Stephanie Miller

Chapter 5 Developing Through the Life Span

Conception -Women are born with all the immature eggs she will ever have - 1 in 5000 will never be released Men begins producing sperm cells at puberty for the rest of his life, 24 hours a day, he will be a nonstop sperm factory. Rate of production does change with age. Prenatal Development Zygotes are fertilized eggs Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is usually seen with children born with mental as well as physical deformities. Over 1/750 kids are born with FAS FAS is the leading cause of mental retardation Pregnant women who have been stressed during their pregnancy have children who are less competent in motor skills, emotional as well as learning deficiency. Increased proclivity of depression Embryo: From about two weeks after conception to three months after conception Fetus:Three months after conception to birth Placenta: Connects fetus to mother;Brings oxygen and nutrients;Takes away wastes Critical period: Time when influences have major effect Teratogens: Substances that can damage an embryo or fetus Fetal alcohol syndrome-- FAS Occurs in children of women who consume large amounts of alcohol during pregnancy Symptoms include facial deformities, heart defects, stunted growth, and cognitive impairments The Competent Newborn Habituation: Decreasing responsiveness with a repeated stimulation. Rooting: Baby turns its head toward something that brushes its cheek and gropes around with mouth Sucking: Newborns tendency to suck on objects placed in the mouth Swallowing: Enables newborn babies to swallow liquids without choking Grasping: Close fist around anything placed in their hand Stepping:Stepping motions made by an infant when held upright Infancy and Childhood Children grow about 10 inches and gain about 15 pounds in first year Growth occurs in spurts, as much as 1 inch overnight Growth slows during second year

Brain Development Maturation:Biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively influenced by experience. Over 23 billion neurons were produced in the child by birth From age 3-6, the brains neural system starts to grow in the frontal lobes, enabling rational planning Maturation sets the basic course of development. It is the genetically designed biological growth process. While genetic growth tendencies are inborn

Motor Development Developmental norms: Ages by which an average child achieves various developmental milestones The order in which physical coordination occurs like crawling before walking is due to the maturing of the nervous system and has nothing to do with imitation Individual differences in timing occur Genes play a role in the timing of each coordination. - Identical twins would be able to walk more or less on the same day Biological maturation includes the rapid development of the cerebellum at the back of the brain Experiences will not have a major effect on the childs physical skills until after age 1

Maturation and Infant Memory The average age of earliest conscious memory was 3.5 years of age Starting at 4 years old, a child can start to remember their experiences From age 3-4 , the brain cortex matures , thus enabling toddlers to increase their long-term storage When the conscious mind does not know and cannot express in words, the nervous system may remember through increased physiological responses like through skin perspiration

Cognitive Development Jean Piagets works revolved around the errors give by children by each age. Piaget revealed that schemas develop when the brain builds concepts. The schemas are mental molds into which we pour our experiences. There are two ways which we could adjust our schemas - assimilate new schemas, we interpret them into our current schemas - accommodate our schemas, we adjust our present schemas to fit the particulars of new experiences. You refine the category.

Piaget studies led him to believe that childs mind develops through of series of stages Cognitive Refers to all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communication. Schemas Concept and framework that organized and interprets information Assimilate:Interpreting out new experience in terms of our existing schemas Accommodate: the stage from birth to about 2 years of age during the infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities.

Piagets Theory and Current Thinking Sensory-Motor Stage (birth to 2 years) This is when the babies will take in the world through their sensory and motor interactions interacting with objects Preoperational Stage (2-7 years) a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic. Concrete Operations (7-11 years) that quantity remains the same despite changes in shape. (Like when closed beakers seem to hold more volume as another open beaker with the same volume.) Formal Operations (12-Adulthood years) when reasoning expands from concrete experiences to abstract thinking. Children start to solve hypothetical propositions and deduct consequences starting from adolescence.

Reflecting on Piagets Theory Many question assumption that there are distinct stages in cognitive development Criticism of notion that infants do not understand world Piaget may have underestimated influence of social interaction in cognitive development Social Development The intense mutual infant-parent bond develops by 12 months. Stranger Anxiety-fear of strangers, starting at around 8 months. They have schemas for similar faces. Imprinting Tendency to follow the first moving thing seen; Occurs in many species of animals Attachment: Humans form a bond with those who care for them in infancy;Based upon interaction with caregiver Autonomy: Sense of independence Socialization: Process by which children learn appropriate attitudes and behaviors Attachment Differences Mary Ainsworth studied attachment differences by observing mother infant pairs at home during their first six months. Securely attached children play and explore comfortably when a mother is present and then becomes distressed when she leaves.

Insecurely attached children meanwhile explore less in the mothers presence and may cling to her, cry loudly when she leaves and remain upset until she returns. Sensitive responsive parents tend to have securely attached children Genetically influenced temperament may evoke responsive parenting, but parental sensitivity has been taught and does increase infant attachment security. Erick Ericksons idea prompted that basic trust is formed in infancy through our experiences with responsive caregivers. basic trust: a sense that the world is predictable and reliable, said to be formed during infancy by appropriate experience with responsive caregivers Deprivation of Attachment Children become withdrawn and frightened when they are deprived of attachment and may not be able to develop speech properly Childhood abuse can lead to physical, psychological as well as social problems, it may alter the brains production of serotonin. This effect can be minimal before 16 months of age, by age 2 problems start to develop if abuse persists. Extensive time spent in day care is linked to increased aggression and defiance Self-Concept Self concept is the sense of their own identity and personal worth, around 12 months At 15-18 months, children start to touch there noses when they see a red spot in the mirror When they start school, they can describe many of their own traits By age 10, their self conception is rigid and stable The childrens views of themselves affect their actions. Children who form a positive self concept are more confident, independent and optimistic self-concept- an understanding and assessment of who they are. Parenting Styles Authoritarian: Tightly control childrens behavior and insist on obedience Can produce children who have poor communication skills, who are moody, withdrawn, and distrustful Permissive-indifferent: Parents have too little control and often are indifferent and neglectful Children tend to become overly dependent and lack social skills and self-control Permissive-indulgent: Parents are very attentive and supportive, but do not set limits on behavior Children tend to be immature, disrespectful, impulsive, and out of control Authoritative :Parents provide firm structure, but are not overly controlling Parents listen to their childrens opinions and explain their decisions, bur are still clearly in charge

Children tend to become self-reliant and socially responsible Adolescence and Physical Development Growth spurt begins about age 10 in girls and about 12 in Puberty: Onset of sexual maturation Menarche-First menstrual period for girls; Early and late developers Adolescent sexual activity: Approximately of males and of females between 15 and 19 have had intercourse Average age for first intercourse is 16 for boys and 17 for girls Rate of teen pregnancy has fallen in the last 50 years Highest in U.S. of all industrialized nation. Some problems of Adolescence that have been recognized are as follows: Declines in self-esteem Related to appearance Satisfaction in appearance is related to higher self-esteem Depression and suicide Rate of suicide among adolescents has increased 600% since 1950, but has leveled off in 90s Suicide often related to depression, drug abuse, and disruptive behaviors Cognitive Development Adolescents are more likely to worry about what others think about themselves. During the early teenage years, reasoning is often self-focused. They feel that their private experiences are unique. They think that others can not understand their unique experiences Formal operations is the shift from preadolescents thinking concretely to adolescents becoming more capable of abstract logic. This is Piagets theory The teenagers ability to reason hypothetically and deduce consequences allows them to detect inconsistencies in others reasoning and to spot hypocrisy Social Development Erik Erikson exclaimed that individuals go through eight stages in life, each with a psychosocial task. Infancy: the issue was that of trust and mistrust Toddler: it becomes autonomy vs. shame and doubt Preschool: the issue is initiative and guilt Elementary School: the child is given the issues of inferiority and competence Adolescences:it becomes about finding ones identity Young Adults: the issue is between intimacy and isolation Middle adulthood: it becomes generativity vs. stagnation. Late Adulthood: the issue becomes integrity vs. despair.

Forming Identity Identity: Our sense of ourselves Social Identity: The we aspect of our self concept, the part of our answers to who am I? that comes from out group membership Erikson revealed that some teenagers take their parents values and expectations and use it as their identity. Daniel Hart discovered that younger teenagers were more likely to reflect the values of a certain group while older teenagers were more likely to reflect their own personal values. Older teenagers were also more likely to have intimacy, the ability to form emotionally close relationships. This is after these individuals get a better sense of who they are Parent and Peer Influence Positive relations with parents support positive peer relations Teenage years is a time of decreasing parental connection and a more peer connection Parents have a bigger influence on religious faith, career, college and thinking values. Most teenagers share their parents political views

Emerging Adulthood Emerging adulthood are people who are no longer teenagers but are not ready to take on adulthood responsibilities. Due to this emerging adulthood, marriage has been delayed by several years. Forming partnerships: First major event of adulthood is forming and maintaining close relationships

Physical Changes in Middle Adulthood Physical vigor has less to do with age; it has more to do with a persons health and exercise habits. Menopause is the ending of the menstrual cycle beginning around when a woman hits her 50th birthday. Estrogen is reduced during this period. Menopause usually does not create psychological problems for women. Bernice Neugarten went around and asked women who had their menopause how they felt. The majority felt at the prime of their lives. Men experience a more gradual decline of sperm production over age. Testosterone levels, erection and ejaculation are also at a declining rate.

Physical Changes in Later Life A persons response to these changes is important Older people become more susceptible to short-term illnesses. During old age many of the brains neurons die. If they live to be 90 or older, most people eventually become senile.

Recognition memory- the ability to identify things previously experienceddeclines with age. Life satisfaction peaks in the fifties and then gradually declines after the age 65.

Cognitive Development Research has demonstrated that those who continue to exercise their mental abilities can delay mental decline Alzheimers disease afflicts approximately 10% of people over 65 and perhaps as many as 50% of those over 85 Aging and Intelligence Well Being Across the Life Span A persons feeling of satisfaction and well being are stable through out ones lifespan Older adults may experience a higher rate of satisfactions since they had satisfied the tasks of early adulthood. They are filled with a strong sense of satisfaction and identity Older adults are less sensitive to negative facts. The amygalda show decreased activity in response to negative events while maintain its responsiveness to positive events. Mihalay Csikszentmihalyi and Reed Larson revealed that teenagers got over an emotion within an hour while older people endured their emotions longer.

Death and Dying Death of spouse is the hardest for a person When death comes at an expected time, grieving may be short lived. When death comes earlier, grief is more severe Erikson believed that older people where filled with a sense of meaning and identity when thinking about death

Continuity and Stages Researchers who stress biological maturation see development as a series of genetically predisposed steps. Researchers who stress slow continuous development stress experience and learning. Piagetss, Eriksons and Kohlbergs ideas have shown us the ways people differ at various points in the life span. Lifelong development also shows stability and change Personality gradually stabilizes throughout age. When we age, we may change our earlier personalities but sustaining characteristic traits in comparison to our age mates.