid being poured into
each BUT they always said the taller
glass held more.
STAGE 3 Concrete Reasoning logical 6 or 7 to adolescence
thinking is no longer only dictated by what they can see lack of
abstract reasoning
1. They can add, subtract, etc.
2. But only on concrete things they know exists
3. Not on abstract things such as justice or freedom
STAGE 4 Formal reasoning philosophical the adolescent is
capable of abstract thought
7th grade girl
SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
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Konrad Lorenz showed the
idea of imprinting –
waterfowl will think the first
thing they see as their mother
Early bond after birth?
Maybe but adoptive
parents form an equally
strong bond
Emotional development
• Babies have a rich emotional life – Still Face
• Prolonged emotional neglect causes brain damage
• Visual Cliff –
o 1.trust / emotional feedback –older
o 2. Can’t perceive depth – younger
• Babies practice emotions by mimicking facial
expressions
✓ Many studies show that infants prefer to look at children’s
faces and toothy grins. They also seem to be able to pick
up on the mother’s moods. They look away if the mother is
acting cranky.
✓ From first months, children are attracted to other people
and they are attractive to other people
✓ Psychologists study games, morality, learning society’s
rules, and language acquisition
Infant and Child Lecture Notes
Temperament – personality. Nature and nurture
1. easy babies – most common, get hungry and sleepy at
regular times
2. difficult babies are irritable and irregular
3. slow-to-warm-up babies
These temperaments are relatively permanent. But,
environment can play a key.
Self-concept: will develop through identification with parents,
esp. if the parents have high status, power, and competence,
similarity to the child, warmth, affection, and regard for the
child.
Egocentrism: children cannot see the world from another’s
perspective (and teens with their parents)
Strange Situation Study - Mary Ainsworth
• This is not based on temperament
• This is based on attachment to a specific caregiver
1. Secure attachment will calm down shortly when
mother returns from an absence. They show greater
resilience, self-control, and curiosity when they
reach preschool.
2. Anxious-avoidant attachment infants avoid Is this
predictive?
& ignore their mother when she returns
3. anxious-resistant attachment infants will seem
angry at mothers and will resist being comforted
4. Disorganized attachment – child seems to
physically not be able to respond
What happens when
mommy returns?
Ask your
parent
about you
and your
siblings!
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Harry Harlow – wanted to prove love was a
need
Contact Comfort: clinging to mother and
objecting when she is out of sight – need a
warm, soft object.
• primary reinforcer
• biological need Maslow
Why are some infants active? Why are some
sleepy? Why are some fearful? Why do some approach new
things with enthusiasm?
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ADOLESCENCE – multi-dimensional
1. Physical
2. Intellectual
3. emotional
4. Social
5. financial
It has gotten longer with each generation = protracted
Begin – onset of puberty
Begins earlier nowadays
1. Better healthcare
2. Hormones in food supply?
End – it depends
• a big factor is when is self-sufficiency reached
The word “Teenager” didn’t appear until 1941
G. Stanley Hall:
• A time of “storm and stress”
o Research shows this isn’t actually true
• individual development parallels the evolution of
the species – Recapitulation: each child would pass
through all earlier stages of human existence before
reaching adulthood
Erikson Identity vs. Role confusion
Freud: Genital stage
Piaget: Formal Operations (adolescence) can now
think about abstract things he has not perceptually
experienced, hypothetical states,
o Idealism: person can contemplate hypothetical,
possible worlds and may become concerned with
ideas/ideals over reality (may not meet their
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standards). Begin to question morality based on
rules & authority
o Teens are becoming good at seeing
inconsistencies. “why can we be drafted but
we can’t buy alcohol?!”
James Marcia – elaborated on Erikson’s idea of teenagers
1. Foreclosure commitment to a role is made without
exploring alternatives
2. Identity diffusion the teen will not choose a role and
will remain “floating” between – Adam Sandler
3. Moratorium – “actively” subconsciously engaged in a
struggle to find out who they are
4. Identity achievement - settling on a firm, not rigid idea
of self
David Elkind’s idea of ego-centrism – based on selfconsciousness based on personal fable
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Erikson Stages - Psycho-Social
Stage
Basic Conflict
Important
Events
Infancy (birth to
18 months)
Trust vs.
Mistrust
Feeding
Toddlerhood (2
to 3 years)
Autonomy vs.
Shame and
Doubt
Toilet Training
Preschooler (3
to 5 years)
Initiative vs.
Guilt
Exploration
Elementary
School (6 to 11
years)
Industry vs.
Inferiority
School
Adolescence (12
Identity vs.
to 18 years)
Role Confusion
Personal
identity &
Social
Relationships
Young
Adulthood (19
to 40 years)
Intimacy vs.
Isolation
Relationships
Middle
Adulthood (40
to 65 years)
Generativity
vs. Stagnation
Work and
Parenthood
Late
Adulthood(65 to
death)
Ego Integrity
vs. Despair
Reflection on
Life
Outcome
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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
Puberty: the ability to reproduce (girls = 12, boys = 14)
1. Menarche: start of puberty for girls is the onset of
their first menstrual period
2. Spermarche: first ejaculation
3. Primary sexual characteristics: traits related to
reproduction (enlargement of sex organs)
4. Secondary Sex Characteristics: traits which have no
effect on physical reproduction,
Klinefelter’s Syndrome- boys have an extra 18th
chromosome and are often obese and less
masculine
Age of onset and self-esteem
• Early Maturing Girls: may be more shy, introverted, rate
lower on social skills, try drugs earlier
• Early Maturing Boys: more confidence, relaxed, socially
responsible, highly regarded by others
Developmental Differences: girls develop faster than boys,
speak more fluently earlier, and suffer from fewer speech
defects. Boys tend to behave more aggressively and have a more
difficult time gaining autonomy from their parents (girls demand
less independence)
Girls have more “emotional” internal regulatory issues,
depression and self-esteem issue.
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Sex is defined as the biological differences between male and
female. Sex roles are behaviors dependent on sex. Example:
Breast feeding.
Gender is the behavior patterns deemed appropriate for men
(masculine behaviors) and women (feminine behaviors)
Sexual orientation represents who a person is attracted to,
whether physically or emotionally
Gender Identity is how a person thinks about himself or herself
regardless of what their physical sex is
Gender expression is how you demonstrate your gender based
on traditional gender roles.
Gender development
Gender role
A set of expected
behaviors for males
and for females
vs.
Gender schema / acculturation
– how a child learns gender
Male Female
Brain structure
Gestational Hormonal Exposure
Later life hormonal interaction
How they were raised
How they self-identify
Sexual orientation
External genitals
Internal genitals
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We must ask what makes a male or female
There was (and still is the idea) that boys and girls are the same
at birth and are simply raised differently. John Money
▪
John/Joan Experiment
Study after study of infants, toddlers, children teens and adults
show wide differences that cannot be due to nurture
Simon Lavay found structural difference between straight men
and gay men in the hypothalamus.
HOWEVER- the commonalities between men and women FAR
outweigh the differences! Yet we only focus on differences!
• Young female chimps seem to cradle sticks as if they were
baby dolls
▪ Age 3 children know that they are boys and girls – the rest
of their life is spent figuring out what that means.
▪ 1970’s idea that males and females were the same
▪ Research is still mixed, but ask any parent or teacher of
young children and they will say that boys and girls think,
act, and are different. It is not based on raising them a
certain way
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Teens & Sexual Behavior - Early sexual activity carries with it a
bunch of problems
1. hold less conventional attitudes about morals and what is
right.
By definition conventional views are dictated by the
power group
2. more likely to smoke, drink, and use other drugs
3. parents are less educated & have less control
4. less of a relationship with parents.
5. connection between early sexual activity and child hood
abuse
6. declining school achievement
7. pregnancy
8. ¼ of a new
AIDS cases start
in adolescence
When looking at brain
scans between males
and females there are clear differences. “Although a study of
brain scans has an air of biological purity, it doesn’t escape from
the reality that the people having their brains scanned are the
product of social and cultural forces as well as biological ones.’
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THERE IS NO RESEARCH THAT SAYS EARLY SEXUAL
ACTIVITY IS HEALTHY, OK, OR BENEFICIAL!
For boys or girls
For any index of measurement
Financial
emotional
Academic
social
Physical
spiritual
Deryl Bem Gender role theory
Adolescence is a time of exaggerated gender behavior
1. Boys seemed to be obsessed with physical power
• Bench press, who could beat who in a fight,
who’s car is faster, etc
2. Girls seem to be obsessed with knowing and
regulating other’s feelings
• birthday balloons, aww, that’s so mean, hugging
every 5 seconds
Adulthood is a general decline in gender specific behavior
– by old age, women seems to stop caring about agreeing with
others and men seem to stop caring about being tough
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT social skills become increasingly
important and increased interest in the opposite sex.
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Adolescents become less dependent upon parents and become
more involved with their peers
• personal fable adolescents believe themselves to
be unique and invincible
• imaginary audience a thought common in
adolescence in which they believe that everyone is
looking at them because they are the center of the
world (spotlight effect)
Who has more influence over adolescents, parents or
peers?
Friends: peer relationships become increasingly important and
the adolescent’s social network, social context, and community
influence his values, norms, and expectations. Peer
relationships tend to reinforce the traits and goals that parents
fostered during childhood. Adolescents tend to form friendships
with peers who are similar in age, social class, race, and beliefs
about drinking, dating, church attendance, and educational
goals.
Parents: usually positive, continuation of positive relationships
or problems that first surfaced during childhood, less than 10%
of adolescents report that parent-child relationships dramatically
deteriorated during adolescence, common conflicts include
choice of friends, final authority on a particular issue.
What about stereotypes? Aren’t kids supposed to be
bad and parents overbearing?
Infant and Child Lecture Notes
EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT Learning to control one’s
emotion is key to development.
5 keys to emotional health?
1. soothe yourself
2. DELAY GRATIFICATION –
a. impulse control
3. Read feelings of others
4. Manage anger
5. Respond to group
.
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT reality vs. stereotype
Teens are just as good as adults at assessing risk
Teens are not simply more risky
Teens simply evaluate the gain more than the risk
Teens minimize the chance of bad consequences
Adults focus on the risk not the gain
PARENTING STYLES – Diana Baumrind
When a baby cries, do you let her cry it out?
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Conflicts with parents – within reason they are normal and
good.
-Kids have to test their new abilities
Reasoning, moral development, physical, social skills
-Higher educated parents actually encourage independent
thought
PERMISSIVE: parents tend to let their children do whatever
they want. These parents don’t make many rules, and they fail
to consistently enforce the few rules they do make.
AUTHORITARIAN: (dictatorial) rigid and inflexible. They
set down the rules and demand compliance, often administering
harsh punishments for disobedience. Lower S.E.S. The children
have very little, if any input into how their lives are governed.
“tiger moms” Chinese mothers who are very strict and
demand very high achievement to the exclusion of social
activities.
There are many downsides to this 
AUTHORITATIVE:
UNINVOLVED
EMERGING ADULTHOOD
• young adults in developed countries
• do not have children,
• do not live in their own home
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• do not have sufficient income to become fully independent in their
early to late 20s
• Boomerang generation – protracted – ability to support oneself
ADULT DEVELOPMENT
Intimate relationships: getting married & starting a family
become more important.
Who do we marry?
We marry people that are similar to us – physical
attractiveness, social & educational status, ethnic
background, attitudes, values, & beliefs.
Parenthood: marital satisfaction declines, alters a person’s
identity, changes lifestyles, easy adjustment if marital
relationship is warm & positive, household & child-care
responsibilities are shared. Marital satisfaction tends to increase
when children leave home.
Development vs decline:
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Positive symptoms of aging:
1. verbal skills,
3. emotional skills intelligence
4. crystalized intelligence
Negative symptoms of aging:
1. brain size reduction,
2. deterioration of visual acuity and hearing,
3. a lengthened reaction time,
4. reduced motor control,
Genetics & environmental both play a role
• childhood skills are not practiced, body begins to
show wear.
• “use it or lose it!”
• Do the adults you know exercise?
Aging can include:
1. hair loss 2. Graying hair, 3.wrinkles 4. Menopause 5.
inefficiency of body organs, 6. Physical strength & endurance
declines 7. Sensory capabilities decline
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT OF ADULTS
As adults get older it seems they often withdraw from social
situations to focus on a few rewarding relationships and
friendships. they already know what they like in a friend vs.
younger people who must try out friends.
Friendships
Females: tend to confide in one another about their feelings,
problems, & interpersonal relationships
Males: minimize discussion about relationships, personal
feelings or problems. Tend to do things together they find
mutually interesting.
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Work: more people are changing careers/jobs and dual-career
families are on the increase.
Activity Theory of Aging: life satisfaction in late adulthood is
highest when you maintain your previous level of activity. It is
important to have at least one confidant (higher morale, better
mental health, greater psychological well-being)
LATE ADULTHOOD & AGING
Average life expectancy:
Male = 72
Female = 79
-Age related damage to inner ear can result in dizziness and falls
- Crystalized vs. fluid intelligence
-80 year old fall asleep in 18 minutes
-20 year old fall asleep in 8 minute
-Video games have been shown to improve cognitive abilities in
older people
-Very slight decline in working memory and accuracy of
retrieval from LTM small but reliable deterioration of
hippocampus (5%)
Dementia broad category – earlier experiences may increase risk
After 80 chance of getting it actually decreases!
More often confused at sundown – sundowners syndrome
Alzhiemers
Musical memories last longer than other types
Stroke
Stereotypes: poor health, inactivity, social isolation, and mental
& physical incompetence
Reality: most older people are healthy, active, & self-sufficient
• over 65 – 5% live in nursing homes
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• over 85 – 25% live in nursing homes
K. Warner-Shaie: general intellectual abilities gradually
increase until one’s early 40’s, then become relatively stable
until 60. After age 60, a small but steadily decline of general
intellectual abilities. The more education & stimulating
lifestyle, the less in decline. Keep your mind active! Changes
occur in:
DYING & DEATH
Anxiety about Death: tends to peak in middle adulthood and
then decreases. People respond to death in a wide variety of
emotions
Doesn’t have
Elisabeth Kubler-Ross: 5 stages grief
to be in order!
1. Denial
2. Anger
3. Bargain (try to make a deal with doctors, God, make promises
to behave in a certain way)
4. Depression
5. Acceptance