Chapter 3Human Development

Heredity

• Developmental psychology: The study of progressive changes in behavior and abilities

• Heredity (nature): Genetic transmission of physical and psychological characteristics from parents to their children

• DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid): Molecular structure shaped like a double helix that contains coded genetic information

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Genes

• Specific areas on a strand of DNA that carry hereditary information– Dominant: The gene’s feature will appear

each time the gene is present– Recessive: The gene’s feature will appear

only if it is paired with another recessive gene

– Still only 25% chance trait will be expressed

Polygenic Characteristics

• Personal traits or physical properties that are influenced by many genes working in combination

Fig. 3-1, p. 80

Fig. 3-2, p. 80

Fig. 3-3, p. 80

Developmental Level

• An individual’s current state of physical, emotional, and intellectual development

Environment (Nurture)

• All external conditions that affect a person, especially the effects of learning

Prenatal Issues

• Congenital problem: A problem or defect that occurs during prenatal development; “birth defect”

• Genetic disorder: Problem caused by inherited characteristics from parents (e.g., cystic fibrosis)

Teratogens

• Anything capable of directly causing birth defects (e.g., narcotics, radiation, cigarette smoke, lead, and cocaine)

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)

• Caused by repeated heavy alcohol consumption during pregnancy

• Infants:– Have low birth weight, a small head, body

defects, and facial malformations– Lack cupid’s bow, the bow-shaped portion

of the upper lip (look in the mirror to see)

Sensitive Period

• A period of increased sensitivity to environmental influences; also, a time when certain events must occur for normal development to take place

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Environments: Deprivation and Enrichment

• Deprivation: Lack of normal stimulation, nutrition, comfort, or love

• Enrichment: When an environment is deliberately made more complex and intellectually stimulating and emotionally supportive

Reaction Range

• Limits that one’s environment places on the effects of heredity

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Fig. 3-5, p. 84

Temperament and Environment

• Temperament: The inherited physical “core” of personality; includes sensitivity, irritability, distractibility, and typical mood (Kagan, 2000)

Easy Children

• 40%; relaxed and agreeable

Difficult Children

• 10%; moody, intense, easily angered

Slow-to-Warm-Up Children

• 15%; restrained, unexpressive, shy

Remaining Children

• Do not fit into any specific category (Chess & Thomas, 1986)

Newborns (Neonates) and Their Reflexes

Grasping Reflex

• If an object is placed in the neonate’s palm, she’ll grasp it automatically

• All reflexes are automatic responses (i.e., they come from nature, not nurture)

Rooting Reflex

• Lightly touch the infant’s cheek and he’ll turn toward the object and attempt to nurse; helps infant find bottle or breast

Sucking Reflex

• Touch an object or nipple to the infant’s mouth and she’ll make rhythmic sucking movements

Moro Reflex

• If a baby’s position is abruptly changed or if he is startled by a loud noise, he will make a hugging motion

Fig. 3-6, p. 86

Fig. 3-7a, p. 86

Fig. 3-7b, p. 86

Fig. 3-8, p. 87

Maturation

• Physical growth and development of the body, brain, and nervous system

• Increased muscular control occurs in patterns; order of maturation is almost universal– Cephalocaudal: From head to toe– Proximodistal: From center of the body to

the extremities

Fig. 3-9, p. 88

Emotional Development

• Basic emotions: Anger, fear, joy; appear to be unlearned

• Social smile: Smiling elicited by social stimuli; like seeing a parent’s face

Social Development

• Development of self-awareness, attachment to parents/caregivers, and relationships with other children/adults

Fig. 3-11, p. 88

Contact Comfort (Harlow)

• Pleasant and reassuring feeling babies get from touching something warm and soft, especially their mother

Fig. 3-12, p. 89

Attachment

• Emotional attachment: Close emotional bond that infants form with parents, caregivers, or others

• Separation anxiety: Crying and signs of fear when a child is left alone or is with a stranger; generally appears around 8-12 months

• Separation anxiety disorder: Severe and prolonged distress displayed by children when separated from parents/caregivers– Children usually grow out of this

Quality of Infant Attachment (Ainsworth)

• Secure: Stable and positive emotional bond• Insecure-avoidant: Anxious emotional bond;

tendency to avoid reunion with parent or caregiver

• Insecure-ambivalent: Anxious emotional bond; desire to be with parent or caregiver and some resistance to being reunited with mother

Fig. 3-13, p. 90

Affectional Needs

• Emotional needs for love and affection

Fig. 3-14, p. 92

Parenting Styles (Baumrind, 2005)

Authoritarian Parents

• Enforce rigid rules and demand strict obedience to authority

• Children tend to be emotionally stiff and lacking in curiosity

Overly Permissive

• Give little guidance• Allow too much freedom, or don’t hold

children accountable for their actions • Children tend to be dependent and immature

and frequently misbehave

Authoritative

• Provide firm and consistent guidance combined with love and affection

• Children tend to be competent, self-controlled, independent, and assertive

Language Acquisition

• Cooing: Repetition of vowel sounds by infants; typically starts at 6-8 weeks

• Babbling: Repetition of meaningless language sounds (e.g., babababa); uses consonants B, D, M, and G; starts at 7 months

More on Language Acquisition

• Single-word stage: The child says one word at a time

• Telegraphic speech: Two-word sentences that communicate a single idea (e.g., “want cookie”)

Noam Chomsky and the Roots of Language

• Biological disposition: Presumed readiness of humans to learn certain skills such as how to use language – Chomsky: Language patterns are inborn

Signal

• In early language development, any behavior, such as touching, vocalizing, gazing, or smiling, that allows nonverbal interaction and turn-taking between parent and child

Parentese (Motherese)

• Pattern of speech used when talking to infants– Marked by higher-pitched voice; short,

simple sentences; slowed speech and exaggerated voice inflections; and repetition

Jean Piaget and Cognitive Development

• Piaget believed that all children passed through a set series of stages during their cognitive development; like Freud, he was a stage theorist

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Piaget: Assimilation

• Application of existing mental patterns to new situations; new situation is “assimilated” to existing mental schemes

Piaget: Accommodation

• Existing ideas are changed to fit new requirements; mental schemes are changed to accommodate new information

• More advanced form of cognitive processing

Four Stages of Piagetian Cognitive Development

The Sensorimotor Stage (0-2 Years)

• All sensory input and motor responses are coordinated; most intellectual development here is nonverbal– Object permanence: Concept that objects

still exist when they are out of sight

Video: Sensorimotor Stage: Absence of Object Permanence

Fig. 3-18, p. 101

Video: Sensorimotor Stage: Presence of Object Permanence

The Preoperational Stage (2-7 Years)

• Children begin to use language and think symbolically, yet their thinking is still intuitive and egocentric

Intuitive Thinking

• Makes little use of reasoning and logic

Egocentric Thinking

• Child is unable to accommodate viewpoints of others; thoughts are self-centered

Transformations

• Mentally changing the shape or form of a mental image or idea; children younger than 6 or 7 cannot do this

Fig. 3-14, p. 92

Video: Preoperational Conservation of Quantity

The Concrete Operational Stage (7-11 Years)

• Children become able to use concepts of time, space, volume, and number BUT in ways that remain simplified and concrete, not abstract

Piaget’s Conservation

• Mass, weight, and volume of matter remain unchanged even when the shape or appearance of objects changes

Video: Concrete Operational Stage: Conservation of Quantity

Piaget’s Reversibility of Thought

• Relationships involving equality or identity can be reversed– If A=B then B=A

Fig. 3-16, p. 98

Video: Concrete-Operational Stage: Abstract Reasoning

The Formal Operations Stage (11 Years and Up)

• Thinking now includes abstract, theoretical, and hypothetical ideas– Abstract principles: Concepts and

examples removed from specific examples and concrete situations

– Hypothetical possibilities: Suppositions, guesses, or projections

Fig. 3-17, p. 100

Video: The Formal-Operational Stage: Abstract Reasoning

Lev Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory

• Children’s cognitive development is heavily influenced by sociocultural factors

• Children’s thinking develops through dialogues with more capable people

Zone of Proximal Development

• Range of tasks a child cannot yet master alone even though they are close to having the necessary mental skills; they need guidance from a skilled partner in order to complete the task

Scaffolding

• Framework or temporary support. Adults help children learn how to think by scaffolding, or supporting, their attempts to solve a problem or to discover principles– Scaffolding must be responsive to a child’s

needs

Types of Child Discipline

• Power assertion: Using physical punishment or a show of force (e.g., removing toys or privileges)

• Withdrawal of love: Withholding affection• Management techniques: Combine praise,

recognition, approval, rules, and reasoning to encourage desirable behavior

Effective Parenting

• Have stable rules of conduct (consistency)• Show mutual respect, love, encouragement,

and shared enjoyment• Have effective communication

– You-message: Threats, name-calling, accusing, bossing, criticizing, or lecturing (avoid this)

– I-message: Tells children the effect their behavior had on you (use this)

Consequences

• Natural consequences: Effects that naturally follow a particular behavior; intrinsic effects

• Logical consequences: Rational and reasonable effects defined by parents

Adolescence

• Culturally defined period between childhood and adulthood

• Puberty: Hormonal changes promote rapid physical growth and sexual maturity

Life Events

• Developmental tasks: Any skill that must be mastered, or personal change that must take place, for optimal development (e.g., learning to read and adjusting to sexual maturity)

• Psychosocial dilemma: Conflict between personal impulses and the social world

Lawrence Kohlberg and Moral Development

• Moral development: When we acquire values, beliefs, and thinking abilities that guide responsible behavior

• Stage theorist, like Freud and Erikson

Kohlberg’s Three Levels of Moral Development

• Preconventional moral reasoning: Moral thinking based on consequences of one’s actions (punishment, reward, exchange of favors) or choices

• Conventional moral reasoning: Reasoning based on a desire to please others or to follow accepted rules and values

• Postconventional moral reasoning: Follows self-chosen moral principles, not those supplied by outside authorities

Erik Erikson’s Eight Stages of Psychosocial Dilemmas

p. 107

Stage One: Trust versus Mistrust (Birth–1)

• Children are completely dependent on others– Trust: Established when babies given

adequate warmth, touching, love, and physical care

– Mistrust: Caused by inadequate or unpredictable care and by cold, indifferent, and rejecting parents

Stage Two: Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt (1–3)

• Autonomy: Doing things for themselves• Overprotective or ridiculing parents may

cause children to doubt abilities and feel shameful about their actions

Stage Three: Initiative versus Guilt (3–5)

• Initiative: Parents reinforce via giving children freedom to play, use imagination, and ask questions

• Guilt: May occur if parents criticize, prevent play, or discourage a child’s questions

Stage Four: Industry versus Inferiority (6–12)

• Industry: Occurs when child is praised for productive activities, such as painting and building

• Inferiority: Occurs if child’s efforts are regarded as messy or inadequate

Stage Five (Adolescence): Identity versus Role Confusion

• Identity: For adolescents; problems answering, “Who am I?”

• Role Confusion: Occurs when adolescents are unsure of where they are going and who they are

Stage Six (Young Adulthood): Intimacy versus Isolation

• Intimacy: Ability to care about others and to share experiences with them

• Isolation: Feeling alone and uncared for in life

Stage Seven (Middle Adulthood): Generativity versus Stagnation

• Generativity: Interest in guiding the next generation

• Stagnation: When one is only concerned with one’s own needs and comforts

Stage Eight (Late Adulthood): Integrity versus Despair

• Integrity: Self-respect; developed when people have lived richly and responsibly

• Despair: Occurs when previous life events are viewed with regret; experiences heartache and remorse

Fig. 3-19, p. 103

Gerontology and the Study of Aging

• Ageism: Discrimination or prejudice based on a person’s age

• Gerontologists study aging and its effects• Intellectual Abilities:

– Fluid abilities: Abilities requiring speed or rapid learning; based on perceptual and motor abilities; may decrease with age

– Crystallized abilities: Learned (accumulated) knowledge and skills; vocabulary and basic facts

Death and Dying; Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

• Ross was a thanatologist: One who studies emotional and behavioral reactions to death and dying

• Ross described five basic reactions to death that occur, not necessarily in the following order or experienced by everyone

Five Basic Reactions to Death (Kubler-Ross)

Denial and Isolation

• Denying death’s reality and isolating oneself from information confirming that death will occur (“It’s a mistake; the doctors are wrong”)

Anger

• Asking, “Why me?” • Anger may then be projected onto the living

Bargaining

• Terminally ill will bargain with God or with themselves (“If I can live longer I’ll be a better person”)

Depression

• Feelings of futility, exhaustion and deep sadness

Acceptance

• If death is not sudden, many will accept death calmly

• Person is at peace finally with the concept of death

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