THE DEVELOPING
PERSON
Chapter 4
CONCEPTION
PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT
Fewer than ½ of
fertilized eggs
(zygotes) survive
 1 st week cell division
produces 100 cells
 10 days zygote
attaches to uterine
wall and becomes the
placenta
 The inner cells become
the embyro
FUNNY
EMBRYO: 6 WEEKS
The embyro body
and organs begin to
form and function
 Heart beat begins
 Liver begins to make
red blood cells
EMBRYO: 9 WEEKS
Embryo look
unmistakably human
 It is now a Fetus
FETUS: 6 MONTHS
Internal organs such
as stomach have
formed and are
functioning
 Gives fetus a chance
of surviving premature
birth
NUTRITION AND THE MOTHER
 At each prenatal
stage, genetic and
environmental factors
affect development
 Nutrients and
teratogens are passed
from mother
 Example: a mother who
drinks heavily puts her
fetus at risk for FAS
(Fetal Alcohol Syndrome)
NEWBORNS
THE AMAZING NEWBORN
 Surprising compotent
 Sensory equipment
and reflexes help with
interaction with
adults
 Rooting reflex
 Prefer objects within
8-12 inches
 Distance of a nursing
mothers eyes
 Know mothers odor
and voice
INFANCY
INFANTS
 After birth neural
networks have a
growth spurt
 Muturation set the
course of development
 Experiences adjust it
 Lack of neural
connections explain why
we can’t remember
those developmental
years
 3.5 yrs. old is average
memory start time
SENSORIMOTOR TO OBJECT
PERMANENCE
 Infants begin
cognition (thinking,
knowing,
remembering)
 Begin forming schemas
that help assimilate our
experiences
 Infants go from
sensorimotor stage to
object permanaence
 Things exist even when
out of sight
ATTACHMENT
8 months
 Infants prefer familiar
voices and faces
 Begin showing stranger
anxiety
 Become attached
because of warmth and
comfort
 Not imprinted like animals
 Forms over time
1 ST POOPY DIAPER I CHANGED
ADOLESCENCE
TRANSITION
 Adolescence is the
transformation from
childhood to adult hood
 Puberty
 Begins in girls at 11 and boys
at 13
 Primary Sex Characteristics:
Reproductive Organs
 Secondary Sex Characteristics:
 Females: Breasts and hips
 Males: facial hair, deeper voice
 Both: Underarm and pubic hair
 Landmarks
 Males: 1 st ejaculation age 14
 Females: Menarche age 12
SELF
 Erik Erikson:
Adolescence is to
solidify one’s identity
 We try different selves
 We gather them all into a
self and then feel ready
for intimacy
 Gender differences
 Females: interdependent
and open
 Males: closed and
selective
ADULTHOOD
Show part 18 of
discovering
psychology
DECLINE
 Middle Adulthood
 Barely noticed physical
changes occur and begin to
accelerate during middle
adulthood
 For women Menopause
 Later Life
 Declining perception,
strength, and stamina
 Brain remain healthy
 Unless brain disease like
Alzheimer’s acquired
DECLINE CON’T
 Memory
 Recognition remains
strong, recall declines
 Research
 Cross-Sectional Studies
 Steady intellectual decline
in early adulthood
 Longitudinal Studies
 Intellectual stability until
late in life
 Fluid Intelligence
 Declines later in life
 Crystallized Intelligence
 Does not decline
DEATH
 We will al suffer from the
loss of relatives or friends
 Most difficult: Spouse
 Women suffer this 5 times more
than men
 Most serve is death before
social clock
 Death of a child
 Early death of spouse
 The Five Stages of Death





Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance