Introductory Psychology: Developmental Psychology AP Psychology: unit VI Q: How old does a person have to be before you think of him or her as old? A: The average 18-29 year old says 67. The average person 60+ says 76. Topic: Adulthood

Adulthood: Physical Development Part one

Adulthood: Physical Development Young Adulthood (20s-30s) Physical abilities (strength, reaction time, cardiac output, etc.) peak by the mid-twenties All down hill after that… Just kidding..!

Adulthood: Physical Development Middle Adulthood (40s-60s) Physical decline accelerates Attributable to age or activity level? DECLINE IN FERTILITY Perimenopause (average age: 40s) Estrogen levels decreases; uterus gets smaller; hot flashes Menopause (average age: 51) Cessation of menstrual cycle; no more babies… Andropause (in men) Gradual decline of testosterone, sperm count, sexual functioning, etc. Men rarely lose all reproductive ability

Adulthood: Psychosocial Development Social Clock The culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, retirement, etc. Marks life transitions Does the midlife crisis really exist??

Late Adulthood 65+

Adulthood: Physical Development Late Adulthood (60s+) Life expectancy…on the rise? Stopping point? Sensory abilities Vision, smell & hearing tend to decline after age 70 Health More susceptible to life-threatening ailments Less susceptible to short-term ailments Brain Neural processing slows; loss of brain cells; atrophy of frontal lobe and areas important to memory

Sensory Abilities

Neural processing slows; reaction time decreases

Adulthood: Cognitive Development Part two

Adulthood: Cognitive Development Memory Recall v. recognition Recall declines with age; recognition remains stable Also dependent on the type of information

Adulthood: Cognitive Development Intelligence Fluid intelligence Basic reasoning, memory capacity & the speed of information processing Decreases slowly up to age 75; then more rapidly Crystallized intelligence Accumulated knowledge (vocabulary & analogy tests) Increases (up to old age)

KEYS TO SUCCESSFUL AGING Biological: Genetic disorders Nutrition Neural activity Psychological: Optimism Physically & mentally active KEYS TO SUCCESSFUL AGING Socio-cultural: Family/friend support Activities Living conditions Community involvement

Exam Review Developmental Psych - define Research: Cross-sectional study Longitudinal study Cross-sequential study Prenatal development Zygote, Embryo, Fetus Rooting reflex Habituation Theory of mind Henry Harlow - attachment Intelligence: Crystallized - vocab Fluid – reasoning Recall vs. Recognition Lev Vygotsky – scaffolding Carol Gilligan – morality Diana Baumrind - parenting Mary Ainsworth – stranger Konrad Lorenz – imprinting Bandura’s Social Learning Theory Gender identity

Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development Pre-conventional Stage 1 – Punishment Avoidance & Obedience Stage 2 – Exchange of Favors Conventional Stage 3 – Good Boy/Good Girl Stage 4 – Law and Order Post-conventional Stage 5 – Social Contract Stage 6 – Universal Ethical Principle

Freud’s Psychosexual Stages of Development Description Problems/Fixation Oral Stage Birth to 2 years Pleasure from oral stimulation – tasting & sucking Dependency or aggression; Problems with drinking, smoking, eating, nail biting Anal Stage 15 months to 3 years Primary focus on controlling bladder and bowels – eliminating/retaining feces Anal-expulsive (messy, wasteful, destructive) vs. Anal-retentive (orderly, rigid, obsessive) Phallic Stage 3 – 6 Primary focus is on genitals – differences between male and female Child becomes rival for the affection of opposite-sex parent – (Oedipus complex) Child begins to identify with the same-sex parent Fixation can result in sexual deviancies or confused sexual identity Freud believed that girls continued to possess feelings of envy or inferiority – penis envy Latency Stage 6 to puberty Sexual desires pushed to background Focus on intellectual and social pursuits Important stage for development of communication skills and self-confidence Genital Stage Puberty through Adulthood Sexual desires renewed – seek relationships with others Problems that emerge in this stage are carried over from earlier stages

Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development Issue Description of Task Infancy (to 1 year) Trust vs. Mistrust If needs are dependably met, infants develop a sense of basic trust Toddlerhood (1 to 3 years) Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt Toddlers learn to exercise their will and do things for themselves, or they doubt their abilities Preschool (3 to 6 years) Initiative vs. Guilt Preschoolers learn to initiate tasks and carry out plans, or they feel guilty about their efforts to be independent Elementary school (6 years to puberty) Industry vs. Inferiority Children learn the pleasure of applying themselves to tasks, or they feel inferior Adolescence (Teen years to 20s) Identity vs. Role Confusion Teenagers work at refining a sense of self by testing roles and then integrating them to form a single identity, or they become confused about who they are Young adulthood (20s to early 40s) Intimacy vs. Isolation Young adults need to form close relationships and to gain the capacity for intimate love, or they feel socially isolated Middle adulthood (40s to 60s) Generativity vs. Stagnation In middle age, people discover a sense of contributing to the world, usually through family and work, or they may feel a lack of purpose Late adulthood (late 60s and up) Integrity vs. Despair Reflecting on his or her life, an older adult may feel a sense of satisfaction or failure

FRQ Prep Advice Research Topics: Descriptive vs. Inferential statistics Random assignment vs. random selection Operational definition Cross-sectional vs. Longitudinal studies Benefits of each Review Piaget’s stages of cognitive development