1. Chapter 9
Lifespan Development

2. Developmental Psychology
What shapes the way we change over time?
Focus on psychological changes across the entire life span
Every area of psychology can be looked at from this perspective
biological development
social development
cognitive/perceptual development
personality development

4. Fundamental Issues: Nature vs. Nurture
What is role of heredity vs. environment in determining psychological makeup?
Is IQ inherited or determined by early environment?
Is there a ‘criminal’ gene?
Is sexual orientation a choice or genetically determined?
These are some of our greatest societal debates
Mistake to pose as ‘either/or’ questions

5. Fundamental Issues: Is Development Continuous?
Development means change; change can be abrupt or gradual.
Two views of human development
stage theories: there are distinct phases to intellectual and personality development
continuity: development is continuous

6. Fundamental Issues in Developmental Psychology
Critical period — Are there periods when an individual is particularly sensitive to certain environmental experiences?
Are the first hours after birth critical for parent-child bonding?
Is first year critical for developing trust?
Easier to learn a language before age 10?

7. Overview of Genetics Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes.
Chromosomes are long twisted strands of DNA.
DNA is the chemical basis of heredity and carries instructions.
Genes are the basic unit of heredity; single unit of DNA on the chromosome

8. Discovering Psy2e Fig 91. P 326

9. Discovering Psy2e photo. P 326

10. Dominant and Recessive
Genotype—underlying genetic makeup
Phenotype—traits that are expressed
Dominant genes—will always be expressed if present
Recessive genes—will not be expressed unless they are in a pair

12. Sex Linked Traits Traits linked to the X or Y (sex) chromosomes
Usually recessive and carried on the X chromosome
Appear more frequently in one sex than another
Color blindness, baldness, hemophilia, Fragile X

13. Discovering Psy2e photo p. 328

14. Physical and Psychological Development Related
Physical development begins at conception
Physical maturity sets limits on psychological ability
visual system not fully functional at birth
language system not functional until much later
Prenatal environment can have lifetime influence on health and intellectual ability

15. Prenatal Development Conception—when a sperm penetrates the ovum
Zygote—a fertilized egg
Germinal period—first two weeks after conception
Embryonic period—weeks three through eight after conception
Fetal period—two months after conception until birth

16. Prenatal Influences on Development
Nutrition
Anxiety
Mother’s general health
Maternal age
Teratogens—any agent that causes a birth defect (e.g., drugs, radiation, viruses)

17. Infant Abilities Infants are born with immature visual system
can detect movement and large objects
Other senses function well on day 1
will orient to sounds
turn away from unpleasant odors
prefer sweet to sour tastes
Born with a number of reflex behaviors

18. Infant Reflexes
Rooting—turning the head and opening the mouth in the direction of a touch on the cheek
Sucking—sucking rhythmically in response to oral stimulation
Babinski—fanning and curling toes when foot is stroked

19. Infant Reflexes
Moro—throwing the arms out, arching the back and bringing the arms together as if to hold onto something (in response to loud noise or sudden change in position of the head)
Grasping—curling the fingers around an object

20. Infant Attachment
Intense emotional bond between infant and caregiver

21. Temperament Easy—adaptable, positive mood, regular habits
Slow to warm up—low activity, somewhat slow to adapt, generally withdraw from new situations
Difficult—intense emotions, irritable, cry frequently
Average—unable to classify (1/3 of all children)

22. Ainsworth’s Strange Situation
Mother-child dyads were observed in a playroom under four conditions:
initial mother-child interaction
mother leaves infant alone in playroom
friendly stranger enters playroom
mother returns and greets child

23. Forms of Attachment
Securely attached—explores the room when mother is present, becomes upset and explores less when mother is not present, shows pleasure when mother returns
Avoidantly attached—a form of insecure attachment in which child avoids mother and acts coldly to her

24. Forms of Attachment
Anxious resistant attachment—a form of insecure attachment where the child remains close to mother and remains distressed despite her attempts to comfort

25. Language Development Preview
Universal Characteristics of Human Language
Course of Development
Supports for Language Development
Language Learning among Nonhuman Apes

26. Universal Characteristics of Human Language
Language development similar across cultures; what are the common elements?
Morphemes—smallest meaningful units of language
content morphemes (e.g., nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs)
grammatical morphemes (e.g., articles, conjunctions, some prefixes and suffixes)

27. Universal Characteristics of Human Language
Phonemes—elementary vowel and consonant sounds
Grammar—rules of language
phonology—how phonemes can be combined to make morphemes
morphology—how morphemes can be combined to make words
syntax—how words can be combined to make phrases and sentences

28. Language Development
Infant preference for human speech over other sounds
before 6 months can hear differences used in all languages
after 6 months begin to hear only differences used in native language
Cooing—vowel sounds produced 2–4 months
Babbling—consonant/vowel sounds between 4 to 6 months
Even deaf infants coo and babble

29. Language Development MONTH Speech Characteristic 2 Cooing vowel sounds
4 Babbling consonant/vowel
10 Babbling native language sounds
12 One-word stage
24 Two-word stage
24+ Sentences
Table adapted from Myers (5e)

31. Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
Jean Piaget (1896–1980) Swiss psychologist who became leading theorist in 1930’s
Piaget believed that “children are active thinkers, constantly trying to construct more advanced understandings of the world”
These “understandings” are in the form of structures he called schemas

32. Development of Schemas
Schemas are frameworks that develop to help organize knowledge
Assimilation—process of taking new information or a new experience and fitting it into an already existing schema
Accommodation—process by which existing schemas are changed or new schemas are created in order to fit new information

33. Piaget’s Approach
Primary method was to ask children to solve problems and to question them about the reasoning behind their solutions
Discovered that children think in radically different ways than adults
Proposed that development occurs as a series of ‘stages’ differing in how the world is understood

34. Sensorimotor Stage (birth – 2)
Information is gained through the senses and motor actions
In this stage child perceives and manipulates but does not reason
Symbols become internalized through language development
Object permanence is acquired

35. Object Permanence
The understanding that objects exist independent of one’s actions or perceptions of them
Before 6 months infants act as if objects removed from sight cease to exist
Can be surprised by disappearance/reappearance of a face (peek-a-boo)

36. Preoperational Stage (2–7 years)
Emergence of symbolic thought
Centration
Egocentrism
Lack the concept of conservation
Animism
Artificialism
These are speaker notes

38. Conservation
Number
Keywords piaget, conservation
Figures from Gray (3e)
In conservation of number tests, two equivalent rows of coins are placed side by side and the child says that there is the same number in each row. Then one row is spread apart and the child is again asked if there is the same number in each.

39. Conservation
Length
In conservation of length tests, two same-length sticks are placed side by side and the child says that they are the same length. Then one is moved and the child is again asked
if they are the same length.
Keywords piaget, conservation
Figures from Gray (3e)

40. Conservation Substance
In conservation of substance tests, two identical amounts of clay are rolled into similar-appearing balls and the child says that they both have the same amount of clay. Then one ball is rolled out and the child is again asked if they have the same amount.
Keywords piaget, conservation
Figures from Gray (3e)

41. Concrete Operational Stage (7–12 years)
Understanding of mental operations leading to increasingly logical thought
Classification and categorization
Less egocentric
Inability to reason abstractly or hypothetically

42. Formal Operational Stage (age 12 – adulthood)
Hypothetico-deductive reasoning
Adolescent egocentrism illustrated by the phenomenon of personal fable and imaginary audience

43. Piaget’s Theory Challenged
New studies indicate infants do more than sense and react.
One study had 1-month-old babies suck one of two pacifiers without ever seeing them.
When shown both pacifiers, infants stared more at the one they had felt in their mouth.
This requires a sort of reasoning.
Study was done by Meltzoff and Borton, Figure is from Myers 5e

44. Critique of Piaget’s Theory
Underestimates children’s abilities
Overestimates age differences in thinking
Vagueness about the process of change
Underestimates the role of the social environment
Lack of evidence for qualitatively different stages

45. Information-Processing Perspective
Focuses on the mind as a system, analogous to a computer for analyzing information from the environment
Developmental improvements reflect
increased capacity of working memory
faster speed of processing
new algorithms (methods)
more stored knowledge

46. Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Perspective
Emphasized the child’s interaction with the social world (other people) as a cause of development
Vygotsky believed language to be the foundation for social interaction and thought.
Piaget believed language was a byproduct of thought.

47. Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Perspective
Vygotsky—children learn from interactions with other people
Zone of proximal development—what a child can do by interacting with another person, but can’t do alone.
Critical thinking based on dialogue with others who challenge ideas
Piaget—focused on children’s interaction with the physical world

48. What Are the Issues ? Individuals develop socially
How do social relationships develop?
What factors drive social development?
biological
cultural
cognitive

49. Erikson’s Theory
Biological in belief that there are innate drives to develop social relationships and that these promote survival (Darwinism)
Divided life span into eight psychosocial stages, each associated with a different drive and a problem or crisis to resolve
Outcome of each stage varies along a continuum from positive to negative

50. Stage 1 (Birth–1) Trust vs. Mistrust
Infants must rely on others for care
Consistent and dependable caregiving and meeting infant needs leads to a sense of trust
Infants who are not well cared for will develop mistrust

51. Stage 2 (1–3 years) Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt
Children are discovering their own independence.
Those given the opportunity to experience independence will gain a sense of autonomy.
Children that are overly restrained or punished harshly will develop shame and doubt.

52. Stage 3 (3–5 years) Initiative vs. Guilt
Children are exposed to the wider social world and given greater responsibility.
Sense of accomplishment leads to initiative whereas feelings of guilt can emerge if the child is made to feel too anxious or irresponsible.

53. Stage 4 (5–12 years) Industry vs. Inferiority
Stage of life surrounding mastery of knowledge and intellectual skills
Sense of competence and achievement leads to industry
Feeling incompetent and unproductive leads to inferiority

54. Stage 5 (Adolescence) Identity vs. Confusion
Developing a sense of who one is and where one is going in life
Successful resolution leads to positive identity
Unsuccessful resolution leads to identity confusion or a negative identity

55. Stage 6 (Young adulthood) Intimacy vs. Isolation
Time for sharing oneself with another person
Capacity to hold commitments with others leads to intimacy
Failure to establish commitments leads to feelings of isolation

56. Stage 7 (Middle adulthood) Generativity vs. Stagnation
Caring for others in family, friends, and work leads to sense of contribution to later generations
Stagnation comes from a sense of boredom and meaninglessness

57. Stage 8 (Late adulthood to Death) Integrity vs. Despair
Successful resolutions of all previous crises leads to integrity and the ability to see broad truths and advise those in earlier stages
Despair arises from feelings of helplessness and the bitter sense that life has been incomplete

58. Some Definitions
Sex—the biological category of male or female; sexual intercourse
Gender—cultural, social, and psychological meanings associated with masculinity or femininity
Gender roles—behaviors, attitudes, and personality traits designated either masculine or feminine in a given culture
Gender identity—a person’s psychological sense of being male or female
Sexual orientation—direction of a person's emotional and erotic attractions

59. Gender Role Stereotypes
The beliefs and expectations people hold about the typical characteristics, preferences, and behaviors of men and women
In the US, men and women view the female stereotype more positively than the male stereotype. This is called benevolent sexism
There is a high degree of agreement on the characteristics associated with each sex among people of many different cultures.

60. Gender Related Differences
Differences do not mean deficiencies
Three main areas of gender differences
Personality
Cognitive abilities
Sexual attitudes and behaviors

62. Personality Differences
No significant differences between men and women on most characteristics
Women tend to be more nurturant than men
Men tend to be more assertive than women

63. Cognitive Differences
No differences for most cognitive abilities
Verbal, reading, and writing—females consistently score higher
Spatial skills—males outscore females on mentally rotating objects, females score better on remembering locations of objects
Math Skills—males score slightly better than females

64. Gender Role Development
Between ages 2-3 years, children can identify themselves and other children as boys or girls. The concept of gender or sex, however, is based more on outward characteristics such as clothing.
Toddler girls tend to play more with dolls and ask for help more than boys.
Toddler boys tend to play more with trucks and wagons and tend to play more actively.
After age 3 years, we see consistent gender differences in preferred toys and activities.

65. Sexual Development
Puberty—stage where an individual reaches sexual maturity and is physically capable of sexual reproduction
Primary sex characteristics—sex organs directly involved in reproduction
Secondary sex characteristics—develop during puberty, not directly involved in reproduction, but distinguish male from female
Adolescent growth spurt—period of accelerated growth during puberty
Menarche—female’s first menstrual period

66. Social Learning Theory
Gender roles are acquired through the basic processes of learning, including reinforcement, punishment, and modeling.

67. Gender Schema Theory
Gender-role development is influenced by the formation of schemas, or mental representations, of masculinity and femininity.
An example of how a child forms a schema associated with gender. A girl is offered a choice of 4 toys to play with.
I am a girl
Toy car
Doll
Orange
Artichoke
Approach object
Who for?
Is it relevant to me?
Avoid/Forget
Assign to category and remember/
Approach
Not for me
For me
Boys
Girls

68. Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development
Assessed moral reasoning by posing hypothetical moral dilemmas and examining the reasoning behind people’s answers
Proposed six stages, each taking into account a broader portion of the social world

69. Levels of Moral Reasoning
Preconventional—moral reasoning is based on external rewards and punishments
Conventional—laws and rules are upheld simply because they are laws and rules
Postconventional—reasoning based on personal moral standards

70. Stage 1: Obedience and Punishment Orientation
A focus on direct consequences
Negative actions will result in punishments
Positive actions will result in rewards

71. Stage 2: Mutual Benefit
Reflects the understanding that different people have different self-interests, which sometimes come in conflict
Getting what one wants often requires giving something up in return

72. Stage 3: Interpersonal Expectations
An attempt to live up to the expectations of important others
Positive actions will improve relations with significant others
Negative actions will harm those relationships

73. Stage 4: Law-and-Order Morality
To maintain social order, people must resist personal pressures and follow the laws of the larger society.

74. Stage 5: Legal Principles
A balance is struck between respect for laws and ethical principles that transcend specific laws.
Laws that fail to promote general welfare or that violate ethical principles can be changed, reinterpreted, or abandoned.

75. Stage 6: Universal Moral Principles
Self-chosen ethical principles
Profound respect for sanctity of human life
Moral principles take precedence over laws that might conflict with them, such as conscientious objectors.

76. Adult Development
Genetics and lifestyle combine to determine course of physical changes.
Social development involves marriage and transition to parenthood.
Paths of adult social development are varied and include diversity of lifestyles.

77. Late Adulthood
Old age as a time of poor health, inactivity, and decline is a myth.
Activity theory of aging—life satisfaction is highest when people maintain level of activity they had in earlier years

78. Death and Dying
In general, anxiety about dying tends to decrease in late adulthood.
Kubler-Ross stages of dying
Denial
Anger
Bargain
Depression
Acceptance
Not universally demonstrated