The Developing Person

… he allowed himself to be swayed by his conviction that human beings are not born once and for all on the day their mothers give birth to them, but that life obliges them over and over again to give birth to themselves.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Developmental Psychology

Studies physical, cognitive & psychosocial changes across the life span

Two methods of conducting research– Longitudinal research

Study the same participants over a long

period of timeProblems: expensive and possible drop-outs

– Cross-sectional researchGroups of Ps, of different ages, studied at same timeProblem: cohort peculiarities

Physical Development - Prenatal

Zygote stage: conception to week 2– Moves to embryonic stage when multicell ball attaches

to uterine wall Embryonic stage: end of wk 2 to wk 8

– Genes are in the background directing progress– Boys become boys when testosterone is secreted,

producing male sex organs Fetal stage: end of wk 8 to birth

– Movement felt by mom by 4th month– By 7th most everything is developed

Focus is on growth!

Physical Development

Premature birth– Smaller in weight, though not always in length– Less physically & cognitively developed, hearing

problems common– Usually up to 2 months early still has a fighting chance

Teratogens– Noxious substance or factors that can disrupt prenatal

development– X-rays: disrupt development of brain cells– Drugs: abnormal physical & psychological

development– Alcohol: FAS; mental retardation, facial disfigurement

Physical Development

Infancy: birth to 2 yrs– Babies are born to survive

Rooting reflex Cry when hungry, smile to reinforce closeness of caregiver Quickly learn to recognize mother’s smell, voice, and face

– Perception Newborns can’t focus on distant objects Visual cliff (see page 167 in book)

– Depth perception develops between 4th & 6th month

– Motor development Cephalocaudal trend (head to foot growth and motor control) Proximodistal trend (center out growth and motor control)

History of Developmental Ψ

Medieval Times (500 – 1500 AD)– Preformationism: Children were viewed as miniature adults

Reformation (1500’s)– Puritanism: Children are born evil and stubborn

Enlightenment (1600’s and 1700’s)– John Locke – tabula rasa– Rousseau – children are noble savages

Darwin (1800’s)– Ontogeny & Phylogeny, and Baby Biographies

Logs of infant development Focus on maturation & development

History of Developmental Ψ

1890s– G. Stanley Hall

Founder of child psychology Focus on heredity

1920s– Remember behaviorism?

1950s– First look at other ages in the lifespan (Erikson & Piaget)

1960s– Behavioral genetics

How heredity & life experience interact in affecting development Ex: divorce, empathy, attachment styles

Piaget

A proponent of the belief that intelligence develops qualitatively with age, as well as quantitatively

Genetic Epistemology– Intellect develops in gradual

stages, much as the body does Hence the term ‘genetic’ does not

refer to our genes’ influence on our intelligence but rather as a reference to development

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Dev.

Themes of cognitive development– Schemas– Assimilation– Accommodation

Sensorimotor – Birth to 2 years– Learn to coordinate sensory experience & motor

behavior– Object constancy (a.k.a. object permanence)

Object Permanence

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Dev.

Preoperational– Age: 2 to 7 years– Language more sophisticated but still have trouble

with mental manipulation of information– Can’t engage in certain mental operations

Conservation Reversible mental representations

– Egocentrism

Conservation

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Dev.

Concrete Operational – Age: 7 to 11 years– Child learns to logically reason about objects– Understands

Conservation (can make transitive inferences)

Formal Operational – Adolescent reasons in more abstract,

idealistic and logical ways

Water task

A B

Figure A shows a bottle with some water in it.

In B, the bottle has been tilted.

Draw a line to show how the water line would look.

Moral Development - Piaget

Focused on moral understanding, rather than moral behavior

Three stages of moral development– Moral Realism (0 to 7 yrs)– Morality of Cooperation (7 to 11 yrs)– Moral Relativism (12 yrs & up)

Moral Development - Kohlberg

Preconventional– Punishment and obedience orientation– Individualism and purpose

Conventional– Good boy - Nice girl orientation– Society - maintaining orientation

Post-conventional– Community rights vs. personal rights– Universal ethical principle orientation

A. I find it relatively easy to get close to others and am comfortable depending on them and having them depend on me. I don’t often worry about being abandoned or about someone getting too close to me.

B. I am somewhat uncomfortable being close to others. I find it difficult to trust them completely, difficult to allow myself to depend on them. I am nervous when anyone gets too close, and often, love partners want me to be more intimate than I feel comfortable being.

C. I find that others are reluctant to get as close as I would like. I often worry that my partner doesn’t really love me or want to stay with me. I want to merge completely with another person, and this desire sometimes scares people away.

Attachment Theory

Harlow’s monkeys– Wire mesh vs. cloth mothers

Bowlby– Orphans in London– Attachment

An emotional bond to one’s caregiver as an infant

Three components of attachment– Proximity maintenance– Safe haven– Secure base

Attachment Theory Research

Ainsworth– Strange Situation– Examines reaction of child to three situations

Exploration Mom leaves Mom returns

Attachment styles– Based on history with caregiver, we develop a

tendency to relate to others in a certain manner– Can I count on my attachment figure to be available

and responsive when I need them?

Three Primary Attachment ‘Styles’

Secure– Yes: Infants feel comfortable to explore, trust a responsive

mother– Adults find it easy to trust, want love, don’t fear rejection, see

themselves as worthy of affection Avoidant

– No: Infants appear detached from unresponsive or rejecting mother

– Adults are aloof, emotionally distant, skeptical of others’ love, fear rejection but still want closeness

Anxious-ambivalent– Maybe: Infants cling to inconsistent caregiver and protest

extremely when needs aren’t met– Adults see themselves as misunderstood, lacking in confidence,

can be clingy or needy in a relationship

A. I find it relatively easy to get close to others and am comfortable depending on them and having them depend on me. I don’t often worry about being abandoned or about someone getting too close to me.

B. I am somewhat uncomfortable being close to others. I find it difficult to trust them completely, difficult to allow myself to depend on them. I am nervous when anyone gets too close, and often, love partners want me to be more intimate than I feel comfortable being.

C. I find that others are reluctant to get as close as I would like. I often worry that my partner doesn’t really love me or want to stay with me. I want to merge completely with another person, and this desire sometimes scares people away.

Attachment Styles

Attachment styles can change over time– Either through self-motivated growth/deterioration or

because of secure/insecure relationship partners Pairing up

– Most secures bond with other secures– Most avoidants bond with secures (a few with anxious-

ambivalent, rarely with other avoidants)– Most anxious-ambivalents bond with secures, a few

with avoidants (rarely with other anxious-ambivalents)

Erikson’s Stages of Development

Trust vs. mistrust– Birth to 1 year– Treatment by caregivers creates trust in a good world

Autonomy vs. shame and doubt– 1 to 2 years– Child is allowed to make independent decisions or is

made to feel ashamed/full of doubt about own decisions

Initiative vs. guilt– 3 to 6 years– Child either develops own purpose/direction or is

made to feel guilty by overly controlling caregivers

Erikson’s Stages of Development

Industry vs. inferiority– 6 to 11 years– Child either feels competent working with others or

inferior Identity vs. role confusion

– Adolescence– Adolescent either grasps sense of identity or becomes

confused about possible future roles as adult Intimacy vs. isolation

– Young adulthood (ages 20 to 40)– Forming deep/intimate relationships with others or

becoming socially isolated

Erikson’s Stages of Development

Generativity vs. self-absorption/stagnation– Middle adulthood (ages 40 to 65)– Determining what to leave behind for future

generations or failing to grasp a sense of

meaning in life Integrity vs. despair

– Late adulthood (ages 65 and up)– Feeling that life was worthwhile or feeling despair

about one’s life and fearing death