Through the lifespan

Approximately when you believe they occur?

examines how people are continually developing - physically, cognitively,

and socially - from infancy to old age

Research Methods:Cross-sectional vs. longitudinal studies

1) nature and nurture - how genetics and experience influence our development

2) continuity and stages - is development a gradual, continuous process or does it proceed through a sequence of separate stages

3) stability and change - do our early personality traits persist through life, or do we become different persons as we age

Zygote embryo fetus by the 14th day there is a noticeable

heartbeat by 8 weeks all major organs have

formed http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HttF5HVYtlQ

within a half hour of life, infants will turn their heads to watch a picture or drawing of a human face but will not turn toward an indistinguishable jumble of things

they have taste preferences: sugar water and mother's milk

don't learn sucking, swallowing, or grasping

temperament is evident in the first hours

Culture may affect motor development…

- In the US, children walk around the age of 12 months

- In Ugandan, Africa, children walk by 10 months old

*these children are carried on their parents’ backs, providing the sense of movement and an upright position

Rooting reflex: when their cheek is touched they will turn toward the touch, open their mouth, looking for something to suck

Palmar reflex: automatic grabbing by placing something in the baby’s hands

Babinski reflex: stroking the bottom of the foot cause the toes to splay out

Moro reflex: splaying out of limbs when a loud noise occurs

*other reflexes: breathing, sneezing, coughing, yawning, blinking

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Motor Development

First, infants begin to roll over. Next, they sit unsupported, crawl, and finally walk. Experience has little effect on this

sequence.

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Jean Piaget: advanced the belief that the way children think and solve problems depends on their stage of developmentpeople, even infants, face and adapt to the

environment by developing schemasassimilation: interpreting your new

experiences in terms of your existing schemas

accommodation: adapt your current schemas to incorporate new info

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Piaget’s Theory and Current Thinking

1) sensorimotor - object permanence/stranger anxiety; birth – age 2

2) preoperational - egocentric/pretend play; age 2 – 6/7

3) concrete operational – conservation (reversibility)/mathematical transformation; age 7 - 11

4) formal operational - reason/abstract logic/potential for moral reasoning; age 12 – adulthood

*lots of criticism of Piaget’s stages because many believe development is more continuous

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Sensorimotor Stage

In the sensorimotor stage, babies take in the world by looking, hearing, touching,

mouthing, and grasping. Children younger than 6 months of age do not grasp object permanence, i.e., objects that are out of

sight are also out of mind.

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Sensorimotor Stage: Criticisms

Piaget believed children in the sensorimotor stage could not think —they

do not have any abstract concepts or ideas.

However, recent research shows that children in the sensorimotor stage can think and count.

1. Children understand the basic laws of physics. They are amazed at how a ball can stop in midair or disappear.

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Sensorimotor Stage: Criticisms

2. Children can also count. Wynn (1992, 2000) showed that children stared longer at the wrong number of objects than the right ones.

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Preoperational Stage

Piaget suggested that from 2 years old to about 6-7 years old, children are in the

preoperational stage—too young to perform mental operations.

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Preoperational Stage: Criticism

DeLoache (1987) showed that children as young as 3 years of age are able to use

metal operations. When shown a model of a dog’s hiding place behind the couch, a 2½-year-old could not locate the stuffed dog in an actual room, but the 3-year-old

did.

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Egocentrism

Piaget concluded that preschool children are egocentric. They cannot perceive things from another’s point of view.

When asked to show her picture to mommy, 2-year-old Gabriella holds the

picture facing her own eyes, believing that her mother can see it through her eyes.

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Theory of Mind

Preschoolers, although still

egocentric, develop the ability to

understand another’s mental state when

they begin forming a theory of mind.

The problem on the right probes such ability in children.

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Concrete Operational Stage

In concrete operational stage, given concrete materials, 6- to 7-year-olds grasp conservation problems and mentally pour

liquids back and forth into glasses of different shapes conserving their quantities.

Children in this stage are also able to transform mathematical functions. So, if 4 + 8 = 12, then a transformation, 12 – 4 = 8, is also easily doable.

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Formal Operational Stage

Around age 12, our reasoning ability expands from concrete thinking to abstract thinking.

We can now use symbols and imagined realities to systematically reason. Piaget called this formal operational thinking.

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Formal Operational Stage

Rudiments of such thinking begin earlier (age 7) than what Piaget suggested, since 7-year-olds can solve the problem below

(Suppes, 1982).

If John is in school, Mary is in school. John is in school. What can you say about Mary?

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Reflecting on Piaget’s Theory

Piaget’s stage theory has been influential globally, validating a number of ideas regarding growth and development in many cultures and societies. However,

today’s researchers believe the following:

1. Development is a continuous process.2. Children express their mental abilities and

operations at an earlier age.3. Formal logic is a smaller part of cognition.

Development occurs by internalization, the absorption of knowledge into the self from environmental and social contexts

Proposed the concept of a zone of proximal development – the range between the developed level of ability that a child displays and the potential level of ability the child is capable of

Piaget is known for his stages of _______________ development.

What milestone is achieved during the concrete operational stage?

What is the palmar reflex? What did Vygotsky mean by the “zone of

proximal development”? What is meant by egocentrism? What is a main criticism of Piaget’s theory? What do you think the main reason is that

children develop an attachment to their caregiver?

Infants prefer anyone to hold them rather than be alone but by 4 months – develop attachment to mother (fathers too!)

Stranger/separation anxiety – by 8 months children have established schemas for familiar faces

Harry Harlow – attachment theory 1950’s study with monkeys Found the infants prefer

contact with warm, soft parents who cuddle, rock, and feed (contact comfort)

Familiarity plays a part

Attachment bonds for some species forms during a critical period

Konrad Lorenz – found that ducklings, chicks, and goslings will follow the first moving object it sees (imprinting)

Do humans have a similar critical period for attachment?

NO! Think about adopted children…

Responsiveness – are the parents aware of what their children are doing and respond appropriately?

Mary Ainsworth – found that responsiveness affects whether a child is securely or insecurely attached Secure – explores their environment when their

caregiver is around; if caregiver leaves they become distressed and go right to them when they return

Insecure – children are often “clingy” and less likely to explore; child is not sure if caregiver will be supportive; if caregiver leaves, either cry loudly or show indifference when caregiver returns may cry when picked up as if angry w/the caregiver

Avoidant – child does not use parent for support; relatively rare

(social competence, can recover from deprivation)

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Separation Anxiety

Separation anxiety peaks at 13 months of age, regardless of whether the children

are home or sent to day care.

Would you use the same style with your children?

Authoritarian – set high expectations to comply with rules without debate or explanation; physical punishment is common; children are usually socially withdrawn, lack decision-making skills, and lack curiosity

Authoritative – expect compliance with rules but explain them and encourage independence; children have high self-esteem, are independent, and are articulate

Permissive – few expectations; warm; non-demanding; rarely use punishment; considered to be child’s “friend”; children lack responsibility, have difficulty controlling impulses, are overly generous in social relationships

Influences: Secure

attachment How parents

respond to them Rogers-

unconditional positive regard

By age 4, children judge themselves according to their competence

Ages 5-7, children value themselves according to physical performance & appearance

Self-esteem declines reaching a low about age 12-13, then increases again

Erik Erikson’s psychosocial theory Process as a series of stages marked by

the resolution of specific developmental “tasks”

First to propose that development is a life-span process

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Social Development

Trust vs. Mistrust Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt Initiative vs. Guilt Industry vs. Inferiority Identity vs. Role Confusion Intimacy vs. Isolation Generativity vs. Stagnation Integrity vs. Despair

4 identity status:- Identity moratorium – “time out”;

exploring- Identity foreclosure – “my parents

are doctors so I’m going to be a doctor”- Identity diffusion – constantly

searching; “I don’t care” attitude by 11-12th grade

- Identity achievement – explored options and committed to goals; after high school

Between childhood and adulthoodHow has this time

period changed over time?

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Adolescence

Many psychologists once believed that our traits were set during

childhood. Today psychologists believe that development is a

lifelong process. Adolescence is defined

as a life between childhood and

adulthood.

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Physical Development

Adolescence begins with puberty (sexual maturation). Puberty

occurs earlier in females (11 years) than males (13

years). Thus height in females increases

before males.

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Primary Sexual Characteristics

During puberty primary sexual characteristics — the reproductive organs and external genitalia — develop rapidly.

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Secondary Sexual Characteristics

Also secondary sexual characteristics—the nonreproductive traits such as breasts and

hips in girls and facial hair and deepening of voice in boys develop. Pubic hair and armpit

hair grow in both sexes.

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Brain Development

Until puberty, neurons increase their connections. However, at adolescence,

selective pruning of the neurons begins. Unused neuronal connections are lost to

make other pathways more efficient.

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Frontal Cortex

During adolescence, neurons in the frontal cortex grow myelin, which speeds up nerve

conduction. The frontal cortex lags behind the limbic system’s development. Hormonal surges and the limbic system may explain occasional

teen impulsiveness.

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Cognitive Development

Adolescents’ ability to reason gives them a new level of social awareness. In particular,

they may think about the following:

1. Their own thinking.2. What others are thinking.3. What others are thinking about them.4. How ideals can be reached. They

criticize society, parents, and even themselves.

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Developing Reasoning Power

According to Piaget, adolescents can handle abstract problems, i.e., they can perform formal operations. Adolescents can judge

good from evil, truth and justice, and think about God in deeper terms.

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1. Driving over the speed limit

2. Cheating on a test in school

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Developing Morality

Kohlberg (1981, 1984) sought to describe the development of moral reasoning by posing moral dilemmas to children and adolescents, such as “Should a person

steal medicine to save a loved one’s life?” He found stages of moral development.

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3 Basic Levels of Moral Thinking

1. Preconventional Morality: Before age 9, children show morality to avoid punishment or gain reward.

2. Conventional Morality: By early adolescence, social rules and laws are upheld for their own sake.

3. Postconventional Morality: Affirms people’s agreed-upon rights or follows personally perceived ethical principles.

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Morality

As our thinking matures, so does our behavior in that we become less selfish and more caring. People who engage in doing the right thing develop empathy for others and the self-discipline to resist their own

impulses.

Theorized by Lawrence Kohlberg Preconventional

Stage 1 – characterized by avoidance of punishment Stage 2 – characterized by a desire to further one’s

own interests Conventional

Stage 3 – characterized by living up to the expectations of others

Stage 4 – characterized by a sense of conscience and “doing one’s duty”

Postconventional Stage 5 – characterized by an understanding that

values and rules are relative but generally need to be upheld

Stage 6 – characterized by universal ethical principles

Theorized by Kohlberg Preconventional Stage 1: avoid punishment (“If you let your wife die, you will get in

trouble”.) Stage 2: to gain concrete rewards (“If you save your wife, you will

be a hero”.)

Conventional Stage 1: gain social approval Stage 2: to help maintain social order (“If you steal the drug,

everyone will think you’re a criminal”.)

Postconventional Stage 1: affirms people’s agreed-upon rights (“People have a right

to live”.) Stage 2: follows what one personally perceives as basic ethical

principles (“If you steal the drug, you won’t have lived up to your own ideals”.)

Experimentation Rebellion Peer influences Optimism & energy Intimacy Independence

1. What steps has your family taken to encourage your development as an adult? To discourage your development?

2. What adult responsibilities do you wish you had now? Why?

3. What responsibilities do you want to put off as long as possible? Why?

When’s the right time?

Physical peak in 20s Desire to try new things Becoming independent key goal

(different for males/females) “age 30 transition” – “Why am I doing

this?” Middle-late 30s – “planting roots” Relationships – if develop a firm sense

of identity during adolescence Marriage – companionship, intimacy,

security, share opportunities

Sternberg – “fantasy” and “gardening” – 2 of 24

Generativity Midlife transition – realize how many

years lived/have left – see limitations Middlescence – search for second

adulthood Empty-nest syndrome – mixed thoughts

Age 65 Retirement Grandparenthood – more relaxed Successful aging:- Ego integrity- Aging and adjustment- Reshaping one’s life – what’s important- Positive outlook- Self-challenge

Childhood and early adulthood are times of rapid neural growth

We lose a small percentage of brain weight between out early twenties and our eighties

Adults show a decrease in fluid intelligence – ability to think in terms of abstract concepts and symbolic relationships

Adults show an increase in crystallized intelligence – specific knowledge of facts and information

Caused by a series of small strokes, brain tumor, alcohol dependence

Alzheimer’s disease – strikes 3% of the world’s population by age 75

Memory deteriorates and then reason

Denial –”Can’t be me” Anger – “It’s not fair” Bargaining –”I’ll be nicer if…” Depression – “What’s the use …” Acceptance – “I’ve had a good life.”

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Reflections on Two Major Developmental Issues

Researchers who view development as a slow, continuous process are generally those who emphasize experience and learning. Those with a biological perspective, on the other

hand, view maturation and development as a series of genetically predisposed steps or stages. These include psychologists like

Piaget, Kohlberg and Erikson.

Continuity and Stages

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Developmental Issues

Lifelong development requires both stability and change. Personality gradually stabilizes as people age. However, this does not mean that our traits do not change over a lifetime. Some temperaments are more stable than

others.

Stability and Change