Chapter 3: Human Development

Heredity and Environment—The Nurture of Nature The Newborn Baby—The Basic Model Comes with Options Social Development—Baby, I’m Stuck on You Parental Influences—Life with Mom and Dad Language Development—Fast-Talking Babies Cognitive Development—How Do Children Learn to Think? Moral Development—Growing a Conscience The Story of a Lifetime: Rocky Road or Garden Path? Midlife and Old Age Aging and Ageism Psychology in Action Effective Parenting—Raising Healthy Children

Developmental Psychology The study of progressive changes in behavior and abilities

Heredity Transmission of physical and psychological characteristics from parents to their children through genes DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid): Molecular structure, shaped like a double helix that contains coded genetic information

Genes Specific areas on a strand of DNA that carry hereditary information Dominant: The gene’s feature will appear each time the gene is present Recessive: The gene’s feature will appear only if it is paired with another recessive gene

Temperament Categories (Chess & Thomas, 1986) The physical “core” of personality Easy Children: 40 %; relaxed and agreeable Difficult Children: 10 %; moody, intense, easily angered Slow-to-Warm-Up Children: 15 %; restrained, unexpressive, shy Remaining Children: Do not fit into any specific category

Environment (Nurture) Sum of all external conditions that affect development, especially the effects of learning Sensitive Period: A period of increased sensitivity to environmental influences; also, a time when certain events must occur for normal development to take place Congenital Problem: A problem or defect that occurs during prenatal development; “birth defect”

Environment Continued Genetic Disorder: Problem caused by inherited characteristics or gene deficits Anything capable of causing birth defects (e.g., narcotics, radiation, cigarette smoke, lead, and cocaine) Deprivation: Lack of normal stimulation, nutrition, comfort, or love

Enrichment When an environment is deliberately made more complex and intellectually stimulating Enriched Environments: Environments deliberately made more novel, complex, and stimulating

Newborns (Neonates) and Their Reflexes

Grasping Reflex If an object is placed in the infant’s palm, she’ll grasp it automatically (all reflexes are automatic responses; i.e., they come from nature, not nurture)

Rooting Reflex Lightly touch the infant’s cheek and he’ll turn toward the object and attempt to nurse; helps infant find bottle or breast

Sucking Reflex Touch an object or nipple to the infant’s mouth and she’ll make rhythmic sucking movements

Moro Reflex If a baby’s position is abruptly changed or if he is startled by a loud noise, he will make a hugging motion

Maturation Physical growth and development of the body, brain, and nervous system Increased muscular control occurs in patterns Cephalocaudal: From head to toe Proximodistal: From center of the body to the extremities

Social Smile Smiling elicited by social stimuli such a seeing a parent’s face

Separation Anxiety Crying and signs of fear when a child is left alone or is with a stranger; generally appears around 8-12 months

Quality of Attachment (Ainsworth) Secure: Stable and positive emotional bond; upset by mother’s absence Insecure-Avoidant: Tendency to avoid reunion with parent or caregiver Insecure-Ambivalent: Desire to be with parent or caregiver and some resistance to being reunited

Parenting Styles (Baumrind, 2005)

Authoritarian Enforce rigid rules and demand strict obedience to authority; children are obedient and self-controlled

Authoritative Supply firm and consistent guidance combined with love and affection; children tend to be competent, self-controlled, independent, and assertive

Overly Permissive Give little guidance, allow too much freedom, or don’t require child to take responsibility; children tend to be dependent and immature and frequently misbehave

Optimal Caregiving Maternal Influences: All the effects a mother has on her child Paternal Influences: Sum of all effects a father has on his child

Goodness of Fit (Chess & Thomas) Degree to which parents and child have compatible temperaments

Language Acquisition Cooing: Repetition of vowel sounds by infants (like “oo” and “ah”); starts at about 6-8 weeks Babbling: Repetition of meaningless language sounds (e.g., babababa); starts at about 7 months Single-Word Stage: The child says one word at a time Telegraphic Speech: Two word sentences that communicate a single idea (e.g., Want yogurt)

Noam Chomsky and the Roots of Language Biological Disposition: Presumed hereditary readiness of all humans to learn certain skills such as how to use language Chomsky: Language patterns are inborn

Parentese (Motherese) Pattern of speech used when talking to infants Marked by raised voice, short, simple sentences, slower speech, exaggerated voice inflections, and repetition

Jean Piaget and Cognitive Development Piaget believed that all children passed through a set series of stages during their intellectual development; like Freud, he was a Stage Theorist Transformations: Mentally changing the shape or form of a substance and to perceive that its volume remains the same; children younger than 6 or 7 cannot do this

Assimilation Application of existing mental patterns to new situations

Accommodation Existing mental patterns are changed to accommodate new information or experiences

Piaget: Sensorimotor Stage (0-2 Years) All sensory input and motor responses are coordinated; most intellectual development here is nonverbal Object Permanence: Concept that objects still exist when they are out of sight

Piaget: Preoperational Stage (2-7 years) Children begin to use language and think symbolically, but their thinking is still intuitive and egocentric Intuitive Thought: Makes little use of reasoning and logic Egocentric Thought: Thought that is unable to accommodate viewpoints of others and is self-centered

Piaget: Concrete Operational Stage (7-11 Years) Children become able to use concepts of time, space, volume, and number but in ways that remain simplified and concrete, not abstract Conservation: Mass, weight, and volume remain unchanged when the shape or appearance of objects changes Reversibility of Thought: Relationships involving equality or identity can be reversed

Piaget: Formal Operations (11 Years and Up) Thinking now includes abstract, theoretical, and hypothetical ideas Abstract Ideas: Concepts and examples removed from specific examples and concrete situations Hypothetical Possibilities: Suppositions, guesses, or projections

Lev Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory Children’s cognitive development is heavily influenced by social and cultural factors. A child’s thinking develops through dialogues with more capable persons

Zone of Proximal Development Range of tasks a child cannot master alone even though they are close to having the necessary mental skills; they need guidance from a more capable partner in order to complete the task

Scaffolding Adjusting instruction so it is responsive to a beginner’s behavior and so it supports the beginners efforts to understand a problem or gain a mental skill

Moral Development When we acquire values, beliefs, and thinking abilities that guide responsible behavior

Lawrence Kohlberg’s Three Stages of Moral Development Preconventional: Moral thinking guided by consequences of actions (punishment, reward, exchange of favors) Conventional: Reasoning based on a desire to please others or to follow accepted rules, authority, and values Postconventional: Follows carefully examined and self-accepted moral principles

Erik Erikson’s Eight Stages of Psychosocial Dilemmas

Stage One: Trust versus Mistrust (Birth-1) Children are completely dependent on others Trust: Established when babies given adequate warmth, touching, love, and physical care Mistrust: Caused by inadequate or unpredictable care and by cold, indifferent, and rejecting parents

Stage Two: Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt (1-3) Autonomy: Doing things for themselves Overprotective or ridiculing parents may cause children to doubt abilities and feel shameful about their actions

Stage Three: Initiative versus Guilt (3-5) Initiative: Parents reinforce initiative by giving children freedom to play, use imagination, and ask questions Guilt: May occur if parents criticize, prevent play, or discourage a child’s questions

Stage Four: Industry versus Inferiority (6-12) Industry: Occurs when child is praised for productive activities such as painting, reading, and studying Inferiority: Occurs if child’s efforts are regarded as messy, inadequate, or childish

Stage Five (Adolescence): Identity versus Role Confusion Identity: For adolescents; problems answering, “Who am I?” Role Confusion: Occurs when adolescents are unsure of where they are going and who they are

Stage Six (Young Adulthood): Intimacy versus Isolation Intimacy: Ability to care about others and to share experiences with them Isolation: Feeling alone and uncared for in life

Stage Seven (Middle Adulthood): Generativity versus Stagnation Generativity: Interest in guiding the next generation Stagnation: When one is only concerned with one’s own needs and comforts

Stage Eight (Late adulthood): Integrity versus Despair Integrity: Self-respect; developed when people have lived richly and responsibly Despair: Occurs when previous life events are viewed with regret; experiences heartache and remorse

Types of Child Discipline Power Assertion: Using physical punishment or a show of force to enforce child discipline Withdrawal of Love: Withholding affection; refusing to speak to a child or threatening to leave to enforce child discipline Management Techniques: Combine praise, recognition, approval, rules, and reasoning to encourage desirable behavior and to enforce child discipline

Effective Parenting Have stable rules of conduct (consistency) Show mutual respect, love, encouragement, and shared enjoyment

Effective Communication I-Message: Tells children the effect their behavior had on you (Use this) You-Message: Threats, name-calling, accusing, bossing, criticizing, or lecturing; tells a child what is “wrong” with them (Avoid this)

Consequences Natural Consequences: Effects that naturally follow a particular behavior; intrinsic effects Logical Consequences: Rational and reasonable effects