Chapter Nine

Module 9.1

Key Questions and Methods of Study

Major Questions

• Nature versus nurture

• Continuity versus discontinuity

– Quantitative or qualitative changes

• Universality between cultures

• Stability over life span

• Longitudinal method

– Observe same people over time

– Problems

• Time-consuming and costly

• Loss of participants

Methods of Study

• Cross-sectional method

– Observes people of different ages at the same point in time

– Less expensive and time-consuming

– Problem of cohort effects

Module 9.2

Prenatal Development

Stages of Pregnancy

• Germinal stage: zygote

– Conception and implantation in uterine wall

– Cell division

• Embryonic stage: embryo

– Implantation to eighth week

– Major organs begin to shape

– Amniotic sac, fluid, placenta

• Fetal stage: fetus

– Ninth week to birth

– Formation of major organ systems, fingers, toes by 12th week

– Continued development through fetal stage

• End of 2nd trimester: age of viability

Threats to Prenatal Development

• Maternal malnutrition

– Example: folic acid and spina bifida

• Teratogens

– Infectious diseases

– Smoking

– Alcohol

– Drugs

– X-rays

– Environmental contaminants

– Infectious organisms

Prenatal Testing

• Amniocentesis

• Chorionic villus sampling (CVS)

• Ultrasound imaging

• Parental blood tests

• Fetal DNA tests

Module 9.3

Infant Development

Reflexes

• Unlearned, automatic response to a particular stimulus

• Basic newborn reflexes

– Rooting

– Eyeblink

– Sucking

– Moro

– Palmar grasp

– Babinski

Physical Development & Brain Size

• Overall physical development depends on

– Maturation

– Environmental factors

• Birth through adulthood

– Brain quadruples in volume

– Formation of synapses between neurons

– Myelination occurs, myelin sheath forms

Sensory Abilities in Infants

• Vision

– Slowest to develop

– Developmental changes

– Depth perception, visual cliff apparatus

• Hearing

– Sensitivity to frequency of human voice

– Discriminate between speech sounds

• Smell

– Detect mother’s odor

– Other responses to smells

• Taste

– Preference for sweetness

Perceptual Ability in Infants

• Begin meaningful discriminations at birth

– Tested through infant control habituation model

• Monitor infant’s eye gaze

Learning Ability in Infants

Motor Development in Infants

• Development of muscular coordination and control

• Newborn behavior

– Some goal-directed behaviors

– Imitate facial expressions

• Many developments during first year

Motor Development in Infants

Module 9.4

Emotional and Social Development

Temperament

• Characteristic style of behavior or disposition

• Three types (NYLS)

– Easy children

• Playful, positive, happy, adaptive to change

– Difficult children

• Negative reactions to novelty, irritable

– Slow-to-warm-up children

• Inhibited, low activity, avoid novelty, withdrawn

• Infant temperament predicts later differences

• Shaped by nature and nurture

• Generally stable

Attachment

• Enduring emotional bond between children and caregivers

– Develops during infancy

• Attachment in other animals

– Imprinting (Lorenz)

– Monkeys and surrogate mothers (Harlow)

• Attachment in human infants

– Bowlby’s studies of attachment

– Ainsworth: Strange Situation

• Way of measuring attachment behavior

Types of Attachment

• Secure type (Type B)

– Mothers as secure base for exploration

• Insecure-avoidant type (Type A)

– Little attention to mother, separate easily

• Insecure-resistant (Type C)

– Clinging, resist separation

• Disorganized/disoriented (Type D)

– Lack consistency at separation/reunion

Day Care and Attachment

• Children in day care

– No effects on security of mother-child attachments

– No deficits in cognitive, emotional, or behavioral development

– Are more aggressive

– May have improved language, math skills

– More independent, cooperative play, sharing

– Quality of care matters

Attachment and Later Development

• Attachment styles in infancy may impact later development

– Internal working models

• Expectancies about how others are likely to respond

– More secure attachment in infancy

• Higher self-esteem

• Greater cooperativeness and independence

• Fewer behavioral problems

• Better overall emotional health

Child-Rearing Influences

• Good parenting includes

– Modeling appropriate behaviors

– Clear rules

– Corrections and praise

– Warm secure environment

• Father’s influence

• Cultural differences in parenting

Parenting Styles

• Baumrind identified three basic styles

– Authoritative

• Limits, but not overcontrolling, flexible/firm

• Give advice, listen, explain

– Authoritarian

• Rigid, overcontrolling

• Unresponsive, harsh

– Permissive

• Affectionate but lax

Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development

Module 9.5

Cognitive Development

Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development

• Schema

– Organized mental system for understanding and interacting with environment

• Adaptation

– Process of adjusting to environment

– Assimilation: incorporating new information into existing schemas

– Accommodation: altering existing schemas to fit new information

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development

• Preoperational stage

– 2-7 years old

– Develop symbolic representations

• Language

• Make-believe, pretend play

– Egocentrism

– Animistic thinking

– Irreversibility

– Centration

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development

• Formal operational stage

– Begins around 11-12 years old

– Not everyone enters this stage

– Ability to think logically about abstract ideas

– Generate hypotheses

– Deductive thinking

Criticisms of Piaget

• Underestimating children’s abilities

– Perception, egocentrism, object permanence

• Development is continuous, not in stages

• Failed to account for cultural differences

Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory of Cognitive Development

• Learning through social interactions

– Adult expert, child novice

• Emphasis on role of culture

– Skills, values, behaviors

• Zone of proximal development

– Range between skills child can perform and those could perform with proper guidance

• Scaffolding

– Scaling degree and type of instruction to child’s current level of ability or knowledge

Information-Processing Theories of Cognitive Development

• Cognitive development not in discrete stages

• Gradual quantitative increases in information-processing abilities

– Keeping and organizing information in mind

– Overall speed of processing

– Distinguishing among stimuli

– Less distractible

– Memory skills

Module 9.6

Application: TV and Kids

Children’s TV Viewing

• Recommended:

– 1-2 hours per day maximum

• Actual average

– 4 hours per day

• Quality programming can have some benefits

Claims About TV Viewing

• TV takes time away from other important activities

• TV responsible for poor school performance

• TV fosters violent behavior

• Heavy viewing fosters obesity

Responsible TV Viewing

• Screen violent or sexual programming

• Watch TV with children

• Don’t use TV as a baby-sitter

• Set limits

• Encourage children to regulate their own viewing

• Monitor the news

• Limit snacking while watching TV

• Encourage other interests