Unit 3 - Development and Learning
Fundamentals of Developmental Psychology
Core Concepts and Measurement
Definition
Examines physical, cognitive, and social development across the lifespan
Research Methods
Longitudinal studies: Following people across time
Cross-sectional studies: Comparing people of different ages
Key Developmental Principles
Nature and Nurture
Genes make living things similar to and different from each other
Both biology and experiences influence lifelong development
Continuity and Stages
Experience/learning leads to slow, continuous development
Biological development occurs in genetically predisposed stages
Both processes occur simultaneously
Stability and Change
Some characteristics (like temperament) remain stable
All people change with age
Life requires both:
Stability provides identity
Change gives hope for the future
Early Development
Prenatal Development
Teratogens: Harmful agents (chemicals/viruses) that can affect embryo/fetus
Placenta:
Temporary protective sack connecting baby to mother
Screens most (not all) harmful substances
Fetal alcohol syndrome: Physical/cognitive abnormalities from prenatal alcohol exposure
Newborn Development
Born with survival-oriented reflexes:
Rooting reflex: Turning toward touch on cheek
Sucking reflex (for nursing)
Swallowing and breathing
Moro reflex (startle reflex): Extends arms/legs/neck when startled
Innate depth perception (demonstrated by virtual cliff)
Physical Development in Infancy and Childhood
Maturation
Orderly sequence of biological growth
Nature sets basic course; experience adjusts it
Brain Development
Prenatal:
Forms nerve cells at ~250,000 per second
Neuron count peaks at 28 weeks
Stabilizes to ~23 billion at birth
Postnatal:
Born with most lifetime neurons
Rapid pathway development through puberty
Pruning occurs around age 10-puberty
Environmental influence:
Enriched environments lead to more cerebral cortex tissue
Motor Development
Enabled by developing brain
Universal sequence with individual timing differences
Cognitive Development
Early Cognitive Abilities
Memory: Underdeveloped but present in infants
Preference for familiar faces/smells
Habituation: Decreased response to repeated stimulation
Critical and Sensitive Periods
Critical Period:
Vision: First 6 months needed for light exposure
Language: First 10 years crucial for complex language
Sensitive Period:
Less rigid "windows of opportunity"
Skills can develop outside window but limited
Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development
Core Concepts
Children reason differently than adults
Brain matures to understand experiences
Schema: Mental models adjusted through:
Assimilation: Interpreting new information using current schemas
Accommodation: Modifying schemas for accuracy
Developmental Stages
Sensorimotor Stage (0-2 years)
World experienced through senses/actions
Develops object permanence
Preoperational Stage (2-7 years)
Language and mental imagery develop
Lacks conservation concept
Features:
Symbolic thinking/pretend play
Egocentrism
Theory of mind
Centration
Animism
Irreversibility
Concrete Operational Stage (7-11 years)
Logical thoughts about physical things
Struggles with abstract concepts
Formal Operational Stage (12+ years)
Abstract logical thinking
Systematic reasoning
Mature moral reasoning
Criticism
Underestimated children's competence
Development more continuous than suggested
Vygotsky's Social Cognitive Development Theory
Key Concepts
Scaffold: Temporary support framework
Zone of proximal development: What child can do with help
Theory of mind: Understanding mental states
Core Principles
Social interaction fundamental to cognitive development
Community determines cognitive values
Learning necessary for development
Differences from Piaget
Cultural Emphasis
Tools of intellectual adaptation
Basic mental functions become higher functions
Social Factors
Role of teachers/coaches
Modeling and assistance
Scaffolding
Language Role
Initial information exchange
Becomes internalized
Accelerates understanding
Development Approach
No rigid stages
Gradual ability acquisition through guidanceIntro to Developmental psychology
ORIGINAL NOTES START HERE
Developmental Psychology: examines our physical, cognitive, and social development across the lifespan
how is developmental psychology measured?
longitudinal studies: following people across time
cross-sectional studies: comparing people of different ages
nature and nurture
genes are what make living things similar to and different from each other
our biology and experiences both influence development across the lifespan
continuity and stages
experience and learning leads to slow, continuous development over the lifespan
biological development tends to occur in a sequence of genetically predisposed stages or steps
we experience both
Stability and change
some of our characteristics, such as temperament, are very stable
in some ways, we all change with age
life requires both stability and change
stability provides our identity
our trust in change gives us hope for a brighter future
Prenatal Development
teratogens: agents such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus and cause harm
placenta: temporary sack that protects the developing baby and connects them to the mother
screens out most, but not all harmful substances
fetal alcohol syndrome: physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by drinking during pregnancy
Newborn Development
babies are born with automatic reflex responses that aid in survival
rooting reflex: when something touches the cheek, babies turn toward that touch
sucking reflex (for nursing), swallowing, breathing
more reflex: sometimes called the startle reflex. If the baby’s head shifts position abruptly or falls backward—or if they are startled by something loud or abrupt—they will extend their arms. legs, and neck and then rapidly bring their arms together
the virtual cliff-depth perception is innate
Infancy and Childhood:
Physical Development
maturation: the orderly sequence of biological growth
maturation (nature)sets the basic course of development; experience (nurture) adjusts it
Brain Development
in the womb, the developing brain forms nerve cells at the rate of nearly 250,000 per second
overproduces neurons
number peaks at 28 weeks
subsidies to a stable 23 billion or so at birth
born with most of the neurons you will ever have. Pathways rapidly develop through puberty.
pruning: the process of removing neurons that are no longer used (happens around 10-puberty)
Brain development continued
the rats in the enriched environment developed significantly more cerebral cortex tissue than did those in the impoverished environment
Motor Development
the developing brain enables physical coordination
motor development sequence is universal
there are individual differences in timing, but the order of developed skills is generally the same
Intro to Development
the capacity for memory in infants is underdeveloped but not absent
infants prefer familiar faces and smell
habituation: a decrease in responding with repeated stimulation
if an infant hears a new sound or sees a new toy, they will initially respond. Eventually, they get used to it and stop paying attention
critical period: a window of time when the brain must have certain environmental stimuli to develop normally
vision: the visual system in the brain requires exposure to light during the first six months of life to stimulate the connections that allow an infant to see
language: children who are not exposed to language in the first 10 years of life will lose the ability to learn and understand complex language
sensitive period: a newer and less rigid understanding of critical periods
suggests that there are certain windows of opportunity during which the brain is primed to learn specific skills
outside of the window, the skills can still be developed, but only to a limited degree
Infancy and Childhood:
Cognitive Development
Jean Piaget
swiss psychologist
known for his pioneering work in child development, especially cognitive development
children reason differently than adults
in “wildly illogical ways about problems whose solutions are self-evident to adults.“
the maturing brain tries to make sense of our experiences
schema: concepts or mental models of what something is or should be
a chair is something you sit on/has legs
we adjust them over time as we learn more
adjusting schemas
assimilation: interpreting new experiences or information in terms of our current understandings (schemas)
simple schema for dogs: four legs
a toddler may call all four-legged animals dogs
accommodation: modifying schemas to make them more accurate as we learn more
the child learns that the original dog schema is too broad and accommodates by refining the category to make it more accurate
sensorimotor stage: 0-2 Babies take in the world through their senses and actions
looking, hearing, touching, mouthing, grasping
0-2 babies live in the present
object permanence: the awareness that things continue to exist even when you can’t see them
infants under 6-8 months typically lack this
today’s researchers believe object permanence unfolds gradually
they see development as more continuous than Piaget did
preoperational stage: 2-7 children learn the language and mental imagery but do not yet comprehend the logic
lacks the concept of conservation
conservation: the principle that quantity/amount remains the same despite changes in the container or shape
symbolic thinking/pretend play: symbols or objects are used to represent other objects, persons, and events that are not present
children who are shown a model of a room understand that the model represents a real place (the model is a symbol of the room)
symbolic thinking/pretend play: using imagination or “make-believe” when playing. For example, pretending to make food while playing in the dirt
preschool children are egocentric
egocentrism: difficulty perceiving things from another’s point of view
children assume that other people see, hear, and feel the same as they do
a child may understand that they have a brother, but they may not understand that they are also their brother’s sibling
theory of mind: the ability to understand the mental states of others and to recognize that those mental states may differ from our own
understanding what motivates other people or causes them to feel certain things
understanding that other people might have a different perspective or state of mind than your own
centration: the ability to focus on only one aspect of a situation, problem, or object at a time
for example, focusing only on the height of a container rather than both the height and width when determining which has the biggest volume
animism: the belief that inanimate objects have feelings and intentions
a child who stubs his toe on a couch might yell, “Bad couch!“
a child might say that their doll is tired and needs to take a nap
irreversibility: the inability to think backward or reverse a process
a child may understand that 3+2=5, but they might not understand that 5-2=3
concrete operational stage: 7-11
children begin to develop logical thoughts about concrete (physical) things. They still struggle with abstract thought
children overcome the struggles of the preoperational stage
Formal operational stage: 12+
children begin to develop logical thoughts about abstract concepts
children can ponder hypothetical propositions and deduce consequences: if this, then that (systematic reasoning)
children develop more mature moral reasoning
criticism of Piaget
Piaget underestimated children’s competence
researchers believe cognitive development is more continuous and less rigid than Piaget did
Lev Vygotsky-Cognitive Development through a social context
Vygotsky Vocab:
scaffold: a framework that offers children temporary support as they develop higher levels of thinking
zone of proximal development: the zone between what a child can and can’t do—it’s what a child can do with help
theory of mind: people’s ideas about their own and other’s mental states—about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict
Vygotsky's theory of Social Cognitive Development
A. stresses the fundamental role of social interaction in the development of cognition
community determines what is valued and important cognitively
learning is necessary for development, but development does not precede learning
B. differs from Piaget in that Vygotsky:
Places more emphasis on culture
effects of culture—tools of intellectual adaptation
allow basic mental functions such as attention, sensation, perception, and memory to become higher mental functions
more emphasis on social factors and interactions
effects of coaches/teachers/tutors
modeling and assisting children
scaffolding
places more (and different) emphasis on the role of language
language is the means of exchanging information initially and later becomes internalized
it is an accelerator to thinking/understanding as it becomes more internalized
Vygotsky’s theory does not separate development into rigid stages
this is the gradual approach—children slowly acquire new abilities as they are guided into and through them