Life Span Psychology for IGNOU students

Psychology Super Notes© 2015, M S Ahluwalia Psychology Learners
MPC002/ASST/TMA/2014-15
IGNOU Assignment

Life Span Psychology
Solved Assignment - MAPC

1000 words
Section A
3

Examine Piaget’s and Kohlberg’s
theories of moral development
during school years.
Q1.
4

Piaget’s and Kohlberg’s theories of moral development
during school years
5
A1
Moral development refers to the changes in the ability to reason about what is right and what is wrong in a given
situation (e.g., Carlo et al., 1996; Carpendale & Krebs, 1995). Lawrence Kohlberg was a developmental psychologist
who, influenced by Piaget and others, outlined a theory of the development of moral thinking through looking at how
people of various ages responded to stories about people caught up in moral dilemmas. Kohlberg and Piaget’s
theories are discussed below:
Piaget’s Theory of Moral Development
Interest in how children think about moral issues was stimulated by Piaget (1932), who extensively observed and
interviewed children from the ages of 4 through 12. Piaget watched children play marbles to learn how they used and
thought about the game’s rules. He also asked children about ethical issues—theft, lies, punishment, and justice, for
example. Piaget concluded that children go through two distinct stages, separated by a transition period, in how they
think about morality.
1. Heteronomous morality: From 4 to 7 years of age, children display heteronomous morality, the first stage of
moral development in Piaget’s theory. Children think of justice and rules as unchangeable properties of the
world, removed from the control of people.
2. Transition period: From 7 to 10 years of age, children are in a transition showing some features of the first stage
of moral reasoning and some stages of the second stage, autonomous morality.
3. Autonomous morality: From about 10 years of age and older, children show autonomous morality, Piaget’s
second stage of moral development. They become aware that rules and laws are created by people, and in
judging an action, they consider the actor’s intentions as well as the consequences.
Because young children are heteronomous moralists, they judge the rightness or goodness of behavior by considering
its consequences, not the intentions of the actor. For example, to the heteronomous moralist, breaking twelve cups
accidentally is worse than breaking one cup intentionally. As children develop into moral autonomists, intentions
assume paramount importance.

Piaget’s Theory of Moral Development contd.
6
A1
The heteronomous thinker also believes that rules are unchangeable and are handed down by all-powerful
authorities. When Piaget suggested to young children that they use new rules in a game of marbles, they resisted. By
contrast, older children—moral autonomists—accept change and recognize that rules are merely convenient
conventions, subject to change.
The heteronomous thinker also believes in immanent justice, the concept that if a rule is broken, punishment will be
meted out immediately. The young child believes that a violation is connected automatically to its punishment. Thus,
young children often look around worriedly after doing something wrong, expecting inevitable punishment.
Immanent justice also implies that if something unfortunate happens to someone, the person must have
transgressed earlier. Older children, who are moral autonomists, recognize that punishment occurs only if someone
witnesses the wrongdoing and that, even then, punishment is not inevitable. They also realize that bad things can
happen to innocent people.
Piaget argued that, as children develop, they become more sophisticated in thinking about social matters, especially
about the possibilities and conditions of cooperation. Piaget reasoned that this social understanding comes about
through the mutual give-and-take of peer relations. In the peer group, where others have power and status similar to
the child’s, plans are negotiated and coordinated, and disagreements are reasoned about and eventually settled.
Parent-child relations, in which parents have the power and children do not, are less likely to advance moral
reasoning, because rules are often handed down in an authoritarian way.

Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development
7
A1
Kohlberg (1973) proposed three levels of moral development, or the knowledge of right and wrong behavior.
Although these stages are associated with certain age-groups, adolescents and adults can be found at all three levels.
For example, a juvenile delinquent tends to be pre-conventional in moral thinking.
Kohlberg’s Three Levels of Morality are:
1. The Pre-conventional Level: At the first level of moral development, the pre-conventional level, children judge
morality largely in terms of consequences: Actions that lead to rewards are perceived as good or acceptable; ones
that lead to punishments are seen as bad or unacceptable. For example, a child at this level might say, “The man
should not steal the drug, because if he does, he’ll be punished.” It involves two stages:
a. Punishment and obedience orientation: Morality judged in terms of consequences
b. Naive Hedonistic Orientation: Morality judged in terms of what satisfies own needs or those of others.
2. The Conventional Level: As cognitive abilities increase, Kohlberg suggests, children enter a second level of moral
development, the conventional level. Now they are aware of some of the complexities of the social order and judge
morality in terms of what supports and preserves the laws and rules of their society. Thus, a child at this stage might
reason: “It’s OK to steal the drug, because no one will think you are bad if you do. If you don’t, and let your wife die,
you’ll never be able to look anyone in the eye again.” It involves
two stages:
a. Good boy- good girl orientation: Morality judged in terms of adherence to social rules or norms with respect
to personal acquaintances.
b. Social order-maintaining orientation: Morality judged in terms of social rules of laws applied universally, not
just to acquaintances.
3. The Post-conventional Level: Finally, in adolescence or early adulthood many—though by no means all—
individuals enter a third level known as the post-conventional level, or principled level. Persons who attain this stage
often believe that certain obligations and values transcend the rules or laws of society.

Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development contd.,
Summary and Sources
8
A1
The principles such individuals follow are abstract and ethical, not concrete like the Ten Commandments, and are
based on inner conscience rather than on external sources of authority. It involves two stages:
a. Legalistic orientation: Morality judged in terms of human rights, which may transcend laws.
b. Universal ethical principle orientation: Morality judged in terms of self-chosen ethical principles.
* * *
To summarize, Piaget and Kohlberg proposed theories in the area of moral development - changes in the ability to
reason about what is right and what is wrong in a given situation. Piaget concluded that children go through two
distinct stages – heteronomous morality and autonomous morality - separated by a transition period, in how they
think about morality.
Kohlberg proposed three levels of moral development – the pre-conventional level, the conventional level and the
post-conventional level – each having two sub-stages. These theories form the basis of our understanding of moral
development in children.
Sources:
Psychology, Saundra K. Cicarelli and Glenn E. Meyer (Click for eBook)
Psychology, Robert Baron (Click for eBook)
Life-Span Development, John W. Santrock (Click for eBook)

Elucidate the cognitive changes
during middle adulthood.
Q2.
9

Cognitive changes during middle adulthood
10
A2
During middle adulthood, cognition begins to stabilize, reaching a peak around the age of 35. The various
components of the human cognitive structure that undergoes changes during middle adulthood includes –
intelligence (fluid intelligence, crystallized intelligence and practical intelligence), memory (short term and long term
memory) and creativity. These are discussed in detail below:
1. Intelligence
· Instead of declining sharply with age, many intellectual abilities seem to remain quite stable across the entire life
span. In fact, they show relatively little change until persons are well into their sixties, seventies, or beyond. Some
abilities even seem to increase.
· Crystallized intelligence – the ability to draw on previously learned information as a basis for making decisions or
solving problems - grows steadily throughout middle adulthood and even after that. (e.g., Lerner, 1990; Willis &
Nesselroade, 1990).
· Fluid intelligence – the ability to form concepts, reason, and identify similarities - is more dependent on basic
information processing skills and starts to decline even prior to mid-adulthood. It increases upto early 20s and then
gradually declines.
· Cognitive processing speed slows down during this stage of life, as does the ability to solve problems and divide
attention.
· Practical intelligence increases with age (e.g., Sternberg et al., 1995). These skills are necessary to solve real-world
problems and figure out how to best achieve a desired goal.
· Intellectual abilities do not decline overall, although speed of processing (or reaction time) does slow down.
Compared to a younger adult, a middleaged person may take a little longer to solve a problem. However, a middle-
aged person also has more life experience and knowledge to bring to bear on a problem, which counters the lack of
speed.

11
A2
· In one study (Salthouse, 1984), for example, older typists were found to outperform younger typists, even though
they typed more slowly than the younger subjects. The older typists, because of years of practice, had developed a
skill of looking farther ahead in the document they were typing, so that they could type more continuously without
looking back at the document. This allowed them to complete their typing more quickly than the younger typists.
2. Memory
Changes in memory ability are probably the most noticeable changes in middle-aged cognition.
· Research on short-term memory indicates that older people seem able to retain just as much information in this
limited-capacity system as young ones—seven to nine separate items (Poon & Fozard, 1980).
· When information in short-term memory must be processed—as, for example, when you try to solve anagrams
(word puzzles) in your head—older persons sometimes perform more poorly than younger ones (Babcock &
Salthouse, 1990).
· If they must perform several short-term memory tasks in a row, older persons often show a greater decline on later
tasks than young persons (e.g., Shimamura & Jurica, 1994).
· As we grow older, our ability to deal with the effects of proactive interference—interference with materials we are
currently entering into short-term memory from materials we entered earlier—declines (e.g., Shimamura et al.,
1995).
· Thinking about the positive events of the past aids the formation of newer memories—the areas of the brain that
are linked to processing emotional content seem to have a strong connection to the areas of the brain responsible for
memory formation (Addis et al., 2010).
· Long –term memory: Where relatively meaningless information such as nonsense syllables is concerned, young
people do sometimes have an edge. This is especially true with respect to recall—the ability to bring previously
memorized information to mind. Performance on such tasks does seem to decline with age (Hultsch & Dixon, 1990).
The differences are smaller and less consistent with respect to recognition—the ability simply to tell whether or not
information being presented has been presented before.

12
A2
· For many tasks involving long-term memory, there does seem to be some decline in performance with increasing
age. Such effects are less apparent, however, when the information being committed to memory is meaningful—for
instance, when it has some connection to individuals’ everyday life or to information they want to remember. Here
differences between younger and older persons are much smaller and in some studies do not appear at all (e.g., May,
Hasher, & Stoltzfus, 1993).
3. Creativity
Creativity refers to the ability to generate novel methods of dealing with old situations or the ability to deal with
novel situations.
As measured by standard laboratory tasks (such as coming up with novel ways of using everyday objects), creativity
does decline with age (Simonton, 1990).
While the age at which peak creativity occurs varies greatly across fields, many creative persons—for example,
psychologists—make their key contributions when they are in their forties and fifties (Simonton, 1990). While the
number of creative accomplishments decreases with age, their quality does not.
Preventing negative impact of age on cognitive abilities
People who exercise their mental abilities have been found to be far less likely to develop memory problems or even
more serious senile dementias, such as Alzheimer’s, in old age (Ball et al., 2002; Colcombe et al., 2003; Fiatarone,
1996). “Use it or lose it” is the phrase to remember.Working challenging crossword puzzles, for example, can be a
major factor in maintaining a healthy level of cognitive functioning. Reading, having an active social life, going to
plays, taking classes, and staying physically active can all have a positive impact on the continued well-being of the
brain (Bosworth & Schaie, 1997; Cabeza et al., 2002; Singh-Manoux et al., 2003).

Summary and Sources
13
A2
The overall pattern of evidence suggests that few intellectual abilities decline sharply with age. Some do decrease—
especially ones closely related to speed of responding. But others remain quite stable over many years, and others
may actually increase as individuals gain in experience. While there is a decline in some aspects of memory, in
generally exercising memory reduces the impact. While fluid intelligence may decline, crystallized intelligence
remains stable and practical intelligence improves with age. Laboratory experiments suggest a decline in creativity
with age. Aging is inevitable, but our minds can remain active until the very end of life.
Sources:
Psychology, Saundra K. Cicarelli and Glenn E. Meyer (Click for eBook)
https://www.boundless.com/psychology/textbooks/boundless-psychology-textbook/human-development-
14/adulthood-74/cognitive-development-in-adulthood-288-12823/
Psychology, Robert Baron (Click for eBook)

Discuss the ageing issues and
challenges in adulthood.
Q3.
14

Ageing issues and challenges in adulthood
15
A3
Ageing is the organic process of growing older and showing the affects of increasing age. In the present day society,
with increasing health consciousness, both men and women want to be physically and mentally fit. With advancing
age certain inevitable and universal changes such as chemical changes in cells or gradual loss of adaptive reserve
capacity take place. There are also certain cognitive changes taking place from middle adulthood onwards.
These changes are slow and gradual. Normally people see aging as a period of physical and mental health decline.
These changes are mainly physical and cognitive in nature and may result in various issues and challenges for a
person as discussed below:
1. Physical issues and challenges during adulthood and old age:
· It has been found that the body organs of most persons show a 0.8 to 1 percent decline per year in the functional
ability after the age of 30 years. Part of this decline is normal, some are disease-related and some caused by factors
such as stress, occupational status, nutritional status and many other environmental factors.
· The major physical changes associated with aging are described as external changes, internal changes and changes
in the sensory capacities and cognitive abilities. Let us understand these changes.
o External Changes: This refers to the symptoms of growing old that can be seen in an individual. With many
individuals the symptoms of aging can be seen as graying hair, aging skin, shift in posture and appearance of
wrinkles and age spots and other changes. Decrease in strength and coordination – muscles wane out,
flexibility and reaction time decrease.
o Internal Changes: These changes refer to the symptoms of growing old that are not visible. These include
changes in the respiratory system, gastrointestinal system, cardiovascular system, and central nervous system.
o Changes in Sensory Capacities: With advancing age, there is gradual slow down in the sensory abilities.
Ability to hear high-pitched noises disappears, hearing loss becomes perceptible around 40. There is a decline
in vision – ability to focus declines and subjects need to be brightly lit to be seen properly. Losing in any of the
senses can have profound psychological and social consequences. Age related diseases such as cataract,
macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma begin appearing in late adulthood.

16
A3
· Diseases: During middle adulthood various diseases begin appearing especially due to the stressful lives that people
live today. Heart diseases, Cancer, Diabetes, Goiter, Gout and Arthritis are common occurrences. During late
adulthood diseases like Arthritis, Osteoporosis, Cancer begin appearing.
· Sexual changes: Women experience Menopause during middle adulthood, while males experience decrease in
fertility.
· Obesity: Commonly observed in adults above 60 years of age.
· Immunity: Immunity also decreases with age causing increased susceptibility to infections.
2. Emotional and personality issues and challenges during adulthood and old age
· During early adulthood, individuals need friends to share the thoughts and feelings, typically individuals in a similar
situation. The individual also needs to cope with the issue of multiple selves – personality changing from one
situation to another.
· During middle adulthood, relationships are about intimacy and commitment rather than physical passion. A high
incidence of divorce has been found to be linked to heart-related issues for men. Due to the load of responsibilities
the number of friends usually decreases in this phase. Family responsibilities also become challenging – managing
both children and parents (commonly dependant).
· During late adulthood, the loss of spouse may be a major cause of emotional insecurity.
· Intimacy versus isolation occurs around the age of 20, and continues into a person's 30's and beyond. During this
time in life, people face the crisis of being alone versus being involved in meaningful relationships.
· Generativity versus stagnation, as suggested by Erikson, occurs around the age of 25-30 and lasts into a person's mid
to late 50's. During this time, people think about the contribution they are making to the world.
· Integrity versus despair occurs around the age of 50 and continues until the end of a person's life. During this time,
people reflect back on the life they have lived, and they decide if their life was meaningful or not.
· About 10 percent of middle aged adults go through what is known as a "mid-life crisis", an emotional period of
doubt and anxiety sometimes experienced by people who realize that their life is already half over.

17
A3
· Younger people can experience a "quarter-life" crisis, in which they struggle to find their place in the world, and
worry they will not have an impact or be successful.
3. Cognitive and mental health issues and challenges during adulthood and old age
· During adulthood and aging various aspects of cognition like memory, learning, attention and speed of performance
get adversely affected. The aged people often report forgetfulness, difficulty in learning new techniques and
acquiring skills. Their concentration, and, responsiveness to environmental stimulus decreases.
· Dementia and Alzheimers are important diseases of old age. Depression is considered to be a natural condition of
old age, often related to retirement and all of the factors that we discussed in physical and emotional challenges
related to ageing.
Ageing is a biological process. This process gets affected by many other things such as stress, tension, habit,
undisciplined life, ill health work habits etc. Leading a disciplined life means giving the body enough time to rest,
proper work habits, less tension, proper nutrition and spirituality. One must not deny and accept one’s age and act in
a realistic but optimistic manner. Various coping strategies are present to help in the cause. Mental or physical
decline does not necessarily have to occur. Persons can remain vigorous, active and dignified until their eighties or
even nineties. This is quite possible if they take adequate care of themselves right from their middle age years. The
older persons have vast reservoir of knowledge, experience and wisdom on which the community can draw upon.

Summary and Sources
18
A3
Ageing is the process of growing old. During this process of growing old an individual faces various challenges and
issues. These can be broadly categorized into three categories – physical issues (ex: change in sensory capacities and
age-related diseases), emotional and personality issues (ex: dealing with multiple selves and loss of loved ones) and
cognitive and mental health related issues (ex: memory, attention, learning capacity etc.). In case a person is not able
to successfully cope with the various physical and emotional challenges faced by him/her they may become
depressed. However, coping with these challenges can result in happiness unto death.
Sources:
NIOS study material- 12. Adulthood and Ageing
https://www.boundless.com/psychology/textbooks/boundless-psychology-textbook/human-development-
14/adulthood-74/the-challenges-of-adulthood-286-12821/

400 words
Section B
19

What do you understand by growth
and development?
Q4.
20

Growth and development
21
A4
Growth and development are often used as synonymous terms. But growth is more on the physical aspect while
development is more on the mental aspect. These two processes are highly correlated with each other. If a child has
good physical health, most likely the child also has above average mental capacity. With good physical growth, a child
can be more sociable with other people, too. Both are important characteristics of a living organism and go on
simultaneously.
· Growth is “the physical change that a particular individual undergoes.”
· Development is “the overall growth of humans throughout their lifespan.” Development includes the understanding
of how and why people change in terms of physical growth, intellectual, emotional, social, and other aspects of
human growth.
The term growth is used in purely physical sense. It refers to an increase in size, length, height and weight. Changes in
the quantitative aspects come into the domain of growth. Development implies overall changes in shape, form or
structure resulting in improved working or functioning. It indicates the changes in the quality or character rather than
in quantitative aspects.
· Growth is one part of developmental process. Development in its quantitative aspect is termed as growth.
Development is a wider and comprehensive term. It refers to overall changes in the individual.
· Growth describes the changes which take place in particular aspects of the body and behaviour of an organism.
Development describes changes in the organism as a whole and does not list the changes in parts.
· Growth does not continue throughout life. It stops when maturity has been attained. Development is a continuous
process. It goes from womb to tomb. It does not end with the attainment of maturity, the changes however small
they may be, continue throughout the life span of an individual.

Growth and development contd., Summary and Sources
22
A4
· The changes produced by growth are the subject of measurement. They may be quantified. Development implies
improvement in functioning and behaviour and hence brings qualitative changes which are difficult to be measured
directly.
Both heredity and environment impact the growth and development of a child. The environmental factors include
nutrition, climate, family environment, social environment, culture, the roles they have to play and other etc.
The growth and development of a child happens in the following respects:
1. Physical
2. Psychological and Cognitive
3. Social and emotional
4. Sexuality and gender identity
* * *
Growth refers to change in size; development implies overall changes in the individual. The principles of development
state that it is a continuous process; it follows a pattern; it proceeds from general to specific responses; it proceeds at
different rates for different parts of the body; there are individual differences in development; it is both quantitative
and qualitative and it is often predictable. There are internal, external and other factors that affect the growth and
development of the child. The two main phases of the process of development are phase of before Birth and the
phase of after Birth.
Sources:
http://www.kkhsou.in/main/education/growth.html
http://www.differencebetween.net/science/differences-between-growth-and-development-in-psychology/

How can environmental influences
affect the development of infant?
Q5.
23

Affect of environmental influences on the development of
infant
24
A5
An infant or toddler has a time-limited period during which her experiences will affect her brain function and
development. Nutrition, talking, singing, playing and protection from stress or the dangers of toxins and drugs are
important requirements for healthy brain development in infants and toddlers. The environmental influences
affecting development of an infant are listed below:
· Socio-economic status of the family: It has an indirect impact on development as it impacts most of the other
factors discussed below. Ex: nutrition, exposure to toxins, etc.
· Child’s nutrition: Feeding of baby appropriately during the first year of life is extremely important, as more growth
occurs during your baby's first year than any other time in her life. Starting good eating habits at this early stage will
help set healthful eating patterns for life.
· Drugs, Toxins, Radiation and Disease: A number of substances such as drugs (heroin, alcohol, cocaine etc.), diseases
and radiation can affect infant brain development. Exposure to alcohol while in the womb can cause fetal alcohol
syndrome, which may result in delayed development in thinking, speech, movement or social skills, as well as physical
defects. Viruses such as HIV and rubella and environmental toxins such as mercury or lead may also have a negative
effect on brain development.
· Climate and season: Exposure to extreme climates can impact the physical health of the infant, which in turn can
also impact cognitive development
· Adequate Sleep: Infants need between nine and 12 hours of sleep per night for optimal health. When they get this
sleep depends, as nap times of infants vary, with most taking 30-minute to 2-hour naps one to four times a day.
· Family environment: Child’s ordinal position in the family, Number of siblings in the family, Family structure (single
parent or extended family etc.) etc. can impact various factors discussed below:
· Stimulation and Interaction: Infants need lots of stimulation and interaction, which is essential for their
cognitive and emotional development. Talking, singing, playing music, carrying on "conversations", reading
stories with babies builds their vocabulary, demonstrates emotions, and teaches problem-solving skills.

Affect of environmental influences on the development of
infant contd., Summary and Sources
25
A5
· Secure Attachment: is at the heart of healthy child development and lays the foundation for relating
intimately with others, including spouses and children. It affects parents' abilities to nurture and be responsive
to their children.
· Abuse, Neglect and Stress: Negative experiences can also affect brain development. Abuse, neglect and
chronic stress can cause synaptic development, but the child who results may be violent and overly aggressive.
Exposure to violence during the formative years teaches children to expect danger rather than security. These
children may have problems with self-control later in life.
* * *
Environmental influences can significantly impact the development of an infant. It can impact the physical health of
the child, and, directly or indirectly impact the mental development. Some of the factors include: Nutrition, exposure
to drugs and disease and family environment.
Sources:
http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/can-environmental-influences-effect-brain-development-infants-toddlers-
3414.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_development
http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/factors-positively-influence-infant-development-5258.html

Discuss the main components of
language development in children.
Q6.
26

Main components of language development in children
27
A6
The language hierarchy involves five systems of rules – phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics.
(Morphology and Semantics together form Grammar) Therefore, these form the main components of language
development in children and are discussed in detail below:
1. Phonology and Morphology
During the preschool years, most children gradually become more sensitive to the sounds of spoken words and
become increasingly capable of producing all the sounds of their language (National Research Council, 1999). By the
time, children are 3 years of age, they can produce all the vowel sounds and most of the consonant sounds (Menn &
Stoel-Gammon, 2009).
By the time children move beyond two-word utterances, they demonstrate a knowledge of morphology rules (Tager-
Flusberg & Zukowski, 2009). Children begin using the plural and possessive forms of nouns, appropriate endings on
verbs, prepositions, articles, and various forms of the verb to be. Overgeneralization of rules, ex: “foots” instead of
“feet,” or “goed” instead of “went” serves as evidence of children’s use of morphological rules.
2. Syntax and Semantics
Preschool children also learn and apply rules of syntax (Lidz, 2010; Tager-Flusberg & Zukowski, 2009). They show a
growing mastery of complex rules for how words should be ordered, but they take much longer to learn the auxiliary-
inversion rule. Thus, preschool children might ask, “Where Daddy is going?” and “What that boy is doing?”
Gains in semantics also characterize early childhood. Vocabulary development is dramatic (Diesendruck, 2010; Pan &
Uccelli, 2009). Between 18 months and 6 years of age, young children learn approximately one new word every
waking hour (Carey, 1977; Gelman & Kalish, 2006)!
It is estimated that first graders know about 14,000 words (Clark, 1993). Children who enter elementary school with a
small vocabulary are at risk for developing reading problems (Berninger, 2006).

Main components of language development in children
contd., Summary and Sources
28
A6
3. Pragmatics
Changes in pragmatics characterize young children’s language development (Bryant, 2009; Siegal & Surian, 2010). A 6-
year-old is simply a much better conversationalist than a 2-year-old is. Young children begin to engage in extended
discourse (Akhtar & Herold, 2008).
They become increasingly able to talk about things that are not here (ex: Grandma’s house) and not now (ex: what
happened yesterday or might happen tomorrow).
At about 4 years of age, children develop a remarkable sensitivity to the needs of others in conversation.
At around 4 to 5 years of age, children learn to change their speech style to suit the situation. They speak differently
to an adult than to a same-aged peer, using more polite and formal language with the adult (Shatz & Gelman, 1973).
And they speak differently with a child.
* * *
To summarize, during pre-school years, improvements in phonology lead to children becoming sensitive to speech
sound and start producing all sounds of their own language. They also demonstrate a knowledge of morphology
rules. They learn and apply rules of syntax to arrange words into sentences. They develop semantics to accurately
express themselves. By 6 yrs, children have gained reasonable pragmatic ability for proper language use.
Sources:

Describe motor development that
takes place during middle
childhood.
Q7.
29

Motor development during middle childhood
30
A7
Motor development refers to the development of motor skills in children – the ability to co-ordinate muscles for
different types of movements. Motor skills are of two types – Gross motor skills and Fine motor skills. We briefly look
at what they are and their development during middle childhood.
Gross motor skills
Gross motor skills are skills that involve large-muscle activities, such as moving one’s arms and walking.
During middle and late childhood, children’s motor development becomes much smoother and more coordinated
than it was in early childhood. Running, swimming, and skating are few of the many physical skills elementary school
children can master. When mastered, these physical skills are a source of great pleasure and a sense of
accomplishment. A study of 9-year-olds revealed that those who were more physically fit had a better mastery of
motor skills (Haga, 2008).
In gross motor skills involving large-muscle activity, boys usually outperform girls.
As children move through the elementary school years, they gain greater control over their bodies and can sit and
pay attention for longer periods of time. However, they are far from being physically mature, and they need to be
active. Elementary school children become more fatigued by long periods of sitting than by running, jumping, or
bicycling (Rink, 2009). Physical action is essential for these children to refine their developing skills. Children benefit
from exercise breaks periodically during the school day on the order of 15 minutes every two hours (Keen, 2005).
Fine Motor Skills
Fine motor skills involve finely tuned movements that require finger dexterity. Example: using a spoon or buttoning a
shirt.

Motor development during middle childhood contd.,
Summary and Sources
31
A7
Increased myelination of the central nervous system is reflected in the improvement of fine motor skills during
middle and late childhood. Myelination involves the covering of the axon with a myelin sheath, a process that
increases the speed with which information travels from neuron to neuron.
By middle childhood, children can use their hands adroitly as tools.
· 6 yrs: can hammer, paste, tie shoes, and fasten clothes.
· 7 yrs: children’s hands have become steadier. Children prefer a pencil to a crayon for printing, and reversal of letters
is less common. Printing becomes smaller.
· 8-10 yrs: children can use their hands independently with more ease and precision; children can now write rather
than print words. Letter size becomes smaller and more even.
· 10-12 yrs: children begin to show manipulative skills similar to the abilities of adults. The complex, intricate, and
rapid movements needed to produce fine-quality crafts or to play a difficult piece on a musical instrument can be
mastered.
Girls usually outperform boys in fine motor skills.
* * *
To summarize, there is significant motor development during middle childhood. Due to improvement in gross motor
skills children can now run, swim, skate etc. However, they need frequent exercise breaks to practice these skills.
With increased myelination the fine motor skills such as writing, painting, needlework etc. show significant
improvement.
Sources:

Analyse Levinson’s theory and its
features in adulthood development.
Q8.
32

Levinson’s theory and its features in adulthood
development
33
A8
The Stage-Crisis View is a theory of adult development that was established by Daniel Levinson in his 1978
publication entitled "The Seasons of a Man's Life."
According to his theory, various developmental tasks must be mastered as one progresses through each era; pre-
adulthood, early adulthood, middle adulthood, and late adulthood. Crises are also experienced throughout the
lifecycle and occur when one become burdened by either internal or external factors, such as during the midlife crisis
that occurs during the midlife transition from early adulthood to middle adulthood.
At the center of Levinson's theory is the life structure. This is an underlying pattern of an individual's life at any given
point in time. It is shaped mainly by their social and physical environment, and involves family and work. Other
variables such as religion, race, and status are often important as well.
There are two key concepts:
1. Stable Period - the time when a person makes crucial choices in life
2. Transitional Period - the end of a person's stage and the beginning of a new one. Life during these transitions can
be either rocky or smooth, but the quality and significance of one’s life commitments often change between the
beginning and end of a period.
As per the theory, there are 6 stages of adulthood:
1. Early adult transition (17-22) - leave adolescence, make preliminary choices for adult life
2. Entering the adult world (22-28) - make initial choices in love, occupation, friendship, values, lifestyle
3. Age 30 transition (28-33) - changes occur in life structure, either a moderate change or, more often, a severe and
stressful crisis
4. Settling down (33-40) - establish a niche in society, progress on a timetable, in both family and career
accomplishments; are expected to think and behave like a parent so they are facing more demanding roles and
expectations .

Levinson’s theory and its features in adulthood
development contd., Summary and Sources
34
A8
5. Mid-life transition (40-45) - life structure comes into question, usually a time of crisis in the meaning, direction,
and value of each person's life. Neglected parts of the self (talents, desires, aspirations) seek expression. Men
becoming increasingly aware of death and they are reminded of how short life really is. They become involved in
trying to leave a legacy and this usually forms the core of the second half of his life.
6. Entering middle adulthood (45-50) - choices must be made, a new life structure formed. person must commit to
new tasks.
* Some sources also stated that there was a late adulthood stage during which time a man spent time reflecting on
past achievements and regrets, and making peace with one's self and others (including God).
* * *
To summarize, Levinson’s theory suggests humans progress through various stages in life viz. early adult transition,
entering the adult world, age 30 transition, settling down, mid-life transition and entering middle adulthood. The
progression happens as they master various developmental tasks.
Sources:
http://humangrowth.tripod.com/id3.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stage-Crisis_View

50 words
Section C
35

Period of Zygote
36
A9
After a female egg is fertilized, the resulting one-celled organism becomes known as a zygote. Once this has occurred,
the zygote begins a two-week period of rapid cell division and will eventually become an embryo.
The zygote divides through a process known as mitosis, in which each cell doubles by dividing into two cells. This two-
week stage is known as the germinal period of development and covers the time of conception to the implantation of
the embryo in the uterus.
In most cases, each male and female sex cell contain 23 chromosomes. When these two haploid cells join, they form
a single diploid cell that contains a total of 46 chromosomes. The zygote begins a journey down the fallopian tube to
the uterus where it must implant in the lining in order to obtain the nourishment it needs to grow and survive.
The period of the zygote is the first stage of the prenatal period. And, it lasts for about four days. Around the fifth day,
the mass of cells becomes known as a blastocyst. The germinal period will last for fourteen days, after which the
embryonic period will begin.
* * *
Sources:
http://psychology.about.com/od/zindex/g/def_zygote.htm

Time lag method
37
A10
The time lag design has been defined by Schaie (1965) as examining "whether there are differences in a give
characteristic for samples of equal age but drawn from different cohorts measured at different times" (p. 95). In
other words, only one age is studied but across different cohorts at different times.
The time lag design could also be defined by Cook and Campbell (1979), as a separate sample design. As such, it also
confounded by differences in generations or cohorts. According to Schaie (1970), the time lag method is designed to
measure cultural change but confounds environmental treatments or normative history-graded influences with
differences between cohorts.
In simple words, this research method involves the comparison of people that are the same age, but from different
cohorts. An example of this would be to analyze differences from 20 year olds that lived in the 70s, 80s and 90s.
Strengths of this method are that it controls for cohort differences. Weaknesses are that this method is very
expensive and you cannot control for age change effects or age differences.
* * *
Sources:
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:TqC4X82g68UJ:www2.webster.edu/~woolflm/designs.html
+&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=in
http://quizlet.com/4228788/psych-230-developmental-psychology-exam-1-flash-cards/

Smiling
38
A11
Smiling is critical as a means of developing a new social skill and is a key social signal (Campos, 2009). Two types of
smiling can be distinguished in infants:
- Reflexive smile: A smile that does not occur in response to external stimuli and appears during the first month after
birth, usually during sleep.
- Social smile: A smile that occurs in response to an external stimulus, typically a face in the case of the young infant.
Social smiling occurs as early as 4 to 6 weeks of age in response to a caregiver’s voice (Campos, 2005).
Daniel Messinger (2008) described the developmental course of infant smiling:
- 2-6 months: infants’ social smiling increases considerably, both in self-initiated smiles and smiles in response to
others’ smiles
- 6-12 months: smiles that couple the Duchenne marker (eye constriction) and mouth opening occur during highly
enjoyable interactions and play with parents
-Second year: smiling continues to occur in positive circumstances with parents. Increase in smiling occurs when
interacting with peers. Increased awareness of the social meaning of smiles. Anticipatory smiling occurs -
communicating preexisting positive emotion by smiling at an object and then turning their smile toward an adult.
* * *
Sources:

Ego Integrity vs. Despair
39
A12
Integrity versus despair is the eighth and final stage of Erik Erikson's theory of psychosocial development. It occurs
during late adulthood - age 65 through the end of life. During this period of time, we tend to slow down our
productivity, and explore life as a retired person and come away with either a sense of fulfillment from a life well
lived or a sense of regret and despair over a life misspent.
Those who feel proud of their accomplishments will feel a sense of integrity. Successfully completing this phase
means looking back with few regrets and a general feeling of satisfaction. These individuals will attain wisdom.
Wisdom enables a person to look back at life with a sense of closure and completeness, and accept death without
fear.
Erik Erikson believed if we see our lives as unproductive, feel guilt about our past, or feel that we did not accomplish
our life goals, we become dissatisfied with life and develop regrets and consequently, feelings of bitterness and
despair, often leading to depression and hopelessness.
• Major Question: "Did I live a meaningful life?"
• Basic Virtue: Wisdom
• Important Event(s): Reflecting back on life
* * *
Sources:
http://www.simplypsychology.org/Erik-Erikson.html
http://psychology.about.com/od/psychosocialtheories/a/integrity-versus-despair.htm

Egocentrism in adolescence
40
A13
Adolescent egocentrism is a term that David Elkind used to describe the phenomenon of adolescents' inability to
distinguish between their perception of what others think about them and what people actually think in reality. His
theory on adolescent egocentrism is drawn from Piaget’s theory on cognitive developmental stages, which argues
that formal operations enable adolescents to construct imaginary situations and abstract thinking. Accordingly,
adolescents are able to conceptualize their own thoughts and conceive of other people’s.
However, Elkind pointed out that adolescents tend to focus mostly on their own perceptions – especially on their
behaviors and appearance - because of the “physiological metamorphosis” they experience during this period. This
leads to adolescents’ belief that other people are as attentive to their behaviors and appearance as they are of
themselves. According to Elkind, adolescent egocentrism results in two consequential mental constructions, namely
imaginary audience and personal fable.
He believed that adolescent egocentrism was a temporary phenomenon that will gradually diminish as adolescents
grow older because after entering the formal operational stage, no new mental systems would develop. Accordingly,
the two mental constructions that result from egocentrism, will gradually be overcome and disappear as formal
operations become mature and stable.
* * *
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolescent_Egocentrism

Moratorium
41
A14
Eriksonian researcher James Marcia (1980, 1994) proposes that Erikson’s theory of identity development contains
four statuses of identity, or ways of resolving the identity crisis: identity diffusion, identity foreclosure, identity
moratorium, and identity achievement.
The search for an identity during adolescence is aided by a psychosocial moratorium, Erikson’s term for the gap
between childhood security and adult autonomy. Identity moratorium is the status of individuals who are in the midst
of a crisis but whose commitments are either absent or are only vaguely defined. They often begin to question their
ideas and beliefs.
During this period, society leaves adolescents relatively free of responsibilities and able to try out different identities.
Adolescents search their culture’s identity files, experimenting with different roles and personalities. They may want
to pursue one career one month (say lawyer) and another career next month (say doctor, actor, or astronaut). They
may dress neatly one day, sloppily the next. This experimentation is a deliberate effort on their part to find out where
they fit in the world.
A recent meta-analysis of 124 studies revealed that identity moratorium status rose steadily to 19 years of age and
then declined. (Kroger, Martinussen, & Marcia, 2010).
* * *
Sources:
Theories of Developmental Psychology, Patricia Miller
Child Development, Neil J. Salkind

Exceptional Children
42
A15
Children exhibit differences from one another in terms of learning abilities. The differences among most children are
relatively small, enabling these children to benefit from the general education program. The learning abilities of some
children, however—those called exceptional children—differ from the norm (either below or above) so much that
they require an individualized program of special education and related services to fully benefit from education.
Modifications in curriculum and instruction are necessary to help them fulfill their potential. Thus, exceptional
children is an inclusive term that refers to children with learning and/or behavior problems, children with physical
disabilities or sensory impairments, and children who are intellectually gifted or have a special talent.
At risk children are ones who, although not currently identified as having a disability, are considered to have a
greater-than-usual chance of developing one.
Exceptional children share certain physical characteristics and/or patterns of learning and behavior. These are:
• Mental retardation (developmental disabilities)
• Learning disabilities
• Emotional and behavioral disorders
• Autism
• Communication (speech and language) disorders
• Hearing impairments
• Visual impairments
• Physical and health impairments
• Traumatic brain injury
• Multiple disabilities
• Giftedness and special talents Sources:
http://www.education.com/reference/article/who-exceptional-
children/?page=2
http://www.education.com/reference/article/who-exceptional-children/

Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery
43
A16
The Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery (WJ-PEB), originally published in 1977, measured cognitive
abilities, scholastic aptitudes, academic achievement and scholastic and non-scholastic interests. It is an individually-
administered, wide-age range, comprehensive set of standardized tests designed to identify learning disabilities. The
Woodcock-Johnson® Psycho-Educational Battery-Revised (WJ-R®), was published in 1989.
WJ III is the current version. It was normed from age 19mos to 100yrs+ and from K to gr 18.0. It consists of 42 tests
divided into 2 parts: Tests of Cognitive Ability and Tests of Achievement. There are 8 timed tasks and 11 taped tasks.
It is based on the Carroll-Horn-Cattell (CHC) Model. It provides a measure of general intellectual ability (g). It includes
a Brief Intellectual Ability score. It provides a greater breadth of coverage of cognitive factors. It uses 2-3 tests that
clearly measure different narrow aspects of a broader ability. It measures 5 clinical clusters (working memory, broad
attention, cognitive fluency, executive processes and phonemic awareness). Individual tests are differentially
weighted according to age.
WJ III® is state-of-the-art and the best practice for identifying persons with learning disabilities and program-
planning.
* * *
Sources:
http://www.helmsingconsulting.com/pamphlet.htm

Sensori-motor Stage
44
A17
The sensorimotor stage lasts from birth to about 2 years of age. In this stage, infants construct an understanding of
the world by coordinating sensory experiences (such as seeing and hearing) with physical, motoric actions—hence
the term “sensorimotor.” At the beginning of this stage, newborns have little more than reflexive patterns with which
to work. At the end of the sensorimotor stage, 2-year-olds can produce complex sensorimotor patterns and use
primitive symbols.
By the end of the sensorimotor period, children understand that objects are both separate from the self and
permanent. Object permanence is the understanding that objects and events continue to exist even when they
cannot be seen, heard, or touched.
Piaget divided the sensorimotor stage into six sub-stages:
1. Simple reflexes (Birth - 1 month): Coordination of sensation and action through reflexive behaviors
2. First habits and primary circular reactions (1- 4 months): Coordination of sensation and two types of schemas -
habits (reflex) and primary circular reactions (reproduction of an event that initially occurred by chance). Main
focus is still on infant's body.
3. Secondary Circular reactions (4-8 months): Infants move beyond self-preoccupation and become more object-
oriented.
4. Coordination of secondary circular reactions (8-12 months): Coordination of vision and touch, schemes and
intentionality.
5. Tertiary circular reactions, novelty and curiosity (12-18 months): Infants become intrigued by objects and
experiments with new behavior,
6. Internalization of schemes (18-24 months): Infants develop the ability to use primitive symbols and form
enduring mental representations.
Sources:

Retirement and leisure
45
A18
Retirement is the phase of one’s life when the lifelong job of earning a living, raising a family, and overcoming the
day-to-day obstacles that affect one's income, status, and career comes to an end. The fundamental problem of
retired people is essentially the substitution of these with a new set of personal values and new kinds of activity.
Within post-retirement activities, leisure activities (e.g., Dorfman & Douglas, 2005; Reeves & Darville, 1994) are
amongst the most beneficial to retirees’ psychological well-being. Further, when retirees work for generative reasons
(i.e., working for teaching and sharing knowledge with the younger generation), they are more likely to experience
improved psychological well-being (Dendinger, Adams, & Jacobson, 2005).
Interest in leisure activities such as hobbies and volunteer activities should be developed, that can be pursued
earnestly post-retirement. This has been shown to have a positive impact on the physical and mental health of the
individual and is also related to reduced mortality.
* * *
Sources:
http://www.woodworkinghistory.com/appendix_26.htm
http://www.siop.org/WhitePapers/White%20Paper%20Series%2020112012Retirement.pdf

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