CU-UG 5TH SEM

Exam Oriented Crash Course in Psychology

DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

Other Services:
• ECP : Semester Exam Oriented Crash Course in Psychology
(Semester exam based live class preparation with notes)
• SAPE : PG- Psychology Entrance Exam Preparation
(Entrance Coaching for graduate students for PG
• Offline Internship Programs
(Offline Internship Programs under experienced faculty)
 MODULE – 1

INTRODUCTION AND THEORIES TO LIFESPAN

DEVELOPMENT

A.DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

Developmental psychology is the branch of psychology that studies

the inter individual and intra individual changes.

It is the scientific study of progressive psychological changes that occur

in human beings as they age i.e, it covers the lifespan from conception to
death and attempts to give a complete picture of growth and decline.
This indicates all aspects of human growth including physical emotional
and intellectual social perception and personality development.

OBJECTIVES OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

• To find out what are the common characteristic age changes in

appearance, behavior, interest and in goal from one
developmental period to another
• To find out when these changes

• To find out what causes these changes

 • To find out how they influence behavior

• To find out whether they can or cannot be predicted

• To find out whether they are individual or universal

GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

Growth: the physical change that a particular individual undergoes.

Development: the overall growth of humans throughout their lifespan.

Development is the pattern of movement or change that begins

at conception and continues throughout the lifespan.
Most of the development involves growth, although it also includes
decline brought on by aging and dying that are biological cognitive and
social emotional in nature.

The biological processes produce changes in an individual's body, the

cognitive process refer to changes in an individual’s thought,
intelligence and language and, the social emotional processes involving
changes and individuals relationship with other people emotions and in
personality

Lifespan development is the field of study that examines patterns of

growth, change and stability in the behavior that occurs throughout
the entire life span.

Lifespan development focuses on human development and seeks to

understand universal principles of development, while focusing on other
aspects like the influence of cultural, racial, technical differences on the
course of development and aims to understand the unique aspects of
individuals, looking at traits and characteristics that differentiate one
person from another.

Lifespan development can be characterized into four areas

• Physical development-development involving the body’s physical

makeup.

• Cognitive development-development in involving the ways that

 growth and change in intellectual capability is influence a
person's behavior

• Personality development-development involving the ways that the

enduring characteristics that differentiate one person from another
change over the lifespan

• Social development-the way in which individuals interaction with

others and their social relationships grow change and remain
stable over the course of life
HISTORICAL FOUNDATION OF DEVELOPMENTAL
PSYCHOLOGY

Developmental psychology is concerned with constancy and change in

psychological functioning over the lifespan. As a discipline, it arose
shortly after the emergence of scientific psychology in the later part of
19th century.

In early years, developmental psychology was primarily concerned with

child and adolescent development. With further advancement more
importance was gained by adult development and aging. Developmental
psychology began as a correlational science focusing on observation and
not on experimentation and thus differed from traditional research
psychology.

MEDIEVAL TIMES
In the 15th and 16th century, childhood was regarded as a separate
period of life. Children wear distinguished under the age of 7 or 8 from
other people and even young teenagers were recognized as not fully
matured.

THE REFORMATION
Puritans, the protestant settlements in England held the view that
children were born evil and stubborn and had to be civilized. They had
harsh and restrictive child rearing practices to tame the child.
PHILOSOPHIES OF ENLIGHTENMENT
By the beginning of 17th century, developmental psychology brought in
new philosophies that emphasized ideals of human dignity and respect.
John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau are the usual starting points for
western discussion of development.

John Locke - Father Of Modern Learning Theory

• His view of a child was that of a blank slate which he usually
refers to using the term “Tabula Rasa”. According to this idea, a
child is like a
blank slate with nothing at all; their characters are shaped entirely by
experiences.
• Locke saw parents as rational tutors who can mould the child in
any way as they wish, through careful instruction and reward for
good behavior.
• He regarded development as a continuous process which should be
built up through the warm and concern teaching of parents, he held
up the power of environment to shape the child.

Jean Jacques Rousseau - Father Of Classical Developmental

Psychology
• He claimed that children are not blank slates or empty containers to
be filled by adult instructions instead they are noble savages
naturally and out with the sense of right and wrong and an innate
plan for orderly, healthy growth.
• He introduced the concept of maturation, the naturally unfolding
cause of growth which is genetically determined. According to him
children determine their own destiny.

DARWINIAN IMPACT- THE SCIENTIFIC BEGINNING

Darwin's emphasize on individual differences and adaptation became
important components of developmental psychology Darwin also
discovered that early prenatal growth is strikingly similar in many
species full stop his theory of evolution emphasizes the adaptive value of
physical characteristics and behavior.

THE NORMATIVE PERIOD

The beginning of 20 century witnessed several changes in the field
of developmental psychology.
G Stanley Hall put forth the child study movement, which serve as the
most important contribution to the rise of developmental psychology.
They regarded development as a genetically determined process that
unfolds automatically much like a flower. Hall published the first journal
of
developmental psychology, pedagogical seminary which was
later renamed as the journal of genetic psychology.

MID- 20TH CENTURY

The major contributions was by the psychoanalytic theory, Erikson's
theory of development, the social learning theory, the theory of
cognitive development by Jean Piaget and other behavioral theories.

Psychoanalytic perspective laid out that people move through a series of

stages in which they confront conflicts between biological rights and
social expectations. The way these conflicts are resolved determines
individual’s ability to learn to get along with others and to cope with
anxiety. The most influential contributors in psychoanalytic perspective
ware Sigmund Freud and Erik Erikson.

According to behaviorism, directly or observable events, stimuli and

responses are the appropriate focus of study.

Social learning theory emerged as the most influential. It was devised

by Albert Bandura as a powerful source of development. It emphasizes
on modeling also known as imitation or observational learning.

B. THEORIES OF DEVELOPMENT
1. THE PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORIES

• Psychoanalytic perspective argues that people move through a

series of stages in which they confront conflicts between biological
rights and social expectations, the method of resolving these
conflicts determine the individual's ability to learn cope with
anxiety and to get along with others.
• Psychoanalytic theories describe a development as
primary unconscious and heavily coloured by emotion.
• Psychoanalytic theories also stress that early experiences with
parents extensively shape development.
• The major contributors to the psychoanalytic perspective
are Sigmund Freud and Erik Erikson

a) FREUD'S PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY

➢ Freud constructed his psychosexual theory of development

which emphasized that how parents manage their child's sexual
and aggressive drives in the first few years is crucial for
healthy personality development.

➢ Freud's theory suggest that unconscious forces act to determine

personality and behavior. He taught that children as a grow up
 shift their focuses of pleasure and sexual impulses from mouth to
address and eventually to the genitals. According to him every
individual goes through 5 stages of psycho sexual development:
oral anal phallic, latency and genital.

i. Oral Stage (0-1 year): Sucking at the breast of the mother

satisfies the need for food and pleasure.In this period there are
two major activities.

1) Oral incorporative: Behaviour which is pleasurable

stimulation of the mouth, in the absence of which in adult
life people take to excessive eating, chewing etc. which we
call oral fixation.

2) Oral–aggressive

• Behaviour which starts when the infant teethes.

• In this phase infant enjoys biting.

• When this biting need is not adequately met, then the

individual will have feelings of greediness and
acquisitiveness and suffer from oral fixations that triggers
personality problems like mistrust, rejection of the love
and the fear to form intimate relationship
I. Anal Stage (Age 1-3)
• Have great importance in the formation of personality.

• In this stage one learns independence, accepts personal power,

knows to express negative feelings of rage and aggression.
• Children learn first lessons of discipline when toilet training starts.

• Strict toilet training results in anal-aggressive personality

showing cruelty, inappropriate displays of anger, and extreme
disorderliness
• More importance for toilet training leads to anal-retentive
personality with fixation of extreme orderliness, hoarding,
stubbornness and stinginess.

ii. Phallic Stage (Age 3-6):

• Child experiences unconscious desires for the parent of the
opposite sex, which is repressed because of its threatening nature.
• The boy desiring mother as love object is known as Oedipus
Complex and the girl desiring father is known as Electra complex.
• In this stage the boy may develop fear related to his penis which is
described by Freud as castration anxiety or castration complex and
in contrast the girl is envious of the penis of the boy which is
known as penis envy.
• The attitudes of the parents towards the emerging sexuality of the
 child are going to affect the sexual attitudes and feelings of the
child.

iii. Latency Stage (Age 6-12):

• Sleeping period in which the child socializes and turns its
attention outward and forms relationship with others.
• The former sexual interests are replaced by interests in his
playmates in a wide variety of activities in school like games and
sports.

iv. Genital Stage (Age 12-18):

• This stage starts with puberty and lasts until old age.
• The adolescent develops interest in the opposite sex, does
sexual experimentation and assumes adult responsibilities.
• To love and to work has become his motto

b) ERIKSON’S THEORY
• Neo-Freudian, Erik Erikson expanded the development at each stage.

• In his psychosocial theory of development Erikson emphasized

that in addition to mediating between Id impulses and superego
demands, the ego acquires attitudes and skills that make the
individual an active and contributing member of society.
• Unlike Freud, Erickson pointed out that normal development must
be understood in relation to one’s culture and life situation.
 • Erik Erikson believed that child-rearing must be understood in
relation to the competencies valued and needed by the individual
society.
• Erikson proposed that development is lifelong and is not so much
powered by sexual forces as by social once, which is why this
theory is sometimes called Erikson's theory of psychosocial
development
• Moving from one stays to the next was, he suggested dependent on
the individual resolving a personal, developmental crisis is based
on a personal conflict such as a young adult’s dilemma over
solving his or her desire for a close relationship with the fear of
losing his or her on identity etc.

Contributions of psychoanalytic theory

➢ Psychoanalytic theories accept the clinical or case study method.

➢ psychoanalytic theory has also inspired a wealth of research on

many aspects of emotional and social development
➢ Erikson's broad outline of lifespan change captures the essence
of personality development during each major period of the life
course.
Limitations of psychoanalytic theory

➢ Despite its extensive contributions the psychoanalytic perspective is

no longer in the mainstream of human development research.
➢ Psychoanalytic theorists may have become isolated from the rest of
the field because they were so strongly committed to the clinical
approach that they failed to consider other methods.
➢ Many psychoanalytic ideas, such as psychosexual stages and ego
functioning are so weight that they are difficult or impossible to
test empirically.
 2. BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL LEARNING THEORIES

a) JOHN B WATSON

Watson wanted to create an objective science of psychology and he

believed that directly observable events should be the focus of the study,
not hypothetical internal constructs like Freud's id, and ego or the
cognitive psychologist's appeal to constructs such as mind.
Watson applied Pavlov's principles of classical conditioning to
children's behavior through Little Albert experiment.

b) B.F. SKINNER

➢ Another variant of behaviorism was B.F. Skinner's

operant conditioning theory.
➢ According to B. F. Skinner through operant conditioning the
consequences of a behavior produce changes in the probability of
the behavior’s occurrence.
➢ A behavior followed by a rewarding stimulus is more likely to reoccur.

➢ A behavior followed by a punishing stimulus is less likely to reoccur.

➢ According to this theory, the likelihood of a child's behavior

reoccurring can be increased by following it with a wide
variety of rewards or reinforces, things such as praise or a
friendly smile.
➢ Skinner believed that the likelihood of behavior can be decreased
with the use of punishments such as the withdrawal of privileges,
parental disapproval, or being sent alone to one's room.

c) BANDURA’S SOCIAL COGNITIVE THEORY

➢ Among several kind of social learning theory emerged, the most

influential was devised by Albert bandura. It emphasizes modeling
also known as imitation, observational learning as a powerful
source of development.
➢ Social cognitive theory holds that behavior, environment
and cognition are the key factors in development
➢ Social cognitive theory holds that behavior, environment,
and cognition are the key factors in development.
➢ American psychologist Albert Bandura is the leading
architect of social cognitive theory.
➢ His early research program focused heavily on observational
learning (also called imitation or modeling).Which is, learning that
occurs through observing what others do.
➢ Social cognitive theorists stress that people acquire a wide range
of behaviors, thoughts, and feelings through observing others
behavior and that these observations form an important part of
lifespan development.
➢ Most recent model of learning and development includes
three elements: behavior, the person/cognition, and the
environment.
➢ The four steps in modeling are:

i. Attention: Paying attention to the model.

ii. Retention: The observer must be able to remember the

model behavior.

iii. Reproduction: The observer must have the skills to

imitating the action.

iv. Motivation: The observer must be motivated to

 imitate behavior.

Contributions of behavioral and social learning theory

• Behavior modification consists of procedures that combine

conditioning and modeling to eliminate undesirable behaviors and
increase desirable responses.
• it has been used to relieve difficulties in children and adults, such
as persistent aggression language release extreme fears
 • In emphasizing cognition comma bandura's unique among theorists
whose work grew out of the behavior is tradition in granting
children and adults and active role in their on learning.

Limitations of behavioral and social learning theory

• Many theorists believes that behaviorism and social learning

theory often narrow a view of important environmental influences
which extend beyond immediate reinforcement, punishment and
models behavior to peoples rich physical and social worlds.
• Behaviorism and social learning theory have been criticized for
neglecting peoples contribution to their own development.

3. VYGOTSKY’S SOCIOCULTURAL COGNITIVE THEORY

• Vygotsky's perspective called sociocultural theory focuses on how

culture-the values and beliefs customs and skills of a social group
is transmitted to the next generation.
• According to Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, social interaction
between children and more knowledgeable members of their
culture leads to ways of thinking and behaving essential for
success in that culture.
• Lev Vygotsky argued that children actively construct their
 knowledge; and Social interaction and culture have far more
important roles in cognitive development.
• Knowledge is not generated from within the individual but rather
is constructed through interaction with other people and objects
in the culture, such as books.
• This suggests that knowledge can best be advanced
through interaction with others in cooperative activities.
• Two principles in Vygotsky theory

1) Zone of proximal development (ZPD):

 ➢ It is defined as the distance between the actual development
level determined by independent problem solving and the
level of potential
➢ Development determined through problem solving under
adult guidance or more capable peers.

2) More knowledgeable others (MKO):

➢ It refers to someone who has a better understanding or

higher ability level than the learner with respect to
particular task, process or concept.
➢ MKO need not always be a teacher or an adult; many times
it is the child’s peer with more knowledge.
Merits

• His ideas are applicable to people of any age

• A central theme is that culture select tasks for their members, and
social interaction surrounding those task lead to competencies
essential for success in a particular culture full stop for example, in
industrialized Nations teachers help people learn to read drive a car
or use a computer.

Limitations
 • He neglected the biological side of development

• Although he recognized the importance of heredity and brain

growth, he said little about their role in cognitive changes.

D. PERIODS OF DEVELOPMENT

A child’s development is commonly described in terms of periods that

correspond to approximate age ranges. The most widely used
classification of developmental periods is,

• Prenatal period

• Infancy

• Early childhood

• Middle and late childhood

• Adolescence

• Early adulthood

• Middle adulthood

• Late adulthood
The prenatal period is the time from conception to birth. Roughly
a nine month period. During this time, a single cell grows into an
organism, complete with a brain and behavioral capabilities.

Infancy is the developmental period that extends from birth to

about 18 to 24 months of age. Infancy is a time of extreme
dependence on adults. Many psychological activities are just
beginning, the abilities to speak, to coordinate sensations and
physical actions, to think with symbols, and to imitate and learn
from others.

Early childhood is the developmental period that extends from the

end of infancy to about 5 or 6 years of age. During this time, young
children learn to become more self-sufficient and to care for
themselves, they develop school readiness skills (following
instructions, identifying letters), and they spend many hours in play
and with peers.
Middle and late childhood is the developmental period that extends
between about 6 and 11 years of age; sometimes this period is
referred to as the elementary school years. Children master the
fundamental skills of reading, writing, and arithmetic, and they are
formally exposed to the larger world and its culture.

Adolescence is the developmental period of transition from

childhood to early adulthood, entered at approximately 10 to 12 years
of age and ending at about 18 to 19 years of age. Adolescence begins
with rapid physical changes, dramatic gains in height and weight;
changes in body contour; and the development of sexual
characteristics such as enlargement of the breasts, growth of pubic
and facial hair, and deepening of the voice. Thought becomes more
abstract, idealistic, and logical.

Early adulthood is the developmental period that begins in the early

20s and last through 30s. It is a time of establishing personal and
economic independence, career development, selecting mate,
starting family, and rearing children.

Middle adulthood is the developmental period from approximately

40 years of age to about 60.It is a time of expanding personal and
social involvement and responsibility, and assisting the next
generation.

Late adulthood is the developmental period that begins in the 60s or

 70s and lasts until death.It is a time of life review, retirement, and
adjustment to new social situations, decreasing strength and health.

E. DEVELOPMENTAL TASKS OF EACH STAGES

OFDEVELOPMENT

1. Babyhood and early childhood

• Learning to take solid food

• Learning to walk
• Learning to talk
 • Learning to control the elimination of body waste.
• Learning sex difference and sexual modesty
• Getting ready to read
• Learning to distinguish right and wrong and beginning to
learn consciences

2. Late childhood

• Learning physical skills necessary for ordinary games

• Building a wholesome attitude toward oneself as a
growing organism
• Learning to get along with age-mates
• Beginning to develop appropriate masculine or feminine social role
• Developing fundamental skills in reading, writing and calculating
• Developing attitude toward social group and institutions
• Achieving personal independence

3. Adolescence

• Achieving new and mature relations with age-mates of both sexes

• Achieving a masculine or feminine social role
• Desire, accepting and achieving socially responsible behavior
• Achieving emotional independence from parents and other adults
• Preparing for an economic career
• Preparing for marriage and family life
 • Acquiring a set of values and ethical system as a guide to behavior
• Develop ideology

4. Early adulthood

• Getting started in an occupation

• Learning to live with a marriage partner
• Starting a family
• Rearing children
• Managing home
• Taking on civic responsibilities
• Finding a congenial social group
 5. Middle age

• Achieving adult civic and social responsibilities

• Developing adult leisure-time activities
• Relating oneself to one’s spouse as a person
• Accepting and adjusting to the physiological changes in the
middle age
• Reaching and maintaining satisfactory performance in
one’s occupational career
• Adjusting to the aging parents

6. Old age

• Adjusting to the decreasing physical strength and health

• Adjustment to the retirement and reduced income
• Adjusting to the death of spouse
• Establishing an explicit affiliation with members of one’s age group
• Establishing satisfactory physical living arrangements
• Adapting to social roles in a flexible way.
MODULE 2 PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT
A. PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT

Prenatal development refers to the process in which a baby

develops from a single cell after conception into an embryo and
later a fetus.

Typical prenatal development begins with fertilization and ends

with birth, lasting between 266 and 280 days (from 38 to 40
weeks).

It can be divided into three periods: germinal, embryonic, and fetal.

FERTILIZATION
 Fertilization occurs when a sperm and an oocyte (egg) combine and
their nuclei fuse.ie., fusion of haploid gametes, egg and sperm.

This new single cell, called a zygote, contains all of the genetic
material needed to form a human—half from the mother and half
from the father.

1. GERMINAL PERIOD
• The germinal period (the period of zygote) of prenatal
development takes place in the first two weeks after conception.
• It includes the creation of the fertilized egg, called a zygote,
followed by cell division and attachment of the zygote to the
uterine wall.
• Rapid cell division (mitosis) by the zygote continues throughout
the germinal period. The zygote’s first cell duplication is long
and is not complete until about 30 hours after conception.
Gradually, new cells are added at a faster rate.
• At this stage, the group of cells form a hollow, fluid-filled ball
called the blastocyst.
• Blastocyst consists of

➢ An inner mass of cells (embryonic disk) that will

eventually develop into the embryo.
 ➢ Trophoblast an outer layer of cells that later
provides nutrition and support for the embryo.

• Therefore, the period of the zygote lasts about 2 weeks, from

fertilization until the tiny mass of cells drifts down and out of
the fallopian tube and attaches itself to the wall of the uterus.
 2. EMBRYONIC PERIOD (2-8 week)
• This period begins as the blastocyst attaches to the uterine wall.
• During the embryonic period, the rate of cell differentiation
intensifies, support systems for cells form, and organs
appear.

• By the end of the 2nd week, cells of the trophoblast form another
protective membrane – the chorion, which surrounds the amnion.
From the chorion, the hair like villi, or blood vessels emerge. As
these villi burrow into the uterine wall, placenta develops.
• The mass of cells is now called an embryo, and three layers of
cells form.
a) Endoderm - The inner layer of cells, which will develop into
the digestive system, respiratory system, urinary tract and
glands – primarily produces internal body parts.

b) Mesoderm - The middle layer, which will become the

circulatory system, bones, muscles, excretory system, and
reproductive system
– primarily produces parts that surround the internal areas.

c) Ectoderm - The outermost layer, which will become the

nervous system and brain, sensory receptors (ears, nose, and
eyes, for
example), and skin parts (hair and nails, for example) – primarily
produces surface parts.

Every body part eventually develops from these three layers.

As the embryo’s three layers form, life-support systems for the

embryo develop rapidly. These life-support systems include the
amnion, the umbilical cord (both of which develop from the
fertilized egg, not the mother’s body), and the placenta.

Amnion - Like a bag or an envelope and contains a clear fluid in

which the developing embryo floats. The amniotic fluid provides an
environment that is temperature and humidity controlled. It provides
a cushion against any jolts caused by the woman’s movements as
well as shockproof.

Placenta - A temporary fetal organ that begins developing from the

blastocyst shortly after implantation. It plays critical roles in
facilitating nutrient, gas and waste exchange between the physically
separate maternal and fetal circulations, and is an important
endocrine organ producing hormones that regulate both maternal and
fetal physiology during pregnancy. It consists of a disk-shaped group
of tissues in which small blood vessels from the mother and the
offspring intertwine but do not join.

Umbilical cord – It contains two arteries and one vein, and

connects the baby to the placenta.

A yolksac emerges tha produces blood cells until the liver, spleen
and bone marrow are mature enough to take over this situation.

Organogenesis - Organ formation that takes place during the first

two months of prenatal development.

Growth in the embryonic period follows 2 important principles:

a) Cephalocaudal principle: First the head develops before the rest

of the body .i.e. growth from head to the base of the spine.
 b) Proximodistal principle: Growth of parts near the centre of the
body before those that are more distant .i.e. arms and legs
develop before hands and feet. Growth after birth also follows
this principle.

3. FETAL PERIOD (8-38 week)

The fetal period, lasting about seven months, is the prenatal period
between two months after conception and birth in typical
pregnancies.
Is the longest prenatal period.
 During this “growth and finishing” phase, the organism increases
rapidly in size.

Three months after conception

➢ The fetus is about 3 inches long and weighs about 3 ounces.

➢ The face, forehead, eyelids, nose, and chin are distinguishable, as
are the upper arms, lower arms, hands, and lower limbs.
➢ In the 3rd month, the organs, muscles and nervous system start to
become organized and connected. When the brain signals, the
fetus kicks, bends its arms, forms a fist, curls its toes, opens its
mouth and even sucks its thumb.
 ➢ The tiny lungs expand and contract in an early rehearsal of
breathing movements.
➢ The heartbeat can now be heard through a stethoscope.

By the end of the fourth month of pregnancy

➢ The fetus has grown to 6 inches in length and weighs 4 to 7 ounces.

➢ At this time, a growth spurt occurs in the body’s lower parts.

➢ For the first time, the mother can feel arm and leg movements.

By the end of the fifth month

➢ The fetus is about 12 inches long and weighs close to a pound.

➢ Structures of the skin have formed—toenails and fingernails.

➢ The fetus is more active, showing a preference for a

particular position in the womb.

By the end of the sixth month

➢ The fetus is about 14 inches long and has gained another half
 pound to a pound.
➢ The eyes and eyelids are completely formed, and a fine layer of
hair covers the head.
➢ A grasping reflex is present and irregular breathing movements occur.

Early six months of pregnancy

➢ The fetus for the first time has a chance of surviving outside of
the womb, that is, viable.
 ➢ Infants who are born early, or between 24 and 37 weeks of
pregnancy, usually need help breathing because their lungs are not
yet fully mature.

By the end of the seventh month

The fetus is about 16 inches long and weighs about 3 pounds.

During the last two months of prenatal development

Fatty tissues develop, and the functioning of various organ systems,

heart and kidneys steps up.

During the eighth and ninth months

The fetus grows longer and gains substantial weight about another
4 pounds.

TRIMESTER
• Divides prenatal development into equal periods of three months,
called trimesters.
• The germinal and embryonic periods occur in the first trimester.
• The fetal period begins toward the end of the first trimester
and continues through the second and third trimesters.
B. TERATOGENS

Teratogens are environmental agents such as drug, chemical, virus,

or other factor that can cause damage to the developing fetus
during prenatal period which produces a birth defect.
 The word comes from the Greek word tera, meaning ―monster.

The field of study that investigates the causes of birth defects is called
teratology.

Some exposures to teratogens do not cause physical birth defects but

can alter the developing brain and influence cognitive and behavioral
functioning, in which case the field of study is called behavioral
teratology.

The harm caused by teratogens is depending on many factors:

1. Dose - The greater the dose of an agent, such as a drug, the

greater the effect.

2. Genetic susceptibility - The type or severity of abnormalities

caused by a teratogen is linked to the genotype of the
pregnant woman and the genotype of the embryo or fetus.
 3. Time of exposure - Teratogens do more damage when they occur
at some points in development than at others. Damage during the
germinal period may even prevent implantation. In general, the
embryonic period is more vulnerable than the fetal period.

1. DRUGS- Prescription and Non-prescription Drugs

During pregnancy women are given prescriptions for drugs.

Prescription as well as nonprescription drugs, however, may
have effects on the embryo or fetus that the women never
imagine.
Prescription drugs that can function as teratogens include
antibiotics, such as streptomycin and tetracycline; some
antidepressants; certain hormones, such as progestin and synthetic
estrogen.
Nonprescription drugs that can be harmful include diet pills and
high dosages of aspirin high doses can contribute to maternal and
fetal bleeding.
Any drug taken by the mother that has a molecule small enough
to penetrate the placental barrier can affect the fetus.

2. Illegal Drugs
 Babies born to users of mood altering drugs such as cocaine,
marijuana and heroin cause many problems including
prematurity, low birth weight, physical defects, breathing
difficulties and death.

3. Caffeine

People often consume caffeine by drinking coffee, tea, or colas,

or by eating chocolate.
A recent study revealed that pregnant women who consumed 200
or more milligrams of caffeine a day had an increased risk of
miscarriage.
 Even caffeine links to low birth weight, miscarriage,
withdrawal symptoms in the baby such as irritability,
vomiting.

4. Tobacco

Smoking by pregnant women can also adversely influence prenatal

development, birth, and postnatal development. Preterm births and
low birth weights, fetal and neonatal deaths, respiratory problems,
sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), and cardiovascular problems
are all more common among the offspring of mothers who smoked
during pregnancy.
Maternal smoking during pregnancy also has been identified as a
risk factor for the development of attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD) in offspring.

5. Alcohol

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) are a cluster of

abnormalities and problems that appear in the offspring of mothers
who drink alcohol heavily during pregnancy. The abnormalities
include facial deformities and defective limbs, face, and heart.
Most children with FASD have learning problems and many are
below average in intelligence with some that are mentally retarded.
 Mental retardation, impaired coordination, attention problems,
impaired memory and language, hyperactivity are the
consequences and small skull and brain are the common problems
associated with mother alcohol drinking.

6. Radiation

Effects were clearly seen after Hiroshima, Chernobyl. A great

many babies miscarried; others were born with underdeveloped
brains, deformities, and slow growth patterns.
 There may be heightened risk to the baby of childhood cancer,
lower IQs, learning and emotional disorders.
X-ray radiation can affect the developing embryo or fetus,
especially in the first several weeks after conception, when
women do not yet know they are pregnant.

7. Pollution

Mercury - Effects of exposure are physical deformities,

mental retardation, speech impairments, motor problems.
Lead - Effects are prematurity, low birth weight, brain damage,
and physical defects.

8. RH – Factor incompatibility

It occurs when the mother is Rh-negative but the baby is Rh-positive.

The mother’s body will form antibodies to fight the foreign
blood protein being produced by the baby.
It can reduce oxygenation to the baby.
First babies are usually not affected, but the risk occurs to
later pregnancies.

9. Maternal Diseases
Maternal diseases and infections can produce defects in offspring
by crossing the placental barrier, or they can cause damage during
birth.
Rubella is one disease that can cause prenatal defects.
Syphilis (a sexually transmitted infection) is more damaging
later in prenatal development—four months or more after
conception. Damage includes eye lesions, which can cause
blindness, and skin lesions.
AIDS is a sexually transmitted infection that is caused by the
human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which destroys the body’s
immune
system. A mother can infect her offspring with HIV/AIDS in three
ways:
(1) During gestation across the placenta,
(2) During delivery through contact with maternal blood and
(3) Through breast feeding.

10. Other Maternal Factors

Apart from teratogens there are several other factors that effects embryo
and fetus.
i Exercise
ii Nutrition
iii Maternal age/ previous births can affect ability to get pregnant
or chances of having a baby with chromosomal defects
(Down’s syndrome).
iv Stress

C. BIRTH PROCESS

1. STAGES OF BIRTH
Childbirth is the hardest physical work a woman may ever do. A
complex series of hormonal changes between the mother and fetus
initiates the process, which naturally divides into 3 stages:
Stage 1: Dilation and effacement of the cervix

• The first stage is the longest of the three stages. It is also called
labor stage.
• Uterine contractions are 15 to 20 minutes apart at the beginning
and last up to a minute.
• These contractions cause the woman’s cervix to stretch and open.
• For a woman having her first child, the first stage lasts an
average of 6 to 12 hours; for subsequent children, this stage
typically is much shorter.
 • During the labor stage, there are three phases,
1)Early Labor 2) Active Labor 3)
Transition

1) Early Labor Phase

Early labor is often the longest stage in which contractions begin.

The middle layer of the uterus known as the myometrium is
the actual muscle that contracts during childbirth.
First births can have many hours of early labor without the
cervix dilating.
Early labor can be long and uncomfortable.

2) Active Labor Phase

In this stage, contractions are more intense and frequent

starting every 2 to 3 minutes, and lasting a longer range of 50
to 70 seconds. In active labor the cervix dilates to about 3 cm
to 4 cm.
During this phase if the membranes of amniotic sac have not
ruptured, the physician may choose to rupture the membranes
to facilitate the birth. This process is known as breaking the
water.
The phase of active labor is complete when the cervix is fully
effaced (thinned out) and dilated (open) and the baby is ready
 to be pushed out.

3) Transition Phase

In this phase of labor contractions become more intense,

longer and closer together.
A first time mother may take up to 3 hours in the transition phase.

Stage 2: Delivery of the baby

 • This stage is much shorter, lasting 50 minutes in a first birth and
20 minutes in later births which begins when the baby’s head
starts to move through the cervix and the birth canal.
• With each contraction, the mother bears down hard to push the
baby out of her body.
• By the time the baby’s head is out of the mother’s body, the
contractions come almost every minute and last for about a
minute.

Stage 3: After birth

• Afterbirth is the third stage, at which time the placenta,

umbilical cord, and other membranes are detached and expelled
and be delivered in about 5 to 10 minutes.
• This step also called placental delivery which is the shortest of the
three birth stages.
• While contractions will continue, they are less intense but help
the placenta separate from the inside of the uterus and expel the
placenta.
• Breastfeeding right away can help to shrink the uterus and reduce
the amount of bleeding.

2. TYPES OF BIRTH PROCESS

i NATURAL AND PREPARED CHILDBIRTH

• Many women chose to reduce the pain of childbirth through

techniques known as natural childbirth and prepared childbirth.
• Natural childbirth is the method that aims to reduce the mother’s
pain by decreasing her fear through education about childbirth and
by teaching her and her partner to use breathing methods and
relaxation techniques during delivery.
 • French obstetrician Ferdinand Lamaze developed a method similar
to natural childbirth that is known as prepared childbirth or the
Lamaze method.
• It includes a special breathing technique to control pushing in the
final stages of labor, as well as more detailed education about
anatomy and physiology.

ii BREACH BIRTH

• It occurs when baby’s bottom come first instead of head

during delivery.
• Breech births can cause respiratory problems. As a result, if the
baby is in a breech position, cesarean delivery is usually performed.

iii TRANSVERSE BIRTH

• In transverse birth the fetus is positioned crosswise in

mother’s uterus.
• Instruments must be used for delivery unless the position can
be changed before the birth process begins.

iv CESAREAN SECTION

• A cesarean section, also called a C-section/ surgical birth, is a

 surgical procedure performed if a vaginal delivery is not
possible.
• During this procedure, the baby is delivered through
surgical incisions made in the abdomen and the uterus.

v FORCEPS DELIVERY

• This is assistance to the usual vaginal delivery when the baby is

on its way via the birth canal but fails to fully emerge out.
 • This could be because of small obstructions, or the mother being
tired and exhausted and hence being unable to push the baby out.
• In these cases, the doctor makes use of specially created tongs
which resemble forceps, and inserts them slowly into the birth
canal.

vi VACUUM EXTRACTION

• This delivery technique also used in the case of a vaginal birth.

• For example, if the baby is on its way out but has stopped moving
further down the canal, the vacuum extraction method is applied.
The doctors make use of a specialized vacuum pump which is
inserted up to the baby via the canal. The vacuum end has a soft
cup which is placed on the top of the baby’s head. Vacuum is
created so that the cup holds the head, and the baby is gently
guided outwards through the canal.

Extra reference points -

➢ Fetal Monitoring: Fetal monitors are electronic instruments that

track the baby's heart rate during labor. An abnormal heartbeat may
indicate that the baby is in distress due to anoxia and needs to be
delivered immediately.
➢ Three basic kinds of drugs that are used for labor are
analgesia, anesthesia, and oxytocin/pitocin.

a) Analgesia is used to relieve pain. Analgesics include

tranquilizers, barbiturates, and narcotics (such as Demerol).

b) Anesthesia is used in late first-stage labor and during delivery

to block sensation in an area of the body or to block
consciousness.

c) Oxytocin is a synthetic hormone that is used to

stimulate contractions; pitocin is the most widely used
oxytocin.
➢ Currently the most common approach to controlling pain during labor
is epidural analgesia, in which a regional pain-relieving drug is
delivered continuously through a catheter into a small space in the
lower spine, numbing the pelvic region. Because the mother retains
the capacity to feel the pressure of the contractions and to move her
trunk and legs, she can push during the second stage of labor.

➢ An epidural block is regional anesthesia that numbs the woman’s

body from the waist down.

D. PRENATAL DIAGNOSTIC METHODS

1. AMNIOCENTESIS

• The most widely used technique.

• A hollow needle is inserted through the abdominal wall to

obtain a sample of fluid in the uterus.
• Cells are examined for genetic defects.

• Can be performed by the fourteenth week after conception.

2. CHORIONIC VILLUS SAMPLING

• A thin tube be inserted into the uterus through the vagina, or a

hollow needle is inserted through the abdominal wall.
 • A small plug of tissue is removed from the end of one or more
chorionic villi, the hair like projections on the membrane
surrounding the developing organism.
• Cells are examined for genetic defects.

3. FETOSCOPY

• A small tube with a light source at one end is inserted into the
uterus to inspect the fetus for defects of the limbs and face.
 • Also sample of fetal blood to be obtained, permitting diagnosis of
such disorders as hemophilia and sickle cell anemia, as well as
neural defects.

4. ULTRASOUND

• High-frequency sound waves are beamed at the uterus; their

reflection is translated into a picture on a video screen that reveals
the size, the shape, and placement of the fetus.
• By itself, permits assessment of fetal age, detection of
multiple pregnancies, and identification of gross physical
defects.
• It also used to guide amniocentesis, chorionic villus sampling,
and fetoscopy.

5. PRE-IMPLANTATION GENETIC DIAGNOSIS

• After in vitro fertilization and duplication of the zygote into a

cluster of about eight cells, one cell is removed and examined for
hereditary defects.
• Only if that cell is free of detectable genetic disorders is the
fertilized ovum implanted in the woman’s uterus.

E. PERINATAL DIAGNOSTIC TESTS

Almost immediately after birth, after the baby and its parents have
been introduced, a newborn is taken to be weighed, cleaned up, and
tested for signs of developmental problems that might require urgent
attention.

1. Apgar Scale

• A widely used method to assess the health of newborns at one

and five minutes after birth.
• The Apgar Scale evaluates an infant’s heart rate, respiratory
effort, muscle tone, body color, and reflex irritability.
 2. Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS)

• It is typically performed within 24 to 36 hours after birth.

• The NBAS assesses the newborn’s neurological development,

reflexes, and reactions to people and objects. Sixteen reflexes, such
as sneezing, blinking, and rooting, are assessed.

3. Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Network Neurobehavioral Scale

(NNNS)

• It provides another assessment of the newborn’s behavior,

neurological and stress responses, and regulatory
capacities.
• Whereas the NBAS was developed to assess normal, healthy,
term infants, But the NNNS developed to assess the - risk
infant.

F. BIRTH COMPLICATIONS AND THEIR EFFECTS

A complication of birth is any problem that is a risk to the health of the

mother or the baby that occurs during the birth.

There are also complications of pregnancy, which are health problems

occurring in the pregnant woman or in the developing fetus before labor
begin.
Birth complications occur during labor and delivery of the baby and can
have serious repercussions for both the mother and the baby.

1. BIRTH INJURY

Birth injuries are any kind of physical damage to a baby as it is

being delivered.
This is sometimes caused by medical negligence, such as
when a doctor uses forceps or a vacuum extractor with too
much force.

2. DETACHED PLACENTA
 Placental abruption occurs when the placenta detaches from the
wall of the uterus before the baby is born.
This can be very serious and may result in the fetus not
getting enough oxygen to the brain with a potential for
resulting brain damage.

3. HAEMORRHAGE

A haemorrhage is heavy uncontrolled bleeding during or after

the delivery of a baby.
Haemorrhage can have several causes including:
➢ When the womb does not contract naturally
➢ Trauma (e.g. rupture of the womb)
➢ Retained placenta (when the placenta is not delivered after
the birth as it should be)
➢ Other problems with the placenta
➢ In some cases, if the bleeding cannot be stopped, a
hysterectomy (removal of the womb) may have to be
performed to save the
mother’s life.

4. INFECTIONS
A variety of bacterial, viral, and parasitic infections may
complicate a pregnancy.
Infections can be harmful to both the mother and the baby, so
it’s important to seek treatment right away. Some examples
include:
➢ Urinary tract infection
➢ Cytomegalovirus

➢ Group B Streptococcus
➢ Hepatitis B virus, which can spread to your baby during birth
➢ Influenza
 5. FAILURE TO PROGRESS

If delivery takes longer than expected, this may be described

as "failure to progress." This can happen for a number of
reasons.
Prolonged labor, labor that does not progress or failure to progress
is when labor lasts longer than expected. It can happen for a
number of reasons.

Causes of prolonged labor

➢ Slow cervical dilations

➢ Large baby
➢ Small birth canal or pelvis
➢ Delivery of multiple babies
➢ Emotional factors, such as worry, stress, and fear

6. PERINATAL ASPHYXIA

Perinatal asphyxia has been defined as "failing to initiate and

sustain breathing at birth."
It can happen before, during or immediately after delivery, due to
an inadequate supply of oxygen.
It is a non-specific term that involves a complex range of problems.
7. MALPOSITION

A caesarian delivery, episiotomy, or forceps delivery may be

necessary if the baby's position is preventing the birth.
Not all babies will be in the best position for vaginal delivery.

Facing downward is the most common fetal birth position, but

babies can be in other positions. They include:

➢ Facing upward
➢ Breech, either buttocks first (frank breech) or feet first
(complete breech)
 ➢ Lying sideways, horizontally across the uterus instead of vertically

8. BREECH POSITION

A baby is considered in a breech position when their feet

are positioned to be delivered before their head.
If the baby is still in the breech position when labor starts,
most doctors recommend a cesarean delivery.

G. POSTPARTUM PERIOD

• A postpartum (or postnatal) period also known as the

puerperium begins immediately after the birth of a child as the
mother's body, including hormone levels and uterus size, returns
to a non-pregnant state.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) describes the postnatal
period as the most critical and yet the most neglected phase in the
lives of mothers and babies; most maternal and newborn deaths
occur during the postnatal period.
• In addition to physiologic changes and medical issues that may
arise during this period, health care providers should be aware of
the psychological needs of the postpartum mother and sensitive to
cultural differences that surround childbirth, which may involve
eating particular foods and restricting certain activities.

1. PHYSICAL ADJUSTMENT
➢ A woman’s body makes numerous physical adjustments in the
first days and weeks after childbirth.
➢ These changes are normal; the fatigue can undermine the new
mother’s sense of wellbeing and confidence in her ability to
cope with a new baby and a new family life.
➢ A concern is the loss of sleep that the primary caregiver
experiences in the postpartum period.
➢ The loss of sleep can contribute to stress, marital conflict,
and impaired decision making.
➢ When the placenta is delivered, estrogen and progesterone
levels drop steeply and remain low until the ovaries start
producing hormones again.

2. EMOTIONAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ADJUSTMENT

➢ Emotional fluctuations are common for mothers in the
postpartum period.
➢ For some women, emotional fluctuations decrease within
several weeks after the delivery, but other women experience
more long lasting emotional swings.
➢ About two to three days after birth, they begin to feel
depressed, anxious, and upset.
➢ Postpartum blues - These are very common. The symptoms of
postpartum blues typically include changeable mood, crying
easily, sadness, and irritability, often liberally intermixed with
happy feelings.
➢ Postpartum depression (PPD) - When the postpartum blues last
longer than 2 week then it may develop to postpartum
depression. It involves a major depressive episode that typically
occurs about four weeks after delivery. In other words, women
 with postpartum depression have such strong feelings of sadness,
anxiety, or despair that for at least a two-week period they have
trouble coping with their daily tasks.
➢ Postpartum psychosis is a rare condition that typically develops
within first week after delivery. The signs of postpartum
psychosis are; confusion and disorientation, obsessive thoughts
about baby, hallucination and delusion, sleep disturbances etc.
 MODULE - 3 PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

REFLEXES

➢ A reflex, or reflex action, is an involuntary and nearly instantaneous

movement in response to a stimulus. Which are automatic and beyond
the newborn’s control. Reflexes are genetically carried survival
mechanisms. They allow infants to respond adaptively to their
environment before they have had the opportunity to learn.

➢ The rooting and sucking reflexes are important examples. Both have
survival value for new born mammals, who must find a mother’s
breast to obtain nourishment.

➢ The rooting reflex occurs when the infant’s cheek is stroked or the side
of the mouth is touched. In response, the infant turns its head toward the
side that was touched in an apparent effort to find something to suck.

➢ The sucking reflex occurs when newborn’s automatically suck an

object placed in their mouth. This reflex enables new born’s to get
nourishment.

➢ Another example is the Moro reflex, which occurs in response to

sudden, intense noise or movement.

➢ Some reflexes—coughing, sneezing, blinking, shivering, and yawning,

 for example—persist throughout life.

➢ The rooting and Moro reflexes, for example, tend to disappear when
the infant is 3 to 4 months old.

➢ The movements of some reflexes eventually become incorporated

into more complex, voluntary actions.
➢ One important example is the grasping reflex, which occurs when
something touches the infant’s palms. The infant responds by
grasping tightly.

➢ Human infants have an estimated twenty-seven major reflexes, many of

which are present at birth or soon after.

➢ Primitive reflexes, such as sucking, rooting for the nipple, and the
Moro, are related to instinctive needs for survival and protection.

➢ As the higher brain centers become active during the first two to four
months, infants begin to show postural reflexes: reactions to changes
in position or balance. For example, infants who are tilted downward
extend their arms in the parachute reflex, an instinctive attempt to
break a fall.

➢ Locomotory reflexes, such as the walking and swimming reflexes,

resemble voluntary movements that do not appear until months after
the reflexes have disappeared.

➢ Most of the early reflexes disappear during the first six months to one
year. Reflexes that continue to serve protective functions such as
blinking, yawning, coughing, gagging, sneezing, shivering, and the
pupillary reflex (dilation of the pupils in the dark) remain.

Other Reflexes

• Babinski reflex- The Babinski reflex occurs after the sole of the foot
 has been firmly stroked. The big toe then moves upward or toward the
top surface of the foot. The other toes fan out.

• Blinking reflexes- blinking the eyes when they are touched or

when a sudden bright light appears. It will not disappear.

• The stepping reflex- in newborns is also known as the "walking" or

"dancing reflex". This reflex can be seen when a baby is held
upright or when the baby's feet are touching the ground.
 • Tonic neck-When a baby's head is turned to one side, the arm on that
side stretches out and the opposite arm bends up at the elbow.

GROSS MOTOR SKILLS

➢ Gross motor skills are the abilities usually acquired during

childhood as part of a child’s motor learning.
➢ By the time they reach two years of age, almost all children are
able to stand up, walk and run, walk up stairs, etc.
➢ These skills are built upon, improved and better controlled
throughout early childhood, and continue in refinement throughout
most of the
individual’s years of development into adulthood.
➢ These gross movements come from large muscle groups and whole
body movement.
➢ These skills develop in a head-to-toe order.

➢ The children will typically learn head control, trunk stability, and
then standing up and walking.
➢ It is shown that children exposed to outdoor play time activities
will develop better gross motor skills.

➢ Within a few weeks, though, they can hold their heads erect, and soon
they can lift their heads while prone.
➢ By 2 months of age, babies can sit while supported on a lap or an
infant seat, but they cannot sit independently until they are 6 or 7
months of age.

➢ Standing also develops gradually during the first year of life.

➢ The key skills in learning to walk appear to be stabilizing balance on

one leg long enough to swing the other forward and shifting the weight
without falling.

➢ In the second year of life, toddlers become more motorically skilled

and mobile.
 FINE MOTOR SKILLS

➢ Whereas gross motor skills involve large muscle activity, fine

motor skills involve finely tuned movements.

➢ Grasping a toy, using a spoon, buttoning a shirt, or anything that

requires finger dexterity demonstrates fine motor skills.

➢ Infants have hardly any control over fine motor skills at birth, but
newborns do have many components of what will become finely
coordinated arm, hand, and finger movements.

➢ The onset of reaching and grasping marks a significant achievement

in infants’ ability to interact with their surroundings.

➢ Infants refine their ability to grasp objects by developing two types

of grasps.

➢ Initially, infants grip with the whole hand, which is called the
palmer grasp.

➢ Later, toward the end of the first year, infants also grasp small objects
with their thumb and forefinger, which is called the pincer grip.

➢ Their grasping system is very flexible.

➢ They vary their grip on an object depending on its size, shape, and
texture, as well as the size of their own hands relative to the object’s
size.
➢ Infants grip small objects with their thumb and forefinger (and
sometimes their middle finger too), whereas they grip large objects with
all of the fingers of one hand or both hands.
PERCEPTUAL DEVELOPMENT IN INFANCY

• Without vision, hearing, touch, taste, and smell, we would be

isolated from the world; we would live in dark silence, a tasteless,
colorless, feeling less void.
• Sensation occurs when information interacts with sensory
receptors— the eyes, ears, tongue, nostrils, and skin.
• Sensation is the process that allows our brains to take in
information through our five senses, Sensation occurs through our
five sensory systems: vision, hearing, taste, smell and touch
• Perception is the interpretation of what is sensed.

Visual Acuity and Human Face

• At birth, the nerves and muscles and lens of the eye are still
developing. As a result, newborns cannot see small things that are far
away.
• The newborn’s vision is estimated to be 20/240 on the well-known
Snellen chart used for eye examinations, which means that a
newborn can see at 20 feet what a normal adult can see at 240 feet.
• By 6 months of age, though, on average vision is 20/40.

• Infants show an interest in human faces soon after birth and spend

more time looking at their mother’s face than a stranger’s face as early
as 12 hours after being born.
• By 8 weeks, infants can discriminate some colors

• By 4 months of age, they have color preferences that mirror adults.

Perceptual Constancy

• Perceptual constancy, in which sensory stimulation is changing

but perception of the physical world remains constant.
• Researchers have found that babies as young as 3 months of age
show size constancy.
 • As with size constancy, researchers have found that babies as young
as 3 months of age have shape constancy.
• Three-month-old infants, however, do not have shape constancy
for irregularly shaped objects.

Hearing

• During the last two months of pregnancy, as the fetus nestles in its

mother’s womb, it can hear sounds such as the mother’s voice, music,
and so on.
• Newborn infants can hear a wide variety of sounds. At birth they
prefer complex sounds such as noises and voices to pure tones.
• Babies have a powerful ability to extract regularities from
continues, complex verbal stimulation.
• Infant's special responsiveness to speech encourages parents to talk
to their baby.

Touch and Pain

• Newborns do respond to touch.

• A touch to the cheek produces a turning of the head; a touch to the

lips produces sucking movements.
• Newborns can also feel pain.

• Touch is a fundamental means of interaction between parents

 and babies.
• Touch helps easily stimulate early physical growth.

Smell

• Newborns can differentiate odours.

• The expressions on their faces seem to indicate that they like the way
vanilla and strawberry smell but do not like the way rotten eggs and
fish smell.
Taste

• Sensitivity to taste might be present even before birth

• When saccharin was added to the amniotic fluid of a near-term

foetus, swallowing increased.
• In one study, even at only two hours of age, babies made different
facial expressions when they tasted sweet, sour, and bitter solutions.
• At about 4 months of age, infants begin to prefer salty tastes,
which as newborns they had found to be aversive

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT FROM CHILDHOOD

TO ADOLESCENCE

Early childhood

• Bodily growth and change: Children grow rapidly between ages 3

& 6, but less quickly than before.
• At about 3, children normally begin to lose their babyish
roundness and take on to lose the slender, athletic appearance of
childhood.
• As abdominal muscles develop, the toddler potbelly tightens.

• The trunk, arms and legs grow longer.

• The head is still relatively large, but the other parts of the body
continue to catch up as proportion steadily become more adult
 like.
• Cartilage turns to bones at a faster rate.

➢ Sleep patterns changes and problems: sleep patterns change

throughout the growing years and childhood has its own
distinct rhythms.
➢ Brain development: Brain development during early
childhood is less dramatic than during infancy.
• A brain growth spurt continues until at least age 3, when the
brain is approximately 90%of adult weight.
• The density of synapses at prefrontal cortex peaks at age 4.

• Myelination of hearing pathways completed.

• By age 6, the brain has attained about 95%of peak volume.

Middle childhood

➢ Height and weight: Growth during middle childhood

slows considerably.
• Children grows about 2-3 inches each year between 6-11 years
and double their weight during that period.
• Girls retain somewhat more fatty tissues.

➢ Nutrition and sleep: To support their steady growth and

constant exertion school children need on average 2400
calories every day.
• Sleep needs decline from about 11 hours a day at age 5 to a little
more than 10 hours at age 9 and about 9 hours at age 13.
➢ Brain development: Maturation and learning in middle childhood
and beyond depends on fine tunings of the Brain’s connections
along with more efficient selection of the regions of the brain
appropriate for particular tasks.
• These changes increase the speed and efficiency of brain
processes and enhance the ability to filter out irrelevant
information.

Puberty

The Physical Transition from Child to Adult

 • The onset of adolescence is heralded by two significant
changes in physical development.
• First, children change dramatically in size and shape as they enter
the adolescent growth spurt.
• Second, they also reach puberty, the point in life when an
individual reaches sexual maturity and becomes capable of
producing a child.

The Adolescent Growth Spurt

• The term growth spurt describes the rapid acceleration in height

and weight that marks the beginning of adolescence (a growth rate
that is faster than any growth rate since the children were infants).
 • Girls typically enter the growth spurt by age 10, reach a peak
growth rate by age 12 (about 1.3 years before menarche)
• Boys lag behind girls by 2 to 3 years: they typically begin their
growth spurt by age 13, peak at age 14 (mid- puberty), and return
to a more gradual rate of growth by age 16.
• In addition to growing taller and heavier, the body assumes an
adult like appearance during the adolescent growth spurt.
• The most noticeable changes are the appearance of breasts and a
widening of the hips for girls, and a broadening of the shoulders
for boys.
• Facial features also assume adult proportions as the forehead
protrudes, the nose and jaw become more prominent, and the
lips enlarge

Sexual Maturation

• Maturation of the reproductive system occurs at roughly the

same time as the adolescent growth spurt and follows a
predictable sequence for girls and boys.
• For most girls, sexual maturation begins at about age to 11 as fatty

tissue accumulates around their nipples, forming small breast buds”. Full
breast development, which takes about 3 to 4 years, finishes around age
14.
• Usually pubic hair begins to appear a little later, although as many
 as one-third of all girls develop some pubic hair before their
breasts begin to develop.
• Ovulatory menstrual cycles (menstruation without ovulation) are
often associated with irregular and painful periods. After 1 to 2
years, cycles become ovulatory, more regular, and less painful.
• In the year following menarche, female sexual development
concludes as the breasts complete their development and axillary
(underarm) hair appears. Hair also appears on the arms, legs, and,
to a lesser degree, on the face.
• For boys, sexual maturation begins at about 11 to 12 (9.5 to 13.5)
with an enlargement of the testes.
 • Meanwhile, the penis lengthens and widens. At about age 13 to
14%, sperm production begins.
• Body hair also grows on the arms and legs, although signs of a
hairy chest may not appear until the late teens or early 20s, if at
all.
• Another hallmark of male sexual maturity is a lowering of the
voice as the larynx grows and the vocal cords lengthen

PHYSICAL CONDITIONS AND HEALTH ISSUES IN EARLY

ANDMIDDLE ADULTHOOD

EARLY ADULTHOOD (20-40)

Physical Changes

• Most of us reach our peak physical performance before the age of

30, often between the ages of 19 and 26.
• Muscle tone and strength usually begin to show signs of decline
around the age of 30.

Cardiovascular and Respiratory Systems

• Hypertension is high blood pressure, and occurs 12% more

often in African Americans than in white population.
 • The heart muscle becomes more rigid and there is a decrease
in maximum heart rate.
• Atherosclerosis is a cardiovascular disease in which heavy
deposits of plaque with cholesterol and fats collect on the walls of
main arteries.
• Lung performance declines 10% per decade after age 25,
due to stiffening of the tissue.

Motor Functioning

Motor performance is affected by declines in heart and lung function

as well as gradual muscle loss.
Immune System

• The capacity of the immune system declines after age 20.

• The Thymus shrinks steadily as we age. So it is less able to

differentiate T Cells.

Reproductive Capacity

• Reproductive capacity declines with age. Fertility problems

increase dramatically in mid-30s, showing as many as 26% of
women having fertility problems.
• Age also affects sperm, as sperm concentration decreases after age 40.

Health

• Health and fitness varies with Socio economic status, the

economically advantaged and well-educated tend to hold good
health over most of their adult lives, and the health of lower-
income people with less education steadily declines.
• Although emerging adults have a higher death rate than
adolescents, they have few chronic health problems.
• The age, smoking moderately or excessively, drinking moderately
or excessively, failing to exercise, and getting by with only a few
hours of sleep at night.
 • These lifestyles are associated with poor health, which in turn
impacts life satisfaction.
• The health profile of emerging and young adults can be improved
by reducing the incidence of certain health-impairing lifestyles,
such as overeating, and by engaging in health-improving lifestyles
that include good eating habits, exercising regularly, and not
abusing drugs.

Overweight And Obesity-

• Obesity is a serious and pervasive health problem for many individual.

 • Being overweight or obese is linked to increased risk of
hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular and mental health
problems,
• The possible factors involved in obesity include heredity, lepton,
set point, environmental factors and gender.
• Excess weight is associated with many health problems: high blood
pressure, circulation problems, atherosclerosis, stroke, diabetes,
liver and gallbladder disease, arthritis, sleep and digestive disorders,
cancer, early death.

Substance Abuse

• Substance abuse puts people at risk as it increases risk of

accident, affects cardiac function, liver function, and increases
the natural deterioration of aging.
• By the time individuals reach their mid-twenties, many have
reduced their use of alcohol and drugs
• Most adult smokers would like to quit, but their addiction to
nicotine often makes quitting a challenge.
• Most smokers started before age 21, showing how vulnerable teens
are in choosing habits that have lifetime consequences.

Sexuality
• Sexual activity increases through the twenties, and declines in the
30s, often due to the demands of family and jobs.
• Sexual problems in women include lack of interest in sex and
inability to achieve orgasm.
• For men the problems are climaxing too early, and anxiety
about performance.
Menstrual Cycle

• Menstrual cycle is central to women’s lives, with concurrent

health concerns.
• Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is an array of physical and
psychological symptoms that appear 6-10 days before
menstruation.
• These may include abdominal cramps, fluid retention,
tender breasts, backache, headache, fatigues, irritability,
depression.
• It may become a problem after age 20, and 40% of women have
some form of it, although it is usually mild.
• 10% have severe enough symptoms to interfere with
regular activities.
• It may have a genetic substrate.

MIDDLE ADULTHOOD (40-65)

Physical Changes

• All though everyone experiences some physical change due to

aging in the middle adulthood years, the rates of this aging vary
considerably from one individual to another.
• Genetic makeup and lifestyle factors play important roles in
 whether chronic disease will appear and when.

Visible Signs

• One of the most visible signs of physical changes in middle

adulthood is physical appearance.
• The skin begins to wrinkle and sag because of a loss of fat
and collagen (collagen is the most abundant protein in
human body (bones, muscles, skin) in underlying tissues.
• Hair becomes thinner and greyer due to a lower replacement
rate and a decline in melanin production.
 • Fingernails and toe nails develop ridges and become thicker
and more brittle.

Height and Weight

• Individuals lose height in middle age, and many gain weight.

• Being overweight is a critical health problem in middle adulthood.

• The rate of muscle loss with age occurs at a rate of approximately
1 to 2 percent per year past the age of 50.
• A loss of strength especially occurs in the back and legs.

Vision and Hearing

• Accommodation of the eye—the ability to focus and maintain

image on the retina-experiences its sharpest decline between 40
and 59 years of age.
• In particular, middle-aged individuals begin to have
difficulty viewing close objects.
• At 60 years of age, the retina receives only one-third as much light
as it did at 20 years of age, much of which is due to a decrease in
the size of the pupil.
• Hearing also can start to decline by the age of 40.
 • Sensitivity to high pitches usually declines first.

• The ability to hear low-pitched sounds does not seem to decline

much in middle adulthood, though.

Cardiovascular System

• Midlife is the time when high blood pressure and high

cholesterol often take adults by surprise.
• Cardiovascular disease increases considerably in middle age
 • The level of cholesterol in the blood increases through the adult
years and in midlife begins to accumulate on the artery walls,
increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Sleep

• The amount of time spent lying awake in bed at night begins to

increase in middle age, and this can produce a feeling of being
less rested in the morning.
• Sleep problems in middle-aged adults are more common in
individuals who use a higher number of prescription and non-
prescription drugs, are obese, have cardiovascular disease, or
are depressed.

HEALTH AND DISEASE

• In middle adulthood, the frequency of accidents declines

and individuals are less susceptible to colds and allergies
than in childhood, adolescence, or early adulthood.
• Indeed, many individuals live through middle adult hood
without having a disease or persistent health problem.
• However, disease and persistent health problems become
 more common in middle adulthood for other individuals.
• Chronic disorders are characterized by a slow onset and a
long duration.
• Chronic disorders are rare in early adulthood, increase in
middle adulthood, and become common in late adulthood.
• Overall, arthritis is the leading chronic disorder in middle age,
followed by hypertension, but the frequency of chronic
disorders in middle age varies by gender.
• Men have a higher incidence of fatal chronic conditions (such
as coronary heart disease, cancer, and stroke); women have a
higher incidence of nonfatal ones (such as arthritis, varicose
veins, etc.).
• Chronic diseases are now the main causes of death for
individuals in middle adulthood.
• In middle age, many deaths are caused by a single, readily
identifiable condition, whereas in old age, death is more
likely to result from the combined effects of several chronic
conditions.
MODULE 4 COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

PIAGET’S THEORY OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Piaget’s theory is a general, unifying story of how biology and

experience sculpt cognitive development.

Piaget thought that, just as our physical bodies have structures that enable
us to adapt to the world, we build mental structures that help us to adapt
to the world.

Adaptation involves adjusting to new environmental demands. Piaget

stressed that children actively construct their own cognitive worlds;
information is not just poured into their minds from the environment.

PROCESSES OF DEVELOPMENT

Piaget stressed that the following processes are especially important in this
regard: schemes, assimilation, accommodation, organization, and
equilibration.

1. Schemes

• Piaget said that as the child seeks to construct an understanding

of the world, the developing brain creates schemes.
• Schemes are actions or mental representations that
organize knowledge.
• In Piaget’s theory, behavioural schemes (physical activities)
characterize infancy, and mental schemes (cognitive
activities) develop in childhood.
• For example, a 5-year-old might have a scheme that involves the
strategy of classifying objects by size, shape, or color. By the
time we have reached adulthood, we have constructed an
enormous number
of diverse schemes, ranging from driving a car to balancing a budget to
achieving fairness.

2. Assimilation and Accommodation

• To explain how children use and adapt their schemes,

Piaget proposed two concepts: assimilation and
accommodation.
 • Assimilation occurs when children incorporate new
information into their existing schemes.
• Accommodation occurs when children adjust their schemes to
fit new information and experiences.
• Think about a toddler who has learned the word car to identify
the family’s car. The toddler might call all moving vehicles on
roads ―cars, including motorcycles and trucks; the child has assimilated
these objects into his or her existing scheme. But the child soon learns that
motorcycles and trucks are not cars and then fine tunes the category to
exclude motorcycles and trucks, accommodating the scheme.

3. Organization

• To make sense out of their world, said Piaget, children

cognitively organize their experiences.
• Organization in Piaget’s theory is the grouping of isolated
behaviors and thoughts into a higher-order system
• A boy who has only a vague idea about how to use a hammer may
also have a vague idea about how to use other tools. After learning
how to use each one, he relates these uses, grouping items into
categories and organizing his knowledge.

4. Equilibration
• Equilibration is a mechanism that Piaget proposed to explain
how children shift from one stage of thought to the next. The shift
occurs
as children experience cognitive conflict, or disequilibrium, in trying to
understand the world. Eventually, they resolve the conflict and reach a
balance, or equilibrium, of thought.

STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT

As old schemes are adjusted and new schemes are developed, the child
organizes and reorganizes the old and new schemes. Eventually, the
organization is fundamentally different from the old organization; it is a
new way of thinking, a new stage. The result of these processes,
according to Piaget, is that individuals go through four stages of
development.
Cognition is qualitatively different in one stage compared with another.
In other words, the way children reason at one stage is different from the
way they reason at another stage. Each of Piaget’s stages is age-related
and consists of distinct ways of thinking.
Piaget identified four stages of cognitive development:
sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal
operational.

1. SENSORIMOTOR STAGE

• 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.
• Sub-stages: Piaget divided the sensorimotor stage into six sub stages:

1. simple reflexes

2. first habits and primary circular reactions

3. secondary circular reactions

4. coordination of secondary circular reactions

5. tertiary circular reactions, novelty, and curiosity

 6. internalization of schemes.

Object Permanence

• 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. Acquiring the sense of object permanence is one of the
infant’s most important accomplishments.

2. PREOPERATIONAL STAGE

• The cognitive world of the preschool child is creative, free, and

fanciful. The imagination of preschool children works overtime, and
their mental grasp of the world improves.
• Preoperational thought is anything but a convenient waiting period
for the next stage, concrete operational thought. However, the label
preoperational emphasizes that the child does not yet perform
operations, which are internalized actions that allow children to do
mentally what they could formerly do only physically.
• Preoperational thought is the beginning of the ability to reconstruct
in thought what has been established in behavior.
• The preoperational stage, which lasts from approximately 2 to 7
years of age, is the second Piagetian stage.
• In this stage, children begin to represent the world with words,
images, and drawings. Symbolic thought goes beyond simple
connections of sensory information and physical action.
• Stable concepts are formed, mental reasoning emerges, egocentrism
is present, and magical beliefs are constructed.
• Preoperational thought can be divided into sub stages: the
symbolic function sub stage and the intuitive thought sub stage.
Egocentrism

Egocentrism is the inability to distinguish between one’s own

perspective and someone else’s perspective.

Animism

Another limitation of preoperational thought known as animism is

the belief that inanimate objects have lifelike qualities and are
capable of action.

A young child might show animism by saying, ―That tree pushed the leaf
off, and it fell down or ―The sidewalk made me mad; it made me fall
down.

Centration and the Limitations of Preoperational Thought

➢ One limitation of preoperational thought is centration, a centering

of attention on one characteristic to the exclusion of all others.
➢ Centration is most clearly evidenced in young children’s lack of
conservation, the awareness that altering an object’s or a
substance’s appearance does not change its basic properties.
➢ For example, to adults, it is obvious that a certain amount of liquid
stays the same, regardless of a container’s shape. But this is not at all
obvious to young children. Instead, they are struck by the height of
the liquid in the container; they focus on that characteristic to the
exclusion of others.
3. CONCRETE OPERATIONAL STAGE
• The concrete operational stage, which lasts approximately from 7
to 11 years of age, is the third Piagetian stage.
• In this stage, logical reasoning replaces intuitive reasoning as long as
the reasoning can be applied to specific or concrete examples.
• For instance, concrete operational thinkers cannot imagine the
steps necessary to complete an algebraic equation, which is too
abstract for thinking at this stage of development.
• Children at this stage can performs concrete operations, which
are reversible mental actions on real, concrete objects.
 4. FORMAL OPERATIONAL STAGE

• The formal operational stage, which appears between 11 and

15 years of age, is the fourth and final Piagetian stage.
• In this stage, individuals move beyond concrete experiences and
think in abstract and more logical ways.
• As part of thinking more abstractly, adolescents develop images of
ideal circumstances. They might think about what an ideal parent is
like and compare their parents to their ideal standards.
• They begin to entertain possibilities for the future and are
fascinated with what they might become.
• In solving problems, formal operational thinkers are more
systematic and use logical reasoning.

LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

Language is a form of communication—whether spoken, written, or

signed— that is based on a system of symbols. Language consists of the
words used by a community and the rules for varying and combining
them.

Language consists of several subsystems that have to do with sound,

meaning, overall structure, and everyday use. Language development
entails mastering each of these aspects and combining them into a
flexible communication system.

The first component, phonology, refers to the rules governing the

structure and sequence of speech sounds.

Semantics, the second component, involves vocabulary—the way

underlying concepts are expressed in words and word combinations.

Grammar, the third component of language, consists of two main

parts: syntax, the rules by which words are arranged into sentences, and
morphology, the use of grammatical markers indicating number, tense,
case, person, gender, active or passive voice, and other meanings (the
endings -s and -ed are examples in English).

Finally, pragmatics refers to the rules for engaging in appropriate and

effective communication.

1. PRELINGUISTIC DEVELOPMENT

From the very beginning, infants are prepared to acquire language.

During the first year, sensitivity to language, cognitive and social skills,
and environmental supports pave the way for the onset of verbal
communication.

Receptivity to Language

Newborns are especially sensitive to the pitch range of the human voice
and prefer speech—especially their mother’s voice and their native
tongue—to other sounds, perhaps because of repeated exposure to their
mother speaking during pregnancy.

Learning Native-Language Sound Categories and Patterns

Young infants are sensitive to a much wider range of speech categories

than exists in their own language. As they listen actively to the talk of
people around them, they focus on meaningful sound variations.

Between 6 and 8 months, they start to organize speech into the phonemic
categories of their own language—that is, they stop attending to sounds
that will not be useful in mastering their native tongue or, in the case of
bilingual exposure, sounds not part of both languages they are about to
learn.

Interestingly, visual language discrimination—by monitoring a

speaker’s face and lip movements—changes similarly.
As older infants focus intently on language regularities, they soon
recognize familiar words in spoken passages, listen longer to speech with
clear clause and phrase boundaries, and divide the speech stream into
word like units.
They also extend their sensitivity to speech structure to individual words.

By 10 months, they can detect words that start with weak syllables,
such as ―surprise.

In the second half of the first year, infants have begun to detect the
internal structure of sentences and words—information that will be
vital for linking speech units with their meanings.

Furthermore, babies of this age are budding rule learners. At 7 months,

they can distinguish an ABA from an ABB pattern in the structure of
short, nonsense-word sequences—a capacity that may eventually help
them grasp basic syntax.

First Speech Sounds

• Around 2 months, babies begin to make vowel-like noises, called

cooing because of their pleasant ―oo quality.

• Gradually, consonants are added, and around 6 months
babbling appears, in which infants repeat consonant–vowel
 combinations, often in long strings such as―bababababa and
―nanananana.
• Babies everywhere (even those who are deaf) start babbling at
about the same age and produce a similar range of early sounds.
But for babbling to develop further, infants must hear human
speech.
• In hearing-impaired babies, these speech like sounds are delayed
and limited in diversity of sounds produced over time. And a deaf
infant not exposed to sign language will stop babbling entirely.
• By 8 to 10 months, babbling reflects the sounds and intonation
of children’s language community, some of which are
transferred to their first words (―Mama, ―Dada).
Becoming a Communicator

• Around their first birthday, babies realize that a person’s visual gaze
signals a vital connection between the viewer and his or her
surroundings, and they want to participate. This joint attention, in
which the child attends to the same object or event as the caregiver,
who often labels it, contributes greatly to early language
development.
• Infants and toddlers who frequently experience it sustain attention
longer, comprehend more language, produce meaningful gestures
and words earlier, and show faster vocabulary development through
2 years of age.
• Around the first birthday, babies extend their joint attention and
social interaction skills: They point toward an object or location
while looking back toward the caregiver, in an effort to direct the
adult’s attention and influence their behavior.
• Infant pointing leads to two communicative gestures:

A. The first is the proto-declarative, in which the baby points to,

touches, or holds up an object while looking at others to make
sure they notice.
B. In the second, the proto-imperative, the baby gets another
person to do something by reaching, pointing, and often making
 sounds at the same time.

2. PHONOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT
The Early Phase
• Children’s first words are influenced in part by the small
number of sounds they can pronounce. The easiest sound
sequences start with consonants, end with vowels, and include
repeated syllables, as
in ―Mama, ―Dada, ―bye-bye, and ―nigh-nigh (for ―night-night).
• In infant-directed speech, adults often use simplified words to talk
about things of interest to toddlers—―bunny for rabbit, ―choo-choo
for train. These word forms support the child’s first attempts to talk.
 • As toddlers’ vocabularies increase, they become better at using
their perceptual abilities to distinguish similar-sounding new
words. Once they acquire several sets of words that sound alike,
they may be motivated to attend more closely to fine-grained
distinctions between others.

Phonological Strategies

• By the middle of the second year, children move from trying

to pronounce whole syllables and words to trying to pronounce
each individual sound within a word. As a result, they can be
heard experimenting with phoneme patterns.
• One 21-month-old pronounced ―juice

as―du, ―ju, ―dus, ―jus, ―sus, ―zus, ―fus, ―tfus, ―jusi, and
―tfusi within a single hour.
• Although individual differences exist in the precise strategies
that children adopt, they follow a general developmental
pattern.
• At first, children produce minimal words, focusing on the stressed
syllable and trying to pronounce its consonant–vowel combination
(―du or ―ju for ―juice). Soon they add ending consonants (―jus),
adjust
vowel length (―beee for ―please), and add unstressed syllables
(―maedo for ―tomato). Finally, they produce the full word with a
correct stress pattern, although they may still need to refine its sounds
(―timemba for―remember, ―pagetti for ―spaghetti).

Later Phonological Development

Although phonological development is largely complete by age 5, a few

syllable stress patterns signaling subtle differences in meaning are not
acquired until middle childhood or adolescence. For example, when
shown pairs of pictures and asked to distinguish
the ―greenhouse from the ―green house, most children recognized
the correct label by third grade and produced it between fourth and sixth
grade.

1. SEMANTIC DEVELOPMENT

• Word comprehension begins in the middle of the first year. When 6-

month olds listened to the words ―Mommy and ―Daddy while looking
at side-by side videos of their parents, they looked longer at the video of
the named parent.
• At 9 months, after hearing a word paired with an object, babies
looked longer at other objects in the same category than at those in a
different category.
• By age 6, they understand the meaning of about 10,000 words.
To accomplish this, children learn about five new words each
day.

The Early Phase

• To learn words, children must identify which concept each label

picks out in their language community.
• Researchers have discovered that children can connect a new word
with an underlying concept after only a brief encounter, a process
 called fast-mapping.
• Young children also have unique styles of early language learning,
which affect early vocabulary development. Most toddlers use a
referential style; their vocabularies consist mainly of words that
refer to objects. A smaller number of toddlers use an expressive
style; compared with referential children, they initially produce many
more social formulas
and pronouns (―thank you, ―done, ―I want it), uttered as compressed
phrases that sound like single words.
Types of Words

Three types of words—object, action, and state—are most common in

young children’s vocabularies. Each provides important information about
the course of semantic development.

Object and Action Words:

• Young language learners in many cultures have more object than

action words in their beginning vocabularies. One reason is that
nouns refer to concepts (such as table, bird, or dog) that are easy to
perceive. When adults point to, label, and talk about an object, they
help the child discern the word’s meaning.
• In contrast, verbs require more complex understandings—of
relationships between objects and actions. And when adults use a
verb, the selected action usually is not taking place. A parent who
says the word move is probably referring to a past event
(―Someone moved the bowl) or a future event (―Let’s move the
bowl).

State Words:

• Between 2 and 2½ years, children’s use of state (or modifier) words

 expands to include labels for attributes of objects, such as size and
color (―big, ―red) and possession (―my toy, ―Mommy purse).
• Words referring to the functions of objects (―dump truck, ―pickup
truck) appear soon after. When state words are related in meaning,
general distinctions (which are easier) appear before more specific
ones. Thus, among words referring to the size of objects, children
first acquire big–small, then tall–short, high–low, and long–short, and
finally wide– narrow and deep–shallow.
• When young children first learn words, they often do not use them
just as adults do. They may apply words too narrowly, an error
called underextension. At 16 months, my younger son used the
word ―bear
 to refer only to a special teddy bear to which he had become attached. A
more common error between 1 and 2½ years is overextension —
applying a word to a wider collection of objects and events than is
appropriate. For example, a toddler might use the word ―car for buses,
trains, trucks, and fire engines.

Later Semantic Development

• During the elementary school years, vocabulary increases

fourfold, eventually exceeding comprehension of 40,000 words.
• In addition to fast-mapping, older school-age children, especially
those with excellent reading comprehension, enlarge their
vocabularies by analyzing the structure of complex words. From
happy and decide, they can derive the meanings of happiness and
decision.
• They also figure out many more word meanings from context.

2. GRAMMATICAL DEVELOPMENT
First Word Combinations

Sometime between 1½ and 2½ years, as productive vocabulary reaches

200 to 250 words, children transition from word–gesture combinations
to joining two words: ―Mommy shoe, ―go car, ―more cookie. These
two- word utterances are called telegraphic speech because, like a
telegram, they focus on high content words and omit smaller, less
important ones, such as can, the, and to.

From Simple Sentences to Complex Grammar

• In the third year, three-word sentences appear in which English-

speaking children clearly follow a subject–verb–object word order.
 • Once children form three-word sentences, they add grammatical
morphemes —small markers that change the meaning of sentences,
as in ―John’s dog and ―he is eating.
• But once children apply a regular morphological rule, they extend it
to words that are exceptions, a type of error called over-
regularization. Expressions like ―My toy car breaked and ―We
each have two foots appear between 2 and 3 years of age and persist
into middle childhood.

Development of Complex Grammatical Forms

Once children master the auxiliary verb to be, the door is open to a
variety of new expressions. Negatives and questions are examples.

Negatives:

Three types of negation appear in the following order in 2½- to 3-

year- olds.

a. Nonexistence, in which the child remarks on the absence of

something (―No cookie, ―All gone crackers)
b. Rejection, in which the child expresses opposition to something
(―No take bath)
c. Denial, in which the child denies the truthfulness of something
(―That not my kitty).
Around 3 to 3½ years, as children add auxiliary verbs and become
sensitive to the way they combine with negatives, correct negative forms
appear: ―There aren’t any more cookies (nonexistence), ―I don’t
want a bath (rejection), and ―That isn’t my kitty (denial).

Questions:

Like negatives, questions first appear during the early preschool years
and develop in an orderly sequence.

English-speaking children, as well as those who speak many other

languages, can use rising intonation to convert an utterance into a yes/no
question: ―Mommy baking cookies? As a result, they produce
such expressions quite early.

When first creating questions, 2-year-olds use many formulas:

―Where’s X? ―What’s X? ‖ ―Can I X?.

3. PRAGMATIC DEVELOPMENT

Besides mastering phonology, vocabulary, and grammar, children must

learn to use language effectively in social contexts—by taking turns,
staying on the same topic, stating their messages clearly, and conforming
to cultural rules for interaction.

Acquiring Conversational Skills

• Young children are already skilled conversationalists. In face-to-

face interaction, they make eye contact, respond appropriately to
their partner’s remarks, and take turns. With age, the number of
turns over which children can sustain interaction and their ability to
maintain a topic over time increase, but even 2-year-olds converse
effectively.
• In early childhood, additional conversational strategies are added. In
the turnabout, the speaker not only comments on what has just been
said but also adds a request to get the partner to respond again.
Between ages 5 and 9, more advanced conversational strategies
 appear, such as shading, in which a speaker initiates a change of
topic gradually by modifying the focus of discussion.
• Effective conversation also depends on understanding illocutionary
intent — what a speaker means to say, even if the form of the
utterance is not perfectly consistent with it.
• During middle childhood, illocutionary knowledge develops further.

Communicating Clearly

• To communicate effectively, we must produce clear verbal messages

and recognize when messages we receive are unclear so we can ask
for more
information. These aspects of language are called referential
communication skills.
• Young children’s conversations appear less mature in highly
demanding situations in which they cannot see their listeners’
reactions or rely on typical conversational aids, such as gestures and
objects to talk about. But when asked to tell a listener how to solve a
simple puzzle, 3- to 6- year-olds give more specific directions over
the phone than in person, indicating that they realize the need for
more verbal description on the phone.
• Children’s ability to evaluate the adequacy of messages they receive
also improves with age.

Narratives

• Conversations with adults about past experiences contribute to

dramatic gains in children’s ability to produce well-organized,
detailed, expressive narratives.
• When asked to relate a personally important event, 4-year-olds
typically produce brief renditions called leapfrog narratives,
jumping from one event to another in a disorganized fashion.
• Between 4½ and 5, children start to produce chronological
narratives, placing events in temporal sequence and building to a
high point: ―We went to the lake. We fished and waited. Paul
 waited, and he got a huge catfish.
• Around age 6, chronological narratives extend into classic
narratives, in which children add a resolution: ―After Dad cleaned
the catfish, we cooked it and ate it all up!.
• Like narrative, make-believe play requires children to organize
events around a plot, constructing a connected, meaningful story line.
Pretend- play and narrative competence support each other.
• When 4-year-olds created narratives in a make-believe context
(―Tell me a story using these toys), they generated more complex,
coherent stories than age mates who were directly prompted. And
in a school
program, 5- to 7-year-olds who participated in 14 weeks of joint adult–
child dramatization of a work of children’s literature showed greater
gains in narrative development than age mates who merely listened to
an adult read the story over 14 sessions, with no playacting. Because
children pick up the narrative styles of parents and other significant
adults in their lives, their narrative forms vary widely across cultures.
• The ability to generate clear oral narratives contributes to literacy
development, enhancing reading comprehension and preparing
children for producing longer, more explicit written narratives.
• In families who regularly eat meals together, children are
advanced in language and literacy development, perhaps because
mealtimes offer many opportunities to listen to and relate personal
stories.

Sociolinguistic Understanding

• As early as the preschool years, children are sensitive to

language adaptations to social expectations, known as speech
registers.
• In one study, 4- to 7-yearolds were asked to act out roles with hand
puppets. Even the youngest children showed that they understood the
stereotypic features of different social positions. They used more
commands when playing socially dominant and male roles, such as
 teacher, doctor, and father. When playing less dominant and feminine
roles, such as student, patient, and mother, they spoke more politely
and used more indirect requests.
• By age 2, when children fail to say ―please and ―thank you, or
―hi and ―good-bye, parents often model and demand an
appropriate response.
• Some cultures have elaborate systems of polite language. In Japan,
for example, politeness affects many aspects of verbal and
nonverbal communication, which vary with gender, age, social
status, and familiarity of speaker and listener. Japanese mothers
and preschool teachers constantly model and teach these
expressions as a means of promoting in children a kind, considerate
attitude toward others. As a result, pre-schoolers acquire a large
repertoire of polite forms.
COGNITIVE CHANGES IN EARLY ADULTHOOD

During early adulthood, cognition begins to stabilize, reaching a

peak around the age of 35.

Early adulthood is a time of relativistic thinking, in which young

people begin to become aware of more than simplistic views of right
vs. wrong. They begin to look at ideas and concepts from multiple
angles and understand that a question can have more than one right
(or wrong) answer.

The need for specialization results in pragmatic thinking—using logic to

solve real-world problems while accepting contradiction, imperfection,
and other issues.

Post formal thought:

Developmental psychology initially focused on childhood development

through Piaget's four stages of human development, the last stage of
which is known as the formal operational stage. Extending developmental
psychology to adults, most Neo-Piagetian theories of cognitive
development posit one or more post formal stages. Post formal thought is
also addressed by non-Piagetian theories of developmental psychology,
including Michael Commons' model of hierarchical complexity and
Robert Kegan's constructive developmental framework.

Post formal thought is often described as more flexible, logical, willing

to accept moral and intellectual complexities, and dialectical than
previous stages in development. Of post formal thought, Griffin has
said, "one can conceive of multiple logics, choices, or perceptions... in
order to better understand the complexities and inherent biases in
'truth'".

Post formal thought has been criticized by Marchand, Kallio and Kramer.
They raise theoretical and empirical counter-arguments against the
existence of a post formal stage. Instead, they suggest adult development
is a form of integrative thinking from within the formal stage, which
includes most of the features claimed to be post formal such as
understanding of
various viewpoints, acceptance of contextualism, and integrating
different viewpoints.

Schaie's Model of Cognitive Development

• Proposed by K. Warner Schaie

• A stage theory in which human cognitive processes are

posited to develop within up to five periods during the
lifespan.
• Schaie’s model looks at the developing uses of intellect within a
social context.

1) Acquisitive stage

• In the first, the acquisitive stage, an individual’s primary

cognitive task is to acquire knowledge and intellectual skills.
• Occurs in childhood and adolescence who acquire information and
skills mainly for their own sake or as preparation for the
participation in the society.

2) Achieving stage

• Occurs in late teens or early twenties to early thirties.

• The achieving stage occurs next, in young adulthood, during

 which an individual’s primary cognitive task is to achieve personal
goals (e.g., starting a family, establishing a career) by applying the
intellectual skills learned during the acquisitive stage.

3) Responsible stage

• Occurs in late thirties and early sixties.

• The individual then uses those skills in middle adulthood, during

the responsible stage, to manage increasingly complex situations
arising from family, community, and career responsibilities.
 4) Executive stage

• This stage may by followed by the executive stage, during

which some middle-aged adults may achieve a high level of
intellectual functioning characterized by a broadened focus on
societal rather than on exclusively personal concerns and by an
ability to set priorities as well as to assimilate conflicting
information.

5) Re-integrative stage

• Finally, in the re-integrative stage, individuals in late adulthood

apply their intellectual skills to re-examine their life experiences
and priorities and to focus their attention on tasks of great
personal meaning.
• Memory storage and retrieval and the speed of other
cognitive functions may decline, but general cognitive ability
continues to develop during this stage.

Sternberg’s triarchic theory

Sternberg’s triarchic theory of successful intelligence is made up of
three broad, interacting intelligences:

(1) analytical intelligence, or information processing skills

(2) creative intelligence, the capacity to solve novel problems
(3) practical intelligence, application of intellectual skills
in everyday situations.

Intelligent behaviour involves balancing all three intelligences to

achieve success in life, according to one’s personal goals and the
requirements of one’s cultural community.

1) Analytical Intelligence

Analytical intelligence consists of the information processing components

that underlie all intelligent acts: applying strategies, acquiring task-
relevant
and meta-cognitive knowledge, and engaging in self-regulation. But on
mental tests, processing skills are used in only a few of their potential
ways, resulting in far too narrow a view of intelligent behavior. As we
have seen, children in tribal and village societies do not necessarily
perform well on
measures of ―school knowledge but thrive when processing information
in out-of-school situations that most Westerners would find highly
challenging.

2) Creative Intelligence

In any context, success depends not only on processing familiar

information but also on generating useful solutions to new problems.
People who are creative think more skillfully than others when faced
with novelty. Given a new task, they apply their information-processing
skills in exceptionally effective ways, rapidly making those skills
automatic so that working memory is freed for more complex aspects of
the situation.
Consequently, they quickly move to high-level performance

3) Practical Intelligence

Finally, intelligence is a practical, goal-oriented activity aimed at

adapting to, shaping, or selecting environments. Intelligent people
skillfully adapt their thinking to fit with both their desires and the
demands of their everyday worlds. When they cannot adapt to a
situation, they try to shape, or change, it to meet their needs. If they
cannot shape it, they select new contexts that better match their skills,
values, or goals. Practical intelligence reminds us that intelligent
behavior is never culture-free.
Children with certain life histories do well at the behaviors required for
success on intelligence tests and adapt easily to the testing conditions
and tasks. Others, with different backgrounds, may misinterpret or reject
the testing context. Yet such children often display sophisticated
abilities in daily life—for example, telling stories, engaging in complex
artistic activities, or interacting skillfully with other pen