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Course
Introduction to Psychology
Human Development
• Prof. BARAKAT
• Summer Term
Developmental Psychology
The study of progressive
behavior and abilities
changes
in
Involves every stage of life from conception
to death (or “the womb to the tomb”)
Heredity and environment also affect us
throughout life (Nature Vs. Nurture)
Why Study Life-span Development
• You can gain insight to your own life as a
child, adolescent, and young adult
• You will learn about life through the adult
years (middle age and old age)
• You may be a parent or a teacher some
day
• Life-span development is linked with many
different areas of psychology.
Development Psychology & Cognitive
Strategy
• Developmental psychologists are interested
in children’s increasing ability to use
strategies
(regulating
thoughts
and
behavior)
• Goal-directed problem-solving is especially
evident
in
technologically
advanced
societies
• Executive Function: Processes involved in
regulating attention and in determining
what to do with information gathered or
retrieved from long-term memory.
Types of Development Psychology
•
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Physical development
Emtional development
Cognitive development
Moral development
Personality development
Perceptual development
Motor development
Social change
Patterns of Change
• Although in theory, these domains can be
viewed as separate, they all influence and
are influenced by each other
• E.g., Physical development during the
adolescent years can result in emotional
changes (e.g. reduced or heightened selfconfidence) which could in turn, affect
one’s pattern of social interaction
Developmental Issues
• Nature vs. Nurture
• Continuity vs. Discontinuity
• Stability vs. Change
• Activity vs. passivity
• Universal vs. particular
Questions
• Are children active in development
(curious creatures who determine how
society
treats
them)
or
Passive
participants in development (passive souls
on whom society fixes its stamp)?
• Are major aspects of development
universal outcomes that everyone tends to
display or particular (or unique) trends or
outcomes that vary from person to
person?
The Nature-Nurture Issue
• Involves the debate about whether
development is primarily influenced by
nature or nurture
Nature
• An organism’s biological inheritance
Nurture
• An organism’s environmental experiences
Historically: Heredity or Environment
• Nativists:
innate
Human
intellectual
– Development “constrained”
genetic material
abilities
by
are
inherited
• Empiricists: Nature provides only a speciesgeneral learning mechanism (brain)
– cognitive
development
arises
from
experience
– Context and culture (family, peers, school,
media) are key
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Heredity and Genes
• Heredity:
Transmission
of
physical
and
psychological characteristics from parents to their
children through genes
• Chromosomes
• DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid): Molecular structure,
shaped like a double helix that contains coded
genetic information
• Genes: Specific areas on a strand of DNA that carry
hereditary information:
– Dominant
– Recessive
What Does Innate Mean?
 There are genetically-based
behavior or development
constraints
on
 Representational Constraints: Representations
that are hard-wired into the brain
 E.g., the nature of objects, mental math
 We enter the world able to make sense of
these aspects of the environment
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Figure 1: Chromosomes
Figure 2 (Top left) Linked molecules (organic bases) make up the
“rungs” on DNA’s twisted “molecular ladder.” The order of these
molecules serves as a code for genetic information. The code provides a
genetic blueprint that is unique for each individual (except identical
twins). The drawing shows only a small section of a DNA strand. An
entire strand of DNA is composed of billions of smaller molecules.
(Bottom left) The nucleus of each cell in the body contains chromosomes
made up of tightly wound coils of DNA. (Don’t be misled by the drawing:
Chromosomes are microscopic in size, and the chemical molecules that
make up DNA are even smaller.)
Figure 3: Genes
FIGURE 3.3 Gene patterns for children of brown-eyed parents, where
each parent has one brown-eye gene and one blue-eye gene. Because the
brown-eye gene is dominant, one child in four will be blue-eyed. Thus,
there is a significant chance that two brown-eyed parents will have a blueeyed child.
Heredity
• Congenital Problem: A problem or defect
that occurs during pre-natal development;
“birth defect”; becomes apparent at birth
• Genetic Disorder: Problem
inherited characteristics
caused
by
Environment
• Environment (“Nurture”): All external
conditions that affect development
• Sensitive Periods: A period of increased
sensitivity to environmental influences;
also, a time when certain events must
occur for normal development to take
place
Environment (cont'd)
• Teratogens - Anything capable of causing
birth defects (e.g., narcotics, radiation,
cigarette smoke, lead, and cocaine)
• Deprivation: Lack of normal stimulation,
nutrition, comfort, or love
• Enrichment: When an environment is
deliberately made more complex and
intellectually stimulating
Temperament and Environment
• Temperament:
personality
The
physical
“core”
of
– Easy Children: 40%; relaxed and
agreeable
– Difficult Children: 10%; moody,
intense, easily angered
– Slow-to-Warm-Up Children: 15%;
restrained, unexpressive, shy
– Remaining Children: Do not fit into
any specific category
The Continuity-Discontinuity Issue
• This issue focuses on the extent to
which development involves gradual,
cumulative change or distinct stages
Continuity
• Development results from a gradual
process occurring over several weeks,
months, and possibly years
Discontinuity
• Development
occurs
through
a
sequence of stages in which change is
qualitatively rather than quantitatively
different
• Development as abrupt and qualitative
The Stability-Change Issue
• Involves the degree to which we become
older renditions of our early experience
or whether we develop into someone
different from who we were at an earlier
point in development.
• It considers the extent to which early
experiences (especially in infancy) or
later
experiences
are
the
key
determinants of a person’s development.
Evaluating the Developmental
Issues
• Most life-span developmentalists recognize
that extreme positions are unwise
• The key to development is the interaction
of nature and nurture rather than either
factor alone
• There still exists a strong debate
regarding how strongly development is
influenced by each of the factors
Newborns (Neonates) and Their Reflexes
• Grasping Reflex: If an object is placed in the
infant’s palm, she’ll grasp it automatically (all
reflexes are automatic responses; i.e., they come
from nature, not nurture)
• Rooting Reflex: Lightly touch the infant’s cheek and
he’ll turn toward the object and attempt to nurse;
helps infant find bottle or breast
• Suckling Reflex: Touch an object or nipple to the
infant’s mouth and she’ll make rhythmic sucking
movements
• Motor Reflex: If a baby’s position is abruptly
changed or if he is startled by a loud noise, he will
make a hugging motion.
Emotional and Social Development
 Social Smile: Smiling elicited by social
stimuli
 Not exclusive to parents
 Invites parents to care for them
FIGURE 4: Infants display many of the same emotional expressions as
adults do. Carroll Izard believes such expressions show that distinct
emotions appear within the first months of life. Other theorists argue that
specific emotions come into focus more gradually, as an infant’s nervous
system matures. Either way, parents can expect to see a full range of basic
emotions by the end of a baby’s first year.
FIGURE 5: Motor development. Most infants follow an orderly pattern of
motor development. Although the order in which children progress is
similar, there are large individual differences in the ages at which each
ability appears. The ages listed are averages for American children. It is not
unusual for many of the skills to appear 1 or 2 months earlier than average
or several months later (Frankenberg & Dodds, 1967; Harris & Liebert,
1991). Parents should not be alarmed if a child’s behavior differs from the
average.
Emotional Attachment
• Sensitive Period
• Separation Anxiety: Crying and signs of fear when
a child is left alone or is with a stranger; generally
appears around 8-12 months
• Quality of Attachment (Mary Ainsworth)
– Secure: Stable and positive emotional bond;
upset by mother’s absence
– Insecure-Avoidant: Tendency to avoid reunion
with parent or caregiver
– Insecure-Ambivalent: Desire to be with parent or
caregiver and some resistance to being reunited
with Mom
– Insecure-Disorganized: Contradictory behaviors
Parenting Styles (Baumrind, 1991)
• Authoritarian: Enforce rigid rules and
demand strict obedience to authority
(obedient and self-controlled children)
• Overly Permissive: Give little guidance.
Allow too much freedom, or don’t hold
children accountable for their actions.
Children tend to be dependent and
immature, and frequently misbehave.
• Authoritative: Provide firm and consistent
guidance combined with love and affection.
Children tend to be competent, selfcontrolled, independent, and assertive.
• Neglectful:
Little
guidance,
excessive
freedoms and limited to no accountability.
Types of Child Discipline
• Power
Assertion:
Using
physical
punishment or a show of force (Skinner)
• Withdrawal of Love: Withholding affection;
refusing to speak to a child or threatening
to leave
• Management Techniques: Combine praise,
recognition, approval, rules, and reasoning
to encourage desirable behavior
Language Acquisition
• Cooing: Repetition of vowel sounds by
infants (like “oo” and “ah”); starts at
about 8 weeks
• Babbling:
Repetition
of
meaningless
language sounds (e.g., babababa); starts
at about 7 months
• Single-Word Stage: The child says one
word at a time
• Telegraphic Speech: Two-word sentences
that communicate a single idea (e.g.,
Want yogurt)
The Roots of Language
• Biological Disposition Vs. Tabula Rasa:
Presumed readiness of all humans to learn
certain skills such as how to use language
 Noam Chomsky:
– Language patterns are in-born
– Pattern of speech used when talking
to infants (Marked by raised voice;
short, simple sentences and repetition)
Jean Piaget and Cognitive Development
• Believed that all children passed through a
series of stages during their intellectual
development (a Stage Theorist)
• Transformation Vs. Conservation: Mentally
changing the shape or form of a substance;
children younger than 6 or 7 cannot do this
Scheme
• Assimilation: Application of existing mental
patterns to new situations
• Accommodation: Existing ideas are changed
to
accommodate
new
information
or
experiences
Jean Piaget: Sensorimotor Stage
• Sensorimotor (0-2 Years): All sensory
input
and
motor
responses
are
coordinated
• Most intellectual development here is nonverbal
• Object Permanence: Concept that objects
still exist when they are out of sight
Jean Piaget: Pre-operational Stage
• Preoperational Stage (2-7 Years): Children
begin to use language and think
symbolically, BUT their thinking is still
intuitive and ego-centric
– Intuitive: Makes little use of
reasoning and logic
– Egocentric Thought: Thought that is
unable to accommodate viewpoints
of others.
Jean Piaget: Concrete Operational Stage
• Concrete Operational Stage (7-11 Years):
Children become able to use concepts of
time, space, volume, and number BUT in
ways that remain simplified and concrete, not
abstract
– Conservation: Mass, weight, and volume
remain unchanged when the shape or
appearance of objects changes
– Reversibility of Thought: Relationships
involving equality or identity can be
reversed
Jean Piaget: Formal Operations
• Formal Operations Stage (11 Years and
Up): Thinking now includes abstract,
theoretical, and hypothetical ideas
– Abstract
Ideas:
Concepts
and
examples removed from specific
examples and concrete situations
– Hypothetical
Possibilities:
Suppositions,
guesses,
or
projections.
Lawrence Kohlberg and
Stages of Moral Development
• Moral Development: Values, beliefs, and
thinking abilities that guide responsible
behavior. Three Levels:
– Pre-conventional: Moral thinking guided
by
consequences
of
actions
(punishment, reward, exchange of
favors)
– Conventional: Reasoning based on a
desire to please others or to follow
accepted rules and values
– Post-conventional: Follows self-accepted
moral principles
Erik Erikson’s Eight Stages of Psycho-social
Dilemmas
• Stage One: Trust Vs. Mistrust (Birth-1): Children are
completely dependent on others
– Trust: Established when babies given adequate
warmth, touching, love, and physical care
– Mistrust: Caused by inadequate or unpredictable
care and by cold, indifferent, and rejecting parents
• Stage Two: Autonomy Vs. Shame and Doubt
– Autonomy: Doing things for themselves
– Overprotective or ridiculing parents may cause
children to doubt abilities, and feel shameful about
their actions
Erik Erikson’s Eight Stages of Psycho-social
Dilemmas (cont'd)
• Stage Three: Initiative Vs. Guilt (3-5 years old)
– Initiative: Parents reinforce via giving children
freedom to play, use imagination, and ask
questions
– Guilt: May occur if parents criticize, prevent
play, or discourage a child’s questions
• Stage Four: Industry Vs. Inferiority (6-12 years old)
– Industry: Occurs when a child is praised for
productive activities
– Inferiority: Occurs if child’s efforts are regarded as
messy or inadequate
Erik Erikson’s Eight Stages of
Psychosocial Dilemmas (cont'd)
• Stage Five (Adolescence): Identity Vs. Role Confusion
– Identity: problems answering, “Who am I?”
– Role Confusion: Occurs when adolescents are
unsure of where they are going and who they
are
– How does adolescence differ from puberty?
• Stage Six (Young adulthood): Intimacy Vs. Isolation
– Intimacy: Ability to care about others and to
share experiences with them
– Isolation: Feeling alone and uncared for in life
Erik Erikson’s Eight Stages of
Psychosocial Dilemmas (cont'd)
• Stage Seven
Stagnation
(Middle
adulthood):
“Generativity”
Vs.
– Generativity: Interest in guiding the next
generation
– Stagnation: When one is only concerned with
one’s own needs and comforts
• Stage Eight (Late adulthood): Integrity Vs. Despair
–
–
Integrity: Self-respect; developed when people
have lived richly and responsibly
Despair: Occurs when previous life events are
viewed with regret; experiences heartache and
remorse
Maturation
• Physical growth and development of the
body, brain, and nervous system
• Increased
patterns
muscular
control
occurs
in
– Cephalocaudal: From head to toe
– Proximodistal: From the center of the
body to the extremities
Aging
• Peak physical functioning:
- Cognitive functioning
- Fluid Intelligence, i.e.,
inductive/deductive
reasoning
Crystallized
Intelligence,
i.e.,
lifetime or intellectual
achievement)
• Disengagement
Vs.
Activity
Theories
• Elizabeth
Kubler-Ross
–
–
–
–
–
Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION