Psychological development

Psychological Development

Nature and Nurture
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Nature: behavior is determined by inherited biological innate factors e.g.
Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.
Nurture: behavior is determined by environmental factors by learning as in
theories of John Locke at 17th century and also theories of Watson and Skinner.
The accepted current view is that behavior is the result of interaction between
the biological and environmental factors.
Maturation: innately determined sequence of growth and change that is relatively
independent of external events i.e. mainly biological factors.
learning is not effective before biological maturation is completed. e.g. toilet
training is not possible before 24 months.
Early experience-including ;
Imprinting—stamping of behavior as the’’ following response’’ occurred
at a critical period. e.g as in goslings.
Effect of early social deprivation;
Leads to abnormal, aggressive behavior with difficulty in social and sexual
future adjustment as in the experiment on infant monkeys-separated from mothers
since birth and isolated for several months then returned back to peers and then
to breeding cages.
Stage theory of development: that development occurred through different
biologically determined periods or stages. these are: stages of 1-physical
development.2-Cognitive development. 3-Emotional&social development.4-Moral
development. these stages are overlapping and psychological development occurred
as a result of active interaction between them.


A-Stage of Physical Development;

Neonatal period- 1st 2 weeks – a transition from the womb to independent life

.neonate is physically week and dependent. can't raise its head or roll over by
itself , has few reflexive behaviors as rooting reflex and grasp reflex.
Infancy: 2 weeks to 2 years.
rapid development in the 1st year than any other time.--------by 2 months can
raise head and chest on their arms. grasp objects in front of their heads &
shoulders.-------by 6 months---many can roll over from back to front. ,sit and
soon begin to crawl -----------by 1 year----many can walk alone and grasp small
objects with fingers and thumb.-------by 2 years---getting into everything with
peculiar gait—toddler.-------from 2 weeks to 2 months----rapid change in all
senses.----clear vision up to 12 feet.-----by 6 months vision is normal.
starring at interesting visual stimuli prefer to look at pattern stimuli with
sharp contours as human faces.
Physical capacities;
Vision:--------------------newborn--- poor visual acuity, ability to change
focus is limited. is very nearsighted .---------- 7 to 8 months------visual
acuity is close to adults, spend a lot of time actively looking about. i.e
scanning –with pause on any change in the visual field. attracted by edges,
complex pattern and curved lines. in newborn facial preference attracted by
moving faces.----
By 2 months---look on inside of faces----by 3 months---recognize photographs of
mother.----by 5-11 months---remember faces of strangers.


Hearing:--- fetuses ---26-28 weeks---moves towards sharp sounds
Newborn -----turn head towards source of a
sound.----disappears at 6 weeks---reemerge at 3-4 months at the time of search
by eyes also---represents a maturational transition from reflexive response
controlled by sub -cortical areas of the brain to a voluntary attempt to locate
the source of sound.
By 4 months----------infants reach towards the source of sound in the dark.
By 6 months----------marked increase in their responsiveness to sounds that are
accompanied by visual stimuli .---------newborns ---also detect the difference
between 2 similar sounds.---can discriminates between human voices and other
kinds of sounds ---also differentiate various characteristics of human
speech.-------- by 6 months---pick up enough information about language to
begin.
Taste & Smell:------------- newborn can discriminates between tastes shortly
after birth .prefers sweet-tasting liquids over salty, bitter& sour. with
lip-licking. Also discriminates odors.---there is innate preference of mother's
milk odor.

Learning & Memory:

Young infants has memory and learning as in turning head experience
3 months---good memories. as in moving leg attached by a ribbon to make
preferred sounds by moving a rattle around the bed cage.


B-Cognitive Development

The period of discovering and actively influencing the environment.

Piaget's stages:

4 months ---most infants respond positively to sounds of their names.----- from

2 months on---infants remember some of what they have experiences for a time.
Object permanence------awareness that an object continues to exist even when it
is covered
1-Sensory- Motor stage === birth --- 2 years
Infants are busy discovering the relationship between their actions and the
consequences of these actions.---emphasizing the concept of themselves as
separate from the external world---infants move from pure reflexive actions to
the ability to coordinate sensations and motor movements such as voluntarily
taking a nipple to the mouth and sucking.---from 2 months on---infant begins to
interact actively with its environment.---not only passively stares at objects
but takes a great pleasure in pushing, pulling and mouthing them.---alters
environment by using hands and feet. sensory-motor experience—believed to be
important in development of motor behavior such as crawling.---
By s not present.---during infancy children develop the ability to form
cognitive representation.---from 6-9 months ---begins to understand that objects
are existing even if they are out of sight---this is called object
permanence.---before that time—if an object at which the infant is looking is
hidden from sight by a card infant will not push the card aside to look for it.
as it does not exist behind.---- after 6-9 months----the
infant will search for the object behind a cloth.
Also understand some nouns as ball, cockie. responds to bye-bye--------by ----12
months---can say some work---by 18 months ---speaking 20 words.---by 2
years---speaks 250 words.---telegraphic speech.


2-Preoperational stage----------2---7 years-
At 1.5---2 years children begin to use symbols .words can represent things or
groups of things, an object can represent another.---at 3 years ----treats a
stick as a horse and ride it around the room.or a block of wood can become a car
or a doll can become a father and another as a baby.--- a 3 and 4 years can
think in symbolic terms but still not comprehend certain rules or operations.
think within the concept of conversation--- of size, number, mass.
Egocenrism---- self- centered associated with Animinsm---objects are alive,
moon alive and following them.
Trasductive reasoning----errors in inferring cause and effect relationship. e.g
a spider in the basement is the cause of cold here.
Development of language----gained 14000 words by age of 6 months.

3-Concrete Operational stage;--- 7---11 years.

Achieves conservation of number---age 6.---of mass –age ---7.---of
weight---age—9.------classify objects according to several features and can
order them in series along a single dimension such as size.---is a capable
thinker uses adults concept.--------understand Reversibility of logical
operations e.g ---7+2=9 so 9-2=7.------ Conservation : of size---e.g the amount
of a water in a wide short glass is less than that when pour to a or of
number----e.g a 10 checker blocks arranged in a row believed to be more in
number when they are more separated.
Decentered concept -----can think in more than one thing at a time ,use more
than one characteristic at a time.


4-Formal Operational Stage:-------- 11 years on. --------the ability to use
abstract-concept.
---uses 'principle ,of, science, experiment,
discovery. concepts as ---
Adolescent egocentrism---4 characteristics---1-imaginery audience-an audience
that adolescents believe is watching everything they do. .2-personal fable---he
or she believes that no one has similar problems or could possibly understand
what he or she is going through.,3-hypocrisy---it is okay for them to copy
someone else's homework but a teacher who leaves class to take a short personal
telephone call is irresponsible in adolescent's eyes -----
4-pseudostupidity. ---oversimplified logic eg when
says---if alcoholics know they are going to die of cirrhosis of the liver, why
don't they just stop.

C-Emotional & Social Development:

Erik Erikson's stages of personality development

Stage 1- 0-1 year Basic trust vs mistrust----------Learns to feel

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comfortable and trust parents 'care; or develop a deep distrust of a world that
is perceived to be unsafe.
Stage 2-- 1-3 years Autonomy vs Shame and doubt-----------Learns sense
of competence by learning to feed self, use toilet, play alone; or feels ashamed
and doubts own abilities.
Stage 1-3 years Initiative vs guilt -------------------Gains ability
to use own initiative in planning and carrying out plans; or, if cannot live
within parents 'limits, develops a sense of guilt over misbehavior.


Stage 4—5-11 years -- Industry vs inferiority-------------Learns to meet the
demands imposed by school and home responsibilities; or come to believe that he
or she is inferior to others.

Stage 5- 11-18 years Identity vs role confusion-------Acquires sense of

own identity ;or is confused about role in life.

Stage 6- 18-40 years Intimacy vs isolation -----------Develops couple

relationship and joint identity with partner; or becomes isolated from
meaningful relationships with others,

Stage 7 ---- 40-65 years Generativity vs

stagnation-------------Develops a concern with helping others and leaving
children, products, and ideas to future generations; or becomes self –centered
and stagnant.

Stage 8- 65 years on Identity vs despair-------------Reaps benefits

of earlier stages and understands and accepts meaning of a temporary life ;or
despair over ever being able to find meaning in life.

----------------------------

Early Childhood:
--------------------------
Relationship with parents;
Newborns---capable of only 3 emotions------1-surprise, 2-pleasure.
3-distress.---------at 2 months------the 1st true social behavior-----
Smile—at faces of caregivers.-------------at 4 months----develop emotion of
---anger.
At 6-9 months -------------------a-shyness about strangers. b-fear of separation
from caregivers. C-fear of hypodermic needle.-----
Healthy development of infants emotions—including smile at 2 months
---rewarding to parents.—anger & fear at 4-9 months –not welcome.
By 2 years----------grow more complex. infant acts guilty after misbehavior and
feels ashamed after failure.-----form strong attachment to their parents. or
other caregivers-------3 explanations-------1-infants cling, grasp, grape & do
whatever else to stay close to their parents.------2-infants of 6-9 months or
older --------intense separation anxiety------crying fussy.
3-infants at this age sometimes also exhibit fear of strangers—no one but the
adults to whom they are attached have the soothing effect.
Attachment:--
- an infant's
tendencies to seek closeness to particular people
and to feel more secure in their presence.---experiment on infants monkeys of
artificial mother by a mesh of wires& wooden heads supplying milk for feeding
compared with another artificial mother made of smooth clothing-leading to
disturbed late behavior in the 1st sample.-----Bowlby theory ----strong
attachment occur during the 1st 3 years---disruption –leads to separation
anxiety. long term separation leads to strong emotional disturbance and long
term negative effect on physical and emotional development.
Relationship with Peers:
At age --2 years---a-Solitary play; in most children ,they play with
themselves.
Decrease in frequency 2-5 years.---b-Parallel play---act with near one
another.---c-Cooperative play---give and take principle.
At age--2-3 years---Temper tantrums—i.e emotional outbursts-directed at no
one.
At age—4-7 years---direct aggression at others.—more sociable, less
egocentric emotion than tantrums.—less egocentric.----by age – 2
years—most boys & girls have begun to act in sex-typed ways.---boys tend to
play with trucks, airplanes & blocks.---girls—play with dolls, stuffed animals
& dress up clothes.
There is a conscious awareness of their own sex and understand the sex
stereotype s of the culture concerning clothing, occupations and recreation


Middle childhood;
At age 7-11------primary school period.-----there is a close relation with
parents, social relations with peers----friendships---not enduring---selfish
relationship mainly with same sex peers.
Adolescent Development:---Puberty---
---( Physical & Emotional )
Adolescence---is the period from the onset of puberty until the beginning of
adulthood.---it is ushered in by the monumental physical changes of
puberty.---through which a person who was a child only yesterday becomes
sexually capable of being the parent of a child. it is marked by rapid physical
growth and change and a heightening of sexual and romantic interest in others
and it is a time in which peers are often more important than parents in terms
of attachment and influence. the adolescent is capable of reasoning in
abstractions for the 1st time. partly for this reason ,he or she may spend a
great deal of time contemplating abstract issues such as justice and equality.
Physical development
Puberty begins with the production of sex hormones by the ovaries in females and
the testes in males .these hormones trigger a series of physiological changes
that lead to ovulation and menstruation in female s and the production of sperm
cells in males.----these are the primary sex characteristics.---indicate that
the adolescent has the ability to reproduce.---these changes –accompanied by
activation of sexual desire and corresponding increase in dating, kissing,
petting ,masturbation ,and other sexual activities.---menarche—1st menstrual
cycle.-------Secondary sexual characteristics-------height and weight increase
sharply, pushing adolescents quickly to adult size. form the shape of a man and
woman-------development of breasts and hips in females—growth of testes,
broadening of the shoulders, lowered voice, and growth of the penis and facial
hair in males. and growth of pubic and other body hair in both sexes.


Emotional development;
------------------------------------
At age 11-13------- Social development--development of sex
characteristics---drifting or sometimes breaking away from family.---- spends
more time with peers than parents .peers are most important people in life at
age 11-13 years, decline from age 15 years on.
Adolescence emotions:1st text on adolescence psychology1904-
----------------------------------by G. Stanley Hall. debate has continued
since then about the nature of adolescence emotions.---care free period of
happiness—a time of –Storm & Stress—current research suggests that about
80% of adolescents are relatively happy and well adjusted. however there are 3
areas in which adolescents have greater problems than both younger or older
individuals.
Parent-Child conflicts-
--conflict on dating, how long teenagers should be away .where they go, with
whom—views on sex, alcohol, drugs, smoking, delinquency and safety.
Mood changes-------more shifts of mood and more extremely positive and negative
moods.----more likely to feel self-conscious, embarrassed, awkward, lonely
,nervous, and ignored.—feels –very happy-declines by 50% --improved in late
adolescence and early adulthood.
Risky behavior-----sharp increase in the amount of behavior that exposes the
child to danger.-----marked increase in drinking to become drunk, use of drugs,
reckless driving & automobile accidents and fatalities, unprotected sex,
aggression & a delinquent behavior which does not decline until early
adulthood.---rate of suicide also increase dramatically during adolescence but
still lower than in adulthood, approximaely 18 males per 100,000 persons age
15-19 years & 4 females per 10,000 in the same age range commit suicide.
Causes of these changes; Why these changes take place during adolescence ?---No
clear cause---it appears that it is the result of ----Changes in abstract
cognition, surges in sex hormones ,increases in social stress, and conflicts
over autonomy during this natural period of transition all seem to be involved .


D-Moral Development

Two theorists have provided us with stage theories that are related to Piaget's

theory of cognitive development but that focus on the development of moral
reasoning .Lawrence Kohlberg-1969-proposed the first complete theory of moral
development, followed by an important alternative theory provided by his
colleague –Carol Gilligan-1982.this theory go beyond the issue of moral
development. it stresses that females might deal differently with ethical issues
than males, and not to generalize the standards for boys in Kohlberg's theory on
girls.

Kohlberg's stages-levels-of moral development-

Pre-moral level-------------young children have no sense of morality as adults
understand it. they make moral judgments to obtain rewards and avoid punishment.
Conventional level---------at this stage, children make moral decisions on the
basis of what they think other will think of them, particularly parents and
other persons of authority. because society's rules, or conventions, state what
is expected of them, persons at the conventional level of moral development make
moral decisions based on rules.
Principled level----------at this stage ,we judge actions on the basis of
ethical principles rather than the consequences to us (as in the first two
stages).the advanced moral reasoning within this stage, according to Kohlberg,
is based on one's principles of morality, even if they differ from the rules of
the larger community. Gilligan's Stage
Theory Moral Development - -----------------------


Morality as individual survival: --------the young child's first sense of what
is "right" is what is good for him or her. young children follow rules to obtain
rewards for themselves and to avoid punishment.
Morality as self- sacrifice-------the next stage of moral reasoning is attained
after becoming aware of the needs of others. in this stage, the persons believes
that ,to be good and to be approved by others, they must sacrifice their own
needs and meet the needs of others.
Morality as Equality:--------In the most advanced stage of moral development,
the person views his or her own needs as equal to those of others .Persons as
this stage of moral development have progressed from believing that they must
always please others at the expense of their own wishes to a belief that
everyone's needs should be met when possible and that sacrifices should be
shared equally when the needs of different persons cannot all to be met .this
is a stage of advocacy of nonviolence—it is not right for anyone to be
intentionally hurt, including the person himself or herself.