Development

Developmental Psychology Developmental psychology – The study of how organisms change over time as the result of biological and environmental influences

Gradual versus Abrupt Change Continuity view vs. Discontinuity view Age Performance Continuity view Discontinuity view

Prenatal Development Three stages over 9 months from conception to birth –Zygote (conception to 10 days) Rapid growth through cell division –Embryo (approx. 10 days to 8 weeks) Cells specialize into specific organ systems through differentiation –Fetus (8+ weeks to birth) Considerable growth, spontaneous movement

Prenatal Development Teratogens –Substances from the environment that cause damage to the developing organism –Sensitive periods when the organism is more or less sensitive to exposure to teratogens Examples –Drugs and alcohol –Lead –Viruses

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Growth deficiency in the fetus and newborn (e.g., head circumference, weight, height)head circumference Delayed development and mental retardation (mild to severe) Facial abnormalities including small head; small upper jaw; short, up-turned nose; smooth and thin upper lip; and narrow, small, and unusual-appearing eyes with prominent epicanthal folds epicanthal folds Heart defects Limb abnormalities of joints, hands, feet, fingers, and toes

Child with FAS

Simian Crease

Developmental Tasks of the Infant and Child The ability to think and reason (i.e. Cognitive Ability) The ability to speak and communicate The ability to form social relationships (i.e., attachment)

Cognitive Development Cognitive development – The process by which thinking changes over time Schemas – Mental structures or programs that guide a developing child’s thoughts

Cognitive Development Assimilation – Mental process that modifies new information to fit it into existing schemas. –Learning to use Powerpoint after learning to use MS Word

Accommodation – Mental process that restructures existing schemas so that new information is better understood –E.g., Learning that a butterfly (which is a flying animal) is not a bird –Learning that all things with wings that are above your head are not birds Cognitive Development

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development Sensorimotor Preoperational Concrete Operational Formal Operational

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development Sensorimotor Preoperational Concrete Operational Formal Operational Birth to about age 2 Child relies heavily on innate motor responses to stimuli Sensorimotor intelligence Mental representations Object permanence

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development Sensorimotor Preoperational Concrete Operational Formal Operational About age 2 to age 6 or 7 Marked by well- developed mental representation and the use of language Egocentrism Animalistic thinking Centration Irreversibility

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development Sensorimotor Preoperational Concrete Operational Formal Operational About age 7 to about age 11 Child understands conservation but is incapable of abstract thought Conservation Mental operations

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development Sensorimotor Preoperational Concrete Operational Formal Operational From about age 12 on Abstract thought appears

Formal Operational Ages 12 years and up  ability to think abstractly and to use deductive reasoning –Can think logically about abstract concepts (e.g., love, fairness, reasons for existence) –Can test hypotheses systematically

Criticism of Piaget Development is less abrupt and more fluid (or continuous) than Piaget proposed Children are more intellectually sophisticated than Piaget suggests –Findings due more to method than to children’s abilities

W. W. Norton