Ch. 11: Human Development Across the Life Span 1

Ch. 11: Human Development Across the Life Span

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Progress Before Birth:Prenatal Development

• 3 phases– germinal stage (Zygote) = first 2 weeks

• conception, implantation, formation of placenta

– embryonic stage = 2 weeks – 2 months• formation of vital organs and systems• Heart, spine, brain, arm, legs, hands, feet, fingers,

toes, eyes & ears. Most miscarriage occur and birth defects.

– fetal stage = 2 months – birth• bodily growth continues, movement capability

begins, brain cells multiply, sex organs develop• age of viability. 22-26 weeks

Human Development 2

Union of Egg & Sperm

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Genetic Influences

• X- Chromosomes– sex chromosome found in both males & females– females have two, males have one– an X-chromosome from each parent produces a

female

• Y-Chromosomes– sex chromosome found only in males– when paired with a X-chromosome from the

mother, it produces a male child

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Progress Before Birth:Prenatal Development

• Prenatal Period 9 complete months (40 weeks)– 1 in 5 pregnancies end before the women is aware she

pregnant.– Placenta. Allows oxygen and nutrients to pass through the

fetus

Human Development5

Environmental FactorsPrenatal Development

Maternal nutritionMalnutrition linked to increased risk of birth complications, neurological problems, and psychopathology

Teratogens agents that can reach the embryo or fetus

during prenatal development & cause harm-Chemical, alcohol, some medicines, cocaine,

nicotine, viral

Fetal Alcohol Syndromephysical & cognitive abnormalities

caused by drinking in pregnancyHuman Development 6

The Childhood Years: Motor Development

• Rooting Reflex: tendency to turn head, open mouth & search for nipple when touched on the cheek

• Grasping Reflex: infants can hold there own body weight– Cephalocaudal trend – head to foot– Proximodistal trend – center-outward

Human Development 7

Infancy & Childhood

• Maturation: biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, uninfluenced by experience

• Developmental norms – median age– Cultural variations

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Easy and Difficult Babies:Differences in Temperament

Human Development

Temperament- Mood, activity level & emotional reactivity (established by 2-3 months old)

Thomas, Chess, and Birch (1970)3 basic temperamental styles

easy – 40%slow-to-warm-up – 15%difficult – 10%mixed – 35%stable over time

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Early Emotional Development: Attachment

• Attachment- close emotional bonds of affection. Develop around 6-8 months old

• Evolutionary Perspective- Attachment styles correlate to adult patterns in romantic relationships

Human Development10

Social Development

• Critical Period an optimal period shortly after birth when a organism’s exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces proper development

• Imprinting the process that certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life

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Harry Harlow: Attachment Preferences

• Surrogate Mother Experiment: monkeys prefer contact with comfortable cloth mother, even while feeding from the nourishing wire mother

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Early Emotional Development: Attachment

• Separation anxiety- Peaks around 14-18 months– Ainsworth (1979). Relationship between infant &

mother (caretaker)– The strange situation and patterns of

attachment• Secure• Anxious-ambivalent• Avoidant

• Developing secure attachment– Bonding at birth– Daycare– Cultural factors

Human Development 13

Ainsworth Separation Anxiety

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Stage Theories of Development: Personality

• Stage theories, three components– progress through stages in order– progress through stages related to age– major discontinuities in development


Stage Theories of Development


Stage Theories: Cognitive Development

• Jean Piaget (1920s-1980s)– 4 stages and major milestones

• Sensorimotor Birth-2– Object permanence

• Preoperational 2-7– Centration: 1 thing @ a time

– Irreversibilty: unable to rewind

– Egocentrism: unable to share others views

• Concrete Operational 7-11– Decentration, Reversibility, & Conservation

• Formal Operational 11<– Abstraction


Piaget

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Piaget’s Stage Theory


Piaget’s Conservation Task


The gradual mastery of conservation


Cognitive Development• Schema- framework that organizes &

interprets info• Assimilation- Interpreting new experiences in

terms of mental structures without changing them.

• Accommodation- Changing existing mental

structures to explain new experiences. • Habituation- A gradual reduction in strength of a

response when presented repeatedly.

• Dishabituation- If a new stimulus elicits am increase in strength of an habituated response.


The Development of Moral Reasoning– Kohlberg Reasoning as opposed to behavior:

• Moral dilemmas: Measured nature & progression of moral reasoning

– 3 levels, each with 2 sublevels• Preconventional (Stages 1&2)

– Acts are wrong b/c they are punished » Stop b/c you fear a ticket

– Acts are right b/c they lead to positive consequences» Stop b/c you wont get into an accident

• Conventional (Stages 3&4)– Acts are determined by other’s approval/disapproval

» Stop b/c you want to be a good citizen

– Rules become internalized & viewed as absolute» Stop b/c it’s right

• Postconventional (Stages 5&6)– Rules are less rigid & show some flexibity

» Slow down, not stopping (no one will catch you)

– Allows for the possibility that you might not comply with society’s rules b/c it conflicts w/ personal ethics

» Don’t stop b/c you feel there’s no point no one will get hurt& no one» is watching Human

Development

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Kohlberg’s Stage Theory


Adolescence: Physiological Changes

• Primary Sex Characteristics body structures that make sexual reproduction possible

• ovaries- female• testes- male• external genitalia

• Secondary Sex Characteristics

nonreproductive sexual characteristics• female- enlarged breast, hips• male- voice quality, body hair

• Menarche first menstrual period


Physical development at Puberty


Adolescence: Neural Changes

• Increasing myelinization• Synaptic pruning• Changes in prefrontal cortex


The Search for Identity

• Erik Erikson (1968)– Key challenge - forming a sense of identity– Eight stages spanning the lifespan– Psychosocial crises determining balance

between opposing polarities in personality


Erikson’s Stage Theory


Search for Identity

• James Marcia (1988)– 4 identity statuses

• Foreclosure: identity based on parents• Moratorium: undecided • Identity Diffusion: Refuse to identify• Identity Achievement: Achieve your own identity

based on actual research/experience

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Adulthood

• Personality Development. (Stable until 50)– Midlife Crisis

• Transitions in Family Life– “U” Shaped Martial Bliss– Between Families

• Aging & Physical Changes– Physical Changes– Vision & Hearing– Hormonal Functioning– Dementia

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The Expanse of Adulthood

• Social Clock the culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, & retirement

• Crystallized Intelligence accumulated knowledge & verbal skills, increases w/ age

• Fluid Intelligence ability to reason speedily & abstractly, decreases during late adulthood


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Ch. 11: Human Development Across the Life Span 1