Development Across the Lifespan

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Development Across the Lifespan

• Chapter 7

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Human Development

• The scientific study of people across the
  lifespan.
• Research designs in development
• Longitudinal
• Cross-sectional
• Cross-sequential
• Nature v. nurturean ongoing question

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Chromosomes, etc.

• DNAa type of molecule that contains genetic
  material of an organism.
• Genessections of DNA with the same arrangement
  of chemicals.
• Chromosomesstrands of genes/DNA. Humans have 23
  pairs.

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Genes

• Dominant genesgenes that are more active in
  influencing or controlling the expression of a
  given trait, like hair color.
• Recessive genesgenes that are less active,
  recede in the background if a dominant gene is
  present.

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Prenatal Development

• After conception (sperm and egg joining), the
  fertilized egg is known as a zygote. First 2
  weeks are germinal period.
• Outer cells attach to uterine wall and inner
  cells become the embryothis stage lasts from 2
  weeks until 6 weeks.
• From 9 weeks until birth, the fetus continues to
  grow.

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Problems in Prenatal Devt

• Placenta can allow teratogens into the fetuss
  bloodstream.
• Heroin, cocaine, alcohol, other drugs
• Viruses, including HIV (although not all babies
  of HIV mothers are HIV)
• Nicotine and other chemicals in cigarettes

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Newborns

• Newborns have many reflexes, to facilitate
  feeding, other survival functions
• Rooting reflexwhen babys cheek is touched, baby
  turns head toward the touch.
• Sucking reflexautomatically suck when things are
  put in their mouths.
• Grasping reflexfingers close around anything put
  into the hand.
• Newborns have all of their senses
• Vision is less developed than adults vision.

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Piaget and Cognitive Development

• Jean Piageta developmental psychologist who
  revolutionized the way we think about childrens
  cognitive devt.
• Children appear to reason differently as they
  progress through their cognitive development
  important key to understanding kids behavior.

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Schemas

• Piaget developed the idea of schemascognitive
  categories.
• As children learn, they form schemas then new
  information is either assimilated to fit their
  schema, or their schema is accommodated and
  expanded to make sense of the new info. Examples?

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Sensorimotor Stage

• Ages birth to two
• Experience world through senses and
  movementstouching, things in mouth, etc.
• Object permanence
• Stranger anxiety

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Preoperational Stage

• Ages two to six
• Can represent things with words pictures but
  dont have logic
• Theory of Mind
• Egocentrism
• Irreversibility
• Centration

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Concrete Operational

• Ages seven to eleven
• Can think logically about concrete things, no
  abstract thought
• Conservation of matter
• Mathematical transformation

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Formal Operational

• Ages twelve through adulthood
• Have developed abstract reasoning abilities
• Abstract logic
• Mature moral reasoning possible

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Vygotskys Theory

• Stresses the importance of social interaction in
  learning.
• Scaffoldinga guide structures a learners
  process, providing less guidance as the learners
  skill increases.
• Zone of Proximal Developmentdifference between
  what a learner can do alone and what he/she can
  do with the assistance of another.

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Memory in Infants

• Do infants have memory?
• Infants have some memory remember their
  caregivers, routines from day-to-day.
• Also habituatethey get used to stimuli
• Why are there differences in infant and adult
  memory?
• Primarily due to the lack of neural connections
  in infants.

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Language Development

• Predictable stages of language
• Cooing
• Babbling
• One-word speech
• Telegraphic speech
• Whole sentences

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Temperament

• Characteristic ways of responding that seem to be
  already established at birth.
• Easy
• Difficult
• Slow to warm up
• Parents own tendencies definitely affect how they
  perceive and deal with the child.

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Social Development Attachment

• Attachmentan emotional connection with another
  person. Secure attachment leads to social
  comfort, ability to form and maintain intimate
  relationships.
• How can you tell what kind of attachment an
  infant has to his/her caregiverwatch how infant
  reacts to strangers, caregiver leaving, caregiver
  returning.

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Attachment Styles

• Secure attachmentinfants feel connected to
  caregiver feel more confident about exploring
  independently, knowing caregiver is there.
• Avoidant attachmentinfants appear indifferent to
  caregivers presence or absence.
• Ambivalent attachmentinfants appear clingy and
  afraid to leave mother, appear to feel insecure,
  afraid caregiver will be gone.
• Disorganized-disoriented attachmentfearful,
  didnt know how to react to mothers return.

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What Creates Attachment?

• Contact comfort Harlows cloth monkey vs. wire
  monkey experiments.
• Responsive Parenting sensitive, responsive
  parenting leads to healthy attachment.

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Eriksons Psychosocial Stages

• Trust v. Mistrustbirth to one yr.
• Autonomy v. Shame Doubtone to three yrs.
• Initiative v. Guiltthree to five yrs.
• Industry v. Inferiorityfive to twelve yrs.

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Adolescence

• Defined as the time between childhood and
  adulthood, from puberty to adult independence.
• Note that adolescence used to be a rather short
  period of time.
• Period between puberty and adulthood much longer
  now, a prolonged adolescence, can extend well
  into 20s.

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Physical Development

• Puberty is beginning of adolescenceabout age 11
  or 12 in girls and age 13 or 14 in boys.
• Pituitary gland stimulates adrenal glands and sex
  glands to release hormones.
• Primary sex characteristicsreproductive organs
  and external genitalia develop.
• Secondary sex characteristicsbreasts and hips
  develop (females), facial hair and deeper voice
  (males).

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Cognitive Development

• Abstract reasoning develops one reason why
  adolescence is time of questioning values,
  beliefs, morals.
• Still egocentric, more introspective.
• Personal fable
• Imaginary audience

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Kohlbergs Moral Development

• Preconventional moralityavoiding punishment or
  gaining concrete rewards.
• That is wrong b/c Ill get in trouble.
• Conventional moralitylaws and order.
• That is wrong b/c its against the law.
• Postconventional moralityabstract ethical
  principles, agreed-upon rights.
• That is wrong b/c it violates my morals.

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Gilligans Moral Development

• Carol Gilligan disagreed with Kohlbergs use of a
  largely male sample to establish stages of moral
  development.
• By his measures, women often lower on moral
  development than men.
• Gilligan proposed that men tend toward morality
  of justice, while women tend toward morality of
  care, and that both are acceptable.

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Eriksons Psychosocial Development

• Adolescent stage focuses on Identity vs. Role
  Confusion
• Young adulthood stage focuses on Intimacy vs.
  Isolation.
• You must develop identity before you can have
  successful relationships.
• Identity is basically ones sense of self.

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Separating from Parents

• Part of the task of adolescence is
  to separate from parents to some
  extent, gain independence.
• Adolescents tend to be very influenced by peers
  in certain areasdress, music, etc.but still
  very influenced by parents in other areascareer
  choice, morals, etc.

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AdulthoodPhysical Development

• Physical changes occur, including menopause for
  women gradual reproductive decline in men
  (andropause).
• Visual and other sensory abilities decline.
• Immune system weakens, making older people more
  susceptible to illnesses.

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Eriksons Psychosocial Development

• Middle adulthood a time of Generativity v.
  Stagnationleaving something behind,
  contributing.
• Older adults struggle with Ego Integrity v.
  Despairlife reflection, coping with mortality.

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Theories of Aging

• Cellular Clock Theory
• Wear-and-Tear Theory
• Free Radical Theory
• Activity Theory

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Stages of Grief

• Denial
• Anger
• Bargaining
• Depression
• Acceptance