Unit 4-Developmental Psychology
Chapter 4:
Developing Through the Life Span
What is developmental psychology?
• developmental psychology- a branch of psychology
that studies physical, cognitive, and social change
throughout the life span
Princess Diana:
A Case Study in Development
• development- the sequence
of age-related changes that
occur as a person progresses from conception to
death
Developmental Psychology’s
Three Major Issues:
1. nature/nurture
How do genetic influences and
our experiences influence development?
2. continuity/stages
Is development gradual or does it go
through sequences?
3. stability/change
Do our early personality traits stay
the same or do we change as we age?
Prenatal Development and the Newborn
―Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my
own specified world to bring them up in and I’ll guarantee
to take any one at random and train him to become any
type of specialist I might select—doctor, lawyer, artist,
merchant-chief and yes, even, beggarman and thief,
regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities,
vocations, and race of his ancestors.‖
~John Watson (Behaviorism, 1925)
What happens at conception?
• sperm releases digestive enzymes to eat away the egg’s
protective coating and then enters
• the surface of the egg blocks out other sperm and
helps to pull the one successful sperm inside
• within half a day, the nuclei of each have fused
Three Phases of the Prenatal Period
• Germinal Stage
– zygote- fertilized egg; conception to 2
weeks; cells multiply and then differentiate
• Embryonic Stage
– embryo- 2 weeks to 8 weeks; organs begin to
form and function; heart begins to beat
• Fetal Stage
– fetus- 9 weeks to birth
– age of viability- age at which a baby can
survive in the event of premature birth
Environmental Factors on
Prenatal Development
• maternal nutrition
• maternal drug use
• maternal illness
• prenatal health care
What innate abilities do newborns have?
•abilities that enable survival
(rooting reflex)
•habituation-a decrease in
responding with repeated
stimulation
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
OF AN INFANT
Physical Development of an Infant
The Brain:
• The day you were born, you had the most brain
cells you will ever have, but your nervous system
was very immature.
• maturation- biological growth processes that
enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively
uninfluenced by experience
Motor Development:
• as muscles and nervous system mature, more
complicated skills emerge
• for the most part, the sequence of motor
development is universal
• cephalocaudel trend
and proximodistal trend
Landmarks in Motor Development
Memory:
• we rarely remember anything from our first 3
years (infantile amnesia)
• we organize memories differently after age 3-4
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
OF AN INFANT
Jean Piaget (1896-1980)
The Work of Jean Piaget
―Assessing the impact of Piaget on
developmental psychology is like
assessing the impact of Shakespeare in
English literature.‖
~Harry Beilin (1992), developmental psychologist
• A child’s mind develops through a
series of stages. This progression is
driven by our attempts to make sense
of our experiences.
• schema-concept or framework that
organizes and interprets information
―The Devil’s Tuning Fork‖—
an impossible object
How do we use these schemas?
• assimilation- interpreting one’s new
experience in terms of one’s existing
schemas (or current understanding)
This is our dog
Lucky. Lucky has
four legs and a
tail!
Hmmm…what’s this?
It has four legs and a
tail, like Lucky…it
must be a dog!
• accommodation- adapting current
understandings to incorporate new
information
That can’t be right.
They have different
noses. This must be
something else!
• cognition-all the mental activities
associated with thinking, knowing,
remembering, and communicating
Sensorimotor Stage
(birth to age 2)
• babies take in the world through
sensory and motor interactions with
objects
• object permanence- awareness that
things continue to exist even when
not perceived
Preoperational Stage
(age 2 to age 6 or 7)
• child learns to use language, but does
not yet comprehend the mental
operations of concrete logic
• children lack the concept of
conservation- principle that quantity
remains the same despite changes in
shape
Piaget’s Conservation Task
• egocentrism- preoperational child’s
difficulty taking some else’s view
– animism- belief that all things are living
• theory of mind- people’s ideas about
their own and others’ mental states—
about their feelings, perceptions, and
thoughts and the behavior these
might predict
Two Other Flaws in
Preoperational Thinking
• centration-tendency to focus on one
feature of a problem, ignoring other
aspects
• irreversibility- the inability to envision
reversing an action
Concrete Operational Stage
(age 6 or 7 to age 11)
• children gain mental operations that allow
them to think logically about concrete events
Mr. Jones went into a restaurant and ordered a whole
pizza for his dinner. When the waiter asked if he
wanted it cut into 6 or 8 pieces, Mr. Jones said, ―Oh
you’d better make it 6, I could never eat 8 pieces!‖
• reversibility- permits a child to mentally
undo an action
• decentration- allows a child to focus on
more than one feature of a problem
simultaneously
Give a preoperational child seven carnations
and three daisies. Tell the child the names for
the two types and ask the child to sort them.
Then ask if there are more carnations or more
daisies. Now ask if there are more carnations or
more flowers.
The Water-Level Task
Where does the water line belong in figure B?
Figure A
Figure B
Formal Operational Stage
(begins at age 12)
• people begin to think logically about
abstract concepts; reasoning expands
from purely concrete to include
abstract thinking
Concept Check
Which stage of Piaget’s theory is represented by each?
a. sensorimotor
b. preoperational
c. concrete operational d. formal operational
1. Upon seeing a glass lying on its side, Sammy says,
―Look, the glass is tired. It’s taking a nap.‖
2. Maria is told that a farmer has 9 cows and 6 horses.
The teacher asks, ―Does the farmer have more cows
or more animals? ― Maria answers, ―More animals.‖
3. Alice is playing in the living room with a small red
ball. The ball rolls under the sofa. She stares for a
moment at the place where the ball vanished and
then turns her attention to a top truck sitting in
front of her.
What can we say about Piaget’s
theories today?
• Human cognition does seem to follow
the sequences proposed by Piaget.
• But, today we see development as
more continuous than Piaget did.
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT OF
AN INFANT
Social Development
• infants develop intense bonds with their
caregivers
– stranger anxiety
The brain, mind, and social-emotional
behavior develop together!
Harry Harlow and Attachment
attachment- emotional tie with another person; survival
impulse causing infants to keep close to caregivers
critical period- optimal period shortly after birth when an
organism’s exposure to certain stimuli or experiences
produces proper development
Familiarity & Imprinting
John Bowlby, Mary Ainsworth
and Attachment
John Bowlby
a biological basis for
attachment
Mary Ainsworth
three categories:
1. secure
2.anxious-ambivalent
3. avoidant
secure vs. insecure attachment
• sensitive, responsive mothers = infants with
secure attachment
• insensitive, unresponsive mothers = infants
with insecure attachment
BUT—is this because of parenting or the result
of genetics (temperament)?
What effect does neglect, abuse or
disruption have on attachment?
―What is learned in the cradle,
lasts to the grave.‖
~French proverb
major social achievement of
infancy is attachment
major social achievement
of childhood is a
positive sense of self
self-concept
• sense of a child’s own identity and
personal worth; most children develop
by age 12
• children with a positive self-concept
are more confident, independent,
optimistic, assertive, sociable
1
Neglectful
1
Permissive
Parenting
Styles
Authoritarian
Authoritative
7
7
parenting styles
Four Parenting Styles
1. permissive- submit to children’s desires; make few
demands; use little punishment
2. authoritarian- impose rules and expect obedience
3. authoritative-demanding and responsive
4. neglectful- provides neither warmth nor control
Children with the highest self-esteem, selfreliance and social competence, usually
have authoritative parents.
BUT—correlation does not equal causation!
~maybe children’s traits influence parenting
~maybe a third factor is at work (i.e. genes)
Today’s Target: We will understand Vygotsky’s
contributions to infant and childhood
development and begin to look at adolescent
cognitive development.
Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934)
sociocultural perspective
• whereas Piaget emphasized
importance of physical
environment, Vygotsky
emphasized interaction with
the social environment
A difference in Piaget and Vygotsky’s
interpretations of development…
Piaget told this story about a friend:
When he was a small child, he was counting pebbles
one day; he lined them up in a row, counted them from
left to right, and got to ten. Then, just for fun, he
counted them from right to left to see what number
he would get, and was astonished that he got ten
again. He put the pebbles in a circle and counted
them, and once again there were ten. And no matter
how he put the pebbles down, when he counted them,
the number came to ten. He discovered there what is
known in mathematics as commutativity, that is, the
sum is independent of the order.
language
• language is the foundation for
development of higher thought
• private speech- preschool age children
(age 4-6) often talk aloud
• as they get older, this transitions to inner
speech—the normal internal dialogue we
all have
zone of proximal development
(ZPD)
• ZPD-gap between what a learner can
do alone and what they can do with
the guidance of others (more skilled)
• scaffolding-assistance provided is
adjusted as learning progresses
Development is lifelong.
Adolescence
life between childhood and adulthood
•begins with physical changes of sexual maturity and ends
with social achievement of independent adult status
•―storm and stress‖
Physical Changes in
Adolescence
• puberty- period of sexual maturation;
person becomes capable of reproduction
• brain development is ongoing throughout
adolescence
Cognitive Development in
Adolescence
• begin to reason and think about thinking
• early teens reasoning is often self-focused
• begin to develop character and learn
right from wrong
―The Heinz Dilemma‖
In Europe, a woman was near death from cancer.
One drug might save her, a form of radium that a
druggist in the same town had recently
discovered. The druggist was charging $2,000,
ten times what the drug cost him to make. The
sick woman’s husband, Heinz, went to everyone
he knew to borrow the money, but he could only
get together about half of what it cost. He told
the druggist that his wife was dying and asked
him to sell it cheaper or let him pay later. But the
druggist said, ―No.‖ The husband got desperate
and broke into the man’s store to steal the drug
for his wife (Kohlberg, 1969, p.379).
―Should the husband have done that? Why?‖
A More Modern Tale
Dave had left his mother in the midst of a
coughing fit. She was out of medication and he
knew it. Unfortunately, the rent and the heating
bill had depleted the family’s financial resources.
On the way to school, Dave stops at the campus
bookstore just to ―catch the newspaper headlines.‖
As he passes through the check-out counter, he
notices that the cash register has been left open
and is unattended. Quickly he reaches over, takes
four 10 dollar bills from the drawer and stuffs
them in his pocket. ―This place has been ripping off
students for so long they can afford it‖ he mutters
to himself. Next stop…the campus pharmacy.
Did Dave do something wrong? Why or why not?
Developing Morality
Lawrence Kohlberg (1927-1987)
Three Basic Levels of Moral Thinking:
1. preconventional morality- before age 9;
self-interest; obey to avoid punishment or
gain concrete rewards
2. conventional morality- early adolescence;
caring for others; upholding laws and rules
because that is what you should do
3. postconventional morality- not everyone gets
to this level; involves working out a personal
code of ethics and morals and rules become
more flexible based
on that code
Right and
wrong is
determined by
what is
rewarded.
Right and
wrong is
determined by
close others’
approval or
disapproval.
Stage 4.
Stage 3
Right and wrong
is determined by
society’s rules,
and laws, which
should be
obeyed rigidly.
Right and wrong
is determined by
society’s rules,
which are
viewed as fallible
rather than
absolute.
Stage 6
Stage 5
Right and
wrong is
determined by
what is
punished.
Stage 2
Stage 1
Punishment
orientation
Naïve reward
orientation
Good boy/
good girl
orientation
Authority
orientation
Social contract
orientation
Individual
principles and
conscience
orientation
Right and wrong
is determined by
abstract ethical
principles that
emphasize equity
and justice.
A Midwest biologist has conducted numerous
studies demonstrating that simple organisms such
as worms and paramecia can learn through
conditioning. It occurs to her that perhaps she
could condition fertilized human ova, to provide
a dramatic demonstration that abortions destroy
adaptable, living human organisms. This possibility
appeals to her, as she is ardently opposed to
abortion. However, there is no way to conduct
the necessary research on human ova without
sacrificing the lives of potential human beings.
She desperately wants to conduct the research,
but obviously, the sacrifice of human ova is
fundamentally incompatible with her belief in the
sanctity of human life. What should she do? Why?
Which of the following statements best illustrates
the three levels of moral reasoning?
a=preconventional
b=conventional
c=postconventional
1. She should do the research. Although it’s wrong
to kill, there’s a greater good that can be realized
through the research.
2. She shouldn’t do the research because people
will think that she’s a hypocrite and condemn
her.
3. She should do the research because she may
become rich and famous as a result.
• moral judgments are made quickly and
automatically
• morality also includes doing the right
thing
Carol Gilligan
(born 1936)
• In a Different Voice: Psychological
Theory and Women’s Development (1982)
• Criticized Kohlberg’s work
1. Kohlberg only studied privileged, white
men and boys, therefore his work is biased.
2. In his theory, the male view of individual
rights and rules was seen as a higher stage
than women’s point of view development.
Social Development
Erik Erikson (1902-1994)
• each life stage has a ―psychosocial
task‖ (a crisis that needs resolution)
• your personality is determined
by how you deal with each
Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development and
the New Environments for Each
Stage 1
(infancy)
Stage 2
(1-2 years)
Stage 3
(3-5 years)
Stage 4
(6 years – puberty)
• Trust vs. Mistrust
• Is my world predictable and supportive?
• Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt
• Can I do things myself or must I always rely on others?
• Initiative vs. Guilt
• Am I good or am I bad?
• Industry vs. Inferiority
• Am I competent or am I worthless?
Stage 5
(adolescence)
Stage 6
(young adulthood)
Stage 7
(middle
adulthood)
Stage 8
(late adulthood)
• Identity vs. Confusion
• Who am I and where am I going?
• Intimacy vs. Isolation
• Shall I share my life with another or live alone?
• Generativity vs. Self-absorption
• Will I produce something of real value?
• Integrity vs. Despair
• Have I lived a full life?
• identity- one’s sense of self
• How does one form their identity?
• part of adolescence is to achieve a purpose
Once you know who you are, you
are ready for close relationships.
How do we evaluate Erikson’s theory?
• accounts for continuity AND
transition (+)
• depends heavily on case studies (-)
• provides ―ideal‖ descriptions of
―typical‖ development (-)
Influence of Parents and Peers
• adolescents begin to separate themselves
from their parents and look more towards
their peers
Emerging Adulthood
(age 18-mid 20s)
Adulthood
―I am still learning.‖
Michaelangelo (1560) at age 85
• development at this stage is harder to
generalize about than our younger years
Physical Changes
in Middle Adulthood
• physical ability
• resulting psychological changes
• men vs. women
Physical Changes
in Late Adulthood
• life expectancy
1950-49 years
2004-67 years
some developed countries-80+ years
• our bodies wear out eventually!
• our neural processing
slows; brain-weight
decreases
―use it or lose it‖
Cognitive Development
in Adulthood
• Do adult cognitive abilities parallel the
gradual and accelerating decline of
physical abilities?
• Does intelligence increase or decrease
with age?
• crystallized intelligence- accumulated
knowledge and verbal skills; usually
increases with age
• fluid intelligence- ability to reason
speedily and abstractly; usually
decreases during late adulthood
Social Development
in Adulthood
• life events indicate transitions to new
life stages, whenever they occur
• social clock- cultural prescription of
the ―right time‖ for life events; varies
between cultures and time eras
In 1965…
Best age for a man to marry
Best age for a woman to marry
Best age to finish school and go to work
When most men should be settled on a career
When most men hold their top jobs
When most people should become grandparents
When most people should be ready to retire
20-25
19-24
20-22
24-26
45-50
45-50
60-65
Love and work dominate adulthood
Across the Lifespan…
• early adulthood to midlife brings a
strengthening sense of identity,
confidence, and
self-esteem
Death and Dying
• usually most difficult separation is
from a spouse
• there are no real stages of grief or a
―normal‖ reaction to death
• grief is more severe when death is
sudden and unexpected