Psych - Chapter 8 Development

Up to "Adolescence"

human development

scientific study of the changes that occur in people as they age from conception to death

• change over time

longitudinal desgin

one group of people is followed and assessed at different stages in their life

cross-sectional design

different age groups are studied at one particular point in time

cross-sequential design

mix of both longitudinal and cross-sectional design

advantages and disadvantages of longitudinal design

• advantage

  • able to look at age related changes in same individual

• disadvantages

  • lots of time and money and keeping up with participants

  • loss of participants

advantages and disadvantages of cross-sectional design

• advantage

  • quick and inexpensive

• disadvantages

  • comparing people from different age groups and not the same one individual

cohort effect

when a group of people share a common life experience (Covid, Baby Boom) and impacts their development

nature v nuture

• nature

  • influence of our inherited characteristics on our personality, physical and intellectual growth

• nurture

  • influence of environment on personality, physical and intellectual growth

• we are a mix of both

behavioral genetics

trying to see how much of our behavior is genetic and how much is do to experience

genetics

study of heredity

DNA

two sugar phosphate strands linked by amines

amines/bases

contain genetic code for building the proteins that control the life of each cell

gene

section of DNA that has a certain sequence on chromosomes

chromosomes (what are some important ones?)

• wound strand of DNA

• we have 46

  • 23 egg

  • 23 sperm

• 22 are autosomes

• 23rd one is sex

  • XX = woman

  • XY = man

dominant gene

will always be expressed in the observable trait

recessive gene

• only seen when paired with another

• sometimes blend together (get strawberry blond hair - blond and red)

• sometimes group together (if you have blond hair will get red eyes)

polygenic inheritances

• traits are influenced by more than one pair of genes

• ex. has multiple alleles 

  • brown, black, or blonde hair

alleles

different versions of same gene

Huntington’s Syndrome

breakdown in brain neurons

Marfans

breakdown in connective tissue

down syndrome

• extra chromosome in 21st pair

• increased risk of organ failure

• almond and wide eyes

Klinefelter Syndrome

• have an extra X chromosome

  • XXY

• male has excessive height, breasts

turner syndrome

• 23rd pair of chromosomes is missing an X 

  • X

• females are short, infertile, sexually underdeveloped

what is the inputs and results of fertilization

• egg (ovum) and sperm do fertilization in fallopian tubes

• result: 

  • now both merge to a zygote with 46 chromosomes

mitosis

• duplication of DNA

• each one has 46 chromosomes

monozygotic twins

• single egg is fertilized by 1 sperm

  • egg just splits in half to form two babies

• identical twins

• 2 babies come from one fertilized egg

• both have same 46 chromosomes

fertilized egg

zygote

dizygotic twins

• fraternal twins

• woman releases more than one egg and if both are fertilized then twins

• two different eggs two different sperms

• each have own placenta

bioethics

issues brought by new advances in bio and medicine and how these should influence practices

germinal period

• 2 week period

  • 1st week = after fertilization and the zygote moves to the uterus

  • 2nd week = attaches to the wall of uterus

• placenta forms

• umbilical cord forms

• cells begin to differentiate into specialized cells

  • that will turn into eyes and skin

  • starts as blastocyst

• not attached to woman 

purpose of placenta

filters baby’s waste products and gives nutrients

purpose of umbilical cord

connects baby to placenta

embryonic period

• now an embryo that is connected to the mother

• this stage is from 2 weeks to 8 weeks

• cells continue specializing and becoming organs

• everything is there (heart, nose) but not functioning

• beginning of development of major systems

  • respiratory, gastro, etc.

• most dangerous period

  • most failure points

  • how early, how small, and how different women have late periods and won’t know they are pregnant and possibly hurt embryo)

• greatest risk for spontaneous abortion

when is the mound of cells turned into an embryo?

once attached to uterus

critical periods

when environmental influences can have an impact on the development of infant

teratogen

any substance that can cause a birth defect

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASDs)

• conditions that are caused by the mother drinking

most severe FASDs

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)

Fetal Period

• 8 weeks from conception to birth

  • so lots of growth!

• now a fetus

• organs become functional

• if teratogens are used then they are affecting physical function (how the Nervous System works for example) rather than structure

• 50% viability at week 24

3 stages of prenatal development

1. Germinal Period

2. Embryonic Period

3. Fetal Period

when is fetus full term

after 38 weeks

when is baby premature

born before 38 weeks

age of viability

• when baby is at stage where it is possible to survive outside the womb

• 22-26 weeks

  • 10% chance when 22 weeks, 85% chance when 26 weeks

if weigh less than how many pounds will have problems in life later

5 1/2

spontaneous abortion

• miscarriage

• happens in first 3 months

  • as organs are forming and becoming functional

characteristics of child after birth (temp, air)

• filling lungs with air for first time

• body temp is now regulated by skin and not amniotic fluid

what takes the longest to adjust for babies after birth?

digestive system 

• why baby has fat to give it fuel while it is in the process of adjusting

preferential looking

the longer a baby looks at a stimulus the more it prefers it over another

habituation

tendency to not pay attention to stimulus that doesn’t change

reflexes

• grasping 

• startle

• rooting

  • put finger near mouth and will think is a breast

• stepping

• sucking

baby milestones

• 2 - 4 months

  • raising head and chest

• 2 - 5 months

  • rolling over

• 4-6 months

  • sitting with support

• 6-7 months

  • sitting up without support

• 7-8 months

  • crawling

• 8-18 months

  • walking

why does the brain grow

increase in new dendrites, axons, and synaptic connections

synaptic pruning

• loss of neurons

• unused synaptic connections are cleared away to make room for new ones

senses (which are fully developed and which are not)

• fully developed: touch (skin-to-skin), smell, taste

• takes a bit: hearing 

  • fluids from womb need to filter out

• least functional: vision

  • cones that see color don’t develop until 6 months

  • can only see to mom when nursing

infants prefer…

• complex patterns

• human faces

• 3D 

  • depth and perception

cognitive development

development of thinking, memory, and problem solving

schemas

• Piaget

• mental concepts formed by experience

• example

  • someone points to picture of apple will think that is an “apple”

assimilation

• infants try to understand new things in terms of schemes they already possess

• example

  • saw an orange and said apple because both are round

accomodation

• altering old schemas to fit new information

• example

  • saw an orange and said apple and was corrected

  • then adds “red” and “round” to alter their schema of apple

Jean Piaget’s 4 Stages of Cognitive Development

(and what did he say was important to cognitive development)

1. Sensorimotor

2. Preoperational

3. Concrete Operations

4. Formal Operations

• he saw that a child’s interaction with objects as a primary factor in cognitive development

Sensorimotor Stage

• birth to 2 years

• use senses and ability to move to explore world around them

• move from involuntary movement to voluntary

• at end of this stage develop sense of object permanence

• symbolic thought is present at end of this stage

• learning the rules governing the physical world

• begin to mentally represent physical objects

  • Ex: wrote “cat” on the board and images pop up and associations are made

object permanence

• an object exists even when not in sight

  • example

    • my face will always be behind peak-a-boo

• important step in developing language because those things are not present

• objects exist independent of our perception of them

• happens by 8 months

symbolic thought

ability to represent objects in one’s thoughts with symbols such as words

preoperational stage

• 2 years to 7 years

• developing language and concepts

• not just relying on senses and movement but now words

• not capable of logical thought

• animism

• egocentrism

• centration

• fail to understand conservation

• irreversibility

animism

everything is alive and has feelings like it

egocentrism

• inability to see world through anyone else’s eye

  • not selfish though just thinks everyone see’s what they see

centration

focusing on only one feature of an object rather than taking all features into consideration

• example

  • so focused on the height of the glass and not its depth and everything

conservation

ability to understand that altering the appearance of something does not change its amount of its mass

• example

  • amount of water is still the same even if different shape of size

irreversibility

inability to reverse actions and put it to its original state

• example

  • can’t fathom the idea that the water from the tall glass can be poured back into the short one

concrete operations

• 7 to 12 years

• are able to conserve and reversibly think

• inability to deal with abstract concept

• understand concrete objects

abstract concept

do not have some physical, concrete, touchable reality

• example: freedom, God

concrete objects

objects, written rules, and real things

formal operations

• 12 to adulthood

• abstract thinking is possible

• think about possibilities and impossibilities

  • “What if everyone just got along”

• not everyone reaches this stage

  • adults that don’t are more down to earth

  • college students need this thought to think critically

relativistic thinking

• some say it is beyond formal operations

• Young adults recognize not all problems can be solved with logic and there are multiple points of view for one problem

Lev Vygotsky

• focused more on others around you and their role in cognitive development

• stressed importance of social and cultural interactions

scaffolding

• Vygotsky

• an older person gives a younger one a lot of help in the beginning and then starts to withdraw as their skills improve

zone of proximal development

• difference between what a child can do vs. what a child can do with a a teacher

• ZPD is measured in years

  • example: if can do 3rd grade math alone but 6th grade with a teacher ZPD is 3 years

Piaget v Vygotsky

Piaget

• saw talking to yourself as egocentric

• stages of cognitive development

• child’s interaction with objects as primary factor in cognitive development 

Vygotsky

• saw talking to yourself as thinking out loud and advancing cognitively

• scaffolding

• stressed importance of social and cultural interactions

Autism Spectrum Disorder

• neurodevelopmental disorder that causes problems in thinking, feeling, language, and social skills

• causes:

  • genetic mutations, changes in brain

  • false rumor: linked to MMR vaccine

theory of mind

• ability to understand not only your own mental states (belief, intention, desires) but to understand others may have different ones than you

• those with ASD don’t have this

temperament (definition and stages)

• behavioral characteristics that are established at birth

• strongly influenced by heredity

1. Easy = babies that are easily soothed, regular sleeping, eating, waking schedule, adaptable to change

2. Difficult = opposite of easy, irregular schedules, loud, active, crabby, doesn’t like change

3. Slow to warm up = slow to adapt to change, if gradually introduced will warm up to new people and situations, less grumpy than “difficult category”

attachment

• emotional bond between infant and primary caregiver

• forms within first 6 months

  • second 6 months shows up in separation and stranger anxiety

Through Strange Situations Mary Ainsworth’s Attachment styles

1. Secure

   1. touched base to mother

   2. when mom leaves upset

   3. easily soothed when she’s back

   4. calm with stranger when mom is there

2. Avoidant

   1. no interest or concern with stranger or mom

3. Ambivalent

   1. unwilling to explore

   2. hard to soothe

   3. mixed reaction to mother’s return

   4. upset with strangers regardless

4. Disorganized-disoriented

   1. didn’t know how to act when mom returned

   2. fearful

Mother’s Actions in Mary Ainsworth’s Strange Situations

• Secure

  • loving, warm, sensitive to infant’s needs, responsive to infant’s attempts at communication

• Avoidant

  • coldly rejecting, unresponsive, insensitive

• Ambivalent

  • tried to be responsive but were inconsistent and insensitive to the baby’s actions

    • ignoring them and talking to them about something else

• Disorganized-disoriented

  • abusive and neglectful

ambivalent adult

have repeated makeups with same person

avoidant adult

have shallow relationships with different people

Harry Harlow

• used monkeys to show attachment isn’t just about food but also touch

  • first investigation into importance of touch

• emotional bond is more than just food

self-concept

• image of oneself that develops from interactions with significant people in one’s life 

• image you have of yourself

  • as infants experience the world they separate “me” from physical surroundings and other people in their world

Rouge test

• to see child’s growing awareness of self

• lipstick is put on infant’s nose and placed in front of mirror

  • at 6 months to 1 year = will touch mirror thinking its another child who looks like them

  • at 15-18 months = will touch their own nose

• as the child grows the self-concept grows to include gender (“I’m a boy, I’m a girl”) physical appearances (“I have brown eyes”), and in middle childhood, personality traits

Erik Erikson (and his stages)

• emphasized importance of social relationships in the development of personality

• each of his stages are an emotional crisis (or turning point) and must be met successfully to be normal

Erikson’s Infant Psychological Stage for Development

• Birth to 1 year

• Trust v. Mistrust

  • learn a basic sense of trust based on how their needs are met

• Successful: develop trust in people when needs are met

• Unsuccessful: needs aren’t met and develop sense of mistrust and won’t think their needs will be met in the future

Erikson’s Toddler Psychological Stage for Development

• 1 year to 3 year

• Autonomy v. Shame and Doubt

  • toddlers understand that they can control their actions

• Successful: are able to control their actions develop independence

• Unsuccessful: develop self doubt and shame when they aren’t able to reach independence 

Erikson’s Preschool Age Psychological Stage for Development

• 3 year to 5 year

• Initiative v. Guilt

  • learn to take responsibility for their own behavior once they develop self control

• Successful: are able to control their behavior so develop sense of initiative

• Unsuccessful: develop guilt when they aren’t able to control their behavior 

  • feel irresponible and anxious

Erikson’s Elementary Psychological Stage for Development

• 5 year to 12 year

• Industry v. Inferiority

  • compare self to others to measure their success and failure

    • since now in school and navigating social and academic world

• Successful: succeeded at learning social and academic skills gives them a sense of industry

  • makes them feel competent and improves their self esteem

• Unsuccessful: if feel like they’ve failed at these skills they will feel inferior when compared to others

Erikson’s Adolescence Psychological Stage for Development

• 13 year to early 20s

• Identity v. Role Confusion

  • have to decide what they believe in, what they want to do as an adult and who they are

• Successful: those who are able to define their values, goals, and beliefs develop a stable sense of identity

• Unsuccessful: those who can’t define themselves remain confused and might isolate themselves from others 

  • try to be like everyone else and not themselves

Erikson’s Early Adulthood Psychological Stage for Development

• 20s and 30s

• Intimacy v. Isolation

  • have to find their person they can share anything with

• Successful: if find someone that shares the same identity with will have a psychological intimacy

• Unsuccessful: will experience loneliness because no one to share with

  • isolate themselves too

Erikson’s Middle Adulthood Psychological Stage for Development

• 40s and 50s

• Generativity v. Stagnation

  • want to be creative and productive so can nurture next generation

• Successful: those who are able to focus on the next generation will feel productive and leaving a legacy

• Unsuccessful: those who can’t look beyond themselves will stay stagnated and self-centered, making no difference int he community

Erikson’s Late Adulthood Psychological Stage for Development

• 60s and beyond

• Ego Integrity v. Despair

  • coming to terms with end of life

• Successful: if don’t regret will be content and know what happened

• Unsuccessful: see death as coming and having two many things unsaid

identical reared together

• twins that have same chromosomes and then split to become two and have their own development

• same genes and environment

  • raised together

• can’t tell if their actions are based on nature or nurture

identical reared apart

• identical raised apart

• same genetics, different environment 

  • can see if the environment is affecting behavior