Development over the Lifespan

Development over the Lifespan
Introducing Psychology 7/31/2018 Development over the Lifespan Chapter 14 Prepared by Kristine A. Peace, Ph.D. These slides © 2010 Pearson Education Canada. Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada ©1999 Prentice Hall

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada
Chapter Outline From Conception through the First Year Cognitive Development Learning to Be Good Gender Development Adolescence Adulthood The Wellsprings of Resilience Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

Developmental Psychology
The study of how people change and grow over time, physically, mentally, and socially (includes socialization) 2 methods used in developmental psychology: Cross-sectional: subjects of different ages are compared at a given time Longitudinal: subjects are followed and periodically reassessed over a period of time socialization The process by which children learn the behaviours, attitudes, and expectations required of them by their society or culture. Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

Conception to First Year
Maturation The sequential unfolding of genetically influenced behaviour & physical characteristics Stages of prenatal development: Germinal: begins at conception, sperm unites with egg (fertilized cell called zygote) Embryonic: begins once implantation of embryo has occurred until 8 weeks after conception Fetal: begins at 8 weeks until birth, further development of organs & systems in fetus zygote In prenatal development, the fertilized single-celled egg. embryo In prenatal development, the organism between the time of implantation and the eighth week of pregnancy. fetus In prenatal development, the organism between the eighth week of pregnancy and the time of birth. Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

Prenatal Development Harmful influences that can cross the placental barrier: German measles (rubella) X-rays or other radiation & toxic chemicals such as lead Sexually transmitted diseases Cigarette smoking Regular consumption of alcohol (risk of fetal alcohol syndrome) Drugs other than alcohol (teratogens) fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) Birth defect caused by maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy, associated with low birth weight, a smaller brain, facial deformities, lack of coordination, and mental retardation. teratogen Agent that interferes with normal embryonic development. Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

The Infant’s World Many infant physical & perceptual abilities are present at birth Motor reflexes: automatic behaviours that are necessary for survival (see Table 14.1) Perceptual abilities for sight, sound, touch, smell, taste Newborn’s visual range of focus reflects about the distance between faces of infant & caregiver Can discriminate primary caregiver from others very early by sight, smell, sound Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

Attachment Attachment theory (Bowlby) Describes the relatively stable pattern of relationships that one forms from birth to death Attachment begins with contact comfort The innate pleasure derived from close physical contact; basis of infant’s first attachment E.g., Harlow’s studies – infant monkeys sought out contact comfort over food Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

Attachment Once attached, infants may show separation anxiety if primary caregiver leaves Distress that most children develop, at about 6-8 months of age, when their primary caregivers temporarily leave them with strangers Attachment bonds studied through Strange Situation Test (Ainsworth) Three categories of attachments based on reactions: secure, avoidant, anxious/ambivalent Insecure attachments = avoidant, anxious/ambivalent Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

Attachment, Culture, & Time
Separation anxiety peaks around one year of age & then declines Cultural variations: those in more communal cultures showed less anxiety Attached to many adults at same time Figure 14.2 The Rise and Fall of Separation Anxiety At around six months of age, many babies begin to show separation anxiety when the person who is their main source of attachment tries handing them over to someone else or leaves the room. This anxiety typically peaks at about one year and then steadily declines. But the proportion of children responding this way varies across cultures, from a high among rural African children to a low among children raised in a communal Israeli kibbutz, where children become attached to many adults (Kagan, Kearsley, & Zelazo, 1978). Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

Insecure Attachments Factors that promote insecure attachments: Abandonment and deprivation in the first two years of life Parenting that is abusive, neglectful, or erratic because the parent is chronically irresponsible or depressed The child’s own genetically influenced temperament Changing, stressful circumstances in the child’s family Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

Cognitive Development
One milestone of cognitive development is language acquisition Begins in the first few months (responsive to pitch, intensity, sound) Parentese: adult use of baby talk, pitch is higher and more varied than usual, exaggerated intonation, emphasis on vowels Continues in rapid progression (see Table) Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

Language Development By 4-6 months, recognition of names & words spoken with emotion By 6-12 months, familiarity with sound structure of their native language, start to babble & develop symbolic gestures By months, produce 2-3 word combinations (telegraphic speech) By age of 6, vocabulary between words Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

Development of Thinking
According to Piaget, cognitive development consists of mental adaptations to new observations & experiences Two forms of adaptation: Assimilation: the process of absorbing new information into existing cognitive structures Accommodation: the process of modifying existing cognitive structures in response to experiences Jean Piaget (1896–1980) Swiss psychologist who studied child development, created the “flower-blooming” school of cognitive development, and proposed the theory of cognitive stages. Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

Stages of Cognitive Development
Sensorimotor Stage (birth to age two) Learning through concrete actions Coordinates sensory information with bodily movement Major accomplishment is object permanence The understanding that an object continues to exist even when you cannot see or touch it Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

Preoperational Stage (ages 2-7) Focused on limitations in children’s thinking Children lack ability to engage in mental operations Engage in egocentric thinking (inability to take another person’s perspective) Cannot grasp concept of conservation (understanding that physical properties of objects can remain the same even when their form or appearance changes) operations In Piaget’s theory, mental actions that are cognitively reversible. Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

Concrete Operations Stage (ages 7-12) Earlier limitations overcome but primarily with concrete information Continue to make errors in reasoning about abstract concepts Understand principles of conservation, reversibility, cause and effect Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

Formal Operations Stage (ages 12-adult) Teenagers become capable of abstract reasoning Ideas/concepts can be compared and classified just like objects Can formulate hypotheses, test ideas, search for answers to solve problems Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

Socio-cultural Influences
Vygotsky emphasized socio-cultural influences on cognitive development in children Mental representations of the world developed through culture and language Private speech: how children talk to themselves to direct their own behaviour Over time, private speech becomes internalized and silent Lev Vygotsky (1896–1934) Psychologist who emphasized the socio-cultural influences of language and culture on children’s cognitive development. Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

Current Views on Development
Current views on cognitive development: Cognitive abilities develop in continuous, overlapping waves rather than discrete stages Children understand far more than Piaget gave them credit for – and some adults understand far less Preschoolers are not as egocentric as Piaget thought Cognitive development is spurred by the growing speed & efficiency of information processing Cognitive development is greatly affected by a child’s culture Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

Learning to Be Good Children’s ability to understand right from wrong (reasoning about moral dilemmas) evolves with cognitive abilities (Kohlberg) Methods used to enforce moral standards: Power assertion: parent uses punishment and authority to correct child’s misbehaviour Induction: parent appeals to child’s own resources, abilities, sense of responsibility, and feelings for others in correcting the child’s misbehaviour Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

Gender Development Gender identity The fundamental sense of being male or female Independent of whether a person conforms to the social and cultural rules of gender Gender typing The process by which children learn the abilities, interests, and behaviours associated with being masculine or feminine in their culture Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

Complexity & Gender Complexity evident in cases that do not fit categories of male & female Intersex conditions: condition occurring where chromosomal or hormonal anomalies cause a child to be born with ambiguous genitals or genitals that conflict with chromosomes Transgender: term describing category of people who do not fit comfortably into usual categories of male & female Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

Influences on Gender Development
Biological influences: Early play and toy preferences have a basis in prenatal hormones (i.e., androgens), genes, or brain organization Cognitive influences: Toy preferences are based on gender schemas Early recognition that there are two sexes (faces) Change behaviours to conform to category they label themselves as gender schema A cognitive schema (mental network) of knowledge, beliefs, metaphors, and expectations about what it means to be male or female. Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

Influences on Gender Development
Learning influences: Gender socialization instills messages about what boys & girls are supposed to do Signals provided very early on as to how to treat the child based on actions, clothing, portrayals Gender appropriate play may be reinforced by parents, teachers, and peers Beliefs about “natural” talents for males & females also expressed gender schema A cognitive schema (mental network) of knowledge, beliefs, metaphors, and expectations about what it means to be male or female. Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

Adolescence Adolescence Period of development between puberty and adulthood Culture variations in the duration of adolescence according to when youth are expected to assume adult responsibilities Puberty Age a person becomes capable of sexual reproduction Onset depends on genetic & environmental factors Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

Physiology of Adolescence
Females Development of breasts Menarche: onset of menstruation (depends on critical level of body fat for onset) Males Onset of nocturnal emissions & growth of testes, scrotum, and penis Hormones involved in emergence of secondary sex characteristics (e.g., pubic hair) secondary sex characteristics Secondary signs of physical maturity at puberty, such as a deepened voice and facial and chest hair in boys and pubic hair in both sexes. Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

Adolescents, Brains, & the Law
Development has implications for legal settings U.S. Supreme Court banned execution of juveniles under the age of 18 in 2005 Basis of decision was that brains are still neurologically immature Synaptic pruning in prefrontal cortex (linked to impulse control & planning) and limbic system (emotional processing) Full neurological & cognitive maturity not reached until around 25 Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

Psychology of Adolescence
Adolescent “turmoil” & major problems are exception not the rule Studies of self-esteem indicate no significant drop in adolescence for either sex Most common problems: conflict with parents, mood swings & depression, and higher rates of risky behaviour Figure 14.5 Gender (Non)Differences in Self-Esteem Popular books claim that girls and women have much lower self-esteem than boys and men, starting in adolescence. But studies of nearly American adolescents find that the difference is very small (Kling et al., 1999). Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

Adulthood Lifespan approach to psychological development proposed by Erikson Erikson argued that adults go through stages just like children do Each stage characterized by a challenge or “crisis” that should be resolved Recognized that cultural and economic factors affect people’s development through these stages Erik Erikson (1902–1994) One of the first modern theorists to propose a lifespan approach to psychological development, proposed that all individuals go through eight stages in their lives, each characterized by a particular “crisis,” that ideally should be resolved before the individual moves on. Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

Erikson’s Stages Trust versus mistrust (0-1) Autonomy versus shame and doubt (1-2) Initiative versus guilt (3-5) Competence versus inferiority (6-12) Identity versus role confusion (13-19) Involves identity crisis Intimacy versus isolation (20-40) Generativity versus stagnation 40-65) Ego integrity versus despair (65+) identity crisis A person’s internal struggle to decide what to be and what to make of this life; those who resolve it will have a strong identity and be ready to plan for the future; those who do not will sink into confusion, unable to make decisions. Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

Transitions of Life Transitions & events tend to occur at particular times in life Gauge progress by our social clocks Norms governing what people of the same age and historical generation are expected to do, used by people to determine whether they are on time for transitions or off time Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

Transitions of Life Emerging Adulthood Phase of life of many young people aged who are in college or university and at least partially dependent financially on their parents In some ways, consider themselves to have reached adulthood but, in other ways, are not yet adults Figure 14.6 Are You an Adult Yet? When people are asked, “Do you feel that you have reached adulthood?” the percentage that answers “yes” has steadily increased over time. But as you can see, people between the ages of 18 and 25, “emerging adults,” are most likely to say “yes and no” (Arnett, 2000). Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

Transitions of Life The Middle Years (35-65) Usually associated with the prime of life, involvement & reflection Crises related to specific life-changing events and not aging Menopause: the cessation of menstruation and of the production of ova; it is usually a gradual process lasting up to several years Negative view of menopause associated with depression and negative emotionality based on rare cases (early menopause following hysterectomy and who usually have a lifetime history of depression) Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

Transitions of Life Old Age Some cognitive functions decline with age (but not all) Fluid intelligence: capacity for deductive reasoning & ability to use new information to solve problems; tends to decline in old age Crystallized intelligence: cognitive skills and specific knowledge of information acquired over a lifetime; tends to remain stable over the lifetime Life expectancies in Canada = 76.1 yrs for men; 81.5 yrs for women Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

Mental Functioning Over Time
Figure 14.7 Changes in Mental Functioning over Time As these graphs show, some intellectual abilities tend to dwindle with age, but numeric and verbal abilities remain relatively steady over the years. Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

Old Age Apparent senility in the elderly is often caused by the combination of medications Depression & passivity may result from loss of meaningful activity, intellectual stimulation, and control over events Weakness & frailty are caused by sedentary lifestyles Gerontologists estimate that only 30% of the physical losses associated with old age are genetically based Aerobic exercise & strength training are protective factors Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

Wellsprings of Resilience
Assumption that early childhood trauma has long-lasting negative effects (incorrect) Research indicates that most children are resilient not disordered following trauma Recovering from adversity is not as rare as previously believed Powerful aspect of resilience is that we are constantly interpreting our experiences Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada

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