PSYCH 101 Chapter 10: Human Development

development

the sequence of age-related changes that occur as a person progresses from conception to death

prenatal period

conception to birth, usually encompassing nine months of pregnancy

rapid growth

germinal stage

the first phase of prenatal development, the first two weeks after conception

0-2 weeks

fertilization

implantation may occur during implantation

placenta

structure that allows oxygen and nutrients to pass into the fetus from the mother’s bloodstream, and bodily wastes to pass out to the mother

embryonic stage

second stage of prenatal development, lasting from 2 weeks until the end of the second month

many do not feel morning sickness until the end of this period, if you do have it you’re less likely to miscarry

foundations of vital organs develop

highest amount of miscarriages here

cephalocaudal and proximodistal principles (head to tail and middle to extremities)

most of the vital organs and bodily systems begin to form in the embryo

humanoid apperance

fetal stage

third stage

lasting from two months until birth

9-38+ weeks

basic structures are completed - 12 weeks

fat deposits/growth

rapid bodily growth

physical movements

quickening here (18-20 weeks, moving)

threshold of viability 23-25 weeks: can deliver the baby if a premature birth were to happen 24-72% chance, biggest factor is maturation of lungs

fetal alcohol syndrome

collection of congenital problems associated with excessive alcohol use during pregnancy

motor development

the progression of muscular coordination required for physical activities

walking at around 1 year

developmental norms

indicate the typical age at which individuals display various behaviors and abilities

attachement

the close emotional bonds of affection that develop between infants and their caregivers

secure attachment: (60-65%): child and mother have a good bond, assurance

anxious/ambivalent or resistant attachment (10-15%) not consist attachment, also rejecting the parent

avoidant attachment (20%): not seeking out caregiver at all

disorganized disoriented attachment (5-10%) not looking towards caregiver, unusual behaviors, rocking back and forth, hitting themselves

early attachment style is correlated with future relationship style

secure: satisfying long-term

avoidant: shun romance

resistant: frequent, short relationships; high maintenance, needy

internal working model of relationship styles from when they were young

separation anxiety

emotional distress seen in infants when they are separated from people with whom they have formed an attachment

fast mapping

the process by which children map a word onto an underlying concept after only one exposure

children add words like tap to their vocab after seeing the object once

overextension

child incorrectly uses a word to describe a wider set of objects or actions than it is meant to

ex: ball for anything round like an orange

telegraphic speech

content words, articles, prepositions, and other less critical words are omitted

“give doll”

overregularizations

grammatical rules are incorrectly generalized to irregular cases where they do not apply

“the girl goed home”

stage

developmental period during which characteristic patterns of behavior are exhibited and certain capacities become established

stages: qualitative changes

1. must progress thru a stage in a particular order bc each one builds upon another

2. progress thru stages is related to age

3. development is marked by discontinuities that usher in dramatic transitions in behavior

problems: often a mixing of stages occurs too, doesn’t talk about environmental factors making a difference

Erikson’s Stage theory

personality development

divided life span into eight stages

each stage brings a psychosocial crisis- transitions in important social relationships

1. trust vs mistrust

2. autonomy vs shame and doubt

3. initiative vs guilt

4. industry vs inferiority

cognitive development

transitions in young one’s patterns of thinking, including reasoning, remembering, and problem solving

Piaget’s Stage Theory

1. sensorimotor period (birth to age 2) motor actions plus sensory input, symbolic thought,

2. preoperational period (2-7) lack of conservation (don’t understand superficial changes in shape don’t change how much you have)

3. concrete operational period (7-11)

4. formal operational period (age 11 onward)

cognitive development

irreversibility

object permanence

centration

egocentrism- child only have the capability of seeing from their perspective

first to propose grand theory of cognitive development

strengths:

one of the first grad theories of cognitive development

accounts for continuity and change (transitions)

generally correct about the sequence of development

weaknesses:

doesn’t account for variability (between individuals or cultures) (mixing of stages)

underestimated cultural (environmental factors)

underestimated ages at which abilities appear (rudimentary math skills may appear earlier than expected)

object permanence

develops when a child recognizes that objects continue to exist even when they are no longer visible

acquired after sensorimotor period

conservation

awareness that physical quantities remain constant in spite of changes in their shape or appearance

centration

tendency to focus on one feature of a problem, neglection other important aspects

irreversibility

the inability to envision reversing an action (undo)

egocentrism

limited ability to share another person’s viewpoint

accompanied by

animism- belief that all things are living

Vygotsky’s Sociocultural theory

enormous emphasis on how children’s cognitive development is fueled by social interactions with parents, teachers, older children

langauge acquisition plays a crucial central role in fostering cognitive development

idea of private (internal) speech

social interaction, super important - range of function (instead of biological maturation)

language acquisition is vital for cognitive development (instead of being just another cognitive function)

Genie: socially isolated from 20 months to 13.5 years, never developed normal cognitive or social skills

self talk- some children talk to themselves working through problems, self talk becomes internal dialogue as you get older

maybe not?

williams syndrome: intellectually disabled aka intellectual development disorder

fluent, odd phrasing

friendly, elfin facial appearance

language is much better than you would expect for their IQ levels

Kohlberg’s Stage Theory

development of moral reasoning

correlated with how people behave, problem with this: how you think isn’t always how you act, what’s right and wrong varies culturally

punishment orientation

naive reward system

good boy/girl orientation

authority orientation

social contract orientation (society)

individual principles and conscience orientation

problems:

sexist: felt that women could not meet the final stage of development

interpersonal conflicts but the development of conscience, empathy, honesty not addressed

secondary sex characteristics

distinguish one sex from one sex from the other but are not essential for reproduction

primary sex characteristics

needed for reproduction

merache

first period

spermarche

first ejack

conception

ovum can live for 24 hours

ovulation occurs two weeks before next menstruation (highly variable)

sperm can live 3-5 days, up to 7 days

large window

pregnancy tests

require a fertilized egg to make a certain level of HCG

home test (urine)

69% detection can occur around 10 days after conception

in clinic test (blood)

also detects HCG

more sensitive test as detection may occur as early as 6-8 days after conception

participation activity

1. some bleeding may occur during implantation: Germinal

2. many do not feel morning sickness until end of period: Embryonic

3. fat deposits/growth: fetal

4. foundations of vital organ: embryonic

5. basic structures: embryonic

6. cephalocaudal and prox: embryonic

7. humanoid: fetal

8. most miscarriages happen: embryonic

9. “quickening” can be detected: fetal

10. theshold of viability: embryonic

11. placenta has basic parts in place embryonic

placenta versus amniotic sac

placenta- tissue, takes time to develop, exchanges nutrients between mom and baby

teratogens

cause birth defects

maternal malnutrition: increase risk of birth complications and neurological deficits, increase rates of schizophrenia. what are you putting into the body? not how much.

drug exposure (alcohol) (even moderate amounts)

fetal alcohol syndrome: wide, flat space between eyes

small upper lip

flat space between nose and upper lip

smoother brain, lower density of mass

leading cause of mental disability in offspring

maternal illness:

chicken pox:

mother: itchy rash, malaise

fetus: first half of pregnancy: 1-2% risk of birth defects including scarring of skin, limb defects, eye problems

2nd half: probably okay

5 to 21 days before birth: fetus may develop chicken pox or shingles after birth

HIV transmission via placenta delivery or breastfeeding

environmental toxins, radiation exposure

main takeaways of teratogens

trimester/week of pregnancy matters

adult effects uncorrelated with fetus’ effects

symptoms may not show until later in life

fetal origins of adult disease

prenatal malnutrition and schizophrenia

low birth weight and heart disease, smoking and bipolar disorder

both mental and physical conditions (including some cancers)

however, interpretation is tricky and debatable

postnatal development

physical growth is uneven

rapid, but slows in time

1 year old=50% greater than birth length

2 year old = 75% greater than birth length

motor movements

rolls over: 2.75 months

lifting the head and chest up with arm support: around 3 months

sits without support: around 5.5 months

stands holding onto something: 5.75 months

pulls self to stand: 7.5 months

cruises (walking holding onto something): 9 months

walks alone: 12 months

There is a lot of variation with this!

females adolescent growth spurt

sometimes before growth spurt: secondary sex characteristics

9-10 years old: growth spurt

12-13 years old: puberty (1st period: menarche)

primary sex characteristics (puberty)

14-15 years old: full height

16 years old: sexual maturation

males adolescent growth spurt

sometime before growth spurt: secondary sex characteristics

10-12 years old: growth spurt (more intense and longer-lasting than for females)

13-14 years old: spermarhe: 1st ejaculation

primary sex characteristics (puberty)

15-16 years old: full height

18 years old: sexual maturation

precocious puberty

young, 5 years old puberty

after effects: infertility early in life

shorter children

adulthood changes

graying hair

thinning/balding

subjective age (age is a mindset) matters a lot

decline in sensory/perceptual acuity

menopause

proportion of fat increases

“aging well” (intelligence, optimism, conscientiousness, high self-esteem, good behavioral habits)

smiling and laughter

one of the first expressions of pleasure

approx 4-6 weeks

sex difference: girls smile more

human faces: most reliable stimuli for eliciting smiles

attachment

as emotional bond to caregivers increase, fear of strangers increase

makes sense because: touch and attachment tied to physical health

fear

esp toward strangers

2 months: wariness: sober stares

6 months: perhaps distress: whimpering, looking away

fairly consistent across cultures but environment matters too

parental style

sensitive care = secure

insensitive care = avoidant (not actually paying attention to what child actually needs)

inconsistent care = resistant

severe neglect and or abuse = disorganized/disoriented

BUT other factors likely matter (caregiver mental health)

language development

1-5 months: reflexive communication: cooing

6-18 months: babbling

10-13 months: first words

12-18 months: one word sentences

• receptive (understand) vs. productive (say) vocabulary

• overextension (take a specific word and the child generalizes that for more cases than it applies to)

• underextension (large categorical word using it for a specific thing) (calling only one stuffed animal a doll instead of all dolls)

18-24 months: vocabulary spurt

• towards ends of two years: telegraphic speech (bare minimum of words) and fast mapping (children can be exposed to a word one time and then pick it up)

• towards end of 3 years: overregularizations (i sleeped last night)

• 5 years +: well-developed and complex grammar

phony- basic unit of sound (ah) (la)

Carol Dweck’s growth mindset

people can work at things and do better

abilities= combination of Piaget and Vygotsky concepts

things take time and effort

teenage brain

increase myelination and increase in synaptic pruning

later maturation of prefrontal cortex

early development of subcortical DA/reward system

leads to impulsive behavior with decreased inhibition

imbalance may be overestimation; excessive risk taking is of small subset; more neural correlates than just two areas involved, environment all matters

adult brain

loss of neurons and shrinkage of active neurons (mostly after 60)

later adulthood: senility/dementia not normal!

85 years += around 33% with dementia

70% = alzheimer’s, most common type of dementia

genetics, chronic inflammation associated with increased risk

exercise and cognitive activities, diet, smoking/diabetes

nun study suggests high prevalence of positive emotions too correlated with better cognitive ability, nuns who were more positive had better cognitive abilities

memory: fairly stable, conflicting research

decrease episodic and working memory

speed of processing slows down

people in mentally challenging jobs/activities buffered against cognitive decline

programs to increase mental activity have mixed results

common life events

marriage: 50% divorce or separation

parenthood: 90% how many children should you have?

empty nest syndrome: mostly a falsity, most parents are happy with this

Arnett’s emerging adulthood:

death

taboo topic

anxiety decreases over lifetime

Kubler-Ross

denial

anger

bargaining

depression

acceptance

recent research: (no stages)

idea of “Good Death”

right to die: most of country doesn’t want you to die

Marcia’s Theory of Identity Status

identity achievement: commitment and crisis present (successful achievement of sense of identity)

identity moratorium commitment not present and crisis absent (struggling for sense of identity)

identity foreclosure: commitment present, crisis absent, (adoption of parental or societal values)

identity diffusion: both absent (absence of struggle for identity, not concerned)