Chapter 10 Human Development

Introduction to Psychology, 7th Edition, James W. Kalat

Chapter 10: Human Development

Chapter 10

Human Development



Human Development

 Developmental Psychology

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The goal of developmental psychology is to understand all the factors that influence human development from conception to death.

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Developmental psychologists have made much progress by devising increasingly careful and sensitive ways to measure behavioral abilities.



Module 10.1

 Getting Started: From Genetics Through Infancy



Genes and Behavior

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Monozygotic , or identical, twins develop from a single fertilized egg and have identical genes.

Dyzygotic , or fraternal, twins develop from two eggs and share only half of their genes, like any other sibling set.

Studying sets of twins is a useful and informative way to know more about the influence of genes on behavior.



Genes and Behavior

 From twin studies and other genetic research we know that genetic factors have a substantial influence on many aspects of psychology. But we still don’t know exactly:

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How genes shape mental processes and behavior

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How much influence genes actually have

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Which aspects of the environment are most important in influencing psychological processes

How do genes and environment work together to shape mental processes and behavior?



Genetic Principles

 Chromosomes

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Most animal and plant cells contain a nucleus with hereditary material – instructions in the form of strands called chromosomes.

Humans have 46 chromosomes – 23 pairs – in every body cell except for the sex cells. Sperm and ova each contain 23 unpaired chromosomes that unite at conception.




 Genes

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The genes that form the sections of the chromosomes control the chemical reactions that direct an individual organism’s development.

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Genes control protein production in order to produce specific characteristics – a specific group of genes will exert a large influence over height, weight, or eye color.



Figure 10.3

Genes are sections of chromosomes in the nuclei of cells

(scale is exaggerated for illustration purposes).




 Genes

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The genes that form the sections of the chromosomes control the chemical reactions that direct an individual organism’s development.

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Genes control protein production in order to produce specific characteristics – a specific group of genes will exert a large influence over height, weight, or eye color.




 Genes

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Genes are composed of DNA, special chemicals that control the production of RNA. RNA in turn controls the production of proteins.

The proteins either become part of the individual’s body, or control the rate of chemical reactions in the body.




 Genes

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Cells that contained paired chromosomes also contain paired genes.

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If both genes of a pair are identical, the individual has received a homozygous pair .

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If the genes are different, the individual is heterozygous for that trait.




 Genes

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If an individual receives one gene for wavy hair and another for straight hair, that individual’s hair will be straight.

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The gene for wavy hair is a dominant gene . It is referred to as dominant because it will exert its effects even if the inheriting individual is heterozygous for the gene.




 Genes

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A recessive gene will only show its effects in the homozygous condition. You must receive a gene for blue eyes from both parents in order to develop blue eyes.

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The gene for blue eye color is a recessive gene.




 Genes

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An individual who is homozygous for a trait will always pass the dominant gene on to any offspring.

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An individual who is heterozygous for a trait may pass either the dominant or recessive gene on to the next generation.

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It is possible for parents who are heterozygous for a dominant trait to each pass a recessive gene to their child, who will then be homozygous for the recessive trait.



Concept Check:

If you are wavy-haired but your brother has straight hair, are you homozygous or heterozygous for that trait, or is it impossible to say without looking at your genes?

It is impossible to say without genetic testing.

You could be homozygous or heterozygous dominant.



Concept Check:

What about your brother? What type of gene pair did he inherit?

Your brother must be homozygous recessive.

Recessive genes only exert influence in the homozygous condition.



Concept Check:

If both parents have blue eyes, what can we predict about their children?

Their children will have blue eyes too.




 Sex-linked genes

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The sex chromosomes determine whether an individual will become a male or female.

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There are two types of sex chromosomes, called X and

Y.

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Females receive an X from each parent; males receive an X from mother and a Y from father.





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Genes that are on the X-chromosome are called sexlinked genes.

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The influence of these genes is seen more often in men than in women.

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An example of such a trait is the disease hemophilia.



Figure 10.7

Why males are more likely than females to be colorblind.





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A man may have the gene on his X-chromosome. There is no gene on the Y, and so the trait manifests.

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A woman is much more likely to receive the dominant gene for normal blood clotting on one of her Xchromosomes, and not have hemophilia.




 Sex-linked versus sex-limited genes

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Genes for the secondary sex characteristics (facial hair in men, breast development in women) are present in both sexes, but are activated by the presence of sex hormones.

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These are called sex-limited genes .

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Behavior differences between the sexes (such as the tendency for males to be more aggressive) are thought to be influenced by sex-limited genes.



Concept Check:

A man who is colorblind marries a woman who is homozygous dominant for normal color vision. What is the likely outcome for any children they might have?

None of their children will be colorblind.

The daughters of the union will be carriers of the condition.




 Genetic screening

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Genetic diseases have been of great concern.

Technology now allows us to identify and localize genes that cause such diseases.

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Some examples of these are:

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Alzheimer’s Disease

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Huntington’s Disease

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PKU

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There are many others




 Genetic screening

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Our ability to do this has led to some interesting ethical questions:

How does knowing this affect an individual’s behavior

(choice to have children, for example)?

Should health insurers be able to know what a person’s genetic make-up is? Would these companies deny coverage based on such knowledge?




 Heritability

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Some traits are easily traced to a single gene.

An example of such a trait is Huntington’s Disease.

There are many others.




 Heritability

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But even traits traced to a single gene may be strongly environmentally influenced.

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An example of this kind of gene is PKU. PKU causes profound mental retardation, but only if the affected person’s diet includes foods containing a certain enzyme.

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If the person with the PKU gene is kept on a strict diet for the first two decades of life, he will have normal intelligence.




 Heritability

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Many characteristics and conditions of interest to psychologists cannot be traced to a single gene.

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Mental processes and behaviors develop through complex interactions of the influences of genes and environment.

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In the case of traits such as addiction, personality characteristics, and intelligence, it is meaningless to ask if the trait depends solely on heredity or environment.




 Heritability

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The concept of heritability helps us to rephrase the question to make it more useful.

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Does a difference in behavior or outcome depend more on differences in genetic make-up or differences in environment?

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Heritability is an estimate of the variance in a population that is due solely to heredity. If we could somehow make the environment the same for all individuals, the differences we would see would then be attributable to genetic differences.




 Heritability

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Heritability is measured from 0 to 1.

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0 means that almost none of the variance in the trait in due to heredity – what religion a person practices has no basis in heredity.

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1 signifies that variance in the trait is due entirely to heredity. If you have Huntington’s Disease or not will depend solely on whether you get the gene.




 Heritability

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Many researchers have worked on the problem of heritability.

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It is difficult to know the exact degree of genetic influence because:

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The environment can start to impact an individual right from conception (a mother’s lifestyle and nutrition affect the growing fetus).

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Environments are hard to “standardize” or make identical (except in the laboratory, perhaps).




 Heritability

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Evidence suggests that genetic factors contribute to variations in almost all behaviors and processes of interest to psychologists.

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But there are good reasons to suspect an overestimation of heritability in many psychological studies because of the difficulties involved in studying humans in their diverse environments.

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We need more evidence before we can confidently describe the role of heredity in forming human potential and personality.




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Heritability

Some behaviors that have been shown to have a moderate degree of heritability:

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Time spent watching TV

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Religious devoutness

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Dietary preferences

These differences can be traced to biological factors that genes influence (activity levels, digestive chemistry).



Heredity and the Environment

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People believe that if a trait is found to be primarily genetically influenced (heritability = 1) nothing can be done to counteract its effects.

But the example of PKU, described earlier shows that a trait can be entirely under the influence of heredity, and yet also be easily influenced and altered by human intervention.



The Fetus and the Newborn

 Prenatal Development

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The growth and changes that occur before birth are referred to as prenatal development. There are identifiable stages of this period of life.




 Prenatal development

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Zygote Fertilized egg cell

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Blastula

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Gastrula

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Embryo

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Fetus

2 to 8 weeks after conception

8 weeks after conception until birth





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Prenatal brain development

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By seven weeks the hindbrain and midbrain are developed enough to produce movements.

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By 36 weeks those brain structures produce head and eye movements in response to sounds, a sleepwake cycle, and REM sleep.

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The cerebral cortex is relatively inactive during this period.





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The maternal-fetal connection

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Everything that mother consumes reaches the baby through the placenta.

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If mother’s nutrition and prenatal care are poor or deficient, baby will also be deprived.

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If mother drinks, uses drugs, or smokes, baby will receive these substances, often with serious consequences.





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Low-birth weight and premature infants

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Small and premature babies have a higher risk of dying in infancy.

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They are more likely to have impaired brain development.

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Those who survive infancy are at higher risk of behavioral and academic problems during childhood.

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Low birth weight may or may not be the cause of these impairments, but it definitely correlates with whatever factors do cause them, if it is not in fact the direct cause.





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Fetal alcohol syndrome

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If mother drinks alcohol during pregnancy, the baby is likely to be born with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS).

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FAS is characterized by stunted growth of the head and body, facial, cranial and ear malformations, neurological damage, learning disabilities and mental retardation.





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A milder version, called fetal alcohol effects (FAE), has also been noted.

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A child with FAE appears normal but has impaired academic skills and mild behavioral problems.

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The more alcohol mother drinks, and the longer she continues drinking, the greater the risk to the developing baby.

There is no “safe” level of alcohol consumption during pregnancy.





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During prenatal development, growing neurons need persistent excitation to survive.

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Alcohol facilitates GABA, the main inhibitory neurotransmitter of the brain.

This leads the neurons to “self-destruct”.

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Any chemicals that increase activity at inhibitory synapses, such as tranquilizers, anesthetics, and antidepressants, should be avoided.





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Maternal smoking

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Mother’s smoking also increases the probability that her baby will have health problems.

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Smoking (before and after birth) has been associated with an increased risk of SIDS.

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Conduct disorder has been found to correlate with mother’s smoking during pregnancy more strongly than with father’s antisocial behavior, SES, lack of supervision, or use of harsh punishment by the parents.




 Prenatal Development

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To maximize the chance of having a healthy baby with an undamaged brain, a pregnant woman should avoid using alcohol, tobacco and other recreational drugs, follow a nutritious diet, receive regular prenatal care, and consult with her health care provider before using any prescription or over-the counter medication.



Concept Check:

Why should a pregnant woman who is being treated for depression with medication stop taking her anti-depressant drugs?

They are likely to cause damage to the developing fetus’ brain by increasing activity at inhibitory synapses.



Behavioral Capacities of the Newborn

 Newborns have little muscle control, and exhibit the greatest purposeful movement with their eyes and mouths.

 Development proceeds from the head down and from the midline out, and so gradually babies can move their trunks, limbs and fingers.




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Newborns’ vision

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Newborns have far from perfect vision, but see far better than was believed just a few generations ago

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2-day-infants prefer to look at drawings of human faces.

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Infants direct their gaze at the same things that attract adult attention.

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As infants gain voluntary control of their arms and legs, and begin to crawl, a fear of heights develops that is almost certainly related to improved depth perception.



Figure 10.12

Infants pay more attention to faces than to other patterns. These results suggest that infants are born with certain visual preferences. (Based on Fantz, 1963)




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Newborns’ vision

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Visual motor coordination develops quickly but must be practiced to continue being improved.

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Experiments with kittens suggest that eye movements must be allowed to coordinate with body movements for further development of all visually guided behavior.




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Newborns’ hearing

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In general, infants suck more vigorously when they hear sounds that they find stimulating.

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Some sounds (such as the human voice) are more stimulating than others.

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Most sounds eventually produce a decreased response as the infant becomes habituated to them.

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Playing new sounds for an infant will increase responding, and may even result in a dishabituation, or increased responding to previously habituated sounds.




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Newborns’ learning and memory

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Infants as young as one month old can discriminate between phonemes.

Infants show a marked preference for their mother’s voice over another woman’s voice.

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They showed this preference on the day of their birth, suggesting that they have some memory of her voice from before birth.



Figure 10.13 After 5 minutes of hearing a ba sound, the infant’s sucking habituates.

When a new sound, pa, follows, the sucking rate increases, an indication that infants do hear a difference between the two sounds. (Based on results of Eimas,

Siqueland, Juscyk, & Vigorito, 1971)




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Older infants (2-3 months old) show ability to learn responses and remember them for days afterwards, such as kicking their legs to make a mobile move.

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Nine month olds can learn to press a lever to move a toy train around a track, and can retain this memory for a fairly long time.




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It is not clear if Piaget’s inference is accurate. Infants who are tested differently show signs of having a notion of object permanence earlier than Piaget believed was possible.

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Infants seem to have a grasp of physical laws and can distinguish possible from impossible events (at least their reactions seem to indicate that they do.)

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They may also have a grasp of simple numerical concepts.



Newborns and Young Infants

 There has been a steady advance in our ability to test the development and skills of very young human beings.

 It is clear that much more is going on in their brains than they can show us, and than we once thought.



Module 10.2

 The Development of Thinking and Reasoning



Research Designs for Studying Development

 There are two types of research design used in studying human development

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A cross-sectional study compares groups of individuals of different ages simultaneously.

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A longitudinal study follows a single group of individuals as they develop.



Table 10.1 Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies



Research Designs for Studying Development

 Sources of bias in developmental research

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Selective attrition , or differential survival, is the increased probability of some kinds of subjects dropping out.

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Cohort effects are a form of bias created because groups of contemporaries all have the same experience, knowledge or behaviors.



Concept Check:

Follow-up of a 10-year-long study of a group of adults with infant children who agreed to take parenting classes and job training in exchange for public assistance until gaining employment shows high overall levels of satisfaction.

What type of study is this?

Longitudinal study

What source of bias would be of great concern in this study?

Selective attrition



Jean Piaget’s Views of Development

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Piaget believed that the effect of any experience on a person’s knowledge or thinking depended on the person’s maturity combined with previous experiences.

He began his psychological career administering IQ tests, but found that he was bored with this activity. He was, however, fascinated by the incorrect answers that children would give.



Jean Piaget’s Views of Development

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Piaget came to believe that children think differently from adults, both quantitatively and qualitatively.

He believed that children of different cognitive maturity levels react to the same experience very differently.

Piaget used his own extensive observational studies of children to support his conclusions.



An Overview of Piaget’s Theory

 Piaget believed that a child constructs new mental processes as he or she interacts with the environment.

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Behavior is based on schemata (singular - schema.)

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A schema is an organized way of interacting with objects in the world.

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New schemata are added, and old schemata are changed as the child matures.




 Adaptation of old schemata takes place through two processes.

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Through assimilation , a person applies an old schema to a new object.

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Through accommodation , a person modifies an old schema to fit a new object.

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People in all stages switch back and forth between these two strategies, but ultimately cognitive change is accomplished through accommodation.




 The four stages of intellectual development

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Sensorimotor

Preoperational

Birth to 1 years of age

1 to 7 years of age

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Concrete Operations 7 to 11 years of age

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Formal Operations 11 years of age and older




 The sensorimotor stage

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Piaget called the first stage the sensorimotor stage because at this early age behavior consists primarily of simple motor responses to sensory stimuli.

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Examples of these would be the grasping and sucking reflexes.

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Piaget believed that infants respond only to what they see and hear, not what they remember or imagine.




 The sensorimotor stage

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Object Permanence

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Jean Piaget believed that infants lacked a concept of object permanence during the early months of life.

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Object permanence is the idea that objects continue to exist even when one cannot see them or otherwise sense them.

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According to Piaget, an infant does not know that a hidden object is still there until about 8-9 months of age.




 The Sensorimotor stage

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Recent research by Baillergeon suggests that infants 6-8 months old who are tested differently from methods used by Piaget do have a limited ability to understand object permanence.

Baillergeon’s research results suggest that infants can differentiate between possible and physically impossible events.




 The Sensorimotor stage

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As infants progress through the sensorimotor stage, they seem to develop a concept of self.

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At about 1 year of age, they begin to show signs that they recognize themselves.

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They also begin to show self-conscious emotions such as embarrassment.




 The Preoperational stage

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Piaget called the second stage of cognitive development the preoperational stage because the child lacks operations .

The term “operations” refers to reversible mental processes.

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The lack of operations leads to errors in cognition such as egocentric thinking – the child for example knows that he has a brother, but doesn’t understand that he is his brother’s brother.




 The Preoperational stage

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Another example of a concept that preoperational children lack is conservation .

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The inability to conserve results in a failure to recognize that changes in shape and arrangement do not always signify changes in amount or number.



Difficulties of Inferring Children’s Concepts

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There may be a fundamental weakness in the assumption made by Piaget that a child either “has” or “lacks” a concept.

Concepts develop gradually and may appear using some methods of testing but not others.




 Distinguishing appearance from reality

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Do children in the early preoperational stage fail to distinguish appearance from reality?

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It’s not entirely clear whether a child’s inability to do so has more to do with lacking a concept or inadequate language skills.

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For example children may seem to confuse a rock and a sponge that looks like a rock, but when asked to bring to an adult something to wipe up spilled water, they have no problem identifying the sponge as the correct object for that purpose.




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Understanding other people’s thoughts

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Are young children more cognitively egocentric than adults are?

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What Piaget meant by this is that a child cannot easily understand the perspectives of other people.

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Various experiments show that preschool aged children make errors of thought that are typical of egocentric thinking.

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However, adults can make the same mistakes according to other studies.



Figure 10.21 A child sits in front of a screen covering four cups and watches as one adult hides a surprise under one of the cups.



Figure 10.21 A child sits in front of a screen covering four cups and watches as one adult hides a surprise under one of the cups.



Figure 10.21 Then that adult and another (who had not been present initially) point to one of the cups to signal where the surprise is hidden. Many 4-year-olds consistently follow the advice of the informed adult;3-year-olds do not.



Figure 10.22

If an experimenter hides a small toy in a small room and asks a child to find a larger toy “in the same place” in the larger room, a 21/2-year-old searches haphazardly. (a) However, the same child knows exactly where to look, if the experimenter says this is the same room as before, except that a machine has expanded it (b).




 Symbolic thought

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Do children in the early preoperational stage lack an ability to think symbolically?

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2 ½ year old children cannot use a model room as a

“map” when trying to locate a hidden toy in a regular sized room.

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But when told that the toy was hidden in the model room, and a special machine has “expanded” the model to a full size room, the children have little difficulty finding the hidden toy.



Concept Check:

Which is the clearest example of egocentric thinking?

1. An exceptionally wealthy man gives no money to charity.

2. A woman assumes that all her friends will want to see the same movie that she does.

3. At student council meeting, a student takes credit for someone else’s ideas.

#2 – selfishness (1) and dishonesty (3) are not the same as egocentrism.



Table 10.2

Typical tasks used to measure conservation




 The Concrete Operations stage

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From about age 7 children begin to exhibit reversible operations and seem to understand the conservation of physical properties.

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According to Piaget, during the stage of concrete operations children can perform mental operations on concrete objects.

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They may, however, have trouble with abstract or hypothetical ideas.




 The Formal Operations stage

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Formal Operations is Piaget’s term for the mental processes used to deal with abstract, hypothetical situations.

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These are processes that demand logical, deductive reasoning and systematic planning.

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Piaget proposed that children reach this stage just before adolescence (at about age 11.)

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Researchers have found that some people take longer to reach formal operations, and some people never do.



Table 10.3

Summary of Piaget’s stages of cognitive development



Concept Check:

According to Piaget, in what stage would a child be if she could remember where a hidden object is, but doesn’t realize that she is her sister’s sister?

Preoperational



Concept Check:

In which stage is a child who has grasping and sucking reflexes but cannot remember where an object is that has been covered for 15 seconds?

Sensorimotor



Concept Check:

In which stage is a child who can think about concepts such as infinity and time, and has no difficulty with conservation and reversible operations?

Formal operations



Concept Check:

In which stage is a child who can conserve mass and volume and remember the location of hidden objects, but doesn’t understand the concept of infinity?

Concrete operations






Are Piaget’s stages distinct?

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Piaget believed that the four stages of intellectual development were discrete, and that each one represented a major reorganization in cognitive processes.

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More recently though researchers have shown that this conclusion is not entirely warranted.




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Are Piaget’s stages distinct?

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Preoperational children can answer different versions of the conservation tasks correctly.

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In general, the progression between the stages appears to be gradual, so that the difference between stages may not be one of either having the ability or not; it may actually be that the younger child has the same ability but only uses it for simple tasks.



Figure 10.24 (a) With the standard conservation-of-number task, preoperational children answer that the lower row has more items. (b) With a simplified task, the same children say that both rows have the same number of items.




 Implications for education: Piaget

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Children must discover certain concepts on their own.

Children’s attention must be directed to key aspects of concepts when they are ready to learn those concepts.

The teacher needs to determine the child’s level of functioning and then teach material appropriate to that level.




 Implications for education: Vygotsky

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Lev Vygotsky was a Russian developmental psychologist who thought that education needed to meet children at their own level.

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He believed that the use of the symbolic system of language allowed humans to influence others and control our own behavior.

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Education needs to utilize this feature of language and take into account the child’s level of cognitive maturity.

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He proposed the existence of a zone of proximal development , which is the distance between what a child can do alone and what a child can do with assistance from others.




 Implications for education: Vygotsky

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Vygotsky proposed the existence of a zone of proximal development , which is the distance between what a child can do alone and what a child can do with assistance from others.

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Instruction should occur within the zone, but appropriate guidance should be given whenever possible to bring the child to understanding of more sophisticated concepts.

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He compared this process to scaffolding , temporary supports used to construct a new building. These are temporary supports for the child’s cognitive processes.



Concept Check:

Who would be more optimistic about the possibility of teaching a 5-year-old to understand conservation of mass?

According to Vygotsky, conservation might lie within the child’s zone of proximal development



The Development of Moral Reasoning



Children’s general powers of reasoning change across childhood, and so does their reasoning about issues of right and wrong.

 There are a number of different psychological frameworks to describe the changes in moral reasoning that occur over the lifespan.




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Kohlberg’s method of evaluating levels of moral reasoning

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Lawrence Kohlberg argued that moral reasoning progresses through distinct stages.

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Young children tend to equate wrongness with punishment.

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Young children also frequently fail to consider intent in judging a deed.

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He proposed that people pass through a distinct sequence of moral reasoning stages.




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Kohlberg believed that people start at a low level of moral reasoning and progress through higher stages.

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He believed that these stages were roughly analogous to

Piaget’s stages, but the progress was slower.

He measured the maturity of an individual’s moral reasoning by evaluating the responses given to moral dilemmas – problems that pit one moral value against another.




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Preconventional Morality 1. Punishment & Obedience

Conventional Morality

2. Instrumental Relativism

3. Interpersonal Concordance

4. “Law & Order” Orientation

Postconventional Morality 5. Social Contract Orientation

6. Universal Ethical Principles




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Kohlberg assessed the level of moral reasoning using the explanation for the decision offered, rather than the decision itself.

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Few people are absolutely consistent in their moral reasoning.

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Kohlberg believed that very few people actually reached the highest stages.



TABLE 10.4

Responses to one of Kohlberg’s moral dilemmas by people at six levels of moral reasoning. The dilemma: Heinz’s wife was near death from cancer. A druggist had recently discovered a drug that might be able to save her. The druggist was charging $2000 for the drug, which cost him $200 to make. Heinz could not afford to pay for it, and he could borrow only $1000 from friends. He offered to pay the rest later. The druggist refused to sell the drug for less than the full price paid in advance: “I discovered the drug, and I’m going to make money from it.” Late that night, Heinz broke into the store to steal the drug for his wife. Did Heinz do the right thing?



TABLE 10.4

Responses to one of Kohlberg’s moral dilemmas by people at six levels of moral reasoning. The dilemma: Heinz’s wife was near death from cancer. A druggist had recently discovered a drug that might be able to save her. The druggist was charging $2000 for the drug, which cost him $200 to make. Heinz could not afford to pay for it, and he could borrow only $1000 from friends. He offered to pay the rest later. The druggist refused to sell the drug for less than the full price paid in advan ce: “I discovered the drug, and I’m going to make money from it.” Late that night, Heinz broke into the store to steal the drug for his wife.

Did Heinz do the right thing?



Figure 10.25

Learning to distinguish right from wrong is the development of moral reasoning. Most younger adolescents give answers corresponding to Kohlberg’s earlier moral stages. By age 16 most are at Kohlberg’s fourth and fifth stages.

(Based on Kohlberg, 1969)




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Limitations of Kohlberg’s views



Justice versus caring orientations



Kohlberg based his system of reasoning on people’s rights.



Carol Gilligan proposed that some people might reason based on what would help or hurt others, an orientation of caring.



Gilligan proposed that women focus more on caring and men more on rights.



Later research has shown the gender differences in orientation to be small.









Gilligan’s stages of moral development

Stage

Preconventional

Conventional

Postconventional

Basis

What is helpful or harmful to myself?

What is helpful or harmful to others?

What is helpful or harmful to myself and others?



Table 10.5

Carol Gilligan’s stages of moral development









How does moral reasoning relate to actual behavior?



Knowing what is right and doing it are not the same things.



Kohlberg has been criticized for overestimating people’s moral behavior.



Kohlberg has been criticized for underestimating people’s moral behavior.









People may describe how they would engage in higherlevel moral behavior, but actually behave in the manner that is characteristic of a lower level, where there is a more tangible benefit for them.





Children may say that the reason not to do something is because they’d get caught, but when ask if they’d do it if there was no chance of getting caught, say they wouldn’t anyway.

Kohlberg’s theory does not generalize well across cultures.



Developing Cognitive Abilities





Developing an understanding of the world is an enormous challenge for children.

We should acknowledge that for us adults, understanding the world, and for children, learning to understand it, are daunting tasks.



Module 10.3

 Social and Emotional Development



Erikson’s Ages of Human Development





Erikson divided the human life span into eight ages, each with its own social and emotional conflicts.

In this way he sought to provide a model of why people behave the way they do, given the decisions that they are facing according to age.








When the conflict is resolved in a positive and constructive manner, the person moves into the next stage in a psychologically healthy state.

If the conflict is not resolved, the negative effects will most likely carry over into future stages, and have a detrimental effect on the challenges that are yet to be faced.




 Ages 0 - 1



The infant faces the issue –



“Is my social world predictable and supportive?”

 The main conflict of infancy is basic trust versus basic mistrust.




 Ages 1 – 3



The toddler asks the question –



“ Can I do things for myself or must I always rely on others to help me?”

 The main conflict of toddlerhood is autonomy versus shame and doubt.




 Ages 3 – 6



The preschooler needs to figure out –



“Am I a good person or a bad person?”

 The main conflict of the preschool aged child is initiative versus guilt.




 Ages 6 – 12



In an expanding social world, the school-aged child wants to know –



“Am I successful or am I worthless?”

 The preadolescent faces the struggle with a sense of industry versus inferiority.




 Adolescence



Teenagers begin to seek independence and seek the answer to this fundamental question –



“ Who am I?”

 The adolescent needs to resolve the conflict between a settled identity versus role confusion.




 Young Adulthood



Young adults come to terms with the importance of companionship and connection –



“Shall I share my life with another person or live alone?”

 The central conflict of early adulthood is that of intimacy versus isolation.




 Middle age



In the middle of adulthood one wants to feel that they have contributed to society in some meaningful way –



“Will I add anything of real value to the world as a worker and a parent?”

 The conflict of middle adulthood is the desire to achieve generativity versus stagnation.




 Old age



The reality that time is growing short forces people to face a final and profound question –



“Have I lived a full and meaningful life, or have I squandered my time?”

 As older adults we struggle to determine whether we have arrived at a stage of ego integrity versus despair.



Table 10.6

Erikson’s stages of human development



Infancy and Childhood

 Attachment theory



Attachment is a long-term feeling of closeness between a child and a caregiver



Before the mid-twentieth century, developmental psychologists believed that feeding was the primary cause of attachment between mother and child.



In the latter part of the century, John Bowlby (1973) and other developmental psychologists theorized that infants who develop a good sense of attachment to adults who care for them have a better sense of safety and confidence as they start to explore the world around them.




 Early attachment in humans



Some researchers wanted to know why the quality of attachment between human children and their parents seemed to vary so much in quality.



Mary Ainsworth devised a test called the Strange

Situation to examine what factors might contribute to this variation.







In the Strange Situation study, the following sequence of events was observed through a one-way mirror:



A mother and infant (12 to 18 months of age) enter a room with toys in it.



A stranger enters the room.



Mother leaves the room.



Mother returns to the room.



Mother and the stranger leave the room.



The stranger returns to the room.



Mother returns to the room again.







The psychologists who observed the Strange Situation classified the infants’ responses as follows:



Securely attached



Anxious or insecurely attached



Anxious and avoidant



Disorganized







Uses of the Strange Situation:



Has been used with fathers as well as mothers and children



Predicts the quality of the child’s future relationship with parents



Has also been used with grandparents and grandchildren, and even pets and their humans







Factors to consider when interpreting the results of the

Strange Situation study:



Parental behavior does have an effect on attachment.



The effect of parenting on the child’s innate temperament also needs to be considered.



A child who is born with a pleasant and calm temperament may elicit more affectionate behaviors from a parent than a less predictable and fussier infant.



The study may have limited applicability across cultures.




 Social development in childhood



The quality of a child’s friendships appears to be of crucial importance during middle childhood



Some children are popular and have little trouble making friends and gaining admirers.



Some children are rejected, outcast and avoided by most other children.



Controversial children are accepted by some peers and rejected by others.



In most cases, these statuses remain consistent from year to year.



Adolescence

 Over the course of the twentieth century, adolescence in our society has lengthened.



It is generally recognized to begin at puberty , the onset of changes that result in sexual maturity.



The end of adolescence is harder to discern.



It was customary through most of the last century to characterize adolescence as a period of “storm and stress.”



Adolescence







The turbulence of adolescence is seen in moodiness, conflict with parents, and tendency to risky behavior.

These trends may reflect hormonal fluctuations and brain maturation, but may also be culturally influenced.

There are many cultures in which there is no adolescence.

Teenagers are married and working.



Adolescence







The secular trend of earlier puberty and a societal movement toward a lengthened education and postponement of marriage have influenced the American experience of adolescence.

There is a tendency in this society to stereotype adolescents.

Most adolescents are stable, relatively happy and complete this period to become well-adjusted adults.



Adolescence

 Identity development



Adolescence is the time of “finding oneself.”



Western society offers many choices to teenagers.



This is invigorating and yet also can cause anxiety.



An adolescent’s concern about the future and achieving self-understanding has been referred to as the identity crisis .



The crisis may or may not be so turbulent, depending on the adolescent.



Adolescence




James Marcia developed a set of identity statuses based on two major elements of identity development.



Whether or not one is actively exploring the issues of identity development – “crisis”



Whether or not one has made any decisions –

“commitment”



Adolescence




Those who have not given decisions any real thought and have no clear sense of identity are in identity diffusion .



Those who have made firm decisions without giving them much thought are said to be in foreclosure .



Those who are seriously considering issues but have not made any decisions are in a state of moratorium .



Those who have explored the possibilities and made their own decisions are called identity achieved .



Adolescence




Marcia’s statuses are useful for thinking about the important dimensions of finding a stable identity.



It is possible that identity achievement does not happen

“all at once.”



One may settle on a career well before finding a committed relationship.



It is also possible or even common to rethink decisions later in life.





The “Personal Fable”

Adolescence



According to David Elkind, teenagers are particularly prone to harbor beliefs such as:



“I am special – what is true for others is not true for me.”



“It won’t happen to me!”



“Nobody understands how I feel.”



“Everyone cares about how I look and what I am wearing.” – also known as the “imaginary audience.”



These beliefs may be adaptive in some situations, but can also lead to risk-taking behavior and feelings of alienation from parents and peers.



Adulthood

 The beginning of young adulthood is marked by commitments in the areas of career, relationships and lifestyle.

 The quality of the period known as middle age is influenced in part by the outcome of these early adult decisions.



Adulthood

 The midlife transition



The “midlife crisis” is a dramatic expression for the reassessment of personal goals that many people experience.



A more low-key and accurate term is midlife transition .



Some abandon unrealistic goals set in youth and set new goals that fit with their current lives.



Others try to fulfill some of those early life dreams, or set new ones.



Adulthood

 Old age



Despite the stereotypes we hold, old age is not a uniform experience for humans.



Some people do deteriorate rapidly, either physically or intellectually.



Others remain active and alert into their 80s and well beyond.



In general, the elderly in our society have been experiencing improved health, activity and intellect.



Adulthood

 Old age



A commonly voiced concern is how to maintain a sense of dignity and self-esteem



The course of youth and middle age influences this sense.



The amount of regret about how that time was used also has an effect.



Cultural attitudes towards aging are also important.



The more a culture values its elders, the easier it will be to maintain a sense of dignity.



Adulthood

 Old age



Elderly people generally differ from younger people in some of their social habits.



They will more frequently seek the company of familiar people.



The elderly will often try to retain some control over their lives, even when faced with failing health.



Adulthood

 The psychology of facing death



Death can occur at any age, but we usually associate it with the later years of life.



The way we deal with death is in part determined by our culture and is also constantly evolving.



Terror-management theory states that we cope with our deep fear of death by actively avoiding the thoughts of it and maintaining an optimistic and hopeful world-view.



In general, even being casually reminded of mortality increases people’s defense of their belief system, whatever that may be.



Social and Emotional Developmental Issues





The things that you do at an earlier age no doubt have some effect on your later life.

You can change your life at any age, but the earlier you decide what is important to you and how you want to spend your limited time, the easier it will be to live your life in a satisfying and meaningful way.



Module 10.4

 Temperament, Family, Gender and Cultural Influences on

Development



Temperament and Lifelong Development



Temperament is a person’s tendency to be active or inactive, outgoing or reserved.



Research suggests that temperament is stable over much of the lifespan.



Kagan and his associates were able to strongly relate infant temperament to later levels of sociability.



Genetic influences make contributions to temperament, although environment is also a factor.



The Family







Research has not shown any reliable connection between birth order and personality or other qualities.

The fact that older and younger children may behave in certain ways in the home is probably specific to that situation.

Family size does appear to have some influence on children’s IQ scores, with smaller families showing higher

IQ scores than larger ones.



Figure 10.27

Children from small families tend to score higher on IQ tests than children from large families. However, within a family of a given size, birth order is not related to IQ. If we combine results for families of different sizes, first borns have a higher mean score, but only because many of them come from small families. (Adapted from Rodgers et al., 2000)



The Effects of Parenting Style

 Diane Baumrind described four basic styles of parenting based on the dimensions of warmth and control:



Authoritative parents impose controls but show warmth and encouragement to the child.



Authoritarian parents impose control but tend to be emotionally distant from the child.



Permissive parents are warm but impose few limits.



Uninvolved parents are distant and do little more than provide resources.












Children of authoritative parents tend to be most self-reliant and cooperative.

Children of authoritarian parents tend to be obedient but also distrustful and not very independent.

Children of permissive parents are frequently socially irresponsible.

Children of uninvolved parents tend to be impulsive and hard to discipline.










Reasonably consistent links have been found between the parenting styles and child behavior.

These results do not necessarily apply across ethnic groups and cultures.

It is unclear if the parent’s behavior shapes the children’s behavior; the children’s behavior shapes the parent’s, or if both are true to some degree.




 The Nurture Assumption



Studies of adopted children and their parents show little correlation between parenting style and child behavior.



Harris and other researchers believe that parenting style really only influences child behavior at home.



Parents exert influence mostly by controlling the environment in which the child is being raised.



Harris proposes that ultimately the peer group will be the most influential shaping force upon the personality of the child.



Parental Employment and Child Care

 Although we tend to assume that western models are the norm, child-rearing practices vary greatly between world cultures



Communal child rearing, use of paid help, and many other variations exist from our traditional model of the stay-at-home mother.



In general, whether loving stay-at-home parents rear children or children receive high quality day care for part of the day, child development proceeds normally.



Nontraditional Families





Some models of family life that are considered

“nontraditional” are:



Single mothers



Gay and lesbian couples raising children



Mother as primary breadwinner while father stays at home

Research indicates that what matters most is that the child has a stable, emotional relationship with at least one adult.



Parental Conflict and Divorce

 Not so long ago, divorce was an unusual outcome for marriage.



An estimated 75% of African-American and over onethird of European-American children will experience the divorce of their parents.



This may be partly explained by the reduced attention and increased economic hardship experienced by these children.










It may also be related to the prolonged exposure to conflict that often accompanies divorce.

The younger the child is when the divorce occurs, the milder the effects generally tend to be.

Longitudinal studies suggest an increased tendency to conflict with parents and other children among children of divorce.










During the first year after the divorce, children exhibit more attention seeking and pouting behavior, and boys tend to be more aggressive at home and school.

Effects were often worse if a non-working mother took a job outside the home immediately afterwards.

Girls frequently have problems adjusting to life with a stepfather, but stepsiblings in “blended” families often get along better than do biological siblings.












Results vary across cultures. In African-American families extended family members often pitch in to ease the burden.

Children of all backgrounds show a variety of adjustment patterns. Many are amazingly resilient.

Should parents stay together for the “children’s sake”?

The answer depends on the level of conflict. Children appear to suffer most of all, whether parents split up or stay together, when parents are constantly battling.



Gender Influences





There are many interesting differences between men and women.

People tend to have strong opinions about what causes these differences, but there is little basis for certainty about the causes.




 Cognitive differences



Females tend to perform better in language related tasks, especially language fluency.



Males generally do better on difficult spatial and mathematical tasks.



It has been proposed that male ability in spatial tasks is related to our early hunter-gatherer lifestyle, but male rats seem to exhibit this quality also.




 Differences in social situations





There are large and consistent differences in male and female play, but these are only evident in social contexts.

Girls’ play tends to be more cooperative and quiet and boys’ tends to be more competitive and more likely to dissolve into disputes about rules.



In unsupervised situations, boys often dominate and intimidate girls.




 Male-female relationships



It appears that by the time adolescence begins, males and females are not well prepared to negotiate the complexities of communication across sex lines.



Males are used to demanding what they want, and women are used to cooperating.



Males worry more about their status compared to other men; women don’t usually understand the importance of status.





Women usually require expressions of sympathy from listeners; men often fail to understand this need.

These are of course generalizations, and not all malefemale relationships are hampered by these issues.



Ethnic and Cultural Influences



Membership in a minority group molds a person’s development in two ways:



The customs of the group may differ significantly from those of other groups.



Members of the minority group are affected by the attitudes of other people who may treat them differently or expect certain behaviors of them based on stereotypes.








Acculturation is a transition from feeling connected to the culture of origin to feeling like part of the culture of a new country.

It is a gradual process and may take more than a generation to complete.










Some immigrants remain partially connected to their cultural heritage and develop a bicultural identity, alternating between memberships in two cultures depending on context.

To some extent we are all multicultural, as varying contexts of work and our social lives may present us with different rules and norms to follow.

However, for the immigrant or first generation resident of the United States, these transitions are more pronounced and intense.



Understanding and Accepting the Influences





In our growing appreciation of the variety of influences on human development, we are moving away from a unitary view of the “right” or “normal” way to grow.

We are beginning to understand the reasons for differences, and appreciate the diversity of adaptive ways to be one’s self in the world.

Chapter 10 Human Development

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