Human Development
Chapter 9
AP Psychology
Alice F. Short
Hilliard Davidson High School
Discussion Question:
• At what age do you stop becoming more
mature?
• The text states that the “body, mind and
emotion are interdependent.” Imagine the
loss of function in one of these areas. What
would it be like if one of these was at a
diminished capacity?
Chapter Outline
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Exploring Human Development
Child Development
Adolescence
Emerging Adulthood, Adult Development, and
Aging
• Human Development and Health and
Wellness
Development
• development - the pattern of continuity and
change that occurs throughout the lifespan
– physical processes
– cognitive processes
– socioemotional processes
Development
• biological
processes
• cognitive
processes
• socioemotional
processes
Research Methods
in Development Psychology
• Age-Related Differences
– cross-sectional studies
• cohort effects
– DISCUSSION: What cohort effects exist within your
generation?
• faster
– longitudinal studies
• takes a LONG time
• Very happy people? Old or young? What do
you think? (p. 279)
Nature vs. Nurture
• nature – biological inheritance
• nurture – environmental experiences
• the developer – individuals take active roles in
own development
• Which leads to / influences optimal life
experiences more?
A SHORT Time to Ponder
• Critical Controversy: Genes or Superparents? (p. 281)
– Judith Harris (1998) The Nurture Assumption – parents make no
difference
– Sandra Scarr – “superparenting” is unnecessary
– Diana Baumrind – “good enough” is not good enough
– W. Andrew Collins (2000) – even w/ genetic influence taken into
account, parenting practices made a difference in children’s lives.
– If you have decide to have children in the future, how might the
information in this Critical Controversy affect your approach to
parenting?
– Why might today’s parents be more likely than parents in the past
to try to be superparents?
– How influential are your peers in your life? Is the influence
positive or negative?
– What should you do of your child falls in with the “wrong
crowd”?
Resilient Children
• early experience versus later experience
• resilience – a person’s ability to recover from
or adapt to difficult times
• resilient children become capable adults
Prenatal Development
• Germinal Period (weeks 1-2)
– conception
– fertilization
– zygote
• Embryonic Period (weeks 3-8)
• Fetal Period (months 2-9)
Prenatal Development
• Teratogens… agents that cause birth defects
– diseases (ruebella, German measles, etc.)
– nicotine
– alcohol
– STIs
• Effects of teratogens depend on…
– timing of exposure
– genetic characteristics
– postnatal environment
Physical Development
• reflexes - genetically wired behaviors that are
crucial for survival
– persist throughout life
• coughing, blinking, yawning
– disappear with neurological development
• grasping
Physical Development
• perceptual and motor skills
• preferential looking
– give “choice” and measure preferences
Brain Development
• myelination continues after birth
• dramatic increase in synaptic connections
• brain imaging techniques illuminate
developmental changes in the brain
Cognitive Development
• Jean Piaget (1896-1980)
– Children actively construct their cognitive world
using…
• schemas – concepts or frameworks that
organize information
• assimilation – incorporate new info into existing
schemas
• accommodation – adjust schemas to new information
Piaget’s Theory
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sensorimotor stage
preoperational stage
concrete operational stage
formal operational stage
• Sensorimotor Stage (birth - 2 years)
Piaget’s
Theory:
Cognitive
Development
– coordinate sensations with movements
– object permanence
• Preoperational Stage (2 - 7 years)
– symbolic thinking
– intuitive reasoning
– egocentrism
• Concrete Operational Stage (7 – 11 yrs)
– operational thinking (e.g., conservation)
– classification skills
– logical thinking in concrete contexts
• Formal Operational Stage (11-15 yrs)
– lasts through adulthood
– abstract and idealistic thought
– hypothetical-deductive reasoning
Evaluating Piaget’s Theory
• some cognitive abilities emerge earlier than Piaget
thought
• Piaget overestimated formal operations
• culture and education also influence development
• Lev Vygotsky, Russian psychology (1962): Cognitive
Development
– is an interpersonal process.
– happens in a cultural context.
– is facilitated by the process of scaffolding.
Temperament
• an individual’s behavioral style or
characteristic way of responding
• three clusters of temperament
– easy
– difficult
– slow-to-warm-up
• another perspective (effortful control/selfregulation, inhibition, and negative affectivity)
Infant Attachment
• Harlow Study – infant rhesus monkeys
– is it nourishment or contact that matters?
– chose between two surrogate “mothers”
• cold wire mother versus warm cloth mother
• -infants preferred cloth mother across situations
– contact comfort is critical to attachment
– the close emotional bond between an infant and its
caregiver
– may provide important foundation for subsequent
development
Infant Attachment
• Mary Ainsworth – Strange Situation
– Caregivers leave infant alone with stranger, then
return…secure attachment or insecure
attachment?
– Criticism: cultural variations
Socioemotional Development
• Erik Erikson (1902-1994)
– theory emphasizes lifelong development
– eight psychosocial stages of development
• first four stages: childhood
– each stage represents a developmental task
• crisis that must be resolved
• personal competence or weakness
• First Four Stages: Childhood
Erik
– trust versus mistrust
– autonomy versus shame and doubt
Erikson:
– initiative versus guilt
Socioemotional
– industry versus inferiority
Development
Evaluating Erikson
• primary focus on case-study research
• omitted important developmental tasks
• Authoritarian
Parenting
Styles
– parents are controlling and punitive
– correlated with lack of initiative, poor
communication skills, social incompetence
• Authoritative
– parents encourage independence with limits
– correlated with social competence, social
responsibility, and self-reliance
• Neglectful
– parents are generally uninvolved
– correlated with less social incompetence and poor
self-control
• Permissive
– parents are involved, but place few limits
– correlated with poor social competence, lack of
respect for others, poor self-control
Friendships
• talking over life problems
• co-rumination
– worrying about a topic without finding a
resolution.
– girls co-ruminate more than boys
– increased feelings of depression and anxiety
Moral Development
• Kohlberg (1927-1987) – presented moral
dilemmas and analyzed responses
– Preconventional
• behavior guided by punishments and rewards
– Conventional
• standards learned from parents and society
– Postconventional
• contracts, rights and abstract principles
Moral Development: Kohlberg
• 3 Levels, 6 stages, 2 stages in each level
Evaluating Kohlberg’s Theory
• moral reasoning ≠ moral behavior
– what we say and do are not always consistent
• women generally score lower than men
– justice perspective (men)
– care perspective (women) – Carol Gilligan
Current Research on
Moral Development
• Prosocial Behavior
– correlated with supportive parenting
– correlated with self-control
• Conscience Formation
– forms by age 3 and carries over into adulthood
– parent-child interactions
• clear, elaborate, rich with emotional content
• shared positive emotion
Moral Development
• Parenting strategies associated with morality
in children…
– warm and supportive rather than harsh
– reasoning with child when disciplining
– help child learn to take others’ perspective
– involve child in decision making
– model moral behavior and thinking
Understanding Adolescence
• transition from childhood to adulthood
• starts age 10-12
• ends age 18-21
Adolescent Physical Development
• Puberty
– rapid skeletal and sexual maturation
– puberty begins at beginning of adolescence
• Testosterone (androgen) — boys
– genital development, height, voice changes
• Estrodiol (estrogen) — girls
– breast, uterine, and skeletal development
Adolescent Brain Development
• Early
– amygdala
• emotions
• Late
– prefrontal cortex
• reasoning and decision making
• risk taking
Adolescent Cognitive Development
• Piaget’s Formal Operational Stage
– Adolescent Egocentrism
• the belief that others are as preoccupied with the
adolescent as he or she is
• sense of uniqueness
• sense of invincibility --> risky behaviors
Adolescent
Socioemotional Development
• Erikson: Psychosocial Development
– identity versus identity confusion (fifth stage)
• Marcia’s Four Identity Statuses
– exploration and commitment
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identity diffusion
identity foreclosure
identity moratorium
identity achievement
Marcia’s Four Identity Statuses
Adolescent
Socioemotional Development
• Ethnic Identity
– attachment to ones minority group
– attachment to larger culture
– biculturalism
• Influence of Parents and Peers
– parent as manager/counselor/monitor
– balance involvement and allowing to explore
– peer relations peak in importance
Adult Development and Aging
• Emerging Adulthood
– extended adolescence
– five key features
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identity exploration
instability
self-focus
feeling “in between”
age of possibilities
Physical Changes in Adulthood
• Early Adulthood
– most reach the peak of physical development
• Middle Adulthood
– most lose height, many gain weight
– menopause for women (late 40s or early 50s)
• Late Adulthood
– accumulated wear and tear
– less ability to repair and regenerate
Biological Theories of Aging
• Cellular-Clock Theory
– maximum # of cell divisions possible
– predicts human life span of about 120 years
– shortening telomeres
• Free-Radical Theory
– cause DNA and cell damage
• Hormonal Stress Theory
– stress hormones linger longer
The Aging Brain
• some new brain cells grow in hippocampus
and olfactory bulb
• surviving/healthy neurons take up slack for
their deceased/disabled neighbors
• reduced lateralization of brain function: both
hemispheres used more equally
• Early Adulthood
– idealism gives way to realistic pragmatism
– reflection on worldview
• Middle Adulthood
– crystallized intelligence (vocabulary) peaks
– fluid intelligence (inductive reasoning)
peaks
– numerical ability & perceptual speed
decline
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Cognitive
Development
Late Adulthood
in
– speed of processing generally declines
– memory retrieval skills decline
Adulthood
– wisdom increases in some individuals
– strategy training and physical activity can
improve cognitive function
Cognitive
Development
Socioemotional
Development
in Adulthood
• Erikson’s Theory
– Last Four Stages
• identity versus role confusion
(adolescence)
• intimacy versus isolation
• generativity versus stagnation
• integrity versus despair
Marriage
• Erikson’s Stage 6: intimacy v. isolation
• women and men are marrying later
• principles for successful marriages
– nurturing fondness and admiration
– turning toward each other as friends
– giving up some power
– solving conflicts together
Parenting
• Erikson’s Stage 7: generativity v. stagnation
• wellness through contribution to next
generation
• contribution through rearing children
• constructive engagement with children
correlated with marital satisfaction, life
satisfaction, career success
Winding Down
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Erikson’s Stage 8: integrity v. despair
wellness through reminiscence
seeking meaning through life review
confronting own pending death
importance of meaning: past and present!
more selective about social network
consider Bucket List
Human Development:
Health and Wellness
• Development during adulthood marked by
– physical and psychological decline
– conscious awareness of aging
• Coping with life’s difficulties
– assimilation and accommodation (Piaget)
• Victor Frankl – Life Themes
– the uniqueness of each person and the finiteness
of life.
Chapter Summary
• Explain how psychologists think about
development.
• Describe children’s development from prenatal
stages to adolescence.
• Identify the most important changes that occur in
adolescence.
• Discuss adult development and the positive
dimensions of aging.
• Discuss important factors in successful adult
psychological development.
Chapter Summary
• Development occurs across the lifespan and is
influenced by both
– nature – biological inheritance
– nurture – environmental experience
• Physical Development
– childhood
– adolescence
– adulthood
Chapter Summary
• Cognitive Development
– childhood
– adolescence
– adulthood
• Socioemotional Development
– childhood
– adolescence
– adulthood
Chapter Summary
• Piaget: Cognitive Development
– schemas, assimilation, and accommodation
– sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete
operational, and formal operational stages
• Kohlberg: Moral Development
– preconventional, conventional, and
postconventional morality
Chapter Summary
• Erikson: Psychosocial Development
– emphasizes lifelong development
– eight psychosocial stages (crises) of development
• Positive Psychology and Development
– most report being happy across the life span
• Coping, Life Themes, and Development