Chapter 9 - Developmental Processes
How does Fetal Alcohol Syndrome come about?
- "Eruption" of cellular parts - Migrating cells don't know when to stop and continue through and created "erupted ridges" - Heterotopias
Fetal stage of Prenatal stage
- 2 months - birth - Brain growth - Emotional relationship with mother - Body shape
Proliferation period of in-utero brain development
- Brain cells are being created - 250,000 neurons / minute
Physical effects of FAS (on brain)...
- Brain much smaller - Gyri flat and thick - Enlarged ventricles - Absence of convolutions in gyri - Brain malformed - Brain density reduced - Lack of white matter
Heterotopias
- Cell groups in the wrong places - Results from FAS
Prenatal Stage of biological development
- Conception --> formation of zygote - Beginning of genetic identity - Genotype established - Maturation begins
Germinal Stage of Prenatal Stage
- Conception --> when zygote attaches to uterine wall (10-14 days)
Insecurely attached babies: anxious/ambivalent
- Extreme clinging - Elicits and rejects caring contact upon return
3 Stages of the Prenatal Stage
- Germinal - Embryonic - Fetal
Results of Mary Ainsworth's experiment
- High quality MCB = more L brain activity - Low quality MCB = increase in fearfulness - Low quality MCB = decreased joint attention - HUGE different in infant negative affect
Biology is not our destiny... what does this mean and why is it important to tell parents?
- How parents and others respond to a child is what determines what will happen to the child...an interaction between the biology of the child and the child's environment... no need for parents or teachers to be fatalistic about temperamental categories
Insecurely attached babies: disorganized attachment
- Inconsistent behavior - Smile and fear-avoidance
The effects of cocaine, alcohol and cigarettes on fetuses...
- Lower than average birth weights - Detrimental effects on processing capabilities - Effects motor capacities
Insecurely attached babies: avoidant
- No obvious distress outside of ignoring - Snubbing and tentative approach
The Developmental Periods (7)
- Prenatal - Infancy - Childhood - Adolescence - Young adulthood - Middle adulthood - Late adulthood ---> Depends on culture
4 Brain development periods in-utero
- Proliferation - 0-7 weeks - Migration - 8-15 weeks - Differentiation - 16-25 weeks - Continued differentiation - 26-29 weeks
Migration period of in-utero brain development
- Proliferation continues - Glial cells guide neurons to their designated locations
Postnatal Stage
- Reflexes are evident - Reflexes are autonomic, unlearned reactions to specific forms of stimulation
Securely attached babies
- Show distress upon separation but settle quickly - Show pleasure and seek contact upon return
Embryonic stage of Prenatal stage
- Weeks 3-8 - Parts of body form - Organs begin function - Testosterone secreted in males (interrupts growth of L hemisphere) - @ 8 Weeks - 1 inch long
Behavioral / Cognitive effects of FAS?
- hyperactivity - impulsiveness - temper tantrums - short memory spans - perceptual disorders
Pregnancy Trimesters (by week)
1st trimester: 0-12 weeks 2nd trimester: 13-25 weeks 3rd trimester: 26-39 weeks
What does Jerome Kagan predict in regards to when you can tell if a child will be outgoing or not?
4 months old... - average child, not likely to be particularly shy or outgoing = makes a few verbal noises in response to a stimulus - quiet person later in life = at 4 mo., thrashing around a lot and becomes very excited bc of stimulus; irritability - outgoing later in life = quiet, little body movement; relaxed in response to stimulus, non-fearful
What percent of the differences between individuals on personality characteristics can be attributed to genetic differences between people?
50%
What percent of babies are securely attached?
60-70%
Grasping reflex
Baby wrapping hand around a finger - babies cling to their mother to hang on
Temperament
Behavioral and emotional style that is evident in very early development; genetically determined
What does the "Pale Grey Fabric" analogy mean?
Biological differences, but does not mean fatalism... - The behavior of every human can be likened to a pale gray fabric: black with biological threads, white with experience. But these threads are so thin and so intricately woven together that you can never see any individual black or white threads.
Is temperamental shyness due to nature or nurture?
Biologically inclined to be shy or not... but can overcome this through experience and nurture
Nature v. Nurture
Biology/Maturation v. Environment/Experience
Is secure or insecure attachment due to biology or experience?
Both... - Genetically predisposed... but room for nurture to change things - experience affects temperament
Teratogens
Chemical agents that can cause profound in-utero damage
How did researchers in Mary Ainsworth's experiment combat the 3rd variable and directionality problem?
Computed a series of one-way univariate ANOVAs - Temperamental group had no effects on the variables - Infant negative affect both influences parenting and parenting was influenced by negative affect
What hormone is higher in shy people?
Cortisol
Who did a lot of research on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome?
Dr. Marita Aronson, Sweden
Attachment Style
Emotional and behavioral style of interacting with significant "early" objects of attachment; interaction between temperament and environment
What results in more neural developments in young, middle-aged, and older animals
Enriched experiences
Genotype
Given at moment of conception; biology; genetic blueprint
Why is self-soothing important?
Helps us to learn to become free and happy individuals who can provide emotional security for ourselves
Maternal sensitivity
How attentive mothers are to the needs of their child; responsiveness to infant's needs in an appropriate fashion
Who came up with the "Pale Grey Fabric" analogy?
Kagan
Mary Ainsworth's experiment
MCB's of mother and how it affects stress-reactivity in children... - Measured maternal sensitivity and maternal intrusiveness - Range of values on quality of MCB... low to high - Mean: 4, SD: 1.4 (range is about 0-6) - 68% of population within 1 SD of the mean... chose to look at only the extreme low and high ends
Rooting reflex
Make sucking noises with the mouth when the lips or cheek is touched
What is the most vulnerable phase of in-utero brain development How does radiation impact this phase?
Migration phase - 8-16 weeks - 80% of issues when exposed to radiation during this stage - radiation makes the neurons stop short of their designation place
Thalamide in the 1950's
Morning sickness pill they discovered resulted in deformations of the embryo
Maternal intrusiveness
Mother puts the child's needs in the middle - example: forcing a baby to eat
Is there a safe drinking level for pregnant women?
NO, even moderate drinking can lead to serious birth defects
Phenotype
Product of the interaction between genotypes and the experience/environment; Nurture + Nature
Nathan Fox
Related the idea shyness and outgoingness to patterns of brain activity - shy infants show more activity in R hemisphere - outgoing infants show more activity in L hemisphere - average children - both sides of the brain show activity
Problem with Mary Ainsworth's experiment?
Researchers want to argue a nurture effect but how do they know the stress reactivity of the child is not just based on the child's genetically disposed temperament? ---> 3rd variable problem, directionality problem
Rhesus monkey experiment - What behavioral and physiological signs do shy monkeys display? - Can shyness be altered?
Shy monkeys cling to mothers... - behavior - vigilance - physiology - high cortisol levels ... in the first several weeks of life If the shy monkeys are raised by social parents, there are likely to become socially outgoing and even maybe the most dominant members of their groups
Jerome Kagan
Shyness v. outgoingness
Heritability
Statistical estimate of what proportion of the variation in a trait in a population can be accounted for by underlying genetic differences between individuals ; EFFECT OF TRAIT ON GROUP
Steve Suomi
Studied the rhesus monkeys
What happens during the 18th week of pregnancy?
The brain begins to stabilize itself
Harlow's Monkeys
What motivates infant attachment to mothers? Nutrition v. Contact Comfort ---> Contact Comfort wins!
Developmental psychology
the study of the influence of maturation and experience on the emergence and activation of multiple psychological processes across distinct developmental periods - dependent on internal and external processes
