Developmental Psychology
The specialized study of how an individual’s
physical, social, emotional, moral, and
intellectual development occur in sequential
interrelated stages throughout the life cycle.
“Ring around the
rosy, pocket full of
posies…”
I feel especially
happy when I wear
my pink pants!
Hmmm… I wonder if anyone
will see me if I take that
extra cookie?
I love to run!!
It’s more fun with lots
of people!
Developmental Psychology studies:
Continuity versus Stages of Development
Developmental Psychology studies:
Similarity versus Difference
Developmental Psychology studies:
Nature versus Nurture
Nature deals the hand.
Nurture plays the cards.
Chapter 3
Developmental Psychology:
Infancy and Childhood
http://www.medicinenet.com/stages_of_pregnancy_pictures_slideshow/article.htm
Ah, a baby…
Won’t it be
wonderful????
Propped against my knees in the delivery room, my son, minutes old,
peered at me with wide, unblinking eyes. He looked so intent. So
serious. So thoughtful. What could earth’s freshest arrival possibly
be thinking about? Maybe he was wondering who all the giants
looming over him might be, especially the pair with the goofy grins
who kept counting his fingers and toes over and over. Maybe his
head still ached from the incredibly narrow trip out of my womb.
Maybe he was asking himself, “Hey, who turned on the lights?” It’s
hard to know how the world appears to a new baby. But in recent
years, researchers have deduced plenty about what infants sense,
remember, prefer, and need. And such knowledge is more than
academic for new parents.
-from Parent magazine, Paula Spencer, 1999
SO… What can newborns do?
In utero:
hiccup, suck their thumb, kick, stretch,
yawn
Newborns can:
see, hear, smell, respond to environment,
cry, smile, show surprise & fright
Reflexes
Inherited, automatic, coordinated movements
Grasping Reflex
Rooting Reflex
Babinski Reflex
Moro (Startle Reflex)
Questions:
How long do these reflexes last?
What is the purpose of these early reflexes?
What can we learn from them?
Physical and Motor Development
Average birth weight: 7.3 pounds
Average birth height 20.2 inches
Physical Development: Vision
Perceptual Development: Vision
What do babies (3-4 months) like to look at?
Fantz, 1961
Physical Development: Hearing
Physical and Motor Development –
Maturation Stages
Physical Development: Depth Perception
The Visual Cliff
Gibson & Walk, 1960