1 Developing Through the Life Span Psych 12000.003 2 Developing Through the Life Span Prenatal Development and the Newborn Conception Prenatal Development The Competent Newborn Infancy and Childhood Physical Development Cognitive Development Moral Development Attachment Style 5.Dev 3 Developing Through the Life Span Adolescence Physical Development Cognitive Development Social Development Emerging Adulthood Adulthood Physical Development Cognitive Development Social Development 5.Dev 4 Developing Through the Life Span • Methodological Issues – How best to study? • Study same people across time (within-S or longitudinal design) or different aged people at the same time (between-S or cross lagged design)? – Same people across time: takes a long time, participants drop out, etc. – Different ages at same time: Effects could be because of the “era in which we live” (aka cohort effects) • Development: What is changing across time? – The “big confound” • Reflections on Two Major Developmental Issues – Continuity and Stages – Stability and Change 5.Dev 5 Development: What is it? • Change (usually progressive change) across time. • What changes in human development? – Physical form – Physical capabilities – Cognitive capabilities – Moral capabilities – Personality – Societal expectations – Roles – Responsibilities 5.Dev 6 Developmental Psychology Big Issues Questions they raise Nature/Nurture How do genetic inheritance (our nature) and experience (the nurture we receive) influence our behavior? Continuity/Stages Is developmental a gradual, continuous process or a sequence of separate stages? Stability/Change Do our early personality traits persist through life, or do we become different persons as we age. 5.Dev2 7 Prenatal Development and the Newborn How, over time, did we come to be who we are? From zygote to birth, development progresses in an orderly, though fragile, sequence. 5.Dev 8 Conception A single sperm cell (male) penetrates the outer coating of the egg (female) and fuses to form one fertilized cell. Lennart Nilsson/ Albert Bonniers Publishing Company Lennart Nilsson/ Albert Bonniers Publishing Company 5.Dev 9 Prenatal Development A zygote is a fertilized cell with 100 cells that become increasingly diverse. At about 14 days the zygote turns into an embryo (a and b). Lennart Nilsson/ Albert Bonniers Publishing Company Biophoto Associates/ Photo Researchers, Inc. 5.Dev 10 Prenatal Development At 9 weeks, an embryo turns into a fetus (c and d). Teratogens are chemicals or viruses that can enter the placenta and harm the developing fetus. Lennart Nilsson/ Albert Bonniers Publishing Company Lennart Nilsson/ Albert Bonniers Publishing Company 5.Dev 11 The Competent Newborn Infants are born with reflexes that aid in survival, including rooting reflex which helps them locate food. 5.Dev 12 The Competent Newborn Offspring cries are important signals for parents to provide nourishment. In animals and humans such cries are quickly attended to and relieved. Carl and Ann Purcell/ Corbis Lightscapes, Inc. Corbis 5.Dev3 13 Infancy and Childhood Infancy and childhood span from birth to the teenage years. During these years, the individual grows physically, cognitively, and socially. Stage Span Infancy Newborn to toddler Childhood Toddler to teenager 5.Dev 14 Physical Development Infants’ psychological development depends on their biological development. To understand the emergence of motor skills and memory, we must understand the developing brain. 5.Dev 15 Developing Brain The developing brain overproduces neurons. Peaking around 28 billion at 7 months, these neurons are pruned to 23 billion at birth. The greatest neuronal spurt is in the frontal lobe enabling the individual to think rationally. 5.Dev 16 Maturation The development of the brain unfolds based on genetic instructions, causing various bodily and mental functions to occur in sequence— standing before walking, babbling before talking—this is called maturation. Maturation sets the basic course of development, while experience adjusts it. Sensory and social stimulation increases number of synapses and size of brain. 5.Dev 17 Maturation & Motor Development First, infants begin to roll over. Next, they sit unsupported, crawl, and finally walk. Experience has little effect on this sequence. But experience does affect the timing. Renee Altier for Worth Publishers Jim Craigmyle/ Corbis Phototake Inc./ Alamy Images Profimedia.CZ s.r.o./ Alamy 5.Dev 18 Maturation and Infant Memory The earliest age of conscious memory is around 3½ years (Bauer, 2002). A 5-year-old has a sense of self and an increased long-term memory, thus organization of memory is different from 3-4 years. Amy Pedersen Courtesy of Carolyn Rovee-Collier 5.Dev4 19 William James (1842-1910) The inner world of the infant mind is “One great blooming, buzzing confusion." Does research support this belief? 5.Dev 20 Jean Piaget August 9, 1896 - September 16, 1980!5.Dev 21 Cognitive Development Piaget believed that the driving force behind intellectual development is our biological development amidst experiences with the environment. Our cognitive development is shaped by the errors we make. Both photos: Courtesy of Judy DeLoache 5.Dev 22 Schemas Schemas are mental molds into which we pour our experiences. 5.Dev 23 Assimilation and Accommodation The process of assimilation involves incorporating new experiences into our current understanding (schema). The process of adjusting a schema and modifying it is called accommodation. Jean Piaget with a subject Bill Anderson/ Photo Researchers, Inc. 5.Dev 24 Piaget’s Theory and Current Thinking 5.Dev5 25 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 comprehend object permanence, i.e., objects that are out of sight are also out of mind. Doug Goodman 5.Dev 26 Sensorimotor Stage: Criticisms Piaget believed children in the sensorimotor stage could not think —in the sense that they do not have any abstract concepts or ideas. However, recent research shows that children in the sensorimotor stage can think abstractly and count. (you just have to figure out how to show this!) Children
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