Chapter 11 - Human Development Across the Life Span

Chapter 11 - Human Development Across the Life Span

1. Prenatal Development

   • -The prenatal period typically is nine months of pregnancy, which extends from conception to birth. -Many important developments occur before birth. -Development begins with conception which occurs with fertilization and a zyote is created. -Zygote is formed by the union of egg and sperm and is a one celled organism.  
   • The Course of Prenatal Development
     • Germinal Stage
       • -The Germinal stage is the first 2 weeks after conception.  It is also the first stage of prenatal development. -Begins with the zygote, within 36 hours rapid cell division occurs and creates a microscopic mass.  -Microscopic mass migrates down the fallopian tube and into the uterine cavity where it implants into the uterine wall around day 7. -During implantation , the placenta begins to form. -Placenta is a structure which allows nutrients and oxygen to pass into the fetus and also the mother's bloodstream.  The bodily wastes are also passed back to the mother.  These exchanges happen across thin membranes which block the passage of blood, so that the maternal and fetal bloodstreams are kept separate. 
     • Embryonic Stage
       • -Embryonic stage lasts from two weeks until the end of the second month and is stage two of prenatal development.  -Many of the vital organs and bodily systems begin to form during this stage.  -The zygote now becomes an embryo and is about 2.5 cm at the end of this stage. -The embryo is starting to look like a human. -All the basic physiological structures are being formed. -When something interferes with the physiological development the effects can be devastating. -Miscarriages are most likely to occur during this stage.  -Most birth defects are caused by problems that occur in the embryonic stage.
     • Fetal Stage
       • -This is the third stage of prenatal development. -Fetal development lasts until birth from month two. -month 3 and 4 have rapid growth and muscle and bones begin to form and is now called a fetus.   -The fetus is capable of physical movement.   -Within the third month sex organs begin to form.  -During the last three months of the prenatal period, the brain cells begin to multiply at a fast pace.   -Fat layers are deposited under the skin. -Digestive and respiratory systems mature  -Between weeks 22-26 the fetus is able to survive outside the womb and this is called the age of viability.
   • Environmental Factors
     • The effects of the external environment can affect the fetus directly through the mother.
     • Maternal Illness and Exposure to Toxins
       • The immune system matures late in prenatal development, which the fetus is defenceless against infections. -Many maternal illnesses also interfere with prenatal development, depending on when the mother contracts the illness.
     • Maternal Nutrition and Emotions
       • -There are guidelines available regarding eating habits that are designed to promote healthy maternal nutrition as well as weight gain during pregnancy from Health Canada.  -A variety of birth complications are associated with to little or to much weight gain.   -According to Health Canada expectant mothers are to follow the food guide as the developing fetus needs are many essential nutrients. -Severe maternal malnutrition also increases the risks of birth defects.   -Maternal emotions also have  an impact on the prenatal development of the fetus.   -Behavioural prevalence can be associated with anxiety and depression in pregnant women.  -The delicate hormonal balance which fosters the healthy prenatal development can be effected by the mothers emotional reactions and stressful events during pregnancy.
     • Maternal Drug Use
       • -Most drugs that are consumed are passed directly through the mother to the baby through the membranes of the placenta. -All recreational drugs can be harmful to the placenta.  However sedatives, narcotics, and cocaine are the most dangerous,   -Babies born to narcotics are born addicted and have an increased risk of death because they are often premature, have respiratory difficulties, and birth defects.   -Legitimate drugs prescribed can also cause problems.   The effect on the fetus depends on the type of drug, phase of prenatal development and the dose. -Alcohol consumption is dangerous to the fetus.  Fetal Alcohol syndrome is a collection of congenital problems which are associated with alcohol consumption during pregnancy.  -Tobacco use is also dangerous during prenatal development as it increases the risk of miscarriage, prematurity, stillbirth, and SIDS.   Tobacco is also associated with slower then average cognitive development, hyperactivity, conduct problems, and attention deficits.
     • Fetal Origins of Disease
       • -Research focuses on the connection that risk factors for birth defects and the outcomes that are apparent during early childhood.  -Resent evidence suggests that during prenatal development the events can program the fetal brain to in ways that will influence one's vulnerability to various illnesses many years later. -Maternal nutrition affects the newborn during the breastfeeding period.

2. Years of Childhood

   • -The study of infancy and childhood has a history in psychology and has increased since it has been found to influence the development throughout a lifespan.   -The transformations that occur in childhoods seem magical however they reflect an gradual and orderly predictable progression.
   • Motor Development
     • Motor Development is the progression of muscular coordination that is needed for physical activities. 
     • Basic Principals
       • Cephalocaudal Trend is the head to foot direction. -Children gain control of the top half of their bodies before the bottom. Proximodistal Trend is the center outward direction  -control is gained over the child's torso before their extremities. Maturation is the development that reflects the gradual unfolding of one's blueprint.  -it is the genetically programmed physical changes that come with age rather then experience and learning.
     • Understanding Developmental Norms
       • Developmental Norms indicate the median age at which individuals display various abilities and behaviours.   -Variations from the typical developmental norms are normal.  
     • Cultural Variations and Their Significance
       • Cross-cultural research has highlighted the interplay between the maturation and experience in motor development.   -In some cultures special practice of motor skills is encouraged while in others it is discouraged. -Environmental factors either slow or accelerate early motor development.  
   • Easy and Difficult Babies: Differences in Temperment
     • Temperament refers to the characteristic mood, emotional reactivity, and activity level. -Infants show constant differences in tempo of activity, emotional tone, and sensitivity to environmental stimuli early in life. -Longitudinal design, is when investigators observe one group of participants repeatedly. -Cross-sectional design is when investigators compare groups of participants of differing age at a single time. -Cohort effects occur when differences between age groups are due to groups growing up over different time periods.  -Thomas and Chess established that  temperamental individuality is established by time the infant is 2-3 months old, which is also a fair predictor of the child's temperament at age 10. -Individual differences in temperament appear to be influenced by heredity 
   • Early Emotional Attachment
     • -Early on in life we are able to differentiate the social and nonsocial aspects of their world. -Attachment is the close emotional bonds of affection which develop between the caregivers and infants. -The attachment to mothers starts at about 6-8 weeks when the infant begins to protest when separated from her. 
     • Theories of Attachment
       • -Bowlby argued that there is a biological basis for attachment because of the importance of contact comfort.  -He also stated adults are programmed to be captivated by the behaviour such as cooing, smiling, and clinging.  Adults respond with warmth, protection and love.   This promotes the children's survival.   -The parent child attachments are crucial in fostering social and economic development in children so that the parents can pass on ther genes to future generations.  
     • Patterns of Attachement
       • -Ainsworth and her colleagues suggest that attachment comes from the complex interplay between mother and infant. -Strange situation procedure is when infants are exposed to eight separation and reunion episodes to assess the quality of attachment. -The infant and mother attachments vary and follow three types of patters.  The secure attachment, the anxious-ambivalent attachment and the avoidant attachment.  -Maternal behaviours also appear to have an effect on what type of attachment is between mother and infant.   -The type of attachment depends on the nature of the mothers sensitivity and the infants temperament. 
     • Culture and Attachment
       • -Separation anxiety emerges at about 6-8 months and peaks at 14-18 months. -Attachment is a universal human development. -Secure attachment appears to predominant within all cultures around the world with small differences between them.
   • Personality Development in Childhood
     • According to Freud the basic foundation of an individuals personality was established by age 5. -Erkison concluded that the events in early childhood leave a permanent impact on adult personalities.   -She also theorized that personalities develop over an entire life span. 
     • Erikson's Stage Theory
       • -Lifespan is split into eight stages.  -Personalities are shaped by how individuals deal with psychosocial crises.  Each crisis is a struggle between two opposing tendencies. Stage 1- Trust vs Mistrust Stage 2 - Autonomy vs Shame and doubt Stage 3 - Intitative vs Guilt Stage 4 - Industry vs Inferiority Stage 5 - Identity vs Confusion Stage 6 - Intimacy vs Isolation Stage 7 - Generativity vs Absorption Stage 8 - Integrity vs Despair
       • Evaluating Erikson's Theory
         • -Erikson's Theory accounts for both continuity and and the transition in personality development.   - Transition is accounted for by showing how new challenges in social relationships stimulate personality development through life. - Continuity is accounted for by linking connections between early childhood experiences and aspects of adult personality.  - One measurement of a theory's value is how much research it generates.  -Erikson's Theory depends heavily on illustrative case studies which are open to varied interpretations.
   • The Growth of Thought: Cognitive Developent
     • Cognitive Development is the transitions in youngsters patterns of thinking which includes remembering, reasoning, and problem solving.  
     • Overview of Piaget's Stage Theory
       • -Youngsters process through four major stages of cognitive development. Stage 1 - Sensorimotor Period Stage 2 - Preoperational Period Stage 3 - Concrete Operational Period Stage 4 - Formal Operational Period -Children process in their thinking through the complementary processes of accommodation and assimilation.   -Assimilation is interpreting new experiences in terms of existing mental structures without changing them -Accommodation is the changing of existing mental structures to explain new experiences.  
       • Evaluating Piaget's Theory
         • -Piaget's Theory fostered a new view that children are constructing their own world's -Piaget made a landmark contribution to psychology's understanding children and their cognitive development.
     • Neo-Piagetian Theories
       • -Neo-Piagetian scholars have extended some of Piaget's ideas, intergrating them with current perspectives on the nature of information processing.   -Pascual-Leone suggested that the increase in information processing capacity is an attribute that forms the basis of cognitive development.   -Progressive mental tasks increase the mental demand on a child and children are successful only if they possess the mental power. -Case suggests that one of the fundmental issues with development psychology is if development can be conceptualized in terms of development of one rather general intellectual attribute or if a set of more discrete aspects is needed.  -Case acknowledges a important role played by culture in cognitive development and that the central processing memory capacity is increases with age and is an important basis of cognitive development. 
     • Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory
       • -Vygotsky placed an enormous emphasis on how the children's cognitive development is fuelled by social interactions with parents, other children and teachers who can provide invaluable guidance.  -states culture exerts great influence on how the cognitive growth unfolds.   -believes culture is a critical factor in how cognitive development unfolds.   -argued that language plays a crucial and central role in the fostering of cognitive development.   -Children acquire most of their problem solving skills and  culture's cognitive skills through collaborative dialogues with members of society who are more experienced. 
     • Are Some Cognitive Abilities Innate?
       • Habituation is the gradual reduction in the strength of a response when a stimulus event is presented repeatedly. Dishabituation  occurs when a new stimulus elicits an increase in a habituated response by strength. -infants appear to understand complex concepts which they have had no opportunity to learn about.  Some theorist have concluded that certain basic cognitive abilities are biologically build into humans.  
   • The Development of Moral Reasoning
     • Morality is the ability to discern right from wrong and also to behave accordingly.
     • Kohlberg's Stage Theory
       • -An individuals level of cognitive development determines how an individual thinks out their moral issues.  -Kohlberg theory focuses on moral reasoning rather then behaviour. -Kolberg found individuals progress through three levels of moral devleopment, and which each have 2 sub levels, which eill be a total of 6 stages.  Stage 1 - Punishment orientation Stage 2 - Naive reward orientation Stage 3 - Good boy/girl orientation Stage 4 - Authority orientation Stage 5 - Social contract orientaion Stage 6 - individual principles and conscience orientation
       • Evaluating Kohlberg's Theory
         • -the progress in moral reasoning is closely tied with cognitive development,

3. Transition of Adolescence

   • -Adolescence is the transitional stage between adolescence and adulthood. -Adolescence is not period that is amongst all cultures, some cultures individuals go from childhood to adulthood.  -During adolescence it is a critical time for development in which physical and psychological attributes and also a sense of identity are established.
   • Physiological Changes
     • -Adolescent growth spurt is a a phase of rapid growth in height and weight. -Pubescence is the two year span preceding puberty during which changes leading to the sexual and physical maturity take place.  -Physical features begin to develop that characterize adults and their respective sexes.  These features are secondary sex characteristics.  These features distinguish one sex from another but they are not essential for reproduction. -Puberty is a stage in which sexual functions reach maturity and this is what marks the beginning of adolescence. -The structures that are necessary for reproduction are primary sex characteristics.   -Menarche is the first occurrence of menstruation in females which is typically reached at 12.5 years. -Males begin to produce sperm at age 14 and complete sexual maturation around age 18.
   • Neural Development: The Teen Brain
     • -The changes in the adolescent brain may impact behaviour and sense of self.   -White matter seems to increase steadily from childhood to a point after puberty and then it slows down.   This means the neurons become more myelinated and this leads to enhanced conductivity and connectivity in the brain.  -Grey matter however decreases in volume and this is thought to be the process of synaptic pruning which is the elimination of less active synapses. -Most pronounced in the prefrontal cortex are the increased myelinization and synaptic pruning.  The prefrontal cortex appears to be the last area of the brain to fully mature and is not complete until mid-20s.
   • Time of Turmoil?
     • -Stanley proposed adolescent years are convulsice instability and disturbing inner turmoil years.  -Hall attributed that this turmoil to adolescents is erratic physical changes and confusion about ones self image.   -Statistics on adolescent depression and suicide support the idea that adolescent years are turmoil -In the United States, suicide is the leading cause of death in adolescents and in Canada it is the 2nd leading cause in death between ages 10-24 years, but have increased over the past few decades.  4 times for males and 3 times for females for the ages 15-19 years. - Different racial and ethnic groups also have different suicide rates and their precipitants.  -First nation suicide rates are 800 time above the national average.   Chandler and Lalonde feel there are 2 important circumstances that may lead to the cause of high suicide levels among the first nations.  1st is the set of changes an adolescent experiences and the 2nd is when ones culture, out of which particulars of one's identity are necessarily composed this will also thrown into a serious disarray.  
   • The Search for Identity
     • Erikson's 5th major life stage which is personality development.  The challenge of adolescence is their struggle to form a clear sense of identity.   -Erkison also recognized the process of identity formation often extends beyond adolescence.  Fraser thought that the presence or absence of a sense or commitment and a sense of crisis combine to produce 4 identity statuses.   Identity statuses are not stages we pass through but they are orientations that may occur at a particular time in order of increasing maturity.  Marcia's 4 identity statuses are Identity diffusion, identity foreclosure, identity moratorium, and identity achievement. 
   • Emerging Adulthood as a New Developmental Stage
     • -The search for identity extends into adulthood. -Arnett made a radical claim to recognize the existence of a new developmental stage in the modern societies which he called emerging adulthood which takes place between ages 18-25. -The new developmental period is due to a variety of demographic changes such as delaying marriage and parenthood.   -Stages of Emerging Adulthood as follows -it's central feature is the subjective feeling that one is in between adolescence and adulthood.  -another feature is that is a age of possibilities, which they tends to be a great time to be optimism about one's future. -the third aspect is that it is a self focused time of life. -lastly it is a period of identity formation. 

4. The Expanse of Adulthood

   • The concept of development which was once associated with childhood and adolescence, is now today widely appreciated that development is a lifelong journey. -Patterns of development during the adult years become diverse.
   • Personality Development
     • Personality become most stable between 20-40 years. -Other researchers state the evolution of personality continues through the 5th decade of life.  -Erikson key concern is is whether one can develop the capacity to share intimacy with others in the early adulthood stage. -In the middle adulthood stage the key challenge is to acquire a genuine concern for the welfare of future generations, which will result in providing unselfish guidance to younger people and a concern with one's legacy.  -In late adulthood the challenge is to avoid the tendency to dwell on the mistakes of the past and one's own imminent death.
   • Transitions in Family Life
     • -Many transitions in adulthood involve changes in family responsibilities and relationships.   -Families show predictable patterns. Family life cycle is a sequence of stages a family progresses through.  Today only a small minority match this idealized image.  -Common law relationships are increasing. -Also remaining single is much more acceptable then it was a few decades ago. -8-14% of married couple are distressed with marital satisfaction.  Most common problems being difficulties balancing work and marriage and financial concerns.  -Premarital cohabitation has increased divorce rates.  -Marital roles is also a huge negotiation today in comparison to career commitments. -Having a child may be a positive experience however having a child is a major transition which can be very stressful.   -Dual roles for the mother can also lead to stress and marital dissatisfaction.   -Empty Nest is when all the children leave home.  -Recent statistics indicate that children are moving back into their parents home at a tripled rate since 1950. -Boomerang children are children who return to the empty nest.  These children are also taking longer to make key life transitions. 
   • Aging and Physiological Changes
     • -Life expectancies are increasing in recent years for men and women.   -Lifestyle choices, personality and genetics seem to play an important role in who will live past there 80's. -Women tend to live 5x longer then men.  -More seniors are taking there own lives and this numbers are continuing to rise.   -There are physical changes with aging, as well as body fat tends to increase. -Key changes occur in vision and hearing, as well as sensitivity to color and contrast. -Hormonal functions during late adulthood also change.  Women go into menopause, which is the end of menstrual periods and loss of fertility and occurs around age 50.  Menopause also increases vulnerability to depression.
   • Aging and Neural Changes
     • -The amount of brain tissue and brain weight decline gradually during late adulthood.   -There is a decrease in the number of active neurons and the shrinkage of active neurons.   -Dementia is a abnormal condition which is marked by several cognitive deficits that also include memory impairment.  It is seen in 15-20% of people over the age of 75.   -Alzheimer's disease accounts for 70% of all cases of dementia.  These patients exhibit a profound and widespread loss of neurons and brain tissue and the accumulation of characteristic neurofibrillary tangles. 
   • Aging and Cognitive Changes
     • -General intelligence is fairly stable throughout most of adulthood.   Memory loss is associated with normal aging and are not experienced by everyone. -Cognitive domain seems to take a toll on speed first.  Studies indicate that speed in learning, processing information, and solving problems tends to decline with age.   -People who tend to work in mentally draining jobs tend to show smaller decrements in cognitive abilities.   -also people who participated in leisure activities were also associated with a reduced decline in memory functioning.

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