HHG Unit 2 Review - Babies & Children

Critical period hypothesis

Lenneberg’s idea that children cannot learn language after puberty

How does Genie’s case support the “critical period hypothesis?”

Genie did learn some language but never grammatical structure

Was the study/rehabilitation of Genie ethical?

No

* NIMH officials ended the study grant due to poor organization, lack of results
* was “forgotten” after study, lack of care, some abuse in foster homes
* was used by Jean Butler to make a name of herself
* deep trauma, viewed as experiment

Language development

from crying to cooing to babbling

Motherese

simplified & repetitive speech w/ exaggerated intonation/rhythm often used by adults when speaking to babies

Benefits of motherese

helps children identify where words begin/end and provides that with the clues needed to develop their own language

By age 2, a child knows:

500-1500 words

Telegraphic speech

when there is a word left out or the wrong verb tense is used but you still get the message “baba fall down”

Language development milestones

1. phonation
2. “goo” stage
3. expansion
4. canonical
5. variegated babble
6. first real words

Phonation

* 0-2 months
* crying, vowel sounds, grunting
* startle to loud noises
* respond to sounds

“Goo” stage

* 2-3 months
* coo/goo sounds
* recognize language
* hearing is OK

Expansion

* 4-6 months
* B, P, M sounds
* laugh, shout
* toys w/ sound

Canonical

* 7-10 months
* non-crying sounds to get attention
* gestures/peek a boo
* responds to requests

Variegated babble

* 11-12 months
* patterns of real speech
* sounds like conversation

First real words

12-13 months

At birth, infant weighs

about 7.3 lbs

At 2 months, babies

lift their heads

At 2.8 months, babies

roll over

At 2 to 3 months, babies

smile

At 4 months, babies

sit w/ support

At 3 months, babies

grasp objects

At 5.5 months, babies

sit w/o support

At 7.6 months, babies

pull self to standing position

At 9.2 months, babies

walk holding onto furniture

At 10 months, babies

crawl

At 11.5 months, babies

stand alone

At 12.1 months, babies

walk

By age 1, infant weighs

20-25 lbs

At age 2, child will be able to:

walk, talk and feed themselves

In order to develop physically, babies must go through:

maturation and learning experiences

Maturation

* Internally programmed growth


* Learning how to hold your head up, roll, walk, etc.
* Important in the first years
* Development should occur as long as child is well fed, not restricted in movement, or deprived of human contact
* No two infants grow at the same rate or have the same personality, but they all follow the same steps in growing

Robert Franz

through a study he determined that infants preferred to look at human faces and patterned materials

Visual Cliff Experiment

* Determined whether or not infants had depth perception


* Infants that were 0 - 6 months old crossed the cliff, but 6+ months would refuse to continue once they got to the ‘edge’
* The infants that would cross would get a higher heart rate which implied that they had some perceptual capabilities

Developmental Psychology

The specialized study of how an individual’s physical, social, emotional, moral,  and intellectual development occurs in sequential interrelated stages throughout the life cycle

Newborns can:

see, hear, smell, and respond to their environment which allows them to adapt

Reflexes

inherited automatic coordinating movements that can be triggered by a specific stimulus

Rooting Reflex

* Begins when the corner of the baby's mouth is stroked or touched
* Baby will turn his or her head and open his or her mouth to follow and root in the direction of the stroking
* This helps the baby find the breast or bottle to begin feeding
* Reflex lasts about 4 months

Suck Reflex

* Rooting helps the baby become ready to suck. When the roof of the baby's mouth is touched, the baby will begin to suck.
* This reflex does not begin until about the 32nd week of pregnancy and is not fully developed until about 36 weeks.
* Because babies also have a hand-to-mouth reflex that goes with rooting and sucking, they may suck on their fingers or hands.

Grasping Reflex

If you were to touch the center of an infant’s palm, they will grasp your fingers tightly

Moro Reflex

* Often called startle reflex because it usually occurs when a baby is startled by a loud sound/movement
* In response to the sound, baby throws back their head, extends out their arms/legs, cries, them pulls arms/legs back in

Sigmund Freud

responsible for the theory of psychosexual development

Psychosexual Development

* Freud believed that personality develops through a series of childhood stages in which the pleasure seeking energies of the id become focused on certain erogenous areas.


* This psychosexual energy, or libido, was described as the driving force behind behaviour

Psychoanalytic theory suggested that personality is mostly established by

age 5

Successful completion of psychosexual stages

results are healthy personality

Unsuccessful completion of psychosexual stages

fixation can occur in results

Fixation

is a persistent focus on an earlier psychosexual stage. Until this conflict is resolved, the individual will remain ‘stuck’ in this stage

Example of fixation

a person who is fixated on the oral stage may be overly dependent on others and may seek oral stimulation through smoking, drinking or eating

Stages of psychosexual development

1. oral
2. anal
3. phallic
4. latent
5. genital

Oral stage

* age 0-1
* mouth, nursing, sucking, biting, exploration

Anal stage

* age 1-3
* anus and bladder, potty training

Phallic stage

* age 3-6


* genitalia, Oedipus complex, Electra complex

Latent stage

* age 6-12
* energy directed to physical and intellectual activities, sexual impulses repressed, relationships between peers of same sex

Genital stage

* age 12+
* energy directed to full sexual maturation and function and development of secondary sex characteristics

Criticisms of Freud’s theory

The theory is focused almost entirely on male development with little mention of female psychosexual development.

His theories are difficult to test scientifically. Concepts such as the libido are impossible to measure and therefore cannot be tested.

Future predictions are too vague. How can we know that a specific behaviour was caused by a childhood experience? 

Freud’s theory is based upon case studies and not empirical research.

Theory based on recollections of adult patients, not on study of children

Jean Piaget

known for his theory of cognitive development

Assimilation

occurs when baby incorporate new objects into a scheme

Accommodation

occurs when the new object doesn’t fit the existing scheme

Piaget’s stages of cognitive development

1. Sensorimotor
2. Preoperational
3. Concrete operational
4. Formal operational

Sensorimotor stage

* age 0-2
* object permanence, discover relationship between body and environment

Preoperational stage

* age 2-7
* egocentrism, symbolic thought, role play/pretend

Concrete operational

* age 7-11
* conservation, development of logical thought

Formal operational

* age 11+
* abstract thinking (manipulate concepts in head)

Strengths of Piaget’s theory

He changed how researchers viewed the child’s world and how they were studied.

His ideas have been of practical use in gaining understanding and communicating with children - particularly in education with Discovery Learning

Weaknesses of Piaget’s theory

He failed to consider the effects of social setting and culture on cognitive development

Piaget’s methods (observation and clinical interviews) are open to biased interpretation. He conducted the observations alone. Data collected is based own his own subjective interpretation of events. A second researcher may have made his work more reliable.

Several studies have shown Piaget underestimated the abilities of children because his tests were sometimes confusing or difficult to understand

Erik Erikson

known for his theory of psychosocial development, coined the phrase ‘identity crisis’

Psychosocial development

* a lifespan model of development, taking in 5 stages up to the age of 18 and 5 further stages beyond into adulthood
* emphasis on adolescent period
* a crisis occurred at each stage - the psychological needs of individual conflict w/ societal needs

Successful completion of psychosocial stages

results in a healthy personality and the acquisition of basic virtues

Unsuccessful completion of psychosocial stages

can result in a reduced ability to complete further stages, unhealthy personality and poor sense of self

Erikson age 0-1

conflict = basic trust vs mistrust

resolution/virtue = hope

culmination in old age = appreciation of interdependence

Erikson age 1-3

conflict = autonomy vs shame

resolution/virtue = will

culmination in old age = acceptance of life cycle

Erikson age 3-6

conflict = initiative vs guilt

resolution/virtue = purpose

culmination in old age = humor, empathy, resilience

Erikson age 6-12

conflict = industry vs inferiority

resolution/virtue = competence

culmination in old age = humility, acceptance of the course of life

Erikson age 12-19

conflict = identity vs confusion

resolution/virtue = fidelity

culmination in old age = sense of complexity in life

Erikson age 20-25

conflict = intimacy vs isolation

resolution/virtue = love

culmination in old age = sense of complexity in relationships

Erikson age 26-64

conflict = generativity vs stagnation

resolution/virtue = care

culmination in old age = caring for others, empathy and concern

Erikson age 65+

conflict = integrity vs despair

resolution/virtue = wisdom

culmination in old age = existential identity, sense of integrity

Criticisms of Erikson’s theory

Erikson believed that an individual experiences a rapid period of change before moving on to a new and more advanced stage of development. Continuity theorists however, would argue that human development is a process that occurs in small steps, without sudden change (example: physical/language development)

Strengths of Erikson’s theory

The theory allows for optimism because each stage of psychosocial growth, although centered on a crisis, offers the possibility of a positive outcome. We are capable of resolving each situation in a way that is adaptive and strengthening.

Lawrence Kohlberg

known for his theory of stages of moral development

Moral development

Kohlberg used Piaget’s story telling technique to tell people stories involving moral dilemmas. 

In each case he presented a choice to be considered between the rights of some authority and the needs of some deserving individual.

Levels of moral development

1. Pre-conventional morality
2. Conventional morality
3. Post-conventional morality

Pre-conventional morality

Authority is outside the individual and reasoning is based on the physical consequences of actions

Conventional morality

Authority is internalized but not questioned and reasoning is based on the norms of the group to which the person belongs.

Post-conventional morality

Individual judgment is based on self-chosen principles, and moral reasoning is based on individual rights and justice.

Stages of moral development

1. Obedience and punishment orientation
2. Individualism and exchange
3. Good interpersonal relationships
4. Maintaining social order
5. Social contract and individual rights
6. Universal principles

Obedience and punishment orientation

The child/individual is good in order to avoid being punished. If a person is punished they must have done wrong.

Individualism and exchange

At this stage children recognize that there is not just one right view that is handed down by the authorities. Different individuals have different viewpoints.

Good interpersonal relationships

The child/individual is good in order to be seen as being a good person by others. Therefore, answers are related to the approval of others.

Maintaining the social order

The child/individual becomes aware of the wider rules of society so judgments concern obeying rules in order to uphold the law and to avoid guilt.

Social contract and individual rights

The child/individual becomes aware that while rules/laws might exist for the good of the greatest number, there are times when they will work against the interest of particular individuals. The issues are not always clear cut.

(example: in Heinz’s dilemma the protection of life is more important than breaking the law against stealing)

Universal principles

People at this stage have developed their own set of moral guidelines which may or may not fit the law. The principles apply to everyone. E.g. human rights, justice and equality. The person will be prepared to act to defend these principles even if it means going against the rest of society in the process and having to pay the consequences of disapproval and or imprisonment. Kohlberg doubted few people reached this stage.

Criticisms of Kohlberg’s theory

The theory is androcentric (male bias) after Kohlberg reporting that most men were at stage 4 while most women were at stage 3.

The theory is heavily dependent on an individual’s response to an artificial dilemma, which may not be accurate to real life situations that they find themselves in than they do to a in the comfort of a research environment.

His research was cross-sectional, meaning that he interviewed children of different ages to see what level of moral development they were at - instead of longitudinal studies.

Attachment

* A close emotional bond between an infant and a caregiver that occurs over time


* Some researchers believe it impacts later functioning & development

Imprinting

inherited tendency of some newborn animals to follow the first moving object they see

Critical period

a specific time in development when certain skills or abilities are most easily learned

Stranger anxiety

An infant’s fear and wariness of strangers; tends to appear at 6-12 months of age

Strange situation

A measure of infant attachment.  

Requires the infant to move through a series of introductions & separations, reunions with mother & introductions to strangers in a prescribed order.  

Infant’s reactions are observed & recorded.

Secure attachment

Explores freely in caregiver’s presence

Engages with strangers ONLY when caregiver is present

Child is upset when caregiver departs and happy when they return

Anxious ambivalent

Anxious to explore or interact with strangers even when caregiver is present

Child is extremely distressed when caregiver departs

Child ambivalent when caregiver returns

Child will remain close to caregiver but acts resistant and resentful

Anxious avoident

Ignores caregiver and does not display emotion when caregiver leaves or returns

Child does not explore, regardless of who is present

Strangers are treated similarly to caregiver

Very little display of emotion occurs