PSYC 135: General Psychology II

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PSYC 135General Psychology II

• Dr. Brett A. Steinberg
• Department of Psychology
• Room 172, W.A. Bousfield Hall
• Tel [phone] E-Mail brett.steinberg_at_ucon
  n.edu

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Specific DevelopmentalStages IInfancy and
Early Childhood
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Overview of Topic (Dont Copy)

• 1) Introduction
• 2) Typical development
• A) Motor
• B) Sensory
• C) Social and emotional
• 3) Atypical development
• A) Autism

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Introduction

• Interaction between maturation (nature) and
  learning (nurture)
• Includes prenatal learning
• Development of biological regulation
• Examples Feeding, sleeping, and emotional control

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Introduction (Cont.)
Birth
One Year
Three Years
Brain waves (EEG) slow and irregular at birth
reach adult form (fast and regular) by 12 to 14
years
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Motor Development

• Occurs in orderly sequence
• Child has limited awareness of limbs at birth
• Midline-directed movement is important (corpus
  callosum)

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Sensory Development

• All senses present at birth, but incompletely
  developed
• Sharpen with time and practice
• Can discriminate smell of mother shortly after
  birth
• Old part of brain survival value

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Sensory (Cont.)
Three Months
One Year
One Month
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Sensory (Cont.)

• Infants exhibit clear visual preferences as early
  as 2 days after birth
• Preference defined as amount of time spent
  looking at each type of stimulus

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Sensory (Cont.)

• Infants exhibit clear auditory preference for
  mothers voice as early as 3 days after birth
• Preference defined as vigor of sucking on
  rubber nipple

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Social/Emotional Development

• Unaware of others at birth
• 3 Months Attachment behaviors toward familiar
  caregivers
• 7 to 8 Months Attachment to specific caregiver

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Social/Emotional (Cont.)

• Attachment Emotional bond to caregiver
• Three types (studied with Ainsworths strange
  situation, 1978)
• 1) Secure Explores misses mother and greets
  happily
• 2) Anxious-resistant Demands attention not
  soothed
• 3) Anxious-avoidant Few signs of attachment
• Related to self-esteem and later relationships

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Harry Harlow
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Social/Emotional (Cont.)

• Infant monkeys preferred contact comfort over
  food
• Preference defined as amount of time spent with
  surrogate

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Social/Emotional (Cont.)

• Three stages in development of play
• Solitary 0 to 2 years by self
• Parallel 2 to 5 years near others
• Cooperative 5 to 7 years with others

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Autism

• Kanner (1943) Inability to relate to people and
  situations from beginning of life
• Problems
• 1) Social interaction
• 2) Communication
• 3) Imaginative activity
• 3) Range of interests

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Autism (Cont.)

• Around 20 in 10,000 three times as many boys
• Possible causes
• Cold caregiver relationship discredited
• Abnormalities in brain (e.g. cerebellum and
  serotonin) not conclusive
• Outcome Functioning may improve if intelligent,
  but seldom become independent