Developmental Psychology PDF

Developmental Psychology Plastic. The Life-Span Perspective Multidisciplinary. The Importance of Studying Life-Span Contextual. Development It involve...

Developmental Psychology Plastic. The Life-Span Perspective Multidisciplinary. The Importance of Studying Life-Span Contextual. Development It involves growth, maintenance, and regulation Studying life-span development: of loss. Prepares the individual to take responsibility for It is a co-construction of biological, children. sociocultural, and individual factors. Gives insight about individuals’ lives and Types of Contextual Influences history. Normative age-graded influences are similar Provides knowledge about what individuals’ for individuals in a particular age group. lives will be like as they age into their adult years. Normative history-graded influences have Development: the pattern of change beginning at common generational experiences due to conception and continuing throughout the life historical events. span. Nonnormative life events are unusual Life-span perspective: the perspective that occurrences that have a major life impact. development is lifelong, multidimensional, Some Contemporary Concerns multidirectional, plastic, multidisciplinary, and contextual. Health and well-being: Development involves growth, maintenance, and Lifestyles and psychological states have regulation and is constructed through biological, powerful influences on health and well-being. sociocultural, and individual factors working together. For example, there is a positive connection between exercise and cognitive development. Life Expectancy Parenting and education: The upper boundary of the human life span is 122 years. Many questions involve pressures on the contemporary family and conditions impairing Life expectancy in the United States is about 77 the effectiveness of U.S. schools. years. Sociocultural contexts and diversity: People are living longer in part due to better sanitation, nutrition, and medicine. Culture: behavior patterns, beliefs, and all other products of a group passed on from generation to Characteristics of the Life-Span Perspective generation. Development has these qualities: Cross-cultural studies: comparison of one culture with one or more other cultures to gain Lifelong. information about their developmental Multidimensional. similarities. Multidirectional. Ethnicity: a characteristic based on cultural The Nature of Development heritage, nationality characteristics, race, Biological, Cognitive, and Socioemotional religion, and language. Processes Pride of ethnic identity has positive outcomes. Biological processes: changes in an individual’s Socioeconomic status: grouping of people with physical nature. similar occupational, educational, and economic Cognitive processes: changes in an individual’s characteristics. thought, intelligence, and language. Gender: characteristics of people as masculinity Socioemotional processes: changes in an or femininity. individual’s relationships, emotions, and Transgender refers to individuals who adopt a personality. gender identity that differs from the one assigned Developmental cognitive neuroscience explores to them at birth. links between development, cognitive processes, Social policy: a national government’s course of and the brain. action designed to promote the welfare of its Developmental social neuroscience examines citizens. connections between socioemotional processes, Social policy issues include: development, and the brain. The increase in the number of children living in Periods of Development poverty and resulting stressors. Developmental period refers to a time frame in a The well-being of older adults, with escalating person’s life characterized by certain features. health-care costs and the need for access to Prenatal period: conception to birth. adequate health care. Infancy: birth to 18 or 24 months. Toddler: 18 months to 3 years of age. Early childhood: 3 to 5 years of age. Middle and late childhood: about 6 to 10 or 11 years old. Adolescence: 10 to 12 years old, to 18 to 21 years old. Emerging adulthood: 18 to 25 years of age. Early adulthood: early twenties through the thirties. Middle adulthood: forties and fifties. Technology: There has been an almost Late adulthood: sixties or seventies, until overwhelming increase in the use of technology death. at all points in human development. Four ages: Chronological age: the number of years that have elapsed since birth. Life-span developmentalists who focus on adult development and aging typically describe Biological age: age in terms of biological health. development in terms of four “ages.” Psychological age: the individual’s adaptive First age: childhood and adolescence. capacities compared with people of the same chronological age. Second age: prime adulthood, ages 20 to 59. Social age: connectedness with others and the Third age: approximately 60 to 79 years of age. social roles people adopt. Fourth age: approximately 80 years and older. Developmental Issues Periods of Development Nature-nurture issue: the debate about whether Three developmental patterns of aging: development is primarily influenced by nature or nurture. Normal aging: describes most individuals, with psychological functioning peaking early middle Nature refers to an organism’s biological age. inheritance. Pathological aging: describes individuals with Nurture refers to its environmental above-average decline as they age, developing a experiences. condition leading to mild cognitive impairment or Stability-change issue: the debate about the chronic disease that impairs daily functioning. degree to which early traits and characteristics Successful aging: describes individuals persist through life or change. maintaining positive physical, cognitive, and Does the individual: socioemotional development longer in life. Becomes an older version of the early self, with The Significance of Age the same traits persisting through life? or Age and happiness: Develop into someone different from who they Adults tend to be happier as they age because were at an earlier point in development? they: Continuity-discontinuity issue: the debate about Have stronger relationships. the extent to which development involves gradual, cumulative change (continuity), or Feel less pressured to achieve. distinct stages (discontinuity). Have more leisure time. Evaluating the developmental issues: Have more life experience that helps them adapt Most developmentalists acknowledge that to change. development is a combination of each of these Conceptions of age: views. A full evaluation of age requires consideration The extent of their individual influences is still of chronological, biological, psychological, and highly debated. social age. Theories of Development Erikson’s psychosocial theory: Scientific method: a four-step approach that can According to Erik Erikson, the primary be used to obtain accurate information. motivation for behavior is social in nature. Conceptualize a process or problem. Personality and developmental change occurs throughout the life span. Collect data. Erikson’s theory: includes eight stages of human Analyze the data. development, each representing a crisis that must Draw conclusions. be resolved. Theory: an interrelated, coherent set of ideas that Trust versus mistrust: first year of infancy. helps to explain phenomena and facilitate Autonomy versus shame and doubt: 1 to 3 predictions. years. Hypotheses: specific assumptions and Initiative versus guilt: 3 to 5 years. predictions that can be tested to determine their accuracy. Industry versus inferiority: 6 years to puberty. Psychoanalytic theories: describe development Identity versus identity confusion: 10 to 20 as primarily unconscious and heavily colored by years. emotion. Intimacy versus isolation: twenties and thirties. Behavior is a surface characteristic, and the Generativity versus stagnation: forties and symbolic workings of the mind have to be fifties. analyzed to understand behavior. Integrity versus despair: sixties to death. Early experiences with parents are emphasized. Cognitive Theories Freud’s theory: Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory: Through his work with patients, Freud became convinced that their problems were the result of Piaget’s theory: children go through four stages experiences early in life. of cognitive development as they actively construct their understanding of the world. He defined five stages of psychosexual development. Sensorimotor stage (birth to 2 years of age). The infant constructs an understanding of the world by coordinating sensory experiences with physical actions. Preoperational stage (2 to 7 years of age). The child begins to represent the world with words and images. Concrete operational stage (7 to 11 years of age). The child can now reason logically about Ecological Theory concrete events and classify objects into different Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory: sets. development reflects the influence of five Formal operational stage (11 years of age environmental systems. through adulthood). Microsystem: setting in which the individual The adolescent reasons in more abstract, lives and helps to construct. idealistic, and logical ways. Mesosystem: the relations between Vygotsky’s sociocultural cognitive theory: microsystems or connections between contexts. Vygotsky’s theory: emphasizes how culture and Exosystem: links between a social setting in social interaction guide and are inseparable from which the individual has a passive role and their cognitive development. immediate context. The information-processing theory: Macrosystem: the culture in which individuals live. Information-processing theory: emphasizes that individuals manipulate information, monitor it, Chronosystem: the patterning the environmental and strategize about it. events and transitions over the life course. Behavioral and Social Cognitive Theories Skinner’s operant conditioning: Development consists of the pattern of behavioral changes brought about by rewards and punishments. Bandura’s social cognitive theory: Emphasizes behavior, environment, and cognition as the key factors in development. Ethology: stresses that behavior is strongly influenced by biology, is tied to evolution, and is Eclectic Theoretical Orientation characterized by experiences during critical or sensitive periods. An eclectic theoretical orientation does not follow any one theoretical approach. Konrad Lorenz helped bring ethology to prominence by showing the developmental Selects from each theory whatever is considered importance of the imprinting behavior of geese. its best features. John Bowlby determined that attachment to a Research on Life-Span Development caregiver over the first year of life has important Methods for Collecting Data consequences for optimal social relationship development throughout the life span. Observation:  Laboratory: a controlled setting where many of The higher the correlation coefficient (whether the complex factors of the “real world” are positive or negative), the stronger the association absent. between the two variables. Naturalistic observation: observing behavior Correlation does not equal causation. in real-world settings, making no effort to Research Designs manipulate or control the situation. Experiment: a carefully regulated procedure in Survey and interview: which one or more of the factors believed to Survey: a standard set of clear and unbiased influence the behavior being studied are questions used to obtain people’s reported manipulated while all other factors are held attitudes or beliefs about a particular topic; constant. sometimes referred to as a questionnaire. Experiments can involve one or more Interview: individuals are directly asked to self- experimental groups and one or more control report. groups. Standardized test: a test administered and A control group is a comparison group that scored utilizing uniform procedures to compare serves as a baseline. performance across individuals. Random assignment is an important principle in Case study: an in-depth look at a single experimental research. individual. Participants are assigned to experimental and Physiological measures: control groups by chance. Measure of hormones such as cortisol. Time Span of Research Neuroimaging or fMRI. Cross-sectional approach: a research strategy that compares individuals of different ages Electroencephalography (EEG). simultaneously. Heart rate. Longitudinal approach: a research strategy Eye tracking. where the same individuals are studied over a period of time, usually several years or more. Gene testing. Cohort effects: characteristics determined by a Descriptive research: a research method person’s time of birth, era, or generation rather designed to observe and record behavior. than the person’s actual age. Correlational research: attempts to determine Conducting Ethical Research the strength of the relationship between two or more events or characteristics. Informed consent: participants must know what their participation will involve and must be able Correlation coefficient: a number based on to withdraw at will. statistical analysis that is used to describe the degree of association between two variables. Confidentiality: data must be kept confidential and, when possible, anonymous. Ranges from −1.00 to +1.00. Debriefing: after the study, participants should be Umbilical cord: contains two arteries and one informed of its purpose and methods. vein and connects the baby to the placenta. Deception: when necessary, deception may be Placenta: a disk-shaped group of tissues in used, but the psychologist must ensure it will not which small blood vessels from the mother and harm the participants and that the participants will the fetus intertwine but do not join. be debriefed. Organogenesis: organ formation that takes Minimizing Bias place during the first two months of prenatal development. Gender bias: Conclusions are often drawn about females’ attitudes and behaviors from research The fetal period lasts about seven months, from conducted with males as the only research study between two months after conception and birth. participants Prenatal development is also commonly divided Cultural and ethnic bias: Life-span into three equal periods of three months, called development research has not always included trimesters. These are not the same as the individuals from diverse ethnic groups. germinal, embryonic, and fetal periods. Ethnic gloss: superficial use of an ethnic label The First Trimester of Prenatal Development that portrays an ethnic group as being more Conception to 4 weeks: homogeneous than it really is. Is less than 1/10 inch long. Prenatal Development Beginning development of spinal cord, nervous The Course of Prenatal Development system, gastrointestinal system, heart, and lungs. The germinal period of prenatal development Amniotic sac envelops the preliminary tissues of occurs in the first two weeks after conception. entire body. Blastocyst: the inner layer of cells that develops Is called a “zygote.” At 8 weeks: into the embryo. Is just over 1 inch long. Trophoblast: the outer layer of cells that provides nutrition and support for the embryo. Face is forming with rudimentary eyes, ears, mouth, and tooth buds. The embryonic period of prenatal development occurs two to eight weeks after conception. Arms and legs are moving. The rate of cell differentiation intensifies, and the Brain is forming. mass of cells is now called embryo. Fetal heartbeat is detectable with ultrasound. Three layers of cells: endoderm, mesoderm, and ectoderm (inner, middle, and outer layers). Is called an “embryo.” The Course of Prenatal Development At 12 weeks: Amnion: a sac that contains a clear fluid in Is about 3 inches long and weighs about 1 ounce. which the developing embryo floats. Can move arms, legs, fingers, and toes. Fingerprints are present.  Can smile, frown, suck, and swallow. At 28 weeks: Sex is distinguishable. Is about 16 inches long and weighs about 3 pounds. Can urinate. Is adding body fat. Is called a “fetus.” Is very active. The Second Trimester of Prenatal Development Rudimentary breathing movements are present. At 16 weeks: At 32 weeks: Is about 6 inches long and weighs about 4 to 7 Is 16 1/2 to 18 inches long and weighs 4 to 5 ounces. pounds. Heartbeat is strong. Has periods of sleep and wakefulness. Skin is thin, transparent. Responds to sounds. Downy hair (lanugo) covers body. May assume the birth position. Fingernails and toenails are forming. Bones of head are soft and flexible. Has coordinated movements; is able to roll over Iron is being stored in liver. in amniotic fluid. At 36 to 38 weeks: At 20 weeks: Is 19 to 20 inches long and weighs 6 to 7 1/2 Is about 12 inches long and weighs close to 1 pounds pound. Skin is less wrinkled. Heartbeat is audible with ordinary stethoscope. Vernix caseosa is thick. Sucks thumb. Lanugo is mostly gone. Hiccups. Is less active. Hair, eyelashes, and eyebrows are present. Is gaining immunities from mother. At 24 weeks: Brain development: Is about 14 inches long and weighs 1 to 1 2 1 Babies are born with 20 to 100 billion neurons— pounds. the nerve cells in the brain that handle Skin is wrinkled and covered with protective information processing at the cellular level. coating (vernix caseosa). Neurogenesis is the massive proliferation of new Eyes are open. immature neurons, beginning at about week 5 and continuing through the remainder of the prenatal Waste matter is collected in bowel. period. Has strong grip. Neuronal migration, the process of cells moving The Third Trimester of Prenatal Development outward from their point of origin to their appropriate locations takes place between 6 and Paternal factors: 24 weeks. Sperm abnormalities from lead or radiation Neural connectivity, at about the 23rd week, is exposure, which may lead to miscarriage or when connections between neurons begin to diseases. occur. Smoking during the mother’s pregnancy. Teratology and Hazards to Prenatal Prenatal Care Development Prenatal care varies enormously but typically Teratogen: any agent that can cause a birth defect includes screening for manageable conditions and or negatively alter cognitive and behavioral treatable diseases. developmental outcomes. Centering Pregnancy is a relationship-centered Prescription drugs that can function as program providing complete prenatal care in a teratogens include: group setting or group prenatal care. Antibiotics, such as streptomycin and Normal Prenatal Development tetracycline. Prospective parents should take steps to avoid Some antidepressants. vulnerabilities to fetal development. Certain hormones, such as progestin and Birth synthetic estrogen. Stages of birth: Accutane, an acne medication. First stage: uterine contractions are 15 to 20 Psychoactive drugs act on the nervous system, minutes apart and last up to 1 minute. altering states of consciousness, modifying perceptions, and changing moods. This is the longest stage, 6 to 12 hours. Second stage: the baby’s head starts to move through the Examples include caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, cervix and birth canal. cocaine, marijuana, and heroin. This takes 45 minutes to an hour and ends when Maternal diseases: the baby completely emerges from the mother’s Rubella. body. Third stage: afterbirth. Syphilis. Afterbirth: when the placenta, umbilical cord, and other membranes are detached and expelled, Genital herpes. lasting only minutes. HIV/AIDS. Childbirth setting and attendants: Diabetes In the United States, 98% of births take place in Other parental factors: hospitals. Maternal diet and nutrition—especially, lack of 1.26% are at home; 0.74% at birthing centers. folic acid, and consuming mercury-laden fish. Midwives provide health care to women during Maternal obesity. Maternal age. Emotional states pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period. and stress.  Only about 9% of births in the United States are attended by a midwife. Doula: a caregiver who provides continuous physical, emotional, and educational support for the mother before, during, and after childbirth. Methods of childbirth: Three basic kinds of drugs used for labor are analgesia, anesthesia, and oxytocin/Pitocin. Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Natural childbirth: attempts to reduce the Scale (NBAS): used in the first month of life to mother’s pain by decreasing her fear through assess the newborn’s neurological development, information and instruction in relaxation reflexes, and reactions to people and objects. techniques. Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Neurobehavioral Prepared childbirth: the Lamaze method. Scale (NNNS): assessment of the newborn’s Includes a special breathing technique to control behavior, neurological and stress responses, and pushing in the final stages of labor, along with a regulatory capacities. more detailed anatomy and physiology course. Preterm and Low Birth Weight Infants Cesarean delivery: surgically removing the baby Preterm and small for date infants: from the mother’s uterus through an abdominal incision. Low birth weight infants weigh less than 5 pounds 8 ounces. Indicated in cases of breech position, fetal distress, maternal vaginal bleeding, and a natural Very low birth weight: less than 3 pounds 4 birth hindered by an epidural. ounces. Breech position: the baby’s position in the Extremely low birth weight: less than 2 pounds uterus causes the buttocks to be the first part to 3 ounces. emerge. Preterm infants are born before the full term is Assessing the Newborn completed—35 or fewer weeks after conception. Apgar Scale: a method for assessing the health of Small for date infants (or small for gestational newborns at one and five minutes after birth. age infants) are infants with birth weights below normal considering the length of pregnancy. Infant’s heart rate. Kangaroo care: skin-to-skin contact with the Respiratory effort. baby upright against the parent’s bare chest. Muscle tone. Has long-term benefits, including better Body color. respiratory and cardiovascular functioning, sleep patterns, and cognitive functioning from ages 6 Reflex irritability. months to 10 years. Postpartum Period Most newborns are 18 to 22 inches long and weigh between 5 and 10 pounds. Postpartum period: the period after childbirth that lasts until the mother’s body has completed Babies grow about 1 inch per month during the its adjustment and has returned to a nearly first year. prepregnant state. By 2 years of age: Physical Adjustments Infants weigh approximately 26 to 32 pounds. Fatigue They average 32 to 35 inches in height. Loss of sleep The Brain Hormonal changes The brain is still developing rapidly in infancy. Postpartum depression: a condition Shaken baby syndrome includes brain swelling experienced by women that have trouble coping and hemorrhaging and affects hundreds of babies with daily tasks during the postpartum period. in the United States each year. Frontal lobes are involved in voluntary Emotional and Psychological Adjustments movement, thinking, personality, and intentionality or purpose. Bonding Occipital lobes function in vision. Bonding: the formation of a connection, especially a physical bond between parents and Temporal lobes have an active role in hearing, their newborn shortly after birth. language processing, and memory. Rooming-in arrangement: the baby remains in Parietal lobes play important roles in registering the mother’s room most of the time during its spatial location, attention, and motor control. hospital stay. Lateralization: specialization of function in one Physical Growth and Development in Infancy hemisphere of the cerebral cortex or the other; both, however, are needed for complex functions. Patterns of Growth Sleep Cephalocaudal pattern: developmental sequence in which the earliest growth always Sleep restores, replenishes, and rebuilds our occurs at the top—the head. brains and bodies. Physical growth and differentiation of features Infant sleep gradually work their way down from top to The typical newborn sleeps approximately 18 bottom. hours a day. Proximodistal pattern: sequence in which Sleep-related problems affect 15 to 25 percent of growth starts at the center of the body and moves infants. toward the extremities. REM sleep: the eyes flutter beneath closed lids, Height and Weight while in non-REM sleep, sleep is more quiet. Shared sleeping: Sleeping arrangements for Infants should consume approximately 50 newborns vary from culture to culture. calories per day for each pound they weigh. Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS): a As motor skills improve, infants’ eating changes: condition that occurs when infants stop breathing From suck-and-swallow to chew-and-swallow and die without any apparent reason. movements SIDS is likely in infants: A varied diet is important. With abnormal brain stem functioning. Introduce fruits and vegetables early. With heart arrhythmia. Breast versus bottle feeding: Breast feeding is With sleep apnea and low birth weight. better for the baby’s health. Who do not use a pacifier when they go to sleep. Outcomes for the child include: Whose siblings have died of SIDS. Fewer gastrointestinal infections. Of lower socioeconomic groups. Fewer respiratory tract infections. Who are passively exposed to cigarette smoke. Protection against wheezing, though the effect on the incidence of asthma remains unclear. Who sleep on soft bedding. Fewer ear, throat, and sinus infections. Two other factors place infants at the highest risk for SIDS: Reduced infant hospitalizations for various infections. Maternal smoking. Breast feeding is not linked to a reduced risk of Bed sharing. allergies. SIDS is less common in infants who: The breast-fed infant is less likely to: Are breast fed. Develop a middle ear infection. Sleep in a bedroom with a fan. Become overweight or obese in childhood, Sleep on their backs. adolescence, and adulthood. Sleep and cognitive development: Sleep may be Develop type 1 diabetes in childhood or adult positively linked to cognitive development. type 2. Likely occurs because of sleep’s role in brain Die from SIDS. maturation and memory consolidation. Maternal benefits of breast feeding: Better memory, language, and executive Lower incidence of breast cancer and ovarian function. cancer. Nutrition Reduced rate of type 2 diabetes. From birth to 1 year of age, infants nearly triple Lower rates of hospitalization. their weight and increase their length by 50 percent. The mother should not breast feed:  When infected with HIV or other infectious independence in exploring and learning about the disease. world. If she has active tuberculosis. Reflexes If she is taking any drug. Reflexes: built-in reactions to stimuli that govern the newborn’s movements. Malnutrition in infancy: Adequate early nutrition is necessary for healthy development. Infant Generally seen as automatic and beyond the malnutrition, chronic malnutrition, and protein newborn’s control. deficiency are a worldwide problem. Rooting reflex: occurs when the infant’s cheek is Motor Development stroked, or the side of the mouth is touched. Dynamic systems theory: the perspective on The infant turns their head to find something to motor development that seeks to explain how suck. motor behaviors are assembled for perceiving and Sucking reflex: occurs when newborns acting. automatically suck an object placed in their Motor skills are developed by: mouth. Maturation and development of the nervous Enables them to get nourishment before they system. have associated a nipple with food. Serves as a self-soothing mechanism. The body’s physical properties (for example, physical strength) and its potential for movement Moro reflex: a neonatal startle response that (for example, motor control). occurs in reaction to a sudden, intense noise or movement. The child’s motivation to reach a goal, create new motor behavior (for example, walking). Grasping reflex: occurs when something touches the infant’s palms. Environmental support for the skill. Gross Motor Skills Dynamic Systems View Gross motor skills: involve large-muscle Four key aspects that reflect the dynamic systems activities, such as walking. theory of motor development: Learning to walk: Motor development is embodied—that is, it involves the status of and changes in the child’s Babies can stand by 10 to 12 months and can: body. Alternate leg movements and balance on one leg Motor development is embedded within without falling. environmental circumstances. Learn safe places and surfaces to walk on and Motor development is enculturated— avoid unsafe places. influenced by social and cultural contexts. Utilize perceptual-motor coupling in the Motor development is enabling, providing development of new motor skills. infants and children with increasing Practice their new motor skills. Motor development milestones and variations What Are Sensation and Perception? in the first year: Sensation: the product of the interaction between Developmental milestones include grasping, information and the sensory receptors—the eyes, rolling, sitting, and crawling, as well as standing ears, tongue, nostrils, and skin. and walking. Perception: the interpretation of what is sensed. Larger size at birth shows the strongest link to Ecological View reaching motor milestones earlier. In Eleanor and James Gibsons’ ecological view, The timing of reaching milestones varies by two perception brings us into contact with the to four months. environment so we can interact with and adapt to Experiences can modify the onset of these it. accomplishments. Perception is designed for action—that is, it Caregiver participation enhances all new skill gives people information, such as when to put up development in a real-world environment with your hands up to catch something. objects, surfaces, and planes. Affordances: the opportunities for interaction Development in the second year: offered by objects that fit within our capabilities to perform functional activities. Toddlers become more skilled and mobile. We sense information from the environment and By 13 to 18 months, they can pull a toy and get feedback from our bodies about how to climb steps. By 18 to 24 months: interact with the world. Walk quickly and run short distances. Visual Perception Balance on their feet while squatting. By 3 months of age, infants: Walk backward and stand and kick a ball. Match voices to faces. Stand and throw a ball. Distinguish between male and female faces. Jump. Discriminate between faces of their own ethnic Fine Motor Skills group and those of other ethnic groups. Fine motor skills: involve more finely tuned Experience plays an important role in face movements, such as finger dexterity. processing. Types of grasps: Perceptual narrowing: infants are more likely to distinguish between faces to which they have Palmer grasp: grasping with the whole hand. been exposed. Pincer grip: grasping small objects with thumb Visual preference method: a method used to and forefinger. determine whether infants can distinguish one Perceptual-motor coupling is necessary for the stimulus from another by measuring the length of infant to coordinate grasping. time they attend to different stimuli. Sensory and Perceptual Development Habituation: decreased responsiveness to a A brain activity network, the “pain network,” stimulus after repeated presentations of the underlies pain. stimulus. Newborns can differentiate odor. Dishabituation: recovery of a habituated Sensitivity to taste is present even before birth. response after a change in stimulation. At about 4 months of age, infants begin to prefer Color vision: salty tastes, which as newborns they had avoided. By 8 weeks, infants can discriminate between Intermodal Perception some colors. Intermodal perception: the ability to relate and By 4 months, they have color preferences. integrate information from two or more sensory Perceptual constancy: Development of modalities, such as vision and hearing. perceptual constancy allows infants to perceive Nature, Nurture, and Perceptual Development world as stable. In the nature-nurture debate, nativists are the Size constancy: recognition that an object nature proponents. remains the same even though the retinal image of the object changes as you move toward or The ability to perceive the world in a competent, away from the object. organized way is inborn or innate. Shape constancy: recognition that an object’s A completely nativist view of perceptual shape remains the same even though its development is no longer is accepted in orientation changes. developmental psychology. In their first months, infants don’t perceive For empiricists, the emphasis is on learning and objects that are occluded by other objects in front experience. of them as complete; instead, they perceive only what is visible. Taking an extreme nativist or empiricist view is now seen as unwarranted. Other Senses Perceptual-Motor Coupling Hearing: The fetus can hear sounds in the mother’s womb during the last two months of Infants learn new perceptual-motor couplings pregnancy. by assembling skills for perceiving and acting. Changes in hearing during infancy involve Perceptual-motor coupling is necessary for the perception of: infant to coordinate grasping. loudness; Piaget’s Theory of Infant Development pitch; and Cognitive Processes localization Schemes: the actions or mental representations, in Piaget’s theory, that organize knowledge. Newborns respond to touch. Behavioral scheme. Newborns can also feel pain. Mental scheme. Assimilation: occurs when using existing A-not-B error: an error that occurs when infants schemes to deal with new information or make the mistake of selecting the familiar hiding experiences. place (A) rather than the new hiding place (B). Accommodation: occurs when children adjust Perceptual development and expectations: schemes to fit new information and experiences. Researchers conclude that infants see objects as bounded, unitary, solid, and separate from their Organization: the grouping of isolated behaviors background much earlier than Piaget envisioned. and thoughts into a higher-order system. The nature-nurture issue: Equilibration: a mechanism by which children shift from one stage of thought to the next. Core knowledge approach: theory that infants are born with domain-specific innate knowledge Disequilibrium is cognitive conflict. systems. According to Piaget, individuals go through four Morality may emerge through infants’ early stages of development. interaction with others and later transform Cognition is qualitatively different from one through language and reflective thought. stage to another. Learning, Attention, Remembering, and The stage of infant cognitive development is the Conceptualizing sensorimotor stage. Conditioning The Sensorimotor Stage According to Skinner’s theory of operant Sensorimotor stage: infants construct an conditioning, the consequences of a behavior understanding of the world by coordinating produce changes in the probability of the sensory experiences. behavior’s occurrence. Attention: the focusing of mental resources on select information. In the first year, attention is dominated by an orienting/investigative process. Closely linked with attention are habituation and dishabituation. Habituation: decreased responsiveness to a stimulus after repeated presentations. By the end of the sensorimotor period, objects are both separate from the self and permanent. Dishabituation: the increase in responsiveness after a change in stimulation. Object permanence: an understanding that objects and events continue to exist. Infants’ attention is strongly governed by novelty and habituation. When they cannot directly be seen, heard, or touched. Joint attention: two or more individuals focus on the same object or event. Evaluating Piaget’s Sensorimotor Stage Joint attention requires:  an ability to track another’s behavior, such as Language Development following the gaze of another person; Language: a form of communication. one person’s directing another’s attention; and Spoken, written, or signed. reciprocal interaction Based on a system of symbols. Memory Lets us pass down information. Memory: retention of information over time. Consists of the words used by a community and Implicit memory: memory without conscious the rules for varying and combining them. recollection. Memories of skills and routine procedures that are performed automatically. Infinite generativity: the ability to produce an endless number of meaningful sentences using a Explicit memory: conscious remembering of finite set of words and rules. facts and experiences. Phonology: the sound system of the language, Maturation of the hippocampus and the cerebral including the sounds that are used and how they cortex, especially in the frontal lobes, makes may be combined. explicit memory possible. Morphology: units of meaning involved in word Infantile or childhood amnesia: the inability to formation. remember much if anything from our first three years of life. Syntax: the ways words are combined to form acceptable phrases and sentences. Semantics: the meaning of words and sentences. Pragmatics: the appropriate use of language in different contexts. How Language Develops In the first six months, infants recognize when sounds change, regardless of language. Imitation Over the next six months, they get even better at Meltzoff sees infants’ imitative abilities as perceiving changes in their “own” language. biologically based but not hardwired. Also in the second half of the first year, they Imitation involves flexibility and adaptability. In begin to segment speech streams into words. their first 72 hours of life, infants gradually display more complete imitation of adults’ facial Crying can signal distress; different types of expressions. cries signal different things. Deferred imitation: occurs after a delay of hours Cooing, emerging at 2 to 4 months, is gurgling or days. sounds that usually express pleasure. Concept Formation and Categorization Babbling, such as “ba, ba, ba, ba,” allows for social interaction. Concepts: cognitive groupings of similar objects, events, people, or ideas. First words: Infants understand their first words earlier than they speak them. Receptive vocabulary considerably exceeds spoken vocabulary. A vocabulary spurt begins at approximately 18 months. Overextension: the tendency to apply a word to inappropriate objects, such as “dog” for any animal with four legs. Language acquisition device (LAD): Underextension: the tendency to apply a word Chomsky’s term for a biological endowment too narrowly enabling a child to detect the features and rules of language, including phonology, syntax, and Two-word utterances: To convey meaning, the semantics. child relies on gesture, tone, and context. Environmental influences: Social cues play an Identification: “See doggie.” important role in infant language learning. Repetition: “More milk.” Tomasello’s interaction view emphasizes that Possession: “My candy.” children learn language in specific contexts, especially joint attention. Agent-action: “Mama walk.” Child-directed speech: language spoken in a Question: “Where ball?” higher pitch and slower speed than normal, with Telegraphic speech: the use of short and precise simple words and sentences. words without grammatical markers such as Recasting: rephrasing something the child has articles, auxiliary verbs, and other connectives. said, in the form of a fully grammatical sentence. Biological and Environmental Influences Expanding: restating something with additional Broca’s area: the region in the brain’s left frontal information. lobe that is involved in speech production. Labeling: naming objects that the child is Wernicke’s area: the region in the brain’s left interested in. hemisphere that is involved in language An Interactionist View comprehension. Children are biologically prepared to learn Damage to either of these areas produces types of language, but a child’s experiences influence aphasia— a loss or impairment of language language acquisition. processing. An interactionist view emphasizes that both Damage to Broca’s area results in difficulty biology and experience contribute to language producing words correctly. development. Damage to Wernicke’s area results in poor Socioemotional Development in Infancy comprehension and fluent but incomprehensible speech. Emotional and Personality Development Emotional Development Occurs as early as 2 months of age, typically in response to a face. Emotion: the feeling, or affect, that occurs when a person is in a state or interaction that is Fear is one of babies’ earliest emotions. important to self and well-being. The most frequent expression of fear is stranger Emotions influence infants’ social responses and anxiety: an infant’s fear and wariness of adaptive behaviors as they interact with others in strangers. their world. Separation protest: the distressed crying of an Emotion-linked interchanges provide the infant when the caregiver leaves. foundation for an infant’s developing attachment Emotion regulation and coping: Infants develop to the parent. an ability to inhibit, or minimize, the intensity and Relationships and culture provide diversity in duration of emotional reactions. emotional experiences. Temperament Early emotions: Temperament: individual differences in Primary emotions: those present in humans and behavioral styles, emotions, and characteristic other animals, emerging early in life. ways of responding. Joy, anger, sadness, fear, and disgust. Chess and Thomas’ classification: Self-conscious emotions: require self-awareness, Easy child: generally in a positive mood, especially consciousness and a sense of “me.” quickly establishes regular routines in infancy, and adapts easily to new experiences. Jealousy, empathy, and embarrassment. Difficult child: reacts negatively and cries Crying is the most important mechanism frequently, engages in irregular daily routines, newborns have for communicating. and is slow to accept change. Basic cry: a rhythmic pattern usually consisting Slow-to-warm-up child: has a low activity of a cry, a briefer silence, a shorter whistle, then a level, is somewhat negative, and displays a low rest before the next cry. intensity of mood. Anger cry: a variation of the basic cry, with Kagan’s behavioral inhibition: more excess air forced through the vocal cords. Focuses on differences between a shy, subdued, Pain cry: a sudden long, loud cry followed by timid child—an inhibited child—and the breath holding. sociable, extraverted, bold child. Smiling is a key social signal and important to Rothbart and Bates’ classification: social interaction. Extraversion/surgency includes approach, Reflexive smile: a smile that does not occur in pleasure, activity, smiling, and laughter— response to external stimuli. Kagan’s uninhibited children. Social smile: a smile in response to an external Negative affectivity includes fear, frustration, stimulus. sadness, and discomfort; these children are easily distressed—Kagan’s inhibited children.  Effortful control includes attentional focusing Infants are more socially sophisticated and and shifting, inhibitory control, perceptual insightful at younger ages than was previously sensitivity, and low-intensity pleasure. envisioned. Intention, goal-directed behavior, and meaningful interactions with others begin to Biological foundations and experience: occur toward the end of the first year. The contemporary view is that temperament is a Social referencing: “reading” emotional cues in biologically based but evolving aspect of others to help determine how to act in a particular behavior. situation. Gender, culture, and temperament: Attachment and Its Development Parents may react differently to an infant’s Attachment: a close emotional bond between temperament depending on gender. two people. Goodness of fit: the match between a child’s Freud: infants become attached to the person temperament and the environmental demands who provides oral satisfaction. with which the child must cope. Harlow: contact comfort is preferred over food. Personality Development Erikson: trust arises from physical comfort and Trust and the development of self and sensitive care. independence are often seen as central to personality development in infancy. Bowlby’s four phases of attachment: According to Erikson, the stage of the first year Phase 1: From birth to 2 months: infants direct of life is trust-versus-mistrust—an issue that their attachment to human figures. arises again at each successive stage of Phase 2: From 2 to 7 months: attachment development. becomes focused on one figure (primary Independence becomes important in the second caregiver). year, in Erikson’s stage of autonomy versus Phase 3: From 7 to 27 months: specific shame and doubt. attachments develop. With increased locomotion, Autonomy builds as mental and motor abilities babies actively seek contact with regular develop. caregivers. Social Orientation/Understanding and Phase 4: From 24 months on: children become Attachment aware of others’ feelings and goals and account for them in their own actions. From early in their development, infants are captivated by the social world, especially facial Individual Differences in Attachment expressions and voices. Face-to-face play starts at Strange Situation: an observational measure of 2 to 3 months of age, with vocalizations, touch, infant attachment, created by Mary Ainsworth. and gestures. Securely attached babies: use the caregiver as Locomotion skills allow infants to independently a secure base from which to explore the initiate social interchanges, increasing environment. independence.  Insecure avoidant babies: show insecurity by Social Contexts avoiding the caregiver. The Family Insecure resistant babies: cling to the The family can be thought of as a constellation of caregiver, then resist the caregiver by fighting subsystems defined in terms of generation, against the closeness. gender, and role. Insecure disorganized babies: appear These subsystems have reciprocal influences on disoriented, showing strong patterns of avoidance each other. and resistance. For example, the marital relationship, parenting, Developmental cascade model: connections and infant behavior and development can have across domains over time influence both direct and indirect effects on each other. developmental pathways and outcomes. Reciprocal socialization is bidirectional. Caregiving Styles and Attachment Children socialize parents, just as parents Caregivers’ sensitivity is linked to secure socialize children. attachment. Scaffolding: parents time interactions so that Consistently available to respond to infants’ infants experience turn-taking with parents. needs. Often let babies have an active part in determining the onset and pacing of interaction in the first year of life. Developmental Social Neuroscience and Attachment The field of developmental social neuroscience examines connections between socioemotional Maternal and paternal caregiving: processes, development, and the brain—and Maternal interactions center on child-care attachment has been a major focus. activities like feeding, changing diapers, and The prefrontal cortex and the subcortical regions bathing. of the amygdala and hypothalamus may have an Paternal interactions tend to be play centered. important role. Fathers have the ability to act as sensitively and Research on hormones and neurotransmitters responsively as mother. emphasizes the neuropeptide hormone oxytocin and the neurotransmitter dopamine in the maternal-infant bond.