Child Development Ch. 11 (p ) Music: Sweet Child of Mine Guns and Roses The Kids Aren’t Alright Offspring

Today’s Agenda 1. Prenatal Development: a) Conception and fetal development b) Teratogens c) Fetal learning 2. Infancy and Childhood a) Sensory development b) Motor development c) Linguistic development d) Cognitive development e) Attachment f) Parenting Styles

1.Prenatal Development  a) Conception:  300 million sperms competing for 1 egg  23 chromosomes of egg and sperm unite  Zygote:  Conception to 2 weeks  Travels to uterine wall & implants (7 th day)  Embryo:  Development of placenta and umbilical cord  2 weeks to 8 weeks  Development of all vital organs

Prenatal development (cont’d.)  Fetus: 9 weeks to birth  Organs continue to grow  Muscles and bones form  Sex organs develop

1. Prenatal development (cont’d.) Periods of Vulnerability Fig. 11.2

1. Prenatal Development (cont’d.)  b) Teratogens: “monster producing agents”  Nicotine: Risk of spontaneous abortions and fetal death Lower birth weight higher risk of death in 1 st year  Alcohol: Fetal Acohol Syndrome (FAS) 3 rd leading cause of mental retardation  Cocaine: Reduced fetal blood flow: higher number of stillbirths Behavioral and learning difficulties  Prescription Drugs Maternal health Nutrition, and stress (via cortisol secretion) affects fetal development  c) Fetal learning:  Fetus recognizes mother’s voice  At birth, prefers sounds experienced in the womb

2. Infancy and Childhood a) Sensory Development Reflexes What can babies see? Hear? Smell? b) Motor Development Sequence of developmental milestones is universal Rate of progress varies according to environmental stimulation and biological maturation See fig. 11.4, p. 469

2. b) Motor Development 3-4 months Illustration of grasping

2. b) Motor Development The emergence of walking (11 months): H ome movie

2. c) Linguistic Development  Ability to acquire language is biologically-based  Critical period: see Genie’s case  Interactionist Theories Input begins in the womb  Factors that make children experts:  Social interest  Speech perception abilities  Speech production  Language Acquisition Device

2. c) Linguistic Development  Demonstration of social interest, and cooing displayed in the first few months of life with home movies

2. c) Linguistic Development (cont’d) Social responsiveness illustrated in infants Laughing quadruplets (clip)

2. d) Cognitive Development  How do children think? What do they think?  Piaget Principles:  Assimilation  Interpreting new experiences in terms of existing mental structures without changing them  Accomodation  Changing existing mental structures to explain new experiences  Sensorimotor Stage (Birth- 2 years): Development of object permanence  Preoperational Stage (2-7 years): Thinking characterized by centration, irreversibility, egocentrism and animism p Failure at conservation (see Fig next slide)

 Review:   Fig  Concrete Operational (7-11 yrs): Perform mental operations (e.g. conservation task) But Concrete; cannot think abstractly  Formal Operational (11 years on): Ability to reason logically and abstractly

2. d) Concrete Operational Period

2. e) Attachment Close emotional relationship between a child and a caregiver Ramifications of severe neglect (e.g. orphaned children) For the assessment of attachment, see: attachment styles: Secure (65%) The other is represented as responsive and reliable and the self as worthy of being protected and responded to Avoidant (20%) Anxious/ Ambivalent (15%) Originates from caregiver responsiveness and child’s temperament (see p. 474) Caregiving styles: warm, responsive vs. cold, rejecting, inconsistent, or miss-attuned

2. e) Attachment Process Also see clip:

2. e) Attachment (cont’d) Ramifications in adulthood: Secure: “I find it relatively easy to get close to others, and am comfortable depending on them.” Avoidant: “I am somewhat uncomfortable being close to others; I find it difficult to trust them… I get nervous when anyone gets too close.” Anxious- Ambivalent: “I find that others are reluctant to get as close as I would like. I worry that my partner doesn’t really love me, or won’t stay with me…”

2. f) Parenting styles Authoritarian: Stress obedience to authority Parent-centered; more controlling and punitive Authoritative: Have high standards for children, but more flexible in their authority More child-centered; use reasoning Indulgent: Parents exercise little control; not as demanding more permissive Let children learn through their own experience Neglectful: Relationship is uninvolved Outcome on child behaviour

See you next week! Tutorials: Now on Moodle! Practice questions and discussion forums Tuesday 10:30 Vari Hall 3006 Tuesday 2:30 Chemistry 115