Developmental Psychology: Childhood and Youth Recap (University of Europe for Applied Sciences Berlin PDF)

FINAL RECAP (1) Course: Developmental Psychology: Childhood and youth University of Europe for Applied Sciences Berlin Dr. Costanza De Simone January 16th 2025 Week 1 - Introduction to Developmental Psychology 1. How lectures are organised 2. Contexts th t in luence child...

FINAL RECAP (1) Course: Developmental Psychology: Childhood and youth University of Europe for Applied Sciences Berlin Dr. Costanza De Simone January 16th 2025 Week 1 - Introduction to Developmental Psychology 1. How lectures are organised 2. Contexts th t in luence children’s development 3. Key issues in child development 4. Milestones a f 2. Contexts that in uence children’s development fl Contexts 2.1. Family 2.2. Culture nd R ce/Ethnicity 2.3. Socioeconomic St tus 2.4. Historical Context 2.5. Digital Media a a a 2.2. Culture nd R ce/Ethnicity Culture refers to the ideas, customs, and social behavior of a society or group of people describes the way of a social group is learned, not inherited can be based on: National or regional location Religion Ethnicity Language a a Culture has an impact on: the way people behave how they interact with each other which values they hold how they raise their children  W = Western E = Educated M ny other cultures I = Industrialised Children are overseen by elders or siblings R = Rich Children learn by observation (i.e., D = Democratic Vs mistakes or dangers) Do not get the same emotional support (e.g., no comfort) Children are thought intellectual and social skills Parents provide for nancial and emotive support Nursery, kindergarten David Lance, 2015; de Leon, 2012 (see book) a fi “ What is considered normal practice in child-rearing is highly dependent on culture. Western experience and science have dominated our opinion of what is normal and adequate, but not all ndings and theories in this eld can be applied without constraint to other cultures.“ fi fi 2.3. Socioeconomic St tus a combination of someone’s income, education, and occupation indicator of a person’s social standing and nancial means Children who group up in poverty are: more likely to be born prematurely and at a low birthweight at higher risk of developing illnesses and mental health problems at higher risk of low school attendance, poor academic performance, and dropping of school a fi Factors that increase or decrease the likelihood of a child living in poverty: children’s race/ethnicity the place where they live whether they have siblings whether their family consists of one or two parents 3. Key Issues in Child Development  Question 1: How do the environment and genes interact to in luence children’s development? Both genes (nature) and environment (nurture) in luence all living beings The relationship between genes and the environment is bidirectional: our experiences and our environment in luence the expression of some of our genes (whether they are “turned on or off”) our genes and their expression in turn affect our development and thus our experiences Epigenetics = the study of the bidirectional relationship between the environment and the expression of genes (that is, the phenotype) f f f Smoking during pregnancy may activate genes that are responsible for obesity and heart disease (Reichetzeder, 2021; Rzehak et al., 2016; Smith & Ryckman, 2015).  Question 2: Is Development Continuous or Discontinuous? Continuous Development: development in which changes are gradual and build on each other (e.g., language) Discontinuous Development: development that happens in stages with each stage bringing about behavior and abilities that differ qualitatively from the behavior and abilities in other stages (e.g., object permanence) FIGURE 1.9 In continuous development, changes are gradual and build upon each other over time. In discontinuous development, changes are stage-like, and behaviors and abilities differ qualitatively from each other in each stage.  Question 3: Are Early or Late Experiences More Important? In Western countries, people believe that a child’s early years in luence development signi icantly: this perspective has many policy implications, leading to the belief that the state should intervene as early as possible Many of the world’s cultures (e.g., Mongolian) have a view that is in stark contrast to the Western view: in their view, a child only reaches an “age of reason” between ages 5 and 7 before that age, a child is not considered teachable and consequently no occurrences before that age will make a lasting impression f f It is a combination of early and later experiences that shape development Early experiences may well leave lasting effects on children However, children are also resilient and in many cases it is possible for them to overcome negative experiences and thrive later on 3. Milestones Milestone = signi icant accomplishments in terms of physical, cognitive, and socio- emotional skills that most children can do by a certain age Pediatricians routinely assess children using established milestones but it is important to keep in mind that children develop at very different rates f  Age 6 months Milestones How you can help Possible signs of delay Cognitive Looks around in environment Read picture books together Does not attempt to reach for objects close by Shows interest in things that are out of reach When infant is interested in object in Cannot place objects in mouth and tries to get them environment, explore it or talk about it Puts objects to mouth together Language When hearing sounds, reacts by vocalizing Have “conversations” by responding to infant’s Does not react to sounds Has “conversations” with caregivers in a back- vocalizations Cannot produce vowel sounds and-forth of sounds Repeat baby’s sounds (like “aaah” or “ooooh”) Reacts when called by name Clearly say simple words when showing Practices consonant sounds like “m” and “b” objects (“bottle”) Social and Recognizes familiar faces Play with baby often and respond to his actions Does not show interest in caregiver emotional Likes to interact with others Be responsive to baby’s mood Does not laugh Enjoys looking in mirror Reacts when others show emotions Physical Rolls over from back to stomach Help baby sit up by holding her or supporting her Can’t roll over Starts to sit without support with pillows Tight, stiff muscles Encourage rolling over from front and back by Can support weight on legs putting toys close by Floppy body, no muscle tone when standing Can’t bring objects to mouth Does not reach for objects Week 2 and 3 - Classical Theories of Child Development 1. The Long Way Toward Child Development as a Science 2. Theories in Child Development 2.1 Psychodynamic Approaches 2.2 Learning Approaches 2.3 Cognitive Approaches 2.4 Contextual Approaches 2.5 Evolutionary Approaches 22 2.1 Psychodynamic Approaches Key Concepts: Focus on the Unconscious: Psychodynamic theories emphasize the role of unconscious drives, early experiences, and internal con icts in shaping development. Early Childhood Importance: Development during the rst few years is seen as crucial for future personality and behavior. Internal Con icts: Psychological growth involves the resolution of con icts between basic drives, societal expectations, and moral constraints. 23 fl fi fl fl Major Theorists: Sigmund Freud: ◦ Psychosexual Stages: Development proceeds through ve stages (oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital). ◦ Role of the Id, Ego, and Superego: Balancing unconscious desires (id), reality (ego), and moral standards (superego). Erik Erikson: ◦ Psychosocial Stages: Focused on identity development across eight stages, each involving a key con ict (e.g., trust vs. mistrust, autonomy vs. shame). ◦ Lifelong Development: Emphasized that development continues through adolescence and adulthood. fl fi 2.2 Learning Approaches Key Concepts: Focus on Observable Behavior: Learning theories emphasize the role of environment and experience in shaping behavior, rather than internal processes or instincts. Active Learning: Children are seen as active participants who learn through interaction with their environment, reinforcement, and observation. Behavior Change: Development is a continuous process driven by learning, rather than innate stages or internal con icts. Environment’s Role: Behavior is shaped by environmental factors like rewards, punishments, and modeling. 25 fl Major Theorists: John B. Watson (Behaviorism): ◦ Classical Conditioning: Learning through association (e.g., Pavlov's dogs). Emphasis on environmental stimuli shaping behavior. ◦ Little Albert Experiment: Demonstrated that emotional responses could be conditioned in children. B.F. Skinner (Operant Conditioning): ◦ Reinforcement and Punishment: Behavior is shaped by positive reinforcement (rewards) and negative reinforcement (removal of unpleasant stimuli). ◦ Behavior Modi cation: Focused on shaping desired behaviors through consistent rewards and consequences. Albert Bandura (Social Learning Theory): ◦ Observational Learning: Children learn by watching others (models) and imitating behaviors. ◦ Bobo Doll Experiment: Demonstrated that children imitate both prosocial and aggressive behavior based on observation. fi Table 2.2 Two Kinds of Reinforcement An action that...... is called Example... increases the likelihood reinforcement that behavior will be repeated Positive reinforcement Darius gets a sticker after doing chores (positive consequence) Negative reinforcement Jasmine can leave the dinner table (removal of a negative (a negative stimulus for her) to stimulus) play after she eats her vegetables... decreases the likelihood punishment When Mischa whines, her mother that behavior will be gives her extra chores to do repeated 2.3 Cognitive Approaches in Child Development Key Concepts: Focus on Internal Mental Processes: Cognitive theories emphasize the role of thinking, reasoning, memory, and problem-solving in child development. Active Learners: Children actively build their knowledge by interacting with the world and solving problems. Brain and Cognition: Cognitive development is closely tied to changes in the brain, including how brain regions mature and interact with learning experiences. Development as Progressive: Cognitive development occurs through qualitative stages and processes that help children adapt to their environment 28 Major Theorists (or theories): Jean Piaget: ◦ Stages of Cognitive Development: Children move through four stages —each representing a distinct way of thinking. ◦ Schemas & Cognitive Adaptation: Children build mental models (schemas) and adjust them through assimilation (incorporating new experiences) and accommodation (revising schemas when necessary), until they reach a sense of mental balance (i.e., equilibrium). Concrete Sensorimotor Preoperational Formal operational operational Birth – 2 years 2-7 years 7-11 years 11 years and up Infants learn about Children cannot think Logical thinking begins, Children are capable and explore their logically and have but is limited to direct of abstract reasoning environment mostly trouble seeing the experiences and logical thinking by means of their world from other senses and motor people’s perspective activities FIGURE 2.2 Adaptation: A child adapts to new information and experiences by assimilation or accommodation. Information Processing Theory: Cognitive Growth as a Gradual Process: Compares the mind to a computer, with an emphasis on how children develop attention, memory, and problem-solving skills over time. Focus on Mental Functions: Development involves increasing e ciency in processing, storing, and retrieving information. Memory Development: Studies how working memory and long-term memory evolve as children grow. Views development as continuous rather than progressing through as a sequence of steps 31 ffi Neuroscience & Cognitive Development: Brain Development: Advances in neuroscience reveal how brain structures like the prefrontal cortex mature and impact cognitive abilities like executive function, attention, and problem-solving. Plasticity: The brain's ability to reorganize itself based on experience, emphasizing the importance of early learning and environmental factors. Synaptogenesis & Pruning: During early childhood, new neural connections form rapidly (synaptogenesis), followed by pruning, where unused connections are eliminated for more e cient processing. ffi 2.4 Contextual Approaches in Child Development Key Concepts: Focus on Environmental In uence: Contextual theories emphasize the role of the child's environment, including social, cultural, and historical contexts, in shaping development. Dynamic Interaction: Child development is viewed as the result of continuous interactions between the child and their environment. Holistic Approach: Development is seen as embedded within various systems, from immediate family to broader societal structures. fl Major Theorists: Urie Bronfenbrenner (Ecological Systems Theory): ◦ Nested Systems: Development occurs within multiple, interacting environmental layers (see table). ◦ Ecological Fit: Development depends on how well the environments support the child’s needs. Lev Vygotsky (Sociocultural Theory): Social Interaction: Vygotsky emphasized that cognitive development is fundamentally shaped by social interactions and cultural tools, such as language. Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD): Children can perform tasks with guidance that they cannot do alone, emphasizing the importance of adult and peer support. Scaffolding: Adults and more knowledgeable peers provide temporary support to help children achieve higher levels of understanding. Cultural Context: Vygotsky believed that children's cognitive development is deeply in uenced by the cultural context in which they live, including the use of cultural artifacts and practices. fl 2.5 Evolutionary Approaches in Child Development Key Concepts: Focus on Adaptation: Evolutionary theories emphasize how developmental behaviors and traits have evolved to serve survival and reproductive functions. Universal Developmental Patterns: These approaches suggest that certain patterns of development are universal across all humans because they have evolved to meet common adaptive challenges. Innate Behaviors and Biological Predispositions: Evolutionary theories highlight the role of genetic inheritance in shaping behaviors, abilities, and developmental processes. Major Theorists: Charles Darwin (Theory of Evolution): ◦ Natural Selection: Suggests that behaviors and traits that enhance survival and reproduction are more likely to be passed on to future generations. ◦ Instincts and Behaviors: Early human behaviors, such as attachment and caregiving, are seen as evolutionary adaptations for ensuring survival. Konrad Lorenz (Imprinting): ◦ Imprinting in Animals: Studied the rapid attachment process in birds (especially ducks) shortly after birth, suggesting that certain behaviors (e.g., bonding) are instinctive and biologically programmed. John Bowlby (Attachment Theory): ◦ Evolutionary Basis of Attachment: Bowlby posited that attachment behaviors are biologically programmed and essential for survival, as they promote proximity to caregivers for safety and nourishment. ◦ Secure Base: The primary caregiver serves as a "secure base" from which the child can explore the world while knowing they have a safe, reliable attachment gure to return to. fi  Week 4 - Genetics and Prenatal Development 1. The Construction Plan for a Human Being: Chromosomes, Genes, and Heredity 2. The Beginnings of Life 3. The Prenatal Environment: Factors Influencing Development 4. Prenatal Care and Prenatal Tests 5. Special Pregnancy Issues: Infertility and the Premature End of a Pregnancy 39 Genes a segment of a DNA strand in a chromosome, which carries genetic information contains information for creating proteins needed for many body functions humans have about 21,000 genes 40 Genome the entire set of an organism’s genes From person to person, genes differ just a little bit in how the base pairs are arranged these different variants of a single gene are called alleles these tiny variations in our genes are the reason for individual differences between people 41 Gene Expression expression of a gene depends on whether it is dominant or recessive Dominant Traits expressed even if there is only one gene for that trait and the second gene is for a competing trait Recessive Traits are expressed only if they are paired with a second gene for the recessive trait if paired with a gene of the dominant trait, the dominant trait will be expressed 42 Heterozygous having two different alleles of a gene for a particular trait Homozygous having identical alleles of a gene for a particular trait on both chromosomes Polygenic trait a trait that is controlled by two or more genes makes it difficult to predict the outcome of a trait in future offspring example: eye color 43  Week 5 - Birth and the newborn 1. From Pregnancy to Childbirth: How the Birth Process Unfolds 2. Problems in Childbirth 3. The Newborn Baby (senses and reflexes) 4. Adjusting to Life with a Newborn Week 6 and 7 - Physical and Cognitive Development in Infancy and Toddlerhood (A) Physical Development: 1. Brain and Body Growth in Infancy and Toddlerhood 2. How Children’s Motor Skills Develop 3. How Infants and Toddlers Experience the World: Senses 4. Nutrition and Health (B) Cognitive Development: 1. Learning to Think 2. Learning to Speak 3. Media and Cognitive Development 45  (A) Physical Development 1. Brain and Body Growth in Infancy and Toddlerhood 46  Brain development begins about 2 weeks after conception The brain’s structure and function are not fully developed until the 3rd decade of life Within the first 12 months, the brain doubles in size By age 3, the brain has reached roughly 3/4 (75%) of its adult volume Most of the increase in brain size and weight can be attributed to: an increase in myelination formation of new neural connections 47 Myelination: begins in the 2nd trimester of pregnancy and is not even close to complete at birth different parts of the brain become myelinated at different rates New synaptic connections: form rapidly during the first 2 years of life, but over time, only some of these connections will survive connections that are frequently stimulated grow stronger and those that are not used grow weaker and eventually disappear Synaptic pruning: process during which the brain eliminates extra synapses in childhood 48 FIGURE 5.5 Synaptic growth and pruning. 49 (B) Cognitive Development 1. Learning to think 50 Piaget’s Sensorimotor Stage Cognitive Development through Senses and Actions: Infants explore the world primarily through their sensory experiences (touch, sight, sound) and motor actions (movement, manipulation). Object Permanence: Infants develop the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen, heard, or touched. This marks a key milestone in cognitive development. Goal-directed Behavior: Infants begin to engage in purposeful actions to achieve speci c outcomes (e.g., reaching for a toy or moving towards a caregiver). Deferred Imitation: the performance of an observed action after a signi cant delay (6th stage; child must be able to mentally represent events before memorizing and reproducing them) fi fi Table 6.1 The Six Substages of Piaget’s Sensorimotor Stage of Cognitive Development Substage Description Example 1. Simple Infants react to their An infant turns her head reflexes environment by using when she hears her (birth–1 month) their inborn reflexes mother’s voice and sucks om Shutterstock.c violetblue/ (sucking reflex, when the nipple is in her © grasping reflex, etc.) mouth. as well as senses. 2. Infants adjust their An infant sucks happily on his Primary reflexes and repeat own toes. circular behaviors that occurred © com Shutterstock. edia/ wavebreakm reactio by chance and were ns pleasurable. (1–4 months) 3. Infants become An infant enjoys shaking a Secondar interested in their rattle to hear the sounds it Shutterstock.com © Rohappy/ y circular environment and makes. reactions perform actions that (4–8 months) include people or objects. 52 Table 6.1 (Continued) 4. Combination of Infants begin to act purposefully A child can now look for and crawl dlinca © iStock.com/ schemata to achieve goals. They toward a toy in order to retrieve it. (8–12 months) combine several actions. 5. Tertiary Infants can change their A child drops a toy from the crib to circular schemata in order to see what happens. Hristovska Jovanovska- Daniela © iStock.com/ reactions manipulate objects and (12–18 months) actively explore their environment. 6. Mental Infants can use mental A child understands that each piece representations images of people and of a puzzle has its own place. (18–24 months) events (called mental wsphotos © iStock.com/ representations), which allow them to think before or instead of acting. 53 Proponents of information-processing approaches suggest that we: receive input when we hear, see, or otherwise sense something store information in our memory retrieve information from our memory when we need it process information when we think 54 FIGURE 6.3 To test infant memory, Carolyn Rovee-Collier attached a ribbon from infants’ ankles to a mobile suspended above the crib. Young infants have a memory for different kinds of perceptions they can recognize their mother by her smell, voice, and physical appearance Motor memory evident as early as 3 months of age demonstrated through a study where infants learned that kicking their legs would make a mobile move and when they were brought back to the lab, they started to kick right away 55 Very young children do form memories but at a certain age they lose the ability to recall their earliest life events Infantile amnesia Inability to recall events from early in a person’s life, generally before age 2-4 years 56 2 Hypotheses to explain infantile amnesia memories are lost memories cannot be retrieved anymore Inability to retrieve memories may also have to do with children’s language abilities adults and older children mostly use words to encode and recall memories infants lack the language skills to encode memories using words, so instead they encode memories in action patterns 57 2. Learning to Speak (all slides) 58