HUMAN DEVELOPMENTAP Psychology (Mr. Hinder)

Development

The pattern of continuity and change that occurs throughout the lifespan

Three areas Physical processes Cognitive processes Socioemotional

processes

Physical

Cognitive Socioemotional

Development

Nature – Biological Inheritance Nurture – Environmental Experiences Optimal experiences – Individuals

take active roles in their own development

Early Experience versus Later Experience

Early vs Later Experiences Early Some psychologists believe

that unless infants experience warm, nurturing care in the first year of life, they will not develop to their full potential

early experience doctrine rests on the belief that each life is an unbroken trail on which a psychological quality can be traced back to its origin

later experience: liken development in later years to the ebb and flow of a river.

Later experience advocates argue that children are responsive to change and that sensitive caregiving is just as important later as it is earlier

Cognitive

Jean Piaget (1896-1980) Children actively construct their

cognitive world using… Schemas – concepts or frameworks that

organize information Assimilation – incorporate new info into

existing schemas Accomodation – adjust existing schemas

to incorporate new information

PiagetSwiss psychologist Jean Piaget (1926, 1977) spent over 50 years exploring how a child’s thought processes develop.

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive DevelopmentStage Age (Years)Major Characteristics

Sensorimotor

Preoperational

Concrete operational

Formal operational

Birth to 2

2 to 7

7 to 12

12 on

• Infant understands world through sensory and motor experiences• Achieves object permanence• Exhibits emergence of symbolic

thought• Child uses symbolic thinking in the form of

words and images to represent objects and experiences• Symbolic thinking enables child to engage in pretend play• Thinking displays egocentrism,

irreversibility, and centration• Child can think logically about concrete

events• Grasps concepts of conservation and serial

ordering• Adolescent can think more logically,

abstractly, and flexibly• Can form hypotheses and systematically

test them

Evaluating Piaget’s Theory Some cognitive abilities emerge

earlier than Piaget thought Piaget placed too much emphasis on

discrete stages and ignored individual differences

Culture and environment also influence development

Vygotsky’s Theory

the culture in which we are raised significantly affects our cognitive development• Cognitive development occurs as a consequence of

social interactions in which children work with others to jointly solve problems.

• Children’s cognitive abilities increase when they encounter information that falls within their zone of proximal development (ZPD).

• ZPD is the level at which a child can almost, but not fully, comprehend or perform a task on his or her own. When children receive information that falls within the ZPD, they can increase understanding or master a new task.

Vygotsky’s Theory

Although the performances of the two children initially working at a task without aid are similar, the second child benefits more from aid and thus has a larger zone of proximal development.Child A Child B

ZPD ZPDPerfo

rman

ce

Socioemotional

Erik Erikson (1902-1994) Theory emphasizes lifelong

development Eight psychosocial stages of

development Each stage represents a

developmental task Crisis that must be resolved Personal competence or weakness

Erikson

Evaluating Erikson

Primary focus on case-study research

Omitted important developmental tasks

Development is a lifelong challenge

Infant Attachment

The close emotional bond between an infant and its caregiver

Typically develops during first year of life

May provide important foundation for subsequent development

Attachment intensifies at 6-7 months

Infant Attachment

Harry Harlow – Infant rhesus monkeys What matters? Nourishment or contact Choose between two surrogate “mothers”

Cold wire mother versus warm cloth mother Infants preferred cloth mother across situations

Contact comfort is critical to attachment

Harlow's Monkeys Harlow 2

Infant Attachment

Mary Ainsworth – Strange Situation Procedure: Caregivers leave infant

alone with stranger, then return Secure Attachment: Use caregiver as

a base for exploration; happy when caregiver returns

Insecure Attachment: Does not care if caregiver gone

Attachment Theory

Temperament

An individual’s behavioral style or characteristic way of responding

Three clusters of temperament Easy Difficult: can cry often, irregular routines slow-to-warm-up: low activity level

Another perspective on temperament Effortful control, self-regulation, and

negative affectivity

Parenting Styles