Developmental

Lecture 1 - Intro, Methods, Lifespan Development

• intraindividual changes: changes within a person

• interindividual differences: differences between people

• systematic changes: orderly patterned and relatively enduring

• not every development is gain-stability-loss like biological development → there is both gains and losses at every developmental stage even in old age

What develops?

• biological

• cognitive

• social and emotional (psychosocial)

  → MULTIDIMENSIONAL!!!

When do they develop?

normative development → developmental stages at certain ages

❕Biological age is not the cause of change!!!

→ biological age and change is only correlated

• Variability: short-term

• Change: long-term

• age x ability correlation: continuous

• mean age difference in ability: compare specific age groups

• cross-sectional: different age groups at once → measure interindividual differences

• longitudinal: same group different times → measure intraindividual change

cross-sectional

• problem: cohort effects (cohort are exposed to different historical events)

+ economic in time

+ cheap

+ differences between age groups

- no info on individual paths

- limited generalizability to other times

longitudinal

• problem: time of measurement effects (there was an historical event at the time of measurement)

  + intraindividual stability and change

  - test-retest, attrition

  - long, expensive

  - limited generalizability to other cohorts

sequence models (cross-sectional + longitudinal)

How do they develop?

Baltes’s principles of lifespan psychology:

1. lifelong

2. multidisciplinary and multidimensional

3. multidirectional (different capacities show different patterns of change over time → different rates and times)

4. gains and losses (joint occurrence, balance)

5. plastic (dandelions…)

6. embedded in history

7. contextualized (photo below)

normative age-graded: certain age (menapouse)

normative history-graded: certain point in time (effects the whole population like covid)

non-normative: unpredictable

Cultural differences

age grade: different roles, status, like year grades in school

rite of passage: marking transitions between age groups, traditional

age norms: how to act your age → SOCIAL CLOCK

Historical changes

• children were once viewed as little adults

• adolescence were once had to work (before child labor laws)

• new age group “emerging adults” because longer education

• middle age emerged because of empty nest phenomenon

• old age as retirement → people used to work until they died

gerontology: study of aging and old age

Lecture 2 - Theories

Nature-nurture interactions

gene-environment interactions

People with different genes are affected differently by environmental influences → different genes react differently to experiences NATURE AND NURTURE

diathesis-stress model: psychological disorder results from an interaction of a person’s vulnerability and stressful events

differential susceptibility theory: some people are more reactive to environment, either good or bad (dandelions or orchids)

gene-environment correlations (passive/active/evocative)

people with different genes have different experiences (shy or extroverted people) NATURE AFFECTS NURTURE

passive → sociable parents both pass their genes and invite more people to their home

evocative → social children get more hugs and smiles and more opportunities to socialize which reinforces sociability (gender video)

active → shy kids prefer reading books

genetic make up is related to:

• parent

• tv time

• number of stressful events

NO CAUSATION - UNCLEAR

epigenetics

gene expressions can change because of environmental influences (environment-sensitive genes) → turn on or off NURTURE AFFECTS NATURE

Continuity-discontinuity

continuous: quantitatively better

discontinuity: qualitatively different stages

Psychoanalytic theories (Freud/Erikson)

personality, motives, emotional conflict

Freud

conflict between:

1. id: impulsive, selfish, need to satisfy instincts

2. ego: rational, tries to find realistic ways to satisfy instincts

3. superego: morality

psychosexual stages:

1. oral 0-1: oral gratification from mother (trust/mistrust)

2. anal 1-3: biological needs vs societal demands (autonomy/shame and doubt)

3. phallic 3-6: genitals, Oedipus and Electra complex, superego (initiative/guilt)

4. latent 6-12: libido is quiet (industry/inferiority)

5. genital 12+: puberty (identity/role confusion)

Erikson’s psychosocial theory (nature-nurture active, discontinuous, universal)

Learning Theories

both conditioning: nurture, passive, continuous, context

observational learning: nurture, active, continuous, context

Systematic Theories: Bronfenbrenner ecological model

microsystem: people and institutions that play an immediate role in a child’s life

mesosystem: interactions between groups in the microsystem

exosystem: individual is not an active member, government policies, social services, community resources, mass media

macrosystem: micro+meso+exo political social cultural legal economic systems/attitudes

nature-nurture, active, continuous-discontinuous, context

Theories on Childhood

Piaget’s cognitive development (nature-nurture, active, discontinuous, universal)

0-2 sensorimotor: object permanence

2-7 preoperational: mental/symbolic representations, language, egocentrism

7-12 concrete operational: logical reasoning, reading/writing, math, categorizing, conservation of number and mass

12+ formal operational: scientific reasoning and hypothesis testing

Sociocultural theory of Vygotsky ( nurture, active, continuous, context)

shared process with “more knowledgeable other”

zone of proximal development: gap between child’s ability to solve a problem on its own and potential development with help

scaffolding: degree of support adapted to child’s level of ability and is reduced gradually

!!!Language by parents stimulates cognitive development (children learn via inner speech)

Middle age theory: social clock model

nurture, passive, discontinuous, context

adults are affected less by biology and more free to make decisions on their development

Old age theories

selective optimization with compensation (SOC)

selection: focus on limited skills and goals

optimization: practice, focus on your best

compensation: develop ways around

nurture, active, continuous, context

Socioemotional selectivity theory

nature, active, continuous, universal

old people prioritize emotionally meaningful goals than exploration

positivity effect: old people actively chose to remember positive memories

Summary

Lecture 3 - Prenatal Brain & Sensory Development

What are the different phases of prenatal development?

1. Germinal phase (week 0-2) 1st trimester

2. Embryonic phase (week 3-8) 1st trimester

3. Fetal phase (week 9-38) all trimesters

germinal phase

Primary objective: Development of zygote (cell created during fertilization) into blastocyte (layered cell mass with a cavity) and nesting in uterine wall

• very sensitive, 50% miscarriage

• at the end of the phase: 250 cells

embryonic phase

primary goal: organogenesis including the heart

three principles of growth:

• Cephalocaudal principle (from top to bottom): first head then bottom → babies heads are bigger relatively to their body

• Proximodistal principle (from in- to outside): first center then extremities → arms and legs remain short and chubby

• Orthogenetic principle (from mass to specific/undifferentiated to differentiated): first simple then refinements → fingers

  POSSIBLE EXAM QUESTION → WHICH DEVELOPS FIRST

week 3-4:

blastocyte into three layers:

• endoderm: digestive and respiratory system

• mesoderm: muscles, skeletal, heart circulation

• ectoderm: skin and the nervous system

neural tube (brain-spine)

week 5-8:

organ development according to three principles

by week 8 most organs are fully developed

fetal phase

primary objective: growth of embryo and refinement of structures

CRITICALPERIOD FOR BRAIN DEVELOPMENT!!!

brain: doubles in size from month 4 to 7, neural tube → 100 billion neurons, brain folding

1. proliferation: intense cell growth

2. migration

3. differentiation

at week 20 baby is almost fully developed

age of viability: 22-23 weeks

50/50 odds of survival by week 25

normal: 38 weeks

Teratogens

• infectious diseases, medications, drugs, environmental toxins, nutritional deficiencies, maternal stress

• most harmful during embryonic phase, bc organs develop

• 2nd and 3rd trimester negative effect on brain

• dose dependent: 1 cup of coffee is fine

• individual differences → vulnerability difficult

EXAMPLES:

• medication: softenon, to prevent morning sickness in 1st trimester → missing or underdeveloped body limbs

• smoking: reduced blood flow, less nutrients and oxygen, strongest effect in last trimester (brain development) → miscarriage, early or small, asthma, cognitive problems, behavior regulation, adhd, antisocial

third variable problem: stress can both mothers consume alcohol and impact development

Brain development

“neurons that wire together fire together” → repetition is important for learning

post-natal brain processes

synaptogenesis vs synaptic pruning

myelination vs apoptosis

Baltes: plasticity, gains and losses, maybe contextualized

myelination

baby(until year 1) → visual cortex

toddlers → language areas

adolescence → prefrontal cortex

until adulthood → continued mylenation

brain development across the life span

brain lateralization: asymmetry and specialization of functions of the two brain hemispheres

PREFRONTAL CORTEX:

most prolonged development → age 1, peak synaptic density; age 15, adult level synaptic density

myelination continues until early adulthood

Study: comparison of brain volume trajectories (N=2944 ages, 9 months- 94 years)

• grey matter: lifelong decrease

• white matter: peaks in middle age, inverted u-shape

Baltes: lifelong, maybe gains and losses and plasticity

plasticity

due to:

→ development

→ learning and memory

→ cerebral changes (lesions, neurodegeneration, aging)

• greatest during early development

active old adults have less shrinkage (atrophy) in prefrontal cortex and hippocampus (greater gray matter in PFC)

⬇

what is this an example of? gene-environment interaction → environmental influences (exercise) interact with genetic predisposition (atrophy)

Sensory development

smell & taste

INFANTS:

smell:

• smell of breast milk - soothing

• recognize the smell of the mother and the breast milk

taste:

• prefer sweet

OLDER ADULTS:

smell:

• small decrease, starts in adulthood (but only for pleasant odors)

• ability to detect unpleasant odors does not change

taste:

• greater decrease in men, but large differences

• reason of decrease: less saliva

CONSEQUENCES:

• decrease in quality of life and physical well-being (higher mortality

• less pleasure in eating or eating spoiled food

• BUT taste and smell receivers are renewed throughout life

touch & pain

INFANTS:

touch:

• important for bonding (increases successful breastfeeding)

• affects brain development (synaptogenesis, hormones) → calmer so sleep better?

pain:

• 19-20 century: pain is just reflex

• 1990: even fetuses can feel pain

CONSEQUENCES:

touch:

• reduced sensitivity (reduced tactile receptors, demyelination)

• pleasant touch becomes more important and even nicer (bc less frequent)

pain:

• less sensitive to weak pain (but no difference for high levels of pain)

hearing

important for communication, more developed than vision:

• newborn (and pregnancy): recognize mother’s voice → greater exposure

• 1 month: speech directed at baby → starts learning

• 7 month: no difference in response to native or other languages

• 11-12 months: greater response to native language, less sensitive to sounds in other languages

Baltes: plasticity

CONSEQUENCES:

• presbyacusis: age-related hearing loss → decrease in hair cells

• decrease in ganglion cells, higher threshold for pure tones

• tinnitus: ringing in the ears

• hypersensitivity for loud sounds

vision

matures later than other senses:

• newborns: cannot see sharply yet

• 3 month: color vision not yet measure

• 1 year: same as adult

form perception: motion information → 3 months

newborns can discriminate faces and non-faces!!!

from 2/3 months meaningful perception of a face:

• 2 months: prefer speaking faces

• 8 months: hypersensitivity to fear expressions → fear bias

• 9 month: less sensitive to facial expressions in other ethnic groups

DEPTH PERCEPTION:

1 month: blinking for looming objects

4 month: objects are the same size no matter the difference - size consistency

6-7 month: fear of heights (depth perception already exists at 2-4 months but not crawling yet)

social referencing: checking parent’s emotions when confronted with a new situation

OLDER ADULTS:

• increased intraocular pressure (less light, reduces sharpness)

• presbyopia: aging of the eye

• decline in dynamic vision (movement)

• contrast sensitivity (stairs)

Lecture 4 - Cognitive Development 1 Piaget

assimilation: existing schema is used in new situations (magazines as ipads)

accommodation: when the existing schema does not work, adjustments need to be made

equilibration: balance between assimilation and accommodation

Sensori-motor (0-2)

circular response: develop through repetitive behavior patterns

object permanence

around 9 months, tested by A-not-B error

Piaget → immature object permanence

BUT memory inhibition, planning and positive reinforcement (baby talk) could play a role

criticism

• underestimated abilities

• basics of physical reality before age 1

• gradual development rather than qualitative stages

→ now computer-like info processing

RESEARCH:

continuity of movement (<1 year): looking longer after the toy does not fall off the table

CONCLUSION:

earlier than Piaget thought:

• basic laws of nature

• emotion and intention of others

• imitation

Pre operational (2-7)

symbols & language

PRODUCT of cognitive development (Vygotsky → CAUSE of cognitive development)

• words to refer to things not present

• past and future

• pretend play

intuitive reasoning “magical thinking”

• primitive reasoning → own logic

• they know everything

• “why?”

CAUSAL UNDERSTANDING:

feelings of participation: participates in nature (magical beliefs) → “ı make the moon move when I walk”

animism: things are conscious and alive → “clouds move bc they feel cold”

artificialism: everything is willed, intentionally organized for men → “sun shines to warm people”

finalism: everything has an explanation → “little boats float bc they are not haevy and big boats float bc they are heavy”

CONSEQUENCES:

• afraid of monsters and the dark → animism

• imaginary friend

lack of conservation

why:

• centering: attention to most salient parts → single aspect

• irreversibility: not able to mentally reverse change

• static thought: fixed on end states rather than the transformation

Example: not understanding identity constancy → people remain themselves despite changes in appearance

egocentric perspective

leads to meaningless conversations between children

tested by three mountains test:

→ given 10 different points of view “what does the doll see?”

— complex

— not adaptive to children’s life

alternative: hide the doll from the police men

own perspective: age

other perspectives: age 7

Concrete operational (7-11)

→ realistic understanding of the world

→ logic reasoning (only concrete, not yet abstract)

→ inductive reasoning (which enhances memory and strategy)

conservation ✅

classification ✅

preoperational: dogs

concrete operational: animals

class inclusion: logical understanding that parts are included in the whole

seriation ✅

transitivity ✅

pre to concrete

Formal operational (12+)

• abstract thinking

• logical thinking

• adolescents as scientists → hypothetical-deductive reasoning

  → hypothetical deliberations (“assuming that…”)

  → systematical exploring possible realities (“what would happen if…”)

  → third eye task: concrete kids say forehead but formal kids think practically and creative

• adolescent egocentrism: heightened self-conscious

  → imaginary audience

  → personal fable

YOUNG ADOLESCENTS:

• simple hypothetical propositions

• struggle solving a problem or generating a hypotheses

OLDER ADOLESCENTS:

• still only 50-60& correct testing

• bias

BUT SOME ADULTS NEVER BECOME FORMAL OPERATIONAL THINKERS

TRANSITION TO ADULTHOOD:

• behaving like adults

• high school curricula

• thinking of identity, future, better understand people and humor

• questioning → rebellion against non-logical ideas → idealistic thinking

What happens in adulthood?

more complex than formal:

1. understanding that knowledge is relative not absolute → shades of gray

2. world is filled with contradictions

3. contradictions into some larger understanding

relativistic thinking: conclusions depend on context, multiple solutions

dialectic thinking: paradoxes and inconsistencies

OLDER ADULTS GO BACKWARDS IN STAGES?

they have problem solving formal operational tests

→ cross-sectional studies: less education in older adults

→ unfamiliar problems, no motivation

=> NOT PROVED

criticism of Piaget:

• restricted research → his own kids

• underestimated skills

• language as cause

• underestimated social environment → nature-nurture interaction: teaching promotes cognitive development

Lecture 5 - Cognitive Development 2 Memory & Informatıon Processing

How do executive functions, working memory and short-term memory develop?

reminder: prefrontal lobe is the most prolonged development and myelination continues into adulthood

executive functions

umbrella term for goal-oriented cognitive skills and behavior

→ cognitive flexibility/shifting (ability to shift between tasks

→ inhibition (stop or suppress actions)

→ updating (ability to keep info ST and W memo)

SHIFTING:

task A: < 5 (press left) or ≥ 5 (press right)

task b: odd (press left) or even (press right)

→ slower when task is changed

as children get older improves then starts declining after middle age

INHIBITION:

A. motor inhibition → top dancing when the music stops

B. oculomotor inhibition → flanker - respond to direction of arrow in center

C. simple response inhibition → press if green do not press if red

D. cognitive inhibition → Stroop task - name the color of the word

• …middle childhood: continued improvement on A B C

• adolescents and adulthood: a little more improvement and D

• old: decline in C but not for B and D

→ fundamental changes during preschool, refinements in speed and accuracy in school age and adolescence, different effects in aging

DO TASK SWITCHING AND INHIBITION FOLLOW THE SAME TRAJECTORIES ACROSS THE LIFESPAN?

overall no, only for response task!!!

short-term memory

passive short-term storage: retaining info up to 30 seconds without rehersal

• early childhood: very limited → increases during childhood

• 2-3 year old → 2 digits

• 7 year old → 5 digits

• 12 year old → 6 digits (small increase)

• in older age: adults retain 90% that younger adults can → much smaller age effects than working memory

working memory (WM)

active short-erm storage: keep things in mind while performing complex tasks like reasoning, comprehension, and learning

• depends on the complexity of WM task

• slow development: by 8 years old only half of adults

• children who are better:

  → language comprehension

  → math

  → problem solving

• adolescence: further brain maturation

  → info processed more quickly and in chunks

  → lower WM is associated with impulsivity and alcohol abuse

• declines with age: peak either 20s or 40s

• predicts performance on:

  → long-term memory

  → problem solving

  → intelligence

How does long-term memory develop?

procedural: autonomic, unconscious motor

semantic: knowledge, concepts meanings

episodic: remembering experiences

procedural memory

• implicit memory develops earlier in infancy than explicit memory

• changes little across life (age groups score similarly) only affected by biological decline

semantic memory

• growth during childhood bc more exposure to info

• preserved and even in some areas expended

  → permastore: knowledge learned long ago persists

  → BUT older adults have difficulties with tip-of-the-tongue, word finding, names

• older adults struggle when info needs to be accessed rapidly, arbitrary rules → word fluency (name as many things as you can in a category)

episodic memory in childhood

• development starts with hippocampus (1.5 years old)

• big improvement during 2 years old

  → 6 month: remember for 24 hours

  → 20 month: remember 12 month before

• 3-5 years: time and location, more detailed narrative

• preschool: more autobiographical characteristics

• improves even more into the late childhood, advancement in strategies

strategies

mental activities (not by preschool children but older children)

encoding strategy usage increases gradually:

1. rehearsal (repetition): short-term memory

2. organization: long-term memory, includes imagery

3. elaboration: personally relevant, long-term memory

episodic memory in adolescents

• 11-12 years, young teens: similar to kids, performing worse than young adults

• elaboration is mastered, important for school

• selecting relative material

episodic memory in adulthood

• middle adulthood: stable

• older: declines

• magnitude of decline depends on the task

  → retrieval condition

  → type of memories (item vs associations)

RETRIEVAL CONDITION:

performance: recognition > cued recall > free recall

→ age difference mostly in recall, not recognition

SINGLE INFO & ASSOCIATION:

• age related differences: paired (associated) info (face-name)

• simply recognizing faces or names (unpaired) is unaffected

  → associative deficit hypothesis

DO NOT USE LONGITUDINAL FOR MEMORY TESTS → TEST-RETEST EFFECTS!!!

How can we explain memory develop across the lifespan?

memory - mechanisms underlying change

4 HYPOTHESES ON WHY LEARRNING AND MEMORY IMPROVE AND DECLINE:

1. changes in basic capacities (hardware)

   WM space for manipulating and processing

2. change sin memory strategies (software)

   effective methods for storing and retrieving

3. knowledge of memory (metamemory)

   appropriate strategies

4. knowledge of the world (metacognition)

   to-be-learned material more familiar

BASIC CAPACITIES:

childhood:

• no change in sensory register and storage capacity of long-term memory

• encoding improves

• hippocampus matures

• speed of mental process improves → allows multi-tasking

old:

• sensory abilities decline

• not much change in short-term but decline in WM (prefrontal ⬇)

• slower function

MEMORY STRATEGIES:

childhood:

• more strategy use when personally relevant

• gradual development (rehearsal, organization, elaboration)

• perseveration error (<4 years): stick to old strategy

• despite knowledge, no spontaneous usage

old:

• many do not spontaneously use strategies

• when told to do improvement, especially for higher IQ

• positive effect of strategy training

KNOWLEDGE OF MEMORY:

childhood:

• metacognitive awareness in a rudimentary form, improves

• good metamemory → no guarantee of good recall (must also be motivated)

• development continues in adolescence

old:

• metacognitive knowledge maintained

• can monitor memory but sometimes misjudge

• negative beliefs about age memory in old age

KNOWLEDGE OF THE WORLD

childhood:

• adults usually outperform on memory → reversed if children are experts

• controlling of familiarity of material older children and young adults still perform better than young kids

• memory improves not just because knowledge base

old:

• at least or more knowledgeable than adults

• knowledge not a source of memory, but help compensate for it

EXPLAIN OR NOT:

changes in basic capacities:

→ childhood: ✅❌

→ aging: ✅

changes in memory strategies:

→ childhood: ✅

→ aging:✅

knowledge of memory:

→ childhood: ✅

→ aging: ✅❌

knowledge of the world:

→ children: ✅❌

→ aging: ❌

• In both childhood and aging, changes in memory strategies can explain memory change (e.g., deficient strategy use).

• For both age groups, changes in basic capacities contribute to changes in memory for both ages (e.g., speed of processing).

• In contrast, changes of the sensory register can contribute to memory changes in older adults but not childhood.

• Metacognitive knowledge explains memory changes in childhood, but not in aging. A greater knowledge base can contribute in childhood, but not in aging –it rather compensates for information-processing losses.

CONTEXTUAL FACTORS IN AGING:

biological and environmental

→ characteristics of the learner

→ characteristics of the task or situation

→ characteristics of environment and culture

cohort effects in education and IQ, health and lifestyle

in familiar contexts high performance but not in lab

example: prospective memory (memory for intentions)

→ YA > OA in lab but YA < OA in real life

=> SOCIO-EMOTIONAL SELECTIVITY THEORY

How can we explain individual differences in adults’ cognition?

protection and resilience

risk factors: smoking, poor diet, obesity, loneliness

protective factors: engaged life, physical exercise, social support, positive beliefs, sense of control

cognitive reserve

large inter-individual variability: some 80 year olds perform better than some 40 year olds

WHY: cognitive reserve → using existing skills, attitudes and strategies to compensate => explains different susceptibility or being exposed to beneficial environments

GENETIC OR ENVIROMENTAL

CAN EITHER COUNTERACT OR SLOW DOWN AGING

SERVES AS A BUFFER FOR DECLINE

shaped by:

• education

• crystalized intelligence - knowledge

• occupation complexity

• leisure activities

• SES

Baltes: lifelong

Lecture 6 - Language, Intelligence & Education/Work

How does language develop?

age 1: first steps, object permanence, joint attention (basic understanding of symbols)…FIRST WORDS!!!

nature-nurture

Skinner (NURTURE): through reinforcement for producing sounds

Chomsky (NATURE): inborn language acquisition device

NOW: social-interactionist, both nature and nurture

→ maturation of cognitive skills

→ experiences like child-centered speech by adults

crying - first communication signal

• crying increases infant-parent bond

• caregivers learn to read the type of cry

• vital to survival → crying too little is a sign of potential neurological problem

• exercise of vocal chords

• from 5 months: realize that sounds have an effect on caregiver behavior

0-12 months

18-24 months

from 1.5 years → vocabulary spurt

typical mistakes:

→ overextension: all four-legged animals are called dogs

=> assimilation

→ underextension: only own grandfather is called grandfather

=> accommodation

2-5 years

• 2-3 years vocabulary increases a lot → 1 word per 1-2 waking hour!!!

• give-and-take conversations

• more grammatically correct, longer sentences

• function words (articles, prepositions)

• typical error → overregulation: overgeneralising grammar rules = good sign

• Wug test

extreme example: Genie

after severe neglect and abuse (parents did not talk to her in 10 years): started talking at age 1.5 lagging

at 13:

→ barely capable of talking

→ learned but reached a limit

→ sign language better

→ possible intellectual disability

= NATURE-NURTURE INTERACTION: you can have the capacity to learn a language(she did improve a bit when taught) but without stimulation from the environment you cannot learn a language !!!!!!!

school age

• vocab continues to grow

• reorganized mental vocab (dog-barks → dog-cat)

• grammar: passive voice, conditional sentences

• metalinguistic awareness: syntax, semantics, pragmatics (context)

• reading/writing

aging

• no change in knowledge of phonology (difficulty distinguishing sentences if hearing impairment)

• no change in grammar or syntax, BUT less complex sentences used → with WM problems: difficulty understanding complex syntax

• semantics expands

• refine pragmatic use is maintained (unless major cognitive decline)

bilingualism

Baltes: gains and losses, plasticity

→ smaller vocab in each language (not exposed to same amount)

→ no delays at rate

→ by age 4 larger vocab growth

What is intelligence, how does it develop and what are influencing factors?

IQ

verbal: comprehension, similarities

nonverbal: block design

normal range: 70-130

intellectual disability: <70

giftedness: >130

criticism of IQ tests

FLYNN EFFECT:

are we all getting smarter?

probably not, can be explained by:

→ education

→ improved economic conditions (nutrition, conditions, less diseases)

= COHORT EFFECTS

also not the same for all domains (revision especially for crystallized IQ)

CULTURE

integration of different theories

infancy

small correlation between infancy and childhood, why:

• other skills are being measured

  → BSID: sensory and motor

  → WSIC: abstract skills

• development influences change

  → infants: universal process

  → children: less universal influence - more interindividual differences

childhood

• from age 4 IQ at different age highly correlated

• earlier age predicts later age

• greater stability for most

• BUT instability for some (motivation, test conditions, environmental influences in life)

environmental risks for IQ

• minority

• unemployed or low-skilled worker parents

• mother did not complete high school

• absent father

• stressful events

• rigid child raising

• anxious mother

• mentally ill mother

• little positive affect from mother

IQ & SES

CUMULATIVE DEFICIT HYPOTHESIS: for highest and lowest SES IQ separated by 6 points in age 2 → by age of 16 gap tripled

→ HOWEVER, brain is plastic: improvement if SES improves

IQ across lifespan

EXTREME STBILITY:

• 18 to 65 years → r = .87 (study 1)

• 11 to 90 years → r = .54 (study 2)

dual-component model for intelligence

MECHANICS: basic info processing = fluid intelligence

• content-poor

• universal, biological

• strong genetic determination

PRAGMATICS: knowledge, factual and procedural = crystallized intelligence

• content-rich

• culture dependent

• experience-based

intelligence across lifespan

Baltes: gains and losses, multidirectional

- dissatisfaction from life

+intact marriage

What is the role of work for development? How does the work life develop?

CHANGING CAREERS:

• more switches between jobs

• disappearing barrier between family and work

• gig (independent) work

• no boundaries

work transitions

Dutch participants tested 11 times:

→ NO change in self-esteem and life satisfaction related to employment

→ BUT: satisfaction with life matters!

anticipation effects: decline in self-esteem and life satisfaction before, but not after unemployment

larger effects before the transition:

• psychological preparation → uncertainty outweighs reality

• stressors can act already before unemployment → social pressure, finance, social status

• post-transition adjustment → people partially adjust to their new situation

+ changing expectations: flexibility and control

work factors that reduce satisfaction

role ambiguity: unclear roles

role overload: too many roles

role conflict: doctors → help patients or work efficiently

work life conflict: work vs family time

unemployment

to which system of Bronfenbrenner belongs work stress of a parent?

→ EXOSYSTEM: external environment that has an indirect effect, parent’s workplace

retirement

not a single event → gradual

TRANSITION:

1. preretirement: info gathering, planning

2. honeymoon: enjoy new freedom

3. disenchantment: novelty wears off, aimless and sometimes unhappy

4. reorientation: realistic and satisfying lifestyle

Lecture 7 - Emotional Development

What are emotions and emotion regulation?

EMOTION: expression, subjective evaluation, physiological arousal

EMOTION REGULATION: central role in well-being, more complex over the lifespan

process model of emotion regulation

can be applied at different moments:

1. situation selection: “I wont go the exam” → avoidance

2. situation modification: “I’ll practice extra” → problem solving

   “I’ll take someone with me to support me” → modification

3. attention deployment: distraction and rumination

4. cognitive change: “I accept my feelings” → acceptance

   “It has no consequences if I fail” → reappraisal

5. response modulation: suppression

emotion regulation and psychopathology

MALADAPTIVE STRATEGIES:

• rumination

• suppression

• avoidance

BUT, sometimes useful → depends on context

How do emotions and well-being develop in infants?

emotions in infants

• biological basis but also environmental influences

• early emotional socialization: differs from culture to culture

• 9 months → social referencing (visual cliff)

• emotional communication: understand emotions and express them

• parents plays a crucial role in emotion development → still face experiment

emotion regulation in infants

babies also regulate their emotions

How do emotions and well-being develop in children?

further improvement of emotional competence:

• mixed emotions

• mental time-travel → better understanding of emotions

• improved ability to suppress negative emotional reactions

more complex regulation strategies:

• self-initiated strategies

• effective through cognition

• empathy

emotional display rules: different for individualistic and collectivistic cultures → MACROSYSTEM

How do emotions and well-being develop in adolescents?

research method

experience sampling method (ESM): app, multiple times a day

diary study: only one question at the end of every day

advantages: low recall bias, ecological validity, study short-term dynamics

disadvantages: high burden on subjects, measurement reactivity

emotions during adolescence

INTENSITY (more negative):

• longitudinal

• daily diaries for 3 weeks

• decrease in positive emotions (more decrease for girls)

• increase in negative emotions (more increase for girls)

VARIABILITY (extreme swings)

explanation for changes

• many positive and negative changes

• ineffective regulation (executive functions not fully developed)

  → combination leads to more negative and fluctuating emotions

  → but variability becomes less after adolescence

• ADOLESCENCE HAVE DIFFERENT REGULATION GOALS → COUNTER-HEDONIC (not to avoid conflict)

  → broaden horizons, acquire knowledge, meet new people, take risks

How do emotions and well-being develop in adults?

• change continues

• effort for emotionally satisfying, predictable, and manageable life

  → “the adaptive integration of emotional experience into satisfying daily life and successful relationships with others”

INTERSECTION OF GROWTH & DECLINE

TEMPORARY DIP IN WELL-BEING:

• life transitions: raising kids, losing loved ones

• social clock

How do emotions and well-being develop in older adults?

emotions in older age

better balance between positive and negative emotions: stable positive and decrease in negative emotions

explanations for change

positivity bias (negative avoidance): a form of selective attention, they control the amount of time spent on negative emotions

→ amygdala degenerates less with age than the prefrontal cortex

positivity bias

EMOTION DETECTION IN FACES: recognize fewer negative expressions

MEMORY: recall fewer negative words

socioemotional selectivity theory (SST) nurture, active, continuous, universal

emotionally meaningful goals are prioritized over exploration → positivity effect

emotion regulation in older age

STRATAGIES:

1. situation selection (avoidance): ↑ avoid conflict

2. situation modification (problem solving): ↑ but context-dependent, de-escalate conflicts more often, while younger kids seek support

3. attention deployment (distraction): ↑ focus on positive

4. cognitive change (acceptance): ↑ but no difference for reappraisal

5. response modulation (suppression): ↑ depends on the emotion → grief, for example

VARIABILITY:

• diary studies for regulation: older adults show less variability

  → less need to adjust strategies

  → already developed effective strategies

selective narrowing of social networks

• inner circle remains the same

• fewer relationship with outer circle

• emotional well-being goes up as networks are narrowed

• 10 year sequential design

empirical examination of the SST

who would you prefer to spend time with?

NO TIME LIMIT:

• younger adults pick all three alternatives equally

• older adults often choose close friend

TIME LIMIT:

• both age groups choose close friend

→ possible to change time perspective

→ future time is crucial not age!!!

WELL-BEING DECLINES, THE YEARS BEFORE DEATH

Lecture 8 - Moral Development & Social Cognition

How does morality develop across the lifespan?

dilemma of Heinz

should Heinz break into the pharmacist’s office to steal the medicine for his wife?

Kohlberg’s moral stages

PRECONVENTIONAL: will i be punished or rewarded?

1. he cannot steal bc then he will go to prison

2. should steal bc his wife will love him more

CONVENTIONAL: need to obey society’s rules (most 15-16 year-olds and most adults)

3. has to steal the drug bc that’s what a good husband does

4. cannot steal the drug bc then other people would also steal and the laws will breakdown

POSTCONVENTIONAL: personal moral code

5. cannot steal the drug bc a scientist has the right to be rewarded for his work

6. has to steal the drug bc the value of a life is more fundamental than property rights

theory vs data stages

theory → neatly ordered stages

data → complex

evaluation of Kohlberg

• children can go beyond punishment and reward mentality

• no clear transition between discrete stages → can go back and forth

• stages 3 / 4 remain dominant (only 10% score higher, very few 6)

VALIDITY:

• only moderate association between moral cognition and behavior → social desirability

• lack of control for confounds

• BUT: teenagers are famous for questioning society

alternative explanations (literature)

SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY (BANDURA)

moral behavior affected by:

• observational learning

• reinforcement

• self-regulation

• moral disengagement

• situational influences

EVOLUTIONARY THEORY: we were evolved to live cooperatively in groups

How does social cognition and in particular theory of mind develop?

theory of mind (ToM)

ability to form ideas about the mental world of yourself and others and to explain behavior in terms of mental states (intentions…)

basis for:

• social relationships, popularity

• empathy

• reciprocal conservation

• humor

• ability to lie

development of ToM

First social cognitive skills begins to form in infancy:

• Understanding intentions

• Joint attention

• Pretend play: first simple pretend play between 1 and 2 years → distinguish between pretense (a kind of false belief) and reality

• Imitation: in first year → ability to mentally represent others’ actions + goals

• Emotional understanding: in 2nd year → understanding that other people have emotions and that these emotions can be influenced for bad or good

• Desire psychology: age 2 → express what they want, explain own behavior and that of others in terms of wants or desires

ToM - social cognition of babies research - understanding intentions

6-10 months have a “moral compass” → preference for “helping” triangle compared to “annoying” square

DOES IT INDICATE DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OR JUST ASSOCIATIVE LEARNING?

SIMPLE ASSOCIATION: when reaching top = fun, that’s why baby prefers triangle (not because it understands intentions)

Indeed: square + bouncing circle → baby prefers square

BUT: triangle with goal-oriented gaze + no bounce → baby prefers triangle

→ understanding eye gaze as a sign of intentionality

ToM - joint attention

• around age 1

• building block for shared knowledge and shared experiences!

• if it develops late or not at all: possible autism

ToM - desire psychology

BROCOLI / CRACKER EXPERIMENT

FALSE BELIEF TEST (SALLY ANNE TEST)

• by age of 3-4: belief-desire psychology

  → understanding that beliefs, true or false, guide people’s behavior just as desires do

criticism:

• you need more than ToM to pass

  → language, executive functions (inhibition, WM)

• ToM is more than passing the false belief test

ToM - Piaget

• COUNTER to Piaget, children in preoperational phase (egocentrism) can take other’s perspectives

• EXPLICIT ToM: Sally-Anne

• IMPLICIT ToM: where do you look at → even 15 months show this!!!

development of social cognitive abilities

• age 5-7: understand people’s behavior is not the same as their thoughts

• late elementary: complex second-order belief statements

• schoolchildren → sarcasm

• middle and late child: beliefs ca be false, multiple interpretations

• social cognitive skills continues to improve after adolescence

• better maintained in adulthood than nonsocial cognitive skills

• older age → social cognitive skills improve further

• YET: some decline → sarcasm, failing adult versions of ToM tests

How does empathy and prosocial behavior develop?

AFFECTIVE EMPATHY: emotional connection

COGNITIVE EMPATHY: rational understanding, other’s perpective, ToM

empathy - newborns

• newborn: emotional contagion

• age 1: early tendency to imitate emotional expressions

• affective empathy

• no distinction between own emotions and other’s

development of empathy

• from age 1, empathic concern

  → for this distinction between self and other is needed SELF-AWARENESS

• development of empathy between 1-2 year-old

development of prosocial behavior in childhood

INSTRUMENTAL HELPING (12-14 months): helping with a goal-directed action (picking up an object out of reach of the other person)

EMPATHIC HELPING (18-24 months): comforting

→ girls more, bc more rewarded?

children struggle with helping if: only subtle cues and emotional state (rather than instrumental helping)

• prosocial behavior → concrete operational

• product of ToM

• middle childhood: requires info processing

• school children also help effectively

How does antisocial behavior develop?

aggression → motor and cognitive development

reactive: impulsive response to frustration

proactive: instrumental, intention to reach a goal

direct: calling names to someone’s FACE (peek 2.5, decline in middle childhood)

indirect (relational): behind someone’s back (peeks during adolescence)

aggressive behavior - gender differences

boys more physical aggression, but both boys and girls same amount of relational aggression

consequences bigger for girls

juvenile delinquency - explanations

FAMILY & ENVIRONMENT:

• strict/inconsistent parenting

• alternating or single parents

NEUROCOGNITIVE & DEVELOPMENTAL:

• early neurological impairments

• low motor skills and IQ

• reading and memory problems

BEHAVIORAL & SOCIAL FACTORS:

• hyperactivity and self control problems

• rejection by peers

• interaction with delinquent peers → ONLY LATE-ONSET RISK FACTOR

ADDITIONAL:

• behavioral difficulties in early childhood

• family conflicts

• young age mother

BUT THEY HAVE NOT LOST THEIR ToM OR EMATHY

antisocial and risk behavior - Moffitt’s theory

2 types of antisocial behavior

EARLY-ONSET (PERSISTENT):

• only 5% of male pop.

• often neurocognitive deficits (gene-env int.)

• recidivism

• difficult families and neighborhoods

• problems start early and are exacerbated by a high-risk environment

LATE-ONSET:

• majority of adolescents (normal)

• imitate early-onset

SAME BEHAVIOR, DIFFERENT MOTIVATIONS

antisocial and risk behavior - explanations

BRAIN DEVELOPMENT:

• increase in neurotransmitters, particularly dopamine

  → risk taking

  → reward seeking

• limbic system almost developed in early adolescence, BUT prefrontal cortex not finished until 18-25 years

  → GAINS AND LOSSES

AGE - MATURITY GAP:

• cognitive and physical maturation

• budding motivations (sexual, autonomy, status)

• social limitations

ADDITIONAL:

• not seen in every adolescent

• not necessarily an error in calculation but functional

  → individuation: distancing from parents

  → experimenting

  → bonding with peers

Lecture 9 - Social Development 1 (Infancy - Adolescence)

What is attachment and how does it develop in infants?

attachment: nature

biologically programmed response

but also stimulus from environment (boots)

attachment: nurture

behaviorists → attachment is caused by association with food (reinforcement) WRONG - HARLOW

ADVICE: keep emotional distance

Bowlby: attachment theory

“Maternal love in childhood is as important for mental health as vitamins and protein are for physical health”

NATURE - NURTURE INTERACTION

NATURE:

• inborn tendency to attach

• critical period

• BUT: proximity-seeking behavior when threatened AT ANY AGE

NURTURE:

• caretaker’s influence on development

• critical period: when baby starts moving

• safe haven, secure base

• evolution: attachment is good for survival

attachment styles

avoidant: no separation anxiety and little emotion when parent returns

resistant/ambivalent: much anxiety, inconsolable when parent returns

disorganized/disoriented: not consistent, frozen or running away

• affects internal working models

  → cognitive representations of self and others

  → social info

CRITICISM OF ATTACHMENT STYLES / STRANGE SITUATION:

• categories overly simplified

• disorganized → mixed group

• 20 min not sufficient

• cultural differences may impact results

research shows: children with difficult temperaments are more susceptible to the influence of sensitive parents

= GENE-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION

infant attachment universal?

yes and multiple relationships possible

BUT some cultural differences

→ Japan: more likely to be distressed (uncommon to separate)

→ Germany: avoidant (independent fostering)

early deprivation and daycare

EARLY DEPRIVATION:

secure attachment still possible, but timing and severity crucial!!!

→ Romanian orphanages (early adoption 60% secure, late adoption 30% secure)

DAYCARE:

depends on the quality

What is the purpose of play behavior in children?

types of play

solitary play: alone, makes a drawing

parallel play: only next to each other, both make their own drawings

associative play: side by side, make own drawing, no shared goal but exchange pencils, follow each other’s example, comment

cooperative play: work together on a drawing

development of play

MORE SOCIAL

MORE IMAGINATIVE:

• start of pretending → later infancy

• collaborative pretend play → age 4

AFTER AGE 5, SERIOUS PLAY (LESS PRETEND)

How do social relationships develop in childhood?

popularity

• elementary school

• social status → primary goal

• concrete operational → sensitive to social comparison

sociometric status (peer nominations)

CONTINUOUS OUTCOME MEASURE:

social preference score = acceptance - rejection

CATEGORICAL OUTCOME MEASURE:

• popular (high +, low -) - 11%

• rejected (low +, high -) - 13%

• neglected (low +, low -) - 9%

• controversial (high +, high -) - 7%

• average - 60%

social exclusion and peer rejection

different reasons (but same consequences):

INTERPERSONAL: individual differences (attractiveness, social deficits, temperament

INERGROUP: bias or prejudice regarding cultural groups

bullying

• not limited to childhood, also in adulthood

• starts early

• main motivation: gaining status

LONG-TERM CONSEQUENCES: INFLAMMATION MARKERS (CRP)

→ experienced bullying increases CRP levels

interventions

SOCIAL SKILL TRAINING:

• mixed or no results for half of the studies

• not efficient for bullying based on group membership

ANTIBULLYING PROGRAMS:

→ OLWEUS BULLYING PREVENTION PROGRAM: focuses on school as a whole, the class, the individual, and the broader community = SUCCESFUL

/

BOYS ARE MORE LIKELY TO HANG OUT WITH BOYS

How do social relationships develop in adolescence?

changes in social life

PARENTS TO PEERS:

• change of internal working models for attachments to parents and friends/partner

FRIENDSHIPS:
middle school: unisex cliques

late middle school / early high school: crowds

high school: mixed-sex cliques

emerging adulthood: romantic partners

ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS:
three stages:

1. entry into romantic attractions (11-13)

   • puberty

   • crush, sometimes same crush as a friend, if dating then in a group setting

2. exploring romantic relationships (14-16)

   • both casual and group dating

3. consolidating dyadic romantic bonds (17-19)

   • more serious, emotional

peer influence

studies:

1. questionnaire

   • resistance to peer influence scale

   • result (3 large samples): influence decreases linearly between age 14 and 18

2. experiment

   • driving task, alone or with peer

   • adolescents make riskier decisions under peer influence, then by young adults decline

Attachment and autism

• children with ASD significantly less securely attached

  → effect moderated by mental development: less severe ASD group and control group did not differ

• BUT they can form secure attachments, security of attachment doe not differ from typical children

insecure attachments more likely:

• ASD + intellectual disability/ development delay

• more severe

• poor parent-child interaction

• few responses to caregivers (hard to understand the kid)

neurobiological studies: children with ASD also show increases in cortisol during stress and oxytocin during interactions with caregivers

→ despite lower hormonal baseline, they experience similar hormonal changes during separation and reunion

Lecture 10 - Social Development 2 (Adulthood)

Long-term romantic relationships

❤ similarity → homogamy

❤ complementarity → filling gaps

❤ personality traits like NE and A

similar values, beliefs, personality traits

1. similar background → basis

2. similar personality

Stenberg’s triangle

passion → intimacy → commitment

• keeping passion and intimacy takes work

Marriage, relationship satisfaction and divorce

attachment in adulthood

dismissing: fear of intimacy, shut down, inhibit feelings

preoccupied: obsessive and jealous, emotional during conflicts

→ internal working models are shaped by parent-child relationship, but can be changed by sensitive partners

does marriage make people happy?

• marriage status in indeed linked to better health and subjective well-being (greater for men)

• BUT only for happy marriages!!!

• no difference in midlife happiness in married vs long-term cohabiting

1. honeymoon phase

2. decline

3. slower decline

4. stable around year 4

5. positive change → empty nest

   → yet, most are far more satisfied than dissatisfied → still happy but more realistic

DIVORCE COMMON AFTER 7 YEARS

Diverse lifestyles in midlife

marriage no longer a fixed “institution”

deinstitutionalization: decline in marriage and emergence of alternative family forms

• childbirth without marriage

• divorce

• children living with one parent

• living alone

→ HISTORICAL-EMBEDDEDNES

not marrying becoming normal

more normal to live together for some time before getting married or to continue as unmarried couples

→ more 35 year old cohabit, BECAUSE “MARRIAGE DOES NOT ADD ANYTHING”

gay marriage

NL 2001 → US all states 2015 → GR 2017

• very similar to hetero marriage

• balance

• children

• more flexible gender roles

• higher average relationship quality

single (cohabiting and dating included)

• stereotypes: swinging single vs desperately lonely, suicidal

• indeed: diversity of reasons (chosen, not chosen)

• deep bonds with siblings, friends, younger adults

• advantages and disadvantages

• olde adults who never married can cope better with loneliness

• US survey: uncertain 39%, wants to 34%, does not want to 27%

Parenthood

challenges for new parents

• neurobiology

• self-concept, identity

• perceived efficacy

• emotional health

• …

mental health of new parents

17% → postpartum depression (large global differences)

risk factors:

• education

• income

• stress

• complications at birth

• social support/network

• perinatal mental health

• planned pregnancy

• violence

division of labor

MOST WOMEN WORK PART-TIME

fathers are stepping up, but some gender roles remain:

fathers play more than childcare

wins and losses

• major transition with both growth and loss

• SOC model: parents use compensatory processes to minimize losses

• example: less sleep time is compensated with reprioritizing (going to bed early) or combining activities

parenthood and the brain

• decrease in cognitive functions and rain volume in pregnancy (persisting for at least 2 years)

• change in brain volume were positively related to maternal attachment after delivery

  → adaptive specialization: brain functions related to mother-child bonding are prioritized

after childbirth

• initial positive effect on only life satisfaction (LS)

• LS and relationship satisfaction (RS) decrease

• RS permanently below pre-birth level

• effects on affective well-being (AWB) are small but positive

transition to parenthood

RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION:

relationship satisfaction increases before birth (honeymoon effect) decreases after birth

decreases even further after the second child

SELF- ESTEEM:

decrease related to birth

no major differences between first and second child

positive effects on parenthood??!??!?!

HOWEVER 3 STUDIES SHOW POSITIVE EFFECTS FOR PARENTHOOD → WHY?!

= social desirability and selectivity of sample

grandparenthood

• first time grandparent mostly during middle age

• increase in longevity → live longer

different meanings: biological reward and continuity, emotional self-fulfillment, or remote role

gender differences: grandmothers have more contact

cultural differences: Mexican Americans have more more contact than non-Latino and African Americans

empty nest?

empty nest syndrome → not majority, but decline in marital satisfaction

BUT for most increase in marital satisfaction

BOOMERANG KIDS:

• can be a positive experience for both but also…

• for parents: loss of privacy, conflicting schedules, partner relationship invaded

• for children: loss of privacy and independence

changing profile

• increase in children that live with grandparents (divorce, adolescent pregnancies, drug use of parent)

• full-time caregiver grandparents: elevated risk for health, depression and stress

  → they are often low-income minority groups, and not married

Lecture 11 - Family

What are different parenting styles?

parenting styes (Baumrind)

criticism on parenting styles

parenting is LESS STATIC and MORE BIDIRECTIONAL and child-evoked (parents relationship influences each parents relationship with child vice versa)

INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES:

longitudinal study (biweekly questionnaires)

→ effect of parenting styles can differ between children

→ link between support and depressive symptoms

• 21% adolescents: parental support = fewer depressive symptoms (in line with Baumrind)

• 51% adolescents: no effect

• 27% adolescents: parental support = more depressive symptoms → supportive behavior can backfire (parental over-involvement)

CULTURAL DIFFERENCES:

• Baumrind = western

• individualistic → autonomy, self-reliance/-interest (authoritative)

• BUT collectivist → interdependence (authoritarian)

• Turkish mothers were less supportive and less authoritative and more intrusive in their control

factors influencing parenting styles

• genes

• how parents were raised

• SES and education

• environment (dangerous → authoritarian)

• culture

helicopter parents

• positive effect in parent reports, but negative effect in adolescence reports

• well-intentioned

• positive effect for fathers, negative effects for mothers

  → fathers are often less involved: overprotective behavior as a sign of care and concern

What do we know about the effects of diverse family experiences?

siblings

• firstborns can become more demanding, dependent and clingier, also develop problems with sleeping, eating, and toilet routines, even secure attachments can become insecure

• BUT most firstborns adapt well

• sibling rivalry: normal part of sibling relationships

  → siblings fight less if parents fight less and treat children equally

  → difference in treatment is acceptable if depends on age

  → relationship characterized by both closeness and conflict

PSYCHOPATHOLOGY:

• more sibling warmth, less conflict, less different treatment = less internalizing and externalizing problems

  → largest effect: sibling conflict

  → gender combination: more for brother-brother

  → age difference: more for small age difference

  → development period: more for children than adolescents

divorce

NL STATISTICS:

• decrease in total divorce, but its bc lower marriage numbers

• 50% divorce

• large proportion involve children

SHOULD PARENTS STAY TOGETHER FOR KIDS?

difficult to determine

reconstituted families

3 common types:

• stepfather

• stepmother

• blended/complex

• with time children adjust to SIMPLE stepfamilies

• function better than children in conflictual non-divorced families and complex

• > 75% positive relationship with stepparent in simple step families

• family structure not critical but good parenting

What do we know about the effects of child maltreatment?

statistics

• 119.00 children per year in NL

• 1 child per classroom

• depends on who you ask (self vs informant reports

• grey zone issue

SEXUAL ABUSE:

world-wide meta-analysis:

• girls: 9% forced intercourse and 15% mixed sexual abuse

• boys: 3% forced intercourse and 8% mixed sexual abuse

• > 90% know the perv

• most often to children between 8 and 12 year

• prevalence varies

  → might be higher for men than reported

  → South-Africa high percentage

potential consequences

• emotion dysregulation

• lower social competence

• personality pathology

• internalizing problems (anxiety, depression)

• externalizing problems (aggression, substance abuse)

• sexual problems or sexual risk taking

• suicide

• increased risk for diabetes, lung disease, malnutrition, and vision problems

• structural brain changes (small prefrontal cortex)

  → timing matters bc brain areas develop at different times

How can resilience help to deal with challenges in childhood?

resilience - different theoretical models

CHALLENGE MODEL: moderate adversity leads to better adaptation than no or extreme adversity

DEPLETION MODEL: adaptive function stable until adaptive capacity is depleted, after which it declines sharply

COMPENSATION FACTOR: protective gene enhances adaptation regardless of the risk severity → MAIN EFFECT

PROTECTION FACTOR: positive gene protects especially when severe risk → MAIN EFFECT + INTERACTION EFFECT

VULNERABILITY FACTOR: negative gene increases vulnerability at high risk → DIATHESIS-STRESS MODEL

CONTEXT-SENSITIVE FACTOR: negative gene is beneficial at low risk but detrimental at high risk → DIFFERENTIAL AT HIGH RISK

resilience - adaptive processes

POSTTRAUMATIC GROW: function more after trauma

STRESS-RESISTENCE: stable functionality

BREAKDOWN AND RECOVERY: low function after trauma but then go back to normal

resilience - core characteristics in environment

• parenting matters more than genes

• peers matter:

  → HARRIS: socialization to become adults is facilitated by peers not parents (collective efficacy matters)

  → BRONFENBRENNER: many influences

resilience - longitudinal study

• people with a history of some adversity have better mental health than people who had no adversity AND severe adversity

  → in a small dose “what does not kill me makes me stronger”

  → but depends on the adversity (severity, timing)

resilience in children of parents with depression

• 20% resilient

• protective factors:

  → support from co-parent

  → good social relationships

  → self-confidence

  → frequent physical activity

Lecture 12 - Personality & Identity Development

How do temperament and personality develop?

temperament

inborn behaviors to deal with the world

NY - LONGITUDINAL STUDY:

EASY: 40%

SLOW TO WARM UP: 15%

DIFFICULT: 10%

ROTHBART:

temperament = infant reactivity + capacity to self regulate

→ SURGENCY/EXTRAVERSION

→ NEGATIVE AFFECTIVITY

→ EFFORTFUL CONTROL: focus and shift attention, inhibit responses, low-intensity activities (self-control at age 3)

• surgency/extraversion and negative affectivity visible from infancy on

• effortful control → toddlerhood/early childhood

HOW TO MEASURE IT?

EXUBERANCE: puppets → measure laughter/reservation

FEAR-ELLICITING CONDITION: frightening toys

ANGER-ELLICITING CONDITION: restrain child in a car seat → measure frustration

temperament as a risk factor

SHY: 1 in 5

• early signs of conscience, no discipline problems (+)

• can persist into adulthood (-)

later developement:

• focus on threatening stimuli

• internalizing problems

• fear and inhibition usually decrease with age

  → refrain from overprotection

EXUBERANT: happy, disinhibited, fearless in new situations and new people

• no use of “power assertion” (screaming, hitting)

• sensitive and positive parenting

• calm reasoning when whining

• time-outs for defiant behavior (?)

GOODNESS OF FIT / PERSON-ENVIRONMENT FIT:

parenting style and environment is adapted to temperament

• shy → calm environment

• exuberant → opportunity to explore and run

temperament development

• infant temperament = childhood

• infant temperament \neq adult (big five)

• but individual differences (due to environment)!

EARLY CHILDHOOD:

difficult behavior:

• shift

• angry

• cannot wait

• easily upset

• won’t share…

  → AURONOMY vs MISTRUST (1-3 years)

  • learns to do more himself

  • testing/crossing boundries

  • “terrible 2”

emotional development:

• year 1: primary emotions

• year 2: more complex, pride and shame → self-awareness

• conscience development improves from 2 to 4

• socialization → less unwanted behavior

self-regulation:

individual differences!!!

• differences in self-control have GENETIC ROOTS (TEMPERAMENT)

• cleaning more difficult than not laying with toys

• girls and fearful inhibited children more obedient

• stability over time (1 → 4)

• MARSHMALLOW TEST

  • children who waited had better school performance and body mass

    → SES, not willpower

developing personality

roots of adult personality in childhood, but full personality formation takes many years !!!

continuity and discontinuity in personality - adulthood

CONSISTENCY IN RANKINGS:

• high correlation

• correlation increases with age (not much change after 50)

MATURITY PRINCIPLE:

• more emotionally stable (neuroticism -)

• more cooperative ad easy to get along (agreeableness +)

• more responsible (conscientiousness +)

• adolescence to middle adulthood → starting work

• little systematic changes after that, only because experiences

personality adjustment across the lifespan

• NE and C → health

• N and A → coping

How do self concept and identity develop?

self concept - infancy

→ born without self-concept

→ develop implicit sense of self ( based on own body, interaction and actions)

• capacity to differentiate (sense of agency) → 2 - 3 months

• end of age 1: companions as separate beings → joint attention

• 18 months: self-recognition

• 18-24 months: awareness of who they are → self-referring language

SELF-RECOGNITION:

• ROUGE (mirror) TEST

• around 18 months pass

• also depends on experience with reflecting surfaces

self-concept - childhood

• associated with emotions

• preschool: physical

• by age 8: psychological (nice or bad)

  → enduring qualities (funny, sporty)

  → part of social groups

  → social comparison

self-concept - adolescence

• more psychological

• more abstract

• more differentiated (different “selves” in different social contexts)

• more integrated and coherent (inconsistent)

• more reflection (self-conscious)

identity - emerging adulthood

• identity information

  • classification on four identity status based on progress toward identity in each several domains

  • crisis

  • commitment achieved

    → IDENTITY vs ROLE CONFUSION - FIDELITY

1. DIFFUSION: no crisis, no commitment

2. FORECLOSURE: no crisis, commitment made

3. MORATOURIUM: crisis experienced, no commitment

4. IDENTITY ACHIEVEMENT: crisis experienced, commitment made

identity achievement associated with:

• psychological well-being

• self-esteem

• complex thinking about moral and social issues

• willingness to accept others

• mental health

factors influencing identity formation

• cognitive development: formal-operational

• personality: low N and high C, O

• relationship with parent:

  • neglected → diffusion

  • extremely close → foreclosure

• opportunities for exploration: attending uni

• cultural and historical context: homosexual, western vs traditional societies

current misconceptions of midlife

most common myth: MID LIFE CRISIS

based on:

• dreams that have not yet been fulfilled

• pressure to change life as long as there is time

MID LIFE CRISIS → MID LIFE QUESTIONING

strong conceptualization: different from other transitions (emotional wearing)

moderate conceptualization: normative, wearing transition, NOT different from other transitions

= no winners !!!

→ tied to events and neuroticism

EXPALNATIONS:

• first experience of aging

• evaluation of life

• social norms

• well-being lowest point

• cultural influence (youth-oriented vs wise-elderly)

  → SOCIAL COCK & SOCIO-EMOTIONAL SELECTIVITY

identity in older age

positive self-image achieved by:

• reducing gap between ideal and real self

• changing one’s goals and standards of self-evaluation

• making social comparisons to other old people (and not young people) → downward social comparison

• avoiding negative self-stereotyping

How does self-esteem develop?

self-esteem

preschool children only distinguish 2 broad aspects:

→ competence (physical and cognitive)

→ personal and social adequacy (social acceptance)

Harter: self-esteem based on social comparison → age 7

children who lean toward…

INTERNALISING PROBLEMS:

• low self-esteem, read failure in everything

• learned helplessness

• failing due to lack of trying (as they think they will fail)

EXTERNALISING PROBLEMS:

• unrealistically high self-esteem, when fail blame others

• failing due to lack o self-insight / ignore real problems

PARENT ADVICE:

• little encouragement and compliments → low self-esteem

• too much or 2empty2 compliments → unrealistically high self-esteem

• complimenting hard work, or success → realistic self-esteem

• encourage accurate perceptions:

  → internalizing: the class does not hate you

  → externalizing: kids won’t like it if you barge in

self-esteem - development

• accuracy of self-evaluations increases across elementary school

• young children → inflated views of themselves

• age 8: more realistic

• girls and boys enter first grade with same level

• gender differences emerge by early adolescence

  → see book for trajectories

self-esteem - gender differences

across all nations:

• main effect of age ↑

• main effect of gender //

• no interaction between age and gender

  → more differential picture when comparing nations

self-esteem - cultural differences

• gender gap: North America > South and Central America > East Asia

• South America: gender gap increased with age (age effects stronger for males

= BRONFENBRENNER & SKINNER’S LEARNING THEORY

HOW CAN WE EXPLAIN THESE DIFFERENCES:

SOCIOECONOMIC:

• GDP per capita

• HDI

• distribution of income

SOCIODEMGRAPHIC:

• mean age of marriage

• adolescent fertility

GENDER-EQUALITY: interaction effects

• gender gap

• number of years that women have right to vote

CULTURAL VALUE:

• acceptance + expectation of unequal distribution

• individualism vs collectivism

• masculinity vs femininity → age effects

• uncertainty avoidance → gender effects