how do people grow, change, and develop?. pastorino/doyle-portillo essentials of what is psychology?...

How Do People Grow, Change, and Develop?

Pastorino/Doyle-PortilloEssentials of What Is Psychology? 1st edition

© 2010 Cengage Learning

Nature-Nurture Revisited: Biology and Culture

How much does one’s biology or environment impact development?

Nature – heredity, genetic transmissionNurture – all external environmental events

Family, friends, school, media, culture

Factors interact in a complex manner



Prenatal Development: Conception to Birth

Sperm and ova each contribute 23 single chromosomes

Zygote – fertilized egg containing 23 pairs of chromosomes

Half of all fertilized eggs die and are miscarried

3 stages of prenatal developmentGerminal or ZygoticEmbryonicFetal



The Germinal Stage

First 14 days after conceptionCell divisionFifth day: zygote is 100-cell organism called

a blastocystNinth day: blastocyst implants to uterine

wall lining



The Embryonic Stage

Second through eighth week

Development and formation of all major organs and systemsCells begin to specialize

Most critical in development; most miscarriages and genetic defects occur during this time



The Fetal Stage

Ninth week until birthGrowth and maturation continues

14 weeks: kicking, swallowing, turn head

24 weeks: viability outside womb

Responsive to sound, light, and touch during last 3 months



The Importance of a Positive Prenatal Environment

Internal/external forces interfere with prenatal development

Chromosomal abnormalities are genetic defects; effects arise during embryonic stage Down syndrome – extra 21st chromosome

Teratogens: are external environmental agents that can harm embryo Greatest impact during sensitive periods Fetal alcohol syndrome Other drugs



Infancy and Childhood: Physical Development

Average neonate (“baby!”) weighs 7 pounds and is 20 inches long

By one year, triples weight and is 29 inches

Genetics lays foundation for how tall and how body fat is distributed

Environment influences this foundation through nutrition, health care, and lifestyle choices



Brain Development

At birth, brain has billions of neurons but limited connection and incomplete myelinization

By three years, 1000 trillion connections formedExperience /activity increase neural connections

Brain prunes, discards unnecessary connections; frequently used connections become permanent

Young brains are highly plastic (“malleable”), and dense with neurons



Perceptual Development: Vision

Infants are born very nearsighted and lack convergence (ability to focus both eyes)

Prefer to look at complex stimuli and faces Helps develop social bond with caretaker More difficulty processing male faces

Depth perception developed in first year“Visual cliff”Acquired about the same time as

mobility



Perceptual Development: Hearing

React to sounds prenatally around 20th week, particularly mother’s voice

Early discrimination of similar consonant sounds and ability to remember simple speech sounds

Prefer soft, rhythmic sounds (lullabies) and baby talk (exaggerated, high-pitched sounds)



Perceptual Development: Other Senses

Prefer sweet tastes at birth (breast milk is sweet)

Detect mother’s smell as early as 3 days old

Very responsive to touchTouching and caressing stimulates

physical and cognitive growth



Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development

Jean Piaget studied children Interviewed and observed children while solving

problems

Developed theory about how mental abilities develop

Cognition advances in series of distinct stages



Schemas, Assimilation, and Accommodation

Schema = Any mental idea, concept, or thought Formed based on experience in world to fit perceptions

of the world

Assimilation = Apply existing schema to current understanding (e.g., call truck a “car”)

Accommodation = Modify existing schemas – or create new ones – to adapt to environmental change



Sensorimotor Stage

Birth to 2 yearsAcquire knowledge through senses and

motor abilitiesForm schemas of objects and actions

within immediate perception – those seen, heard or touched Lack representational abilities

Object permanence: an object exists even when not present usually at 8 months, steadily improves

until 24 months



Preoperational Stage

Symbolic thinking is the transition between sensorimotor and preoperational

2 to 6-7 yearsAcquiring and using symbols (e.g. language)

Vocabulary and understanding dramatically increases

Pretend play increases



Characteristics of Preoperational Thinking

Centration – focusing on one feature of object Difficulty distinguishing appearance and reality

Lack of conservation – do not understand that object stays the same even if appearance changes

Egocentrism – everyone sees things as they do

Magical quality of preoperational thinking; difference between reality and fantasy



Concrete Operations

6 or 7 through 12 yearsMove toward becoming logical thinker

Acquire conservation Recognize errors in previous thinking;

accommodationReduction in egocentrism: enables

empathy, persuasion, and growing sense of humor

Schemas are limited to actual experiences and concrete objects and situations



Formal Operations

Teenage years, for some Abstract reasoning

Can hypothesize about careers, mathematical concepts, etc.

Piaget contributed to understanding cognition; very accurately identified sequence of development

Criticism – overlooked effect of culture on development and underestimated abilities



Vygotsky’s Theory of Cognitive Development: Culture and Thinking

Mental processes begin externally, with social interactions

Culture profoundly influences mental processingCognition proceeds in different

directions, not in stagesConceptual thinking is taught

Zone of proximal development: gap between what children can already do, and what capable of with help



Moral Reasoning: How We Think About Right and Wrong

Lawrence Kohlberg Developed moral dilemmas and had

participants give reasons for answers Created theory of how individuals morally

reason and how this changes

Six stages of reasoning with three levels Preconventional, conventional, and

postconventional



Stages of Moral Reasoning

Precoventional Based on avoiding punishment or gaining

rewards Focus on immediate consequences

Conventional Based on standards of group or society Understand rules and others’ expectations

Postconventional Universal principles of morality that are

abstract



Evaluation of Kohlberg’s Theory

Theory stimulated research, criticism and controversy

Sequence supported Most adults progress to conventional Postconventional is less common

Generalizability to other cultures? Other cultures emphasize group

regulation of values



Gilligan’s Theory: Gender and Moral Reasoning

Carol Gilligan, A Different Voice Book in which Gilligan proposed female perspective to

moral reasoning

Females emphasize concern, care and relations in moral decisions; men emphasize fairness and justice

Little strong research support; both males and females use both justice and caring



Temperament: The Influence of Biology

General innate behavioral styles

Identified easy, difficult and slow-to-warm-up temperaments

Goodness-of-fit between temperament and social relationships influences future development



Attachment: Learning About Relationships

Emotional tie between infant and caretaker

Separation anxiety and stranger anxiety

Initially thought related to feedingTypically by 8 to 9 months

Harlow and Zimmerman – monkey researchDemonstrated infant monkeys preferred comfort contact, beyond food needs



Attachment Styles

Mary Ainsworth Developed “strange situation” to research

qualitative differences in attachment

Identified four attachment stylesSecure, avoidant, resistant, disorganized/disoriented

Culture and different child-rearing practices influence attachment



Four Attachment Styles

Secure: Parents as base to explore from, quickly soothed when parent returns

Avoidant: Ignore parent, not distressed when leave, or happy when return

Resistant: “clingy,” don’t explore new situation, extreme distress when parent leaves

Disorganized/disoriented: Confused, disoriented, look away while comforted



How Does Attachment Influence Development

Research partially supports notion that early attachment is foundation for later relationships Secure attachment related to better preschool and

school-age outcomes Insecure attachment mixed results

Bonds with other caretakers can compensate for insecure attachments

Early insecure attachment not necessarily related to lifelong pattern



Baumrind’s Research on Parenting Styles

Three parenting styles linked to different child outcomes

Authoritarian (high control, low affection) Children more withdrawn, anxious, conforming

Authoritative (moderate control, warm) Most confident, happy children

Permissive (low control, warm) Most immature children, little impulse control



Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development: The Influence of Culture

Children and adults progress through eight developmental crises

Unhealthy resolution impairs later development, although damage can be repaired



Erikson’s Childhood Stages

Trust vs. mistrust: (1st year) infant’s needs must be met to develop trust in others

Autonomy vs. shame and doubt: (1-3) finding balance between independence and dependence

Initiative vs. guilt: (3-6) explore environment through trial and error; develop schemas of others’ expectations

Industry vs. inferiority: (6-12) form opinions about self based on mastering tasks, feelings of competency or inferiority



Identity vs. Role Confusion: Beginning in the teenage years

Identity – figuring out who they are, similarities/differences from peers and parents

Influenced by biology (puberty) and newly acquired cognitive ability (abstract reasoning)

Role confusion – trying out new roles at the cost of not establishing stable identity



Intimacy vs. Isolation: Early Adulthood

Intimacy: Refine and modify identity to accommodate values and interests of another

Intimacy involves cooperation, tolerance and acceptance of others’ views and values

Expressed through marriage, long-term romantic partnerships, friendship, work relationships

Isolation: threatened by close relations with others



Generativity vs. Stagnation: Adulthood

Generativity: feeling of having made meaningful contribution to society

Marriage, child rearing, service to others, career accomplishments

Stagnation: sense of failure and absence of purpose May become bitter, disenchanted Midlife crisis



Integrity vs. Despair: Toward end of life

Review life and judge direction life has taken

Positive feelings about choices – integrity

Negative feeling – despair

Facing death with either fear or regret

Gender Role Development

By 2 or 3 years, children know their own gender and can label that of others

At early age, children develop schemas about gender roles Societal expectations for female and male behavior

By age 6, children understand that gender is constant – gender permanence

Gender schema theory – modeling and reinforcement contribute to children’s construction of gender schemas



Puberty: Big Changes, Rapid Growth

Puberty = process of sexual maturationBody growth and maturation of sex

characteristics

Occurs two years earlier in girls (around 10) than boys (around 12)Timing varies between individuals

and within cultures



Gender and Reproductive Capacity

Menopause occurs around 50, on average End of reproductive capability Decrease in estrogen

Andropause occurs around 60 Fewer male hormones released

Most older adults remain sexually active75% over 65 report being in good health



Changes in Memory and Mental Abilities

Fluid intelligence tends to peak at brain maturity, although some remain strong (some decline in areas as early as late 20’s)

Crystallized intelligence, influenced more by culture and experience, tends to increase to the 60’s

Physical and cognitive exercise help sustain cognitive functioning in late adulthood



Cohabitation

Living with an intimate partnerRates increasing over past 20 yearsTend to be short-lived: separate or get

marriedReasons for cohabitating: test out

compatibility or as alternative to marriage (gay and lesbian couples)



Marriage: Adaptation, Satisfaction and Gender Differences

95% of Americans get married at some point

60% of marriages worldwide are arrangedSuccessful marriage involves adaptationSatisfying marriages: similar backgrounds,

waiting to marry, supportive behaviorsDissatisfying: negative comments,

contempt, defensiveness, and criticism



Reactions to Death: Kubler-Ross’s Stages

Death is a process, not a single point in time

In current society, death is an isolated process

Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Researcher on death and dying Identified five reactions of dying people Legitimacy, but not sequence, of stages confirmed

through researchMay be experienced with other lossesOther factors influence experience of death



Kubler-Ross Stages

DenialAngerBargainingDepressionAcceptance



Bereavement and Grief: How We Respond to Death

Bereavement = experience of losing loved one

Grief = emotional reaction to loss

Although a personal experience, research has identified common themes within three phases



Phases

Impact Disbelief, numbness, which dulls emotional pain Perform needed functions

Confrontation Deep despair and agony Physical symptoms Confronting loss

Accommodation Acceptance and reengagement

how do people grow, change, and develop?. pastorino/doyle-portillo essentials of what is psychology?...

Documents

cengage learning slide

cengage learning schemas

cengage learning infancy

time slide

mobility slide

week development

perceptual development

cognitive growth slide