developing life-span.pdf

LESSON 4: DEVELOPING LIFE-SPAN Developmental Psychology Prenatal Development Infancy and Childhood Adolescence Adulthood DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY A branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span. Developmental...

LESSON 4: DEVELOPING LIFE-SPAN Developmental Psychology Prenatal Development Infancy and Childhood Adolescence Adulthood DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY A branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span. Developmental Psychology focuses on three major issues 1) Nature and Nurture How does our genetic inheritance (our nature) interact with our experiences (our nurture) to influence our development? Developmental Psychology focuses on three major issues 2) Continuity and stages What parts of development are gradual and continuous, like riding an escalator? What parts change abruptly in separate stages, like climbing rungs on a ladder? Developmental Psychology focuses on three major issues 3) Stability and Change Which of our traits persist through life? How do we change as we age? Dominant and Recessive Genes Dominant Genes – will always be expressed if present. Recessive Genes – will not be expressed unless they are in pair. Genotype – underlying genetic makeup. Phenotype – traits that are expressed. PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT Fertilization The union of sperm and egg. It can occur about 14 days after the beginning of the menstrual period or about once every 8 days in a sexually mature female. The union forms a new cell called zygote. Physical and Psychological Development Related Physical development begins at conception. Physical maturity sets limits on psychological ability visual system not fully functional at birth language system not functional until much later Prenatal environment can have lifetime influence on health and intellectual ability Stage of Prenatal Development Zygote (Germinal Stage) – the fertilized egg; it enters a 2-week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo. Embryo (Embryonic Stage) – the developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the second month. Stage of Prenatal Development Fetus (Fetal Stage)– the developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth. Germinal Stage 36 hr after the fertilization zygote forms, it undergoes a series of repetitive cell divisions. 7th or 10th day blastocyst forms. The outer wall of the blastocyst, the placenta is formed. Blastocyst differentiates into three layers of cell the ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm. Embryonic Stage 14th day after fertilization, the organs and major body systems – respiratory, digestive and nervous – develop rapidly. The critical period. Fetal Stage About 8th week, the embryo begins to become a fetus. Fetus grows rapidly 20 times its previous length, and organs and body systems become more complex. They begin to kick, turn, flex their bodies, do squint, swallow, make fists, hiccup and suck their thumbs. Stage of Prenatal Development Prenatal Influences on Development Nutrition Anxiety Mother’s general health Maternal age Teratogens—any agent that causes a birth defect (ex. drugs, radiation, viruses) Disease Prenatal Influences on Development Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) – physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman’s heavy drinking. In severe cases, symptoms include noticeable facial disproportions. Sex Determination Sperm Cell of the father carries: 23 chromosomes (father) 22 autosomes 1 sex chromosome Y/X Egg cell of the Mother carries: 23 chromosomes (mother) 22 autosomes 1 sex chromosome X Sex Determination Dizygotic Twins (fraternal twins) If the mother releases two ova within a short time and then both are fertilized. Monozygotic Twins (identical twins) If a single fertilized ovum splits into two, this may result to monozygotic twins. THE NEW BORN Infant Abilities Infants are born with immature visual system can detect movement and large objects. Other senses function well on day 1 will orient to sounds turn away from unpleasant odors prefer sweet to sour tastes Born with a number of reflex behaviors. Infant Reflexes Rooting—turning the head and opening the mouth in the direction of a touch on the cheek. Sucking—sucking rhythmically in response to oral stimulation. Grasping—curling the fingers around an object. Social and Personality Development Temperament – inborn predisposition to consistently behave and react in a certain way. Attachment – emotional bond between infant and caregiver. Quality of Attachment Parents who are consistently warm, responsive, and sensitive to the infant’s needs usually have infants who are securely attached. Parents who are neglectful, inconsistent, or insensitive to infant’s needs usually have infants who are insecurely attached. INFANCY & CHILDHOOD Aspects of Development 1. Physical Development – changes in the body, the brain, sensory capacities and motor skills. 2. Cognitive Development – changes in mental abilities such as learning, memory, reasoning, thinking, and language. 3. Psychosocial Development – changes in personality and relationships with other. Infancy and Childhood Maturation – biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience. Physical Development In your mother’s womb, your developing brain formed nerve cells at the explosive rate of nearly one - quarter million per minute. The developing brain cortex actually over produces neurons, with the number peaking at 28 weeks and then subsiding to a stable 23 billion or so at birth (Rabinowicz et al., 1996, 1999; de Courten - Myers, 2002). Physical Development From infancy on, brain and mind—neural hardware and cognitive software—develop together. On the day you were born, you had most of the brain cells you would ever have. After birth, the branching neural networks that eventually enabled you to walk, talk, and remember had a wild growth spurt. Physical Development From ages 3 to 6, the most rapid growth was in your frontal lobes, which enable rational planning. MOTOR DEVELOPMENT Motor Development The developing brain enables physical coordination. As an infant’s muscles and nervous system mature, skills emerge. With occasional exceptions, the sequence of physical (motor) development is universal. These behaviors reflect not imitation but a maturing nervous system; blind children, too, crawl before they walk. Motor Development Individual differences in timing. Genes guide motor development. Identical twins typically begin walking on nearly the same day (Wilson, 1979) PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Psychosocial Development Trust vs. Mistrust (Birth to 12-18months) Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt (12-18 months to 3 years) Initiative vs. Guilt (3 years – 6 years) Industry vs. Inferiority (6 years – puberty) LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT Language Development Infant preference for human speech over other sounds - before 6 months can hear differences used in all languages - after 6 months begin to hear only differences used in native language. Language Development Cooing—vowel sounds produced 2–4 months Babbling—consonant/vowel sounds between 4 to 6 months Even deaf infants coo and babble Language Development Young Children’s Vocabulary Comprehension vocabulary – words that the infant or child understands. Production vocabulary – words that the infant or child understands and can speak. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT Jean Piaget (1896–1980) “If we examine the intellectual development of the individual or of the whole of humanity, we shall find that the human spirit goes through a certain number of stages, each different from the other” (1930). Cognitive Development His interest began in 1920, when he was in Paris developing questions for children’s intelligence tests. While administering the tests, Piaget became intrigued by children’s wrong answers, which were often strikingly similar among same-age children. Where others saw childish mistakes, Piaget saw intelligence at work. Cognitive Development Piaget’s studies led him to believe that a child’s mind develops through a series of stages, in an upward march from the newborn’s simple reflexes to the adult’s abstract reasoning power. Piaget’s Theory Piaget believed that children construct their understanding of the world while interacting with it. Their minds experience spurts of change, followed by greater stability as they move from one cognitive plateau to the next, each with distinctive characteristics that permit specific kinds of thinking. SENSORIMOTOR STAGE Sensorimotor stage, from birth to nearly age 2, babies take in the world through their senses and actions—through looking, hearing, touching, mouthing, and grasping. As their hands and limbs begin to move, they learn to make things happen. OBJECT PERMANENCE The awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived. PREOPERATIONAL STAGE Piaget believed that until about age 6 or 7, children are in a preoperational stage—too young to perform mental operations (such as imagining an action and mentally reversing it). which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic. PREOPERATIONAL STAGE CONCRETE OPERATIONAL STAGE The stage of cognitive development (from about 6 or 7 to 11 years of age) during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events. Piaget believed that during the concrete operational stage, children become able to comprehend mathematical transformations and conservation. CONCRETE OPERATIONAL STAGE When my daughter, Laura, was 6, I was astonished at her inability to reverse simple arithmetic. Asked, “What is 8 plus 4?” she required 5 seconds to compute “12,” and another 5 seconds to then compute 12 minus 4. By age 8, she could answer a reversed question instantly. ADOLESCENCE Adolescence The transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence. Physical Development Adolescence begins with puberty, the time when we mature sexually. Puberty follows a surge of hormones, which may intensify moods and which trigger a two - year period of rapid physical development, usually beginning at about age 11 in girls and at about age 13 in boys. Physical Development During this growth spurt, the primary sex characteristics – the body structures (ovaries, testes, and external genitalia) that make sexual reproduction possible. Secondary sex characteristics – nonreproductive sexual characteristics, such as female breasts and hips, male voice quality, and body hair. Physical Development Girls who have been prepared for menarche usually experience it as a positive life transition. Most men similarly recall their first ejaculation, which usually occurs as a nocturnal emission (Fuller & Downs, 1990). Physical Development Such variations have little effect on height at maturity, they may have psychological consequences. For boys, early maturation has mixed effects. Boys who are stronger and more athletic during their early teen years tend to be more popular, self - assured, and independent, though also more at risk for alcohol use, delinquency, and premature sexual activity (Conley & Rudolph, 2009; Copeland et al., 2010; Lynne et al., 2007). Cognitive Development When adolescents achieve the intellectual summit Jean Piaget called Formal Operations, they apply their new abstract reasoning tools to the world around them. Psychosocial Development Identity vs. Identity Confusion (12 - 20 years) Identity – sexual, occupational and ideological Relationship with Peers Relationship with Parents Some problems of Adolescence Psychosocial Development Identity – our sense of self according to Erikson, the adolescent’s task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating various roles. Social identity – the “we” aspect of our self-concept; the part of our answer to “Who am I?” that comes from our group memberships Young and Middle Adulthood Psychosocial development Partnerships, sex and parenting The world of work Cognitive changes Personality changes Partnerships, Sex and Parenting Almost every adult forms a long-term loving partnership with at least one other adult at some point in time. Sexual behavior is more mature and its goal is mostly for procreation. For most adults, loving and being loved by their children is an unparalleled source of fulfillment. The World of Work The vast majority of adults are moderately or highly satisfied with their jobs and would continue to work even if they didn’t need to for financial reasons. Cognitive Changes An adult’s thinking is more flexible and practical that an adolescents’. Personality Changes As people grow older, they tend to become less self-centered and more comfortable in interpersonal relationships, and they develop better coping skills in adapting new skills OLD AGE Psychosocial development Partnerships, sex and parenting The world of work Cognitive changes Personality changes Physical Development The body deteriorates with age, body parts wear out after repeated use, with environmental toxins contributing to the wearing out process. Physical aging is inevitable, although it can be slowed by a healthy lifestyle. Cognitive Development The aging minds works a little more slowly, and certain kinds of memories are more difficult to store and retrieve. Psychosocial Development Integrity vs. Despair (50- death) Elderly person achieve accepted of own life allowing acceptance of death or else despairs over inability to relive life. Facing the End of Life Most elderly people fear death less that younger people do. They worry about becoming a financial burden to their families, loneliness associated with a terminal illness.