© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Chapter 4 Human Development

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Chapter Preview Nature and Nurture Influence Development Physical, Cognitive, and Socioemotional Development in Childhood Adolescence Adulthood Application: Health and Wellness

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Development The pattern of continuity and change that occurs throughout the lifespan Physical processes Cognitive processes Socioemotional processes

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Development

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Nature and Nurture Nature – Biological Inheritance Nurture – Environmental Experiences Optimal experiences – Individuals take active roles in their own development Early Experience versus Later Experience

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Prenatal Development Conception: Fertilization Zygote – fertilized egg Germinal Period: Weeks 1-2 Embryonic Period: Weeks 3-8 Fetal Period: Months 2-9

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Prenatal Development Teratogens: Agents that cause birth defects Rubella Thalidomide Heroin Alcohol: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) Effects of teratogens depend on… Timing of exposure Genetic characteristics Postnatal environment

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Physical Development Reflexes – genetically wired behaviors that are crucial for survival Grasping Sucking Stepping Startle Few reflexes persist throughout life; most disappear as infants develop voluntary control over their behavior.

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Physical Development Perceptual and Motor Skills Humans Infants and Imitation Preferential Looking Give “choice” and measure preferences Habituation – Decrease in responding to a stimulus after repeated presentations

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Brain Development Myelination continues after birth Visual pathways: 6 months Auditory pathways: 4-5 years Dramatic increase in synaptic connections Brain imaging techniques illuminate developmental changes in the brain between 3-15 years postnatal

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Cognitive Development Jean Piaget ( ) Children actively construct their cognitive world using… Schemas – concepts or frameworks that organize information Assimilation – incorporate new info into existing schemas Accomodation – adjust existing schemas to incorporate new information

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Piaget’s Theory

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Piaget’s Theory Sensorimotor Stage: Birth - 2 years Coordinate sensations with movements Object permanence Preoperational Stage: years Symbolic thinking Egocentrism Intuitive reasoning

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Piaget’s Theory Concrete Operational Stage: 7 – 11 years Operational thinking (e.g., conservation) Classification skills Logical thinking in concrete contexts Formal Operational Stage: years Lasts through adulthood Abstract and idealistic thought Hypothetical-deductive reasoning

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Evaluating Piaget’s Theory Some cognitive abilities emerge earlier than Piaget thought Piaget placed too much emphasis on discrete stages and ignored individual differences Culture and environment also influence development

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Socioemotional Development Erik Erikson ( ) Theory emphasizes lifelong development Eight psychosocial stages of development Each stage represents a developmental task Crisis that must be resolved Personal competence or weakness

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Erikson’s Theory First 4 Stages: Childhood 1. Trust versus mistrust 2. Autonomy versus shame and doubt 3. Initiative versus guilt 4. Industry versus inferiority

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Erikson’s Theory

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Evaluating Erikson’s Theory Development is a lifelong challenge Adolescents more than just sexual beings Primary focus on case-study research Omitted important developmental tasks

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Infant Attachment The close emotional bond between an infant and its caregiver Typically develops during first year of life May provide important foundation for subsequent development Attachment intensifies at 6-7 months

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Infant Attachment Harry Harlow – Infant rhesus monkeys What matters? Nourishment or contact Choose between two surrogate “mothers” Cold wire mother versus warm cloth mother Infants preferred cloth mother across situations Contact comfort is critical to attachment

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Infant Attachment Mary Ainsworth – Strange Situation Procedure: Caregivers leave infant alone with stranger, then return Secure Attachment Insecure Attachment

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Temperament An individual’s behavioral style or characteristic way of responding Three clusters of temperament Easy, difficult, and slow-to-warm-up Another perspective on temperament Effortful control, self-regulation, and negative affectivity

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Parenting Styles Authoritarian Parents are controlling and punitive Correlated with lack of initiative, poor communication skills, social incompetence Authoritative Parents encourage independence with limits Correlated with social competence, social responsibility, and self-control

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Parenting Styles Neglectful Parents are generally uninvolved Correlated with less social incompetence and poor self-control Indulgent Parents are involved, but place few limits Correlated with poor social competence, lack of respect for others, poor self-control

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Parenting Styles

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Moral Development Lawrence Kohlberg ( ) presented moral dilemmas and analyzed responses Preconventional Behavior guided by punishments and rewards Conventional Standards learned from parents and society Postconventional Standards of society and abstract principles (personal moral code)

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Moral Development

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Evaluating Kohlberg’s Theory Moral Reasoning ≠ Moral Behavior What we say and do are not always consistent Women generally score lower than men Justice perspective (men) Focus on the rights of the individual Care perspective (women) – Carol Gilligan Focus on interpersonal communication Interconnectedness with other people

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Gender Development Gender influenced by nature and nurture Biological Influences Androgens – primary male sex hormones Estrogens – primary female sex hormones Evolutionary Approach Social Role View

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Gender Development Gender Roles – Expectations for how males and females should think, feel, and act How do social experiences and culture influence gender development? Traditional male and females gender roles Gender: Nature or Nurture?

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Intersection: Friendships Research indicates that friendships Impact children’s self-esteem, well-being, and school adjustment Comfort with giving or receiving help appears related to one’s number of friends Learning to be a friend is an important developmental skill

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Resilient Children Resilience – A person’s ability to recover from or adapt to difficult times Resilient children become capable adults Advantages possessed by resilient children Individual factors Family factors Extrafamilial factors

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Resilient Children

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Understanding Adolescence Transition from childhood to adulthood Balance positive and negative aspects Marked by the search for identity Roughly 75% are happy, enjoy life, believe they can cope effectively with stress, and value school and work

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Physical Development Puberty Rapid skeletal and sexual maturation Occurs two years earlier for girls than for boys Testosterone (boys) Genital development, height, voice changes Estrogen (girls) Breast, uterine, and skeletal development

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Cognitive Development Piaget’s Formal Operational Stage Abstract, idealistic, and logical thought Hypothetical-deductive reasoning Adolescent Egocentrism The belief that others are as preoccupied with the adolescent as he or she is Sense of uniqueness Sense of invincibility  risky behaviors

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Socioemotional Development Erikson: Psychosocial Development Stage 5: Identity versus identity confusion James Marcia’s Four Identity Statuses Exploration and Commitment Identity diffusion Identity foreclosure Identity moratorium Identity achievement

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Socioemotional Development

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Adult Development and Aging Emerging Adulthood Five Key Features 1. Identity exploration 2. Instability 3. Self-focused 4. Feeling in-between 5. The age of possibilities Health and well-being generally improves

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Physical Changes in Adulthood Early Adulthood Most reach the peak of physical development Middle Adulthood Most lose height, many gain weight Menopause for women (late 40s or early 50s) Late Adulthood Life expectancy has increased, life span has not

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Biological Theories of Aging Both look within our body’s cells Cellular-Clock Theory Maximum # of cell divisions are possible Predicts human life span of about 120 years Free-Radical Theory Unstable oxygen molecules within cells Cause DNA and cell damage

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Alzheimer’s Disease A progressive irreversible brain disorder characterized by a gradual deterioration in Memory, reasoning, language Physical functioning Disease marked by pronounced Tangles (tied bundles of proteins) Plaques (deposits in brain’s blood vessels) Acetylcholine deficiency

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Alzheimer’s Disease

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Cognitive Development Early adulthood Marked by relative and reflective thinking Considerable variation influenced by education Middle adulthood Crystallized intelligence increases Our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills Fluid intelligence begins to decline Our ability to reason abstractly

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Cognitive Development

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Cognitive Development

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Cognitive Development Cross-Sectional versus Longitudinal Research Studies produce slightly different findings Peak performance for both types of intelligence may actually occur in middle adulthood Late Adulthood Speed of processing generally declines Memories fade and retrieval skills fail Wisdom (expert knowledge about life) might actually increase in some individuals

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Socioemotional Development Erikson’s Theory: Last 4 Stages 5. Identity versus role confusion (adolescence) 6. Intimacy versus isolation 7. Generativity versus stagnation 8. Integrity versus despair

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Erikson’s Theory

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Marriage and Parenting Women and men are marrying later Principles for Successful Marriages Nurturing fondness and admiration Turning toward each other as friends Giving up some power Solving conflicts together Parenting can  Generativity (Erikson)

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Socioemotional Development Midlife Crisis or Midlife Consciousness? Research reveals that midlife Is not particularly tumultuous, mostly positive Is relatively low in experienced anxiety Adults show resilience and good coping skills Brings few illnesses, but poor physical fitness Awareness of gap between young and old

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Socioemotional Development Activity  Satisfaction and Good Health Value Emotional Satisfaction Spend time with family and friends Narrow Social Interactions Restrict contact with less familiar individuals Positive Psychology and Aging

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Application: Health and Wellness Development during adulthood marked by Physical and psychological decline Conscious awareness of aging Coping with life’s difficulties Assimilation and accommodation (Piaget) Victor Frankl – Life Themes

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Chapter Summary Explain how psychologists think about development. Describe children’s development from prenatal stages to adolescence. Identify the most important changes that occur in adolescence. Discuss adult development and the positive dimensions of aging. Discuss important factors in successful adult psychological development.

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Chapter Summary Development occurs across the lifespan and is influenced by both Nature – biological inheritance Nurture – environmental experience Physical Development Childhood Adolescence Adulthood

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Chapter Summary Cognitive Development Childhood Adolescence Adulthood Socioemotional Development Childhood Adolescence Adulthood

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Chapter Summary Piaget: Cognitive Development Schemas, assimilation, and accommodation Sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational stages Kohlberg: Moral Development Shift from external  internal moral code Preconventional, conventional, and postconventional morality

© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Chapter Summary Erikson: Psychosocial Development Emphasizes lifelong development Eight psychosocial stages (crises) of development Positive Psychology and Development Most report being happy across the life span Coping, Life Themes, and Development