1. Myers’ EXPLORING PSYCHOLOGY (4th Ed)
Chapter 3
The Developing Person
James A. McCubbin, PhD
Clemson University
Worth Publishers

2. The Developing Child Developmental Psychology
study of changes across the life span

3. Developmental Issues Nature versus Nurture Continuity versus Stages
How much is human development influenced by our heredity (nature) and how much by our experience (nurture)?
Continuity versus Stages
Is development gradual and continuous or does it proceed through a sequence of separate stages?
Stability versus Change
Do our early personality traits persist through life, or do we become different persons as we age?

4. Union of Egg and Sperm

5. Genetic Influences X- Chromosomes
sex chromosome found in both males and females
females have two, males have one
an X-chromosome from each parent produces a female
Y-Chromosomes
sex chromosome found only in males
when paired with a X-chromosome from the mother, it produces a male child

6. The Developing Child Testosterone Gender
most important of the male sex hormones
both males and females have it
additional testosterone in males
stimulates growth of male sex organs in the fetus
stimulates development of male sex characteristics during puberty
Gender
characteristics, whether biologically or socially influenced, by which people define male and female

7. Prenatal Development Zygote Embryo Fetus fertilized egg
enters a 2 week period of rapid cell division
develops into an embryo
Embryo
developing human organism from 2 weeks through 2nd month
Fetus
developing human organism from 9 weeks to birth

8. Prenatal Development Teratogens
agents that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm
chemical, e.g. alcohol, some medicines, cocaine, nicotine
viral, e.g. HIV, Rubella
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by drinking in pregnancy

9. The Newborn Rooting Reflex Preferences
tendency to turn head, open mouth, and search for nipple when touched on the cheek
Preferences
human voices and faces
facelike images-->
smell and sound of mother preferred

10. Infancy and Childhood Maturation
biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior
relatively uninfluenced by experience
sets the course for development while experience adjusts it
At birth
3 months
15 months
Cortical Neurons

11. Infancy and Childhood
Impoverished environment
Enriched environment
Rats reared in an environment enriched with playthings show increased development of the cerebral cortex

12. Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
Typical Age
Range
Description
of Stage
Developmental
Phenomena
Birth to nearly 2 years
Sensorimotor
Experiencing the world through
senses and actions (looking,
touching, mouthing)
Object permanence
Stranger anxiety
About 2 to 6 years
About 7 to 11 years
About 12 through
adulthood
Preoperational
Representing things
with words and images
but lacking logical reasoning
Pretend play
Egocentrism
Language development
Concrete operational
Thinking logically about concrete
events; grasping concrete analogies
and performing arithmetical operations
Conservation
Mathematical transformations
Formal operational
Abstract reasoning
Abstract logic
Potential for moral reasoning

13. Infancy and Childhood Schema Cognition Sensorimotor Stage
a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information
Cognition
mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, and remembering
Sensorimotor Stage
stage during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impression and motor activities

14. Infancy and Childhood Object Permanence Preoperational Stage
the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived
Preoperational Stage
stage during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend mental operations of concrete logic
Conservation
the principle that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects
part of Piaget’s concrete operational reasoning

15. Cognitive Development
Baby Mathematics
Shown a numerically impossible outcome, infants stare longer (Wynn, 1992)
1. Objects placed
in case.
2. Screen
comes up.
3. One object
is removed.
4. Possible outcome: Screen
drops, revealing one object.
drops, revealing two object.

16. Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
Egocentrism
the inability of the preoperational child to take another’s point of view
Concrete Operational Stage
stage during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events
Formal Operational Stage
stage during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts

17. Social Development Stranger Anxiety Attachment
fear of strangers that infants commonly display
beginning by about 8 months of age
Attachment
an emotional tie with another person
shown in young children by seeking closeness to the caregiver and showing distress on separation

18. Social Development Harlow’s Surrogate Mother Experiments
Monkeys preferred contact with the comfortable cloth mother, even while feeding from the nourishing wire mother

19. Social Development Critical Period Imprinting Temperament
an optimal period shortly after birth when an organism’s exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces proper development
Imprinting
the process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life
Temperament
a person’s characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity

20. Social Development
Monkeys raised by artificial mothers were terror-stricken when placed in strange situations without their surrogate mothers

21. Social Development 20 40 60 80
100
3.5
5.5
7.5
9.5
11.5
13.5 29
Percentage
of infants
who cried
when their
mothers left
Age in months
Day care
Home
Groups of infants who had and had not experienced day care were left by their mothers in a unfamiliar room

22. Social Development Basic Trust (Erik Erikson)
a sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy
said to be formed during infancy by appropriate experiences with responsive caregivers

23. Social Development
Percentage
of children
Live with both biological parents
Live with formerly married mother and no father
Repeated
school
grade
Expelled or
suspended
Treated for
problems in
last year 15 10 5 20
Percentage of children experiencing school problems in the previous year

24. Gender and Child-Rearing
Gender Identity
one’s sense of being male or female
Gender-Typing
the acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role
Social Learning Theory
we learn social behavior by observing and imitating and by being rewarded or punished
Gender Schema Theory
children learn from their cultures a concept of what it means to be male and female
adjust behavior accordingly

25. Gender and Child-Rearing
Rewards and
Punishments
Observation and
Imitation of
models
Gender-typed
behavior
Social learning theory
Gender schema theory
Cultural learning
of gender
Gender schema
(looking at self and
World through a
gender “lens”)
Gender-organized
thinking

26. Adolescence Adolescence Puberty
the transition period from childhood to adulthood
extending from puberty to independence
Puberty
the period of sexual maturation
when one first becomes capable of reproduction

27. Adolescence Primary Sex Characteristics Secondary Sex Characteristics
body structures that make sexual reproduction possible
ovaries- female
testes- male
external genitalia
Secondary Sex Characteristics
nonreproductive sexual characteristics
female- enlarged breast, hips
male- voice quality, body hair
Menarche (meh-NAR-key)
first menstrual period

28. Adolescence 10 20
7.2 Year Interval
11.8 Year Interval
Age
1890, Women
1988, Women
In the 1890’s the average interval between a woman’s menarche and marriage was about 7 years; now it is nearly 12 years.

29. Adolescence
Height in
centimeters
Throughout childhood, boys and girls are similar in height. At puberty, girls surge ahead briefly, but then boys overtake them at about age 14.
190
170
150
130
110 90 70 50 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
Age in years
Boys
Girls

30. Kohlberg’s Moral Ladder
Postconventional level
(may develop from
adolescence on)
Morality of abstract
principles: to affirm
agreed-upon rights and
personal ethical principles
Conventional level
(develops during late childhood
and early adolescence)
Morality of law and social laws:
to gain approval or avoid
disapproval
Preconventional level
(develops during early childhood)
Morality of self-interest:
to avoid punishment or gain
concrete rewards
As moral development progresses, the focus of concern moves from the self to the wider social world

31. Social Development Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development
Approximate Age Stage Description of Task
Infancy Trust vs. mistrust If needs are dependably met, infants develop a sense of basic
(1st year) trust.
Toddler Autonomy vs. shame Toddlers learn to exercise will and do things for themselves,
(2nd year) or they doubt their abilities.
Preschooler Initiative vs. guilt Preschoolers learn to initiate tasks and carry out plans, or
(3-5nd year) they feel guilty about efforts to be independent.
Elementary school Competence vs Children learn the pleasure of applying themselves to tasks,
(6nd years to puberty) inferiority or they feel inferior.
Adolescence Identity vs. role Teenagers work at refining a sense of self by testing roles
(teen years into 20s) confusion and then integrating them to form a single identity, or they
become confused about who they are.
Young adulthood Intimacy vs Young adults struggle to form close relationships and to gain
(teen years into 20s) isolation the capacity for intimate love, or they feel socially isolated.
Middle adulthood Generativity vs The middle-aged discover a sense of contributing to the
(teen years into 20s) stagnation world, usually through family and work or they may feel a lack
of purpose.
Late adulthood Integrity vs When reflecting on his or her life, the older adult may feel a
(teen years into 20s) confusion sense of satisfaction or failure.

32. Social Development Identity Intimacy one’s sense of self
the adolescent’s task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating various roles
Intimacy
the ability to form close, loving relationships
a primary developmental task in late adolescence and early adulthood

33. Social Development
Percentage
of births to
unwed
mothers 5 10 15 20 25 30
1940
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
Year
Japan
Britain
United States
Canada
The percentage of babies born to unmarried British, Canadian and American women (1/3 of whom were teens) has more than quintupled since 1960.

34. Adulthood- Physical Changes40 50 60 70 80 90
100 30
Age in years
Percentage
of function
remaining
Lung volume
Maximum energy
expenditure
Resting energy
Heart capacity
The slow decline of the body’s physical capacities during adulthood (adapted from Insel & Roth, ). 90

35. Adulthood- Physical Changes
Menopause
the time of natural cessation of menstruation
also refers to the biological changes a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declines
Alzheimer’s Disease
a progressive and irreversible brain disorder
characterized by a gradual deterioration of memory, reasoning, language, and finally, physical functioning

36. Adulthood- Physical Changes
The Aging Senses
1.00
0.75
Proportion of normal
(20/20) vision when
identifying letters on
an eye chart
0.50
0.25 10 30 50 70 90
Age in years

37. Adulthood- Physical Changes
The Aging Senses 90
Percent correct when
Identifying smells 70 50 10 30 50 70 90
Age in years

38. Adulthood- Physical Changes
The Aging Senses 90
Percent correct when
identifying spoken
words 70 50 10 30 50 70 90
Age in years

39. Adulthood- Physical Changes
Fatal
accident
rate
Slowing reactions contribute to increased accident risks among those 75 and older. 12 10
Fatal accidents
per 100 million miles 8
Fatal accidents
per 10,000 drivers 6 4 2 16 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70
75 and
over
Age

40. Adulthood- Cognitive Changes
Recalling new names introduced once, twice or three times is easier for younger adults than for older ones (Crook & West, 1990).
100
Older age groups have
poorer performance
Percent
of names
recalled 90 80
After three
introductions 70 60 50
After two
introductions 40 30 20
After one
introductions 10 18 40 50 60 70
Age group

41. Adulthood- Cognitive Changes
Number
Of words
remembered
In a study by Schonfield & Robertson (1966), the ability to recall new information declined during early and middle adulthood, but the ability to recognize new information did not. 24 20
Number of words
recognized is
stable with age 16 12 8
Number of words
recalled declines
with age 4 20 30 40 50 60 70
Age in years

42. Adulthood- Cognitive Changes25 32 39 46 53 60 74 67 81 35 40 45 50 55
Age in years
Reasoning
ability
score
Cross-sectional method
Longitudinal method
suggests decline
suggests more stability
Cross-Sectional method suggests decline
Longitudinal method suggests more stability

43. Adulthood Crystallized Intelligence Fluid Intelligence Social Clock
one’s accumulated knowledge and verbal skills
tends to increase with age
Fluid Intelligence
ones ability to reason speedily and abstractly
tends to decrease during late adulthood
Social Clock
the culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement

44. Adulthood
Intelligence
(IQ) score
Verbal intelligence scores hold steady with age, while nonverbal intelligence scores decline (adapted from Kaufman & others, 1989).
Verbal scores are
stable with age
105
100 95 90
Nonverbal scores
decline with age 85 80 75 20 25 35 45 55 65 70
Verbal scores
Nonverbal scores
Age group

45. Adulthood 20 40 60 80 15 25 35 45 55
65+
Percentage
“satisfied”
with life
as a whole
Age group
Multinational surveys show that age differences in life satisfaction are trivial (Inglehart, 1990).