1. Section 9: Human Development Psychology in Modules by Saul Kassin

2. Human Development Basic Developmental Questions Prenatal Development The Remarkable Newborn The Infant and Growing Child Adolescence Adulthood and Old Age

3. Basic Developmental Questions §Developmental Psychology l The study of how people grow, mature, and change over the life span §Two Major Ways to Conduct Research l Cross-sectional Studies People of different ages are tested and compared l Longitudinal Studies The same people are tested at different times to track changes related to age

4. ©2006 Prentice Hall Basic Developmental Questions Developmental Research Strategies

5. ©2006 Prentice Hall Prenatal Development The Growing Fetus §Zygote l A fertilized egg that undergoes a two-week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo §Embryo l The developing human organism, from two weeks to two months after fertilization §Fetus l The developing human organism, from nine weeks after fertilization to birth

6. ©2006 Prentice Hall Prenatal Development The Growing Fetus Fertilization 30 Hours 6 weeks4 months

7. ©2006 Prentice Hall Prenatal Development The Growing Fetus Teratogens §Toxic substances that can harm the embryo or fetus during prenatal development l Malnutrition l Viral Infections AIDS, Rubella (German measles), and others l X-rays, lead, and other environmental hazards l Drugs Alcohol (fetal alcohol syndrome), Cigarettes, Cocaine, Aspirin, Marijuana, and other drugs both licit and illicit

8. The Remarkable Newborn Ways to Study the Abilities of Newborns §Habituation l The tendency for attention to a stimulus to wane over time (often used to determine whether an infant has “learned” a stimulus §Recovery l Following habituation to one stimulus, the tendency for a second stimulus to arouse new interest (often used to test whether infants can discriminate between stimuli)

9. ©2006 Prentice Hall The Remarkable Newborn Reflexes §Grasping Reflex l In infants, an automatic tendency to grasp an object that stimulates the palm §Rooting Reflex l In response to contact on the cheek, an infant’s tendency to turn toward the stimulus and open its mouth

10. ©2006 Prentice Hall The Remarkable Newborn Sensory Capacities Visual Preferences in Newborns §Infants spend more time looking at patterns than solids. §Infants spend the most time looking at a drawing of a human face. §Is this just preference for complexity or an adaptation?

11. ©2006 Prentice Hall The Remarkable Newborn Sensory Capacities Newborn Orientation to the Face §Infants were shown a blank shape, a face, or scrambled facial features. l The face and scrambled face have same complexity. §Infants looked more intensely at the actual face.

12. ©2006 Prentice Hall The Remarkable Newborn Sensory Capacities Newborn Imitation §Babies sometimes mimic gestures made by others who are within sight. l Sticking tongue out of mouth l Moving head side to side

13. ©2006 Prentice Hall The Remarkable Newborn Sensitivity to Number Can Infants Add and Subtract? §Infants saw a sequence of events that illustrated addition or subtraction. §Then they saw a correct or incorrect outcome (2-1=2, for example). §The infant looked longer at outcomes that were incorrect.

14. ©2006 Prentice Hall The Infant and Growing Child Biological Development The Developing Brain

15. ©2006 Prentice Hall The Infant and Growing Child Cognitive Development Piaget’s Theory §Schemas l In Piaget’s theory, mental representations of the world that guide the processes of assimilation and accommodation l Assimilation The process of incorporating and, if necessary, changing new information to fit existing schemas l Accommodation The process of modifying existing schemas in response to new information

16. ©2006 Prentice Hall The Infant and Growing Child Cognitive Development Changing Schemas of the Earth §From preschool through about the 5 th grade, children gradually assimilate and then accommodate their schemas to form an accurate representation of the earth’s shape. Preschool 5 th grade

17. ©2006 Prentice Hall The Infant and Growing Child Cognitive Development Piaget’s Stages of Development §Stages of Development l Each stage is qualitatively different from others l Ages for stage transitions are approximate l Sensorimotor l Preoperational l Concrete Operational l Formal Operational

18. ©2006 Prentice Hall The Infant and Growing Child Cognitive Development Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development

19. ©2006 Prentice Hall The Infant and Growing Child Cognitive Development Separation Anxiety §Separation anxiety is a fear reaction in response to the absence of the primary caregiver. §It is seen in all cultures. §It corresponds with the development of object permanence and the sensorimotor stage of cognitive development.

20. ©2006 Prentice Hall The Infant and Growing Child Cognitive Development Tasks Used to Test Conservation §The ability to conserve marks the transition from the preoperational stage to the concrete operational stage of cognitive development.

21. ©2006 Prentice Hall The Infant and Growing Child Cognitive Development Speed of Information Processing §Response times decrease from 7 - 12 years of age l Consistent across several different types of tasks §This may be due to the biological maturation of the brain l Increased myelination of axons which speeds up neural processing

22. ©2006 Prentice Hall The Infant and Growing Child Social Development The Parent-Child Relationship §Critical Period l A period of time during which an organism must be exposed to a certain stimulus for proper development to occur §Attachment l A deep emotional bond that an infant develops with its primary caretaker

23. ©2006 Prentice Hall The Infant and Growing Child Social Development Styles of Attachment §Strange Situation Test l A parent-infant “separation and reunion” procedure that is staged in a laboratory to test the security of a child’s attachment §Secure Attachment l The baby is secure when the parent is present, distressed by separation, and delighted by reunion. §Insecure Attachment l The baby clings to the parent, cries at separation, and reacts with anger or apathy to reunion.

24. Adolescence §Adolescence l The period of life from puberty to adulthood, corresponding roughly to the ages of 13 to 20 §Puberty l The onset of adolescence, as evidence by rapid growth, rising levels of sex hormones, and sexual maturity §Menarche l A girl’s first menstrual period

25. ©2006 Prentice Hall Adolescence Puberty Adolescent Growth Spurt §At about age 13 for girls, 16 for boys, there is a final maturational growth spurt in height.

26. ©2006 Prentice Hall Adolescence Puberty The Timing of Puberty and Body Images in Girls §Girls who mature earlier than their peers are usually less satisfied with their size, weight, and figure.

27. ©2006 Prentice Hall Adolescence Puberty The Timing of Puberty and Body Images in Boys §Boys who mature later than their peers have negative body images, but they are only temporary.

28. ©2006 Prentice Hall Adolescence Cognitive Development Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Reasoning §Moral Reasoning l The way people think and try to solve moral dilemmas. §Preconventional Level l Morality judged in terms of reward and punishment §Conventional Level l Morality judged in terms of social order and approval §Postconventional Level l Morality judged in terms of abstract principles, like equality and justice

29. ©2006 Prentice Hall Adolescence Cognitive Development Kohlberg’s Levels of Moral Reasoning §Most 7-10 year olds are reasoning at the preconventional level. §Most 13-16 year olds are reasoning at the conventional level. §Few participants show reasoning indicative of the postconventional level.

30. ©2006 Prentice Hall Adolescence Cognitive Development Criticisms of Kohlberg’s Theory §Cultural Bias l Some cultural differences are not reflected in this theory. §Gender Bias l Empirical support for this claim is weak. §Connection between moral reasoning and moral behavior is often indirect.

31. ©2006 Prentice Hall Adolescence Social and Personal Development Adolescent Disengagement §The proportion of time spent with the family decreases almost 3% per year §This decline was not found for time spent alone with parents §Identity Crisis l An adolescent’s struggle to establish a personal identity, or self-concept

32. ©2006 Prentice Hall Adolescence Social and Personal Development §Adolescents in the 7th and 8th grades felt worse while with their family. §Boys feel better after 8th grade and feel the best in 9th and 10th grades. §Girls continue to feel bad until the 10th grade. Patterns of Adolescent “Transformation”Within the Family

33. ©2006 Prentice Hall Adolescence Social and Personal Development §Peer Influences l Adolescent relationships are intimate. l Adolescents begin to discover friendships with other-sex peers. l Conformity rises steadily with age, peaks in ninth grade, and then declines.

34. ©2006 Prentice Hall Adolescence Social and Personal Development §Sexuality l Whether teens act on sexual impulses depends on social factors. l Adolescents who engage in sexual behavior with others are not necessarily informed about health risks and contraception. l Adolescent sexual behavior may be due to attempts to be more like an adult or as way to rebel.

35. ©2006 Prentice Hall Adolescence Adolescence and Mental Health §The stereotypic images of adolescents are: l Mood swings, identity crises, anxiety, rebelliousness, depression, drug use, and suicide §Three perceived sources of difficulty in adolescence are: l Conflict with parents, risk-taking behavior, and mood disruption §Conflict with parents and risk-taking do occur, but the idea that adolescents are in a state of distress is exaggerated.

36. ©2006 Prentice Hall Adulthood and Old Age Physical Changes in Adulthood §Life Span l The maximum age possible for members of a given species. §Life Expectancy l The number of years that an average member of a species is expected to live. §Menopause l The end of menstruation and fertility.

37. ©2006 Prentice Hall Adulthood and Old Age Aging and Intellectual Functions §Memory and Forgetting l Cognitive abilities do not inevitably decline. l Some elderly may show declines on free-recall tasks, however declines on tests of recognition memory are less likely. l Memory declines may be due to impairments in sensory acuity and a slowing of neuronal processing.

38. ©2006 Prentice Hall Adulthood and Old Age Aging and Intellectual Functions The Alzheimer’s Problem §Alzheimer’s Disease l A progressive brain disorder that strikes older people, causing memory loss and other symptoms. §In the U.S., the projected number of Alzheimer’s patients is 14 million in 2050. §The cost is at least $100 billion per year.

39. ©2006 Prentice Hall Adulthood and Old Age Aging and Intellectual Functions Age Trends in Measures of Intelligence §Fluid intelligence, which includes inductive reasoning and spatial ability, declines steadily throughout middle and late adulthood. §Crystallized intelligence, which includes verbal ability and numeric ability, remains stable into the 70’s.

40. ©2006 Prentice Hall Adulthood and Old Age Aging and Intellectual Functions Timed vs. Untimed Vocabulary Tests §Some abilities are less affected by age than are others. §Scores declined only in the timed test.

41. ©2006 Prentice Hall Adulthood and Old Age Social and Personal Development Erikson’s Eight Stages of Development - I §Trust vs. Mistrust l Infancy (0-1 year) §Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt l Toddler (1-2 years) §Initiative vs. Guilt l Preschool (3-5 years) §Industry vs. Inferiority l Elementary School (6-12 years)

42. ©2006 Prentice Hall Adulthood and Old Age Social and Personal Development Erikson’s Eight Stages of Development - II §Identity vs. Role confusion l Adolescence (13-19 years) §Intimacy vs. Isolation l Young adulthood (20-40 years) §Generativity vs. Stagnation l Middle adulthood (40-65 years) §Integrity vs. Despair l Late adulthood (65 and older)

43. ©2006 Prentice Hall Adulthood and Old Age Social and Personal Development Life Satisfaction §In multiple cultures, 75-80% say they are satisfied with life. §Ratings of life satisfaction do not vary with age.

44. ©2006 Prentice Hall Adulthood and Old Age Social and Personal Development Self-Esteem §Self-esteem is highest in childhood. §It drops sharply during adolescence. §It increases gradually during adulthood, peaks in the sixties, and declines in old age.

45. ©2006 Prentice Hall Adulthood and Old Age Dying and Death §Elisabeth Kübler-Ross proposed five stages in approaching death: l Denial (“It must be a mistake.”) l Anger (“It isn’t fair!”) l Bargaining (“Let me live longer and I’ll be a better person.”) l Depression (“ I’ve lost everything important to me.”) l Acceptance (“What has to be, has to be.”) §Not everyone follows this sequence through the stages and all people do not experience all stages.