Development Infancy (Part I) AP

7/30/2019 Development Infancy (Part I) AP

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Development

Conception to Adolescence


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Developmental Psychologists

Study physical, cognitive, and social

changes throughout the human life cycle,

and find common patterns which are

important.


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Prenatal Development and the Newborn

Only 1 of 5000 of a womans eggs will be mature enough to be released

Men can produce over 1000 sperm in a second, this rate will decrease overageThe mating of the egg and sperm include:

Sperms going up to an egg which is 85000 times bigger than itselfThe sperm releases digestive enzymes to dissolve the eggs protectivelayer

The egg will block other sperm out once one sperm penetrates theprotective layer

Fingerlike projections will sprout around the sperm and full it inBy the end of the day, they will fuse


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Prenatal Development

Zygotes are fertilized eggs

In the first week, the celldivides to produce a zygote ofabout 100 cells

After the first week, the cell will

differentiate and specialize instructure and function

After ten days, the zygote willattach to the mothers uterinewall

The placenta and the embryoare then formed

After nine weeks, the embryois known as the fetus


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Prenatal Development After six months, the organs like

the stomach will be able to functionand perform

The fetus starts to respond tonoise during the sixth month

Both genetic and environmentalfactors can affect the prenatal

development Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) isusually seen with children bornwith mental as well as physicaldeformities. Over 1 in 750 kids areborn with this syndrome

FAS is the leading cause of mentalretardation Pregnant women who have been

stressed during their pregnancyhave children who are lesscompetent in motor skills,emotional as well as learning

deficiency. Increased proclivity ofdepression

Infants born to mothers who drink,

even in modest amounts, may be

born with fetal alcohol syndrome,

which often consists of growthretardation, unusual facial features,

and mental retardation.


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The Competent Newborn the rooting reflex is when

newborns are prompted to open

their mouth and turn towardsthe nipple when touched on thecheek

William James presumed thatnewborns experiences where

similar to that of buzzingconfusion

Research from the 1960srevealed that newborns were

born preferring sights andsounds which facilitate socialresponsiveness. They are moredrawn into pictures that areassociated to humans

(Mondlocks study)


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The Competent Newborn

Habituation is the decrease in respondingwith repeated stimulation

Janine Spencer and Paul Quinn did a

study which revealed that 4 year olds likeadults focused on the faces of animals.(cat and dog experiment)

Alan Slater explained that in order torecognize a new stimulus as different, aninfant must remember the initial stimulus.


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Brain Development

Over 23 billion neurons wereproduced in the child by birth

From age 3-6, the brains neuralsystem starts to grow in the

frontal lobes, enabling rationalplanning

Maturation sets the basiccourse of development. It is the

genetically designed biological

growth process.

Maturation is uninfluenced byexperiences

While genetic growthtendencies are inborn


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Motor Development The order in which physical

coordination occurs like crawlingbefore walking is due to the maturingof the nervous system and hasnothing to do with imitation

Individual differences in timing occur

Genes play a role in the timing ofeach coordination. Identical twinswould be able to walk more or less onthe same day

Biological maturation includes the

rapid development of the cerebellumat the back of the brain

Experiences will not have a majoreffect on the childs physical skills untilafter age 1


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Maturation and Infant Memory Pillemers study concluded

that the average age ofearliest conscious memorywas 3.5 years of age.(infantile amnesia before 3.5)

Starting at 4 years old, a

child can start to remembertheir experiences

From age 3-4 , the braincortex matures , thusenabling toddlers to increase

their long-term storage However , the childsmemories during this timemay not be interruptedproperly later on in life


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Maturation and Infant Memory

Association can be remembered for themaximum time of a month for a 3 monthold child.

When the conscious mind does not knowand cannot express in words, the nervoussystem may remember through increased

physiological responses like through skin

perspiration


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Cognitive Development

Jean Piagets works revolvedaround the errors give bychildren by each age.

Before Piaget, people thoughtthat children simply knew less,

not differently than adults. Later it was discovered that

children reason in wildly illogicalways about problems whosesolutions are self-evident to

adults.

A childs mind also developsthrough many stages


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Cognitive Development Piaget revealed that schemas develop when the brain

builds concepts. The schemas are mental molds intowhich we pour our experiences.

There are two ways which we could adjust ourschemas. By assimilating as well as

accommodating them. When we assimilate new schemas, we interpret them

into our current schemas

When we accommodate our schemas, we adjust our

present schemas to fit the particulars of newexperiences. You refine the category.


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Assimilation/Accommodation Ex.(Piaget)

A child seeing a zebra for the first time and calling it a horse.

The child assimilates this information into her schema for ahorse. When the child accommodates information, shetakes into consideration the different properties of a zebra

compared to a horse, perhaps calling a zebra a horse withstripes. When she eventually learns the name of zebra, she

has accommodated this information.


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Piagets Cognitive Stages

1. Sensorimotor (birth to 2)2. Preoperational (2 to 7)

3. Concrete Operational (first grade to earlyadolescence)

4. Formal Operational (Adolescence)

SM

POCO

FO

(some pots cost four $)


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Pi t th d C t
http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Image:Piaget_1.jpg


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Piagets theory and CurrentThinking

Cognition refers to all the mental

activities associated withthinking, knowing , rememberingand communicating.

The sensorimotor stage isfrom birth to age 2. This is when

the babies will take in the worldthrough their sensory and motorinteractions interacting withobjects.

Many use their mouths toinvestigate the world.

Object Permanence is theawareness that objects continueto exist when not perceived

Before 8 months, the child lacksobject permanence


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Many argue that Piagetunderestimated the intelligence of achild. He claimed that children did nothave the ability to think. Todaysresearchers see development as more

continuous than Piaget. However, hisviews were contradicted when babiesseem to have a more intuitive grasp ofobjects, when it was found thattoddlers had a sense of numbers(Karen Wynns study).

The preoperational stageis Piagetstheory that from age 2 to about age 7,a child learns to use language but doesnot yet comprehend the mentaloperations of concrete logic.

Pi t th d C t


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Conservation is the principle that quantity remains the same despite

changes in shape. (Like when closed beakers seem to hold more volume asanother open beaker with the same volume.)

Judy DeLoache revealed that if the child was prompted to find a hiddenobject in a room, they could easily find it, but they could not locate thelocation on another map or painting. This was found for ages 2-3

From age 3, the child could locate the hidden location in a map. Thus

showing that they could use the symbols for the room. This went againstPiagets theory of children not being able to think Piaget found that preschool children were egocentric. They had much

difficulty to perceive things from anothers point of view. Asking whether thechilds brother had a brother (which was the child being asked) the childwould reply that he did not.


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Pi t th d C t


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Parents often abuse their children since they do not understand

their egocentric thoughts. The theory of mind is the ability to read intentions, formed

starting when a child is in pre-school.

From age 3, children start to realize the difference betweenfalse beliefs

Jennifer Jenkins and Janet Astington performed the band aidexperiment in which they would ask children what they thoughtwas in the box, then recorded what their reaction would be iffound that the box was filled with something else. From 4 yearsold, the children were able to respond to theory of mind,

claiming that their friends would probably think that the box wasfilled with band aids instead of pencils. Before they respondedthat they would think that the box was filled with pencils.


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First children realize that sad events can cause sadfeelings and then they realize that thought can causefeelings. From age 5-8, children realize that spontaneousself-produced thoughts can also create feelings.

Children with autism were found to have difficultyunderstanding someones state of mind differs from theirown. They also have difficulty reflecting on their ownmental states. They are less likely to use personalpronouns such as I and me. Deaf children also haveproblems with such usage.

Lev Vygotsky revealed that children no longer thoughtaloud from age 7. They start to rely on inner speech.Talking to themselves allows children to control theirbehavior and emotions and master new skills.


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Concrete Operational Stagewas Piagetstheory of cognitive development. From 6-11years of age. Children start to gain the mentaloperations what enables them to think logically

about concrete events. Children also start tocomprehend mathematical transformations andconservation.

Formal Operation stage is by age 12, whenreasoning expands from concrete experiencesto abstract thinking. Children start to solvehypothetical propositions and deductconsequences starting from adolescence.


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Reflecting on Piagets Theory

Researchers start to seedevelopment more continuous

than did Piaget.

Piaget identified significant

cognitive milestones andstimulated interest on how the

mind develops.

Piagets major revelation wasthat children construct theirunderstandings from

interactions with the world.


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Social Development

Stranger Anxiety- fear of strangers,starting at around 8 months. They have

schemas for similar faces.

The intense mutual infant-parent bonddevelops by 12 months.


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Origins of Attachments Harry Harlow and

Margaret Harlowrevealed in theirmonkey studies thatmonkeys brought up

in isolated cages withcheese clothes,became distressedwhen the cheesecloth

was taken away fromthem.


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Origins of Attachments

When they created twomothers , by inserting awire cylinder with awooden head andanother cylinder withterry cloth, they foundthat the monkeys theyfound that the monkeysdid not prefer thenourishing mother, butinstead the comfymother.



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This revealed that much of the

parent-infant attachment comesfrom touch

A safe haven as well as a securebase also strengthens attachment

Critical period is known as an

optimal period shortly after birthwhen certain events must takeplace to facilitate properdevelopment.

Imprinting is the process by which

certain animals form attachmentsduring a critical period very early inlife.

Children do not imprint Familiarity is more comfortable to

children


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A h Diff


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Attachment Differences Mary Ainsworth studied attachment differences

by observing mother infant pairs at home during

their first six months.

Securely attached children play and explorecomfortably when a mother is present and thenbecomes distressed when she leaves.

Insecurely attached children meanwhile exploreless in the mothers presence and may cling toher, cry loudly when she leaves and remainupset until she returns.

Sensitive responsive parents tend to havesecurely attached children


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Attachment Differences Genetically influenced temperament may evoke

responsive parenting, but parental sensitivity

has been taught and does increase infant

attachment security.

Both father and mother love is a predictor to achilds well-being.

Adult relationships tend to reflect the secure orinsecure attachment styles of early childhood

Erick Ericksons idea prompted that basic

trust is formed in infancy through our

experiences with responsive caregivers.


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Deprivation of Attachment Children become withdrawn and frightened

when they are deprived of attachment and maynot be able to develop speech properly

Childhood abuse can lead to physical,psychological as well as social problems, it mayalter the brains production of serotonin.

This effect can be minimal before 16 months ofage, by age 2 problems start to develop if abusepersists.

Extensive time spent in day care is linked to

increased aggression and defiance


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Self Concept Self concept is the sense of

their own identity andpersonal worth.

It emerges around 6 months At 15-16 months, children

start to recognize themselvesin the mirror

When they start school, theycan describe many of theirown traits

By age 10, their selfconception is rigid and stable

The childrens views ofthemselves affect theiractions. Children who form apositive self concept aremore confident, independent

and optimistic

Child R i P ti


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Child Rearing Practices Kids with the highest self esteem and reliance

come from homes were their parents areauthoritative

Those with authoritarian parents tend to haveless social skills, self esteem

Those with permissive parents are more likelyto be aggressive and immature

The association between certain parenting

styles and certain childhood outcomes is corelational. There are many other explanations for

a childs behavior other than parenting styles.


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Child Rearing Practices

Permissive parents submit to childrensdemands ask little and punish rarely

Authoritarian parents impose rules and expectobedience.

Authoritative parents are demanding butresponsive to their children

Sharing genes may lead to a temperament that

is comfortable with an authoritative parentingstyle and that manifests itself in agreeableeasygoing social interactions.

Documents

Development Infancy (Part I) AP