This chapter discusses human development from conception through death. It covers heredity and genes, noting that traits are transmitted from parents to children through DNA located on chromosomes. Prenatal development and factors affecting it like temperament, environment, and teratogens are addressed. Stages of child development are outlined, including physical, cognitive, language, social/emotional, and moral development. Theories of development from theorists like Piaget, Erikson, Kohlberg, Chomsky, and Ainsworth are summarized. The chapter concludes with topics like aging, cognitive changes, and end of life processes.

1. Introduction to Psychology: KCC
Chapter 3
Human Development

2. Introduction to Psychology: KCC
Chapter 3
Heredity and Genes
• Developmental Psychology: The study of progressive changes in
behavior and abilities
• Heredity (Nature): Transmission of physical and psychological
characteristics from parents to their children through genes
• Chromosomes
• DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid): Molecular structure, shaped like a
double helix that contains coded genetic information
• Genes: Specific areas on a strand of DNA that carry hereditary
information
– Dominant: The gene’s feature will appear each time the gene is present
– Recessive: The gene’s feature will appear only if it is paired with
another recessive gene

3. Introduction to Psychology: KCC
Chapter 3

4. Introduction to Psychology: KCC
Chapter 3Figure 3.2
FIGURE 3.2 (Top left) Linked molecules (organic bases) make up the “rungs” on DNA’s twisted “molecular
ladder.” The order of these molecules serves as a code for genetic information. The code provides a
genetic blueprint that is unique for each individual (except identical twins). The drawing shows only a small
section of a DNA strand. An entire strand of DNA is composed of billions of smaller molecules. (Bottom left)
The nucleus of each cell in the body contains chromosomes made up of tightly wound coils of DNA. (Don’t
be misled by the drawing: Chromosomes are microscopic in size, and the chemical molecules that make up
DNA are even smaller.)

5. Introduction to Psychology: KCC
Chapter 3Figure 3.3
FIGURE 3.3 Gene patterns for children of brown-eyed parents, where each parent has one
brown-eye gene and one blue-eye gene. Because the brown-eye gene is dominant, one child in
four will be blue-eyed. Thus, there is a significant chance that two browneyed parents will
have a blue-eyed child.

6. Introduction to Psychology: KCC
Chapter 3
Temperament and Environment
• Temperament: The physical “core” of personality
– Easy Children: 40%; relaxed and agreeable
– Difficult Children: 10%; moody, intense, easily
angered
– Slow-to-Warm-Up Children: 15%; restrained,
unexpressive, shy
– Remaining Children: Do not fit into any specific
category

7. Introduction to Psychology: KCC
Chapter 3
Environment
• Environment (“Nurture”): All external conditions that
affect development
• Sensitive Periods: A period of increased sensitivity to
environmental influences; also, a time when certain
events must occur for normal development to take place
• Congenital Problem: A problem or defect that occurs
during prenatal development; “birth defect”; becomes
apparent at birth

8. Introduction to Psychology: KCC
Chapter 3
Environment (cont'd)
• Genetic Disorder: Problem caused by inherited
characteristics
• Teratogens - Anything capable of causing birth defects
(e.g., narcotics, radiation, cigarette smoke, lead, and
cocaine)
• Deprivation: Lack of normal stimulation, nutrition,
comfort, or love
• Enrichment: When an environment is deliberately made
more complex and intellectually stimulating
• Enriched Environments: Environments deliberately made
more novel, complex, and stimulating

9. Introduction to Psychology: KCC
Chapter 3

10. Introduction to Psychology: KCC
Chapter 3

11. Introduction to Psychology: KCC
Chapter 3
Newborns (Neonates) and Their Reflexes
• Grasping Reflex: If an object is placed in the infant’s
palm, she’ll grasp it automatically (all reflexes are
automatic responses; i.e., they come from nature, not
nurture).
• Rooting Reflex: Lightly touch the infant’s cheek and he’ll
turn toward the object and attempt to nurse; helps infant
find bottle or breast.
• Sucking Reflex: Touch an object or nipple to the infant’s
mouth and she’ll make rhythmic sucking movements.
• Moro Reflex: If a baby’s position is abruptly changed or if
he is startled by a loud noise, he will make a hugging
motion.

12. Introduction to Psychology: KCC
Chapter 3
Maturation
• Physical growth and development of the body, brain, and
nervous system
• Increased muscular control occurs in patterns
– Cephalocaudal: From head to toe
– Proximodistal: From center of the body to the
extremities

13. Introduction to Psychology: KCC
Chapter 3
Emotional and Social Development
 Social Smile: Smiling elicited by social stimuli; not
exclusive to seeing parents
– Invites parents to care for them

14. Introduction to Psychology: KCC
Chapter 3Figure 3.9
FIGURE 3.9 Infants display many of the same emotional expressions as adults do. Carroll Izard
believes such expressions show that distinct emotions appear within the first months of life. Other
theorists argue that specific emotions come into focus more gradually, as an infant’s nervous
system matures. Either way, parents can expect to see a full range of basic emotions by the end of
a baby’s first year.

15. Introduction to Psychology: KCC
Chapter 3Figure 3.6
FIGURE 3.6 Motor development. Most infants follow an orderly pattern of motor development.
Although the order in which children progress is similar, there are large individual differences in
the ages at which each ability appears. The ages listed are averages for American children. It is
not unusual for many of the skills to appear 1 or 2 months earlier than average or several months
later (Frankenberg & Dodds, 1967; Harris & Liebert, 1991). Parents should not be alarmed if a
child’s behavior differs some from the average.

16. Introduction to Psychology: KCC
Chapter 3
Mary Ainsworth and Attachment
• Emotional Attachment
• Sensitive Period
• Separation Anxiety: Crying and signs of fear when a child is left
alone or is with a stranger; generally appears around 8-12 months
• Quality of Attachment (Ainsworth)
– Secure: Stable and positive emotional bond; upset by mother’s
absence
– Insecure-Avoidant: Tendency to avoid reunion with parent or
caregiver
– Insecure-Ambivalent: Desire to be with parent or caregiver and
some resistance to being reunited with Mom
– Insecure-Disorganized: Contradictory behaviors
• Contact comfort

17. Introduction to Psychology: KCC
Chapter 3Figure 3.10
FIGURE 3.10 In the United States, about two thirds of all children from middle-class families are
securely attached. About one child in three is insecurely attached. (Percentages are
approximate. From Kaplan, 1998.)

18. Introduction to Psychology: KCC
Chapter 3
Parenting Styles (Baumrind, 1991)
• Authoritarian Parents: Enforce rigid rules and demand
strict obedience to authority. Children are obedient and
self-controlled.
• Overly Permissive: Give little guidance. Allow too much
freedom, or don’t hold children accountable for their
actions. Children tend to be dependent and immature
and frequently misbehave.
• Authoritative: Provide firm and consistent guidance
combined with love and affection. Children tend to be
competent, self-controlled, independent, and assertive.
• Neglectful: Little guidance, excessive freedoms, limited
to no accountability.

19. Introduction to Psychology: KCC
Chapter 3
Types of Child Discipline
• Power Assertion: Using physical punishment or a show
of force
• Withdrawal of Love: Withholding affection; refusing to
speak to a child or threatening to leave
• Management Techniques: Combine praise, recognition,
approval, rules, and reasoning to encourage desirable
behavior

20. Introduction to Psychology: KCC
Chapter 3
Language Acquisition
• Cooing: Repetition of vowel sounds by infants (like “oo”
and “ah”); starts at about 8 weeks
• Babbling: Repetition of meaningless language sounds
(e.g., babababa); starts at about 7 months
• Single-Word Stage: The child says one word at a time
• Telegraphic Speech: Two word sentences that
communicate a single idea (e.g., Want yogurt)

21. Introduction to Psychology: KCC
Chapter 3
Noam Chomsky and the Roots of Language
• Biological Disposition: Presumed readiness of ALL
humans to learn certain skills such as how to use
language
– Chomsky: Language patterns are inborn
• Parentese (Motherese): Pattern of speech used when
talking to infants
– Marked by raised voice; short, simple sentences and
repetition

22. Introduction to Psychology: KCC
Chapter 3
Jean Piaget and Cognitive Development
• Piaget believed that all children passed through a set
series of stages during their intellectual development;
like Freud, he was a Stage Theorist.
• Transformations/ Conservation: Mentally changing the
shape or form of a substance; children younger than 6 or
7 cannot do this.
• Schemes
• Assimilation: Application of existing mental patterns to
new situations.
• Accommodation: Existing ideas are changed to
accommodate new information or experiences.

23. Introduction to Psychology: KCC
Chapter 3
Jean Piaget: Sensorimotor Stage
• Sensorimotor (0-2 Years): All sensory input and motor
responses are coordinated; most intellectual
development here is nonverbal.
– Object Permanence: Concept that objects still exist
when they are out of sight.

24. Introduction to Psychology: KCC
Chapter 3
Jean Piaget: Preoperational Stage
• Preoperational Stage (2-7 Years): Children begin to use
language and think symbolically, BUT their thinking is
still intuitive and egocentric.
– Intuitive: Makes little use of reasoning and logic.
– Egocentric Thought: Thought that is unable to
accommodate viewpoints of others.

25. Introduction to Psychology: KCC
Chapter 3
Jean Piaget: Concrete Operational Stage
• Concrete Operational Stage (7-11Years): Children
become able to use concepts of time, space, volume,
and number BUT in ways that remain simplified and
concrete, not abstract.
– Conservation: Mass, weight, and volume remain
unchanged when the shape or appearance of objects
changes.
– Reversibility of Thought: Relationships involving
equality or identity can be reversed.

26. Introduction to Psychology: KCC
Chapter 3
Jean Piaget: Formal Operations
• Formal Operations Stage (11 Years and Up): Thinking
now includes abstract, theoretical, and hypothetical
ideas.
– Abstract Ideas: Concepts and examples removed
from specific examples and concrete situations.
– Hypothetical Possibilities: Suppositions, guesses, or
projections.

27. Introduction to Psychology: KCC
Chapter 3
Lawrence Kohlberg and
Stages of Moral Development
• Moral Development: When we acquire values, beliefs,
and thinking abilities that guide responsible behavior
– Three Levels
– Preconventional: Moral thinking guided by
consequences of actions (punishment, reward,
exchange of favors)
– Conventional: Reasoning based on a desire to please
others or to follow accepted rules and values
– Postconventional: Follows self-accepted moral
principles
– Stage theorist, like Freud and Erikson

28. Introduction to Psychology: KCC
Chapter 3
Erik Erikson’s Eight Stages of Psychosocial
Dilemmas
• Stage One: Trust versus Mistrust (Birth-1): Children are
completely dependent on others
– Trust: Established when babies given adequate
warmth, touching, love, and physical care
– Mistrust: Caused by inadequate or unpredictable care
and by cold, indifferent, and rejecting parents
• Stage Two: Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt (1-3)
– Autonomy: Doing things for themselves
– Overprotective or ridiculing parents may cause
children to doubt abilities and feel shameful about
their actions

29. Introduction to Psychology: KCC
Chapter 3
Erik Erikson’s Eight Stages of Psychosocial
Dilemmas (cont'd)
• Stage Three: Initiative versus Guilt (3-5)
– Initiative: Parents reinforce via giving children
freedom to play, use imagination, and ask questions
– Guilt: May occur if parents criticize, prevent play, or
discourage a child’s questions
• Stage Four: Industry versus Inferiority (6-12)
– Industry: Occurs when child is praised for productive
activities
– Inferiority: Occurs if child’s efforts are regarded as
messy or inadequate

30. Introduction to Psychology: KCC
Chapter 3
Erik Erikson’s Eight Stages of
Psychosocial Dilemmas (cont'd)
• Stage Five (Adolescence): Identity versus Role
Confusion
– Identity: For adolescents; problems answering, “Who
am I?”
– Role Confusion: Occurs when adolescents are unsure
of where they are going and who they are
– How does adolescence differ from puberty?
• Stage Six (Young adulthood): Intimacy versus Isolation
– Intimacy: Ability to care about others and to share
experiences with them
– Isolation: Feeling alone and uncared for in life

31. Introduction to Psychology: KCC
Chapter 3
Erik Erikson’s Eight Stages of
Psychosocial Dilemmas (cont'd)
• Stage Seven (Middle adulthood): Generativity versus
Stagnation
– Generativity: Interest in guiding the next generation
– Stagnation: When one is only concerned with one’s
own needs and comforts
• Stage Eight (Late adulthood): Integrity versus Despair
– Integrity: Self-respect; developed when people have
lived richly and responsibly
– Despair: Occurs when previous life events are viewed
with regret; experiences heartache and remorse

32. Introduction to Psychology: KCC
Chapter 3
Aging
• Adolescence v. Puberty
– Primary Sex Characteristics
– Secondary Sex Characteristics
– Secular Trend
• Peak physical functioning
• Cognitive functioning
– Fluid Intelligence
– Crystallized Intelligence
• Disengagement v. Activity Theories
• Elizabeth Kubler-Ross
– Denial
– Anger
– Bargaining
– Depression
– Acceptance

33. Introduction to Psychology: KCC
Chapter 3
End of This Chapter