PSYC 1315 1st Edition Lecture 20 Outline of Last Lecture I Intelligence II Language Outline of Current Lecture I Development II Research methods of development psychology III Prenatal development IV Physical development V Perceptual motor development VI Brain development VII Cognitive development VIII Piaget s Theory IX Other theories of intellectual development Current Lecture I Development refers to the pattern of continuity and change in human capabilities that occurs throughout the course of life 1 This pattern typically follows a period of growth and decline 2 Developmental Psychology interested in how people change physically and psychologically as they age The focus on three components of change 3 Three components of change in development These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute II Physical processes involves changes in an individual s biological nature For ex genes inherited from parents hormonal changes of puberty and menopause changes in height weight motor skills etc Cognitive processes involves changes in an individual s thought intelligence and language Socioemotional processes involves changes in an individual s relationships with other people in emotions and in personality ex loving one another Men are aggressive during sports Research Methods of Developmental Psychology 1 Developmental researchers are concerned with age related differences 2 Cross sectional studies a number of people of different ages are assessed at one point in time and differences are observed Cohort effects differences between individuals that stem not necessarily from their age but rather from their historical or social time period in which they were born and developed Ex does age affect going to college 3 Longitudinal study the same group of people are assessed at multiple times over a lengthy period of time Ex Nun s diary Studying positivity and it s influence on life longevity 4 Resilient Children Which has a great impact early or later experience Arguments exist for both 1 Some researchers argue that an infant must be shown nurturing care in their first year to develop to their full potential 2 Others argue that resilience illustrates the power of later experiences as being just as important as early experience Resilience a person s ability to recover from or adapt to difficult times 1 Resilient children become capable adults III Prenatal Development 1 Germinal Period Weeks 1 2 Begins with conception which occurs when a zygote is produce During week 1 cells within the zygote divide and multiply By the end of week 2 the mass of cells has attached to the uterine wall 2 Embryonic Period Weeks 3 8 In week 3 the spinal cord begins to develop Organs begin to develop Legs arms and face become more differentiated By the end of week 8 the heart begins to beat 3 Fetal Period Months 2 9 Further development of functionality In months 6 9 there is a significant increase in organ functioning weight and size 4 What can threaten the fetus Teratogens agents that cause birth defects 1 Nicotine 2 Alcohol a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder FASD can cause children to be born with a small head defected limbs organs and below average intelligence 3 STIs 4 Preterm infant born prior to 37 weeks after conception a May be at risk for development difficulties IV Physical Development 1 Reflexes are genetically wired behaviors 2 Persist throughout life Coughing blinking yawning 3 Persist only in early development Grasping rooting etc V Perceptual and Motor Development 1 Within 12 months most infants become capable of sitting upright standing climbing and often walking 2 Experiences play a role in motor development 3 month old infants participated in sticky mittens task 3 Inner motivation can foster development 4 Preferential looking a technique that involves giving infant a choice of what object to look at VI Some reports of infants as young as 7 days old differentiating stimuli Brain Development 1 We are born with 100 billion neurons but their connections are initially minimal Life experiences create these connections 2 Myelination continues after birth 3 Synaptic connections increase dramatically 4 Brain mass increases dramatically 5 The most rapid growth occurs in the frontal lobe areas during ages 3 6 VII Cognitive Development 1 Jean Piaget 1896 1980 Children actively construct their cognitive world using Schemas 1 concepts or frameworks that organize information 2 Assimilation incorporate new info into existing schemas new experiences promote old way of doing things Ex you did well in high school Use study skills previously learned in high school old way for studying for college exams new way 3 Accommodation adjust schemas to new information new experiences promote a new way of doing things VIII Ex you sucked in high school College requires more intense studying new way so you must develop new studying skills to do well Piaget s Theory 1 Sensorimotor Stage birth 2 years coordinate sensations with movements object permanence 1 Ex Peek a boo progress from reflexive action to symbolic thought 2 Preoperational Stage 2 7 years symbolic thinking words images have difficulty understanding that reversing an action may restore the original conditions from which the action began Egocentrism only consider their viewpoint 3 To test whether a child can think operationally consider conservation tasks 4 Concrete Operational Stage 7 11 yrs operational thinking e g conservation classification skills Involves knowing concrete but not hypothetical context 5 Formal Operational Stage 11 15 yrs lasts through adulthood abstract and idealistic thought hypothetical deductive reasoning 6 Evaluating Piaget s Theory Overall Piaget gave us a new way of looking at how the human mind develops Possible caveats 1 Formal operational thought does not emerge as consistently between the ages 11 to 15 as Piaget proposed Many adults and adolescents do not logic with reason 2 Second young children develop cognitive abilities earlier than Piaget suggested IX Other Theories of Intellectual Development 1 Baillargeon Has documented infants as young as 3 months that have object permanence Showed infants a puppet show featuring Minnie Mouse 2 Vygotsky s Sociocultural Cognitive Theory Piaget didn t really emphasize the importance of culture and education on a child s cognitive development Proposed that cognitive development is an interpersonal