Psychology in

Action

PowerPoint Lecture Notes Presentation

Chapter 3: Human
Development
Objective/Aim

 Learn about physical development and

growth from prenatal to later adulthood
 Learn about children’s cognitive
development
 Learn about the stages of moral
development

2
Topics Covered

 Introduction
 Physical growth and development
 Piaget’s theory
 Kohlberg’s theory

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Introduction
 Developmental Psychology
Stage Approximate Age

 Studies age-related Prenatal Conception – birth

changes in Infancy Birth – 18 months

behaviour and Early childhood 18 months – 6 years

mental processes Middle childhood 6 – 12 years

from conception to Adolescence 12 – 20 years

death Young adulthood 20 – 45 years

Middle adulthood 45 – 60 years

Later adulthood 60 years – death

Introduction 5
Physical Growth &
Development
 Early Childhood

 Brain development
 Begins and develops from a fluid-filled
neural tube
 Neurons grow, connections increase
 Myelination

Physical Growth and Development 7

 Early Childhood

 Motor development
 Newborns – reflexes
 Develop voluntary control over movements
of body parts

Physical Growth and Development 8

 Early Childhood

 Sensory and perceptual development

 Newborns can smell and distinguish taste
 Vision is poorly developed at birth

(20/200 to 20/600)
 By 6 months – 20/100 or better

 At 2 years, visual acuity near adult

level (20/20)
 Last few months of pregnancy, fetus can

hear outside sounds

Physical Growth and Development 9
 Adolescence

 Puberty – biological changes during

adolescence that leads to an adult-sized body
and sexual maturity
 Non-universal concept
 In non-industrialised countries, there is no need
for slow transition
 Growth spurt – rapid increases in height,
weight, and skeletal growth
 Maturation and hormone secretion
 Rapid development of ovaries, uterus, vagina and
onset
Physical Growth and of menstruation
Development 10
 Testes, scrotum, and penis develop and male
 Adolescence

 Ovaries and testes produce hormone for

development of secondary sex
characteristics
 Pubic hair
 Deepening of voice
 Facial hair
 Breast
 Further physical changes are less
obvious
Physical Growth and Development 11
12
 Middle Age

 Females – Menopause
 Cessation of menstrual cycle
 About 45 – 55 years old
 Decreased estrogen production leads to
some physical changes
 Research does not show that it results in
serious psychological mood swings, loss of
sexual interest, and depression
Physical Growth and Development 13
 Middle Age

 Male Climacteric
 Gradual reduction in sperm and
testosterone production
 Physical changes: unexpected weight gain,
decline in sexual responsiveness, loss of
muscle strength, greying or loss
of hair
 May feel depressed and question
life progress
Physical Growth and Development 14
 Later Adulthood

 Changes in heart, arteries, and sensory

receptors
 Cardiac output decrease
 Blood pressure increase
 Visual, hearing, smell, taste abilities
decrease

Physical Growth and Development 15

Piaget’s Cognitive
Development Theory
 Piaget’s Theory

 All children go through 4 stages of

cognitive development
 Progress from one stage to another
 Skills at earlier stages are important for
mastery at later stages
 Four stages are:
 Sensorimotor stage
 Preoperational stage

Piaget's Theory
Concrete operational stage 17
 Formal operational stage
 Sensorimotor Stage

 Approximately birth – 2 years old

 Explore and develop schemes using
senses and motor activities
 At birth – 3 to 4 months, children do
not show object permanence
 Object permanence – understanding

things continue to exist

even when not seen,
heard, felt
Piaget's Theory 18
19
 Preoperational Stage
 Approximately 2 – 7 years old
 Language abilities increase significantly
 Symbolic thinking – using symbols to
represent concept
 E.g: language (using a stick to represent a
gun)
 Concept are not operational
 Classifies objects by a single feature: e.g. groups
together all the red blocks regardless of shape
or all the square blocks regardless of colour
Piaget's Theory 20
 Preoperational Stage
 Egocentric thinking
 Inability to consider another person’s
point of view
 Assume that others see, hear, feel,
and think exactly like they do
 Animistic thinking
 Believe all things are living
 Believe objects have motives, feelings,
and intentions
Piaget's Theory 21
22
 Concrete Operational Stage

 Approximately 7 – 11 years old

 Perform operations on concrete objects
 Understands reversibility
 E.g.: 3 + 2 = 5, 5 – 2 = ___
 Conservation – understand that certain
physical characteristics remain
unchanged, even when their outward
appearance is changed – volume,
length, substance amount, area
Piaget's Theory 23
 Formal Operational Stage

 Approximately 11 years old

 Master abstract thinking
 Hypothetical thinking (What if…?)
 Construct arguments from hypothetical
concepts and logical processes
 Learn deductive reasoning to draw
conclusions

Piaget's Theory
E.g. A bear is a mammal. All mammals 24
have fur. Therefore, a bear has fur.
Guess the stage(s)
Mark, a two year old, and Ally, an eight year old,
are sitting at the table waiting for a snack. Their
mom presents them each with a cup of juice, the
same amount in each cup. Mark begins to cry and
point, saying 'You gave her more'. Mark's mom
tries to reason with the young child, explaining
that the same amount of juice is in each cup, but
he is insistent that he is being treated unfairly.
What is happening in this situation? Guess the
stage Mark is at?
Kohlberg’s Moral Development
Theory
Story about Heinz

In Europe, a woman was near death from

a special kind of cancer. There was one
drug that the doctors thought might
save her. It was a form of radium that a
druggist was charging 10 times what
the drug cost him to make. He paid
$200 for the radium and charged $2000
for a small dose of the drug. The sick
woman’s husband, Heinz, went to 27

everyone he knew to borrow the

Story about Heinz

He told the druggist that his wife was

dying and asked him to sell it cheaper
or let him pay later. But the druggist
said “No, I discovered the drug and I’m
going to make money from it.” So Heinz
got desperate and broke into the man’s
store to steal the drug for his wife.
Should the husband have done that?
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 Kohlberg’s Theory

 Used moral stories in his research

 Reasons for why they rated actions as
right or wrong
 Proposed 3 levels of moral reasoning,
each with 2 distinct stages
 Present in all cultures and individuals
move through stages progressively
Kohlberg's Theory 29
 Levels and Stages

 Preconventional level
 Stage 1
 Stage 2
 Conventional level
 Stage 3
 Stage 4
 Postconventional level
 Stage 5
Kohlberg's Theory 30
 Stage 6
 Preconventional Level

 Birth – adolescence
 Moral judgement is self-centred
 Moral understanding based on rewards,
punishment, and exchange of favours

Kohlberg's Theory 31
Stage 1

 Stage 1: Punishment and obedience

orientation
 Self-interest
 Obedience to authority
 Avoidance of punishment
 Powerful authorities hand down rules that we
must obey without question
 Difficulty considering other’s point of view
 Generally ignore people’s intentions in moral
judgements
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 Often say Heinz was wrong, “it’s against the law”,
 Preconventional Level

A little boy went into the kitchen to steal some

cookies. When opening the cupboard door, he
pushed a cup off the kitchen counter. It fell and
broke.

A little boy wanted to help clear the cups from the

table after the guests had left. While carrying the
tray to the kitchen, he tripped. All 10 cups fell
and broke.

Kohlberg's Theory 33
 Stage 2

 Stage 2: Instrumental-exchange
orientation
 Children recognise that there is not just
one right view determined by the
authorities
 Aware of other’s point of view

 Morality based on exchange of favours

 “You scratch my back and I’ll scratch

Kohlberg's Theory
yours” 34
 What is right for Heinz is what meets his
 Conventional Level

 Adolescence and young adulthood

 Other-centred
 Based on compliance to conventional
societal rules and values

Kohlberg's Theory 35
Stage 3

 Stage 3: Good-child orientation

 Believe that people should live up to the
expectations of the family and community
 Being nice
 Gain approval
 Judge others through their motives and
intention
 Often say Heinz was right, “good for
wanting to save wife”, “don’t sit back and36
watch wife die”
 Stage 4

 Stage 4: Law-and-order orientation

 Takes into account laws of the society
 Chaos if individuals break the law, even
though they have good intentions
 Highest level attained by most adolescents
and adults
 Often say Heinz’s intentions were good but
they cannot accept theft
Kohlberg's Theory 37
 Postconventional Level

 Personal standards for right and wrong

 Abstract principles and values

Kohlberg's Theory 38
Stage 5

 Stage 5: Social-contract orientation

 Disobey with laws if they do not express
the will of the majority or maximise social
welfare
 “Wife’s right to live was more important
than druggist’s property rights”

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Stage 6

 Stage 6: Universal-ethics orientation

 Universal ethical principles that all religions
or moral authorities might view as fair
 E.g.: non-violence, human dignity,
freedom, equality
 Few individuals achieve Stage 6
 Stage 5 and 6 is hard to separate

40
Summary

 There are many stages of human

development and we experience
different physical growth or
development at each stage
 Piaget proposed that all children go
through 4 stages of cognitive
development
 Kohlberg proposed that there are 6
stages of moral development 41
The End
Let’s make some toys!
 Play Time!
 Choose 1 of Piaget’s stages of cognitive
development
 Design a toy that is specific to the needs
of a child in that stage
 Provide:
 A drawing/diagram of the toy
 Promote your toy
 A description of the toy and its functions
 A written explanation on why the toy is
appropriate for a child of that stage of
intellectual development 44
45
Sensorimotor stage (0 – 2
years)
 Child engages in sensory play and play
involving moving objects to produce
reactions
 Play involves entertaining the senses
(e.g. can be seen, heard, felt)
 E.g. pure form: kaleidoscope

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Examples…

LeapFrog Enterprises
 The Discovery Ball is clearly designed
for children in the sensorimotor
stage. At this stage a child discovers by
sensing and by doing. The toy offers a
lot of sensory stimulation; the ball
spins, flashes bright colours, plays
songs, and speaks letters. This toy
allows infants to truly discover by 47
FisherPrice
 The Sparkling Symphony Gym allows
children to use their sensory and motor
skills. Babies can reach and bat at
hanging toys, which helps their motor
skills and allow them to learn by
doing.

48
Preoperational stage (2 – 7
years)
 Symbolic play (symbolism - child can
make objects stand for something else)
 Involves fantasy play
 Involve role playing or has some level
of pretence
 Animism – child believes that all objects
have some kind of consciousness
 Rules are not developed 49

 (4-7 years) The child can perceive and

FisherPrice
 A toy design for children in the
preoperational stage would be the Scannin
Talkin Check-Out Centre. At this stage
children enjoy pretending and symbolic
play. This product allows the child to
pretend like they are really shopping. It
gives them the opportunity to act out an
event that they have previously
witnessed.

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Concrete operational stage
(7 – 11 years)

 Child engages in more problem-solving

play
 Play involves classification and rules
 Play involves creating
 Can group objects even if they are not
identical (e.g.: banana, orange, and
apple are all fruits, even though they do
not look exactly the same)
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 Seriation abilities – arrange things
Battleship by Hasbro
 An example of a toy that is designed for
children in the concrete operational stage
is the game battleship. It allows them to
classify objects by deciding where to place
their ships. They also must decide which
numbers and letters to use for their
targets and think about their sequence of
moves. All these activities contribute to
the learning that they are engaged in at
concrete operational stage.
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Formal operational stage
(approx 11 years)

 Thought and play become more

abstract
 Think of different solutions to a given
problem
 Play become more social and refined
 Can be physical or mental
 E.g.: solving a riddle
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SimCity
 The computer game SimCity is a great
example of a toy marketed for children in
the formal operational period. This game
allows children to reason through
hypothetical problems and
situations. SimCity lets a person create
and control simulated people’s lives. One
can create the simulated person’s
personality, skills, appearance, and
destiny.
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