Human Development Across The Lifespan

Progress Before Birth:
1. Prenatal Development
  1. 1. Germinal stage = first 2 weeks - conception results in zygote, implantation, formation of placenta
    1. 2. Embryonic stage = 2 weeks – 2 months - formation of vital organs and systems, vulnerable to environmental influences, 1 inch long
      1. 3. Fetal stage = 2 months – birth – bodily growth continues, movement capability begins due to formation of bones and muscles, sex organs develop in the third month, brain cells multiply, fat layer – age of viability – 22-26 weeks
Environmental Factors and Prenatal Development
1. 1. Maternal drug use – Most drugs pass through the placenta to baby – Tobacco, alcohol, prescription, and recreational drugs – Prenatal cocaine exposure – more birth complications, cognitive deficits – Marijuana – overactivity, poor ability to solve problems. – Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), a serious form of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD ) may result in small head, small stature, cognitive deficits, and facial deformities. These children may also have heart defects, irritability and hyperactivity.
2. 2. Maternal illness – Placenta screens out many infections but some can affect the fetus – Rubella, syphilis, mumps, genital herpes, AIDS, severe influenza – Genital herpes can be transmitted to the baby during birth – may result in small head, paralysis, deafness , blindness, and can be fatal
3. 3. Maternal Nutrition and Emotions – Pregnant women need a balanced diet so the baby is supplied with all nutrients especially folic acid. If the mother is depressed or anxious during pregnancy it can lead to behavior problems for the child later on.
4. 4. Fetal Origins of Disease – Malnutrition during pregnancy is vulnerability to schizophrenia in young adulthood – Low birth weight correlates with heart disease decades later – Mom’s nutrition affects baby during breastfeeding which is recommended for 6 months
The Childhood Years: Motor Development
1. Motor development –progression of muscular coordination for physical activities e.g. reaching, grasping, crawling, walking • Cephalocaudal trend – head develops first and then moves toward feet. Proximodistal trend – centre-outward development. Infants triple their weight in the first year and increase their height by 45%. Maturation – gradual unfolding of genetic blueprint -- physical development It likely results from desire to explore their environment and remembering what they learned
Easy & Difficult babies
1. Longitudinal designs– same child or group is studied repeatedly over time – Most sensitive to developmental influences but are more expensive and take longer.
2. Cross-sectional design – participants of different ages are studied at the same time.
3. Thomas and Chess – longitudinal study
  1. Temperament formed by age 3 months and still same at age 10. Later research states temperament at age 1-2 years is stable as the child grows up
4. 3 basic temperamental styles 1.easy – 40% - happy, develop routines, adapt easily to change 2.slow-to-warm-up – 15% - less happy, decreased routines, slower adapting to change and more wary. Moderately reactive emotionally. 3.difficult – 10% - gloomy, eat and sleep at various times, dislike change, irritable babies. Have more emotional problems as they grow up. 4.mixture of temperaments – 35%
Attachment
1. Attachment – emotional bonds between parent and child • Separation anxiety - occurs around 6-8 months when babies are distress when separated from those they are most familiar with
2. Strange Patterns
  1. Strange situation was a type of research where the mother left the room and baby with stranger –Secure: occurs if mother is responsive to baby’s needs – modest correlation. Baby can influence mom too. Upset when mom left and easily comforted when she returned. –Anxious-ambivalent: child is anxious and clingy even when mother is present. Distressed when she leaves and not easily comforted when she returns –Avoidant: child seeks little contact with mother when present and unconcerned when she leaves and returns. May actively ignore mom when she returns –Disorganized/disoriented: confused about whether they should avoid or approach mother. Most insecure and are often neglected children.
3. Culture
  1. Studies show there are different proportions of these attachment styles in different cultures though secure attachment is most prominent in all cultures.
Theory
1. Stage theories - development occurs in order of stage which corresponds to age. Each stage builds on the last and the next stage is discontinuous with the previous stage.
2. Erik Erikson (1963) – Psychosocial Theory • studied emotional and social development of infants through elderly • Psychosocial crises determining balance between opposing polarities in personality
Cognitive Development- Jean Piaget
1. Cognitive Development refers to the transitions in thinking
  1. Assimilation: Fitting experiences into mental structures. Accommodation: Changing mental structures to accommodate new experiences.
2. 4 stages
  1. 1. Sensorimotor Period - Age 0-2 - Child use senses (vision, hearing, etc.) and motor/movement stills to explore and learn about the environment
    1. 2. Preoperational Period - Age 2-7 - Children at this age cannot complete conservation tasks.
      1. 3. Concrete Operational - Age 7 - 11 - Conservation - Understand that physical quantities remain constant in spite of the shape of their appearance.
        4. Formal Operational - Age 11-12 and up. • Can think abstractly , as well as concretely
3. Evaluation
  1. Piaget underestimated the age when children can develop certain of the above skills. He did not talk about individual differences or mixing of stages.
Lev Vygotsky: Sociocultural Theory
1. •Piaget viewed the child as the agent of change due to actively exploring his/her environment •Vygotsky believed the social interaction from adults, older children and one’s culture influences cognitive development
Kohlberg: The Development of Moral Reasoning
1. 1. Preconventional - Punishments and rewards. Self-centered 2. Conventional - Right and wrong is determined by a) getting the approval of others and b) by laws and society’s rules which they believe should be obeyed rigidly 3. Postconventional - a) Right and wrong is decided by societies rules but can be adjusted and by individual principles of conscience b) also abstract ethical principles.
Adulthood
1. Personality Development •Development doesn’t stop with adolescence but continues throughout life. • Certain traits of adult’s personality remain stable over decades and other’s change
2. Erikson’s View
  1. Early adulthood: Intimacy versus isolation. Middle adulthood: generativity versus self-absorption. Late adulthood: Integrity versus despair.

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