Myers PSYCHOLOGY 8th Edition in Modules

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Myers PSYCHOLOGY (8th Edition in Modules)

• Module 8
• Prenatal Development and the Newborn

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Developmental Psychology

• branch of psychology that studies physical,
  cognitive and social change throughout the life
  span
• Researchers who focus on the importance of
  experience/learning tend to see development as a
  slow, continuous process.
• Researchers who focus on biology/genes tend to
  see development as a sequence of genetically
  predetermined stages or steps through which
  everyone passes in the same sequence (although
  the timing may differ)

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Where do babies come from?

• The stork brings them
• Ive really been wondering about that.
• Well, when 2 people meet at Cattle Annies.
• This is a matter of bees and birds.

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Prenatal Development and the Newborn
Life is sexually transmitted
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Prenatal Development

• Zygote
• the fertilized egg
• enters a 2 week period of rapid cell division
• develops into an embryo
• Embryo
• the developing human organism from 2 weeks
  through 2nd month
• Fetus
• the developing human organism from 9 weeks after
  conception to birth

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Which of the following babies is the oldest?

• Jordan, who is a blastocyst.
• Nell, who has reached the age of viability.
• Horace, who is more sensitive to teratogens at
  this stage than at any other stage.
• Yolanda, who is a zygote.

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Prenatal Development and the Newborn

• 40 days 45 days 2 months 4 months

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Cell differentiation begins when the prenatal
organism is a(n)

• A. zygote.
• B. fetus.
• C. embryo.
• D. single cell.

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Prenatal Development and the Newborn

• Teratogens
• agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can
  reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal
  development and cause harm
• Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)
• physical and cognitive abnormalities in children
  caused by a pregnant womans heavy drinking
• symptoms include facial misproportions

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Prenatal Risks I

• Alcohol No amount of alcohol is safe. Can
  cause mental retardation, learning disorders and
  retarded growth and fetal alcohol syndrome.
• Smoking Can cause decreased birth weight,
  increased risk of miscarriage and still birth,
  and may also interfere with cognitive development
  in early childhood

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Prenatal Risks II

• Teratogens Factors in the environment that can
  harm the developing embryo or fetus
• Infectious agents Some viruses, such as
  rubella, herpes or HIV and some bacteria or
  parasites, such as toxoplasmosis
• Prescription and over-the counter drugs
  Excessive use of aspirin can harm the circulatory
  system. Caffeine can slow growth, contribute to
  premature birth and increased irritability
• Cocaine Can cause premature birth, brain
  lesions, impaired sensory functioning, increased
  irritability, heart deformities, etc.

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Prenatal Development and the Newborn

• Rooting Reflex
• tendency to open mouth, and search for nipple
  when touched on the cheek
• Habituation
• decreasing responsiveness with repeated
  stimulation (getting used to a stimulus and
  showing less response to it)
• We use habituation to study infants perceptual
  abilities. When they notice a change in a
  stimulus, they will show increased response
  (dishabituation) in their heart rates and blood
  pressure, for example.

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Prenatal Development and the Newborn

• Preferences
• human voices and faces
• face-like images--gt
• smell and sound of mother
• preferred