Chapter 10

Human Development
 Human Development
 Developmental Psychology

 The goal of developmental psychology is to understand all the

factors that influence human development from conception to
death.

 Developmental psychologists have made much progress by

devising increasingly careful and sensitive ways to measure
behavioral abilities.
 Module 10.1
 The Study of Early Development
 The Fetus and the Newborn
 Prenatal Development

 The growth and changes that occur before birth are referred to
as prenatal development. There are identifiable stages of this
period of life.
 The Fetus and the Newborn
 Prenatal Development

 Zygote Fertilized egg cell

 Blastula

 Gastrula

 Embryo 2 to 8 weeks after conception

 Fetus 8 weeks after conception until birth

 The Fetus and the Newborn
 Prenatal Development

 Prenatal brain development

 By seven weeks the hindbrain and midbrain are developed

enough to produce movements.

 By 36 weeks those brain structures produce head and eye

movements in response to sounds, a sleep-wake cycle, and
REM sleep.

 The cerebral cortex is relatively inactive during this period.

 The Fetus and the Newborn
 Prenatal Development

 The maternal-fetal connection

 Everything that mother consumes reaches the baby through

the placenta.

 If mother’s nutrition and prenatal care are poor or deficient,

baby will also be deprived.

 If mother drinks, uses drugs, or smokes, baby will receive

these substances, often with serious consequences.
 The Fetus and the Newborn
 Prenatal Development

 Low-birth weight and premature infants

 Small and premature babies have a higher risk of dying in

infancy.

 They are more likely to have impaired brain development.

 Those who survive infancy are at higher risk of behavioral

and academic problems during childhood.

 Low birth weight may or may not be the cause of these

impairments, but it definitely correlates with whatever factors
do cause them, if it is not in fact the direct cause.
 The Fetus and the Newborn
 Prenatal Development

 Fetal alcohol syndrome

 If mother drinks alcohol during pregnancy, the baby is likely

to be born with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS).

 FAS is characterized by stunted growth of the head and

body, facial, cranial and ear malformations, neurological
damage, learning disabilities and mental retardation.
Figure 10.3
The more alcohol a woman drinks during pregnancy, the more likely her baby is to have anomalies of the head, face, and organs. (Based on
data of Ernhart et al., 1987)
 The Fetus and the Newborn
 Prenatal Development

 A milder version, called fetal alcohol effects (FAE), has also

been noted.

 A child with FAE appears normal but has impaired academic

skills and mild behavioral problems.

 The more alcohol mother drinks, and the longer she continues
drinking, the greater the risk to the developing baby.

 There is no “safe” level of alcohol consumption during

pregnancy.
 The Fetus and the Newborn
 Prenatal Development

 During prenatal development, growing neurons need persistent

excitation to survive.

 Alcohol facilitates GABA, the main inhibitory neurotransmitter of

the brain.

 This leads the neurons to “self-destruct”.

 Any chemicals that increase activity at inhibitory synapses, such

as tranquilizers, anesthetics, and anti-depressants, should be
avoided.
 The Fetus and the Newborn
 Prenatal Development

 Maternal smoking

 Mother’s smoking also increases the probability that her baby

will have health problems.

 Smoking (before and after birth) has been associated with an

increased risk of SIDS.

 Conduct disorder has been found to correlate with mother’s

smoking during pregnancy more strongly than with father’s
antisocial behavior, SES, lack of supervision, or use of harsh
punishment by the parents.
 The Fetus and the Newborn
 Prenatal Development

 To maximize the chance of having a healthy baby with an

undamaged brain, a pregnant woman should avoid using alcohol
and tobacco, follow a nutritious diet, receive regular prenatal
care, and consult with her health care provider before using any
prescription or over-the counter medication.
 CONCEPT CHECK:

Why should a pregnant woman who is being treated for depression

with medication stop taking her anti-depressant drugs?

They are likely to cause damage to the developing fetus’ brain by

increasing activity at inhibitory synapses.
 Behavioral Capacities of the Newborn
 Newborns have little muscle control, and exhibit the greatest
purposeful movement with their eyes and mouths.

 Development proceeds from the head down and from the midline
out, and so gradually babies can move their trunks, limbs and
fingers.
 Behavioral Capacities of the Newborn
 Newborns’ Vision

 Newborns have far from perfect vision, but see far better than
was believed just a few generations ago

 2-day-infants prefer to look at drawings of human faces.

 Infants direct their gaze at the same things that attract adult
attention.

 As infants gain voluntary control of their arms and legs, and

begin to crawl, a fear of heights develops that is almost
certainly related to improved depth perception.
Figure 10.4
Infants pay more attention to faces than to other patterns. These results suggest that infants are born with certain visual preferences. (Based
on Fantz, 1963)
 Behavioral Capacities of the Newborn
 Newborns’ Vision

 Visual motor coordination develops quickly but must be practiced

to continue being improved.

 Experiments with kittens suggest that eye movements must be

allowed to coordinate with body movements for further
development of all visually guided behavior.
 Behavioral Capacities of the Newborn
 Newborns’ Hearing

 In general, infants suck more vigorously when they hear sounds

that they find stimulating.

 Some sounds (such as the human voice) are more

stimulating than others.

 Most sounds eventually produce a decreased response as

the infant becomes habituated to them

 Playing new sounds for an infant will increase responding,

and may even result in a dishabituation, or increased
responding to previously habituated sounds.
Figure 10.6
After 5 minutes of hearing a ba sound, the infant’s sucking habituates. When a new sound, pa, follows, the sucking rate
increases, an indication that infants do hear a difference between the two sounds. (Based on results of Eimas, Siqueland,
Juscyk, & Vigorito, 1971)
 Behavioral Capacities of the Newborn
 Newborns’ Learning and Memory

 Infants as young as one month old can discriminate between

phonemes.

 Infants show a marked preference for their mother’s voice over

another woman’s voice.

 They showed this preference on the day of their birth, suggesting

that they have some memory of her voice from before birth.
 Behavioral Capacities of the Newborn
 Newborns’ Learning and Memory

 Older infants (2-3 months old) show ability to learn responses

and remember them for days afterwards, such as kicking their
legs to make a mobile move.

 Nine month olds can learn to press a lever to move a toy train
around a track, and can retain this memory for a fairly long time.
 Behavioral Capacities of the Newborn
 Newborns’ Learning and Memory

 Object Permanence

 Jean Piaget believed that infants lacked a concept of object

permanence during the early months of life.

 Object permanence is the idea that objects continue to exist

even when one cannot see them or otherwise sense them.

 According to Piaget, an infant does not know that a hidden

object is still there until about 8-9 months of age.
 Behavioral Capacities of the Newborn
 Newborns’ Learning and Memory

 It is not clear if Piaget’s inference is accurate. Infants who are

tested differently show signs of having a notion of object
permanence earlier than Piaget believed was possible.

 Infants seem to have a grasp of physical laws and can

distinguish possible from impossible events (at least their
reactions seem to indicate that they do.)

 They may also have a grasp of simple numerical concepts.

Figure 10.9
Mean looking times of 6- and 8-month-old infants after they had watched either possible or impossible events. (From Baillargeon, 1986)
 Newborns and Young Infants
 There has been a steady advance in our ability to test the
development and skills of very young human beings.

 It is clear that much more is going on in their brains than they can
show us, and than we once thought.
 Module 10.2
 The Development of Thinking and Reasoning
 Jean Piaget’s Views of Development
 Piaget believed that the effect of any experience on a person’s
knowledge or thinking depended on the person’s maturity combined
with previous experiences.

 He began his psychological career administering IQ tests, but found

that he was bored with this activity. He was however fascinated by
the incorrect answers that children would give.
 Jean Piaget’s Views of Development
 Piaget came to believe that children think differently from adults,
both quantitatively and qualitatively.

 He believed that children of different cognitive maturity levels react

to the same experience very differently.

 Piaget used his own extensive observational studies of children to

support his conclusions.
 An Overview of Piaget’s Theory
 Piaget believed that a child constructs new mental processes as he
or she interacts with the environment.

 Behavior is based on schemata (singular - schema.)

 A schema is an organized way of interacting with objects in the

world.

 New schemata are added, and old schemata are changed as the
child matures.
 An Overview of Piaget’s Theory
 Adaptation of old schemata takes place through two processes.

 Through assimilation, a person applies an old schema to a new

object.

 Through accommodation, a person modifies an old schema to

fit a new object.

 People in all stages switch back and forth between these two
strategies, but ultimately cognitive change is accomplished
through accommodation.
 An Overview of Piaget’s Theory
 The Four Stages of Intellectual Development

 Sensorimotor Birth to 1 years of age

 Preoperational 1 to 7 years of age

 Concrete Operations 7 to 11 years of age

 Formal Operations 11 years of age and older

 An Overview of Piaget’s Theory
 The Sensorimotor Stage

 Piaget called the first stage the sensorimotor stage because at

this early age behavior consists primarily of simple motor
responses to sensory stimuli.

 Examples of these would be the grasping and sucking reflexes.

 Piaget believed that infants respond only to what they see and
hear, not what they remember or imagine.
 An Overview of Piaget’s Theory
 The Sensorimotor Stage

 As infants progress through the sensorimotor stage, they seem

to develop a concept of self.

 At about 1 years of age, they begin to show signs that they

recognize themselves.

 They also begin to show self-conscious emotions such as

embarrassment.
 An Overview of Piaget’s Theory
 The Preoperational Stage

 Piaget called the second stage of cognitive development the

preoperational stage because the child lacks operations.

 The term “operations” refers to reversible mental processes.

 The lack of operations leads to errors in cognition such as

egocentric thinking – the child for example knows that he has a
brother, but doesn’t understand that he is his brother’s brother.
 An Overview of Piaget’s Theory
 The Preoperational Stage

 Another example of a concept that preoperational children lack is

conservation.

 The inability to conserve results in a failure to recognize that

changes in shape and arrangement do not always signify
changes in amount or number.
Table 10.1
Typical Tasks
Used to Measure
Conservation
 An Overview of Piaget’s Theory
 The Concrete Operations Stage

 From about age 7 children begin to exhibit reversible operations

and seem to understand the conservation of physical properties.

 According to Piaget, during the stage of concrete operations

children can perform mental operations on concrete objects.

 They may however have trouble with abstract or hypothetical

ideas.
 An Overview of Piaget’s Theory
 The Formal Operations Stage

 Formal Operations is Piaget’s term for the mental processes

used to deal with abstract, hypothetical situations.

 These are processes that demand logical, deductive reasoning

and systematic planning.

 Piaget proposed that children reach this stage just before

adolescence (at about age 11.)

 Researchers have found that some people take longer to reach

formal operations, and some people never do.
Table 10.2
Summary of Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development
 Concept Check:

According to Piaget, in what stage would a child be if she could

remember where a hidden object is, but doesn’t realize that she is her
sister’s sister?

Preoperational
 In which stage is a child who has grasping and sucking reflexes but
cannot remember where an object is that has been covered for 15
seconds?

Sensorimotor
In which stage is a child who can think about concepts such as infinity
and time, and has no difficulty with conservation and reversible
operations?

Formal operations
 Concept Check:

In which stage is a child who can conserve mass and volume and
remember the location of hidden objects, but doesn’t understand the
concept of infinity?
 An Overview of Piaget’s Theory
 Are Piaget’s Stages Distinct?

 Piaget believed that the four stages of intellectual development

were discrete, and that each one represented a major
reorganization in cognitive processes.

 More recently though researchers have shown that this

conclusion is not entirely warranted.
 An Overview of Piaget’s Theory
 Are Piaget’s Stages Distinct?

 Preoperational children can answer different versions of the

conservation tasks correctly.

 In general, the progression between the stages appears to be

gradual, so that the difference between stages may not be one of
either having the ability or not; it may actually be that the
younger child has the same ability but only uses it for simple
tasks.
Figure 10.15
(a) With the standard conservation-of-number task, preoperational children answer that the lower row has more items.
(b) With a simplified task, the same children say that both rows have the same number of items.
 An Overview of Piaget’s Theory
 Implications for Education: Piaget

 Children must discover certain concepts on their own.

 Children’s attention must be directed to key aspects of concepts

when they are ready to learn those concepts.

 The teacher needs to determine the child’s level of functioning

and then teach material appropriate to that level.
 An Overview of Piaget’s Theory
 Implications for Education: Vygotsky

 Lev Vygotsky was a Russian developmental psychologist who

thought that education needed to meet children at their own
level.

 He believed that the use of the symbolic system of language

allowed humans to influence others and control our own
behavior.
 Education needs to utilize this feature of language and take

into account the child’s level of cognitive maturity.

 He proposed the existence of a zone of proximal

development, which is the distance between what a child

can do alone and what a child can do with assistance from
others.
 An Overview of Piaget’s Theory
 Implications for Education: Vygotsky

 Vygotsky proposed the existence of a zone of proximal

development, which is the distance between what a child can
do alone and what a child can do with assistance from others.

 Instruction should occur within the zone, but appropriate

guidance should be given whenever possible to bring the child to
understanding of more sophisticated concepts.

 He compared this process to scaffolding, temporary supports

used to construct a new building. These are temporary supports
for the child’s cognitive processes.
 CONCEPT CHECK:

Who would be more optimistic about the possibility of teaching a 5 year

old to understand conservation of mass?

According to Vygotsky, conservation might lie within the child’s zone

of proximal development
 Difficulties of Inferring Children’s Concepts
 There may be a fundamental weakness in the assumption made by
Piaget that a child either “has” or “lacks” a concept.

 Concepts develop gradually and may appear using some methods

of testing but not others.
 Difficulties of Inferring Children’s Concepts
 Distinguishing Appearance from Reality

 Do children in the early preoperational stage fail to distinguish

appearance from reality?

 It’s not entirely clear whether a child’s inability to do so has

more to do with lacking a concept or inadequate language
skills.

 Children for example may seem to confuse a rock and a

sponge that looks like a rock, but when asked to bring to an
adult something to wipe up spilled water, they have no
problem identifying the sponge as the correct object for that
purpose.
Figure 10.16
If an experimenter hides a small toy in a small room and asks a child to find a larger toy “in the same place”
in the larger room, a 21/2-year-old searches haphazardly. (a) However, the same child knows exactly where
to look, if the experimenter says this is the same room as before, except that a machine has expanded it (b).
Figure 10.17
A child sits in front of a screen covering
four cups and watches as one adult
hides a surprise under one of the cups.
Figure 10.17 (cont.)
A child sits in front of a screen
covering four cups and watches as
one adult hides a surprise under
one of the cups.
Figure 10.17 (cont.)
Then that adult and another
(who had not been present
initially) point to one of the
cups to signal where the
surprise is hidden. Many 4-
year-olds consistently follow
the advice of the informed
adult; 3-year-olds do not.
 Difficulties of Inferring Children’s Concepts
 Understanding Other People’s Thoughts

 Are young children more cognitively egocentric than adults are?

 What Piaget meant by this is that a child cannot easily

understand the perspectives of other people.

 Various experiments show that preschool aged children make

errors of thought that are typical of egocentric thinking.

 However, adults can make the same mistakes according to

other studies.
 CONCEPT CHECK:

Which is the clearest example of egocentric thinking?

1. An exceptionally wealthy man gives no money to charity.

2. A woman assumes that all her friends will want to see the same
movie that she does.

3. At student council meeting, a student takes credit for someone

else’s ideas.

#2 – selfishness (1) and dishonesty (3) are not the same as egocentrism.
 The Development of Moral Reasoning
 Children’s general powers of reasoning change across childhood,
and so does their reasoning about issues of right and wrong.

 There are a number of different psychological frameworks to

describe the changes in moral reasoning that occur over the
lifespan.
 The Development of Moral Reasoning
 Kohlberg’s Method of Evaluating Levels of Moral Reasoning

 Lawrence Kohlberg argued that moral reasoning progresses

through distinct stages.

 Young children tend to equate wrongness with punishment.

 Young children also frequently fail to consider intent in

judging a deed.

 He proposed that people pass through a distinct sequence of

moral reasoning stages.
 The Development of Moral Reasoning
 Kohlberg’s Method of Evaluating Levels of Moral Reasoning

 Kohlberg believed that people start at a low level of moral

reasoning and progress through higher stages.

 He believed that these stages were roughly analogous to

Piaget’s stages, but the progress was slower.

 He measured the maturity of an individual’s moral reasoning by

evaluating the responses given to moral dilemmas – problems
that pit one moral value against another.
 The Development of Moral Reasoning
 Kohlberg’s Method of Evaluating Levels of Moral Reasoning

 Preconventional Morality 1. Punishment & Obedience

2. Instrumental Relativism

 Conventional Morality 3. Interpersonal Concordance

4. “Law & Order” Orientation

 Postconventional Morality 5. Social Contract Orientation

6. Universal Ethical Principles
 The Development of Moral Reasoning
 Kohlberg’s Method of Evaluating Levels of Moral Reasoning

 Kohlberg assessed the level of moral reasoning using the

explanation for the decision offered, rather than the decision
itself.

 Few people are absolutely consistent in their moral reasoning.

 Kohlberg believed that very few people actually reached the

highest stages.
TABLE 10.3 
Responses to One of Kohlberg’s Moral Dilemmas by People at Six Levels of Moral Reasoning
The dilemma: Heinz’s wife was near death from cancer. A druggist had recently discovered a drug that might be
able to save her. The druggist was charging $2000 for the drug, which cost him $200 to make. Heinz could not
afford to pay for it, and he could borrow only $1000 from friends. He offered to pay the rest later. The druggist
refused to sell the drug for less than the full price paid in advance: “I discovered the drug, and I’m going to make
money from it.” Late that night, Heinz broke into the store to steal the drug for his wife. Did Heinz do the right thing
TABLE 10.3 (cont.) 
Responses to One of Kohlberg’s Moral Dilemmas by People at Six Levels of Moral Reasoning
The dilemma: Heinz’s wife was near death from cancer. A druggist had recently discovered a drug that might be
able to save her. The druggist was charging $2000 for the drug, which cost him $200 to make. Heinz could not
afford to pay for it, and he could borrow only $1000 from friends. He offered to pay the rest later. The druggist
refused to sell the drug for less than the full price paid in advance: “I discovered the drug, and I’m going to make
money from it.” Late that night, Heinz broke into the store to steal the drug for his wife. Did Heinz do the right thing
Figure 10.19
Learning to distinguish right from wrong is the development of moral reasoning. Most younger adolescents give answers
corresponding to Kohlberg’s earlier moral stages. By age 16 most are at Kohlberg’s fourth and fifth stages. (Based on Kohlberg,
1969)
 The Development of Moral Reasoning
 Limitations of Kohlberg’s Views

 Justice versus Caring Orientations

 Kohlberg based his system of reasoning on people’s rights.

 Carol Gilligan proposed that some people might reason

based on what would help or hurt others, an orientation of
caring.

 Gilligan proposed that women focus more on caring and men

more on rights.

 Later research has shown the gender differences in

orientation to be small.
 The Development of Moral Reasoning
 Limitations of Kohlberg’s Views

 Gilligan’s Stages of Moral Development

Stage Basis

Preconventional What is helpful or harmful to myself?

Conventional What is helpful or harmful to others?

Postconventional What is helpful or harmful to myself and

others?
Table 10.4
Carol Gilligan’s Stages of Moral Development
 The Development of Moral Reasoning
 Limitations of Kohlberg’s Views

 How Does Moral Reasoning Relate to Actual Behavior?

 Knowing what is right and doing it are not the same things.

 Kohlberg has been criticized for overestimating people’s

moral behavior.

 Kohlberg has been criticized for underestimating people’s

moral behavior.
 The Development of Moral Reasoning
 Limitations of Kohlberg’s Views

 People may describe how they would engage in higher-level

moral behavior, but actually behave in the manner that is
characteristic of a lower level, where there is a more tangible
benefit for them.

 Children may say that the reason not to do something is because

they’d get caught, but when ask if they’d do it if there was no
chance of getting caught, say they wouldn’t anyway.

 Kohlberg’s theory does not generalize well across cultures.

 Developing Cognitive Abilities
 Developing an understanding of the world is an enormous challenge
for children.

 We should acknowledge that for us adults understanding the world,

and how children learn to understand it, are daunting tasks as well.
 Module 10.3
 Social and Emotional Development
 Research Designs for Studying Development
 There are two types of research design used in studying human
development

 A cross-sectional study compares groups of individuals of

different ages simultaneously.

 A longitudinal study follows a single group of individuals as

they develop.
Table 10.5
Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Studies
 Research Designs for Studying Development
 Sources of bias in developmental research

 Selective attrition, or differential survival, is the increased

probability of some kinds of subjects dropping out.

 Cohort effects, or bias created because groups of

contemporaries all have the same experience, knowledge or
behaviors.
 Concept Check:

Follow-up of a 10-year-long study of a group of adults with infant

children who agreed to take parenting classes and job training in
exchange for public assistance until gaining employment shows high
overall levels of satisfaction.

What type of study is this?

Longitudinal study

What source of bias would be of great concern in this study?

Selective attrition
 Erikson’s Ages of Human Development
 Erikson divided the human life span into eight ages, each with its
own social and emotional conflicts.

 In this way he sought to provide a model of why people behave the

way they do, given the decisions that they are facing according to
age.
 Erikson’s Ages of Human Development
 When the conflict is resolved in a positive and constructive manner,
the person moves into the next stage in a psychologically healthy
state.

 If the conflict is not resolved, the negative effects will most likely
carry over into future stages, and have a detrimental effect on the
challenges that are yet to be faced.
 Erikson’s Ages of Human Development
 Ages 0 - 1

 The infant faces the issue –

 “Is my social world predictable and supportive?”

 The main conflict of infancy is basic trust versus basic mistrust.

 Erikson’s Ages of Human Development
 Ages 1 – 3

 The toddler asks the question –

 “Can I do things for myself or must I always rely on others to

help me?”

 The main conflict of toddlerhood is autonomy versus shame and

doubt.
 Erikson’s Ages of Human Development
 Ages 3 – 6

 The preschooler needs to figure out –

 “Am I a good person or a bad person?”

 The main conflict of the preschool aged child is initiative versus

guilt.
 Erikson’s Ages of Human Development
 Ages 6 – 12

 In an expanding social world, the school-aged child wants to

know –

 “Am I successful or am I worthless?”

 The preadolescent faces the struggle with a sense of industry

versus inferiority.
 Erikson’s Ages of Human Development
 Adolescence

 Teenagers begin to seek independence and seek the answer to

this fundamental question –

 “Who am I?”

 The adolescent needs to resolve the conflict between a settled

identity versus role confusion.
 Erikson’s Ages of Human Development
 Young Adulthood

 Young adults come to terms with the importance of

companionship and connection –

 “Shall I share my life with another person or live alone?”

 The central conflict of early adulthood is that of intimacy versus

isolation.
 Erikson’s Ages of Human Development
 Middle Age

 In the middle of adulthood one wants to feel that they have

contributed to society in some meaningful way –

 “Will I add anything of real value to the world as a worker and

a parent?”

 The conflict of middle adulthood is the desire to achieve generativity

versus stagnation.
 Erikson’s Ages of Human Development
 Old Age

 The reality that time is growing short forces people to face a final
and profound question –

 “Have I lived a full and meaningful life, or have I squandered

my time?”

 As older adults we struggle to determine whether we have arrived at

a stage of ego integrity versus despair.
Table 10.6
Erikson’s Ages of Human Development
 Infancy and Childhood
 Attachment Theory

 Attachment is a long-term feeling of closeness between a child

and a caregiver

 Before the mid-twentieth century, developmental

psychologists believed that feeding was the primary cause of
attachment between mother and child.

 Harlow’s studies with newborn rhesus monkeys suggest that

warmth and touch was even more important that feeding.

 He called this essential close physical interaction contact

comfort.
Figure 10.25
All the baby monkeys preferred the cloth mothers, regardless of which artificial mother fed them. The two bottom lines show hours per day
spent with the wire mothers.
 Infancy and Childhood
 Attachment Theory

 Contact comfort is necessary but not sufficient.

 The baby monkeys who were raised by cuddly artificial cloth

mothers had plenty of contact comfort, but were still unable to
raise their own young upon reaching reproductive age.

 However, baby monkeys raised by cloth mothers and also

interacting on a regular basis with other young monkeys
developed normally.

 Social interaction with other individuals is also necessary –

though these individuals do not have to be a parent.
 Infancy and Childhood
 Early Attachment in Humans

 Some researchers wanted to know why the quality of attachment

between human children and their parents seemed to vary so
much in quality.

 Mary Ainsworth devised a test called the Strange Situation to

examine what factors might contribute to this variation.
 Infancy and Childhood
 Early Attachment in Humans

 In the Strange Situation study, the following sequence of events

was observed through a one-way mirror:

 A mother and infant (12 to 18 months of age) enter a room

with toys in it.
 A stranger enters the room.

 Mother leaves the room.

 Mother returns to the room.

 Mother and the stranger leave the room.

 The stranger returns to the room.

 Mother returns to the room again.

 Infancy and Childhood
 Early Attachment in Humans

 The psychologists who observed the Strange Situation classified

the infants’ responses as follows:

 Securely attached

 Anxious or insecurely attached

 Anxious and avoidant

 Disorganized
 Infancy and Childhood
 Early Attachment in Humans

 Uses of the Strange Situation:

 Has been used with fathers as well as mothers and children

 As a predictor of the quality of the child’s future relationship

with parents

 Has also been used with grandparents and grandchildren,

and even pets and their humans
 Infancy and Childhood
 Early Attachment in Humans

 Factors to consider when interpreting the results of the Strange

Situation study:

 Parental behavior does have an effect on attachment.

 The effect upon parenting of the child’s innate temperament

also needs to be considered.

 A child who is born with a pleasant and calm temperament

may elicit more affectionate behaviors from a parent than a
less predictable and fussier infant.

 The study may have limited applicability across cultures.

 Infancy and Childhood
 Social Development in Childhood

 The quality of a child’s friendships appears to be of crucial

importance during middle childhood

 Some children are popular and have little trouble making

friends and gaining admirers.
 Some children are rejected, outcast and avoided by most

other children.
 Controversial children are accepted by some peers and

rejected by others.

 In most cases, these statuses remain consistent from year to

year.
 Adolescence
 Over the course of the twentieth century, adolescence in our society
has lengthened.

 It is generally recognized to begin at puberty, the onset of

changes that result in sexual maturity.

 The end of adolescence is harder to discern.

 It was customary through most of the last century to characterize

adolescence as a period of “storm and stress.”
 Adolescence
 The turbulence of adolescence is seen in moodiness, conflict with
parents, and tendency to risky behavior.

 These trends may reflect hormonal fluctuations and brain

maturation, but may also be culturally influenced.

 There are many cultures in which there is no adolescence,

teenagers are married and working.
 Adolescence
 The secular trend of earlier puberty, and a societal movement
toward a lengthened education and postponement of marriage have
influenced the American experience of adolescence.

 There is a tendency in this society to stereotype adolescents.

 Most adolescents are stable, relatively happy and complete this

period to become well-adjusted adults.
 Adolescence
 Identity Development

 Adolescence is the time of “finding oneself.”

 Western society offers many choices to teenagers.

 This is invigorating and yet also can cause anxiety.

 An adolescent’s concern about the future and achieving self-

understanding has been referred to as the identity crisis.

 The crisis may or may not be so turbulent, depending on the

adolescent.
 Adolescence
 Identity Development

 James Marcia developed a set of identity statuses based on two

major elements of identity development

 Whether or not one is actively exploring the issues of identity

development – “crisis”

 Whether or not one has made any decisions – “commitment”

 Adolescence
 Identity Development

 Those who have not given decisions any real thought and have
no clear sense of identity are in identity diffusion.

 Those who have made firm decisions without giving them much
thought are said to be in foreclosure.

 Those who are seriously considering issues but have not made
any decisions are in a state of moratorium.

 Those who have explored the possibilities and made their own
decisions are called identity achieved.
 Adolescence
 Identity Development

 Marcia’s statuses are useful for thinking about the important

dimensions of finding a stable identity.

 It is possible that identity achievement does not happen “all at

once.”

 One may settle on a career well before finding a committed

relationship.

 It is also possible or even common to rethink decisions later in

life.
 Adolescence
 The Personal Fable

 According to David Elkind, teenagers are particularly prone to

harbor beliefs such as:

 “I am special – what is true for others is not true for me.”

 “It won’t happen to me!

 “Nobody understands how I feel.”

 “Everyone cares about how I look and what I am wearing.” –

also known as the “imaginary audience.”

 These beliefs may be adaptive in some situations, but can also

lead to risk-taking behavior and feelings of alienation from
parents and peers.
 Adulthood
 The beginning of young adulthood is marked by commitments in the
areas of career, relationships and lifestyle.

 The quality of the period known as middle age is influenced in part

by the outcome of these early adult decisions.
 Adulthood
 Job Satisfaction

 In general job satisfaction is strongly related to overall life

satisfaction

 Most adults say they are satisfied with their work, but also
say that they would choose a different job if they could “start
over.”

 Younger workers generally report being less satisfied than

older workers.

 Few people change jobs once they have reached middle age.
Figure 10.29
Psychologists
propose several
reasons why most
older workers
report higher job
satisfaction than
younger workers
do.
 Adulthood
 The Midlife Transition

 The “midlife crisis” is a dramatic expression for the reassessment

of personal goals that many people experience.

 A more low-key and accurate term is midlife transition.

 Some abandon unrealistic goals set in youth and set new

goals that fit with their current lives.

 Others try to fulfill some of those early life dreams, or set new
ones.
 Adulthood
 Old Age

 Despite the stereotypes we hold, old age is not a uniform

experience for humans

 Some people do deteriorate rapidly, either physically or

intellectually.

 Others remain active and alert into their 80s and well beyond.

 In general, the elderly in our society have been experiencing

improved health, activity and intellect.
 Adulthood
 Old Age

 A commonly voiced concern is how to maintain a sense of

dignity and self-esteem

 The course of youth and middle age influences this sense.

 The amount of regret about how that time was used also has
an effect.

 Cultural attitudes towards aging are also important.

 The more a culture values its elders, the easier it will be to

maintain a sense of dignity.
 Adulthood
 Old Age

 Elderly people generally differ from younger people in some of

their social habits.

 They will more frequently seek the company of familiar people.

 The elderly will often try to retain some control over their lives,
even when faced with failing health.
 Adulthood
 The Psychology of Facing Death

 Death can occur at any age, but we usually associate it with the
later years of life.

 The way we deal with death is in part determined by our

culture and is also constantly evolving.

 Terror-management theory states that we cope with our

deep fear of it by actively avoiding the thought of death and
maintaining an optimistic and hopeful world-view.

 In general, even being casually reminded of mortality

increases people’s defense of their belief system, whatever
that may be.
 Social and Emotional Developmental Issues
 The things that you do at an earlier age no doubt have some effect
on your later life.

 You can change your life at any age, but the earlier you decide what
is important to you and how you want to spend your limited time, the
easier it will be to live your life in a satisfying and meaningful way.
 Module 10.4
 Temperament, Family, Gender and Cultural Influences on
Development
 Temperament and Lifelong Development
 Temperament is a person’s tendency to be active or inactive,
outgoing or reserved

 Research suggests that temperament is stable over much of the

lifespan.

 Kagan and his associates were able to strongly relate infant

temperament to later levels of sociability.

 Genetic influences make contributions to temperament, although

environment is also a factor.
 The Family
 Research has not shown any reliable connection between birth
order and personality or other qualities.

 The fact that older and younger children may behave in certain ways
in the home is probably specific to that situation.

 Family size does appear to have some influence on children’s IQ

scores, with smaller families showing higher IQ scores than larger
ones.
Figure 10.31
Children from small families tend to score higher on IQ tests than children from large families. However, within a family
of a given size, birth order is not related to IQ. If we combine results for families of different sizes, first borns have a
higher mean score, but only because many of them come from small families. (Adapted from Rodgers et al., 2000)
 The Effects of Parenting Style
 Diane Baumrind described four basic styles of parenting based on
the dimensions of warmth and control

 Authoritative parents impose controls but show warmth and

encouragement to the child.

 Authoritarian parents impose control but tend to be emotionally

distant from the child.

 Permissive parents are warm but impose few limits.

 Uninvolved parents are distant and do little more than provide

resources.
 The Effects of Parenting Style
 Children of authoritative parents tend to be most self-reliant and
cooperative.

 Children of authoritarian parents tend to be obedient but also

distrustful and not very independent.

 Children of permissive parents are frequently socially irresponsible.

 Children of uninvolved parents tend to be impulsive and hard to

discipline.
 The Effects of Parenting Style
 Reasonably consistent links have been found between the parenting
styles and child behavior.

 These results do not necessarily apply across ethnic groups and

cultures.

 It is unclear if the parent’s behavior shapes the children’s behavior;

the children’s behavior shapes the parent’s, or both are true to some
degree.
 The Effects of Parenting Style
 The Nurture Assumption

 Studies of adopted children and their parents show little

correlation between parenting style and child behavior.

 Harris and other researchers believe that parenting style really

only influences child behavior at home.

 Parents exert influence mostly by controlling the environment in

which the child is being raised.

 Harris proposes that ultimately the peer group will be the most
influential shaping force upon the personality of the child.
 Parental Employment and Child Care
 Although we tend to assume that western models are the norm,
child-rearing practices vary greatly between world cultures

 Communal child rearing, use of paid help, and many other

variations exist from our traditional model of the stay-at-home
mother.

 In general, whether loving stay-at-home parents rear children or

children receive high quality day care for part of the day, child
development proceeds normally.
 Nontraditional Families
 Some models of family life that are considered “nontraditional” are:

 Single mothers

 Gay and lesbian couples raising children

 Mother as primary breadwinner while father stays at home

 Research indicates that what matters most is that the child has a
stable, emotional relationship with at least one adult.
 Parental Conflict and Divorce
 Not so long ago, divorce was an unusual outcome for marriage

 An estimated ¾’s of African-American and over one-third of

European-American children will experience the divorce of their
parents.

 This may be partly explained by the reduced attention and

increased economic hardship experienced by these children.
 Parental Conflict and Divorce
 It may also be related to the prolonged exposure to conflict that
often accompanies divorce.

 The younger the child is when the divorce occurs, the milder the
effects generally tend to be.

 Longitudinal studies suggest an increase tendency to conflict with

parents and other children among children of divorce.
 Parental Conflict and Divorce
 During the first year after the divorce, they exhibit more attention
seeking and pouting behavior, and boys tend to be more aggressive
at home and school.

 Effects were often worse if a non-working mother took a job outside

the home immediately afterwards.

 Girls frequently have problems adjusting to life with a stepfather, but

stepsiblings in “blended” families often get along better than do
biological siblings.
 Parental Conflict and Divorce
 Results vary across cultures, in African-American families extended
family members often pitch in to ease the burden.

 Children of all backgrounds show a variety of adjustment patterns,

many are amazingly resilient.

 Should parents stay together for the “children’s sake?”

 The answer depends on the level of conflict. Children appear to

suffer most of all, whether parents split up or stay together, when
parents are constantly battling.
 Gender Influences
 There are many interesting miscellaneous differences between men
and women.

 People tend to have strong opinions about what causes these

differences, but there is little basis for certainty about the causes.
 Gender Influences
 Cognitive differences

 Females tend to perform better in language related tasks,

especially language fluency.

 Males generally do better on difficult spatial and mathematical

tasks.

 It has been proposed that male ability in spatial tasks is related

to our early hunter-gatherer lifestyle, but male rats seem to
exhibit this quality also.
 Gender Influences
 Differences in Self-Esteem

 Males report slightly higher levels of self-esteem, with the most

pronounced difference occurring at adolescence.

 Psychologists view measures of self-esteem as only minimally

reliable and valid.

 Results of studies that examine self-esteem are not clearly

interpretable.
 Gender Influences
 Differences in Social Situations

 There are large and consistent differences in male and female

play, but these are only evident in social contexts.

 Girls’ play tends to be more cooperative and quiet, boys’ tends to

be more competitive and more likely to dissolve into disputes
about rules.

 In unsupervised situations, boys often dominate and intimidate

girls.
 Gender Influences
 Male-Female Relationships

 It appears that by the time adolescence begins, males and

females are not well prepared to negotiate the complexities of
communication across sex lines

 Males are used to demanding what they want, women are

used to cooperating.
 Males worry more about their status compared to other men;

women don’t usually understand the importance of status.

 Women usually require expressions of sympathy from

listeners; men often fail to understand this need.

 These are of course generalizations, and not all male-female

relationships are hampered by these issues.
 Gender Influences
 Ethnic and Cultural Influences

 Membership in a minority group mold’s a person’s development

in two ways

 The customs of the group may differ significantly from those

of other groups.

 Members of the minority group are affected by the attitudes of

other people who may treat them differently or expect certain
behaviors of them based on stereotypes.
 Gender Influences
 Ethnic and Cultural Influences

 Acculturation is a transition from feeling connected to the culture

of origin to feeling like part of the culture of a new country.

 It is a gradual process and may take more than a generation to

complete.
 Gender Influences
 Ethnic and Cultural Influences

 Some immigrants remain partially connected to their cultural

heritage and develop a bicultural identity, alternating between
memberships in two cultures depending on context.

 To some extent we are all multicultural, as varying contexts of

work and our social lives may present us with different rules and
norms to follow.

 However, for the immigrant or first generation resident of the

United States, these transitions are more pronounced and
intense.
 Understanding and Accepting the Influences
 In our growing appreciation of the variety of influences on human
development, we are moving away from a unitary view of the “right”
or “normal” way to grow.

 We are beginning to understand the reasons for the differences, and

appreciate the diversity of adaptive ways to be one’s self in the
world.