1. Introduction to Psychology
Human Development

2. Developmental Psychology
The focus of developmental psychology is on how humans develop and change over time
Change can occur across the life span of the person
Cradle to grave developmental psychology
Assumes that change is inevitable
Change can be continuous or discontinuous

3. Core Developmental Issues
Delineate the interacting forces of nature and nurture
Maturation: Refers to biologically determined changes that follow an orderly sequence
Determine the importance of early experiences
The notion of “critical periods”
Assess whether change is continuous or in qualitative stages

4. Critical Periods
Critical period concept suggests that the brain is set to acquire a function during a limited period of time.
If key experiences do not occur during a critical time period, the function may not develop or may not be fully developed
The case of Genie: a girl who was isolated until the age of 13. Although Genie made some gains in language, her syntax never approached normal levels. The case of Genie supports a critical period for language acquisition (yet some point to her gains later in life)
Measles can cause mental retardation if contracted during certain fetal periods

5. Developmental Methodology
Cross-sectional method compares groups of different ages at the same time
Useful for assessing age differences
Not useful for examining age changes
The problem is that each age group (cohort) has different life experiences
Longitudinal method compares same group at multiple time points
Sequential studies examine different age groups at multiple time points (reduce cohort effects)

6. Physical Development Prenatal period has 3 phases:
Germinal period (1st 2 weeks after conception)
Embryonic period: 3rd to 8th weeks of gestation
Fetal period: from 9 weeks to birth

7. Teratogens
During the embryonic period, the developing fetus is susceptible to toxins
Teratogens are environmental agents that harm the fetus (viruses, chemicals)
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: If the mother consumes alcohol during pregnancy, the fetus is exposed to the alcohol, which can lead to abnormal physical development and to learning disabilities
Crack Cocaine: Fetal exposure to cocaine alters motor and emotional development

8. Infant Reflexes
Reflexes are innate motor responses elicited by critical stimuli
Reflexes are adaptive
Examples of infant reflexes:
Rooting reflex: A touch on the cheek induces the infant to move its mouth toward the source of the touch (helps guide feeding)
Sucking reflex: Tactile stimulation of the mouth produces rhythmic sucking

9. Motor Development
(Figure adapted from Frankenburg & Dodds, 1967).

10. Emotional Development
Temperament
Attachment:
Secure
Anxious-ambivalent
Avoidant

11. Cognitive Development
Piaget’s interest was epistemology: the branch of philosophy concerned with the acquisition of knowledge
Piaget argued that children have schemas which are organized patterns of thought or behavior
Cognitive development for Piaget involved the modification of intellectual schemas as the child seeks to understand its world

12. Assimilation and Accommodation
The cognitive schemas developed by children must be able to handle new information and situations
Piaget proposed 2 intellectual processes:
Assimilation: Involves interpreting new information in light of an old schema
All 4-legged animals are viewed as a “dog”
Accommodation: Process by which old schemas are modified to fit new situations
A horse is not a “dog”

13. Piaget’s Stage Theory Senorimotor period (birth to 2 years)
Preoperational period (2 to 7 years)
Concrete operational period (7 to 11)
Formal operational period (11 to adult)
- Centration, irreversibility, animism

14. Issues in Cognitive Development
Object permanence refers to the realization by a child that an object continues to exist even if it cannot be seen
Egocentrism refers to a cognitive view in which a child understands the world to have only their view (has great difficulty in understanding the views of others)
Conservation: Understanding that the basic properties of an object are constant even if the object changes shape

15. Conservation Tasks

16. Moral Development Lawrence Kohlberg
Preconventional – Punishment to Naïve Reward orientation
Conventional – Good boy/Good girl to Authority orientation
Post conventional – Social contract to Individual principles orientation

17. Personality Development
Trust vs. Mistrust (1st year)
Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt (2 - 3)
Initiative vs. Guilt (4 - 6)
Industry vs. Inferiority (6 - puberty)
Identity vs. Confusion (Adolescence)
Intimacy vs. Isolation (Early adulthood)
Generativity vs. Self-Absorbtion (Middle adult)
Integrity vs. Despair (Late adulthood)