Developing Through the Lifespan

Developing Through the Lifespan Based in part on the text: Exploring Psychology by Myers and DeWall (10th) Developmental Psychology = study of human development (change over time) what is typical (growth and declines) what makes a difference? - Early interest babies and childhood - Now focus is lifespan Special Study Techniques: Cross sectional: study multiple groups (ages) once identifies age differences, quicker and cheaper, finding differences based on era, not age. Example: studying different groups in one year Longitudinal: study one group multiple times as they get older identify individual and group growth patterns (do rank orders stay the same?) takes more time and money attrition (drop outs) (could be biased) Example: studying one group yearly Sequential – combining both study techniques. Common Questions or Themes: Nature vs. Nurture: Nature – impact of genes (inherited differences) (what happens regardless of environment) Nurture – impact of social/environmental experiences (not based on genes) Most things are both – but relative contribution can vary Stability vs. Change: Stability – do we stay the same ‘person’ over time? Change – are there big differences in characteristics over time? Continuity vs. Stages: Continuous – changes are gradual – you get more and more of the same thing Stage – changes are abrupt - you don’t just get “more,” you get “different” - everyone passes through same order Other Common Themes/Issues: Developmental Status Tends to be Cumulative: “the rich get richer” (describe; babies have easy time exploring and seeking friendship, things start out well and it’s easier for them to grow more “richer” in life) Poverty Challenges Optimal Development: physical, cognitive, and social. Children with poverty will have harder times growing up. Resilience: doing well despite of challenges. How do some do well despite of challenges? It could be from their environmental factors, family factors, individual factors, and many more: having just one person invest in your well-being can be more resilient, have better coping skills and higher IQ, having a calmer temperament. (see also Erik Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development handout on Blackboard) Cognitive Development: The study of Cognitive Development – looking for changes in thinking, problem solving, and memory skills - Sometimes includes a theoretical explanation for the changes (Pt, Vy) - Sometimes not…… Info processing approach (attention, memory, strategies) Jean Piaget A constructivist view: believed kids play an active role on their growth. A stage theory: thinking in stages, each qualitatively different. Universal (same order, different rate) Schema: mental framework used to organize data (your current understanding of things) Adaptation: in-born tendency to make sense of new data Assimilation: try to fit new into old schema. Ex: I have a schema for cats. One day, a family brings dogs, and my children say they’re cats because they have legs and fur. Accommodation: modify schema if needed Ex: I have modified a schema for dogs and cats. You see that cats and dogs have different sounds with four legs and fur. Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development: 1. Sensorimotor (birth-2) use senses and muscles to learn about world start to learn cause and effect gain object permanence (understand things exist even when you can’t see them) and delayed imitation (copy after the fact): Which means? If the baby realized these things, it has an internal (mental) representations 2. Preoperational (2-6/7 years) (preschool) Symbolic function - ability to substitute - explosion of language - pretend play Limits at this age: (these cause predictable mistakes in problem solving) Egocentrism - only see world from own perspective. - can’t take another’s perspective, - everyone knows what I know. Ex: A kid would be on the phone talking to grandma, but only nodding her head as if grandma can hear through nodding. A kid says favorite just for the parent to figure out what the cereal she wants. Centration – tendency to focus on only one (obvious) aspect of object or problem at a time. Ex: kids would think people with skirts as girls, grey hair for old, short hair for boys, big bellies with babies. Irreversibility – can’t “undo” Ex: a kid who breaks a vase thinks it can never be fixed. Theory of Mind: involves ability to recognize mental state of others between 3 and 4 1/2 to see evidence by 4-5 anticipate friend’s false beliefs. Ex: showing a preschooler a band aid container, and it contains crayons. If they see another same box, they think it’s crayons. If a friend comes by and sees it the container with band aids inside, they say “my friend sees differently.” 3. Concrete operational (6/7 to 11 years) (grade school) Can reason/problem solve with objects present or easily held in memory - can reverse steps in mind - math skills to explode - can attend to more than one feature at a time - begins to understand rules and strategies (begins to like games with rules/strategies) -allows for skill called conservation (understanding that altering appearance does not change basic properties) What mistakes did the kids in the video clip make and why? Some kids see bigger cups containing more juice, but some can predict the equal shape. Some even see wider rows with more coins than tighter rows with the same equal amount of coins in the wider row. 4. Formal operational (12 years and up) (adolescent-adult) Thought more complex and flexible Can think abstractly - discuss things like truth and justice - can solve hypothetical problems – think about hypothetical worlds - science fiction becomes interesting Observations: Not all reach and at least partially culture and training dependent Vygotsky’s Socio-cultural perspective Who was Lev Vygotsky? (Russian Psychologist) Also constructivist: we play a role in our development Theory Emphasizes: -influence of social/cultural world on cog devo -devo is result of interaction with more experienced members of culture Vocabulary: Scaffolding - “teacher” gives help to a less skilled “learner,” reducing amount of help as can. As the learner gets better, the teacher does less. Zone of Proximal Development(ZPD) – difference between what can do alone and what can do with the help of a teacher. Info you are ready to learn – can learn with help (area of emerging skills) Social – Emotional Development Temperament: - typical pattern of interacting with the world (how we tend to react to or approach things) Ex: activity level, irritability, sociability, fearfulness, part-nature and part-nurture, fairly stable. Goodness of Fit Data: (Thomas and Chess) devo optimized when parenting sensitive to temp. Sensitive: negs decrease Insensitive: negs grow Easier to be good fit (sensitive) to some Attachment – Bond with others Secure Attachments: 1. provide comfort during times of distress 2. provide security to explore Classifying Infant Attachment Styles: differences in quality noted… Secure: trust relationships and explores the world comforted easily. Associated Parent Behavior (APB)? Sensitive Insecure: Anxious - Ambivalent – want closeness but fears rejection| APB? Inconsistent Avoidant – independent – resists intimacy APB? Cold and rejecting or intense Is attachment style Destiny? Tends exist (why?) because in a lot a of ways when you expect the world as a baby, you tend to expect relationships. But can change (how?) expectations aren’t the same always. Parenting Styles (Baumrind: 1970s +) Parenting behaviors vary on 2 Important Dimensions: 1. Acceptance/Responsiveness (Warmth) – affection, support, encouragement 2. Demandingness/Control (limits and expectations) – monitor and discipline Combinations of these independent dimensions leads to 4 parenting style 1. Authoritative (high and high) parents: supportive, use reason, set expectations kids (as a group): most well behaved, responsible, popular, good grades 2. Authoritarian (high and low) parents: conditional regard, high expectations, punitive kids (as a group): lower self-confidence, less positive peer interactions, maybe anxious or withdrawn 3. Permissive (indulgent) (low and high) parents: affectionate, no rules, no expectations, kids (as a group): immature, moody, poor grades, give up easily 4. Uninvolved (neglectful) (low and low) parents: emotionally detached, undemanding kids (as a group): most negative outcomes (drop out/ psychological issues, delinquency) Additional Information: Adolescence: (about 12 to 22ish) Transition – dependent child to self-supporting adult Time of profound change – sometimes turmoil Cultural differences? – yes not all cultures have Emerging adulthood – adolescence extended in both direction in the US lately - many examine the upper end of adolescence, that final push toward independence as a separate stage. Physical Changes: Spurt in Brain Growth: - limbs system (emotions) and sensation seeking 1st - later development self-control, reasoning, planning. - leaves many teens with lots of emotion and impulse and little ability to regulate Puberty: skeletal growth spurt with sexual maturation (ability to reproduce) Timing of puberty: Average age girls? 11.5 (2 years earlier) Average age boys? 13.5 Who has the advantage for girls? Middle Issues for both early and late girls Early: date b4 ready, experiment, lower grades, ridicule Who has the advantage for boys? Early Better athletes, more popular, self-concept BUT newer data suggest early boys are more likely to get into drugs and delinquent behavior By adulthood late boys often doing well but at time can be anxious and self-conscious Cognitive (Thinking) Changes: Becoming more self-aware, more self reflective… Piaget’s formal operations Who I am? (identity formation) Erikson How do I fit in the world? Teen Egocentric Thinking Imaginary Audience: believe everyone looking at + judging the constantly. Don’t realize most too caught up in themselves to care. (research supports teens overestimate how much others are watching and judging (not to say it doesn’t happen)). Personal Fable: common belief they are unique and protected from harm. They are sure that NOBODY has experienced life quite as intensely as they are…” you just can’t understand – you’ve never been this is love before.” Social and Emotional Changes: shift from family to friends (influence and interest) (but family still counts) Teen stress and storm? Not like myths suggest A time of rapid change Many experience more extreme mood fluctuations Really hard for some (suicide, drugs, alcohol, violence) But most have no major problems Conflict with parents (especially Moms) go up for both sexes… - Parents report it is the hardest age to parent Behavior Changes - Adolescent risk taking: Risk taking behaviors raises for many teens, even though decision making skills improving. - So why take them? Reward sensitivity increases Self-regulation difficulties (impulsivity) (that part of brain still immature) Peer pressure/presence Personal fable (?) – some argue this is not the reason, adults also experience personal fable but become less risky.