Introduction to developmental psychology Modules 45, 46 and 47

Copy down these questions and answer during the lecture What are the 3 main questions guiding developmental psychology? What are the 3 main stages in prenatal development? (prenatal= before birth in the womb) What are teratogens? What ways can a mother affect a developing fetus? What abilities do newborns have? What happens to the brain during childhood? During puberty? Describe the mantra “use it or lose it” from a biological perspective. When do we begin remembering things?

Major questions of developmental psychology The big question: Nature vs Nurture What affects us more? How has nature shaped your development? How has nurture Continuity vs stages Continuum or spurts of rapid development? Stability and change Are we the same “person” as we grow older?

Nature… Nurture… Joel Embiid: Grew up in Cameroon Played basketball for the first time at age 15 2 years of high school and 1 of college Missed ‘15 and ‘16 NBA seasons due to injury Likely ROTY for 2017 Karl Anthony-Towns Grew up in New Jersey Practiced with the high school JV team in 5th grade, played bball for as long as he can remember Father played college ball and coached ROTY 2016

Continuity Stages Do we develop gradually along a continuum or do we take major steps at key moments? Evidence for both Piaget, Erikson, Kohlberg have stage theories

Stability and change “High school never ends” by Bowling for Soup How are you different and how are you the same you were 5 years ago? 10? Essentially: are we different people than we used to be or are we essentially the same? TRUE/FALSE: Every 7 years the body completely replaces itself

Prenatal developmental stages Zygote (fertilization to 10 days) Fertilized egg Most don’t make it Embryo (10 days to 9 weeks) When the zygote attaches to the uterus it becomes an embryo Fetus (9 weeks to birth) Looks like a human Heartbeat, begins developing organs and learning mother’s voice

What can a baby even do though? Babies are dumb. They can do nothing at all and are leeches, just like all of you. Thumbs up for true, thumbs down for false FALSE! Babies have instincts and they have learned behavior Babies begin learning language in the womb by listening to their mother talk They prefer their mother’s voice to others Rooting Reflex- a baby will turn towards a touched cheek, seeking nourishment Habituation- babies become less sensitive to repeated stimuli

The developing brain You are born with most of the brain cells you will have Your brain develops by creating neural connections between cells and reinforcing pathways Rapid development until puberty when pruning begins Pruning- shuts down unused pathways and reinforces the important ones. Memory develops in a peculiar way- while 3 year olds can learn to talk, walk and associate things (procedural) most of us do not have any conscious memory (episodic) before 3 ½ years of age

Piaget (1896 - 1980) Swiss Psychologist, worked for several decades on understanding children’s cognitive development Most widely known theory of cognitive development. Was intrigued by kids’ thoughts & behavior, & worked to understand their cognitive development

…Piaget and Constructivism Best known for idea that individuals construct their understanding, that learning is a constructive process Active learning as opposed to simply absorbing info from a teacher, book, etc. The child is seen as a ‘little scientist’ constructing understandings of the world largely alone

Piaget & Learning Equilibration: assimilation & accommodation We adjust our ideas to make sense of reality Assimilation: process of matching external reality to an existing cognitive structure (schema). Accommodation: Changing our understanding to adapt to new information

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development A child’s capacity to understand certain concepts is based on the child’s developmental stage

Piaget’s Four Stages 2. Preoperational (~2-7) Believed that all children develop according to four stages based on how they see the world. He thought the age may vary some, but that we all go through the stages in the same order. 1. Sensori-motor (birth –2 years) 2. Preoperational (~2-7) 3. Concrete operational (~7-11) 4. Formal operations (~12-15)

Sensorimotor Stage Birth to about 2 years, rapid change is seen throughout The child will: Explore the world through senses & motor activity Early on, baby can’t tell difference between themselves & the environment If they can’t see something then it doesn’t exist (Object Permanence) Begin to understand cause & effect Can later follow something with their eyes

Preoperational Stage About 2 to about 7 Better speech communication Can imagine the future & reflect on the past Develop basic numerical abilities Very egocentric Can’t understand conservation of matter Has difficulty distinguishing fantasy from reality (ex: cartoon characters are real people).

Concrete Operational Stage From about 7 to about 11 Able to problem solve with actual things Numerical skill increases Tough time with abstracts and hypotheticals Understands conservation of matter

Formal Operations From about 12 to about 15 Be able to think about hypothetical situations Form & test hypotheses Organize information Reason scientifically

… Piaget’s Development Development happens from one stage to another through interaction with the environment. Changes from stage to stage may occur abruptly and kids will differ in how long they are in each stage. Cognitive development can only happen after genetically controlled biological growth occurs.

…Piaget’s Development Development leads to learning Drive for development is internal The child can only learn certain things when she is at the right developmental stage Environmental factors can influence but not direct development Development will happen naturally through regular interaction with social environment

Problems with Piaget’s Theory Children often grasp ideas earlier than what Piaget found Cognitive development across domains is inconsistent (e.g. better at reading than math) Studies have shown that development can to some degree be accelerated

Lesson plan project Since you are all adolescents, you should be experts on the subject Your group will be assigned a lesson. You must develop a 6-7 minute lesson plan. You may teach it however you want, but you will be “presenting” to the class. It must involve some type of activity (note taking, a game, a worksheet or discussion) and some type of assessment (essential question, quiz, essay, ect.) Examples: powerpoints, lecture, short clip, quote/discussion You must turn in to Mr Wells your physical copy of the lesson. You must actually teach the lesson to the class. The lesson is worth 15 points. You will also be “assessed” on each groups lesson for 1 point each. You get 1 free point. Total of 20 points. 51.1, 51.2, 52.1, 52.2, 52.3