Developmental Psychology

Complete the Physical Growth and Development “Quiz”

Developmental Psychology Concerned with changes in physical & psychological functioning from conception across a life span Task/Goal of Devel. Psychologists- to 1) document 2) explain development

Documenting Development Normative investigations- research designed to describe characteristics of a specific age or developmental stage

Documenting Development -Investigations determine developmental landmarks or “norms” -Ex. Age when talking, walking begins -Standards allow psychologists to make distinctions between chronological and developmental age (age when most children show a particular level of development)

Documenting Development Researchers use 2 different research methods: 1.Longitudinal- same participants observed repeatedly, over many years 2.Cross-sectional- groups of participants of different ages are observed & compared at the same time

Explaining Development Nature vs. Nurture controversy Nature- Rousseau; what child brings into the world (heredity) shapes their development Nurture- Locke; born with a blank slate (tabula rasa), credits human development to experience

Explaining Development “Victor” aka “Wild Child” Raised by animals Itard tried to civilize/educate him Progress was made for 5 years Case shows vital role of early social contact in regards to communication and mental growth

Explaining Development Research supports: - Heredity provides potential; experience determines way in which potential will be fulfilled

Physical Development

Bodily changes, maturation, & growth that occurs in an organism 1. Prenatal/Childhood Development: -zygote- sperm fertilizes the egg -46 chromosomes ( ½ mother, ½ father -3 rd wk- 1 st sign of heartbeat -8 th wk- called a “fetus” -16 th wk- mother can feel mov’t

Physical Development -brain development- new neurons grow quickly -branching process of axons/dendrites happens after birth -first months of pregnancy environmental factors can affect devel. of organs/structures -Ex. Disease, drinking, drugs, smoking

Physical Development -Hearing: prewired for survival- can hear before birth  recognize mother’s voice, but not father’s

Physical Development -Vision: - less developed than adults- minutes after birth eyes turn in direction of sound  better within 6 mos.

Physical Development - prefer to look at large objects w/ contours and whole faces rather than parts - no depth perception until 4 mos.

Physical Development - Eleanor Gibson researched children’s response to depth perception and heights - she created a visual cliff - child would cross over shallow end but reluctant to cross deep end - fear of deep end depends on crawling experience

Physical Development - Wariness of height is not prewired, but develops as children experience their world

Physical Development -Maturation- process of growth typical of all members of a species raised in their usual habitat - different for individuals - environmental inputs - ex Native American’s carry babies on their backs  learn to walk later than other children

Physical Development 2. Adolescent Development -Growth spurt: girls- age 10 boys- age 12 -Hands and feet grow first, then arms and legs -Reach puberty 2-3 years after growth spurt

Physical Development -Sexual maturity: girls- age boys- age Psychological changes: - concern for body image - 38% girls, 27% boys report feeling “ugly”  can lead to anorexia/ bulimia

Physical Development - Over time adolescents become more accepting of appearance

Physical Development 3. Adulthood Development -Research shows a belief in “use it or lose it”  Adults may suffer less aging effects if they continue to exercise their bodies and minds

Physical Development - Vision: decreases due to lenses becoming yellowed and less flexible; unable to see colors as clearly (violets, blues, greens); difficulty seeing at night

Physical Development -Hearing: hearing loss is common of those 60 yrs +, greater for men than women, have more difficulty hearing high frequency tones

Physical Development -Reproductive/Sexual Functioning: Age 40- men experience lower viable sperm count Age 50- women experience menopause (stopping of ovulation)

Cognitive Development

Jean Piaget developed theories about how children think, reason, and solve problems -Believed there are 2 processes working together to achieve cognitive growth: assimilation and accommodation

Cognitive Development Stages: 1.Sensorimotor Stage (birth-2yrs) - sequences are improved, combined, coordinated, and integrated - develops object performance - child learns when object is absent, it still exists

Cognitive Development 2. Preoperational Stage (2-7 yrs) - marked by egocentrism (unable to take the perspective of another person) and centration (unable to take more than one perceptual factor into account at the same time)

Cognitive Development 3. Concrete Operational Stage (7-11 yrs) - capable of mental observations  logical thinking - replace physical action with mental action - unable to determine relationships unless direct, physical observation

Cognitive Development - mastery of conservation and reversibility 4. Formal Operations Stage (11+yrs) - understand abstract thinking - understand there is more than one reality - ponder deep questions of truth, justice, and existence

Cognitive Development Renée Baillargeon has challenged Piaget’s work: - stating children as young as 3 mos. understand object performance - should be less emphasis on egocentrism  children have an idea of what they know compared to what others know

Cognitive Development Lev Vygotsky argues that children develop through internalization  absorb knowledge from their social context - explains that children’s cognition develops to perform culturally valued tasks (like apprenticeships)

Cognitive Development Unlike Piaget…who focused on maturation process within the child, not how the environment impacts the child

Acquiring Language

Most researchers believe the ability to learn language is biologically based & we have an innate language capacity Start with Perceiving Speech…

Acquiring Language 1.Perceiving Speech: - infants begin to learn phonemes (45 phonemes in English) - researchers found that you have innate ability to hear sound contrast in any language up to 8 mos.

Acquiring Language - lose the ability to perceive contrast in the languages you are NOT acquiring

Acquiring Language -Child directed speech (exaggerated & high pitched) helps keep infant interested in language & can create an emotional bond -Children at 4 ½ mos. Are beginning to know their own name

Acquiring Language 2. Learning Word Meanings - 18 mos. vocabulary takes off

Acquiring Language 3. Acquiring Grammar -Children must learn grammar structure -Noam Chomsky: believes that children are born with mental structures that facilitate comprehension & production of language

Acquiring Language -Ex. – children who are deaf, but not taught ASL, seem to have grammar structure -Dan Slobin believes that children have language-making-capacity  innate guidelines/operating principles that children use in acquiring language

Acquiring Language -Often children when learning language use overregularization  grammatical error in which language rules are used too widely -Ex. “ed” added to all words- “breaked”; “s” added to all words- “foots”

Social Development

The ways in which individuals’ social interactions and expectations change across the life span

Social Development Major psychologist, Erik Erikson and his psychological stages - need to resolve conflicts to move into next stage - review chart…

Social Development 1. Social Development in Childhood: - socialization- lifelong process whereby an individual’s behavioral patterns, values, standards, skills, attitudes, and motives are shaped to conform to those regarded as desirable in a particular society

Social Development -Family is most important in shaping how people relate to each other -Begins with attachment (emotional relationship between a child & caregiver), basically for survival (at first)

Social Development -Separation anxiety- distress when taken away from a person they are attached to; peaks mos. -Babies form attachments to individuals who consistently & appropriately respond to their signals (smiling, crying)

Social Development -Mary Ainsworth: Strange-Situation Test: 1. Securely Attached- distress when parent leaves, seek contact upon parent’s return 2. Insecurely Attached-Avoidant- child is aloof, avoids parent upon their return

Social Development 3. Insecurely Attached- Ambivalent/Resistant- child is upset and anxious when parent leaves, shows anger and resistance to parent upon their return, but desire comfort

Social Development 4. Disorganized-disoriented- child is confused about whether they should avoid or approach the parent upon return

Social Development -Parenting Style- manner in which parents raise children *authoritative style is the best: (demand children to conform to appropriate rules of behavior, but keep channels of communication open)

Social Development ResponsiveUnresponsive DemandingAuthoritativeAuthoritarian UndemandingIndulgentNeglectful Responsiveness Demandingness

Social Development -Harry Harlow: discovered aspect of contact comfort- comfort derived from infants physical contact with caregiver (why babies become “attached”) - consequences for humans if deprived of contact/comfort (physical and psychological issues)

Social Development 2. Social Development in Adolescence: -G. Stanley Hall: “storm & stress”- to be in turmoil is normal (older theory) -Reality = most adolescence are not experiencing major turmoil; but, if they do, it would be during this period; increase in parent/child conflict

Social Development -Working on Identity: A. 1 st time peers compete with family to influence attitude & behavior (why friends are very important!), but this increases anxiety of being rejected

Social Development B. Parents and children must deal with transition in relationship; parents give up authority & allow child autonomy; important to have social support in environment; having future goals is important to working on identity

Social Development 3. Social Development in Adulthood: A. Tasks- intimacy (sexual, emotional & moral commitment to another person) & generativity (concern for the next generation) *Erikson

Social Development - birth of a child can pose a threat to a couple - studies show couples happier later in life; women seem to be more affected by an unhappy marriage (b/c they are trying to fix it)

Social Development - selective social interaction theory- as people age, they become more selective in choosing social partners who satisfy their emotional needs

Social Development -Generativity: a commitment beyond yourself to family, work, society, or future generations - crucial step in 30s & 40s; if not apparent  midlife crisis ? - sometimes see ageism- discrimination/prejudice against older people

Moral Development

Moral Developments Moral Dilemmas!

Moral Development A system of beliefs, values, and the underlying judgments about the rightness and wrongness of human acts

Moral Development Lawrence Kohlberg- studied moral reasoning (not behavior!) and came up with theories of moral development; shaped by Piaget – ties moral devel. to cog. devel.

Moral Development - Lowest level of moral reasoning is based on self-interest -Higher levels of moral reasoning based on social good, regardless of personal gain -4 Principles of Kohlberg’s Model:

Moral Development 1.Individual can only be in one stage at a given time 2.Everyone goes through stages in this order 3.Each stage is more complex than preceding stage 4.Same stages occur in every culture

Moral Development Almost everyone reaches stage 3 by age 13 Many people don’t pass stage 5 Later stages are subjective- don’t seem to be more complex and are not apparent in every culture

Moral Development -Critics take issue with Kohlberg’s claims of universality: -Carol Gilligan: his work only focused on boys, overlooking potential differences between habitual moral judgments of men & women

Moral Development - Gilligan feels women’s moral devel. is based on “caring for others” & progresses to self-realization; basis for men is “standard of justice” - Gilligan’s theory broadened Kohlberg’s

Moral Development - However, research suggests she is incorrect to identify unique styles of moral reasoning for men & women

Moral Development CONCLUSION: 1.Adult reasoning about moral dilemmas is a mix between considerations of caring and justice 2.Culture can play a role in determining what is moral or not

Gender Development

Gender Group Discussion…

Gender Development Sex differences- biologically based characteristics that distinguish males and females – anatomy, hormones, & reproductive functions – hormones might affect some behavior more in boys who are more physically active and aggressive than girls

Gender Development Gender- psychological, learned, sex- related behaviors & attitudes (ideas about masculinity & femininity) Gender Identity- an individual’s sense of maleness or femaleness (an awareness & acceptance) mos.

Gender Development Gender Roles- patterns of behavior regarded as appropriate for males & females in society; provide definitions for masculinity & femininity

Gender Development -Acquisition of Gender Roles: - often begins at birth - parents describe & dress them differently - encourage them to play with “sex-appropriate” toys

Gender Development Eleanor Maccoby: Young children are segregationists themselves Gender Differences- disparities between the sexes in typical behavior or average ability

Gender Development Why are there gender differences? 1. evolution 2. exposure to hormones prenatally 3. structural differences in the brain (males- more lateralization)

Gender Development 4. environment: expectations about what is “appropriate” behavior for males and females - How do we learn these behaviors? operant conditioning, observational learning, self-socialization, socialization in society (family, school, media)

Gender Development Research has pointed out that many well-adjusted people are more androgynous in their gender roles