V Developmental Psychology z Developmental Psychology y A

V. Developmental Psychology

z. Developmental Psychology: y. A branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive (linguistic), and social (emotional) change throughout the life span. y. Sometimes controversial: x. How to raise a child? x. What to expect in late adulthood? y. Themes: nature vs. nurture (Universal vs. individual developmental patterns)

A. Prenatal Development. . .

A. Prenatal Development z 1. Physical/Biological development sperm meets the egg…… The zygote: a fertilized egg. Conception to two weeks. Rapid cell division. embryo: 2 – 8 weeks. organ systems develop. fetus: 9 weeks to birth.

A. Prenatal Development za. Zygote: Sex Determination Mom - X-chromosome Dad - Y or X-chromosome i. Potential Problems Turner’s Syndrome (f’s with X 0) Kleinfelter’s Syndrome (m’s XXY) Double Y Syndrome (m’s XYY)

A. Prenatal Development z b. Embryonic stage – Critical/Sensitive Period: y. Cell differentiation (organ development) Possible problems/difficulties. y. Importance of Placenta: But: x. Smoking x. Drugs x. Alcohol: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome z Where influence of “nurture” is evident.

A. Prenatal Development zc. Fetal stage – amazing! ysmelling, hearing, tasting, breathing, kicking, respond to light and touch. yleading to. . .

B. Newborn/Early Development z 1. Physical Development Newborns HIGHLY underestimated. a. Born with reflexes. b. Born with other preferences: z Mom’s smell z Human faces and voices

How could we possibly know this? Habituation: decrease in responding after repeated stimulation (e. g. gaze less at stimuli).

Habituation Time spent looking (seconds) 40 30 20 10 0 1 2 3 4 5 Presentation 6 7 8

z c. Yet – still “immature” brain y. Neurons “bloom” when prenatal. y. Neural connections “bloom” during infancy. y. Neural connections also “pruned. ” z. Adaptive cerebral cortex becomes more complex and elaborated through the development of neural networks. z. Interconnected neurons are modified by feedback: strengthened to produce a response (output) - to certain input.

B. Newborn/Early Development z 1. Physical Development d. Brain development & plasticity. Plasticity: Brain’s capacity for modification. Importance of cerebral cortex.

Evidence of brain plasticity.

B. Newborn/Early Development z 1. Physical Development d. Brain development & plasticity. y Human examples. y“Use it or lose it” y. Brain reorganization after injury/damage.

B. Newborn/Early Development z 2. Motor Development (see text). z 3. Cognitive Development - Thinking, knowing, remembering, communicating. - Related to physical development: (development of neural networks) JEAN PIAGET

PIAGET a. Basics z Use of Schemas. z Assimilation: incorporate new experiences into existing framework. z Accommodation: Also fit/modify/create schemas to incorporate new experiences. ** Development occurs in distinct stages – not gradual change. **To understand development, understand “errors” children make.

PIAGET z b. Stages of Cognitive Development z i. Sensorimotor (birth - 2 years) “Children can’t think” - know world through motor actions & senses. Experience orderly increase in more complex cognition. z Around 8 months: Object Permanence: The awareness that objects continue to exist when not perceived.

Piaget: Stages of Cog. Development - ii. Preoperational Stage (preschool - 6 years) y. Advances in memory & more verbal able to “pretend” y. Not capable of mental “operations”. Conservation: quantities remain the same despite superficial changes in appearance. y. Not capable of taking another’s point of view. Egocentric: interpret world from perspective of self only.

Piaget: Stages of Cog. Development - iii. Concrete Operational Stage (7 -11 years) y. Capable of logical reasoning. y. Able to take perspective of others. y. But - no thinking on abstract level. - iv. Formal Operational Stage (12 - adult) y. Can think abstractly. Use imagined realities. y. Engage in moral reasoning. y. Implications of the stages?

PIAGET z c. Review of Piaget’s Theory Concerns and Updates - Underestimated children’s abilities - object permanence at earlier age - conservation at an earlier age - egocentricity - Problem with “all or none” viewpoint - What does stage theory imply about nature/nurture? - Vygotsky: scaffolding

d. Emotional/Social Development z. Social “reflexes” z. Emotion/Social Development y. What is influential in emotional/social development? y. Early relationships with caregivers. a. Attachment Theory Attachment: bond between child and parent (or caregiver). Originally thought. . . ynourishment/ survival (evolution) y. But realized more to it. . .

i. Harlow’s Monkey Studies y. Wire vs. cloth monkeys

d. Emotional/Social Development zi. Why such upset? z. For animals – may be “critical period” forming the attachment with caregiver. yimprinting y. Lorenz z. Not quite as concrete for humans. Why?

z. See critical role environment or “nurture” plays in emotional/social development. z. For humans, what is a nurturing environment? What fosters healthy attachment? z. Began study of human attachment. ii. Bowlby: WWII institutions.

ziii. Mary Ainsworth z. Focus on mom’s behavior. z Attachment serves to provide kids with secure base from which to explore. z. Put forth: Mom’s response to baby determined the mom/infant relationship, baby’s behavior, and type of attachment. z. Used “strange situation” paradigm.

Ainsworth - attachment z 3 attachment styles z 1. Securely attached z 2. Anxious/ambivalent (resistant) z 3. Anxious/avoidant. z. Do these attachment influence people later in life? ysecure = more confidence, better problem solvers, emotionally healthier, more sociable

Attachment ziv. Hazan & Shaver Early attachment influences how we deal with relationships as adults. z Secure lovers: happy, trusting, friends, etc. z Anx/ambiv: obsessed, extreme sexual attraction, jealousy. z Anx/avoid: fear of intimacy, emotional highs and lows, jealousy.

Attachment z Ainsworth: focus on “nurture” - MOM What about “nature”? z v. Influence of temperament: Personality and emotional reactivity with which people are born. z Evidence for influence of temperament. (longitudinal studies) z Evidence for influence of nurture. z Could nature and nurture interact? y“Goodness of Fit”

z. For emotional/social development thus far, what factors seem to be missing? z. Ainsworth: focus on mom. y. Different childrearing practices across cultures? y. Dad? Other caregivers? y. Very western, 50’s perspective

B. Issues to consider today for social/emotional development. z. Day Care? z. Basic conclusion: good day care has no negative effects on children. z. Divorce? z. Basic conclusion: kids from divorced families sometimes have more problems. z. Other factors to consider?

Conclusions about development. z. Trying to answer the question: how did we get here? y. Prenatal development. y. Physically (brain development). y. Cognitively. y. Socially/ emotionally z. See influence of nature and nurture at each point.

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development Typical Age Range Description of Stage Developmental Phenomena Birth to nearly 2 years Sensorimotor Experiencing the world through senses and actions (looking, touching, mouthing) • Object permanence • Stranger anxiety About 2 to 6 years Preoperational Representing things with words and images but lacking logical reasoning • Pretend play • Egocentrism • Language development About 7 to 11 years Concrete operational • Conservation Thinking logically about concrete • Mathematical events; grasping concrete analogies transformations and performing arithmetical operations About 12 through adulthood Formal operational Abstract reasoning • Abstract logic • Potential for moral reasoning