UNIT 2: DEVELOPMENT

ACROSS LIFESPAN

Infancy to Childhood

DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

Focus on how people grow and change throughout their

lifespan• How does heredity and environmental influences

contribute to human development

Maturation – the automatic & sequential process of

development that results from genetic signals.• Infant sits up • Crawls before stands• Stands before walks

PHYSICAL GROWTH

Infancy – birth to 2 years old

Development of body and brain – • Infants double birth weight in 5 months, triple it in a year• Grow about 10 inches in the first year

Malnutrition – body doesn’t get enough nutrients• If prolonged it causes permanent physical and brain

development defects• Growth is stunted, severely under weight, decaying teeth,

slow reactions, swollen stomach, muscle weakness, problems with organ function

• Every 6 seconds, a child dies of malnutrition

REFLEXESReflex – involuntary reaction or response. Example: breathing, pooping

• Born with reflexes• Some are essential to our survival, others are temporary

Grasping reflex – placing finger in center of babies palm, they grab it.• Doctor/nurse tests this moments after birth

Rooting reflex – babies turn their head toward stimuli that touch their cheek

or corners of their mouth. Once found, they start to suckling. • Important to survival!

Moro (startle) reflex – pull up their legs and arch back in response to

sudden sounds or bumps• Attempt to withdraw from pain

Babinski reflex – raise big toe when sole of feet are touched

PERCEPTUAL DEVELOPMENT

Process by which infants learn to make sense of sights, sounds,

tastes, and other sensations

5 – 10 week old infants prefer visual complex patterns (they like

the variety & complexity)

15 – 20 weeks infants begin to prefer patterns that look like

human faces. • Nature vs. Nurture – the influence of nurture is shown by preference

for faces

Visual cliff – set up to give the illusion of a cliff• Infants are unafraid when placed near the age• At 9 months, they seem afraid of the edge

ATTACHMENT

Attachment - Emotional ties between people• Essential to survival of infants• Children try to stay with people with whom they are attached

At first infants prefer to be held by anyone, rather than be left alone. At 4

months, the preference for specific people develops.

Stranger Anxiety – fear of strangers (8 months)

Separation Anxiety – cry or express fear if mothers are away (8 months)

Contact comfort – instinctual need to touch or be touched by something

soft (skin/fur)• Attachment grows from bodily contact, not feeding

• Harlow monkey experiment

IMPRINTINGFor many animals, attachment is instinct

• Ducks, geese, & some other animals attach to first moving object they see

Imprinting – process by which some animals immediately attach

Humans do not imprint, it takes months for children to become

attached to caregivers

Secure attachment – (affectionate/reliable caregivers) cry when

separated/happy when return

Insecure attachment – (unreliable/unresponsive caregivers) don’t

care when parents leave, cry when picked up (as if angry)

Authoritarian Family –

parents that believe in obedience

for it’s own sake.

Strict guidelines that must be

followed without question

Children become either

resistant to people or dependent• Don’t do as well in school• Less friendly• Less spontaneous

PARENTING STYLESAuthoritative/Democratic

Family – parents combine

affection with age

appropriate rules &

responsibility.

Children are often more

independent and

achievement oriented • Feel good about

themselves• Combination of affection

with demands for responsible behavior usually works well.

TYPES OF CHILD ABUSE

Domestic Violence – physical battery or assault

Sexual Abuse – sexual victimization of a child by

another child, adolescent or adult (80% of victims

know their attacker)

Neglect – failure to provide adequate food, shelter,

clothing, emotional support, or schooling.

"Existing research suggests that individuals whose

parents espoused authoritarian attitudes toward

parenting (e.g., valuing obedience to authority) are

more likely to endorse conservative values as

adults."

EXIT TICKET

What are two things you did not know before this

class?

What was the most interesting thing you learned

today? Explain.

Is there anything you learned today, that you would

discuss with someone outside this class? Why or why

not?