1. Unit 8: Nature & Nurture/ Culture & Gender
Psychology
Mr. Thomas Parsons
West Auburn High School
Human Development = talking about developmental psychology

2. Chapter Outline Exploring Human Development Child Development
Adolescence
Emerging Adulthood, Adult Development, and Aging
Human Development and Health and Wellness

3. Development
development - the pattern of continuity and change that occurs throughout the lifespan
physical processes
cognitive processes
socioemotional processes
prenatally (before birth)
during childhood
adolescence
adulthood

4. Development biological processes cognitive processes
socioemotional processes

5. Development: Biological Processes
biological processes (maturation)
genes
hormonal changes of puberty and menopause
changes in brain, height and weight
motor skills

6. Development: Cognitive Processes
thought
intelligence
language

7. Development: Socioemotional Processes
relationships
emotions
personality
(notice development is always talking about change)

8. Research Methods in Development Psychology
Age-Related Differences
cross-sectional studies – a number of people of different ages are assessed at one point in time, and differences are noted
cohort effects – differences between individuals that stem not necessarily from their ages but from the historical and social time period in which they were born and developed
longitudinal studies – assesses the same participants multiple times over a lengthy period
takes a LONG time
see change within a population over time

9. Nature vs. Nurture nature – biological inheritance (genotype)
nurture – environmental experiences
phenotype – combination of nature and nurture
the developer – individuals take active roles in own development
Which leads to / influences optimal life experiences more?

10. Developer’s Role in Development
develop beyond genetic inheritance and environment  seeking optimal experiences
build and shape our own lives
life themes – life activities, social relationships and life goals
Food for Thought
How do you influence YOUR own development?
How do you you seek optimal experience—or how do you not?
Who do you know that seeks optimal life experiences? (personally—not a celebrity)
How do we as a society hold others the “developer’s role” to an incredibly high standard within society and governance? How do we not?

11. Resilient Children early experience versus later experience
nurturing during first year
resilience – a person’s ability to recover from or adapt to difficult times
resilient children become capable adults
moderate difficulties may promote development
associated with advantages (intelligence, supportive relationship with parent/adult, etc.)

12. Prenatal Development Germinal Period (weeks 1-2)
conception – occurs when a single sperm cell from the male merges with the female’s ovum (egg) to produce a zygote
fertilization
zygote – a single cell with 23 chromosomes from the mother and 23 from the father
Embryonic Period (weeks 3-8)
beginnings of organs appear
3rd week: neural tube (eventually spinal cord)
end: heart begins to beat, face starts to firm, intestinal tract appears
Fetal Period (months 2-9)
2 months: kidney bean
6 months: 1.5 pounds
Videos from What to Expect When You’re Expecting App (put them on the Web site)

13. Prenatal Development Teratogens… agents that cause birth defects
diseases
nicotine
alcohol  fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD)
small head, defects to limbs and heart, below-average intelligence
STIs  increased risk of stillbirth, infections, blindness (gonorrhea), preterm birth
Effects of teratogens depend on…
timing of exposure
genetic characteristics
postnatal environment

14. Preterm Birth
preterm infant – one who is born prior to 37 weeks after conception
greater risk for developmental difficulties
preterm infants born into poverty are more likely to have problems than are those who live in better socioeconomic conditions
massage can improve outcomes

15. Physical Development humans = most helpless newborns (not finished)
reflexes - genetically wired behaviors that are crucial for survival
persist throughout life
coughing, blinking, yawning
disappear with neurological development
grasping

16. Physical Development perceptual and motor skills preferential looking
holding objects: texture, size hardness
moving around room: different perspectives
preferential looking
give “choice” and measure preferences (7 days old)
3 months – prefer real faces to scrambled faces, prefer mother’s face
familiarity breeds liking (also for words, music, etc.)

17. Brain Development
myelination (the process of encasing axons with fat cells) continues after birth
dramatic increase in synaptic connections
birth: 100 billion neurons have few connections
synapses
used and unused neural pathways
brain imaging techniques illuminate developmental changes in the brain
3-6 years of age: most rapid growth in frontal lobe areas
new experiences promote brain development

18. Cognitive Development
Jean Piaget ( ) – Swiss developmental psychologist
Children actively construct their cognitive world using…
schemas – concepts or frameworks that organize information
assimilation – incorporate new info into existing schemas
accommodation – adjust schemas to new information

19. Piaget’s Theory: Cognitive Development
Sensorimotor Stage (birth - 2 years)
coordinate sensations with movements
object permanence
Preoperational Stage (2 - 7 years)
symbolic thinking
intuitive reasoning
egocentrism
Concrete Operational Stage (7 – 11 yrs)
operational thinking (e.g., conservation)
classification skills
logical thinking in concrete contexts
Formal Operational Stage (11-15 yrs)
lasts through adulthood
abstract and idealistic thought
hypothetical-deductive reasoning
Piaget’s Theory: Cognitive Development

20. Temperament
an individual’s behavioral style or characteristic way of responding
three clusters of temperament
easy
difficult
slow-to-warm-up
another perspective (effortful control/self-regulation, inhibition, and negative affectivity)

21. Infant Attachment Harlow Study – infant rhesus monkeys
is it nourishment or contact that matters?
chose between two surrogate “mothers”
cold wire mother versus warm cloth mother
-infants preferred cloth mother across situations
contact comfort is critical to attachment
the close emotional bond between an infant and its caregiver
may provide important foundation for subsequent development

22. Infant Attachment Mary Ainsworth – Strange Situation
Caregivers leave infant alone with stranger, then return…secure attachment or insecure attachment?
Criticism: cultural variations
infant attachment – the close emotional bond between and infant and its caregiver
secure attachment – the ways that infants use their caregiver, usually their mother, as a secure base from which to explore the environment
video clip

23. Socioemotional Development
Erik Erikson ( )
theory emphasizes lifelong development
eight psychosocial stages of development
first four stages: childhood
fifth stage: adolescence
6th-8th stages: adulthood
each stage represents a developmental task
crisis that must be resolved
personal competence or weakness

24. Parenting Styles Authoritarian Authoritative Neglectful Permissive
parents are controlling and punitive
correlated with lack of initiative, poor communication skills, social incompetence***
Authoritative
parents encourage independence with limits
correlated with social competence, social responsibility, and self-reliance
Neglectful
parents are generally uninvolved
correlated with less social incompetence and poor self-control
Permissive
parents are involved, but place few limits
correlated with poor social competence, lack of respect for others, poor self-control
Parenting Styles
*** can be good or bad… if part of greater culture and not associated with anything negative = ok

25. Friendships talking over life problems co-rumination
worrying about a topic without finding a resolution.
girls co-ruminate more than boys
increased feelings of depression and anxiety

26. Moral Development
Kohlberg ( ) – presented moral dilemmas and analyzed responses
Preconventional
behavior guided by punishments and rewards
Conventional
standards learned from parents and society
Postconventional
contracts, rights and abstract principles

27. Current Research on Moral Development
Prosocial Behavior – behavior that is intended to benefit other people
correlated with supportive parenting
correlated with self-control
Conscience Formation
forms by age 3 and carries over into adulthood
parent-child interactions
clear, elaborate, rich with emotional content
shared positive emotion
… so before 3 we are basically all sociopaths

28. Moral Development
Parenting strategies associated with morality in children…
warm and supportive rather than harsh
reasoning with child when disciplining
help child learn to take others’ perspective
involve child in decision making
model moral behavior and thinking

29. Adolescent Physical Development
beginning 10-12; ending 18-21
Puberty
rapid skeletal and sexual maturation
puberty begins at beginning of adolescence
Testosterone (androgen) — boys
genital development, height, voice changes
Estrodiol (estrogen) — girls
breast, uterine, and skeletal development
ES-TRUH-DIE-ALL

30. Adolescent Brain Development
Early
amygdala
emotions
Late
prefrontal cortex
reasoning and decision making
risk taking
emotions develop before reasoning… thus your fine decision-making skills…  (lack skills to control pleasure-seeking)
ability to resist peer-pressure related to prefrontal cortex thickening

31. Adolescent Socioemotional Development
Ethnic Identity
attachment to ones minority group
attachment to larger culture
biculturalism – identifying in some ways with their ethnic minority group and in other ways with the majority culture (more positive outcomes)
combines with identity relating to sexual orientation and gender roles
Influence of Parents and Peers
parent as manager/counselor/monitor
balance involvement and allowing to explore
peer relations peak in importance

32. Physical Changes in Adulthood
Early Adulthood (20s, 30s)
most reach the peak of physical development
Middle Adulthood (40s, 50s)
most lose height, many gain weight
menopause for women (late 40s or early 50s) – dramatic decline in the productions of estrogen
hot flashes – sudden, brief flushing of the skin and a feeling of elevated body temperatures
nausea, fatigue, rapid heartbeat
Late Adulthood
accumulated wear and tear
less ability to repair and regenerate

33. Cognitive Development in Adulthood
Early Adulthood
idealism gives way to realistic pragmatism
reflection on worldview
intellectual skills peak – realistic, pragmatic
Middle Adulthood
crystallized intelligence (vocabulary) peaks
fluid intelligence (inductive reasoning) peaks
numerical ability & perceptual speed decline
Late Adulthood
speed of processing generally declines
memory retrieval skills decline
wisdom (expert knowledge about the practical aspects of life) increases in some individuals
strategy training and physical activity can improve cognitive function
Cognitive Development in Adulthood
middle adulthood: 4 of 6 categories of intelligence are at their highest

34. Human Development: Health and Wellness
Development during adulthood marked by
physical and psychological decline
conscious awareness of aging
Coping with life’s difficulties
assimilation and accommodation (Piaget)
difficulties provide opportunities for change—to develop a rich and complex view of self and world
Victor Frankl – Life Themes
the uniqueness of each person and the finiteness of life
Victor Frankl - reading