PSY 221 Part 1

Recurring issue in Development: Nature vs. Nurture

• Not quite one or the other

• Both are equally important and mutually influence

Recurring issue in Development: Continuity vs. Discontinuity

• Continuity: recognizable throughout life stages and continues and develops similarly

• Discontinuity: stages of life, not necessarily recognizable from the beginning

Recurring issue in Development: Universal and Context-specific Development

• Universal: develops the same all across the board as humans

• Context-specific Development: the ways our environment shapes us uniquely as we develop

Biopsychosocial Framework

• Biological forces

  • DNA

• Psychological forces

  • Personality, cognitive frameworks, 

• Sociocultural forces

  • Connections to other people, cultural norms, values within culture

• Life-cycle forces

  • Where we are in our life cycle, depending on what occurs and when it could affect us differently

Erikson’s Psychodynamic Theory

Behaviorism

• Skinner

• Operant conditioning & Reinforcement/ Punishment

Social Learning Theory

• Imitation or observational learning

• Social Cognitive Theory & Self-efficacy

Cognitive-Developmental Theories

Stresses the development of thought processes

Piaget’s Theory

Develop 4 discrete stages; children are “Little Scientists” testing theories

Information Processing

Similar to computers - become better able to process information over time (as we mature); mental hardware & software

Vgotsky’s Theory

Influenced by sociocultural context; children “apprentice” with skilled older adults to learn what is values

Ecological Systems Approach: Bronfenbrenner’s Theory

Look at everything developmentally as a whole (interconnected).

Example: Getting into a fight with a roommate and then coming to class. The fight would influence your focus.

Ecological Systems Approach: Environmental Press Theory

Different demands and expectations at varying amounts

This term is used when people are talking about the degree to which genetics and heredity influence our growth & development.

nature

In the biopsychosocial framework, influences on our development such as our workplace, schools, and neighborhoods would best be classified as this type of force.

sociocultural

This perspective notes the importance of plasticity in human development.

Lifespan perspective

This perspective stresses that adaptation or development depends upon how the environment places demands on a person compared to their own abilities or competence.

Environmental press theory

This is the term related to conception that refers to weeks 3 to 8 after fertilization, when the development of what will become organs such as the heart, brain and nervous system begin to form. 

embryo

Which of the following is considered a teratogen that can cause abnormal prenatal development?

all of these

Most of the time, if a woman becomes ill or sick during pregnancy it does not negatively affect the fetus.

True

Ultrasounds, amniocentesis, and Chorionic Villus Sampling (CVS) are primarily used for:

prenatal

Life-Span Perspective

• Aging is a lifelong process

• Many factors explain development, not explained adequately by one

• Key features: 

  • Multidirectional

  • Plasticity (ability to neurologically bounce back)

  • Historical context (developed within the culture of our time)

  • Multiple causation

SOC

Choices determine & regulate development with 3 processes

SOC process: Selective-elective & Loss-based

Loss based selection: always ran marathons; injured hip and modified based on loss

SOC process: Optimization

minimize loss; maximize gains

SOC process: Compensation

alternate ways to reach goals

Life-course Perspective

Describes ways in which various generations experience the biological, psychological, and sociocultural forces of development in their respective historical context.

3 Major Dimensions of Life-course Perspective

• Individual timing of events

• Synchronization of individual transitions with collective familial ones

• Impact of earlier life events, as shaped by historical events, on subsequent ones

Paths from Genes to Behavior

How does the information in DNA influence a person’s behavioral & psychological development?

• Heredity & environment interact dynamically throughout development

• Genes can influence the kind of environment to which a person is exposed

• Environmental influences typically make children within a family different

Weeks 1-2

Zygote

Weeks 3-8

Embyro

Weeks 9-38

Fetus

Risk factors on prenatal development

Nutrition, stress, and Mother’s age

Teratogen definition

Negative factors that influence during the prenatal period

Teratogens examples:

Drugs, diseases, environment

Stage 1 of childbirth

Body prepares for labor, can last up to 24 hours, lasts a long time

Cervix starts to open

Stage 2 of childbirth

The cervix starts dilating at 10 cm

Pushing

Epideral off the table

Stage 3 of childbirth

Afterbirth; placenta birth

Complications

Breached (rotated) babies

Umbilical cord wrapped around individual

Preeclampsia: swollen legs, can lead to organ failure, constantly at the doctor

Infant mortality

Infants that pass away in delivery to a year of age

What are newborn reflexes and examples?

• Reflexes are unlearned responses triggered by a specific form of stimulation

  • Survival value

    • Rooting, sucking, eye blinks

    • Infant swimming lessons

• Developmental precursors to voluntary movement

  • Stepping

Indicator of the health of the child’s nervous system

Apgar Score

Newborn assessment: Breathing, heartbeat, muscle tone, reflexes, skin tone

• 0-3 severely depressed, 4-6 moderately depressed, excellent condition

Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS)

Autonomic, motor, state, social

Newborn state: alert activity

Calm, eyes open and attentive, deliberately inspecting the environment

Sleeps every 3 hours and awake for 1

Newborn state: walking activity

Open but unfocused eyes, uncoordinated motions

Newborn state: crying activity

Crying vigorously, motion is agitated and uncoordinated

Cries 3 hours a day

Newborn state: sleeping activity

Eyes closed, degree activity (still/ gente moving) and quality of breathing (regular/irregular) alternate

SIDS

• Sudden death of a healthy baby

• Occurs between 2-4 months old

• Risk factors

  • Premature & low birth rate

  • Parental smoking

  • Child overheating & sleeping on stomach

  • African American & Native American infants (more common)

Temperament

• Consistent styles or patterns of infant behavior

• Rothbart’s 3 Dimensions (2011):

  • Surgency/Extraversion

  • Negative Affect

  • Effortful Control

    Environmental & Parental influences

    Temperament stability

Rapidly developing brains and nervous systems

• Foundation is there, but the pathways and everything hasn’t been developed

• Neurons produced at 10 weeks after conceptions, and by 28 weeks the developing brain has nearly ALL the neurons it will ever have

• Different brain systems specialize at different rate

  • Successful specialization requires stimulation from the environment

  • Immature brain of infancy (lack of specialization) = greater plasticity

What are motor skills?

• Coordinated movements of the muscles & limbs

• Fine and gross motor skills

Creeping/ crawl

9-10 months

Toddling

12-14 months

Dynamic systems theory

Integrate many different skills to master the different aspects of locomotion

Posture & Balance

• Maintain upright posture

• Infants top-heavy

• Balance relearned with new skills

Stepping

• Alternatively moving legs and transferring body weight

Environmental cues

• Use cues from the environment & parents to make decisions about safety

Coordinating Skills

• Differentiation & integration

• Practice

Reaching & grasping

• Manipulating & holding

• Become skilled at ~ 12 months

• Feeding & dressing skills

Handedness

Nature vs. nurture

Perception

• Process by which brain receives, selects, modifies and organizes nerve impulses

Smell

• Well-developed at birth

• Quickly develop preferences for different smells

Taste

• Begins to develop prenatally

• Preference for certain tastes - effect on behavior

Touch

• Touch is important! It affects the physiological, emotional, cognitive, and social development of infants

• Newborn’s body responds reflexively when touched

• Experience pain

• Preference varies from infant to infant

Hearing

• Starts in the womb

• Develops rapidly throughout infancy

• Differentiation of sounds

Infant hearing loss

• Affects 1.7 per 1000 babies in US

• Average age of diagnosis: 12-25 mo

• Causes of hearing loss

• Implications if not detected early

Infant hearing loss screening

• Not reacting to sounds or speech (0-3 months)

• Does Not responding to changes in tone, toys that make noise (3-6 months)

• Doesn't make babbling noises or know words for common items (6 to 10 months)

• Doesn't enjoy games like peek-a-boo, play with own voice (10 to 15 months)

This term is used to describe the extent to which an infant can focus attention and inhibit their responses and not be easily distracted.

effortful control

Compared to other stages of development,  growth and development during infancy occur:

more rapidly

This theory suggests that motor development involves many distinct skills  that are organized and reorganized as a child develops to meet their specific needs. 

dynamic systems theory

The visual cliff test can be used with infants to assess this aspect of their perception:

depth

This theory refers to the development of a basic understanding of the relationship between the mind and body that emerges as children develop.

theory of mind

Vision in infants

• Least developed sense and legally blind

• Develops rapidly and can’t see color at first

Kinetic cues

Movement (something getting larger is getting bigger)

Visual expansion

Things closer move more (a car vs. mountain)

Binocular disparity

Right and left eyes see differently

Pictorial cues

Using 3-dimensional things depicted 2-dimensionally

Perceiving objects

Limited in newborns but develops rapidly

When should vision be checked as an infant?

At or before 6 months

What are common vision conditions in infants?

• Amblyopia (imbalance in muscle position of eyes)

• Strabismus (misalignment of the eyes)

• Myopia/Hyperopia (nearsightedness or farsightedness)

• Astigmatism (curvature of the eyes)

18-24 months

Children gain self-awareness

Self-awareness

• Mirror test

• Dot on child’s nose & placed in front of mirror

• Reach toward mirror to touch the spot (12-15 mo) → no self awareness

• Reach toward their own nose to touch the spot (~15-24 mo) → self awareness

Theory of mind

A naive understanding of the relationship between mind & behavior

• Emerges between 2-5 years of age

• Develops in 5 phases (Wellman)

  • Desire 

  • Different beliefs

  • Different states of knowledge

  • Belief 

  • Emotion

• AN EMOTION CAUSES A BEHAVIOR

Ex: A child being told “no” for a toy, and then they throw a tantrum.

Theory of mind- Autism

•  acquire language later than usual and they are often uninterested in other people

• Symptoms emerge early in life (~2 years of age)

• *% of children worldwide diagnosed with ASD

  • 80% are boys

Main concept of Piaget’s Theory: Schemes

the way the world is seen

Main concept of Piaget’s Theory: Assimilation

 takes information that I get everyday (fits it with the way I see the world, or “schema”

Main concept of Piaget’s Theory: Accommodation

Change the schema to fit what they deal with on a daily basis

Main concept of Piaget’s Theory: Equilibration

Kids want things to make sense and to have equilibrium

Piaget’s First Stage of Development 0-2 years

Sensorimotor

Piaget’s Second Stage of Development 2-7 years

Preoperational

Piaget’s Third Stage of Development 7-11 years

Concrete Operational

Piaget’s Fourth Stage of Development 11 years & up

Formal Operational

Piaget’s stages of development 0-1 month

Exercising reflexes

Piaget’s stages of development 1-4 months

Learning to adapt

Piaget’s stages of development 4-8 months

Making interesting events

Piaget’s stages of development 8-12 months

Behaving intentionally

Piaget’s stages of development 12-18 months

Experimenting

Piaget’s stages of development 18-24 months

Using symbols

Object permanence

World is full of inanimate and animate objects

Talking and gestures

Emerging capacity to use symbols