DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCH Ch. 9

Major Themes  Nature and nurture  Continuity and stages  gradual, continuous process or sequence of separate stages  Stability and change  personality traits persist through life  become different people as we age

Baby Development  Conception  Prenatal  Zygote  Embryo  Fetus  Newborn  Implicit memories

Physical Development  Brain cells develop very fast in the womb  Neural networks grow very fast after birth.  The frontal lobe booms next, then the association areas (thinking, memory, language)  Infantile Amnesia  Before age 3½ - we can’t remember

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Jean Piaget  Jean Piaget - believed that the human mind develops through a series of stages  Schemas - concepts or frameworks that organize and interpret information  accommodate - we revise and refine them

Piaget – 4 stages  Sensorimotor stage  birth – 2 years  object permanence things continue to exist even when they can’t be seen. 8 months  Some evidence of Logic

Piaget – 4 stages  Preoperational stage  age 2 to 6/7  too young to do mental operations No idea of conservation idea that something can retain or conserve a characteristic while something else changes  egocentric –unable to view a situation from another person’s point-of-view  Theory of mind - the ability to read another person’s intentions.

Piaget – 4 stages  Concrete operational stage  6/7 – 12 years  can think with concrete, physical objects and understand conservation  Cannot think in the abstract Example - Math

Piaget – 4 stages  Formal operational stage  age 12  Thinking changes from being confined to the concrete to including the abstract  symbols and variables  if-then statements

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Attachment  stranger anxiety - someone who does not fit the schema (an unfamiliar person)  secure attachment - bond between a 12 month old and a parent is strong  critical period – the only time something happens Imprinting- attachment hard-wired into the organism  Sensitive Period – Not written in stone  People – no critical period attachment imprinting

Harlow’s Monkeys  Harry Harlow  wire mesh “mother” or a wire mesh mother covered with a furry carpet  furry fake-mothers adjusted better  Physical Contact  metal “mothers” became panic-stricken with fear.  physical contact - important to healthy child-parent attachment

Strange Situation  Mary Ainsworth  mother and child (12 months) playing in a room  Switch of Adults, then Parent returns  The children of responsive parents showed a more "secure attachment" than children of less-responsive parents

Temperament  temperament - genetic tendency as to how they react and how intensely they react to a situation  Evident at few weeks persist as we grow older  Evident by studying twins

Attachment  Don’t forget the fathers  Attachment peaks at 13

No Attachment?  person is usually withdrawn and frightened  abusive to their kids at a more frequent rate  laundry list of possible problems – brain/hormonal changes, nightmares, depression, increased substance abuse, binge eating, aggression, crime

Removing Attachment  Similar effects  Courts reluctant to remove from parents  Day Care?

Idea of “Self”  6 months - gain “self awareness”  grade-school age - identifies terms of gender, group membership, personal characteristics  age 8 to 10 - self-image is very much set.  age 12 - self-concept  an idea of who you are as a person

Parenting Styles - Diana Baumrind  Authoritarian –children need rules and must obey them  Permissive children should make and learn from their own mistakes; provide few rules.  Authoritative – these parents are demanding and responsive  Seen as Best  culture influences  Western cultures - value individual strength.  Asian and African cultures - more group/family oriented

Parents vs Peers  Parents and peers tend to split “responsibilities”…  Parents - long-term discipline, order, education, stability  Peers - for the now popularity, style and interaction

GENDER DEVELOPMENT

Men and Women are Different  1 Chromosome Differences  Emotion, aggression, self esteem, aggression  Physiological differences

Gender Roles  Gender type – Male/female  Social Learning Theory  Observations and imitation  Current issues – Homosexual marriage and Absentee fathers

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Cognitive Development  Lawrence Kohlberg  studied how people figure right and wrong  Kohlberg came up with stages…

Lawrence Kohlberg - Stages  Preconventional morality – before age 9  focuses on child’s self-interest  Rules obeyed to avoids punishment  Conventional morality – age 9 to the mid-teen  there are rules and they are to be obeyed  “because it’s the law”  Postconventional morality –later adolescence  respect for others rights or human dignity or basic ethical beliefs

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Erik Erickson  Erik Erickson studied “psychosocial” development  8 stages  each stage a person faced some type of a crisis resolve that crisis before moving on to the next stage

Erickson’s 8 Stages  Trust vs. mistrust – Infancy – If an infants basic needs are met, they develop trust.  Autonomy vs. shame/doubt – Toddlers – They wish to do things on their own, or they’re ashamed.  Initiative vs. guilt – Preschool – They make and carry out plans, or they’re guilty for failing to do so.  Industry vs. inferiority – Grade school – Kids feel good about being productive, or they feel inferior for failing to do so.

Erickson’s 8 stages  Identity vs. role confusion – Adolescence – Teens test different roles, or they’re confused about who they are.  Intimacy vs. isolation – Young adults – They try to gain a close loved one, or they feel alone.  Generativity vs. stagnation – Middle aged – They gain a sense of adding to the world through family and/or work, or they feel they’ve no purpose.  Integrity vs. despair – Late adulthood – They look back on their lives and either see a sense of worth or failure.

ADULT DEVELOPMENT

Physical Development  Peak in late 20s  Middle Aged – 40s  Women - Menopause age 50  Later adulthood – Over 60

Late Life  senses decline with age  After 65 - immune system weakens  Dementia - small strokes, a brain tumor, or alcohol dependence  Alzheimer’s disease - 3% of people.  Memory goes first, then reasoning.  A declining sense of smell signals the onset of Alzheimer.  Causes loss of brain cells lack of acetylcholine

Cognitive - Adults  Memory - best around age 20 - declines with age Crystallized intelligence – our sum quantity of knowledge (like vocab words) – increases up to old age. Fluid intelligence – our reasoning speed and ability (like solving a puzzle) – decreases up to old age.

Social - Adults  Social Clock  Love and Work – Most important things

Social - Adults  Grief – No Set in Stone Stages  Denial  Anger  Bargaining  Depression  Acceptance