Developmental Psychology Studies physical, cognitive and social development throughout the life span

Give your best estimate of the age (in months) at which about 50 percent of children begin to: 1. Laugh 2 months 2. Pedal a tricycle 24 months 3. Sit without support 5-6 months 4. Feel ashamed 24 months 5. Walk unassisted 12 months 6. Stand on one foot for 10 seconds 53 months (4.5 y) 7. Recognize and smile at caregivers 4-5 months 8. Kick a ball forward 20 months 9. Think about things that cannot be seen 24 months 10. Make two-word sentences 20-22 months

Nature versus nurture Continuity versus stages Stability versus change Three major issues Nature versus nurture Continuity versus stages Stability versus change

Continuity and stages: Three major issues Continuity and stages: What parts of development are gradual and continuous and which are changed abruptly in separate stages? Debate – These stages reflect specific world views and adult life progressing through fixed, predictable stages

Stability and Change: Three major issues Which of our traits persist through life? How do we change as we age? We experience both stability and change in who we are Temperament is stable One study followed 1000 three year old New Zealanders Those who were low in conscientiousness and self-control were more vulnerable to ill health, substance abuse, arrest and single parenthood. Social attitudes are more likely to change

Maturation The development of the brain unfolds based on genetic instructions, causing various bodily and mental functions to occur in sequence— e.g. standing before walking, babbling before talking—this is called maturation. Maturation sets the basic course of development, while experience adjusts it.

Infant cortex development

How we know the behavior is due to maturation? Criteria: 1. universal 2. sequential 3. relatively uninfluenced by experience

Motor Development First, infants begin to roll over. Next, they sit unsupported, crawl, and finally walk. Experience has little effect on this sequence. Renee Altier for Worth Publishers Phototake Inc./ Alamy Images Profimedia.CZ s.r.o./ Alamy Jim Craigmyle/ Corbis

Toilet training Bowel and bladder control are other examples of behavior where experience has a limited impact Pleading or punishment are not going to produce successful toileting before muscular and neuronal maturation

Nature/Nurture Maturation: A key nature concept Critical Period: A key nurture concept A critical period is a specific time period during development when a specific kind of stimulation (or lack of stimulation) can have a profound effect on later development

Stages of Prenatal Development conception (fertilization) zygote (0-2 wks) embryo (2-8 wks) rapid cell division; major organs present fetal period (9 wks-birth) further refining of organs, growth of the fetus, fat accumulation, etc

Conception

…into a Zygote

… and then an Embryo and into a Fetus 40 days 45 days 2 months 4 months

Teratogens: Agents harmful to an organism Drugs cigarettes; alcohol (FAS); cocaine; heroin; marijuana; thalidomide Diseases Rubella and critical periods Zika virus microcephaly

Newborn Capabilities Reflexes Personality Preferences Easy, Difficult, Slow-to-Warm Preferences High contrast; movement; face-like objects; smell and sound of mom! The face-like image was gazed at almost twice as long as the other

Newborn Capabilities Reflexes rooting; sucking; grasping; Babinski; Moro; swimming; habituation

Reflexes Babinski (when present in a child older than 2 or an adult, it often indicates a brain or nervous system disorder; Moro (clinging to parent if lose balance); swimming;

Habituation Habituation is a decrease in response to a stimulus after repeated presentations A novel stimulus gets attention when it is first presented but there is a weakening of response with repeated exposure Take the cat head vs dog head – after a series of cat images infants looked longer at dog head Infants focus first on the face not the body

Babies can learn and retain information As young as three months, infants learn that kicking moves a mobile. That learning can be retained for a month. However, it is context dependent.

Love in Infant Monkeys: Experiments in Attachment Harlow’s Studies – 1950s Harry and Margaret Harlow Investigated prevalent notion that children became attached because parents fed them Accidental discovery Harlow’s Surrogate Mother Experiments Monkeys preferred the comfortable cloth mother, to the nourishing wire mother

Experiments in Attachment Evidence of Attachment in Harlow’s Studies: 1. Contact comfort 2. Fear reduction 3. Secure base (for exploration) Monkeys raised by artificial mothers were terror-stricken when placed in strange situations without their surrogate mothers

Secure Attachment in Humans Comes from Body Contact skin to skin is encourages for first 2 hours and as much as possible in the first 24 hours Familiarity/Consistency Evidence of a critical period in many animals (sensitive in humans)

Familiarity Critical Period for imprinting Imprinting: at 12 hours after birth, ducklings attach to objects that move

Secure Attachment in Humans Comes from Body Contact skin to skin is encourages for first 2 hours and as much as possible in the first 24 hours Familiarity/Consistency Evidence of a critical period in many animals (sensitive in humans) Responsive Parenting

Social Development: Attachment in Infants Secure Attachment: prefers contact with loved one can be soothed follows loved one cries when loved one leaves Attachment is evidenced by: Stranger Anxiety: infant is apprehensive when confronted by a stranger (approx 6 mo. old). Stranger anxiety is seen in all cultures (maturation?)

Attachment styles Mary Ainsworth and the strange situation 100 middle class Americans; 8 episodes 3 min each (1) Mother, baby, and experimenter (lasts less than one minute) (2) Mother and baby alone (3) A stranger joins the mother and infant (4) Mother leaves baby and stranger alone (5) Mother returns and stranger leaves (6) Mother leaves; infant left completely alone (7) Stranger returns (8) Mother returns and stranger leaves.

Attachment styles Secure Attachment – Insecure Avoidant – Insecure Ambivalent –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnFKaaOSPmk

Attachment styles Secure Attachment – Play happily and explore the new environment in presence of attachment figure; distressed when they leave and calmed by contact

Attachment styles Insecure Avoidant – Insecure Ambivalent – do not seek contact with the attachment figure when distressed…likely to have a caregiver who is insensitive and rejecting of their needs (Ainsworth, 1979). Insecure Ambivalent – Does not develop any feelings of security from the attachment figure; have difficulty moving away from the attachment figure to explore novel surroundings. When distressed they are difficult to soothe and are not comforted by interaction with the attachment figure; from an inconsistent level of response to their needs from the primary caregiver

Can you stump ‘em? With a partner, create a short scenario that reveals the attachment between an individual and their primary caregiver (or go boldly and stretch it beyond childhood) First step is to choose your character’s attachment style Then design a short scene that highlights the attachment style Then write an explanation of how we see the attachment style (your answer key) Then join with your previous group

Insecure Ambivalent Secure Insecure Avoidant