Psychological Development

Nature and Nurture
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Nature: behavior is determined by inherited biological innate factors e.g. Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.
Nurture: behavior is determined by environmental factors by learning as in theories of John Locke at 17th century and also theories of Watson and Skinner.
The accepted current view is that behavior is the result of interaction between the biological and environmental factors.
Maturation: innately determined sequence of growth and change that is relatively independent of external events i.e. mainly biological factors.
learning is not effective before biological maturation is completed. e.g. toilet training is not possible before 24 months.
Early experience-including ;
Imprinting—stamping of behavior as the’’ following response’’ occurred at a critical period. e.g as in goslings.
Effect of early social deprivation;
Leads to abnormal, aggressive behavior with difficulty in social and sexual future adjustment as in the experiment on infant monkeys-separated from mothers since birth and isolated for several months then returned back to peers and then to breeding cages.
Stage theory of development: that development occurred through different biologically determined periods or stages. these are: stages of 1-physical development.2-Cognitive development. 3-Emotional&social development.4-Moral development. these stages are overlapping and psychological development occurred as a result of active interaction between them.

A-Stage of Physical Development;

Neonatal period- 1st 2 weeks – a transition from the womb to independent life .neonate is physically week and dependent. can't raise its head or roll over by itself , has few reflexive behaviors as rooting reflex and grasp reflex.
Infancy: 2 weeks  to  2 years.
rapid development in the 1st year than any other time.--------by  2 months can raise head and chest on their arms. grasp objects in front of their heads & shoulders.-------by 6 months---many can roll over from back to front. ,sit and soon begin to crawl  -----------by 1 year----many can walk alone and grasp small objects with fingers and thumb.-------by 2 years---getting into everything with peculiar gait—toddler.-------from 2 weeks to 2 months----rapid change in all senses.----clear vision up to 12 feet.-----by 6 months vision is normal. starring at interesting visual stimuli prefer to look at pattern stimuli with sharp contours as human faces.
Physical capacities;
Vision:--------------------newborn--- poor visual acuity, ability to change focus is limited. is very nearsighted .---------- 7 to 8 months------visual acuity is close to adults, spend a lot of time actively looking about. i.e scanning –with pause on any change in the visual field. attracted by edges, complex pattern and curved lines. in newborn facial preference attracted by moving faces.----
By 2 months---look on inside of faces----by 3 months---recognize photographs of mother.----by 5-11 months---remember faces of strangers.

Hearing:---   fetuses ---26-28 weeks---moves towards sharp sounds
                    Newborn -----turn head towards source of a sound.----disappears at 6 weeks---reemerge at 3-4 months at the time of search by eyes also---represents a maturational transition from reflexive response controlled by sub -cortical areas of the brain to a voluntary attempt to locate the source of sound.
By 4 months----------infants reach towards the source of sound in the dark.
By 6 months----------marked increase in their responsiveness to sounds that are accompanied by visual stimuli .---------newborns ---also detect the difference between 2 similar sounds.---can discriminates between human voices and other kinds of sounds ---also differentiate various characteristics of human speech.-------- by 6 months---pick up enough information about language to begin.
 Taste & Smell:------------- newborn can discriminates between tastes shortly after birth .prefers sweet-tasting liquids over salty, bitter& sour. with lip-licking. Also discriminates odors.---there is innate preference of mother's milk odor.

Learning & Memory:
Young infants has memory and learning as in turning head experience
3 months---good memories. as in moving leg attached by a ribbon to make preferred sounds by moving a rattle around the bed cage.

B-Cognitive Development

The period of discovering and actively influencing the environment.

Piaget's stages:

4 months ---most infants respond positively to sounds of their names.----- from 2 months on---infants remember some of what they have experiences for a time.
Object permanence------awareness that an object continues to exist even when it is covered 
1-Sensory- Motor stage === birth --- 2 years 
Infants are busy discovering the relationship between their actions and the consequences of these actions.---emphasizing the concept of themselves as separate from the external world---infants move from pure reflexive actions to the ability to coordinate sensations and motor movements such as voluntarily taking a nipple to the mouth and sucking.---from 2 months on---infant begins to interact actively with its environment.---not only passively stares at objects but takes a great pleasure in pushing, pulling and mouthing them.---alters environment by using hands and feet. sensory-motor experience—believed to be important in development of motor behavior such as crawling.---
By s not present.---during infancy children develop the ability to form cognitive representation.---from 6-9 months ---begins to understand that objects are existing even if they are out of sight---this is called object permanence.---before that time—if an object at which the infant is looking is hidden from sight by a card infant will not push the card aside to look for it. as it does not exist behind.----                         after 6-9 months----the infant will search for the object behind a cloth.
Also understand some nouns as ball, cockie. responds to bye-bye--------by ----12 months---can say some work---by 18 months ---speaking 20 words.---by 2 years---speaks 250 words.---telegraphic speech.

2-Preoperational stage----------2---7 years-
At 1.5---2 years children begin to use symbols .words can represent things or groups of things, an object can represent another.---at 3 years ----treats a stick as a horse and ride it around the room.or a block of wood can become a car or a doll can become a father and another as a baby.--- a 3 and 4 years  can think in symbolic terms but still not comprehend certain rules or operations. think within the concept of conversation--- of size, number, mass.
Egocenrism---- self- centered  associated with Animinsm---objects are alive, moon alive and following them.
Trasductive reasoning----errors in inferring cause and effect relationship. e.g a spider in the basement is the cause of cold here. 
Development of language----gained 14000 words by age of 6 months.

3-Concrete Operational stage;--- 7---11 years.
         Achieves conservation of number---age 6.---of mass –age ---7.---of weight---age—9.------classify objects according to several features and can order them in series along a single dimension such as size.---is a capable thinker uses adults concept.--------understand Reversibility of logical operations e.g ---7+2=9 so 9-2=7.------ Conservation : of size---e.g the amount of a water in a wide short glass is less than that when pour to a or of number----e.g a 10 checker blocks arranged in a row believed to be more in number when they are more separated.
Decentered concept -----can think in more than one thing at a time ,use more than one characteristic at a time.

4-Formal Operational Stage:-------- 11 years on. --------the ability to use abstract-concept.                                                                                               ---uses 'principle ,of, science, experiment, discovery. concepts as ---  
Adolescent egocentrism---4 characteristics---1-imaginery audience-an audience that adolescents believe is watching everything they do. .2-personal fable---he or she believes that no one has similar problems or could possibly understand what he or she is going through.,3-hypocrisy---it is okay for them to copy someone else's homework but a teacher who leaves class to take a short personal telephone call is irresponsible in adolescent's eyes      ----- 4-pseudostupidity.                         ---oversimplified logic eg when says---if alcoholics know they are going to die of cirrhosis of the liver, why don't they just stop.

C-Emotional & Social Development:

Erik Erikson's stages of personality development
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 Stage 1-   0-1 year      Basic trust vs mistrust----------Learns to feel 
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 comfortable and trust parents 'care; or develop a deep distrust of a world that is perceived to be unsafe.
Stage  2--   1-3 years      Autonomy vs Shame and doubt-----------Learns sense of competence by learning to feed self, use toilet, play alone; or feels ashamed and doubts own abilities.    
Stage 1-3 years             Initiative vs guilt -------------------Gains ability to use own initiative in planning and carrying out plans; or, if cannot live within parents 'limits, develops a sense of guilt over misbehavior. 
 
Stage 4—5-11 years --   Industry vs inferiority-------------Learns to meet the demands imposed by school and home responsibilities; or come to believe that he or she is inferior to others. 

Stage 5-   11-18 years       Identity vs role confusion-------Acquires sense of own identity ;or is confused about role in life.

Stage 6-     18-40 years       Intimacy vs isolation -----------Develops couple relationship and joint identity with partner; or becomes isolated from meaningful relationships with others,

Stage 7 ----     40-65 years      Generativity vs stagnation-------------Develops a concern with helping others and leaving children, products, and ideas to future generations; or becomes self –centered and stagnant.   

Stage 8-      65 years on        Identity vs despair-------------Reaps benefits of earlier stages and understands and accepts meaning of a temporary life ;or despair over ever being able to find meaning in life.
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Early Childhood:
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Relationship with parents;
Newborns---capable of only 3 emotions------1-surprise, 2-pleasure. 3-distress.---------at 2 months------the 1st true social behavior-----  Smile—at faces of caregivers.-------------at 4 months----develop emotion of ---anger.
At 6-9 months -------------------a-shyness about strangers. b-fear of separation from caregivers. C-fear of hypodermic needle.-----
Healthy development of infants emotions—including smile at 2 months ---rewarding to parents.—anger & fear at 4-9 months –not welcome.
By 2 years----------grow more complex. infant acts guilty after misbehavior and feels ashamed after failure.-----form strong attachment to their parents. or other caregivers-------3 explanations-------1-infants cling, grasp, grape  & do whatever else to stay close to their parents.------2-infants of 6-9 months or older --------intense separation anxiety------crying fussy.
3-infants at this age sometimes also exhibit fear of strangers—no one but the adults to whom they are attached have the soothing effect.
Attachment:--                                                                                                                              - an infant's tendencies to seek closeness to particular people
 and to feel more secure in their presence.---experiment on infants monkeys of artificial mother by a mesh of wires& wooden heads supplying milk for feeding compared with another artificial mother made of smooth clothing-leading to disturbed  late behavior in the 1st sample.-----Bowlby theory ----strong attachment occur during the 1st 3 years---disruption –leads to separation anxiety. long term separation leads to strong emotional disturbance and long term negative effect on physical and emotional development.
Relationship with Peers:
At age --2 years---a-Solitary play; in  most children ,they play with themselves.
Decrease in frequency 2-5 years.---b-Parallel play---act with near one another.---c-Cooperative play---give and take principle.
At age--2-3 years---Temper tantrums—i.e emotional outbursts-directed at no one.
At age—4-7 years---direct aggression at others.—more sociable, less egocentric emotion  than tantrums.—less egocentric.----by age – 2 years—most boys & girls have begun to act in sex-typed ways.---boys tend to play with trucks, airplanes & blocks.---girls—play with dolls, stuffed animals & dress up clothes.
There is a conscious awareness of their own sex and understand the sex stereotype s of the culture concerning clothing, occupations and recreation

Middle childhood;
At age 7-11------primary school period.-----there is a close relation with parents, social relations with peers----friendships---not enduring---selfish relationship mainly with same sex peers.
Adolescent Development:---Puberty---
---( Physical & Emotional )
Adolescence---is the period from the onset of puberty until the beginning of adulthood.---it is ushered in by the monumental physical changes of puberty.---through which a person who was a child only yesterday becomes sexually capable of being the parent of a child. it is marked by rapid physical growth and change and a heightening of sexual and romantic interest in others and it is a time in which peers are often more important than parents in terms of attachment and influence. the adolescent is capable of reasoning in abstractions for the 1st time. partly for this reason ,he or she may spend a great deal of time contemplating abstract issues such as justice and equality.
Physical development
Puberty begins with the production of sex hormones by the ovaries in females and the testes in males .these hormones trigger a series of physiological changes that lead to ovulation and menstruation in female s and the production of sperm cells in males.----these are the primary sex characteristics.---indicate that the adolescent has the ability to reproduce.---these changes –accompanied by activation of sexual desire and corresponding increase in dating, kissing, petting ,masturbation ,and other sexual activities.---menarche—1st menstrual cycle.-------Secondary sexual characteristics-------height and weight increase sharply, pushing adolescents quickly to adult size. form the shape of a man and woman-------development of breasts and hips in females—growth of testes, broadening of the shoulders, lowered voice, and growth of the penis and facial hair in males. and growth of pubic and other body  hair in both sexes. 

Emotional development;
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At age 11-13-------         Social development--development of sex characteristics---drifting  or sometimes breaking away from family.---- spends more time with peers than parents .peers are most important people in life at age 11-13 years, decline from age 15 years on.
Adolescence emotions:1st    text on adolescence psychology1904-
 ----------------------------------by G. Stanley Hall. debate has continued since then about the nature of adolescence emotions.---care free period of happiness—a time of –Storm & Stress—current research suggests that about 80% of adolescents are relatively happy and well adjusted. however there are 3 areas in which adolescents have greater problems than both younger or older individuals.
Parent-Child conflicts-
--conflict on dating, how long teenagers should be away .where they go, with whom—views on sex, alcohol, drugs, smoking, delinquency and safety.
Mood changes-------more shifts of mood and more extremely positive and negative moods.----more likely to feel self-conscious, embarrassed, awkward, lonely ,nervous, and ignored.—feels –very happy-declines by 50% --improved in late adolescence and early adulthood.
Risky behavior-----sharp increase in the amount of behavior that exposes the child to danger.-----marked increase in drinking to become drunk, use of drugs, reckless driving & automobile accidents and fatalities, unprotected sex, aggression & a delinquent behavior which does not decline until early adulthood.---rate of suicide also increase dramatically during adolescence but still lower than in adulthood, approximaely 18 males per 100,000 persons age 15-19 years & 4 females per 10,000 in the same age range commit suicide.
Causes of these changes; Why these changes take place during adolescence ?---No clear cause---it appears that it is the result of ----Changes in abstract cognition, surges in sex hormones ,increases in social stress, and conflicts over autonomy during this natural period of transition all seem to be involved .

D-Moral Development

Two theorists have provided us with stage theories that are related to Piaget's theory of cognitive development but that focus on the development of moral reasoning .Lawrence Kohlberg-1969-proposed the first complete theory of moral development, followed by an important alternative theory provided by his colleague –Carol Gilligan-1982.this theory  go beyond the issue of moral development. it stresses that females might deal differently with ethical issues than males, and not to generalize the standards for boys in Kohlberg's theory on girls.

Kohlberg's stages-levels-of moral development-
Pre-moral level-------------young children have no sense of morality as adults understand it. they make moral judgments to obtain rewards and avoid punishment.
Conventional level---------at this stage, children make moral decisions on the basis of what they think other will think of them, particularly parents and other persons of authority. because society's rules, or conventions, state what is expected of them, persons at the conventional level of moral development make moral decisions based on rules.
Principled level----------at this stage ,we judge actions on the basis of ethical principles rather than the consequences to us (as in the first two stages).the advanced moral reasoning within this stage, according to Kohlberg, is based on one's principles of morality, even if they differ from the rules of the larger community.                                           Gilligan's Stage Theory Moral Development       -  -----------------------

Morality as individual survival: --------the young child's first sense of what is "right" is what is good for him or her. young children follow rules to obtain rewards for themselves and to avoid punishment.
Morality as self- sacrifice-------the next stage of moral reasoning is attained after becoming aware of the needs of others. in this stage, the persons believes that ,to be good and to be approved by others, they must  sacrifice their own needs and meet the needs of others.
Morality as Equality:--------In the most advanced stage of moral development, the person views his or her own needs as equal to those of others .Persons as this stage of moral development have progressed from believing that they must always please others at the expense of their own wishes to a belief that everyone's needs should be met when possible and that sacrifices should be shared equally  when the needs of different persons cannot all to be met .this is a stage of advocacy of nonviolence—it is not right for anyone to be intentionally hurt, including the person himself or herself.