Chapter 5: Developmental Psychology 1

The study of physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span Life span - conception through old age till death Stages of life Prenatal, 2 Infancy, Childhood, Adulthood. Adolescence,

Three major issues:  Nature/nurture –How much do genetic inheritance and experience influence development?  Continuity/stages –Is development a continuous process or does it proceed through separate stages?  Stability/change –To what extent do our personality traits persist through life? 3

Social Development Attachment - an emotional tie with another person Harlow’s research with monkeys What is the source of attachment in monkeys? 4 Body contact/contact comfort.

Other Harlow monkey studies What effect did inadequate mothering have on social development? Could surrogate raised females become adequate mothers? Critical period - An optimal period shortly after birth when exposure to certain experiences produces proper development Harlow’s monster mothers. 5

6 Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory Emphasizes social factors in development, rather than sexual factors Life span theory - 8 stages Stages - genetically/biologically/maturationally determined Each stage - crisis/turning point How crisis is resolved - social environment.

7 Erikson’s 8 Stages: 1) Trust vs. Mistrust (1st year of life) “a pervasive attitude toward oneself and the world”. Adequate love and attention - the world is a good place. People are loving. I am lovable Optimism develops Optimism carries over to other stages Negative resolution - pessimism, mistrust.

8 2) Autonomy vs. Shame/Doubt (2nd year) Express will in acceptable ways Terrible twos Feel confident/independent & learn self-control Must learn to express will and control impulses Problem for parents? Negative resolution - shame and doubt.

9 3) Initiative vs. Guilt (3-6 years) Extension of second stage Successful resolution leads to ambition and purpose Child - extremely curious Child can take the initiative If initiative thwarted, guilt may develop Problem for parents?

10 4) Industry vs. Inferiority (Elementary School) Must learn that success comes through work School age child faces learning tasks; reading, writing, arithmetic, and learning to relate to peers If failure is accentuated, inferiority develops Problems for parents and teachers?

11 5) Identity vs. Role Confusion (Adolescence) Must begin defining self-making commitments Must make commitments in three areas: 1. Career direction 2. Mature adult-like relationships 3. Philosophy of life If direction cannot be found, confusion results.

12 6) Intimacy vs. Isolation (Young Adulthood) Note: intimacy follows identity Must learn how to be close in a healthy way in both romantic encounters and friendships Are you mature enough to be open with others about who you are without being threatened by differences which may exist? Failure to develop mature intimacy leads to isolation - superficial relationships.

13 7) Generativity vs. Stagnation (Middle Adulthood) Generous with time and attention in relation to nurturing others Time to give back Negative resolution: stagnated, self-centered Are so absorbed with self, they cannot reach out to others in a healthy way.

14 8) Ego Integrity vs. Despair (Late Adulthood) Looking back on life with satisfaction leads to sense of good feeling (integrity) Life has been good, perhaps hard, but good. “I made the best of it.” Looking back, with many regrets leads to despair.

Cognitive Development Cognitive - Mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, and remembering Piaget’s theory of cognitive development Piaget - how an individual’s thinking ability changed throughout development. 15

Schema - A concept (mental framework) that helps us organize and interpret experience Example: dog schema or concept Assimilation - Interpreting one’s new experience in terms of one’s existing schemas Example. 16

Accommodation - Modifying one’s current schemas to include new information... and/or creating new schemas Examples Cognitive development involves constant interaction between assimilation and accommodation. 17

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development Sensorimotor Stage - birth to 2 years Experiences world through senses and responds (motor responses) Examples: seeing, touching, responding Object permanence develops – 8 months Stranger anxiety noted. 18

Infants may know more than Piaget thought 19 One-month-old infants sucked on one of two pacifiers without seeing it. When they were later shown both pacifiers, they looked mostly at the one they had felt in their mouth.

Five-month-old infants were shown one or two objects, which were then hidden behind a screen. Then an object was either removed or added through a trap door. When screen was then lifted, infants stared longer when shown a wrong number of objects. 20

Preoperational Stage - about years Represents objects with words and mental images. Much language development Mental operations are mistake prone Lacks complex reasoning - preoperational Exhibits egocentrism - unable to take another’s point of view Does not understand conservation Amount remains the same even though form changes (ex. volume, mass). Example 21

Conservation - 22 Conservation of Liquid Conservation of Number

Concrete Operational Stage years Mental operations performed concerning things which are concrete or easily visualized (shows more logical reasoning) Better understanding of number and math Difficulty thinking abstractly. Example Demonstrates understanding of conservation. 23

Formal Operational Stage Abstract reasoning begins Can perform mental operations even if problems involve things which are not present or easily visualized The person can test and form hypotheses Potential for mature, moral reasoning. 24