Chapter 10 Infancy and Childhood 1 Study of

Chapter 10 Infancy and Childhood

1. Study of Developmental Psychology – study of how people grow and change 1. 2. through life Early childhood experiences effect people as adolescents and adults Study of development helps uncover roots of developmental problems, such as low self-esteem Psychologists use longitudinal and cross-sectional method to study change Longitudinal – observe group over a period of time, years even decades, time consuming, expensive Cross-sectional – select sample of people of different ages, compare at one point in time, quicker, cheaper Developmental psychologists concerned with two main issues: Ways heredity and environment influence development Whether development occurs gradually or in stages

Roles of Nature and Nurture Nature – heredity Nurture – environment IN human development, heredity primarily effects maturation Maturation – automatic sequential process of development resulting from genetics Ex – crawl, stand, walk Rate of maturation determined by genetics, difficult to alter

Roles of Nature and Nurture Critical period – stage or point in development during which a person or animal is best suited to learn a particular skill or behavior pattern Young children seem to learn language more easily that older children and adults Gesell – psych. , believed maturation played most important role in development Watson – environment has greatest impact, much stronger that heredity Today, psychologists agree that nature and nurture play key roles in child development

Stages vs. Continuity Stage development– period or level in development process distinct form others Ex. Sitting, crawling, walking Maturation theorists – when child's legs strong enough to support him, infant stands and soon begins to walk Piaget – prolific stage theorists, focused on cognitive development Continuous development – happens slowly and gradually Ex – growth in height and weight Debate remains between stage and continuity theory in psychology community

Physical Development Examples: Changes in reflexes Gains in height and weight Motor development Perceptual development

Height and Weight Infants typically double birth weight in 5 months, triple it in one year Grow ten inches in height in first year of life Second year, another 4 -6 inches typical, 4 -7 lbs in weight Age 2 through adolescence, typically gain 2 -3 inches, 4 -6 lbs per year

Motor Development At first, babies just reflexes and random movements Soon, begin purposeful movements, or motor development MD proceeds in stages (roll, sit, stand, walk, etc) Timetable different bteween infants and cultures Uganda, infants often walk before 10 months US, often do not start walking until 1 year Possible explanations: Uganda, more time riding on parents, close contact, upright position, vs. more time in US in cribs, lying down

Reflexes inborn, not learned Essential to survival Some examples: breathing, sneezing, coughing, yawning, blinking Rooting reflex – babies reflexively suck and swallow what touches cheeks or corners of mouth Without rooting, babies would not eat, evolutionary Moro “startle” reflex – babies pull up legs and arch backs in response to sudden sounds or bumps Babinski reflex – babies fan toes when soes of feet are touched

Perceptual Development Process by which infants learn to make sense of sights, sounds, tastes, etc. Infants seem to be preprogrammed to survey environment, learn about it Infants prefer to look at most complex things they are capable of seeing well Infants prefer faces to other images Older children understand depth perception better than newborns, back away from illusion “drop offs, ” a learned reaction through experience Image on p. 233 Hearing, more developed at birth than sight Newborns immediately recognize strong odors

3. Social Development Ways in which infants and children learn to relate to 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. others Ex. Sequential: cling to mom, venture off, contact strangers, play w/ toys by self, play w/ toys with others. Factors which affect SD: Attachment Parenting styles Child care Child abuse and neglect Self-esteem

Attachment Emotional ties that form between people As dependent infant, feelings of attachment essential to survival

Development of Attachment Ainsworth, attachment in infants around world Infants initially prefer being held by anyone over being alone By 4 mos. , infants develop attachments to mothers, grows stronger by 6 -7 mos. By 8 mos. , some infants develop fear of strangers, or stranger anxiety Same age, infants develop separation anxiety, show distress when mothers leave Attachment to primary caregiver due to: contact comfort and imprinting

Contact Comfort Harlow experiment Infant monkeys chose cloth monkey over wire monkey with bottle/food Picture, p. 235 Contact comfort – instinctual need to touch and be touched by something soft, such as skin or fur CC need stronger than need for food Harlow – infant monkeys w/ cloth mothers had greater sense of security which allowed them to explore new toys in cage, monkeys w/ wire mothers fearful of toys

Imprinting Process by which animals form immediate attachments shortly after birth, attach to first moving objects they see Konrad Lorenz, present at birth of goslings, allowed them to follow them, form attachment through imprinting Picture on p. 235 Children, however, do not imprint on first moving object, takes several months to form attachment to mother

Secure vs. Insecure Attachment SA: primary caregivers are affectionate and reliable, infants form secure attachment, cry when they leave, happy upon return IA: caregivers unreliable, unresponsive, infants do not mind when caregiver leaves, do not seek contact w/ caregiver upon return, insecure infants may cry when picked up Secure infants, often lead to secure children, more well adapted than I-children, more successful

Styles of Parenting Differ along 2 dimensions Warmth/coldness Strictness/permissiveness

Warm or Cold? Warm - show affection towards child Cold – do not show affection toward child Studies show children do better with warm parents Children of warm more likely to develop sense of right and wrong Children of cold more likely to merely try to escape punishment

Strict or Permissive Strict – many rules, supervise children closely, often concerned with order Permissive – few rules, watch children less closely, less concerned about order, structure Parents fit into these two categories for many reasons Authoritative parents – combine warmth with positive strictness children often independent, achievement oriented Authoritarian parents – obedience for its own sake, expect children to follow rules without question, often cold and rejecting personalities Children often resistant to or dependent on others, tend to be less friendly and spontaneous

Child Care by those other than parents Studies found children accustomed to CC suffered less separation anxiety from parents, still bonded however CC children tend to be more: Social Independent Self-confident CC Children also tend to be: More aggressive (with less attention, may compete with other children more) Less cooperative

Child Abuse and Neglect 5 % US parents admitted to physical abuse - beating, hitting, kicking that results in bodily injury. Neglect – more common, failure to give adequate food, shelter, clothing, emotional support, schooling Factors associated with child abuse and neglect: Stress History of child abuse Acceptance of violence as coping mechanism for stress Lack of attachment to children Substance abuse Rigid attitudes about parenting

Child Abuse and Neglect Abused children: 1. Higher risk of psych problems, such as anxiety and depression, others 2. Tend to be insecure 3. Less self – confidence 4. More likely to become aggressive themselves Child abuse tends to run in families Children imitate parents behavior Children often adopt parents strict view on discipline, see violence as normal

Self-Esteem Value or worth people attach to themselves High self-esteem helps people cope with difficulties

Influences on Self Esteem Ways parents react to children, warm but structured best Unconditional positive regard – parents love and accept their children no matter how they behave Children develop high self esteem Conditional positive regard – parents show love only when child behaves in acceptable fashion Children may feel good only when meeting parents expectations, may be overly needy, seek approval, low selfesteem Sense of competence at something raises self esteem

Gender and Self-Esteem 5 -7, children begin to value thesmelves on basis of physical appearance and performance in school Grade school: Girls better at reading and genral academic skills Boys better in math and physical skills May be affected by gender roles, what boys and girls are supposed to be good at

Age and Self-Esteem Competence grows with age However, self-esteem tends to decline during elementary school years Low point around 12 or 13 yrs old, increases during teenage years

4. Cognitive Development of people’s thought processes Two psychologists who have made great impact: Jean Piaget, Lawrence Kohlberg

Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development �Piaget, Paris, worked on Binet intelligence test �Found children gave certain types of wrong answers �Wrong answers fit patterns

Assimilation and Accommodation � Piaget believed humans organize new info in two ways: Assimilation, Accommodation � Assimilation – new info placed into categories that already exist � Ex: child’s family has a Black Lab, child sees new species of dog, Poodle, adds to category of ‘doggie’ based on similar characteristics � Accommodation – new info needs a new category � Ex: family has Black Lab, child sees cat and calls “doggie”, corrected by parents, adds new category, “cat. ” � Piaget theorized development happens in stages � Sequence same for all, though some may go faster or slower

Sensorimotor Stage � Infants start off acting reflexively, react to environment, do not initiate � By one month, act with more purpose � Senorimotor stage – begin to understand there is a relationship between physical movements and results they sense and perceive � By 4 -8, become fascinated with cause and effect, I push, it moves

Sensorimotor Stage �Before six months, do not realize that objects out of sight still exist �Object permanence – begin to understand that object exist even when they cannot be seen or touched, typically around eight months �Piaget thought this happened due to brain development �At 8 months, children could picture missing item in mind, did not lose image when hidden

Preoperational Stage � Begins about 2 � Begin to use words and symbols, language to represent objects � One dimensional thinking, see only one aspect of a situation at a time � Preop. children do no understand law of conservation – properties of substance (weight, volume, number, stay same even if shape or arrangement has changed, basic properties conserved � Ex: image on p. 243, child thinks tall beaker contains more water, even though witnesses tall beaker poured into fat, short beaker

Preoperational Stage �P. 243