1. AP PSYCHOLOGY: UNIT III Introductory Psychology: Developmental Psychology Topic: Infancy & Childhood “From egghood to personhood…” StageSpan InfancyNewborn to toddler ChildhoodToddler to teenager

2. PART ONE Infancy & Childhood: Physical Development

3. Physical: Brain Development During prenatal development, the brain produces 250,000 neurons/minute  Peak: 28 billion neurons at 7 months (prenatal)  By birth, this number has been pruned to 23 billion By the end of the first year, the brain is about 35% larger than it was at birth

5. Physical: Brain Development Brain development unfolds according to genetic instructions, causing various bodily and mental functions to occur in sequence  Maturation  The orderly sequence of biological growth processes  Relatively uninfluenced by experience  EXAMPLE Memory not solidified until after 3 rd birthday; known as “infantile amnesia”

6. Physical: Motor Development Cephalocaudal Development  The head develops before the arms & trunk  The arms & trunk develop before the legs Proximodistal Development  The head, trunk and arms develop before the hands & fingers ***Applies to both prenatal development AND development during the first two years

7. Physical: Motor Development Motor Milestones  Raising head & chest (2-4 months)  Rolling over (2-5 months)  Sitting up with support (4-6 months)  Sitting up without support (6-7 months)  Crawling (7-8 months)  Walking (8-18 months)

8. PART TWO Infancy & Childhood: Cognitive Development

9. Cognitive Development Cognition  All mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering and communicating Jean Piaget (1896-1980)  Piaget DID NOT believe that a child’s mind was a mini-adult mind  Believed that cognitive development is shaped by errors; a struggle to make sense of our experiences as children

10. Cognitive Development Schemas  A concept or framework that organizes & interprets information  Mental molds into which we pour our experiences so that the maturing brain can continually build upon concepts  Example  If Bob points to a picture of an apple and tells his child, “that’s an apple,” the child forms a schema for “apple” that looks something like the picture

11. Cognitive Development Assimilation  Interpreting a new experience in terms of an existing schema  Example Bob’s child might see an orange & say “apple” because both objects are round Accommodation  The process of adjusting/modifying a schema  Example When Bob corrects his child, the child might alter the schema for apple to include “round” and “red”

13. Cognitive Development

14. Piaget: (1) Sensorimotor Stage Birth to 2 years  Description of Stage  The use of senses & motor abilities to learn about the world/ interact with objects in the environment  Developmental Phenomena  Object Permanence (unfolds gradually) The awareness that objects continue to exist when not perceived Critical step in developing language & abstract thought  Stranger Anxiety  Separation Anxiety

15. Piaget: (1) Sensorimotor Stage

16. Piaget: (1) Sensorimotor Stag Piaget: (1) Sensorimotor Stage Criticisms of Stage  Piaget believed that children in the sensorimotor stage are incapable of thinking – no abstract concepts or ideas  Recent research suggests that children in the sensorimotor stage can both think and count  Babies can… Understand basic laws of physics “Count” (Karen Wynn)

17. Piaget: (1) Sensorimotor Stage

18. Piaget: (2) Preoperational Stage 2 to 7 years  Description of Stage  Children learn to use language as a means of exploring the world; however, they are not yet capable of logical thought  Too young to perform mental operations; lack conservation  Developmental Phenomena  Pretend Play  Animism  Egocentrism  Centration  Irreversibility

19. Piaget: (2) Preoperational Stage

20. Egocentrism  Example  “John, do you have a brother?”  “Yes.”  “What’s his name?”  “Jim.”  “Does Jim have a brother?”  “No.”

21. Piaget: (2) Preoperational Stage Theory of Mind  4 to 5 years  People’s ideas about their own and others’ mental states – about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict  Seek to understand… Why their playmate is angry… Why their sibling will share… Why their parent would buy a toy…

22. A child without theory of mind, would assume that Sally… A child with theory of mind, would assume that Sally… Theory of Mind Test…

23. Piaget: (2) Preoperational Stage Criticisms of Stage  Judy DeLoache (1987) found that children as young as 3 are able to use mental operations & think symbolically  When shown a model of a dog’s hiding place, a 2 ½-year- old could not locate the stuffed dog in an actual room, but a three year old could…

24. Piaget: (3) Concrete Operational Stage 7 to 11 years  Description of Stage  Children become capable of logical thought processes; physical, concrete, touchable reality; lack abstract thinking  Developmental Phenomena  Conservation  Reversible thinking  Mathematical transformation  Developmental Limitations  Abstract thinking Freedom, peace, love, etc.

25. Piaget: (4) Formal Operational Stage 12 years to adulthood  Description of Stage  The adolescent becomes capable of abstract thinking  Developmental Phenomena  Abstract logic  Hypothetical thinking “If women were in charge of countries, would there be fewer wars?  Potential for mature moral reasoning

26. Reflecting on Piaget’s Theory Globally influential; however, today’s researchers believe the following…  Development is a continuous process  Children express their mental abilities & operations at an earlier age  Formal logic is a smaller part of cognition

27. Vygotsky: Sociocultural Theory Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934)  Stressed the importance of social interactions with other people, especially highly skilled children or adults, in the child’s cognitive development

28. Vygotsky: Sociocultural Theory Scaffolding  Process in which a more skilled learner gives help to a less skilled learner, reducing the amount of help as the less skilled learner becomes more capable Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)  The difference between what a child can do alone and what the child can do with the help of a teacher

29. Vygotsky: Sociocultural Theory Example  If Jenny can do math problems at a 4 th grade level on her own, but can work up to a 6 th grade level with the help of a teacher, her ZPD is two years  If Suzy can do math problems at a 4 th grade level on her own, but can work up to a 5 th grade level with the help of a teacher, her ZPD is one year – not as great as Jenny’s

31. Language Development Cooing  2 months of age; begin to make vowel-like sounds Babbling  6 months of age; add consonant sounds to vowels Holographic Speech  1 year; “Milk!” or “Ball!” Telegraphic Speech  1 ½ to 2 years; short, simple sentences; “Baby eat” or “Mommy go” or “Where ball?” or “Doggie go bye-bye” Whole Sentences  Preschool years

32. PART THREE Infancy & Childhood: Psychosocial Development

33. Psychosocial: Temperament Temperament  The behavioral and emotional characteristics that are fairly well-established at birth  Alexander Thomas & Stella Chess (1986)  “Easy” Babies Regular, good-natured, easy to care for, adaptable  “Difficult” Babies Irregular, moody & loud, react negatively to new situations  “Slow-to-Warm-Up” Babies Quieter, slow to respond to new situations

34. Psychosocial: Temperament Psychologist, Jerome Kagan has added a fourth temperament  “Shy” Child  Timid and inhibited; fearful of anything new or strange Longitudinal research (Kagan, 1998) strongly suggests that these temperament styles last well into adulthood, although there is the potential for environmental influence “Goodness of fit”

35. Psychosocial: Attachment Attachment  The emotional bond between an infant and the primary caregiver  Demonstrated by a child’s “closeness-seeking” and distress upon separation  Develops within the first six months of life

36. Psychosocial: Attachment Attachment through contact  Humans form a bond with those who care for them in infancy; based upon interaction with caregiver  Harry Harlow  Role of physical contact, or “contact comfort” in attachment

38. Psychosocial: Attachment Attachment throughout familiarity  Occurs in many species of animals during a critical period  Konrad Lorenz  Imprinting  The tendency to follow the first moving object seen as the basis for attachment

40. Psychosocial: Attachment Mary Ainsworth  The “Stranger Situation”  Identified 4 distinct styles of attachment Secure Avoidant Ambivalent Disorganized-Disoriented

41. Ainsworth: (1) Secure Attachment Characteristics  Very willing to explore  Frequently “touched base”  Wary of strangers, but calm as long as the mother was nearby  When the mother left, the infant was noticeably upset; however, he or she was easily soothed upon her return *** Generally corresponds to secure attachment in adulthood ***

42. Ainsworth: (2) Avoidant Attachment Characteristics  Only somewhat willing to explore  Did not “touch base”  Did not look at strangers  Reacted very little to mother’s absence or to her return **Generally corresponds to dismissive attachment in adulthood

43. Ainsworth: (3) Ambivalent Attachment Characteristics  Unwilling to explore; clingy  Very upset by strangers regardless of mother’s presence  Very upset by mother’s departure; not easily soothed  Mixed reaction to mother’s return ***Generally corresponds to preoccupied attachment in adulthood ***

44. Ainsworth: (4) Disorganized Attachment Characteristics  Subsequent studies by Mary Main & Erik Hesse (1990)  Sometimes referred to as Disorganized-Disoriented Attachment  Generally fearful with dazed and depressed expression  Unable to decide how they should react to their mother’s return; little to no eye contact

45. Psychosocial: Attachment Deprivation of Attachment  Impact of denying monkeys physical comfort from their mother?  Cases of “Genie” and “Victor”  Daycare?

48. Psychosocial: Attachment Erik Erikson  Concept of “Basic Trust”  Securely attached children tend to believe that the world is predictable and trustworthy  Erikson attributed attachment & basic trust to parenting  Identified eight stages of psychosocial development; first four occur during childhood; each contains a developmental “crisis”  Trust versus Mistrust (Birth–1 year)  Autonomy versus Shame & Doubt (1–3 years old)  Initiative versus Guilt (3–5 years old)  Industry versus Inferiority (5–12 years old)

49. Psychosocial: Parenting Styles Diana Baumrind’s THREE PRIMARY Styles  Authoritarian  Demanding; not responsive  Impose rules and expect obedience  Permissive  Not demanding, but responsive  Use little punishment  Authoritative  Demanding and responsive  Exert control by establishing/enforcing rules, but they also explain the reasons for the rules

50. Psychosocial: Self-Concept Self-Concept  Understanding of who we are  Just as infants can achieve attachment, children must achieve a positive self concept; develops gradually in the first year “Mirror Test” By 18 months, children know THEY are the image in the mirror Children with a positive self-concept are more confident, assertive, optimistic and socialable…how is this achieved?

51. Relationships with Other Children Solitary Play  Children first play by themselves Parallel Play  As they get older, children play side-by-side with other children, but do not interact Cooperative Play  By about 3 1/2, children begin playing with others Peer Group  A network of same-aged friends and acquaintances who give one another emotional & social support