Human

Development
Developmental Psychology
• The branch of psychology that studies the patterns of growth and
change that occur throughout life.
• Nature Vs. Nurture
• Some developmental theories rely on basic psychological
principles of learning and stress the role learning plays in
producing changes in a developing child’s behavior-
Environment
• Other developmental theories emphasize the influence of one’s
physiological makeup and functioning on development-
Maturation
• Developmental psychologists typically take an interactionist
position on the nature–nurture issue by suggesting that a
combination of hereditary and environmental factors influences
development
Basic Genetics

• Zygote: The new cell formed by the union of an egg and sperm
• A zygote contains 23 pairs of chromosomes, rod shaped structures that
contain all basic hereditary information, One member of each pair is from
the mother, and the other is from the father.
• Each chromosome contains thousands of genes—smaller units through
which genetic information is transmitted.
• Humans have some 25,000 genes.
• Composed of sequences of DNA (deoxyribonucleic Acid) molecules, genes
are the biological equivalent of “software” that programs the future
development of all parts of the body’s Hardware
Basic Genetics
Basic Genetics
• Some genes control the development of
systems common to all members of the
human species—the heart, circulatory
system, brain, lungs, and so forth;
• Others shape the characteristics that make
each human unique.

• Genes are also at least partially

responsible for a wide variety of personal
characteristics, including cognitive abilities,
personality traits, and psychological
disorders
The Earliest Development
• Germinal period: First two weeks of conception
• The zygote starts out as a microscopic speck. Three days
after fertilization, the zygote increases to around 32 cells;
within a week, it has grown to 100–150 cells.
• Embryonic period: Two-eight weeks
• Embryo- A developed zygote that has a heart, a brain,
and other organs.
• Grows 10,000 times larger by 4 weeks of age and attains
a length of about one-fifth of an inch
• Rudimentary beating heart, a brain, an intestinal tract,
and a number of other organs
• By week 8, the embryo is about an inch long and has
discernible arms, legs, and a face.
The Earliest Development
• Fetal period
• Fetus: A developing individual from 8 weeks after
conception until birth.
• At 16 to 18 weeks, its movements become strong
enough for the mother to sense them
• The fetus reaches the age of viability, the point at which
it can survive if born prematurely, at about prenatal age
22 weeks.
• At the end of the normal 38 weeks of pregnancy, the
fetus typically weighs 7 pounds and is about 20 inches
in length
PRENATAL
ENVIRONMENTAL
INFLUENCES

• Teratogens: Environmental
agents such as a drug,
chemical, virus, or other factors
that produce a birth defect
• Mother’s nutrition
• Mother’s illness
• Mother’s emotional state
• Mother’s use of drugs.
• Alcohol
• Nicotine use
Infancy and • Neonate: A newborn child
• Reflexes: Unlearned, involuntary responses that occur
Childhood automatically in the presence of certain stimuli
PHYSICAL
DEVELOPMENT
Development of
Social Behavior
• Konrad Lorenz in his lab,
with the goslings
following him, capturing
the essence of his
studies on attachment
and imprinting.
Development of
Social Behavior
• Attachment: The positive
emotional bond that
develops between a child
and a particular individual
Attachment
Theory
• Originated by John Bowlby in
the late 1950s
• Explores emotional bonds
between humans, especially
between children and
caregivers
• Foundation for understanding
interpersonal relationships
Attachment Style: Secure
• Characteristics: Individuals with a secure attachment
have a positive view of themselves and their
relationships. They feel worthy of love and expect
others to be loving and responsive in return. They are
comfortable with intimacy and are also able to maintain
healthy boundaries and independence.
• Behavior in Relationships: Securely attached adults
tend to have stable and deep relationships. They are
good at communicating their needs and responding to
their partner's needs. They deal with conflict
constructively and are resilient to life's ups and downs
within relationships.
Attachment Style: Avoidant
Attachment
• Characteristics: Avoidant individuals often cherish
independence to the point of pushing others away. They
have a positive view of themselves but a negative view
of others, believing that they cannot fully depend on
others to meet their needs.
• Behavior in Relationships: Adults with an avoidant
attachment style may avoid closeness and emotional
intimacy, preferring solitude or superficial relationships.
They often feel uncomfortable with too much closeness
and might withdraw from relationships when they feel
too vulnerable or threatened.
Attachment Style: Ambivalent (Anxious-
Ambivalent) Attachment
• Characteristics: Ambivalent attachment is characterized by a
negative view of oneself and a positive view of others.
Individuals with this style often worry about their partner's
commitment and love. They seek closeness and approval but
remain anxious about the relationship's stability and their own
worthiness of love.
• Behavior in Relationships: Adults with an anxious-
ambivalent attachment style may appear clingy or overly
dependent on their partners. They often need constant
reassurance and may have a heightened sensitivity to their
partner's actions, fearing abandonment or rejection.
Attachment Style: Disorganized
Attachment
• Characteristics: This attachment style is often the result of
trauma or inconsistency in caregiving during childhood.
Individuals with a disorganized attachment have no clear
strategy for getting their needs met by others. They often
exhibit a mixture of behaviors and may feel both a strong
desire for closeness and an intense fear of it.
• Behavior in Relationships: Adults with disorganized
attachment can display erratic behavior and have difficulty
maintaining stable relationships. They might struggle with
trust, have a fear of getting too close to others, or show a mix
of avoidant and ambivalent behaviors. Their approach to
relationships can be unpredictable and may reflect unresolved
trauma or fear.
Development of
Attachment
Styles

• Attachment styles are

formed early in life
through interactions with
primary caregivers. They
are the result of a
complex interplay of
genetic factors, caregiver
behavior, and the child's
own temperament.
Development of Attachment Styles
1.Secure Attachment is often the result of caregivers who are consistently
responsive, warm, and nurturing. The child learns that the caregiver is
dependable, which fosters a sense of security.
2.Avoidant Attachment may form when caregivers are emotionally unavailable
or unresponsive to their child’s needs. The child learns to self-soothe and to
expect that they need to take care of themselves.
3.Anxious Attachment can develop when caregivers are inconsistently
responsive. The child may become unsure about the availability of the caregiver
and thus become preoccupied with the caregiver's presence and responsiveness.
4.Disorganized Attachment is often associated with chaotic or frightening
caregiving, where the caregiver may be a source of both comfort and fear,
leading to confusion.
Can Attachment
Styles Change?

• Therapy and Counseling

• Secure Relationships
• Self-Reflection and
Awareness
• Life Experiences
• Consistency and Safety
Parenting Styles and
Social Development
• Authoritarian parents: Parents who are rigid and
punitive and value unquestioning obedience from
their children.
• Permissive parents: Parents who give their
children relaxed or inconsistent directions and,
although they are warm, require little of them.
• Authoritative parents: Parents who are firm, set
clear limits, reason with their children, and explain
things to them.
• Uninvolved parents Parents who show little
interest in their children and are emotionally
detached
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
• Cognitive development: The process by which a child’s
understanding of the world changes due to the child’s age and
experience
• Jean Piaget (1970) suggested that children around the world
proceed through a series of four stages in a fixed order.
• These stages differ in the quantity of information acquired at
each stage and the quality of knowledge and understanding
• Movement from one stage to the next occurs when a child
reaches an appropriate level of maturation and is exposed to
relevant types of experiences
Cognitive Development
Cognitive Development
• Sensorimotor stage: The stage from birth to 2 years, during which a child
has little competence in representing the environment by using images,
language, or other symbols.
• Object permanence: The awareness that objects—and people—continue to exist
even if they are out of sight

• Preoperational stage: The period from 2 to 7 years of age that is

characterized by language development
• Egocentric thought: A way of thinking in which a child views the world entirely
from his or her own perspective.
• Principle of conservation: The understanding that quantity is unrelated to the
arrangement and physical appearance of objects.

• Concrete operational stage: The period from 7 to 12 years of age that is

characterized by logical thought and a loss of egocentrism
• Formal operational stage: The period from age 12 to adulthood that is
characterized by abstract thought.
 The culture in which we are raised
significantly affects our cognitive
development

Vygotsky’s Cognitive development occurs as a

View of consequence of social interactions in which
children work with others to jointly solve
Cognitive problems
Development
Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD): The
gap between what children already can
accomplish on their own and what they are
not quite ready to do by themselves.
 Adolescence: The developmental
stage between childhood and
adulthood.

They face a period of rapid physical,

Adolescents cognitive, and social change that
affects them for the rest of their lives

Adolescents are no longer children,

yet society doesn’t quite consider
them adults.
 Beginning around age 10 for girls and age 12 for
boys, a growth spurt leads to rapid increases in
weight and height.

Puberty: The period at which maturation of the

sexual organs occurs, beginning at about age 11
Adolescents: or 12 for girls and 13 or 14 for boys.
Physical For girls, Puberty hits when they have their first
Development menstruation, generally at the age of 11 or 12,
but the age range could be 8 years to 16 years

For boys, onset of puberty is marked at the age

around 13 years
 Kohlberg’s theory of moral development: People pass through a series of stages in the
evolution of their sense of justice and in the kind of reasoning they use to make moral
judgments.

Preconventional Morality (Level 1):

• Morality conceived in terms of concrete, unvarying rules

• The primary considerations at this level are the avoidance of
punishment and the desire for rewards.
Adolescents: Conventional morality (Level 2):
Moral & • Focused on social rules.
Cognitive • Membership in society becomes essential at this level.
People behave in ways that will win the approval of others
Development Postconventional morality (Level 3):

• Morality is not always black and white, and conflict can

exist between two sets of socially accepted standards
• People accept that there are certain broad principles of
morality that should govern our actions. These principles
are more critical than the particular laws in a society
 Men’s and women’s distinctive socialization
experiences, a fundamental difference exists in
the way each gender views moral behavior

Men view morality primarily in terms of broad

Moral principles, such as justice and fairness

Development Responsibility toward individuals and willingness

in Women to make sacrifice to help a specific individual
within the context of a particular relationship

Compassion is the key

Thank you