Introduction to Psychology
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Transcript Introduction to Psychology
Chapter 4
Developing Through
the Life Span
Sara J. Buhl
Psychology 101
Cayuga Community College
Developmental Psychology
study of physical, cognitive, and social changes
from infancy through old age
Developmental Issues
Nature (genetic inheritance) versus Nurture (our
experiences)
Continuity versus Stages
Is development gradual and continuous? Or is there a sequence
of separate stages?
Stability versus Change
Do our personality traits remain the same or do they change?
Prenatal Development
Zygote (conception to 2 weeks)
fertilized egg
enters a 2-week period of rapid cell division
develops into an embryo
Embryo
developing human organism from 2 weeks through second
month (8 weeks)
Fetus
developing human organism from 9 weeks to birth
Prenatal Development
Teratogens
agents that can reach the embryo or fetus
during prenatal development and cause
harm
chemical, e.g., alcohol, some medicines,
cocaine, heroin, nicotine
viral, e.g., HIV, Rubella
Prenatal Development
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
caused by a pregnant woman’s heavy drinking
physical and brain abnormalities in children
no known safe amount of alcohol during pregnancy
Smoking
Fetus may receive fewer nutrients
May be born underweight
Infancy and Childhood
Maturation
biological growth processes
that enable orderly changes
in behavior
At birth
3 months
15 months
Cortical Neurons
Maturation & Infant Memory
What is your earliest memory?
Infantile Amnesia - most people cannot
recall much from before age 4 or 5
Cognitive Development
Cognition
mental activities associated with thinking, knowing,
remembering, and communicating
Jean Piaget (1896-1980)
developed and administered intelligence tests
interested in how children had different ways of reasoning
than adults
mind develops in a series of stages
Schema = a framework that organizes and interprets
information (e.g., dog)
Piaget’s Stages of
Cognitive Development
Object Permanence
Infants younger than 6 months tend not to understand
that things continue to exist when they are out of sight
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjBh9ld_yIo
Conservation
properties such as mass, volume, and number remain
the same despite changes in the forms of objects
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtLEWVu815o
Current Researchers & Piaget
Piaget underestimated young children
babies do seem to possess a more intuitive sense of logic
and numbers
symbolic and formal operational thinking both appear
earlier than Piaget thought
today development is seen as more continuous than
Piaget proposed
Studies do support the sequence of Piaget’s stages
(even if the ages aren’t exact)
Social Development
Stranger Anxiety
fear of strangers that infants commonly display
beginning by about 8 months of age
Attachment
an emotional tie with another person
shown in young children by seeking closeness to the
caregiver and showing distress on separation
Attachment Styles
Securely Attached
Explore surroundings, play (when mother is present)
Distressed when mother leaves; comforted when she returns
Insecurely Attached - Ambivalent
Less likely to explore and may cling to mother
Seem indifferent when mother leaves and returns
Insecurely Attached – Avoidant
Also less likely to explore and may cling to mother
May cry loudly and remain upset when mother leaves and
returns
Social Development
Harlow’s Surrogate Mother
Experiments
Monkeys preferred contact
with the comfortable cloth
mother, even while feeding
from the nourishing wire
mother
Social Development
Monkeys raised by
artificial mothers
were terror-stricken
when placed in
strange situations
without their
surrogate mothers
(due to animal
welfare issues this
would not be done
today )
Social Development
Percentage
of infants
100
who cried
when their
mothers left
80
Groups of infants
who had and had
not experienced
day care were
left by their
mothers in a
unfamiliar room
Day care
60
40
Home
20
0
3.5 5.5 7.5 9.5 11.5 13.5 20
Age in months
29
Parenting Styles
Authoritarian
Parents impose rules
Obedience is expected
Permissive
Parents submit to their children’s desires
Few demands are made
Little punishment
Authoritative
Set expectations, but are also responsive
Set and enforce rules
Explain reasons for rules
Social Development
The correlation between authoritative parenting and social
competence in children
Parenting
style
(e.g.,authoritative)
Child’s traits
(e.g., self-reliant
socially competent)
Harmonious marriage,
common genes, or
other third factor
Chapter 4 – Part II
Adolescence & Adulthood
Development is now seen as lifelong
Adolescence
Transition from childhood to adulthood
Starts with puberty
Ends when independent adult status is attained
Adolescence
Physical Changes
Puberty – sexual maturation; become capable of
reproducing
Surge of hormones
Rapid physical development
Primary sex characteristics
Body structures that make reproduction possible
Ovaries, testes, and external genitalia
Secondary sex characteristics
Sexual characteristics that are nonreproductive
breasts; facial hair
Adolescent Brain
Brain is still developing
Frontal lobe matures until about age 25
Myelin growth occurring (fatty tissue surrounding axons
that speeds communication between neurons)
Judgment improves
Better impulse control
Greater long term planning ability
Adolescence
Cognitive Development
Piaget
Formal Operational Stage
Adolescents are capable of abstract reasoning and logic
Abstract ideas like good versus evil
Hypothetical reasoning and consequences
Adolescence
Moral Reasoning
Kohlberg’s Moral Dilemmas
Moral dilemmas were posed to children, adolescents, and
adults
“Is it acceptable for a person to steal medicine to save a
loved one’s life?”
Answer often depended on stage of development
Preconventional morality (before age 9)
Self-interest is focus: avoid punishment or obtain rewards
Conventional morality (by early adolescence)
Cares for others and upholds laws and social rules
Postconventional morality
Considers rights of people and basic ethical principals
Moral Development
Empathy – capability to relate to another person’s
feelings and emotions
Sympathy – ability to support another by being
compassionate
Delay Gratification
http://vimeo.com/7494173
Adolescence
Social Development
Erik Erikson (1960s)
Stages of Psychosocial Development
Search for identity
Identity – sense of self
Intimacy – ability to form close relationships (later
adolescence and early adulthood)
Erikson’s Stages of
Psychosocial Development
TRUST vs. MISTRUST
Infancy (0-1 yr.)
When needs are met, a basic sense of trust is developed
Erikson’s Stages of
Psychosocial Development
Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt
Toddlerhood (Age 1-2)
Gaining independence: Walking
Learn to do things for themselves OR doubt their abilities
First Power Struggles
Erikson’s Stages of
Psychosocial Development
INITIATIVE vs. GUILT
Preschooler (ages 3-5)
Language = questions
Creative independent play
Learn to initiate tasks
Guilt – Feeling bad about behavior
Erikson’s Stages of
Psychosocial Development
COMPETENCE vs. INFERIORITY
Elementary School (6 years to puberty)
Skills: Read, Write, Math, Social, Sports
Tendency to feel inferior if unable to master tasks
Erikson’s Stages of
Psychosocial Development
IDENTITY vs. ROLE CONFUSION
Adolescence (teen years – 20s)
Meaning of question: Who am I ?
Role Experimentation
Refine sense of self (identity)
Identity Crisis – confusion about sense of self
Erikson’s Stages of
Psychosocial Development
INTIMACY vs. ISOLATION
Young Adulthood (20s to early 40s)
Emotional commitment
Form close relationships
Lack of close relationships – social isolation
Erikson’s Stages of
Psychosocial Development
GENERATIVITY vs. STAGNATION
Middle Adulthood (40s - 60s)
Contribution to Next Generation
Through family and work
What makes life meaningful?
May feel a lack of purpose
Erikson’s Stages of
Psychosocial Development
INTEGRITY vs. DESPAIR
Late Adulthood (late 60s+ )
Pride, Self-Respect
Reflect on life
May feel satisfaction or failure
Adolescence
Social Development
Parent influence diminishes in many areas
Parent influence remains in:
Religion
Thinking about college
Career choices
Political views
Adolescence
Social Development
Peer Influence Grows
Talk
Dress
Actions
Peer exclusion
Painful
May lead to withdrawal
Loneliness
Low self-esteem
Adulthood
Physical Development
Physical abilities – peak in mid-20s
Health & exercise habits play a large role
Women – ability to reproduce declines
Menopause occurs around age 50
Later life
changes in vision, hearing, smell become increasingly
noticeable
Immune system weakens
Adulthood
Cognitive Development
Memory abilities change as we age
When asked to learn a list of 24 words
No clues: younger people recall more words
Multiple choice test of recognition: no change with age
Crystallized intelligence
Accumulated knowledge and verbal skills
Increases with age
Fluid intelligence
Ability for quick and abstract reasoning
Decreases in late adulthood
Adulthood
Social Development
Evidence does not support a midlife “crisis”
Most divorces are in 20s
Most suicides in 70s and 80s
Life crisis triggered by major events (illness, divorce) not
age
Social Clock
Preferred timing of social events (marriage, parenthood,
retirement)
Culture dependent
Adulthood
Marriage
Adults are marrying later
Divorce rates have increased
Less economic dependence for women
Striving for an “equal” relationship (work, chores)