DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY Day 1: Physical Development & Parenting

Developmental Psych: Physical Development & Parenting  The Developmental Psych Approach  Continuous vs. Discontinuous  Stability vs. Change  Stage Theory  (same order for everybody / not necessarily the same age)

PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT Zygote conception – 2 weeks period of rapid cell division Embryo 2 weeks – 3 months cells attach to mother’s uterine wall & organs develop Fetus 3 months - birth developing human organism

Prenatal Development - TERATOGENS  TERATOGENS: Agents that can reach the developing embryo or fetus and cause harm Alcohol Nicotine Drugs (both prescription drugs & “street” drugs) Viruses (the flu) Toxoplasmosis (contact with cat feces) Food poisoning  Teratogens and Prenatal Development Teratogens and Prenatal Development

INFANT REFLEXES  Rooting  Grasping  Startle (Moro Reflex) Startle (Moro Reflex) Baby’s abilities - 9# 9# Primary Reflexes:

INFANT VISION  A baby’s vision improves dramatically during the first 6 months as children become able to accommodate (focus) NEWBORN Babies’ vision is 40x less accurate than adults at seeing fine details 1 MONTH Most of the cells in the visual cortex are not yet coated in myelin. Poor contrast sensitivity & color recognition. 2 MONTHS A newborns rods are fairly mature but their cones are not, making it difficult to decipher fine lines and color. ADULT Between age 6-7 years, a child’s vision reaches adult values 3 MONTHS Dramatic change occurs as the visual cotex begins to control vision better. Vision has caught up to other senses. Depth perception is still not accurate. 6 MONTHS A baby can focus at different distances as well as an adult can. Their ability to see fine details is only 8xworse than ours, 5x better than it was at birth. Babies like to look at complex shapes & faces

IMPRINTING IMPRINTING :  Owen the baby hippo & Mzee, the 130-year-old tortise the process by which animals form attachments during a limited critical period early in life

IMPRINTING Tink the dachsand & her piglet “puppy”, Pink.

Newborn Capacities  Habituation: describes infants’ decreasing responsiveness to repeated stimuli. Researchers infer that newborns have cognitive ability to differentiate between different visual stimuli. Habituation:

What’s your earliest memory? Our earliest memories rarely predate our 3 rd birthday. This is called “INFANTILE AMNESIA”. EARLY MEMORY FORMATION Why don’t we remember earlier events? Our brains are still developing Limited language before age 3 – we remember in words

MATURATION : Biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior that are relatively unaffected by experience  In terms of brain development, natural maturation causes neural interconnection to multiply rapidly after birth.  However, severe deprivation and abuse will retard development. Furthermore, increased stimulation will cause early neural connections.  Maturation sets the basic course of development; experience adjusts it.

Normal Maturation

John LOCKE  Proposed that when children are born they are “Tabula Rasa” key name “Tabula Rasa” = blank slate

Jean PIAGET  Constructed a stage theory of Cognitive Development  Observed that children think differently than adults key name

Piaget & Cognitive Development SCHEMA A concept or framework that organizes and interprets information AssimilationAccommodation Make new information fit into existing schemas Adjust your schema to fit new information

SCHEMA Assimilation Make new information fit into existing schemas “Heart” = Accomodation Adjusting your schema to fit new information

ASSIMILATION vs. ACCOMMODATION Assimilation When a student downloads music by an artist that is already on the iPod, this can be compared to assimilation (adding a new bit of info to an existing schema). Accommodation When a student downloads music by a new artist, this can be compared to accommodation (creating a new 'folder' is like building a new schema)

AssimilationAccomodation

SCHEMA Assimilation Make new information fit into existing schemas Examples? Work with a partner to write down two real life examples of assimilation, and two examples of accomodation. Accommodation Adjusting your schema to fit new information

GENDER SCHEMA A concept or framework that organizes and interprets information about what it means to be a boy or a girl How do we develop our gender schemas?

Warm up  1. What are teratogens? Give one example and define the term in your own words.  2. Describe two of the primary infant reflexes we discussed.  3. What is infantile amnesia?

Piaget’s 4 Stages of Cognitive Development Lack object permanence (until about age 8-10 months)object permanence Sensorimotor Birth – 2 years stage 1 Develop separation anxiety at about 12 months. Stranger anxiety also occurs in this stage.

Piaget’s 4 Stages of Cognitive Development EgocentricEgocentric (which does not (in Piagetian thought) mean selfishness, but rather the inability to take another's perspective or even to recognize that others have different perspectives and points of view. ) Preoperational 2 – 6 years stage 2 Use of symbols (especially language; difficulty using more than one category)symbols Representational thought Role Playing Animism, or the tendency to attribute psychological properties to inanimate objects.

Piaget’s 4 Stages of Cognitive Development By age 7, develop law of conservationlaw of conservation Concrete 6 – 12 years stage 3 Can sort objects into multiple categories (color & size, for example)

Piaget’s 4 Stages of Cognitive Development Abstract thinking Can think hypothetically Formal 12 years - adult stage 4

AUTHORITARIAN PARENTING STYLES rhymes with “Totalitarian” Authoritarian parents impose rules and expect obedience. Permissive parents submit to their child’s desires, make few demands and use little punishment. PERMISSIVE Authoritative parents encourage open discussion and allow for exceptions when enforcing rules. AUTHORITATIVE “Because I said so.” “Whatever.” “Let’s talk about it.”

AUTHORITARIAN PARENTING STYLES - consequences rhymes with “Totalitarian” –anxious, withdrawn, and unhappy disposition –poor reactions to frustration –(girls are particularly likely to give up & boys become especially hostile) –do well in school –(studies may show authoritative parenting is comparable) –not likely to engage in antisocial activities

PERMISSIVE PARENTING STYLES - consequences -poor emotion regulation (under regulated) -rebellious and defiant when desires are challenged. -low persistence to challenging tasks -antisocial behaviors

AUTHORITATIVE PARENTING STYLES - consequences -lively and happy disposition -self-confident about ability to master tasks. -well developed emotion regulation -developed social skills World’s Strictest Parents +&gs_l=youtube j ac.1.dlXa-HBt6j8 +&gs_l=youtube j ac.1.dlXa-HBt6j8

Dum Dums and Gloquex Activity