Lecture overview
• Development: physical
• Development: intellectual (focus on
preoperational stage)
• Developing socially and personally
Physical development
•
•
In the beginning… you were an egg. Then, fertilization occurred, and
you got your helping of chromosome soup – 23 from Mom, 23 from
Dad. Congratulations! You are a zygote!
You progressed through three main stages:
– Germinal phase: two weeks, from conception to implantation (you freefloated for a bit)
– Embryonic phase: about 6 weeks, from implantation until about 8 weeks
after fertilization
– Fetal period: everything after that, until you were ready to head out into
the world.
•
Why is this important to psychology?
– (for this course) Teratogens: environmental agents that can potentially
damage a developing child.
Teratogens
• On the following figure, periods of highest
susceptibility are shown by the lighter bar.
• Note how long the central nervous system is
susceptible – all the way through!
– Although most susceptible prior to 16 weeks
• Some psychological disorders may result from
exposure to teratogens, including alcohol, heavy
metals, and cigarette smoke
Figure 10.3
Physical development (cont.)
• Environment in infancy can have a big impact on
eventual intellectual and physical outcomes
– As we discussed yesterday re: intelligence. The more
enriched the environment, the better the odds of
reaching full potential
BUT
– As with intelligence, a good proportion of physical
development rates is determined by genetics (ie., if
your mom or dad hit puberty late (or early).. You
probably did too).
Physical development (cont.)
• We will cover the three main stages of life as we
progress through this lecture
– This is a course about the “mind” part of psychology,
rather than the biological end of things..
– So: we will talk about infancy & childhood,
adolescence, and adulthood primarily from that point of
view (although some of the physical stuff will be
touched on, because it influences cognitive and social
development)
Infancy
• Babies are tricky to study…
– Preferences: Fantz (1961) tested babies to see what they
preferred. (Moms win). Try different positions and
combinations, still get the preference.
– Habituation: babies like to look at new things, and get
bored easily. Changing the stimuli (ie, red card to green
card) and gauging the reaction tells us what the baby
can discriminate.
– Rewards: A form of conditioning. Can train the baby,
then change the situation slightly (say, change the
colour or shape of a mobile). If baby continues to
perform the correct action for the reward, we can infer
discrimination.
Infancy
• Visual cliff studies:
– Babies can perceive a three-dimensional world
– Even 2 month old babies react to being placed
on the deep side of a visual cliff.
Perceptual systems develop very quickly in
infancy; a good thing – infants become children
who have some sense of how the world works.
How accurate are kids at understanding their
worlds… let’s see!
Cognitive development in childhood
• Jean Piaget was a Swiss psychologist who published his first scientific
paper at the age of 12.
• Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development:
– How children's thinking develops from age two to seven years
• He revolutionized our understanding of the way that children's
thinking develops, by systematically observing children's answers to a
variety of questions and problems, and paying particular attention to
the children's wrong answers
• Piaget believed that children's thinking could be divided into four
stages, each with a number of substages.
Cognitive development in childhood
(See Similar table Text p. 399)
Preoperational stage
• Today, we are going to focus on only one
stage in some detail:
• The preoperational period (from 2 to 6 or 7
years)
• This will provide you with some of the
details of Piaget's observations, and
demonstrate some of the ways we
investigate how children think.
Preoperational stage (cont.)
• Piaget's suggested two basic mechanisms of
cognitive development:
• Assimilation: incorporating new
information into existing mental structures
• Accommodation: changing existing mental
structures as a result of experience
Assimilation and Accomodation in Cognitive Development
Preoperational stage (cont.)
• Because Piaget believed preschoolers did
not have true mental operations, he called
that stage preoperational (or “prelogical”).
• By age 6, most children are able to use
‘true’ mental operations.
– E.g., are able to combine, separate and
transform information mentally in a logical
manner
Preoperational stage (cont.)
• Key feature of preoperational thinking is
that children are able to focus (or 'centre')
on only one aspect of a task at a time.
• Only when they are able to overcome this
limitation are they considered to be in the
next stage of concrete operations.
Preoperational stage (cont.)
• Two examples:
– Classification
– Conservation of liquids
• Children between 2.5 years and 6 years mix
primitive logic with illogic; abilities with
lack of ability.
Preoperational stage (cont.)
Example 2: Conservation of liquids
Preoperational Stage:
Distinguishing appearance from reality
• Preschoolers focus on surface appearances.
• Makes it difficult to distinguish between the way
things seem to be and the way they are.
– E.g.
• 'bent' appearance of stick in water;
• fright at Halloween masks
Preoperational Stage:
Distinguishing appearance from reality (cont.)
• Devries (1969) study of cat…
…with dog mask
Preoperational Stage:
Distinguishing appearance from reality (cont.)
• Question: Is Maynard still a cat?
–3 year olds believed cat
turned into dog
–4 & 5 year olds showed
considerable confusion
–6 year olds laughed at idea
(Devries (1969)
Preoperational stage (cont.)
• Piaget's theories about the development of
children's thinking have been widely
criticized in recent years, but are still the
most important place to start in
understanding the development of thinking
in preschoolers.
Attachment in Early Childhood (P. 405)
• Temperament affects quality of
relationships
– Temperament: General level of emotional
reactivity
– Babies vary: some are easier to comfort, adapt
more easily to routines, accept change easily
• Different kinds of bonds may be formed
between children, caregivers
Studying Attachment Types (P. 408)
• Main research technique: Strange situation
test (Ainsworth)
– How does behaviour change in a stressful situation
such as being left in a strange room?
– Used mainly with 10 to 24-month old children
– Research room has toys; child encouraged to play
with them, then stress introduced by having
caregiver step out, stranger come in
Attachment Types (Pp. 409-410)
• Secure (70%) : Explore new situation happily with parent
present. Upset when caregiver leaves, happy when he or
she returns.
• Resistant (10%): Wary of the situation with parent
present. Upset when caregiver leaves, but may seem
ambivalent when caregiver returns - temporarily resists
affection.
• Avoidant (20%): Not upset when caregiver leaves, little
reaction when he or she returns.
Long-term effects of attachment
• People who were avoidantly attached as infants
often become untrusting of their spouses or lovers as
adults.
• Resistant attachment as infants; often perceive their
adult partners to be distant and unloving
• A person’s original attachment pattern as an infant
apparently often produces a "filter" through which
people view subsequent attachments and other social
events.
Adolescence
•
•
Begins with puberty (from the Latin for “to grow
hairy”), ends with adulthood
Period of adolescence is partly defined
socially/culturally, rather than just biologically
– Biologically: this when there are increases in androgens
(males) and estrogen (females)
•
Has lengthened over the last hundred years. Can
you think of four reasons why?
•
•
•
•
earlier sexual maturation
more extended education
later marriage
later entry into workforce
Physical Development during Adolescence
What is menarche?
–The first occurrence of menstruation
Occurs about what age?
– Average of about 12.5 years in North
America
Has it always occurred at about the age of 12.5?
- No; used to average around 15.
Change in age of menarche and length of adolescence
1890-1988
1890, Women
10
7.2 Year Interval
20
Age
1988, Women
11.8 Year Interval
10
20
Age
• In the 1890’s the
average interval
between a woman’s
menarche and
marriage was about
7 years; now it is
nearly 12 years.
Physical Development during
Adolescence: Menarche
Why the change in age of menarche?
• Not completely sure;
• Likely combination of nutrition, stress and exercise
• Another possible factor: father absence
– Some preliminary data indicate that girls without fathers
in the home go through puberty about five months earlier
than girls with fathers in the home. (We're not sure why).
Stages of peer group development during adolescence
Dunphy (1963) suggested five stages in peer group relations during
adolescence:
1.
Precrowd stage: isolated, unisexual groups
Stages of peer group development during
adolescence
2. Beginning of the crowd: some interaction between unisexual groups
Stages of peer group development during
adolescence
3. Crowd in transition: unisexual groups change into
heterosexual groups (especially among upper status
members)
Stages of peer group development during adolescence
4. Fully developed crowd: heterosexual groups are closely
associated
Stages of peer group development during adolescence
5. Beginning of crowd disintegration: loosely associated groups of
couples
Stages of peer group development during adolescence
(Summary)
Dunphy (1963) suggested five stages in peer group relations during
adolescence:
1. Precrowd stage: isolated, unisexual groups
2. Beginning of the crowd: some interaction between unisexual
groups
3. Crowd in transition: unisexual groups change into heterosexual
groups (especially among upper status members)
4. Fully developed crowd: heterosexual groups are closely associated
5. Beginning of crowd disintegration: loosely associated groups of
couples
Cognitive Development during Adolescence
• Formal operations begins to emerge at 11 or 12
years.
• The previous stage (concrete operations) involved a
knowledge of organized systems (e.g., classification,
serial ordering) which are considered independently.
- each system (or operation) is not related to the whole
• During the formal operations stage, this changes
–combinations of variables can be considered holistically
Cognitive Development During Adolescence
Formal Operations Task - Balance Beam
Cognitive Development During Adolescence (cont.)
Formal Operations Task - Balance Beam
•Youngest
children fail to
understand it at all
• 8-year-olds
concentrate on
equality of
weights but fail to
consider distance
• Only 11-yearolds (and older)
take into account
both weight and
distance
Cognitive Development During Adolescence (cont.)
Formal Operations Task - Balance Beam
Balance beam problem
demonstrates a key aspect
of formal operations:
• Requires that 2 variables
(weight and distance) be
systematically varied and
combined mentally
•Solution requires
development of logical and
mathematical principles
which can now be applied to
other problems
Moral development
Kohlberg's six stage theory
Moral development
Kohlberg's theory:Age and moral reasoning level.
Moral development
Question 1.
• By reporting his employer’s attempts to hide the true
extent of the severity of side effects produced by one of
the company’s medications, Jason was fired. To him, the
ethical value of protecting members of society from harm
was more important than keeping his job. The reasoning
behind Jason’s behaviour is an example of:
a)
b)
c)
d)
Moralistic thinking
Abstract thought
Postconventional thought
Conventional thought
Moral development (cont.)
Question 2
• If an individual at the conventional level of
moral reasoning had to choose between stealing
and letting a loved one die, that person might:
a) Refuse to steal because s/he might be caught and
punished for stealing
b) Steal because people might get mad if the loved one
dies
c) Refuse to steal because it is against the law
d) Steal because human life is more important than
societal law
Moral development (cont.)
Question 3
• Ross did not take a single cookie from the jar
when his mother left the room because he knew
that if he did, he would be disciplined. His
reasoning is an example of _______ thought.
a)
b)
c)
d)
Preconventional
Conventional
Postconventional
Contraventional
Moral development (cont.)
Moral dilemma exercise
Answers:
1. c. Commitment to personal ethics is
characteristic of post-conventional reasoning.
2. c. Concern about the approval of others and
societal norms is characteristic of conventional
reasoning
3. a. Emphasis on positive or negative
consequences is characteristic of preconventional reasoning.
Adolescence and
Adulthood
Percentage 100
of teens
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
What values
are most
important in
your life
Religion
With ideas similar to parents’
How you
spend
your
money
What you
should do
in your
leisure time
• High school
seniors’
attitudes
appear to be
in much closer
agreement
with those of
their parents
than many
might suppose
(Bachman et
al., 1987).
With ideas different from parents’
Personal Identity Development:
Erikson’s Stages (Pp. 413-414)
• Erikson’s idea: Sense of self shaped by
psychological crises at certain points in life
• Stages of childhood:
–
–
–
–
–
Infancy: Trust versus mistrust
Toddlerhood: Autonomy versus shame/doubt
3 to 6: Initiative versus guilt
6 to 12: Industry versus inferiority
Adolescence: Identity versus role confusion
• the adolescent’s task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and
integrating various roles
Erikson’s Stages in Adulthood (Pp. 414-415)
• Young adulthood: Intimacy versus
isolation
– the ability to form close, loving relationships
– a primary developmental task in late
adolescence and early adulthood
• Middle age: Generativity versus stagnation
• Old age: Identity versus despair
Was Erikson Right? (Pp. 415-416)
• Well-accepted contributions:
– Personal development is lifelong
– Social and cultural interactions are important
shapers of identity
• Challenges:
– Sharp transitions between stages?
– Mechanisms that allow for resolution
– Difficult to test scientifically
Adulthood- Physical
Changes
Percentage
of function
remaining
100
Heart capacity
Resting energy
expenditure
90
80
70
60
Maximum energy
expenditure
50
40
30
Lung volume
40
50
60
70
Age in years
80
90
• The slow
decline of the
body’s physical
capacities
during adulthood
(adapted from Insel
& Roth, 1976).
Adulthood- Cognitive
Changes
100
Percent
90
of names
recalled 80
Older age groups have
poorer performance
• Recalling new names
introduced once, twice
or three times is easier
After three
introductions for younger adults
than for older ones
(Crook & West, 1990).
70
60
50
40
After two
introductions
30
20
After one
10 introductions
0
18
40
50
60
Age group
70
Adulthood- Cognitive
Changes
Number
24
Of words
remembered
8
• In a study by Schonfield
& Robertson (1966), the
ability to recall new
Number of words
information declined
recognized is
during early and middle
stable with age
adulthood, but the ability
to recognize new
information did not.
Number of words
4
recalled declines
with age
20
16
12
0
20
30
40
50
Age in years
60
70
Adulthood- Cognitive
Changes
• Crystallized Intelligence
– one’s accumulated knowledge and verbal skills
– tends to increase with age
• Fluid Intelligence
– ones ability to reason speedily and abstractly
– tends to decrease during late adulthood
Adulthood- Cognitive
Changes
Intelligence
(IQ) score
105
• Verbal intelligence
scores hold steady with
age, while nonverbal
intelligence scores
decline (adapted from
Kaufman & others,
1989).
Verbal scores are
stable with age
100
95
90
85
Nonverbal scores
decline with age
80
75
20 25
Verbal scores
Nonverbal scores
35
45
Age group
55
65 70
Adulthood- Social Changes
Percentage
“satisfied”
with life
as a whole
• Multinational
surveys show that
age differences in
life satisfaction are
trivial (Inglehart,
1990).
80
60
40
20
0
15
25
35
45
Age group
55
65+