Human Development Intro

01/13/2016

Assignment 1: Natural Observation

2 pages double space
Observe parent with child (<10) for 15-20 minutes in everyday
setting, particularly their use of digital media
o Use good judgement
In first paragraph, describe setting in detail and indicate date and
time
Then make 2 columns, 1 for Observations, 1 for (Subjective)
inferences
Last paragraph, conclusion of scenario, insight, interpretation,
application to life and future
Notes:
Assignment 2: Interview
First name only or make up name, can be vague about age if want
o Pros: Get info about the persons life, attitudes, opinions
o Cons: Person may not remember info accurately or distort
responses

Human Development = study of patterns of growth, (1) change, and

stability in behavior that occur throughout lifespan
(2) Womb to tomb
Heraclitus: Nothing is permanent but change.

People develop throughout life

Change = quantitative and qualitative

Quantitative
Baby = weight, length, head circumference (normal growth curve)
Qualitative
New strategies for retaining information
Aging Process
(3) 3 interrelated components
o Physical: physiological changes
o Cognitive: adapt and solve problems
o Psychosocial: personality and sociocultural expectations
Multidisciplinary approach
HD considers other fields of study as well
Interest in development began with detailed observation of children to
establish norms
Norms = age-expected behaviors
Reflex = purely mechanical involuntary sensation

Experimental methods:
Experiment manipulates independent variable to determine its effect
on dependent variable
Pros: establishes cause and effect relationships
Cons: findings may not generalize to other situations outside of lab
Theoretical perspectives:
Definition of theory
Psychoanalytic
Freud
Erikson
Behavioral
Skinner
Video
Small group
Developmental theories = theory is set of explanations and predictions
concerning phenomena of interest
Psychoanalytic Theory
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
Practiced medicine as a neurologist in Vienna

o Patients with unexplained problems were allowed to talk

about traumatic events in childhood
o Freud referred to his cathartic method as talking cure
Over time he developed a complex theory of personality
called psychoanalysis
o If you cant measure it, it doesnt exist!
Important concepts:
Freud proposed that mind consisted of conscious and unconscious
o Unconscious is a mental receptacle containing impulses and
repressed conflicts
o Patients psychologically painful problems are pushed into
unconscious
Freudian Slip
Unintentional mistake of speech that reveals the true feeling or
impulse of the speaker
Personality = 3 parts
Id = birth, instant gratification
Ego = soon thereafter, reason or common sense
Superego = 5 or 6 years of age, morals of society (dos and dont)
Psychosexual stages:
Freud described 5 stages of ages
o Oral (birth-18 months)

o Anal (18 months-3 years)

Application
First 5-6 years of life determines personality
Adults need to provide opportunities at each stage to satisfy
childrens basic drives
Children need guidance and protection
Criticism: it is based on recollections of abnormal people
B. F. Skinner (1904-1990)
Skinner made important distinction
He contrasted two types of conditioning (or association between
two events):
o Classical
o Operant (focused on this)
Classical conditioning
Ivan Pavlov, found dogs associated the sound of a bell with food
Freud and Piaget have stages of ages
Theory: is a set of explanations and predictions

Ivan Pavlov
Dog conditioning (sound = salivation)
Operant conditioning
According to Skinner, consequences of behavior, not identification of
certain stimuli, play important role
o If pigeon randomly pecks food dispenser, consequences
increases likelihood of same behavior because food satisfies
its hunger
Types of consequences:
Key terms include:
o Reinforcement: consequences that increase likelihood of
response
o Punishment: imposing something unpleasant or removing
something pleasant
Application
Programmed instruction is based on behavioral theory
Behavioral modification utilizes Skinners learning principles
(selective attention, know what to ignore)
Criticism
Behavioral theory denies existence of emotions and ignores
contributions of individual
Consists of simplistic principles that an explain only certain types of
behavior
(Humans basically are much more complex than he thinks)

In-Class Activity 2 (put in folder)

Based on Skinners theory, I would ignore the child until he realizes the
right thing to doput the candies back if he took them, and after that whole
ordeal seems to settle, I would reward the child for doing the right thing.
Hopefully, this would help reinforce the right behavior and condition the child
not to buy unnecessary things (assuming the candy was unnecessary at the
time).
Cognitive Theory
Jean Piaget
Interest in biology, but shifted to psychology as he studied child
intelligence
Piaget used a clinical method to learn about childrens minds (posed
problems to children and observed their solutions)
Important concepts
Development involves successful adaption to environment
o Schemes refer to mental structures evolving over time
Mechanisms of cognitive development include:
o Assimilation: incorporating new information into existing
schemes
o Accommodation: altering schemes to match reality
Piagets stages of cognitive development:
4 stages:
o Sensorimotor (birth-2years)
Child progresses from reliance on inborn reflexes to
manipulating objects for problem solving

Humanistic Theory
Background
Movement started with formation of Association of Humanistic
Psychology in 1962
o Rejected psychoanalysis (Freud) and behaviorism (Skinner)
Attention is focused on growth of self
o Essence lies in the individual interpretation of personal
experience
Belief is stressed that free will permits the person to make choices
Abraham Maslow
Proposed existence of universal human needs
o Most basic need is physiological needs
o More highest/rare need is self-actualization needs
Theories:
Psychoanalytic (unconscious urges)
o Freud
o Erikson
Behavioral (observable behavior)
o Skinner
Cognitive (organization of mental needs)
o Piaget

Humanistic (growth of self, individual interpretation)

o Maslow

Prenatal development
Theoretical issues
o Influence of heredity and environment in shaping
development has been debated over centuries
o Some believe heredity determines fate of individual
o Others argue that environment shapes individuals behavior
John Locke, tabula rasa
o In reality, both heredity and environment influence
development
Conception
o A single fertilized cell = zygote, is formed
23 pairs of chromosomes
Last pair (23rd) determines gender
XX = female, XY = male
If extra chromosome in 21 it causes down
syndrome
o Multiple births, two mechanisms involved:
Dizygotic
Fertilization of two ova (fraternal twins)
Monozygotic
Division of single ovum (identical twins)

Chromosomal abnormalities
o Dr. Down made medical observations of Down syndrome
Intellectual disabilities and delays in adaptive behavior
(communicating, etc.)
Older mother babies have more risk of down syndrome
Prenatal growth
o 3 major stages:
Germinal (0-2 weeks)
Embryonic (2-8 weeks)
Most critical period
Fetal (8 weeks-birth)
Threats to development
o Mothers diet
Nourishment comes from mother
Malnutrition can result in low birth weight and/or later
intellectual development
o Intake of drugs
Teratogen is an environmental agent that produces birth
defects
o Use of alcohol and tobacco
Alcohol
Fetal alcohol syndrome, delayed growth and
intellectual disability
Tobacco
Reduces oxygen to fetus, low birth weight

o Prenatal abilities
Studies show that fetus can respond to outside noises
Heartbeats and movements increase
Can fetus remember recurrence of experience after
birth?
Newborns were found to suck in certain ways in
relation to preferred sounds they hear while in the
womb
In-Class Activity 3 (Jan 28)
Would you want to use high-tech techniques to create a designer
baby? Why or why not?
I would not like to use high-tech techniques in order to create a
designer baby. I could see how it would be popular with certain families,
especially families of high social status or royalty, but I want to raise a
natural child and love him/her for all his/her innate flaws. I think a part of
the beauty of human life lies in our flaws which make each of us a different,
unique individual. I want to be surprised and eventually love my child for
who he/she is.
Birth
Birthing process
o One of the biggest mysteries of life
Childbirth methods
o Common methods include:
o Lamaze
Attempts to limit fear and pain through relaxation
Coach, typically father, provides emotional support
Low birthweight
o Low birthweight infants weigh less than 5 lbs
Causes include: preterm infants

Baby is born before 38th week

o Neonatal period (4 weeks after birth)
At birth, average full term newborn is 20 inches in
length and weighs 7 lbs
o Competent
Newborns are able to interact with social world right
from start
Infancy
o Physical
Preventive care
Phenomenal rate of growth
Brain development
Sensory capacities
Physical Development
o Preventive care is cost effective
Every $1 to immunize children saves $16 in medical
costs
Phenomenal rate of growth
o Physical growth occurs at rapid pace in first year
o Average newborn is 20 inches and weighs 7 lbs

Super babies
All of the following are contributing factors that lead parents to
create super babies EXCEPT more offspring
Parents have super babies because More older, competitive parents,
fewer offspring

Rapid growth is not fastest during middle age

Know all 3 categories of the aging process & that they are interrelated.
All of the following are contributing factors that lead parents to create
super babies EXCEPT MORE OFFSPRING
(correct answer is More older, competitive parents, fewer offspring)