Development over the life span 14 Development over the life span

14 Overview From conception to the first year Cognitive development Moral development Gender development Adolescence Adulthood The wellsprings of resistance

14 Prenatal development Conception 30 Hours 6 weeks 4 months

Agents that cross the placenta 14 Agents that cross the placenta German measles X-rays and other radiation Toxic chemicals Sexually transmitted diseases Cigarette smoking Alcohol and other drugs

14 Physical abilities Newborn reflexes Rooting Sucking Swallowing Moro (“startle”) Babinski Grasping Stepping

14 Perceptual abilities Visual abilities Other senses Quickly develops beyond initial range of eight inches Can distinguish contrasts, shadows, and edges Other senses Hearing Touch Olfaction

Culture and maturation 14 Culture and maturation Many aspects of development depend on customs Baby’s ability to sleep alone Recommendation to have babies sleep on their back has caused many babies to skip crawling.

14 Attachment A deep emotional bond that an infant develops with its primary caretaker Contact comfort In primates, the innate pleasure derived from close physical contact The basis of the infant’s first attachment Tested using strange situation A parent-infant “separation and reunion” procedure that is staged in a laboratory to test the security of a child’s attachment

14 Types of attachment Secure Insecure A parent-infant relationship in which the baby is secure when the parent is present, distressed by separation, and delighted by reunion. Insecure A parent-infant relationship in which the baby clings to the parent, cries at separation, and reacts with anger or apathy to reunion.

The rise and fall of separation anxiety 14 The rise and fall of separation anxiety

What causes insecure attachment? 14 What causes insecure attachment? Parenting that is truly abusive, neglectful, or erratic Child’s genetically influenced temperament Stressful circumstances in the family

How critical are the early years? 14 How critical are the early years? During the first 15 months, there is an explosion of new synapses in the brain. As information is consolidated, unnecessary synapses are pruned away. Media has exaggerated and oversimplified research findings, fostering public alarm and worry. The brain continues developing beyond the first three years.

14 Language development Acquisition of speech begins in the first few months. Infants are responsive to pitch, intensity, and sound. By 4-6 months of age children can recognize their names and repetitive words. By 6-12 months they become familiar with sentence structure, start babbling.

14 Language development By 11 months, infants use symbolic gestures. About 12 months, infants use words to label objects. 18-24 months, toddlers combine 2-3 words into telegraphic speech.

14 Thinking According to Piaget, cognitive development consists of mental adaptations to new observations. Two adaptive processes Assimilation: absorbing new information into existing cognitive structures Accommodation: modifying existing cognitive structures in response to new information

14 Your turn At what age will children recognize that the two clay balls on the right have the same amount of clay as the two balls on the left? 1. Ages 0-2 2. Ages 2-7 3. Ages 7-12 4. Ages 12 and over

14 Sensorimotor stage Birth–2 years Major accomplishment is object permanence. The understanding that an object continues to exist even when you cannot see or touch it

14 Preoperational stage Ages 2–7 Focused on limitations of children’s thinking. Children at this age could not reason. Unable to perform operations Egocentric Cannot grasp concept of conservation

14 Conservation Of substance Of number “Do the two pieces have the same amount of clay?” Of number “Do the two rows have the same number of pennies?”

14 Concrete operations Ages 7–12 Children’s thinking is still grounded in concrete experiences and concepts, but they can now understand conservation, reversibility, and causation.

Formal operations stage 14 Formal operations stage Ages 12–adulthood Teenagers are capable of abstract reasoning Can compare and classify ideas Can reason about situations not personally experienced Can think about the future Can search systematically for solutions

Evaluating Piaget’s theory 14 Evaluating Piaget’s theory Stage changes are neither as clear cut nor as sweeping as Piaget thought. Children sometimes understand more than Piaget thought. Preschoolers are not as egocentric as Piaget thought. Cognitive development depends on the child’s education and culture. Piaget overestimated the cognitive skills of many adults.

14 Intuitive physics Infants look longer at objects that seem to violate physical laws than those that do not. Surprise indicates their expectations were violated. They must know what is physically plausible for this to occur.

Moral reasoning: Kohlberg’s theory 14 Moral reasoning: Kohlberg’s theory Pre-conventional level Punishment and obedience Instrumental relativism Conventional level Good boy–nice girl Society-maintaining Post-conventional level Social contract Universal ethical principles

Criticisms of Kohlberg’s theory 14 Criticisms of Kohlberg’s theory Tends to overlook educational and cultural influences Some cultural differences not reflected in theory Moral reasoning is often inconsistent across situations. Connection between moral reasoning and moral behavior is often indirect.

Moral reasoning: Gilligan’s theory 14 Moral reasoning: Gilligan’s theory Men tend to base their moral choices on abstract principles of law and justice while women base moral decisions on principles of compassion and caring.

Criticisms of Gilligan’s theory 14 Criticisms of Gilligan’s theory Meta-analyses do not find such a difference. Both sexes use abstract principles when resolving abstract dilemmas and care perspectives when resolving personal dilemmas. Moral reasoning of either kind unrelated to behavior.

14 Moral behavior In addition to cognitively understanding right from wrong, children’s ability to behave morally is based on the development of moral emotions such as shame, guilt, and empathy. Techniques used by parents include power assertion and induction.

Teaching moral behavior 14 Teaching moral behavior Power assertion Parent uses punishment and authority to correct misbehavior. Users tend to be authoritarian. Induction Parent appeals to child’s own resources, abilities, sense of responsibility, and feelings for others in correcting misbehavior. Users tend to be authoritative.

Gender identity and typing 14 Gender identity and typing Gender identity The fundamental sense of being male or female, independent of whether the person conforms to social and cultural rules of gender Gender typing Process by which children learn the abilities, interests, personality traits, and behaviors associated with being masculine or feminine in their culture

Influences on gender development 14 Influences on gender development Biological factors Biological researchers believe that early play and toy preferences have a basis in prenatal hormones, genes, or brain organization. Cognitive factors Cognitive psychologists suggest that toy preferences are based on gender schemas or the mental network of knowledge, beliefs, metaphors, and expectations about what it means to be male or female. Learning factors Gender appropriate play may be reinforced by parents, teachers, and peers.

Gender and self-esteem 14 Gender and self-esteem

Physiology of adolescence 14 Physiology of adolescence Adolescence Period of life from puberty until adulthood Puberty The age at which a person becomes capable of sexual reproduction Menarche A girl’s first menstrual period Spermarche A boy’s first ejaculation

14 Timing of puberty Onset of puberty depends on genetic and environmental factors. E.g., body fat triggers the hormonal changes Early vs. late onset Early maturing boys have more positive views of their bodies and are more likely to smoke, binge drink, and break the law. Early maturing girls are usually socially popular but also regarded by peer group as precocious and sexually active. They are more likely to fight with parents, drop out of school, and have a negative body image.

Turmoil and adjustment 14 Turmoil and adjustment Extreme turmoil and problems with adjustment are the exception rather than the rule. Three kinds of problems are more likely Conflict with parents Mood swings and depression Higher rates of rule-breaking and risky behavior

Separation and connection 14 Separation and connection Adolescents are trying to separate from parents but remain connected. Individuation The process of developing one’s own opinions, values, style of dress, and look Quarrels with parents represent a shift from one-sided parental authority to a more reciprocal adult relationship.

Erikson’s eight stages 14 Erikson’s eight stages Trust vs. mistrust Infancy (birth-age 1) Autonomy vs. shame & doubt Toddler (ages 1-2) Initiative vs. guilt Preschool (ages 3-5) Industry vs. inferiority Elementary school (ages 6-12) Identity vs. role confusion Adolescence (ages 13-19) Intimacy vs. isolation Young adulthood (ages 20-40) Generativity vs. stagnation Middle adulthood (ages 40-65) Integrity vs. despair Late adulthood (ages 65 and older)

14 Your turn At what age, according to Erikson, are people likely to wrestle with whether they are able to deal with the tasks facing them in life? 1. Age 4 2. Age 7 3. Age 15 4. Age 25

14 Your turn At what age, according to Erikson, are people likely to wrestle with whether they are able to deal with the tasks facing them in life? 1. Age 4 2. Age 7 3. Age 15 4. Age 25

14 Adult development Psychological concerns can occur at any time in life, therefore stage theories are no longer used to understand how adults change or stay the same. Adult development involves interactions among Biological changes Personality traits Personal experiences Historical events Particular environments Friends and relationships

The transitions of life 14 The transitions of life Emerging adulthood (ages 18-25) Phase of life distinct from adolescence and adulthood In some ways an adult, in some ways not The middle years (ages 35-65) Perceived by many as the prime of life Menopause: the cessation of menstruation and the production of ova, usually a gradual process lasting several years

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14 Old age Some types of thinking change, others stay the same. Fluid intelligence: the capacity for deductive reasoning and the ability to use new information to solve problems; relatively independent of education, declines in old age Crystallized intelligence: cognitive skills and specific knowledge of information acquired over a lifetime; depends heavily on education, remains stable over lifetime.

Lifespan intellectual changes 14 Lifespan intellectual changes Some intellectual abilities dwindle with age. Numerical and verbal abilities relatively stable

14 Old age Apparent senility often caused by combination of medications Depression and passivity are result of loss of meaningful activity, intellectual stimulation, and control over events. Weakness and frailty caused by sedentary lifestyles. Gerontologists estimate that only 30% of the physical losses associated with old age are genetically based. The rest is environmental or psychological.

Are adults prisoners of childhood? 14 Are adults prisoners of childhood? Research psychologists have questioned the psychodynamic assumption that childhood traumas have emotional effects that inevitably continue into adulthood. Considerable evidence disputes this claim.

Challenging our assumptions 14 Challenging our assumptions Recovery from war Only 20% of WWII war orphans had problems after being adopted and moving to the US. Most of these eventually established happy lives. Recovery from abusive or alcoholic parents Their children are at-risk for developing these problems, but most do not. Recovery from sexual abuse More emotional and behavioral symptoms, but most adjust and recover.