Psychology Human Development

Chapter 10: Human Development:How and Why We Change

Psychology 100

Outline Special Considerations in Human

Development

Physical and Motor Development

Cognitive Development

Social and Moral Development

Developmental Psychology

The study of how behavior changes over the life span

Special Considerations

Post hoc fallacy

Bidirectional influences

Cohort effects

The influence of early experience

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Post hoc Fallacy

Logical error where you assume that A causes B, just because B came after A

Bidirectional Influences

Human development is almost always a two-way street

Children’s development influences their experiences, but their experiences also influence their development

Cohort Effects

Sets of people who lived during one period can differ in some systematic way from sets of people who lived during a different period

Choosing between cross-sectional and longitudinal designs

Research Designs

All groups 2010

1. Cognitive2. Social3. Moral4. Physical



GROUP 1

GROUP 2

GROUP 3

Cross-Sectional StudyCross-Sectional Study

Research Designs

LONGITUDINAL STUDYLONGITUDINAL STUDY

1. Cognitive

2. Social

3. Moral

4. Physical

199020102000

Influence of Early Experience

Early input from the world exerts a significant impact on development…but so does all other input throughout life

Myths: Infant Determinism: Extremely early experiences are

almost always more influential that later experiences Childhood Fragility

Genes and environment can intersect in complex ways: Gene-environment interactions Nature via nurture Gene expression

Clarifying the Nature-Nurture Debate

Clarifying the Nature-Nurture Debate

Physical and Motor Development

Conception & Prenatal Development

Most dramatic changes occur during early prenatal development

A zygote is formed when sperm cell fertilizes an egg

After this, three stages of development occur

Three Stages of Prenatal Development

Germinal stage: The zygote begins to divide and double, forming a blastocyst. Cells continue to divide then begin to differentiate, taking on different roles as the organs of the body begin to develop.

Embryonic stage:Occurs from the second to the eighth week of development, during which limbs, facial features, and major organs begin to take shape.


The fetal stage: By the ninth week, the major organs are established, and the heart begins to beat. The fetus’s “job” for the rest of the pregnancy is physical maturation.


Brain Development

Between day 18 and the 6th month, neurons grow at an incredible rate

Up to 250,000 neurons per minute at times

Obstacles to Normal Fetal Development

Biological influences resulting from genetic disorders or errors in cell duplication during cell division

Premature birth

Exposure to hazardous environmental

influences: Teratogens

Survival Instincts: Infant ReflexesNewborns are born with a large set of automatic motor behaviors–reflexes– that help them to survive, including:

Grasping Sucking Rooting

Motor Development

Motor behaviors are bodily motions that occur as result of self-initiated force that moves the bones and muscles

Wide range in the rate and manner in which children achieve motor milestones: Influenced by physical maturity, as well as cultural and parenting practices

Almost always achieved in the same developmental sequence

The Progression of Motor Development

Sitting without support6 months

Crawling9 months

Standing11 months

Walking without assistance13 months

Running18–24 months

Cruising12 months

Physical Development in Childhood The relative size of body parts changes

dramatically during first 20 years

Different parts grow at different rates

Adolescence

Transitional period between childhood and adulthood commonly associated with the teenage years

Bodies reach full maturity, in part due to hormonal release Estrogens and androgens

Physical Development in Adults Most of us reach our physical peaks in early

20sStrength, coordination, speed of cognitive

processing, and physical flexibility

Declines begin shortly after, including muscle, sensory processes, and fertility

Changes in Agility and Physical Coordination with Age

• Complex tasks show greater effects of age than simpler ones.

• Elderly adults become less flexible in learning new motor skills.

• Some individuals display greater age-related declines than others.

Cognitive Development

Theories of Cognitive Development Numerous explanations of how we acquire

the ability to learn, think, communicate, and remember over time

Differ in three waysStagelike vs gradual changes in understandingDomain-general vs domain-specificPrincipal source of learning

Jean Piaget Swiss psychologist who presented

first complete account of cognitive development

Stage theorist who believed skills were domain-general

Thought end point of cognitive development is ability to reason logically about hypotheticals

Piaget’s Theory

Children use assimilation to acquire new knowledge within a stage

When one can no longer assimilate new information, accommodation forces change between stages

“BIRDS”–fly

–wings

“BIRDS”–fly

–wings

Assimilate Assimilate Assimilate

“BIRDS”–fly

–wings–beak

“BIRDS”–fly

–wings–beak

“FLYING ANIMALS”–fly

–wings

X

Piaget’s Stages of Development

Sensorimotor Preoperational Concrete operational Formal operations


Birth–2 years

Characterized by a focus on the here and now without the ability to represent experiences mentally

Lack object permanence and deferred imitation


2–7 years

Characterized by the ability to construct mental representations of experience, but not yet perform operations on them Symbolic behavior Egocentrism

7–11 years

Characterized by the ability to perform mental operations on physical events onlyConservation


11 years to adulthoodCharacterized by the ability to perform hypothetical reasoning beyond the here and now


Pendulum Task: “What makes a pendulum swing faster or slower?” swing.

Children have the opportunity to construct a pendulum using longer and shorter strings with heavier and lighter weights.

Formal Operations: Can systematically manipulate various combinations of weights and lengths to observe how they influenced the speed of the speed of the swing.

Piaget’s Stages of Development:Summary

Criticisms of Piaget’s Theory

Much of development is more continuous than stage-like

Probably underestimated children’s underlying competence

May have been culturally biased; elicited more sophisticated responses from children in Westernized societies with formal education

Pros and Cons of Piaget

Still, highly influential and helped change how we think about cognitive developmentChildren as different in kind rather than

degree from adultsLearning as active processMore parsimonious account of cognitive

development

Lev Vygotsky

Theory focused on social and cultural influences on cognitive development

Parents structure environments for learning and then gradually remove it (scaffolding)

Zone of proximal development and developmental readiness for learning

Vygotsky: Social and Cultural Influences on Learning

Different children develop skills in different domains at different rates.

Social structuring on the part of the parent facilitates children’s learning and development. Scaffolding: Provide initial

assistance but gradually remove structure

Zone of proximal development: Phase where children benefit most from instruction

Contemporary Theories General cognitive accounts: General

development of cognitive processes and experience-based learning. Differ from Piaget: learning as more

gradual

Sociocultural accounts: Some emphasize experience-based learning, others innate knowledge. Share focus on the child’s interaction with

the social world as primary source of development.

Modular accounts: Emphasizes the idea of domain-specific learning. E.g. language versus physical environment

– no overlapping skills

Physical reasoningPhysical reasoning in infants involves: Naïve physics: Basic understanding of

how physical objects behave (e.g., when object will fall)

Refinement of knowledge based on experience

Cognitive Landmarks of Early Development

Concepts and CategoriesConceptual development requires children to acquire knowledge of: How things look How they are used In what contexts they appear



Self-concept and the concept of “other”Self-recognition becomes increasingly sophisticated as children move from understanding they are physically distinct entities to understanding that others have minds distinct from their own. Theory of mind: Ability to reason about

what others know/believe

Numbers and mathematics Numerical development requires a

complex understanding of counting rules and the nature of precise quantities.

This ability develops slowly and is easily disrupted.

The ability to count doesn’t appear in all cultures.


Frontal lobes don’t fully mature until late adolescence or early adulthood

Personal fable and feeling unique and special – risk-taking

Changing attitudes toward knowledge

Cognitive Changes in Adolescence

Cued recall and recognition remain intact.

There is relatively little decline in remembering material that’s pertinent to people’s everyday lives.

Older adults perform better on most vocabulary and knowledge tests than do younger adults.

The ability to recall information decreases after age 30.

Overall speed of processing declines.

Overall brain matter decreases.

Downside Upside

Cognitive Function in Adulthood

Social and Moral Development

Early Social Development Infants develop interest in other people very quickly after

birth

Stranger anxiety starts at 8-9 months, peaks at 12-15 months

Differences in children’s social and emotional styles reflect differences in temperament Appears early in development and is largely genetic in

origin

Babies’ Emotional Styles

Thomas and Chess: Easy (40%) Difficult (10%) Slow-to-warm-up (15%)

Kagan:Behavioral inhibition: Frightened by the novel & unexpected

Distribution of Inhibition

Attachment

Emotional connection we share with those to whom we feel closest

Imprinting and possible sensitive periods for healthy interpersonal relationships

Romanian orphans in 1970s and 80s

Contact Comfort

Behaviorists assumed children bonded with those that provided them nourishment

Harlow’s work with rhesus monkeys showed otherwise

Attachment Styles

Refers to how infants react when separated from primary caregiver Strange Situation

task

Attachment Styles

Secure: Upset, but greets mother’s return with joy.

Insecure-avoidant attachment: Indifferent and shows little reaction on mother’s return.

Insecure-anxious attachment: Panics and then shows a mixed emotional reaction on mother’s return, simultaneously reaching for her yet squirming to get away after she picks him/her up.

Disorganized attachment: Inconsistent and confused set of responses. May appear dazed when reunited with mother.

Attachment Styles

Four categories of behavior Secure attachment (60%) Insecure-avoidant attachment (15%-20%) Insecure-anxious attachment (15%-20%) Disorganized attachment (5%-10%)

Attachment Styles

Show large cultural differences

Subject to the mono-operations bias: Single measure to make conclusions

Lack of reliability on the Strange Situation Changing styles over brief times Different styles for mom vs dad (40% of infants)

Establishing Bonds

Type of attachment varies depending on: Parental style Infant temperament

Parenting Styles Permissive – tend to be lenient, little

discipline, very affectionate

Authoritarian – Very strict, punishing, little affection

Authoritative – Supportive but set clear and firm limits

Uninvolved – neglectful and ignoring

Parenting Styles

May not matter as much as once thought, as long as an average expectable environment is provided

Matter most if they are toxic or child is genetically predisposed towards impulsivity or violent behavior

Other Parenting Issues Relative influence of peers vs parents on

social development

Fathers differ from mothers in several waysLess attentive and affectionate towards babiesSpend less time with babiesMore time in physical playPreferred as playmates by children

Enviro and Genetic Influences on Social Behavior and Social Style in Children

Self-control: The ability to inhibit our impulses Crucial ingredient of

social development Good predictor of later

social adjustment

Sublimation

SexSex

GenderGender

Gender identityGender identity

Gender roleGender role

Individuals’ biological status as male or female

Psychological characteristics—behaviors, thoughts, and emotions—that tend to be associated with being male or female

A person’s sense of being male or female

Behaviors that tend to accompany being male or female

Gender concepts are crucial to children’s understanding of themselves as social beings.

Development of Gender Identity Biological influence on gender differences

Which toys are played with Sex segregation during play

Social influences also play a role in gender development Encouragement of types of behavior Expectations of behavior

Gender-role socialization tends to be stricter for boys than girls

Identity Development

One main challenges during adolescence is development of an identity – who we are, our goals and priorities

Erikson developed a comprehensive model to explain identity development

Proposed a 3-level theory of moral development:

Preconventional level Conventional level Postconventional level

Moral Development

Lawrence KohlbergLawrence Kohlberg

Levels of Moral ReasoningPreconventionalPunishment and reward What’s right: What

we’re rewarded for What’s wrong: What

we’re punished for

Conventional Societal valuesWhat’s right: What

society approves ofWhat’s wrong: What

society disapproves of

Postconventional Internal moral principles that transcend societyWhat’s right: What

accords with fundamental human rights and values

What’s wrong: What contradicts these rights and values

A woman in Europe was dying from a rare disease. Her only hope was a drug that a local druggist had discovered. The druggist was charging ten times more than it cost him to make it. Heinz, the husband of the dying woman, had desperately tried to borrow money to buy the drug, but he could borrow only half of the amount he needed. He went to the druggist, told him that his wife was dying, and asked to let him pay the druggist later or to sell the drug at a lower cost. The druggist refused, saying that he had discovered the drug and he was going to make money from it. Later, Heinz broke into the druggist's store to steal the drug for his wife (Kohlberg, 1969, p. 379).

Cultural bias

Sex bias: Justice Vs. Caring

Low correlation with moral behavior

Confound with verbal intelligence

Causal direction: Moral reasoning vs emotional reaction

Criticisms of Kohlberg’s Work

Love and commitment

Careers

Midlife transitions

Parenthood

Life Transitions in Adulthood

Different ways of conceptualizing old age: Biological functioning Mental attitudes, agility and

capacity to deal with stress Ability to function in societal roles Age appropriate social behaviors

Social Transitions in Later Years

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Psychology Human Development