3. Prenatal Development
• Germinal Stage
– the first stage of prenatal development, during
which the dividing mass of cells has not
become implanted in the uterine wall
– Zygote (a fertilized ovum or egg cell) divides
and becomes implanted in the uterine wall
4. Prenatal Development
• Embryonic Stage
– Implantation until about 8th week
– Major organ systems are formed (NS & heart)
– Genetic code (XX or XY) causes sex organs to
differentiate
• Y sex chromosome – testes form and
produce androgens
5. Prenatal Development
• Embryonic Stage
– Embryo is suspended in amniotic sac
• Nutrients and wastes are exchanged with
mother through placenta
• Embryo is connected to placenta by
umbilical cord (a tube between the mother
and her developing child through which
nutrients and waste product are conducted)
6. Prenatal Development
• Fetal Stage
– Beginning of third month until birth
– Characterized by maturation and gains in size
– Movement of the fetus is prevalent (kicking
sensation to the mother)
8. Physical Development
• Reflexes
– Simple, unlearned, stereotypical responses
elicited by specific stimuli
• Rooting and sucking, withdrawal, startle,
grasping
• Motor Development
– Brain maturation and environmental factors
10. Physical Development
• Perceptual Development
– Within days, infant can track moving light
– At 2-months prefer human face as visual stimuli
• Fixation time – measure of visual preference
– Perceive depth about time begin crawling
• Visual cliff experiments
11. Physical Development
• Perceptual Development
– Newborns hear normally; prefer mother’s voice
• Show no preference for father’s voice
12. Cognitive Development
• The way in which children mentally represent and
think about the world
– Jean Piaget – Cognitive-development theory
– Lev Vygotsky – Sociocultural theory
– Lawrence Kohlberg – Theory of moral
development
13. Piaget’s Cognitive-Development Theory
• Schema
– according to Piaget, a hypothetical “mental structure”
that permits the classification and organization of new
information
• Assimilation
– the inclusion of a new event into an existing schema
• Accommodation
– the modification of schemas so that information
inconsistent with existing schemas can be integrated
or understood
15. Stages of Cognitive-Development Theory
• Sensorimotor Stage
– the first of Piaget’s stages of cognitive
development, characterized by coordination of
sensory information and motor activity, early
exploration of the environment, and lack of
language
– Object Permanence
• recognition that objects removed from sight
still exist
16. Stages of Cognitive-Development Theory
• Preoperational Stage
– Use words and symbols to represent objects and
relationships among them
– Egocentrism (the assumption that others view the
world as one does oneself)
– Animism (life as something physical)
– Artificialism (rain as a human invention)
– Conservation (recognition that basic properties of
substances such as weight and mass remain the same
when superficial features change)
17. Stages of Cognitive-Development Theory
• Objective Responsibility
– according to Piaget, the assignment of blame
according to the amount of damage done rather than
the motives of the actor
18. Stages of Cognitive-Development Theory
• Concrete Operational Stage
– Piaget’s third stage, characterized by logical thought
concerning tangible objects, conservation, and
subjective morality
– Decentration (simultaneous focusing on more than
one dimension of a problem, so that flexible, reversible
thought becomes possible)
– Reversibility (Recognition that processes can be
undone)
19. Stages of Cognitive-Development Theory
• Subjective Moral Judgment
– according to Piaget, moral judgment that is based on
the motives of the perpetrator
20. Evaluation of Piaget’s Theory
• Piaget tended to underestimate children’s abilities
• Egocentrism and conservation appear to be more
continuous than Piaget thought
• Developmental sequences do not vary
21. Lev Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory
• Continuous theory focused on influence of
culture and children’s interactions with elders
• Children internalize explanations that
encourage skill development
22. Lev Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory
• Zone of proximal development (ZPD)
– Vygotsky’s term for the situation in which a child
carries out tasks with the help of someone who
is more skilled, frequently an adult who
represents the culture in which the child
develops.
• Scaffolding
– Vygotsky’s term for temporary cognitive
structures or methods of solving problems that
help the child as he or she learns to function
independently
23. Lawrence Kohlberg’s
Theory of Moral Development
• Use of “moral dilemma” story to explore
reasoning of right and wrong
• Stage theory with a specific sequence
24. Lawrence Kohlberg’s
Theory of Moral Development
• Preconventional Level
– a period during which moral judgments are
based largely on expectation of rewards or
punishment
• Stage 1 – Obedience and punishment
• Stage 2 – Good behavior allows people to
satisfy their needs
25. Lawrence Kohlberg’s
Theory of Moral Development
• Conventional Level
– Base judgment on conformity to conventional
standards of right and wrong; a period during
which moral judgments largely reflect social
conventions; a “law and order” approach to
morality
• Stage 3 – Good-boy orientation
• Stage 4 – Judgments are based on rules
that maintain social order
26. Lawrence Kohlberg’s
Theory of Moral Development
• Postconventional Level
– Base judgment on need to maintain social
order and personal conscience
27. Evaluation of Kohlberg’s
Theory of Moral Development
• Research suggests moral reasoning does follow
a sequence
• Most people do not reach postconventional
level (consistent with formal operational
thought)
• Kohlberg underestimated the influence of
social, cultural, and educational institutions and
parents
28. Social and Emotional Development
• Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Development
– Eight stages that represent life crises
• Trust versus Mistrust - during which
children do—or do not—come to trust that
primary caregivers and the environment
will meet their needs
• Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt
• Industry versus Inferiority
29. Attachment
• Emotional tie between one animal/person and
another specific individual
– Mary Salter Ainsworth
• Behavior that defines attachment
– Attempts to maintain contact
– Anxiety when separated
30. Attachment
• Strange Situation
– Method to assess infants’ response to
separations and reunions with caregivers and
a stranger
• Three Types of Attachment
– Secure attachment
– Avoidant attachment
– Ambivalent/resistant attachment
31. Stages of Attachment
• Initially infants show indiscriminate attachment
• Beginning about 4 months of age
– Initial-preattachment phase
– Attachment-in-the-making phase
– Clear-cut-attachment phase
• Fear of strangers – 8 to 10 months
32. Theoretical Views of Attachment
• Behaviorists viewed attachment as learned
behavior based on caregiver’s attention
• Harry F. Harlow
– Inborn need for contact comfort (a
hypothesized primary drive to seek physical
comfort through contact with another)
33. Theoretical Views of Attachment
• Konrad Lorenz
– Ethologist – attachment is an instinct
– Critical period
– Imprinting
• Ainsworth and Bowlby
– Attachment is instinctive in humans
34. Parenting Styles
• Diana Baumrind’s styles of parenting
– Connection between parental behavior and
development of instrumental competence
• Instrumental competence is the ability to
manipulate the environment to achieve
one’s goals.
– Four aspects of parental behavior - 1) Strictness; 2)
Demands for child to achieve intellectual, emotional
and social maturity; 3) Communication ability; 4)
Warmth and involvement
35. Parenting Styles
• Diana Baumrind’s styles of parenting
– authoritative parents – parents who are strict and
warm; authoritative parents demand mature behavior
but use reason rather than force in discipline
– authoritarian parents – parents who are rigid in their
rules and who demand obedience for the sake of
obedience
– permissive parents – parents who impose few, if any,
rules and who do not supervise their children closely
– uninvolved parents – parents who generally leave
their children to themselves
36. Parenting Styles (Outcomes)
• Diana Baumrind’s styles of parenting
– Authoritative – children have greatest self-reliance,
self-esteem, social competence, and achievement
motivation
– Authoritarian – children are withdrawn or aggressive
and usually do not do as well in school as children of
authoritative parents
– Permissive – children seem to be less mature and are
often impulsive, moody, and aggressive
– Uninvolved – children tend to be more likely to hang
out with crowds who “party” a good deal and use drugs
38. Physical Development
• Growth spurt
• Puberty
– Begins with appearance of secondary sex
characteristics
– Menarche
• Usually occurs between 11 and 14
39. Cognitive Development
• Piaget’s Formal Operations Stage
– Classification, logical thought, ability to
hypothesis
– Abstract thinking
– Able to deal with hypothetical situations
• Adolescent Egocentrism
– Imaginary Audience
– Personal Fable
40. Moral Reasoning
• Kohlberg’s Postconventional Level
– Many people do not reach this level
– Judgment is based on person’s own moral
standards
– Stage 5 – Laws are made to preserve order
but exceptions can occur
– Stage 6 – Adherence to universal ethical
principles
41. Sex Differences and Moral Reasoning
• Kohlberg’s theory shows higher levels of moral
reasoning in boys
• Carol Gilligan argues difference is result of
socialization
– Girls make judgments based on needs of
others
– Boys make judgments based on logic
42. Social and Emotional Development
• “Storm and stress” or calm and joyous?
• Independence is the challenge of adolescence
• Erikson’s Psychosocial Development
– Ego Identity versus Role Diffusion
• Adolescent Sexuality
– About 50% of American teens engage in
sexual intercourse
44. Physical Development
• Young adulthood
– Usually height of physical prowess
• Middle adulthood
– Gradual physical decline
– Women – menopause
• Late Adulthood
– Bones become brittle – greater risk for falls
– Slower response time
45.
46. Cognitive Development
• Creativity can be evidenced throughout lifetime
• Memory functioning declines with age
– Crystallized intelligence
– Fluid intelligence
• Tasks that require speed and visual spatial
skills decline
47. Alzheimer’s Disease
• Progressive form of mental deterioration
– Affects 1% of people at age 60; 50% past
age 85
– It is a disease, not a normal progression
48. Social and Emotional Development
• Great variety based on cultural expectations
and individual behavior patterns
• Trends
– More optimistic than previous generation
– Grow psychologically healthier as they
advance to middle age
