Development
Physical and Motor development
Cognitive development
– Research Techniques
Social and Personal development
Physical and Motor Development
Prenatal Development
– Three stages
Germinal stage (conception – 2 wks)
Embryonic stage (2 wks – 2 mos)
Fetal stage (2 months – birth)
Prenatal risks
Maternal nutrition
Maternal health
Teratogens
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Motor Development
Biological development generally occurs in a “down and
out” fashion
Basic Principles:
- Cephalocaudal trend: head to foot
- Proximodistal trend: center-outward
- Gross motor skills develop before
fine motor skills
Cognitive Development
Current Research Techniques
– How can we study the perceptual and cognitive
abilities of infants and young children?
Preferential Looking
Preferential Listening
Habituation – Dishabituation
Physiological Changes
Babies can tell us what they prefer by where they look…
Time spent looking
“Preference technique”: babies presented with 2 different stimuli
Baby is assumed to look longer at things it prefers
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Piagetian Theory - Assumptions
Development proceeds in stages
Schemas: Knowledge is organized
Change in Schemas
– Assimilation
– Accommodation
The constructive nature of cognition
Sensorimotor Stage
Birth to Age 2
Learning through 5 senses
Goal-directed actions
Object permanence
– Mental representation
Preoperational Stage
Ages 2-7
Operations - defined
Deferred Imitation
What kids can’t do:
– Non-reversible operations (one-way logic)
– Difficulty with conservation
– Egocentrism & Theory of mind
Animism
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Concrete Operational Stage
Ages 7-11
Child is capable of mental operations
What kids can do:
–
–
–
–
Conservation Tasks
Reversibility
Classification
Perspective-taking (less egocentric)
Formal Operational Stage
Ages 12+
Abstract thought
– Hypothetico-deductive reasoning
Adolescent egocentrism & imaginary
audience
Metacognition
Not all individuals reach this stage
Major criticisms of Piaget’s theory
Many cognitive skills occur at earlier ages
than Piaget suggested
Overestimation of adults’ abilities
It’s not clear development occurs in stages
Theoretical ideas are vague & abstract
Alternatives
– Information-Processing
– Vygotsky (social and cultural influences)
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Social and Personal Development
Attachment
Personal Identity Development
Moral Development
– Ainsworth
– Erikson, Marcia
– Kohlberg
Attachment
Mary Ainsworth
Strange situation
Classifications
– Secure
– Resistant (Anxious)
– Avoidant
– Disorganized/disoriented
What determines attachment?
Caregiver’s behavior
– Parental Style
Child’s temperament
The daycare debate
– Current evidence: no effect of high
quality day care
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The Work of Erikson
Psychosocial
theory of
development
Developmental
crisis
Eight stages
Erikson’s Stages: Preschool
1.
Trust vs. Mistrust (first year of life)
2.
Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt (1-3
years)
3.
Initiative vs. Guilt (3-6 years)
Erikson’s Stages: The School Years
4.
Industry vs. Inferiority (6 years puberty)
5.
Identity vs. Role Confusion
(Adolescence)
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Erikson’s Stages: Beyond School
6.
Intimacy vs. Isolation (young adulthood)
7.
Generativity vs. Stagnation (middle
adulthood)
8.
Integrity vs. Despair (old age)
Marcia’s Theory of Identity Achievement
Exploration = “Has the person engaged in an active
search for identity?”
Commitment = “Has the person made a commitment to,
e.g., values, school, career path, identity?”
Commitment:
YES
Commitment:
NO
Exploration:
YES
Identity
Achievement
Moratorium
Exploration:
NO
Identity
Foreclosure
Identity
Diffusion
Evaluating Erikson
Well-accepted contributions:
– Personal development is lifelong
– Emphasis on social and cultural interactions
Challenges:
– Sharp transitions between stages?
– How do transitions occur?
– Difficult to test scientifically
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Moral Development
Two important precursors
Empathy
Perspective-taking
Lawrence Kohlberg
Looked at responses to moral dilemmas
– 3 levels
Preconventional
Conventional
Postconventional
Criticisms of Kohlberg’s theory
Reasoning about hypothetical situations
Inconsistency across different dilemmas
Gender differences – Gilligan
Doesn’t generalize across cultures
Summary of Development
(1) Biological, cognitive, and social changes occur throughout the
lifespan (anything that psychologists study can be approached
developmentally).
(2) Developmental psychologists have develop special techniques
to learn about what babies know.
(3) Piaget suggested that cognitive development occurs in stages;
we construct a different reality based on our current cognitive
level.
(4) Attachment is an important part of our development of self.
(5) Erikson suggested our sense of self develops from a series of
conflicts.
(6) The development of morality may occur in stages, but the
reasoning behind a decision determines a person’s level, not
the decision itself.
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