Chapter 1: Introduction
Scientific Study of Human Development: The science that seeks to understand how/why people change, and how/why they remain the same, as they grow older.
Life Span Perspective:
A view of human development that takes into account all phases of life, not just childhood or adulthood.
Plasticity: The capability of any human characteristic to be molded or reshaped by time and circumstance.
Life Span Perspective - Five distinct characteristics of development:
Multidirectional: Change not liner: gains, losses, predictable/unpredictable growth transformations are normal.
Multicontextual: Each human being’s development looks different in different contexts of their life.
Multicultural: To understand each culture has it’s own values and beliefs, culture specifics must be considered.
Multidisciplinary: Different academic fields contribute data and insight to the science of human development.
Plastic: Every individual and individual trait can be altered at any time during the human life span.
Domains of Human Development: Three divisions; each developmental aspect is related to all three domains.
Biosocial:
Includes: physical growth - genetic/nutrition factors; motor skills, special needs education, ideal body shape, breast-feeding.
Cognitive:
Includes: mental processing, L.A.D., reasoning/perception/imagination/judgment/education: formal curriculum, tutoring.
Psychosocial:
Includes: emotional temperament, social skills, influences: family, friends, community/culture/values, sex roles.
Urie Bronfenbrenner: Developmental researcher, and creator of the Ecological Model.
The Ecological Model:
Circular - Each level reps. type of dev. within/between the systems/contexts is multidirectional and interactive.
Chronosystem:
1st level - Main inner circle - Historical time and its importance in development.
Mesosystem: 4 inner rings – Family, classroom, religious setting, peer group; connected to Main Chrono-ring.
Microsystem:
2nd level – 1 rings – Connecting and encompassing all four of the Mesosystems.
Exosystem:
3rd level - 1rings – Includes: Mass media, community, school system, and medical institutions.
Macrosystem:
4th level – 1outer rings – Cultural values, national customs, political ethos, economic patterns, and social conditions.
Two Theories from The Natural Sciences: Chaos and complexity theory: Stress the unpredictability and dynamism of all natural life.
The Butterfly Effect:
A small action can set off a series of powerful changes
The Cohort Effect: All persons born within a few years of one another history, assumptions, events, technologies, and popular trends.
Social Construction:
An idea built on shared perceptions of a society rather than on an objective reality; what is vs., how it should be.
SES/Socioeconomic Status:
An indicator of social class that is based primarily on income, education, place of residence, and occupation.
Culture: Shared values, assumptions, customs, and physical objects maintained by a group of people in a specific setting for living daily life.
Ethnic Group: People whom share ancestry/national origin/religion/language and recognize/identify with one another in their daily life.
Race: A social construction originating w/ biological differences among people whose ancestry is worldwide, considered inferior/superior; now ethnic group.
The Scientific Method: Principles/procedures used systematically in pursuit of facts: formulating questions, developing a hypothesis, and drawing a conclusion.
The Scientific Method, Steps:
Formulate a research
question – on the basis of research, theory, or observation.
Develop a hypothesis – reformulate the question into a hypothesis: a specific prediction that can be tested then proved or disproved.
Test the hypothesis –Create or conduct a research project to provide DATA-evidence, about the truth or falsehood or the hypothesis.
Draw conclusions- Use research data to support or refute the hypothesis. Describe limitations/alternatives results of research.
Make the findings available – Publish results of research (describe procedure and results in sufficient detail).
Replicate: To repeat a previous scientific study, different time/place, but same research design/procedures, to verify orig. study’s conclusions.
Subjects: The people studied in research project.
Variable: Quantities of characteristics/actions, that differs between individuals/situations/groups, or even within 1 individual at each moment.
Independent: The variable that is added or changed in an experiment.
Dependant: The variable that might change as a result of the change or adding of the independent variable in an experiment.
Nature/Nurture: How much and which aspects of development are affected by genes and how much by environment?
Continuity/Discontinuity: How much human growth builds over time - past, and how much transformation occurs suddenly?
Difference/Deficient: When a person develops differently from most others, and what makes that difference celebrated or a problem?
Religion/Science: Do the tenets of religion and science conflict?
Individual/Society: Can we study the individual person, without studying the family, the community, and the culture?
Experiment: Research method – Scientist deliberately causes changes in one variable, then observes, records changes in some other variable.
Correlation: A relation between two variables, this causes that, and that causes this, or this can’t happen without that.
Cause and Effect: What causes a person/people to do what they did. Chosen groups = the effects would be obvious.
Survey: Research method – Information is collected from a large number of people through written questionnaire or personal interviews.
Case Study: Research method – Focuses on the life history, attitudes, behavior, and emotions of a single individual.
Scientific Observation: The unobtrusive watching/researching of subjects’ behavior, in a lab or natural setting.
Statistical significance: A mathematical analysis, based on a formula whose results of research are not likely to have occurred by chance.
Cross-sectional Research: Groups of people are compared – each group different in age but similar in varied other important ways.
Longitudinal Research: Same people are studied over a long period of time. (Months to decades.)
Cross-sequential Research: Combines Cross-sectional and Longitudinal research.
Chapter 2
Developmental Theory: A systematic statement of principals/generalizations that provide framework for studying/explaining development.
Minitheories: Explain some specific area of development, not as general as other theories.
Emergent Theories: New theories, within past 30 years, bring together many different theory information but not exactly comprehensive.
Grand Theories: They have inspired and direct thinking about development, but are not as adequate as they once were.
Psychoanalytic: Freud – Irrational unconscious forces, many of them originating in early childhood, underlie human behavior.
Psychoanalytic Stages: Oral (birth – 1), Anal (1-3), Phallic (3-6), Latency (7-11), Genital (Adolescence – Adulthood).
Psychosocial: Erikson – neo-Freudian, formulated own approach based on Freud’s.
Psychosocial Stages:
Trust vs. mistrust (birth – 1), Autonomy vs. shame (1 – 3), Initiative vs. guilt (3 – 6), Industry vs. inferiority
(3 – 6), Identity vs. role confusion (Adolescence), Intimacy vs. isolation, Generativity vs. stagnation, and
Integrity vs. Despair (Adulthood).
Learning/Behavior Theory: Watson - Focuses on the ways we learn specific behaviors, (what you can see – anything can be learned).
Stimulus: An action or event that elicits a behavioral response. Response: behavior (instinctual or learned), brought on by stimulus.
Conditioning: A learning process through which a particular response comes to be triggered by a particular stimulus.
Classical Conditioning: Pavlov – Through association, neutral stimuli become conditioned stimulus.
Operant Conditioning: Skinner - Through reinforcement, weak or rare responses becomes strong, frequent responses.
Reinforcement: A particular behavior is strengthened; therefore, it makes it more likely that the behavior will be repeated.
Social learning: Learning occurs through observing behavior and imitating others.
Social Cognitive approach: View personality as a set of behaviors people acquire from learning, then display in particular situations.
Reciprocal Determinism: Bandura – A person’s thoughts effect their behavior which in turn effects their environment.
Self-efficacy: The learned expectation of success (people believe they can be successful regardless of past failures).
Modeling: A person tries to imitate the behavior of someone else (minor actions: laughing, walking; major: role modeling).
Cognitive Theory: Piaget - The way people think and understand the world, shapes their perception, attitude, and actions.
1:
Sensorimotor (Birth – 2) Start: Infant uses senses/motor abilities, no object permanence. End: Gain object permanence,
think-through mental actions/physical actions. 1st mo. =Reflex - Sucking turns to exploring. 1-4 mo. = 1st habits +primary adaptive Assimilation/adaptation –sucking in a new way. 4-8mo. = Secondary circular reactions – responding to people, combine suck/bang, no object
permanence. 8-12mo.=New adaptation + anticipation – object permanence is working, can use 2 schemas, deliberate actions. 12-18mo.=Tertiary
circular reactions – child becomes scientist. 18-24mo.=Intern. of schemas- think before do, goal w/o trial and error, play copies actions, language.
2:
Preoperational (2 – 6) Start: Child is all about him/her self, symbolic thinking/language. End: Gain imagination, language skills, less egos centric, and
coordinate multiple viewpoints.
3:
Concrete operational (7 - 11) Start: Child gets logic and applies it to everyday understanding objectively. End: Gain basic conservation, number,
classification and other scientific concepts.
4:
Formal operational (12-adult) Start: Adolescent/adult can think in abstract concepts, and hypothesize. Gain: Ethics, politics, social/moral issues
important/interesting as adolescent takes broader approach to experiences.
Cognitive equilibrium: One’s understanding fits one’s experiences (a state of mental balance). Disequilibrium is opposite of equilibrium.
Cognitive adaptation: Assimilate: Deduce new experiences so they work with old ideas. Accommodate: Revamp old idea so it fits w/new.
Emergent Theories:
Sociocultural: Lev Vygotsky – One’s knowledge, development and competencies vs. guidance, support, and structure provided by the society.
Epigenetic:
The genetic origins of behavior and the role environment plays. (Genes over time are affected by environment.)
Guided participation: An individual learns through a tutor who offers assistance, structures opportunities, and models strategies.
Chapter 3
Zygote: sperm + egg= (conception - 2wks - germinal), Embryo (2wks – 2 mo. – embryonic), Fetus (2 mo. – 9 mos. – fetal). Birth: 31% of all conceptions survive.
Age of viability: 22 weeks - the age at which a fetus can survive outside the womb with specialized care.
Gamete: Human reproductive cell (male or female), when combined with another gamete (opposite sex), reproduces.
Gene: Basic unit for transmission of heredity instructions, we have 30 to 35 thousand.
Polygenic traits: Interaction of many genes rather than one single gene.
Multifactorial traits: Are genetic and environmental influences, rather than genetic alone.
Genotype: A person’s entire genetic inheritance, including genes that are not expressed in the person everything!
Phenotype: All genetic traits, including physical characteristics and behavioral tendencies that are expressed in a person.
Carrier: A person who has a gene in his/her genotype that is not evident as part of the type but can pass it on unknowingly.
Additive gene: One of a number of genes affecting a specific trait, skin color, height to name a few.
Dominant: The strongest of an interacting pair of genes. Recessive: The weakest of an interacting pair of genes.
Chromosome: 23 Pairs of 46 chromosomes - A carrier of genes, one of forty-six segments of DNA that together contain all human genes.
Y Chromosome: Y sperm must reach and breach the egg first to give the 23 rd pair the XY chromosome order, otherwise it will be an XX or girl.
Monozygotic twins: Originate from one zygote, and have same genetic make-up. Dizgotic twins: Two separate sperm, two separate ova = half shared DNA
Chapter 4 Prenatal Development
Germinal: Conception – 14 days, cell division/differentiation, 58% do not manage to survive, the rest safely implant into uterus.
Implantation: 1 wk. after conception, the burrowing of organism into the lining of the uterus. Neural tube: 3 wks after conception, fold that develops into CNS.
Embryo: 14 days – 56 days after conception (3-8th week) - All major internal/external structures begin to form; BW Normal 3oz.
Fetus: 9 wk after conception to birth, 4th month the fetus has everything it needs to survive outside the womb; BW normal 3 lbs. Full-term 7.5lbs.
First test a person gets in life: APGAR test: A/appearance = 0 for blue, 2 for pink; P/pulse = 0 absent, 2 rapid; G/grimace= 0 for no response, 2 for crying/coughing;
A/ activity = 0 flaccid limp, 2 strong; R/respiratory = 0 for absent, 2 for good.
Teratology: The study of birth defects caused by genetic, prenatal problems, or by birth complications. Behavioral Teratogens: Tend to harm the prenatal brain.
Teratogens: Agents and conditions (viruses, drugs, chemicals stressors), that can impair prenatal dev., lead to birth defects, and even death.
Threshold effect: Teratogens not harmful in small doses, but becomes harmful wh4n exposure reaches a certain level.
Interaction effect: Teratogen’s potential for causing harm is increased when combined with another teratogen, or risk factor.
Critical period: Prenatal time (1st 8 wks.), when a particular organ or other body part is most susceptible to teratogenic damage.
HIV+ pregnant woman: 1 in every 4 infants will have HIV. AZT reduces # of infants born w/ HIV. AZT + cesareans = 43% reduction.
Bonding w/newborn: Hormones released that trigger maternal behavior, smell, and contact are all factors that assist in bonding.
Chapter 5
Neuron: Nerve cell of the CNS mainly found I brain.
Axon: Single nerve fiber that extends from a neuron and transmits impulses from that neuron to dendrites of other neurons.
Dendrites: Nerve fibers extending from a neuron and receive the impulses transmitted from other neurons by axons.
Synapse: The point at which the axon of one neuron meets the dendrites of another neuron.
Brain Development: At birth it has attained 25% of its adult weight, age 2 = 75% of its adult weight; the body is at on 20%. Head = Baby ¼ body size, adults is 1/8.
Neurotransmitter: Brain chemical that carries information across synaptic gap between one neuron and another.
Cortex: The outer layer of the brain, about 1/8 inch thick and involved in voluntary, cognitive aspects of the mind.
Transient exuberance: The great increase in the number of neurons, dendrites, and synapses that occurs in an infant’s brain over the first two years.
Myelination: Process where axons are coated with myelin, a fatty substance that speeds communication between neurons (1yr/self control, 15yrs completely coated).
Frontal lobe: Assists in self-control/self regulation. The frontal lobe shows most prolonged period of postnatal growth.
Neural pathways: Experience is the key to development of the cortex (see, hear touch taste).
Reflexes: Involuntary physical responses to stimuli (sucking, rooting, grasping).
Motor skills: Genetics main component. Gross=large (walking, jumping), fine= small (unscrewing). 3mos touch, 6mos grab/hold, 9-14mos pick-up a cheerio.
Vision: Babies have to learn to see, B/W vision 1st then color. They see jumbled up patterns but like symmetry. They do not like mean or sad faces.
Hearing: At birth quite sensitive, by 1mo. can perceive between similar speech patterns. Sensation: Sensory system=response from stimulus.
Nutrition: 0-6wks, baby only needs breast milk. 4-6mos introduce cereals. Milk anemia: Too much milk not enough iron. Poor nutrition brain stunting.
Chapter 6
Perception: Mental processing of sensory information. Dynamic: Arises from objects movement and changes in their positions. Object permanence: Objects and
people exist independently of one’s perception. Babies do understand affordances, reaching for mom’s earring.
Ballinger’s Test: Proves infants do have an understanding of object permanence before they actually show it. 1: habituated movement of screen, 2:Infant observes a
box placed in path of screen, 3: Possible event, screen’s movement is stopped by box, 4: Impossible event, screens movement is not hindered by box. Visual cliff:
Eleanor + James Gibson experimented, making a fake cliff and placing mother on other side of cliff. 3mo. olds would not go over to mom.
Differed imitation: The ability to witness, remember and copy a behavior.
Language dev. Newborn=crying, facial exp., 2-5mo. Cooing, growls, 6-10mo. babbling, vowel , 10-12mo. 1 word for all 15-24 more than 2 words.
Chapter 7
Emotions: Develop in 1st 2 yrs. Newborn: Distress, crying; 1mo. Sadness; 6 wks. Positive-interest, social smile, surprise; 4 mo. Anger; 7 mo. Anger directed.
Freud: Psychoanalytic: Infants early experiences w/ feeding and toilet training could establish certain lifelong personality traits.
Erikson: Psychoanalytic: Infants early experiences, first in trusting that basic needs will be met, and then in developing self-expression, create personality traits.
Social learning: Personality is the product of early reinforcement and punishment that mold the infant’s traits; also observation and imitation.
Fear: From 6mo.-15mo. Cognitive advances allow for differentiation between the familiar and the unexpected.
Stranger wariness: Fear of unfamiliar people. Separation anxiety: Fear of being left by his/her caregiver.
Social referencing: Looking to trusted adults for cues on how to interpret unfamiliar/ambiguous events. (Fall down look at adult to see how to react.)
Bonding w/ fathers: Fathers are more encouraging than mothers, toddlers exploring go looking for dad. (Infants look to fathers for fun, mothers for comfort.)
Self-awareness: 12-24 mo. sensing them as being distinct from other people. Personality: the emotions, behaviors, and attitudes that make an individual unique.
Temperament: Born with. The set of innate tendencies, or dispositions, that underlie and affect each person’s interactions w/ people, situations, and events.
Nine Characteristics before birth, and after: Activity level, Rythmicity, Approach-withdrawal, Adaptability, Intensity of reaction, Threshold of responsiveness,
Quality of mood, Distractibility, Attention.
Five Characteristics: Extroversion, Agreeable, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism (anxious, moody), Openness.
Goodness of fit: the % which the Childs temperament matches their environment. Synchrony: Cord. Of interaction between infant/parent, each influencing the other.
Attachment: Emotional connection between people that produces a desire for continual contact, as well as feelings of distress during separation.
Proximity-seeking behaviors: Intended to place a person close to another, to whom her or she is attached.
Contact-maintaining behaviors: Intended to keep a person near another person to whom he/she is attached.
Secure attachment: Provides infants with secure caregiver comfort, and confidence, so the infant feels secure with exploring environment.
Insecure attachment: Characterized by an infant’s fear, anxiety, anger, or seeming indifference to caregiver, child is much less secure, and over dependant.
Strange Situation: an experiment to see how attached the infant is to the caregiver. The infant is in a room w/ caregiver then the caregiver levees.
Exploration: 55-65% a secure toddler plays happily when caregiver is present. Reaction: Securely attached toddler may or may not show sign that a
caregiver is missed. Insecure cries a lot, 15-25%. Reaction: A securely attached toddler exhibits a welcoming response when the caregiver returns. Insecure;
avoids mother, or resistant to her love, 10-15%. Other types: Disorganized: Behavior is disorganized, disoriented, head down, freezing postures.
Adult: Autonomous: Valuing childhood experiences, but not emotionally overwhelmed. Dismissing: Devaluing childhood attachment influences. Preoccupied:
Very involved in childhood experiences, not objective when discussing, very emotional. Unresolved: Not yet reconciled past childhood attachments,
parental rejection, and death. .