Introduction to Psychology Enterprise High School Coach Welch Infancy and Childhood

Developmental Psychology The study of the changes that occur as people grow up and grow old.

3 Issues of Developmental Psychology Continuity vs. Stages of Development Stability vs. Change Nature vs. Nurture

Continuity vs. Discontinuity (Stages) ContinuityDiscontinuity (Stages) Development is a relatively smooth process, without sharp or distinct stages, thorough which an individual must pass Development is a matter of quantity; the older the child is the more skills they develop Development is a series of discrete stages, each of which is characterized by at least one task that an individual must accomplish before progressing to the next stage. Children pass through critical periods in development. First 5 years of life—language acquisition (children have an easier time learning different languages than adults)

Stability vs. Change StabilityChange The belief that personality traits developed in the first 5 years predict adult personality. Some aspects of temperament, such as energy level and outgoingness, seem relatively stable Example: A young child that is shy will remain shy through adulthood. Personalities are modified through interactions with family, experiences at school, and acculturation. Social attitudes usually change a great deal from childhood to adulthood.

Nurture vs. Nature NurtureNature Our development is dependent on our environment (family, friends, teachers, etc.) Our development is dependent on our genetics (We will be like our mothers and fathers)

Newborn Capacities Sucking Turning head Looking at/for things Crying Smiling Showing fright or surprise Grasping Reflex: a response to a touch on the palm of the hand. Infants can grasp an object, such as a finger, so strongly that they can be lifted into the air Rooting Reflex: if an alert newborn is touched anywhere around the mouth, he will move his head and mouth toward the source of the touch. In this way the touch of the mother’s breast on his cheek guides the baby’s mouth toward her nipple. THESE ARE NOT LEARNED BEHAVIORS! HEALTHY NEWBORNS ARE BORN WITH THESE CAPACITIES. If a newborn does not show these capacities at birth, there may be some health issues.

Maturation Internally programmed growth of animals. Is as important as learning or experience, especially in the first few years of development. Maturation works on a schedule (for healthy infants) and no amount of coaching will push a child to mature faster before he/she is physiologically ready. See page 187 in textbook This timeline indicated the amount of time it should take an infant to learn simple skills, such as: motor functions, body support, pulling up, crawling, creeping, and walking. These are the first signs of intelligence, along with the ability to understand words.

Causes of Late Motor Development Underfed—insufficiently fed or nourished infant. Restriction of movement—child is kept in a small space or tied down; not allowed to be in space. Deprivation of Human Contact Under or Over Stimulation—no changes or too many changes to the infant’s environment

Visual Cliff Experiment Determined whether infants (9-12 months) had depth perception. VIDEO The experiment taught us that babies learn through experience, even though depth perception is partially innate.

Language The acquisition of language is one of the first signs of great intellectual development. This is seen by scientists as the only real way to tell if a young child has a high intellectual capacity. Any other tests could be skewed by muscular development or some other intervening variable. Intervening variables to language acquisition: Environment Other physical abnormalities—child is deaf

Animal Communication Animals use symbols to communicate simple ideas to human beings. Most often this is done with sign language. Examples of this can be seen with primates learning and using sign language. While animals can learn sign language, they cannot use grammar properly. This is due to the animals brain not having the capacity for this. They will make very simple sentences. Non-primates also communicate with humans through signs, gestures, and noises. (i.e., dog may scratch on door to go outside to use restroom)

+ What are the steps for learning a language? 1  Learn to make the signs (symbols) 2  Learn meaning of signs (symbols) 3  Learn grammar 學生 Student étudiant allievo студент

Language When children begin to speak, they cannot use grammar because their brains do not have the capacity to do so. At first children use sounds to communicate like “Ba” for “Ball” or “doo-da” for “cookie”. Infants and toddlers use telegraphic speech—sentences with words left out or used incorrectly, but still get the message across to those they are communicating with. Examples of telegraphic speech “Where my apple?” “Daddy fall down.” “Daddy goed yesterday” instead of “Daddy went yesterday”

+ By the age of four or five children have mastered the basics of their language. Their ability to use words will continue to grow with their ability to think about and understand things. 1 st year- Babbling sounds 2 nd year- vocab of 5 to 15 hundred words 3 rd year- use 2 word phrases/ Simple grammar 4 th year- use of future tense/ ask questions in adult form 5 th year- accumulate vocab words daily / complex clause