APSS298 Applied Psychology

L2: Lifespan Development

Dr. Hannah Tai

PolyU 2022 Jan 3
 Overview
• Nature & Nurture on Development
• Physical Development
• Maternal-Child Interaction & Development
• Cognitive Development
• Language Development
• Psychosocial & Moral Development
 Developmental Psychology
• The psychology study of growth, change,
and consistency through the lifespan

5
 Development across
the life span
GrlelandL.oss
'1C'sponu
(KObl e ,-R on )

Prenatal Infancy Childhood Adolescence Adulthood Old age

(< 0) (0-2) (2-12) (12-18) (18-60) (60+)
Erikson 's Psychosocial Stages of Development
Trust vs. mistr ust Ini tiative vs. Guilt Identity vs. Role Contusion Generativity vs. Stagnation
(0· l yrs) (3-5 yrs) (13·20 yrs) (40-50 yrs)
Autonomy vs. Shame Industry vs. Inferiority Intimacy vs. Isolation Ego In tegrity vs. Despair
(1-3yrs) (5-12 yrs) (20-30 yrs) (60+ yrs)
 DOMAINS OF DEVELOPMENT
• Physical development
• Cognitive development
• Social development
• Emotional development
• Personality development
• Language development
• & other related areas

7
Nature and Nurture

8
 To what extent does
genes determine
development? Video
• Shared genetic makeup
• Shared or different
environment
• Heritability
• Personality (0.4-0.6)
• Intelligence (0.8 in age
between 18 and 50)
• Psychiatric illnesses YouTube Llnk:btJPS Uypytu IJe/BJYCvlObZrr

(schizophrenia 0.8, alcoholism

0.5-0.6, others 0.2-0.4)
• Social attitudes (0.3-0.6
in adulthood)
 Identical
(Monozygotic)
Sper m
Egg -

(Shared placenta)
 Fraternal
(Dizygotic)

(Separate placentas)
Biological Adopted
Parents Child
16
Physical Development

19
 Reflexes

Palmar Grasp Reflex

Rooting Reflex

More at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/liyeung/sets/72157623387996361/

Videos
Moro Reflex
 Sensation
Video

Preferential looking and habituation The Visual Cliff

"https://youtu,be/UjB2ZXlphmc" "https://youtu.be/p6cqNl7HrMJA"

Senses mature...
• Touch: At birth
• Smell: In a few days
• Taste: Sweet at birth, salty at around 4 months,
sour and bitter showed complex response
• Hearing: At around 0/1 months and continue,
• Vision: Rods at birth, cones at around 6 months,
depth perception at around 4-5 months, face
(mother) recognition at 2 weeks
22
 Developmental
Neuroscience
• Increase in number of neurons
• Growth of new dendrites and axon terminals
• Increase in number of synaptic connections
• Synaptic pruning
• Loss of neurons and synaptic connections
• From near the time of birth till sexual maturation
• Number of neurons remains the same but size of
the brain weight triples from birth to age 3
• A result of learning

.., Schwanncell
Axon
terminals
Synaptic Pruning - Communicating Science
Through Visual Media
"https:Uyoutu.be/rxPT78F ZVE"
 Parenting Styles Temperament and Attachment

Supportive Unsupportive
Parent is accepting and Parent is rejecting and
child-centered

Demanding Authoritative Authoritarian

Parent expects Parenting Parenting
much ofchild
Relationship is reciprocal, Relationship is controlling. ' """'" (IU...... ...,,,,.....,.......,..,""lt't
• 1 '5 n \ l , _ "- '" II'. 81;11t11'., l"" dS,1 t
responsive; power..assertive; • mt - 1t.. i t l , ( l ' l.-,.,,,1t>;,»:
r9,11,tt,_,,1,1n, _,. .,_!,1w.,pl...,
high inbidirectional high in unidirectional lllf1\otqt r, !"IIP,ll 'Jm' t'"liftW
communication communication
Bow lby {:1969> & A / .JWOrlh {1973 } Att ,:<,:hmer,t Sty tu
Undemandl,_ Permissive Rejecting- Understan ding AttachmentT heory
Parent expeclai Parenting Neglecting ltn p·/fk..d'5(:00l)(lr.ate.t·om
littleof child Relationship is indulgent; Parenting
low incontrol attempts Relationship is rejecting or
neglecti"g; uninvolved

Baumrind (1966); Maccoby & Martin (1983)

Mother-child
interaction
 UReply

Parenting Styles
Supportive Unsupportive
Parent is accepting and Parent is rejecting and
child-centered
Demanding Authoritative Authoritarian
Parent expects Parenting Parenting
much of child Relationship is reciprocal, Relationshipis controlling,
responsive; power-assertive;
highin bidirectional highin unidirectional
communication communication
Permissive Rejecting
Parent expects Parenting Neglecting
little of child Parenting
Relationship is indulgent;
low in control attempts Relationship is rejectingor
neglecting; uninvolved

Baumrind (1966); Maccoby & Martin (1983)

 Temperament and
Attachment
Thomas & Chess (1977) Temperament Styles
Dittk u lt

Sl01v. to wa rm up

The wire surrogate "mother· provid es the food for

this infant rh e su s monkey. But the infant spends all
its time vllth the soft. cloth-covered surrogate.
According to Harlow,this clemonstrateslhe
importanceof contact comfort in attachment.

Bowlby (1969) & Ainsworth (1973) Attachment Styles

Understanding Attach men·t i·heory
ht tp://kidscooperate.com

Secure Ambivalent Avodiant Disorganized

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Thomas & Chess (1977) Temperament Styles
DIFFICULT
EASY • Irregular
• Unhappy about
• Regular change
• Adaptable • Crabby
• Happy • Loud, active
• Easily
soothed

SLOW TO WARM UP
• Regular than
“Difficult”
• Slow to adapt
• Less grumpy
• Quieter
The wire surrogate "mother" provides the food for
this infant monkey. But the infant spends all its time
with the soft, cloth-covered surrogate “mother”.
According to Harlow, this demonstrates the
importance of contact comfort in attachment.
 Bowlby (1969) & Ainsworth (1973) Attachment Styles
Understanding Attachment Theory
http://kidscoopera te.com Video

Secure Ambivalent Avoidant Disorganized

/Resistant

,Jt'ghcrm 0, I\C'1 use,h urr Y r a l l « ' l,,,u.• In I n p!.i\ u d: '°'

auachrrl("UI an

r c fo,i'Lpl r:.11 rt
for lor,.tlo;l. pro;_e,,,.in_;hc(orci he fN \U I 1. prm, I bydisooi•n cd

, 1,m: • kJO.'('S;Utmt ;ibouc thc- 1hc.- lt,l\'CSM'r\"tums, mw ion,1'1c-lta-. 111 Ii ;a

t ht G1 1vcr
k.av 1 • u, v. fl'l1 onrrnm. a 1c11offered rm pp;tu·ht •tht- t l l ' \ • r t
I<,, t d 1• \•U<lrl\'Cn wotu,n. Ir N art) to a t t b \'US, Lu1ttb,heb.lt tusllC'<l.
,fom:d oor«um.
• h) fl >ltng ;,n!irth 'lli, d. Jdma y ren • hmcnt
I tttclby i f y cahr1«i bvStlil .ind r J.Clft?:Stttm by
l(JWJd , ' frcli
IC ,lvtt 1(' arcg hil,i;,

.E.Wall 197
 Patterns of attachment
(1) Secure Attachment
• Infant is able to use the mother as a secure base to explore
• If distressed by separations, the infant seeks contact with the
mother and is comforted by the contact
• If not distressed, the securely attached infant greets the
mother happily when she returns
• Infants in low-risk, middle-class families are securely attached
to parents
• Securely attached infants tend to have:
– higher self-esteem, better problem-solving ability, social
competence, better self knowledge and they are likely to
adapt better in later life, e.g. academic performance,
social relationship especially intimate relationships
30
 Patterns of attachment
(2) Avoidant Attachment
• The infant shows little distress during the separations
• When the mother returns, the infant turns away
from her and avoid eye contact with her
(3) Ambivalent or Resistant Attachment
• Relationship is extremely distressed by the
separation
• Unable to gain comfort from the mother when she
returns
• Continue to cry
• Express anger towards the mother
31
 Patterns of attachment UReply

(4) Disorganized
•Recognized by later researchers (Main &
Solomon, 1986)
•Infants show no interests to explore the room
•Infants exhibit a diverse series of fearful, odd, or
inconsistent behaviours
•Often associated with maltreatment or other
clinical concerns
(2) – (4) Insecure attachment patterns
32
The Attachment Theory: How Your Childhood Affects Your Relationships
-By Sprouts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjOowWxOXCg&feature=youtu.be
Cognitive Development

37
PIAGET’S STAGE THEORY

Sensorimotor Preoperational
(0 – 2 years) (2 – 7 years)

Concrete
Formal Operational
Operational
( 12+ years)
(7 – 12 years)
1. SENSORIMOTOR

• Birth to about age 2

• The children explore the world through
their senses and motor actions
• e.g. looking, touching, mouthing,
grasping
• Achievement: Object permanence
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSGWh2CWJnA
1. SENSORIMOTOR
• babies will not look for a toy
that disappear
• Out of sight, out of mind
• Object permanence
• the knowledge that objects
exist independently of one’s
own actions or awareness
• Begins about 8 months
2. PREOPERATIONAL
v 2 to 7 years
v Representing things with words and
images but lacking logical reasoning
v Characteristics: Egocentrism, Animistic
thinking, Centration, Irreversibility
2. PREOPERATIONAL: PIAGET’S THREE-MOUNTAIN TASK
Egocentrism

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4oYOjVDgo0
2. PREOPERATIONAL
v Egocentrism
o Children see the world only in terms of
themselves and their own position
o The inability to take another’s point of
view
o They assume that others see the world
in the same way as they do
o E.g. when a child talking on a phone, he
nods to respond (without saying a word)
o E.g. a child covers his eyes and think
that no one can see him
43
2. PREOPERATIONAL

v Animistic thinking
o Believe Inanimate objects have
life and mental processes, just as
people do
o E.g. having party with teddy bears

44
 2. PREOPERATIONAL
Video
v Centration
o The inability to take into account more
than one factor at a time
o Focuses his attention too narrowly and
missing out other information
o e.g. A preoperational child prefers to
drink a ‘big glass’: just focus on the
height à prefer a tall narrow container
but not a short wide one, even though
they hold the same amount
2. PREOPERATIONAL
v Irreversibility
o The inability to think through a series of
events or mental operations and then
mentally reverse the steps
o Lacks the mental ‘trial-and-error’ ability
of older children to do and then undo
an act in their minds
o E.g. A preoperational child knows
Karen is his sister, but he may not get
the reverse operation, that he is
Karen’s brother.
3. CONCRETE OPERATIONAL
v 7 – 12 years
v At this stage, the child understands conservation but
still is incapable of abstract thought
v Children can perform operations only on images of
tangible objects and actual events, e.g. reversibility
and decentration
v Achievement:
v use simple reasoning to solve problems
v Conservation:
v The understanding that the physical
properties of an object or substance do not
change when appearances change but
nothing is added or taken away
47
Conservation of Liquid Task
4. FORMAL OPERATIONAL
v 12+ years
v The ability for abstract and complex thought
vThinking out hypothetical questions, e.g. love,
justice, free will, reasons of existence
vPiaget believed that after children reach this
stage, further developments in thinking are
changes in degree rather than fundamental
changes in the nature of thinking
vAdolescents in this stage use systematic thinking
strategies to solve problems, with trial-and-error
approach
49
 PIAGET’S STAGE THEORY UReply

Typical Age Description Developmental

Range of Stage Phenomena
Birth to nearly Sensorimotor •Object permanence
2 years Experiencing the world through
senses and actions (looking,
touching, mouthing)
About 2 to 7 years Preoperational •Egocentrism
Representing things •Animistic thinking
with words and images •Centration
but lacking logical reasoning •Irreversibility
About 7 to 11 years Concrete operational •Conservation
Thinking logically about concrete
events; grasping concrete analogies
and performing arithmetical operations
About 12 through Formal operational •Abstract logic
adulthood Abstract reasoning •Potential for
moral reasoning
50
 Language Up to 3 months
□ Frequen: tycnes esoec,allywhen unhappy
or uncarniortable

Development
C MakesvoC31soun,d:;e.g.cooing.1:;urgling

6 - 1 2 months
□ Usesspeechsounds(babblln] :o
cornr-,unicatewit'l adults;says soundsLike
'ba-ba,no-no,go-go·

• Major milestones in C Around12 months oeg ns to use s1r.gle words

e.g.' mum mu m', 'dada', 'tete-' (:ede!y)

Language Development
(Brown, 1973): 18 months
to 2 years
• Cooing (0-3 months) □ Begins to put two or
• Babbling (6-12 months) threewords together
□ Telegraphicspeech
o.g. $el mummy'sshoe,s·
• One-Word Speech (6-12 □
T• ll dad tea's road y'
FrequenltyasksqJesbosn ,

months) e.g . the narnes of pimµu; ,;• d

00 ?.t:l!,

• Telegraphic Speech (18-24 I+- 5 years

months) C Uses well torrneo sentences,

• Whole Sentences (36-72

.?..g. 'I pla yed with Ben at lunch lim e· ou l
ther e may stillbesome gra,nmat,cal error's

months)
.ican.org.uk www.talkingpoint.org.uk

Critical Period for Language

Development
 Psychosocial Development
GrlelandL.oss
'1C'sponu
(KObl e ,-R on )

Prenatal Infancy Childhood Adolescence Adulthood Old age

(< 0) (0-2) (2-12) (12-18) (18-60) (60+)
Erikson 's Psychosocial Stages of Development
Trust vs. mistr ust Ini tiative vs. Guilt Identity vs. Role Contusion Generativity vs. Stagnation
(0· l yrs) (3-5 yrs) (13·20 yrs) (40-50 yrs)
Autonomy vs. Shame Industry vs. Inferiority Intimacy vs. Isolation Ego In tegrity vs. Despair
(1-3yrs) (5-12 yrs) (20-30 yrs) (60+ yrs)
Erik Erikson – Psychosocial Theory of
Development Video

55
 Moral Development - UReply
Kohlberg's Stages of Morality
Kohlberg's three levels of
morality
• Preconventional morality:
HeinzDilemma
Based on consequences (avoid
punishment and bring rewards)
• Conventional morality:
Based on intentions, norms and H einz's Dilemma
Link: "https://youtu,be/5czp9S4u26M"
rules/laws
• Postconventional morality:
Video
Based on mutual benefit and
utilitarianism, inner conscience
and ethical actions as ends not
means
 Summary
• Nature & Nurture on Development
• Physical Development
• Maternal-Child Interaction & Development
• Cognitive Development
• Language Development
• Psychosocial & Moral Development