Lecture Notes - Developmental Psychology

**Lesson: Erik Erikson's Theory of Psychosocial Development** **Human Development** **Developmental psychology** is the scientific study of patterns of change and stability that occur as we move from conception to death (life cycle). *How we grow into who we are!* - Developmental psychologists study maturation and aging process; what affects it and what it affects. - For example, a developmental psychologist may conduct a study addressing how children of different ages perform on a particular test. The developmental Psychologist would be concerned with the differences between the age groups, why they performed differently, what developmental issues may be the causal factors in the differences. - People study it because they are interested in describing how individuals change over the course of their lives, explaining why these changes occur, and understanding individual differences in life courses. - Another reason is people want to understand themselves. Major themes in human development research... - **Nature vs. nurture controversy** is the debate about whether our behavior is primarily due to heredity (nature) or environment (nurture). In other words are we mainly a product of our genes or out experiences. - **Development is characterized by continuity and discontinuity**. *Searing people's histories to speculate about the origins of their present behavior.* This activity illustrates a belief in continuit or connectedness, the idea that current functions are build on previous functions. There are two implications to this idea. First development is often seen as gradual and incremental in the connected worldview. Even radical changes in behavior, such as the negativity of the "terrible twos," are viewed as part of a chain of developmental events that has actually been occurring for some time. Also the ideas of connectedness encourages belief in the stability of traits over time. In contrast, some scientist emphasized *discontinuity,* the appearance of new behavior that does not build on prior behaviors and experiences. Some discontinuities have a biological basis, such as the intense interest in sex that appears during puberty. Other times discontinuities stem from changes in our environments such as going to college, historical events, and personal experiences. There is evidence for both continuity and discontinuity. *Developmental psychologists conduct experiments, naturalistic observation, correlational studies, and case studies that enable them to assess change over time.* **Cross-Sectional Study-** A research design in which investigators test individuals from several different age groups at one point in time - A cross-sectional study of well-being across adulthood might involve asking 25-year-olds, 45-year-olds and 65-year-olds to rate how happy they are - For example, a researcher may give one type of test to children in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades, to examine the differences in performance across these age groups. - Cross sectional studies provide information about different age groups but not about the stability of individuals' behavior over time - A cross sectional study of happiness can tell us that 65-year-olds are as happy as 25-year-olds but this information does not tell us whether each individual tends to maintain a particular level of happiness. - ***Cohort Effects***, systematic difference between age groups that are due to cultural changes over time - For example, think about how different a group of American children who grew up in the Great Depression would be from children who grew up in the prosperous 1990s. An example of a cohort effect could be seen in an experiment in which participants use a computer to perform a cognitive task. The results might show that participants in their 20s did vastly better on the cognitive test that participants in their 60s. But a cohort effect is responsible for the significance- the participants in their 20s have been using computers their entire lives and were more comfortable and proficient with the computerized testing format than the participants in their 60s. - **Advantages:** Cost less, do not lose participants and produce results quickly - **Disadvantages:** Cannot examine change over time, cannot examine cohort effects **Longitudinal Study-** A research design in which investigators follow the same group of individuals over a period of time (restudied over a period of time). This research strategy provides information about patterns of stability and change in development. - For example, a longitudinal study would tell us whether everyone tends to maintain their levels of happiness over time or whether some individuals report decreased happiness as they age while others report increased happiness. - **Advantages:** The longitudinal study design is good for looking at the effects or changes over a long period of time, usually as people age. This type of study would also allow us to look at how early events relate to later outcomes. This information provides a richer picture of development than the one provided by a cross-sectional study. - **Disadvantages:** When only a single cohort (age group) is followed, changes that appear to be developmental may actually be due to historical events. - For example, a study of happiness that began in the late 1960s would compare young adults during an optimistic time with middle adults during the economic recession that arrived about 20 years later. In this case, both age and social circumstances have influenced results. - Another problem is that it is difficult to keep track of participants over time. - Repeated exposures to testing procedures or the questions used in the study provide practice that may camouflage developmental change. ***The limitations of cross-sectional and longitudinal research have led some investigators to use combined techniques called sequential designs.*** **Cross-Sequential-**A combination of cross-sectional and longitudinal designs, in which several age groups are identified at one point in time and then retested at regular intervals. - This dual study is used to correct flaws that might be found in either of these designs alone - Cross-sequential studies provide no guarantee that results will represent people from other times and places. **Brain Break:** Over nearly 80 years, Harvard longitudinal study - Harvard study, almost 80 years old, has proved that embracing community helps us live longer, and be happier - When scientists began tracking the health of 268 Harvard sophomores in 1938 during the Great Depression, they hoped the longitudinal study would reveal clues to leading healthy and happy lives. - After following the surviving Crimson men for nearly 80 years as part of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, one of the world's longest studies of adult life, researchers have collected a cornucopia of data on their physical and mental health. - Of the original Harvard cohort recruited as part of the Grant Study, only 19 are still alive, all in their mid-90s. Among the original recruits were eventual President John F. Kennedy and longtime Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee. (Women weren't in the original study because the College was still all male.) - In addition, scientists eventually expanded their research to include the men's offspring, who now number 1,300 and are in their 50s and 60s, to find out how early-life experiences affect health and aging over time. Some participants went on to become successful businessmen, doctors, lawyers, and others ended up as schizophrenics or alcoholics, but not on inevitable tracks. - "The surprising finding is that our relationships and how happy we are in our relationships has a powerful influence on our health," said Robert Waldinger, director of the study, a psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital and a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. "Taking care of your body is important, but tending to your relationships is a form of self-care. That, I think, is the revelation." - Those who kept warm relationships got to live longer and happier, said Waldinger, and the loners often died earlier. "Loneliness kills," he said. "It's as powerful as smoking or alcoholism." - "When the study began, nobody cared about empathy or attachment. But the key to healthy aging is relationships, relationships, relationships." **Erik Erikson** **(1902 - 1994)** was a developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst, best known for formulating the Psychosocial Stages of Development which outlined personality development from birth to old age. He also coined the term Identity Crisis which describes when a person loses their sense of self. However, Erikson is most remembered for the stages of development. Each of the eight stages is marked by a conflict which must be successfully resolved in order to attain a favorable outcome, which he called \"virtues.\" - Erikson\'s theory has contributed significantly to teaching and child-rearing practices, while providing psychotherapists with a roadmap as to what could be the significant conflict that needs to be resolved by the patient. - Erikson believed that at each stage a person faced some type of a crisis. He or she needed to resolve that crisis before moving on to the next stage. Erikson's stages were... **Predominant Issue or Crisis-Failure to pass through any stage successfully blocks normal healthful development.** **Trust vs. Mistrust (Infancy)** **(Birth to 18 months)** The first stage of Erik Erikson's psychosocial theory, when sensitive caregiving gives infants from birth to 18 months of age a basic sense of trust in the world. Unresponsive or unpredictable caregiving leads infants to be mistrustful. - Almost every species requires some degree of care and nurturance after birth. Human infants, in particular, are highly dependent on their caregivers for food, shelter, and protection. As babies, we must be able to trust that our caregivers will meet our needs. Otherwise, mistrust can develop and lead to lifelong problems. Erikson described infancy as a special time when assumptions about trust are forged most easily. - Caregivers who are responsive and sensitive to their infant's needs help their baby to develop a sense of trust; their baby will see the world as a safe, predictable place. When a baby cries, there is some need that should be met with a response from caregivers, whether it involves providing food, safety, a fresh diaper, or a comforting cuddle. By responding quickly and appropriately to an infant\'s cries, a foundation of trust is established. - Basic trust in the world promotes later exploration and independence. - If infants are treated cruelly or their needs are not met appropriately, they will likely grow up with a sense of mistrust for people in the world **Autonomy vs. Shame/Doubt (Toddlers) (18 months to 3 years)** The second stage of Erik Erikson's psychosocial theory, when children from 18 months to 3 years of age react to feedback about their successes and failures by developing confidence in their abilities (autonomy) or feeling shame and doubt. - The "me do it" stage to establish independence - Now that children are potty training and learning to feed themselves, they are responsive to feedback about their successes and failures. Erikson thought that parents who do not set boundaries will fail to develop their children's sense of safety, whereas those who expect too much will leave their children feeling defeated. **Initiative vs. Guilt (Preschool) (3 to 5 years)** Erikson's third stage of psychosocial development, from roughly 3 to 6 years of age, when children compare themselves to others and want to master what other people have mastered. During this stage, the feedback they recive determines whether they feel worthy or bogged down by guilt because their behavior seems inadequate. - *"Being firmly convinced that he is a person, the child must find out what kind of a person he is going to be." -Erikson* - ***Initiative*** (ambition and responsibility) occurs when parents allow a child to explore within limits and then support the child's choice. Develop self- confidence and feel a sense of purpose - Children need to begin asserting control and power over the environment by taking initiative by planning activities, accomplishing tasks and facing challenges. During this stage, it is important for caregivers to encourage exploration and to help children make appropriate choices. Caregivers who are discouraging or dismissive may cause children to feel ashamed of themselves and to become overly dependent upon the help of others. - This stage can sometimes be frustrating for parents and caregivers as children begin to exercise more control over the things that impact their lives. Such decisions can range from the friends they play with, the activities they engage in, and the way that they approach different tasks. Parents and other adults might want to guide children toward certain friends, activities, or choices, but children might resist and insist on making their own choices. While this might lead to some conflicts with parental wishes at times, it is important to give kids a chance to make such choices. However, it is important that parents continue to enforce safe boundaries and encourage children to make good choices through the use of modeling and reinforcement. - Those who are unsuccessful at this stage---with their initiative misfiring or stifled by over-controlling parents---may develop feelings of guilt. - Children who experience guilt will instead interpret mistakes as a sign of personal failure, and may be left with a sense that they are \"bad.\" **Industry vs. Inferiority (Grade School) (6 to 12 years)** Erikson's fourth stage of psychosocial development, from roughly 6 years of age to puberty, when children are intrigued with the world of knowledge and work, try to master the technologies of their cultures, and monitor the success of their efforts. Children who succeed develop a sense of mastery and competence; those who fail feel inadequate and inferior. - During the industry versus inferiority stage, children become capable of performing increasingly complex tasks. As a result, they strive to master new skills. Children who are encouraged and commended by parents and teachers develop a feeling of competence and belief in their abilities. Those who receive little or no encouragement from parents, teachers, or peers will doubt their ability to be successful. - Parents can help kids develop a sense of realistic competence by avoiding excessive praise and rewards, encouraging effort rather than outcome, and helping kids develop a growth mindset. - If children do not learn to get along with others or have negative experiences at home or with peers, an ***inferiority complex*** might develop into adolescence and adulthood **Brain Break:** According to salary.com, the median annual earnings for developmental psychologists in 2009 ranged from \$69,999 to \$91,000. The highest 10 percent of earners made more than \$100,000 per year. **Identity vs. Role Confusion (Adolescence) (12 to 18 years)** In Erik Erikson's theory, the fifth stage of development in which adolescents explore who they are and how they fit into society. - Those who receive proper encouragement and reinforcement through personal exploration will emerge from this stage with a strong sense of self and a feeling of independence and control. Those who remain unsure of their beliefs and desires will remain insecure and confused about themselves and the future. - Resolving the crisis at this stage of development involves committing to a particular identity. This might involve committing to a career path, deciding what social groups to associate with and even developing a sense of personal style. **Intimacy vs. Isolation (Young Adults) (18 to 35 years)** The sixth phase of life in Erikson's theory when adults forge meaningful relationships or suffer from a lack of connection. - Success, Strong and deep romantic relationships, Close relationships with friends and family - Failure, Poor romantic relationships, No deep intimacy, Loneliness and isolation **Generativity vs. Stagnation (Middle Aged) (35 to 55 or 65)** The seventh phase of life in Erikson's theory when people in middle adulthood either focus on production by nurturing, teaching, and leading or become self-absorbed and experience stagnation. - Some key characteristics of generativity include making commitments to other people, developing relationships with family, mentoring others and contributing to the next generation. As you might imagine, these sorts of things are frequently realized through having and raising children. - Some characteristics of stagnation include being self-centered, failing to get involved with others, not taking an interest in productivity, no efforts to improve the self and placing one\'s concerns over above all else. - One thing to note about this stage is that life events tend to be less age-specific than they are during early-stage and late-stage life. The major events that contribute to this stage such as marriage, work, and child-rearing can occur at any point during the rather broad span of middle-adulthood. **Ego Integrity vs. Despair (Late Adulthood) (65 Onwards)** The eighth and final stage of Erik Erikson's theory of psychosocial development in which people review their lives and either feel satisfied with how they have lived (integrity) or feel they have not lived life to the fullest (despair). - *If the person has successfully progressed through his or her previous stages of development-if he or she has experienced more trust than mistrust, more autonomy than shame and doubt, more initiative than guilt, more industry than inferiority and if he or she has had an identity, and intimate relationship, and has been a productive, generative person, then the individual will face the final years of life with enthusiasm and eagerness. The person will be childlike, said Erikson, in his or her enthusiasm for life. Thus Erikson argued that he or she will feel a sense of ego integrity. The person will feel that he or she has led a full and complete life.* - People who have not been as fortunate or have not made the best choices-who have experienced more mistrust, shame, isolation, and self-absorption-will be bitter that time is running out before they can live to the fullest. These are the minority of people who end life with a fear of death and sense of despair. **\ ** **Lesson: Prenatal Development & The Newborn** *Development begins long before the child is born. From conception there are changes happening all of the time. In addition, many factors influence how the child develops before birth.* **Prenatal Development-** Refers to the development of a baby in the womb - The time from fertilization until birth is the ***gestation period***. This period averages 38 weeks, with most women delivering their babies some time earlier or later than their predicted due dates. - Nature is determined when we are conceived, nurture is the environment (such as the mother getting the flu during pregnancy) **Germinal Period "Finding a Place to Live" -**The first 2 weeks of development after fertilization - An individual starts to form when the male and female reproductive cells combine to form a single cell called a **zygote.** - This process is often called conception but biologists prefer the term fertilization. - The zygote undergoes its first cell division with a day after fertilization. Three days later, the developing organism is a small, hollow ball of 32 cells called a *blastocyst*. - Eight days after fertilization the mass of cells starts attaching (implanting) to the lining of the uterus, establishing a supply of nourishment from the mother's blood system. - As few as 20 to 30 percent of ovulations complete the journey from ovulation to fertilization and implantation **Brain Break:** Weighing little more than an apple at birth, Saybie is the smallest baby to ever survive - At 8.6 ounces or 245 grams, Saybie weighed little more than an apple at birth and is believed to be the world\'s smallest baby to survive according to the Tiniest Babies Registry. - Her birth was so premature, doctors considered her a \"micro preemie\" - a baby born before 28 weeks\' gestation. - Saybie was monitored at Sharp Mary Birch Hospital\'s neonatal intensive care unit in California until reaching an adequate weight. She has now been discharged weighing 5.6 pounds. **Placenta-**A fleshy disk of cells that keeps the mother's bloodstream separate from the bloodstream of the developing embryo. The placenta sustains the life of the embryo by transferring oxygen and nutrients, removing waste products, and after the initial months of gestation, secreting hormones that sustain the pregnancy. - The *umbilical cord* is a lifeline that connects the embryo to the placenta. **Brain Break:** Proponents have said eating placenta reduces pain, improves mood and energy level, increases milk production, and may even have anti-aging properties --- a wonder drug produced by a pregnant woman's own body. - Positive placenta-eating anecdotes have flourished, and so have companies that charge hundreds to prepare a placenta for consumption, dehydrated like beef jerky or processed into smoothies or pills. - They acknowledge the claims made by proponents, but analyzed any scientific studies they could get their hands on --- and found them lacking. Many were unscientific or surveys taken by people who've self-selected to participate, raising serious questions about bias. The researchers warned that positive anecdotes about improved emotions may be influenced by the placebo effect. - Eating the placenta has no proven benefits, and could be dangerous. **Embryonic Period "Organizing Space"-**Prenatal development from the beginning of the third week through the eighth week. - The first 3 months of pregnancy (first trimester) is a vulnerable time. About 20 percent of embryos are expelled from the uterus when pregnancy ends naturally due to a ***spontaneous abortion (miscarriage).*** Most of these failed pregnancies are the result of a defective embryo and about half show chromosomal abnormalities. - By the end of the embryonic period the heart has already been beating for about a month. Still, the embryo needs the next developmental period before it will be ready to survive outside the womb. **Fetal Period "Finishing Touches"-**Prenatal development from the beginning of the ninth week until birth. - By the beginning of the ninth week after fertilization, the single-cell zygote has developed into a fetus that is about 1.6 inches long and distinctively human in shape. - Bone development now speeds up and finishing touches such as fingernails and toenails begin to form. - Movement starts to occur about 6 weeks after fertilization but in the fourth month of pregnancy parents are finally rewarded by quickening (to be alive), the first kicks mothers can feel. - ***Viability*** is the ability to survive outside the womb with expert care. The probability of surviving outside the womb gradually increases from 24 percent at 23 weeks' gestation to more than 90 percent at 28 weeks. These figures continue to change as new technologies are invented. - Fetuses are active and experiencing the world throughout this period of pregnancy. Taste buds form by 13 weeks. Most fetuses begin hearing by the sixth month of pregnancy and can distinguish between sounds of different frequencies during the last trimester. As a result, they are exposed to the sounds of their mother's heartbeat and environmental sounds that pass through the abdominal wall and uterus, including the sound of their mother's voice. - Fetuses are also learning by their last trimester. *In most cases, prenatal development occurs normally and follows the established patterns of development with little variation. However, there are a number of things that can go wrong during this time, which are usually caused by genetics or environmental problems.* **Brain Break:** Breastfeeding does not improve a child\'s intelligence, despite the widespread belief that \"breast is best\" for IQ, according to a new study. Scientists who conducted research on 11,000 British children found no reliable association between breastfeeding and higher IQ at age two. Nor was breastfeeding related to improvements in intelligence as children grew up. - Previous studies have suggested a link between higher IQs and being breastfed. But there has been debate about whether such findings are skewed by the fact that those from less deprived groups are more likely to breastfeed. **Critical Periods-**Time interval during which specific stimuli have a major effect on development that the stimuli do not produce at other times **Birth Defects**-About 2 to 3 percent of newborns have an identified birth defect, with additional children receiving diagnoses as they group. Birth defects include structural abnormalities. Most of the time, the cause of the birth defect is unknown. **Teratogen-**Any non genetic agent that produces birth defects at exposures that commonly occur. Teratogens include drugs and environmental chemicals, diseases, X rays, harmful diets, and conditions such as advanced maternal age. - The placenta is a magical organ. It provides nutrition and oxygen to the developing embryo, transfers waste products back to the mother's blood stream, produces hormones and modifies the mother's immune response to protect the embryo from attack and rejection. But despite this impressive list of talents, the placenta does not fully protect an embryo or fetus from drugs and other environmental hazards. - ***Thalidomide Tragedy-***In the past, doctors believed that the placenta served as a barrier to protect the growing fetus against toxins. During the 1960s, a number of pregnant women were prescribed the drug thalidomide which caused more than 10,000 infants to be born missing legs, arms, or ears. The birth defects caused by the drug made the dangers of certain medications very clear. Today, doctors recognize the teratogenic effects of many medicinal drugs including anticonvulsants, tetracycline, anticoagulants, bromides, and most hormones.Because of the potential dangers, it is important for pregnant women to avoid any medications that have not been specifically recommended by their doctor. You have also probably noticed that most television ads for new medications include some type of statement warning that women who are pregnant or who may become pregnant should avoid taking the drug. ***The influence of a teratogen varies with the following factors:*** 1. ***The timing of exposure.*** Specific teratogens damage specific parts of the body. As a result, teratogens usually do the most harm when exposure occurs while the systems they affect are rapidly developing. The first 8 weeks of gestation are an especially vulnerable time because most parts of the body take shape during this early period. Due to timing effects, two sisters who use the same drug during pregnancy may produce one normal and one malformed child if one mother used the drug outside of the "sensitive period." Thus the lack of birth defects in some children is not proof that a drug is safe. 2. ***Maternal and fetal genes and conditions.*** Even when mothers are exposed to teratogens during the same weeks of pregnancy, it is typical for only some of their infants to develop birth defects. The impact of a teratogen is influenced by a mother's physical condition, including her weight, nurturing status, and health. Also, genetic factors protect some embryos and fetuses from harm. 3. ***Length and intensity of exposure.*** Even minimal exposure to a teratogen can have devastating effects if exposure occurs during a sensitive period of development. Teratogens are more likely to cause harm at high doses or when exposure occurs over long periods of time. 4. ***Time since birth.*** The impact of a teratogen may not be clear at birth or even 1 year later. For example, the brain areas responsible for planning and strategy use develop later an therefore damage to these regions may not be evident until age 10 or older. ***Because it is so difficult to predict the effect of a teratogen, the best course of action is to avoid unnecessary drugs and chemical exposure during pregnancy.*** **Stress-**Any form of prenatal stress felt by the mother can have negative effects on various aspects of fetal development - A stressed mother is more likely to engage in behaviors that could negatively affect the fetus **Alcohol-**Alcohol is not safe to drink in any amount during pregnancy - Alcohol use during pregnancy has been found to be the leading preventable cause of mental disabilities in children in the United States **Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)-**Fetal alcohol syndrome includes physical, cognitive, and psychological abnormalities that result from consuming alcohol during pregnancy. FASD affect an estimated 40,000 infants each year (more than spina bifida, Down syndrome, and muscular dystrophy), It is called the "Invisible Disability" - Depending on the timing and frequency of maternal alcohol consumption, outcomes associated with prenatal alcohol exposure may include: - Abnormal facial characteristics - Growth deficits - Brain damage including mental retardation - Heart, lung, and kidney defects - Hyperactivity and behavior problems (Rage-Impulse, Lack Common Sense, Process +Sequencing) - Attention and memory problems - Poor coordination and motor skill delays - Difficulty with judgment and reasoning - Learning disabilities - **"Of all the substances of abuse (including cocaine, heroin, and marijuana), alcohol produces by far the most serious neurobehavioral effects in the fetus." -Institute of Medicine, 1996** - FASD is an umbrella term describing the range of effects that can occur in an individual prenatally exposed to alcohol. These effects may include physical, mental, behavioral, and/or learning disabilities with lifelong implications. - 1991 study found that mothers who consumed just 1 alcoholic beverage a day during pregnancy (and assuming these are drinks that contain moderate alcohol levels per drink), had children who scored lower on IQ tests at age 4 than children whose mothers did not drink. Even when environmental factors were accounted for, IQ scores were still lower. **Smoking/Nicotine** - Many legal drugs are unsafe to use during pregnancy. - Women who smoke cigarettes are more likely to have premature and low-birth-weight babies and these infants face a higher risk of sudden infant death syndrome, a disorder in which infants stop breathy and die. **Smoking/Marijuana** - It is recommended that pregnant women do not use marijuana (CDC) - Prenatal exposure to marijuana is associated with delayed growth before birth, attentional problems during school years, and an increase in behavior problems. **Prescription/Illegal Drugs** - Many illegal drugs harm developing children. - For example, mothers who are addicted to heroin deliver babies who are also addicted, and these infants suffer from irritability and tremors that may persist for up to 3 months. - Cocaine is associated with impaird fetal growth and numerous congenital malformations, including urinary tract and cardiac malformations. There are also small differences between cocaine-exposed and unexposed children on IQ tests and larger differences in behavior. - As they grow, fetally exposed children have attentional problems and difficulty managing impulses and frustration, especially in challenging situations that place limits on the behavior. This is why exposed babies may seem perfectly normal while they are toddlers at home and yet seem out of control in preschool, when they are expected to sit for longer periods and follow directions. **Brain Break:** How do you think the criminal justice system should deal with mothers who abuse drugs during pregnancy? - Should the pregnant mother who engages in substance abuse be viewed as a criminal or as someone suffering from an illness requiring appropriate treatment? ***What can babies do? What do babies need?*** **Neonates-**Newborn babies - Most full-term babies weight between 5.5 and 10 pounds and measure between 18 and 22 inches long. - Medical personnel work quickly after a hospital birth to evaluate newborns and coordinate *postpartum* (after birth) parent education. At 1 minute and 5 minutes after birth, an attendant records an **Apgar score** to indicate the newborn's general condition. About nine in ten babies in the United States receive a score of 8 to 10. **Competent Newborn** - Newborns enjoy looking at objects that are 8 to 15 inches in front of them and are attracted to movement. - Although they see little at a distance their vision improves rapidly during the next few months. Newborns' color vision is also poor but quickly develops. Initially they perceive red more easily than other colors and react only to large patches of extremely saturated color. - Hearing is relatively well developed at birth. Newborns hear more of the speech in conversations near them and love human voices. - Newborns also prefer music over noise, can turn in the direction of a sound and can recognize their mothers' voices. - Newborns arrive with the ability to smell, taste, and feel. They quickly learn to prefer their mothers' smell. Newborns love to be touched and react to changes in temperature and pressure. - The vestibular system, including mechanisms in the inner ear that register motion and maintain balance, is especially well developed. In fact vestibular stimulation, such as light bouncing from carrying an infant, is the most effective way to soothe crying babies during their first few months. **Reflexes-**Involuntary, unlearned movements that occur in response to specific stimuli. Reflexes help babies take in what they need to survive. Some reflexes fade as higher brain centers develop, so their disappearance is a sign that the nervous system is developing normally. There is cause for concern if some reflexes do not disappear on schedule or if there are missing or abnormal reflexes. - **Rooting-**Touch infant's cheek near the mouth; infant turns head and may start sucking (usually disappears by 3 to 6 months). - **Babinski-**Stroke infant's foot from toe to heel; toes fan out and foot twists in (disappears by about 1 year) - **Moro-**Hold infant horizontally and drop head slightly or make a loud noise. Infant arches back, extends legs, and flings out arms before bringing them back toward the center of the body, as if trying to grab onto something. (disappears by 3 to 6 months) - Babies respond to loud sounds or the sudden loss of support by swinging their arms out and bringing them together again. This Moro reflex may have helped nonhuman primates hang onto their mother's fur. - **Palmar grasp-**press a finger against the infant's palm; infant grasps tightly (weakens after a few hours and fades completely after 3 to 4 months). - **Walking-**Hold infant upright and place bare feet on a surface; infant lifts one foot, then the other (seems to disappear at 1 to 3 months, when body weight begins to exceed strength, then reappears between 11 to 16 months) - **Sucking-**Put finger in infant's mouth; infant suchks (strongest in the first 3 to 5 months but continues throughout infancy) **Maturation-**Biological growth processes that bring about orderly changes in behavior, thought, or physical growth, relatively unaffected by experience. - Maturation (nature) sets the basic course of development; experience (nurture) adjusts it. - Severe deprivation or abuse can retard development - Maturation, motor and perceptual skills, motivation, and environmental support all contribute to the development of new behaviors **Developmental Norms-**Developmental norms (also known as developmental milestones) refer to the normal timeline of mental and physical growth and changes that occur as an entity ages. In the case of human children this refers to crawling, walking, talking, etc., any of the hundreds of large and small changes that occur between birth and adulthood. If a baby has not reached a developmental norm within a normal time frame then there is a possibility that they may have a developmental delay. - For example, if a child is not walking by the time they are 17 months old then they should be tested for any motor issues that are preventing them from reaching this developmental norm. - Genes guide motor development (identical twins typically begin walking on or nearly the same day) **Six Motor Milestones-**As an infant's muscles and nervous system mature, skills emerge. Infants develop in a predictable order-first holding the head up then the head and chest, then rolling and sitting-partly because the must have control of the muscles for early emerging skills before later emerging skills can be mastered. Milestones (age range in which most children master the skill. - Rolls from back to stomach (4-7 months) - Grasps a small object off a flat surface (4 to 7 months) - Crawl on hands and knees (7 to 10 months) - Sits with enough balance and support to free hands for an activity such a pat-a-cake (10-11 months) - Drinks from cup held with both hands, with assistance (11 months-1 year 3 months) - Walks up stairs, both feet on each step (1 year 6 months-2 years) - Builds a four-block tower (1 year 6 months-2 years) - Wals well and rarely falls (1-2 years) - Turns doorknob to open door (2 years-2 years 6 months) - Runs well (2-3 years) - Scribbles with crayon (2-3 yearS) **Blooming-**Brain development precedes the appearance of new behavior, but increasingly complex behavior also prompts further brain development. Brain development proceeds rapidly from the prenatal period, during which about 20 billion brain cells are producing, through the baby's first two years, during which the dendrites in neural networks, especially in the cerebellum then in the occipital and temporal lobes as cognitive abilities grow - One the day you were born, you had most of the brain cells you would ever have (nervous system was immature). After birth, the branching neural networks that enable you to walk, talk and remember had a wild growth support. Neural networks grow increasingly more complex. - Brain development proceeds rapidly from the prenatal period, during which about 20 billion brain cells are produced, through the baby's first two years, especially in the cerebellum, then in the occipital and temporal lobes as cognitive abilities grow **Infantile Amnesia-**The phenomenon that older children and adults typically have no memories of events that occurred before 2 to 3 years of age. - *Autobiological memories* do not survive the transition into later years. One possibility is that autobiological memories cannot be stored until children develop a sense of self, which emerges around 2 years of age. A sense of self allows children to do more than just remember an event-it allows them to remember that "this is happening to *me"* ***Potential Student Questions*:** **When does life begin? (Nevada Abortion Law) Only within first 24 weeks unless necessary to preserve life, health of mother** - Informed consent of mother, certified by M.D.; if mother under 18, unemancipated and unmarried, actual notice to parent/guardian required before procedure unless immediately necessary to protect life, health of minor; if actual notice is unsuccessful, then M.D. must delay abortion until she has notified parent by certified mail; court may authorize abortion if mature or in minor\'s best interest - Over half of premature babies born between 23 and 24 weeks of pregnancy will survive delivery and live to see life outside of the NICU. Babies born before 23 weeks may survive -- the youngest preemie ever to survive was Amillia Taylor, born at only 21 weeks and 6 days gestation. But, 23 to 24 weeks is often considered the age of viability for premature babies. **\ Lesson: Attachment Theory** **NICU Practices:** Ask the students who was born prematurely? In the past if I had been born prematurely, they would have stuck me in an incubator and left me there, in as quiet and dark room as possible, and minimize touching and interacting with me. Why would they have done this? They were afraid that heart and lungs weren't ready, and they wanted to mimic the womb as much as possible (womb is dark and quiet). - A woman had an idea (20 years ago) that touch is so powerful and so important, what if we took babies born at 25 weeks of age and started to touch them. Instead of putting babies away, she began to have parents massage babies (interact with them 3 to 4 times a day), she continued to involve more hospitals. NICU babies were going home 7 to 10 days later. Physical touch did something!Now most NICU's try to stimulate babies with touch and it is a common practice. **No social behavior is more striking than the intense and mutual infant-parent bond.** **Stranger Anxiety**-Infants become afraid of strangers at about 7 months of age, when the brain structures that support memory are increasingly linked to areas that determine the emotional significance of events. Now babies experience a discrepancy between "mother" versus "this isn't mother" and they can attach an emotional response "not mother". **Attachment Bond "Anchor for Attachment"**-Attachment can pertain to all people, regardless of age, but typically relates to the attachment between children and caregivers (usually the mother). Attachment is an emotional tie or bond between two people. This is a very powerful bond that is important for survival - it keeps infants close to their mothers which is important for getting food, staying away from danger, and getting comfort. **Familiarity** **is important to attachment.** **John Bowlby** **(1907-1990)**- Proposed that infants are biologically derived to maintain closeness to their mothers in order to survive. - Through daily interactions, infants learn about their primary caretaker's accessibility and responsiveness, and through these interactions they develop mental representations of one or more attachment figures and themselves. **Konrad Lorenz**- Austrian scientist who is known for his work in zoology, ethology and and ornithology with an emphasis on instinctive behavior in animals. He is best remembered for his study of imprinting in birds (the tendency of birds to identify the first being seen after birth as their \"mother\") and for his work in ethology (study of ethics) that led to a shared Nobel prize in 1973. **Imprinting**-Why do chicks (baby birds\...jeez) follow the mother bird and do whatever she does? The reason is that they are going through a process of imprinting, in which certain birds and mammals form attachments during a critical period very early in their lives. During this point in development, the birds are so available to form attachments, that even if there is no mother bird, or no birds at all, they may develop attachments to a substitute. For example, if you hatched several baby geese and raised them without having a mother goose around, the chicks may perceive you as the mother and imprint to you. They would follow you around, try to mimic lots of your behaviors, etc., just as if you were the mother. This is the way they learn the behaviors and characteristics of their species. - People don't have the critical period imprinting. We have a "sensitive period" that's less written-in-stone. Children like what's familiar -- same faces, same stories, same routines. These things mean safety and comfort. - Familiarly it important to attachment. We tend to find objects, people, and places appealing and comfortable because we are around these things for extended periods of time. **Harry Harlow (1905 - 1981)-** known for his experiments on maternal separation and social isolation of rhesus monkeys. His work emphasized the importance of care-giving and companionship as vital to normal social and cognitive development. - During the 1950s, University of Wisconsin psychologists Harlow Harlow and Margaret Harlow breed monkeys for their learning studies. - Harlow\'s work on parental love came about during a time when psychologists and physicians believed that isolating children would protect them from disease. The Harlows went against the establishment in psychology, which at that time was centered on a behaviorist view of "if it can't be seen, it shouldn't be studied" **Contact Comfort-**In his surrogate mother experiment, Harlow demonstrated the importance of contact comfort. Baby rhesus monkeys were separated from their mothers and given two surrogate mothers - one made out of wire, and another made of terry cloth. He found that the baby monkeys preferred to cling to the terry cloth surrogate even when food was provided by the wire surrogate. - Contact and touch are vital to attachment, learning, emotional well-being, and psychological development (caregivers greatly affect development) - Touch is how babies feel secure and trust! **Social Isolation Experiments**- Harlow separated baby rhesus monkeys from their mothers and subjected them to partial or total isolation of varying duration. He found that those who experienced partial isolation exhibited abnormal behaviors such as blank staring, going in circles, and self mutilation. Those who experienced total isolation exhibited severe psychological disturbance, and experienced emotional shock upon being released from isolation. He also found that subsequent attempts to socialize monkeys who were isolated were only partially successful. **Mary Ainsworth** **(1913 - 1999)-** ainsworth was a colleague of Bowlby. Ainsworth noticed that infants all over the world use attachment figures as secure bases for exploration. Infants need parents to survive, but they also need to venture into the environment in order to learn and develop. Infants make decisions to explore or play it safe based on their evaluation of the environment and their caretaker's past behavior. - Attachment bond is more than just an emotional system: It is a system that promotes cognitive development by giving children the sense of safety they need to learn. **Strange Situation Experiments-**A sequence of events staged in the laboratory to measure infants' attachment behaviors. Begins when a parent and infant are introduced to an unfamiliar room. After a brief adjustment period, a stranger enters and plays with the infant for 1 minute. The infant's behavior is then observed at three points: while the parent leaves the room and returns, while the infant is left alone briefly, and when the infant is rejoined by the stranger and the parent. - How infants behave when their parents are absent and how they react when their parents return from being absent indicates the level of attachment. - According to attachment theory, parental behavior is critical for individual differences in attachment styles. **Secure Attachment**-(70% of researched children) Use their mothers as a base for exploration. These infants show signs of missing mothers who are leaving the room and greet her when she returns. ONce secure infants are comforted, they actively explore their environment. - **Erik Erikson** said that kids that are securely attached to their parents approach life with a **basic trust**. They see life as a safe, predictable place and approach life with a more "go get 'em" attitude. - *Mothers of securely attached infants respond promptly, affectionately, and appropriately to their babies' signals.* - As Adults they have trusting/lasting relationships, tend to have good self-esteem, are comfortable sharing feelings with partners and friends, seek out social support **Avoidant (Insecure) Attachment**-(15% of researched children) Do not react when mother leaves and avoid her when she returns. They stiffen when they are picked up and seem more interested in toys that their mother. - Many psychologists believe that this type of insecure attachment comes from mom being disengaged and emotionally detached from the child. - *Mothers of avoidant infants are rejecting, Less responsive mothers who often ignored their children, or super-anxious mothers who obsessed over every little thing, often raised insecurely attached kids* - Adults may have problems with intimacy, invest little emotion in social and romantic relationships, unwilling or unable to share thoughts or feelings with others **Anxious-Ambivalent Attachment**- (15% of research children) Infants are either fussy or passive. These infants are distressed when their mother leaves but are not easily comforted when she returns. Insecure ambivalent infants do not explore much and often as inconsistently, alternating requests for contact with signs of anger or rejection. - *Mother is inconsistent.* Many psychologists believe this type of insecure attachment comes from the mother being engaged with the child only on her own terms and not meeting the needs of the child. In other words, mom gives attention to the child once her own needs are met. - As adults, reluctant to become close to others, worry that their partner does not love them, become very distraught when relationships end **Disorganized/Disoriented Attachment-** Infants seem confused and disoriented, as if they cannot decide how to respond to their mother's coming and goings, and some appear fearful of the parent. - *Troubled mother-infant interactions (possible maltreatment).* Many psychologists believe that the mothers of children with this type of insecure attachment may have suffered some type of traumatic loss in their lives that resulted in severe depression. The thought being that there is a connection between mom having severe depression and the child developing this type of insecure attachment. **Brain Break:** Reactive attachment disorder (RAD) is a rare but serious condition in which an infant of young child doesn't establish health attachments with parents or caregivers. - A consistent pattern of inhibited and emotionally withdrawn behavior toward caregivers; only occasional or minimal signs of seeking or responding to comfort when distressed - At least two of the following: - Minimal social and emotional responsiveness to others, Limited positive affect - Unexplained instances of irritability, sadness, or fear - A past experience of extremely insufficient care, involving at least one of the following: - Social neglect or deprivation, with basic needs for comfort, stimulation, and affection unmet - Repeated changes of primary caregivers that limits opportunities to form a stable attachment with a caregiver - Growing up in an environment that seriously limits opportunities to form a stable attachment with a caregiver - A child who receives this diagnosis should have a developmental age of at least 9 months, and the symptoms should be apparent before age 5. - The risk of developing RAD is higher than average in babies and children who have a mother with postpartum depression, live in orphanages and other institutions, live in multiple foster-care situations, are separated from parents for an extended period, or have neglectful parents or caregivers. **Brain Break Fathers-**Most research on parenting focuses on mothers because mothers typically provide the most direct care. But times have changed! It is clear that competent fathers improve children's lives. "Children do not benefit from the mere presence of fathers." - ***Father are competent parents***. Fathers and infants regulate each other's behavior during interactions just as mothers and infants do. Fathers and mothers are equally successful in carrying out routine tasks like feeding. - ***Fathers and mothers behavior differently around young children***. Especially when mothers are nearby, fathers spend more time playing than in routine caregiving. Generally they intiatie more activities that arouse children whereas mothers are more calming and prefer to read or engage in joint interactions with toys. Father's behavior look like mother's behavior when fathers are primary caregivers. Accordingly, infants of highly involved fathers interact similarly with their mothers and fathers. - ***Interactions with fathers are important.*** Children are influenced by all of their interactions; therefore their father's behavior is most important. For example, the children of fathers who are affectionate, responsive, and teaching oriented are more likely than other children to score well on tests of cognitive and language development. - ***Fathers' contributions benefit the family***. Fathers buffer children from the effects of poverty and improve the quality of mothering by lowering family stress. **Temperament "Personality of Infants"-**Individuals' characteristic moods, ways of reacting to situations, and styles of self regulation. - Even only weeks old, a person's temperament starts to show up as being reactive or calm, fidgety or relaxed, unpredictable or predictable. - *Easy children* established regular routines, were cheerful and were unusually positive in the face of new situations. - *Difficult* babies had irregular biological functions, responded negatively to new stimuli and changes in the environment, and had intense reactions to events. Though slow to adapt, these children were indistinguishable from other children in non challenging environments. But whether life inflicted new demands on them, such as a transition to nursery school, their irritable patterns reappeared. - *Slow-to-warm-up children* reacted to new foods, people, and events by turing away and fussing. Their negative reactions were mild, though, and they acted like other children once they had adjusted to a new situation. - Parents can affect the stability of children's temperament. The ability of parents to help bring inhibited children out of their shells is one example of how adults can gently nudge children onto new behavioral paths. **Psychologist Diana Baumrind's research on parenting styles launched decades of research to describe how parents steer children in desired directions.** **Authoritarian Parents "Too Hard" -**Restrictive parenting style. Set high standards for their children and expect them to obey without question. These parents provide few explanations for their rules, show relatively little affection, and do not encourage children to express their own views. Compared to other parents, authoritarian parents are less nutrient and involved with their children. - Authoritarian parents would ground a child for staying outside alone after dark and say that it\'s just the rule instead of explaining the hazards of the situation (like an authoritative parent would). A neglectful parent would just call the child in for dinner and ignore the circumstances. - "Because I said so!" "Do what I said or I'll...." - (Preschoolers) Children of authoritarian parents were obedient but unhappy. - Highly controlling approach can produce children who show poor self regulation because they do not have an internal set of values and general rules to guide actions and decisions. **Permissive Parents "Too Soft" -**Demand little from their children and do little to train them to be more independent. - *Democratic-indulgent* parents are loving parents who rarely restrict children\'s behavior unless there is a serious danger. These are tolerant people who often go along with children's wishes. - *Rejecting-neglecting* parents are too disinterested or overwhelmed by life to attend parenting details. These parents are unaware of what their children are interested in or what they are doing. - (Preschoolers) Children tended to be unhappy children who lacked self-control and self-reliance **Authoritative Parents "Just Right"-**Have high standards for their children, they create households that are supportive and nurturant in addition to being firm. These parents set standards and have high expectations for their children, but they explain the reasons for rules and are excellent communicators who clearly tell children what they expect from them. - (Preschoolers) children were well adjusted, well-behaved and independent. The loving but firm control from authoritative parents encourage children to develop self-help skills and to communicate clearly with others. **Important parent-child relations to promote adjustment** - Parenting that is culturally consistent - Warm and responsive parenting - Setting of consistent limites - Inductive parenting (explanations) **Abuse & Neglect:** - Neglected children may be left at home, fed inadequate food, or allowed to suffer from diseases that are left untreated. Children who suffer from physical abuse are repeatedly slapped, struck with objects, and violently thrown, shaken of pulled. - Children with difficult temperaments and physical disabilities are more likely to be abused than those who make fewer demand son their caregivers. - Abusive parents are more likely to be young, poor, socially isolated, and living in neighborhoods that lack social resources. They often have unrealistic expectations about children, place their needs about their children's and discipline inconsistently. - **Shaken Baby Syndrome-**Babies are especially vulnerable when they are shaken or thrown violently.Shaken babies have a high mortality rate and survivors often suffer from subtle neurological disorders or seizures. Inappropriate paly can cause shaken baby syndrome. The usual cause is a caregiver who became frustrated by relentless crying. - Child abuse and neglect have a negative impact on many aspected of development. Abused toddlers have problems with relationships, children are withdrawn, aggressive, and less likely to be securely attached to their primary caregivers. - Infants and toddlers who are exposed to violence have problems controlling their emotions, are less responsive to environmental events, and show abnormalities in their self-concepts. - Neglected and physically abused children are more likely than other children to do poorly in school, have problems with peer relationships and show aggressive, angry behavior. These problems often survive into adulthood. Individuals who were maltreated as children are more likely to be arrested for violent crimes and to suffer depression and other emotional problems. **Abuse-Breeds-Abuse Phenomenon**-The phenomenon of maltreated children growing up to abuse their own children. Across studies, only about 30 percent of abused children group up to be abusers themselves. - Young children who have survived severe or prolonged physical abuse, childhood sexual abuse or wartime atrocities are at increased risk for health problems, psychological disorders, substance abuse, and criminality - Babies locked away at home under conditions of abuse or extreme neglect are often withdrawn, frightened, even speechless. - Most children growing up under adversity are resilient; they withstand the trauma and become normal adults. - The Harlow's monkeys raised in total isolation, without even an artificial mother, bore lifelong scars. As adults, when placed with other monkeys their age, they either cowered in fright or lashed out in aggression. When they reached sexual maturity, most were incapable of mating. If artificially impregnated, females often were neglectful, abusive, even murderous toward their first-born. **Brain Break: *Shaking Baby Syndrome***-usual cause is a caregiver who became frustrated by relentless crying. - Shaken baby syndrome is a form of child abuse. When a baby is shaken hard by the shoulders, arms, or legs, it can cause learning disabilities, behavior disorders, vision problems or blindness, hearing and speech issues, seizures, cerebral palsy, serious brain injury, and permanent disability. In some cases, it can even be fatal - When a baby is shaken, its brain can bounce between the front and back of its skull. This causes it to bleed, bruise, and swell. It only takes a few seconds of aggressive shaking for this to happen. - Being shaken affects babies in many different ways. Symptoms include vomiting, bluish skin, tremors or shakes, breathing issues, and drowsiness. Babies may also become less interested in eating, have trouble sucking, and stop smiling and talking. **Studies of Orphanage-Reared Infants:** Child advocates have long feared that raising babies in orphanages would prevent them from forming secure emotional attachments. Is the quality of life in orphanages sufficient to promote normal mental development? - In the 1970s and 1980s in Romania institutions without stimulation or attention of regular caregiver. Romania's communist dictator outlawed contraception, forbade abortion, and taxed families with fewer than five children. The birth rate skyrocketed, but unable to afford the children they had they were left to abandon children to government-run orphanages with untrained and overworked staff. Children lived in circumstances that rarely exist in a modern industrialized country: - *Children were sometimes two in a crib, and all wore sweaters and knitted caps in their beds to keep them warm. In that dirty, foul-smell orphanage there were no pictures, no heating ovens, no outside play equipment, and it was there that we saw a child who had pulled out hunks of her own hair, another\...who rocked back and forth hitting his head against the metal bars of his crib, and at least three\...children who shrank from my hand when I extended it toward them...\[In the\] worst orphanage I saw, 2 and 3 year olds sat on plastic potties placed on small individual chairs four times a day for a half hour each time. And the amazing thing was that they did just sit. -Ames, 1990, in Castle et al., 1999, p. 426* - After reports like this one became known, representatives from aid organizations and private citizens quickly flocked to Romania. Many families brought children back to the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States where the were later enrolled in studies to track their progress. - Tells an information story. First it is not enough to meet infants' medical needs; humans need psychological stimulation to develop normally. Children reared with inadequate stimulation experience devastating developmental delays and are listless and passive. Second environments that provide sufficient stimulation but deprive children of opportunities to develop consistent social relationships often produce children who have problems with higher-level skills, such as regulating attention and inhibit inappropriate behavior. *Young kids exposed to extended abuse, trauma, and neglect are at a higher risk for psychological disorders, health problems, and substance abuse as adults* **Brain Break** **Daycare-**Overall the effects of day care are small. One reason for this finding is that working parents provide a lot of one-on-one time during their nonworking hours. The quality of parental care is the best predictor of child outcomes (the quality and consistency of children's relationships is what drives development). - Day care generally does not affect infants' attachment security toward their mothers. However infants in low-quality child care whose mothers are low in sensitivity are less likely to be securely attached. - The effect of day care on cognitive development depends on how the quality of out-of-home care compares to what children would have experienced at home. In general, children from low-socioeconomic families benefit from high-quality day care, whereas outcomes for other children are variable. - Children who spend a lot of time in nonparental care are more disobedient and aggressive than their home-reared peers during the transition to kindergarten, but the difference between the groups is not large. The stability of out-of-home care may be more important than the amount of time children spend in out-of-home care, so behavioral problems are primarily associated with unstable child-care arrangements. **Lesson: Jean Piaget & Cognitive Development** **Talking Twins Video:** Who are the children modeling? They are taking turns talking (one at a time), parents model this for the child. It is the very beginning of language - Child psychologists are very interested in what is happening here. **Cognitive Development-**Refers to the normal development of thought and intellectual processes; imagination, reasoning, perception, problem solving, etc. We see this in how children develop, grow and learn new skills and perceptions as they mature. - At some point after conception, we all gain consciousness -- we become aware of ourselves and our surroundings. Our brain and our thinking gets better. - Young children are incapable of adult logic **Historical Background:** Until the seventeenth century there was little interest in developmental psychology. The dominant view in much of Europe was that children were miniature adults, with small-scale adult traits, virtues, and vices. They were cared for until about the age of six, when they could care for themselves. Thereafter they were dressed like adults, put to work alongside hem, punished like them for wrong deeds or disobedience to authority, and even hanged for thievery. **Jean Piaget-** Psychologist most famous for his theories on cognitive development in children. Early in his career he noticed that children think differently from adults. He theorized that humans go through specific stages of cognitive development and intellectual progression. Piaget developed stages of cognitive development that children progress through at certain ages. - Piaget ranks as one of the most influential psychologists ever. On education and child development, he is likely \#1. - Piaget has been called one of the two unquestioned geniuses in the field of psychology (the other is Freud) **Yet he never took a single course in psychology!** - **Background:** Piaget was born in a small town in Switzerland, showed unusual intellectual talents as a young boy. He published an article at the age of 10, did research on mollusks in high school. Although Paiaget earned a doctorate in the natural sciences, he decided to study children's mental development as a vehicle for answering questions about the nature of knowledge. - While working in a laboratory that was developing an intelligence test, Piaget became intrigued by the regularity of children's mistakes. In other words, children did not simply know less than adults, they seemed to think about the world in an entirely different way. To study children's knowledge in a way that would not limit the types of answers they gave, Piaget developed a clinical method in which he posed problems to children, often by asking questions about objects they could change. - Piaget's writings began to have a major impact in the United States in the 1960s when dissatisfaction with the learning perspective opened the window for other views to take hold. Many scholars see him as the leading historical figure in developmental psychology. - In the 1920's, Piaget's early publications launched the modern study of cognitive development in Europe and America. - **Limitations of Piaget:** Hundreds of studies have documented that children understand more than Piaget gave them credit for. Adults do not perform nearly as well as Piaget predicted they should. Children show many mental competencies earlier than Piaget thought **Schema-**Basic Unit of Cognition) A psychological structure that contains the knowledge, rules, and strategies children use to understand and explore the world. - During the first 2 years of life, intelligence is dominated by sensorimotor schemes, which are action patterns such as reaching, grasping, or tasting. When children transition from infancy to early childhood, they shift from knowing the world through physical action to thinking about things inside their heads. Now children have *cognitive schemas,* which are mental symbols (thoughts) and procedures that guide their interactions with the world. - For example, children develop a schema that balls are round, soft objects that bounce back when thrown into furniture of walls. As a result, the first golf ball the grab becomes a dangerous object that might be tossed through a window. **Assimilation-**In Piaget's theory of cognitive development, integrating a new experience into an existing scheme or way of understanding the world. - If a toddler has a schema for horse but has never seen a deer before, she may call the first deer she sees a "horsey." She wants to fit within her understanding. **Accommodation-**In Piaget's theory of cognitive development, modifying a schema or way of understanding the world, to adjust to a new experience. - Soon enough the toddler will realize that the deer are not just horses, and she adjusts her schema, then she will be able to tell the difference between the two. **Piaget's Four-Stage Theory of Cognitive Development-**As daily experiences prompt children to absorb new knowledge and modify existing schemas they move through the four stages of cognitive development. Children reach these stages at somewhat different ages, but all children go through the stages in the same order because the accomplishments of the early stages are foundations for more complicated cognitive structures. **Sensorimotor Stage-**The stage in PIaget's theory, from birth until approximately 2 years of age, when infants coordinate sensory systems, learn to keep mental representations of objects in mind, and begin to think through the results of actions before performing them. - The change from knowling the world by sensing and acting to the ability to manipulate mental symbols. **Object Permanence-**The ability to understand that objects continue to exist in space and time even when they are not currently being perceived. - Toddlers will have to see something to know that it exists, for example if you toss a blanket over their pacifier they may think that it completely vanished - This explains why the game of Peek-a-Boo is so fun at this age. A hidden face is really gone, to the infant, then suddenly it's back! Wow! **Preoperational Stage-**Piaget's second stage of cognitive development (roughly from 2 to 7 years) when children are illogical because their thinking is centered (focused on only one aspect of a problem), appearance-bound (focused on what is perceptually obvious) static (considering only the current state of affairs), and irreversible (not capable of reversing a prior change) **Egocentrism-**Inability on the part of a child in the preoperational stage of development to see any point of view other than their own. - For example, little Suzy gets a phone call from her father, who asks little Suzy if Mommy is home. Instead of saying, \"yes\", little Suzy nods her head. Her father, hearing no response, asks again, to which little Suzy again nods her head. What little Suzy fails to appreciate is that her father is unable to see her nodding. Little Suzy can only take her own perspective - \"I am nodding my head yes, why do you keep asking me this question?\" **Theory of Mind-** One's grasp of mental concepts, including one's understanding that other people have thoughts, desires, and intentions. - Parents encourage children to think about mental states ("How do you think it makes Sandy feel when you grab her toy?") and they believe their little ones are ready for school when they can consider other people's feelings. - The theory also states that there are mental conditions that prevent some people from being able to recognize mental states in others. Some conditions that interfere with this include autism spectrum disorders, schizophrenia, ADHD, etc. - Adults can encourage children to be more sensitive to other people's thoughts and feelings. **Conservation-** The child understands that changing the form of a substance or object does not change its amount, overall volume, or mass. This accomplishment occurs during the operational stage of development between ages 7 and 11. - Children center on irrelevant dimensions (such as the length of a row) and fail to mentally reverse the movement of the object. - Children were shown 2 identical glasses filled with a liquid. They obviously had equal volumes. Then one glass was poured into a tall, skinny glass. The liquid naturally filled up higher in the skinnier glass. When asked, "Which as more?" the children usually say the tall, skinny glass has more because it's higher. **Centration**-During this stage, which occurs from age 4-7, the child begins to develop logic or reasoning. One of the processes that develops is that of Centration, which refers to the tendency to focus on only one aspect of a situation, problem or object. - For example, a child may complain that there is little ice cream left in a big bowl. The child will be satisfied if the ice cream is transferred to a little bowl, even though nothing is added, because he only considers how full the bowl appears to be. - What's 3+2, child would say 5. But if you ask them what's 5-2, it would be much harder for them to do (reverse) **Animism-**The belief that objects that are inanimate (not living) have feelings, thoughts, and have the mental characteristics and qualities of living things. Animistic thinking is very common (if not ubiquitous) in young children and Piaget noted that this is a characteristic of the preoperational stage of childhood development. - Children frequently believe that their toys have feelings. For example, a child wouldn\'t want to leave their teddy bear outside for fear that it might get cold at night and be lonely without them. They are attaching human qualities and feelings to an inanimate object. **Brain Break:** Benjamin Spock, according to the New York Times, baby and child care, throughout its first 52 years, the second-best-selling book, next to the Bible - Spock was the first pediatrician to study psychoanalysis to try to understand children\'s needs and family dynamics. His ideas about childcare influenced several generations of parents to be more flexible and affectionate with their children, and to treat them as individuals. **Concrete Operational Stage-** A mode of thinking, lasting roughly from 7 to 12 years of age, when children begin to think more logically and flexibly about concrete materials (materials they can see and touch). Concrete operational children have difficulty handling abstract concepts that is, reasoning about possibilities that do not physically exist. - They cannot think in the abstract, however. In math, a child here will often use his or her fingers (physical things) to add or subtract. They struggle to make the jump to an abstract algebra question, like "If you have 5, how many more do you need to make a dozen?" This would simply be shown as 5 + x = 12. The variable is an abstract concept. **Reversibility-** During this stage, which occurs from age 7-12, the child shows increased use of logical thinking. One of the important processes that develops is that of Reversibility, which refers to the ability to recognize that numbers or objects can be changed and returned to their original condition. - For example, during this stage, a child understands that a favorite ball that deflates is not gone but can be filled with air again and put back into play. **Decentration-**Refers to the ability to consider multiple aspects of a situation. In Piaget\'s theory of cognitive development, the third stage is called Concrete Operational stage, where a child age 7-12 shows increased use of logic. One of the logical processes that develops is that of Decentering. For example, when asked to choose between two lollipops, a child might choose based on how one flavor is better than the other even though the other is the same size and color. **Formal Operational Stage-**In Piaget's theory the capacity for increasingly abstract thought that emerges around 11 to 12 years of age (shift from things to ideas). Formal operational children can engage in deductive reasoning (generate and test hypotheses) and formal propositional logic (the ability to understand possible combinations of variables). - Think about *abstract* ideas, ideas that are not grounded in concrete reality. Teens move beyond the here and now to consider "what is possible" and they generate new knowledge by internal reflection. Individuals can speculate about the future and develop problem-solving strategies for planning future events. **Piaget's Four-Stage Theory of Cognitive Development-**Critics argue that it oversimplifies things and being too rigid in how it classifies it by age. Today's researchers have found of the abilities in earlier ages (for example object permanence in as early as 3 months old). **Lev Vygotsky** **(1896-1934)-** Vygotsky believed that the way to understand children was to study the child participating in an event in context. Development is a social process because the social context defines children's experiences and, in turn, children affect their contexts. - **Children learn best by interacting with others "education through cooperation"** - **Vygotsky emphasized the role of the environment (nurture) and gradual growth (continuity) in intellectual functioning** - **Zone of proximal development-**The distance between what children know how to do now and what they are able to learn when they interact with more competent individuals. - **Scaffolding-**The process whereby competent mentors encourage development by providing clues, prompting, or modeling a skill. Just as a scaffold is a temporary structure that helps people construct a building, the behavior of others acts as a temporary support that enables children to build new skills. - **Background**-Vygotsky was born in the same year of Jean Piaget. Vygotsky and his colleagues conducted their views during the social upheaval that followed the Russian revolution. They wanted to develop an approach to psychology that emphasized how people could serve society by sharing and cooperating. **Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)-**Range between the level at which a child can solve a problem working along with difficulty, and the level at which a child can solve a problem with the assistance of adults or more-skilled children. - The peer/role model influence helps the child move through the development zone to the next level of understanding. **\ ** **Lesson: Gender Development** *One of the earliest questions that parents have is "Is it a boy or a girl?" The process of establishing a gender identity begins remarkably early.* - Over 30 years researchers asked first-time mothers to "describe your baby as you would to a close friend or relative." Despite the fact that boys and girls have the same average birth weight, length, and Apgar scores, parents saw their children through pink and blue lenses. - Boys were more often described as "big" and girls as "little," "beautiful," and "cute." Over 20 years later parents still rated their girls are weaker, more delicate, and more feminie. **Sex-**Refers to the strictly biological traits that define male and female. - Sex chromosomes contain the genes that determine our biological sex. In humans and most other mammals, sex chromosomes occur in pairs. An X/Y chromosome pair results in a male, and an X/X pair results in a female. - When discussing someone's physical designation as male or female, we should use the term *sex i* **Gender-**Includes both biological traits and social characteristics. - Definitions of masculinity and femininity that are determined by one\'s culture. Therefore, the definitions of male and female can change across countries, societies, and subcultures. Together, all of these socially defined expectations make up the gender roles for masculinity and femininity. - An example of gender: A tribe in New Guinea may define masculinity according to the number of elk that a tribesman has killed, while in America some might define masculinity according to how much money one makes or how much weight one can lift. **Gender Identity-**Our fundamental sense of being male or female. - Children start to label themselves and other people as male or female around 18 months of age. By age 3 years, most children identify themselves and others as male or female, show gener based toy preferences, and have already begun to act differently with same-sex versus opposite-sex peers. - **Gender dysphoria-**A condition in which an individual's gender identity does not match his or her biological sex. The mean age of referral for children with gender dysphoria is 6 or 7 years old. **Sexual Orientation-**The preference to interact sexually with opposite-sex partners, same-sex partners, or both sexes. **Gender Roles-**Do you believe that you are supposed to act certain ways and do certain things because you are a man or a woman? Gender role is a set of expectations held by society about the ways in which men and women are supposed to behave based on their gender. - For example, my wife once told me that I should cut the lawn because that is \"the man\'s job.\" Although she was kidding (I think) this is an example of an expectation held because of gender. Remember, these are dependent on the culture/society and can change over time. - Gender roles vary over time and place. In North America, men were traditionally expected to initiate dates, drive the car, and pick up the check. Women were expected to decorate the home, buy and care for the children's clothes and select the wedding gifts. Up to the 1990s, Mom stayed home with a sick child, arranged for the babysitter, and called the doctor. Even in recent years, compared with employed women, employed men in the U.S. have daily spend about an hour and a half more on the job and one hour less on household activities. **Gender Socialization-**The process of learning social norms in a given culture. This can be gender roles, or rules of what is expected in society whether they are moral or not. Socialization is not the actual acquisition of rules and roles of a culture, rather is the process in which a person accepts and implements those expectations. Socialization is not solely determined by the environment, but results from the interaction of an individual\'s genetic makeup, personality, educational experience, and environmental influences. **Social Learning Theory-**This theory, made famous by Albert Bandura, states that social behavior (any type of behavior that we display socially) is learned primarily by observing and imitating the actions of others. The social behavior is also influenced, according to this theory, by being rewarded and/or punished for these actions. - For example, if a child sees his older brother bring home a good report card and he gets a great reward for it, the child may observe this, see the older brother get rewarded, and then learn that having a good report card will get rewarded so he should do it too. **Gender Schema Theory-**A theory of gender development that combines social learning and cognitive learning theory. Thus, gender roles are formed in part by observing others and learning from how others act, and from accomplishing different cognitive tasks specific to cultures that are done by men and by women. In most ways, men and women are the same. 45 of 46 chromosomes are identical. Yet, as always, we focus on the differences. And in case you haven't noticed, there are differences between men and women. - Men admit to more aggression (physical) than women do (relational). 1. Self-esteem scores differ slightly. Men are slightly higher in self-esteem scores than women. As to why this is the case, who knows? 1. It likely has something to do with the perceived expectations -- the "general view" is that a woman is slender, young and attractive. If a woman feels she doesn't meet this view, she'll sadly score herself lower in self-esteem. Don't fall into this trap girls! You're beautiful because of who you are! 2. Women can smell better, express emotions better, are helped more. 3. Women are also more often depressed, anxious, and have a 10 times greater chance of developing an eating disorder (this goes back to expectations). 4. Men are 4 times more likely to commit suicide or become alcoholics, and are more often autistic, color-blind, have ADHD, or are anti-social. 2. Men are more aggressive than women. 3. Men, in most cultures, are the "more dominant" gender socially. 5. More differences... 4. Men tend to be more accomplishment-oriented, women more relationship-oriented. 5. Males spend more time alone; women more time with others. 6. Males are more thing-oriented; women more people-oriented. 7. Males are more me-reliant than women (and therefore less religious). 8. These traits peak at late-adolescence/early adulthood and reach a low-point at around age 50. **\ ** **Lesson: Adolescent Development** **Adolescence-** Adolescence is a developmental stage that has been defined as starting with puberty and ending with the transition to adulthood (approximately ages 10--20). - ***Early adolescence*** corresponds roughly to the middle school or junior high school years and includes most pubertal change. - ***Late adolescence*** refers approximately to the latter half of the second decade of life. Career interest, dating, and identity exploration are often more pronounced in late adolescence than in early adolescence. **Brain Break: G. Stanley Hal & Adolescence** - In the end of the nineteenth century and the early part of the twentieth century saw the invention of the concept we now call adolescence. G. Stanley Hall pioneered the scientific study of adolescence. The **storm-and-stress view** is Hall's concept that adolescence is a turbulent time charged with conflict and mood swings. **Puberty-**A period of rapid physical maturation involving hormonal and bodily changes that take place primarily in early adolescence. Puberty is the beginning of adolescence. Puberty affects some adolescents more strongly than others and some behaviors more strongly than others (body image, interest in dating, and sexual behavior). - ***Hormones***-Powerful chemical substances secreted by the endocrine glands and carried throughout the body by the bloodstream. - ***Androgens***-the main class of male sex hormones. *Testosterone* is an androgen that plays an important role in male pubertal development. Throughout puberty, rising testosterone levels are associated with a number of physical changes in boys, including the development of external genitals, an increase in height, and voice changes. Testosterone level in adolescent boys is also linked to sexual desire and activity. - ***Estrogens***-the main class of female sex hormones. *Estradiol* is an estrogen that plays an important role in female pubertal development. As estradiol levels rise, breast development, uterine development, and skeletal changes occur. - Puberty today begins, on average, at age 10--11 years for girls and 11--12 years for boys. - This average age of onset has decreased gradually over time since the 19th century by 3--4 months per decade, which has been attributed to a range of factors including better nutrition, obesity, increased father absence, and other environmental factors. **Primary Sex Characteristics-**Body structures that are specific to sex. Females have ovaries whereas men have testes. These are primary sex characteristics because they are specific to the sex of the person (men typically don\'t have ovaries) and are related to reproduction. **Secondary Sex Characteristics-**These are the physical features other than reproductive organs that distinguish men from women. Secondary sex characteristics are non reproductive sexual characteristics such as breasts/widening of hips (on females) and an adam\'s apple, growth of facial hair, muscular growth on men. Growth of pubic hair and underarm hair in both. **Early and Late Maturation of Boys**-It is advantageous to be an early maturing rather than a late-maturing boy. - Early maturing boys perceived themselves more positively and had more successful peer relations than their late-maturing counterparts for boys. Early maturing boys were more successful and less likely to drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes than late-maturing boys. - When late-maturing boys were studied in their thirties, however, they had developed a stronger sense of identity than the early-maturing boys. Late-maturing boys may have had more time to explore a wide variety of options. They may have focused on how career development and achievement would serve them better in life than the emphasis on physical status by their early-maturing counterparts. **Early and Late Maturation of Girls-** There is more complex findings for girls than for boys. Early maturing girls are easily lured into problem behaviors, not recognizing the possible long-term effects of these on their development. Early-maturing girls look older and appear more capable of taking on more mature responsibilities when they often are not actually ready. - Early maturing girls had more problems in school were more independent and were more popular with boys than late-maturing girls were. In sixth grade, early maturing girls were more satisfied with their body image than late-maturing girls were, but by the tenth grade, late-maturing girls were more satisfied. - Early maturation increases girls' vulnerability to a number of problems. Early maturing girls are more likely to smoke, drink, be depressed, having an eating disorder, request earlier independence from their parents, and have older friends; and their bodies are likely to elicit responses from males that lead to earlier dating and earlier sexual experiences. - Early-maturing females had a higher incidence of mental disorders than late-maturing females. Early maturing increased the likelihood that girls would try cigarettes and alcohol without their parent's knowledge. **Stereotyping of Adolescents** - A stereotype is a generalization that reflects our impressions and beliefs about a broad category of people. Once we assign a stereotype, it is difficult to abandon it, even in the face of contradictory evidence. Stereotypes of adolescents are plentiful: - "They say they want a job, but when they get one, they don't want to work." - "They are all lazy." - "All they think about is sex." - "They are all into drugs, every last one of them." - "Kids today don't have the moral fiber of my generation." - "The problem with adolescents today is that they all have it too easy." - "They are so self-centered." - Adolescents have been portrayed as rebellious, conflicted, faddish, delinquent, and self-centered. **Frontal Lobe**-Recently neurobiological explanations of adolescent risk taking have been proposed. The prefrontal cortex (the brain's highest level that is involved in reasoning, decision making, and self control) matures much later than the amygdala (around age 18 to 25 or later), which the main structure involved in emotion in the brain. - One of the world's leading experts on adolescent development, Laurence Steinberg, likens this to **engaging a powerful engine before the braking system is in place.** The result is that adolescents are more prone to risky behaviors than are children or adults. - Risk taking declines as adolescents get older. **Risk Taking Behavior-**Sensation seeking increased from 10 to 15 years of age and then declined or remained stable through the remainder of adolescence and into early adulthood. However even 18 year olds are "more impulsive, less future-oriented, and more susceptible to peer influence" than adults in their mid to late twenties. - The more resources there are in community, such as youth activities and adults are role models, the less likely adolescents are to engage in risky behavior (higher level of social capital). **Beginning in early adolescence, individuals...** - "Seek experiences that create high intensity feelings\...Adolescents like intensity, excitement, and arousal. They are drawn to music videos that shock and bombard the senses, Teenagers flock to horror and slasher movies. They dominate queues waiting to ride the high-adrenaline rides at amusement parks. Adolescence is a time when sex, drugs, very loud music, and other high-stimulation experiences take on great appeal..." -Dahl, 2004, p. 6 **Synaptic Pruning-**Refers to the normally occurring process that change and reduce the number of neurons, synapses and axons that exist within the brain and nervous system. Infants are born with a massive number of available nervous synapses that, with growth, age and experience, reduce in number to include those which are useful and needed, while the unused disappear with time. For this reason it is important to create a mentally and physically stimulating environment for infants and children in order to maximize the neural pathways created before this pruning process begins. **Adolescent Egocentrism-**Heightened self-consciousness of adolescents, which is reflected in their belief that others are as interested in them as they are themselves and in their sense of personal uniqueness and invulnerability. - Adolescents typically think others are more aware and attentive of their behavior and appearance than people actually are. A common way of thinking for an adolescent that trips over the sidewalk at school is that everyone saw them and noticed and are going to think negatively about them for being clumsy. The entire world revolves around them in some manner. - Two components of adolescent egocentrism identified by Elkind are the imaginary audience and the personal fable. **Personal Fable-**The part of adolescent egocentrism that involves an adolescent's sense of personal uniqueness and invulnerability. Adolescents' sense of personal uniqueness makes them feel that no one can understand how they really feel. - For example an adolescent girl thinks that her mother cannot possible sense the hurt she feels because her boyfriend broke up with her. - Adolescents might craft stories about themselves that are filled with fantasy, immersing themselves in a world that is far removed from reality. Personal fables frequently show up in adolescent diaries. **Imaginary Audience-**The imaginary audience refers to the aspect of adolescent egocentrism that involves attention-getting behavior-the attempt to be noticed, visible, and "onstage." - An adolescent boy might think that others are as aware of a few hairs that are out of place as he is. - An adolescent girl walks into her classroom and thinks that all eyes are riveted on her complexion. - Adolescents especially sense that they are onsage in early adolescence, believing they are the main actors and all others are the audience. **Identity-**universal concern during adolescence: Who am I? What am I all about? What am I going to do with my life? What is different about me? How can I make it on my own? **Identity vs. Identity confusion**- Eriks

Lecture Notes - Developmental Psychology

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