Generally, DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGISTS study how people change over time -- physically, cognitively and socially.

A general theme: The NATURE/NURTURE question -- whether psychological dev’t is mostly a matter of genetics (nature) or experience (nurture).

-- in most instances, it’s the interaction between the two.

PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT (before birth) starts with CONCEPTION, the meeting of a SPERM cell (with 23 chromosomes) and an OVUM (with 23 chromosomes), to form a ZYGOTE (with 46 chromosomes).

3 basic stages of prenatal dev’t:

1. GERMINAL STAGE (0 -- 2 weeks) -- cells divide. The mass of cells implants itself in the UTERINE WALL. The outermost cells then differentiate to form the PLACENTA, through which nourishment from the mother's body will pass.

2. EMBRYONIC STAGE (2 weeks -- 8 weeks) -- cells DIFFERENTIATE (take different forms) to form beginnings of organs & sexual differentiation.

3. FETAL STAGE (2 months -- birth) -- continued differentiation of cells into definite organs, which begin to function.

at approx. 6 months -- a reasonable chance of survival outside womb.

Generally, prior to birth the environment still affects the fetus.

Normally, the placenta helps to filter out agents harmful to the fetus. However…

TERATOGENS -- harmful agents, such as drugs, viruses, etc., can make it past the placenta and easily affect dev't, esp. of the nervous system.
 
 

FETAL ALCOHOL SYNDROME (FAS) -- physical, facial deformities due to mother‘s drinking during pregnancy. Also now the leading cause of mental retardation.

Newborns (neonates) -- Already have an array of emerging abilities

-- various reflexes with survival value (e.g., a grasping reflex, moving limbs in response to pain, etc.).

-- an attunement to the social world

-- a preference for human sights and sounds (e.g., faces, voices)

-- they very quickly prefer mother's smell & voice

-- depth perception (at about 6 months, as demonstrated via the “VISUAL CLIFF EXPERIMENTS”)

Infants

-- rapid dev’t of neural interconnection in the brain (which helps explain

INFANTILE AMNESIA (why people usually can’t remember infancies)).

MOTOR DEV’T -- infants & young children pass through a distinct sequence when acquiring skills involving muscular mov’t & control.

-- biological maturity seems to be the main determinant of the rate for individuals, although early training can have some small influence.

-- it’s important for infants to get stimulation to engage their developing sensory & muscular capacities.
 
 

EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

TEMPERAMENT -- an infant’s basic personality. 4 categories:

1. EASY -- (40%) happy, cheerful, regular sleeping pattern, quick adaptation.

2. SLOW-TO-WARM-UP -- (15%) somewhat withdrawn, moody

3. DIFFICULT -- (10%) fussy, fearful, intense emotional reactions

4. NO-SINGLE-CATEGORY -- (35%) a mixture of traits

Generally, these temperaments correlate with children’s more complex later on in life (age 12)

-- e.g., difficult babies tend to have more behavioral problems at age 12

Another early aspect of emotional dev’t is: ATTACHMENT

One way of studying attachment in children is to look at 2 kinds of attachment, as becomes evident in unfamiliar “strange situations” (e.g., laboratory playrooms).

SECURE ATTACHMENT -- kids play happily & explore when mother present, distressed when she leaves, and seek contact when she returns.

INSECURE ATTACHMENT -- kids are more clinging & less likely to explore, cry loudly when mother leaves, indifferent or hostile when she returns.

Secure attachment also correlates with social competence later in childhood

children who later are better able to resolve conflicts, dealing better with stress & anxiety, being more trusting, enjoying relationships, etc.

Two methods whereby developmental questions like these are commonly studied:

1. A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY looks at people in different age groups and compares their results:

Problem: Doesn’t give information about how individuals change over time

Problem: Cultural shifts over the groups studied can bias results

2. A LONGITUDINAL STUDY looks at the same group of people over time and retests them at intervals.

Problem -- time consuming

Problem: people drop out of study over years

Cognitive development: PIAGET'S theory

People think by using SCHEMAS -- "mental molds" that contain our characteristic ways of thinking about X, along with information about X (not in book).

How do we deal with NEW experiences, though? 2 basic ways:

A. ASSIMILATION -- incorporating the new experience into an already existing schema.

B. ACCOMMODATION -- modifying an already existing schema to include the new experience.

Piaget proposed that cognitive dev't proceeds through 4 STAGES, each with its distinct mode of cognition.

1. SENSORIMOTOR STAGE (approx. 0-2 years) -- learning to organize sensation and motor activity into a meaningful experience of the world.

developing OBJECT PERMANENCE (around 9 months): awareness that objects continue to exist when not perceived.

2. PREOPERATIONAL STAGE (approx. 2-7 years) -- developing representational thinking (e.g., words, pretending).

overcoming EGOCENTRISM: an inability to take another's view.

3. CONCRETE OPERATIONAL STAGE (approx. 7-11 years) -- developing logical thinking, mostly about concrete objects & situations.

developing CONSERVATION: the idea that an amount of a substance stays the same even when its form changes (e.g., ball of clay --> snake of clay).

4. FORMAL OPERATIONAL STAGE (approx. 12 -->) -- developing mature, abstract reasoning.

developing mature moral reasoning & abstract logic.

Generally, today's psychologists think that Piaget's stages are MORE CONTINUOUS than Piaget thought. For instance, the rudiments of later stages can often be found in earlier stages.

Freud proposed a sequence of PSYCHOSEXUAL STAGES where the EROGENOUS ZONE (i.e., the center of bodily pleasure) shifts from one area of the body to another.

At any of the first three stages, it's possible for a person to FIXATE (i.e., get stuck) in the issues of that stage. This affects personality.

a. ORAL STAGE (0-1.5 yrs.) -- erogenous zone = MOUTH

literally: sucking, biting, eating, drinking, chewing, etc.

symbolically: incorporation, dependency, trust.

examples of fixation: addiction, pathological dependency

ego starts here

b. ANAL STAGE (1.5-3 yrs.) -- erogenous zone = ANUS

literally: gaining control of bladder & bowels

symbolically: control, will

examples of fixation: ANAL RETENTIVE & ANAL EXPULSIVE

c. PHALLIC STAGE (3-6 yrs.) -- erogenous zone = GENITALS

OEDIPUS CONFLICT (boys) / ELECTRA CONFLICT (girls)

sexual desire for parent of the other gender, together with feelings of jealousy for parent of the same gender (who is seen as a rival). Child feels overwhelmed and anxious -- which leads to IDENTIFICATION with parent of same gender (the root of gender-identity -- sense of being male or female).

superego starts here

d. LATENCY STAGE (6-adolescence) -- NO erogenous zone

a period of sexual dormancy -- social dev't

e. GENITAL STAGE (adolescence) -- erogenous zone = GENITALS

emergence or mature genital sexuality (heterosexuality, for Freud)

ERIKSON -- proposed an 8-stage psychosocial developmental scheme, where each stage has its own struggle with either a mostly positive (left-side) or mostly negative (right-side) outcome.

(1) TRUST vs. MISTRUST (approx. 0-1 yrs.) -- struggling through one's first contacts with others to form a basic sense of trust in the dependability of the world.

(2) AUTONOMY vs. SHAME & DOUBT (approx. 1-3 yrs.) -- struggling to take one's own stand in the world (e.g., saying "no").

(3) INITIATIVE vs. GUILT (approx. 3-5) -- struggling to be able to start projects in the world.

(4) INDUSTRY vs. INFERIORITY (approx. 5-12) -- struggling toward effective action -- completing projects in the world.

(5) IDENTITY vs. ROLE-CONFUSION (adolescence) -- struggling toward a stable sense of who one is (i.e., identity) in the world.

(6) INTIMACY vs. ISOLATION (early adulthood) -- struggling toward being deeply connected with others (e.g., spouse, friends).

(7) GENERATIVITY vs. STAGNATION (middle adulthood) -- struggling toward contributing to the world, esp. to future generations (e.g., having children, teaching, even scientific contribution).

(8) (ego) INTEGRITY vs. DESPAIR (late adulthood) -- struggling toward a sense that one's life has been worthwhile & valuable.

(these last 3 are in module 18, part C)

Generally, these themes recur throughout life, so these stages are descriptive of the main themes at different points in life.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

(from Module 18, part B)

Developing MORALITY -- KOHLBERG studied MORAL REASONING by posing hypothetical situations to people, and asking them how they arrived at their conclusions about the stories.

3 main levels of moral reasoning:

A. PRECONVENTIONAL LEVEL (early childhood) -- the morality of self-interest.

avoiding punishment

gaining concrete rewards

B. CONVENTIONAL LEVEL (late childhood) -- morality of social approval: law & social custom.

obeying the law, because it's the law

gaining approval of others

C. POSTCONVENTIONAL LEVEL (adolescence -->) -- morality of abstract ideas: principles, rights & one's own ethical sense.

requires abstract reasoning (hence requires Piaget's formal operations)
 
 

Critiques of Kohlberg's scheme

moral reasoning doesn't always equate with moral action.

GENDER BIAS -- modern feminists propose a morality based upon caring relationships as an alternative to the male-oriented "morality of principle"

CULTURAL BIAS -- postconventional morality is much more prevalent in western cultures, with their emphasis on abstract reasoning & individualism.