Developmental Psychology
The Developing Person
… he allowed himself to be swayed
by his conviction that human beings
are not born once and for all on the
day their mothers give birth to them,
but that life obliges them over and
over again to give birth to themselves.
Studies physical, cognitive & psychosocial
changes across the life span
Two methods of conducting research
Longitudinal research
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Study the same participants over a long
period of time
Problems: expensive and possible drop-outs
Cross-sectional research
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Groups of Ps, of different ages, studied at same time
Problem: cohort peculiarities
Physical Development - Prenatal
Zygote stage: conception to week 2
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Moves to embryonic stage when multicell ball attaches
to uterine wall
Embryonic stage: end of wk 2 to wk 8
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Genes are in the background directing progress
Boys become boys when testosterone is secreted,
producing male sex organs
Fetal stage: end of wk 8 to birth
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Movement felt by mom by 4th month
By 7th most everything is developed
Focus is on growth!
Physical Development
Premature birth
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Smaller in weight, though not always in length
Less physically & cognitively developed
Usually up to 2 months early still has a fighting chance
Teratogens
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Noxious substance or factors that can disrupt prenatal
development
X-rays: disrupt development of brain cells
Drugs: abnormal physical & psychological
development
Alcohol: FAS; mental retardation, facial disfigurement
Physical Development
Infancy: birth to 2 yrs
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Babies are born to survive
Rooting reflex
Cry when hungry, smile to reinforce closeness of caregiver
Quickly learn to recognize mother’s smell, voice, and face
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Perception
Newborns can’t focus on distant objects
Visual cliff
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Motor development
History of Developmental
1890s
G. Stanley Hall
Founder of child psychology
Focus on heredity
1920s
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Remember behaviorism?
1950s
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First look at other ages in the lifespan (Erikson & Piaget)
1960s
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Medieval Times (500 – 1500 AD)
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Preformationism: Children were viewed as miniature adults
Reformation (1500’s)
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Puritanism: Children are born evil and stubborn
Enlightenment (1600’s and 1700’s)
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John Locke – tabula rasa
Rousseau – children are noble savages
Depth perception develops between 4th & 6th month
Cephalocaudal trend (head to foot growth and motor control)
Proximodistal trend (center out growth and motor control)
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History of Developmental
Behavioral genetics
How heredity & life experience interact in affecting development
Ex: divorce, empathy, attachment styles
Darwin (1800’s)
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Ontogeny & Phylogeny, and Baby Biographies
Logs of infant development
Focus on maturation & development
Piaget
A proponent of the belief that
intelligence develops
qualitatively with age, as well as
quantitatively
Genetic Epistemology
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Intellect develops in gradual
stages, much as the body does
Hence the term ‘genetic’ does not
refer to our genes’ influence on our
intelligence but rather as a reference
to development
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Dev.
Object Permanence
Themes of cognitive development
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Schemas
Assimilation
Accommodation
Sensorimotor
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Birth to 2 years
Learn to coordinate sensory experience & motor
behavior
Object constancy (a.k.a. object permanence)
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Dev.
Preoperational
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Age: 2 to 7 years
Language more sophisticated but still have trouble
with mental manipulation of information
Can’t engage in certain mental operations
Conservation
Reversible mental representations
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Egocentrism
Conservation
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Dev.
Concrete Operational
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Age: 7 to 11 years
Child learns to logically reason about objects
Understands
Conservation (can make transitive inferences)
Formal Operational
Adolescent reasons in more abstract,
idealistic and logical ways
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Water task
Figure A shows
a bottle with
some water in
it.
In B, the
bottle has
been tilted.
Draw a line to
show how the
water line
would look.
A
Moral Development - Piaget
Focused on moral understanding, rather than
moral behavior
Moral Development - Kohlberg
Preconventional
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Three stages of moral development
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Moral Realism (0 to 7 yrs)
Morality of Cooperation (7 to 11 yrs)
Moral Relativism (12 yrs & up)
B
Punishment and obedience orientation
Individualism and purpose
Conventional
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Good boy - Nice girl orientation
Society - maintaining orientation
Post-conventional
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Community rights vs. personal rights
Universal ethical principle orientation
Attachment Theory
A. I find it relatively easy to get close to others and am
comfortable depending on them and having them depend on
me. I don’t often worry about being abandoned or about
someone getting too close to me.
B. I am somewhat uncomfortable being close to others. I find
it difficult to trust them completely, difficult to allow myself to
depend on them. I am nervous when anyone gets too close,
and often, love partners want me to be more intimate than I
feel comfortable being.
Harlow’s monkeys
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Bowlby
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Attachment Theory Research
Ainsworth
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Strange Situation
Examines reaction of child to three situations
Exploration
Mom leaves
Mom returns
Attachment styles
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Based on history with caregiver, we develop a
tendency to relate to others in a certain manner
Can I count on my attachment figure to be available
and responsive when I need them?
Orphans in London
Attachment
An emotional bond to one’s caregiver as an infant
Three components of attachment
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C. I find that others are reluctant to get as close as I would
like. I often worry that my partner doesn’t really love me or
want to stay with me. I want to merge completely with another
person, and this desire sometimes scares people away.
Wire mesh vs. cloth mothers
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Proximity maintenance
Safe haven
Secure base
Three Primary Attachment ‘Styles’
Secure
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Yes: Infants feel comfortable to explore, trust a responsive
mother
Adults find it easy to trust, want love, don’t fear rejection, see
themselves as worthy of affection
Avoidant
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No: Infants appear detached from unresponsive or rejecting
mother
Adults are aloof, emotionally distant, skeptical of others’ love, fear
rejection but still want closeness
Anxious-ambivalent
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Maybe: Infants cling to inconsistent caregiver and protest
extremely when needs aren’t met
Adults see themselves as misunderstood, lacking in confidence,
can be clingy or needy in a relationship
Attachment Styles
A. I find it relatively easy to get close to others and am
comfortable depending on them and having them depend on
me. I don’t often worry about being abandoned or about
someone getting too close to me.
B. I am somewhat uncomfortable being close to others. I find
it difficult to trust them completely, difficult to allow myself to
depend on them. I am nervous when anyone gets too close,
and often, love partners want me to be more intimate than I
feel comfortable being.
Attachment styles can change over time
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Pairing up
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C. I find that others are reluctant to get as close as I would
like. I often worry that my partner doesn’t really love me or
want to stay with me. I want to merge completely with another
person, and this desire sometimes scares people away.
Erikson’s Stages of Development
Trust vs. mistrust
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Birth to 1 year
Treatment by caregivers creates trust in a good world
Autonomy vs. shame and doubt
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1 to 2 years
Child is allowed to make independent decisions or is
made to feel ashamed/full of doubt about own
decisions
Initiative vs. guilt
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3 to 6 years
Child either develops own purpose/direction or is
made to feel guilty by overly controlling caregivers
Either through self-motivated growth/deterioration or
because of secure/insecure relationship partners
Most secures bond with other secures
Most avoidants bond with secures (a few with anxiousambivalent, rarely with other avoidants)
Most anxious-ambivalents bond with secures, a few
with avoidants (rarely with other anxious-ambivalents)
Erikson’s Stages of Development
Industry vs. inferiority
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6 to 11 years
Child either feels competent working with others or
inferior
Identity vs. role confusion
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Adolescence
Adolescent either grasps sense of identity or becomes
confused about possible future roles as adult
Intimacy vs. isolation
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Young adulthood (ages 20 to 40)
Forming deep/intimate relationships with others or
becoming socially isolated
Erikson’s Stages of Development
Generativity vs. self-absorption/stagnation
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Middle adulthood (ages 40 to 65)
Determining what to leave behind for future
generations or failing to grasp a sense of
meaning in life
Integrity vs. despair
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Late adulthood (ages 65 and up)
Feeling that life was worthwhile or feeling despair
about one’s life and fearing death