Chapter 9 Chapter 9 Psychological Development Psychological Development
Dec 16, 2015
Developmental Psychology
• Developmental psychology: The study of how organisms change over time as the result of biological and environmental influences
How Do PsychologistsExplain Development?
Development is a process of growth and change brought about by an interaction of
heredity and the environment
Chapter 9: DevelopmentBiological, Cognitive, Social
Throughout the lifespan
Newborns have innate abilities for finding
nourishment, interacting with others, and avoiding harmful
situations; the developing abilities of infants and
children rely on learning.
Prenatal Development
• Prenatal period : The developmental period before birth– Zygote: up to 14 days– Embryo: 14 days to end of 2nd month– Fetus: 3 months to birth
• Placenta: An organ that develops between the embryo/fetus and the mother
• Teratogens: Toxic substances that can damage the developing organism
Neonatal Period(from birth to one month)
• Sensory abilities• Motor abilities
– Grasping reflex– Rooting reflex– Sucking reflex– Stepping reflex– Startle reflex– Swimming reflex– Postural reflex
Infancy(one month to about 18
months)
• Maturation: The unfolding of genetically programmed processes of growth and development over time
Maturation Timetable• 1 month: responds to sound, vocalizes
occasionally• 2 months: smiles socially, recognizes care-
giver, rolls from side to back, holds head up• 3 months: vocalizes to sounds/smiles,
searches for sound source, sits with support
• 4 months: gaze follows interesting objects, sits with less support
Maturation Timetable• 5 months: discriminates b/w strangers &
familiar persons, distinctive vocalizations• 6 months: lifts objects, smiles at own
image, reaches for objects• 7 months: sits on own, crawls• 8-9 months: verbalizes around 4
syllables, pulls to standing position• 10-11 months: plays hand games, stands
alone• 1 year: walks alone
Social and Emotional Development
• Theory of Mind: An awareness that other people’s behavior may be influenced by beliefs, desires, and emotions that differ from one’s own
• Temperament: An individual’s characteristic manner of behavior or reaction (strong biological origin)– What’s your temperament?
Learning in Infancy(1-18 months)
• Conditioning – classical and operant
• Imprinting – form an immediate attachment– in animals, not really
children
Attachment Styles• Humans apparently have an inborn need
for attachment – deep, enduring socio-emotional relationship with another
• Strange Situation (Ainsworth, 1978)– Secure attachment– Insecure attachment
• Anxious-ambivalent attachment• Avoidant attachment
• Harlow’s Contact Comfort Studies
1. Authoritarian parents2. Permissive parents (permissive-
indulgent)3. Uninvolved parents (permissive
indifferent)4. Authoritative parents
Social and Emotional Development
• Most approaches to child rearing fall into one of the following styles (Baumrind):
What Are theDevelopmental Tasks ofInfancy and Childhood?
Infants and children face especially important
developmental tasks in the areas of cognition and social
relationships – tasks that lay a foundation for further growth in
adolescence and adulthood
Cognitive Development• Jean Piaget• Cognitive development: The process by
which thinking changes over time• Schemas: Mental structures or
programs that guide a developing child’s thoughts
Cognitive Development• These underlie all cognitive growth…• Assimilation: Mental process that
modifies new information to fit it into existingschemas
• Accommodation: Mental process thatrestructures existing schemas so that newinformation is better understood
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development
SensorimotorSensorimotor
PreoperationalPreoperational
Concrete Concrete OperationalOperational
Formal Formal OperationalOperational
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development
SensorimotorSensorimotor
Preoperational
Concrete Operational
Formal Operational
• Birth to about age 2
• Relies on innate motor responses to stimuli
• Schemas – see & touch• Sensorimotor intelligence
• Mastery of these marks end of stage:
• Mental representations
• Object permanence(clip)
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development
Sensorimotor
PreoperationalPreoperational
Concrete Operational
Formal Operational
• About age 2 to age 6/7• Marked by well-developed
mental representation and the use of language
• Seen in this stage:
• Centration (clip)
• Egocentrism
• Animistic thinking
• Artificialism
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development
Sensorimotor
Preoperational
Concrete Concrete OperationalOperational
Formal Operational
• About age 7 - 11• Child is incapable of
abstract thought• Simple logic only
• Conservation (clip)
• Mental operations
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development
Sensorimotor
Preoperational
Concrete Operational
Formal Formal OperationalOperational
• From about age 12 on
• Abstract thought appears
What Changes Mark theTransition of Adolescence?
Adolescence offers new developmental challenges
growing out of physical changes, cognitive changes, and socio-emotional changes
Gender…
• Roles – how one should feel, act, & think• Identity – sense of being male or female• Schema – mental set of what society
deems appropriate behavior for each sex• Role stereotypes – broad categories that
reflect our beliefs about males/females• Androgyny – presence of desirable mas/ fem characteristics in one person
Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages
Age/PeriodAge/Period Principal ChallengePrincipal Challenge
0 to 1 1/2 years0 to 1 1/2 years Trust vs. mistrust
1 1/2 to 3 years1 1/2 to 3 years Autonomy vs. self doubt
3 to 6 years3 to 6 years Initiative vs. guilt
6 years to puberty6 years to puberty Confidence (Industry) vs. inferiority
AdolescenceAdolescence Identity vs. role confusion
Early adulthoodEarly adulthood Intimacy vs. isolation
Middle adulthoodMiddle adulthood Generativity vs. stagnation
Late adulthoodLate adulthood Ego-integrity vs. despair
Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Reasoning
• I. Preconventional morality– Stage 1: Pleasure/pain orientation– Stage 2: Cost/benefit orientation;
reciprocity
• II. Conventional morality– Stage 3: “Good child” orientation– Stage 4: Law-and-order orientation
• III. Postconventional (principled) morality– Stage 5: Social contract orientation– Stage 6: Ethical principle orientation
Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Reasoning
• Not tightly linked to one’s age• Moves from morality based on
reward/ punishment to one based on abstract ethical principles.
• Gender and morality– Carol Gilligan: Kohlberg’s stages are
biased; based on males; female morality embedded in social relationships
What DevelopmentalChallenges Do Adults
Face?
Nature and nurture continue to produce changes throughout life, but in
adulthood these changes include both growth and
decline
The Developmental Challenges of Adulthood
• Early Adulthood (Erikson)– Intimacy versus isolation
• Middle Adulthood (Erikson)– Generativity versus stagnation– Generativity: making a commitment
beyond oneself to family, work, society, or future generations
The Last Developmental Issues You Will Face
• Impact on physical, cognitive, social and emotional abilities:– Vision, hearing, thinking/learning/problem solving,
memory, sexual functioning, selective social interaction, emotions
• 5 Stages of Death/Dying/Grieving (Kubler-Ross): Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance
• Late Adulthood (Erikson)– Ego-integrity vs. Despair– Ego-integrity: ability to look back on life without
regrets and to enjoy a sense of wholeness