First, some questions for your notes: What is the ideal age and why? What is the worst age to be, and why?

Market Facts, Inc. asked these questions of more than 1000 adults… Most respondents, regardless of their actual age, said they feel and act as if they are in their mid-thirties. Both men and women wanted to be about 32 years old. “Psychological age,” suggested the pollsters, “may be just as important as real age when trying to understand people’s behavior and such things as their buying decisions.” The sexes differed, however, on the age they considered to be “old.” Men thought old age occurred in the late sixties, and women said old age began in one’s seventies.

More recently, a Harris poll asked 2306 American adults the following questions: “If you could stop time and live forever in good health at a particular age, what age would it be?” In this poll, responses varied with the age group. For 18- to 24-year-olds, it was 27. For 25- to 29-year-olds, the age selected was 31. For 30- to 39-year-olds, the answer was 37. For 40- to 49-year-olds, the response was 40. For 50- to 64-year olds, the age was 44; for those 65 and older, it was 59. Now, how do your answers compare???

Prenatal Development and the Newborn Chapter 5, Lecture 2 “Nothing is more natural than a species reproducing itself. Yet nothing is more wondrous.” - David Myers

Prenatal Development and the Newborn How, over time, did we come to be who we are? From zygote to birth, development progresses in an orderly, though fragile, sequence.

Conception A single sperm cell (male) penetrates the outer coating of the egg (female) and fuses to form one fertilized cell. Lennart Nilsson/ Albert Bonniers Publishing Company

Prenatal Development A zygote is a fertilized egg with 100 cells that become increasingly diverse. At about 14 days the zygote turns into an embryo (a and b). Lennart Nilsson/ Albert Bonniers Publishing Company Biophoto Associates/ Photo Researchers, Inc.

Prenatal Development At 9 weeks, an embryo turns into a fetus (c and d). Teratogens are chemicals or viruses that can enter the placenta and harm the developing fetus. Lennart Nilsson/ Albert Bonniers Publishing Company

The Competent Newborn Infants are born with reflexes that aid in survival, including the rooting reflex which helps them locate food.

The Competent Newborn Offspring cries are important signals for parents to provide nourishment. In animals and humans such cries are quickly attended to and relieved. Carl and Ann Purcell/ Corbis Lightscapes, Inc. Corbis

The Competent Newborn To study cognition in newborns, developmental psychologists use the concept of habituation, or decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner.

Figure 5.3 Quick—which is the cat? Myers: Psychology, Ninth Edition Copyright © 2010 by Worth Publishers How was this figure used in research with newborns? What did this research tell us about newborns?

Figure 5.4 Newborns’ preferences? Myers: Psychology, Ninth Edition Copyright © 2010 by Worth Publishers How about this figure?

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