Developmental Psychology A branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span. From womb to tomb

Prenatal Development Prenatal = “before birth” Begins at conception, ends with birth of the child.

Conception

Zygote Newly fertilized egg First 2 weeks = period of rapid cell division Attaches to mother’s uterine wall End of 14 days becomes an embryo

Embryo Developing human 14 days until end of 8th week Most major organs formed End of 8th week, fetal period begins.

Fetal Period The period between the beginning of the 9th week until birth Unmistakably human in form

Placenta Cushion of cells in the mother; fetus receives oxygen and nutrition Acts as a filter to screen out substances that could harm the fetus

Teratogens Agents that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development & cause harm Pass through placentas screen Include: radiation, toxic chemicals, viruses, drugs, alcohol, nicotine, etc.

Smoking and Birth Weight

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) Series of physical and cognitive abnormalities due to mother drinking large amounts of alcohol Difficulties with social interaction Epileptic seizures In severe cases, symptoms include noticeable facial misproportions.

The Competent NEWBORN

What can my baby see, hear, smell? Prefer sights/sounds that facilitate social responsiveness Gaze longer at face like image than at a bull’s eye pattern Turn heads toward human voices Suck on pacifier more vigorously when it is our mothers voice Prefer to look at objects 8-12” away Approximate distance between a nursing infants/mother’s eyes Within days after birth, know our mother’s scent Nursing pad in mother’s bra

Perceptual Development

Rooting Reflex In 1st half hour. Infant will move face in direction of touch and open their mouth Automatic, unlearned response Looking for nourishment.

Decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation Habituation Decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, interest wanes and they look away sooner

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Infant, Toddler, Child Infant: 1st year Toddler: 1 to 3 years Child: Span between toddler and teen

THE DEVELOPING BRAIN

Neural Development

Maturation Biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior Relatively uninfluenced by experience Programmed into your genes

MOTOR DEVELOPMENT

Motor Development All physical skills and muscular coordination

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Cognition Mental activities associated w/ thinking, knowing, remembering & communicating Children vs. Adults

Jean Piaget (pee-ah-ZHAY) Developmental psychologist Proposed a theory of four stages of cognitive development

Schemas Concepts used to organize and interpret information “Picture of the world” Develop mental plans via: Assimilation Accommodation

Assimilation Accommodation Interpreting new experience within the context of one’s existing schemas New is similar to previous experiences Accommodation Adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information New is so different must be changed to accommodate it

Assimilation/Accommodation

Scale Error 18-30 months fail to ttake the size of an object into account Try to perform impossible actions

#1: SENSORIMOTOR STAGE Birth – 2 years Child gathers info about the world via senses and motor functions Learns object permanence Continue to exist when they can’t be seen.

#2: PREOPERATIONAL STAGE 2 – 6/7 years Use language but not able to think logically Egocentrism Theory of mind

The preoperational child’s difficulty taking another’s point of view. Egocentrism The preoperational child’s difficulty taking another’s point of view. “Don’t you remember Gma, you were in it with me.”

Theory of Mind People’s ideas about their own and other’s mental states About their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict

#3: CONCRETE OPERATIONAL STAGE 6/7 – 11 years Learns to think logically about concrete events Comprehend math concepts and jokes Learn Conservation Mass, volume and number remain the same even if you change an object’s form.

Types of Conservation Tasks

#4: FORMAL OPERATIONAL STAGE 12 and beyond Think logically about abstract concepts Solve hypothetical problems (What if…. problems)

Cognitive Development Piaget’s Theory and Current Thinking

Module 4: Prenatal and Childhood Development SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Stranger Anxiety Fear of strangers infant displays Around 8 months of age.

Separation Anxiety Infants are separated from their mothers. Peaks between 14-18 months.

Attachment Emotional tie Seeking closeness to caregiver and showing distress on separation Body contact, familiarity, and responsiveness all contribute to attachment.

Separate to eliminate disease, equalize experiences Harry Harlow 1950’s bred monkeys Separate to eliminate disease, equalize experiences Cheesecloth blanket Food source vs. Comfort source Wire mother vs. Terry Cloth mother…

Wire monkey to eat and then back to the cloth monkey. Attachment doesn’t derive from the association of nourishment.

Sense of contentment with that which is already known Familiarity Sense of contentment with that which is already known Infants are familiar with their parents and caregivers.

IMPRINTING & CRITICAL PERIOD Konrad Lorenz A process by which certain animals, early in life, form attachments The imprinted behavior develops within a critical period Goslings are imprinted to follow the first large moving object they see.

Responsive parents: aware of what their children are doing. Responsiveness Responsive parents: aware of what their children are doing. Unresponsive parents: ignore their children, helping only when they want.

Securely or Insecurely Attached will explore their environment when primary caregiver is present Caregiver leaves they appear distressed Go to caregiver as soon as they return Insecurely attached Clingy and less likely to explore Caregiver leaves, cry loudly

Attachment

Deprivation of attachment: A responsive environment: Effects of Attachment Secure attachment: More outgoing, confident, persistent solving challenging tasks. Deprivation of attachment: Withdrawn, frightened A responsive environment: Trouble sleeping, eating, relating Eventually adapt

Temperament Characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity: Happy Slow to warm up Difficult Temperament in infancy carries through a person’s life.

PARENTING PATTERNS

Baumrind’s three main parenting styles Authoritarian Permissive Parental Patterns Baumrind’s three main parenting styles Authoritarian Permissive Authoritative

Authoritarian Parenting Low in warmth Discipline is strict and sometimes physical. Communication high from parent to child and low from child to parent Maturity expectations are high.

High in warmth but rarely discipline Permissive Parenting High in warmth but rarely discipline Communication is low from parent to child but high from child to parent. Expectations of maturity are low.

Authoritative Parenting High in warmth with moderate discipline High in communication and negotiating Parents set and explain rules. Maturity expectations are moderate.

Parenting Styles