Developmental Psychology

ADVERSE FACTORS AFFECTING FETAL

Prenatal Development DEVELOPMENT
 Development happens quickly during the prenatal Although the womb provides protection, the fetus
period, which is the time between conception and remains indirectly connected to the outside world through
birth. This period is generally divided into three stages: its mother. Several factors that are linked to the mother
the germinal stage, the embryonic stage, and the fetal can harm the fetus:
stage.  Poor nutrition
 Use of alcohol
Stage 1: The Germinal Stage  Smoking
 The two-week period after conception is called  Use of certain prescription or over-the-counter drugs
the germinal stage. Conception occurs when a sperm  Use of recreational drugs such as cocaine, sedatives,
cell combines with an egg cell to form a zygote. About and narcotics
thirty-six hours after conception, the zygote begins to  X-rays and other kinds of radiation
divide quickly. The resulting ball of cells moves along  Ingested toxins, such as lead
the mother’s fallopian tube to the uterus.  Illnesses such as AIDS, German measles, syphilis,
 Around seven days after conception, the ball of cells cholera, smallpox, mumps, or severe flu
starts to become embedded in the wall of the uterus.
This process is called implantation and takes about a Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
week to complete. If implantation fails, as is quite  Mothers who drink heavily during pregnancy may
common, the pregnancy terminates. One key feature of have babies with fetal alcohol syndrome. Babies with
the germinal stage is the formation of a tissue called this syndrome may have problems such as small head
the placenta. The placenta has two important size, heart defects, irritability, hyperactivity, mental
functions: retardation, or slowed motor development. Fetal
 Passing oxygen and nutrients from the mother’s blood alcohol syndrome is incurable.
into the embryo or fetus
 Removing waste materials from the embryo or fetus Infancy and Childhood
 Babies come into the world with many innate
Stage 2: The Embryonic Stage abilities, or abilities that are present from birth. At
 The embryonic stage lasts from the end of the birth, they possess motor reflexes such as the sucking
germinal stage to two months after conception. The reflex and the grasping reflex. Newborns can also hear,
developing ball of cells is now called an embryo. In this smell, touch, taste, and see, and these sensory abilities
stage, all the major organs form, and the embryo develop quickly.
becomes very fragile. The biggest dangers are Motor Development
teratogens, which are agents such as viruses, drugs, or  Motor development also progresses quickly. Motor
radiation that can cause deformities in an embryo or development is the increasing coordination of
fetus. At the end of the embryonic period, the embryo muscles that makes physical movements
is only about an inch long. possible. Developmental norms tell us the median
age at which babies develop specific behaviors and
Stage 3: The Fetal Stage abilities. Babies often deviate a fair amount from these
 The last stage of prenatal development is the fetal norms.
stage, which lasts from two months after conception  Researchers used to think motor skill development
until birth. About one month into this stage, the sex could be explained mostly by maturation, genetically
organs of the fetus begin to form. The fetus quickly programmed growth and development. According to
grows as bones and muscles form, and it begins to this view, babies learn to sit up, pull themselves to a
move inside the uterus. Organ systems develop further standing position, and walk at particular ages because
and start to function. During the last three months, the they are hard-wired that way. However, recent research
brain increases rapidly in size, an insulating layer of fat suggests that motor development isn’t just a passive
forms under the skin, and the respiratory and digestive process. Although maturation plays a large role, babies
systems start to work independently. also actively develop motor skills by moving around and
exploring their environments. Both maturation and
Fetal Viability experience influence motor development.
 Around twenty-two to twenty-six weeks after It’s Not All Maturation
conception, the fetus reaches the age of viability, after  Maturation plays a much greater role in the
which it has some chance of surviving out-side the development of early motor skills, such as crawling and
womb if it is born prematurely. The chances of a walking, than in development of later motor skills, such
premature baby’s survival increase significantly with as juggling or playing basketball. The development of
each additional week it remains in the mother’s uterus. later motor skills depends on genetic predisposition,
exposure to good teachers, and social factors.
Cultural differences also affect how quickly motor skills makes it hard for the mothers to be properly
develop, although the timing and sequence of early motor responsive.
skill development remains similar across all cultures. ATTACHMENT STYLES
 Ainsworth devised an experiment called the Strange
Temperament Situation in order to study attachment behavior. She
 Some babies have fussy personalities, while others asked each mother in the sample to bring her infant to
have chirpy or quiet natures. These differences result an unfamiliar room that contained various toys. After
from temperament, the kind of personality features the mother and infant had spent some time in the
babies are born with. Researchers generally agree that room, a stranger entered the room and tried to play
temperament depends more on biological factors than with the infant. A short while later, the mother left the
on environment. In the 1970s, Alexander room, leaving the infant with the stranger. Then the
Thomas and Stella Chess, two researchers who mother returned to the room, and the stranger left. A
study temperament, described three basic types of little later, the mother left the room again, briefly
temperament: easy, slow to warm up, and difficult. In leaving the infant alone. Finally, the mother returned
their research, 40 percent of the children were easy, to the room.
15 percent were slow to warm up, and 10 percent
were difficult. The remaining 35 percent of the Based on her observations of infants’ behavior in the
children displayed a mixture of these temperaments: Strange Situation, Ainsworth described three types of
 Easy children tend to be happy and adapt easily to attachment patterns:
change. They have regular sleeping and eating patterns 1. Secure attachment: Most infants in the sample had a
and don’t upset easily. secure attachment to their mothers. These infants
 Slow-to-warm-up children tend to be less cheerful expressed unhappiness when their mothers left but still
and less adaptable than easy children. They are cautious played with the stranger. When their mothers returned,
about new experiences. Their sleeping and eating the infants looked happy. The infants displayed greater
patterns are less regular than those of easy children. attachment to their mothers than to the stranger.
 Difficult children tend to be glum and irritable, and 2. Anxious-ambivalent attachment: Some infants
they dislike change. Their eating and sleeping patterns showed a type of insecure attachment called an anxious-
are irregular. ambivalent attachment. These infants became upset
Attachment when their mothers left but resisted contact with their
 Attachment is the close bond between infants and mothers when they returned.
their caregivers. Researchers used to think that infants 3. Avoidant attachment: Other infants showed a type of
attach to people who feed them and keep them warm. insecure attachment called an avoidant attachment.
However, researchers Margaret and Harry Harlow These infants didn’t seem upset when their mothers left
showed that attachment could not occur without and avoided their mothers when they returned.
contact comfort. Contact comfort is comfort derived Researchers did not see a significant difference in the
from physical closeness with a caregiver. way these infants treated their mothers and the
THE HARLOWS’ BABY MONKEYS stranger.
 The Harlows raised orphaned baby rhesus monkeys CULTURE AND ATTACHMENT STYLE
and studied their behavior. In place of its real mother,  Culture can influence attachment style because
each baby monkey had two substitute or surrogate different cultures have different child-rearing practices.
mothers. One “mother” had a head attached to a wire Ainsworth’s research in the United States showed that
frame, warming lights, and a feeding bottle. The other most of her white, middle-class sample of infants had
“mother” had the same construction except that foam a secure attachment to their mothers. However, in
rubber and terry cloth covered its wire frame. The Germany, where parents encourage independence
Harlows found that although both mothers provided from an early age, a much higher proportion of infants
milk and warmth, the baby monkeys greatly preferred display an avoidant attachment, according to
the cloth mother. They clung to the cloth mother even Ainsworth’s classification. In Japan, where infants
between feedings and went to it for comfort when rarely separate from their mothers, the avoidant style
they felt afraid. is nonexistent, although a higher proportion of
RESPONSIVE MOTHERING anxious-ambivalent attachments occurred than in the
 Psychologist Mary Ainsworth and her colleagues United States.
found that attachment happens through a complex set Separation Anxiety
of interactions between mothers and infants. The  Whether they are securely attached or not, most
infants of sensitive, responsive mothers have stronger babies do experience separation anxiety. Separation
attachments than the infants of insensitive mothers or anxiety is the emotional distress infants show when
mothers who respond inconsistently to their infants’ they separate from people to whom they are attached.
needs. However, an infant’s temperament also plays a Separation anxiety typically begins at about six to
role in attachment. Difficult infants who fuss, refuse to eight months of age and reaches peak intensity when
eat, and sleep irregularly tax their mothers, which an infant is about fourteen to eighteen months old.
Day Care widened pelvic bones, and wider hips. Boys develop
 Controversy surrounds the question of whether or not facial hair, broader shoulders, and deeper voices.
to place children in day care. Some research has  After pubescence and at the beginning of
suggested that babies have a greater chance of adolescence, pubertyoccurs. Puberty is the point at
developing insecure attachments if a nonparental which sexual organs mature. Sexual organs include
figure cares for them for more than twenty hours per the ovaries in girls and the penis and testes in boys.
week. However, most of the evidence suggests that  Menarche, or the first menstrual period, marks the
day care doesn’t create poor attachment. Studies have onset of puberty in girls. The average age of
even shown that day care can have positive effects on menarche for American girls is about twelve and a
social development. half. The beginning of nocturnal emissions, so-
Gender Development called wet dreams, marks the onset of puberty in
 Sex isn’t the same as gender. Sex refers to a boys. American boys typically begin to produce sperm
biological distinction between males and females. An by fourteen years of age. Girls reach full sexual
example of sex difference is the timing of puberty. maturation around age sixteen, and boys reach sexual
Because of biological processes, girls’ sexual organs maturity at around eighteen.
mature before those of boys. Gender refers to a Earlier Onset of Puberty
learned distinction between masculinity and femininity.  Girls and boys in the United States reach puberty
An example of gender difference is girls’ and boys’ earlier now than they did a few generations ago,
attitudes toward dolls. Very early on, American society possibly because nutrition and medical care have
teaches boys that playing with dolls is considered a changed over the years. In Western Europe and the
girlish thing to do. Gender stereotypes are societal United States, girls have their first menstrual periods
beliefs about the characteristics of males and females. at around age twelve or thirteen. In poorer regions of
GENDER DIFFERENCES Africa, which lack proper nutrition and health care,
 Some gender differences exist, although certainly not girls may not begin to menstruate until they are
as many as stereotypes suggest. For example, starting between the ages of fourteen and seventeen.
in preschool, gender differences arise in play behavior. VARYING MATURATION RATES
Boys prefer playing with boys and girls with girls. Boys  Puberty occurs at different rates for different people.
prefer to play with boyish toys like trucks and girls In girls, puberty usually happens between ages ten
with girlish toys like dolls. Different people give and fifteen and in boys between ages eleven and
different answers for why this is so: sixteen. Early or late maturation can have the
 Researchers who emphasize biological differences following consequences:
between the sexes say that these preferences arise from  Early-maturing girls and late-maturing boys tend to
biological factors such as genetics and evolution, have more psychological and social problems than their
prenatal hormones, or brain structure. peers.
 Researchers who focus on cognitive development  In girls, a correlation exists between early maturation
believe that these preferences exist because boys and and poorer school performance, earlier sexual activity,
girls develop different gender schemas or mental models more unwanted pregnancies, and a higher likelihood of
about gender. eating disorders.
 Researchers who study learning think that  Both boys and girls who mature early use more
environment produces these preferences. They point out alcohol and drugs and have more problems with the law
that almost from the moment of birth, girls and boys than their peers.
receive different treatment. Gender preferences, these Identity
researchers say, simply reflect what society teaches  As Erik Erikson pointed out, the search for identity
children about gender. marks an important step in adolescence. Adolescents
may go through an identity crisis, during which they
Adolescence struggle to understand themselves and decide their
 Adolescence used to be automatically associated with future. The psychologist James Marcia described
trouble. Recently, however, researchers have found four identity states, based on where people stand on
that adolescence is not always so difficult, even with the path to identity:
all the changes that occur during this period.  Identity foreclosure happens when a person
Physical Changes prematurely commits to values or roles that others
 Pubescence refers to the two years before puberty. prescribe.
The adolescent growth spurt actually begins during  Identity moratorium happens when a person delays
pubescence, at about age eleven in girls and about commitment to an identity. He or she may experiment
age thirteen in boys. At this time, children get taller with various values and roles.
and heavier and develop secondary sex  Identity diffusion occurs when a person lacks a
characteristics. Secondary sex characteristics are clear sense of identity but still hasn’t explored issues
sex-specific physical characteristics that are not related to identity development.
essential for reproduction. Girls develop breasts,
 Identity achievement occurs when a person  Crystallized intelligence, which is intelligence
considers alternative possibilities and commits to a based on a life span of knowledge and skills, remains
certain identity and path in life. constant or increases.
 Physical exercise and mental stimulation can form new
Adulthood connections between neurons in the brains of older
Certain experiences tend to occur in adulthood, adults.
including:  Most people’s overall sense of well-being increases as
 Marriage they get older.
 Parenthood
 The empty nest
 The midlife crisis
 Menopause (for women)
 Aging
 Not all adults go through all these experiences, and
the timing of particular experiences can vary greatly
from person to person. However, average ages for
major life events do exist. Social clocks indicate the
typical life events, behaviors, and issues for a
particular age. Each culture and historical period has a
specific social clock. A middle-class white woman living
in contemporary U.S. culture may be “off time” for
motherhood if she had her first child at age fifteen. In
another cultural context or another historical period,
however, motherhood at age fifteen may have been
“on time.”
 A midlife crisis is a time of doubt and anxiety in
middle adulthood. Research suggests, however, that
midlife crises don’t automatically happen when people
reach middle age. The empty nest refers to the time
in parents’ lives when their children have grown up
and left home. Parents who have other roles in
addition to parenting usually find this period less
difficult.
 Menopause is the gradual, permanent cessation of
menstruation and usually begins between ages forty-
five and fifty-five. Though many women suffer
uncomfortable physical symptoms during menopause,
such as hot flashes, emotional reactions to menopause
are far from universal: many women have strong
emotional reactions, while just as many others may
not. Though men don’t experience menopause, they
do experience a gradual decline in testosterone
production and sperm count as they age.
Aging
Researchers now know quite a bit about the process of
growing old. Some abilities and functions decline:
 As people age, they usually lose neurons in the brain,
but this loss rarely causes problems such as dementia,
which is a condition characterized by several significant
psychological deficits.
 Vision and hearing tend to decline as people grow
older.
 Some aspects of memory decrease in old age. This
results from a decline in the speed of mental processing.
Decrease in memory capacity is normal and is not
necessarily related to dementia.
Other abilities and functions stay the same or even
improve as people age: