Human Development Across the Life Span Chapter 11

Progress Before Birth: Prenatal Development 3 phases germinal stage = first 2 weeks conception, implantation, formation of placenta embryonic stage = 2 weeks – 2 months formation of vital organs and systems fetal stage = 2 months – birth bodily growth continues, movement capability begins, brain cells multiply age of viability

Environmental Factors and Prenatal Development Maternal nutrition Malnutrition linked to increased risk of birth complications, neurological problems, and psychopathology Maternal drug use Tobacco, alcohol, prescription, and recreational drugs Fetal alcohol syndrome Maternal illness Rubella, syphilis, mumps, genital herpes, AIDS, severe influenza Prenatal health care Prevention through guidance Infant mortality by countries – Slide 5 Preventive care for children

Cross-cultural comparisons of infant mortality

The Childhood Years: Motor Development Basic Principles Cephalocaudal trend – head to foot Proximodistal trend – center-outward Maturation – gradual unfolding of genetic blueprint Developmental norms median age – growth charts 95% level Cultural variations

Figure 11.3 – Developmental Motor milestones

Easy and Difficult Babies: Differences in Temperament Thomas, Chess, and Birch (1970) 3 basic temperamental styles easy – 40% slow-to-warm-up – 15% difficult – 10% mixed – 35% stable over time Kagan & Snidman (1991) Inhibited vs. uninhibited temperament inhibited – 15 - 20% uninhibited – 25 - 30% stable over time, genetically based

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Early Emotional Development: Attachment Separation anxiety Ainsworth (1979) The strange situation and patterns of attachment Secure Anxious-ambivalent Avoidant Figure 11.5, process and Figure 11.6, cross-cultural comparison Effects on mating strategy – slide 11 Developing secure attachment Bonding at birth – contact comfort – Harlow – p. 449 Daycare Cultural factors Evolutionary perspectives on attachment

Cultural variations in attachment patterns Attachment and mating strategy, from childhood to puberty

Stage Theories of Development: Personality Stage theories, three components progress through stages in order progress through stages related to age major discontinuities in development Erik Erikson (1963) Eight stages spanning the lifespan Psychosocial crises determining balance between opposing polarities in personality

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Stage Theories: Cognitive Development Jean Piaget (1920s-1980s) Assimilation/ Accommodation 4 stages and major milestones – Figure 11.9 Sensorimotor Object permanence http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuP53BbIY0A Preoperational Centration, Egocentrism http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnArvcWaH6I Concrete Operational Decentration, Reversibility, Conservation – F 11.10, F 11.11 Formal Operational Abstraction

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Other Cognitive Abilities Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory Thought and Language (1934) Importance of social interactions in cognitive development Zone of proximal development (ZPD) – difference in accomplishing alone and with help from others Inhibition – disinhibition – innate? Memory abilities – active maintenance rehearsal 9-10 years Memory capacities - metacognition

The Development of Moral Reasoning Kohlberg (1976) Reasoning as opposed to behavior Moral dilemmas Measured nature and progression of moral reasoning 3 levels, each with 2 sublevels Preconventional – punishment S1 – naïve reward S2 Conventional - good boy/good girl S3 – authority S4 Postconventional - social contract S5 – individual principles and conscience S6 Longitudinal studies –research issues (use of males), reasoning versus behavior Greene’s et al. studies of moral judgments and brain functioning – fMRI studies using 60 moral dilemmas

Age and moral reasoning based on Kohlberg’s stages

Adolescence: Puberty and the Growth Spurt Pubescence – growth spurts 10 – 12 females 12 – 14 males Puberty Secondary sex characteristics Primary sex characteristics Menarche Sperm production Tanner stages Maturation: early vs. late – Belsky’s study Sex differences in effects of early maturation Brain Development in adolescence Risk taking Rates of suicide Pubescence is the term used to describe the two-year span preceding puberty during which the changes leading to physical and sexual maturity take place. During this period, children grow taller and heavier and develop secondary sex characteristics, physical features that distinguish one sex from the other but that are not essential for reproduction. Puberty is the stage during which sexual functions reach maturity, marking the beginning of adolescence. It is during puberty that the primary sex characteristics, the structures necessary for reproduction, develop fully. In females, the onset of puberty is signaled by menarche – the fist occurrence of menstruation. In males, it is signaled by sperm production. Puberty is occurring at younger ages, compared to previous generations; explanations for this trend include improvements in nutrition and medical care. Some theorists (Belsky) also hypothesize that the quality of a person’s early family relationships may influence earlier onset of puberty. The timing of puberty varies individually (10-15 for girls is typical, 11-16 for boys). Studies of early maturers vs. late maturers indicate that there are sex differences in effects of early vs. late maturation, with early maturing girls and late maturing boys having greater risk for psychological problems and social difficulties.

Figure 11.17 – Prefrontal Cortex and adolescence development

Figure 11.18 Peer influence on risk taking

The Search for Identity Problems – suicide rates and brain development Erik Erikson (1968) Key challenge - forming a sense of identity James Marcia (1988) 4 identity statuses Foreclosure Moratorium Identity Diffusion Identity Achievement Longitudinal study – changes in the four statuses – slide 28 According to Erikson, the key challenge of adolescence is to form a clear sense of identity. James Marcia asserts that the presence or absence of crisis and commitment during the identity formation stage can combine in various ways to produce four different identity statuses. Foreclosure is a premature commitment to a role prescribed by one’s parents. A moratorium involves delaying commitment and engaging in experimentation with different roles. Identity diffusion is a state of lack of direction and apathy, where a person does not confront the challenge and commit to an ideology. Identity achievement involves arriving at a sense of self and direction after some consideration of alternative possibilities. Age trends in identity statuses exist, depicted in figure 11.22.

Figure 11.20 Marcia’s four identity statuses

Slide 28 – Age and Identity status based on Marcia (1980), data from Meilman (1979)

Emerging Adulthood as a New Developmental Stage Search for identity extends into adulthood Ages 18 – 25 have become a distinct transitional stage of life Characterized by: subjective feeling of transition age of possibilities self-focused period of identity formation

The Expanse of Adulthood Personality development – midlife crisis? Social development – family life cycle, marriage, parenthood, empty nest Career development – patterns, work and in the home Physical changes – biological aging process http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_Z3lmidmrY Cognitive changes – mental abilities, memory, response time

Figure 11.23 – Median age at first marriage in United States

Figure 11.24 – Housework trends since the 1960s

Figure 11.25 Age and the stability of primary mental abilities

Gender Differences and issues Stereotypes Cognitive Social/personality Biological origins – brain hemisphere differences Hormone influences – estrogens and androgens Environment influences - socialization Gender role – gender versus sex

Figure 11.27 – distribution of gender differences Figure 11.28 – The cerebral hemispheres and the corpus callosum