Chapter 12 PSYC notes
Chapter 12 - Development
The sperm unites with the ovum (egg) to form a single celled egg called a Zygote
During the first 8 weeks of prenatal development, the organism is called an Embryo
During the fourth to eighth weeks, testosterone is secreted in embryos that are genetically male; without this hormone, the embryo will develop to be anatomically female.
After 8 weeks, the organism is known as a fetus
Harmful influences that can can cross the placental barrier and affect the fetus’s development include: German measles (rubella), sexually transmitted diseases, X-rays or other radiation pollutants, toxic substances, illicit or legal drugs, alcohol (fetal alcohol syndrome), cigarette smoking, maternal stress
Fathers affect prenatal development, too. The sperm of teenage boys and men over age 50 may have mutations that increase their offspring’s. Their is risk of: miscarriage birth defects, certain diseases
No good before age 25 and after 50
Newborns have several motor reflexes, which are automatic behaviors that are necessary for survival.
Babies also have a set of inborn perceptual abilities.
Researchers use creative techniques, such as habitation and prefrontal looking, to learn about infants’ visual range.
Newborns can: distinguish contrasts, shadows, and edges, demonstrate preference for looking at face-like stimuli, discriminate primary caregiver almost immediately on sight, smell, or sound.
Babies are born with interest in novelty; some basic cognitive skills, fundamental sense of number, probability.
Gibson: visual cliff tested age, mobility level, and visual acuity; understand when each species develops depth perception.
Physical touch is critical to development.
Lots of synapses start to prune around 6 months old. (Synaptogenesis)
John Bowlby emphasized importance of attachment after observing babies raised in orphanages.
Attachment styles:
Secure attachment: (kid gets stressed when caregiver leaves room, nothing too extreme tho)
Insecure attachment: (clingy and reliant on caregiver, ignoring stranger in room and toys, child has meltdown when mom leaves)
Anxious/ambivalent (Avoidant): child behaves like they don't need their caregiver at all, doesn't care if they leave. no emotional bond. tough time connecting with ppl in futu
Disorganized: Instability of the child (learned through parents and abuse) child doesn't know if they can trust their caregiver, sometimes they can sometimes they cant. when parent comes back they don't know if they should go to caregiver for comfort or be scared and seak comfort in stranger
Assimilation is fitting new information into the belief system you already possess.
Accommodation is a creative process whereby people modify their belief structures based on experience
Conservation: The knowledge that the quantity or amount of an object is not the same as the physical arrangement and appearance of that object.
Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development:
SENSORIMOTOR STAGE spans from birth to 2 years, during which infants’ thinking about and exploration of the world are based on immediate sensory (e.g., seeing, feeling) and motor (e.g., grabbing, mouthing) experiences.
PREOPERATIONAL STAGE Spans ages 2 to 7 and is devoted to language evelopment, the use of symbols, pretend play, and mastering the concept of conservation.
CONCRETE OPERATIONAL STAGE Children develop skills in logical thinking and manipulating numbers. They can handle questions that involve Transitivity property:
FORMAL OPERATIONAL STAGE Involves the development of advanced cognitive processes such as abstract reasoning and hypothetical thinking. This is the stage where an individual should be able to form a hypothesis.
Modifications of Piaget’s ideas:
Preschoolers are not as egocentric as Piaget thought— they are developing theory of mind (beliefs about how other people’s minds work)
Children reveal other cognitive abilities much earlier than Piaget believed possible.
Cognitive development is influenced by a child’s culture.
Piaget’s legacy: the insight that children are active participants in their own development.
Language: system that combines elements such as sounds or gestures to form structured utterances that convey meaning.
Noam Chomsky argued for an innate universal grammar because:
Children in different cultures go through similar stages of linguistic development.
Groups of children who have never been exposed to adult language often invent their own
In opposition to Chomsky’s view, languages vary around the world, suggesting that linguistic structure is determined by culture. It’s also possible that instead of inferring grammatical rules, children learn the probability that any given word or syllable will follow another.
Almost all psychologists agree that language development depends on both biological readiness and social experience.
At about 1 year, babies start saying single words, using symbolic gestures; at age 2, they use telegraphic speech (“want milk”)
Stages of morality
Lawrence Kohlberg proposed that children progress through three levels of moral reasoning:
Pre conventional —to avoid punishment or disapproval of authorities.
Conventional —caring for others; to meet obligations; to be viewed as a good person.
Post conventional —to do the greatest good for the greatest number and to uphold abstract moral principles.
Criticisms of Kohlberg’s model: Studies involved hypothetical and often unfamiliar scenarios.
Model was disproportionately based on male participants.
Kohlberg was right that moral reasoning skills increase during the school years but, unfortunately, so do: cheating, lying, cruelty, and the cognitive ability to rationalize these actions
Many parents try to enforce moral standards and good behavior by relying on power assertion, which includes: physical punishment, depriving the child of privileges, generally taking advantage of being bigger, stronger, and having the upper hand
a parent can use induction, appealing to the child’s own: abilities sense of responsibility feelings for others
Baumrind described three major parenting styles:
Authoritative: Middle ground between authoritarian and permissive. You set rules but your easy going, talk to them instead of yelling, build a good relationship. This is the best way to go about parenting
Authoritarian: Very strict and over baring, no middle ground
Permissive: Opposite of authoritarian - super lose on rules. no punishments
Recent work has added a fourth style: Neglectful or uninvolved. - leads to a lot of issues, children become depressed, fail at long term relationships in adulthood etc.
One of the most important social-emotional skills children need to acquire is the ability to control their immediate impulses and wishes.
They need to learn to delay gratification to gain later benefits.
The ability to postpone gratification has powerful long-term effects on: health, well-being, emergence of conscience
Gender stuff
Gender Identity: a person’s sense of being a woman, man, neither, gender-fluid or other classifications outside of this binary.
Gender typing: the process of socializing children into their gender roles, reflecting society’s ideas about what is masculine or feminine.
A growing body of research focuses on factors that contribute to positive mental health outcomes for individuals who are transgender rather than cisgender.
Sexual orientation refers to a relatively enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction, usually characterized in terms of the gender(s) to which an individual is drawn.
Biological Influences
Starting in the preschool years, boys and girls congregate primarily with children of their same apparent gender. (Boy / Girl toys)
Biological scientists believe these preferences have a basis in prenatal hormones, particularly the presence or absence of prenatal androgens. - ex girls who there was more testornoe in the womb will be more masc in behaviors (toys, more pushy etc)
Cognitive psychologists study how children consolidate their knowledge into gender schemas
Behavioral and social-cognitive learning theorists study how the process of gender socialization instills messages in children.
Gender schema: a mental network of beliefs and expectations about: what it means to be a girl or a boy, what boys and girls are “supposed” to wear, do, feel, and think
Gender socialization begins at the moment of birth, as parents, teachers, and other adults convey their beliefs and expectations about gender.
During adrenarche, the adrenal glands begin releasing hormones that affect brain development, notably an androgen called D H E A.
Adolescence begins with the physical changes of puberty, the age at which a person becomes capable of sexual reproduction.
Boys have a higher level of androgens than girls do. (after puberty starts)
Girls have a higher level of estrogens than boys do. (after puberty starts)
In girls, puberty is signaled by: menarche, the onset of menstruation
In boys, puberty begins with:the onset of nocturnal emissions
Hormones produce secondary sex characteristics, such as pubic hair in both sexes and a deeper voice in males.
The adolescent brain undergoes pruning of synapses and an increase in myelination. (occurs in the prefrontal cortex 27m)
When you hit puberty will depend on the individual - lifestyle, genetics.. etc. Before myelination completely happens you wont be as good at controlling emotions etc, this is bc your neurons aren't firing as good as they should. This is also why men babies before 25 not as good.
Contrary to images in popular culture, most adolescents are not seriously troubled, angry, or unhappy.
But three kinds of problems are more common in adolescence than during childhood or adulthood:
1) conflict with parents 2) mood swings and depression 3) higher rates of reckless, rule-breaking, and risky behavior
Peers become especially influential in adolescence.
They represent the values and style of the generation that teenagers identify with.
Feeling rejected by their peers can be more devastating than punitive treatment by parents.
Erik Erikson proposed that life consists of eight stages: 1) trust versus mistrust 2) autonomy versus shame and doubt 3) initiative versus guilt 4) competence versus inferiority 5) identity versus role confusion 6) intimacy versus isolation 7) generativity versus stagnation 8) ego integrity versus despair
In industrialized nations, major demographic changes have postponed the timing of: career decisions, marriage, parenthood
Many young people between ages 18 and 25 are in a phase of life that some call emerging adulthood.
Emerging adults move beyond adolescence into maturity, become more emotionally controlled, confident, less angry, alienated.
Then comes middle years (35-65) this is typically a time of psychological well-being, good health, productivity, community involvement. Happiest years. Lots of reflection and reassessment.
In cisgender women, menopause, the gradual process of cessation of menstruation and of the production of ova, begins in the late forties or early fifties.
In middle-aged men, hormone production slows down, and sperm counts decline.
The remaining sperm are more susceptible to genetic mutations, which increase the risk of certain diseases in children of older fathers.
People’s views of aging are influenced by: the culture they live in and the promises of technology to prolong life and health
The speed of cognitive processing slows down in old age. - usually after 65
takes longer amount of time to retrieve information, decline in cognitive functioning.
Fluid intelligence parallels other biological capacities in its eventual decline.
Crystallized intelligence tends to remain stable over the lifespan. It depends heavily on culture, education, experience
Many physical and mental losses of old age are preventable or treatable, including:
apparent senility, weakness, frailty, and diseases that may be caused by inactivity depression, passivity, and memory problems
Older people can profit from aerobic exercise and strength training, which will help maintain physical strength and flexibility, boost the brain’s blood supply, and promote the development of new cells in the hippocampus and other areas of the brain
As people get older, most become better able to regulate negative feelings and emphasize the positive.
People who are more likely than others to maintain their cognitive abilities and well-being, have challenging occupations and interests remain active mentally etc