Chapter SummaryPrenatal Development and the Newborn
Conception and Prenatal Development Developmental psychologists examine how we develop physically, cognitively, and socially, from conception to death. The life cycle begins when one sperm cell, out of the some 200 million ejaculated, unites with an egg to form a zygote. Attached to the uterine wall, the developing embryo begins to form body organs. By the ninth week, the fetus becomes recognizably human. The mother eats, drinks, and breathes for two, so that any teratogens she ingests can reach the developing child and place it at risk. The Competent Newborn Using new methods, researchers have discovered that newborns are born with sensory equipment and reflexes that facilitate their interacting with adults and securing nourishment. For example, they quickly learn to discriminate the smell and sound of their mothers. Infancy and Childhood Physical Development Physical development includes maturation of the brain, motor development, and infant memory development. Within the brain, nerve cells form before birth. Sculpted by maturation and experience, their interconnections multiply rapidly after birth. Increased brain function results in increased physical coordination. Infants’ more complex physical skills—sitting, standing, and walking—develop in a predictable sequence of motor development, which is almost completely universal. Similarly, most children under the age of three will have no memory of their experiences. We lose conscious memories of experiences from our earliest years. Experiments do, however, show that infants can retain learning over time. Cognitive Development Jean Piaget’s observations of children convinced him—and almost everyone else—that the mind of the child is not that of a miniature adult. Piaget theorized that our mind develops by forming schemas that help us assimilate our experiences and that must occasionally be altered to accommodate new information. In this way, children progress from the simplicity of the sensorimotor stage in the first two years to more complex stages of thinking, which include a developing "theory of mind." Piaget believed that preschool children, in the preoperational stage, are egocentric and unable to perform simple logical operations. At about age 6 or 7 they enter the concrete operational stage and can perform concrete operations, such as those required to comprehend the principle of conservation. Finally, at about age 12, children enter the formal operational stage, in which abstract reasoning is within their grasp. Recent research indicates that human cognition, regardless of culture, tends to unfold basically in the sequence Piaget proposed. However, young children are more capable, and development more continuous, than Piaget believed. The cognitive abilities that emerge at each stage apparently begin developing in a rudimentary form in the previous stage. Social Development Humans are social animals who become attached to caregivers in infancy as a means of survival. Attachment style in infancy predicts later social development. Infants become attached to their mothers and fathers not simply because mothers and fathers gratify biological needs but, more importantly, because they are comfortable, familiar, and responsive. If denied such care, both monkey and human infants may become pathetically withdrawn, anxious, and eventually abusive. Once an attachment forms, infants who are separated from their caregivers will, for a time, be distressed. As with cognitive abilities, a self-concept develops gradually. By 18 months, infants recognize themselves in a mirror. By age 8 or 10, children’s self-images are quite stable and are linked with their independence, optimism, and sociability. Children who develop a positive self-image and a happy, self-reliant manner tend to have been reared by parents who are neither permissive nor authoritarian, but authoritative while allowing their children a sense of control. The parenting-competence link is, however, correlational and does not explain cause and effect. Adolescence Physical Development Due to earlier maturation and prolonged education, adolescence—the transition years between biological maturity and social independence—has lengthened in many countries. Adolescence begins with a growth spurt that heralds the period of sexual maturation we call puberty and ends with the achievement of adult independence. Depending on how other people react, early or late maturation can influence adjustment, again illustrating how our genes and our environment interact in shaping us. Cognitive Development Piaget theorized that adolescents develop the capacity for formal operations, which enables them to reason abstractly. Today’s developmentalists find the rudiments of formal logic appearing earlier than Piaget believed. Following Piaget’s lead, Lawrence Kohlberg contended that moral thinking likewise proceeds through a sequence of stages, from a preconventional morality of self-interest, to a conventional morality concerned with gaining others’ approval or doing one’s duty, to (in some people) a postconventional morality of agreed-upon rights or universal ethical principles. But morality also lies in actions, which are influenced by the social situation and inner attitudes as well as by moral reasoning. Moreover, say Kohlberg’s critics, the postconventional level represents morality from the perspective of individualist, liberal-minded males. The social intuitionist perspective on morality suggests that moral feelings may precede moral judgments and influence our actions. Social Development Erik Erikson theorized that a chief task of adolescence is solidifying one’s sense of self—one’s identity. For many people, this struggle continues into the adult years as new relationships emerge and new roles are assumed. Although adolescence has traditionally been viewed as a time of storm and stress, researchers have found that most teenagers relate to their parents reasonably well and generally affirm their parents’ beliefs and attitudes. A correlation has been found between a positive relationship with parents and positive peer relationships. Adolescence marks a time when parental influence diminishes and peer influence increases. Emerging Adulthood The window of time between adolescence and fully independent adulthood is now termed emerging adulthood. This refers to people between the ages of 18 and the mid-twenties. With changes in Western society, such as an increase in years of schooling, the marks of adult independence appear later. Emerging adults may be in college managing their own time and activities but still look to their parents for financial and emotional support. On the other hand, sexual maturity begins earlier, thus creating a larger gap between biological maturity and social independence. Adulthood During early life, we sail a narrow channel, constrained by biological maturation. As the years pass, the channel widens, allowing us to diverge more and more. By adulthood, age no longer neatly predicts a person’s life experience and traits. Yet in some ways our bodies, minds, and relationships still undergo predictable changes. As long as we live, we adapt. Physical Development The barely perceptible physical declines of early adulthood begin to accelerate during middle adulthood. For women, a significant physical change is menopause, which generally seems to be a smooth rather than rough transition. For both men and women perceptual acuity, strength, and stamina decline after 65, but short-term ailments are fewer. Neural processes slow, and except for those who suffer brain disease, such as the progressive deterioration of Alzheimer’s disease, the brain remains healthy. Cognitive Development As the years pass, recognition memory remains strong, although recall begins to decline, especially for meaningless information. Research on how intelligence changes with age has progressed through several phases: cross-sectional studies suggesting a steady intellectual decline after early adulthood; longitudinal studies suggesting intellectual stability until very late in life; and today’s view that fluid intelligence declines in later life, but crystallized intelligence does not. Social Development From close study of small samples of individuals, some theorists maintain that adults pass through an orderly sequence of life stages. Some have contended that moving from one stage to the next entails recurring times of crisis, such as the transition to midlife during the early forties. But people are not so predictable. Adult life is influenced in unanticipated ways, not only by events involving love and work but also by chance occurrences. Since 1960, marriage has been in decline, as reflected in later marriages, increased cohabitation, and doubled divorce rates. Although few people grow old gratefully, most age gracefully, retaining a sense of well-being throughout life. Those who live to old age must, however, cope with the deaths of friends and family members and with the prospect of their own deaths. Our experience with death is influenced by our experiences in life. Key TermsDevelopmental Psychology - a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span.
Zygote - the fertilized egg; it enters a 2-week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo. Embryo - the developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the second month. Fetus - the developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth. Teratogens - agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) - a medical condition in which body deformation or facial development or mental ability of a fetus is impaired because the mother drank alcohol while pregnant. Rooting Reflex - a baby's tendency, when touched on the cheek, to turn toward the touch, open the mouth, and search for the nipple. Habituation - decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner. Maturation - biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience. Schema - a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information. Assimilation - interpreting one's new experience in terms of one's existing schemas. Accommodation - adapting one's current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information. Cognition - all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating. Sensorimotor Stage - in Piaget's theory, the stage (from birth to about 2 years of age) during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities. Object Permanence - the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived. Preoperational Stage - in Piaget's theory, the stage (from about 2 to 6 or 7 years of age) during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic. Conservation - the principle (which Piaget believed to be a part of concrete operational reasoning) that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects. Egocentrism - in Piaget's theory, the preoperational child's difficulty taking another's point of view. Theory of Mind - people's ideas about their own and others' mental states -- about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts and the behavior these might predict.. Autism - a disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by deficient communication, social interaction, and understanding of others' states of mind. Concrete Operational Stage - in Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about 6 or 7 to 11 years of age) during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events. Formal Operational Stage - in Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (normally beginning about age 12) during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts. Stranger Anxiety - the fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months of age. Attachment - an emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to the caregiver and showing distress on separation. Critical Period - an optimal period shortly after birth when an organism's exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces proper development. Imprinting - the process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life. Basic Trust - according to Erik Erikson, a sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy; said to be formed during infancy by appropriate experiences with responsive caregivers. Self-Concept - a sense of one's identity and personal worth. Adolescence - the transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence. Puberty - the period of sexual maturation, during which a person becomes capable of reproducing. Primary Sex Characteristics - the body structures (ovaries, testes, and external genitalia) that make sexual reproduction possible. Secondary Sex Characteristics - non-reproductive sexual characteristics, such as female breasts and hips, male voice quality, and body hair. Menarche - the first menstrual period. Identity - one's sense of self; according to Erikson, the adolescent's task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating various roles. Intimacy - in Erikson's theory, the ability to form close, loving relationships; a primary developmental task in late adolescence and early adulthood. Menopause - the time of natural cessation of menstruation; also refers to the biological changes a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declines. Alzheimer's Disease - an irreversible, progressive brain disorder, characterized by the deterioration of memory, language, and eventually, physical functioning. Cross-Sectional Study - a study in which people of different ages are compared with one another. Longitudinal Study - research in which the same people are restudied and retested over a long period. Crystallized Intelligence - one's accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age. Fluid Intelligence - one's ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood. Social Clock - the culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement. |
people to know*Mary Ainsworth - researched the effects of maternal separation on child development - secure vs. insecure attachment
*Albert Bandura - Social learning theory/modeling behavior (Bobo) Diana Baumrind - named the parenting styles - authoritarian, permissive, authoritative *Erik Erikson - Stages of psycho-social development ie. generativity vs stagnation; identity crisis *Sigmund Freud - Stages of development - oral, anal, phallic, etc *Piaget - Stages of development - concrete operational, formal operational, etc. Carol Gilligan - Specialized and wrote books on girl's development *Harry Harlow - Wire vs. soft monkey-attachment *Kohlberg - Moral development-preconventional, conventional, post conventional Lorenz - Imprinting (humans don't) "fly away home" Vygotsky - Early psychologist who investigated the role of culture in child development * Most important of the people Psych Sim 5 ActivitiesChartsTricky SpotsAssimilation
Using similar objects to generalize what the object could be. EX: A dog and a cat both have four legs so they are the same. Accommodation Modifying your current understanding to more groups. EX: A dog and a cat both have four legs but a dog barks and a cat meows, so they are different. Authoritarian
These parents act as stingy as librarian and don't tell you why they set the rules. EX: "You must not hang out with your friends because I said so." Authoritative These parents that let you live and be free but still have some limits. EX: "You cannot hang out with your friends today because you have to clean up your room." Extras
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