1. ESSENTIALS OF UNDERSTANDING
PSYCHOLOGY
8TH EDITION
By Robert Feldman
Powerpoint slides by Kimberly Foreman

2. CHAPTER NINE:
DEVELOPMENT

3. MODULE 27: Nature and Nurture and Prenatal Development
How do psychologists study the degree to which development is an interaction of hereditary and environmental factors?
What is the nature of development before birth?
What factors affect a child during the mother’s pregnancy?

4. Developmental Psychology
Study of the patterns of growth and change that occur throughout life
Nature-nurture issue
Developmental psychologists typically take an interactionist position

5. Determining the Relative Influence of Nature and Nurture
Genetically control laboratory animals and place in varied environments
Identical twins

6. Developmental Research Techniques
Cross-sectional Research
Compares people of different ages at the same point in time
Differences among groups of people
Longitudinal Research
Traces the behavior of one or more participants as the participants age
Change in behavior over time

7. Developmental Research Techniques
Sequential Research
Combines cross-sectional and longitudinal approaches by taking a number of different age groups and examining them at several points in time

8. Prenatal Development: Conception to Birth
The Basics of Genetics
Chromosomes
Rod-shaped structures that contain all basic hereditary information
Genes
Smaller units through which genetic information is transmitted
Composed of sequences of DNA

9. Prenatal Development: Conception to Birth
The Human Genome Project
Scientists mapped the specific location and sequence of every human gene
Gene therapy
Health-care providers inject genes to correct particular diseases directly into a patient’s bloodstream

10. Prenatal Development: Conception to Birth
The Earliest Development
Germinal Period
Zygote
Fertilized egg
First two weeks
Embryonic Period
Embryo
Weeks 2 through 8

11. Prenatal Development: Conception to Birth
The Earliest Development
Fetal Period
Fetus
Week 8 until birth
Age of viability
Point at which it can survive if born prematurely
About prenatal age 22 weeks
Sensitive periods (critical periods)

12. Prenatal Development: Conception to Birth
Genetic Influences on the Fetus
Phenylketonuria (PKU)
Sickle-cell anemia
Tay-Sachs disease
Down Syndrome

13. Prenatal Development: Conception to Birth
Prenatal Environmental Influences
Teratogens
Mother’s nutrition
Mother’s illness
Mother’s emotional state
Mother’s use of drugs
Alcohol
Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)
Fetal alcohol effects (FAE)
Nicotine use

14. MODULE 28: Infancy and Childhood
What are the major competencies of newborns?
What are the milestones of physical and social development during childhood?
How does cognitive development proceed during childhood?

15. The Extraordinary Newborn
Reflexes
Unlearned, involuntary responses that occur automatically in the presence of certain stimuli
Rooting reflex
Sucking reflex
Gag reflex
Startle reflex
Babinski reflex

16. The Extraordinary Newborn
Development of the Senses: Taking in the World
Visual abilities grow rapidly after birth
Habituation
Decrease in the response to a stimulus that occurs after repeated presentations of the same stimulus

17. The Growing Child: Infancy Through Middle Childhood
Physical Development
During first year of life children typically triple birthweight
Height increases by about half
Figure 4 of Module 28

18. The Growing Child: Infancy Through Middle Childhood
Development of Social Behavior: Taking on the World
Attachment
The positive emotional bond that develops between a child and a particular individual
Konrad Lorenz
Imprinting

19. The Growing Child: Infancy Through Middle Childhood
Harry Harlow’s study on attachment
“Wire monkey versus cloth monkey”
Figure 6 of Module 28

20. The Growing Child: Infancy Through Middle Childhood
Assessing Attachment
Mary Ainsworth
Ainsworth strange situation
Securely attached
Avoidant
Ambivalent
Disorganized-disoriented

21. The Growing Child: Infancy Through Middle Childhood
The Father’s Role
Number of fathers who are primary caregivers for their children has grown significantly
Nature of attachment can be similar

22. The Growing Child: Infancy Through Middle Childhood
Social Relationships with Peers
Helps children interpret the meaning of others’ behavior and develop the capacity to respond appropriately
Helps children learn physical and emotional self-control

23. The Growing Child: Infancy Through Middle Childhood
The Consequences of Child Care Outside the Home
High-quality care centers can positively impact child
Low-quality child care provides little or no gain and may even hinder development

24. The Growing Child: Infancy Through Middle Childhood
Parenting Styles and Social Development
Authoritarian
Permissive
Authoritative
Uninvolved
Figure 8 of Module 28

25. The Growing Child: Infancy Through Middle Childhood
Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development
Trust-versus-mistrust stage
Birth – 1½ years of age
Autonomy-versus-shame-and-doubt stage
1½ – 3 years of age
Initiative-versus-guilt stage
3 – 6 years of age
Industry-versus-inferiority stage
6 – 12 years of age

26. The Growing Child: Infancy Through Middle Childhood
Cognitive Development: Children’s Thinking About the World
Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
Sensorimotor stage
Birth to 2 years of age
Object permanence
Preoperational stage
2 to 7 years of age
Egocentric thought
Principle of conservation

27. The Growing Child: Infancy Through Middle Childhood
Cognitive Development: Children’s Thinking About the World
Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
Concrete operational stage
7 to 12 years of age
Reversibility
Formal operational stage
12 years of age to adulthood
Abstract, formal, and logical thinking

28. Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development
Figure 9 of Module 28

29. The Growing Child: Infancy Through Middle Childhood
Information-Processing Approaches
The way in which people take in, use, and store information
Metacognition
An awareness and understanding of one’s own cognitive processes

30. The Growing Child: Infancy Through Middle Childhood
Vygotsky’s View of Cognitive Development: Considering Culture
Cognitive development occurs as a consequence of social interactions in which children work with others to jointly solve problems
Zone of proximal development (ZPD)
Level at which a child can almost, but not fully, comprehend or perform a task on his or her own
Scaffolding

31. MODULE 29: Adolescence: Becoming an Adult
What major physical, social, and cognitive transitions characterize adolescence?

32. Adolescence
Developmental stage between childhood and adulthood

33. Physical Development: The Changing Adolescent
Puberty
Period at which maturation of the sexual organs occurs
For girls it begins at about age 11 or 12 when menstruation starts
For boys it is marked by their first ejaculation, known as spermarche, usually around the age of 13

34. Moral and Cognitive Development: Distinguishing Right from Wrong
Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development
Three-level sequence
Judgments, not moral behavior
Moral development in women
Figure 2 of Module 29

35. Social Development: Finding Oneself in a Social World
Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development: The Search for Identity
Identity-versus-role-confusion stage
Identity
Intimacy-versus-isolation stage
Early adulthood
Focuses on developing close relationships with others

36. Social Development: Finding Oneself in a Social World
Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development: The Search for Identity
Generativity-versus-stagnation stage
Middle adulthood
Ability to contribute to one’s family, community, work, and society, and to assist the development of the younger generation
Ego-integrity-versus-despair stage
Later adulthood until death
Sense of accomplishment

37. Social Development: Finding Oneself in a Social World
Stormy Adolescence: Myth or Reality?
Research shows that adolescence is not a period fraught with stress and unhappiness as once thought, but nevertheless does have some strife
Adolescent egocentrism
State of self-absorption in which a teenager views the world from his own point of view
Personal fables
Belief that one’s experience is unique, exceptional, and shared by no one else

38. Social Development: Finding Oneself in a Social World
Adolescent Suicide
Third leading cause of death for adolescents
Warning signs:
School problems
Self-destructive behavior
Loss of appetite or excessive eating
Withdrawal from friends and peers
Sleeping problems
Signs of depression
Preoccupation with death
Putting affairs in order, giving away prized possessions
Explicit announcement of thoughts of suicide

39. Module 30: Adulthood
What are the principal kinds of physical, social, and intellectual changes that occur in early and middle adulthood, and what are their causes?
How does the reality of late adulthood differ from the stereotypes about that period?
How can we adjust to death?

40. Physical Development: The Peak of Health
For most people, early adulthood marks the peak of physical health
Around age 25, the body becomes slightly less efficient and more susceptible to disease
Menopause
Women stop menstruating and are no longer fertile
Hormone therapy (HT) is controversial

41. Social Development: Working at Life
People typically launch themselves into careers, marriage, and families
Midlife transition
Period when people may begin to question their lives
Midlife crisis

42. Marriage, Children, and Divorce: Family Ties
Changes in marriage and divorce trends have doubled the number of single-parent households in the U.S. over the last two decades
Economic and emotional consequences for the single-parent households

43. Marriage, Children, and Divorce: Family Ties
Changing Roles of Men and Women: The Time of Their Lives
More women act simultaneously as wives, mothers, and wage earners
Women’s “Second Shift”
Additional work performed by women with a career and home responsibilities

44. The Later Years of Life: Growing Old
Physical Changes in Late Adulthood: The Aging Body
Genetic Preprogramming Theories of Aging
Suggest that human cells have a built-in time limit to their reproduction
Wear-and-Tear Theories of Aging
Suggest that the mechanical functions of the body simply work less efficiently as people age

45. The Later Years of Life: Growing Old
Cognitive Changes: Thinking in Late Adulthood
Memory Changes in Late Adulthood: Are Older Adults Forgetful?
Alzheimer’s disease
Progressive brain disorder that leads to a gradual and irreversible decline in cognitive abilities

46. The Later Years of Life: Growing Old
The Social World of Late Adulthood: Old but Not Alone
Disengagement Theory of Aging
Aging produces a gradual withdrawal from the world on physical, psychological, and social levels
Life review

47. The Later Years of Life: Growing Old
The Social World of Late Adulthood: Old but Not Alone
Activity Theory of Aging
Late adulthood should reflect a continuation, as much as possible, of the activities in which people participated during the earlier part of their lives
Life review

48. Adjusting to Death Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’s Five Stages Denial Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance