Development Across the Life Span

1. 5 Development Across the Life Span

2. Developmental Research Designs • Human development - the scientific study of the changes that occur in people as they age from conception until death.

3. Nature versus Nurture • Nature - inherited characteristics on our personality, physical & intellectual growth, and social interactions. • Nurture - influence of the environment on personality, physical & intellectual growth, and social interactions.

4. Human Development • Continuity or discontinuity? • Does development happen in a smooth, continuous progression? • Stability or change? • What remains stable over the course of human development, and what changes?

5. Developmental Psychology • Physical Development - genetic material or DNA. • Cognitive development - development of thinking and reasoning skills such as problem solving and memory. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8O6z5-WTHt0

6. Psychosocial development - affecting our emotional and social lives. • Temperament - a child's innate personality and emotional characteristics, observable in infancy; the enduring characteristics with which each person is born. • Attachment - the first emotional bond a child forms with its primary caretaker.

7. Developmental Research Studies • Longitudinal design - one person or group of people are studied over a long period of time. • Cross-sectional design - different age groups of people are studied at one particular point in time. • Cross-sequential design – Combination of both.

8. Childhood Development • Critical Period - must progress to the next stage of development if development is to continue normally.

9. Childhood Development • Sensitive Period - a time when a child is susceptible to learning from particular types of experiences.

10. Conception and Twins • Monozygotic twins - identical twins. • Dizygotic twins - fraternal twins.

11. Periods of Pregnancy • Embryonic period - 2 to 8 weeks after fertilization, during which the major organs and structures of the organism develop. • Fetal period - the time from about eight weeks after conception until the birth of the child. • Teratogen - any factor that can cause a birth defect.

12. Table 12.1 Common Teratogens

13. Prenatal Development • Embryo - name for the developing organism from 2 weeks to 8 weeks after fertilization. • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEpzjeJ1gC4

14. Figure 12.2 Stages of Prenatal Development

15. Reflexes and Abilities • Four critical areas of adjustment for the newborn are: • Respiration • Digestion • Circulation • Temperature regulation

16. Reflexes and Abilities • Infants are born with reflexes that help the infant survive: sucking, rooting, Moro (startle), grasping, and Babinski. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTz-iVI2mf4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oI_ONptx2Ns https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0V4x0iQODTk • The senses, except for vision, are fairly well developed at birth.

17. Figure 12.3 Five Newborn ReflexesShown here are five reflexes used to make sure the newborn's nervous system is healthy. These include (a) the grasping reflex, (b) the startle or Moro reflex, (c) the rooting reflex, in which a baby whose cheek is touched will turn toward the hand, open its mouth, and begin searching for the nipple (continued on next slide)

18. Figure 12.3 (continued) Five Newborn Reflexes(d) the stepping reflex, and (e) the sucking reflex.

19. Physical Development in Infancy and Childhood • Gross and fine motor skills develop at a fast pace during infancy and early childhood. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQmqRIR2YxA • Muscle strength and coordination improve around age 10-12.

20. Figure 12.4 Six Motor MilestonesTypical milestones in motor development are shown here: (a) raising head and chest—2 to 4 months, (b) rolling over—2 to 5 months, (c) sitting up with support—4 to 6 months (continued on next slide)

21. Figure 12.4 (continued) Six Motor Milestones(d) sitting up without support—6 to 7 months, (e) crawling—7 to 8 months, and (f) walking—8 to 18 months.

22. 6 Motor Milestones • Raising head and chest • Rolling over • Sitting up with support • Sitting up without support • Crawling • Walking

23. Cognitive Development • Cognitive development - development of thinking, problem solving, and ability to form a mental concept formed through experiences with objects and events. • By age 5, the human brain is 90 percent of its adult weight.

24. Cognitive Development • Piaget's belief - children form mental schemes as they experience new situations and events. • Assimilation - the process of trying to understand new things in terms of schemes one already possesses. • Accommodation - the process of altering or adjusting old schemes to fit new information and experiences.

25. Piaget's Stage Theory • Sensorimotor stage - Piaget's first stage of cognitive development, the infant uses its senses and motor abilities to interact with objects in the environment. • Object permanence - the knowledge that an object exists even when it is not in sight.

26. Piaget's Stage Theory • Preoperational stage - Piaget's second stage of cognitive development, the preschool child learns to use language as a means of exploring the world.

27. Preoperational stage (continued) • Egocentrism - the inability to see the world through anyone else's eyes. • Centration - the tendency of a young child to focus only on one feature of an object while ignoring other relevant features.

28. Preoperational stage (continued) • Conservation - in Piaget's theory, the ability to understand that simply changing the appearance of an object does not change the object's nature. • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRF27F2bn-A • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnArvcWaH6I

29. Figure 12.5 Measuring Conservation SkillsExperimenters often measure children's conservation skills by pouring equal amounts of water into two glasses of the same size and shape. When the water from one glass is poured into a taller, narrower glass, children incorrectly assume that the second glass has more water than the first one. In the second example, pennies are laid out in two equal lines. When the pennies in the top line are then spaced out, the child who cannot yet conserve will assume that there are actually more pennies in that line.

30. Piaget's Stage Theory • Concrete operations stage - third stage in which children become capable of logical thought processes • Formal operations - last stage of cognitive development in which the adolescent becomes capable of abstract thinking. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pH35cBLQJ24

31. Table 12.2 Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development

32. Current Language Theories • Child-directed speech – children respond to higher pitched, repetitious, sing-song speech. • Expressive language delay - the ability of infants to understand far more language than they can produce. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTsewNrHUHU&feature=BFa&list=PLA94372EF39D55302&index=7 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue8y-JVhjS0&feature=list_related&playnext=1&list=PLD040BA09E49C1E63

33. Stages of Language Development • Cooing • Babbling • One-word speech (holophrases) • Telegraphic speech • Whole sentences • Children typically begin to make vowel-like sounds at around 2 months

34. Erikson's Eight Stages • Eight stages of social development in total. • First four stages take place in infancy or childhood. • Each represents an emotional crisis or turning point.

35. Erikson's First Four Stages • Trust versus mistrust - first stage - the infant's basic sense of trust or mistrust develops as a result of consistent or inconsistent care. • Autonomy versus shame and doubt - second stage the toddler strives for physical independence.

36. Erikson's First Four Stages • Initiative versus guilt - third stage the preschool-aged child strives for emotional and psychological independence.

37. Erikson's First Four Stages • Industry versus inferiority - fourth stage the adolescent strives for a sense of competence and self-esteem. • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vapEpQmz86o&feature=related

38. Puberty and Adolescence • Adolescence - the period of life from about age 13 to the early twenties, which a young person is no longer physically a child but is not yet an independent, self-supporting adult.

39. Egocentric Thinking • Personal fable - young people believe themselves to be unique and protected from harm.

40. Egocentric Thinking • Imaginary audience - young people believe that other people are just as concerned about the adolescent's thoughts and characteristics as they themselves are.

41. Development of Morality • Kohlberg – (morality) • Preconventional morality - the child's behavior is governed by the consequences of the behavior. • Conventional morality - the child's behavior is governed by conforming to the society's norms of behavior.

42. Development of Morality • Postconventional morality - the person's behavior is governed by moral principles that have been decided on by the individual and which may be in disagreement with accepted social norms.

43. Table 13.1 Kohlberg's Three Levels of Morality

44. Erikson's Fifth Stage • Identity versus role confusion - stage of personality development in which the adolescent must find a consistent sense of self.

45. Adolescent Development • Parent/teen conflict • Conflict with parents may encourage independence (trivial). • Peer pressure • Adolescents without a strong sense of self are vulnerable to peer pressure.

46. Erikson's Theories of Adulthood • Intimacy - an emotional and psychological closeness that is based on the ability to trust, share, and care, while still maintaining a sense of self. • Generativity - providing guidance to one's children or the next generation, or contributing to the well-being of the next generation through career or volunteer work.

47. Erikson's Theories of Adulthood • Ego integrity - sense of wholeness that comes from having lived a full life and the ability to let go of regrets; the final completion of the ego.

48. Adulthood Cognitive Changes • Intellectual abilities do not decline overall. • Perception and reaction time slows. • Adulthood begins in the early twenties. • Changes occur in one's 30s, 40s, 50s, and later.

49. Physical Changes and Aging • Effects of aging on health: • Hereditary and lifestyle factors • Increase in health problems • High blood pressure • Skin cancer • Heart problems • Arthritis • Obesity

50. Theories of Aging • Activity theory - theory of adjustment to aging that assumes older people are happier if they remain active in some way, such as volunteering or developing a hobby.