3 The Developing Child

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Myers· PSYCHOLOGY (5th Ed)

Chapter 3

The Developing Child

James A. McCubbin, PhD

Clemson University

Worth Publishers



The Developing C hild

Developmental Psychology study of changes across the life span



Developmental Issues

Nature versus Nurture How is our development influenced by our

heredity (nature) and by our experience (nuture)?

Continuity versus Stages Is developmental change gradual and continuous

or does it proceed through a sequence of separate stages?

Stability versus Change Do we grow into older versions of our early selves

or do we become new persons?



Union of Egg and Sperm



Genetic Influences

X- Chromosomes

sex chromosome found in both males andfemales

females have two, males have one

an X-chromosome from each parent producesa female

Y -Chromosomes

sex chromosome found only in males

when paired with a X-chromosome from themother, it produces a male child



The Developing C hild

Testosterone most important of the male sex hormones

both males and females have it

additional testosterone in males stimulates growth of male sex organs in the fetus

stimulates development of male sex characteristicsduring puberty

Gender characteristics, whether biologically or socially

influenced, by which people define male andfemale



Prenatal Development

Zygote fertilized egg

enters a 2 week period of rapid cell division

develops into an embryo

Embryo developing human organism from 2 weeks

through 2nd month Fetus

developing human organism from 9 weeks tobirth



Prenatal Development

Teratogens agents that can reach the embryo or fetus

during prenatal development and cause harm

chemical, e.g. alcohol, some medicines,cocaine, nicotine

viral, e.g. HIV, Rubella

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome physical and cognitive abnormalities inchildren caused by drinking in pregnancy



The Newborn

Rooting Reflex tendency to turn head, open mouth, and search

for nipple when touched on the cheek Preferences

human voices andfaces

facelike images--> smell and sound of

mother preferred



Infancy and C hild hood

At birth 3 months 15 months

Cortical Neurons

Maturation biological growth

processes that enable

orderly changes inbehavior

relatively uninfluencedby experience

sets the course fordevelopment whileexperience adjusts it




Babies only 3months old can

learn that kickingmoves a mobile-and can retainthat learning for

a month (Rovee-Collier, 1989).




Rats reared in anenvironment enriched

with playthings showincreaseddevelopment of thecerebral cortex

(Rosenzweig, et al.,1972).

Impoverished environment

Enriched environment




Plasticitythe brains capacity for modificationevidence for plasticity

brain reorganization following damage

especially in children

experiments on the effects of experience on brain development




A finger-tapping task activates more motorcortex neurons after training (right).




Cognition mental activities associated with thinking, knowing,

and remembering

Schema a concept or framework that organizes and

interprets information

Assimilation

interpreting ones new experience in terms of onesexisting schemas

Accommodation adapting ones current schemas to incorporate new

information



Typical Age

Range

Description

of Stage

Developmental

Phenomena

Birth to nearly 2 years Sensorimotor

Experiencing the world throughsenses and actions (looking,

touching, mouthing)

�Object permanence

�Stranger anxiety

About 2 to 6 years

About 7 to 11 years

About 12 through

adulthood

P reoperational

Representing things

with words and images

but lacking logical reasoning

�Pretend play

�Egocentrism

�Language development

C oncrete operational

Thinking logically about concrete

events; grasping concrete analogies

and performing arithmetical operations

�Conservation

�Mathematical

transformations

F ormal operational

Abstract reasoning

�Abstract logic

�

Potential for moral reasoning

Piaget·s Stages of Cognitive Development



Piaget·s Theory of

Cognitive Development

Object Permanence the awareness that things continue to exist even

when not perceived

Conservation the principle that properties such as mass, volume,

and number remain the same despite changes inthe forms of objects

part of Piagets concrete operational reasoning

Egocentrism the inability of the preoperational child to take

anothers point of view




Habituation

decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation

newborns become bored with a repeated stimulus, but renew their attention to a slightly different stimulus




10

20

0

30

40

50

60

70

80

Familiar

stimulus

Novel

stimulus

Percentage of

time spent

looking




0

40

30

20

10

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Time spent

looking

(seconds)

Presentation




Baby Mathematics

Shown a numerically impossible outcome, infantsstare longer (Wynn, 1992)

1. Objects placed

in case.

2. Screen

comes up.

3. One object

is removed.

4. Possible outcome: Screen

drops, revealing one object.

4. Possible outcome: Screen

drops, revealing two object.



Social Development

Stranger Anxiety

fear of strangers that infants commonly

display beginning by about 8 months of age

Attachment

an emotional tie with another person shown in young children by seeking closeness

to the caregiver and showing distress onseparation



Social Development

Harlows SurrogateMother Experiments

Monkeys preferredcontact with thecomfortable clothmother, even while

feeding from thenourishing wiremother



Social Development

Critical Period

an optimal period shortly after birth when anorganisms exposure to certain stimuli or experiences

produces proper development

Imprinting

the process by which certain animals formattachments during a critical period very early in life

Temperament

a persons characteristic emotional reactivity andintensity



Social Development

Monkeys raisedby artificial

mothers wereterror-strickenwhen placed instrange situations

without theirsurrogatemothers.



Social Development

Basic Trust (Erik Erikson) a sense that the world is predictable and

trustworthy

said to be formed during infancy byappropriate experiences with responsivecaregivers

Self

-Concept a sense of ones identity and personal worth



Social Development

Groups of infantswho had and had

not experiencedday care wereleft by theirmothers in a

unfamiliar room.

0

20

40

60

80

100

3.5 5.5 7.5 9.5 11.5 13.5 20 29

Percentage

of infants

who cried

when their

mothers left

Age in months

Day care

Home



Social Development-Child-Rearing Practices

Authoritarian parents impose rules and expect obedience

Dont interrupt

Why? Because I said so.

Authoritative parents are both demanding and responsive

set rules, but explain reasons encourage discussion




Permissive

submit to childrens desires

make few demands use little punishment

Rejecting-neglecting

disengaged expect little

invest little




Three explanations for correlation between authoritativeparenting and social competence

(3) Some third factor may be

influencing both parents and child.

(1) Parent¶s behavior

may be influencing child.

Authoritative

parents

(2) Child¶s behavior may

be influencing parents.

Self-reliant,

Socially competent

childAuthoritative

parents

High education, ample

income, harmonious

marriage, common genes

Authoritative

parents

Self-reliant,

Socially competent

child

Self-reliant,

Socially competent

child



Gender and Child-Rearing

Gender Identity ones sense of being male or female

Gender-Typing

the acquisition of a traditional masculine or femininerole

Social Learning Theory we learn social behavior by observing and imitating

and by being rewarded or punished Gender Schema Theory

children learn from their cultures a concept of what it means to be male and female

adjust behavior accordingly



Gender and Child-Rearing

Rewards and

Punishments

Observation and

Imitation of

models

Gender-typed

behavior

Social learning theor y Gender schema theor y

Cultural learning

of gender

Gender schema(looking at self and

World through a

gender ³lens´)

Gender-organized

thinking

Gender-typed

behavior

3 The Developing Child

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