I. Definition of Development

1. Definition of Development - the process by which organisms grow and change over the course of their lives. When does it begin? From time sperm fertilizes the egg. When does it end? Death.

2. Areas of Development - Physical

Perceptual


Cognitive


Language


Socio-Emotional


3. Nature - Nurture - This is the main issue in the study of development.


(1) Nature: Some people believe that much of human behavior is guided by genetics, physiological maturation, and neurological functioning. There is a biological program that determines the course of your life. Universals in behavior (e.g., walking, talking, etc.) can be easily explained from this perspective. Individual differences are also believed to be genetic (Intelligence - poor kids do worse on IQ tests because of genetic reasons and poor prenatal care but they are born that way and no matter what you do you can't change them).


(2) Nurture: Emphasizes the physical and social environment on development. You respond to people and objects in your environment and that is how you change. IQ differences are due to cognitive stimulation and opportunities to learn, anyone can do well with the right environment.


(3) Integration: Both extremes have weaknesses. Most psychologists agree that both biological and environmental variable play a role. Some biological role more important (walking), some experience (learning to read), some both (talking, intelligence, etc.).


4. Stability - Is behavior stable over time? If you have an aggressive 3 year old, does that mean you will have an aggressive adult? No clear answer. Some people stress the individual changes as they grow, others stress the stability over time. In general, behavior gets more stable as you get older. Example: IQ measured at age 2 is not that good a predictor but IQ measured at 10 is. Also, some behaviors are more stable than others. Aggression is fairly stable. Does that mean it is not changeable? NO. Could be environment that remains same.

II. PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT

1. Stages of Prenatal Development - Zygote (first 2 weeks of life). Begins at fertilization and extends until zygote (fertilized egg) becomes implanted in the wall of the uterus. Embryo (3rd to 8th prenatal week). Differentiation of most important organs and physiological systems occurs at this time and by end of this period the embryo is recognizable as a tiny human. Rapid growth, the embryo increases 2 million percent in size but because of this rapid growth the organism is most vulnerable to adverse environmental effects. Fetus (From beginning of 3rd month until birth). Little further differentiation of organs occurs, however, muscle development is rapid, closure of the palate occurs, and genitalia differentiation continues. Central Nervous System also develops rapidly. At about 4 months you get movement of fetus. At 5 months reflexes such as sucking, swallowing, and hiccoughing appear. At about 6 months eyes develop and can open and close eyes. Infant still can't survive outside mother yet. 28 weeks usually thought of as age of viability, there are exceptions however.

III. Prenatal Influences on Development

1. Teratogen - Any external agent that can harm a developing embryo or fetus. Can include disease, blood disorders, diet, radiation, hormones, temperature, or oxygen level.

2. Developmental Stage - The effect of the teratogen varies with prenatal age. The system that is developing at the time of the teratogen is most vulnerable. Most vulnerable period for brain is 15-25 days, for eyes 24-40 days, heart 20-40 days, legs 24-36 days. During fetal stage the effects are limited to those systems that are still developing mainly the cerebellum, palate, cardiovascular system, nervous system, or genitalia.

3. Different Systems - Different teratogens influence specific developmental processes. Rubella effects heart, eyes, and brain. Thalidomide results in malformations of limbs. Therefore, the most dangerous times for these things is when those systems are developing.


IV. Physical Development

1. Norms - These are approximate ages when important attributes and skills are acquired in average child.

2. First 3 Months - Sleeps most of the time. Small but steady changes in perceptions of world (what he sees and hears).

3. About 3 Months - More visual involvement. Exploring and interacting with world with eyes.

4. 4-7 Months - Improved eye-hand coordination. At 5 months get first purposeful, eye guided reaching for objects.

5. 6 Months - Rolls over completely: back to stomach and stomach to back.

6. 7 Months - Sits up without help.

7. 8-9 Months - Begins to crawl. First done on belly with feet dragging.

8. First Half of Second Year - Usually takes first steps.

9. 18 Months - Infant can run but it is very clumsy.

10. 2 Years - Walks and runs fairly well.

11. Variability - These only tell us what is average, not what is normal or abnormal. If someone is faster or slower it doesn't mean they are smarter or will develop at that rate min everything.


V. Methods of Studying Development

1. Cohort Effects - Your cohort are people who were born around the same time you were. Cultural effects change from period to period and from place to place - it must effect development.

2. Cross-Sectional Design - This takes different age groups at the same point in time in order to make conclusions as to how development proceeds. It gives idea of change over time and clues to the mechanisms of development.

5. Longitudinal Design - This takes a group of children the same age and follows them over a period of time to see how development progresses. Can range in time , from as little as one to two years to a lifetime.


VI. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
1. Piaget - Theory goes from birth to adulthood. His theories are the foundation, frame of reference, for all cognitive work. Cognitive development occurs through 4 stages and each one is qualitatively different from the other. Children learn by actively manipulating their environment. This is done through assimilation and accommodation. Assimilation is using your existing mental structure to understand new information. Accommodation is changing your cognitive structures to fit new information.

2. Stages of Development

(A) Sensorimotor Period (Birth to 2 years) - The infant becomes more externally motivated. In the beginning, everything is centered on the body, with no distinction between external and internal world. By the end of this period, the child has developed a basic capacity for symbolic thinking; representing events that are not immediately present. Prior to this, everything is done by trial and error.

(B) Preoperational Period (2-7 years) - Children become increasingly proficient at constructing and using mental symbols to think about objects, situations, and events. Despite these advances there are limitations as they have not yet acquired all schemata necessary for logical thinking. Now have symbolic thought. Main deficit in reasoning is egocentrism, the inability to distinguish their own perspective from that of others.

(C) Concrete Operational Period (7-11 years) - Cognitive abilities are increasing dramatically. Develop ability to internalize actions and to reason in an elementary fashion. They are still tied to concrete objects in the immediate world. They can solve problems only if the objects to solve them are physically present.

(D) Formal Operations Period (12 and up) - Can now reason quite logically about abstract ideas that have no basis in reality. Thought is much more flexible and abstract.



3. Moral Development - The process by which children acquire society's standards of right and wrong. Kohlberg built on Piaget's work and studied morality by focusing on moral reasoning, the thinking the child displays in deciding if something is right or wrong. Basic assumption is that moral development depends on cognitive development. Development proceeds through a series of stages.

4. Levels and Stages - There are 3 moral levels and 6 stages.

Level 1: Preconventional Morality
(1) Stage 1: Punishment and Obedience Orientation - Child determines goodness or badness or an act on basis of its consequences. Obeys rules to avoid punishment. Doesn't understand rules, if child can get away with it, it is not considered bad. The seriousness of violation depends on how much punishment you get.
(2) Stage 2: Naive Hedonism, or Instrumental Orientation - Conforms to rules in order to gain rewards or satisfy personal needs. What is right will benefit you in long run. Philosophy is "You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours."

Level 2: Conventional Morality
(3) Stage 3: "Good Boy" or "Good Girl" Orientation - Moral behavior is what pleases, helps, or is approved by others. Prime objective is to be thought of as a nice person.
(4) Stage 4: Authority and Social-Order-Maintaining Morality - One accepts and conforms to rules and conventions in order to avoid censure by legitimate authorities. Reason for obeying rules is not fear of punishment but belief law and order worth preserving.

Level 3: Postconventional Morality
(5) Stage 5: Morality of Contract, Individual Rights, and Democratically Accepted Law - Flexibility in moral judgements. Moral actions are those that express the will of the majority or maximize social welfare.. Rules must be impartial and arrived at democratically. Rules can be modified if majority wants them to. This is morality of U.S. Constitution.
(6) Stage 6: Mortality of Individual Principles of Conscience - Highest stage of moral reasoning. Defines right and wrong on basis of self-chosen ethical principles of one's own conscience. Not concrete like 10 Commandments but are more abstract and can be applied to all situations. Deviations leads to guilt and self-condemnation.


VII. SEX DIFFERENCES

Answer true or false

1. At the age of 2 1/2, boys and girls typically think that their own sex is superior. True. Chauvinism begins early.

2. Three year olds report that women are more likely to cry than men. True. Knowledge of stereotypical sex roles is forming rapidly by this age.

3. Girls are superior to boys in verbal abilities. True. Girls speak somewhat earlier than boys, have crisper pronunciation, and encounter fewer reading problems.

4. Fathers are more likely than mothers to help children with their math homework. True. Math is generally seen as part of the male domain in our culture.

5. Girls are more likely than boys to have math anxiety. True. It is difficult to convince even highly capable girls to take math courses.

6. Girls are more likely to play with "boys' toys" than boys are to play with "girls' toys." True. Sexism leads boys to view girls activities as inferior.

7. Girls do not like to play with guns. True. Nor, generally speaking, do they like boxing or other rough and tumble activities.

8. Girls like to go to school but boys do not. False. Boys and girls both generally like school.

9. Boys are more aggressive than girls. True.

10. Boys are more likely than girls to curse. True. Boys are also more likely to issue commands, while girls are more likely to make polite requests.

11. Women who compete with men in the business world are suffering from penis-envy they experienced as little girls. False. This psychoanalytic notion is based on ignorance and prejudice.

12. A 2 1/2 year old may know that he is a boy, but still thinks he can grow up to be a mommy. True. Children do not recognize that they will maintain their genders until the concept of gender stability emerges at about the ages of 4 or 5.

13. Adolescent girls who show a number of "masculine" traits have higher self-esteem than girls who thoroughly adopt the traditional feminine sex role. True.

14. Females are the weaker sex as far as physical vulnerability is concerned. False. Girls develop physically and neurologically quicker than boys, have a lower rate of infant mortality, and are less vulnerable to disease and hereditary abnormalities.

15. Almost all students who are labeled as exceptionally talented in mathematics by the junior high school level are male. True. Boys excel in mathematics beginning at about age 12.

16. Girls are more compliant to the demands of parents and other adults as early as age 2. True.

17. Boys are more likely to have school problems, reading disabilities, speech defects, and emotional problems. True.

18. Girls are more social than boys. False. Boys and girls spend about as much time with others and are equally responsive to others.

19. Girls are more suggestible than boys. False. Girls are not more likely to conform to standards of a peer group or to imitate the responses of others.

20. Boys are more responsive to visual stimuli and girls to auditory stimuli. False. No sex differences.