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Human development – the study of the human
over the life span
Genes – our biological blueprints
Many of our characteristics are determined at the
moment of conception, when 23 chromosomes on
the egg pair up with 23 chromosomes on sperm
Genotype – all information
stored in genes
Phenotype – observable
characteristics
The likelihood of
traits being expressed
can be worked out
with a Punnett Square
Chromosomes contain DNA, which is made
up of 1,000s of genes (total of ~100,000)
•Each gene is a self-replicating segment of
DNA capable of synthesizing proteins
•Genes are composed of NUCLEOTIDES – a
linear sequence of structural units that form
DNA – these biochemical bases combine to
form 3 billion pairs that determine your
individual biological development
The nucleotide base letters are:
•A adenine
•C cytosine
•G guanine
•T thymine
Some Genetic Abnormalties:
1. Turner’s Syndrome – X - karyotype
Sterile, limited secondary sex
characteristics, short “webbed” neck
1 in 2,500 live births
2. Klinefelter’s Syndrome – XXY karyotype
Sterile, tall, small testicles, passive,
reclusive 1 in 1,000 live births
3. Jacob’s Syndrome – XYY karyotype
Tall, lower mental ability, high level of
testosterone
1 in 1,000 live births
4. Super female – XXX karyotype
No specific abnormalities
Webbed neck
1 in 1,000 live births
5. Edward’s Syndrome – Trisomy of 18th chromosome
Severe mental retardation, most die in infancy
6. Down Syndrome – Trisomy of 21st chromosome
Mocaism – some do not have the abnormality in
every chromosome; affects level of mental
retardation and expression of characteristics
HOW DOES PSYCHOLOGY STUDY
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT?
•Twin studies, adoption studies, temperament
research, heritability studies
WHO ARE THE PERFECT SUBJECTS FOR
STUDYING HUMAN DEVELOPMENT?
•Identical twins
Monozygotic twins:
Dizygotic twins:
Twin studies show remarkable similarities in intelligence,
temperament, stress response and rates of mental illness
**Most ideal twins? Identical twins separated at birth
– offer both nature and nurture opportunity for study
3 major issues researched by developmental psychologists:
1. Nature vs. nurture
2. Stability vs. change
3. Continuity vs. stages
PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT:
•Female is born with 500,000 O ocytes – cells with
potential to develop into ovum. 10,000 remain at
puberty and approx. 400 will be ovulated in a lifetime
•Male begins producing sperm at puberty, and
produces it for the rest of his life
One ejaculation contains 200 to 400 million sperm!!
The odds against you being you are billions to one!
When is a female most fertile and likely to conceive?
**14 days from the start of her last period
Conception occurs! Newly fertilized cell is called
a zygote
Stages of Prenatal Development:
1. Germinal Period – Conception through 14th day
•Ends when zygote implants into the wall
of uterus (or cells are sloughed off)
2. Embryonic Period – 2nd through 8th week
Critical period of pregnancy (though entire
pregnancy is important) – time when
environment can have the greatest effect on
the organism
Development is cephalo
-caudal (from the head to
the trunk)
6 week embryo
3. Fetal Period – 9th through 40 weeks
Development
shifts to
Proximo-distal
(from
trunk outward to
limbs)
Teratogen –
agent that can
cause damage to
embryo/fetus
Most infamous
teratogen:
thalidomide
20 week fetus
Age of viability – time when fetus
has a 50 – 50 chance of survival if
premature: 24 weeks
THE NEWBORN:
Reflexes:
sucking
rooting
grasping
stepping
Babinsky
Moro
24 week premie
Infant intelligence:
Recognize mother’s voice
Recognize mother’s milk
Prefer faces to patterns
Imitate facial expressions
at 2 weeks
Physical Development:
Motor milestones of the first 2 years:
1-2 weeks
6 weeks
3 months
6-7 months
8-9 months
10 months
8-10 months
12 months
14 months
18 months
18-24 months
24 months
Turns head to follow moving object
Rolls from stomach to back
Rolls from back to stomach
Sits alone for 1 minute
Crawls
Says da da
Walks while holding on to something
Takes first steps
Walks alone, says several words
Climbs stairs, says many words
Runs, combines two words
Puts on shoes
**All require biological maturation
Cognitive Development:
Jean Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
Child develops thinking abilities through stages as
their SCHEMAs grow and change
Schema – framework for organizing
information
•New information fits easily into
schema sometimes - assimilation
•New information requires a
change of the schema accomodation
1. Sensorimotor Stage – 0 to age 2
Babies understand their world through
their senses and motor activities
Abilities they develop:
* Object permanence – an understanding
that objects exist when no longer visible
* Stranger anxiety
* Language develops
•All take place at age 8-9 months
2. Preoperational stage – ages 2 through 6
The child is EGOCENTRIC – cannot take
another person’s point of view
The preoperational child loves to :
pretend
use animism
use artificialism
3. Concrete Operations 7 - 12
The school aged child now uses LOGIC
•Egocentrism, animism and artificialism break down
•Concrete (not abstract) types of activities such
as multiplication and division are possible
•Conservation – the
understanding that
quantity remains the
same regardless of
shape
•The concrete operations
child rejects the magical
beliefs in Santa, tooth
fairy, etc.
4. Formal Operations 13 and up
•The child can now use ABSTRACT reasoning
•Abstract math and science are possible
•Interest in world
affairs, religion and
politics increase
**Critics of Piaget say all of the ages in
the stages should begin earlier**
Self-concept Development
Babies recognize themselves by 15
months
Social Development
ATTACHMENT – intense infant love
for caregiver
It lies at the heart of the
nature vs. nurture issue
•Studied by Harry Harlow
•Baby rhesus monkeys were raised in individual
cages, away from mother with fabric for a blanket
•They were distressed when he took the fabric out
to wash it; he thought about what it meant
•It made him question the conventional idea that
babies attach to mothers because they provide food
He created
surrogate
figures: one
covered in
cloth, the
other with a
bottle
The babies became very attached to the clothcovered figure
He called this need for soft, loving contact
CONTACT COMFORT
Good news for dad – he can provide contact
comfort too!
Another key to attachment:
familiarity
Konrad Lorenz discovered a
rigid attachment process in
animals:
IMPRINTING
•He made himself the first thing baby geese
or ducks saw after hatching
•The bird followed him like he was the mother
He also identified a critical period for imprinting
Parenting styles and attachment:
Mary Ainsworth studied mothers and toddlers mothers left toddlers in room for a few minutes, how
did child respond?
She identified 3 types of attachment:
1. Securely attached – child explored around mom,
cried when mom left, joyous when she returned
2. Insecurely attached – child was clingy, cried when
mom left, angry when she returned
3. Avoidant – little contact between mother and child
Could this foretell the relationship
patterns of a lifetime??