Developmental Psychology Infancy to Adolescence Ch 11 Psyc

Developmental Psychology: Infancy to Adolescence Ch 11 Psyc 103 Dr. Jen Wright

infant brain

one of the last organs to develop… How much brain development has been completed at birth? A) 100% B) 75% C) 25%

developmental processes

patterns of brain growth

effect of deprivation

effect of deprivation

importance of sleep • REM sleep – critical for neural development in brain, esp. for activitydependent development – E. g. visual system – Facilitates learning/memory • Sleep deprivation linked with later problems – E. g. ADHD, learning disabilities • Babies most at risk of disruption – Premature infants in IC units

importance of sleep

stress and brain development • Exposure to excessive stress hormones is bad for brain development. • Early symptoms of PTSD • The brain can become incapable of producing normal stress responses. – Hyper-vigilance (Ghosts in the Nursery) – Emotional flatness • Physical/emotional abuse and neglect can be equally damaging.

attachment

attachment theory • Attachment refers to the close, emotional bond between an infant and his/her primary caregiver. • Psychoanalytic Theory (Freud) – Driven by oral needs during the first year – Emphasized early experiences on later outcomes • Behaviorist Perspective (Skinner) – Driven by the need for food – Learns to associate contact with mother with food • Mother’s closeness continually reinforced

attachment theory • Ethology (Lorenz) – Rooted in Darwin’s evolutionary theory – Focused on the adaptive value of behavior – Imprinting • Bond necessary for survival

primary criticisms • Love (i. e. , attachment) seen as secondary to instinctive or survival needs • John Bowlby: observations of children in institutionalized care – Harlow believed that the need for love and affection was necessary for survival

Harlow’s monkeys (1958) • Early work with monkeys • Cloth & wire mother – Only one equipped with feeding apparatus – Monkeys randomly assigned – Observed for 5 months • Both groups preferred cloth mother

24 18 . . . . 12 Mean hours per day . 6 0 . Infant monkey fed on cloth mother Infant monkey fed on wire mother Hours per day spent with cloth mother Contact Time with Wire and Cloth Surrogate Mothers . . Hours per day spent with wire mother. . 1 -5 11 -15 21 -25 6 -10 16 -20 Age (in days)

Harlow’s monkeys (1958) • http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=hs. A 5 Sec 6 d. AI • http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=ca. M 4 f 6 ZZBE&feature=related

attachment theory • Serves 2 purposes – Secure base – Internal working model • Mary Ainsworth (1979) – Developed Strange Situation – Work revealed 4 types of attachment behavior • • Securely Attached Insecure Avoidant Insecure Resistant Insecure Disorganized – http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=QTsew. Nr. HUHU

internal working model

cultural variation

social learning

facial recognition

mirror neurons • Found in the frontal and parietal lobes • Fire when you A) You engage in an activity (reaching out one’s hand) B) You observe someone else engaging in the same activity. C) Both D) Neither • True/False: Fire more strongly when action has some purpose or content – reaching out one’s hand for a cup.

emotional development

crying • Crying – communication of emotion • Response to distress – Development of emotional self-regulation • Mastery of environment – agency • Biofeedback loop • Soothing – – – Swaddling – tight wrapping of baby in cloth Touch Sweet taste Soft, rhythmic sounds Vibration

crying disorders • Colic (1 in 10 infants; birth – 12 weeks) – Extended periods of intense crying – Cause unknown • Digestive problems • Immature nervous system – Hyper-sensitivity • Prolonged crying (beyond 12 weeks) – Exhibit developmental and behavioral disorders – PTSD symptoms in babies • Stress hormones damage hippocampus • Cause hyper-vigilance

early emotional expression • Earliest emotion – global arousal states of attraction and withdrawal – set the stage for further development – develop into well-organized, sustained signals • Basic emotions – emotions that can be directly inferred from facial expressions. • happiness, interest • surprise, fear, anger • sadness, disgust

Basic emotions: A) Universal across all human cultures B) Present in other advanced species C) Include guilt, shame, embarrassment D) A&B E) All of the above

emotional self-regulation • Strategies for adjusting emotional state to a comfortable level of intensity in order to accomplish goals • • Infants: withdrawal, distress, crying -- need soothing 4 mos: shift focus of attention 1 year: approach/retreat from stimulus Parents response to distress is important • Sympathetic – child more easily soothed, more self-regulated • Non-responsive (wait to intervene) – child enters into rapid, intense distress – harder to soothe – doesn’t develop self-regulation

emotional self-regulation • When an infant’s needs are met, they can focus on the world around them and explore. – Their brains take in and adapt to stimulation from the external world. • When they aren’t met, they become fixated on trying to get their needs met. – They stop exploring and shut other stimulation from the external world.

emotions of others • Emotional contagion: babies match the emotional expressions of caregiver – Still face experiment – http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=apz. XGEb. Zht 0 • Social referencing: relying on another person’s emotional reaction to appraise situation – Visual cliff – http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=eyx. Mq 11 x. Wz. M

Mirror neurons help infants experience others’ emotions: A) Yes, because they help them match emotional facial expressions B) Yes, because they stimulate a matching internal experience C) Yes, because they allow infants to empathize with others. D) A&B E) No, because mn’s are only involved in imitation of physical behavior

emotions and self-development Emotions are important in the emergence of selfawareness • Self-efficacy – awareness that you can affect events in your surrounding • Self-control – learning to modulate emotional reactions • Self-concept – episodic memories – external vs. internal characteristics

emergence of the conscience • Self-regulatory emotions – – Guilt/Shame Embarrassment Pride Disgust • Awareness of expectations/reactions of others • Important distinction between shame and guilt. • What is the difference? • Why do we call these emotions “moral emotions”? – moral awareness - sense of good vs. bad – Inhibition of bad behavior, promotion of good behavior

empathy • May be more important for moral socialization than negative emotions • Global distress in infants – Emotional contagion • Egocentric empathy (2 yrs) • Non-egocentric empathy (3 yrs+) • Cognitive empathy (middle childhood) – Abstract perspective-taking

temperament

temperament • Constitutionally based individual differences in – Emotion – Motor function – Attentional reactivity – Self-regulation • Influences the way that children develop, display, and control emotions – Foundation for later personality

temperament styles • Types – Easy – Difficult – “Slow to warm up” Which child will be harder to reward/punish? A) Easy child B) Difficult child • Differences in sociability • Differences in punishment/reward

temperament styles • What else affects the development of temperament? • Gender • Cultural differences • Goodness of fit (with parents/environment)

body development

eating habits • 2 -6 year olds eat less than infants and older children. • “Just right” phenomenon – picky eaters! – Like: salty/sweet foods – Dislike: bitter/sour foods • Learning what is appropriate and not appropriate to eat • Early signs of disgust – Infants show “disgust” facial expression – Strong food preferences

role of disgust • Protection against dangerous substances – Poisonous foods often bitter – Rotten foods often sour – Disgust expression functions as warning • Protection against contamination – Children not sensitive to contamination until early childhood • Protection against deformity and disease

role of disgust • Higher-order disgust • Physical contamination social contamination – 7 -8 year olds “cooties” • Physical contamination moral contamination • Examples?

obesity • Early signs of obesity as young as 2 years old • Obesity rates among 2 - to 5 -year-olds – rose to 14% for the years 2003 -2006 – compared with 5% in 1980 • Need less food than did as an infant – Problem forcing child to “clean their plate” – Especially w/ desert as an incentive! • Attraction to salty and sweet foods • Other contributors?

consequences • Type II diabetes – 50% of some children in low-income areas • Bone development problems – Stunted hip/leg bone growth • • Cardiovascular disease HBP, High cholesterol Lower IQ Obesity programs for toddlers? – http: //abcnews. go. com/Health/Story? id=5602922&page=1

developing cognition

• http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=w. WW 1 vp z 1 ybo&feature=related

sort by color

sort by shape

• Increase in “executive function” • Results in increased impulse control – Delayed gratification – Perseverance • Results in ability to override current intentions given new information – Color/shape card sorting game • Memory development – Still better memory for content than context • No memory of when/where something is learned

Maxi “false-belief” tasks ? ?

succeeding at the false belief task… Requires understanding that Maxi • A) has a mental state (belief) that is different from the child’s mental state. • B) has a mental state (belief) that is different from reality. • C) neither • D) both

appearance-reality tasks

• What is the driving force behind this development? • Brain maturation – Plasticity • Cognitive exploration – Piaget – Vygotsky

Piaget • Child as Scientists • Children learn on their own • Children are intrinsically motivated to learn • Language and education play only minimal roles

Vygotsky • Children as Apprentices • Child learns through social interaction • Children are socially motivated to learn • Language and education play central roles

• Children as apprentices – guided participation

scaffolding • temporary support that is tailored to a learner’s needs and abilities • aimed at helping the learner master the next task in a given learning process

zone of proximal development (ZPD) • The skills that we can exercise only with assistance, not yet independently. • ZPD applies to the ideas or cognitive skills we are close to mastering as well as to more apparent skills. • Examples?

Get into the “zone” – otherwise known as “flow”.

parenting

parenting styles • Authoritarian: restrictive style in which parents demand obedience and respect • Parent places firm limits and does not allow discussion • Parent rigidly enforces rules but rarely explains them • Children are often unhappy, fearful, and anxious • Authoritative: encourages children to be independent while placing limits and controls on actions • Extensive verbal give-and-take • Parents expect mature, independent, age-appropriate behavior • Children are often cheerful, self-controlled, and self-reliant

parenting styles • Neglectful: parent is very uninvolved in child’s life • Children feel that other aspects of the parent’s life are more important than they are • Children tend to be socially incompetent, immature, and have low self-esteem • Indulgent: parents are highly involved but place few demands or controls on the child • Children never learn to control their own behavior and always expect to get their way

Two Dimensions: • Responsiveness • Demandingness The best parenting style is: A) Indulgent B) Authoritarian C) Neglectful D) Authoritative parenting mirrors Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development.