Developmental Psychology
Unit 5
Michael Hoerger
What is Lifespan Development?
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Lifespan Development studies the
growth and changes that occur in an
individual across the lifespan – from Birth to
Death!
Includes:
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Cognitive Development
Personality Development
Moral Development
Social Development
Sexual Development & Reproduction
Physiological Development
5 Perspectives of Developmental
Psych
Multidirectional: The study of change
from multiple directions of influence.
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Butterfly Effect: One small action or event
set of a much larger chain of major events!
5 Perspectives of Developmental
Psych
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Multicontextual: There are many
contexts that affect human development.
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Historical events
Economic conditions
Cultural traditions
Race
Gender
Age
Socioeconomic status
5 Perspectives of Developmental
Psych
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Multicultural: There are many, many
cultures around the world!
◦ Each one is influential
◦ Each one has separate values, traditions, living
standards, etc. that influence the individuals of
that society.
5 Perspectives of Developmental
Psych
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Multidisciplinary: We have to use many different
fields in order to effectively study development.
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Biology
Sociology
Psychology
Education
Economics
Religion
History
Medicine
Anthropology
Political Science
Art/Theater/Music/Cultural Studies
5 Perspectives of Developmental
Psych
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Plasticity: Developmental changes occur
throughout the lifespan and can be
drastically altered at any point in time!
3 Developmental Domains
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Developmental domains are the main
areas of study that focus on
developmental changes.
3 Developmental Domains
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Biosocial Domain: Studies the influence
of social factors on biological
development.
◦ Examples:
 Availability of milk and bone growth
 Nutrition and neurological development
3 Developmental Domains
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Cognitive Domain: Studies the thought
processes, perceptual abilities, and
language that influence our behavior and
development.
◦ Examples Affecting Brain Development:
 Language heuristics
 Schemas (“scripts”)
3 Developmental Domains
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Psychosocial Domain: Studies the
interpersonal relationships that influence
development.
◦ Examples:
 Personality studies
 Relationships with family and friends
 Relationships with society as a whole
Factors Affecting Development
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Internal Factors: Things that are unique to
the individual that can influence
development.
◦ Genetics
◦ Physical maturation
◦ Cognition
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External Factors: Things that are outside
of the individual that can influence
development.
◦ Socioeconomic status
◦ Availability of resources
◦ Social influences
Prenatal Development
Zygote-Fertilized
Egg
Stages of Fertilized Egg
1. Blastula
2. Gastrula
3. Embryo
Dating a Pregnancy
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Maternal Gestation: Counted from the 1st day of
Mother’s last menstrual cycle
Fetal Gestation: Counted from the estimated date
of fertilization, up to 5 days past ovulation
Prenatal Development
Periods of Pregnancy:
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Zygote Period: Fertilization -> Completion of
Implantation
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Embryonic Period: Implantation -> Formation of
the major organs
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~ 1-5 Post-Ovulation – 14 Days
Typically from Day s 14-30 of Mother’s Menstrual Cycle
Typically from around the day Mother’s missed
menstrual cycle is due to around 4-6 weeks later, (weeks
4 to 6-8)
Fetal Period: Presence of organs -> birth
Newborn Capacities
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Not a great deal of control over muscles
Movements of their eyes, mouth
More reflexive movements take place as months pass
By 5 Months: Extensive visual experience before crawling and
reaching for objects
◦ Responds to sounds, but sucking response lessened when other new
sounds are introduced.
Responding to the Environment
Habituation: Decreased response to
repeated stimuli
 Dishabituation: A Stimulus change that
produces an increase in a previously
habituated response
 Research Example: The Case of Little
Albert
 Remember Previous Theories:
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◦ Classical Conditioning, Operant Conditioning,
Social Learning Theory
Ecological Approach
Developed by Urie Bronfenbrenner
 States that development occurs as a
result of interactions with the
environment.
 Based on ecological models of
ecosystems
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◦ Human development occurs as we try to
survive the ecosystem of our world!
◦ Each context that impacts development has
its own level in the model.
Ecological Approach
 Individual: Factors
directly impacting the
individual.
 Sex
 Age
 Health
Ecological Approach
 Microsystem: Factors
impacting development
that are very close or in
direct contact with the
individual.
 Work
 School
 Family
 Peers
 Neighborhood
 Social Clubs
 Religious Institutions
Ecological Approach
 Mesosystem:
Provides a link
between each of the
individual
Microsystem factors.
 Ex: When you work
40 hours a week it
impacts your ability
to study for classes,
etc.
Ecological Approach
 Exosystem: Factors
impacting development
that directly impact the
Microsystem, but may not
directly contact the
Individual.
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Neighbors
Friends of Family
Mass Media
Social Welfare
Politics
Schools
Medical Institutions
Ecological Approach
 Macrosystem: Factors
impacting development
that directly impact the
other systems, but do not
have direct contact with
the Individual. The
individual may not be able
to affect this level even if
they try.
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Culture
Societal Values
Customs
Laws
Government
Ecological Approach
 Chronosystem: This level
considers the impact of
time and major life events
on the individual.
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Births
Deaths
Marriage
Divorce
Job Changes
Moving
Sociocultural Changes
with time (ex. WOMEN in
the work force!)
Psychoanalytic Theories
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Freud’s Theory of Psychosexual
Development: Personality develops
based on changes in the libido (sexual
energy) and fixation on erogenous zones.
◦ 5 stages of Psychosexual Development
◦ Personality is determined by the first 3 stages
and is fixed by the age of 5
Stages of Psychosexual
Development
Age
Stage
Birth to 1 year Oral Stage
1-3 years
Anal Stage
3-6 years
Phallic Stage
7-11 years
Latency Stage
12 yearsadulthood
Genital Stage
Characteristics
•Infant receives pleasure from oral actions
•Biting
•Sucking
•chewing)
•Weaning is the single most important behavior associated with
this stage.
•Child receives pleasure from the anus and defecation.
•The psychological goal of the child is independence and
autonomy.
•The most important behavior in this state is toilet training.
•Child receives pleasure from genitals and genital stimulation.
•Freud also believes that boys are proud of their penis and girls
are puzzled about why they don’t have one.
•Child does not have significant psychosexual development.
•Child focuses on friendships and social skills.
•Genitals are the focus of pleasurable feelings.
•Young person seeks sexual satisfaction in relationships.
Psychoanalytic Theories
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Oedipal Complex: The belief that little
boys resent the relationship that their
fathers have with their mothers, and as a
result, harbor a latent desire to murder their
fathers and marry/engage in sexual relations
with their mothers.
Electra Complex: The belief that little
girls resent the relationship that their
mothers have with their fathers, and as a
result, harbor a latent desire to rebel against
their mothers and marry their fathers (or
someone eerily similar!)
Psychoanalytic Theories
Freud is widely accepted as a noted
theorist, even today. However…
 Criticisms:
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◦ Lack of scientific research
◦ Subjects Freud observed were often greatly
disturbed
◦ First 2 stages of psychosexual development
theory still unsupported using studies of
children with normal development
Stages of Psychosocial Development
Theory developed by Erik Erikson
 8 stages at least partly influenced by
Freud’s theory of Psychosexual
Development
 Each stage is a “crisis” that the person
must resolve somewhere along a
continuum..
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◦ There is a potential positive and potential
negative resolution for each!
Stages of Psychosocial Development
Stages of Psychosocial Development
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2 stages are being considered as additions to
the original 8:
◦ GROUP Identity vs GROUP Identity
Diffusion
 Who am I as a group? A band member? A cheerleader?
◦ Mortality vs. Immortality
 Have I not made a difference, allowing my
memory to be forgotten when I’m gone? Or will
I live on through the next generation?
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Disengagement Theory: Social circles
narrow as the person disengages from life
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive
Development
Jean
Piaget: Children active participation in constructing new
mental processes through environmental interactions
Schema: Organized way of interacting with the objects in your
world
◦Assimilation: The process in which an individual applies an old
schema to new items
◦Accommodation: Changes or modifies an old schema to fit a
new item
An infant may grasp an new item in a different way to
accommodate the different size and shape of the item
◦Equilibration: A level of harmony or balance between
assimilation and accommodation
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive
Development
Age
Infancy
Stage
Sensorimotor
Stage
Description
•Child experiences the word through
their sense.
•“The Little Scientists”
•Object Permanence: The ability to
understand that objects continue to
exist even when they are no longer
visible.
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive
Development - Sensorimotor
Age
Birth to 1
Month
1-4
Months
4-8
Months
Stage
Primary
Circular
Reactions –
Stage 1
Primary
Circular
Reactions –
Stage 2
Secondary
Circular
Reactions –
Stage 1
Description
•Development of reflexes
•Adaptation
•1st Schemas – Assimilation &
Accommodation
•Coordination of Reflexes
•Object Permanence
•Separation Anxiety
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive
Development - Sensorimotor
Age
8-12
Months
12-18
Months
18-24
Months
Stage
Secondary
Circular
Reactions –
Stage 2
Tertiary Circular
Reactions –
Stage 1
Tertiary Circular
Reactions –
Stage 2
Description
•Adaptation to Environment
•Anticipation
•Goal-Directed Behavior
•“Little Scientist” Replication
•Experimentation
•Use of Objects as Tools
•Symbolic Thought
•Mental Problem-Solving
•Deferred Imitation
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive
Development
Age
2 years
old
Stage
Description
Preoperational •Child can think symbolically (e.g.
Stage
thinking of the past and future, using
language, playing pretend).
•There is a large growth in vocabulary
and use of words and symbols in this
stage.
•Children LACK operations (the ability
to mentally manipulate objects).
•Egocentric: Children in this stage
cannot distinguish between their own
perspective and the perspectives of
others.
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive
Development
Age
School
aged
Stage
Description
Concrete
•Children can think logically and consistently
Operational Stage about features in their world that are real and
concrete.
•Children are capable of abstract reasoning
and performing operations as long as it is in
terms of concrete objects.
•EX: A > B, B > C, which is greater, A or
C? – NO
•EX: Adam is taller than Bill, Bill is taller
than Charlie, who’s taller, Adam or
Charlie? – YES!
•The schema of conservation (i.e. knowing
that changing the shape of things does not
change the amount) is formed during this
time.
•Egocentrism begins to disappear.
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive
Development
Age
Stage
Description
Adolescents Formal
•Individuals are able to think on many different
and Adults Operational Stage planes:
•Hypothetically
•Abstractly
•Speculatively
•Rationally
•Deductive reasoning and learning to consider
possibilities also occurs in this stage.
Some Adults Post-Formal
•Individuals are able to think on many different
Operational Stage
levels, building on formal operational thought.
•Individuals are able to mentally manipulate even
complex, abstract ideas.
Other Cognitive Theories
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Zone of Proximal Development
(ZPD) by Lev Vygotsky
◦ The difference between what a learner can do
on their own, and with a little bit of
guidance/help from an instructor.
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Scaffolding: The process of introducing
new ideas with sufficient support so that
the student can learn and achieve on a
level they would not be capable of on
their own.
Moral Development
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Lawrence Kohlberg’s Theory of
Moral Development: May be based
roughly on the cognitive development of
Jean Piaget.
◦ Broken down into 3 Levels, with 2 stages
in each level.
◦ Tests to determine which stage the
individual are in are dependent on
responses to Kohlberg’s Dilemmas.
Moral Development
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Level 1: Pre-Conventional: Moral choices
are based on reward and punishment.
◦ Stage 1: Might Makes Right aka
Punishment-Obedience
 Obedience to authority is to avoid punishment,
while still furthering self-interest.
 Very young children
◦ Stage 2: Looking Out For Number One aka
Tit-for-Tat aka Quid Pro Quo aka You
Scratch My Back, I’ll Scratch Your
 Moral decisions are based on what the individual
can get out of the situation.
 Young/elementary aged children
Moral Development
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Level 2: Conventional: Moral decisions are
based on laws and trying to appear “good”
to others.
◦ Stage 3: Good Girl/Nice Boy aka
Conformity aka Instrumental Conformity
 Moral decisions are based on what will make
others like and approve of the individual.
 Middle school aged children.
◦ Stage 4: Law and Order aka Law of the
Land aka Judgment
 Moral decisions are based on being a good, lawabiding citizen.
 Teenagers and many adults.
Moral Development
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Level 3: Post-Conventional: Moral
decisions are based on using one’s own
conscience to decide right and wrong.
◦ Stage 5: Social Contract aka Social
Conformity aka Social Contract and
Individual Rights
 Moral decisions are based on a social contract
stating that the laws in place are for the
greater good of society. Any deviance will
violate this contract and could lead to chaos.
 Only a small portion of society.
Moral Development
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Level 3: Post-Conventional: Moral
decisions are based on using one’s own
conscience to decide right and wrong.
◦ Stage 6: Universal Ethical Principles aka
Universal Principles
 Moral decisions are based on a universal
values and rights that all individuals deserve.
 Life, Love, Peace, Happiness, Property, Education,
etc.
 Only a handful of people have ever coded
into this category.
Moral Development
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Gilligan continued Kohlberg’s theory,
stating that..
◦ Girls tend to develop morals based on
compassion and care
◦ Boys tend to develop morals based on justice
and judgment
Developmental Studies
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Research Methods
◦ Different designs to investigate development
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Cross-sectional study
◦ Comparison of different groups or individuals of
different ages at the same time
◦ One difficulty arises to determine if the differences
between two group are due to age itself
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Cohort Effect: People born in one era differ
from those born in different era
Developmental Studies
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Longitudinal Studies: Single group of
people followed over a time span
◦ Selective Attrition: A certain number of
people will end up leaving the study no
matter what you do.
 Ex: Older people Die, become disinterested, get
sick etc.
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These will be discussed more later!
Personality
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Temperament: The core, genetically-based
portion of personality tied to the
biological responses of the child.
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Easy-Going: 70%
Slow-To-Warm Up: 15%
Difficult: 10%
Mixed: 5%
Environmental Fit is important!
Attachment Theory
Attachment: Long-term feeling of
closeness between people
 In Erickson’s Theory attachment is a
part of trust that occurs during the
“Trust vs Mistrust” stage for infants
 Biological needs
 1st year of life infant forms attachment
to parents
 Ainsworth’s Strange Situation is
designed to measure infant attachment
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Parent-Child Interactions
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Ainsworth’s Strange
Situation Test:
◦ Bring parent and infant into an
experimental room
◦ Parent allows infant to explore
◦ Stranger enters room with
parent
◦ Parent leaves inconspicuously
◦ Stranger interacts with infant
◦ Parent returns and comforts
infant
Parent-Child Interactions
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Ainsworth’s Strange
Situation Test:
◦ Stranger and parent leave
◦ New stranger enters while
infant is alone
◦ Parent enters the room,
picks up infant, stranger
leaves
Parent-Child Interactions
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Ainsworth’s Strange Situation Test:
Attachment Styles
Childhood Fears
Stranger Wariness
 Separation Anxiety
 School Anxiety
 Avoidant Behaviors
 Fears tend to be adapted as learned
behaviors!
 ALL separation-based fears begin
appearing when the baby becomes mobile
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The Parent-Child Relationship
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Diana Baumrind’s Parenting Styles
Puberty
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Early Maturation: Maturing physically before
peers.
◦ Boys: POSITIVE!
 “He’s the man!”
◦ Girls: NEGATIVE!
 “She’s boy-crazy” – makes no difference if she even
dates
 Can lead to a poor body image or eating disorders
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Late Maturation: Maturing physically after
peers.
◦ Boys: NEGATIVE!
 “He’s a wimp/geek/dork/etc”
◦ Girls: Not nearly as bad!
Identity Development
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Adolescents go through Erikson's
stages…
◦ Group Identity vs Group Identity
Diffusion
◦ Identity vs Identity Diffusion
Identity Development
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James Marcia developed 4 Identity
Statuses that adolescents move through.
◦ Statuses are based on exploration of
potential identities and commitment to
the current identity.
Identity Development
High
Commitment
Low
Commitment
High Exploration
Identity Achievement:
The person has explored
multiple roles and settled
into an identity they
comfortable with and
committed to.
Moratorium: A pause in
commitment where
adolescence explore
multiple alternatives and
roles with no decision.
Low Exploration
Foreclosure: Acceptance
of parents’ values and goals
without exploring other
options.
Identity Diffusion:
Adolescent is wracked with
uncertainty and confusion.
There is no commitment
and no exploration present.
Identity Development
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Marcia stated that…
◦ Identity achievement is the healthiest.
◦ Moratorium is a normal state that all
adolescents go through
◦ Foreclosure and Identity Diffusion are
unhealthy.
Parental Influence
Permissive parents can lead an
adolescent to lack confidence and be
depressed.
 Authoritative parents are the best for
contributing to the development of
freedom and unique identities.
 A sudden switch from authoritative or
permissive styles that allow children
freedom to a controlling manner in
adolescence can be highly damaging.
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Cognitive Development
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Piaget’s Formal Operation Thought
brings…
◦ Hypothetical Thought: The ability to think
about hypothetical situations and potential
consequences.
◦ Deductive Reasoning: The ability to use
logical steps to form specific conclusions.
◦ Inductive Reasoning: The ability to form a
general conclusion from specific experiences
or facts.
Cognitive Development
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David Elkind’s theory of
Adolescence:
◦ Adolescent Egocentrism: A return to a
state similar to egocentrism of childhood,
where adolescents focus on themselves and
nobody else!
 Focus becomes predominately on what
others might think of them.
Cognitive Development
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David Elkind’s theory of
Adolescence:
◦ Invincibility Fable: The belief that the bad
things in the world will never happen to them.
 DOES NOT mean that they actually think
they are immortal or immune, just that they
don’t think it would happen to them.
Cognitive Development
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David Elkind’s theory of Adolescence:
◦ Personal Fable: The belief that their life is
unique/heroic/mythical and that nobody has ever
experienced what they are going through before.
◦ Imaginary Audience: The belief that everyone
is interested in them and their life, and that they
are constantly being watched and evaluated.
 Can cause teens to hyper-focus on things that
really aren’t that important!
 Ex. I can’t go to school today, EVERYONE will notice
my bad hair day/acne/generic clothes/etc.
Roles
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Roles: The “act” we play in certain
situations
◦ Role Conflict
◦ Role Overload
◦ Role Buffering
Death Process
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Kubler-Ross’s Stages of Death & Dying
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Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance