Chapter 9 Development

Nature and Nurture, and Prenatal Development By Fadime Icin, Thayotha Yogendran, Merhawi

Infancy and Childhood

The Extraordinary Newborn Neonate : A new born Child Reflexes : Unlearned, involuntary response that occurs automatically In the presence of certain stimuli.

Reflexes Rooting reflex Sucking reflex Startle reflex Babinski reflex

Infancy Development A Typical baby:  Rolls over by the age of about 3 months  Sits without support at about 6 months  Stand alone at about 11 months  Walks at just over a year old.

Infancy through Middle Childhood PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT:  triple their birthweight  height increase about half From age 3 to the beginning of adolescence at around age 13 growth averages a gain of about 5 pounds and 3 inches a year

DEVELOPMENT OF SOCAIL BEHAVIOR:  Attachment : The positive emotional bond that develops between a child and a particular individual. The greater the caregiver’s responsiveness to the child’s signals, the more likely it is that the child will be securely attached.

 Assessing Attachment: quick and direct way to measure attachment Developed by Mary Ainsworth Securely Attached children Avoidant children Ambivalent children Disorganized-disoriented children  The Father’s Role  Social relationships with peers by the age of 2 they they prefer friends

 Parenting Styles and Social Development

 Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development Psychosocial development : Development of individuals’ interactions and understanding of each other and of their knowledge and understanding of themselves as member of society. Trust vs mistrust stage : age 11/2 years, during infants develop feelings of trust or lack of trust Autonomy-versus-shame-and doubt stage ages 11/2 to 3, develop independence and autonomy if exploration and freedom are encouraged or shame and self doubt it they are restricted and over protected Initiative-versus-guilt stage ages 3 to 6, experience conflict between independence of action and sometimes negative results of that action. Industry-versus-inferiority stage ages 6 to 12, develop positive social integrations with others or may feel inadequate and become less sociable.

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT : Children’s thinking about the World Cognitive development: The process by which a child’s understanding of the world changes as a function of age and experience.  Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Sensorimotor stage: (from birth to 2), child has little competence in representing the environment by using images, language, or other symbols. Preoperational stage: (from ages 2 to 7), language development. Concrete Operational: (from ages 7 to 12), logical thoughts and loss of egocentrism. Formal Operational: (ages 12 to adulthood), abstract thoughts.

Cognitive Development Cont…. Vygotsky’s view of Cognitive development: Argues that cognitive development occurs a consequence of social interactions in which children work with others jointly solve problems. Suggests that children’s cognitive abilities increase when they encounter information that falls within their zone of proximal development The Zone of proximal development (ZPD): the gap betweenwhat children already are able to accomplish on their own and what they are not quite ready to do by themselves.

Adolescence: Becoming an Adult

Adolescence: The development stage between childhood and adulthood. PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT: The Changing Adolescent spurt in height the growth in breast in girls deepening voices in boys the development in body hair The physical changes that occur at the start of adolescence result largely from the secretion of various hormones, and they affect virtually every aspect of an adolescent’s life. Puberty: the period at which maturation of sexual organs occurs, beginning at about age 11 or 12 for girls and 13 or 14 for boys.

MORAL and COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT: Distinguishing Right from Wrong Developmental psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg theorized that people move through a three-level sequence of moral reasoning in a fixed order. However, he contended that few people ever reach the highest level of reasoning. Preconvetional morality Conventional morality Post conventional morality

Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory of Development

Adulthood

Begins around the age of 20 and last up to death Divided into three stages * early adulthood * middle adulthood * late adulthood

Early adulthood ( to 45) Physical change People strength is great Reflexes are quickest Slim chance of dying from disease Reproductive capability are at their highest level Social change Leaving childhood and home and enter the world of work

Social change cont.. Envision life goals and make carrier choices More concentrated on themselves Their lives often center on their careers

middle adulthood (40 to ) Physical changes Minor physical declines Gradual decline in the body (weight gain) Sense organ became less sensitive React to stimulus is slow Decrease reproductive capability ( mainly women)

middle adulthood cont.. Social change The idea that life will end at some point became more influential in their thinking (midlife-transition) Concentrate on the present Get involved with their family, friends, and other social groups

late adulthood 65 - death Physical changes Napping, eating, walking, conversing Hair thinning and turning gray Skin wrinkling and folding Decrease sensory capability Slow response to stimuli

late adulthood con.. Social change They became more accepting their own life and others Develop a sense of wisdom Fell free to enjoy life

The aging body theories Genetic pre programming theorie of aging suggest that human cells have a built-in time limit to their reproduction, and that they are no longer able to divide after a certain time. wear-and-tear theories of aging suggest that the mechanical functions of the body simply stop working efficiently.

Cognitive change in late adulthood skills relating to fluid intelligence (information- processing skills such as memory, calculations, and analogy solving) show declines in late adulthood. skills relating to crystallized intelligence (intelligence based on the accumulation of information, skills, and strategies learned through experience) remain steady and in some cases actually improve.

Memory change in late adulthood Most evidence suggests that memory change is not an inevitable part of the aging process. Memory losses tend to be limited to episodic memories that relate to specific experiences in people’s lives. semantic memories (that refer to general knowledge and facts) and implicit memories (memories of which we are not consciously aware) are largely unaffected by age

Memory change.. cont.. Some cases of memory loss are produced by actual disease (Alzheimer’s disease) In other cases, cognitive declines may be caused by temporary anxiety and depression The key to maintaining cognitive skills is intellectual stimulation.

THE SOCIAL WORLD OF LATE ADULTHOOD: Disengagement theory of aging suggest that aging produces a gradual withdrawal from the world on physical, psychological, and social levels. Active theory of aging suggests that the elderly who are most successful while aging are those who maintain the interests and activities they had during middle age.