1. Development over the Lifespan
4/13/2017
Development over the Lifespan
Prepared by Krista D. Forrest, Ph.D., and Michael Lee
These slides © 2004 Pearson Education Canada Inc., Toronto, Ontario.
Chapter 14
©2002 Prentice Hall

2. Development over the Lifespan
4/13/2017
Development over the Lifespan
From conception through the first year
Cognitive development
Moral development
Gender development
Adolescence
Adulthood
Are adults prisoners of childhood?
©2002 Prentice Hall

3. Developmental Psychology
Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
Developmental Psychology
Developmental psychologists study physiological and cognitive changes across the lifespan, and how these are affected by culture, circumstance, and experience.
Some focus on mental and social development, including socialization, the process by which children learn the rules and behaviour expected of them by society.
©2002 Prentice Hall

4. From Conception to the First Year
Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
From Conception to the First Year
Prenatal development
The infant’s world
Attachment
How critical are the early years?
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5. Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
Prenatal development
Conception
30 Hours
Figure from:
Kassin, S. (2001). Psychology, third edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
6 weeks
4 months
©2002 Prentice Hall

6. Agents That Cross The Placenta
Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
Agents That Cross The Placenta
German measles
X-rays, other radiation, toxic chemicals
Sexually transmitted diseases
Cigarette smoking
Alcohol
Drugs other than alcohol
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7. Development Over the Life Span
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The Infant’s World
Physical abilities
Social skills
Culture and maturation
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8. Development Over the Life Span
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Physical Abilities
Newborn Reflexes
Rooting
Sucking
Swallowing
Moro (“startle”)
Babinski
Grasp
Stepping
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9. Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
Social Skills
Babies will turn their heads towards a face at 9 minutes old.
By 4-6 weeks babies are smiling regularly.
Synchrony
First conversations involve babies exchanging nonverbal signals with others in a rhythmic pattern.
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10. Culture and Maturation
Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
Culture and Maturation
Many aspects of development depend on cultural customs.
Examples include an infant’s ability to sleep alone.
Recommendation to have babies sleep on their back has affected onset of crawling.
As a result, many babies now skip crawling.
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11. Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
Attachment
Contact comfort
Separation and security
What causes insecure attachment?
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12. Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
Attachment
Attachment
A deep emotional bond that an infant develops with its primary caretaker.
Contact Comfort
In primates, the innate pleasure derived from close physical contact; it is the basis of the infant’s first attachment.
©2002 Prentice Hall

13. Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
Separation Anxiety
Tested using the Strange Situation Test
A parent-infant “separation and reunion” procedure that is staged in a laboratory to test the security of a child’s attachment.
Secure Attachment
A parent-infant relationship in which the baby is secure when the parent is present, distressed by separation, and delighted by reunion.
Insecure Attachment:
A parent-infant relationship in which the baby clings to the parent, cries at separation, and reacts with anger or apathy to reunion.
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14. What Causes Insecure Attachment?
Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
What Causes Insecure Attachment?
Parenting that is truly abusive, neglectful or erratic.
Child’s genetically influenced temperament.
Stressful circumstances in the family.
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15. How Critical Are the Early Years?
Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
How Critical Are the Early Years?
During the first 15 months, there is an explosion of new synapses in the brain. As information is consolidated, these unnecessary synapses are pruned away.
Media has exaggerated and oversimplified research findings which have fostered public alarm and worry.
The brain continues developing after the first three years.
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16. Cognitive Development
Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
Cognitive Development
Language
Thinking
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17. Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
Language
Acquisition of speech begins in the first few months.
They are responsive to pitch, intensity, and sound.
By 4-6 months of age they can recognize their names and repetitive words.
By 6 months - 1yr, infants become familiar with sentence structure and start babbling.
By 11 months, infants use symbolic gestures.
18-24 months, toddlers combine 2 or 3 words into sentences, known as telegraphic speech.
By age 6, average vocabulary between 8000 and words.
©2002 Prentice Hall

18. Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
Thinking
According to Piaget, cognitive development consists of mental adaptations to new observations and experiences.
Adaptation takes two forms:
Assimilation or absorbing new information into existing cognitive structures.
Accommodation or modifying existing cognitive structures in response to experience and new information.
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19. Development Over the Life Span
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Adaptation
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20. Piaget’s Stages of Development
Development Over the Life Span
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Piaget’s Stages of Development
Sensorimotor
Preoperational
Concrete Operational
Formal Operational
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21. Sensorimotor Stage (Birth - 2yrs)
Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
Sensorimotor Stage (Birth - 2yrs)
Coordinates sensory information with bodily movements.
Major accomplishment is object permanence.
The understanding that an object continues to exist even when you cannot see or touch it.
©2002 Prentice Hall

22. Preoperational Stage (2ys - 7yrs)
Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
Preoperational Stage (2ys - 7yrs)
Focused on limitations of children’s thinking.
Children at this age could not reason.
Children were missing operations
Mental actions that are cognitively reversible.
Children were egocentric.
Seeing the world from only your point of view; the inability to take someone else’s perspective.
Children cannot grasp the concept of conservation.
Understanding that physical properties of objects can remain the same even when their form changes.
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23. “Conservation of Liquid” Task
Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
“Conservation of Liquid” Task
The critical question is always: “Why do you think so?”
Figure 10.15a from:
Kassin, S. (2001). Psychology, third edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Corresponds with Figure 3.02 from
Wade, C., & Tavris, C. (2002). Invitation to Psychology, 2nd Ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
©2002 Prentice Hall

24. Conservation of Substance & Number
Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
Conservation of Substance & Number
Conservation of Substance
Two identical balls of clay
One is deformed
“Do the two pieces have the same amount of clay?”
Conservation of Number
Two identical rows of pennies
One row is rearranged
“Do the two rows have the same number of pennies?”
After Figure 3.02 from
Wade, C., & Tavris, C. (2002). Invitation to Psychology, 2nd Ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
©2002 Prentice Hall

25. Concrete Operations Stage (7 - 12 yrs)
Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
Concrete Operations Stage ( yrs)
Children’s thinking is still grounded in concrete experiences and concepts but they can now understand conservation, reversibility and cause and effect.
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26. Formal Operations Stage (12 yrs through adulthood)
Development Over the Life Span
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Formal Operations Stage (12 yrs through adulthood)
Teenagers are capable of abstract reasoning:
Understanding that ideas can be compared and classified.
Reasoning about situations not personally experienced.
Thinking about the future.
Searching systematically for solutions to problems.
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27. Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
Vygotsky’s Theory
Emphasized the sociocultural influences on children’s cognitive development.
Child develops mental representations of the world through culture and language.
Adults play a major role in development through guidance and teaching.
Once children acquire language they use private speech, talking aloud to themselves to direct their own behaviour, which later become internalized and silent.
©2002 Prentice Hall

28. Evaluating Piaget’s Theory
Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
Evaluating Piaget’s Theory
Stage changes are neither as clear-cut nor as sweeping as Piaget believed.
Children sometimes understand more than Piaget believed.
Preschoolers are not as egocentric as Piaget thought.
Cognitive development depends on the child’s education and culture
Piaget overestimated the cognitive skills of many adults.
©2002 Prentice Hall

29. The Infant as Intuitive Physicist
Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
The Infant as Intuitive Physicist
Infants look longer at objects that seem to violate physical laws than those that do not.
Surprise indicates that their expectations were violated.
They must know what is physically plausible for this to occur.
Figure 3.03 from
Wade, C., & Tavris, C. (2002). Invitation to Psychology, 2nd Ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
©2002 Prentice Hall

30. Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
Moral Development
Moral reasoning
Kohlberg’s approach
Gilligan’s approach
Moral behaviour
Strategies for teaching moral behaviour
Power assertion
Induction
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31. Moral Reasoning: Kohlberg’s Theory
Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
Moral Reasoning: Kohlberg’s Theory
Preconventional Level
Punishment and obedience
Instrumental relativism
Conventional Level
Good boy-nice girl
Society-maintaining
Postconventional Level
Social contract
Universal ethical principles
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32. Criticisms of Kohlberg’s Theory
Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
Criticisms of Kohlberg’s Theory
Tends to overlook educational and cultural influences.
Some cultural differences not reflected in this theory.
Moral reasoning is often inconsistent across situations.
Moral reasoning is often unrelated to moral behaviour.
©2002 Prentice Hall

33. Moral Reasoning: Gilligan’s Theory
Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
Moral Reasoning: Gilligan’s Theory
Argued that men tend to base their moral choices on abstract principles of law and justice and women based moral decisions on principles of compassion and caring.
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34. Criticism of Gilligan’s Theory
Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
Criticism of Gilligan’s Theory
Meta-analyses do not suggest such a difference occurs.
Both sexes use abstract principles when resolving abstract dilemmas and care perspectives when resolving personal dilemmas.
Moral reasoning of either kind unrelated to behaviour.
©2002 Prentice Hall

35. Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
Moral Behaviour
In addition to cognitively understanding right from wrong, children’s ability to behave morally is based on the development of moral emotions such as shame, guilt and empathy.
Techniques used by parents include power assertion and induction.
©2002 Prentice Hall

36. Strategies for Teaching Moral Behaviour
Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
Strategies for Teaching Moral Behaviour
Power assertion
Parent uses punishment and authority to correct child’s misbehaviour.
Users tend to be authoritarian.
Induction
Parent appeals to child’s own resources, abilities, sense of responsibility, and feelings for others in correcting misbehaviour.
Users tend to be authoritative.
©2002 Prentice Hall

37. Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
Gender Development
Defining gender identity and gender typing.
Influences on gender development.
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38. Gender Identity and Gender Typing
Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
Gender Identity and Gender Typing
Gender Identity
The fundamental sense of being male or female; it is independent of whether the person conforms to social and cultural rules of gender.
Gender Typing
Process by which children learn the abilities, interests, personality traits, and behaviours associated with being masculine or feminine in their culture.
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39. Influences on Gender Development
Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
Influences on Gender Development
Biological factors
Biological researchers believe that early play and toy preferences have a basis in prenatal hormones, genes, or brain organization.
Cognitive factors
Cognitive psychologists suggest that toy preferences are based on gender schemas or the mental network of knowledge, beliefs, metaphors and expectations about what it means to be male or female.
Learning factors
Gender appropriate play may be reinforced by parents, teachers, and peers.
©2002 Prentice Hall

40. Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
Adolescence
The physiology of adolescence
The psychology of adolescence
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41. The Physiology of Adolescence
Development Over the Life Span
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The Physiology of Adolescence
Adolescence
The period of life from puberty to adulthood.
Puberty
The age at which a person becomes capable of sexual reproduction.
Menarche
A girl’s first menstrual period.
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42. Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
Timing of Puberty
Onset of puberty depends on genetic and environmental factors.
For example, body fat triggers the hormonal changes.
Early versus late onset.
Early maturing boys have more positive views of their bodies and are more likely to smoke, binge drink, break the law.
Early maturing females are usually socially popular but also regarded by peer group as precocious and sexually active. They are more likely to fight with parents, drop out of school and have a negative body image.
©2002 Prentice Hall

43. The Psychology of Adolescence
Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
The Psychology of Adolescence
Turmoil and adjustment
Separation and connection
Ethnic identity and acculturation
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44. Turmoil and Adjustment
Development Over the Life Span
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Turmoil and Adjustment
Extreme turmoil and problems with adjustment are the exception rather than the rule.
Three kinds of problems are more likely
Conflict with parents.
Mood swings and depression.
Higher rates of rule breaking and risky behaviour.
©2002 Prentice Hall

45. Separation and Connection
Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
Separation and Connection
Adolescents are trying to separate from parents but remain connected.
Individuation
The process of developing own opinions, values, and styles of dress and look.
Quarrels with parents represent a shift from one-sided parental authority to a more reciprocal adult relationship.
©2002 Prentice Hall

46. Ethnic Identity and Acculturation
Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
Ethnic Identity and Acculturation
An important task of adolescence is identity development.
Especially important in ethnically diverse societies is finding a balance between ethnic identity, a close identification with one’s religious or ethnic group, and
acculturation, an identification with the dominant culture.
Bicultural, assimilation, separatist, marginal
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47. Development Over the Life Span
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Adulthood
Stages and ages
The transitions of life
Old age
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48. Erikson’s Eight Stages - I
Development Over the Life Span
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Erikson’s Eight Stages - I
Trust vs. Mistrust
Infancy (0-1 year)
Autonomy vs. Shame and doubt
Toddler (1-2 years)
Initiative vs. Guilt
Preschool (3-5 years)
Industry vs. Inferiority
Elementary School (6-12 years)
©2002 Prentice Hall

49. Erikson’s Eight Stages - II
Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
Erikson’s Eight Stages - II
Identity vs. Role confusion
Adolescence (13-19 years)
Intimacy vs. Isolation
Young adulthood (20-40 years)
Generativity vs. Stagnation
Middle adulthood (40-65 years)
Integrity vs. Despair
Late adulthood (65 and older)
©2002 Prentice Hall

50. Current Approaches: Adult Development
Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
Current Approaches: Adult Development
Psychological concerns can occur at anytime in life therefore stage theories are no longer used to understand how adults change or stay the same.
Adult development involves the interrelations among:
biological changes
personality traits
personal experiences
historical and cultural events
the particular environments in which they live
the friends & relationships they have
©2002 Prentice Hall

51. The Transitions of Life
Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
The Transitions of Life
Emerging Adulthood (18-25)
Phase of life distinctly different from adolescence and adulthood.
In some ways an adult, in some ways not.
The Middle Years (35-65)
Perceived by many experiencing it as the prime of life.
Menopause:
The cessation of menstruation and the production of ova; it is usually a gradual process lasting up to several years.
©2002 Prentice Hall

52. Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
Old Age
Some types of thinking changes, other stays the same.
Fluid Intelligence:
The capacity for deductive reasoning and the ability to use new information to solve problems; it is relatively independent of education and tends to decline in old age.
Crystallized Intelligence
Cognitive skills and specific knowledge of information acquired over a lifetime; it depends heavily on education and tends to remain stable over the lifetime.
©2002 Prentice Hall

53. Intellectual Changes over the Lifespan
Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
Intellectual Changes over the Lifespan
Some intellectual abilities dwindle with age.
Numerical and verbal abilities remain relatively steady over the years.
Figure 3.04 from
Wade, C., & Tavris, C. (2002). Invitation to Psychology, 2nd Ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
©2002 Prentice Hall

54. Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
Old Age
Apparent senility in the elderly is often caused by the combination of medications.
Depression and passivity are the result of loss of meaningful activity, intellectual stimulation and control over events.
Weakness and frailty are caused by sedentary lifestyles.
Gerontologists estimate that only 30% of the physical losses associated with old age are genetically based.
The rest is behaviourally or psychologically based.
©2002 Prentice Hall

55. Are Adults Prisoners of Childhood?
Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
Are Adults Prisoners of Childhood?
Research psychologists have questioned the psychodynamic assumption that childhood traumas have emotional effects that inevitably continue into adulthood.
There is considerable evidence that disputes this claim.
©2002 Prentice Hall

56. Challenging Our Assumptions
Development Over the Life Span
4/13/2017
Challenging Our Assumptions
Recovery from war: Only 20% of WWII war orphans had problems after being adopted and moving to the U.S. Most of these eventually established happy lives.
Recovery from illness: Supportive home environments totally overcame initial problems.
Recovery from abusive or alcoholic parents: Their children are at risk for developing these problems, but the majority do not.
Recovery from sexual abuse: More emotional and behavioural symptoms, but most adjust and recover.
©2002 Prentice Hall