DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCH
Ch. 9
Major Themes


Nature and nurture
Continuity and stages
 gradual,
continuous process or sequence of separate
stages

Stability and change
 personality
traits persist through life
 become different people as we age
Baby Development


Conception
Prenatal
 Zygote
 Embryo
 Fetus

Newborn
 Implicit
memories
Physical Development

Brain cells develop very fast in the womb
 Neural
networks grow very fast after birth.
 The frontal lobe booms next, then the association areas
(thinking, memory, language)

Infantile Amnesia
 Before
age 3½ - we can’t remember
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Jean Piaget


Jean Piaget - believed that
the human mind develops
through a series of stages
Schemas - concepts or
frameworks that organize and
interpret information
 accommodate
- we revise
and refine them
Piaget – 4 stages

Sensorimotor stage
 birth
– 2 years
 object permanence
 things
continue to exist
even when they can’t be
seen.
 8 months
 Some
evidence of Logic
Piaget – 4 stages

Preoperational stage
 age
2 to 6/7
 too young to do mental operations
 No

idea of conservation
idea that something can retain or conserve a characteristic while
something else changes
 egocentric
–unable to view a situation from another
person’s point-of-view
 Theory of mind - the ability to read another person’s
intentions.
Piaget – 4 stages

Concrete operational stage
 6/7
– 12 years
 can think with concrete, physical objects and understand
conservation
 Cannot think in the abstract
 Example
- Math
Piaget – 4 stages

Formal operational stage
 age
12
 Thinking changes from being confined to the concrete to
including the abstract
 symbols and variables
 if-then statements
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Attachment



stranger anxiety - someone who does not fit the
schema (an unfamiliar person)
secure attachment - bond between a 12 month old
and a parent is strong
critical period – the only time something happens
 Imprinting-

attachment hard-wired into the organism
Sensitive Period – Not written in stone
 People
– no critical period attachment imprinting
Harlow’s Monkeys


Harry Harlow
wire mesh “mother” or a
wire mesh mother covered
with a furry carpet
furry fake-mothers adjusted
better
 Physical Contact



metal “mothers” became
panic-stricken with fear.
physical contact - important
to healthy child-parent
attachment
Strange Situation

Mary Ainsworth
 mother
and child (12
months) playing in a room
 Switch of Adults, then Parent
returns
 The children of responsive
parents showed a more
"secure attachment" than
children of less-responsive
parents
Temperament

temperament - genetic tendency as to how they
react and how intensely they react to a situation
 Evident
at few weeks persist as we grow older
 Evident by studying twins
Attachment


Don’t forget the fathers
Attachment peaks at 13
No Attachment?

person is usually withdrawn and frightened
 abusive
to their kids at a more frequent rate
 laundry list of possible problems – brain/hormonal
changes, nightmares, depression, increased substance
abuse, binge eating, aggression, crime
Removing Attachment



Similar effects
Courts reluctant to remove from parents
Day Care?
Idea of “Self”




6 months - gain “self
awareness”
grade-school age - identifies
terms of gender, group
membership, personal
characteristics
age 8 to 10 - self-image is
very much set.
age 12 - self-concept

an idea of who you are as a
person
Parenting Styles - Diana Baumrind



Authoritarian –children need rules and must obey them
Permissive children should make and learn from their
own mistakes; provide few rules.
Authoritative – these parents are demanding and
responsive


Seen as Best
culture influences
Western cultures - value individual strength.
 Asian and African cultures - more group/family oriented

Parents vs Peers

Parents and peers tend to split “responsibilities”…
 Parents
- long-term
 discipline,
 Peers
order, education, stability
- for the now
 popularity,
style and interaction
GENDER DEVELOPMENT
Men and Women are Different



1 Chromosome
Differences
Emotion, aggression,
self esteem,
aggression
Physiological
differences
Gender Roles


Gender type – Male/female
Social Learning Theory
 Observations
 Current
fathers
and imitation
issues – Homosexual marriage and Absentee
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Cognitive Development

Lawrence Kohlberg
 studied
how people figure
right and wrong
 Kohlberg came up with
stages…
Lawrence Kohlberg - Stages

Preconventional morality – before age 9
 focuses
on child’s self-interest
 Rules obeyed to avoids punishment

Conventional morality – age 9 to the mid-teen
 there
are rules and they are to be obeyed
 “because it’s the law”

Postconventional morality –later adolescence

respect for others rights or human dignity or basic
ethical beliefs
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Erik Erickson

Erik Erickson studied
“psychosocial” development
8
stages
 each stage a person faced some
type of a crisis
 resolve
that crisis before moving on
to the next stage
Erickson’s 8 Stages




Trust vs. mistrust – Infancy – If an infants basic
needs are met, they develop trust.
Autonomy vs. shame/doubt – Toddlers – They wish
to do things on their own, or they’re ashamed.
Initiative vs. guilt – Preschool – They make and
carry out plans, or they’re guilty for failing to do so.
Industry vs. inferiority – Grade school – Kids feel
good about being productive, or they feel inferior
for failing to do so.
Erickson’s 8 stages




Identity vs. role confusion – Adolescence – Teens test
different roles, or they’re confused about who they are.
Intimacy vs. isolation – Young adults – They try to gain
a close loved one, or they feel alone.
Generativity vs. stagnation – Middle aged – They gain
a sense of adding to the world through family and/or
work, or they feel they’ve no purpose.
Integrity vs. despair – Late adulthood – They look back
on their lives and either see a sense of worth or failure.
ADULT DEVELOPMENT
Physical Development


Peak in late 20s
Middle Aged – 40s
 Women
Menopause age 50

Later adulthood –
Over 60
Late Life




senses decline with age
After 65 - immune system weakens
Dementia - small strokes, a brain tumor, or alcohol
dependence
Alzheimer’s disease - 3% of people.



Memory goes first, then reasoning.
A declining sense of smell signals the onset of Alzheimer.
Causes


loss of brain cells
lack of acetylcholine
Cognitive - Adults

Memory - best around
age 20 - declines with
age
Crystallized intelligence –
our sum quantity of
knowledge (like vocab
words) – increases up to
old age.
 Fluid intelligence – our
reasoning speed and
ability (like solving a
puzzle) – decreases up to
old age.

Social - Adults


Social Clock
Love and Work – Most important things
Social - Adults

Grief – No Set in Stone Stages
 Denial
 Anger
 Bargaining
 Depression
 Acceptance