Lifelong Development

12-A: Development in the womb

• What senses does the fetus use in the womb? How do we know that they have developed the use of these senses? What is the last sense to develop in the womb?
• Do fetuses learn? How do we know? Describe how a researcher can determine that a fetus prefers one stimulus over another.
• Do fetuses have different personalities? How does a mother's stress affect her fetus?

READ: Fetal Psychology

12-B: Research Methods over Lifetime

• What is the difference between cross-sectional and longitudinal designs?
• What is a cohort? How do different cohorts present problems in research? Do they affect cross-sectional or longitudinal designs most?
• What is attrition? Does it affect cross-sectional or longitudinal designs most?

This is a review of some basic research designs from Module 3. Studying development can be tricky in several ways.

12-C: Research Methods in Cognitive Development

• Why do researchers study infants and children using different methods than adults?
• What does looking time (gazing behavior) tell us about cognition? How do researchers use looking time to measure cognition?
• What is a visual cliff? How do researchers use the visual cliff to study cognition?
• What does the visual cliff teach us about how children interact with their parents? What does it teach us about nonverbal communication?

VISIT: Cognitive Developmental Research Methods

12-D: Comparative Developmental Psychology

• What is imprinting? How can studies of imprinting teach us about human development?
• What was Harlow's method in understanding monkeys' development? Why was this study so important?
• How is Harlow's research with monkeys important in understanding their needs? What can this teach us about human needs and human development?

VISIT: Comparative Developmental Psychology

12-E: Attachment Theory

• What is attachment? How did Bowlby and Ainsworth develop the theory?
• How do you test children for their attachment style? What are the different styles that a child can have? Differentiate between the insecure attachment styles.
• What does attachment predict? How can attachment with a parent affect the child later on in life?

VISIT: Attachment Theory

12-F: Infant Determinism

• Why is infant determinism a myth?
• What is the difference between correlation and causation that is demonstrated by the myth of infant determinism?

Before we go too far, it is important to realize that your experiences as a baby or a child do not, by themselves, cause you to have an experience or personality later in life.

READ: The Myth of Infant Determinism

12-G: Erikson's Theory

• How is Erikson's theory connected to Freud's theory?
• What are the psychosocial stages? Describe the conflict in each stage. What are the virtues that can be learned from each stage?
• What is the criticism of Erikson's theory?

VISIT: Erikson's Theory

12-H: Piaget's Theory

• What is being developed through Piaget's stages?
• Describe Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, including the age range and cognitive characteristics of each stage.
• Define the following terms and explain how they fit within the stages:
  • Conservation
  • Egocentrism
  • Object permanence

VISIT: Piaget's Theory

12-I: Kohlberg's Theory

• What is being developed through Kohlberg's stages?
• Explain Kohlberg’s theory of moral development in terms of the specific stages and the kind of moral reasoning that takes place in each.
• Explain why a child must have a theory of mind in order to have post-conventional morals
• Describe the research test for whether or not a child has a developed theory of mind (we have discussed this in the previous sections and reviewed it here with egocentrism)
• What is the evidence that even very young children prefer “good” people?

How do we come to understand the difference between right and wrong? Kohlberg theorized that children developed through three general levels of moral reasoning. Read about the three levels and the stages within each one:

READ: Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development

Next, let us look at one piece of evidence that even very young children have a preference for “good” people?

12-J: Vygotsky's Theory

• What is the difference between the interpsychological level and the intrapsychological level according to Vygotsky? Give an example of the distinction.
• What is the Zone of Proximal Development? Why is it important to development?

VISIT: Vygotsky's Theory

12-K: Good Parenting

• What are the stages that parents go through in their own development?
• Does spanking work? What is the evidence that supports this?
• What are some other options for discipline besides spanking?

VISIT: Parenting and Development