Prenatal Development
and the Newborn
 Developmental Psychology
 a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive
and social change throughout the life span
Developmental Psychology
Infant and
child
Physical
Cognitive
Social
Adolescent
Adult
Prenatal Development
and the Newborn
Life is sexually transmitted
Prenatal Development
and the Newborn
 Zygote
 the fertilized egg
 enters a 2 week period of rapid cell division
 develops into an embryo
 Embryo
 the developing human organism from 2
weeks through 2nd month
 Fetus
 the developing human organism from 9
weeks after conception to birth
Prenatal Development
and the Newborn
40 days
45 days
2 months
4 months
Prenatal Development
and the Newborn
 Teratogens
 agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can
reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal
development and cause harm
 Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)
 physical and cognitive abnormalities in children
caused by a pregnant woman’s heavy drinking
 symptoms include misproportioned head
Prenatal Development
and the Newborn
 Rooting Reflex
 tendency to open mouth, and search for
nipple when touched on the cheek
 Preferences
 human voices and
faces
 facelike images-->
 smell and sound of
mother
preferred
Prenatal Development
and the Newborn
 Habituation
 decreasing
responsiveness
with repeated
stimulation
Prenatal Development
and the Newborn
Having
habituated to
the old
stimulus,
newborns
preferred
gazing at a
new one
Infancy and Childhood:
Physical Development
 Maturation
 biological growth
processes that
enable orderly
changes in
behavior
 relatively
uninfluenced by
experience
At birth
3 months
15 months
Cortical Neurons
Infancy and Childhood:
Physical Development
 Babies only 3
months old can
learn that
kicking moves
a mobile--and
can retain that
learning for a
month (RoveeCollier, 1989,
1997).
Developmental Psychology
Infant and
child
Physical
Cognitive
Social
Adolescent
Adult
Infancy and Childhood:
Cognitive Development
 Schema
 a concept or framework that
organizes and interprets
information
Developing A Scheme
These are groobles:
These are not groobles:
Developing a Scheme
These are groobles:
These are not groobles:
Infancy and Childhood:
Cognitive Development
 Assimilation
 interpreting one’s new experience
in terms of one’s existing schemas
 Accommodation
 adapting one’s current
understandings (schemas) to
incorporate new information
Piaget’s Stages of
Cognitive Development
Typical Age
Range
Description
of Stage
Developmental
Phenomena
Birth to nearly 2 years
Sensorimotor
Experiencing the world through
senses and actions (looking,
touching, mouthing)
•Object permanence
developing
•Stranger anxiety
About 2 to 6 years
Preoperational
Representing things
with words and images
but lacking logical reasoning
•Pretend play
•Egocentrism
•(theory of mind)
•Language development
About 7 to 11 years
Concrete operational
•Conservation
•(a similar task for us?)
Thinking logically about concrete
•Mathematical
events; grasping concrete analogies
and performing arithmetical operations transformations
About 12 through
adulthood
Formal operational
Abstract reasoning
•Abstract logic
•Potential for
moral reasoning
Language
 Babbling Stage
 beginning at 3 to 4 months
 the stage of speech development in which
the infant spontaneously utters various
sounds at first unrelated to the household
language
 One-Word Stage
 from about age 1 to 2
 the stage in speech development during
which a child speaks mostly in single words
Language
 Two-Word Stage
 beginning about age 2
 the stage in speech development during
which a child speaks in mostly two-word
statements
 Telegraphic Speech
 early speech stage in which the child
speaks like a telegram-–“go car”--using
mostly nouns and verbs and omitting
“auxiliary” words
Language development
Overgeneralization - When children
apply a grammatical rule across all
members of a grammatical class (e.g.
verbs) without making the appropriate
Overextension - When children use a
word to refer to a class of objects that is
broader than in adult usage. For instance,
using "dog" to refer to all four- legged
creatures.
Language
Summary of Language Development
Month
(approximate)
Stage
4
Babbles many speech sounds.
10
Babbling reveals households
language.
12
One-word stage.
24
Two-world, telegraphic speech.
24+
Language develops rapidly into
complete sentences.
Developmental Psychology
Infant and
child
Physical
Cognitive
Social
Adolescent
Adult
Social Development
 Stranger Anxiety
 fear of strangers that infants commonly
display
 beginning by about 8 months of age
 Attachment
 an emotional tie with another person
 shown in young children by their seeking
closeness to the caregiver and displaying
distress on separation
Social Development
 Harlow’s Surrogate
Mother Experiments
 Monkeys preferred
contact with the
comfortable cloth
mother, even while
feeding from the
nourishing wire
mother
Baby monkeys derive
security from cloth mothers
Monkeys raised by artificial
mothers were terror-stricken
when placed in strange
situations without their
surrogate mothers.
Social Development
 Basic Trust (Erik Erikson)
 a sense that the world is predictable and
trustworthy
 said to be formed during infancy by
appropriate experiences with responsive
caregivers
 Self-Concept
 a sense of one’s identity and personal
worth
Mary Ainsworth strange
situation test
Secure attachment
Insecure and ambivalent attachments
Social Development
 Critical Period
 an optimal period shortly after birth
when an organism’s exposure to certain
stimuli or experiences produces proper
development
 Imprinting
 the process by which certain animals
form attachments during a critical period
very early in life
Parental authority
questionnaire
1,6,10,13,15,17,19,21,24,28
2,3,7,9,12,16,18,25,26,29
4,5,8,11,15,20,22,23,27,30
Social Development: ChildRearing Practices
 Authoritarian
 parents impose rules and expect obedience
 “Don’t interrupt.” “Why? Because I said so.”
 Permissive (Indulgent or Indifferent)
 submit to children’s desires, make few
demands, use little punishment
 Authoritative
 both demanding and responsive
 set rules, but explain reasons and encourage
open discussion
Social Development:
Child-Rearing Practices
Developmental Psychology
Infant and
child
Physical
Cognitive
Social
Adolescent
Adult
Adolescence
 Adolescence
 the transition period from childhood to
adulthood
 extending from puberty to
independence
 Puberty
 the period of sexual maturation
 when a person becomes capable of
reproduction
Adolescence
 Primary Sex Characteristics
 body structures that make sexual reproduction possible
 ovaries--female
 testes--male
 external genitalia
 Secondary Sex Characteristics
 nonreproductive sexual characteristics
 female--breast and hips
 male--voice quality and body hair
 Menarche (meh-NAR-key)
 first menstrual period
Adolescence
Height in
centimeters
190
170
150
130
110
90
70
50
0
2
Boys
4
6 8 10 12 14 16 18
Age in years
Girls
 Throughout
childhood, boys
and girls are
similar in height.
At puberty, girls
surge ahead
briefly, but then
boys overtake
them at about
age 14.
Timing of physical changes
Early maturation
Good for boys
Better athletes because of size and strength
More popular, self-assured, independent
But some increased risk for alcohol use and premature
sexual activity
Bad for girls
Stressful. Can be out of sync with peers and hang out with
older kids
May become victim of teasing or sexual harassment
Treated as if older than is appropriate
Body Changes at
Puberty
Developmental Psychology
Infant and
child
Physical
Cognitive
Social
Adolescent
Adult
Kohlberg’s Moral
Ladder
Postconventional
level
Morality of abstract
principles: to affirm
agreed-upon rights and
personal ethical principles
Conventional
level
Morality of law and
social rules: to gain
approval or avoid
disapproval
Preconventional
level
Morality of self-interest:
to avoid punishment
or gain concrete rewards
 As moral
development
progresses, the
focus of concern
moves from the
self to the wider
social world.
Erikson’s Stages of
Psychosocial Development
Approximate
age
Stage
Description of Task
Infancy
(1st year)
Trust vs. mistrust
If needs are dependably met, infants
develop a sense of basic trust.
Toddler
(2nd year)
Autonomy vs. shame Toddlers learn to exercise will and
and doubt
do things for themselves, or they
doubt their abilities.
Preschooler
(3-5 years)
Initiative vs. guilt
Preschoolers learn to initiate tasks
and carry out plans, or they feel
guilty about efforts to be independent.
Elementary
(6 yearspuberty)
Competence vs.
inferiority
Children learn the pleasure of applying
themselves to tasks, or they feel
inferior.
Erikson’s Stages of
Psychosocial Development
Approximate
age
Stage
Description of Task
Adolescence
(teens into
20’s)
Identity vs. role
confusion
Teenagers work at refining a sense of self by
testing roles and then integrating them to
form a single identity, or they become
confused about who they are.
Young Adult
(20’s to early
40’s)
Intimacy vs.
isolation
Young adults struggle to form close relationships and to gain the capacity for intimate
love, or they feel socially isolated.
Middle Adult
(40’s to 60’s)
Generativity vs.
stagnation
The middle-aged discover a sense of contributing to the world, usually through family
and work, or they may feel a lack of purpose.
Late Adult
(late 60’s and
up)
Integrity vs.
despair
When reflecting on his or her life, the older
adult may feel a sense of satisfaction or
failure.
Timeline?
Adolescence: Social
Development
 Identity
 one’s sense of self
 the adolescent’s task is to solidify a
sense of self by testing and integrating
various roles
 Intimacy
 the ability to form close, loving
relationships
 a primary developmental task in late
adolescence and early adulthood
Marcia’s Identity Statuses
 Identity diffusion
 No sense of having choices; not yet make (nor is attempting/willing to
make) a commitment
 Identity Foreclosure
 Willing to commit to some relevant roles, values or goals for future.
Not experienced an identity crisis. Tend to conform to the expectations
of others regarding their future. Not explored a range of options
 Identity Moratorium
 Currently in in a crisis, exploring various commitments and ready to
make choices, but has not make a commitment to these choices yet
 Identity Achievement
 Gone through a crisis and has made a commitment to a sense of
identity (role or value) that he or she has chosen
Adolescent egocentrism
Belief by teenagers that they are special
and unique
Accompanies the attainment of new
mental abilities. (formal operational
thought
Ability to think about their own thought and
thought of others.
Flaw: They assume that since they spend
a considerable amount of time thinking
about themselves, others must be doing
the same thing.
Imaginary audience
Personal fable
Adolescence: Social
Development
 The changing parent-child relationship
Percent with
positive, warm
interaction
with parents
100%
80
60
40
20
0
2 to 4
5 to 8
9 to 11
Ages of child in years
Developmental Psychology
Infant and
child
Physical
Cognitive
Social
Adolescent
Adult
Adulthood: Physical
Development
 Menopause
 the time of natural cessation of menstruation
 also refers to the biological changes a woman
experiences as her ability to reproduce declines
 Alzheimer’s Disease
 a progressive and irreversible brain disorder
 characterized by a gradual deterioration of
memory, reasoning, language, and finally,
physical functioning
True/False
 Older people become more susceptible to short term illnesses
 About one-fourth of people over age 65 live in nursing homes,
hospitals, homes for the aged, or other institutions
 During old age many of the brain’s neurons die
 If they live to be 90 or older, most elderly people eventually
become senile
 Recognition memory-the ability to identify things previously
experienced-declines with age
 Life satisfaction peaks in the forties and then gradually declines
after age 65.
Adulthood: Physical
Development
 The Aging Senses
1.00
0.75
Proportion of normal
(20/20) vision when
identifying letters on
an eye chart
0.50
0.25
0
10
30
50
Age in years
70
90
Adulthood: Physical
Development
 The Aging Senses
90
Percent correct when
Identifying smells
70
50
10
30
50
Age in years
70
90
Adulthood: Physical
Development
 The Aging Senses
90
Percent correct when
identifying spoken
words
70
50
10
30
50
Age in years
70
90
Adulthood: Physical
Development
Fatal
accident 12
rate
10
8
6
4
2
0
16
 Slowing
reactions
Fatal accidents
per 100 million miles
contribute to
Fatal accidents
increased
per 10,000 drivers
accident risks
among those
20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 and 75 and older.
over
Age
Adulthood: Physical
Development
 Incidence of Dementia by Age
Percentage
with dementia
Risk of dementia
increases in later
years
40%
30
20
10
0
60-64
70-74
65-69
80-84
75-79
Age Group
90-95
85-89
Developmental Psychology
Infant and
child
Physical
Cognitive
Social
Adolescent
Adult
Adulthood: Cognitive
Development
100
Percent
90
of names
recalled 80
70
60
50
40
 Recalling new
names
After three
introductions introduced
once, twice, or
three times is
easier for
younger adults
than for older
ones (Crook &
70
West, 1990).
Older age groups have
poorer performance
After two
introductions
30
20
After one
10 introductions
0
18
40
50
60
Age group
Adulthood: Cognitive
Development
Number
24
Of words
remembered
20
16
12
8
4
0
 In a study by
Schonfield &
Robertson (1966),
Number of words
the ability to recall
recognized is
stable with age
new information
declined during early
and middle
Number of words
adulthood, but the
recalled declines
with age
ability to recognize
new information did
20 30 40 50
60 70 not.
Age in years
Adulthood: Cognitive
Development
Reasoning
ability
score
60
Cross-sectional method
suggests decline
55
50
45
Longitudinal method
suggests more stability
 a study in which
people of different
ages are compared
with one another
 Longitudinal Study
40
35
 Cross-Sectional
Study
25 32 39 46 53 60 67 74 81
Age in years
Cross-sectional method
Longitudinal method
 a study in which
the same people
are restudied and
retested over a
long period
Adulthood- Cognitive
Development
Intelligence
(IQ) score
105
Verbal scores are
stable with age
100
95
90
85
Nonverbal scores
decline with age
80
75
20 25
Verbal scores
Nonverbal scores
35
45
Age group
55
65
 Verbal
intelligence
scores hold
steady with age,
while nonverbal
intelligence
scores decline
70
(adapted from
Kaufman &
others, 1989).
Adulthood: Cognitive
Development
 Crystallized Intelligence
 one’s accumulated knowledge and verbal
skills
 tends to increase with age
 Fluid Intelligence
 ones ability to reason speedily and
abstractly
 tends to decrease during late adulthood
Developmental Psychology
Infant and
child
Physical
Cognitive
Social
Adolescent
Adult
Adulthood: Social
Development
 Early-forties midlife crisis?
Emotional
instability
24%
No early 40s
emotional crisis
16
Females
8
Males
0
33
36
39
42
45
48
Age in Years
51
54
Adulthood: Social
Changes
 Social Clock
 the culturally preferred timing of
social events
 marriage
 parenthood
 retirement
Adulthood: Social
Changes
Percentage
“satisfied”
with life
as a whole
80
60
40
20
0
15
25
35
45
Age group
55
65+
 Multinational
surveys show
that age
differences in
life satisfaction
are trivial
(Inglehart,
1990).
Adulthood: Social
Changes