Chapter 3:

DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY Forming A New Life

Source: Papalia & Martorell (15th ed.), Santrock (17th ed.), Boyd & Bee (7th ed.)
Fertilization (Conception) Every person receives one maternal and one paternal allele for any
- Process by which sperm and ovum—the male and female given trait.
gametes, or sex cells—combine to create a single cell called a Homozygous
zygote. - When both alleles from the parents are the same.
- Zygote duplicates itself again and again by cell division to
Heterozygous
produce all the cells that make up a baby.
- When the alleles from the parents are different.
Zygote
• Dominant Inheritance
- One-celled organism resulting from fertilization. o Pattern of inheritance in which, when a child receives
Fertile Window different alleles, only the dominant one is expressed.
- Time during which conception is possible. o Dominant allele is always expressed or shows up as
- Highly unpredictable. a trait.
• Recessive Inheritance
Artificial Reproductive Technology (ART) o Pattern of inheritance in which a child receives
• Artificial Insemination identical recessive alleles, resulting in expression of a
o Sperm is injected into a woman’s vagina, cervix, or nondominant trait.
uterus. • Polygenic Inheritance
• In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) o Pattern of inheritance in which multiple genes at
o A woman’s ova are surgically removed, fertilized in a different sites on chromosomes affect a complex trait.
laboratory dish, and implanted in the woman’s uterus.
• Cryopreservation (Egg Freezing) Multifactorial Transmission
o Eggs are harvested with the intention of conceiving a - Combination of genetic and environmental factors to produce
child at a later date with the help of IVF. certain complex traits.
o To extend the years of a woman’s fertility. - Environmental experience modifies the expression of the
genotype for most traits.
Multiple Births
• Dizygotic Twins (Fraternal Twins) Phenotype
o Result of two separate eggs being fertilized by two - Observable characteristics of a person.
different sperm to form two unique individuals. Genotype
• Monozygotic Twins (Identical Twins) - Genetic makeup of a person, containing both expressed and
o Result from the cleaving of one fertilized egg and are unexpressed characteristics.
generally genetically identical.
Epigenetic Influences on Gene Expression
The Genetic Code
• Epigenesis or Epigenetic
• Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA)
o Study of biochemical modifications of genetic
o Chemical that carries inherited instructions for the
expression “above the genome”—without altering
development of all cellular forms of life.
DNA sequence.
o Consists of four chemical units called bases.
o The differences arise as certain genes are turned off
▪ A – adenine
or on as they are needed by the developing body or
▪ T – thymine
when triggered by the environment.
▪ C – cytosine
▪ G – guanine
Genetic and Chromosomal Abnormalities
• Chromosomes
o Coils of DNA that consist of smaller segments called
genes.
• Genes
o Small segments of DNA located in definite positions
on particular chromosomes.
o Functional units of heredity.
• Human Genome
o The complete sequence of genes in the human body.
• Mutations
o Permanent alterations in genes or chromosomes that
may produce harmful characteristics.

Sex Determination
• Autosomes
o 22 pairs of chromosomes not related to sexual
expression.
• Sex Chromosomes
o 23rd pair of chromosomes that determines sex of the
baby.

Sex Chromosomes
• Male – XY chromosomes
• Female – XX chromosomes

Patterns of Genetic Transmission

Dominant and Recessive Inheritance
• Alleles
o Genes that can produce alternative expressions of a
characteristic.

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 Dominant or Recessive Inheritance Defects Highly Canalized Traits
• Dominant Defects - Strongly programmed by genes.
o Even one copy of the “bad” gene will result in a child - There is little opportunity for variance in their expression.
expressing the disorder. - Tend to be necessary for survival.
o Less likely to be lethal at an early age. Example:
Example: ▪ Eye color
▪ Achondroplasia (type of dwarfism) ▪ Crawling
▪ Huntington’s Disease ▪ Walking
• Recessive Defects ▪ Running
o Expressed only if the child is homozygous for that Cognition and personality are not highly canalized traits because
gene. they are subject to variations in experience.
o A child must inherit a copy of the recessive gene from
each parent. • Genotype-Environment Interaction
o Tend to be lethal at an earlier age. o Effects of similar environmental conditions on
• Incomplete Dominance genetically different individuals.
o Pattern of inheritance in which a child receives two • Genotype-Environment Correlation
different alleles, resulting in partial expression of a o Tendency of certain genetic and environmental
trait. influences to reinforce each other.
o 3 ways to strengthen the phenotypic expression of a
Sex-Linked Inheritance Defects genotypic tendency:
• Sex-Linked Inheritance ▪ Passive Correlation
o Pattern of inheritance in which certain characteristics • You not only inherit genes from
carried on the X chromosome inherited from the your biological parents, you also
mother are transmitted differently to her male and inherit environments.
female offspring.
• Functions only when a child is
living with a biological parent.
Common Sex-Linked Recessive Disorders in Males ▪ Reactive or Evocative Correlation
• Red-Green Color Blindness • Children with differing genetic
• Hemophilia makeups evoke different
o Blood cells do not clot when it should. reactions from others.
• Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy • Other people react to a child’s
o Disorder that results in muscle degeneration and genetic makeup.
eventually death. ▪ Active Correlation
• Child actively select or create
Chromosomal Abnormalities experiences consistent with his
- Typically occur because of errors in cell division, resulting in an genetic tendencies (niche-
extra or missing chromosome. picking).
Example:
▪ Klinefelter Syndrome The first two ways are common among younger children, the third
o Caused by an extra female sex chromosome. among older children, adolescents, and adults.
o Shown by the pattern XXY.
▪ Turner Syndrome
• Nonshared Environmental Influences
o Results from a missing sex chromosome (XO).
o The unique environment in which each child grows
▪ Down Syndrome (Trisonomy-21)
up, consisting of distinctive influences or influences
o Extra 21st chromosome.
that affect one child differently than another.
o Children may live in the same family, but that does not
mean that their experiences are identical.

Prenatal Development

• Gestation
How Heredity and the Environment Work Together o Period of development between conception and
• Reaction Range birth.
o Range of potential expressions of a hereditary trait. o Normal range of gestation is between 37 and 41
o Genotype places limits on the range of possible weeks.
phenotypes. • Gestational Age
• Canalization o Age of an unborn baby, usually dated from the first
o Illustrates how heredity restricts the range of day of an expectant mother’s last menstrual cycle.
development for some traits.

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 Stages of Prenatal Development • Nutrition and Maternal Weight
• Cephalocaudal Principle o Women who gain the recommended amount of weight
o Development proceeds from the head to the lower are less likely to have birth complications or to bear
part of the trunk. babies whose weight at birth is dangerously low or
o An embryo’s head, brain, and eyes develop earliest overly high.
and are disproportionately large until the other parts • Malnutrition
catch up. o When expectant mothers suffer from a calorie deficit,
• Proximodistal Principle the results can be fetal growth restriction and low birth
o Development proceeds from parts near the center of weight.
the body to outer ones. o Babies born to mothers who do not consume
o The embryo’s head and trunk develop before the sufficient calories have a higher risk of death, and
limbs, and the arms and legs before the fingers and surviving children may be stunted.
toes. o Fetal undernutrition has also been associated with a
number of increased risks for disease in adulthood.
• Physical Activity and Work
o Moderate exercise any time during pregnancy does
not seem to endanger the fetuses of healthy women.
o Regular exercise reduces constipation and back pain,
and it may lower the risk of complications such as
gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, or cesarean
delivery.
• Drug Intake
o Medical Drugs
▪ Antibiotic tetracycline
▪ Nervous system depressants (barbiturates,
opiates, etc.)
▪ Several hormones (diethylstilbestrol (DES)
and androgens)
▪ Certain anticancer drugs (methotrexate)
▪ Accutane (drug for severe acne)
▪ Drugs used to treat epilepsy
▪ Several antipsychotic drugs
▪ Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE)
inhibitors
▪ Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
(NSAIDs)
o Opioids
▪ Associated with small babies, fetal death,
• Germinal Stage (Fertilization to 2 weeks) preterm labor, and aspiration of meconium
o Characterized by zygote’s rapid cell division, (earliest stool produced by babies).
blastocyst formation, and implantation in the wall of ▪ Neonate Abstinence Syndrome
the uterus. (withdrawal)
• Embryonic Stage (2 to 8 weeks) • Newborns may show sleep
o Characterized by organogenesis, the rapid growth disturbances, tremors, difficulty
and development of major body systems and organs. regulating their bodies, irritability
o Embryo is most vulnerable to destructive influences in and crying, diarrhea, fever, and
the prenatal environment. feeding difficulties.
o Spontaneous Abortion (miscarriage) o Alcohol
▪ Natural expulsion from the uterus of an ▪ Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)
embryo that cannot survive outside the • Characterized by a combination of
womb. retarded growth, face and body
o Stillbirth malformations, and disorders of
▪ Miscarriage that occurs after 20 weeks of the central nervous system.
gestation. o Nicotine
• Fetal Stage (8 weeks to birth) ▪ Women who smoke during pregnancy are
o Characterized by increased differentiation of body more than 1½ times as likely as
parts and greatly enlarged body size. nonsmokers to bear low-birth-weight
o ~250,000 immature neurons are produced every babies.
minute. ▪ Women who smoke during pregnancy are
o Most of the neurons in the higher areas of the brain also more like to miscarry or have birth
are in place by 20 weeks of gestation, and the complications, preterm babies, or babies
structure becomes increasingly well-defined during that die from sudden infant death
the next 12 weeks. syndrome.
o Both taste buds (taste) and olfactory receptors (smell) ▪ Secondhand smoke exerts similar effects.
begin to form at about 8 weeks of gestation. o Caffeine
o From about the 12th week of gestation, the fetus ▪ Caffeine intake under 300 milligrams a day
swallows and inhales some of the amniotic fluid in is not associated with an increased risk of
which it floats. miscarriage, stillbirth, or birth defects.
o By about week 20, taste buds become functional, and o Marijuana
shortly thereafter, so do olfactory receptors. ▪ Marijuana exposure, especially at high
levels, is associated with low birth weight,
Environmental Influences: Maternal Factors preterm delivery, difficult births, and
admission into neonatal intensive care.
Teratogen o Cocaine
- Environmental agent, such as a virus, a drug, or radiation, ▪ Associated with delayed growth, placental
that can interfere with normal prenatal development and displacement, preterm delivery, low birth
cause developmental abnormalities. weight, small head size, and impaired
neurological development.

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 o Methamphetamine
▪ Physically, prenatal methamphetamine
exposure is associated with preterm
delivery, low birth weight, and reduced
head circumference.
▪ Associated with fetal brain damage to
areas of the brain involved in learning,
memory, and control, which are likely to
have longer-term consequences.
• Maternal Illnesses
o Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
▪ Viral disease that undermines effective
functioning of the immune system.
▪ The virus may cross over to the fetus’s
bloodstream through the placenta during
pregnancy, labor, or delivery or, after birth,
through breast milk.
o Rubella (German Measles)
▪ Disease that can cause miscarriage or
stillbirth.
▪ Associated with cleft palate, deafness, and
heart defects.
• Maternal Emotional State
o A mother’s self-reported stress and anxiety during
pregnancy, when chronically high, has been
associated with a more active and irritable
temperament in newborns, negative emotionality and
impulsivity, and behavioral disorders in early
childhood.
o Children born to depressed mothers are at elevated
risk for developmental delays as toddlers, increased
incidence of both internalizing (e.g., depression) and
externalizing (e.g., impulsive behavior and
aggression) symptoms as children, and elevated
levels of violent and antisocial behaviors in
adolescence.
• Maternal Age
o Chance of miscarriage or stillbirth rises with maternal
age.
o Women age 30 to 35 are more likely to suffer
complications due to diabetes, high blood pressure,
or severe bleeding.
o Higher risk of premature delivery, retarded fetal
growth, birth defects, and chromosomal
abnormalities, such as Down syndrome.
o Adolescent mothers tend to have premature or
underweight babies—perhaps because a young girl’s
still-growing body consumes vital nutrients the fetus
needs or, more likely, because of inadequate or
missing prenatal care.
• Outside Environmental Hazards
o Air pollution, chemicals, and radiation
o Extremes of heat and humidity

Monitoring and Promoting Prenatal Development

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