Page i
Essentials of
Life-Span Development
SIXTH EDITION
John W. Santrock
University of Texas at Dallas
Page ii
ESSENTIALS OF LIFE-SPAN DEVELOPMENT, SIXTH EDITION
Published by McGraw-Hill Education, 2 Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10121. Copyright ©2020 by
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Santrock, John W., author.
Title: Essentials of life-span development / John W. Santrock, University of
Texas at Dallas.
Description: Sixth edition. | New York, NY : McGraw-Hill Education, [2020] |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018035665| ISBN 9781260054309 (alk. paper) | ISBN
1260054306 (alk. paper)
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Page iii
Brief Contents
1 Introduction 1
2 Biological Beginnings 36
3 Physical and Cognitive Development in Infancy 76
©Ariel Skelley/Getty Images
4 Socioemotional Development in Infancy 114
5 Physical and Cognitive Development in Early Childhood 140
6 Socioemotional Development in Early Childhood 168
7 Physical and Cognitive Development in Middle and Late Childhood
197
8 Socioemotional Development in Middle and Late Childhood 226
9 Physical and Cognitive Development in Adolescence 255
©Fuse/Getty Images
10 Socioemotional Development in Adolescence 282
11 Physical and Cognitive Development in Early Adulthood 305
12 Socioemotional Development in Early Adulthood 325
13 Physical and Cognitive Development in Middle Adulthood 345
©Rob Crandall/Alamy
14 Socioemotional Development in Middle Adulthood 363
15 Physical and Cognitive Development in Late Adulthood 378
16 Socioemotional Development in Late Adulthood 408
17 Death, Dying, and Grieving 423
McGraw-Hill Education Psychology’s APA
Documentation Style Guide
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Page iv
Contents
©Boris Ryaposov/Shutterstock
1 Introduction 1
Stories of Life-Span Development: How Did Ted Kaczynski
Become Ted Kaczynski and Alice Walker Become Alice
Walker? 1
The Life-Span Perspective 2
The Importance of Studying Life-Span Development 2
Characteristics of the Life-Span Perspective 3
Contemporary Concerns in Life-Span Development 6
Gustavo Medrano, Clinical Psychologist 7
The Nature of Development 11
Biological, Cognitive, and Socioemotional Processes 11
Periods of Development 12
Conceptions of Age 13
Developmental Issues 15
Theories of Development 17
Psychoanalytic Theories 17
Cognitive Theories 19
Behavioral and Social Cognitive Theories 23
Ethological Theory 24
Ecological Theory 25
An Eclectic Theoretical Orientation 26
Research in Life-Span Development 27
Methods for Collecting Data 27
Research Designs 30
Time Span of Research 32
Conducting Ethical Research 34
Summary 35
Key Terms 35
2 Biological Beginnings 36
Stories of Life-Span Development: The Jim and Jim Twins
36
The Evolutionary Perspective 37
Natural Selection and Adaptive Behavior 37
Evolutionary Psychology 38
Genetic Foundations of Development 40
Genes and Chromosomes 41
Genetic Principles 43
Chromosome and Gene-Linked Abnormalities 44
Jennifer Leonhard, Genetic Counselor 47
The Interaction of Heredity and Environment: The Nature-
Nurture Debate 47
Behavior Genetics 47
Heredity-Environment Correlations 48
The Epigenetic View and Gene × Environment (G × E) Interaction
48
Conclusions About Heredity-Environment Interaction 50
Prenatal Development 51
The Course of Prenatal Development 51
Prenatal Tests 55
Infertility and Reproductive Technology 56
Hazards to Prenatal Development 57
Prenatal Care 64
Normal Prenatal Development 65
Birth and the Postpartum Period 65
The Birth Process 65
The Transition from Fetus to Newborn 69
Low Birth Weight and Preterm Infants 69
Linda Pugh, Perinatal Nurse 70
Bonding 72
The Postpartum Period 73
Summary 74
Key Terms 75
3 Physical and Cognitive Development in Infancy 76
Stories of Life-Span Development: Newborn Babies in Ghana
and Nigeria 76
Physical Growth and Development in Infancy 77
Patterns of Growth 77
Height and Weight 78
The Brain 78
Sleep 82
Nutrition 83
Faize Mustafa-Infante, Pediatric Specialist Focusing on
Childhood Obesity 85
Motor Development 86
Page v
Dynamic Systems Theory 86
Reflexes 87
Gross Motor Skills 88
Fine Motor Skills 90
Sensory and Perceptual Development 91
Exploring Sensory and Perceptual Development 91
Visual Perception 93
Other Senses 95
Intermodal Perception 96
Nature, Nurture, and Perceptual Development 97
Perceptual Motor Coupling 98
Cognitive Development 98
Piaget’s Theory 98
Learning, Remembering, and Conceptualizing 102
Language Development 105
Defining Language 106
How Language Develops 106
Biological and Environmental Influences 109
An Interactionist View 112
Summary 112
Key Terms 113
©karelnoppe/Getty Images
4 Socioemotional Development in Infancy 114
Stories of Life-Span Development: Darius and His Father
114
Emotional and Personality Development 115
Emotional Development 115
Temperament 119
Personality Development 123
Social Orientation and Attachment 125
Social Orientation and Understanding 125
Attachment 127
Social Contexts 131
The Family 131
Child Care 135
Wanda Mitchell, Child-Care Director 137
Summary 139
Key Terms 139
5 Physical and Cognitive Development in Early
Childhood 140
Stories of Life-Span Development: Reggio Emilia’s Children
140
Physical Changes 141
Body Growth and Change 141
The Brain 142
Motor Development 142
Nutrition and Exercise 143
Illness and Death 146
Cognitive Changes 147
Piaget’s Preoperational Stage 147
Vygotsky’s Theory 150
Information Processing 153
Helen Hadani, Developmental Psychologist, Toy Designer, and
Associate Director of Research for the Center for Childhood
Creativity 157
Language Development 159
Understanding Phonology and Morphology 159
Changes in Syntax and Semantics 160
Advances in Pragmatics 161
Young Children’s Literacy 162
Early Childhood Education 162
Variations in Early Childhood Education 162
Education for Young Children Who Are Disadvantaged 164
Yolanda Garcia, Director of Children’s Services, Head Start
165
Controversies in Early Childhood Education 165
Summary 166
Key Terms 167
6 Socioemotional Development in Early Childhood
168
Stories of Life-Span Development: Nurturing Socioemotional
Development 168
Emotional and Personality Development 169
The Self 169
Emotional Development 171
Moral Development 172
Gender 174
Families 177
Parenting 177
Darla Botkin, Marriage and Family Therapist 182
Page vi
Child Maltreatment 182
Sibling Relationships and Birth Order 184
The Changing Family in a Changing Society 185
Peer Relations, Play, and Media/Screen Time 191
Peer Relations 191
Play 192
Media and Screen Time 194
Summary 195
Key Terms 196
7 Physical and Cognitive Development in Middle and
Late Childhood 197
Stories of Life-Span Development: Angie and Her Weight
197
Physical Changes and Health 198
Body Growth and Change 198
The Brain 198
Motor Development 199
Exercise 199
Health, Illness, and Disease 200
Sharon McLeod, Child Life Specialist 201
Children with Disabilities 201
The Scope of Disabilities 202
Educational Issues 206
Cognitive Changes 206
Piaget’s Cognitive Developmental Theory 207
Information Processing 208
Intelligence 213
Language Development 221
Vocabulary, Grammar, and Metalinguistic Awareness 221
Reading 222
Second-Language Learning and Bilingual Education 223
Summary 225
Key Terms 225
8 Socioemotional Development in Middle and Late
Childhood 226
Stories of Life-Span Development: Learning in Troubled
Schools 226
Emotional and Personality Development 227
The Self 227
Emotional Development 230
Moral Development 232
Melissa Jackson, Child Psychiatrist 233
Gender 236
Families 239
Developmental Changes in Parent-Child Relationships 239
Parents as Managers 240
Attachment 240
Stepfamilies 240
Peers 241
Developmental Changes 242
Peer Status 242
Social Cognition 243
Bullying 243
Friends 245
Schools 246
Contemporary Approaches to Student Learning 246
Socioeconomic Status, Ethnicity, and Culture 248
Ahou Vaziri, Teach for America Instructor 249
Summary 254
Key Terms 254
©amana Images, Inc./Alamy
9 Physical and Cognitive Development in Adolescence
255
Stories of Life-Span Development: Annie, Arnie, and Katie
255
The Nature of Adolescence 256
Physical Changes 257
Puberty 257
The Brain 260
Adolescent Sexuality 262
Lynn Blankinship, Family and Consumer Science Educator
266
Adolescent Health 267
Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, University Professor in Pediatrics
and Director of Community Efforts to Improve Adolescents’
Health 268
Nutrition and Exercise 268
Sleep Patterns 269
Leading Causes of Death in Adolescence 271
Substance Use and Abuse 271
Eating Disorders 272
Adolescent Cognition 274
Piaget’s Theory 274
Adolescent Egocentrism 275
Information Processing 276
Schools 277
The Transition to Middle or Junior High School 278
Effective Schools for Young Adolescents 278
High School 279
Service Learning 280
Summary 280
Key Terms 281
10 Socioemotional Development in Adolescence 282
Stories of Life-Span Development: Jewel Cash, Teen Dynamo
282
Identity 283
What Is Identity? 283
Erikson’s View 284
Developmental Changes 284
Ethnic Identity 286
Families 287
Parental Management and Monitoring 287
Autonomy and Attachment 288
Parent-Adolescent Conflict 289
Peers 290
Friendships 290
Peer Groups 291
Dating and Romantic Relationships 292
Culture and Adolescent Development 294
Cross-Cultural Comparisons 294
Socioeconomic Status and Poverty 296
Ethnicity 296
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Media and Screen Time 298
Adolescent Problems 299
Juvenile Delinquency 299
Depression and Suicide 300
Rodney Hammond, Health Psychologist 301
The Interrelation of Problems and Successful
Prevention/Intervention Programs 303
Summary 304
Key Terms 304
11 Physical and Cognitive Development in Early
Adulthood 305
Stories of Life-Span Development: Dave Eggers, Pursuing a
Career in the Face of Stress 305
The Transition from Adolescence to Adulthood 306
Becoming an Adult 306
The Transition from High School to College 308
Grace Leaf, College/Career Counselor and College
Administrator 309
Physical Development 309
Physical Performance and Development 309
Health 310
Sexuality 313
Sexual Activity in Emerging Adulthood 313
Sexual Orientation and Behavior 313
Sexually Transmitted Infections 316
Cognitive Development 317
Cognitive Stages 318
Creativity 319
Careers and Work 320
Careers 320
Work 321
Summary 324
Key Terms 324
©Stockbyte/PunchStock
12 Socioemotional Development in Early Adulthood
325
Stories of Life-Span Development: Gwenna’s Pursuit and
Greg’s Lack of Commitment 325
Stability and Change from Childhood to Adulthood 326
Love and Close Relationships 328
Intimacy 328
Friendship 329
Romantic and Affectionate Love 329
Consummate Love 331
Cross-Cultural Variations in Romantic Relationships 331
Adult Lifestyles 332
Single Adults 332
Cohabiting Adults 333
Married Adults 334
Divorced Adults 336
Remarried Adults 337
Gay and Lesbian Adults 337
Challenges in Marriage, Parenting, and Divorce 338
Making Marriage Work 338
Becoming a Parent 339
Janis Keyser, Parent Educator 340
Dealing with Divorce 341
Gender and Communication Styles, Relationships, and
Classification 341
Gender and Communication Styles 342
Gender and Relationships 342
Gender Classification 343
Summary 344
Key Terms 344
13 Physical and Cognitive Development in Middle
Adulthood 345
Stories of Life-Span Development: Changing Perceptions of
Time 345
The Nature of Middle Adulthood 346
Changing Midlife 346
Defining Middle Adulthood 347
Physical Development 348
Physical Changes 348
Health and Disease 351
Mortality Rates 351
Sexuality 352
Cognitive Development 354
Intelligence 354
Information Processing 357
Careers, Work, and Leisure 357
Work in Midlife 358
Page viii
Career Challenges and Changes 358
Leisure 359
Religion and Meaning in Life 360
Religion and Adult Lives 360
Religion and Health 360
Gabriel Dy-Liacco, University Professor and Pastoral
Counselor 361
Meaning in Life 361
Summary 362
Key Terms 362
14 Socioemotional Development in Middle Adulthood
363
Stories of Life-Span Development: Sarah and Wanda, Middle-
Age Variations 363
Personality Theories and Development 364
Adult Stage Theories 364
The Life-Events Approach 366
Stress and Personal Control in Midlife 367
Stability and Change 368
Longitudinal Studies 368
Conclusions 371
Close Relationships 371
Love and Marriage at Midlife 372
The Empty Nest and Its Refilling 373
Sibling Relationships and Friendships 374
Grandparenting 374
Intergenerational Relationships 376
Summary 377
Key Terms 377
©Paul Sutherland/Getty Images
15 Physical and Cognitive Development in Late
Adulthood 378
Stories of Life-Span Development: Learning to Age
Successfully 378
Longevity, Biological Aging, and Physical Development 379
Longevity 379
Biological Theories of Aging 381
The Aging Brain 384
Physical Development 386
Sexuality 389
Health 390
Health Problems 390
Exercise, Nutrition, and Weight 391
Health Treatment 393
Sarah Kagan, Geriatric Nurse 394
Cognitive Functioning 394
Multidimensionality and Multidirectionality 394
Use It or Lose It 398
Training Cognitive Skills 399
Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging 400
Work and Retirement 401
Work 402
Adjustment to Retirement 402
Mental Health 403
Dementia and Alzheimer Disease 403
Parkinson Disease 406
Summary 407
Key Terms 407
16 Socioemotional Development in Late Adulthood 408
Stories of Life-Span Development: Bob Cousy, Adapting to
Life as an Older Adult 408
Theories of Socioemotional Development 409
Erikson’s Theory 409
Activity Theory 410
Socioemotional Selectivity Theory 410
Selective Optimization with Compensation Theory 412
Personality and Society 413
Personality 413
Older Adults in Society 413
Families and Social Relationships 415
Lifestyle Diversity 415
Attachment 417
Older Adult Parents and Their Adult Children 417
Friendship 418
Social Support and Social Integration 418
Altruism and Volunteerism 419
Ethnicity, Gender, and Culture 419
Ethnicity 419
Norma Thomas, Social Work Professor and Administrator
420
Gender 420
Culture 420
Successful Aging 421
Summary 422
Key Terms 422
17 Death, Dying, and Grieving 423
Stories of Life-Span Development: Paige Farley-Hackel and
Ruth McCourt, 9/11/2001 423
Defining Death and Life/Death Issues 424
Determining Death 424
Decisions Regarding Life, Death, and Health Care 424
Kathy McLaughlin, Home Hospice Nurse 427
Death and Sociohistorical, Cultural Contexts 428
Changing Historical Circumstances 428
Death in Different Cultures 428
Facing One’s Own Death 429
Kübler-Ross’ Stages of Dying 429
Perceived Control and Denial 430
Coping with the Death of Someone Else 430
Communicating with a Dying Person 430
Grieving 431
Making Sense of the World 433
Losing a Life Partner 433
Forms of Mourning 434
Summary 435
Key Terms 435
Glossary G-1
References R-1
Name Index N-1
Subject Index S-1
McGraw-Hill Education Psycholog y’s APA
Documentation Style Guide
Page ix
How Would You?
Psychology Professions
Sociocultural factors in research, pg. 8
Risk of birth defects, pg. 57
Attachment in toddlers, pg. 129
Type of caregiving and infant development, pg. 138
Curriculum balance in early childhood education, pg. 166
Parenting styles and young children, pg. 179
Piaget’s contributions, pg. 208
Improving children’s creative thinking, pg. 211
Applying Gardner’s theory of multipleintelligences, pg. 215
Child’s sense of self, pg. 227
Gender and developing academic and social skills, pg. 238
Aggressive children, pg. 243
Adolescent mood swings, pg. 258
Applying Marcia’s theory of identity formation, pg. 285
Dating in early adolescence, pg. 294
Suicide prevention in adolescents, pg. 303
Markers of adulthood, pg. 307
Cohabitation before marriage, pg. 334
Sex in middle adulthood, pg. 354
Leisure and stress reduction in middle age, pg. 359
Young adults and their parents living together, pg. 373
Nursing home quality, pg. 393
Cognitive skills in older adults, pg. 400
Adjustment to retirement, pg. 403
Benefits of a life review in late adulthood, pg. 410
Divorce in late adulthood, pg. 416
Euthanasia, pg. 426
Stages of dying, pg. 429
Education Professions
Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory, pg. 26
Domain-specific mechanisms and exceptional students, pg. 38
Concept development in infants, pg. 105
Games and scaffolding, pg. 133
Child-care programs for infants, pg. 137
Application of Vygotsky’s theory, pg. 150
Developmentally appropriate education, pg. 163
Gender development in early childhood, pg. 177
Home maltreatment and school performance, pg. 184
Learning through play, pg. 193
Physical activity in elementary school, pg. 200
Learning disabilities in elementary school, pg. 202
Improving children’s megacognitive skills, pg. 212
Programs for gifted children, pg. 220
Self-concept and academic ability, pg. 229
Self-efficacy, pg. 230
Reducing bullying in school, pg. 245
Applying the jigsaw strategy, pg. 250
Mindset, pg. 253
Page x
Sex education for adolescents, pg. 267
Sleep needs vs. early classes in high school, pg. 271
Adolescent decision-making exercises, pg. 277
Transition to middle school, pg. 278
Service learning, pg. 280
High school graduation, pg. 295
Transition to college, pg. 308
Intellectual development in early adulthood, pg. 318
Cultivating creativity, pg. 319
Work during college, pg. 322
Intelligence changes in middle adulthood, pg. 355
Generativity in middle age, pg. 364
Changes in learning as people age, pg. 383
Older adult students in the classroom, pg. 388
Volunteerism in late adulthood, pg. 419
Social Work Professions
Nonnormative life events, pg. 6
Down syndrome, pg. 45
Drug abuse during pregnancy, pg. 60
Environmental deprivation in childhood, pg. 110
Infant temperament, pg. 122
Obesity risk factors, pg. 201
Coping with a traumatic event, pg. 232
Peer relationships, pg. 242
Conflict in families with adolescents, pg. 289
Juvenile delinquency, pg. 300
Transition to adulthood, pg. 306
Alcohol use on college campuses, pg. 312
Healthy lifestyles for middle-aged adults, pg. 350
Careers in middle adulthood, pg. 359
Divorce in middle age, pg. 372
Importance of a living will, pg. 425
Bereavement, pg. 432
Grief support groups, pg. 434
Health Care Professions
Cross-cultural research in health and wellness, pg. 8
Natural selection and medicine, pg. 38
Genetic abnormalities, pg. 46
Stress during pregnancy, pg. 63
Delivery options for pregnant women, pg. 68
Care for preterm infants, pg. 72
SIDS prevention, pg. 83
Attachment/caregiving style and at-risk infants, pg. 131
Nutrition for young children, pg. 144
Sports leagues for preschool children, pg. 145
Second-hand smoke and young children, pg. 146
Health services for Head Start program, pg. 164
Moral reasoning in young children, pg. 173
Maltreatment prevention with parents, pg. 183
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, pg. 203
Health risks to bullying victims, pg. 244
Effects of poor nutrition on achievement tests, pg. 248
Development norms in puberty, pg. 260
Physical fitness in adolescence, pg. 269
Signs of eating disorders, pg. 273
Culturally sensitive guidelines for adolescent health coverage, pg.
294
Exercise in young adulthood, pg. 312
Prevention of sexually transmitted infections, pg. 317
Romance and sexual functioning, pg. 330
Stress reduction for middle-aged workers, pg. 368
Long-term effects of alcohol abuse and smoking in middle age, pg.
371
Challenges in middle age of caring for a chronically ill parent, pg. 376
Vision changes in late adulthood, pg. 387
Chronic diseases in late adulthood, pg. 390
Quality of medical care for older adults, pg. 393
Memory declines in late adulthood, pg. 405
Limited social contact in older adults, pg. 411
Treatment of chronic illness in older adults, pg. 414
Explaining brain death, pg. 424
Human Development and Family Studies
Professions
Epigenetic view and alcoholism, pg. 49
Risks during prenatal development, pg. 53
Postpartum adjustment, pg. 74
Gross motor milestones, pg. 90
Attention in infants, pg. 103
Language development, pg. 112
Stranger anxiety, pg. 117
Autonomy in toddlers, pg. 125
Concept of conservation and young children, pg. 148
Children’s ideas about gender roles, pg. 176
Parenting styles, pg. 179
Children’s TV viewing, pg. 195
Treatment for ADHD, pg. 204
Advantages of bilingualism, pg. 224
Children’s adjustment to parent’s remarriage after divorce, pg. 241
Body image in adolescent girls, pg. 259
Parental prevention of teen substance abuse, pg. 272
Bicultural identity formation in teens, pg. 287
Sexuality in young adulthood, pg. 314
Attachment and relationship style in adulthood, pg. 327
Making marriage work, pg. 339
Deciding when to have children, pg. 341
Media and the physical changes of middle age, pg. 348
Hormone replacement therapy, pg. 352
Leaving a legacy for the next generation, pg. 365
Benefits of having grandparents in children’s lives, pg. 375
Ageism, pg. 414
Friendship in late adulthood, pg. 418
Hospice, pg. 427
Perceived control over end of life, pg. 430
Page xi
About the Author
John W. Santrock
John Santrock received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 1973.
He taught at the University of Charleston and the University of Georgia
before joining the Program in Psychology and Human Development at the
University of Texas at Dallas, where he currently teaches a number of
undergraduate courses and has received the University’s Effective Teaching
Award. In 2010, he created the UT-Dallas Santrock undergraduate
scholarship, an annual award that is given to outstanding undergraduate
students majoring in developmental psychology to enable them to attend
research conventions.
John has been a member of the editorial boards of Child Development and
Developmental Psychology. His research on the multiple factors involved in
how divorce affects children’s development is widely cited and used in expert
witness testimony to promote flexibility and alternative considerations in
custody disputes.
John also has authored these exceptional McGraw-Hill texts: Children
(14th edition), Adolescence (17th edition), Life-Span Development (17th
edition), A Topical Approach to Life-Span Development (9th edition), and
Educational Psychology (6th edition).
John Santrock (back row middle) with the 2015 recipients of the Santrock
Travel Scholarship Award in developmental psychology. Created by Dr.
Santrock, this annual award provides undergraduate students with the
opportunity to attend a professional meeting. A number of the students
shown here attended the Society for Research in Child Development
conference.
Courtesy of Jessica Serna
For many years, John was involved in tennis as a player, teaching
professional, and coach of professional tennis players. At the University of
Miami (FL), the tennis team on which he played still holds the NCAA
Division I record for most consecutive wins (137) in any sport. His wife,
Mary Jo, has a master’s degree in special education and has worked as a
teacher and a Realtor. He has two daughters—Tracy, who worked for a
number of years as a technology marketing specialist, and Jennifer, who has
been a medical sales specialist. However, recently both have followed in their
mother’s footsteps and are now Realtors. Tracy has run the Boston and New
York marathons. Jennifer is a former professional tennis player and NCAA
tennis player of the year. John has one granddaughter, Jordan, age 26, who
works at Ernst & Young accounting firm, and two grandsons, Alex, age 13,
and Luke, age 12. In the last two decades, John also has spent time painting
expressionist art.
Dedication:
With special appreciation to my wife, Mary Jo.
Page xii
Connecting research and
results
As a master teacher, John Santrock connects current research and
real-world applications. Through an integrated, personalized
digital learning program, students gain the insight they need to
study smarter and improve performance.
McGraw-Hill Education Connect is a digital assignment and
assessment platform that strengthens the link between faculty,
students, and course work, helping everyone accomplish more in
less time. Connect for Life-Span Development includes assignable
and assessable videos, quizzes, exercises, and interactivities, all
associated with learning objectives. Interactive assignments and
videos allow students to experience and apply their understanding
of psychology to the world with fun and stimulating activities.
Real People, Real World, Real Life
At the higher end of Bloom’s taxonomy (analyze, evaluate, create),
the McGraw-Hill Education Milestones video series is an
observational tool that allows students to experience life as it
unfolds, from infancy to late adulthood. This ground-breaking,
longitudinal video series tracks the development of real children as
they progress through the early stages of physical, social, and
emotional development in their first few weeks, months, and years
of life. Assignable and assessable within Connect for Life-Span
Development, Milestones also includes interviews with
adolescents and adults to reflect development throughout the entire
life span.
Inform and Engage on Psychological
Concepts
At the lower end of Bloom’s taxonomy, students are introduced to
Concept Clips—the dynamic, colorful graphics and stimulating
animations that break down some of psychology’s most difficult
concepts in a step-by-step manner, engaging students and aiding in
retention. They are assignable and assessable in Connect or can be
used as a jumping-off point in class. Accompanied by audio
narration, Concept Clips cover topics such as object permanence
and conservation, as well as theories and theorists like Bandura’s
social cognitive theory, Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, Buss’s
evolutionary theory, and Kuhl’s language development theory.
Page xiii
Prepare Students for Higher-
Level Thinking
Also at the higher end of Bloom’s taxonomy, Power of Process
for Psychology helps students improve critical thinking skills and
allows instructors to assess these skills efficiently and effectively
in an online environment. Available through Connect, pre-loaded
journal articles are available for instructors to assign. Using a
scaffolded framework such as understanding, synthesizing, and
analyzing, Power of Process moves students toward higher-level
thinking and analysis.
Better Data, Smarter Revision,
Improved Results
Students helped inform the revision strategy of Essentials of Life-
Span Development. McGraw-Hill Education’s SmartBook® is the
first and only adaptive reading and learning experience!
SmartBook helps students distinguish the concepts they know from
the concepts they don’t, while pinpointing the concepts they are
about to forget. SmartBook continuously adapts to create a truly
personalized learning path. SmartBook’s real-time reports help
both students and instructors identify the concepts that require
more attention, making study sessions and class time more
efficient.
Content revisions are informed by data collected anonymously
through McGraw-Hill Education’s SmartBook.
STEP 1. Over the course of three years, data points
showing concepts that caused students the most difficulty
were anonymously collected from Connect for Life-Span
Development’s SmartBook.
STEP 2. The data from SmartBook was provided to the
author in the form of a Heat Map, which graphically
illustrates “hot spots” in the text that affect student learning
(see image at right).
STEP 3. The author used the Heat Map data to refine the
content and reinforce student comprehension in the new
edition. Additional quiz questions and assignable activities
were created for use in Connect to further support student
success.
RESULT: Because the Heat Map gave the author empirically
based feedback at the paragraph and even sentence level, he was
able to develop the new edition using precise student data that
pinpointed concepts that gave students the most difficulty.
Page xiv
New to this edition, SmartBook is now optimized for mobile and
tablet and is accessible for students with disabilities. Content-wise,
it has been enhanced with improved learning objectives that are
measurable and observable to improve student outcomes.
SmartBook personalizes learning to individual student needs,
continually adapting to pinpoint knowledge gaps and focus
learning on topics that need the most attention. Study time is more
productive and, as a result, students are better prepared for class
and coursework. For instructors, SmartBook tracks student
progress and provides insights that can help guide teaching
strategies.
Powerful Reporting
Whether a class is face-to-face, hybrid, or entirely online, Connect
for Life-Span Development provides tools and analytics to reduce
the amount of time instructors need to administer their courses.
Easy-to-use course management tools allow instructors to spend
less time administering and more time teaching, while easy-to-use
reporting features allow students to monitor their progress and
optimize their study time.
The At-Risk Student Report provides instructors with one-click
access to a dashboard that identifies students who are at risk of
dropping out of the course due to low engagement levels.
The Category Analysis Report details student performance
relative to specific learning objectives and goals, including
APA outcomes and levels of Bloom’s taxonomy.
Connect Insight is a one-of-a-kind visual analytics dashboard
—now available for both instructors and students—that
provides at-a-glance information regarding student
performance.
The LearnSmart Reports allow instructors and students to
easily monitor progress and pinpoint areas of weakness, giving
each student a personalized study plan to achieve success.
Online Instructor Resources
The resources listed here accompany Essentials of Life-Span
Development, Sixth Edition. Please contact your McGraw-Hill
representative for details concerning the availability of these and
other valuable materials that can help you design and enhance your
course.
Instructor’s Manual Broken down by chapter, this resource
provides chapter outlines, suggested lecture topics, classroom
activities and demonstrations, suggested student research projects,
essay questions, and critical thinking questions.
Test Bank and Computerized Test Bank This comprehensive
Test Bank includes more than 1,500 multiple-choice and
approximately 75 essay questions. Organized by chapter, the
questions are designed to test factual, applied, and conceptual
understanding. All test questions are available within TestGen™
software.
PowerPoint Slides The PowerPoint presentations, now WCAG
compliant, highlight the key points of the chapter and include
supporting visuals. All of the slides can be modified to meet
individual needs.
Page xv
The Essential Approach to
Life-Span Development
In the view of many instructors who teach the life-span development course,
the biggest challenge they face is covering all periods of human development
within one academic term. My own teaching experience bears this out. I have
had to skip over much of the material in a comprehensive life-span
development text in order to focus on key topics and concepts that students
find difficult and to fit in applications that are relevant to students’ lives. I
wrote Essentials of Life-Span Development to respond to the need for a
shorter text that covers core content in a way that is meaningful to diverse
students.
This sixth edition continues my commitment to providing a brief
introduction to life-span development—with an exciting difference.
Recognizing that most of today’s students have grown up in a digital world, I
take very seriously the need for communicating content in different ways,
online as well as in print. Consequently, I’m enthusiastic about McGraw-
Hill’s online assignment and assessment platform, Connect for Life-Span
Development, which incorporates this text, and the captivating Milestones
video modules. Together, these resources give students and instructors the
essential coverage, applications, and course tools they need to tailor the life-
span course to meet their specific needs.
The Essential Teaching and Learning Environment
Research shows that students today learn in multiple modalities. Not only do
their work preferences tend to be more visual and more interactive, but also
their reading and study sessions often occur in short bursts. With shorter
chapters and innovative interactive study modules, Essentials of Life-Span
Development allows students to study whenever, wherever, and however they
choose. Regardless of individual study habits, preparation, and approaches to
the course, Essentials connects with students on a personal, individual basis
and provides a road map for success in the course.
Essential Coverage
The challenge in writing Essentials of Life-Span Development was
determining what comprises the core content of the course. With the help of
consultants and instructors who have responded to surveys and reviewed the
content at different stages of development, I am able to present all of the core
topics, key ideas, and most important research in life-span development that
students need to know in a brief format that stands on its own merits.
The 17 brief chapters of Essentials are organized chronologically and
cover all periods of the human life span, from the prenatal period through late
adulthood and death. Providing a broad overview of life-span development,
this text especially gives attention to the theories and concepts that students
seem to have difficulty mastering.
Essential Applications
Applied examples give students a sense that the field of life-span
development has personal meaning for them. In this edition of Essentials are
numerous real-life applications as well as research applications for each
period of the life span.
In addition to applied examples, Essentials of Life-Span Development
offers applications for students in a variety of majors and career paths.
How Would You . . . ? questions. Given that students enrolled in the life-
span course have diverse majors, Essentials includes applications that
appeal to different interests. The most prevalent areas of specialization
are education, human development and family studies, health professions,
psychology, and social work. To engage these students and ensure that
Essentials orients them to concepts that are key to their understanding of
life-span development, instructors specializing in these fields contributed
How Would You . . . ? questions for each chapter. Strategically placed in
the margin next to relevant topics, these questions highlight the essential
takeaway ideas for these students.
Careers in Life-Span Development. This feature personalizes life-span
development by describing an individual working in a career related to
the chapter’s focus. One example is Jennifer Leonhard, a genetic
counselor. The feature describes Ms. Leonhard’s education and work
setting, discusses various employment options for genetic counselors, and
provides resources for students who want to find out more about careers
in genetic counseling.
Essential Resources
The following resources accompany Essentials of Life-Span Development,
6th edition. Please contact your McGraw-Hill representative for details
concerning the availability of these and other valuable materials that can help
you design and enhance your course (see page xiv).
Instructor’s Manual
Test Bank
WCAG Accessible PowerPoint Slides
Page xvi
Content Revisions
As an indication of the up-to-date nature of this new edition, the text has
more than 1,500 citations from 2017, 2018, and 2019. Also, a special effort
was made to increase the coverage of the following topics in this new edition:
diversity and culture; genetics and epigenetics; neuroscience and the brain;
identity issues, especially gender and transgender; health; technology; and
successful aging. Following are many of the chapter-by-chapter changes that
were made in this new edition of Essentials of Life-Span Development.
Chapter 1: Introduction
Update on life expectancy in the United States (U.S. Census Bureau,
2017)
New projections on the significant increase in older adults in the world
with estimates of a doubling of the population of individuals 60 and over
and a tripling or quadrupling of those 80 and over by 2050 (United
Nations, 2015)
New career profile on Gustavo Medrano, clinical psychologist, who
works at the Family Institute at Northwestern University
Updated data on the percentage of U.S. children and adolescents under 18
years of age living in poverty, including data reported separately for
African American and Latino families (Jiang, Granja, & Koball, 2017)
In the discussion of gender, new content on transgender (Budge &
Orovecz, 2018; Budge & others, 2018; Savin-Williams, 2017)
In the section on contemporary topics, a new topic—technology—was
added and discussed, including an emphasis on how pervasive it has
become in people’s lives and how it might influence their development
In the coverage of cross-cultural studies, a recent study of 26 countries
indicating that individuals in Chile had the highest life satisfaction, those
in Bulgaria and Spain the lowest (Jang & others, 2017)
New description of the positive outcomes when individuals have pride in
their ethnic group, including recent research (Douglass & Umana-Taylor,
2017; Umana-Taylor & others, 2018)
New description of emerging adulthood and the dramatic increase in
studies on this transitional period between adolescence and adulthood
(Arnett, 2016a,b)
Inclusion of a study involving 17-year survival rates of 20- to 93-year-old
Korean adults found that when biological age became greater than
chronological age, individuals were less likely to have died (Yoo &
others, 2017)
New content involving how the information processing approach often
uses a computer analogy to help explain the connection between
cognition and the brain, and how humans process information
New discussion of artificial intelligence and the new emerging field of
developmental robotics that examines various developmental topics and
issues using robots, including a new photograph of a “human-like” baby
robot (Morse & Cangelosi, 2017)
Updated and expanded coverage of research methods, including the
increased use of eye-tracking to assess infants’ perception (van
Renswoude & others, 2018), attention (Meng, Uto, & Hashiva, 2017),
face processing (Chhaya & others, 2018), autism (Falck-Ytter & others,
2018), and preterm birth effects on language development (Loi & others,
2017)
Chapter 2: Biological Beginnings
Editing and updating of chapter based on comments by leading expert on
prenatal development and birth, Janet DiPietro
Updated and expanded discussion of genome-wide association studies,
including research on autism (Ramswami & Geschwind, 2018), attention
deficit hyperactivity disorder (Sanchez-Reige & others, 2018), cancer
(Sucheston-Campbell & others, 2018), obesity (Amare & others, 2017),
and Alzheimer disease (Liu & others, 2018)
Updated and expanded research on how exercise, nutrition, and
respiration can modify the expression of genes (Kader & others, 2018;
Poulsen & others, 2018)
Page xvii
New coverage of the process of methylation, in which tiny atoms attach
themselves to the outside of a gene. Researchers have found that exercise,
diet, and tobacco use can change whether a gene is expressed or not
through the methylation process (Castellano-Castillo & others, 2018;
Martin & Fry, 2018).
Inclusion of recent research indicating that methylation may be involved
in depression (Crawford & others, 2018), breast cancer (Maier & others,
2018), and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (Kim & others, 2018)
Updated and expanded research on gene-gene interaction to include
alcoholism (Chen & others, 2017), obesity (Bordoni & others, 2017), type
2 diabetes (Saxena, Srivastaya, & Banergee, 2018), cardiovascular
disease (De & others, 2017), and Alzheimer disease (Yin & others, 2018)
Inclusion of recent research in which a higher level maternal responsivity
to children with fragile X syndrome’s adaptive behavior improved the
children’s communication skills (Warren & others, 2017)
New content on the number of children born worldwide with sickle-cell
anemia and how stem cell transplantation is being explored in the
treatment of infants with sickle-cell anemia (Azar & Wong, 2017)
Updated description of how research now supports the use of
hydroxyurea therapy for infants with sickle cell anemia
beginning at 9 months of age (Nevitt, Jones, & Howard,
2017)
New career profile on Jennifer Leonhard, genetic counselor
New content on fertility drugs being more likely to produce multiple
births than in vitro fertilization (March of Dimes, 2017)
New coverage of a recent national study in which low birthweight and
preterm birth were significantly higher in assisted-reproduction
technology conceived infants (Sunderam & others, 2017)
Updated data on the average length and weight of the fetus at different
points in prenatal development, including revisions involving these data
in Figure 8
New commentary about neurogenesis being largely complete by about the
end of the fifth month of prenatal development (Keunen, Counsell, &
Benders, 2017)
Discussion of a recent meta-analysis of 15 studies that concluded
smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of children having ADHD
and that the risk is greater if their mother is a heavy smoker (Huang &
others, 2018)
New content about a recent large-scale U.S. study in which 11.5 percent
of adolescent and 8.7 percent of adult pregnant women reported using
alcohol in the previous month (Oh & others, 2017)
Description of recent research in which daughters whose mothers smoked
during their pregnancy were more likely to subsequently smoke during
their own pregnancy (Ncube & Mueller, 2017)
Coverage of a recent study that found despite the plethora of negative
outcomes for maternal smoking during pregnancy, 23 percent of pregnant
adolescents and 15 percent of adult pregnant women reported using
tobacco in the previous month (Oh & others, 2017)
Inclusion of recent research in which cocaine use during pregnancy was
associated with impaired connectivity of the thalamus and prefrontal
cortex in newborns (Salzwedel & others, 2017)
Discussion of recent research indicating that cocaine use by pregnant
women is linked to self-regulation problems at age 12 (Minnes & others,
2016)
New research indicating that pregnant women have increased their use of
marijuana in recent years (Brown & others, 2016)
Coverage of the recent concern that marijuana use by pregnant women
may further increase given the increasing number of states that are
legalizing marijuana (Chasnoff, 2017)
New section, “Synthetic Opioids and Opiate-Related Pain Killers,” that
discusses the increasing use of these substances by pregnant women and
their possible harmful outcomes for pregnant women and their offspring
(Haycraft, 2018; National Institute of Drug Abuse, 2018)
New description of recent research indicating that prenatal mercury
exposure in fish is linked to reduced placental and fetal growth, as well as
impaired neuropsychological development (Jeong & others, 2017; Llop &
others, 2017; Murcia & others, 2016)
Revised content on fish consumption by pregnant women, who are now
being advised to increase their fish consumption, especially eating more
low-mercury-content fish such as salmon, shrimp, tilapia, and cod
(American Pregnancy Association, 2018)
Inclusion of recent research that revealed maternal prenatal stress and
anxiety were linked to lower levels of infants’ self-regulation (Korja &
others, 2017)
Discussion of a recent study that found when fetuses were exposed to
serotonin-based antidepressants, they were more likely to be born preterm
(Podrebarac & others, 2017)
Description of a recent research review that concluded tobacco smoking
is linked to impaired male fertility and increases in DNA damage,
aneuploidy (abnormal number of chromosomes in a cell), and mutations
in sperm (Beal, Yauk, & Marchetti, 2017)
Discussion of a recent research review in which participation in
CenteringPregnancy increased initiation of breast feeding by 53 percent
overall and by 71 percent in African American women (Robinson,
Garnier-Villarreal, & Hanson, 2018)
Discussion of a recent study that revealed regular exercise by pregnant
women was linked to more advanced development in the neonatal brain
(Laborte-Lemoyne, Currier, & Ellenberg, 2017)
Inclusion of recent research in which two weekly 70-minute yoga
sessions reduced pregnant women’s stress and enhanced their immune
system functioning (Chen & others, 2017)
New main heading, “Normal Prenatal Development,” that includes a
description of how most of the time prenatal development occurs in a
normal manner
Coverage of a recent Swedish study that found women who gave birth in
water had fewer vaginal tears, shorter labor, needed fewer drugs for pain
relief and interventions by medical personnel, and rated their birth
experience more positive than women who had conventional spontaneous
vaginal births (Ulfsdottir, Saltvedt, & Gerogesson, 2018)
Inclusion of recent studies in which massage reduced women’s pain
during labor (Gallo & others, 2018; Shahoei & others, 2018; Unalmis
Erdogan, Yanikkerem, & Goker, 2018)
Update on the percentage of U.S. births that take place in hospitals, at
home, and in birthing centers and the percentage of babies born through
cesarean delivery (Martin & others, 2017)
Page xviii
Update on the percentage of births in the United States in which a
midwife is involved (Martin & others, 2017)
New description of global cesarean delivery rates with the
Dominican Republic and Brazil having the highest rates (56
percent) and New Zealand and the Czech Republic the
lowest (26 percent) (McCullough, 2016). The World Health Organization
recommends a cesarean rate of 10 percent or less.
Revised and updated content on cesarean delivery to include the two most
common reasons of why it is carried out: failure to progress through labor
and fetal distress
Updated weights for classification as a low birth weight baby, a very low
birth weight baby, and an extremely low birth weight baby
Updated data on the percentage of births in the United States that are
preterm, low birth weight, and cesarean section (Martin & others, 2017)
Description of recent research indicating that extremely preterm and low
birth weight infants have lower executive function, especially in working
memory and planning (Burnett & others, 2018)
Inclusion of recent research that revealed kangaroo care was effective in
reducing neonatal pain (Mooney-Leber & Brummelte, 2017)
Discussion of a longitudinal study in which the nurturing positive effects
of kangaroo care with preterm and low birth weight infants at one year of
age were still present 20 years later in a number of positive
developmental outcomes (Charpak & others, 2018)
Coverage of a recent study that revealed worsening or minimal
improvement in sleep problems from 6 weeks to 7 months postpartum
were associated with increased depressive symptoms (Lewis & others,
2018)
Description of recent research that found women who had a history of
depression were 20 times more likely to develop postpartum depression
than women who had no history of depression (Silverman & others,
2017)
Inclusion of recent research in which mothers’ postpartum depression, but
not generalized anxiety, was linked to their children’s emotional
negativity and behavior problems at two years of age (Prenoveau &
others, 2017)
Coverage of a recent meta-analysis that concluded that physical exercise
during the postpartum period is a safe strategy for reducing postpartum
depressive symptoms (Poyatos-Leon & others, 2017)
Discussion of a recent study that found depressive symptoms in mothers
and fathers were linked to impaired bonding with their infant in the
postpartum period (Kerstis & others, 2016)
Chapter 3: Physical and Cognitive Development in
Infancy
Revisions based on feedback from leading children’s nutrition expert,
Maureen Black, and leading children’s motor development expert, Karen
Adolph
New discussion of how infant growth is often not smooth and continuous
but rather is episodic, occurring in spurts (Adolph, 2018; Lampl &
Schoen, 2017)
Description of a recent study in which sleep sessions lasted
approximately 3.5 hours during the first few months and increased to
about 10.5 hours from 3 to 7 months (Mindell & others, 2016)
New commentary about how many mothers today are providing their
babies with “tummy time” to prevent a decline in prone skills that can
occur because of the “back to sleep movement” to prevent SIDS
Discussion of a recent research review that revealed a positive link
between infant sleeping and cognitive functioning, including memory,
language, and executive function (Tham, Schneider, & Broekman, 2017)
Updated data on the continuing increase in breast feeding by U.S.
mothers (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016)
Updated support for the role of breastfeeding in reducing a number of
disease risks for children and their mothers (Bartick & others, 2017)
Inclusion of a recent research review indicating that breastfeeding is not
associated with a reduced risk of allergies in young children (Heinrich,
2017)
Description of recent research indicating a reduction in hospitalization for
breastfed infants and breastfeeding mothers for a number of conditions
Page xix
(Bartick & others, 2018)
Discussion of a recent study that found a small increase in intelligence for
children who had been breastfed (Bernard & others, 2017)
Description of recent research in which introduction of vegetables
between 4 to 5 months of age was linked with a lower level of infant
fussy eating at 4 years of age than when they were introduced after 6
months (de Barse & others, 2017)
New career profile on Dr. Faize Mustafa-Infante, pediatrician, who
especially is passionate about preventing obesity in children
Discussion of a recent study that examined a number of predictors of
motor milestones in the first year (Flensborg-Madsen & Mortensen,
2017)
Revision of the nature/nurture section in the content on perceptual
development to better reflect the Gibsons’ view
Expanded and updated criticism of the innate view of the emergence of
infant morality with an emphasis on the importance of infants’ early
interaction with others and later transformation through language and
reflective thought (Carpendale & Hammond, 2016)
Coverage of a recent study in which hand-eye coordination involving
connection of gaze with manual action on objects rather than gaze
following alone predicted joint attention (Yu & Smith, 2017)
New description of Andrew Meltzoff’s (2017) view that infants’ imitation
informs us about their processing of social events and contributes to rapid
social learning
Inclusion of some revisions and updates based on feedback from leading
experts Roberta Golinkoff and Virginia Marchman
Revised definition of infinite generativity to include comprehension as
well as production
New opening commentary about the nature of language
learning and how it involves comprehending a sound system
(or sign system for individuals who are deaf), the world of
objects, actions, and events, and how units such as words and grammar
connect sound and world (Israel, 2019; Mithun, 2019)
Revised definition of infinite generativity to include comprehension as
well as production
Expanded description of how statistical regularity of information is
involved in infant word learning (Pace & others, 2016)
Expanded discussion of statistical learning, including how infants soak up
statistical regularities around them merely through exposure to them
(Aslin, 2017)
New research on babbling onset predicting when infants would say their
first words (McGillion & others, 2017a)
New commentary on why gestures such as pointing promote further
advances in language development
New content on the vocabulary spurt and how it involves the increase in
the pace at which words are learned
Expanded descriptions of the functions that child-directed speech serves,
including providing infants with information about their native language
and heightening differences with speech directed to adults (Golinkoff &
others, 2015)
Coverage of recent research in which child-directed speech in a one-to-
one social context for 11- to 14-month-olds was related to productive
vocabulary at 2 years of age for Spanish-English bilingual infants for both
languages and each language independently (Ramirez-Esparza, Garcia-
Sierra, & Kuhl, 2017)
Inclusion of a recent study that revealed both full-term and preterm
infants who heard more caregiver talk based on all-day recordings at 16
months of age had better language skills at 18 months of age (Adams &
others, 2018)
New discussion of recent research in several North American urban areas
and the small island of Tanna in the South Pacific Ocean that found that
fathers in both types of contexts engaged in child-directed speech with
their infants (Broesch & Bryant, 2017)
New emphasis on the importance of social cues in infant language
learning (Ahun & others, 2018; McGillion & others, 2017b; Pace &
others, 2016)
Revised definitions of recasting, expanding, and labeling
New content on the American Association of Pediatrics (2016) recent
Page xx
position statement on co-viewing of videos indicating that infants can
benefit when parents watch videos with them and communicate with
them about the videos
Expanded coverage of how parents can facilitate infants’ and toddlers’
language development
Chapter 4: Socioemotional Development in Infancy
Edits made to chapter based on feedback from leading expert Joan Grusec
Expanded and updated coverage of the brain’s role in infant emotional
development (Bell & others, 2018; Johnson, 2018; Tottenham, 2017)
New introductory comments about the important role that cognitive
processes, in addition to biological and experiential influences, play in
children’s emotional development, both in the moment and across
childhood (Bell, Diaz, & Liu, 2018)
Discussion of a recent study in which maternal sensitivity was linked to
lower levels of infant fear (Gartstein, Hancock, & Iverson, 2017)
Description of a recent study that revealed excessive crying in
3-month-olds doubled the risk of behavioral, hyperactive, and
mood problems at 5 to 6 years of age (Smarius & others, 2017)
Inclusion of a recent study in which maternal sensitivity was linked to
better emotional self-regulation in 10-month-old infants (Frick & others,
2018)
Coverage of a recent study that found depressed mothers rocked and
touched their crying infants less than non-depressed mothers did
(Esposito & others, 2017a)
New description of a study in which young infants with a negative
temperament used fewer attention regulation strategies while maternal
sensitivity to infants was linked to more adaptive emotion regulation
(Thomas & others, 2017)
Description of a recent study that revealed if parents had a childhood
history of behavioral inhibition, their children who also had a high level
of behavioral inhibition were at risk for developing anxiety disorders
(Stumper & others, 2017)
New research that found positive affectivity, surgency, and self-
regulation capacity assessed at 4 months of age was linked to school
readiness at 4 years of age (Gartstein, Putnam, & Kliewer, 2016)
Discussion of recent studies indicating a lower level of effortful control
and self-regulation capacity in early childhood were linked to a higher
level of ADHD symptoms later in childhood (Willoughby, Gottfredson,
& Stifter, 2017) and adolescence (Einziger & others, 2017)
Expanded and updated content on the increasing belief that babies are
socially smarter than used to be thought, including information about
Amanda Woodward and her colleagues’ (Krough-Jespersen &
Woodward, 2016; Liberman, Woodward, & Kinzler, 2017) research on
how quickly infants understand and respond to others’ meaningful
intentions
Discussion of a recent study in which maternal sensitivity and a better
home environment in infancy predicted high self-regulation at 4 years of
age (Birmingham, Bub, & Vaughn, 2017)
Inclusion of recent research in Zambia, where siblings were substantially
involved in caregiving activities, that revealed infants showed strong
attachments to both their mothers and their sibling caregivers with secure
attachment being the most frequent attachment classification for both
mother-infant and sibling-infant relationships (Mooja, Sichimba, &
Bakersman-Kranenburg, 2017)
Description of a recent study that did not find support for the view that
genes influence mother-infant attachment (Leerkes & others, 2017)
Description of recent research that revealed providing parents who
engage in inadequate or problematic caregiving with practice and
feedback focused on interacting sensitively enhances parent-infant
attachment security (Coyne & others, 2018; Dozier & Bernard, 2017,
2018; Woodhouse, 2018; Woodhouse & others, 2017)
Discussion of a recent study that found when adults used scaffolding,
infants were twice as likely to engage in helping behavior (Dahl & others,
2017)
Coverage of a recent study of disadvantaged families in which an
intervention involving improving early maternal scaffolding was linked to
improvement in cognitive skills at 4 years of age (Obradovic & others,
2017)
New content about mothers playing 3 times more often with children than
fathers do (Cabrera & Rossman, 2017)
Inclusion of recent research with low-income families indicating that
fathers’ playfulness at 2 years of age was associated with more advanced
vocabulary skills at 4 years of age while mothers’ playfulness at 2 years
of age was linked to a higher level of emotion regulation at 4 years of age
(Cabrera & others, 2017)
Discussion of a recent study that found negative outcomes on cognitive
development in infancy when fathers were more withdrawn and
depressed and positive outcomes on cognitive development when they
were more engaged and sensitive, as well as less controlling (Sethna &
others, 2018)
Chapter 5: Physical and Cognitive Development in Early
Childhood
Discussion of a recent study of 4-year-old girls that found a nine-week
motor skill intervention improved the girls’ ball skills (Veldman & others,
2017)
Description of recent research indicating that higher motor skill
proficiency in preschool was linked to engaging in a higher level of
physical activity in adolescence (Venetsanou & Kambas, 2017)
Inclusion of recent research that found children with a low level of motor
competence had a lower motivation for sports participation and lower
global self-worth than their counterparts who had a high level of motor
competence (Bardid & others, 2018)
Discussion of a recent study that revealed 2 ½-year-old children’s liking
for fruits and vegetables was related to their eating more fruits and
vegetables at 7 years of age (Fletcher & others, 2018)
Updated data on the percentage of U.S. 2- to 5-year-old children who are
obese, which has recently decreased (Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, 2017)
New description of the recently devised 5-2-1-0 obesity prevention
guidelines for young children: 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables,
no more than 2 hours of screen time, minimum of 1 hour of physical
activity, and 0 sugar-sweetened beverages daily (Khalsa & others, 2017)
New discussion of a longitudinal study that revealed when young children
were exposed to environmental tobacco smoke, they were more likely to
engage in antisocial behavior at 12 years of age (Pagani & others, 2017)
Updates and revisions based on feedback from leading expert Megan
McClelland
Updating of recent research on young children’s executive function
(Blair, 2017; Muller & others, 2017), including a recent study in which
young children who showed delayed executive function development had
a lower level of school readiness (Willoughby & others, 2017)
Inclusion of recent research showing the effectiveness of the Tools of the
Mind approach in improving a number of cognitive processes and
academic skills in young children (Blair & Raver, 2014)
New research indicating that parental engagement in mind-mindedness
advanced preschool children’s theory of mind (Hughes, Devine, & Wang,
2017)
Updated and expanded theory of mind content involving various aspects
of social interaction, including secure attachment and mental state talk,
parental engagement, peer relations, and living in a higher socioeconomic
status family (Hughes, Devine, & Wang, 2018)
Inclusion of a recent study of 3- to 5-year-old children that revealed
earlier development of executive function predicted theory of mind
performance, especially for false-belief tasks (Doenyas, Yavuz, & Selcuk,
2017)
Coverage of a recent study in which theory of mind predicted the severity
of autism in children (Hoogenhout & Malcolm-Smith, 2017)
Revisions to the discussion of young children’s language development
based on feedback from leading experts Roberta Golinkoff and Virginia
Marchman
Coverage of a recent multigenerational study that found when both Head
Start children and their mothers had participated in Head Start, positive
cognitive and socioemotional outcomes occurred for the children (Chor,
2018)
Page xxi
Update on the increase in publicly funded preschool programs that now
occurs in 42 states plus the District of Columbia (National Institute for
Early Education Research, 2016)
Description of two recent studies that confirmed the importance of
improved parenting engagement and skills in the success of Head Start
programs (Ansari & Gershoff, 2016; Roggman & others, 2016)
Chapter 6: Socioemotional Development in Early
Childhood
New emphasis on the importance of how extensively young children can
learn by observing the behavior of others, including a recent study in
which young children who observed a peer being rewarded for confessing
to cheating were more likely to be honest in the future themselves (Ma &
others, 2018)
Inclusion of recent research indicating the broad capacity for
self-evaluative emotion was present in the preschool years and
was linked to young children’s empathetic concern (Ross,
2017)
Description of a recent study in which young children with higher
emotion regulation were more popular with their peers (Nakamichi, 2019)
New commentary about connections between different emotions and how
they may influence development, including a recent study in which
participants’ guilt proneness combined with their empathy to predict an
increase in prosocial behavior (Torstevelt, Sutterlin, & Lugo, 2016)
Coverage of a recent study in Great Britain in which gender non-
conforming boys were most at risk for peer rejection (Braun & Davidson,
2017)
Inclusion of a recent research review of a large number of studies that
found authoritarian parenting was associated with a higher level of
externalizing problems (Pinquart, 2017)
Coverage of a recent study in which an authoritarian style, as well as
pressure to eat, were associated with a higher risk for being overweight or
obese in young children (Melis Yavuz & Selkuk, 2018)
Discussion of a recent study that revealed children of authoritative
parents engaged in more prosocial behavior than their counterparts whose
parents used the other parenting styles discussed in the section (Carlo &
others, 2018)
Description of a recent research review in which authoritative parenting
was the most effective parenting style in predicting which children and
adolescents would be less likely to be overweight or obese later in their
development (Sokol, Qin, & Puti, 2017)
New commentary about how in many traditional cultures, fathers use an
authoritarian style; in such cultures, children benefit more when mothers
use an authoritative parenting style
New section, “Further Thoughts about Parenting Styles,” including four
factors than can influence how research on parenting styles can be
interpreted
Coverage of a recent review that concluded there is widespread approval
of corporal punishment by U.S. parents (Ciocca, 2017)
Inclusion of a recent research review of risk factors for engaging in child
neglect that concluded that most risks involved parental factors, including
a history of antisocial behavior/criminal offending, having
mental/physical problems, and experiencing abuse in their own childhood
(Mulder & others, 2018)
Discussion of a longitudinal study that found harsh physical punishment
in childhood was linked to a higher incidence of intimate partner violence
in adulthood (Afifi & others, 2017b)
Description of a recent Japanese study in which occasional spanking at 3
years of age was associated with a higher level of behavioral problems at
5 years of age (Okunzo & others, 2017)
Discussion of a recent meta-analysis that found when physical
punishment was not abusive, physical punishment was still linked to
detrimental child outcomes (Gershoff & Grogan-Kaylor, 2016)
Coverage of a recent study that found physical abuse was linked to lower
levels of cognitive performance and school engagement in children (Font
& Cage, 2018)
Inclusion of a recent study that revealed exposure to either physical or
sexual abuse in childhood and adolescence was linked to an increase in
Page xxii
13- to 18-year- olds’ suicide ideation, plans, and attempts (Gomez &
others, 2017)
Description of a longitudinal study in which experiencing early abuse and
neglect in the first five years of life were linked to having more
interpersonal problems and lower academic achievement from childhood
through their 30s (Raby & others, 2018)
Coverage of a large-scale study that found a birth order effect for
intelligence, with older siblings having slightly higher intelligence, but no
birth order effects for life satisfaction, internal/external control, trust, risk
taking, patience, and impulsivity (Rohrer, Egloff, & Schukle, 2017)
Description of recent research indicating that mothers’ and fathers’ work-
family conflict was linked to 4-year-olds’ lower self-control (Ferreria &
others, 2018)
Discussion of a recent study in which experiencing parents’ divorce, as
well as child maltreatment, in childhood was linked to midlife suicide
ideation (Stansfield & others, 2017)
Inclusion of a recent meta-analysis that revealed when their parents had
become divorced, as adults they were more likely to have depression
(Sands, Thompson, & Gavsina, 2017)
Coverage of a recent study that found interparental hostility was a
stronger predictor of children’s insecurity and externalizing problems
than interparental disagreement and low levels of interparental
cooperation (Davies & others, 2016)
Updated data on the percentage of gay and lesbian parents who are
raising children
Inclusion of recent research that revealed no differences in the
adjustment of school-aged children adopted in infancy by
gay, lesbian, and heterosexual parents (Farr, 2017)
Description of a recent study of lesbian and gay adoptive families
indicated that 98 percent of the parents reported their children had
adjusted well to school (Farr, Oakley, & Ollen, 2016)
Coverage of a longitudinal study that found a multi-component (school-
based educational enrichment and comprehensive family services)
preschool-to-third-grade intervention with low-income minority children
in Chicago was effective in increasing their high school graduation, as
well as undergraduate and graduate school success (Reynolds, Ou, &
Temple, 2018)
Update on the most recent national survey of screen time indicating a
dramatic shift to greater use of mobile devices in young children
(Common Sense Media, 2013)
Inclusion of recent research with 2- to 6-year-olds that indicated increased
TV viewing on weekends was associated with a higher risk of being
overweight or obese (Kondolot & others, 2017)
Description of a recent meta-analysis that found children’s exposure to
prosocial media is linked to higher levels of prosocial behavior and
empathetic concern (Coyne & others, 2018)
Chapter 7: Physical and Cognitive Development in
Middle and Late Childhood
New coverage of the increase in brain connectivity as children develop
and a longitudinal study that found greater connectivity between the
prefrontal and parietal regions in childhood was linked to better reasoning
ability later in development (Wendelken & others, 2017)
Discussion of a recent study of elementary school children that revealed
55 minutes or more of daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity was
associated with a lower incidence of obesity (Nemet, 2016)
Description of a recent meta-analysis that participation in a sustained
program of physical activity improved children’s attention, executive
function, and academic achievement (de Greeff & others, 2018)
Coverage of a recent study with 7- to 13-year-olds in which a 6-week
high-intensity exercise program resulted in improved cognitive control
and working memory (Moreau, Kirk, & Waldie, 2018)
Description of a recent meta-analysis that found children who engage in
regular physical activity have better cognitive inhibitory control (Jackson
& others, 2016)
Inclusion of recent research with 8- to 12-year-olds indicating that screen
time was associated with lower connectivity between brain regions, as
well as lower language skills and cognitive control, while time spent
reading was linked to higher levels in these areas (Horowitz-Kraus &
Hutton, 2018)
Updated data on the percentage of 6- to 11-year-old U.S. children who
are obese (Ogden & others, 2016)
Inclusion of a recent Japanese study that revealed the family pattern that
was linked to the highest overweight/obesity in children was a
combination of irregular mealtimes and the most screen time for both
parents (Watanabe & others, 2016)
Discussion of a recent study in which children were less likely to be
obese or overweight when they attended schools in states that had a
strong policy emphasis on healthy food and beverage (Datar & Nicosia,
2017)
Updated statistics on the percentage of U.S. children who have different
types of disabilities and revised update of Figure 4 (National Center for
Education Statistics, 2016)
Description of a recent research review that found girls with ADHD had
more problematic peer relations than typically developing girls in a
number of areas (Kok & others, 2016)
Coverage of a recent research review that concluded ADHD in childhood
is linked to a number of long-term outcomes (Erksine & others, 2016)
Discussion of a recent study that found childhood ADHD was associated
with long-term underachievement in math and reading (Voigt & others,
2017)
Description of a recent study in which individuals with ADHD were more
likely to become parents at 12 to 16 years of age (Ostergaard & others,
2017)
Coverage of a recent research review that concluded stimulation
medications are effective in treating children with ADHD in the short
term, but that long-term benefits of such medications are not clear (Rajeh
& others, 2017)
Discussion of a recent meta-analysis that found mindfulness training
improved the attention of children with ADHD (Caincross & Miller,
2018)
Inclusion of a recent meta-analysis that concluded physical exercise is
effective in reducing cognitive symptoms of ADHD in individuals 3 to 25
Page xxiii
years of age (Tan, Pooley, & Speelman, 2017)
Coverage of a recent meta-analysis in which exercise was associated with
better executive function in children with ADHD (Vysniauske & others,
2018)
Description of a recent study in which an 8-week yoga program improved
the sustained attention of children with ADHD (Chou & Huang, 2017)
New commentary that despite the recent positive research findings using
neurofeedback, mindfulness training, and exercise to improve the
attention of children with ADHD, it remains to be determined if they are
as effective as stimulant drugs and/or whether they benefit children as
add-ons to stimulant drugs (Den Jeijer & others, 2017)
Updated data on the increasing percentage of children being diagnosed as
having autism spectrum disorder (Christensen & others, 2016)
Inclusion of a recent study that revealed a lower level of working memory
was the executive function most strongly associated with autism spectrum
disorders (Ziermans & others, 2017)
New coverage of two recent surveys in which only a minority of parents
reported that their child’s autism spectrum disorder was identified prior to
three years of age and that one-third to one-half of the cases were
identified after six years of age (Sheldrick, Maye, & Carter, 2017)
Discussion of a recent study in which children’s verbal working memory
was linked to these aspects of both first and second language learners:
morphology, syntax, and grammar (Verhagen & Leseman, 2016)
Inclusion of recent research that found mindfulness-based intervention
improved children’s attention self-regulation (Felver & others, 2017)
Description of the most recent revision of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale
for Children—V, and its increase in the number of subtests and composite
scores (Canivez, Watkins, & Dombrowski, 2017)
Coverage of recent research that found a significant link
between children’s general intelligence and their self-control
(Meldrum & others, 2017)
Discussion of a recent two-year intervention study with families living in
poverty in which maternal scaffolding and positive home stimulation
improved young children’s intellectual functioning (Obradovic & others,
2016)
New content on stereotype threat in the section on cultural bias in
intelligence tests (Grand, 2017; Lyons & others, 2018; Williams & others,
2018)
Update on the percentage of U.S. students who are classified as gifted
(National Association for Gifted Children, 2017)
New commentary that vocabulary development plays an important role in
reading comprehension (Vacca & others, 2018)
Coverage of a recent study of 6- to 10-year-old children that found early
bilingual exposure was a key factor in bilingual children outperforming
monolingual children on phonological awareness and word learning
(Jasinsksa & Petitto, 2018)
Discussion of research that documented bilingual children were better at
theory of mind tasks than were monolingual children (Rubio-Fernandez,
2017)
Chapter 8: Socioemotional Development in Middle and
Late Childhood
New description of recent research studies indicating that children and
adolescents who do not have good perspective-taking skills are more
likely to have difficulty in peer relations and engage in more aggressive
and oppositional behavior (Morosan & others, 2017; Nilsen & Basco,
2017; O’Kearney & others, 2017)
Inclusion of a longitudinal study that revealed the quality of children’s
home environment (which involved assessment of parenting quality,
cognitive stimulation, and the physical home environment) was linked to
their self-esteem in early adulthood (Orth, 2017)
New discussion of the recent book Challenging the Cult of Self-Esteem in
Education (Bergeron, 2018) that criticizes education for promising high
self-esteem for students, especially those who are impoverished or
marginalized
Coverage of a longitudinal study that found a higher level of self-control
in childhood was linked to a slower pace of aging at 26, 32, and 38 years
of age (Belsky & others, 2017)
New description of an app that is effective in improving children’s self-
control:
www.selfregulationstation.com/sr-ipad-app/
New discussion of a longitudinal study in which a higher level of emotion
regulation in early childhood was linked to a higher level of externalizing
problems in adolescence (Perry & others, 2017)
Inclusion of a recent study that revealed females are better than males at
facial emotion perception across the life span (Olderbak & others, 2018)
New section, “Social-Emotional Education Programs,” that describes two
increasingly implemented programs: 1) Second Step (Committee for
Children, 2018) and 2) Collaborative for Academic, Social, and
Emotional Learning (CASEL (2018)
New career profile on Dr. Melissa Jackson, child and adolescent
psychiatrist
Substantial revision of the discussion of Kohlberg’s theory of moral
development to make it more concise and clear
New coverage of how we need to make better progress in dealing with an
increasing array of temptations and possible wrongdoings in a human
social world in which complexity is accumulating over time (Christen,
Narvaez, & Gutzwiller, 2018)
Deletion of the section on Gender Role Classification because of
decreasing interest in the topic in recent years
Discussion of a recent study with eighth grade students in 36 countries
that revealed girls had more egalitarian attitudes about gender roles than
did boys (Dotti Sani & Uaranta, 2015)
Description of a recent meta-analysis of attachment in middle/late
childhood and adolescence in which parents of children and adolescents
who more securely attached were more responsive, more supportive of
children’s and adolescents’ autonomy, used more behavioral control
strategies, and engaged in less harsh control strategies (Koehn & Kerns,
2018). Also in this meta-analysis, parents of children and adolescents
who showed more avoidant attachment were less responsive and engaged
is less behavioral control strategies. Regarding ambivalent attachment, no
links to parenting were found.
Inclusion of recent research indicating that when children have a better
Page xxiv
parent-child affective relationship with their stepparent, the children have
fewer internalizing and externalizing problems (Jensen & others, 2018)
Coverage of a recent study of young adolescents in which peer rejection
predicted increases in aggressive and rule-breaking behavior (Janssens &
others, 2017)
Description of a longitudinal study that revealed children who were
bullied at 6 years of age were more likely to have excess weight gain
when they were 12 to 13 years old (Sutin & others, 2016)
Inclusion of a longitudinal study that revealed being a victim of bullying
in childhood was linked to increased use of mental health services five
decades later (Evans-Lacko & others, 2017)
Description of recent longitudinal studies that indicated victims bullied in
childhood and adolescence have higher rates of agoraphobia, depression,
anxiety, panic disorder, and suicidality in the early to mid-twenties
(Arseneault, 2017; Copeland & others, 2013)
Coverage of recent research in which adolescents who were bullied in
both a direct way and through cyberbullying had more
behavioral problems and lower self-esteem than their
counterparts who were only bullied in one of two ways
(Wolke, Lee, & Guy, 2017)
Inclusion of a 2017/2018 update on the Every Student Succeeds Act
(ESSA) with the Trump administration planning to go forward with
ESSA but giving states much more flexibility in its implementation
(Klein, 2017)
Coverage of a recent intervention (City Connects program) with first-
generation immigrant children attending high-poverty schools that was
successful in improving the children’s reading and math skills (Dearing &
others, 2016)
Inclusion of a longitudinal study that involved implementation of the
Child-Parent Center Program in high-poverty neighborhoods of Chicago
that provided school-based educational enrichment and comprehensive
family services from 3 to 9 years of age (Reynolds, Ou, & Temple, 2018).
Children who participated in the program had higher rates of
postsecondary completion, including more years of education, an
associate’s degree or higher, and a master’s degree.
New coverage of a recent research review that concluded increases in
family income for children in poverty was linked to increased
achievement in middle school, as well as higher educational attainment in
adolescence and emerging adulthood (Duncan, Magnuson, & Votruba-
Drzil, 2017)
New content on Teach for America and its efforts to place college
graduates in teaching positions in schools located in low-income areas
and a new career profile on Teach for America instructor Ahou Vaziri
Update on comparisons of U.S. students with their counterparts around
the globe in math and science achievement (Desilver, 2017; TIMMS,
2015)
Coverage of recent research indicating that many parents and teachers
with growth mindsets don’t have children and adolescents with growth
mindsets (Haimovitz & Dweck, 2017)
New research that indicates the following are what parents and teachers
need to do to create growth mindsets in children and adolescents: teach
for understanding, provide feedback that improves understanding, give
students opportunities to revise their work, communicate how effort and
struggle are involved in learning, and function as partners with children
and adolescents in the learning process (Hooper & others, 2016; Sun,
2015)
Inclusion of recent research that found students from lower income
families were less likely to have a growth mindset than were students
from wealthier families but the achievement of students from lower
income families was more likely to be protected if they had a growth
mindset (Claro, Paunesku, & Dweck, 2016)
Discussion of a recent study that revealed having a growth mindset
protected women’s and minorities’ outlook when they chose to confront
expressions of bias toward them in the workplace (Rattan & Dweck,
2018)
Discussion of a recent study in China that found young adolescents with
authoritative parents showed better adjustment than their counterparts
with authoritarian parents (Zhang & others, 2017)
Chapter 9: Physical and Cognitive Development in
Adolescence
Coverage of a recent study of non-Latino White and African American
12- to 20-year-olds in the United States that found they were
characterized much more by positive than problematic development
(Gutman & others, 2017). Their engagement in healthy behaviors,
supportive relationships with parents and friends, and positive self-
conceptions were much stronger than their angry and depressed feelings.
New discussion of three recent studies in Korea and Japan (Cole & Mori,
2017), China (Song & others, 2017), and Saudi Arabia (Al Alwan &
others, 2017), all of which found secular trends of earlier pubertal onset
in recent years
Coverage of a recent U.S study that indicated puberty occurred earlier in
girls with a higher body mass index (BMI) (Bratke & others, 2017) and a
recent Chinese study revealed similar results (Deng & others, 2018)
Description of a recent study that revealed child sexual abuse was linked
to earlier pubertal onset (Noll & others, 2017)
New research that revealed young adolescent boys had a more positive
body image than their female counterparts (Morin & others, 2017)
New content on the role of social media and the Internet in influencing
adolescents’ body images, including one study of U.S. 12- to 14-year-olds
that found heavier social media use was associated with body
dissatisfaction (Burnette, Kwitowski, & Mazzeo, 2017)
Inclusion of research in which onset of menarche before 11 years of age
was linked to a higher incidence of distress disorders, fear disorders, and
externalizing disorders in females (Platt & others, 2017)
Coverage of a recent study that found early-maturing girls had higher
rates of depression and antisocial age as middle-aged adults mainly
because their difficulties began in adolescence and did not lessen over
time (Mendle & others, 2018)
Inclusion of a recent study of U.S. college women that found more time
on Facebook was related to more frequent body and weight concern
comparison with other women, more attention to the physical appearance
of others, and more negative feelings about their own bodies (Eckler,
Kalyango, Paasch, 2017)
Page xxv
New research indicating that early-maturing girls are at risk for physical
and verbal abuse in dating (Chen, Rothman, & Jaffee, 2018)
Updated data on the occurrence of various sexual activities engaged in by
adolescents according to age, gender, and ethnicity, including updates
(Kann & others, 2016a)
New commentary that while the majority of sexual minority
adolescents have competent and successful developmental
paths through adolescence, a recent large-scale study revealed
that sexual minority youth engage in a higher prevalence of health-risk
factors compared to nonsexual minority youth (Kann & others, 2016b)
Coverage of a recent national study of 7,000 15- to 24-year-olds’
engagement in oral sex, including the low percentage of youth who use a
condom when having oral sex (Holway & Hernandez, 2018)
Updated data on the percentage of adolescent males and females who
engage in oral sex (Child Trends, 2015)
Description of a recent study that found that early sexual debut was
associated with a number of problems, including sexual risk taking,
substance use, violent victimization, and suicidal thoughts and attempts in
both sexual minority and heterosexual adolescents (Lowry & others,
2017)
Discussion of a recent study of Korean girls in which early menarche was
associated with earlier initiation of sexual intercourse (Kim & others,
2017)
Inclusion of recent research in which adolescents who in the eighth grade
reported greater parental knowledge and more rules about dating were
less likely to initiate sex between the eighth and tenth grade (Ethier &
others, 2016)
Description of a recent study of African American girls that revealed
those for whom religion was very or extremely important were much
more likely to have a later sexual debut (George Dalmida & others, 2018)
Updated data on the percentage of adolescents who use contraceptives
when they have sexual intercourse (Kann & others, 2016a)
Updated data on the continued decline in adolescent pregnancy to an
historic low in 2015 (Martin & others, 2017)
Important new section on the increasing number of medical organizations
and experts who have recently recommended that adolescents use long-
acting reversible contraception (LARC), which consists of intrauterine
devices (IUDs) and contraceptive implants (Allen & others, 2017;
Deidrich, Klein, & Peipert, 2017; Society for Adolescent Medicine, 2017)
New research on factors that are linked to repeated adolescent pregnancy
(Dee & others, 2017; Maravilla & others, 2017)
Coverage of recent surveys that find a large percentage of sexual health
education programs do not cover birth control (Lindberg & others, 2016)
and that sexual health information is more likely to be taught in high
school than in middle school (Alan Guttmacher Institute, 2017)
Inclusion of recent studies and research views that find comprehensive
sex education programs and policies are far more effective in pregnancy
prevention, reduction of sexually transmitted infections, and delay of
sexual intercourse than are abstinence-only programs and policies
(Denford & others, 2017; Jaramillo & others, 2017; Santilli & others,
2017)
New content on the recent increase in abstinence-only-until-marriage
(AOUM) policies and programs in the United States that don’t seem to
recognize that a large majority of adolescents and emerging adults will
initiate sexual intercourse, especially given the recent increase in the age
at which U.S. males and females get married
New position of the Adolescent Society of Health and Medicine (2017)
that states research clearly indicates that AOUM programs and policies
are not effective but, in contrast, research documents that comprehensive
sex education programs and policies are effective in delaying sexual
intercourse and reducing other sexual risk behaviors
Updated commentary on the recent concern about the increased
government funding of abstinence-only programs (Donovan, 2017)
New career profile on Dr. Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, University Professor
in Pediatrics and Director of Community Efforts to Improve Adolescents’
Health
Updated data on the percentage of U.S. adolescents who are obese
(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016)
Updated national data on adolescents’ exercise patterns, including gender
and ethnic variations (Kann & others, 2016a)
Page xxvi
Discussion of a recent study that indicated aerobic exercise reduced the
depressive symptoms of adolescents with MDD (Jaworksa & others,
2018)
Inclusion of a recent large-scale study of Dutch adolescents that revealed
physically active adolescents had fewer emotional and peer problems
(Kuiper & others, 2018)
Description of a recent research review that found that among a number
of cognitive factors, memory was the factor that was most often improved
by exercise in adolescence (Li & others, 2017)
Coverage of a recent study of U.S. eighth, tenth, and twelfth graders from
1991 to 2016 that found psychological well-being abruptly decreased
after 2012 (Twenge, Martin, & Campbell, 2018). In this study,
adolescents who spent more on electronic communication and screens
and less time on non-screen activities such as exercise had lower
psychological well-being.
Update on the low percentage of adolescents who get 8 hours of sleep or
more per night (Kann & others, 2016a)
Inclusion of a recent national study of more than 10,000 13- to 18-year-
olds that revealed that a number of factors involving sleep timing and
duration were associated with an increase in anxiety, mood, substance
abuse, and behavioral disorders (Zhang & others, 2017)
Description of a recent study of college students that revealed
consistently low sleep duration was associated with less effective
attention the next day (Whiting & Murdock, 2016)
Discussion of a recent study of college students in which a higher level of
text messaging activity during the day and at night was
related to a lower level of sleep quality (Murdock, Horissian,
& Crichlow-Ball, 2017)
New content on the increase in adolescents who mix alcohol and energy
drinks, which is linked to a higher rate of risky driving (Wilson & others,
2018)
Updated coverage of the Monitoring the Future study’s assessment of
drug use by secondary school students with 2017 data on U.S. eighth,
tenth, and twelfth graders, including recent increases in marijuana and
nicotine vaping use (Johnston & others, 2018)
Coverage of a recent meta-analysis of parenting factors involved in
adolescents’ alcohol use that indicated higher levels of parental
monitoring, support, and involvement were associated with a lower risk
of adolescent alcohol misuse (Yap & others, 2017)
Discussion of a recent large scale national study in which friends’ use
was a stronger influence on adolescents’ alcohol use than parental use
(Deutsch, Wood, & Slutske, 2018)
New research indicating that having an increase in Facebook friends
across two years in adolescence was linked to an enhanced motivation to
be thin (Tiggemann & Slater, 2017)
Coverage of a recent study in which a greater use of social networking
sites was linked to being more narcissistic (Gnambs & Appel, 2018)
Coverage of a recent study in which teacher warmth was higher in the last
4 years of elementary school and then dropped in the middle school years
(Hughes & Cao, 2018). The drop in teacher warmth was associated with
lower student math scores.
Inclusion of new information from the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation’s (2017, 2018) indicating that many adolescents graduate
from high school without the necessary academic skills to succeed in
college or to meet the demands of the modern workplace
New research on the transition to high school, including the greatest
difficulties and factors that provide for improved adaptation to the
transition (Benner, Boyle, & Bakhtiari, 2017; Wigfield, Rosenzweig, &
Eccles, 2017)
Chapter 10: Socioemotional Development in
Adolescence
New commentary that too little research attention has been given to
developmental changes in the specific domains of identity (Galliher,
McLean, & Syed, 2017; Vosylis, Erentaite, & Crocetti, 2018)
New content on the dual cycle identity model that separates out identity
development into two processes: 1) A formation cycle and 2) a
maintenance cycle (Luyckx & others, 2014, 2017)
New discussion of parental (Crocetti & others, 2017) and peer/friend
(Rivas-Drake & Imana-Taylor, 2018; Santos & others, 2017) influences
on adolescent identity development
Updated description of the positive outcomes when individuals have pride
in their ethnic group, including recent research (Anglin & others, 2018;
Douglass & Umana-Taylor, 2017; Umana-Taylor & others, 2017)
New content on identity development and the digital environment that
explores the widening audience adolescents and emerging adults have to
express their identity and get feedback about it in their daily connections
on social media such as Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook (Davis &
Weinstein, 2017; Yau & Reich, 2018)
Coverage of a recent study of Mexican-origin adolescents that found a
positive ethnic identity, social support, and anger suppression helped
them cope more effectively with racial discrimination whereas anger
expressions reduced their ability to cope with the racial discrimination
(Park & others, 2018)
Inclusion of recent research with fifth and eighth graders in which a
higher level of parental monitoring was associated with students’ having
higher grades (Top, Liew, & Luo, 2017)
Discussion of a recent study that found better parental monitoring was
linked to lower marijuana use by adolescents (Haas & others, 2018) and
another study that revealed lower parental monitoring was associated with
earlier initiation of alcohol use, binge drinking, and marijuana use in 13-
to 14-year-olds (Rusby & others, 2018)
Inclusion of a recent study that indicated two types of parental media
monitoring–active monitoring and connective co-use (engaging in media
with the intent to connect with adolescents)—were linked to lower media
use by adolescents (Padilla-Walker & others, 2018)
Discussion of a recent study that revealed from 16 to 20 years of age,
adolescents perceived that they had increasing independence and a better
relationship with their parents (Hadiwiya & others, 2017)
Discussion of a recent study of Latino families that revealed a higher
level of secure attachment with mothers during adolescence was linked to
a lower level of heavy drug use (Gattamorta & others, 2017)
Coverage of a recent study that revealed when they had grown up in
Page xxvii
poverty, adolescents engaged in less risk-taking if they had a history of
secure attachments to caregivers (Delker, Bernstein, & Laurent, 2018)
Inclusion of a recent analysis that found secure attachment to the mother
and to the father was associated with fewer depressive symptoms in
adolescents (Kerstis, Aslund, & Sonnby, 2018)
Description of a recent study of Chinese American families that found
parent-adolescent conflict increased in early adolescence, peaked at about
16 years of age, and then declined through late adolescence and emerging
adulthood (Juang & others, 2018)
New research with Latino families indicating that high parent-adolescent
conflict was associated with higher adolescent rates of aggression
(Smokowski & others, 2017)
Inclusion of recent research on adolescent girls that found friends’ dieting
predicted whether adolescent girls would engage in dieting
or extreme dieting (Balantekin, Birch, & Savage, 2017)
Discussion of a recent study that indicated that friendship
quality was linked to the quality of romantic relationships in adolescence
(Kochendorfer & Kerns, 2017)
Coverage of a recent study that found long-term romantic relationships in
adolescence were both supportive and turbulent, characterized by
elevated levels of support, negative interactions, higher control, and more
jealousy (Lantagne & Furman, 2017)
New main section, “Socioeconomic Status and Poverty”
Inclusion of a recent study that found of 13 risk factors, low SES was the
most likely to be associated with smoking initiation in fifth graders
(Wellman & others, 2017)
Discussion a recent Chinese study in which adolescents were more likely
to have depressive symptoms in low SES families (Zhou, Fan, & Zin,
2017)
Coverage of a U.S. longitudinal study that revealed low SES in
adolescence was linked to having a higher level of depressive symptoms
at age 54 for females (Pino & others, 2018). In this study, low SES
females who completed college were less likely to have depressive
symptoms than low SES females who did not complete college.
Inclusion of a U.S. longitudinal study that found low SES in adolescence
was a risk factor for cardiovascular disease 30 years later (Doom &
others, 2017)
Coverage of a recent study of 12- to 19-year-olds indicating that their
perceived well-being was lowest when they had lived in poverty from 0
to 2 years of age (compared to 3 to 5, 6 to 8, and 9 to 11 years of age) and
also each additional year lived in poverty was associated with even lower
perceived well-being in adolescence (Garipy & others, 2017)
Description of a recent study that found these four psychological and
social factors predicted higher achievement by adolescents living in
poverty: 1) academic commitment, 2) emotional control, 3) family
involvement, and 4) school climate (Li, Allen, & Casillas, 2017)
Description of a recent study comparing Asian, Latino, and non-Latino
immigrant adolescents in which immigrant Asian adolescents had the
highest level of depression, lowest self-esteem, and experienced the most
discrimination (Lo & others, 2017)
Inclusion of a recent study of Mexican origin youth that revealed when
adolescents reported a higher level of familism, they engaged in lower
levels of risk taking (Wheeler & others, 2017)
Discussion of a recent study in which heavy media multitaskers were less
likely to delay gratification and more likely to endorse intuitive, but
wrong, answers on a cognitive reflection task (Schutten, Stokes, &
Arnell, 2017)
Coverage of recent research that found less screen time was linked to
adolescents’ better health-related quality of life (Yan & others, 2017) and
that a higher level of social media use was associated with a higher level
of heavy drinking by adolescents (Brunborg, Andreas, & Kvaavik, 2017)
Discussion of a recent study of 13- to 16-year-olds that found increased
night-time mobile phone use was linked to increased externalizing
problems and decreased self-esteem (Vernon, Modecki, & Barber, 2018)
Updated data on the percentage of adolescents who use social networking
sites and engage in text messaging daily (Lenhart, 2015; Lenhart &
others, 2015)
Coverage of a recent national study of social media indicating how
extensively 18- to 24-year-olds are using various sites such as Snapchat,
Instagram, twitter, and YouTube (Smith & Anderson, 2018)
Updated statistics on the significant decline in juvenile court delinquency
caseloads in the United States in recent years (Hockenberry &
Puzzanchera, 2017)
Inclusion of a recent study of more than 10,000 children and adolescence
revealing that a family environment characterized by poverty and child
maltreatment was linked to entering the juvenile justice system in
adolescence (Vidal & others, 2017)
Description of a recent study of middle school adolescents that found peer
pressure for fighting and friends’ delinquent behavior were linked to
adolescents’ aggression and delinquent behavior (Farrell, Thompson, &
Mehari, 2017)
Discussion of a recent study that revealed an increase in the proportion of
classmates who engage in delinquent behavior increased the likelihood
that other classmates would become delinquents (Kim & Fletcher, 2018)
Inclusion of a recent study that indicated adolescent delinquents were
high on affiliating with deviant peers and engaging in pseudomature
behavior and low on peer popularity and school achievement (Gordon
Simons & others, 2018)
Coverage of recent research in which having callous-unemotional traits
predicts an increased risk of engaging in delinquency for adolescent
males (Ray & others, 2017)
Description of a recent study of female adolescents in which an increase
in their self-control was linked to decreased likelihood of police contact
(Hipwell & others, 2018)
New content indicating that at 12 years of age, 5.2 percent of females
compared to 2 percent of males had experienced first-onset depression
(Breslau & others, 2017). Also in this study, the cumulative incidence of
depression from 12 to 17 years of age was 36 percent for females and 14
percent for boys.
Recent research that found co-rumination with friends was linked to
greater peer stress for adolescent girls (Rose & others, 2017)
Discussion of recent research indicating that family therapy can be
effective in reducing adolescent depression (Poole & others, 2017)
Inclusion of a recent study that revealed adolescents who were isolated
from their peers and whose caregivers emotionally neglected them were
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at significant risk for developing depression (Christ, Kwak, & Lu, 2017)
Updated coverage of adolescent suicidal thoughts and
behavior in the United States (Kann & others, 2016a)
Discussion of recent research indicating that the most
significant factor in a first suicide attempt during adolescence was a
major depressive episode while for children it was child maltreatment
(Peyre & others, 2017)
Coverage of a recent study in which a sense of hopelessness predicted an
increase in suicide ideation in depressed adolescents (Wolfe & others,
2018)
Description of two recent studies that revealed child maltreatment during
the childhood years was linked with suicide attempts in adulthood (Park,
2017; Turner & others, 2017)
Inclusion of a recent study that confirmed childhood sexual abuse was a
significant factor in suicide attempts (Ng & others, 2018)
Discussion of a recent meta-analysis that revealed adolescents who were
the victims of cyberbullying were 2½ times more likely to attempt suicide
and 2 times more likely to have suicidal thoughts than non-victims (John
& others, 2018)
Chapter 11: Physical and Cognitive Development in
Early Adulthood
New section, “The Changing Landscape of Emerging and Early
Adulthood,” that describes how today’s emerging and young adults have
very different profiles and experiences than their counterparts from earlier
generations in education, work, and lifestyles (Vespa, 2017)
Inclusion of a recent study with U.S. community college students that
found they believe they know when they will be an adult when they can
care for themselves and others (Katsiaficas, 2017)
New coverage of recent trends in first-year college students’ increasing
motivation to be well-off financially, as well as their increased feeling of
being overwhelmed with what they have to do, are depressed, and feel
anxious (Eagan & others, 2017)
Discussion of a recent study in which a higher level of energy drink
consumption was linked to more sleep problems in college students (Faris
& others, 2017)
Updated data on the incidence of obesity in U.S. adults (Flegal & others,
2016)
Discussion of recent international comparisons of 33 countries in which
the United States had the highest percentage of obese adults (38 percent)
and Japan the lowest percentage (3.7); the average of the countries was
19.5 percent of the population being obese (OECD, 2017)
Coverage of a recent research review in which moderate and vigorous
aerobic exercise resulted in a lower incidence of major depressive
disorder (Schuch & others, 2017)
Inclusion of recent research that revealed a mortality risk reduction for
individuals who replaced screen time with an increase in daily activity
levels (Wijndaele & others, 2017)
Updated data on binge drinking in college and through early adulthood,
including new Figure 3 (Schulenberg & others, 2017)
Updated data on extreme binge drinking in college students, including
data on not only 10 or more drinks at one time in the last two weeks, but
also 15 or more in the same time frame (Schulenberg & others, 2017)
Inclusion of a longitudinal study that revealed frequent binge drinking
and marijuana use in the freshman year of college predicted delayed
college graduation (White & others, 2018)
Significant updating of the percentage of individuals 18 to 44 years of age
in the United States who report they are heterosexual, gay, lesbian, or
bisexual, as well as the percentages of these men and women who report
about various feelings involving sexual orientation (Copen, Chandra, &
Febo-Vazquez, 2016)
Inclusion of recent research in which sexual activity in adults on day 1
was linked to greater well-being the next day (Kashdan & others, 2018).
In this study, higher reported sexual pleasure and intimacy predicted more
positive affect and less negative affect the next day.
New research indicating that suicide ideation was associated with
entrance into a friends-with-benefits (FWB) relationship as well as
continuation of the FWB relationship (Dube & others, 2017)
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Updated data based on a national survey that found 3.8 percent of U.S.
adults reported that they were gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transsexual
(Gallup, 2015)
New commentary that whether an individual is heterosexual, gay, lesbian,
or bisexual, the person cannot be talked out of his or her sexual
orientation (King, 2017. 2018)
Updated statistics on HIV/AIDS in the United States (Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, 2018) and around the world (UNAIDS, 2017)
New discussion of a study that found the search for and presence of
meaning was linked to wisdom in emerging adults (Webster & others,
2018)
Updated data on the percentage of full-time and part-time college students
who work, which has slightly decreased in recent years (National Center
for Education Statistics, 2017)
Updated data on the average number of hours U.S. adults work per week
(Saad, 2014)
Updated data from a recent survey that revealed that employers say that
2017 is the best year for recent college graduates to be on the job market
since 2007 (CareerBuilder, 2017)
Inclusion of recent research in which an increase in job strain increased
workers’ insomnia while a decrease in job strain reduced their insomnia
(Halonen & others, 2018)
Description of a recent study that found depression following job loss
predicted increased risk of continued unemployment (Stolove & others,
2017)
Coverage of a study that revealed heavy drinking from 16 to
30 was linked to higher unemployment in middle age (Berg
& others, 2018)
Chapter 12: Socioemotional Development in Early
Adulthood
Inclusion of a longitudinal study from 13 to 72 years of age in which
avoidant attachment declined across the life span and being in a
relationship predicted lower levels of anxious and avoidant attachment
across adulthood (Chopik, Edelstein, & Grimm, 2018)
Description of a research review that concluded attachment anxious
individuals have higher levels of health anxiety (Maunder & others, 2017)
Coverage of a recent research review that concluded insecure attachment
was linked to a higher level of social anxiety in adults (Manning &
others, 2017)
Discussion of recent research that found insecure anxious and insecure
avoidant individuals are more likely than securely attached individuals to
engage in risky health behaviors, be more susceptible to physical illness,
and have poorer disease outcomes (Pietromonaco & Beck, 2018)
Updated data on the number of Americans who have tried Internet
matchmaking and gender differences in the categories males and females
lie about in Internet matchmaking (statisticbrain.com, 2017)
Description of recent research on how romantic relationships change in
emerging adulthood, including different characteristics of adolescent and
emerging adult romantic relationships (Lantagne & Furman, 2017)
New section, “Relationship Education for Adolescents and Emerging
Adults,” that examines the increasing number of relationship education
programs for adolescents and emerging adults, describes their main
components, and evaluates their effectiveness (Hawkins, 2018; Simpson,
Lenohardt, & Hawkins, 2018)
Update on the increasing percentage of U.S. individuals 18 and older who
are single (U.S. Census Bureau, 2017)
Updated data on the continued increase in being older before getting
married in the U.S. with the age for men now at 29.5 years and for
women 27.4 years (Livingston, 2017)
Movement of section on gender and friendships from the section on
“Love” to the new section on “Gender and Relationships”
New section, “Cross-Cultural Differences in Romantic Relationships”,
that includes comparisons of collectivist and individualist cultures (Gao,
2016) as well as intriguing comparisons of romantic relationships in
Japan, Argentina, France, and Qatar (Ansari, 2015)
Inclusion of data from the recent Match.com 2017 Singles in America
national poll that describes Millenials’ interest in having sex before a first
date, interest in marrying but taking considerable time to get to know
someone before committing to a serious relationship, and males interest
in having females initiate the first kiss and asking a guy for his phone
number
Updated data on the percentage of U.S. adults who are cohabiting, which
increased to 18 million people in 2016, an increase of 29 percent since
2007 (Stepler, 2017; U.S. Census Bureau, 2016)
Inclusion of recent research indicating that women who cohabited within
the first year of a sexual relationship were less likely to get married than
women who waited more than one year before cohabiting (Sassler,
Michelmore, & Qian, 2018)
Coverage of a recent study in which cohabiting individuals were not as
mentally healthy as their counterparts in committed marital relationships
(Braithwaite & Holt-Lunstad, 2017)
Description of a recent study of long-term cohabitation (more than 3
years) in emerging adulthood that found emotional distress was higher in
long-term cohabitation than in time spent single, with men especially
driving the effect (Menitz, 2018). However, heavy drinking was more
common in time spent single than in long-term cohabitation.
New discussion of the marriage paradox including research showing that
emerging adults may not be abandoning marriage because they don’t like
marriage or are disinterested in it, but are delaying marriage because they
want to position themselves in the best possible way for developing a
healthy marital relationship (Willoughby, Hall, & Goff, 2015;
Willoughby & James, 2017)
Coverage of a recent study of married, divorced, widowed, and single
adults that revealed married individuals had the best cardiovascular
profile, single men the worst (Manfredni & others, 2017)
Inclusion of a recent study in Great Britain that found no differences in
the causes of breakdowns in marriage and cohabitation (Gravnengen &
others, 2017). In this study, “grew apart”, “arguments”,
“unfaithfulness/adultery”, “lack of respect, appreciation”, and “domestic
violence” were the most frequent reasons given for such breakdowns.
Description of a study of individuals one to 16 years into their marriage
that found an increasing trajectory of tension over the course of the
Page xxx
marriage was consistently linked to an eventual divorce (Birditt & others,
2017)
Updated statistics on divorce rates around the world with Russia
continuing to have the highest rate (OECD, 2016)
Coverage of a study that found individuals who were divorced had a
higher risk of having alcohol use disorder (Kendler & others, 2017)
New content indicating that while the divorce rate in first marriages has
declined, the divorce rate of remarriages continues to increase (DeLongis
& Zwicker, 2017)
Updated data on the average age at which U.S. women give birth, which
occurred more frequently in their 30s than 20s in 2016 for the first time
ever, and the average age of a woman giving birth was 27 years of age in
2016 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017)
New research that found the frequency of sexual intercourse in the second
to fourteenth years of a marriage was important to marital
satisfaction but that a satisfying sex life and a warm
interpersonal relationship were more important (Schoenfeld &
others, 2017)
New main section “Gender Communication, Relationships, and
Classification”
Extensive new content on transgender (Budge & Orovecz, 2018; Budge
& others, 2017)
Discussion of a variety of terms used to describe transgender individuals
New content indicating that it is much more common to have a
transgender identity of being born male but identifying with being a
female than the reverse (Zucker & Kreukels, 2016)
Inclusion of a recent research review that concluded transgender youth
have higher rates of depression, suicide attempts, and eating disorders
than their non-transgender peers (Connolly & others, 2016)
Chapter 13: Physical and Cognitive Development in
Middle Adulthood
Inclusion of a recent research review that found positive subjective time
perceptions were linked to better health and well-being while negative
subjective time perceptions were associated with lower levels of health
and well-being (Gabrain, Dutt, & Wahl, 2017)
Description of a recent study in which undergraduate students were
shown a computer-generated graph of a person identified as a younger
adult, middle-aged adult, or older adult (Kelley, Soborff & Lovaglia,
2017). When asked which person they would choose for a work-related
task, they selected the middle-aged adult most often.
Update on the percentage of adults 40 to 59 years of age classified as
obese (40.2 percent) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016)
Coverage of recent research in which an increase in weight gain from
early to middle adulthood was linked to an increased risk of major
chronic diseases and unhealthy aging (Zheng & others, 2017)
Inclusion of recent research that revealed greater intake of fruits and
vegetables was linked to increased bone density in middle-aged and older
adults (Qui & others, 2017)
Discussion of a Chinese study that found men and women who gained an
average of 22 pounds or more from 20 to 45-60 years of age had an
increased risk of hypertension and cholesterol, as well as elevated
triglyceride levels in middle age (Zhou & others, 2018)
Description of a recent study that revealed a healthy diet in adolescence
was linked to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease in middle-aged
women (Dahm & others, 2018)
New coverage of the American Heart Association’s Life’s Simple 7—the
seven factors that people need to optimize to improve their cardiovascular
health
Description of a study in which optimal Life’s Simple 7 at middle age
was linked to better cardiovascular health recovery following a heart
attack later in life (Mok & others, 2018)
Inclusion of a longitudinal study in which increased respiratory fitness
from early adulthood to middle adulthood was linked to less decline in
lung health over time (Berick others, 2017)
Discussion of a recent study of young and middle-aged adults that found
females had more sleep problems than males (Rossler & others, 2017).
However, the good news in this study is that a majority of individuals (72
percent) reported that they did not have any sleep disturbances.
New research indicating that perceiving one’s self as feeling older
predicted an increase in sleep difficulties in middle age over time
(Stephan & others, 2017)
New content on the important role of cortisol in stress and health
(Leonard, 2018; Wichmann & others, 2017)
Coverage of a recent study of men and women from 21 to 55 years of age
in which married individuals had lower cortisol levels than either their
never married or previously married counterparts (Chin & others, 2017)
Coverage of a recent cross-cultural study in China that found that Mosuo
women had fewer negative menopausal symptoms and higher self-esteem
that Han Chinese women (Zhang & others, 2016)
Inclusion of the recent position statement of the North American
Menopause Society (2017) regarding the current status of research on
various aspects of hormone replacement therapy (HRT)
Inclusion of a consensus that there is a slight increase in breast cancer for
women taking hormone replacement therapy (American Cancer Society,
2017; www.breastcancer.org, 2017)
Discussion of recent studies and research reviews that indicate
testosterone replacement therapy does not increase the risk of prostate
cancer (Debruyne & others, 2017; Yassin & others, 2017)
Description of a recent study in which TRT-related benefits in quality of
life and sexual function were maintained for 36 months after initial
treatment (Rosen & others, 2017)
Discussion of a recent study that found the more frequently middle-aged
and older adults had sex, the better their overall cognitive functioning
was, and especially so in working memory and executive function
(Wright, Jenks, & Demeyere, 2018)
Inclusion of recent research on 24- to 93-year-olds that found everyday
problem solving performance increased from early to middle adulthood
but began to show a decline at about 50 years of age (Chen, Hertzog, &
Park, 2017). In this study, fluid intelligence predicted everyday problem
solving performance in young adults, but with increasing age, crystallized
intelligence became a better predictor.
Coverage of a Danish study across 33 years of individuals 20 to 93 years
Page xxxi
of age that found that those who engaged in a light level of
leisure time physical activity lived 2.8 years longer; those
who engaged in a moderate level of leisure time physical
activity lived 4.5 years longer; and those who engaged in a high level of
leisure time physical activity lived 5.5 years longer (Schnohr & others,
2017)
Discussion of a recent study that found spiritual well-being predicted
which heart failure patients would still be alive five years later (Park &
others, 2016)
New research that indicated adults who volunteered had lower resting
pulse rates and their resting pulse rate improved when they were deeply
committed to religion (Krause, Ironson, & Hill, 2017)
Chapter 14: Socioemotional Development in Middle
Adulthood
Discussion of a recent study in which participating in an intergenerational
civic engagement program enhanced older adults’ self-perceptions of
generativity (Grunewald & others, 2016)
Inclusion of recent research that found a higher level of generativity in
middle age was linked to greater wisdom in late adulthood (Ardelt,
Gerlach, & Vaillant, 2018)
Coverage of a recent study of gender differences in coping with stress
that revealed women were more likely than men to seek psychotherapy,
talk to friends about the stress, read a self-help book, take prescription
medication, and engage in comfort eating (Liddon, Kingerlee, & Berry,
2017). In this study, when coping with stress, men were more likely than
women to attend a support group meeting, have sex or use pornography,
try to fix problems themselves, and not admit to having problems.
Description of recent research that found individuals high in openness to
experience have superior cognitive functioning across the life span, have
better health and well-being (Strickhouser, Zell, & Krizan, 2017), and are
more likely to eat fruits and vegetables (Conner & others, 2017)
Inclusion of recent research that found conscientiousness was linked to
better health and well-being (Strickhouser, Zell, & Krizan, 2017), being
more academically successful in medical school (Sobowale & others,
2018), having a lower risk of Internet addiction (Zhou & others, 2017),
not being as addicted to Instagram (Kircaburun & Griffiths, 2018), having
a lower risk for alcohol addiction (Raketic & others, 2017), and having a
lower risk of dementia (Terracciano & others, 2017)
Coverage of recent research indicating that being optimistic is linked to
having better psychological adjustment (Kolokotroni, Anagnostopoulos,
& Hantzi, 2018)
Inclusion of recent research in which more pessimistic college students
had more anxious mood and stress symptoms (Lau & others, 2017)
Discussion of a recent study of married couples that revealed the worst
health outcomes occurred when both spouses decreased their optimism
across a four-year period (Chopik, Kim, & Smith, 2018)
Description of a recent study in which lonely individuals who were
optimistic had a lower suicide risk (Chang & others, 2018)
Inclusion of a recent research review in which the personality trait that
changed the most as a result of psychotherapy was emotional stability,
followed by extraversion (Roberts & others, 2017). In this study, the
personality traits of individuals with anxiety disorders changed the most,
those with substance use disorders the least.
New discussion of the increasing divorce rate in middle-aged adults and
the reasons for the increase (Stepler, 2017), as well as the recent labeling
of divorce in 50+- year-old adults as “gray divorce” (Crowley, 2018)
Coverage of a recent study that found the greatest risks for getting
divorce in middle adulthood were a shorter duration of marriage, lower
marital quality, having financial problems, and not owning a home (Lin &
others, 2018). Also in this study, onset of an empty nest, the wife’s or
husband’s retirement, and the wife or husband having a chronic health
condition were not related to risk for divorce in middle adulthood.
Description of a recent Swiss study of middle-aged adults in which single
divorcees were more lonely and less resilient than their married and
remarried counterparts (Knopfli & others, 2017). Also in this study,
single divorcees had the lowest self-reported health.
New commentary that grandparents especially play important roles in
grandchildren’s lives when family crises such as divorce, death, illness,
Page xxxii
abandonment, or poverty occur (Dolbin-McNab & Yancura, 2018)
New content on how grandparents facilitate women’s participation in the
labor force in many countries
Coverage of a recent study of adult grandchildren in which grandparents
provided more frequent emotional support to the grandchildren when
parents were having life problems and more frequent financial support
when parents were unemployed (Huo & others, 2018)
Chapter 15: Physical and Cognitive Development in Late
Adulthood
Update on life expectancy in the United States, which is now at 79 years
of age, including the narrowing gender difference (U.S. Census Bureau,
2018)
Discussion of recent projections for life expectancy in 2030 for 35
developed countries, with the United States increasing in life expectancy
but having one of the lowest projected increases of all countries in the
study (Kontis & others, 2017). In this study, South Korea is expected to
have the highest life expectancy of the 35 countries in 2030, with South
Korean women the first group to break the 90-year barrier with a
projected life expectancy of 90.8 in 2030.
Coverage of a recent study of U.S. and Japanese
centenarians that found in both countries, health resources
(better cognitive function, fewer hearing problems, and
positive daily living activities) were linked to a higher level of well-being
(Nakagawa & others, 2018)
Update on gender differences in the oldest people alive in the world today
with no men in the oldest 25 individuals
Description of recent research confirming that shorter telomere length is
linked to Alzheimer disease (Scarabino & others, 2017)
Updated and expanded coverage of the diseases that are linked to
mitochondrial dysfunction to include cardiovascular disease (Anupama,
Sindhu, & Raghu, 2018), Parkinson disease (Lason, Hanss, & Kruger,
2018), diabetic kidney disease (Forbes & Thorburn, 2018), and impaired
liver functioning (Borrelli, 2018)
Inclusion of recent research in which at-risk overweight and older adults
lost significant weight and improved their mobility considerably by
participating in a community-based weight reduction program (Rejeski &
others, 2017)
Updated information about some diseases that women are more likely to
die from than men are (Ostan & others, 2016)
Inclusion of a recent study of older adults that revealed walking a dog
regularly was associated with better physical health (Curl, Bibbo, &
Johnson, 2017)
Description of a recent study that found a 10-week exercise program
improved the physical (aerobic endurance, agility, and mobility) and
cognitive (selective attention and planning) functioning of elderly nursing
home residents (Pereira & others, 2017)
Coverage of a recent study in which relative to low physical fitness
individuals, those who increased from low to intermediate or high fitness
were at a lower risk for all-cause mortality (Brawner & others, 2017)
Description of a recent study of frail elderly adults in which a high-
intensity walking intervention reduced their frailty, increased their
walking speed, and improved their mobility (Danilovich, Conroy, &
Hornby, 2017)
Coverage of recent research on older adults that found poorer visual
function was associated with cognitive decline (Monge & Madden, 2016;
Roberts & Allen, 2016) and having fewer social contacts and engaging in
less challenging social/leisure activities (Cimarolli & others, 2017)
New discussion of a recent Japanese study of older adults (mean age: 76
years) in which having had cataract surgery reduced their risk of
developing mild cognitive impairment (Miyata & others, 2018)
In a recent study of 80- to 106-year-olds, there as a substantial increase in
hearing loss in the ninth and then in the tenth decade of life (Wattamwar
& others, 2017). In this study, although hearing loss was universal in the
80- to 106-year-olds, only 59 percent of them wore hearing aids.
New discussion of a recent study of 65-to 85-year-olds that dual sensory
loss in vision and hearing was linked to reduced social participation and
less social support, as well as increased loneliness (Mick & others, 2018)
Coverage of a recent study of elderly adults that found those who had a
dual sensory impairment involving vision and hearing had functional
limitations, experienced cognitive decline, were lonely, and had
communication problems (Davidson & Gutherie, 2018)
New study indicating that older adults with a dual sensory impairment
involving vision and hearing had more depressive symptoms (Han &
others, 2018)
Discussion of a recent research review that concluded older adults have a
lower pain sensitivity but only for lower pain intensities (Lautenbacher &
others, 2017)
New commentary that although decreased pain sensitivity can help older
adults cope with disease and injury, it also can mask injuries and illnesses
that need to be treated
Coverage of a recent study in which a Mediterranean diet reduced the risk
for cardiovascular disease in older adults (Nowson & others, 2018)
Discussion of a recent study that revealed long sleep duration predicted
all-cause mortality in individuals 65 years and older (Beydoun & others,
2017)
Description of a recent Chinese study that found older adults who
engaged in a higher level of overall physical activity, leisure-time
exercise, and household activity were less likely to have sleep problems
(Li & others, 2018)
Description of a recent study that found older adults’ lower level of
selective attention was linked to their inferior driving performance
(Venkatesan & others, 2018)
Inclusion of a recent study that found slow processing speed predicted an
increase in older adults’ falls one year later (Davis & others, 2017)
Inclusion of a recent study of older adults that found playing processing
speed games for five sessions a week across four weeks improved their
processing speed (Nouchi & others, 2017)
Description of a recent experimental study that revealed yoga practice
that included postures, breathing, and meditation improved the attention
and information processing of older adults (Gothe, Kramer, & McAuley,
2017)
Coverage of a recent study that found that when older adults regularly
Page xxxiii
engaged in mindfulness mediation, their goal-directed attention improved
(Malinowski & others, 2017)
Description of a recent study that found a mindfulness training program
improved older adults’ explicit memory (Banducci & others, 2017)
Coverage of a recent study that revealed imagery strategy training
improved older adults’ working memory (Borella & others, 2017)
Inclusion of recent research in which aerobic endurance was linked to
better working memory in older adults (Zettel-Watson & others, 2017)
Discussion of recent research with young, middle-aged, and older adults
that found all three age groups’ working memory improved with working
memory training but that older adults improved less than young adults
with the training (Rhodes & Katz, 2017)
Coverage of a recent study of older adults that found slower
processing speed was associated with unsafe driving (Hotta
& others, 2018)
Discussion of a recent experimental study in which high-intensity aerobic
training was more effective than moderate aerobic training or resistance
training in improving older adults’ processing speed (Coetsee &
Terblanche, 2017)
Description of a recent study in which self-reflective exploratory
processing of difficult life circumstances was linked to a higher level of
wisdom (Westrate & Gluck, 2017)
Discussion of a recent study of older adults in 10 European countries that
revealed improved memory between 2004 and 2013 with the changes
more positive for those who had decreases in cardiovascular diseases and
increases in exercise and educational achievement (Hessel & others,
2018)
New coverage of a recent Australian study that found older adults who
had retired from occupations that involved higher complexity maintained
their cognitive advantage over their counterparts who worked in less
complex occupations (Lane & others, 2017)
New discussion of a recent study of older adults working in low
complexity jobs who experienced novelty in their work (assessed through
recurrent work-task changes) was linked to better processing speed and
working memory (Oltmanns & others, 2017)
Inclusion of recent research revealed that older adults with type 2 diabetes
had greater cognitive impairment than their counterparts who did not
have the disease (Bai & others, 2017)
Inclusion of a recent study that revealed older adults who continued to
work in paid jobs had better physical and cognitive functioning than
retirees (Tan & others, 2017)
Coverage of a recent study that found the following were among the most
important motives and preconditions to continue working beyond
retirement age: financial, health, knowledge, and purpose in life (Sewdas
& others, 2017)
Description of a recent research review in which engaging in low or
moderate exercise was linked to improved cognitive functioning in older
adults with chronic diseases (Cai & others, 2017)
Description of recent research in which participating in physical activity
in late adulthood was linked to less cognitive decline (Gow, Pattie, &
Geary, 2017)
Coverage of a recent study that found fish oil supplementation improved
the working memory of older adults (Boespflug & others, 2016)
New description of a study that revealed cognitive training using virtual
reality-based games with stroke patients improved their attention and
memory (Gamito & others, 2017)
Updated statistics on the percentage of U.S. older adults in different age
groups in the work force, including 2017 data (Mislinski, 2017)
Inclusion of a recent study that revealed baby boomers expect to work
longer than their predecessors from prior generations (Dong & others,
2017)
Updated data (2017) on the percentage of American workers who are
very confident that they will have a comfortable retirement (Greenwald,
Copeland, & VanDerhei, 2017)
Updated data on the number of people in the U.S. who currently have
Alzheimer disease (5.7 million) (Alzheimer’s Association, 2018)
New content on women being more likely to have the APOE4 gene than
men and commentary about the APOE4 gene being the strongest genetic
predictor of late-onset (65 years and older) Alzheimer disease (Dubal &
Rogine, 2017; Giri & others, 2017)
New content on APP, PSEN1, and PSEN2 gene mutations being linked to
the early onset of Alzheimer disease (Carmona, Hardy, & Guerreiro,
2018)
Inclusion of new content on how epigenetic factors might influence
Alzheimer disease including the role of DNA methylation (Kader &
others, 2018; Marioni & others, 2018; Zaghlool & others, 2018)
Update on drugs that have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration to treat Alzheimer disease, now totaling five drugs
(Almeida, 2018)
Chapter 16: Socioemotional Development in Late
Adulthood
Description of a recent study that supports the activity theory of aging: an
activity-based lifestyle was associated with lower levels of depression in
older adults (Juang & others, 2017)
Coverage of a recent study that found a reminiscence intervention
improved the coping skills of older adults (Satorres & others, 2018)
New commentary by Laura Carstensen (2016) that when older adults
focus on emotionally meaningful goals, they are more satisfied with their
lives, feel better, and experience fewer negative emotions
New recommendations on ways that older adults can become more
socially engaged (Sightlines Project, 2016)
Inclusion of a recent study of individuals 22 to 94 years of age that
revealed on days that middle-aged and older adults, as well as individuals
who were less healthy, used more selective optimization with
compensation strategies, they reported having a higher level of happiness
(Teshale & Lachman, 2016)
Inclusion of a recent meta-analysis that concluded emotional experiences
in older adults are more positive than for younger adults (Laureiro-
Martinez, Trujillo, & Unda, 2017). Also, in this review, it was concluded
that older adults focus less on negative events in the past than younger
adults did.
New description of a study that found older adults with a higher level of
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conscientiousness experienced less cognitive decline as they aged
(Luchetti & others, 2016)
In older adults, higher levels of conscientiousness, openness
to experience, agreeableness, and extraversion were linked
to positive emotions, while neuroticism was associated with
negative emotions (Kalbaugh & Huffman, 2017)
New content indicating that individuals who are extraverted and low in
neuroticism are more likely to live longer (Graham & others, 2017)
Discussion of a recent study of 15- to 105-year-old individuals in 29
European countries that revealed younger individuals engaged in age
discrimination more than did older individuals (Bratt & others, 2018)
Updated data on the significant increase in Internet, smartphone, and
social networking use by U.S. older adults (Anderson, 2017)
Coverage of a recent Hong Kong study that found adults 75 years and
older who used smart phones and the Internet to connect with family,
friends, and neighbors had a higher level of psychological well-being than
their counterparts who did not use this information and communicative
technology (Fang & others, 2018)
Discussion of a recent study in which partnered older adults were more
likely to receive Social Security, enjoy relatively higher Social Security
benefits, and less likely to live in poverty (Lin, Brown, & Hammersmith,
2017)
Inclusion of a recent study indicating that the longer older adults had been
married, the better their marital quality, owning a home, and being
wealthier described older adults who were less likely to get divorced (Lin
& others, 2018)
New discussion of recent research focused on the health and well-being
of older adult LGBT individuals, with a focus on comparisons of those
who are married, unmarried partnered, and single (Goldsen & others,
2017)
Updated data on the percentage of men and women 65 years and older
who are divorced, which increased dramatically from 1980 to 2015 (U.S.
Census Bureau, 2016)
Updated data on the dramatic increase in older adult men and women
who are now cohabiting (Brown & Wright, 2017)
Coverage of a recent national study of older adults in which among men,
cohabitors’ psychological well-being fared similarly to married men,
better than daters and the unpartnered (Wright & Brown, 2017). In
contrast, there were few differences in psychological well-being by
partnership status of the women.
New discussion of research indicating that middle-aged adults feel more
positive about providing support for their children than for their aging
parents (Birditt & others, 2018)
Description of a recent study that revealed older adults, compared to
younger adults, reported fewer problems with friends, fewer negative
friendship qualities, less frequent contact with friends, and more positive
friendship qualities with a specific friend (Schlosnagle & Strough, 2017)
Expanded discussion of socioemotional selectivity theory to include the
role of a decreasing amount of time to live as an explanation of
prioritizing meaningful relationships when people get old (Moss &
Wilson, 2017)
Updated data on the number of older adults living in poverty, including
the continuing gender difference that a larger percentage of older adult
women live in poverty (U.S. Census Bureau, 2018)
Coverage of a recent 2016 Nielsen survey that found older adults watch a
staggering amount of television—51 hours, 32 minutes per week, far
more than any other age group (Recode, 2016)
Description of a longitudinal study from 13 to 72 years of age in which
attachment anxiety declined in middle aged and older adults (Chopik,
Edelstein, & Grimm, 2018). Also in this study, attachment avoidance
decreased in a linear fashion across the life span. Being in a relationship
was linked with lower attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance. And
men were higher in attachment avoidance throughout the life span.
Inclusion of a recent study in which 18 percent of older adults stated that
they were often or frequently lonely (Due, Sandholt, & Waldorff, 2017)
Extensive revision and updating of the discussion of volunteering by
older adults
Updated data on the percentage of older adults who engage in
volunteering (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2016)
Inclusion of recent research on links between volunteering by older adults
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and improved health (Burr & others, 2018; Carr, Kail, & Rowe, 2018),
better cognitive functioning (Prouix & others, 2018), and less loneliness
(Carr & others, 2018)
Expanded and updating of why volunteering by older adults has positive
outcomes for them (Carr, 2018)
Inclusion of recent research indicating that the life-satisfaction of Latino
older adults was higher than for African American and non-Latino older
adults (Zhang, Braun, & Wu, 2017)
Description of a recent study that revealed four factors emerged as best
characterizing successful aging: proactive engagement, wellness
resources, positive spirit, and valued relationships (Lee, Kahana, &
Kahana, 2017)
Chapter 17: Death, Dying, and Grieving
Inclusion of a recent study in which completion of an advanced directive
was associated with a lower probability of receiving life-sustaining
treatment (Yen & others, 2017)
Recent updates on countries that allow assisted suicide (Belgium, Canada,
Finland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Switzerland)
Update on the increasing number of states that allow assisted suicide—
California, Colorado, Montana, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington, as
well as Washington, DC
New definition of assisted suicide as a key term and clearer distinctions
made between euthanasia, in which the patient self-administers the lethal
medication and is allowed to decide when and where to do
this, and assisted suicide, in which the physician or a third
party administers the lethal medication
Inclusion of a recent Gallup poll in which 69 percent of U.S. adults said
that euthanasia should be legal, 51 percent said that they would consider
ending their own lives if faced with a terminal illness, and 50 percent
reported that physician-assisted suicide is morally acceptable (Swift,
2016)
New content on recent criticisms of the “good death” concept to move
away from focusing on a single event in time to improving people’s last
years and decades of life (Pollock & Seymour; Smith & Periyakoil, 2018)
New research on the percentage of adult bereavement cases that involve
prolonged grief disorder and ages at which this disorder is more likely to
occur (Lundorff & others, 2017)
Inclusion of a 7-year longitudinal study of older adults in which those
experiencing prolonged grief had greater cognitive decline than those
with normal grief (Perez & others, 2018)
Discussion of a recent study that found individuals with complicated grief
had a higher level of the personality trait neuroticism (Goetter & others,
2018)
New research indicating that cognitive behavior therapy reduced
prolonged grief symptoms (Bartl & others, 2018)
Updated statistics on the percentage of widows in the United States
(Administration on Aging, 2015)
Description of a recent cross-cultural study indicating that depression
peaked in the first year of widowhood for both men and women, but that
depression continued to be present in widowed men for 6 to 10 years
post-widowhood (Jadhav & Weir, 2018)
In a recent study, volunteering reduced widowed older adults’ loneliness
(Carr & others, 2018)
Updated data on cremation with an increase to 51.6 deaths followed by
cremation in the United States in 2017 with a projected increase to 57.5
percent in 2022 (Cremation Association of North America, 2018). In
2015 in Canada, cremation occurred following 70.5 percent of deaths
with a projected increase to 75.1 percent in 2022.
Acknowledgments
The development and writing of Essentials of Life-Span Development has
been strongly influenced by a remarkable group of consultants, reviewers,
and adopters.
Expert Consultants
In writing the sixth edition of Essentials of Life-Span Development, I
benefitted considerably from the following leading experts who provided
detailed feedback in their areas of expertise for Life-Span Development,
Seventeenth Edition:
William Hoyer, Syracuse University
Patricia Miller, San Francisco State University
Ross Thompson, University of California–Davis
Karen Fingerman, University of Texas–Austin
John Richards, University of South Carolina
Bonnie Moradi, University of Florida
Sheung-Tak Cheng, Education University of Hong Kong
Karen Rodrigue, University of Texas–Dallas
Applications Contributors
I especially thank the contributors who helped develop the How Would You . .
. ? questions for students in various majors who are taking the life-span
development course:
Michael E. Barber, Santa Fe Community College
Page xxxvi
Maida Berenblatt, Suffolk Community College
Susan A. Greimel, Santa Fe Community College
Russell Isabella, University of Utah
Jean Mandernach, University of Nebraska–Kearney
General Reviewers
I gratefully acknowledge the comments and feedback from instructors around
the nation who have reviewed Essentials of Life-Span Development.
Eileen Achorn, University of Texas–San Antonio
Michael E. Barber, Santa Fe Community College
Gabriel Batarseh, Francis Marion University
Troy E. Beckert, Utah State University
Stefanie Bell, Pikes Peak Community College
Maida Berenblatt, Suffolk Community College
Kathi Bivens, Asheville Buncombe Technical Community
College
Alda Blakeney, Kennesaw State University
Candice L. Branson, Kapiolani Community College
Ken Brewer, Northeast State Technical Community College
Margaret M. Bushong, Liberty University
Krista Carter, Colby Community College
Stewart Cohen, University of Rhode Island
Rock Doddridge, Asheville Buncombe Technical Community College
Laura Duvall, Heartland Community College
Jenni Fauchier, Metro Community College–Omaha
Richard Ferraro, University of North Dakota
Terri Flowerday, University of New Mexico–Albuquerque
Laura Garofoli, Fitchburg State College
Sharon Ghazarian, University of North Carolina—Greensboro
Dan Grangaard, Austin Community College
Rodney J. Grisham, Indian River Community College
Rea Gubler, Southern Utah University
Myra M. Harville, Holmes Community College
Brett Heintz, Delgado Community College
Sandra Hellyer, Butler University
Randy Holley, Liberty University
Debra L. Hollister, Valencia Community College
Rosemary T. Hornack, Meredith College
Alycia Hund, Illinois State University
Rebecca Inkrott, Sinclair Community College–Dayton
Russell Isabella, University of Utah
Alisha Janowsky, Florida Atlantic University
Lisa Judd, Western Technical College
Tim Killian, University of Arkansas–Fayetteville
Shenan Kroupa, Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis
Pat Lefler, Bluegrass Community and Technical College
Jean Mandernach, University of Nebraska–Kearney
Carrie Margolin, Evergreen State College
Michael Jason McCoy, Cape Fear Community College
Carol Miller, Anne Arundel Community College
Gwynn Morris, Meredith College
Ron Mossler, Los Angeles Community College
Bob Pasnak, George Mason University
Curtis D. Proctor-Artz, Wichita State University
Janet Reis, University of Illinois–Urbana
Kimberly Renk, University of Central Florida
Vicki Ritts, St. Louis Community College–Meramec
Jeffrey Sargent, Lee University
James Schork, Elizabethtown Community and Technical College
Jason Scofield, University of Alabama
Christin E. Seifert, Montana State University
Elizabeth Sheehan, Georgia State University
Peggy Skinner, South Plains College
Christopher Stanley, Winston-Salem State University
Wayne Stein, Brevard Community College–Melbourne
Rose Suggett, Southeast Community College
Kevin Sumrall, Montgomery College
Joan Test, Missouri State University
Barbara VanHorn, Indian River Community College
John Wakefield, University of North Alabama
Laura Wasielewski, St. Anselm College
Lois Willoughby, Miami Dade College–Kendall
Paul Wills, Kilgore College
A. Claire Zaborowski, San Jacinto College
Pauline Davey Zeece, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Design Reviewers
Cheryl Almeida, Johnson and Wales University
Candice L. Branson, Kapiolani Community College
Debra Hollister, Valencia Community College
Alycia Hund, Illinois State University
Jean Mandernach, University of Nebraska–Kearney
Michael Jason Scofield, University of Alabama
Christin Seifert, Montana State University
The McGraw-Hill Education Team
A large number of outstanding professionals at McGraw-Hill Education
helped me to produce this edition of Essentials of Life-Span Development. I
especially want to thank Ryan Treat, Dawn Groundwater, Ann Helgerson,
and A.J. Laferrera for their extensive efforts in developing, publishing, and
marketing this book. Mary Powers, Vicki Malinee, Janet Tilden, and Jennifer
Blankenship were superb in the production and copyediting phases of the
text.
Page 1
©Blend Images/Ariel Skelley/Getty Images
1
Introduction
CHAPTER OUTLINE
The Life-Span Perspective
The Importance of Studying Life-Span Development
Characteristics of the Life-Span Perspective
Contemporary Concerns in Life-Span Development
The Nature of Development
Biological, Cognitive, and Socioemotional Processes
Periods of Development
Conceptions of Age
Developmental Issues
Theories of Development
Psychoanalytic Theories
Cognitive Theories
Behavioral and Social Cognitive Theories
Ethological Theory
Ecological Theory
An Eclectic Theoretical Orientation
Research in Life-Span Development
Methods for Collecting Data
Research Designs
Time Span of Research
Conducting Ethical Research
Stories of Life-Span Development:
How Did Ted Kaczynski Become
Ted Kaczynski and Alice Walker
Become Alice Walker?
Ted Kaczynski sprinted through high school, not bothering with
his junior year and making only passing efforts at social contact.
Off to Harvard at age 16, Kaczynski was a loner during his college
years. One of his roommates at Harvard said that he avoided
Page 2
people by quickly shuffling by them and slamming the door behind
him. After obtaining his Ph.D. in mathematics at the University of
Michigan, Kaczynski became a professor at the University of
California at Berkeley. His colleagues there remember him as
hiding from social interaction—no friends, no allies, no
networking.
After several years at Berkeley, Kaczynski resigned and moved
to a rural area of Montana, where he lived as a hermit in a crude
shack for 25 years. Town residents described him as a bearded
eccentric. Kaczynski traced his own difficulties to growing up as a
genius in a kid’s body and sticking out like a sore thumb in his
surroundings as a child. In 1996, he was arrested and charged as
the notorious Unabomber, America’s most wanted killer. Over the
course of 17 years, Kaczynski had sent 16 mail bombs that left 23
people wounded or maimed and 3 people dead. In 1998, he
pleaded guilty to the offenses and was sentenced to life in prison.
A decade before Kaczynski mailed his first bomb, Alice
Walker spent her days battling racism in Mississippi. She had
recently won her first writing fellowship, but rather than use the
money to follow her dream of moving to Senegal,
Africa, she put herself into the heart and heat of the
civil rights movement. Walker had grown up knowing
the brutal effects of poverty and racism. Born in 1944, she was the
eighth child of Georgia sharecroppers who earned $300 a year.
When Walker was 8, her brother accidentally shot her in the left
eye with a BB gun. Since her parents had no car, it took them a
week to get her to a hospital. By the time she received medical
care, she was blind in that eye, and it had developed a disfiguring
layer of scar tissue. Despite the counts against her, Walker
overcame pain and anger and went on to win a Pulitzer Prize for
her book The Color Purple. She became not only a novelist but
also an essayist, a poet, a short-story writer, and a social activist.
Ted Kaczynski, the convicted Unabomber, traced his difficulties to growing
up as a genius in a kid’s body and not fitting in when he was a child.
(Top) ©Seanna O’Sullivan; (bottom) ©WBBM-TV/AFP/Getty Images
Alice Walker won the Pulitzer Prize for her book The Color Purple. Like
the characters in her book, Walker overcame pain and anger to triumph and
celebrate the human spirit.
(Top) ©AP Images; (bottom) ©Alice Walker
What leads one individual, so full of promise, to commit brutal
acts of violence and another to turn poverty and trauma into a rich
literary harvest? If you have ever wondered why people turn out
the way they do, you have asked yourself the central question we
will explore in this book.
Essentials of Life-Span Development is a window into the
journey of human development—your own and that of every other
member of the human species. Every life is distinct, a new
biography in the world. Examining the shape of life-span
development helps us to understand it better. In this chapter, we
explore what it means to take a life-span perspective on
development, examine the nature of development, and outline how
science helps us to understand it. ■
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The Life-Span Perspective
Each of us develops partly like all other individuals, partly like some other
individuals, and partly like no other individual. Most of the time we notice
the qualities in an individual that make that person unique. But as humans,
we have all traveled some common paths. Each of us—Leonardo da Vinci,
Joan of Arc, George Washington, Martin Luther King, Jr., and you—walked
at about 1 year, engaged in fantasy play as a young child, and became more
independent as a youth. Each of us, if we live long enough, will experience
hearing problems and the death of family members and friends. This is the
general course of our development, the pattern of movement or change that
begins at conception and continues through the human life span.
In this section we explore what is meant by the concept of development
and why the study of life-span development is important. We outline the
main characteristics of the life-span perspective and discuss various
influences on development. In addition, we examine some contemporary
concerns related to life-span development.
The Importance of Studying Life-Span Development
How might you benefit from studying life-span development? Perhaps you
are, or will be, a parent or teacher. If so, responsibility for children is, or will
be, a part of your everyday life. The more you learn about them, the better
you can raise them or teach them. Perhaps you hope to gain some
insight about your own history—as an infant, a child, an adolescent,
or a young adult. Perhaps you want to know more about what your
life will be like as you grow through the adult years—as a middle-aged adult,
or as an adult in old age, for example. Or perhaps you just stumbled across
this course, thinking that it sounded intriguing. Whatever your reasons, you
will discover that the study of life-span development addresses some
provocative questions about who we are, how we came to be this way, and
where our future will take us.
In our exploration of development, we will examine the life span from the
point of conception until the time when life (at least, life as we know it) ends.
You will see yourself as an infant, as a child, and as an adolescent, and you
will learn about how those years influenced the kind of individual you are
today. And you will see yourself as a young adult, as a middle-aged adult,
and as an adult in old age, and you may be motivated to consider how your
experiences will affect your development through the remainder of your adult
years.
Characteristics of the Life-Span Perspective
Growth and development are dramatic during the first two decades of life, but
development is not something that happens only to children and adolescents.
The traditional approach to the study of development emphasizes extensive
change from birth to adolescence (especially during infancy), little or no
change in adulthood, and decline in old age. Yet a great deal of change does
occur in the decades after adolescence. The life-span approach emphasizes
developmental change throughout adulthood as well as childhood (Park &
Festini, 2018; Schaie & Willis, 2016).
Life Expectancy
Recent increases in human life expectancy have contributed to greater interest
in the life-span approach to development. The upper boundary of the human
life span (based on the oldest age documented) is 122 years. The maximum
life span of humans has not changed since the beginning of recorded history.
What has changed is life expectancy, the average number of years that a
person born in a particular year can expect to live. In the twentieth century
alone, life expectancy increased by 30 years, thanks to improvements in
sanitation, nutrition, and medicine (see Figure 1). In 2016, the life expectancy
in the United States was 79 years of age (U.S. Census Bureau, 2017). Today,
for most individuals in developed countries, childhood and adolescence
represent only about one-fourth of their lives.
Figure 1 Human Life Expectancy at Birth from Prehistoric Time to Contemporary
Times
It took 5,000 years to extend human life expectancy from 18 to 41 years of age.
Laura Carstensen (2015, 2016) recently described the challenges and
opportunities involved in this dramatic increase in life expectancy. In her
view, the remarkable increase in the number of people living to old age has
taken place so quickly that science, technology, and behavioral changes have
not kept pace. She proposes that the challenge is to transform a world
constructed mainly for young people into a world that is more compatible and
supportive for the increasing number of people living to 100 and older.
In further commentary, Carstensen (2015, p. 70) remarked that making
this transformation would be no small feat:
. . . parks, transportation systems, staircases, and even hospitals
Page 4
presume that the users have both strength and stamina; suburbs across
the country are built for two parents and their young children, not
single people, multiple generations or elderly people who are not able
to drive. Our education system serves the needs of young children and
young adults and offers little more than recreation for experienced
people.
Indeed, the very conception of work as a full-time endeavor
ending in the early sixties is ill suited for long lives. Arguably
the most troubling aspect of our current perspective on aging is
that we fret about ways that older people lack the qualities of younger people
rather than exploit a growing new resource right before our eyes: citizens
who have deep expertise, emotional balance, and the motivation to make a
difference.
Certainly recent progress has been made in improving the lives of older
adults. In our discussion of late adulthood, you will read about researchers
who are exploring ways to modify the activity of genes related to aging,
methods for improving brain functioning in older people, medical discoveries
for slowing or even reversing the effects of various chronic diseases, and
ways to prepare for a better quality of life when we get old, including
strategies for staying cognitively sharp, maintaining our physical fitness, and
becoming more satisfied with our lives as older adults. But much more
remains to be accomplished, as described earlier by Laura Carstensen (2015,
2016) and others (Adams, 2017; Couch & others, 2017).
Dimensions of the Life-Span Perspective
The belief that development occurs throughout life is central to the life-span
perspective on human development, but this perspective has other
characteristics as well. According to life-span development expert Paul Baltes
(1939–2006), the life-span perspective views development as lifelong,
multidimensional, multidirectional, plastic, multidisciplinary, and contextual,
and as a process that involves growth, maintenance, and regulation of loss
(Baltes, 1987, 2003; Baltes, Lindenberger, & Staudinger, 2006). In this view,
it is important to understand that development is constructed through
biological, sociocultural, and individual factors working together (Baltes,
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Reuter-Lorenz, & Rösler, 2006). Let’s look at each of these characteristics.
Development Is Lifelong In the life-span perspective, early adulthood is
not the endpoint of development; rather, no age period dominates
development. Researchers increasingly study the experiences and
psychological orientations of adults at different points in their lives. Later in
this chapter we describe the age periods of development and their
characteristics.
Development Is Multidimensional Development consists of biological,
cognitive, and socioemotional dimensions. Even within each of those
dimensions, there are many components (Dale & others, 2018; Moss &
Wilson, 2018; Zammit & others, 2018). The cognitive dimension, for
example, includes attention, memory, abstract thinking, speed of processing
information, and social intelligence. At every age, changes occur in every
dimension. Changes in one dimension also affect development in the other
dimensions.
To get an idea of how interactions occur, consider the development of
Ted Kaczynski, the so-called Unabomber discussed at the opening of the
chapter. When he was 6 months old, he was hospitalized with a severe
allergic reaction, and his parents were rarely allowed to visit him. According
to his mother, the previously happy baby was never the same after his
hospital stay. He became withdrawn and unresponsive. As Ted grew up, he
had periodic “shutdowns” accompanied by rage. In his mother’s view, events
that occurred during her son’s infancy warped the development of his mind
and emotions.
Development Is Multidirectional Throughout life, some dimensions or
components of a dimension expand and others shrink (Kuntzmann, 2019;
Mejia & others, 2017; Sternberg & Hagen, 2018; Strandberg, 2019; Yoo &
others, 2017). For example, when one language (such as English) is acquired
early in development, the capacity for acquiring second and third languages
(such as Spanish and Chinese) decreases later in development, especially
after early childhood (Levelt, 1989). During adolescence, as individuals
establish romantic relationships, their relationships with friends
might decrease. During late adulthood, older adults might become
wiser by being able to call on experience to guide their intellectual
decision making (Hayman, Kerse, & Consedine, 2017; Kuntzmann, 2019;
Rakoczy & others, 2018; Thomas & others, 2018), but they perform more
poorly on tasks that require speed in processing information (Salthouse,
2017).
Development Is Plastic Even at 10 years old, Ted Kaczynski was
extraordinarily shy. Was he destined to remain forever uncomfortable with
people? Developmentalists debate how much plasticity people have in
various dimensions at different points in their development (Erickson &
Oberlin, 2017; Kinugawa, 2019; Park & Festini, 2018). Plasticity means the
capacity for change. For example, can you still improve your intellectual
skills when you are in your seventies or eighties? Or might these intellectual
skills be fixed by the time you are in your thirties so that further improvement
is impossible? Researchers have found that the cognitive skills of older adults
can be improved through training and developing better strategies (Calero,
2019; Willis & Belleville, 2016). However, possibly we possess less capacity
for change when we become old (Salthouse, 2017; Shivarama Shetty &
Sajikumar, 2017). The exploration of plasticity and its constraints is a key
element on the contemporary agenda for developmental research (Kinugawa,
2019; Puts & others, 2017; Schaie, 2016; Walker, 2019).
Developmental Science Is Multidisciplinary Psychologists,
sociologists, anthropologists, neuroscientists, and medical researchers all
share an interest in unlocking the mysteries of development through the life
span. How do your heredity and health limit your intelligence? Do
intelligence and social relationships change with age in the same way around
the world? How do families and schools influence intellectual development?
These are examples of research questions that cut across disciplines.
Development Is Contextual All development occurs within a context, or
setting. Contexts include families, schools, peer groups, churches, cities,
neighborhoods, university laboratories, countries, and so on. Each of these
settings is influenced by historical, economic, social, and cultural factors
(Anguiano, 2018; Lubetkin & Jia, 2017; Nair, Roche, & White, 2018).
Contexts, like individuals, change (Matsumoto & Juang, 2017; Taylor,
Widaman, & Robins, 2018). Thus, individuals are changing beings in a
changing world. As a result of these changes, contexts exert three types of
Page 6
influences (Baltes, 2003): (1) normative age-graded influences, (2) normative
history-graded influences, and (3) nonnormative or highly individualized life
events. Each of these types can have a biological or environmental impact on
development.
Normative age-graded influences are similar for individuals in a
particular age group. These influences include biological processes such as
puberty and menopause. They also include sociocultural, environmental
processes such as beginning formal education (usually at about age 6 in most
cultures) and retirement (which takes place during the fifties and sixties in
most cultures).
Normative history-graded influences are common to people of a
particular generation because of historical circumstances (Heo & others,
2018; Thorvaldsson & others, 2017). For example, in their youth American
baby boomers shared the experience of the Cuban missile crisis, the
assassination of John F. Kennedy, and the Beatles invasion. Other examples
of normative history-graded influences include economic, political, and social
upheavals such as the Great Depression in the 1930s, World War II in the
1940s, the civil rights and women’s rights movements of the 1960s and
1970s, the terrorist attacks of 9/11/2001, the integration of computers and cell
phones into everyday life during the 1990s, and time spent on social media in
the twenty-first century (Schaie, 2016; Smith & Anderson, 2018). Long-term
changes in the genetic and cultural makeup of a population (due to
immigration or changes in fertility rates) are also part of normative historical
change.
Nonnormative life events are unusual occurrences that have a
major impact on the individual’s life. These events do not happen to
all people, and when they do occur they can influence people in
different ways (Fredriksen-Goldsen & others, 2017; Shah & others, 2018).
Examples include the death of a parent when a child is young, pregnancy in
early adolescence, a fire that destroys a home, winning the lottery, or getting
an unexpected career opportunity.
Nonnormative life events, such as Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in 2017, are unusual
circumstances that can have a major influence on a person’s development.
©Mario Tama/Getty Images
Development Involves Growth, Maintenance, and Regulation of
Loss Baltes and his colleagues (2006) assert that the mastery of life often
involves conflicts and competition among three goals of human development:
growth, maintenance, and regulation of loss. As individuals age into middle
and late adulthood, the quest to maintain their capacities and to regulate loss
takes center stage away from growth. Thus, a 75-year-old man might aim not
to improve his memory or his golf swing but to maintain his independence
and to continue playing golf. In other chapters, we will discuss these ideas
about maintenance and regulation of loss in greater depth.
How Would
You…?
As a social worker,
how would you explain
the importance of
considering
nonnormative life
events when working
with a new client?
Development Is a Co-Construction of Biology, Culture, and the
Individual Development comes from biological, cultural, and individual
factors influencing each other (Baltes, Reuter-Lorenz, & Rösler, 2006; De la
Fuente, 2019). For example, the brain shapes culture, but it is also shaped by
culture and the experiences that individuals have or pursue. In terms of
individual factors, we can go beyond what our genetic inheritance and
environment give us. We can create a unique developmental path by actively
choosing from the environment the things that optimize our lives
(Rathunde & Csikszentmihalyi, 2006).
Contemporary Concerns in Life-Span Development
Pick up a newspaper or magazine and you might see headlines like these:
“Technology Threatens Communication Skills,” “Political Leanings May Be
Written in the Genes,” “Mother Accused of Tossing Children into Bay,”
“Religious Group Protests Transgender Bathrooms,” “FDA Warns About
Side Effects of ADHD Drug,” “Heart Attack Deaths Higher in African
American Patients,” “Test May Predict Alzheimer Disease.” Researchers
using the life-span perspective explore these and many other topics of
contemporary concern. The roles that health and well-being, parenting,
education, sociocultural contexts, and technology play in life-span
development, as well as how social policy is related to these issues, are a
particular focus of this textbook.
Health and Well-Being
Health professionals today recognize the power of lifestyles and
psychological states in health and well-being (Blake, Munoz, & Volpe, 2019;
Donatelle, 2019; Hales, 2018; Rolfes, Pinna, & Whitney, 2018). Clinical
psychologists are among the health professionals who help people improve
their well-being. Read about one clinical psychologist who helps adolescents
and adults improve their developmental outcomes in the Careers in Life-Span
Development profile.
Page 7Careers in life-span development
Gustavo Medrano, Clinical Psychologist
Gustavo Medrano specializes in helping children, adolescents, and
adults of all ages improve their lives when they have problems
involving depression, anxiety, emotion regulation, chronic health
conditions, and life transitions. He works individually with clients and
provides therapy for couples and families. As a native Spanish
speaker, he also provides bicultural and bilingual therapy for clients.
Dr. Medrano is a faculty member at the Family Institute at
Northwestern University. He obtained his undergraduate degree in
psychology at Northwestern and then became a teacher for Teach for
America, which involves a minimum of two years spent teaching in a
high-poverty area. He received his master’s and doctoral degrees in
clinical psychology at the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee. As a
faculty member at Northwestern, in addition to doing clinical therapy
with clients, he also conducts research with a focus on how family
experiences, especially parenting, influence children’s and
adolescents’ coping and pain.
Gustavo Moreno, a clinical psychologist who often works with Spanish-
speaking clients.
©Avis Mandel Pictures
Parenting and Education
Can two gay men raise a healthy family? Do children suffer if they grow up
in a divorced family? Are U.S. schools failing to teach children how to read
and write and calculate adequately? We hear many questions like these
related to pressures on the contemporary family and the problems of U.S.
schools (Bullard, 2017; Farr & Goldberg, 2018; Lockhart & others, 2017;
Trejos-Castillo & Trevino-Schafer, 2018). In later chapters, we analyze child
care, the effects of divorce, parenting styles, intergenerational relationships,
early childhood education, relationships between childhood poverty and
education, children with disabilities; bilingual education, new educational
efforts to improve lifelong learning, and many other issues related to
parenting and education (Hallahan, Kauffman, & Pullen, 2019; Morrison,
2018; Powell, 2019; Sandler & others, 2017).
©Robert Maust/Photo Agora
Sociocultural Contexts and Diversity
Health, parenting, and education—like development itself—are all shaped by
their sociocultural context (Cummings & others, 2017; Duncan, Magnuson,
& Votruba-Drzal, 2017; Lansford & Banati, 2018; Suárez-Orozco & Suárez-
Orozco, 2018). To analyze this context, four concepts are especially useful:
culture, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and gender.
Culture encompasses the behavior patterns, beliefs, and all other
products of a particular group of people that are passed on from generation to
generation. Culture results from the interaction of people over many years
(Goldman & others, 2018; Kim & others, 2018; Ragavan & others, 2018).
A cultural group can be as large as the United States or as small as an isolated
Appalachian town. Whatever its size, the group’s culture influences the
behavior of its members (Erez, Cross-cultural studies compare aspects of
Page 82018; Matsumoto & Juang, 2017).two or more cultures. The
comparison provides
information about the degree
to which development is similar, or universal, across cultures, or is instead
culture-specific (Duell & others, 2018; Goldman & others, 2018; Shapka &
others, 2018; Vignoles & others, 2017). For example, in a recent study of 26
countries, individuals in Chile had the highest life satisfaction, those in
Bulgaria and Spain the lowest (Jang & others, 2017).
Asian American and Latino children are the fastest-growing immigrant groups in the
United States. How diverse are the students in your life-span development class? How are
their experiences in growing up likely similar to or different from yours?
©Skip O’Rourke/Zuma Press Inc./Alamy
Doly Akter, age 17, lives in a slum in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where sewers overflow,
garbage rots in the streets, and children are undernourished. Nearly two-thirds of the
women in Bangladesh marry before they are 18. Doly organized a club supported by
UNICEF in which girls go door-to-door to monitor the hygiene habits of households in
their neighborhood, which has led to improved hygiene and health in the families. Also,
her group has managed to stop several child marriages by meeting with parents and
convincing them that it is not in their daughter’s best interests. They emphasize the
importance of staying in school and how this will improve their daughter’s future. Doly
says that the girls in her UNICEF group are far more aware of their rights than their
mothers ever were. (UNICEF, 2007).
Courtesy of Naser Siddique/UNICEF Bangladesh
Ethnicity (the word ethnic comes from the Greek word for “nation”) is
rooted in cultural heritage, nationality, race, religion, and language. African
Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, European
Americans, and Arab Americans are a few examples of broad ethnic groups
in the United States. Diversity exists within each ethnic group (Hou & Kim,
2018; Kim & others, 2018). In recent years, there has been a growing
realization that research on children’s and adolescents’ development needs to
include more children from diverse ethnic groups (Suárez-Orozco, 2018a, b,
c). A special concern is the discrimination and prejudice experienced by
ethnic minority children (Nieto & Bode, 2018). Recent research indicates that
pride in one’s ethnic identity group has positive outcomes (Douglass &
Umana-Taylor, 2017; Umana-Taylor & others, 2018).
Socioeconomic
status (SES) refers to a person’s position within society based on
occupational, educational, and economic characteristics. Socioeconomic
status implies certain inequalities. Differences in the ability to control
resources and to participate in society’s rewards produce unequal
opportunities (Allen & Goldman-Mellor, 2018; Dragoset & others, 2017;
Singh & Mukherjee, 2018).
How Would
You…?
As a health-care
professional, how
would you explain the
importance of
examining cross-
cultural research when
searching for
developmental trends in
health and wellness?
How Would
You…?
As a psychologist, how
would you explain the
importance of
examining sociocultural
factors in developmental
research?
Gender, the characteristics of people as females and males, is another
important aspect of sociocultural contexts. Few aspects of our development
are more central to our identity and social relationships than gender (Dettori
& Rao Gupta, 2018; Ellemers, 2018; Liben, 2017). We discuss sociocultural
contexts and diversity in each chapter.
Page 9
The conditions in which many of the world’s women live are a serious
concern (UNICEF, 2018). Inadequate educational opportunities, violence,
and lack of political access are just some of the problems faced by many
women.
Recently, considerable interest has been generated about a category of
gender classification, transgender, a broad term that refers to individuals who
adopt a gender identity that differs from the one assigned to them at birth
(Budge & Orovecz, 2018; Budge & others, 2018; Savin-Williams, 2017). For
example, individuals may have a female body but identify more strongly with
being masculine than being feminine, or have a male body but identify more
strongly with being feminine than being masculine. We will have much more
to say about gender and transgender later in the text.
Social Policy
Social policy is a government’s course of action designed to promote the
welfare of its citizens. Values, economics, and politics all shape a nation’s
social policy. Out of concern that policy makers are doing too little to protect
the well-being of children and older adults, life-span researchers are
increasingly undertaking studies that they hope will lead to effective social
policy (Akinsola & Petersen, 2018; Aspen Institute, 2018; Lerner & others,
2018; Ruck, Peterson-Badali, & Freeman, 2017; Scales & Roehlkepartain,
2018).
Children who grow up in poverty represent a special concern (Duncan,
Magnuson, & Votruba-Drzal, 2017; Koller, Santana, & Raffaelli, 2018;
Suárez-Orozco, 2018a, b, c; Yoshikawa & others, 2017). In 2015, 19.7
percent of U.S. children under 18 years of age were living in families with
incomes below the poverty line, with African American (36 percent) and
Latino (30 percent) families with children having especially high rates of
poverty (Jiang, Granja, & Koball, 2017). This is an increase from 2001 (16
percent) but slightly down from a peak of 23 percent in 1993. As indicated in
Figure 2, one study found that a higher percentage of children in poor
families than in middle-income families were exposed to family turmoil,
separation from a parent, violence, crowding, excessive noise, and poor
housing (Evans & English, 2002).
Figure 2 Exposure to Six Stressors Among Children in Poor and Middle-Income
Families
One study analyzed the exposure to six stressors among children in poor and middle-
income families (Evans & English, 2002). Poor children were much more likely to face
each of these stressors.
Developmental psychologists are seeking ways to help families living in
poverty improve their well-being, and they have offered many suggestions
for improving government policies (Lansford & Banati, 2018; McQueen,
2017; Motti-Stefanidi, 2018; Suárez-Orozco & Suárez-Orozco, 2018). For
example, the Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) was designed in
the 1990s primarily to influence the behavior of adults—specifically, to move
adults off welfare rolls and into paid employment. A key element of the
program was its guarantee that adults participating in the program would
receive more income if they worked than if they did not. How did the
increase in income affect their children? A study of the effects of MFIP found
Page 10
that higher incomes of working poor parents were linked with benefits for
their children (Gennetian & Miller, 2002). The children’s achievement in
school improved, and their behavior problems decreased. A current MFIP
study is examining the influence of specific services on low-income families
at risk for child maltreatment and other negative outcomes for children
(Minnesota Family Investment Program, 2009).
There is increasing interest in developing two-generation educational
interventions to improve the academic success of children living in poverty
(Gardner, Brooks-Gunn, & Chase-Lansdale, 2016). For example, a recent
large-scale effort to help children escape from poverty is the Ascend two-
generation educational intervention being conducted by the Aspen Institute
(2013, 2018; King, Chase-Lansdale, & Small, 2015). The focus of the
intervention emphasizes education (increasing postsecondary education for
mothers and improving the quality of their children’s early childhood
education), economic support (housing, transportation, financial education,
health insurance, and food assistance), and social capital (peer support
including friends and neighbors; participation in community and faith-based
organizations; school and work contacts).
Some children triumph over poverty or other adversities. They show
resilience. Think back to the chapter-opening story about Alice Walker. In
spite of racism, poverty, her low socioeconomic status, and a disfiguring eye
injury, she went on to become a successful author and champion for equality.
Are there certain characteristics that make children like Alice Walker
resilient? Are there other characteristics that influence children like Ted
Kaczynski, who despite his intelligence and education, became a killer? After
analyzing research on this topic, Ann Masten and her colleagues (Masten,
2006, 2014, 2015, 2016a, b; 2017; Masten, Burt, &
Coatsworth, 2006; Masten & Kalstabakken, 2018; Masten &
Palmer, 2018; Motti-Stefanidi & Masten, 2017; Narayan &
Masten, 2018; Narayan & others, 2017) have concluded that a number of
individual factors, such as good intellectual functioning, influence resiliency.
In addition, family and extrafamilial contexts of resilient individuals tend to
share certain features. For example, resilient children are likely to have a
close relationship to a caring parent figure and bonds to caring adults outside
the family.
At the other end of the life span, protecting the well-being of older adults
also creates policy issues (Burns, Browning, and Kendig, 2017; Jennifer,
2018; Volkwein-Caplan & Tahmaseb-McConatha, 2018). Key concerns are
escalating health care costs and the access of older adults to adequate health
care (Cunningham, Green, & Braun, 2018; Kane, Saliba, & Hollmann, 2017).
Ann Masten (far right) with a homeless mother and her child who are participating in her
research on resilience. She and her colleagues have found that good parenting skills and
good cognitive skills (especially attention and self-control) improve the likelihood that
children in challenging circumstances will do better when they enter elementary school.
©Dawn Villella Photography
Concerns about the well-being of older adults are heightened by two
facts. First, the number of older adults in the United States is growing
rapidly. Second, many of these older Americans are likely to need society’s
help (Andrew & Meeks, 2018; Conway & others, 2018; Shankar & others,
2017).
Not only is the population of older adults growing in the United States,
but the world’s population of people 60 years and older is projected to
increase from 900 million in 2015 to 2.1 billion in 2050 (United Nations,
2015). The global population of individuals 80 years and older is expected to
triple or quadruple during the same time frame.
Page 11
Technology
A final focus in our exploration of contemporary topics is the recent
dramatic, almost overwhelming increase in technology at all points in the life
span (Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2018; Vernon, Modecki, & Barber, 2018).
When we consider the mid-1950s when television was introduced into
people’s lives, to the replacement of typewriters with computers that can do
far more than just print words, later to the remarkable invention of the
Internet and then smartphones, followed by the pervasiveness of social media
and even the expanded use of robots that in some areas can do jobs better
than humans can, it is obvious that our way of life has been forever changed
through technological advances.
We will explore many technology topics in this book. Later in this
chapter you will read about the emerging field of developmental robotics in
our discussion of information processing as well as coverage of different
generations, including the current generation of millennials and their
extensive connection with technology. At various points in the book, we
explore such topics as whether babies should be watching television and
videos, especially how these activities might impair language development;
how too much screen time takes away from children’s exercise and increases
their risk for obesity and cardiovascular disease; how many adolescents
spend more time using various media than they do learning in school and
whether multitasking with different technology devices is helpful or harmful
to academic success; as well as how extensively older adults are adapting to
the expanding role of technology in their daily lives, especially since they did
not grow up using much technology.
The Nature of Development
In this section we explore what is meant by developmental processes and
periods, as well as variations in the way age is conceptualized. We examine
some key developmental issues.
If you wanted to describe how and why Alice Walker or Ted Kaczynski
developed during their lifetimes, how would you go about it? A chronicle of
the events in any person’s life can quickly become a confusing and tedious
array of details. Two concepts help provide a framework for describing and
understanding an individual’s development: developmental processes and
periods.
Biological, Cognitive, and Socioemotional Processes
At the beginning of this chapter, we defined development as the pattern of
change that begins at conception and continues through the life span. The
pattern is complex because it is the product of biological, cognitive, and
socioemotional processes.
Biological Processes
Biological processes produce changes in an individual’s physical nature.
Genes inherited from parents, the development of the brain, height and
weight gains, changes in motor skills, nutrition, exercise, the hormonal
changes of puberty, and cardiovascular decline are all examples of biological
processes that affect development.
Cognitive Processes
Cognitive processes refer to changes in an individual’s thinking,
intelligence, and language. Watching a colorful mobile swinging above the
crib, putting together a two-word sentence, memorizing a poem, imagining
what it would be like to be a movie star, and solving a crossword puzzle all
involve cognitive processes.
Socioemotional Processes
Socioemotional processes involve changes in the individual’s relationships
with other people, changes in emotions, and changes in personality. An
infant’s smile in response to a parent’s touch, a toddler’s aggressive attack on
a playmate, a school-age child’s development of assertiveness, an
adolescent’s joy at the senior prom, and the affection of an elderly couple all
reflect the role of socioemotional processes in development.
Page 12
Connecting Biological, Cognitive, and Socioemotional
Processes
Biological, cognitive, and socioemotional processes are inextricably
intertwined (Diamond, 2013). Consider a baby smiling in response to a
parent’s touch. This response depends on biological processes (the physical
nature of touch and responsiveness to it), cognitive processes (the ability to
understand intentional acts), and socioemotional processes (the act of smiling
often reflects a positive emotional feeling, and smiling helps to connect us in
positive ways with other human beings). Nowhere is the connection across
biological, cognitive, and socioemotional processes more obvious than in two
rapidly emerging fields:
developmental cognitive neuroscience, which explores links between
cognitive processes, development, and the brain (Bell & others, 2018;
Lee, Hollarek, & Krabbendam, 2018; Park & Festini, 2018; Reyna &
others, 2018)
developmental social neuroscience, which examines connections between
socioemotional processes, development, and the brain (Dahl & others,
2018; Steinberg & others, 2018; Suleiman & others, 2017; Sullivan &
Wilson, 2018)
In many instances, biological, cognitive, and socioemotional
processes are bidirectional. For example, biological processes can
influence cognitive processes and vice versa. For the most part, we
will study the different processes of development (biological, cognitive, and
socioemotional) in separate chapters, but the human being is an integrated
individual with a mind and body that are interdependent. Thus, in many
places throughout the book we will call attention to the connections between
these processes.
Periods of Development
The interplay of biological, cognitive, and socioemotional processes (see
Figure 3) over time gives rise to the developmental periods of the human life
span. A developmental period is a time frame in a person’s life that is
characterized by certain features. The most widely used classification of
developmental periods involves an eight-period sequence. For the purposes
of organization and understanding, this book is structured according to these
developmental periods.
Figure 3 Processes Involved in Developmental Changes
Biological, cognitive, and socioemotional processes interact as individuals develop.
The prenatal period is the time from conception to birth. It involves
tremendous growth—from a single cell to a complete organism with a brain
and behavioral capabilities—and takes place in approximately a nine-month
period.
Infancy is the developmental period from birth to 18 or 24 months when
humans are extremely dependent on adults. During this period, many
psychological activities—language, symbolic thought, sensorimotor
coordination, and social learning, for example—are just beginning.
Early childhood is the developmental period from the end of infancy to
age 5 or 6. This period is sometimes called the “preschool years.” During this
time, young children learn to become more self-sufficient and to care for
themselves. They also develop school readiness skills, such as the ability to
follow instructions and identify letters, and they spend many hours playing
with peers. First grade typically marks the end of early childhood.
Middle and late childhood is the developmental period from about 6 to 11
Page 13
years of age, approximately corresponding to the elementary school years.
During this period, children master the fundamental skills of reading, writing,
and arithmetic. They are formally exposed to the world outside the family
and to the prevailing culture. Achievement becomes a more central theme of
the child’s world, and self-control increases.
Adolescence encompasses the transition from childhood to early
adulthood, entered at approximately 10 to 12 years of age and ending at 18 to
22 years of age. Adolescence begins with rapid physical changes—dramatic
gains in height and weight, changes in body contour, and the development of
sexual characteristics such as enlargement of the breasts, growth of pubic and
facial hair, and deepening of the voice. At this point in development, the
pursuit of independence and an identity are prominent themes. Thought is
more logical, abstract, and idealistic. More time is spent outside the family.
Recently there has been increased interest in the transition between
adolescence and adulthood, a transition that has been referred to as emerging
adulthood (Arnett, 2016a, b). Emerging adulthood occurs approximately
from 18 to 25 years of age and is a time of considerable exploration and
experimentation, especially in the areas of identity, careers, and lifestyles.
Early adulthood is the developmental period that begins in the late teens
or early twenties and lasts through the thirties. For young adults, this is a time
for establishing personal and economic independence, becoming proficient in
a career, and for many, selecting a mate, learning to live with that person in
an intimate way, starting a family, and rearing children.
Middle adulthood is the developmental period from approximately 40
years of age to about 60. It is a time of expanding personal and social
involvement and responsibility; of assisting the next generation in becoming
competent, mature individuals; and of achieving and maintaining satisfaction
in a career.
Late adulthood is the developmental period that begins in the
sixties or seventies and lasts until death. It is a time of life review,
retirement from the workforce, and adjustment to new social roles
involving decreasing strength and health.
Late adulthood potentially lasts longer than any other period of
development. Because the number of people in this age group has been
increasing dramatically, life-span developmentalists have been paying more
attention to differences within late adulthood (Bangerter & others, 2018;
Orkaby & others, 2018). According to Paul Baltes and Jacqui Smith (2003), a
major change takes place in older adults’ lives as they become the “oldest-
old,” at about 85 years of age. The “young-old” (classified as 65 through 84
in this analysis) have substantial potential for physical and cognitive fitness,
retain much of their cognitive capacity, and can develop strategies to cope
with the gains and losses of aging. In contrast, the oldest-old (85 and older)
show considerable loss in cognitive skills, experience increased chronic
stress, and are more frail (Baltes & Smith, 2003). Nonetheless, considerable
variation exists in how much of their capabilities the oldest-old retain (Mejia
& others, 2017; Park & Festini, 2018; Ribeiro & Araujo, 2019; Robine, 2019;
Salthouse, 2017).
Conceptions of Age
In our description of developmental periods, we attached an approximate age
range to each period. But we also have noted that there are variations in the
capabilities of individuals of the same age, and we have seen how age-related
changes can be exaggerated. How important is age when we try to understand
an individual?
According to some life-span experts, chronological age is not very
relevant to understanding a person’s psychological development (Hoyer &
Roodin, 2009). Chronological age is the number of years that have elapsed
since birth. But time is a crude index of experience, and it does not cause
development. Chronological age, moreover, is not the only way of measuring
age (MacDonald & Stawski, 2016). Just as there are different domains of
development, there are different ways of thinking about age (Fernandez-
Ballesteros, 2019).
Four Types of Age
Age has been conceptualized not just as chronological age but also as
biological age, psychological age, and social age (Hoyer & Roodin, 2009).
Biological age is a person’s age in terms of biological health. Determining
biological age involves knowing the functional capacities of a person’s vital
organs. One person’s vital capacities may be better or worse than those of
others of comparable chronological age. The younger the person’s biological
Page 14
age, the longer the person is expected to live, regardless of chronological age.
A recent study involving 17-year survival rates of 20- to 93-year-old Korean
adults found that death rates were higher among individuals whose biological
age was greater than their chronological age (Yoo & others, 2017).
(Left) Seventy-four year old Barbara Jordan participating in the long jump competition at
a Senior Games in Maine; (right) A sedentary overweight middle-aged man. Even though
Barbara Jordan’s chronological age is older, might her biological age be younger than
the middle-aged man’s?
(Left) ©John Patriquin/Portland Press Herald/Getty Images; (right) ©Owaki-
Kulla/Corbis/Getty Images
Psychological age is an individual’s adaptive capacities
compared with those of other individuals of the same
chronological age. Thus, older adults who continue to learn,
remain flexible, are motivated, think clearly, and have positive personality
traits are engaging in more adaptive behaviors than their chronological age-
mates who do not do these things (Bercovitz, Ngnoumen, & Langer, 2019;
Fisher & others, 2017; Radoczy & others, 2018; Roberts & others, 2017;
Thomas & others, 2018; Westrate & Gluck, 2017). And a recent study found
that a higher level of conscientiousness was protective of cognitive
functioning in older adults (Wilson & others, 2015).
Social age refers to connectedness with others and the social roles
individuals adopt. Individuals who have better social relationships with
others are happier and tend to live longer than individuals who are lonely
(Antonucci & Webster, 2019; Moss & Wilson, 2018).
From a life-span perspective, an overall age profile of an individual
involves not just chronological age but also biological age, psychological
age, and social age. For example, a 70-year-old man (chronological age)
might be in good physical health (biological age) but might be experiencing
memory problems and having trouble coping with the demands placed on
him by his wife’s recent hospitalization (psychological age) and dealing with
a lack of social support (social age).
Three Developmental Patterns of Aging
K. Warner Schaie (2016) recently described three developmental patterns that
provide a portrait of how aging can involve individual variations:
Normal aging characterizes most individuals, for whom psychological
functioning often peaks in early middle age, remains relatively stable
until the late fifties to early sixties, and then shows a modest decline
through the early eighties. However, marked decline can occur as
individuals near death.
Pathological aging characterizes individuals who show greater than
average decline as they age through the adult years. In early old age, they
may have mild cognitive impairment, develop Alzheimer disease later on,
or have a chronic disease that impairs their daily functioning.
Successful aging characterizes individuals whose positive physical,
cognitive, and socioemotional development is maintained longer,
declining later in old age than is the case for most people.
For too long, only the declines that occur in late adulthood were
highlighted, but recently there has been increased interest in the concept of
successful aging (Benetos, 2019; Fernandez-Ballesteros & others, 2019;
Alonzo & Molina, 2019; Tanaka, 2017; Tesch-Romer & Wahl, 2017).
Age and Happiness
Is there a best age to be? An increasing number of studies indicate that at
Page 15
least in the United States adults are happier as they age (Stone & others,
2010). Consider also a U.S. study of approximately 28,000 individuals from
18 to 88 that revealed happiness increased with age (Yang, 2008). For
example, about 33 percent were very happy at 88 years of age compared with
only about 24 percent in their late teens and early twenties. In a recent study
of individuals from 22 to 93 years of age, older adults reported having more
positive emotional experiences than did young adults (English & Carstensen,
2014).
Why might older people report being happier and more satisfied with
their lives than younger people? Despite the increase in physical problems
and losses older adults experience, they are more content with what they have
in their lives, have better relationships with the people who matter to them,
are less pressured to achieve, have more time for leisurely pursuits, and have
many years of experience that may help them adapt to their circumstances
with greater wisdom than younger adults do (Carstensen, 2015, 2016;
Westrate & Gluck, 2017).
Not all studies, though, have found an increase in life satisfaction with
age (Steptoe, Deaton, & Stone, 2015). Some studies indicate that the lowest
levels of life satisfaction are in middle age, especially from 45 to 54 years of
age (OECD, 2014). Other studies have found that life
satisfaction varies across some countries. For example,
research with respondents from the former Soviet Union and
Eastern Europe, as well as those from South American countries, report a
decrease in life satisfaction with advancing age (Deaton, 2008). Further, older
adults in poor health, such as those with cardiovascular disease, chronic lung
disease, and depression, are less satisfied with their lives than are their
healthier older adult counterparts (Wikman, Wardle, & Steptoe, 2011).
Now that you have read about age variations in life satisfaction, think
about how satisfied you are with your life. To help you answer this question,
complete the items in Figure 4, which presents the most widely used measure
in research on life satisfaction (Diener, 2018).
Figure 4 How Satisfied Am I with My Life?
Source: E. Diener, R. A. Emmons, R. J. Larson, & S. Griffin. “The Satisfaction
with Life Scale.” Journal of Personality Assessment, 48, 1985, 71–75.
Developmental Issues
Was Ted Kaczynski born a killer, or did the events in his life turn him into
one? Kaczynski himself thought that his childhood was the root of his
troubles. He said he grew up as a genius in a boy’s body and never fit in with
other children. Did his early experiences determine his later life? Is your own
journey through life marked out ahead of time, or can your experiences
change your path? Are the experiences you have early in your journey more
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important than later ones? Is your journey more like taking an elevator up a
skyscraper with distinct stops along the way or more like a cruise down a
river with smoother ebbs and flows? These questions point to three issues
about the nature of development: the roles played by nature and nurture,
stability and change, and continuity and discontinuity.
Nature and Nurture
The nature-nurture issue concerns the extent to which development is
influenced by nature and by nurture. Nature refers to an organism’s
biological inheritance, nurture to its environmental experiences.
According to those who emphasize the role of nature, just as a sunflower
grows in an orderly way—unless flattened by an unfriendly environment—so
too a human grows in an orderly way. An evolutionary and genetic
foundation produces commonalities in growth and development (Mader &
Windelspecht, 2019; Starr, Evers, & Starr, 2018). We walk before we talk,
speak one word before two words, grow rapidly in infancy and less so in
early childhood, experience a rush of sex hormones in puberty, reach the
peak of our physical strength in late adolescence and early
adulthood, and then physically decline. Proponents of the
importance of nature acknowledge that extreme environments
—those≈that are psychologically barren or hostile—can depress
development. However, they believe that basic growth tendencies are
genetically programmed into humans (Hoefnagels, 2019; Johnson, 2017).
What are some key developmental issues?
©Rubberball/PictureQuest
By contrast, other psychologists emphasize the importance of nurture, or
environmental experiences, in development (Almy & Cicchetti, 2018; Chen,
Lee, & Chen, 2018; Rubin & Barstead, 2018). Experiences run the gamut
from the individual’s biological environment (nutrition, exercise, medical
care, drugs, and physical accidents) to the social environment (family, peers,
schools, community, media, and culture) (Kansky, Ruzek, & Allen, 2018;
Petersen & others, 2017).
Stability and Change
Is the shy child who hides behind the sofa when visitors arrive destined to
become a wallflower at college dances, or might the child become a sociable,
talkative individual? Is the fun-loving, carefree adolescent bound to have
difficulty holding down a 9-to-5 job as an adult? These questions reflect the
stability-change issue, involving the degree to which early traits and
characteristics persist or change over time.
The roles of early and later experience are an aspect of the stability-
change issue that has long been hotly debated (Almy & Cicchetti, 2018;
Chatterjee & others, 2018). Some argue that warm, nurturant caregiving
during infancy and toddlerhood predicts optimal development later in life
(Cassidy, 2016). The later-experience advocates see children as malleable
throughout development and believe later sensitive caregiving is just as
important as earlier sensitive caregiving (De la Fuente, 2019; Fingerman &
others, 2017; Joling & others, 2018; Sawyer & Patton, 2018; Taylor & others,
2018).
Developmentalists who emphasize change take the more optimistic view
that later experiences can produce change. Recall that in the life-span
perspective, plasticity, the potential for change, exists throughout the life
span (Antonucci & Webster, 2019; Blieszner, 2018; Lovden, Backman, &
Lindenberger, 2017; Oltmanns & others, 2017; Park & Festini, 2018).
Experts such as Paul Baltes (2003) argue that older adults often show less
capacity for learning new things than younger adults do. However, many
older adults continue to be good at applying what they have learned in earlier
times.
Continuity and Discontinuity
When developmental change occurs, is it gradual or abrupt? Think about
your own development for a moment. Did you gradually become the person
you are today? Or did you experience sudden, distinct changes in your
growth? For the most part, developmentalists who emphasize nurture
describe development as a gradual, continuous process. Those who
emphasize nature often describe development as a series of distinct stages.
The continuity-discontinuity issue focuses on the degree to which
development involves either gradual, cumulative change (continuity) or
distinct stages (discontinuity). In terms of continuity, as the oak grows from a
seedling to a giant tree, its development is continuous. Similarly, a child’s
first word, though seemingly an abrupt, discontinuous event, is actually the
result of weeks and months of growth and practice. Puberty might seem
abrupt, but it is a gradual process that occurs over several years.
In terms of discontinuity, as an insect grows from a caterpillar to a
chrysalis to a butterfly, it passes through a sequence of stages in which
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change is qualitatively rather than quantitatively different. Similarly, at some
point a child moves from not being able to think abstractly about the world to
being able to do so. This is a qualitative, discontinuous change in
development rather than a quantitative, continuous change.
Evaluating the Developmental Issues
Developmentalists generally acknowledge that development is not all nature
or all nurture, not all stability or all change, and not all continuity or all
discontinuity. Nature and nurture, stability and change, continuity
and discontinuity characterize development throughout the life
span (Kinugawa, 2019; Lindahl-Jacobsen & Christensen, 2019).
Although most developmentalists do not take extreme positions on these
three important issues, there is spirited debate regarding how strongly
development is influenced by each of these factors (Almy & Cicchetti, 2018;
Antonnucci & Webster, 2019; Halldorsdottir & Binder, 2017; Kalat, 2019;
Moore, 2017).
Theories of Development
How can we answer questions about the roles of nature and nurture, stability
and change, and continuity and discontinuity in development? How can we
determine, for example, whether memory loss in older adults can be
prevented or whether special care can repair the harm inflicted by child
neglect? The scientific method is the best tool we have to answer such
questions (Smith & Davis, 2016).
The scientific method is essentially a four-step process: (1) conceptualize
a process or problem to be studied, (2) collect research information (data), (3)
analyze data, and (4) draw conclusions.
In step 1, when researchers are formulating a problem to study, they often
draw on theories and develop hypotheses. A theory is an interrelated,
coherent set of ideas that helps to explain phenomena and make predictions.
It may suggest hypotheses, which are specific assertions and predictions that
can be tested. For example, a theory on mentoring might state that sustained
support and guidance from an adult makes a difference in the lives of
children from impoverished backgrounds because the mentor gives the
children opportunities to observe and imitate the behavior and strategies of
the mentor.
This section outlines five theoretical orientations to development:
psychoanalytic, cognitive, behavioral and social cognitive, ethological, and
ecological. These theories look at development from different perspectives,
and they disagree about certain aspects of development. But many of their
ideas are complementary, and each contributes an important piece to the life-
span development puzzle. Although the theories disagree about certain
aspects of development, many of their ideas are complementary rather than
contradictory. Together they let us see the total landscape of life-span
development in all its richness.
Psychoanalytic Theories
Psychoanalytic theories describe development primarily in terms of
unconscious (beyond awareness) processes that are heavily colored by
emotion. Psychoanalytic theorists emphasize that behavior is merely a surface
characteristic and that a true understanding of development requires
analyzing the symbolic meanings of behavior and the deep inner workings of
the mind. Psychoanalytic theorists also stress that early experiences with
parents extensively shape development. These characteristics are highlighted
in the main psychoanalytic theory, that of Sigmund Freud (1856–1939).
Freud’s Theory
Freud was a pioneer in the treatment of psychological problems. Based on his
belief that patients who talked about their problems could be restored to
psychological health, Freud developed a technique called psychoanalysis. As
he listened to, probed, and analyzed his patients, he became convinced that
their problems were the result of experiences early in life. He thought that as
children grow up, their focus of pleasure and sexual impulses shifts from the
mouth to the anus and eventually to the genitals. Consequently, he
determined, we pass through five stages of psychosexual development: oral,
anal, phallic, latency, and genital (see Figure 5). Our adult personality, Freud
Page 18
(1917) claimed, is determined by the way we resolve conflicts between
sources of pleasure at each stage and the demands of reality.
Figure 5 Freudian Stages
Because Freud emphasized sexual motivation, his stages of development are known as
psychosexual stages. In his view, if the need for pleasure at any stage is either
undergratified or overgratified, an individual may become fixated, or locked in, at that
stage of development.
Freud’s followers significantly revised his psychoanalytic theory. Many
of today’s psychoanalytic theorists believe that Freud overemphasized sexual
instincts; they place more emphasis on cultural experiences as determinants
of an individual’s development. Unconscious thought remains a central
theme, but conscious thought plays a greater role than Freud envisioned.
Next, we will outline the ideas of an important revisionist of Freud’s theory
—Erik Erikson.
Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory
Erik Erikson recognized Freud’s contributions but believed that Freud
misjudged some important dimensions of human development. For one thing,
Erikson (1950, 1968) said we develop in psychosocial stages, rather than the
psychosexual stages that Freud described. According to Freud, the primary
motivation for human behavior is sexual in nature; according to Erikson,
motivation is social and reflects a desire to affiliate with other people.
According to Freud, our basic personality is shaped in the first five years of
life; according to Erikson, developmental change occurs throughout the life
span. Thus, Freud viewed early experiences as far more important than later
experiences, whereas Erikson emphasized the importance of both early and
later experiences.
Erik Erikson with his wife, Joan, an artist. Erikson generated one of the most important
developmental theories of the twentieth century. Which stage of Erikson’s theory are you
in? Does Erikson’s description of this stage characterize you?
©Jon Erikson/The Image Works
In Erikson’s theory, eight stages of development unfold as we go
through life (see Figure 6). At each stage, a unique developmental task
confronts individuals with a crisis that must be resolved. According to
Erikson, this crisis is not a catastrophe but a turning point marked by both
increased vulnerability and enhanced potential. The more successfully an
individual resolves these crises, the healthier his or her development will be.
Figure 6 Erikson’s Eight Life-Span Stages
Like Freud, Erikson proposed that individuals go through distinct, universal stages of
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development. In terms of the continuity-discontinuity issue, both favor the discontinuity
side of the debate. Notice that the timing of Erikson’s first four stages is similar to that of
Freud’s stages. What are the implications of saying that people go through stages of
development?
Trust versus mistrust is Erikson’s first psychosocial stage, which is
experienced in the first year of life. Trust during infancy sets the stage for a
lifelong expectation that the world will be a good and pleasant place to live.
Autonomy versus shame and doubt is Erikson’s second stage. This stage
occurs in late infancy and toddlerhood (1 to 3 years). After gaining trust in
their caregivers, infants begin to discover that their behavior is their own.
They start to assert their sense of independence or autonomy. They realize
their will. If infants and toddlers are restrained too much or punished too
harshly, they are likely to develop a sense of shame and doubt.
Initiative versus guilt, Erikson’s third stage of development, occurs
during the preschool years. As preschool children encounter a widening
social world, they face new challenges that require active, purposeful,
responsible behavior. Feelings of guilt may arise, though, if the
child is irresponsible and is made to feel too anxious.
Industry versus inferiority is Erikson’s fourth
developmental stage, occurring approximately in the elementary school years.
Children now need to direct their energy toward mastering knowledge and
intellectual skills. The negative outcome is that the child may develop a sense
of inferiority—feeling incompetent and unproductive.
During the adolescent years individuals face finding out who they are,
what they are all about, and where they are going in life. This is Erikson’s
fifth developmental stage, identity versus identity confusion. If adolescents
explore roles in a healthy manner and arrive at a positive path to follow in
life, then they achieve a positive identity; if not, then identity confusion
reigns.
Intimacy versus isolation is Erikson’s sixth developmental stage, which
individuals experience during early adulthood. At this time, individuals face
the developmental task of forming intimate relationships. If young adults
form healthy friendships and an intimate relationship with a partner, intimacy
will be achieved; if not, isolation will result.
Generativity versus stagnation, Erikson’s seventh developmental stage,
occurs during middle adulthood. By generativity, Erikson means primarily a
concern for helping the younger generation to develop and lead useful lives.
The feeling of having done nothing to help the next generation is stagnation.
Integrity versus despair is Erikson’s eighth and final stage of
development, which individuals experience in late adulthood. During this
stage, a person reflects on the past. If the person’s life review reveals a life
well spent, integrity will be achieved; if not, the retrospective glances likely
will yield doubt or gloom—the despair Erikson described.
Evaluating Psychoanalytic Theories
Contributions of psychoanalytic theories like Freud’s and Erikson’s to life-
span development include an emphasis on a developmental framework,
family relationships, and unconscious aspects of the mind. These theories
have been criticized for a lack of scientific support, too much emphasis on
sexual underpinnings, and an image of people that is too negative.
Cognitive Theories
Whereas psychoanalytic theories stress the unconscious, cognitive theories
emphasize conscious thoughts. Three important cognitive theories are
Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory, Vygotsky’s sociocultural cognitive
theory, and information-processing theory. All three focus on the
development of complex thinking skills.
Piaget’s Cognitive Developmental Theory
Piaget’s theory states that children go through four stages of cognitive
development as they actively construct their understanding of the world. Two
processes underlie this cognitive construction of the world: organization and
adaptation. To make sense of our world, we organize our experiences. For
example, we separate important ideas from less important ideas, and we
connect one idea to another. In addition to organizing our observations and
experiences, we must adjust to changing environmental demands (Miller,
2015).
Piaget (1954) described four stages in understanding the world (see
Page 20Figure 7). Each stage is age-related and consists of a distinct way
of thinking, a different way of understanding the world. Thus,
according to Piaget, the child’s cognition is qualitatively different
in one stage compared with another. What are Piaget’s four stages of
cognitive development?
Figure 7 Piaget’s Four Stages of Cognitive Development
According to Piaget, how a child thinks—not how much the child knows—determines the
child’s stage of cognitive development.
Left to right ©Stockbyte/Getty Images; ©BananaStock/PunchStock;
©image100/Corbis; ©Purestock/Getty Images
The sensorimotor stage, which lasts from birth to about 2 years of age, is
the first Piagetian stage. In this stage, infants construct an understanding of
the world by coordinating sensory experiences (such as seeing and hearing)
with physical, motor actions—hence the term sensorimotor.
The preoperational stage, which lasts from approximately 2 to 7 years of
age, is Piaget’s second stage. In this stage, children begin to go beyond
simply connecting sensory information with physical action and are now able
to represent the world with words, images, and drawings. However,
according to Piaget, preschool children still lack the ability to perform what
he calls operations, which are internalized mental actions that allow children
to do mentally what they previously could only do physically. For example, if
you imagine putting two sticks together to see whether they would be as long
as another stick, without actually moving the sticks, you are performing a
concrete operation.
Jean Piaget, the famous Swiss developmental psychologist, changed the way we think
about the development of children’s minds. What are some key ideas in Piaget’s theory?
©Yves DeBraine/BlackStar/Stock Photo
The concrete operational stage, which lasts from approximately 7 to 11
years of age, is the third Piagetian stage. In this stage, children can perform
operations that involve objects, and they can reason logically about specific
or concrete examples. Concrete operational thinkers, however, cannot
imagine the steps necessary to complete an algebraic equation because doing
so would require a level of thinking that is too abstract for this stage of
development.
The formal operational stage, which appears between the ages of 11 and
15 and continues through adulthood, is Piaget’s fourth and final stage. In this
stage, individuals move beyond concrete experiences and think in abstract
and more logical terms. As part of thinking more abstractly, adolescents
Page 21
develop images of ideal circumstances. They might think about what an ideal
parent is like and compare their parents to this ideal standard.
They begin to entertain possibilities for the future and are
fascinated with what they can become. In solving problems,
they become more systematic, developing hypotheses about why something
is happening the way it is and then testing these hypotheses. We will examine
Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory further in other chapters.
Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Cognitive Theory
Like Piaget, the Russian developmentalist Lev Vygotsky (1896–1934)
reasoned that children actively construct their knowledge. However,
Vygotsky (1962) gave social interaction and culture far more important roles
in cognitive development than Piaget did.
Vygotsky’s theory is a sociocultural cognitive theory that emphasizes
how culture and social interaction guide cognitive development. Vygotsky
portrayed the child’s development as inseparable from social and cultural
activities (Daniels, 2017). He stressed that cognitive development involves
learning to use the inventions of society, such as language, mathematical
systems, and memory strategies. Thus, in one culture children might learn to
count with the help of a computer; in another they might learn by using
beads. According to Vygotsky, children’s social interaction with more-skilled
adults and peers is indispensable to their cognitive development (Holzman,
2017). Through this interaction, they learn to use the tools that will help them
adapt and be successful in their culture. Later we will examine ideas about
learning and teaching that are based on Vygotsky’s theory.
Lev Vygotsky was born the same year as Piaget, but he died much earlier, at the age of
37. There is considerable interest today in Vygotsky’s sociocultural cognitive theory of
child development. What are some key characteristics of Vygotsky’s theory?
©A.R. Lauria / Dr. Michael Cole, Laboratory of Human Cognition, University of
California, San Diego
Information-Processing Theory
Information-processing theory emphasizes that individuals manipulate
information, monitor it, and strategize about it. Unlike Piaget’s theory but
like Vygotsky’s theory, information-processing theory does not describe
development as stage-like. Instead, according to this theory individuals
develop a gradually increasing capacity for processing information, which
allows them to acquire increasingly complex knowledge and skills
(Chevalier, Dauvier, & Blaye, 2018; Goldstein, 2019).
Robert Siegler (2006, 2017), a leading expert on children’s information
processing, states that thinking is information processing. In other words,
when individuals perceive, encode, represent, store, and retrieve information,
they are thinking. Siegler and his colleagues (Braithwaite & Siegler, 2018a,
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b; Siegler & Braithwaite, 2017; Siegler & Lortie-Forgues, 2017) emphasize
that an important aspect of development is learning good strategies for
processing information. For example, becoming a better reader might involve
learning to monitor the key themes of the material being read.
Siegler (2006, 2017) also argues that the best way to understand how
children learn is to observe them while they are learning. He emphasizes the
importance of using the microgenetic method to obtain detailed information
about processing mechanisms as they are occurring moment to moment.
Siegler concludes that most research methods indirectly assess cognitive
change, being more like snapshots than movies. The microgenetic method
seeks to discover not just what children know but the cognitive processes
involved in how they acquired the knowledge (Miller, 2015). A number of
microgenetic studies have focused on a specific aspect of academic learning,
such as how children learn whole number arithmetic, fractions, and other
areas of math (Braithwaite & Siegler, 2018a, b; Siegler & Braithwaite, 2017;
Siegler & Lorte-Forgues, 2017).
The information processing approach often uses the computer as an
analogy to help explain the connection between cognition and the brain
(Radvansky & Ashcraft, 2018) (see Figure 8). The physical
brain is described as the computer’s hardware, and cognition as
its software. In this analogy, the sensory and perceptual
systems provide an “input channel,” similar to the way data are entered into
the computer. As input (information) comes into the mind, mental processes,
or operations, act on it, just as the computer’s software acts on the data. The
transformed input generates information that remains in memory much in the
way a computer stores what it has worked on. Finally, the information is
retrieved from memory and “printed out” or “displayed” (so to speak) as an
observable response.
Figure 8 Comparing the Information Processing of Humans and Computers
Psychologists who study cognition often use a computer analogy to explain how humans
process information. The brain is analogous to the computer’s hardware and cognition is
analogous to the computer’s software.
©Creatas/PictureQuest
Computers provide a logical and concrete, but oversimplified, model of
the mind’s processing of information. Inanimate computers and human brains
function quite differently in some respects. For example, most computers
receive information from a human who has already coded the information
and removed much of its ambiguity. In contrast, each brain cell, or neuron,
can respond to ambiguous information transmitted through sensory receptors
such as the eyes and ears.
Computers can do some things better than humans. For instance,
computers can perform complex numerical calculations much faster and more
accurately than humans could ever hope to. Computers can also apply and
follow rules more consistently and with fewer errors than humans and can
Page 23
represent complex mathematical patterns better than humans.
Still, the brain’s extraordinary capabilities will probably not be mimicked
completely by computers at any time in the near future (Sternberg, 2017). For
example, although a computer can improve its ability to recognize patterns or
use rules of thumb to make decisions, it does not have the means to develop
new learning goals. Furthermore, the human mind is aware of itself; the
computer is not. Indeed, no computer is likely to approach the richness of
human consciousness.
Nonetheless, the computer’s role in cognitive and developmental
psychology continues to increase. An entire scientific field called artificial
intelligence (AI) focuses on creating machines capable of performing
activities that require intelligence when they are done by people. And a new
field titled developmental robotics is emerging that examines various
developmental topics and issues using robots, such as motor
development, perceptual development, information processing,
and language development (Faghihi & Moustafa, 2017;
Morse & Cangelosi, 2017). The hope is to build robots that are as much like
humans as possible and in doing so to better understand how humans think
and develop (Vujovic & others, 2017; Wu & others, 2017).
Evaluating Cognitive Theories
Contributions of cognitive theories include a positive view of development
and an emphasis on the active construction of understanding. Criticisms
include skepticism about the pureness of Piaget’s stages and a belief that too
little attention is paid to individual variations.
Above is the humanoid robot iCub created by the Italian Institute of Technology to study
such aspects of children’s development as perception, cognition, and motor development.
In this situation, the robot, the size of a 3.5 year old child, is catching a ball. This robot is
being used by more than 20 laboratories worldwide and has 53 motors that move the head,
arms and hands, waist, and legs. It also can see and hear, as well as having the sense of
proprioception (body configuration) and movement (using gyroscopes).
©Marco Destefanis/Pacific Press/Sipa/Newscom
Behavioral and Social Cognitive Theories
Behavioral and social cognitive theories hold that development can be
described in terms of behaviors learned through interactions with our
surroundings. Behaviorism essentially holds that we can study scientifically
only what can be directly observed and measured. Out of the behavioral
tradition grew the belief that development is observable behavior that can be
learned through experience with the environment (Maag, 2018). In terms of
the continuity-discontinuity issue discussed earlier in this chapter, the
behavioral and social cognitive theories emphasize continuity in development
and argue that development does not occur in stage-like fashion. Let’s
explore two versions of behaviorism: Skinner’s operant conditioning and
Bandura’s social cognitive theory.
Skinner’s Operant Conditioning
According to B. F. Skinner (1904–1990), through operant conditioning the
Page 24
consequences of a behavior produce changes in the probability of the
behavior’s recurrence. A behavior followed by a rewarding stimulus is more
likely to recur, whereas a behavior followed by a punishing stimulus is less
likely to recur. For example, when an adult smiles at a child after the child
has done something, the child is more likely to engage in that behavior again
than if the adult gives the child a disapproving look.
In Skinner’s (1938) view, such rewards and punishments shape
development. For Skinner the key aspect of development is behavior, not
thoughts and feelings. He emphasized that development consists of the
pattern of behavioral changes that are brought about by rewards and
punishments. For example, Skinner would say that shy people learned to be
shy as a result of experiences they had while growing up. It follows that
modifications to an environment can help a shy person become more socially
oriented.
Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory
Some psychologists agree with the behaviorists’ notion that development is
learned and is influenced strongly by environmental interactions. However,
unlike Skinner, they also see cognition as important in understanding
development. Social cognitive theory holds that behavior, environment, and
person/cognitive factors are the key factors in development.
American psychologist Albert Bandura (born in 1925) is the leading
architect of social cognitive theory. Bandura (1986, 2004, 2010a, b, 2012,
2015) emphasizes that cognitive processes have important links with the
environment and behavior. His early research program focused heavily on
observational learning (also called imitation or modeling), which is learning
that occurs through observing what others do. For example, a
young boy might observe his father yelling in anger and
treating other people with hostility; and then later with his
peers, the young boy acts very aggressively, showing the same behavioral
characteristics as his father. Social cognitive theorists stress that people
acquire a wide range of behaviors, thoughts, and feelings through observing
others’ behavior and that these observations form an important part of life-
span development.
Albert Bandura is one of the leading architects of social cognitive theory. How does
Bandura’s theory differ from Skinner’s?
©Dr. Albert Bandura
What is cognitive about observational learning in Bandura’s view? He
proposes that people cognitively represent the behavior of others and then
sometimes adopt this behavior themselves.
Bandura’s (2004, 2010a, b, 2012, 2015) most recent model of learning
and development includes three elements: behavior, the person/cognition, and
the environment. An individual’s confidence in being able to control his or
her success is an example of a person factor; strategies for achieving success
are an example of a cognitive factor. As shown in Figure 9, influences
from behavior, person/cognition, and environment operate interactively.
Page 25
Figure 9 Bandura’s Social Cognitive Model
The arrows illustrate how relations between behavior, person/cognition, and environment
are reciprocal rather than one-way. Person/cognition refers to cognitive processes (for
example, thinking and planning) and personal characteristics (for example, believing that
you can control your experiences).
Evaluating Behavioral and Social Cognitive Theories
Contributions of the behavioral and social cognitive theories include an
emphasis on scientific research and environmental determinants of behavior.
These theories have been criticized for placing too little emphasis on
cognition (Skinner) and giving inadequate attention to developmental
changes.
Ethological Theory
Ethology is the study of the behavior of animals in their natural habitat.
Ethological theory stresses that behavior is strongly influenced by biology, is
tied to evolution, and is characterized by critical or sensitive periods
(Bateson, 2015). These are specific time frames during which, according to
ethologists, the presence or absence of certain experiences has a long-lasting
influence on individuals.
Lorenz’s Research with Greylag Geese
European zoologist Konrad Lorenz (1903–1989) helped bring ethology to
prominence. In his best-known research, Lorenz (1965) studied the behavior
of greylag geese, which follow their mother as soon as they hatch.
Lorenz separated the eggs laid by one goose into two groups. One
group he returned to the goose to be hatched by her. The other
group was hatched in an incubator. The goslings in the first group performed
as predicted. They followed their mother as soon as they hatched. However,
those in the second group, which saw Lorenz when they first hatched,
followed him everywhere as though he were their mother. Lorenz marked the
goslings and then placed both groups under a box. Mother goose and
“mother” Lorenz stood aside as the box was lifted. Each group of goslings
went directly to its “mother.” Lorenz called this process imprinting—the
rapid, innate learning that involves attachment to the first moving object seen.
Konrad Lorenz, a pioneering student of animal behavior, is followed through the water by
three imprinted greylag geese. Describe Lorenz’s experiment with the geese. Do you think
his experiment would have the same results with human babies? Explain.
©Nina Leen/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
John Bowlby (1969, 1989) illustrated an important application of
ethological theory to human development. Bowlby stressed that attachment to
a caregiver over the first year of life has important consequences throughout
the life span. In his view, if this attachment is positive and secure, the
individual will likely develop positively in childhood and adulthood. If the
attachment is negative and insecure, development will likely not be optimal.
Later we will explore the concept of infant attachment in much greater detail.
In Lorenz’s view, imprinting needs to take place at a specific, very early
time in the life of the animal, or else it will not take place. This point in time
is called a critical period. A related concept is that of a sensitive period, and
an example is the time during infancy when, according to Bowlby,
attachment should occur in order to promote optimal development of social
relationships.
Another theory that emphasizes biological foundations of development—
evolutionary psychology—is presented in the chapter on “Biological
Beginnings,” along with views on the role of heredity in development
(Bjorklund, 2018; Lewis & others, 2017; Lickliter, 2018). In addition, we
examine a number of biological theories of aging in the chapter on “Physical
and Cognitive Development in Late Adulthood” (Falandry, 2019; Jabeen &
others, 2018; Jeremic & others, 2018; Kauppila, Kauppila, & Larsson, 2017;
Toupance & Benetos, 2019).
Evaluating Ethological Theory
Contributions of ethological theory include a focus on the biological and
evolutionary basis of development, and the use of careful observations in
naturalistic settings. Criticisms include a belief that it places too much
emphasis on biological foundations and that the concept of a critical and
sensitive period might be too rigid.
Ecological Theory
While ethological theory stresses biological factors, ecological theory
emphasizes environmental factors. One ecological theory that has important
implications for understanding life-span development was created by Urie
Bronfenbrenner (1917–2005).
Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory
Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory (1986, 2004; Bronfenbrenner &
Morris, 2006) holds that development reflects the influence of several
environmental systems. The theory identifies five environmental systems:
microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem (see
Figure 10).
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Figure 10 Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory of Development
Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory consists of five environmental systems: microsystem,
mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem.
The microsystem is the setting in which the individual lives.
These contexts include the person’s family, peers, school, and
neighborhood. It is in the microsystem that the most direct
interactions with social agents take place—with parents, peers, and teachers,
for example. The individual is not a passive recipient of experiences in these
settings, but someone who helps to construct the settings.
How Would
You…?
As an educator, how
might you explain a
student’s chronic failure
to complete homework
from the mesosystem
level? From the
exosystem level?
The mesosystem involves relations between microsystems or connections
between contexts. Examples are the relation of family experiences to school
experiences, school experiences to church experiences, and family
experiences to peer experiences. For example, children whose parents have
rejected them may have difficulty developing positive relations with teachers.
Urie Bronfenbrenner developed ecological theory, a perspective that is receiving
increased attention today. His theory emphasizes the importance of both micro and macro
dimensions of the environment in which the child lives.
©Cornell University
The exosystem consists of links between a social setting in which the
individual does not have an active role and the individual’s immediate
context. For example, a husband’s or child’s experience at home may be
influenced by a mother’s experiences at work. The mother might receive a
promotion that requires more travel, which might increase conflict with the
husband and change patterns of interaction with the child.
The macrosystem involves the culture in which individuals live.
Remember from earlier in the chapter that culture refers to the behavior
patterns, beliefs, and all other products of a group of people that are passed
on from generation to generation. Remember also that cross-cultural studies
—the comparison of one culture with one or more other cultures—provide
information about the generality of development.
The chronosystem consists of the patterning of environmental events and
transitions over the life course, as well as sociohistorical circumstances. For
example, divorce is one transition. Researchers have found that the negative
effects of divorce on children often peak in the first year after the divorce
(Hetherington, 2006). By two years after the divorce, family interaction has
become more stable. As an example of sociohistorical circumstances,
consider how the opportunities for women to pursue a career have increased
since the 1960s.
Responding to growing interest in biological contributions to
development, Bronfenbrenner (2004) added biological influences to his
theory and relabeled it as a bioecological theory. Nonetheless, it is still
dominated by ecological, environmental contexts (Gauvain, 2016; Golinkoff
& others, 2017).
Evaluating Ecological Theory
Contributions of ecological theory include its systematic examination of
macro and micro dimensions of environmental systems and its attention to
connections between environmental systems. A further contribution of
Bronfenbrenner’s theory is its emphasis on a range of social contexts beyond
the family, such as peer relations, neighborhood, religious, school, and
workplace environments, as influential in children’s and adolescents’
development (Cross, 2017). The theory has been criticized for giving
inadequate attention to biological factors, as well as placing too little
emphasis on cognitive factors.
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An Eclectic Theoretical Orientation
No single theory described in this chapter can explain entirely the rich
complexity of life-span development, but each has contributed to our
understanding of development. Psychoanalytic theory highlights the
importance of the unconscious mind. Erikson’s theory best describes the
changes that occur in adult development. Piaget’s, Vygotsky’s, and the
information-processing views provide the most complete
description of cognitive development. The behavioral and social
cognitive and ecological theories have been the most adept at
examining the environmental determinants of development. The ethological
theories have drawn attention to biology’s role and the importance of
sensitive periods in development.
In short, although theories are helpful guides, relying on a single theory to
explain development is probably a mistake. Instead, we will take an eclectic
theoretical orientation, which does not follow any one theoretical approach
but rather presents what are considered the best features of each theory. In
this way, it represents the study of development as it actually exists—with
different theorists making different assumptions, stressing different problems,
and using different strategies to discover information. Figure 11 compares the
main theoretical perspectives in terms of how they view important issues in
life-span development.
Figure 11 Summary of Theories and Issues in Life-Span Development
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Research in Life-Span Development
How do scholars and researchers with an eclectic orientation determine that
one theory is somehow better than a different theory? The scientific method
discussed earlier in this chapter provides a guide. Through scientific research,
theories are tested and refined (Gravetter & Forzano, 2019; Smetana, 2018;
Stanovich, 2019).
Generally, research in life-span development is designed to test
hypotheses, which may be derived from the theories just described. Through
research, theories are modified to reflect new data, and occasionally new
theories arise. How are data about life-span development collected? What
types of research designs are used to study life-span development? And what
are some ethical considerations in conducting research on life-span
development?
Methods for Collecting Data
Whether we are interested in studying attachment in infants, the cognitive
skills of children, or social relationships in older adults, we can choose from
several ways of collecting data (Salkind, 2017). Here we outline the measures
most often used, beginning with observation.
Observation
Scientific observation requires an important set of skills (Stanovich, 2019).
For observations to be effective, they must be systematic. We need to have
some idea of what we are looking for. We have to know whom we are
observing, when and where we will observe, how the observations will be
made, and how they will be recorded.
Where should we make our observations? We have two choices: the
laboratory and the everyday world.
What are some important strategies in conducting observational research with children?
©Charles Fox/Philadelphia Inquirer/MCT/Landov
When we observe scientifically, we often need to control certain factors
that determine behavior but are not the focus of our inquiry (Ary & others,
2019; Leary, 2017). For this reason, some research in life-span development
is conducted in a laboratory, a controlled setting where many of the complex
factors of the “real world” are absent. For example, suppose you want to
observe how children react when they see other people behaving
aggressively. If you observe children in their homes or schools, you have no
control over how much aggression the children observe, what kind of
aggression they see, which people they see acting aggressively, or how other
people treat the children. In contrast, if you observe the children in a
laboratory, you can control these and other factors and therefore have more
confidence about how to interpret your observations.
Laboratory research does have some drawbacks, however, including the
following concerns: (1) it is almost impossible to conduct research without
the participants’ knowing they are being studied; (2) the laboratory setting is
unnatural and therefore can cause the participants to behave unnaturally; (3)
people who are willing to come to a university laboratory may not fairly
represent groups from diverse cultural backgrounds; (4) people who are
unfamiliar with university settings, and with the idea of “helping science,”
may be intimidated by the laboratory setting.
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Naturalistic observation provides insights that we sometimes cannot
attain in the laboratory (Babbie, 2017). Naturalistic observation means
observing behavior in real-world settings and making no effort to manipulate
or control the situation. Life-span researchers conduct naturalistic
observations at sporting events, child-care centers, work settings, malls, and
other places people live in and frequent.
Naturalistic observation was used in one study that focused on
conversations in a children’s science museum (Crowley & others, 2001).
When visiting exhibits at the museum with their children, parents were more
than three times as likely to engage boys than girls in explanatory talk. The
gender difference occurred regardless of whether the father, the mother, or
both parents were with the child, although the gender difference was greatest
for fathers’ science explanations to sons and daughters. This finding suggests
a gender bias that encourages boys more than girls to be interested in science.
Survey and Interview
Sometimes the best and quickest way to get information about people is to
ask them for it. One technique is to interview them directly. A related method
is administering a survey (sometimes referred to as a questionnaire)
consisting of a standard set of questions designed to obtain people’s self-
reported attitudes or beliefs about a particular topic. Surveys are especially
useful when information from many people is needed (Ary & others, 2019;
Henslin, 2017). In a good survey, the questions are clear and unbiased,
allowing respondents to answer unambiguously.
Surveys and interviews can be used to study topics ranging
from religious beliefs to sexual habits to attitudes about gun
control to beliefs about how to improve schools. Surveys and
interviews may be conducted in person, over the telephone, by mail, and over
the Internet.
One problem with surveys and interviews is the tendency of participants
to answer questions in a way that they think is socially acceptable or
desirable rather than to say what they truly think or feel. For example, on a
survey or in an interview some individuals might say that they do not take
drugs even though they do.
Standardized Test
A standardized test has uniform procedures for administration and scoring.
Many standardized tests allow performance comparisons; they provide
information about individual differences among people (Kaplan & Saccuzzo,
2018). One example is the Stanford-Binet intelligence test, which is
discussed in detail later. Your score on the Stanford-Binet test tells you how
your performance compares with that of thousands of other people who have
taken the test.
One criticism of standardized tests is that they assume a person’s
behavior is consistent and stable, yet personality and intelligence—two
primary targets of standardized testing—can vary with the situation. For
example, a person may perform poorly on a standardized intelligence test in
an office setting but score much higher at home, where he or she is less
anxious.
Case Study
A case study is an in-depth look at a single individual. Case studies are
performed mainly by mental health professionals when, for either practical or
ethical reasons, the unique aspects of an individual’s life cannot be duplicated
and tested in other individuals. A case study provides information about one
person’s experiences; it may focus on nearly any aspect of the subject’s life
that helps the researcher understand the person’s mind, behavior, or other
attributes. A researcher may gather information for a case study from
interviews and medical records. In later chapters we discuss vivid case
studies, such as that of Michael Rehbein, who had much of the left side of his
brain removed at 7 years of age to end severe epileptic seizures.
A case study can provide a dramatic, in-depth portrayal of an individual’s
life, but we must be cautious when generalizing from this information. The
subject of a case study is unique, with a genetic makeup and personal history
that no one else shares. In addition, case studies involve judgments of
unknown reliability. Researchers who conduct case studies rarely check to
see whether other professionals agree with their observations or findings.
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Mahatma Gandhi was the spiritual leader of India in the mid-twentieth century. Erik
Erikson conducted an extensive case study of Gandhi’s life to determine what contributed
to his identity development. What are some limitations of the case study approach?
©Bettmann/Getty Images
Physiological Measures
Researchers are increasingly using physiological measures when they study
development at different points in the life span (Bell & others, 2018; Freberg,
2019; Suleiman & others, 2017; Steinberg & others, 2018). A physiological
measure that is increasingly being used is neuroimaging, especially
functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), in which electromagnetic
waves are used to construct images of a person’s brain tissue and biochemical
activity (Miller & others, 2018; Park & Festini, 2018; Sullivan & Wilson,
2018). Heart rate has been used as an indicator of infants’ and
children’s development of perception, attention, and memory
(Billeci & others, 2018). Further, heart rate has been used as an
index of different aspects of emotional development, such as stress, anxiety,
and depression (Amole & others, 2017).
Cortisol is a hormone produced by the adrenal gland that is linked to the
body’s stress level and has been measured in studies of temperament,
emotional reactivity, mood, peer relations, and child psychopathology
(Bangerter & others, 2018; Jacoby & others, 2016). As puberty unfolds, the
blood levels of certain hormones increase. To determine the nature of these
hormonal changes, researchers analyze blood samples from adolescent
volunteers (Ji & others, 2016).
Sophisticated eye-tracking equipment is now being used to provide more
detailed information about infants’ perception (Boardman & Fletcher-
Watson, 2017; van Renswoude & others, 2018), attention (Meng, Uto, &
Hashiya, 2017), face processing (Chhaya & others, 2018), autism (Falck-
Ytter & others, 2018; Finke, Wilkinson, & Hickerson, 2017), and preterm
birth effects on language development (Loi & others, 2017).
Yet another dramatic change in physiological methods is the
advancement in methods to assess the actual units of hereditary information
—genes—in studies of biological influences on development (Falandry,
2019; Lai & others, 2017; Toupance & Benetos, 2019; Xing & others, 2018).
For example, in the chapter on physical and cognitive development in late
adulthood you will read about the role of the ApoE4 gene in Alzheimer
disease (Parcon & others, 2018; Park & Festini, 2018).
Research Designs
In addition to a method for collecting data, you also need a research design to
study life-span development. There are three main types of research designs:
descriptive, correlational, and experimental.
Descriptive Research
All of the data-collection methods that we have discussed can be used in
descriptive research, which aims to observe and record behavior. For
example, a researcher might observe the extent to which people are altruistic
or aggressive toward each other. By itself, descriptive research cannot prove
what causes some phenomenon, but it can reveal important information about
people’s behavior and provide a basis for more scientific studies (Ary &
others, 2019; Gravetter & Forzano, 2019).
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Correlational Research
In contrast with descriptive research, correlational research goes beyond
describing phenomena by providing information that helps to predict how
people will behave. In correlational research, the goal is to describe the
strength of the relationship between two or more events or characteristics.
The more strongly the two events are correlated (or related or associated), the
more effectively we can predict one event from the other (Aron, Coups, &
Aron, 2019).
For example, to determine whether children of permissive parents have
less self-control than other children, you would need to carefully record
observations of parents’ permissiveness and their children’s self-control. You
might observe that the higher a parent was in permissiveness, the lower the
child was in self-control. You would then analyze these data statistically to
yield a correlation coefficient, a number based on a statistical analysis that is
used to describe the degree of association between two variables. Correlation
coefficients range from -1.00 to +1.00. A negative number means an inverse
relation. In the above example, you might find an inverse correlation between
permissive parenting and children’s self-control, with a coefficient of, say,
-.30 meaning that parents who are permissive with their children are likely to
have children who have low self-control. By contrast, you might find a
positive correlation of +.30 between parental monitoring of
children and children’s self-control, meaning that parents who
monitor their children effectively have children with good self-
control.
The higher the correlation coefficient (whether positive or negative), the
stronger the association between the two variables. A correlation of 0 means
that there is no association between the variables. A correlation of -.40 is
stronger than a correlation of +.20 because we disregard whether the
correlation is positive or negative in determining the strength of the
correlation.
A word of caution is in order, however. Correlation does not equal
causation (Aron, Coups, & Aron, 2019; Howell, 2017). The correlational
finding just mentioned does not mean that permissive parenting necessarily
causes low self-control in children. It could have that meaning, but it also
could mean that a child’s lack of self-control caused the parents to throw up
their arms in despair and give up trying to control the child. It also could
mean that other factors, such as heredity or poverty, caused the correlation
between permissive parenting and low self-control in children. Figure 12
illustrates these possible interpretations of correlational data.
Figure 12 Possible Explanations for Correlational Data
©Jupiterimages/Getty Images
Experimental Research
To study causality, researchers turn to experimental research. An experiment
is a carefully regulated procedure in which one or more factors believed to
influence the behavior being studied are manipulated while all other factors
are held constant. If the behavior under study changes when a factor is
manipulated, we say that the manipulated factor has caused the behavior to
change. In other words, the experiment has demonstrated cause and effect.
The cause is the factor that was manipulated. The effect is the behavior that
changed because of the manipulation. Nonexperimental research methods
(descriptive and correlational research) cannot establish cause and effect
because they do not involve manipulating factors in a controlled way
(Gravetter & Forzano, 2019).
Independent and Dependent Variables Experiments include two types
of changeable factors: independent and dependent variables. An independent
variable is a manipulated, influential experimental factor. It is a potential
cause. The label “independent” is used because this variable can be
manipulated independently of other factors to determine its effect. An
experiment may include one independent variable or several of them.
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A dependent variable is a factor that can change in an experiment, in
response to changes in the independent variable. As researchers manipulate
the independent variable, they measure the dependent variable for any
resulting effect.
For example, suppose that you wanted to study whether pregnant women
could change the breathing and sleeping patterns of their
newborn babies by meditating during pregnancy. You might
require one group of pregnant women to engage in a certain
amount and type of meditation each day, while another group would not
meditate; the meditation is thus the independent variable. When the infants
are born, you would observe and measure their breathing and sleeping
patterns. These patterns are the dependent variable, the factor that changes as
the result of your manipulation.
Experimental and Control Groups Experiments can involve one or
more experimental groups and one or more control groups. An experimental
group is a group whose experience is manipulated. A control group is a
comparison group that is as much like the experimental group as possible and
that is treated in every way like the experimental group except for the
manipulated factor (independent variable). The control group serves as a
baseline against which the effects of the manipulated condition can be
compared.
Random assignment is an important principle for deciding whether each
participant will be placed in the experimental group or in the control group.
Random assignment means that researchers assign participants to
experimental and control groups by chance. It reduces the likelihood that the
experiment’s results will be due to any preexisting differences between
groups. In the example of the effects of meditation by pregnant women on the
breathing and sleeping patterns of their newborns, you would randomly
assign half of the pregnant women to engage in meditation over a period of
weeks (the experimental group) and the other half to not meditate over the
same number of weeks (the control group). Figure 13 illustrates the nature of
experimental research.
Figure 13 Principles of Experimental Research
Imagine that you decide to conduct an experimental study of the effects of meditation by
pregnant women on their newborns’ breathing and sleeping patterns. You randomly assign
pregnant women to experimental and control groups. The experimental-group women
engage in meditation over a specified number of sessions and weeks. The control group
does not. Then, when the infants are born, you assess their breathing and sleeping
patterns. If the breathing and sleeping patterns of newborns whose mothers were in the
experimental group are more positive than those of the control group, you conclude that
meditation caused the positive effects.
Time Span of Research
Researchers in life-span development have a special concern with the relation
between age and some other variable. To explore these relations, researchers
can study different individuals of different ages and compare them, or they
can study the same individuals as they age over time.
Cross-Sectional Approach
The cross-sectional approach is a research strategy that simultaneously
compares individuals of different ages. A typical cross-sectional study might
include three groups of children: 5-year-olds, 8-year-olds, and 11-year-olds.
Another study might include groups of 15-year-olds, 25-year-olds, and 45-
year-olds. The groups can be compared with respect to a variety of dependent
variables, such as IQ, memory, peer relations, attachment to parents,
Page 33
hormonal changes, and so on. All of this can be accomplished in a short time.
In some studies data are collected in a single day. Even in large-scale cross-
sectional studies with hundreds of subjects, data collection does not usually
take longer than several months to complete.
The main advantage of the cross-sectional study is that the researcher
does not have to wait for the individuals to grow up or become older. Despite
its efficiency, though, the cross-sectional approach has its drawbacks. It gives
no information about how individuals change or about the stability of their
characteristics. It can obscure the hills and valleys of growth and
development. For example, a cross-sectional study of life satisfaction might
reveal average increases and decreases, but it would not show how the life
satisfaction of individual adults waxed and waned over the years. It also
would not tell us whether the same adults who had positive or
negative perceptions of life satisfaction in early adulthood
maintained their relative degree of life satisfaction as they
became middle-aged or older adults.
Longitudinal Approach
The longitudinal approach is a research strategy in which the same
individuals are studied over a period of time, usually several years or more.
For example, in a longitudinal study of life satisfaction, the same adults
might be assessed periodically over a 70-year time span—at the ages of 20,
35, 45, 65, and 90, for example.
Longitudinal studies provide a wealth of information about vital issues
such as stability and change in development and the importance of early
experience for later development, but they do have drawbacks (Almy &
Cicchetti, 2018; Becht & others, 2018). They are expensive and time-
consuming. The longer the study lasts, the more participants drop out—they
move, get sick, lose interest, and so forth. The participants who remain may
be dissimilar to those who drop out, biasing the outcome of the study. Those
individuals who remain in a longitudinal study over a number of years may
be more responsible and conformity-oriented than the ones who dropped out,
for example, or they might lead more stable lives.
Cohort Effects
A cohort is a group of people who are born at a similar point in history and
share similar experiences as a result, such as living through the Vietnam War
or growing up in the same city around the same time. These shared
experiences may produce a range of differences among cohorts (Ganguli,
2017; Heo & others, 2018; Messerlian & Basso, 2018). For example, people
who were teenagers during the Great Depression are likely to differ from
people who were teenagers during the booming 1990s in their educational
opportunities and economic status, in how they were raised, and in their
attitudes toward sex and religion. In life-span development research, cohort
effects are due to a person’s time of birth, era, or generation but not to actual
age.
Cohort effects are important because they can powerfully affect the
dependent measures in a study ostensibly concerned with age (Bell & others,
2017; Ishtiak-Ahmed & others, 2018). Researchers have shown it is
especially important to be aware of cohort effects when assessing adult
intelligence (Schaie, 2013, 2016). Individuals born at different points in time
—such as 1920, 1940, and 1960—have had varying opportunities for
education. Individuals born in earlier years had less access to education, and
this fact may have a significant effect on how this cohort performs on
intelligence tests. Some researchers have found that cross-sectional studies
indicate that more than 90 percent of cognitive decline in aging is due to a
slowing of processing speed, whereas longitudinal studies reveal that 20
percent or less of cognitive decline is due to processing speed (MacDonald &
others, 2003; MacDonald & Stawski, 2015, 2016; Stawski, Sliwinski, &
Hofer, 2013). Another recent example of a cohort effect occurred in a study
in which older adults assessed in 2013–2014 engaged in a higher level of
abstract reasoning than their counterparts assessed two decades earlier in
1990–1993 (Gerstorf & others, 2015).
Cross-sectional studies can show how different cohorts respond, but they
can confuse age changes and cohort effects. Longitudinal studies are effective
in studying age changes, but only within one cohort.
Various generations have been given labels by the popular culture. Figure
14 describes the labels of various generations, the historical period for each
one, and the reasons for their labels. Consider the following description of the
current generation of youth and think about how they differ from earlier
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youth generations:
How does the youth experienced by today’s millennials differ from that of earlier
generations?
©Hero Images/Alamy
Figure 14 Generations, Their Historical Periods, and Characteristics
They are history’s first “always connected” generation. Steeped in
digital technology and social media, they treat their multi-tasking
hand-held gadgets almost like a body part—for better or worse. More
than 8-in-10 say they sleep with a cell phone glowing by
the bed, poised to disgorge texts, phone calls, e-mails,
songs, news, videos, games, and wake-up jingles. But
sometimes convenience yields to temptation. Nearly two-thirds admit
to texting while driving (Pew Research Center, 2010, p. 1).
Conducting Ethical Research
Researchers who study human development and behavior confront many
ethical issues. For example, a developmentalist who wanted to study
aggression in children would have to design the study in such a way that no
child would be harmed physically or psychologically, and the researcher
would need to get permission from the university to carry out the study. Then
the researcher would have to explain the study to the children’s parents and
obtain consent for the children to participate. Ethics in research may affect
you personally if you ever serve as a participant in a study. In that event, you
need to know your rights as a participant and the responsibilities of
researchers to ensure that these rights are safeguarded.
Today, proposed research at colleges and universities must pass the
scrutiny of a research ethics committee before the research can begin. In
addition, the American Psychological Association (APA) has developed
ethics guidelines for its members. This code of ethics instructs psychologists
to protect their research participants from mental and physical harm. The
participants’ best interests need to be kept foremost in the researcher’s mind
(Ary & others, 2019; Kazdin, 2017).
APA’s guidelines address four important issues:
1. Informed consent—All participants must know what their research
participation will involve and what risks might develop. Even after
informed consent is given, participants must retain the right to withdraw
from the study at any time and for any reason.
2. Confidentiality—Researchers are responsible for keeping all of the data
they gather on individuals completely confidential and, when possible,
completely anonymous.
3. Debriefing—After the study has been completed, participants should be
informed of its purpose and the methods that were used. In most cases,
the experimenter also can inform participants in a general manner
beforehand about the purpose of the research without leading participants
to behave in a way they think that the experimenter is expecting.
4. Deception—In some circumstances, telling the participants beforehand
what the research study is about substantially alters the participants’
behavior and invalidates the researcher’s data. In all cases of deception,
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however, the psychologist must ensure that the deception will not harm
the participants and that the participants will be debriefed (told the
complete nature of the study) as soon as possible after the study is
completed.
Summary
The Life-Span Perspective
Development is the pattern of change that begins at conception and
continues through the life span. It includes both growth and decline.
The life-span perspective includes these basic ideas: development is
lifelong, multidimensional, multidirectional, and plastic; its study is
multidisciplinary; it is embedded in contexts; it involves growth,
maintenance, and regulation; and it is a co-construction of biological,
sociocultural, and individual factors.
Health and well-being, parenting, education, sociocultural contexts and
diversity, and social policy are all areas of contemporary concern for
those who study life-span development.
The Nature of Development
Three key developmental processes are biological, cognitive, and
socioemotional. Development is influenced by an interplay of these
processes.
The life span is commonly divided into the prenatal period, infancy, early
childhood, middle and late childhood, adolescence, early adulthood,
middle adulthood, and late adulthood.
We often think of age only in chronological terms, but a full evaluation of
age requires the consideration of biological age, psychological age, and
social age as well.
Three pathways of aging are pathological aging, normal aging, and
successful aging.
In research covering adolescence through late adulthood, many but not all
studies find that older adults report the highest level of life satisfaction.
Three important issues in the study of development are the nature-nurture
issue, the continuity-discontinuity issue, and the stability-change issue.
Theories of Development
According to psychoanalytic theories, including those of Freud and
Erikson, development primarily depends on the unconscious mind and is
heavily couched in emotion.
Cognitive theories emphasize thinking, reasoning, language, and other
cognitive processes. Three main cognitive theories are Piaget’s,
Vygotsky’s, and information processing.
Behavioral and social cognitive theories emphasize the environment’s
role in development. Two key behavioral and social cognitive theories are
Skinner’s operant conditioning and Bandura’s social cognitive theory.
Lorenz’s ethological theory stresses the biological and evolutionary bases
of development.
According to Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory, development
predominantly reflects the influence of five environmental systems—the
microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem.
An eclectic orientation incorporates the best features of different
theoretical approaches.
Research in Life-Span Development
The main methods for collecting data about life-span development are
observation, survey (questionnaire) or interview, standardized test, case
study, and physiological measures.
Three basic research designs are descriptive, correlational, and
experimental.
To examine the effects of time and age, researchers can conduct cross-
sectional or longitudinal studies. Life-span researchers are especially
concerned about cohort effects.
Researchers have an ethical responsibility to safeguard the well-being of
research participants.
Key Terms
behavioral and social cognitive theories
biological processes
Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory
case study
cognitive processes
cohort effects
context
continuity-discontinuity issue
correlation coefficient
correlational research
cross-cultural studies
cross-sectional approach
culture
descriptive research
development
eclectic theoretical orientation
Erikson’s theory
ethnicity
ethology
experiment
gender
hypotheses
information-processing theory
laboratory
life-span perspective
longitudinal approach
naturalistic observation
nature-nurture issue
nonnormative life events
normative age-graded influences
normative history-graded influences
Piaget’s theory
psychoanalytic theories
social cognitive theory
social policy
socioeconomic status (SES)
socioemotional processes
stability-change issue
standardized test
theory
Vygotsky’s theory
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©MedicalRF.com/Getty Images
2
Biological Beginnings
CHAPTER OUTLINE
The Evolutionary Perspective
Natural Selection and Adaptive Behavior
Evolutionary Psychology
Genetic Foundations of Development
Genes and Chromosomes
Genetic Principles
Chromosome and Gene-Linked Abnormalities
The Interaction of Heredity and Environment: The
Nature-Nurture Debate
Behavior Genetics
Heredity-Environment Correlations
The Epigenetic View and Gene × Environment (G × E)
Interaction
Conclusions About Heredity-Environment Interaction
Prenatal Development
The Course of Prenatal Development
Prenatal Tests
Infertility and Reproductive Technology
Hazards to Prenatal Development
Prenatal Care
Normal Prenatal Development
Birth and the Postpartum Period
The Birth Process
The Transition from Fetus to Newborn
Low Birth Weight and Preterm Infants
Bonding
The Postpartum Period
Stories of Life-Span Development:
The Jim and Jim Twins
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Jim Springer and Jim Lewis are identical twins. They were
separated at 4 weeks of age and did not see each other again until
they were 39 years old. Both worked as part-time deputy sheriffs,
vacationed in Florida, drove Chevrolets, had dogs named Toy, and
married and divorced women named Betty. One twin named his
son James Allan, and the other named his son James Alan. Both
liked math but not spelling, enjoyed carpentry and mechanical
drawing, chewed their fingernails down to the nubs, had almost
identical drinking and smoking habits, had hemorrhoids, put on 10
pounds at about the same point in development, first suffered
headaches at the age of 18, and had similar sleep patterns.
Jim and Jim do have some differences. One wears his hair over
his forehead, the other slicks it back and has sideburns. One
expresses himself best orally; the other is more proficient in
writing. But, for the most part, their profiles are remarkably
similar.
Another pair of identical twins, Daphne and Barbara, were
called the “giggle sisters” by researchers because after being
reunited they were always making each other laugh. A thorough
search of their adoptive families’ histories revealed
no gigglers. The giggle sisters ignored stress,
avoided conflict and controversy whenever possible,
and showed no interest in politics.
Jim and Jim and the giggle sisters were part of the Minnesota
Study of Twins Reared Apart, directed by Thomas Bouchard and
his colleagues. The study brings identical twins (who are identical
genetically because they come from the same fertilized egg) and
fraternal twins (who come from different fertilized eggs) from all
over the world to Minneapolis to investigate their lives. There the
twins complete personality and intelligence tests, and provide
detailed medical histories, including information about diet and
smoking, exercise habits, chest X-rays, heart stress tests, and
EEGs. The twins are asked more than 15,000 questions about their
family and childhood, personal interests, vocational orientation,
values, and aesthetic judgments (Bouchard & others, 1990).
When genetically identical twins who were separated as infants
show such striking similarities in their tastes and habits and
choices, can we conclude that their genes must have caused these
similarities? Although genes play a role, we also need to consider
other possible causes. The twins shared not only the same genes
but also some similar experiences. Some of the separated twins
lived together for several months prior to their adoption; some had
been reunited prior to testing (in some cases, many years earlier);
adoption agencies often place twins in similar homes; and even
strangers who spend several hours together and start comparing
their lives are likely to come up with some coincidental similarities
(Joseph, 2006).
The Minnesota study of identical twins points to both the
importance of the genetic basis of human development and the
need for further research on genetic and environmental factors.
The examples of Jim and Jim and the giggle sisters stimulate us
to think about our genetic heritage and the biological foundations
of our existence. Organisms are not like billiard balls, moved by
simple, external forces to predictable positions on life’s pool table.
Environmental experiences and biological foundations work
together to make us who we are. Our coverage of life’s biological
beginnings and experiences will emphasize the evolutionary
perspective; genetic foundations; the interaction of heredity and
environment; and charting growth from conception through the
prenatal period, the birth process itself, and the postpartum period
that follows birth. ■
The Evolutionary Perspective
From the perspective of evolutionary time, humans are relative newcomers to
Earth. As our earliest ancestors left the forest to feed on the savannahs and
then to form hunting societies on the open plains, their minds and behaviors
changed, and humans eventually became the dominant species on Earth. How
did this evolution come about?
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Natural Selection and Adaptive Behavior
Charles Darwin (1859) described natural selection as the evolutionary
process by which those individuals of a species that are best adapted to their
environment are the ones that are most likely to survive and reproduce. He
reasoned that an intense, constant struggle for food, water, and resources
must occur among the young of each generation, because many of them do
not survive. Those that do survive and reproduce pass on their characteristics
to the next generation (Audesirk, Audesirk, & Byers, 2017; Johnson, 2017).
Darwin concluded that these survivors are better adapted to their world than
are the nonsurvivors. The best-adapted individuals survive and
leave the most offspring (Mader & Windelspecht, 2018, 2019;
Starr, Evers, & Starr, 2018). Over the course of many generations,
organisms with the characteristics needed for survival make up an increased
percentage of the population (Hoefnagels, 2018, 2019; Mason & others,
2018; Simon, 2017).
How does the attachment of this Vietnamese baby to its mother reflect the evolutionary
process of adaptive behavior?
©Frans Lemmens/age fotostock
How Would
You…?
As a health-care
professional, how
would you explain
technology and
medicine working
against natural
selection?
Evolutionary Psychology
Although Darwin introduced the theory of evolution by natural selection in
1859, his ideas have only recently become a popular framework for
explaining behavior (Frankenhuis & Tiokhin, 2018; Knapen, Blaker, & Van
Vugt, 2018). Psychology’s newest approach, evolutionary psychology,
emphasizes the importance of adaptation, reproduction, and “survival of the
fittest” in shaping behavior (Bjorklund, 2018; Legare, Clegg, & Wen, 2018;
Szepsenwol & Simpson, 2018). (“Fit” in this sense refers to the ability to bear
offspring that survive long enough to bear offspring of their own.) In this
view, natural selection favors behaviors that increase reproductive success—
that is, the ability to pass your genes to the next generation (Borraz-Leon &
others, 2018; Raichlen & Alexander, 2017; Suchow, Bourgin, & Griffiths,
2017).
David Buss (2008, 2012, 2015) argues that just as evolution has
contributed to our physical features, such as body shape and height, it also
pervasively influences how we make decisions, how aggressive we are, our
fears, and our mating patterns. For example, assume that our ancestors were
hunters and gatherers on the plains and that men did most of the hunting and
women stayed close to home, gathering seeds and plants for food. If you have
to travel some distance from your home to track and slay a fleeing animal,
you need certain physical traits along with the capacity for certain types of
spatial thinking. Men with these traits would be more likely than men without
them to survive, to bring home lots of food, and to be considered attractive
mates—and thus to reproduce and pass on these characteristics to their
children. In other words, if our assumptions were correct, potentially these
traits would provide a reproductive advantage for males, and over many
generations, men with good spatial thinking skills might become more
numerous in the population. Critics point out that this scenario might or
might not have actually happened.
Evolutionary Developmental Psychology
There is growing interest in using the concepts of evolutionary psychology to
understand human development (Barbaro & others, 2017; Bjorklund, 2018;
Lickliter, 2018). Following are some ideas proposed by evolutionary
developmental psychologists (Bjorklund & Pellegrini, 2002).
One important concept is that an extended childhood period might have
evolved because humans require time to develop a large brain and learn the
complexity of human societies. Humans take longer to become
reproductively mature than any other primate (see Figure 1). During this
extended childhood period, they develop a large brain and have the
experiences needed to become competent adults in a complex society.
Figure 1 The Brain Sizes of Various Primates and Humans in Relation to the Length
Page 39
of the Juvenile Period
Compared with other primates, humans have both a larger brain and a longer childhood
period. What conclusions can you draw from the relationship indicated by this graph?
©Getty Images
Another key idea is that many of our evolved psychological mechanisms
are domain-specific. That is, the mechanisms apply only to a specific aspect
of a person’s psychological makeup. According to evolutionary psychology,
the mind is not a general-purpose device that can be applied equally to a vast
array of problems. Instead, as our ancestors dealt with certain recurring
problems such as hunting and finding shelter, specialized modules evolved
that process information related to those problems: for example, such
specialized modules might include a module for physical knowledge for
tracking animals, a module for mathematical knowledge for trading, and a
module for language.
How Would
You…?
As an educator, how
would you apply the
concept of domain-
specific psychological
mechanisms to explain
how a student with a
learning disability in
reading may perform
exceptionally well in
math?
Evolved mechanisms are not always adaptive in contemporary society.
Some behaviors that were adaptive for our prehistoric ancestors
may not serve us well today. For example, the food-scarce
environment of our ancestors likely led to humans’ propensity
to gorge when food is available and to crave high-caloric foods, a trait that
might lead to an epidemic of obesity when food is plentiful.
Evaluating Evolutionary Psychology
Although the popular press gives a lot of attention to the ideas of
evolutionary psychology, it remains just one theoretical approach. Like the
theories described earlier, it has limitations, weaknesses, and critics (Hyde &
DeLamater, 2017). One criticism comes from Albert Bandura (1998), whose
social cognitive theory was described earlier. Bandura acknowledges the
important influence of evolution on human adaptation. However, he rejects
what he calls “one-sided evolutionism,” which sees social behavior as the
product of evolved biological characteristics. An alternative is a bidirectional
view in which environmental and biological conditions influence each other.
In this view, evolutionary pressures created changes in biological structures
that allowed the use of tools, which enabled our ancestors to manipulate the
environment, constructing new environmental conditions. In turn,
environmental innovations produced new selection pressures that led to the
evolution of specialized biological systems for consciousness, thought, and
language.
In other words, evolution gave us bodily structures and biological
potentialities, but it does not dictate behavior. People have used their
biological capacities to produce diverse cultures—aggressive and peace-
loving, egalitarian and autocratic. As American scientist Stephen Jay Gould
(1981) concluded, in most domains of human functioning, biology allows a
broad range of cultural possibilities.
Page 40
Children in all cultures are interested in the tools that adults in their culture use. For
example, this young child is using a machete, near the Angkor Temples in Cambodia.
Might the child’s behavior be evolutionary-based or be due to both biological and
environmental conditions?
©Carol Adam/Getty Images
The “big picture” idea of natural selection leading to the
development of human traits and behaviors is difficult to refute or
test because evolution occurs on a time scale that does not lend
itself to empirical study. Thus, studying specific genes in humans and other
species—and their links to traits and behaviors—may be the best approach
for testing ideas coming out of the evolutionary psychology perspective.
Genetic Foundations of Development
Genetic influences on behavior evolved over time and across many species.
Our many traits and characteristics that are genetically influenced have a long
evolutionary history that is retained in our DNA (Brooker & others, 2018;
Hoefnagels, 2019). In other words, our DNA is not just inherited from our
parents; it’s also what we’ve inherited as a species from the species that came
before our own. Let’s take a closer look at DNA and its role in human
development.
How are characteristics that suit a species for survival transmitted from
one generation to the next? Darwin did not know the answer to this question
because genes and the principles of genetics had not yet been discovered.
Each of us carries a human “genetic code” that we inherited from our parents.
Because a fertilized egg carries this human code, a fertilized human egg
cannot grow into an egret, eagle, or elephant.
Each of us began life as a single cell weighing about one twenty-millionth
of an ounce. This tiny piece of matter housed our entire genetic code—
instructions that orchestrated growth from that single cell to a person made of
trillions of cells, each containing a replica of the original code. That code is
carried by our genes. What are genes and what do they do? For the answer,
we need to look into our cells.
The nucleus of each human cell contains chromosomes, which are
threadlike structures made up of deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA. DNA is a
complex molecule that has a double helix shape, like a spiral staircase, and
contains genetic information. Genes, the units of hereditary information, are
short segments of DNA, as you can see in Figure 2. They help cells to
reproduce themselves and to assemble proteins. Proteins, in turn, are the
building blocks of cells as well as the regulators that direct the body’s
processes (Goodenough & McGuire, 2017; Mason & others, 2018).
Figure 2 Cells, Chromosomes, DNA, and Genes
(Top) The body contains trillions of cells. Each cell contains a central structure, the
nucleus. (Middle) Chromosomes are threadlike structures located in the nucleus of the
cell. Chromosomes are composed of DNA. (Bottom) DNA has the structure of a spiral
staircase. A gene is a segment of DNA.
Each gene has its own designated place on a particular chromosome.
Today, there is a great deal of enthusiasm about efforts to discover the
specific locations of genes that are linked to certain functions and
developmental outcomes (Hoefnagels, 2018; Johnson, 2017). An important
Page 41
step in this direction was taken when the Human Genome Project and the
Celera Corporation completed a preliminary map of the human genome—the
complete set of developmental instructions for creating proteins that initiate
the making of a human organism (Brooker & others, 2018).
Completion of the Human Genome Project has led to use of the genome-
wide association method to identify genetic variations linked to a particular
disease (Yasukochi & others, 2018; Zhu & others, 2018), such as cancer
(Sucheston-Campbell & others, 2018); obesity (Amare & others, 2017);
cardiovascular disease (Olson & others, 2018); depression (Knowles &
others, 2016); suicide (Sokolowski, Wasserman, & Wasserman, 2016);
autism (Ramaswami & Geschwind, 2018); attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder (Sanchez-Roige & others, 2018); glaucoma (Springelkamp & others,
2017); and Alzheimer disease (Liu & others, 2018). To conduct a genome-
wide association study, researchers obtain DNA from individuals who have
the disease and those who don’t have it. Then, each
participant’s complete set of DNA, or genome, is purified from
the blood or other cells and scanned on machines to determine
markers of genetic variation. If the genetic variations occur more frequently
in people who have the disease than in those who don’t have it, the variations
point to the region in the human genome where the disease-causing problem
exists.
One of the big surprises of the Human Genome Project was a report
indicating that humans have only about 30,000 genes (U.S. Department of
Energy, 2001). More recently, the number of human genes has been revised
further downward, to approximately 20,700 (Flicek & others, 2013). Further
analysis proposes that humans may actually have fewer than 20,000 protein-
producing genes (Ezkurdia & others, 2014). Scientists had thought that
humans had as many as 100,000 or more genes. They had also believed that
each gene programmed just one protein. In fact, humans appear to have far
more proteins than they have genes, so there cannot be a one-to-one
correspondence between genes and proteins (Commoner, 2002). Each gene is
not translated, in automaton-like fashion, into one and only one protein. A
gene does not act independently, as developmental psychologist David
Moore (2001) emphasized by titling his book The Dependent Gene. Rather
than being a group of independent genes, the human genome consists of
many genes that collaborate both with each other and with nongenetic factors
inside and outside the body. The collaboration operates at many points. For
example, the cellular “machinery” mixes, matches, and links small pieces of
DNA to reproduce the genes, and that machinery is influenced by what is
going on around it (Halldorsdottir & Binder, 2017; Moore, 2015, 2017).
Whether a gene is turned “on”—that is, working to assemble proteins—is
also a matter of collaboration. The activity of genes (genetic expression) is
affected by their environment (Gottlieb, 2007; Lickliter, 2018; Moore, 2017).
For example, hormones that circulate in the blood make their way into the
cell, where they can turn genes “on” and “off.” And the flow of hormones
can be affected by environmental conditions such as light, day length,
nutrition, and behavior.
Numerous studies have shown that external events outside of the original
cell and the person, as well as events inside the cell, can excite or inhibit gene
expression (Moore, 2017). Recent research has documented that factors such
as stress, exercise, nutrition, respiration, radiation, temperature, and sleep can
influence gene expression (Giles & others, 2016; Kader, Ghai, & Mahraj,
2018; Mychasiuk, Muhammad, & Kolb, 2016; Poulsen & others, 2018;
Stephens & Tsintzas, 2018; Turecki & Meaney, 2016). For example, one
study revealed that an increase in the concentration of stress hormones such
as cortisol produced a fivefold increase in DNA damage (Flint & others,
2007). Another study also found that exposure to radiation changed the rate
of DNA synthesis in cells (Lee & others, 2011). And research indicates that
sleep deprivation can affect gene expression in negative ways such as
increased inflammation, expression of stress-related genes, and impairment of
protein functioning (da Costa Souza & Ribeiro, 2015).
Scientists have found that certain genes become turned on or off as a
result of exercise mainly through a process called methylation, in which tiny
atoms attached themselves to the outside of a gene (Butts & others, 2017;
Castellano-Castillo & others, 2018; Marioni & others, 2018). This process
makes the gene more or less capable of receiving and responding to
biochemical signals from the body (Kader, Ghai, & Mahraj, 2018; Martin &
Fry, 2018). In this way the behavior of the gene, but not its structure, is
changed. Researchers also have found that diet and tobacco may affect gene
behavior through the process of methylation (Chatterton & others, 2017;
Zaghlool & others, 2018). Also, recent research indicates that methylation
may be involved in depression (Crawford & others, 2018); breast cancer
(Parashar & others, 2018); and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (Kim
Page 42
& others, 2018).
Genes and Chromosomes
Genes are not only collaborative; they are enduring. How do they get passed
from generation to generation and end up in all of the trillion cells in the
body? Three processes are central to this story: mitosis, meiosis, and
fertilization.
Mitosis, Meiosis, and Fertilization
All cells in your body, except the sperm and egg, have 46 chromosomes
arranged in 23 pairs. These cells reproduce through a process called mitosis.
During mitosis, the cell’s nucleus—including the chromosomes—duplicates
itself and the cell divides. Two new cells are formed, each containing the
same DNA as the original cell, arranged in the same 23 pairs of
chromosomes.
However, a different type of cell division—meiosis—forms eggs and
sperm (which also are called gametes). During meiosis, a cell of the testes (in
men) or ovaries (in women) duplicates its chromosomes but then divides
twice, thus forming four cells, each of which has only half of the genetic
material of the parent cell (Johnson, 2017). By the end of meiosis, each egg
or sperm has 23 unpaired chromosomes.
During fertilization, an egg and a sperm fuse to create a single cell, called
a zygote. In the zygote, the 23 unpaired chromosomes from the egg and the
23 unpaired chromosomes from the sperm combine to form one set of 23
paired chromosomes—one chromosome of each pair from the mother’s egg
and the other from the father’s sperm. In this manner, each parent contributes
half of the offspring’s genetic material.
Figure 3 shows 23 paired chromosomes of a male and a female. The
members of each pair of chromosomes are both similar and different: Each
chromosome in the pair contains varying forms of the same genes, at the
same location on the chromosome. A gene that influences hair color, for
example, is located on both members of one pair of chromosomes, at the
same location on each. However, one of those chromosomes might carry the
gene associated with blond hair; the other might carry the gene associated
with brown hair.
Figure 3 The Genetic Difference Between Males and Females
Set (a) shows the chromosome structure of a male and set (b) shows the chromosome
structure of a female. The last pair of 23 pairs of chromosomes is in the bottom right
corner of each set. Notice that the Y chromosome of the male is smaller than the X
chromosome of the female. To obtain this kind of chromosomal picture, a cell is removed
from a person’s body, usually from the inside of the mouth. The chromosomes are stained
by chemical treatment, magnified extensively, and then photographed.
©CMSP/Custom Medical Stock Photo-All rights reserved
Do you notice any obvious differences between the chromosomes of the
male and those of the female in Figure 3? The difference lies in the 23rd pair.
Ordinarily, in females this pair consists of two chromosomes called X
chromosomes; in males the 23rd pair consists of an X chromosome and a Y
chromosome. The presence of a Y chromosome is one factor that makes a
person male rather than female.
Sources of Variability
Combining the genes of two parents in their offspring increases genetic
variability in the population, which is valuable for a species because it
provides more characteristics on which natural selection can operate (Mason
& others, 2018; Simon, 2017). In fact, the human genetic process creates
several important sources of variability.
First, the chromosomes in the zygote are not exact copies of those in the
mother’s ovaries and the father’s testes. During the formation of the sperm
and egg in meiosis, the members of each pair of chromosomes are separated,
Page 43
but which chromosome in the pair goes to the gamete is a matter of chance.
In addition, before the pairs separate, pieces of the two chromosomes in each
pair are exchanged, creating a new combination of genes on each
chromosome. Thus, when chromosomes from the mother’s egg and the
father’s sperm are brought together in the zygote, the result is a truly unique
combination of genes.
Another source of variability comes from DNA. Chance events, a mistake
by the cellular machinery, or damage caused by an environmental agent such
as radiation may produce a mutated gene, a permanently altered segment of
DNA (Freeman & others, 2017; Hoefnagels, 2019; Mason & others, 2018).
Even when their genes are identical, however, as for the
identical twins described at the beginning of the chapter, people
vary. The difference between genotypes and phenotypes helps us
understand this source of variability. All of a person’s genetic material makes
up his or her genotype. There is increasing interest in studying susceptibility
genes, those that make the individual more vulnerable to specific diseases or
accelerated aging (J.S. Park & others, 2018; Patel & others, 2018; Scarabino
& others, 2017), and longevity genes, those that make the individual less
vulnerable to certain diseases and more likely to live to an older age
(Blankenburg, Pramstaller, & Domingues, 2018; Dato & others, 2017). These
are aspects of the individual’s genotype.
However, not all of the genetic material is apparent in an individual’s
observed and measurable characteristics. A phenotype consists of observable
characteristics, including physical characteristics (such as height, weight, and
hair color) and psychological characteristics (such as personality and
intelligence).
For each genotype, a range of phenotypes can be expressed, providing
another source of variability (Klug & others, 2017). An individual can inherit
the genetic potential to grow very large, for example, but good nutrition,
among other things, will be essential to achieving that potential.
Genetic Principles
What determines how a genotype is expressed to create a particular
phenotype? This question has not yet been fully answered (Lickliter, 2018;
Moore, 2015, 2017). However, a number of genetic principles have been
discovered, among them those of dominant and recessive genes, sex-linked
genes, and polygenically determined characteristics.
Dominant and Recessive Genes
In some cases, one gene of a pair always exerts its effects; in other words, it
is dominant, overriding the potential influence of the other gene, which is
called the recessive gene. This is the dominant-and-recessive genes principle.
A recessive gene exerts its influence only if the two genes of a pair are both
recessive. If you inherit a recessive gene for a trait from each of your parents,
you will show the trait. If you inherit a recessive gene from only one parent,
you may never know that you carry the gene. Brown hair, farsightedness, and
dimples override blond hair, nearsightedness, and freckles in the world of
dominant and recessive genes. Can two brown-haired parents have a blond-
haired child? Yes, they can. Suppose that each parent has a dominant gene for
brown hair and a recessive gene for blond hair. Since dominant genes
override recessive genes, the parents have brown hair, but both are carriers
of blondness and pass on their recessive genes for blond hair. With no
dominant gene to override them, the recessive genes can make the child’s
hair blond.
Sex-Linked Genes
Most mutated genes are recessive. When a mutated gene is carried on the X
chromosome, the result is called X-linked inheritance. It may have
implications for males that differ greatly from those for females (Freeman &
others, 2017; Mader & Windelspecht, 2018, 2019). Remember that males
have only one X chromosome. Thus, if there is an absent or altered, disease-
relevant gene on the X chromosome, males have no “backup” copy to counter
the harmful gene and therefore may develop an X-linked disease. However,
females have a second X chromosome, which is likely to be unchanged. As a
result, they are not likely to have the X-linked disease. Thus, most individuals
who have X-linked diseases are males. Females who have one abnormal copy
of the gene on the X chromosome are known as carriers, and they usually do
not show any signs of the X-linked disease. Fragile X syndrome, which we
will discuss later in the chapter, is an example of X-linked inheritance
Page 44
(Thurman & others, 2017).
Polygenic Inheritance
Genetic transmission is usually more complex than the simple examples we
have examined thus far (Lickliter, 2018). Few characteristics reflect the
influence of only a single gene or pair of genes. Most are
determined by the interaction of many different genes; they are
said to be polygenically determined (Hill & others, 2018; Zabaneh
& others, 2017). Even a simple characteristic such as height reflects the
interaction of many genes as well as the influence of the environment. Most
diseases, such as cancer and diabetes, develop as a consequence of complex
gene interactions and environmental factors (Schaefer, Hornick, & Bovee,
2018).
The term gene-gene interaction is increasingly used to describe studies
that focus on the interdependent process by which two or more genes
influence characteristics, behavior, diseases, and development (Lovely &
others, 2017; Yip & others, 2018). For example, recent studies have
documented gene-gene interaction in immune system functioning (Heinonen
& others, 2015); asthma (Hua & others, 2016); obesity (Bordoni & others,
2017); type 2 diabetes (Saxena, Srivastava, & Banerjee, 2018); alcoholism
(Chen & others, 2017); cancer (Su & others, 2018); cardiovascular disease
(De & others, 2017); and Alzheimer disease (Yin & others, 2018).
Chromosome and Gene-Linked Abnormalities
In some (relatively rare) cases, genetic inheritance involves an abnormality.
Some of these abnormalities come from whole chromosomes that do not
separate properly during meiosis. Others are produced by defective genes.
Chromosome Abnormalities
Sometimes a gamete is formed in which the combined sperm and ovum do
not have their normal set of 23 chromosomes. The most notable examples
involve Down syndrome and abnormalities of the sex chromosomes. Figure 4
Page 45
describes some chromosome abnormalities, along with their treatment and
incidence.
Figure 4 Some Chromosome Abnormalities
The treatments for these abnormalities do not necessarily erase the problem but may
improve the individual’s adaptive behavior and quality of life.
Down Syndrome Down syndrome is one of the most common genetically
linked causes of intellectual disability; it is also characterized by certain
physical features (Lewanda & others, 2016; Popadin & others, 2018). An
individual with Down syndrome has a round face, a flattened skull, an extra
fold of skin over the eyelids, a thickened tongue, short limbs, and delayed
development of motor and mental abilities. The syndrome is caused by the
presence of an extra copy of chromosome 21. It is not known why the extra
chromosome is present, but the health of the male sperm or female ovum may
be involved.
How Would
You…?
As a social worker,
how would you respond
to a 33-year-old
pregnant woman who is
concerned about the risk
of giving birth to a baby
with Down syndrome?
Down syndrome appears approximately once in every 700 live births.
Women between the ages of 16 and 34 are less likely to give birth to a child
with Down syndrome than are younger or older women. African American
children are rarely born with Down syndrome.
Sex-Linked Chromosome Abnormalities Recall that a newborn
normally has either an X and a Y chromosome, or two X chromosomes.
Human embryos must possess at least one X chromosome to be viable. The
most common sex-linked chromosome abnormalities involve the presence of
an extra chromosome (either an X or a Y) or the absence of one X
chromosome in females.
These athletes, several of whom have Down syndrome, are participating in a Special
Olympics competition. Notice the distinctive facial features of the individuals with Down
syndrome, such as a round face and a flattened skull. What causes Down syndrome?
©James Shaffer/PhotoEdit
Klinefelter syndrome is a chromosomal disorder in which males have an
extra X chromosome, making them XXY instead of XY (Skuse, Printzlau, &
Wolstencroft, 2018). Males with this disorder have undeveloped testes, and
they usually have enlarged breasts and become tall (Belling & others, 2017;
Flannigan & Schlegel, 2017). Klinefelter syndrome occurs approximately
once in every 1,000 live male births. Only 10 percent of individuals with
Klinefelter syndrome are diagnosed before puberty, with the majority not
identified until adulthood (Aksglaede & others, 2013).
Fragile X syndrome is a genetic disorder that results from an abnormality
in the X chromosome, which becomes constricted and often breaks (Niu &
others, 2017). The outcome frequently takes the form of an intellectual
disability, autism, a learning disability, or a short attention span (Hall &
Berry-Kravis, 2018; Thurman & others, 2017). This disorder occurs more
frequently in males than in females, possibly because the second X
chromosome in females negates the effects of the other, abnormal X
chromosome (Mila & others, 2017). A recent study found that a higher level
of maternal responsivity to the adaptive behavior of children with FXS had a
positive effect on the children’s communication skills (Warren & others,
2017).
Turner syndrome is a chromosomal disorder in females in which either an
X chromosome is missing, making the person XO instead of XX, or part of
one X chromosome is deleted. Females with Turner syndrome are short in
stature and have a webbed neck (Skuse, Printzlau, & Wolstencroft, 2018). In
some cases, they are infertile. They have difficulty in mathematics, but their
verbal ability is often quite good. Turner syndrome occurs in approximately 1
of every 2,500 live female births (Culen & others, 2017).
XYY syndrome is a chromosomal disorder in which the male has an extra
Y chromosome (Tartaglia & others, 2017). Early interest in this syndrome
focused on the belief that the extra Y chromosome found in some males
contributed to aggression and violence. However, researchers subsequently
found that XYY males are no more likely to commit crimes than are XY
males (Witkin & others, 1976).
Gene-Linked Abnormalities
Abnormalities can be produced not only by an abnormal number of
chromosomes, but also by defective genes. Figure 5 describes some gene-
linked abnormalities and outlines their treatment and incidence.
Figure 5 Some Gene-Linked Abnormalities
Phenylketonuria (PKU) is a genetic disorder in which the individual
cannot properly metabolize phenylalanine, an amino acid that naturally
occurs in many food sources. It results from a recessive gene and occurs
about once in every 10,000 to 20,000 live births. Today, phenylketonuria is
easily detected in infancy, and it is treated by a diet that prevents an excess
accumulation of phenylalanine (Medford & others, 2018; Micoch & others,
2018). If phenylketonuria is left untreated, however, excess phenylalanine
builds up in the child, producing intellectual disability and hyperactivity.
Phenylketonuria accounts for approximately 1 percent of individuals who are
institutionalized for intellectual disabilities, and it occurs primarily in Whites.
How Would
You…?
As a health-care
professional, how
would you explain the
heredity-environment
interaction to new
Page 46
Page 47
parents who are upset
when they discover that
their child has a
treatable genetic defect?
Sickle-cell anemia, which occurs most often in African
Americans, is a genetic disorder that impairs functioning of the
body’s red blood cells. More than 300,000 infants worldwide are
born with sickle-cell anemia each year (Azar & Wong, 2017). Red blood
cells, which carry oxygen to the body’s other cells, are usually shaped like a
disk. In sickle-cell anemia, a recessive gene causes the red blood cell to
become a hook-shaped “sickle” that cannot carry oxygen properly and dies
quickly. As a result, the body’s cells do not receive adequate oxygen, causing
anemia and early death (Patterson & others, 2018; Powell & others, 2018).
About 1 in 400 African American babies is affected by sickle-cell anemia.
One in 10 African Americans is a carrier, as is 1 in 20 Latin Americans.
Recent research strongly supports the use of hydroxyurea therapy for infants
with sickle-cell anemia beginning at 9 months of age (Nevitt, Jones, &
Howard, 2017). Stem cell transplantation also is being explored as a potential
treatment for infants with sickle-cell anemia (Azar & Wong, 2017).
Other diseases that result from genetic abnormalities include cystic
fibrosis, some forms of diabetes, hemophilia, Huntington disease, Alzheimer
disease, spina bifida, and Tay-Sachs disease. Someday, scientists may be able
to determine why these and other genetic abnormalities occur and discover
how to cure them (Huang & others, 2017; Wang & others, 2017).
Genetic counselors, usually physicians or biologists who are well-versed
in the field of medical genetics, may specialize in providing information to
individuals who are at risk of giving birth to children with the kinds of
genetic abnormalities just described (Besser & Mounts, 2017; Valiente-
Palleja & others, 2018). They can evaluate the degree of risk involved and
offer helpful strategies for offsetting some of the effects of these diseases
(Jacher & others, 2017; Omaggio, Baker, & Conway, 2018; Sharony &
others, 2018; Wang & others, 2018). To read about the career and work of a
genetic counselor, see Careers in Life-Span Development.
Careers in life-span development
Jennifer Leonhard, Genetic Counselor
Jennifer Leonhard is a genetic counselor at Sanford Bemidji
Health Clinic in Bemidji, Minnesota. She obtained an undergraduate
degree from Western Illinois University and a master’s degree in
genetic counseling from the University of Arkansas for Medical
Sciences.
Genetic counselors like Jennifer work as members of a health care
team, providing information and support to families with birth defects
or genetic disorders. They identify families at risk by analyzing
inheritance patterns and then explore options with the family. Some
genetic counselors, like Leonhard, specialize in prenatal and pediatric
genetics, while others focus on cancer genetics or psychiatric genetic
disorders.
Genetic counselors hold specialized graduate degrees in medical
genetics and counseling. They enter graduate school with
undergraduate backgrounds from a variety of disciplines, including
biology, genetics, psychology, public health, and social work. There
are approximately 30 graduate genetic counseling programs in the
United States. If you are interested in this profession, you can obtain
further information from the National Society of Genetic Counselors
at www.nsgc.org.
Jennifer Leonhard (right) is a genetic counselor at Sanford Health in Bemidji,
Minnesota.
Courtesy of Jennifer Leonhard
The Interaction of Heredity and
Environment: The Nature-Nurture
Debate
Is it possible to untangle the influence of heredity from that of environment
and discover the role of each in producing individual differences in
development? When heredity and environment interact, how does heredity
influence the environment, and vice versa?
Behavior Genetics
Behavior genetics is the field that seeks to discover the influence of heredity
and environment on individual differences in human traits and development.
Behavior geneticists often study either twins or adoption situations (Charney,
2017; Machalek & others, 2017; Pinheiro & others, 2018; Rana & others,
2018).
In a twin study, the behavioral similarities between identical twins (who
Page 48
are genetically identical) are compared with the behavioral similarities
between fraternal twins. Recall that although fraternal twins share the same
womb, they are no more genetically alike than are non-twin siblings. By
comparing groups of identical and fraternal twins, behavior geneticists
capitalize on this basic knowledge that identical twins are more similar
genetically than are fraternal twins: If they observe that a behavioral trait is
more often shared by identical twins than by fraternal twins, they can infer
that the trait has a genetic basis (Inderkum & Tarokh, 2018; Li & others,
2016; Rosenstrom & others, 2018; Wertz & others, 2018).
However, several issues complicate the interpretation of twin studies. For
example, perhaps the environments of identical twins are more
similar than those of fraternal twins. Parents and caregivers
might stress the similarities of identical twins more than those
of fraternal twins, and identical twins might perceive themselves as a “set”
and play together more than fraternal twins do. If so, the observed similarities
between identical twins might have a significant environmental basis.
In an adoption study, investigators seek to discover whether the behavior
and psychological characteristics of adopted children are more like those of
their adoptive parents, who have provided a home environment, or more like
those of their biological parents, who have contributed their heredity
(Salvatore & others, 2018). Another form of the adoption study compares
adoptees with their adoptive siblings and their biological siblings (Kendler &
others, 2016).
Heredity-Environment Correlations
The difficulties that researchers encounter in interpreting the results of twin
and adoption studies reflect the complexities of heredity-environment
interactions. Some of these interactions are heredity-environment
correlations, which means that individuals’ genes may influence the types of
environments to which they are exposed. In a sense, individuals “inherit”
environments that may be related or linked to genetic “propensities.”
Behavior geneticist Sandra Scarr (1993) described three ways in which
heredity and environment are correlated:
Passive genotype-environment correlations occur because biological
parents, who are genetically related to the child, provide a rearing
environment for the child. For example, the parents might have a genetic
predisposition to be intelligent and read skillfully. Because they read well
and enjoy reading, they provide their children with books to read. The
likely outcome is that their children, given their own inherited
predispositions from their parents and their book-filled environment, will
become skilled readers.
Evocative genotype-environment correlations occur because a child’s
characteristics elicit certain types of environments. For example, active,
smiling children receive more social stimulation than passive, quiet
children do. Cooperative, attentive children evoke more pleasant and
instructional responses from the adults around them than uncooperative,
distractible children do.
Active (niche-picking) genotype-environment correlations occur when
children seek out environments that they find compatible and stimulating.
Niche-picking refers to finding a setting that is suited to one’s abilities.
Children select from their surrounding environment specific aspects that
they respond to, learn about, or ignore. Their active selections of
environments are related to their particular genotype. For example,
outgoing children tend to seek out social contexts in which to interact
with people, whereas shy children don’t. Children who are musically
inclined are likely to select musical environments in which they can
successfully perform their skills.
The Epigenetic View and Gene × Environment (G × E)
Interaction
Notice that Scarr’s view gives the preeminent role in development to
heredity: her analysis describes how heredity may influence the types of
environments that children experience. Critics argue that the concept of
heredity-environment correlation gives heredity too great an influence in
determining development because it does not consider the role of prior
environmental influences in shaping the correlation itself (Moore, 2017). In
this section we look at some approaches that place greater emphasis on the
role of the environment.
Page 49The Epigenetic View
In line with the concept of a collaborative gene, Gilbert Gottlieb
(2007) proposed an epigenetic view, which states that development is the
result of an ongoing, bidirectional interchange between heredity and the
environment. Figure 6 compares the heredity-environment correlation and
epigenetic views of development.
Figure 6 Comparison of the Heredity-Environment Correlation and Epigenetic
Views
Let’s look at an example that reflects the epigenetic view. A baby inherits
genes from both parents at conception. During prenatal development, toxins,
nutrition, and stress can influence some genes to stop functioning while
others become stronger or weaker. During infancy, additional environmental
experiences, such as exposure to toxins, nutrition, stress, learning, and
encouragement, continue to modify genetic activity and the activity of the
nervous system that directly underlies behavior. Heredity and environment
thus operate together—or collaborate—to produce a person’s well-being,
intelligence, temperament, health, ability to pitch a baseball, ability to read,
and so on (Moore, 2017).
How Would
You…?
As a human
development and
family studies
professional, how
would you apply the
epigenetic view to
explain why one
identical twin can
develop alcoholism
while the other twin
does not?
Gene × Environment (G × E) Interaction
An increasing number of studies are exploring how the interaction between
heredity and environment influences development, including interactions that
involve specific DNA sequences (Bakusic & others, 2017; Grunblatt &
others, 2018; Halldorsdottir & Binder, 2017; Quereshi & Mehler, 2018). The
epigenetic mechanisms involve the actual molecular modification of the
DNA strand as a result of environmental inputs in ways that alter gene
functioning (Knyazev & others, 2018; Rozenblat & others, 2017; Szutorisz &
Hurd, 2018).
One study found that individuals who have a short version of a gene
labeled 5-HTTLPR (a gene involving the neurotransmitter serotonin) have an
elevated risk of developing depression only if they also lead stressful lives
(Caspi & others, 2003). Thus, the specific gene did not directly cause the
development of depression; rather, the gene interacted with a stressful
environment in a way that allowed the researchers to predict whether
individuals would develop depression. A research meta-analysis indicated
that the short version of 5-HTTLPR was linked with higher cortisol stress
reactivity (Miller & others, 2013). Researchers also have found support for
the interaction between the 5-HTTLPR gene and stress levels in predicting
depression in adolescents and older adults (Petersen & others, 2012; Zannas
& others, 2012).
Other research involving interaction between genes and environmental
experiences has focused on attachment, parenting, and supportive child-
rearing environments (Ein-Dor & others, 2018; Labella & Masten, 2018;
Naumova & others, 2016). In one study, adults who experienced parental loss
as young children were more likely to have unresolved attachment issues as
adults only when they had the short version of the 5-HTTLPR gene (Caspers
Page 50
& others, 2009). The long version of the serotonin transporter gene
apparently provided some protection and ability to cope better with parental
loss. Other studies have found that variations in dopamine-related genes
interact with supportive or unsupportive rearing environments to influence
children’s development (Bakermans-Kranenburg & van IJzendoorn, 2011).
The type of research just described is referred to as studies of gene ×
environment (G × E) interaction—the interaction of a specific measured
variation in DNA and a specific measured aspect of the environment (Moore,
2017; Samek & others, 2017).
Although there is considerable enthusiasm about the concept of gene ×
environment interaction (G × E), a research review concluded that this
approach is plagued by difficulties in replicating results, inflated claims, and
other weaknesses (Manuck & McCaffery, 2014). The science of G × E
interaction is very young, and in the next several decades it will likely
produce more precise findings (Fumagalli & others, 2018; Marioni & others,
2018).
Conclusions About Heredity-Environment
Interaction
If an attractive, popular, intelligent girl is elected president of her high school
senior class, is her success due to heredity or to environment? Of course, the
answer is “both.”
The relative contributions of heredity and environment are not additive.
That is, we can’t say that such-and-such a percentage of nature and such-and-
such a percentage of experience make us who we are. Nor is it accurate to say
that full genetic expression happens once, at the time of conception or birth,
after which we carry our genetic legacy into the world to see how far it takes
us. Genes produce proteins throughout the life span, in many different
environments. Or they don’t produce these proteins, depending in part on
how harsh or nourishing those environments are.
To what extent are this young girl’s piano skills likely due to heredity, environment, or
both?
©Francisco Romero/Getty Images
The emerging view is that complex behaviors are influenced by genes in
ways that give people a propensity for a particular developmental trajectory
(Kalashnikova, Goswami, & Burnham, 2018; Knyazev & others, 2018).
However, the individual’s actual development requires more: a particular
environment. And that environment is complex, just like the mixture of genes
we inherit (Almy & Cicchetti, 2018; Tremblay, Vitaro, & Cote, 2018).
Environmental influences range from the things we lump together under
“nurture” (such as culture, parenting, family dynamics, schooling, and
neighborhood quality) to biological encounters (such as viruses, birth
complications, and even biological events in cells).
In developmental psychologist David Moore’s (2013, 2015, 2017) view,
the biological systems that generate behaviors are extremely complex but too
often these systems have been described in overly simplified ways that can be
misleading. Thus, although genetic factors clearly contribute to behavior and
psychological processes, they don’t determine these phenotypes
independently from the contexts in which they develop. From Moore’s (2013,
2015, 2017) perspective, it is misleading to talk about “genes for” eye color,
intelligence, personality, or other characteristics. Moore commented that in
retrospect we should not have expected to be able to make the giant leap from
DNA’s molecules to a complete understanding of human behavior any more
than we should anticipate being able to easily link air molecules in a concert
hall with a full-blown appreciation of a symphony’s wondrous experience.
Page 51
Imagine for a moment that there is a cluster of genes that are somehow
associated with youth violence. (This example is hypothetical because we
don’t know of any such combination.) The adolescent who carries this
genetic mixture might experience a world of loving parents, regular nutritious
meals, lots of books, and a series of competent teachers. Or the adolescent’s
world might include parental neglect, a neighborhood in which gunshots and
crime are everyday occurrences, and inadequate schooling. In which of these
environments are the adolescent’s genes likely to manufacture the biological
underpinnings of criminality?
If heredity and environment interact to determine the course of
development, is that all there is to answering the question of what causes
development? Are humans completely at the mercy of their genes and their
environment as they develop through the life span? Genetic heritage and
environmental experiences are pervasive influences on development. But in
thinking about what causes development, recall our discussion of
development as the co-construction of biology, culture, and the individual.
Not only are we the outcomes of our heredity and the environment we
experience, but we also can author a unique developmental path by changing
our environment. As one psychologist concluded:
In reality, we are both the creatures and creators of our worlds. We
are . . . the products of our genes and environments. Nevertheless, . . .
the stream of causation that shapes the future runs through our present
choices . . . Mind matters . . . Our hopes, goals, and expectations
influence our future. (Myers, 2010, p. 168)
Prenatal Development
We turn now to a description of how the process of development unfolds
from its earliest moment—the moment of conception—when two parental
cells, with their unique genetic contributions, merge to create a new
individual.
Conception occurs when a single sperm cell from a male unites with an
ovum (egg) in a female’s fallopian tube in a process called fertilization. Over
the next few months the genetic code discussed earlier directs a series of
changes in the fertilized egg, but many events and hazards will influence how
that egg develops and becomes a person.
The Course of Prenatal Development
Prenatal development lasts approximately 266 days, beginning with
fertilization and ending with birth. Pregnancy can be divided into three
periods: germinal, embryonic, and fetal.
The Germinal Period
The germinal period is the period of prenatal development that takes place
in the first two weeks after conception. It includes the creation of the
fertilized egg (the zygote), cell division, and the attachment of the
multicellular organism to the uterine wall.
Rapid cell division by the zygote begins the germinal period. (Recall
from earlier in the chapter that this cell division occurs through a process
called mitosis.) Within one week after conception, the differentiation of these
cells—their specialization for different tasks—has already begun. At this
stage the organism, now called the blastocyst, consists of a hollow ball of
cells that will eventually develop into the embryo, and the trophoblast, an
outer layer of cells that later provides nutrition and support for the embryo.
Implantation, the embedding of the blastocyst in the uterine wall, takes place
during the second week after conception. Figure 7 summarizes these
significant developments in the germinal period.
Page 52
Figure 7 Major Developments in the Germinal Period
The Embryonic Period
The embryonic period is the period of prenatal development that
occurs from two to eight weeks after conception. During the embryonic
period, the rate of cell differentiation intensifies, support systems for cells
form, and organs develop.
The mass of cells is now called an embryo, and three layers of cells form.
The embryo’s endoderm is the inner layer of cells, which will develop into
the digestive and respiratory systems. The ectoderm is the outermost layer,
which will become the nervous system, sensory receptors (ears, nose, and
eyes, for example), and skin parts (hair and nails, for example). The
mesoderm is the middle layer, which will become the circulatory system,
bones, muscles, excretory system, and reproductive system. Every body part
eventually develops from these three layers. The endoderm primarily
produces internal body parts, the mesoderm primarily produces parts that
surround the internal areas, and the ectoderm primarily produces surface
parts. Organogenesis is the name given to the process of organ formation
during the first two months of prenatal development. While they are being
formed, the organs are especially vulnerable to environmental influences
(Rios & Clevers, 2018; Schittny, 2017).
As the embryo’s three layers form, life-support systems for the embryo
develop rapidly. These systems include the amnion, the umbilical cord (both
of which develop from the fertilized egg, not the mother’s body), and the
placenta. The amnion is like a bag or an envelope; it contains a clear fluid in
which the developing embryo floats. The amniotic fluid provides an
environment that is temperature- and humidity-controlled, as well as
shockproof. The umbilical cord, which typically contains two arteries and
one vein, connects the baby to the placenta. The placenta consists of a disk-
shaped group of tissues in which small blood vessels from the mother and the
offspring intertwine but do not join.
Very small molecules—oxygen, water, salt, and nutrients from the
mother’s blood, as well as carbon dioxide and digestive wastes from the
baby’s blood—pass back and forth between the mother and the embryo or
fetus. Large molecules cannot pass through the placental wall; these include
red blood cells and some harmful substances, such as most bacteria, maternal
wastes, and hormones (Cuffe & others, 2017; Dube, Desparois, & Lafond,
2018). Virtually any drug or chemical substance a pregnant woman ingests
can cross the placenta to some degree, unless it is metabolized or altered
during passage, or is too large (Burton & Jauniaux, 2015; Koren & Ornoy,
2018).
One study confirmed that ethanol crosses the human placenta and
primarily reflects maternal alcohol use (Matlow & others, 2013). Another
study revealed that cigarette smoke weakened and increased the oxidative
stress of fetal membranes from which the placenta develops (Menon &
others, 2011). The stress hormone cortisol also can cross the placenta (Parrott
& others, 2014). The mechanisms that govern the transfer of substances
across the placental barrier are complex and not yet entirely understood
(Huckle, 2017; Jeong & others, 2018; Vaughan & others, 2017; Zhang &
others, 2018).
The Fetal Period
The fetal period, which lasts about seven months, is the prenatal period that
extends from two months after conception until birth in typical pregnancies.
Growth and development continue their dramatic course during this time.
Three months after conception (13 weeks), the fetus is about 3 inches
long and weighs about four-fifths of an ounce. It has become active, moving
its arms and legs, opening and closing its mouth, and moving its head. The
Page 53
face, forehead, eyelids, nose, and chin are distinguishable, as are the upper
arms, lower arms, hands, and lower limbs. In most cases, the genitals can be
identified as male or female. By the end of the fourth month of pregnancy (17
weeks), the fetus has grown to about 5.5 inches in length and weighs 5
ounces. At this time, a growth spurt occurs in the body’s lower parts. For the
first time, the mother can feel the fetus move.
By the end of the fifth month (22 weeks), the fetus is about 12 inches
long and weighs close to a pound. Structures of the skin have formed—
including toenails and fingernails. The fetus is more active, showing a
preference for a particular position in the womb. By the end of the sixth
month (26 weeks), the fetus is about 14 inches long and has
gained another 6 to 12 ounces. The eyes and eyelids are
completely formed, and a fine layer of hair covers the head. A
grasping reflex is present and irregular breathing movements occur.
As early as six months of pregnancy (about 24 to 25 weeks after
conception), the fetus for the first time has a chance of surviving outside the
womb—that is, it is viable. Infants that are born early, or between 24 and 37
weeks of pregnancy, usually need help breathing because their lungs are not
yet fully mature. By the end of the seventh month, the fetus is about 16
inches long and weighs about 3 pounds.
How Would
You…?
As a human
development and
family studies
professional, how
would you characterize
the greatest risks at each
period of prenatal
development?
During the last two months of prenatal development, fatty tissues develop
and the functioning of various organ systems—heart and kidneys, for
example—steps up. During the eighth and ninth months, the fetus grows
Page 54
longer and gains substantial weight—about 4 more pounds. At birth, the
average American baby weighs 8 pounds and is about 20 inches long.
In addition to describing prenatal development in terms of germinal,
embryonic, and fetal periods, prenatal development also can be divided into
equal three-month periods called trimesters. Figure 8 gives an overview of
the main events during each trimester. Remember that the three
trimesters are not the same as the three prenatal periods we
have discussed. The germinal and embryonic periods occur in
the first trimester. The fetal period begins toward the end of the first trimester
and continues through the second and third trimesters.
Figure 8 Growth and Development in the Three Trimesters of Prenatal Development
(Top) ©David Spears/PhotoTake, Inc.; (middle) ©Neil Bromhall/Science Source;
(bottom) ©Brand X Pictures/PunchStock
The Brain
One of the most remarkable aspects of the prenatal period is the development
of the brain (Andescavage & others, 2017; Ferrazzi & others, 2018). By the
time babies are born, they have approximately 100 billion neurons, or nerve
cells, which handle information processing at the cellular level in the brain.
During prenatal development, neurons move to specific locations and start to
become connected. The basic architecture of the human brain is assembled
during the first two trimesters of prenatal development. In typical
development, the third trimester of prenatal development and the first two
years of postnatal life are characterized by connectivity and functioning of
neurons (Toth & others, 2017; van den Heuvel & others, 2018).
Four important phases of the brain’s development during the prenatal
period involve (1) formation of the neural tube; (2) neurogenesis; (3) neural
migration, and (4) neural connectivity.
As the human embryo develops inside its mother’s womb, the nervous
system begins forming as a long, hollow tube located on the embryo’s back.
This pear-shaped neural tube, which forms at about 27 days after conception,
develops out of the ectoderm (Keunen, Counsell, & Bender, 2017). The tube
closes at the top and bottom ends at about 24 days after conception. Figure 9
shows that the nervous system still has a tubular appearance 6 weeks after
conception.
Figure 9 Early Formation of the Nervous System
The photograph shows the primitive, tubular appearance of the nervous system at six
weeks in the human embryo.
©Claude Edelmann/Science Source
Two birth defects related to a failure of the neural tube to close are
anencephaly and spina bifida. When a fetus has anencephaly (that is, when
the head end of the neural tube fails to close), the highest regions of the brain
fail to develop and the baby dies in the womb, during childbirth, or shortly
after birth (Steric & others, 2015). Spina bifida, an incomplete development
of the spinal cord, results in varying degrees of paralysis of the lower limbs
(Li & others, 2018; Miller, 2018). Individuals with spina bifida usually need
assistive devices such as crutches, braces, or wheelchairs. Both maternal
Page 55
diabetes and obesity also place the fetus at risk for developing neural tube
defects (McMahon & others, 2013; Yu, Wu, & Yang, 2016). Further,
research reveals that a high level of maternal stress during pregnancy is
associated with neural tube defects in offspring (Li & others, 2013). A
strategy that can help to prevent neural tube defects is for women to take
adequate amounts of the B vitamin folic acid (Li & others, 2018;
Viswanathan & others, 2017). A recent large-scale study in Brazil found that
when flour was fortified with folic acid it produced a significant reduction in
neural tube defects (Santos & others, 2016).
In a normal pregnancy, once the neural tube has closed, a massive
proliferation of new immature neurons begins to take place about the fifth
prenatal week (Zhu & others, 2017). The production of new neurons is called
neurogenesis, which continues through the remainder of the prenatal period
although it is largely complete by the end of the fifth month after conception
(Keunen, Counsell, & Benders, 2017). At the peak of neurogenesis, it is
estimated that as many as 200,000 neurons are being generated every minute.
At approximately 6 to 24 weeks after conception, neuronal migration
occurs (Nelson, 2011). Cells begin moving outward from their point of origin
to their appropriate locations and creating the different levels, structures, and
regions of the brain (Miyazaki, Song, & Takahashi, 2016). Once a cell has
migrated to its target destination, it must mature and develop a more complex
structure.
At about the 23rd prenatal week, connections between neurons
begin to form, a process that continues postnatally (Miller, Huppi,
& Mallard, 2016; van den Heuvel & others, 2018). We will have
much more to say about the structure of neurons, their connectivity, and the
development of the infant brain.
Prenatal Tests
Together with her doctor, a pregnant woman will decide the extent to which
she should undergo prenatal testing. A number of tests can indicate whether a
fetus is developing normally; these include ultrasound sonography, fetal
MRI, chorionic villus sampling, amniocentesis, maternal blood screening,
and noninvasive prenatal diagnosis. The decision to have a given test depends
on several criteria, such as the mother’s age, medical history, and genetic risk
factors.
Ultrasound Sonography
An ultrasound test is often conducted seven weeks into a pregnancy and at
various times later in pregnancy. Ultrasound sonography is a prenatal
medical procedure in which high-frequency sound waves are directed into the
pregnant woman’s abdomen (Tamai & others 2018). The echo from the
sounds is transformed into a visual representation of the fetus’s inner
structures. This technique can detect many abnormalities in the fetus,
including microcephaly, in which an abnormally small brain can produce
intellectual disability; it can also determine the number of fetuses (that is,
detect whether a woman is carrying twins or triplets) and give clues to the
baby’s sex (Calvo-Garcia, 2016; Larsson & others, 2018). A recent research
review concluded that many aspects of the developing prenatal brain can be
detected by ultrasound in the first trimester and that about 50 percent of spina
bifida cases can be identified at this time, most of these being severe cases
(Engels & others, 2016). There is virtually no risk to the woman or fetus in
using ultrasound.
A 6-month-old poses with the ultrasound image take four months into the baby’s prenatal
development. What is ultrasound sonography and what can it detect?
©AJ Photo/BSIP/age fotostock
Page 56
Chorionic Villus Sampling
At some point between the 10th and 12th weeks of pregnancy, chorionic
villus sampling may be used to screen for genetic defects and chromosome
abnormalities. Chorionic villus sampling (CVS) is a prenatal medical
procedure in which a tiny tissue sample from the placenta is removed and
analyzed (Carlson & Vora, 2017). The results are available in about 10 days.
Amniocentesis
Between the 15th and 18th weeks of pregnancy, amniocentesis may be
performed. In this procedure, a sample of amniotic fluid is withdrawn by
syringe and tested for chromosomal or metabolic disorders (Jung & others,
2017). The later in the pregnancy amniocentesis is performed, the better its
diagnostic potential. However, the earlier it is performed, the more useful it is
in deciding how to handle a pregnancy when the fetus is found to have a
disorder. It may take two weeks for enough cells to grow so that
amniocentesis test results can be obtained. Amniocentesis brings a small risk
of miscarriage: about 1 woman in every 200 to 300 miscarries after
amniocentesis.
Maternal Blood Screening
During the 16th to 18th weeks of pregnancy, maternal blood screening may
be performed. Maternal blood screening identifies pregnancies that have an
elevated risk for birth defects such as spina bifida and Down syndrome (le
Ray & others, 2018), as well as congenital heart disease risk for children (Sun
& others, 2015). The current blood test is called the triple screen because it
measures three substances in the mother’s blood. After an abnormal triple
screen result, the next step is usually an ultrasound examination. If an
ultrasound does not explain the abnormal triple screen results, amniocentesis
typically is used.
Fetal MRI
The development of brain-imaging techniques has led to increasing use of
fetal MRI to diagnose fetal malformations (Cheong & Miller, 2018; Choudhri
& others, 2018; Ferrazzi & others, 2018; Kang & others, 2017) (see Figure
10). MRI, which stands for magnetic resonance imaging, uses a powerful
magnet and radio images to generate detailed images of the body’s organs
and structures. Currently, high-quality ultrasound is still the first choice in
fetal screening, but fetal MRI can provide more detailed images than
ultrasound (Griffiths & others, 2018). In many instances, ultrasound will
indicate a possible abnormality and fetal MRI will then be used to obtain a
clearer, more detailed image (Bernardo & others, 2017). Among the fetal
malformations that fetal MRI may be able to detect better than ultrasound
sonography are certain abnormalities of the central nervous system, chest,
gastrointestinal tract, genital/urinary organs, and placenta (Manganaro &
others, 2018). In a recent research review, it was concluded that fetal MRI
often does not provide good results in the first trimester of pregnancy because
of small fetal structures and movement artifacts (Wataganara & others, 2016).
Also, in this review, it was argued that fetal MRI can be especially beneficial
in assessing central nervous system abnormalities in the third trimester of
pregnancy.
Page 57
Figure 10 A Fetal MRI.
Increasingly, MRI is being used to diagnose fetal malformations.
©Du Cane Medical Imaging Ltd/Science Source
Fetal Sex Determination
Chorionic villus sampling has often been used to determine the sex of the
fetus at some point between 11 and 13 weeks of gestation. Also, in a recent
study, ultrasound accurately identified the sex of the fetus between 11 and 13
weeks of gestation (Manzanares & others, 2016). Recently, though, some
noninvasive techniques, such as cell-free DNA analysis in blood plasma,
have been able to detect the sex of the fetus at an earlier point (Degrelle &
Fournier, 2018; Skrzypek & Hui, 2017). A meta-analysis of studies
confirmed that a baby’s sex can be detected as early as 7 weeks into
pregnancy (Devaney & others, 2011). Being able to detect an offspring’s sex
as well as the presence of various diseases and defects at such an early stage
raises ethical concerns about couples’ motivation to terminate a pregnancy
(Browne, 2017).
Infertility and Reproductive Technology
Recent advances in biological knowledge have also opened up many choices
for infertile people (Dorfeshan & others, 2018; Florencio & others, 2018;
Liebermann, 2017; Silber, 2017). Approximately 10 to 15 percent of couples
in the United States experience infertility, which is defined as the inability to
conceive a child after 12 months of regular intercourse without
contraception. The cause of infertility can rest with either the
woman or the man, or both (Namgoong & Kim, 2018; Sunderam
& others, 2017). The woman may not be ovulating (releasing eggs to be
fertilized); she may be producing abnormal ova; her fallopian tubes (by
which ova normally reach the womb) may be blocked; or she may have a
condition that prevents implantation of the embryo into the uterus. The man
may produce too few sperm; the sperm may lack motility (the ability to move
adequately); or he may have a blocked passageway (Razavi & others, 2017;
Yu & others, 2018; Zalzali & others, 2018).
Surgery can correct some causes of infertility; for others, hormone-based
drugs may be effective. Of the 2 million U.S. couples who seek help for
infertility every year, about 40,000 try assisted reproduction technologies. In
vitro fertilization (IVF), the technique that produced the world’s first “test
tube baby” in 1978, involves eggs and sperm being combined in a laboratory
dish. If any eggs are successfully fertilized, one or more of the resulting
fertilized eggs is transferred into the woman’s uterus.
How Would
You…?
As a psychologist, how
would you advise a 25-
year-old mother who is
concerned about the
possibility of birth
defects but has no
genetic history of these
types of problems?
Any multiple birth increases the likelihood that the babies will have life-
threatening and costly problems, such as extremely low birth weight (March
of Dimes, 2018). In a recent national study, low birthweight and preterm birth
were significantly higher in infants conceived via assisted-reproduction
technology (Sunderam & others, 2017). However, research reviews conclude
that children and adolescents conceived through new reproductive
technologies—such as in vitro fertilization—are as well-adjusted as their
counterparts conceived by natural means (Golombok, 2011a, b, 2017;
Golombok & others, 2018).
Hazards to Prenatal Development
For most babies, the course of prenatal development goes smoothly. Their
mother’s womb protects them as they develop. Despite this protection,
however, the environment can affect the embryo or fetus in many well-
documented ways.
Page 58
General Principles
A teratogen is any agent that can potentially cause a birth defect or
negatively alter cognitive and behavioral outcomes. The field of study that
investigates the causes of birth defects is called teratology (Boschen &
others, 2018; Stancil & others, 2018). Teratogens include drugs, incompatible
blood types, environmental pollutants, infectious diseases, nutritional
deficiencies, maternal stress, advanced maternal and paternal age, and
environmental pollutants.
The dose, genetic susceptibility, and time of exposure to a particular
teratogen influence both the severity of the damage to an embryo or fetus and
the type of defect:
1. Dose—The dose effect is rather obvious—the greater the dose of an
agent, such as a drug, the greater the effect.
2. Genetic susceptibility—The type or severity of abnormalities caused by a
teratogen is linked to the genotype of the pregnant woman and the
genotype of the embryo or fetus (Cassina & others, 2017; Middleton &
others, 2017).
3. Time of exposure—Teratogens do more damage when they occur at
some points in development than at others. The probability of a structural
defect is greatest early in the embryonic period, when organs are being
formed (Feldkamp & others, 2017; Mazzu-Nascimento & others, 2017).
After organogenesis is complete, teratogens are less likely to cause
anatomical defects. Instead, exposure during the fetal period is more
likely to stunt growth or create problems in the way organs function.
This is especially true for the developing fetal brain, which continues to
form connections throughout pregnancy.
To examine some key teratogens and their effects, let’s begin with drugs.
Prescription and Nonprescription Drugs
Prescription drugs that can function as teratogens include antibiotics, such as
streptomycin and tetracycline; some antidepressants; certain hormones, such
as progestin and synthetic estrogen; and Accutane (isotretinoin), often
prescribed for acne (Brown & others, 2017; Dathe & Schaefer, 2018).
Among the birth defects caused by Accutane are heart defects, eye and ear
abnormalities, and brain malformation. In a recent study, Accutane was the
fourth most common drug given to female adolescents who were seeking
contraception advice from a physician (Stancil & others, 2017). However,
physicians did not give the adolescent girls adequate information about the
negative effects of Accutane on offspring if the girls become pregnant.
Nonprescription drugs that can be harmful include diet pills and high doses of
aspirin.
Psychoactive Drugs
Psychoactive drugs act on the nervous system to alter states of consciousness,
modify perceptions, and change moods. Examples include caffeine, alcohol,
and nicotine, as well as illegal drugs such as cocaine, marijuana, and heroin.
Caffeine People often consume caffeine by drinking coffee, tea, or colas, or
by eating chocolate. Research has been mixed on the effects of caffeine
intake by pregnant women on the fetus (Chen & others, 2016; De Medeiros
& others, 2017). However, the influence of increased consumption of energy
drinks that typically have extremely high levels of caffeine on the
development of offspring has not yet been studied. The U.S. Food and Drug
Administration recommends that pregnant women either not consume
caffeine or consume it only sparingly.
Alcohol Heavy drinking by pregnant women can be devastating to offspring
(Jacobson & others, 2017). Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) are a
cluster of abnormalities and problems that appear in the offspring of mothers
who drink alcohol heavily during pregnancy (Del Campo & Jones, 2017;
Helgesson & others, 2018). The abnormalities include facial deformities and
defective limbs, face, and heart (Pei & others, 2017). Most children with
FASD have learning problems, and many are below average in intelligence;
some have an intellectual disability (Khoury & Milligan, 2018). One study
revealed that children with FASD have deficiencies in the brain pathways
involved in working memory (Diwadkar & others, 2012). A recent research
review concluded that FASD is linked to a lower level of executive function
in children, especially in planning (Kingdon, Cardoso, & McGrath, 2016).
And in a recent study, FASD was associated with both externalized and
Page 59
internalized behavior problems in childhood (Tsang & others, 2016). Also, in
a recent study in the United Kingdom, the life expectancy of individuals with
FASD was only 34 years of age, about 42 percent of the life expectancy of
the general population (Thanh & Jonsson, 2016). In this study, the most
common causes of death among individuals with FASD were suicide (15
percent), accidents (14 percent), and poisoning by illegal drugs or alcohol (7
percent). Although mothers of FASD infants are heavy drinkers, many
mothers who are heavy drinkers may not have children with FASD or may
have one child with FASD and other children who do not have it.
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) are characterized by a number of physical
abnormalities and learning problems. Notice the wide-set eyes, flat cheekbones, and thin
upper lip in this child with FASD.
©Streissguth, AP, Landesman-Dwyer S, Martin, JC, & Smith, DW (1980).
Teratogenic effects of alcohol in humans and laboratory animals. Science, 209,
353–361.
What are some guidelines for alcohol use during pregnancy? Even
drinking just one or two servings of beer or wine or one serving of hard
liquor a few days a week can have negative effects on the fetus, although it is
generally agreed that this level of alcohol use will not cause fetal alcohol
spectrum disorders (Sarman, 2018). The U.S. Surgeon General recommends
that no alcohol be consumed during pregnancy, as does the French Alcohol
Society (Rolland & others, 2016). And research suggests that it may not be
wise to consume alcohol at the time of conception. Despite such
recommendations, a recent large-scale U.S. study found that
11.5 percent of adolescent and 8.7 percent of adult pregnant
women reported using alcohol in the previous month (Oh &
others, 2017).
Nicotine Cigarette smoking by pregnant women can also adversely
influence prenatal development, birth, and postnatal development (Ostfeld &
others, 2018). Preterm births and low birth weights, fetal and neonatal deaths,
respiratory problems, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS, also known as
crib death), and cardiovascular problems are all more common among the
offspring of mothers who smoked during pregnancy (Zhang & others, 2017).
Prenatal smoking has been implicated in as many as 25 percent of infants
being born with a low birth weight (Brown & Graves, 2013).
Researchers also have found that maternal smoking during pregnancy is a
risk factor for the development of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in
offspring (Pohlabein & others, 2017). A recent meta-analysis of 15 studies
concluded that smoking during pregnancy increased the risk of children
having ADHD and the risk of having ADHD was greater for children whose
mothers were heavy smokers (Huang & others, 2018a). Also, in a recent
study, maternal cigarette smoking during pregnancy was linked with
offspring being more likely to smoke cigarettes at 16 years of age (De Genna
& others, 2016). Further, a recent study revealed that daughters whose
mothers smoked during their pregnancy were more likely to subsequently
smoke during their own pregnancy (Ncube & Mueller, 2017). Another study
found that maternal smoking during pregnancy was associated with increased
risk of asthma and wheezing of offspring during adolescence (Hollams &
others, 2014).
Researchers have documented that environmental tobacco smoke is
linked to negative outcomes for offspring (Vardavas & others, 2016). In one
study, environmental tobacco smoke led to an increased risk of low birth
weight in offspring (Salama & others, 2013) and to diminished ovarian
functioning in female offspring (Kilic & others, 2012). Another study
revealed that environmental tobacco smoke was associated with 114
deregulations, especially those involving immune functioning, in the fetal
cells of offspring (Votavova & others, 2012). Maternal exposure to
environmental tobacco smoke during prenatal development also increased the
risk of stillbirth (Varner & others, 2014).
Despite the plethora of negative outcomes for maternal smoking during
pregnancy, a recent large-scale U.S. study revealed that 23 percent of
adolescent and 15 percent of pregnant adult women reported using tobacco in
the previous month (Oh & others, 2017). And a final point about nicotine use
during pregnancy involves the potential effects of the recent dramatic
increase in the use of e-cigarettes (Tegin & others, 2018; Wagner, Camerota,
& Propper, 2017).
Cocaine Does cocaine use during pregnancy harm the developing embryo
and fetus? One research study found that cocaine quickly crossed the placenta
to reach the fetus (De Giovanni & Marchetti, 2012). The most consistent
finding is that cocaine exposure during prenatal development is associated
with reduced birth weight, length, and head circumference (Gouin & others,
2011). In other studies, prenatal cocaine exposure has been linked to impaired
connectivity of the thalamus and prefrontal cortex in newborns (Salzwedel &
others, 2017); impaired motor development at 2 years of age and a slower
rate of growth through 10 years of age (Richardson, Goldschmidt, &
Willford, 2008); impaired language development and information processing,
including attention deficits (especially impulsivity) (Accornero & others,
2006; Richardson & others, 2011); self-regulation problems at age 12
(Minnes & others, 2016); attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (Richardson
& others, 2016); increased behavioral problems, especially externalizing
problems such as high rates of aggression, oppositional defiant disorder, and
delinquency (Minnes & others, 2010; Richardson & others, 2011, 2016);
posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Richardson & others, 2016); and
increased likelihood of being in a special education program that involves
support services (Levine & others, 2008).
Page 60
This baby was exposed to cocaine prenatally. What are some of the possible effects on
development of being exposed to cocaine prenatally?
©Chuck Nacke/Alamy
Some researchers argue that these findings should be
interpreted cautiously (Accornero & others, 2006). Why? Because
other factors in the lives of pregnant women who use cocaine (such
as poverty, malnutrition, and other substance abuse) often cannot be ruled out
as possible contributors to the problems found in their children (Messiah &
others, 2011). For example, cocaine users are more likely than nonusers to
smoke cigarettes, use marijuana, drink alcohol, and take amphetamines.
Despite these cautions, the weight of research evidence indicates that
children born to mothers who use cocaine are likely to have neurological,
medical, and cognitive deficits (Cain, Bornick, & Whiteman, 2013; Field,
2007; Martin & others, 2016; Mayer & Zhang, 2009; Parcianello & others,
2018; Richardson & others, 2011, 2016; Scott-Goodwin, Puerto, & Moreno,
2016). Cocaine use by pregnant women is never recommended.
How Would
You…?
As a social worker,
what advice would you
offer to women in their
childbearing years who
frequently abuse drugs
and other psychoactive
substances?
Marijuana An increasing number of studies find that marijuana use by
pregnant women has negative outcomes for offspring (Ruisch & others,
2018). In a recent meta-analysis, marijuana use during pregnancy was linked
to offsprings’ low birth weight and a greater likelihood of being placed in a
neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) (Gunn & others, 2016; Volkow,
Compton, & Wargo, 2017). An earlier study revealed that marijuana use by
pregnant women was associated with stillbirth (Varner & others, 2014).
Another study found that prenatal marijuana exposure was related to lower
intelligence in children (Goldschmidt & others, 2008). And yet another study
indicated that prenatal exposure to marijuana was linked to marijuana use at
14 years of age (Day, Goldschmidt, & Thomas, 2006). In sum, marijuana use
is not recommended for pregnant women.
Despite increasing evidence of negative outcomes, researchers found that
marijuana use by pregnant women increased from 2.4 percent in 2002 to 3.85
percent in 2014 (Brown & others, 2016). And there is considerable concern
that marijuana use by pregnant women may increase further, given the
increasing number of states that have legalized marijuana (Chasnoff, 2017;
Hennessy, 2018).
Heroin It is well documented that infants whose mothers are addicted to
heroin show several behavioral difficulties at birth (Angelotta & Appelbaum,
2017; National Institute of Drug Abuse, 2018). The difficulties include
withdrawal symptoms, such as tremors, irritability, abnormal crying,
disturbed sleep, and impaired motor control. Many infants continue to show
behavioral problems at their first birthday, and attention deficits may appear
later in development. The most common treatment for heroin addiction,
methadone, is associated with very severe withdrawal symptoms in newborns
(Lai & others, 2017). Increasingly, buprenorphine is being used to treat
heroin use during pregnancy (Krans & others, 2016).
Synthetic Opioids and Opiate-Related Pain Killers An increasing
Page 61
number of women are using synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl, and opiate-
related pain relievers obtained legally by prescription, such as OxyContin and
Vicodin, during their pregnancy (Haycraft, 2018). Infants born to women
using these substances during pregnancy are at risk for experiencing opioid
withdrawal (Lacaze-Masmonteil & O’Flaherty, 2018). Other possible
outcomes for children exposed prenatally to these substances are just
beginning to be studied (National Institute of Drug Abuse, 2018). Any
prolonged use of synthetic opioids and opiate-related pain relievers is not
recommended (Food and Drug Administration, 2018a).
Environmental Hazards
Many aspects of our modern industrial world can endanger the embryo or
fetus. Some specific hazards to the embryo or fetus include radiation, toxic
wastes, and other environmental pollutants (Sreetharan & others, 2017; Yang,
Ren, & Tang, 2017).
X-ray radiation can affect the developing embryo or fetus, especially in
the first several weeks after conception, when women do not yet know they
are pregnant. Women and their physicians should weigh the risk of an X-ray
when the woman is or might be pregnant (Rajaraman & others,
2011). However, a routine diagnostic X-ray of a body area
other than the abdomen, with the woman’s abdomen protected
by a lead apron, is generally considered safe (Brent, 2009, 2011).
Maternal Diseases
Maternal diseases and infections can produce defects in offspring by crossing
the placental barrier, or they can cause damage during birth (Cuffe & others,
2017; Koren & Ornoy, 2018). Rubella (German measles) is one disease that
can cause prenatal defects. A recent research review concluded that rubella
exposure during pregnancy is most likely to cause impairments involving the
cardiovascular system and pulmonary system, as well as microcephaly
(Yazigi & others, 2017). Women who plan to have children should have a
blood test before they become pregnant to determine whether they are
immune to the disease (Ogbuanu & others, 2014).
Syphilis (a sexually transmitted infection) is more damaging later in
prenatal development—four months or more after conception. Damage
includes eye lesions, which can cause blindness, and skin lesions (Braccio,
Sharland, & Ladhani, 2016). Penicillin is the only known treatment for
syphilis during pregnancy (Moline & Smith, 2016).
Another infection that has received widespread attention is genital herpes.
Newborns contract this virus when they are delivered through the birth canal
of a mother with genital herpes (Sampath, Maduro, & Schillinger, 2018).
About one-third of babies delivered through an infected birth canal die;
another one-fourth suffer brain damage. If an active case of genital herpes is
detected in a pregnant woman close to her delivery date, a cesarean section
can be performed (in which the infant is delivered through an incision in the
mother’s abdomen) to keep the virus from infecting the newborn (Pinninti &
Kimberlin, 2013).
AIDS is a sexually transmitted infection that is caused by the human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which destroys the body’s immune system
(Taylor & others, 2017). A mother can infect her offspring with HIV/AIDS in
three ways: (1) across the placenta during gestation; (2) through contact with
maternal blood or fluids during delivery; and (3) through breast feeding. The
transmission of AIDS through breast feeding is a particular problem in many
developing countries (UNICEF, 2018). Babies born to HIV-infected mothers
can be (1) infected and symptomatic (show HIV symptoms); (2) infected but
asymptomatic (not show HIV symptoms); or (3) not infected at all. An infant
who is infected and asymptomatic may still develop HIV symptoms up to 15
months of age.
The more widespread disease of diabetes, characterized by high levels of
sugar in the blood, also affects offspring (Briana & others, 2018; Haertle &
others, 2017; Kaseva & others, 2018). Women who have gestational diabetes
(a condition in which women without previously diagnosed diabetes develop
high blood glucose levels during pregnancy) have an increased risk of having
very large infants (weighing 10 pounds or more), and the infants themselves
are at risk for diabetes (Mitanchez & others, 2015) and cardiovascular disease
(Amrithraj & others, 2017). Further, a recent study found that maternal
diabetes during pregnancy was linked to offspring having an increased risk
for fatty liver disease at 18 years of age (Patel & others, 2016).
Other Parental Factors
Page 62
So far we have discussed a number of drugs, environmental hazards, maternal
diseases, and incompatible blood types that can harm the embryo or fetus.
Now we will explore other characteristics of the mother and father that can
affect prenatal and child development, including nutrition, age, and emotional
states and stress.
Maternal Diet and Nutrition A developing embryo or fetus depends
completely on its mother for nutrition, which comes from the mother’s blood
(Kominiarek & Peaceman, 2017). The nutritional status of the embryo or
fetus is determined by the mother’s total caloric intake as well as her intake
of proteins, vitamins, and minerals. Children born to malnourished mothers
are more likely than other children to be malformed.
Maternal obesity adversely affects pregnancy outcomes
through increased rates of hypertension, diabetes, respiratory
complications, infections, and depression in the mother (Baugh &
others, 2016; Kumpulainen & others, 2018; Preston, Reynolds, & Pearson,
2018). Research studies have found that maternal obesity is linked to
increased risk of stillbirth (Gardosi & others, 2013) or preterm birth
(Cnattingius & others, 2013), and increased likelihood that the newborn will
be placed in a neonatal intensive care unit (Minsart & others, 2013). A recent
study revealed that at 14 weeks following conception, fetuses of obese
pregnant women had less efficient cardiovascular functioning than fetuses
whose mothers were not obese (Isgut & others, 2017). Further, a longitudinal
study revealed that obesity during pregnancy was associated with long-term
cardiovascular morbidity in adults (Yaniv-Salem & others, 2016). Further,
two recent research reviews concluded that maternal obesity during
pregnancy is associated with an increased likelihood of offspring being obese
in childhood and adulthood (Pinto Pereira & others, 2016; Santangeli, Sattar,
& Huda, 2015). Management of obesity that includes weight loss and
increased exercise prior to pregnancy is likely to benefit both the mother and
the baby (Aubuchon-Endsley & others, 2018; Dutton & others, 2018).
One aspect of maternal nutrition that is important for normal prenatal
development is folic acid, a B-complex vitamin (Li & others, 2018;
Viswanathan & others, 2017). A study of more than 34,000 women found
that taking folic acid either alone or as part of a multivitamin for at least one
year prior to conceiving was linked with a 70 percent lower risk of delivering
at 20 to 28 weeks and a 50 percent lower risk of delivering at 28 to 32 weeks
(Bukowski & others, 2008). Also, as indicated earlier in the chapter, lack of
folic acid is related to neural tube defects in offspring (Kancherla & Oakley,
2018). The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2018)
recommends that pregnant women consume a minimum of 400 micrograms
of folic acid per day (about twice the amount the average woman gets in one
day). Orange juice and spinach are examples of foods that are rich in folic
acid. Also, a recent research study in China found that folic acid
supplementation during pregnancy reduced the risk of preterm birth (X. Liu
& others, 2015).
Fish is often recommended as part of a healthy diet and in general fish
consumption during pregnancy has positive benefits for children’s
development (Golding & others, 2016; Julvez & others, 2016). The Food and
Drug Administration (2018b) recommends that pregnant women increase
their consumption of fish especially because they contain vital nutrients such
as omega-3 fatty acids, protein, vitamins, and minerals such as iron.
However, pollution has made some kinds of fish a risky choice for pregnant
women. Some fish contain high levels of mercury, which is released into the
air both naturally and by industrial processes (Wells & others, 2011).
Mercury that falls into the water can accumulate in large fish, such as shark,
swordfish, king mackerel, and some species of large tuna (American
Pregnancy Association, 2018; Mayo Clinic, 2018). Researchers have found
that prenatal mercury exposure through consumption of some types of fish
during pregnancy is linked to adverse outcomes, including reduced placental
and fetal growth, miscarriage, preterm birth, impaired neuropsychological
development, and lower intelligence (Jeong & others, 2017; Llop & others,
2017; Murcia & others, 2016; Xue & others, 2007).
Page 63
Because the fetus depends entirely on its mother for nutrition, it is important for the
pregnant woman to have good nutritional habits. In Kenya, this government clinic
provides pregnant women with information about how their diet can influence the health
of their fetus and off spring. What might the information about diet be like?
©Delphine Bousquet/AFP/Getty Images
Recently, the American Pregnancy Association (2018) revised its
conclusions about fish consumption during pregnancy, while continuing to
recommend avoidance of high-mercury-content fish such tilefish from the
Gulf of Mexico, swordfish, shark, and king mackerel. The
association and the FDA now recommend that pregnant women
increase their consumption of low-mercury-content fish such as
salmon, shrimp, tilapia, and cod.
Maternal Age When possible harmful effects on the fetus and infant are
considered, two maternal age categories are of special interest: adolescence
and 35 years and older (Gockley & others, 2016; Kawakita & others, 2016;
Kingsbury, Plotnikova, & Naiman, 2018; Tearne & others, 2016). The
mortality rate of infants born to adolescent mothers is double that of infants
born to mothers in their twenties. Adequate prenatal care decreases the
probability that a child born to an adolescent girl will have physical
problems. However, adolescents are the least likely of women in all age
groups to obtain prenatal assistance from clinics and health services.
Maternal age is also linked to the risk that a child will have Down
syndrome (Jaruatanasirikul & others, 2017). A baby with Down syndrome
rarely is born to a mother 16 to 34 years of age. However, when the mother
reaches 40 years of age, the probability is slightly higher than 1 in 100 that a
baby born to her will have Down syndrome, and by age 50 it is almost 1 in
10. When mothers are 35 years and older, risks also increase for low birth
weight, preterm delivery, and fetal death (Koo & others, 2012). Also, in two
studies, very advanced maternal age (40 years and older) was linked to
adverse perinatal outcomes, including spontaneous abortion, preterm birth,
stillbirth, and fetal growth restriction (Traisrisilp & Tongsong, 2015;
Waldenstrom & others, 2015).
We still have much to learn about the role of the mother’s age in
pregnancy and childbirth. As women remain active, exercise regularly, and
are careful about their nutrition, their reproductive systems may remain
healthier at older ages than was thought possible in the past.
Emotional States and Stress When a pregnant woman experiences
intense fears, anxieties, and other emotions or negative mood states,
physiological changes occur that may affect her fetus (Fatima, Srivastav, &
Mondal, 2017). A mother’s stress may also influence the fetus indirectly by
increasing the likelihood that the mother will engage in unhealthy behaviors
such as taking drugs and receiving poor prenatal care.
High maternal anxiety and stress during pregnancy can have long-term
consequences for the offspring (Isgut & others, 2017; Pinto & others, 2017).
One study found that high levels of depression, anxiety, and stress during
pregnancy were linked to internalizing problems in adolescence (Betts &
others, 2014). A research review indicated that pregnant women with high
levels of stress are at increased risk for having a child with emotional or
cognitive problems, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and
language delay (Taige & others, 2007). Further, a recent research review
concluded that regardless of the form of maternal prenatal stress or anxiety
and the prenatal trimester in which the stress or anxiety occurred, during the
first two years of life the offspring displayed lower levels of self-regulation
(Korja & others, 2017).
Maternal depression also can have an adverse effect on birth outcomes
and children’s development (M. Park & others, 2018). A research review
concluded that maternal depression is linked to preterm birth (Mparmpakas &
others, 2013). In one study, researchers discovered that maternal depression
during pregnancy was associated with low birth weight in full-term offspring
(Chang & others, 2014). There is some concern about pregnant women taking
antidepressant medication. For example, a recent study found that taking
Page 64
antidepressants early in pregnancy was linked to an increased risk of
miscarriage (Almeida & others, 2016). In another study, when fetuses was
exposed to serotonin-based antidepressants, they were more likely to be born
preterm (Podrebarac & others, 2017). Further, a recent study revealed that
taking antidepressants in the second or third trimester of pregnancy was
linked to an increased risk of autism spectrum disorders in children (Boukhris
& others, 2016).
How Would
You…?
As a health-care
professional, what
advice would you give
to an expectant mother
who is experiencing
extreme psychological
stress?
Paternal Factors
So far, we have discussed how characteristics of the mother—such
as drug use, disease, diet and nutrition, age, and emotional states—can
influence prenatal development and the development of the child. Might there
also be some paternal risk factors? Indeed, there are several (Sigman, 2017).
Men’s exposure to lead, radiation, certain pesticides, and petrochemicals may
cause abnormalities in sperm that lead to miscarriage or diseases such as
childhood cancer (Cordier, 2008). The father’s smoking during the mother’s
pregnancy also can cause problems for the offspring (Agricola & others,
2016; Han & others, 2015). A recent research review concluded that tobacco
smoking is linked to impaired male fertility, as well as increased DNA
damage, aneuploidy (abnormal number of chromosomes in a cell), and
mutations in sperm (Beal, Yauk, & Marchetti, 2017). Also, in one study,
heavy paternal smoking was associated with an increased risk of early
miscarriage (Venners & others, 2005). This negative outcome may be related
to the mother’s exposure to secondhand smoke. In another study, paternal
smoking around the time of the child’s conception was linked to an increased
risk of the child developing leukemia (Milne & others, 2012). Researchers
have found that increasing paternal age decreases the success rate of in vitro
fertilization and increases the risk of preterm birth (Sharma & others, 2015).
Also, a research review concluded that there is an increased risk of
spontaneous abortion, autism, and schizophrenic disorders when the father is
40 years of age and older (Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility
Committee & others, 2012).
In one study, in China, the longer fathers smoked, the higher the risk that their children
would develop cancer (Ji & others, 1997). What are some other paternal factors that can
influence the development of the fetus and the child?
©Ryan Pyle/Corbis/Getty Images
Another way that the father can influence prenatal and birth outcomes is
through his relationship with the mother. By being supportive, helping with
chores, and having a positive attitude toward the pregnancy, the father can
improve the physical and psychological well-being of the mother (Molgora &
others, 2018). Negative behavior by the father also affects the mother: one
study found that intimate partner violence increased the mother’s stress level
(Fonseca-Machado Mde & others, 2015).
Prenatal Care
Although prenatal care varies enormously from one woman to another, it
usually involves a defined schedule of visits for medical care, which typically
includes screening for manageable conditions and treatable diseases that can
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affect the baby or the mother (Flanagan & others, 2018; Goldenberg &
McClure, 2018; Jarris & others, 2017). In addition to medical care, prenatal
programs often include comprehensive educational, social, and nutritional
services (Kroll-Desrosiers & others, 2016; Mazul, Salm Ward, & Ngui,
2017).
Information about pregnancy, labor, delivery, and caring for the newborn
can be especially valuable for first-time mothers (Gabbe & others, 2018; Kim
& others, 2018; R. Liu & others, 2017). Prenatal care is also very important
for women in poverty and immigrant women because it links them with other
social services (Mazul, Salm Ward, & Ngui, 2017). A recent study found that
inadequate prenatal care was associated with very low birth weight (Xaverius
& others, 2016).
An innovative program that is rapidly expanding in the United States is
CenteringPregnancy (Barger, Faucher, & Murphy, 2015; Chae & others,
2017; DeCesare & Jackson, 2015; R. Liu & others, 2017). This program is
relationship-centered and provides complete prenatal care in a group setting
(Heberlein & others, 2016). It replaces traditional 15-minute physician visits
with 90-minute peer group support sessions and self-examination led by a
physician or certified nurse-midwife. Groups of up to 10 women (and often
their partners) meet regularly beginning at 12 to 16 weeks of pregnancy. The
sessions emphasize empowering women to play an active role in
experiencing a positive pregnancy. Research has revealed that
CenteringPregnancy group prenatal care is associated with reduced rates of
preterm birth (Novick & others, 2013), as well as reduced rates
of low birth weight and placement in a neonatal intensive care
unit (Gareau & others, 2016). In another study with adolescent
mothers, CenteringPregnancy was successful in getting participants to attend
meetings, have appropriate weight gain, increase the use of highly effective
contraceptive methods, and increase breast feeding (Trotman & others,
2015). Also, a research review concluded that participation in
CenteringPregnancy increased breast-feeding initiation by 53 percent overall
and by 71 percent in African American women (Robinson, Garnier-
Villarreal, & Hanson, 2018).
The increasingly widespread CenteringPregnancy program alters routine prenatal care by
bringing women out of exam rooms and into relationship-oriented groups.
©MBI/Stockbroker/Alamy Stock Photo
Exercise increasingly is recommended as part of a comprehensive
prenatal care program (Huang & others, 2018b). Exercise during pregnancy
helps prevent constipation, conditions the body, reduces excessive weight
gain, lowers the risk of developing hypertension, and is associated with a
more positive mental state, including a reduced level of depression (Bacchi &
others, 2018; Magro-Malosso & others, 2017). Further, a recent study
indicated that pregnant women who did not exercise three or more times a
week were more likely to develop hypertension (Barakat & others, 2017).
Also, a recent study indicated that two weekly 70-minute yoga sessions
reduced pregnant women’s stress and enhanced their immune system
functioning (Chen & others, 2017). And regular exercise during pregnancy
has benefits for the fetus and infant (Newton & May, 2018). For example, a
recent study found that women’s regular exercise during pregnancy was
linked to more advanced development of the neonatal brain (Laborte-
Lemoyne, Currier, & Ellenberg, 2017).
Normal Prenatal Development
Much of our discussion so far in this chapter has focused on what can go
wrong with prenatal development. Prospective parents should take steps to
avoid the vulnerabilities to fetal development that we have described. But it is
important to keep in mind that most of the time, prenatal development does
not go awry, and development occurs along the positive path that we
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described at the beginning of the chapter.
Birth and the Postpartum Period
The long wait for the moment of birth is over, and the infant is about to
appear. What happens during childbirth, and what can be done to make the
experience a positive one?
Nature writes the basic script for how birth occurs, but parents make
important choices about the conditions surrounding birth. We look first at the
sequence of physical steps through which a child is born.
The Birth Process
The birth process occurs in three stages. It may take place in different
contexts and in most cases involves one or more attendants.
Stages of Birth
The first stage of the birth process is the longest. Uterine contractions are 15
to 20 minutes apart at the beginning and last up to a minute each. These
contractions cause the woman’s cervix to stretch and open. As the first stage
progresses, the contractions come closer together, occurring every
two to five minutes. Their intensity increases. By the end of the
first stage, contractions dilate the cervix to an opening of about 10
centimeters (4 inches) so that the baby can move from the uterus to the birth
canal. For a woman having her first child, the first stage lasts an average of 6
to 12 hours; for subsequent children, this stage typically is much shorter.
The second birth stage begins when the baby’s head starts to move
through the cervix and the birth canal. It terminates when the baby
completely emerges from the mother’s body. With each contraction, the
mother bears down hard to push the baby out of her body. By the time the
baby’s head is out of the mother’s body, the contractions come almost every
minute and last for about a minute. This stage typically lasts approximately
45 minutes to an hour.
After the long journey of prenatal development, birth takes place. During birth the baby is
on a threshold between two worlds. What are the characteristics of the three stages of
birth?
©ERproductions Ltd/Getty Images
Afterbirth is the third stage, during which the placenta, umbilical cord,
and other membranes are detached and expelled. This final stage is the
shortest of the three birth stages, lasting only minutes.
Childbirth Setting and Attendants
In 2015 in the United States, 98.5 percent of births took place in hospitals
(Martin & others, 2017). Of the 1.5 percent of births occurring outside of a
hospital, 63 percent took place in homes and almost 31 percent in free-
standing birthing centers. The percentage of U.S. births at home is the highest
since reporting of this context began in 1989. An increase in home births has
occurred mainly among non-Latino White women, especially those who are
older and married. For these non-Latino White women, two-thirds of their
home births are attended by a midwife.
The person who helps a mother during birth varies across cultures. In
U.S. hospitals, it has become the norm for fathers or birth coaches to be with
the mother throughout labor and delivery. In the East African Nigoni culture,
by contrast, men are completely excluded from the childbirth process. When
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a woman is ready to give birth, female relatives move into the woman’s hut
and the husband leaves, taking his belongings (clothes, tools, weapons, and
so on) with him. He is not permitted to return until after the baby is born. In
some cultures, childbirth is an open, community affair. For example, in the
Pukapukan culture in the Pacific Islands, women give birth in a shelter that is
open to villagers, who may observe the birth.
Midwives Midwifery is a profession that provides health care to women
during pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period (Cohen, Sumersille, &
Friedman, 2018; Faucher, 2018). Midwives also may give women
information about reproductive health and annual gynecological
examinations. They may refer women to general practitioners or obstetricians
if a pregnant woman needs medical care beyond a midwife’s expertise and
skill.
Midwifery is practiced in most countries throughout the world (Arabi &
others, 2018; Miyake & others, 2017). In Holland, more than 40 percent of
babies are delivered by midwives rather than by doctors. However, in 2015 in
the United States only 8 percent of women who delivered a baby were
attended by a midwife, a figure that was unchanged since 2000 (Martin &
others, 2017). Nevertheless, the 8 percent figure for 2013 represents a
substantial increase from less than 1 percent in 1975. A research review
concluded that for low-risk women, midwife-led care was characterized by a
reduction in procedures during labor and increased satisfaction with care
(Sutcliffe & others, 2012). Also, in this study no adverse outcomes were
found for midwife-led care compared with physician-led care.
Doulas In some countries, a doula attends a childbearing woman.
Doula is a Greek word that means “a woman who helps.” A doula
is a caregiver who provides continuous physical, emotional, and
educational support for the mother before, during, and after childbirth
(Kozhimannil & others, 2016; McLeish & Redshaw, 2018). Doulas remain
with the parents throughout labor, assessing and responding to their needs.
Researchers have found positive effects when a doula is present at the birth of
a child (Wilson & others, 2017). One study also revealed that for Medicaid
recipients the odds of having a cesarean delivery were 41 percent lower for
doula-supported births in the United States (Kozhimmanil & others, 2013).
Thus, increasing doula-supported births could substantially lower the cost of
a birth by reducing cesarean rates.
In the United States, most doulas work as independent providers hired by
the expectant parents. Doulas typically function as part of a “birthing team,”
serving as an adjunct to the midwife or the hospital’s obstetric staff.
Methods of Childbirth
U.S. hospitals often allow the mother and her obstetrician a range of options
regarding their method of delivery. Key choices involve the use of
medication, whether to use any of a number of nonmedicated techniques to
reduce pain, and when to have a cesarean delivery.
Medication Three basic kinds of drugs that are used for labor are analgesia,
anesthesia, and oxytocin/Pitocin.
Analgesia is used to relieve pain. Analgesics include tranquilizers,
barbiturates, and narcotics such as Demerol.
Anesthesia is used in late first-stage labor and during delivery to block
sensation in an area of the body or to block consciousness. There is a trend
toward not using general anesthesia, which blocks consciousness, in normal
births because general anesthesia can be transmitted through the placenta to
the fetus (Edwards & Jackson, 2017; Wilson & others, 2018). An epidural
block is regional anesthesia that numbs the woman’s body from the waist
down.
Oxytocin is a hormone that promotes uterine contractions; a synthetic
form called Pitocin™ is widely used to decrease the duration of the first stage
of labor. The relative benefits and risks of administering synthetic forms of
oxytocin during childbirth continue to be debated (Carlson, Corwin, & Lowe,
2017; Shiner, Many, & Maslovitz, 2016).
Predicting how a drug will affect an individual woman and her fetus is
difficult (Eisharkawy, Sonny, & Chin, 2017; Kobayashi & others, 2017). A
particular drug might have only a minimal effect on one fetus yet have a
much stronger effect on another. The drug’s dosage is also a factor (Rankin,
2017). Stronger doses of tranquilizers and narcotics given to decrease the
mother’s pain potentially have a more negative effect on the fetus than do
mild doses. It is important for the mother to assess her level of pain and have
a voice in deciding whether she should receive medication.
Natural and Prepared Childbirth For a brief time not long ago, the idea
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of avoiding all medication during childbirth gained favor in the United States.
Instead, many women chose to reduce the pain of childbirth through
techniques known as natural childbirth and prepared childbirth. Today, at
least some medication is used in the typical childbirth, but elements of natural
childbirth and prepared childbirth remain popular (Bacon & Tomich, 2017;
London & others, 2017).
Natural childbirth is a childbirth method in which no drugs are given to
relieve pain or assist in the birth process. The mother and her partner are
taught to use breathing methods and relaxation techniques during delivery.
French obstetrician Ferdinand Lamaze developed a method similar to natural
childbirth that is known as prepared childbirth, or the Lamaze method. It
includes a special breathing technique to control pushing in the final stages of
labor, as well as more detailed education about anatomy and physiology. The
Lamaze method has become very popular in the United States.
The pregnant woman’s partner usually serves as a coach; the
partner attends childbirth classes with her and helps her with
her breathing and relaxation during delivery. In sum, proponents of current
prepared childbirth methods conclude that when information and support are
provided, women know how to give birth.
How Would
You…?
As a health-care
provider, how would
you advise a woman in
her first trimester about
the options available for
her baby’s birth and for
her own comfort during
the process?
Other Nonmedicated Techniques to Reduce Pain The effort to
reduce stress and control pain during labor has recently led to an increase in
the use of some older and some newer nonmedicated techniques (Bindler &
others, 2017; Cooper, Warland, & McCutcheon, 2018; Lewis & others,
2018a, b). These include waterbirth, massage, and acupuncture.
Waterbirth involves giving birth in a tub of warm water. Some women go
through labor in the water and get out for delivery; others remain in the water
for delivery. The rationale for waterbirth is that the baby has been in a fluid-
filled amniotic sac for many months and that delivery in a similar
environment is likely to be less stressful for the baby and the mother (Kavosi
& others, 2015; Taylor & others, 2016). An increasing number of studies are
either showing no differences in neonatal and maternal outcomes for
waterbirth and non-waterbirth deliveries or positive outcomes for waterbirth
(Davies & others, 2015; Taylor & others, 2016). For example, in a recent
Swedish study, women who gave birth in water had a lower risk of vaginal
tears, had a shorter labor, needed fewer drugs for pain relief and fewer
interventions for medical problems, and rated their birth experience more
positively than women who had conventional spontaneous vaginal births
(Ulfsdottir, Saltvedt, & Georgsson, 2018). Also, a recent large-scale study of
more than 16,000 waterbirth and non-waterbirth deliveries found fewer
negative outcomes for the waterbirth newborns (Bovbjerg, Cheyney, &
Everson, 2016). Waterbirth has been practiced more often in European
countries such as Switzerland and Sweden in recent decades than in the
United States, but is increasingly being included in U.S. birth plans.
Massage is increasingly used during pregnancy, labor, and delivery
(Frawley & others, 2017; Withers, Kharazmi, & Lim, 2018). Researchers
have found that massage therapy reduces pain during labor (Gallo & others,
2018; Shahoei & others, 2017). For example, a recent study found that lower
back massage reduced women’s labor pain and increased their satisfaction
with the birth experience (Unalmis Erdogan, Yanikkerem, & Goker, 2017).
Acupuncture, the insertion of very fine needles into specific locations in
the body, is used as a standard procedure to reduce the pain of childbirth in
China, although it only recently has begun to be used for this purpose in the
United States (Mollart & others, 2018; Smith, Armour, & Ee, 2016).
Research indicates that acupuncture can have positive effects on labor and
delivery (Akbarzadeh & others, 2015). For example, in one study
acupuncture was successful in reducing labor pain 30 minutes after the
intervention (Allameh, Tehrani, & Ghasemi, 2015).
Cesarean Delivery
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Normally, the baby’s head comes through the vagina first. But if the baby is
in a breech position, its buttocks are the first part to emerge from the vagina.
In 1 of every 25 deliveries, the baby’s head is still in the uterus when the rest
of the body is out. Because breech births can cause respiratory problems, if
the baby is in a breech position a surgical procedure known as a cesarean
delivery is usually performed. In a cesarean delivery (or cesarean section),
the baby is removed from the uterus through an incision made in the mother’s
abdomen. What are some of the specific causes that influence physicians to
perform a cesarean delivery? The most common causes of cesarean
delivery are failure to progress through labor (which can be slowed
by epidural anesthesia, for example) and fetal distress.
What characterizes the use of waterbirth in delivering a baby?
©Daisy Smith/Alamy
The benefits and risks of cesarean deliveries continue to be debated
(Ladewig, London, & Davidson, 2017). Some critics argue that far too many
babies are delivered by cesarean section in the United States and around the
world (Gibbons & others, 2012). The World Health Organization states that a
country’s cesarean section rate should be 10 percent or less. The U.S.
cesarean birth rate in 2015 was 32 percent, the lowest rate since 2007 (Martin
& others, 2017). The highest cesarean rates are in the Dominican Republic
and Brazil (56 percent); the lowest in New Zealand and the Czech Republic
(26 percent) (McCullogh, 2016).
The Transition from Fetus to Newborn
Much of our discussion of birth so far has focused on the mother. However,
birth also involves considerable stress for the baby. If the delivery takes too
long, the baby can develop anoxia, a condition in which the fetus or newborn
has an insufficient supply of oxygen. Anoxia can cause brain damage.
The baby has considerable capacity to withstand the stress of birth. Large
quantities of adrenaline and noradrenaline, hormones that protect the fetus in
the event of oxygen deficiency, are secreted in the newborn’s body during the
birth process.
Immediately after birth, the umbilical cord is cut and the baby is on its
own. Before birth, oxygen came from the mother via the umbilical cord, but
now the baby can breathe independently.
Almost immediately after birth, a newborn is taken to be weighed,
cleaned up, and tested for signs of developmental problems that might require
urgent attention. The Apgar Scale is widely used to assess the health of
newborns at one and five minutes after birth. The Apgar Scale evaluates
infants’ heart rate, respiratory effort, muscle tone, body color, and reflex
irritability. An obstetrician or nurse does the evaluation and gives the
newborn a score, or reading, of 0, 1, or 2 on each of these five health signs. A
total score of 7 to 10 indicates that the newborn’s condition is good. A score
of 5 indicates that there may be developmental difficulties. A score of 3 or
below signals an emergency and warns that the baby might not survive. The
Apgar Scale is especially good at assessing the newborn’s ability to cope
with the stress of delivery and its new environment (Miyakoshi & others,
2013). It also identifies high-risk infants who need resuscitation. Recent
studies have found that low Apgar scores are associated with long-term
additional support needs in education and educational attainment (Tweed &
others, 2016), risk of developmental vulnerability at 5 years of age (Razaz &
others, 2016), and risk of developing ADHD (Hanc & others, 2018).
Nurses often play important roles in the birth of a baby. To read about the
work of a nurse who specializes in the care of women during labor and
delivery, see Careers in Life-Span Development.
Low Birth Weight and Preterm Infants
Page 70
Three related conditions pose threats to many newborns: low birth weight,
preterm birth, and being small for date. Low birth weight infants weigh less
than 5 pounds and 8 ounces at birth. Very low birth weight newborns weigh
less than 3 pounds and 4 ounces, and extremely low birth weight newborns
weigh less than 2 pounds and 3 ounces. Preterm infants are born three weeks
or more before the pregnancy has reached its full term—in other words, 35 or
fewer weeks after conception. Small for date infants (also called small for
gestational age infants) have a birth weight that is below normal when the
length of the pregnancy is considered. They weigh less than 90 percent of all
babies of the same gestational age. Small for date infants may be preterm or
full term. One study found that small for date infants have a 400 percent
greater risk of death (Regev & others, 2003).
In 2015, 9.6 percent of babies born in the United States were born
preterm (Martin & others, 2017). The preterm birth rate was 8.8 percent for
non-Latino White infants, down from 11.4 percent in 2011 (Martin & others,
2017). In 2015, the preterm birth rate was 13.4 percent for African American
infants (down from 16.7 percent in 2011) and 9.1 for Latino infants (down
from 11.6 percent in 2011) (Martin & others, 2017).
Careers in life-span development
Linda Pugh, Perinatal Nurse
Perinatal nurses work with childbearing women to support health and
growth during the childbearing experience. Linda Pugh, Ph.D.,
R.N.C., is a perinatal nurse on the faculty at The Johns Hopkins
University School of Nursing. She is certified as an inpatient obstetric
nurse and specializes in the care of women during labor and delivery.
She teaches undergraduate and graduate students, educates
professional nurses, and conducts research. In addition, Pugh consults
with hospitals and organizations about women’s health issues and
many of the topics we discuss in this chapter.
Pugh’s research interests include nursing interventions with low-
income breast-feeding women, ways to prevent and ameliorate fatigue
during childbearing, and use of breathing exercises during labor.
Linda Pugh (right) with a mother and her newborn.
©Dr. Linda Pugh
Incidence and Causes of Low Birth Weight
Most, but not all, preterm babies are also low birth weight babies. The
incidence of low birth weight varies considerably from country to country. In
some countries, such as India and Sudan, where poverty is rampant and the
health and nutrition of mothers are poor, the percentage of low birth weight
babies reaches as high as 31 percent. In the United States, there has been an
increase in low birth weight infants in the last two decades, and the U.S. low
birth weight rate of 9.6 percent in 2015 was considerably higher than that of
many other developed countries (Martin & others, 2017). For example, only
4 percent of the infants born in Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Korea are low
birth weight, and only 5 percent of those born in New Zealand, Australia, and
France are low birth weight.
Consequences of Low Birth Weight
The number and severity of health problems increase when infants are born
very early and as their birth weight decreases (Linsell & others, 2017; Pascal
& others, 2018). Survival rates for infants who are born very early and very
small have risen, but with this improved survival rate have come an increased
rate of severe brain damage (McNicholas & others, 2014; Rogers & Hintz,
Page 71
2016) and lower level of executive function, especially in working memory
and planning (Burnett & others, 2018).
A “kilogram kid,” weighing less than 2.3 pounds at birth. What are some long-term
outcomes of weighing so little at birth?
©Diether Endlicher/AP Images
For preterm birth, the terms extremely preterm and very
preterm are increasingly used (Kato & others, 2016; Ohlin &
others, 2015). Extremely preterm infants are born before 28 weeks
of gestation, and very preterm infants are born before 33 weeks of gestation.
Low birth weight children are more likely than their normal birth weight
counterparts to develop a learning disability, attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder, autism spectrum disorders, or breathing problems such as asthma
(Brinskma & others, 2017; Ng & others, 2017). Also, one study revealed that
very preterm, low birth weight infants had abnormal axon development in
their brain and impaired cognitive development at 9 years of age (Iwata &
others, 2012). Approximately 50 percent of all low birth weight children are
enrolled in special education programs.
Nurturing Low Birth Weight and Preterm Infants
Two increasingly used interventions in the neonatal intensive care unit
(NICU) are kangaroo care and massage therapy. Kangaroo care involves
skin-to-skin contact in which the baby, wearing only a diaper, is held upright
against the parent’s bare chest, much as a baby kangaroo is carried by its
mother (Raajashri & others, 2018). Kangaroo care is typically practiced for
two to three hours per day over an extended time in early infancy.
Why use kangaroo care with preterm infants? Preterm infants often have
difficulty coordinating their breathing and heart rate, and the close physical
contact with the parent provided by kangaroo care can help stabilize the
preterm infant’s heartbeat, temperature, and breathing (Boundy & others,
2018; Furman, 2018). Preterm infants who experience kangaroo care also
gain more weight than their counterparts who are not given this care (Faye &
others, 2016; Sharma, Murki, & Oleti, 2018). Recent research also revealed
that kangaroo care decreased pain in newborns (Mooney-Leber &
Brummelte, 2017).
Long-term positive effects of kangaroo care have been shown. For
example, one study demonstrated the positive long-term benefits of kangaroo
care (Feldman, Rosenthal, & Eidelman, 2014). In this study, maternal-
newborn kangaroo care with preterm infants was linked to better respiratory
and cardiovascular functioning, sleep patterns, and cognitive functioning
from 6 months to 10 years of age. And in a longitudinal study, positive
effects of kangaroo care with preterm and low birth weight infants that
included higher intelligence and nurturant parenting at one year of age were
still present 20 years later in emerging adults, who also showed reduced
school absenteeism, reduced hyperactivity, lower aggressiveness, and
positive social skills compared with their counterparts who had not received
kangaroo care (Charpak & others, 2018).
Page 72
A new mother practices kangaroo care. What is kangaroo care? What are some outcomes
of kangaroo care?
©iStockphoto.com/casenbina
A U.S. survey found that mothers had a much more positive view of
kangaroo care than did neonatal intensive care nurses and that mothers were
more likely to say that it should be provided daily (Hendricks-Munoz &
others, 2013). There is concern that kangaroo care is not used more often in
neonatal intensive care units (Kymre, 2014; Penn, 2015). Increasingly,
kangaroo care is recommended as standard practice for all newborns
(Johnston and others, 2017; Smith & others, 2017).
Many adults will attest to the therapeutic effects of receiving a massage.
In fact, many will pay a premium to receive one at a spa on a regular basis.
But can massage play a role in improving the developmental outcomes for
preterm infants? One study found that both kangaroo care and massage
therapy were equally effective in improving body weight and reducing length
of hospital stay for low birth weight infants (Rangey & Sheth, 2014).
Many preterm infants experience less touch than full-term
infants do because they are isolated in temperature-controlled
incubators. Research by Tiffany Field and her colleagues (2001,
2007, 2010a, 2017; Diego, Field, & Hernandez-Reif, 2008, 2014; Field,
Diego, & Hernandez-Reif, 2008, 2011) has led to a surge of interest in the
role that massage might play in improving developmental outcomes for
preterm infants. In Field’s first study in this area, massage therapy consisting
of firm stroking with the palms of the hands was given three times per day for
15-minute periods to preterm infants (Field & others, 1986). The massage
therapy led to 47 percent greater weight gain than did standard medical
treatment. The massaged infants also were more active and alert than preterm
infants who were not massaged, and they performed better on developmental
tests.
Tiffany Field massages a newborn infant. What types of infants have massage therapy
been shown to help?
©Dr. Tiffany Field
In later studies, Field demonstrated the benefits of massage therapy for
infants who faced a variety of problems. For example, preterm infants
exposed to cocaine in utero who received massage therapy gained weight and
improved their scores on developmental tests (Field, 2001). In a review of the
use of massage therapy with preterm infants, Field and her colleagues (2004)
concluded that the most consistent findings involve two positive results: (1)
increased weight gain and (2) discharge from the hospital three to six days
earlier. One study revealed that the mechanisms responsible for increased
weight gain as a result of massage therapy were stimulation of the vagus
nerve (one of 12 cranial nerves leading to the brain) and in turn the release of
insulin (a food absorption hormone) (Field, Diego, & Hernandez-Reif, 2011).
How Would
You…?
As a health-care
professional, how
would you advise
hospital administrators
about implementing
kangaroo care or
massage therapy in the
newborn intensive care
unit?
Bonding
A special component of the parent-infant relationship is bonding, the
formation of a connection, especially a physical bond between parents and
the newborn in the period shortly after birth. In the mid-twentieth century,
U.S. hospitals seemed almost determined to deter bonding. Anesthesia given
to the mother during delivery would make the mother drowsy, interfering
with her ability to respond to and stimulate the newborn. Mothers and
newborns were often separated shortly after delivery, and preterm infants
were isolated from their mothers even more than full-term infants were
separated from their mothers. In recent decades these practices have changed,
but to some extent they are still followed in many hospitals.
Do these practices do any harm? Some physicians believe that during the
“critical period” shortly after birth the parents and newborn need to form an
emotional attachment as a foundation for optimal development in years to
come (Kennell, 2006; Kennell & McGrath, 1999). Although some research
supports this bonding hypothesis (Klaus & Kennell, 1976), a body of research
challenges the significance of the first few days of life as a critical period
(Bakeman & Brown, 1980; Rode & others, 1981). Indeed, the extreme form
of the bonding hypothesis—the idea that the newborn must have close contact
with the mother in the first few days of life to develop optimally—simply is
not true.
Nevertheless, the weakness of the bonding hypothesis should not be used
as an excuse to keep motivated mothers from interacting with their newborns.
Such contact brings pleasure to many mothers and may dispel maternal
anxiety about the baby’s health and safety. In some cases—including preterm
infants, adolescent mothers, and mothers from disadvantaged circumstances
—early close contact is key to establishing a climate for improved interaction
after the mother and infant leave the hospital.
Many hospitals now offer a rooming-in arrangement in which the baby
remains in the mother’s room most of the time during its hospital stay.
Page 73However, if parents choose not to use this rooming-in
arrangement, the weight of the research suggests that this
decision will not harm the infant emotionally (Lamb, 1994).
The Postpartum Period
The weeks after childbirth present challenges for many new parents and their
offspring. This is the postpartum period, the period after childbirth or
delivery that lasts for about six weeks or until the mother’s body has
completed its adjustment and has returned to a nearly prepregnant state. It is a
time when the woman adjusts, both physically and psychologically, to the
process of childbearing (Doering & others, 2017).
Physical Adjustments
A woman’s body makes numerous physical adjustments in the first days and
weeks after childbirth (Doering, Sims, & Miller, 2017). She may have a great
deal of energy or feel exhausted and let down. Though these changes are
normal, the fatigue can undermine the new mother’s sense of well-being and
confidence in her ability to cope with a new baby and a new family life.
A concern is the loss of sleep that the primary caregiver experiences in
the postpartum period (Thomas & Spieker, 2016). In the 2007 Sleep in
America survey, a substantial percentage of women reported loss of sleep
during pregnancy and in the postpartum period (National Sleep Foundation,
2007). The loss of sleep can contribute to stress, marital conflict, and
impaired decision making (Meerlo, Sgoifo, & Suchecki, 2008). In a recent
study, worsening or minimal improvement in sleep problems from 6 weeks to
7 months postpartum were associated with an increase in depressive
symptoms (Lewis & others, 2018).
After delivery, the mother’s body undergoes sudden and dramatic
changes in hormone production. When the placenta is delivered, estrogen and
progesterone levels drop steeply and remain low until the ovaries start
producing hormones again.
Involution is the process by which the uterus returns to its prepregnant
size five or six weeks after birth. Immediately following birth, the uterus
weighs 2 to 3 pounds. By the end of five or six weeks, the uterus weighs 2 to
3½ ounces. Nursing the baby helps contract the uterus at a more rapid rate.
Emotional and Psychological Adjustments
Emotional fluctuations are common for mothers in the postpartum period
(Pawluski, Lonstein, & Fleming, 2017). For some women, emotional
fluctuations decrease within several weeks after the delivery, but other
women experience more long-lasting emotional swings (O’Hara &
Engeldinger, 2018).
As shown in Figure 11, about 70 percent of new mothers in the United
States have what are called the postpartum blues. About two to three days
after birth, they begin to feel depressed, anxious, and upset. These feelings
may come and go for several months after the birth, often peaking about three
to five days after birth. Even without treatment, these feelings usually go
away after one or two weeks.
Figure 11 Postpartum Blues and Postpartum Depression Among U.S. Women
Some health professionals refer to the postpartum period as the “fourth trimester.” Though
the time span of the postpartum period does not necessarily cover three months, the term
“fourth trimester” suggests continuity and emphasizes the importance of the first several
months after birth for the mother.
However, some women develop postpartum depression, which involves a
major depressive episode that typically occurs about four weeks after delivery
Page 74
(Brummelte & Galea, 2016). In other words, women with postpartum
depression have such strong feelings of sadness, anxiety, or despair that for at
least a two-week period they have trouble coping with their daily tasks.
Without treatment, postpartum depression may become worse and last for
many months (Di Florio & others, 2014). And many women with postpartum
depression don’t seek help. For example, one study found that
15 percent of the women reported postpartum depression
symptoms but less than half sought help (McGarry & others,
2009). Estimates indicate that 10 to 14 percent of new mothers experience
postpartum depression.
A research review identified the following risk factors for developing
postpartum depression: a history of depression, depression and anxiety during
pregnancy, neuroticism, low self-esteem, postpartum blues, poor marital
relationship, and a low level of social support (O’Hara & McCabe, 2013).
And another recent study revealed that women who had a history of
depression were 20 times more likely to develop postpartum depression than
women who had no history of depression (Silverman & others, 2017).
The postpartum period is a time of considerable adjustment and adaptation for both the
mother and the father. Fathers can provide an important support system for mothers,
especially in helping mothers care for young infants. What kinds of tasks might the father
of a newborn do to support the mother?
©Howard Grey/Getty Images
Several antidepressant drugs are effective in treating postpartum
depression and appear to be safe for breast-feeding women (Howard, Mehta,
& Powrie, 2017; Latendresse, Elmore, & Deneris, 2017). Psychotherapy,
especially cognitive therapy, also is effective in treating postpartum
depression for many women (Dennis, 2017; O’Hara & Engeldinger, 2018). In
addition, engaging in regular exercise may help to relieve postpartum
depression (Gobinath & others, 2018; McCurdy & others, 2017). For
example, a recent meta-analysis concluded that physical exercise during the
postpartum period is a safe strategy to reduce postpartum depressive
symptoms (Poyatos-Leon & others, 2017).
A mother’s postpartum depression can affect the way she interacts with
her infant (Kleinman & Reizer, 2018; Kerstis & others, 2016). A research
review concluded that the interaction difficulties of depressed mothers and
their infants occur across cultures and socioeconomic status groups, and
encompass less sensitivity of the mothers and less responsiveness on the part
of infants (Field, 2010b). Several caregiving activities also are compromised,
including feeding, sleep routines, and safety practices. Further, a recent study
revealed that mothers’ postpartum depression, but not generalized anxiety,
were linked to their children’s emotional negativity and behavior problems at
2 years of age (Prenoveau & others, 2017).
How Would
You…?
As a human
development and
family studies
professional, how
would you talk with
mothers and fathers
about vulnerabilities in
mental health and
relationships in the
postpartum period?
Page 75
Fathers also undergo considerable adjustment in the postpartum period,
even when they work away from home all day (Shorey & others, 2017;
Takehara & others, 2017). Many fathers feel that the baby comes first and
gets all of the mother’s attention; some feel that they have been replaced by
the baby. A recent study found that 5 percent of fathers had depressive
symptoms in the first two weeks following delivery (Anding & others, 2016).
And a recent study found that depressive symptoms in both the mother and
father were associated with impaired bonding with their infant during the
postpartum period (Kerstis & others, 2016). The father’s support and caring
also can play a role in whether the mother develops postpartum depression
(Kumar, Oliffe, & Kelly, 2018). One study revealed that higher support by
fathers was related to lower incidence of postpartum depression in women
(Smith & Howard, 2008).
Summary
The Evolutionary Perspective
Darwin proposed that natural selection fuels evolution. In evolutionary
theory, adaptive behavior is behavior that promotes the organism’s
survival in a natural habitat.
Evolutionary psychology holds that adaptation, reproduction, and
“survival of the fittest” are important in shaping behavior. Evolutionary
developmental psychology emphasizes that humans need an extended
“juvenile” period to develop a large brain and learn the
complexity of social communities.
Genetic Foundations of Development
Except in the sperm and egg, the nucleus of each human cell contains 46
chromosomes, which are composed of DNA. Short segments of DNA
constitute genes, the units of hereditary information that direct cells to
reproduce and manufacture proteins. Genes act collaboratively, not
independently.
Genes are passed on to new cells when chromosomes are duplicated
during the processes of mitosis and meiosis.
Genetic principles include those involving dominant-recessive genes, sex-
linked genes, and polygenic inheritance.
Chromosome abnormalities can produce Down syndrome and other
problems; gene-linked disorders, such as PKU, involve defective genes.
The Interaction of Heredity and Environment: The Nature-
Nurture Debate
Behavior geneticists use twin studies and adoption studies to determine
the strength of heredity’s influence on development.
In Scarr’s heredity-environment correlation view, heredity directs the
types of environments that children experience. Scarr identified three
types of genotype- environment interactions: passive, evocative, and
active (niche-picking).
The epigenetic view emphasizes that development is the result of an
ongoing, bidirectional interchange between heredity and environment.
Recently, research interest has focused on how gene interaction
influences development.
The interaction of heredity and environment is complex, but we can
create a unique developmental path by changing our environment.
Prenatal Development
Prenatal development can be divided into three periods: germinal,
embryonic, and fetal. The growth of the brain during prenatal
development is remarkable.
A number of prenatal tests, including ultrasound sonography, chorionic
villus sampling, amniocentesis, maternal blood screening, and fetal MRI,
can reveal whether a fetus is developing normally.
Approximately 10 to 15 percent of U.S. couples have infertility problems.
Assisted reproduction techniques, such as in vitro fertilization, are
increasingly being used by infertile couples.
Some prescription drugs and nonprescription drugs can harm the unborn
child. In particular, the psychoactive drugs caffeine, alcohol, nicotine,
cocaine, marijuana, heroin, and synthetic opioids as well as opiate-related
pain killers can endanger developing offspring. Other potential sources of
harmful effects on the fetus include environmental hazards, maternal
diseases, maternal diet and nutrition, age, emotional states and stress, and
paternal factors.
Prenatal care usually involves medical care services with a defined
schedule of visits and often encompasses educational, social, and
nutritional services as well. Inadequate prenatal care may increase the risk
of infant mortality and result in low birth weight.
Although a number of problems that can occur in prenatal development
have been described here, most of the time prenatal development does not
go awry and occurs in a normal manner.
Birth and the Postpartum Period
Childbirth occurs in three stages. Childbirth strategies involve the
childbirth setting and attendants. In many countries, a midwife attends a
childbearing woman. In some countries, a doula helps with the birth.
Methods of delivery include medicated, natural and prepared, and
cesarean.
Being born involves considerable stress for the baby, but the baby is well
prepared and adapted to handle the stress. Low birth weight, preterm, and
small for date infants are at increased risk for developmental problems,
although most of these infants are normal and healthy. Kangaroo care and
massage therapy have been shown to produce benefits for preterm infants.
Early bonding has not been found to be critical in the development of a
competent infant, but close contact during the first few days after birth
may reduce the mother’s anxiety and lead to better interaction later.
The postpartum period lasts for about six weeks after childbirth or until
the body has returned to a nearly prepregnant state; postpartum
depression is a serious condition that may become worse if not treated.
Key Terms
adoption study
Apgar Scale
behavior genetics
chromosomes
DNA
Down syndrome
embryonic period
epigenetic view
evolutionary psychology
fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD)
fetal period
gene × environment (G × E) interaction
genes
genotype
germinal period
meiosis
mitosis
natural childbirth
neurons
organogenesis
phenotype
postpartum period
prepared childbirth
teratogen
twin study
Page 76
©Ariel Skelley/Getty Images
3
Physical and Cognitive
Development in Infancy
CHAPTER OUTLINE
Physical Growth and Development in Infancy
Patterns of Growth
Height and Weight
The Brain
Sleep
Nutrition
Motor Development
Dynamic Systems Theory
Reflexes
Gross Motor Skills
Fine Motor Skills
Sensory and Perceptual Development
Exploring Sensory and Perceptual Development
Visual Perception
Other Senses
Intermodal Perception
Nature, Nurture, and Perceptual Development
Perceptual Motor Coupling
Cognitive Development
Piaget’s Theory
Learning, Remembering, and Conceptualizing
Language Development
Defining Language
How Language Develops
Biological and Environmental Influences
An Interactionist View
Stories of Life-Span Development:
Newborn Babies in Ghana and
Page 77
Nigeria
Latonya is a newborn baby in Ghana. During her first days of life
she has been kept apart from her mother and bottle fed.
Manufacturers of infant formula provide free or subsidized milk
powder to the hospital where she was born. Latonya’s mother has
been persuaded to bottle feed rather than breast feed her. When her
mother bottle feeds Latonya, she overdilutes the milk formula with
unclean water and puts it in bottles that have not been sterilized.
Latonya becomes very sick, and she dies before her first birthday.
Ramona was born in Nigeria in a “baby-friendly” program. In
this program, babies are not separated from their mothers when
they are born, and the mothers are encouraged to breast feed them.
The mothers are told of the perils that bottle feeding can cause
because of unsafe water and unsterilized bottles. They also are
informed about the advantages of breast milk, which include its
nutritious and hygienic qualities, its ability to immunize babies
against common illnesses, and its role in reducing the mother’s risk
of breast and ovarian cancer. Ramona’s mother is breast feeding
her. At 1 year of age, Ramona is very healthy.
For many years, maternity units in hospitals favored
bottle feeding and did not give mothers adequate
information about the benefits of breast feeding. In
recent years, the World Health Organization and UNICEF have
tried to reverse the trend toward bottle feeding of infants in many
impoverished countries. They instituted the “baby-friendly”
program in many countries. They also persuaded the International
Association of Infant Formula Manufacturers to stop marketing
their baby formulas to hospitals in countries where governments
support the baby-friendly initiatives (Grant, 1993). For the
hospitals themselves, costs actually were reduced as infant
formula, feeding bottles, and separate nurseries became
unnecessary. For example, baby-friendly Jose Fabella Memorial
Hospital in the Philippines reported saving 8 percent of its annual
budget. Still, there are many places in the world where the baby-
friendly initiatives have not been implemented.
(Left) An HIV-infected mother breast feeding her baby in Nairobi, Africa;
(right) A Rwandan mother bottle feeding her baby. What are some concerns
about breast versus bottle feeding in impoverished African countries?
(Left) ©Wendy Stone/Corbis/Getty Images; (right) ©Dave
Bartruff/Corbis/Getty Images
The advantages of breast feeding in impoverished countries are
substantial (UNICEF, 2018). However, these advantages must be
balanced against the risk of passing HIV to the baby through breast
milk if the mother has the virus (Croffut & others, 2018; Mnyani &
others, 2017; Wojcicki, 2017). The majority of mothers with HIV
don’t know that they are infected. In some areas of Africa more
than 30 percent of mothers have the virus.
In the first two years of life, an infant’s body and brain undergo
remarkable growth and development. In this chapter we explore
how this takes place: through physical growth, motor development,
sensory and perceptual development, cognitive development, and
language development. ■
Physical Growth and Development in
Infancy
Page 78
At birth, an infant has few of the physical abilities we associate with being
human. Its head, which is huge relative to the rest of the body, flops around
uncontrollably. Apart from some basic reflexes and the ability to cry, the
newborn is unable to perform many actions. Over the next 12 months,
however, the infant becomes capable of sitting, standing, stooping, climbing,
and usually walking. During the second year, while growth slows, rapid
increases in activities such as running and climbing take place. Let’s now
examine in greater detail the sequence of physical development in infancy.
Patterns of Growth
During prenatal development and early infancy, the head occupies an
extraordinary proportion of the total body (see Figure 1). The cephalocaudal
pattern is the sequence in which the earliest growth always occurs at the top
—the head—with physical growth and differentiation of features gradually
working their way down from top to bottom (shoulders, middle trunk, and so
on). This same pattern occurs in the head area, as the top parts of the head—
the eyes and brain—grow faster than the lower parts, such as the jaw.
Figure 1 Changes in Proportions of the Human Body During Growth.
As individuals develop from infancy through adulthood, one of the most noticeable
physical changes is that the head becomes smaller in relation to the rest of the body. The
fractions listed refer to head size as a proportion of total body length at different ages.
Sensory and motor development generally proceed according
to the cephalocaudal pattern. For example, infants see objects
before they can control their torso, and they can use their hands
long before they can crawl or walk. However, development does not follow a
rigid blueprint. One study found that infants reached for toys with their feet
four weeks earlier, on average, than they reached for them with their hands
(Galloway & Thelen, 2004).
Growth also follows the proximodistal pattern, a sequence in which
growth starts at the center of the body and moves toward the extremities. For
example, infants control the muscles of their trunk and arms before they
control their hands, and they use their whole hands before they can control
several fingers.
An important point about growth is that it often is not smooth and
continuous but rather is episodic, occurring in spurts (Adolph, 2018). In
infancy, growth spurts may occur in a single day and alternate with long time
frames characterized by little or no growth for days and weeks (Lampl &
Johnson, 2011; Lampl & Schoen, 2018). In two analyses, in a single day,
infants grew seven-tenths of an inch in length in a single day (Lampl, 1993)
and their head circumference increased by three-tenths of an inch (Caino &
others, 2010).
Height and Weight
The average North American newborn is 20 inches long and weighs 7½
pounds. Ninety-five percent of full-term newborns are 18 to 22 inches long
and weigh between 5½ and 10 pounds.
In the first several days of life, most newborns lose 5 to 7 percent of their
body weight before they adjust to feeding by sucking, swallowing, and
digesting. They then grow rapidly, gaining an average of 5 to 6 ounces per
week during the first month. They double their birth weight by the age of 4
months and nearly triple it by their first birthday. Infants grow about 3/4 inch
per month during the first year, increasing their birth length by about 40
percent by their first birthday.
Growth slows considerably in the second year of life (London & others,
2017). By 2 years of age, children weigh approximately 26 to 32 pounds,
having gained a quarter to half a pound per month during the second year; at
this point they have reached about one-fifth of their adult weight. At 2 years
of age, the average child is 32 to 35 inches tall, nearly half of his or her
eventual adult height.
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The Brain
At birth, the infant that began as a single cell has a brain that contains tens of
billions of nerve cells, or neurons. Extensive brain development continues
after birth, through infancy, and later (Crone, 2017; Sullivan & Wilson, 2018;
Vasa & others, 2018). Because the brain is developing so rapidly
in infancy, the infant’s head should be protected from falls or other
injuries and the baby should never be shaken. Shaken baby
syndrome, which includes brain swelling and hemorrhaging, affects hundreds
of babies in the United States each year (Hellgren & others, 2017). One
research analysis found that fathers were most often the perpetrators of
shaken baby syndrome, followed by child-care providers and boyfriends of
the victims’ mothers (National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome, 2012).
The Brain’s Development
At birth, the brain weighs about 25 percent of its adult weight. By the second
birthday, it is about 75 percent of its adult weight. However, the brain’s areas
do not mature uniformly.
Assessing the infant’s brain activity is not as easy as it might seem.
Positron-emission tomography (PET) scans pose a radiation risk to babies,
and sometimes infants wriggle too much to allow the technician to capture
accurate brain images with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However,
researchers have been successful in using the electroencephalogram (EEG), a
measure of the brain’s electrical activity, to learn about the brain’s
development in infancy (Bell & others, 2018; Hari & Puce, 2017) (see Figure
2). For example, a recent study found that higher-quality mother-infant
interaction early in infancy predicted higher-quality frontal lobe functioning
that was assessed with EEG later in infancy (Bernier, Calkins, & Bell, 2016).
Figure 2 Measuring the Activity of the Infant’s Brain.
As shown here, a large number of electrodes are attached to a baby’s scalp to measure the
brain’s activity as part of an EEG assessment.
©Vanessa Vogel-Farley
Researchers also are increasingly studying infants’ brain activity by using
functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), which uses very low levels of
near-infrared light to monitor changes in blood oxygen (see Figure 3) (de
Oliveira & others, 2018; Emberson & others, 2017a, b; Taga, Watanabe, &
Homae, 2018). Unlike fMRI, which uses magnetic fields or electrical activity,
fNIRS is portable and allows the infants to be assessed as they explore the
world around them.
Figure 3 Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNRIS).
This brain-imaging technology is increasingly being used to assess infants’ brain activity
as they move about their environment.
©Oli Scarff/Getty Images
Mapping the Brain
Scientists analyze and categorize areas of the brain in numerous ways (Bell &
others, 2018; Dean & others, 2018; Ferjan Ramirez & others, 2017; Xie,
Mallin, & Richards, 2018). Of greatest interest is the portion farthest from the
spinal cord, known as the forebrain, which includes the cerebral cortex and
several structures beneath it. The cerebral cortex covers the forebrain like a
wrinkled cap. It has two halves, or hemispheres. Based on ridges and valleys
in the cortex, scientists distinguish four main areas, called lobes, in each
hemisphere: the frontal lobes, the occipital lobes, the temporal lobes, and the
parietal lobes (see Figure 4).
Figure 4 The Brain’s Four Lobes.
Shown here are the locations of the brain’s four lobes: frontal, occipital, temporal, and
parietal.
Although these areas are found in the cerebral cortex of each hemisphere,
Page 80
the two hemispheres are not identical in anatomy or function. Lateralization
is the specialization of function in one hemisphere or the other. Researchers
continue to explore the degree to which each hemisphere is involved in
various aspects of thinking, feeling, and behavior (Benjamin & others, 2017;
Sidtis & others, 2018). At birth, the hemispheres of the cerebral
cortex have already started to specialize: Newborns show
greater electrical brain activity in the left hemisphere than in
the right hemisphere when listening to speech sounds (Hahn, 1987).
The most extensive research on brain lateralization has focused on
language. Speech and grammar are localized in the left hemisphere in most
people, but some aspects of language, such as appropriate language use in
different contexts and the use of metaphor and humor, involve the right
hemisphere (Holler-Wallscheid & others, 2017). Thus, language is not
controlled exclusively by the brain’s left hemisphere. Further, most
neuroscientists agree that complex functions—such as reading, performing
music, and creating art—are the outcome of communication between the two
sides of the brain (Nora & others, 2017; Raemaekers & others, 2018).
How do the areas of the brain in the newborn and the infant differ from
those of an adult, and why do the differences matter? Important differences
have been documented at both the cellular and the structural levels.
Changes in Neurons
Within the brain, neurons send electrical and chemical signals,
communicating with each other. A neuron is a nerve cell that handles
information processing (see Figure 5). Extending from the neuron’s cell body
are two types of fibers, known as axons and dendrites. Generally, the axon
carries signals away from the cell body and dendrites carry signals toward it.
A myelin sheath, which is a layer of fat cells, encases many axons (see Figure
5). The myelin sheath provides insulation and helps electrical signals travel
faster down the axon (Cercignani & others, 2017; van Tilborg & others,
2018). Myelination also is involved in providing energy to neurons and in
facilitating communication (Kiray & others, 2016; Saab & Nave, 2017). At
the end of the axon are terminal buttons, which release chemicals called
neurotransmitters into synapses, tiny gaps between neurons. Chemical
interactions in synapses connect axons and dendrites, allowing information to
pass from one neuron to another (Ismail, Fatemi, & Johnston, 2017; Zhou &
others, 2018).
Figure 5 The Neuron.
(a) The dendrites of the cell body receive information from other neurons, muscles, or
glands through the axon. (b) Axons transmit information away from the cell body. (c) A
myelin sheath covers most axons and speeds information transmission. (d) As the axon
ends, it branches out into terminal buttons.
Think of the synapse as a river that blocks a road. A grocery truck arrives
at one bank of the river, crosses by ferry, and continues its journey to market.
Similarly, a message in the brain is “ferried” across the synapse by a
Page 81
neurotransmitter, which pours out information contained in chemicals when it
reaches the other side of the river.
Neurons change in two very significant ways during the first years of life.
First, myelination, the process of encasing axons with fat cells, begins
prenatally and continues throughout childhood, even into adolescence
(Juraska & Willing, 2017). Second, connectivity among neurons increases,
creating new neural pathways (Eggebrecht & others, 2017; Zhou & others,
2018). New dendrites grow, connections among dendrites increase, and
synaptic connections between axons and dendrites proliferate. Whereas
myelination speeds up neural transmissions, the expansion of dendritic
connections facilitates the spreading of neural pathways in infant
development.
Researchers have discovered an intriguing aspect of synaptic connections:
Nearly twice as many of these connections are made as will ever be used
(Huttenlocher & Dabholkar, 1997). The connections that are used become
stronger and survive, while the unused ones are replaced by other pathways
or disappear. In the language of neuroscience, these connections will be
“pruned” (Gould, 2017).
How complex are these neural connections? In a recent analysis, it was
estimated that each of the billions of neurons is connected to as many as
1,000 other neurons, producing neural networks with trillions of connections
(de Haan, 2015).
Changes in Regions of the Brain
Figure 6 vividly illustrates the dramatic growth and later pruning of synapses
in the visual, auditory, and prefrontal cortex (Huttenlocher & Dabholkar,
1997). Notice that “blooming and pruning” vary considerably by brain
region. In the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain where higher-level
thinking and self-regulation occur, the peak of overproduction occurs at just
over 3 years of age; it is not until middle to late adolescence that the adult
density of synapses is achieved (Crone, 2017). Both heredity and
environment are thought to influence the timing and course of synaptic
overproduction and subsequent retraction.
Figure 6 Synaptic Density in the Human Brain from Infancy to Adulthood.
The graph shows the dramatic increase and then pruning in synaptic density for three
regions of the brain: visual cortex, auditory cortex, and prefrontal cortex. Synaptic density
is believed to be an important indication of the extent of connectivity between neurons.
Meanwhile, the pace of myelination also varies in different areas of the
brain (Croteau-Chonka & others, 2016; Gogtay & Thompson, 2010).
Myelination for visual pathways occurs rapidly after birth and is completed in
the first six months. Auditory myelination is not completed until 4 or 5 years
of age.
Early Experience and the Brain
What determines how these changes in the brain occur? The infant’s brain is
literally waiting for experiences to determine how connections are made.
Before birth, it appears that genes mainly direct how the brain establishes
basic wiring patterns; after birth, environmental experiences guide the brain’s
development. The inflowing stream of sights, sounds, smells, touches,
language, and eye contact help shape neural connections (Bick & Nelson,
2018). It may not surprise us, then, that depressed brain activity has been
found in children who grow up in a deprived environment (Bick & others,
2017; McLaughlin, Sheridan, & Nelson, 2017). Infants whose caregivers
expose them to a variety of stimuli—talking, touching, playing—are most
likely to develop to their full potential.
The profusion of neural connections described earlier provides the
growing brain with flexibility and resilience (Marrus & others, 2018). As an
extreme example, consider 16-year-old Michael Rehbein. When Michael was
4½, he began to experience uncontrollable seizures—from 60 to 400 a day.
Doctors said that the only solution was to remove the left hemisphere of his
brain, where the seizures were occurring. Michael had his first major surgery
at age 7 and another at age 10. Although recovery was slow, his right
hemisphere began to reorganize and eventually took over functions, such as
speech, that normally occur in the brain’s left hemisphere (see Figure 7).
Individuals like Michael are living proof of the growing brain’s remarkable
ability to adapt and recover from a loss of brain tissue.
Figure 7 Plasticity in the Brain’s Hemispheres.
(a) Michael Rehbein at 14 years of age. (b) Brain scans of an intact brain (left) and
Michael Rehbein’s brain (right). Michael’s right hemisphere has reorganized to take over
the language functions normally carried out by corresponding areas in the left hemisphere
of an intact brain. However, the right hemisphere is not as efficient as the left, and more
areas of the brain are recruited to process speech.
Courtesy of The Rehbein Family
Page 82The Neuroconstructivist View
Not long ago, scientists thought that our genes determined how our brains
were “wired” and that the cells in the brain responsible for processing
information just maturationally unfolded with little or no input from
environmental experiences. Whatever brain your heredity dealt you, you were
essentially stuck with. This view, however, turned out to be wrong. Instead,
the brain has plasticity and its development depends on context (Bick &
Nelson, 2018; D’Souza & Karmiloff-Smith, 2018; McLaughlin & Broihier,
2018; Snyder & Smith, 2018; Villeda, 2017).
In the increasingly popular neuroconstructivist view, (a) biological
processes (genes, for example) and environmental experiences (enriched or
impoverished, for example) influence the brain’s development; (b) the brain
has plasticity and is context dependent; and (c) development of the brain and
the child’s cognitive development are closely linked. These factors constrain
or advance children’s construction of their cognitive skills (Goldberg, 2017;
Mucke & others, 2018; Schreuders & others, 2018; Westermann, Thomas, &
Karmiloff-Smith, 2011). The neuroconstructivist view emphasizes the
importance of interactions between experiences and gene expression in the
brain’s development, much as the epigenetic view proposes (D’Souza &
Karmiloff-Smith, 2018; Moore, 2017).
Sleep
When we were infants, sleep consumed more of our time than it does now
(Dias & others, 2018; Goh & others, 2017). In a recent study, sleep sessions
lasted approximately 3.5 hours during the first few months and increased to
about 10.5 hours from 3 to 7 months (Mindell & others, 2016). The typical
newborn sleeps 16 to 17 hours a day, but there is considerable individual
variation in how much infants sleep. For newborns, the range is from about
10 hours to about 21 hours per day. A research review concluded that infants
0 to 2 years of age slept an average of 12.8 hours out of the 24, within a range
of 9.7 to 15.9 hours (Galland & others, 2012). One study also revealed that
by 6 months of age the majority of infants slept through the night, awakening
their parents only once or twice a week (Weinraub & others, 2012).
The most common infant sleep-related problem reported by parents is
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nighttime waking (Dias & others, 2018; Hospital for Sick Children & others,
2010). Surveys indicate that 20 to 30 percent of infants have difficulty going
to sleep at night and staying asleep until morning (Sadeh, 2008).
REM Sleep
A much greater amount of time is taken up by REM (rapid eye movement)
sleep in infancy than at any other point in the life span (Bathory &
Tomopoulos, 2017). Unlike adults, who spend about one-fifth of their night
in REM sleep, infants spend about half of their sleep time in REM sleep, and
they often begin their sleep cycle with REM sleep rather than non-REM
sleep. By the time infants reach 3 months of age, the percentage of time they
spend in REM sleep decreases to about 40 percent, and REM sleep no longer
begins their sleep cycle.
Why do infants spend so much time in REM sleep? Researchers are not
certain. The large amount of REM sleep may provide infants with added self-
stimulation, since they spend less time awake than do older
children. REM sleep also might promote the brain’s
development in infancy (Graven, 2006).
SIDS
Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is a condition that occurs when an
infant stops breathing, usually during the night, and dies suddenly without an
apparent cause. SIDS remains one of the main causes of infant death in the
United States, with more than 2,000 infant deaths annually attributed to SIDS
(Heron, 2016). Risk of SIDS is highest at 2 to 4 months of age (NICHD,
2018). In 1992, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) began
recommending that infants be placed to sleep on their backs to reduce the risk
of SIDS, and since then far fewer infants have been placed on their stomachs
to sleep (AAP, 2000). Researchers have found that SIDS does indeed
decrease when infants sleep on their backs rather than on their stomachs or
sides (Bombard & others, 2018; Carlin & Moon, 2017; Sperhake, Jorch, &
Bajanowski, 2018). Why? Because sleeping on their backs increases their
access to fresh air and reduces their chances of getting overheated.
Is this a good sleep position for infants? Why or why not?
©Maria Teijeiro/Getty Images
How Would
You…?
As a health-care
provider, what advice
would you provide to
parents about preventing
SIDS?
SIDS also occurs more often in infants with abnormal brain stem
functioning involving the neurotransmitter serotonin (Rognum & others,
2014). Also, heart arrhythmias are estimated to occur in as many as 10 to 15
percent of SIDS cases and research indicates that gene mutations are linked to
the occurrence of these arrhythmias in SIDS cases (Sarquella-Brugada &
others, 2016). SIDS also is less common in infants who are breast fed (Carlin
& Moon, 2017). The risk of SIDS is higher for infants whose mothers smoke
Page 84
and infants who are exposed to secondhand smoke in general (Horne, 2018;
Salm Ward & Balfour, 2016). Further, SIDS is more likely to occur in low
birth weight infants, African American and Eskimo infants, infants who are
passively exposed to cigarette smoke, infants who sleep with their parents in
the same bed, infants who don’t use a pacifier when they go to sleep, and
infants who sleep in a bedroom without a fan (Alm & others, 2016; Carlin &
Moon, 2017; Moon & others, 2017). In a recent analysis, it was concluded
that after prone sleeping, the two factors that best predict SIDS are (1)
maternal smoking, and (2) bed sharing (Mitchell & Krous, 2015).
One concern about the “back to sleep movement” of ensuring that young
infants sleep on their back rather than their stomach is delayed acquisition of
prone skills. To prevent this delay, many mothers provide their young infants
with “tummy time” by periodically placing them on their stomachs when they
are awake.
Sleep and Cognitive Development
Might infant sleep be linked to children’s cognitive development? A recent
research review indicated that there is a positive link between infant sleep and
cognitive functioning, including memory, language, and executive function
(Tham, Schneider, & Broekman, 2017). The link between infant sleep and
children’s cognitive functioning likely occurs because of sleep’s role in brain
maturation and memory consolidation, which may improve daytime alertness
and learning (Sadeh, 2007). And in a longitudinal study, infants who had
more sleep problems were more likely to have emotional dysregulation at 2
to 3 years of age, which in turn was related to poor attention functioning in
elementary school (Williams & Sciberras, 2016).
Nutrition
From birth to 1 year of age, human infants nearly triple their weight and
increase their length by 40 percent. What kind of nourishment do they need
to sustain this rapid growth?
Breast Feeding Versus Bottle Feeding
For the first four to six months of life, human milk or an alternative formula
is the baby’s source of nutrients and energy. For years, debate has focused on
whether breast feeding is better for the infant than bottle feeding. The
growing consensus is that breast feeding is better for the baby’s health
(Blake, Munoz, & Volpe, 2019: DeBruyne & Pinna, 2017; Thompson &
Manore, 2018). Since the 1970s, breast feeding by U.S. mothers has become
widespread. In 2016 more than 81 percent of U.S. mothers breast fed their
newborns, and 52 percent breast fed their 6-month-olds (Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, 2016). What are some of the benefits of breast
feeding? During the first two years of life and beyond, benefits include
appropriate weight gain and reduced risk of child and adult obesity (Catalano
& Shankar, 2017; Uwaezuoke, Eneh, & Ndu, 2018); reduced risk of SIDS
(Carlin & Moon, 2017); fewer gastrointestinal infections (Bartick & others,
2017); and fewer lower respiratory tract infections (Bartick & others, 2017,
2018). Further, a recent study of more than 500,000 Scottish children found
that those who were breast fed exclusively at 6 to 8 weeks of age were less
likely to have ever been hospitalized through early childhood than their
formula-fed counterparts (Ajetunmobi & others, 2015). A recent research
review found no support for the hypothesis that breast feeding might reduce
the risk of allergies in young children (Heinrich, 2017). Other recent research
has found a reduction of hospitalization for breast-fed infants for a number of
conditions, including gastrointestinal problems and lower respiratory tract
infections, as well as a reduction of hospitalization for breast-feeding mothers
for cardiovascular problems and diabetes (Bartick & others, 2018). In a large-
scale review, no evidence for the benefits of breast feeding was found for
children’s cognitive development and cardiovascular functioning (Agency for
Healthcare Research and Quality, 2007). However, a recent study did find
that breast feeding was associated with a small increase in children’s
intelligence (Bernard & others, 2017).
Benefits of breast feeding for the mother include a lower incidence of
breast cancer (Akbari & others, 2011) and a reduction in ovarian cancer
(Stuebe & Schwartz, 2010). Many health professionals have argued that
breast feeding facilitates the development of an attachment bond between
mother and infant (Wittig & Spatz, 2008). However, a research review found
that the positive effect of breast feeding on the mother-infant relationship is
not supported by research (Jansen, de Weerth, & Riksen-Walraven, 2008).
The review concluded that recommending breast feeding should not be based
on its role in improving the mother-infant relationship but rather on its
positive effects on infant and maternal health.
The American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Breastfeeding (2012)
reconfirmed its recommendation of exclusive breast feeding in the first six
months followed by continued breast feeding as complementary foods are
introduced, and further breast feeding for one year or longer as mutually
desired by the mother and infant.
Are there circumstances when mothers should not breast feed? Yes. A
mother should not breast feed if she (1) is infected with AIDS or any other
infectious disease that can be transmitted through her milk, (2) has active
tuberculosis, or (3) is taking any drug that may not be safe for the infant
(Brown, 2017; Schultz, Kostic, & Kharasch, 2018).
Human milk or an alternative formula is a baby’s source of nutrients for the first four to
six months. The growing consensus is that breast feeding is better for the baby’s health,
although controversy still swirls about breast versus bottle feeding. What do research
studies indicate are the outcomes of breast feeding for children and mothers?
©JGI/Blend Images LLC
Some women cannot breast feed their infants because of physical
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difficulties; others feel guilty if they terminate breast feeding early. Mothers
also may worry that they are depriving their infants of important emotional
and psychological benefits if they bottle feed rather than breast feed. Some
researchers have found, however, that there are few, if any, long-term
physical and psychological differences between breast-fed and bottle-fed
infants (Colen & Ramey, 2014; Ferguson, Harwood, & Shannon, 1987;
Young, 1990).
A further issue in interpreting the benefits of breast feeding was
underscored in a large-scale research review (Agency for Healthcare
Research and Quality, 2007). While highlighting a number of benefits of
breast feeding for children and mothers, the report issued a
caution about research on breast feeding: None of the findings
imply causality. Breast feeding versus bottle feeding studies
are correlational, not experimental, and women who breast feed tend to be
wealthier, older, and better educated, and are likely to be more health-
conscious than those who bottle feed, which could explain why breast-fed
children are healthier.
Nutritional Needs
Individual differences among infants in terms of their nutrient reserves, body
composition, growth rates, and activity patterns make it difficult to define
actual nutrient needs (Rolfes & Pinna, 2018; Blake, Munoz, & Volpe, 2019).
However, because parents need guidelines, nutritionists recommend that
infants consume approximately 50 calories per day for each pound they
weigh—more than twice an adult’s requirement per pound.
A national study of more than 3,000 randomly selected 4- to 24-month-
olds documented that many U.S. parents are feeding their babies too few
fruits and vegetables and too much junk food (Fox & others, 2004). Up to
one-third of the babies ate no vegetables and fruit; almost half of the 7- to 8-
month-old babies were fed desserts, sweets, or sweetened drinks. By 15
months, French fries were the most common vegetables the babies ate.
Caregivers play very important roles in infants’ early development of
eating patterns (Baye, Tariku, & Mouquet-Rivier, 2018; Brown, 2017;
Harrison, Brodribb, & Hepworth, 2018). Caregivers who are not sensitive to
developmental changes in infants’ nutritional needs, neglectful caregivers,
and conditions of poverty can contribute to the development of eating
problems in infants (Black & Hurley, 2017; Perez-Escamilla & Moran,
2017). One study found that low maternal sensitivity when infants were 15
and 24 months of age was linked to a higher risk of obesity in adolescence
(Anderson & others, 2012). And in a recent study, infants who were
introduced to vegetables between 4 and 5 months of age showed less fussy
eating behavior at 4 years of age than their counterparts who were introduced
to vegetables after 6 months (de Barse & others, 2017).
Adequate early nutrition is an important aspect of healthy development
(Feldman-Winter & others, 2018; Rolfes & Pinna, 2018). In addition to
sound nutrition, children need a nurturing, supportive environment (Black &
Hurley, 2017; Blake, Munoz, & Volpe, 2019). One individual who is an
ardent advocate of caring for children and is especially passionate about
preventing childhood obesity is pediatrician Faize Mustafa-Infante, who is
featured in Careers in Life-Span Development.
Careers in life-span development
Faize Mustafa-Infante, Pediatric Specialist
Focusing on Childhood Obesity
Dr. Mustafa-Infante grew up in Colombia, South America. Her
initial profession was teaching elementary school students in
Columbia, and then she obtained her medical degree with a specialty
in pediatrics. Once she finished her medical training, she moved to
San Bernardino, California, where she worked as a health educator
with a focus on preventing and treating childhood obesity in low-
income communities. Dr. Mustafa-Infante currently works at Mission
Pediatrics in Riverside, California, where she mainly treats infants.
She continues her effort to prevent obesity in children and also serves
as a volunteer for Ayacucho-Medical Mission, a nonprofit
organization that provides culturally sensitive medical care for those
in greatest need. In regard to her cultural background, she describes
herself as a Latino doctor with a Middle Eastern name that reflects her
strong family commitments to both heritages. Dr. Mustafa says that
Page 86
hard work and education have been the keys to her success and
personal satisfaction.
Motor Development
Meeting infants’ nutritional needs helps them to develop the strength and
coordination required for motor development. How do infants develop their
motor skills, and which skills do they develop at various ages?
Dynamic Systems Theory
Developmentalist Arnold Gesell (1934) thought his painstaking observations
had revealed how people develop their motor skills. He had discovered that
infants and children develop rolling, sitting, standing, and other motor skills
in a fixed order and within specific time frames. These observations, said
Gesell, show that motor development comes about through the unfolding of a
genetic plan, or maturation.
Later studies, however, demonstrated that the sequence of developmental
milestones is not as fixed as Gesell indicated and not due as much to heredity
as Gesell argued (Adolph, 2018; Adolph & Hoch, 2019; Adolph & Robinson,
2015). Beginning in the 1980s, the study of motor development underwent a
renaissance as psychologists developed new insights about how motor skills
develop (Adolph, 2018; Kretch & Adolph, 2018; Lee & others, 2019). One
increasingly influential perspective is dynamic systems theory, proposed by
Esther Thelen (Thelen & Smith, 1998, 2006).
Esther Thelen conducts an experiment to discover how infants learn to control their arms
to reach and grasp for objects. A computer device monitors the infant’s arm movements
and tracks muscle patterns. Thelen’s research is conducted from a dynamic systems
perspective. What is the nature of this perspective?
©Dr. David Thelen
According to dynamic systems theory, infants assemble motor skills for
perceiving and acting. In other words, perception and action are coupled
(Thelen & Smith, 2006). In order to develop motor skills, infants must
perceive something in the environment that motivates them to act, then use
their perceptions to fine-tune their movements. Motor skills thus represent
pathways to the infant’s goals (D’Souza & others, 2018).
How is a motor skill developed, according to this theory? When infants
are motivated to do something, they might create a new motor behavior. The
new behavior is the result of many converging factors: the development of
the nervous system, the body’s physical properties and its possibilities for
movement, the goal the child is motivated to reach, and environmental
support for the skill. For example, babies will learn to walk only when their
nervous system has matured sufficiently to allow them to control certain leg
muscles, when they want to move, when their legs have grown enough to
support their weight, and when they have sufficient balance control to
support their body on one leg (Adolph, 2018).
Mastering a motor skill requires the infant’s active efforts to coordinate
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several components of the skill (Chen, Jeka, & Clark, 2016; Comalli,
Persand, & Adolph, 2017; Franchak, Kretch, & Adolph, 2019; Lee & others,
2019). Infants explore and select possible solutions to the demands of a new
task, and they assemble adaptive patterns by modifying their current
movement patterns. The first step, for example, occurs when the infant is
motivated by a new challenge—such as the desire to cross a room—and
initiates this task by taking a few stumbling steps. The infant then “tunes”
these movements to make them smoother and more effective. The tuning is
achieved through repeated cycles of action and perception of the
consequences of that action. According to the dynamic systems view, even
universal milestones such as crawling, reaching, and walking are learned
through this process of adaptation: Infants modulate their movement patterns
to fit a new task by exploring and selecting possible configurations (Adolph,
2018; Adolph, Rachwani, & Hoch, 2018).
Thus, according to dynamic systems theory, motor development is not a
passive process in which genes dictate the unfolding of a sequence of skills.
Rather, the infant actively puts together a skill in order to achieve a goal
within the constraints set by the infant’s body and environment.
Nature and nurture, the infant and the environment, are all
working together as part of an ever-changing system.
As we examine the course of motor development, we will describe how
dynamic systems theory applies to some specific skills. First, though, let’s
examine how the story of motor development begins with reflexes.
Reflexes
The newborn is not completely helpless. Among other things, the newborn
has some basic reflexes. Reflexes are built-in reactions to stimuli, and they
govern the newborn’s movements. Reflexes are genetically carried survival
mechanisms that are automatic and involuntary. They allow infants to
respond adaptively to their environment before they have had the opportunity
to learn. For example, if immersed in water, the newborn automatically holds
its breath and contracts its throat to keep water out.
Other important examples are the rooting and sucking reflexes. Both have
survival value for newborn mammals, who must find a mother’s breast to
obtain nourishment. The rooting reflex occurs when the infant’s cheek is
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stroked or the side of the mouth is touched. In response, the infant turns its
head toward the side that was touched in an apparent effort to find something
to suck. The sucking reflex occurs when newborns automatically suck an
object placed in their mouth. This reflex enables newborns to get
nourishment before they have associated a nipple with food.
Another example is the Moro reflex, which occurs in response to a
sudden, intense noise or movement. When startled, the newborn arches its
back, throws back its head, and flings out its arms and legs. Then the
newborn rapidly closes its arms and legs. The Moro reflex is believed to be a
way of grabbing for support while falling; it would have had survival value
for our primate ancestors. An overview of the reflexes we have discussed,
along with others, is presented in Figure 8.
Figure 8 Infant Reflexes
Some reflexes—coughing, sneezing, blinking, shivering, and yawning,
for example—persist throughout life. They are as important for the adult as
they are for the infant. Other reflexes, though, disappear
several months after birth, as the infant’s brain matures and
voluntary control over many behaviors develops. The rooting,
sucking, and Moro reflexes, for example, all tend to disappear when the
infant is 3 to 4 months old.
The movements of some reflexes eventually become incorporated into
more complex, voluntary actions. One important example is the grasping
reflex, which occurs when something touches the infant’s palm. The infant
responds by grasping tightly. By the end of the third month, the grasping
reflex diminishes, and the infant shows a more voluntary grasp. For example,
when an infant sees a mobile turning slowly above a crib, it may reach out
and try to grasp it. As its motor development becomes smoother, the infant
will grasp objects, carefully manipulate them, and explore their qualities.
The old view of reflexes is that they were exclusively genetic, built-in
mechanisms that govern the infant’s movements. The new perspective on
infant reflexes is that they are not automatic or completely beyond the
infant’s control. For example, infants can control such movements as
alternating their legs to make a mobile jiggle or changing their sucking rate to
listen to a recording (Adolph, 2018; Adolph & Berger, 2015).
Gross Motor Skills
Gross motor skills are skills that involve large-muscle activities, such as
moving one’s arms and walking. Newborn infants cannot voluntarily control
their posture. Within a few weeks, though, they can hold their heads erect,
and soon they can lift their heads while prone. By 2 months of age, babies
can sit while supported on a lap or an infant seat, but they cannot sit
independently until they are 6 or 7 months of age. Standing also develops
gradually during the first year of life. By about 8 months of age, infants
usually learn to pull themselves up and hold on to a chair, and by about 10 to
12 months of age they can often stand alone.
Locomotion and postural control are closely linked, especially in walking
upright (Adolph, 2018). To walk upright, the baby must be able both to
balance on one leg as the other is swung forward and to shift its weight from
one leg to the other (Thelen & Smith, 2006).
Infants must also learn what kinds of places and surfaces are safe for
crawling or walking (Adolph & Hoch, 2019; Adolph, Rachwani, & Hoch,
2018). Karen Adolph (1997) investigated how experienced and inexperienced
crawling and walking infants go down steep slopes (see Figure 9). Newly
crawling infants, who averaged about 8 months in age, rather
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indiscriminately went down the steep slopes, often falling in the process
(with their mothers standing next to the slope to catch them). After weeks of
practice, the crawling babies became more adept at judging which slopes
were too steep to crawl down and which ones they could navigate safely.
Figure 9 The Role of Experience in Crawling and Walking Infants’ Judgments of
Whether to Go Down a Slope
Karen Adolph (1997) found that locomotor experience rather than age was the primary
predictor of adaptive responding on slopes of varying steepness. Newly crawling and
walking infants could not judge the safety of the various slopes. With experience, they
learned to avoid slopes where they would fall. When expert crawlers began to walk, they
again made mistakes and fell, even though they had judged the same slope accurately
when crawling. Adolph referred to this as the specificity of learning because it does not
transfer across crawling and walking.
©Dr. Karen Adolph, New York University
You might expect that babies who learned that a slope was too
steep for crawling would know when they began walking whether
a slope was safe. But Adolph’s research indicated that newly
walking infants could not judge the safety of the slopes. Only when infants
became experienced walkers were they able to accurately match their skills
with the steepness of the slopes. They rarely fell downhill, either refusing to
go down the steep slopes or going down backward in a cautious manner.
Experienced walkers assessed the situation perceptually—looking, swaying,
touching, and thinking before they moved down the slope. With experience,
both crawlers and walkers learned to avoid the risky slopes where they would
fall, integrating perceptual information with the development of a new motor
behavior. In this research, we again see the importance of perceptual-motor
coupling in the development of motor skills.
Practice is especially important in learning to walk (Kretch & Adolph,
2018; Franchak, Kretch, & Adolph, 2019). Infants and toddlers accumulate
an immense number of experiences with balance and locomotion (Cole,
Robinson, & Adolph, 2016; Lee & others, 2019). For example, the average
toddler traverses almost 40 football fields a day and has 15 falls an hour
(Adolph, 2010).
Might the development of walking be linked to advances in other aspects
of development? Walking experience leads to being able to gain contact with
objects that were previously out of reach and to initiate interaction with
parents and other adults, thereby promoting language development (Adolph
& Robinson, 2015; He, Walle, & Campos, 2015). Thus, just as with advances
in postural skills, walking skills can produce a cascade of changes in the
infant’s development (Adolph, 2018).
The First Year: Milestones and Variations
Figure 10 summarizes important accomplishments in gross motor skills
during the first year, culminating in the ability to walk easily. However, the
timing of these milestones, especially the later ones, may vary by as much as
two to four months, and experiences can modify the onset of these
accomplishments (Adolph, 2018; Adolph & Hoch, 2019).
Figure 10 Milestones in Gross Motor Development.
The horizontal red bars indicate the range in which most infants reach various milestones
in gross motor development.
(Left to right) ©Barbara Penoyar/Getty Images; ©StephaneHachey/Getty Images;
©Image Source/Alamy; ©Victoria Blackie/Getty Images; ©Digital Vision;
©Fotosearch/Getty Images; ©Corbis/PictureQuest; ©amaviael/123RF
How Would
You…?
As a human
development and
family studies
professional, how
would you advise
parents who are
concerned that their
infant is one or two
months behind the
average gross motor
milestones?
In a recent study, a number of factors were linked to the timing
Page 90of motor development in the first year of life (Flensborg-Madsen &
Mortensen, 2017). Twelve developmental milestones were
assessed, including grasping, rolling, sitting, and crawling;
standing and walking; and overall mean of milestones. A larger size at birth
(such as birth weight, birth length, and head circumference) was the aspect of
pregnancy and delivery that showed the strongest link to reaching motor
milestones earlier. Mother’s smoking in the last trimester of prenatal
development was associated with reaching the motor milestones later. Also,
an increase in size (weight increase, length increase, and head increase) in the
first year was related to reaching the motor milestones earlier. Breast feeding
also was linked to reaching the milestones earlier.
Development in the Second Year
The motor accomplishments of the first year bring increasing independence,
allowing infants to explore their environment more extensively and to initiate
interaction with others more readily. In the second year of life, toddlers
become more mobile as their motor skills are honed. Child development
experts believe that motor activity during the second year is vital to the
child’s competent development and that few restrictions, except those having
to do with safety, should be placed on their adventures (Fraiberg, 1959).
By 13 to 18 months, toddlers can pull a toy attached to a string and use
their hands and legs to climb up steps. By 18 to 24 months, toddlers can walk
quickly or run stiffly for a short distance, balance on their feet in a squatting
position while playing with objects on the floor, walk backward without
losing their balance, stand and kick a ball without falling, stand and throw a
ball, and jump in place.
Fine Motor Skills
Whereas gross motor skills involve large-muscle activity, fine motor skills
involve finely tuned movements. Grasping a toy, using a spoon, buttoning a
shirt, or doing anything that requires finger dexterity demonstrates fine motor
skills. At birth, infants have very little control over fine motor skills, but they
do have many components of what will become finely coordinated arm, hand,
and finger movements (McCormack, Hoerl, & Butterfill, 2012).
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The onset of reaching and grasping marks a significant achievement in
infants’ ability to interact with their surroundings (Needham & others, 2017).
During the first two years of life, infants refine how they reach and grasp
(Dosso, Herrera, & Boudreau, 2017). Initially, they reach by moving the
shoulder and elbow crudely, swinging toward an object. Later, when they
reach for an object they move the wrist, rotate the hand, and coordinate the
thumb and forefinger. An infant does not have to see his or her own hand in
order to reach for an object (Clifton & others, 1993); rather, reaching is
guided by cues from muscles, tendons, and joints. Recent research studies
found that short-term training involving practice of reaching movements
increased both preterm and full-term infants’ reaching for and touching
objects (Cunha & others, 2016; Guimaraes & Trudellia, 2015).
Experience plays a role in reaching and grasping (Cunha & others, 2016;
Needham & others, 2017). In one study, 3-month-old infants participated in
play sessions wearing “sticky mittens”—“mittens with palms that stuck to the
edges of toys and allowed the infants to pick up the toys” (Needham, Barrett,
& Peterman, 2002, p. 279) (see Figure 11). Infants who
participated in sessions with the mittens grasped and
manipulated objects earlier in their development than a control
group of infants who did not receive the “mitten” experience. The
experienced infants looked at the objects longer, swatted at them more during
visual contact, and were more likely to mouth the objects. In one study, 5-
month-old infants whose parents trained them to use the sticky mittens for 10
minutes a day over a two-week period showed advances in their reaching
behavior at the end of the two weeks (Libertus & Needham, 2010).
Figure 11 Infants’ Use of “Sticky Mittens” to Explore Objects.
Amy Needham (at right in this photo) and her colleagues (2002) found that “sticky
mittens” enhanced young infants’ object exploration skills.
©Dr. Amy Needham
Rachel Keen (2011; Keen, Lee, & Adolph, 2014) emphasizes that tool
use is an excellent context for studying problem solving in infants because
tool use provides information about how infants plan to reach a goal.
Researchers in this area have studied infants’ intentional actions, which range
from picking up a spoon in different orientations to retrieving rakes from
inside tubes. One study explored motor origins of tool use by assessing
developmental changes in banging movements in 6- to 15-month-olds
(Kahrs, Jung, & Lockman, 2013). In this study, younger infants were
inefficient and variable when banging an object but by 1 year of age infants
showed consistent straight up-and-down hand movements that resulted in
precise aiming and consistent levels of force.
Just as infants need to exercise their gross motor skills, they also need to
exercise their fine motor skills (Cunha & others, 2016; Needham & others,
2017). Especially when they can manage a pincer grip, infants delight in
picking up small objects. Many develop the pincer grip and begin to crawl at
about the same time, and infants at this time pick up virtually everything in
sight, especially on the floor, and put the objects in their mouth. Thus, parents
need to be vigilant in monitoring objects within the infant’s reach.
Sensory and Perceptual Development
Can a newborn see? If so, what can it perceive? How do sensations and
perceptions develop? Can an infant put together information from two
modalities, such as sight and sound? These are among the intriguing
questions that we explore in this section.
Exploring Sensory and Perceptual Development
How does a newborn know that her mother’s skin is soft rather than rough?
How does a 5-year-old know what color his hair is? Infants and children
“know” these things as a result of information that comes through the senses.
Sensation occurs when information interacts with sensory receptors—the
eyes, ears, tongue, nostrils, and skin. The sensation of hearing occurs when
waves of pulsating air are collected by the outer ear and transmitted through
the bones of the inner ear to the auditory nerve. The sensation of vision
occurs as rays of light contact the eyes, become focused on the retina, and are
transmitted by the optic nerve to the visual centers of the brain.
Perception is the interpretation of what is sensed. The air waves that
contact the ears might be interpreted as noise or as musical sounds, for
example. The physical energy transmitted to the retina of the eye might be
interpreted as a particular color, pattern, or shape, depending on how it is
perceived.
The Ecological View
In recent decades, much of the research on perceptual development in infancy
has been guided by the ecological view proposed by Eleanor and James J.
Gibson (E. Gibson, 1969, 1989, 2001; J. Gibson, 1966, 1979). They argue
that we do not have to take bits and pieces of data from sensations and build
up representations of the world in our minds. Instead, our perceptual system
can select from the rich information that the environment itself provides.
According to the Gibsons’ ecological view, we directly perceive
information that exists in the world around us. Perception brings us into
contact with the environment in order to interact with and adapt to it
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(Franchak, Kretch, & Adolph, 2019). Perception is designed
for action. It gives people information such as when to duck,
when to turn their bodies as they move through a narrow
passageway, and when to put their hands up to catch something (Adolph,
2018).
Studying the Infant’s Perception
Studying the infant’s perception is not an easy task. Unlike most research
participants, infants cannot write, type on a computer keyboard, or speak well
enough to explain to an experimenter what their responses are to a given
stimulus or condition. Yet scientists have developed several ingenious
research methods to examine infants’ sensory and perceptual development
(Bendersky & Sullivan, 2007).
The Visual Preference Method
Robert Fantz (1963), a pioneer in this effort, made an important discovery:
Infants look at different things for different lengths of time. Fantz placed
infants in a “looking chamber,” which had two visual displays on the ceiling
above the infant’s head. An experimenter viewed the infant’s eyes by looking
through a peephole. If the infant was gazing at one of the displays, the
experimenter could see the display’s reflection in the infant’s eyes. This
allowed the experimenter to determine how long the infant looked at each
display. Fantz (1963) found that infants only 2 days old would gaze longer at
patterned stimuli (such as faces or concentric circles) than at red, white, or
yellow discs. Similar results were found with infants 2 to 3 weeks old (see
Figure 12). Fantz’s research method—studying whether infants can
distinguish one stimulus from another by measuring the length of time they
attend to different stimuli—is referred to as the visual preference method.
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Figure 12 Fantz’s Experiment on Infants’ Visual Perception.
(a) Infants 2 to 3 weeks old preferred to look at some stimuli more than others. In Fantz’s
experiment, infants preferred to look at patterns rather than at color or brightness. For
example, they looked longer at a face, a piece of printed matter, or a bull’s-eye than at red,
yellow, or white discs. (b) Fantz used a “looking chamber” to study infants’ perception of
stimuli.
©David Linton, Courtesy of the Linton Family
Habituation and Dishabituation Another way in which researchers study
infant perception is to present a stimulus (such as a sight or a sound) a
number of times. If the infant decreases its response to the stimulus after
several presentations, this indicates that the infant is no longer interested in
the stimulus. If the researcher now presents a new stimulus, the infant’s
response will recover—indicating the infant could discriminate between the
old and new stimuli (Messinger & others, 2017).
Habituation is the name given to decreased responsiveness to a stimulus
after repeated presentations of the stimulus. Dishabituation is the recovery
of a habituated response after a change in stimulation. Newborn infants can
habituate to repeated sights, sounds, smells, or touches (Bendersky &
Sullivan, 2007). Among the measures researchers use in habituation studies
are sucking behavior (sucking behavior stops when the infant
attends to a novel object), heart and respiration rates, and the
length of time the infant looks at an object.
Equipment Technology can facilitate the use of most methods for
investigating the infant’s perceptual abilities. Videotape equipment allows
researchers to investigate elusive behaviors. High-speed computers make it
possible to perform complex data analysis in minutes. Other equipment
records respiration, heart rate, body movement, visual fixation, and sucking
behavior, which provide clues to what the infant is perceiving.
Eye Tracking The most important recent advance in measuring infant
perception is the development of sophisticated eye-tracking equipment
(Boardman & Fletcher-Watson, 2017; Kretch & Adolph, 2017). Eye tracking
consists of measuring eye movements that follow (track) a moving object and
can be used to evaluate an infant’s early visual ability (Bendersky & Sullivan,
2007).
Figure 13 shows an infant wearing eye-tracking headgear in a recent
study on visually guided motor behavior and social interaction.
Figure 13 An Infant Wearing Eye-Tracking Headgear
©Dr. Karen Adolph, New York University
One of the main reasons that infant perception researchers are so
enthusiastic about the availability of sophisticated eye-tracking equipment is
that looking time is among the most important measures of infant perceptual
and cognitive development (Aslin, 2012). The new eye-tracking equipment
allows for far greater precision in assessing various aspects of infant looking
and gaze than is possible with human observation (Boardman & Fletcher-
Watson, 2017; Law & others, 2018; van Renswouode & others, 2018).
Among the areas of infant perception in which eye-tracking equipment is
being used are attention (Meng, Uto, & Hashiya, 2017), memory (Fanning &
others, 2018; Kingo & Krojgaard, 2015), and face processing (Chhaya &
others, 2018). Further, eye-tracking equipment is improving our
understanding of atypically developing infants, such as those who have
autism (Falck-Ytter & others, 2018) or were born preterm (Finke, Wilkinson,
& Hickerson, 2017; Liberati & others, 2017).
One eye-tracking study shed light on the effectiveness of TV programs
and DVDs that claim to educate infants (Kirkorian, Anderson, & Keen,
2012). In this study, 1-year-olds, 4-year-olds, and adults watched Sesame
Street and the eye-tracking equipment recorded precisely what they looked at
on the screen. The 1-year-olds were far less likely to consistently look at the
same part of the screen as their older counterparts, suggesting that the 1-year-
olds showed little understanding of the Sesame Street video but instead were
more likely to be attracted by what was salient than by what was relevant.
Visual Perception
Psychologist William James (1890/1950) called the newborn’s perceptual
world a “blooming, buzzing confusion.” A century later, we can safely say
that he was wrong (Damon & others, 2018; Singarajah & others, 2017). Even
the newborn perceives a world with some order.
Visual Acuity and Color
Just how well can infants see? The newborn’s vision is estimated to be
20/600 on the well-known Snellen eye examination chart (Banks &
Salapatek, 1983). This means that an object 20 feet away is only as clear to
the newborn’s eyes as it would be if it were viewed from a distance of 600
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feet by an adult with normal vision (20/20). By 6 months of age, though, an
average infant’s vision is 20/40 (Aslin & Lathrop, 2008). Figure 14 shows a
computer estimation of what a picture of a face looks like to an infant at
different ages from a distance of about 6 inches.
Figure 14 Visual Acuity During the First Months of Life.
The four photographs represent a computer estimation of what a picture of a face looks
like to a 1-month-old, 2-month-old, 3-month-old, and 1-year-old (which approximates the
visual acuity of an adult).
©Kevin Peterson/Getty Images/Simulation by Vischeck
Faces are possibly the most important visual stimuli in
children’s social environment, and it is important that they extract
key information from others’ faces (Sugden & Moulson, 2017).
Infants show an interest in human faces soon after birth (Johnson & Hannon,
2015). Within hours after they are born, research shows that infants prefer to
look at faces rather than other objects and to look at attractive faces more
than at unattractive ones (Lee & others, 2013).
The infant’s color vision also improves. By 8 weeks, and possibly as
early as 4 weeks, infants can discriminate among some colors (Kelly,
Borchert, & Teller, 1997).
Perceiving Occluded Objects
Take a moment to look at your surroundings. You will likely see that some
objects are partly occluded by other objects that are in front of them—
possibly a desk behind a chair, some books behind a computer, or a car
parked behind a tree. Do infants perceive an object as complete when it is
occluded by an object in front of it?
In the first two months of postnatal development, infants do not perceive
occluded objects as complete, instead only perceiving what is visible.
Beginning at about 2 months of age, infants develop the ability to perceive
that occluded objects are whole (Slater, Field, & Hernandez-Reif, 2007).
How does perceptual completion develop? In Scott Johnson’s (2010, 2011,
2013; Johnson & Hannon, 2015) research, learning, experience, and self-
directed exploration via eye movements play key roles in the development of
perceptual completion in young infants.
Many objects that are occluded appear and disappear behind closer
objects, as when you are walking down the street and see cars appear and
disappear behind buildings. Infants develop the ability to track briefly
occluded moving objects at about 3 to 5 months (Bertenthal, 2008). One
study explored the ability of 5- to 9-month-old infants to track moving
objects that disappeared gradually behind an occluded partition, disappeared
abruptly, or imploded (shrank quickly) (Bertenthal, Longo, & Kenny, 2007)
(see Figure 15). In this study, the infants were more likely to accurately track
the moving object when it disappeared gradually than when it vanished
abruptly or imploded.
Figure 15 Infants’ Predictive Tracking of a Briefly Occluded Moving Ball.
The top image shows the visual scene that infants experienced. At the beginning of each
event, a multicolored ball bounced up and down with an accompanying bouncing sound,
and then rolled across the floor until it disappeared behind the partition. The bottom three
images show the three stimulus events that the 5- to 9-month-old infants experienced: (a)
gradual occlusion—the ball gradually disappears behind the right side of the occluding
partition located in the center of the display; (b) abrupt occlusion—the ball abruptly
disappears when it reaches the location of the white circle and then abruptly reappears 2
seconds later at the location of the second white circle on the other side of the occluding
partition; (c) implosion—the rolling ball quickly decreases in size as it approaches the
occluding partition and rapidly increases in size as it reappears on the other side of the
occluding partition.
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Depth Perception
To investigate whether infants have depth perception, Eleanor Gibson and
Richard Walk (1960) constructed a miniature cliff with a drop-off covered by
glass. They placed 6- to 12-month-old infants on the edge of this visual cliff
and had their mothers coax them to crawl onto the glass (see Figure 16). Most
infants would not crawl out on the glass, choosing instead to remain on the
shallow side, an indication that they could perceive depth, according to
Gibson and Walk. Although researchers do not know exactly how early in
life infants can perceive depth, they have found that infants develop the
ability to use binocular (two-eyed) cues to depth by about 3 to 4 months of
age.
Figure 16 Examining Infants’ Depth Perception on the Visual Cliff.
Eleanor Gibson and Richard Walk (1960) found that most infants would not crawl out on
the glass, which, according to Gibson and Walk, indicated that they had depth perception.
However, critics point out that the visual cliff is a better indication of the infant’s social
referencing and fear of heights than of the infant’s perception of depth.
©Mark Richards/PhotoEdit
Other Senses
Other sensory systems besides vision also develop during infancy.
In this section, we explore development in hearing, touch and pain, smell,
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and taste.
Hearing
During the last two months of pregnancy, as the fetus nestles in its mother’s
womb, it can hear sounds such as the mother’s voice (Kisilevsky & others,
2009). In one study, researchers had 16 women read The Cat in the Hat aloud
to their fetuses during the last months of pregnancy (DeCasper & Spence,
1986). Then, shortly after their babies were born, the mothers read aloud
either The Cat in the Hat or a story with a different rhyme and pace, The
King, the Mice and the Cheese (which had not been read during prenatal
development). The infants sucked on a nipple in a different way when the
mothers read the two stories, suggesting that the infants recognized the
pattern and tone of The Cat in the Hat. An fMRI study confirmed that a fetus
can hear at 33 to 34 weeks into the prenatal period by assessing fetal brain
response to auditory stimuli (Jardri & others, 2012).
Newborns are especially sensitive to human speech sounds (Saffran,
Werker, & Werner, 2006). Just a few days after birth, newborns will turn
toward the sound of a familiar caregiver’s voice.
What changes in hearing take place during infancy? They involve
perception of a sound’s loudness, pitch, and localization. Immediately after
birth, infants cannot hear soft sounds quite as well as adults can; a stimulus
must be louder for the newborn to hear it (Trehub & others, 1991). By 3
months of age, infants’ perception of sounds improves, although some
aspects of loudness perception do not reach adult levels until 5 to 10 years of
age (Trainor & He, 2013). Infants are also less sensitive to the pitch of a
sound than adults are. Pitch is the frequency of a sound; a
soprano voice sounds high-pitched, a bass voice low-pitched.
Infants are less sensitive to low-pitched sounds and are more
likely to hear high-pitched sounds (Aslin, Jusczyk, & Pisoni, 1998). By 2
years of age, infants have considerably improved their ability to distinguish
sounds with different pitches.
Even newborns can determine the general location from which a sound is
coming, but by 6 months they are more proficient at localizing sounds,
detecting their origins. The ability to localize sounds continues to improve
during the second year (Saffran, Werker, & Werner, 2006).
Touch and Pain
Newborns respond to touch. A touch to the cheek produces a turning of the
head; a touch to the lips produces sucking movements. Regular gentle tactile
stimulation during prenatal development may have positive developmental
outcomes. For example, a recent study found that 3-month-olds who had
received regular gentle tactile stimulation as fetuses were more likely to have
an easy temperament than their counterparts who had irregular gentle or no
tactile stimulation as fetuses (Wang, Hua, & Xu, 2015).
Newborns can also feel pain (Bellini & others, 2016; Jones & others,
2017). The issue of an infant’s pain perception often becomes important to
parents who give birth to a son and need to consider whether he should be
circumcised. An investigation by Megan Gunnar and her colleagues (1987)
found that although newborn infant males cry intensely during circumcision,
they also display amazing resiliency. Many newly circumcised infants go into
a deep sleep not long after the procedure, probably as a coping mechanism.
Also, once researchers discovered that newborns feel pain, the practice of
operating on newborns without anesthesia began to be reconsidered.
Anesthesia is now used in some circumcisions (Morris & others, 2012). And
in a recent study, kangaroo care was very effective in reducing neonatal pain,
especially indicated by the significantly lower level of crying when the care
was instituted after the newborn’s blood had been drawn by a heel stick (Seo,
Lee, & Ahn, 2016).
Smell
Newborns also can differentiate among odors (Cao Van & others, 2018). For
example, the expressions on their faces indicate that they like the scents of
vanilla and strawberry but do not like the scent of rotten eggs or fish (Steiner,
1979).
It may take time to develop other odor preferences, however. By the time
they were 6 days old, breast-fed infants in one study showed a clear
preference for smelling their mother’s breast pad rather than a clean breast
pad (MacFarlane, 1975). When they were 2 days old they did not show this
preference, indicating that they require several days of experience to
recognize this scent.
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Taste
Sensitivity to taste is present even before birth (De Cosmi, Scaglioni, &
Agostini, 2018). In one very early experiment, when saccharin was added to
the amniotic fluid of a near-term fetus, swallowing increased (Windle, 1940).
In another study, even at only 2 hours of age, babies made different facial
expressions when they tasted sweet, sour, and bitter solutions (Rosenstein &
Oster, 1988). At about 4 months, infants begin to prefer salty tastes, which as
newborns they had found to be aversive (Harris, Thomas, & Booth, 1990).
Intermodal Perception
How do infants put all these stimuli together? Imagine yourself playing
basketball or tennis. You are experiencing many visual inputs: the ball
coming and going, other players moving around, and so on. However, you
are experiencing many auditory inputs as well: the sound of the ball bouncing
or being hit, the grunts and groans of the participants, and so on. There is
good correspondence between much of the visual and auditory information:
When you see the ball bounce, you hear a bouncing sound; when a player
stretches to hit a ball, you hear a groan. When you look at and listen to what
is going on, you do not experience just the sounds or just the
sights; you put all these things together. You experience a unitary
episode. This is intermodal perception, which involves
integrating information from two or more sensory modalities, such as vision
and hearing (Bremner & Spence, 2017; Hannon, Schachner, & Nave-
Blodgett, 2017). Most perception is intermodal (Bahrick, 2010).
Early, exploratory forms of intermodal perception exist even in newborns
(Bremner, 2017). For example, newborns turn their eyes and their head
toward the sound of a voice or rattle when the sound is maintained for several
seconds (Clifton & others, 1981). Intermodal perception becomes sharper
with experience in the first year of life (Kirkham & others, 2012). In the first
six months, infants have difficulty connecting sensory input from different
modes (such as vision and sound), but in the second half of the first year they
show an increased ability to make this connection mentally.
Nature, Nurture, and Perceptual Development
Now that we have discussed many aspects of perceptual development, let’s
explore one of developmental psychology’s key issues as it relates to
perceptual development: the nature-nurture issue. There has been a
longstanding interest in how strongly infants’ perception is influenced by
nature or nurture (Bremner, 2017; Chen & others, 2017). In the field of
perceptual development, those who emphasize nature are referred to as
nativists and those who emphasize learning and experience are called
empiricists. In the nativist view, the ability to perceive the world in a
competent, organized way is inborn or innate. A completely nativist view of
perceptual development is no longer accepted in developmental psychology.
The Gibsons argued that a key question in infant perception is what
information is available in the environment and how infants learn to generate,
differentiate, and discriminate the information—certainly not a nativist view.
The Gibsons’ ecological view also is quite different from Piaget’s
constructivist view. According to Piaget, much of perceptual development in
infancy must await the development of a sequence of cognitive stages in
which infants become able to construct more complex perceptual tasks. Thus,
in Piaget’s view the ability to perceive size and shape constancy, a three-
dimensional world, intermodal perception, and so on develops later in
infancy than the Gibsons envision.
The longitudinal research of Daphne Maurer and her colleagues (Chen &
others, 2017; Lewis & Maurer, 2005, 2009; Maurer, 2016; Maurer & Lewis,
2013; Maurer & others, 1999) has focused on infants born with cataracts—a
thickening of the lens of the eye that causes vision to become cloudy, opaque,
and distorted and thus severely restricts these infants’ ability to experience
their visual world. By studying infants whose cataracts were removed at
different points in development, they discovered that those whose cataracts
were removed and new lenses placed in their eyes in the first several months
after birth showed a normal pattern of visual development. However, the
longer the delay in removing the cataracts, the more their visual development
was impaired. In their research, Maurer and her colleagues (Maurer, 2016;
Maurer, Mondloch, & Leis, 2007) have found that experiencing patterned
visual input early in infancy is important for holistic and detailed face
processing after infancy. Maurer’s research program illustrates how
deprivation and experience influence visual development, including an early
sensitive period in which visual input is necessary for normal visual
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development (Maurer & Lewis, 2013).
What roles do nature and nurture play in the infant’s perceptual development?
©Boris Ryaposov/Shutterstock
Today it is clear that an extreme empiricist position on perceptual
development is unwarranted. Much of early perception develops from innate
(nature) capabilities, and the basic foundation of many perceptual abilities
can be detected in newborns, whereas others unfold through
maturation (Bornstein, Arterberry, & Mash, 2011). However,
as infants develop, environmental experiences (nurture) refine
or calibrate many perceptual functions, and they may be the driving force
behind some functions (Johnson & Hannon, 2015). The accumulation of
experience with and knowledge about their perceptual world contributes to
infants’ ability to perceive coherent impressions of people and things (Slater
& others, 2011). Thus, a full portrait of perceptual development includes the
influence of nature, nurture, and a developing sensitivity to information
(Bremner & others, 2016; Chen & others, 2017).
Perceptual Motor Coupling
A central theme of the ecological approach is the interplay between
perception and action. Action can guide perception, and perception can guide
action. Only by moving one’s eyes, head, hands, and arms and by moving
from one location to another can an individual fully experience his or her
environment and learn how to adapt to it. Thus, perception and action are
coupled (Adolph, 2018; Franchak, Kretch, & Adolph, 2019).
Babies, for example, continually coordinate their movements with
perceptual information to learn how to maintain balance, reach for objects in
space, and move across various surfaces and terrains (Adolph & Hoch, 2019;
Thelen & Smith, 2006). They are motivated to move by what they perceive.
Consider the sight of an attractive toy across the room. In this situation,
infants must perceive the current state of their bodies and learn how to use
their limbs to reach the toy. Although their movements at first are awkward
and uncoordinated, babies soon learn to select patterns that are appropriate
for reaching their goals.
Equally important is the other part of the perception-action coupling. That
is, action educates perception (Adolph, 2018; Lee & others, 2019). For
example, watching an object while exploring it manually helps infants
discover its texture, size, and hardness. Moving around in their environment
teaches babies about how objects and people look from different
perspectives, or whether surfaces will support their weight. In short, infants
perceive in order to move and move in order to perceive. Perceptual and
motor development do not occur in isolation from each other but instead are
coupled.
Cognitive Development
The competent infant not only develops motor and perceptual skills, but also
develops cognitive skills. Our coverage of cognitive development in infancy
focuses on Piaget’s theory and sensorimotor stages as well as on how infants
learn, remember, and conceptualize.
Piaget’s Theory
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Piaget’s theory is a general, unifying story of how biology and experience
sculpt cognitive development. The Swiss child psychologist Jean Piaget
thought that, just as our physical bodies have structures that enable us to
adapt to the world, we build mental structures that help us to adapt to the
world. Adaptation involves adjusting to new environmental demands. Piaget
stressed that children actively construct their own cognitive worlds;
information is not just poured into their minds from the environment. He
sought to discover how children at different points in their development think
about the world and how systematic changes in their thinking occur.
Processes of Development
What processes do children use as they construct their knowledge of the
world? Piaget developed several concepts to answer this question.
Schemes According to Piaget (1954), as the infant or child seeks to
construct an understanding of the world, the developing brain creates
schemes. These are actions or mental representations that organize
knowledge. In Piaget’s theory, infants create behavioral schemes
(physical activities), whereas toddlers and older children create
mental schemes (cognitive activities) (Lamb, Bornstein, & Teti,
2002). A baby’s schemes are structured by simple actions that can be
performed on objects, such as sucking, looking, and grasping. Older
children’s schemes include strategies and plans for solving problems.
Assimilation and Accommodation To explain how children use and
adapt their schemes, Piaget offered two concepts: assimilation and
accommodation. Assimilation occurs when children use their existing
schemes to deal with new information or experiences. Accommodation
occurs when children adjust their schemes to account for new information
and experiences.
Think about a toddler who has learned the word car to identify the
family’s automobile. The toddler might call all moving vehicles on roads
“cars,” including motorcycles and trucks; the child has assimilated these
objects to his or her existing scheme. But the child soon learns that
motorcycles and trucks are not cars and fine-tunes the category to exclude
those vehicles. The child has accommodated the scheme.
In Piaget’s view, what is a scheme? What schemes might this young infant be displaying?
©CSP_NikolayK/age fotostock
Organization To make sense out of their world, said Piaget, children
cognitively organize their experiences. Organization, in Piaget’s theory, is
the grouping of isolated behaviors and thoughts into a higher-order system.
Continual refinement of this organization is an inherent part of development.
A child who has only a vague idea about how to use a hammer may also have
a vague idea about how to use other tools. After learning how to use each
one, she relates these uses to one another, thereby organizing her knowledge.
Equilibration and Stages of Development Assimilation and
accommodation always take the child to a higher level, according to Piaget.
In trying to understand the world, the child inevitably experiences cognitive
conflict, or disequilibrium. That is, the child is constantly faced with
inconsistencies and counterexamples to his or her existing schemes. For
example, if a child believes that pouring water from a short, wide container
into a tall, narrow container changes the amount of water in the container, the
child might wonder where the “extra” water came from and whether there is
actually more water to drink. This puzzle creates disequilibrium; and in
Piaget’s view the resulting search for equilibrium creates motivation for
change. The child assimilates and accommodates, adjusting old schemes,
developing new schemes, and organizing and reorganizing the old and new
schemes. Eventually the organization is fundamentally different from the old
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organization; it becomes a new way of thinking.
Equilibration is the name Piaget gave to this mechanism by which
children shift from one stage of thought to the next. Equilibration does not,
however, happen all at once. There is considerable movement between states
of cognitive equilibrium and disequilibrium as assimilation and
accommodation work in concert to produce cognitive change.
A result of these processes, according to Piaget, is that individuals go
through four stages of development. A different way of understanding the
world makes one stage more advanced than another. Cognition is
qualitatively different in one stage compared with another. In other words,
the way children reason at one stage is different from the way they reason at
another stage. Here our focus is on Piaget’s stage of infant cognitive
development.
The Sensorimotor Stage
The sensorimotor stage lasts from birth to about age 2. In this stage, infants
construct an understanding of the world by coordinating sensory experiences
(such as seeing and hearing) with physical, motor actions—hence the term
sensorimotor. At the beginning of this stage, newborns have little more than
reflexes to work with. At the end of the sensorimotor stage, 2-year-olds can
produce complex sensorimotor patterns and use primitive
symbols. We first summarize Piaget’s descriptions of how infants
develop. Later we consider criticisms of his view.
Object Permanence Object permanence is the understanding that objects
continue to exist even when they cannot be seen, heard, or touched.
Acquiring the sense of object permanence is one of the infant’s most
important accomplishments, according to Piaget.
How could anyone know whether or not an infant had a sense of object
permanence? The principal way in which object permanence is studied is by
watching an infant’s reaction when an interesting object disappears (see
Figure 17). If infants search for the object, it is inferred that they know it
continues to exist.
Figure 17 Object Permanence.
Piaget argued that object permanence is one of infancy’s landmark cognitive
accomplishments. For this 5-month-old boy, “out of sight” is literally out of mind. The
infant looks at the toy monkey (top), but when his view of the toy is blocked (bottom), he
does not search for it. Several months later, he will search for the hidden toy monkey, an
action reflecting the presence of object permanence.
©Doug Goodman/Science Source
Evaluating Piaget’s Sensorimotor Stage Piaget opened up a new way
of looking at infants with his view that their main task is to coordinate their
sensory impressions with their motor activity. However, the infant’s
cognitive world is not as neatly packaged as Piaget portrayed it, and some of
Piaget’s explanations for the cause of change are debated. In the past several
decades, there have been many research studies on infant development using
sophisticated techniques. Much of the new research suggests that Piaget’s
view of sensorimotor development needs to be modified (Adolph, 2018; Bell
& others, 2018; Bremner & others, 2017; Lee & others, 2019; Van de
Vondervoort & Hamlin, 2018).
A-not-B error is the term used to describe the tendency of infants to
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reach where an object was located earlier rather than where the object was
last hidden. Older infants are less likely to make the A-not-B error because
their concept of object permanence is more complete.
Researchers have found, however, that the A-not-B error does not show
up consistently (MacNeill & others, 2018; Sophian, 1985). The evidence
indicates that A-not-B errors are sensitive to the delay between hiding the
object at B and the infant’s attempt to find it (Diamond, 1985). Thus, the A-
not-B error might be due to a failure in memory. Another explanation is that
infants tend to repeat a previous motor behavior (Clearfield & others, 2006).
Research also suggests that infants develop the ability to understand how
the world works at a very early age (Aslin, 2017; Jin & others, 2018; Liu &
Spelke, 2017; Stavans & Baillargeon, 2018; Van de Vondervoort & Hamlin,
2018). And a number of theorists, such as Eleanor Gibson (1989) and
Elizabeth Spelke (2004, 2011, 2013, 2017), have concluded that infants’
perceptual abilities are highly developed very early in life. For example,
intermodal perception—the ability to coordinate information from two or
more sensory modalities, such as vision and hearing—develops much earlier
than Piaget would have predicted (Spelke & Owsley, 1979).
Object permanence also develops earlier than Piaget thought. In his view,
object permanence does not develop until approximately 8 to 9 months.
However, research by Renée Baillargeon and her colleagues (2004, 2014,
2016; Baillargeon & DeJong, 2017; Baillargeon & others, 2012) documents
that infants as young as 3 to 4 months expect objects to be substantial (in the
sense that other objects cannot move through them) and permanent (in the
sense that they continue to exist when they are hidden).
Today researchers believe that infants see objects as bounded, unitary,
solid, and separate from their background, possibly at birth or shortly
thereafter, but definitely by 3 to 4 months, much earlier than Piaget
envisioned. Young infants still have much to learn about objects, but the
world appears both stable and orderly to them (Bremner, 2017; Liu & Spelke,
2017; Stavans & Baillargeon, 2018).
In considering the big issue of whether nature or nature plays a more
important role in infant development, Elizabeth Spelke (2011,
2013, 2016a, b, 2017; Huang & Spelke, 2015; Liu & Spelke,
2017; Spelke, Bernier, & Snedeker, 2013) comes down
clearly on the side of nature. Spelke endorses a core knowledge approach,
which states that infants are born with domain-specific innate knowledge
systems. Among these knowledge systems are those involving space, number
sense, object permanence, and language (which we will discuss later in this
chapter). Strongly influenced by evolution, the core knowledge domains are
theorized to be “prewired” to allow infants to make sense of their world
(Coubart & others, 2014; Strickland & Chemla, 2018). After all, Spelke
concludes, how could infants possibly grasp the complex world in which they
live if they did not come into the world equipped with core sets of
knowledge? In this approach, the innate core knowledge domains form a
foundation around which more mature cognitive functioning and learning
develop. The core knowledge approach argues that Piaget greatly
underestimated the cognitive abilities of infants, especially young infants
(Spelke, 2017).
Recently, researchers also have explored whether preverbal infants might
have a built-in, innate sense of morality (Steckler & Hamlin, 2016; Van de
Vondervoort & Hamlin, 2016, 2018). In this research, infants as young as 4
months of age are more likely to make visually guided reaches toward a
puppet who has acted as a helper (such as helping someone get up a hill,
assisting in opening a box, or giving a ball back) rather than toward a puppet
who has hindered others’ efforts to achieve such goals (Hamlin, 2013, 2014).
Recently, the view that the emergence of morality in infancy is innate was
described as problematic (Carpendale & Hammond, 2016). Instead it was
argued that morality may emerge through infants’ early interaction with
others and undergo later transformation through language and reflective
thought.
In criticizing the core knowledge approach, British developmental
psychologist Mark Johnson (2008) says that the infants Spelke assesses in her
research have already accumulated hundreds, and in some cases even
thousands, of hours of experience in grasping what the world is about, which
gives considerable room for the environment’s role in the development of
infant cognition (Highfield, 2008). According to Johnson (2008), infants
likely come into the world with “soft biases to perceive and attend to
different aspects of the environment, and to learn about the world in
particular ways.” A major criticism is that nativists completely neglect the
infant’s social immersion in the world and instead focus only on what
happens inside the infant’s head apart from the environment (de Haan &
Johnson, 2016; Hakuno & others, 2018; Nelson, 2013).
In sum, many researchers conclude that Piaget wasn’t specific enough
about how infants learn about their world and that infants, especially young
infants, are more competent than Piaget thought (Adolph & Hoch, 2019;
Aslin, 2017; Bell & others, 2018; Xie, Mallin, & Richards, 2018). As these
researchers have examined the specific ways that infants learn, the field of
infant cognition has become very specialized. There are many researchers
working on different questions, with no general theory emerging that can
connect all of the different findings. Their theories often are local theories,
focused on specific research questions, rather than grand theories like
Piaget’s (Kuhn, 1998). Among the unifying themes in the study of infant
cognition are seeking to understand more precisely how developmental
changes in cognition take place, considering the big issue of nature and
nurture, and examining the brain’s role in cognitive development. Recall that
exploring connections between brain, cognition, and development is the focus
of the recently emerging field of developmental cognitive neuroscience (Bell
& others, 2018; Bick & Nelson, 2018; Gliga & others, 2018; Meltzoff &
others, 2018a, b; Saez de Urabain, Nuthmann, & Johnson, 2017).
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What are some conclusions that can be reached about infant learning and cognition?
©baobao ou/Getty Images
Learning, Remembering, and Conceptualizing
Earlier we described the behavioral and social cognitive theories,
as well as information-processing theory. These theories emphasize that
cognitive development does not unfold in a stage-like process as Piaget
proposed, but rather advances more gradually (Diamond, 2013). In this
section we explore what researchers who are using these approaches can tell
us about how infants learn, remember, and conceptualize.
Conditioning
We have discussed Skinner’s theory of operant conditioning, in which the
consequences of a behavior influence the probability of the behavior’s
recurrence. Infants can learn through operant conditioning: If an infant’s
behavior is followed by a rewarding stimulus, the behavior is likely to recur.
Operant conditioning has been especially helpful to researchers in their
efforts to determine what infants perceive (Rovee-Collier & Barr, 2010). For
example, infants will suck faster on a nipple when the sucking behavior is
followed by a visual display, music, or a human voice (Rovee-Collier, 2008).
Carolyn Rovee-Collier (1987) has demonstrated that infants can retain
information from the experience of being conditioned. In a characteristic
experiment, Rovee-Collier places a 2½-month-old baby in a crib under an
elaborate mobile (see Figure 18). She then ties one end of a ribbon to the
baby’s ankle and the other end to the mobile. Subsequently, she observes that
the baby kicks and makes the mobile move. The movement of the mobile is
the reinforcing stimulus (which increases the baby’s kicking behavior) in this
experiment. Weeks later, the baby is returned to the crib, but its foot is not
tied to the mobile. The baby kicks, suggesting that it has retained the
information that if it kicks a leg, the mobile will move.
Figure 18 The Technique Used in Rovee-Collier’s Investigation of Infant Memory.
In Rovee-Collier’s experiment, operant conditioning was used to demonstrate that infants
as young as 2½ months of age can retain information from the experience of being
conditioned. What did infants recall in Rovee-Collier’s experiment?
©Dr. Carolyn Rovee-Collier
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Attention
Attention, the focusing of mental resources on select information, improves
cognitive processing on many tasks (Ito-Jager & others, 2017; Posner, 2018a,
b; Reynolds & Richards, 2018; Tsurumi, Kanazawa, & Yamaguchi, 2018;
Wu & Scerif, 2018; Yu & Smith, 2017). Even newborns can detect a contour
and fix their attention on it. Older infants scan patterns more thoroughly. By
4 months, infants can selectively attend to an object. A longitudinal study
found that 5-month-olds who were more efficient in processing information
quickly had better higher-level cognitive functioning in the preschool years
(Cuevas & Bell, 2014).
Closely linked with attention are the processes of habituation and
dishabituation, which we discussed earlier in this chapter (Jones & others,
2017). Infants’ attention is strongly governed by novelty and habituation
(Christodoulou, Leland, & Moore, 2018; Falck-Ytter & others, 2018). When
an object becomes familiar, attention becomes shorter, making infants more
vulnerable to distraction (Kavsek, 2013).
Another aspect of attention that plays an important role in infant
development is joint attention, in which individuals focus on the same
object or event (Mateus & others, 2018; Urqueta Alfaro & others, 2018).
Joint attention requires (1) the ability to track each other’s behavior, such as
following someone’s gaze; (2) one person directing another’s attention; and
(3) reciprocal interaction. Early in infancy, joint attention usually involves a
caregiver pointing or using words to direct an infant’s attention. Emerging
forms of joint attention occur at about 7 to 8 months, but it is not until 10 to
11 months that joint attention skills are frequently observed (Meltzoff &
Brooks, 2009). By their first birthday, infants have begun to direct adults’
attention to objects that capture their interest (Heimann &
others, 2006). And one study found that problems in joint
attention as early as 8 months of age were linked to a child
having been diagnosed with autism by 7 years of age (Veness & others,
2014). Also, a recent study involving the use of eye-tracking equipment with
11- to 24-month-olds revealed that joint attention was predicted by infants’
hand-eye coordination involving the connection of gaze with manual actions
on objects, rather than by gaze following alone (Yu & Smith, 2017).
How Would
You…?
As a human
development and
family studies
professional, what
strategies would you
recommend to parents
who are want to foster
their infant’s
development of
attention?
Joint attention plays important roles in many aspects of infant
development and considerably increases infants’ ability to learn from other
people (McClure & others, 2018; Yu & Smith, 2017). Nowhere is this more
apparent than in observations of interchanges between caregivers and infants
as infants are learning language (Mason-Apps & others, 2018; Tomasello,
2014). Researchers have found that joint attention is linked to better sustained
attention (Yu & Smith, 2017); memory (Kopp & Lindenberger, 2011); self-
regulation (Van Hecke & others, 2012); and executive function (Gueron-Sela
& others, 2018).
Imitation
Infant development researcher Andrew Meltzoff and his colleagues (2004,
2007, 2011; Meltzoff & Williamson, 2010, 2013; Meltzoff & others, , 2018a,
b; Waismeyer & Meltzoff, 2017) have conducted numerous studies of
infants’ imitative abilities. Meltzoff sees infants’ imitative abilities as
biologically based, because infants can imitate a facial expression within the
first few days after birth. Meltzoff (2017) also emphasizes that infants’
imitation informs us about their processing of social events and contributes to
rapid social learning. He also emphasizes that the infant’s imitative abilities
do not resemble a hardwired response but rather involve flexibility and
adaptability. In Meltzoff’s observations of infants during the first 72 hours of
life, the infants gradually displayed more complete imitation of an adult’s
facial expression, such as protruding the tongue or opening the mouth wide
(see Figure 19).
Figure 19 Infant Imitation.
Infant development researcher Andrew Meltzoff protrudes his tongue in an attempt to get
an infant to imitate his behavior. How do Meltzoff’s findings about imitation compare with
Piaget’s descriptions of infants’ abilities?
©Dr. Andrew Meltzoff
Meltzoff (2007, 2011; Meltzoff & others, 2018a, b) concludes that infants
don’t blindly imitate everything they see and often make creative errors. He
also argues that beginning at birth there is an interplay between learning by
observing and learning by doing (Piaget emphasized learning by doing).
Not all experts on infant development accept Meltzoff’s conclusion that
newborns are capable of imitation. Some say that these babies were engaging
in little more than automatic responses to a stimulus.
Meltzoff (2005, 2011; Meltzoff & Williamson, 2013) has also studied
deferred imitation, which occurs after a time delay of hours or days. Piaget
held that deferred imitation does not occur until about 18 months. Meltzoff’s
research suggested that it occurs much earlier. In one study, Meltzoff (1988)
demonstrated that 9-month-old infants could imitate actions—such as
pushing a recessed button in a box, which produced a beeping sound—that
they had seen performed 24 hours earlier.
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Memory
Meltzoff’s studies of deferred imitation suggest that infants have another
important cognitive ability: memory, which involves the retention of
information over time. Sometimes information is retained only for a few
seconds, and at other times it is retained for a lifetime. What can infants
remember, and when?
Some researchers, such as Rovee-Collier (2008), have concluded that
infants as young as 2 to 6 months can remember some experiences through
1½ to 2 years of age. However, critics such as Jean Mandler (2000), a leading
expert on infant cognition, argue that the infants in Rovee-
Collier’s experiments are displaying only implicit memory.
Implicit memory refers to memory without conscious
recollection—memories of skills and routine procedures that are performed
automatically. In contrast, explicit memory refers to conscious memory of
facts and experiences.
When people think about memory, they are usually referring to explicit
memory. Most researchers find that babies do not show explicit memory until
the second half of the first year (Bauer, 2013, 2015, 2018; Bauer & Larkina,
2016). Explicit memory improves substantially during the second year of life
(Bauer, 2013, 2015, 2018; Bauer & Leventon, 2015). In one longitudinal
study, infants were assessed several times during their second year (Bauer &
others, 2000). The older infants showed more accurate memory and required
fewer prompts to demonstrate their memory than younger infants did. Figure
20 summarizes how long infants of different ages can remember information
(Bauer, 2009). As indicated, researchers have documented that 6-month-olds
can remember information for 24 hours but 20-month-old infants can
remember information they encountered 12 months earlier.
Figure 20 Age-Related Changes in the Length of Time Over Which Memory Occurs
Let’s examine another aspect of memory. Do you remember your third
birthday party? Probably not. Most adults can remember little, if anything,
from the first 3 years of their life. This is called infantile or childhood
amnesia. The few memories that adults are able to report of their life at age 2
or 3 are at best very sketchy (Fivush, 2011; Riggins, 2012).
Patricia Bauer and her colleagues (Bauer, 2015, 2018; Bauer & Larkina,
2016; Pathman, Doydum, & Bauer, 2013) have studied when infantile
amnesia begins to occur. In one study, children’s memories of events that
occurred at 3 years of age were periodically assessed through age 9 (Bauer &
Larkina, 2014). By 8 to 9 years of age, children’s memories of events that
occurred at 3 years of age began to significantly fade away. In Bauer’s (2015)
view, the processes that account for these developmental changes are early,
gradual development of the ability to form, retain, and later retrieve
memories of personally relevant past events followed by an accelerated rate
of forgetting in childhood.
What is the cause of infantile amnesia? One reason older children and
adults have difficulty recalling events from their infant and early childhood
years is that during these years the prefrontal lobes of the brain are immature,
and this area of the brain is believed to play an important role in storing
memories of events (Bauer, 2015, 2018).
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In sum, most of young infants’ conscious memories appear to be rather
fragile and short-lived, although their implicit memory of perceptual-motor
actions can be substantial (Bauer, 2015, 2018; Bauer & Fivush, 2014). By the
end of the second year, long-term memory is more substantial and reliable
(Bauer, 2015, 2018).
Concept Formation and Categorization
Along with attention, imitation, and memory, concepts are a key aspect of
infants’ cognitive development (Quinn, 2016). Concepts are cognitive
groupings of similar objects, events, people, or ideas. Without concepts, you
would see each object and event as unique; you would not be able to make
any generalizations.
Do infants have concepts? Yes, they do, although we do not know just
how early concept formation begins (Quinn & Bhatt, 2015). Using
habituation experiments like those described earlier in the chapter, some
researchers have found that infants as young as 3 months of age can group
together objects with similar appearances (Quinn & others, 2013). This
research capitalizes on the knowledge that infants are more likely to look at a
novel object than at a familiar one.
Jean Mandler (2009) argues that these early categorizations
are best described as perceptual categorization. That is, the
categorizations are based on similar perceptual features of
objects, such as size, color, and movement, as well as parts of objects, such as
legs for animals. Mandler (2004) concludes that it is not until about 7 to 9
months that infants form conceptual categories rather than just making
perceptual discriminations between different categories. In one study of 9- to
11-month-olds, infants classified birds as animals and airplanes as vehicles
even though the objects were perceptually similar—airplanes and birds with
their wings spread (Mandler & McDonough, 1993) (see Figure 21).
Figure 21 Categorization in 9- to 11-Month-Olds.
These are the stimuli used in the study that indicated 9- to 11-month-old infants
categorized birds as animals and airplanes as vehicles even though the objects were
perceptually similar (Mandler & McDonough, 1993).
In addition to infants categorizing items on the basis of external,
perceptual features such as shape, color, and parts, they also may categorize
items on the basis of prototypes, or averages, that they extract from the
structural regularities of items (Quinn & Bhatt, 2015).
Further advances in categorization occur in the second year of life
(Booth, 2006). Many infants’ “first concepts are broad and global in nature,
such as ‘animal’ or ‘indoor thing.’ Gradually, over the first two years these
broad concepts become more differentiated into concepts such as ‘land
animal,’ then ‘dog,’ or to ‘furniture,’ then ‘chair’” (Mandler, 2009, p. 1).
Learning to put things into the correct categories—what makes something
one kind of thing rather than another kind of thing, such as what makes a bird
a bird, or a fish a fish—is an important aspect of learning (Quinn, 2016). As
infant development researcher Alison Gopnik (2010, p. 159) pointed out, “If
you can sort the world into the right categories—put things in the right boxes
—then you’ve got a big advance on understanding the world.”
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How Would
You…?
As an educator, how
would you talk with
parents about the
importance of concept
development in their
infants?
In sum, the infant’s advances in processing information—through
attention, imitation, memory, and concept formation—are much richer, more
gradual and less stage-like, and occur earlier than was envisioned by earlier
theorists (Bauer, 2018; Meltzoff & others, 2018a, b; Wu & Scerif, 2018; Xie,
Mallin, & Richards, 2018). As leading infant researcher Jean Mandler (2004)
concluded, “The human infant shows a remarkable degree of learning power
and complexity in what is being learned and in the way it is represented” (p.
304).
Language Development
In 1799, villagers in the French town of Aveyron observed a nude boy
running through the woods and captured him. Known as the Wild Boy of
Aveyron, he was judged to be about 11 years old and believed to have lived
in the woods alone for six years (Lane, 1976). When found, he made no effort
to communicate, and he never did learn to communicate effectively.
Sadly, a modern-day wild child was discovered in Los Angeles in 1970.
Despite intensive intervention, the child, named Genie by researchers, never
acquired more than a primitive form of language. Both of these cases—the
Wild Boy of Aveyron and Genie—raise questions about the biological and
environmental determinants of language, topics that we also examine later in
the chapter. First, though, we need to define language.
Defining Language
Language is a form of communication—whether spoken, written, or signed
—that is based on a system of symbols. Language consists of the words used
by a community and the rules for varying and combining them. All human
languages have some common characteristics, such as organizational rules
and infinite generativity (Clark, 2017; Genetti, 2019; Ringe, 2019). Rules
describe the way the language works. Infinite generativity is the ability to
produce and comprehend an endless number of meaningful sentences using a
finite set of words and rules.
Think how important language is in our everyday lives. We need
language to speak with others, listen to others, read, and write. Our language
enables us to describe past events in detail and to plan for the future.
Language lets us pass down information from one generation to the next and
create a rich cultural heritage. Language learning involves comprehending a
sound system (or sign system for individuals who are deaf), the world of
objects, actions, and events, and how units such as words and grammar
connect sound and world (Israel, 2019; Mithun, 2019; van der Hulst, 2017;
Wilcox & Occhino, 2017).
How Language Develops
Whatever language they learn, infants all over the world follow a similar path
in language development. What are some key milestones in this
development?
Babbling and Gestures
Babies actively produce sounds from birth onward. The effect of these early
communications is to attract attention (Lee & others, 2018; Masapollo, Polka,
& Menard, 2016). Babies’ sounds and gestures go through the following
sequence during the first year:
Crying. Babies cry even at birth. Crying can signal distress, but as we will
discuss later, there are different types of cries that signal different things.
Cooing. Babies first coo at about 2 to 4 months. Coos are gurgling sounds
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that are made in the back of the throat and usually express pleasure during
interaction with the caregiver.
Babbling. In the middle of the first year, babies babble—that is, they
produce strings of consonant-vowel combinations such as “ba, ba, ba, ba”
(Lee & others, 2018). In a recent study, babbling onset predicted when
infants would say their first words (McGillion & others, 2017a). Also, in
another recent study, a lack of babbling in infants was linked to a risk of
having future speech and language problems (Lohmander & others,
2017). And in other research, infants’ babbling has been shown to
influence the behavior of their caregivers, creating social interaction that
facilitates their own language development (Albert, Schwade, &
Goldstein, 2018).
Gestures. Infants start using gestures, such as showing and pointing, at
about 8 to 12 months (Goldin-Meadow, 2015, 2017a, b; Novack & others,
2018). They may wave bye-bye, nod to mean “yes,” and show an empty
cup to ask for more milk. Lack of pointing is a significant indicator of
problems in the infant’s communication system (Cooperrider & Goldin-
Meadow, 2017, 2018). Why might gestures such as pointing promote
further language development? Infants’ gestures advance their language
development, since caregivers often talk to them about what they are
pointing to. Also, babies’ first words often are for things they have
previously pointed to.
Recognizing Language Sounds
Long before they begin to learn words, infants can make fine distinctions
among the sounds of a language (Kuhl & Damasio, 2012). In Patricia Kuhl’s
(2000, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015) research, phonemes (the basic sound units of
a language) from languages all over the world are piped through a speaker for
infants to hear (see Figure 22). A box with a toy bear in it is placed where the
infant can see it. A string of identical syllables is played; then the
syllables are changed (for example, ba ba ba ba, and then pa pa
pa pa). If the infant turns its head when the syllables change, the
box lights up and the bear dances and drums, rewarding the infant for
noticing the change.
Figure 22 From Universal Linguist to Language-Specific Listener.
In Patricia Kuhl’s research laboratory babies listen to tape-recorded voices that repeat
syllables. When the sounds of the syllables change, the babies quickly learn to look at the
bear. Using this technique, Kuhl has demonstrated that babies are universal linguists until
about 6 months of age, but in the next six months they become language-specific listeners.
Does Kuhl’s research give support to the view that either “nature” or “nurture” is the
source of language acquisition?
©Dr. Patricia Kuhl, Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences, University of
Washington
Kuhl’s research has demonstrated that from birth up to about 6 months,
infants are “citizens of the world”: They can tell when sounds change most of
the time no matter what language the syllables come from. But over the next
six months, infants get even better at perceiving changes in sounds from their
“own” language, the one their parents speak, and gradually lose the ability to
recognize differences that are not important in their own language (Kuhl,
2009, 2011, 2012, 2015). Recently, Kuhl (2015) has found that the age at
which a baby’s brain is most open to learning the sounds of a native language
begins at 6 months for vowels and at 9 months for consonants.
Also, in the second half of their first year, infants begin to segment the
continuous stream of speech they encounter into words (Ota & Skarabela,
2018; Polka & others, 2018). Initially, they likely rely on statistical
information such as the co-occurrence patterns of phonemes and syllables,
which allows them to extract potential word forms (Aslin, 2017; Richtsmeier
& Goffman, 2017; Saffran & Kirkham, 2018). For example, discovering that
the sequence br occurs more often at the beginning of words while nt is more
common at the end of words helps infants detect word boundaries. And as
infants extract an increasing number of potential word forms from the speech
stream they hear, they begin to associate these with concrete, perceptually
available objects in their world (Saffran & Kirkham, 2018; Zamuner, Fais, &
Werker, 2014). For example, infants might detect that the spoken word
“monkey” has a reliable statistical regularity of occurring in the visual
presence of an observed monkey but not in the presence of other animals,
such as bears (Pace & others, 2016). Thus, statistical learning involves
extracting information from the world to learn about the environment.
Richard Aslin (2017) recently emphasized that statistical learning—which
involves no instruction, reinforcement, or feedback—is a powerful learning
mechanism in infant development. In statistical learning, infants soak up
statistical regularities in the world merely through exposure to them (Lany &
others, 2018; Monroy & others, 2018; Saffran & Kirkham, 2018).
First Words
Infants understand words before they can produce or speak them (Pace &
others, 2016). For example, as early as 5 months many infants recognize their
name. However, the infant’s first spoken word, a milestone eagerly
anticipated by every parent, usually doesn’t occur until 10 to 15 months of
age and happens at an average of about 13 months. Yet long before babies
say their first words, they have been communicating with their parents, often
by gesturing and using their own special sounds. The appearance of first
words is a continuation of this communication process.
A child’s first words include those that name important people (dada),
familiar animals (kitty), vehicles (car), toys (ball), food (milk), body parts
(eye), clothes (hat), household items (clock), and greeting terms (bye).
Children often express various intentions with their single words, so that
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“cookie” might mean, “That’s a cookie” or “I want a cookie.” Nouns are
easier to learn because the majority of words in this class are more
perceptually accessible than other types of words (Parish-Morris, Golinkoff,
& Hirsh-Pasek, 2013). Think how the noun “car” is so much more concrete
and imaginable than the verb “goes,” making the word “car”
much easier to acquire than the word “goes.”
As indicated earlier, children understand their first words
earlier than they speak them. On average, infants understand about 50 words
at the age of 13 months, but they can’t say that many words until about 18
months. Thus, in infancy receptive vocabulary (words the child understands)
considerably exceeds spoken vocabulary (words the child uses). One study
revealed that 6-month-olds understand words that refer to body parts, such as
“hand” and “feet,” but of course, they cannot yet speak these words (Tincoff
& Jusczyk, 2012).
The infant’s spoken vocabulary rapidly increases once the first word is
spoken (Waxman & Goswami, 2012). Whereas the average 18-month-old can
speak about 50 words, a 2-year-old can speak about 200 words. This rapid
increase in vocabulary that begins at approximately 18 months is called the
vocabulary spurt (Bloom, Lifter, & Broughton, 1985).
Like the timing of a child’s first word, the timing of the vocabulary spurt
varies (Dale & Goodman, 2004). Figure 23 shows the range for these two
language milestones in 14 children. On average, these children said their first
word at 13 months and had a vocabulary spurt at 19 months. However, the
ages for the first word of individual children varied from 10 to 17 months
and, for their vocabulary spurt, from 13 to 25 months. Also, the spurt actually
involves the increase in the rate at which words are learned. That is, early on,
a few words are learned every few days, then later on, a few words are
learned each day, and eventually many words each day.
Figure 23 Variation in Language Milestones.
What are some possible explanations for variations in the timing of these milestones?
Does early vocabulary development predict later language development?
A recent study found that infant vocabulary development at 16 to 24 months
of age was linked to vocabulary, phonological awareness, reading accuracy,
and reading comprehension five years later (Duff & others, 2015).
Two-Word Utterances
By the time children are 18 to 24 months of age, they usually produce two-
word utterances. To convey meaning with just two words, the child relies
heavily on gesture, tone, and context. The wealth of meaning children can
communicate with a two-word utterance includes the following (Slobin,
1972): identification—“See doggie”; location—“Book there”; repetition
—“More milk”; negation—“Not wolf”; possession—“My candy”; attribution
—“Big car”; and question—“Where ball?” These examples are from children
whose first language is English, German, Russian, Finnish, Turkish, or
Samoan.
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Around the world, most young children learn to speak in two-word utterances at about 18
to 24 months of age. What are some examples of these two-word utterances?
©McPhoto/age fotostock
Notice that two-word utterances omit many parts of speech and are
remarkably succinct. In fact, in every language a child’s first combinations of
words have this economical quality; they are telegraphic. Telegraphic
speech is the use of short, precise words without grammatical markers such
as articles, auxiliary verbs, and other connectives. Telegraphic speech is not
limited to two words; “Mommy give ice cream” and “Mommy give Tommy
ice cream” are also examples of telegraphic speech.
Biological and Environmental Influences
We have discussed a number of language milestones in infancy; Figure 24
summarizes the ages at which infants typically reach these milestones. But
what makes this amazing development possible? Everyone who uses
language in some way “knows” its rules and has the ability to create an
infinite number of words and sentences. Where does this knowledge come
from? Is it the product of biology, or is language learned and influenced by
experiences?
Figure 24 Some Language Milestones in Infancy.
Despite substantial variations in the language input received by infants, around the world
they follow a similar path in learning to speak.
Biological Influences
The ability to speak and understand language requires a certain vocal
apparatus as well as a nervous system with specific capabilities. The nervous
system and vocal apparatus of humans’ predecessors changed over hundreds
of thousands, or millions, of years. With advances in the nervous system and
vocal structures, Homo sapiens went beyond the grunting and shrieking of
other animals to develop speech (Cataldo, Migliano, & Vinicius, 2018; Staes
& others, 2017). Although estimates vary, many experts believe that humans
acquired language about 100,000 years ago, which in evolutionary time
represents a very recent acquisition. It gave humans an enormous edge over
other animals and increased the chances of human survival (de Boer &
Thompson, 2018; McMurray, 2016; Pinker, 2015).
Some language scholars view the remarkable similarities in how children
acquire language all over the world as strong evidence that language has a
biological basis. There is evidence that particular regions of the brain are
predisposed to be used for language (Coulson, 2018; Schutze, 2017). Two
regions involved in language were first discovered in studies of brain-
damaged individuals: Broca’s area, an area in the left frontal lobe of the
brain that is involved in producing words (Maher, 2018; Zhang & others,
2017); and Wernicke’s area, a region of the brain’s left hemisphere that is
involved in language comprehension (Bruckner & Kammer, 2017;
Greenwald, 2018) (see Figure 25). Damage to either of these areas produces
types of aphasia, a loss or impairment of language processing. Individuals
with damage to Broca’s area have difficulty producing speech but can
comprehend what others say; those with damage to Wernicke’s area have
poor comprehension and often produce fluent but nonsensical speech.
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Figure 25 Broca’s Area and Wernicke’s Area.
Broca’s area is located in the frontal lobe of the brain’s left hemisphere, and it is involved
in the control of speech. Wernicke’s area is a portion of the left hemisphere’s temporal
lobe that is involved in understanding language. How does the role of these areas of the
brain relate to lateralization?
Linguist Noam Chomsky (1957) proposed that humans are biologically
“prewired” to learn language at a certain time and in a certain way. He said
that children are born into the world with a language acquisition device
(LAD), a biological endowment that enables the child to detect the various
features and rules of language. Children are prepared by nature with the
ability to detect the sounds of language, for example, and
follow linguistic rules such as those governing how to form
plurals and ask questions.
Chomsky’s LAD is a theoretical construct, not a physical part of the
brain. Is there evidence for the existence of a LAD? Supporters of the LAD
concept cite the uniformity of language milestones across languages and
cultures, evidence that children create language even in the absence of well-
formed input, and the importance of language’s biological underpinnings. But
as we will see, critics argue that even if infants have something like a LAD, it
cannot explain the whole process of language acquisition.
Environmental Influences
Language is not learned in a social vacuum. Most children are bathed in
language from a very early age. The support and involvement of caregivers
and teachers greatly facilitate a child’s language learning (Brown & others,
2018; Clark, 2017; Marchman & others, 2018; Weisleder & others, 2018).
Thus, social cues play an important role in infant language learning (Ahun &
others, 2018; McGillion & others, 2017b; Pace & others, 2016).
How Would
You…?
As a social worker,
how would you
intervene in a family in
which a child has lived
in social isolation for
years?
The support and involvement of caregivers and teachers greatly facilitate
a child’s language learning (Clark, 2017; Marchman & others, 2018). In one
study, both full-term and preterm infants who heard more caregiver talk
based on all-day recordings at 16 months of age had better language skills
(receptive and expressive language, language comprehension) at 18 months
of age (Adams & others, 2018).
Researchers have documented the important effect that early speech input
and poverty can have on the development of a child’s language skills (Hoff,
2015; NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, 2005). Betty Hart and
Todd Risley (1995) observed the language environments of children whose
parents were professionals and children whose parents were on welfare.
Compared with the professional parents, the parents on welfare talked much
less to their young children, talked less about past events, and provided less
elaboration. The children of the professional parents had a much larger
vocabulary at 36 months than the children of the welfare parents did. Keep in
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mind, though, that individual variations characterize language development
and that some welfare parents do spend considerable time talking to their
children.
Given that social interaction is critical for infants to learn language
effectively, might they also be able to learn language effectively through
television and videos? Researchers have found that infants and young
children cannot effectively learn language (phonology or words) from
television or videos (Kuhl, 2007; Roseberry & others, 2009). In fact, a study
of toddlers found that frequent viewing of television increased the risk of
delayed language development (Lin & others, 2015). Thus, just hearing
language is not enough even when infants seemingly are fully engaged in the
experience. However, another study revealed that Skype provides some
improvement in children’s language learning over videos and TV (Roseberry
& others, 2014), and older children can use information provided from
television in their language development.
Also, recently the American Academy of Pediatrics (2016) concluded that
when infants are 15 months to 2 years of age, evidence indicates that if
parents co-watch educational videos with their infant and communicate with
the infant about the information being watched, this interaction can benefit
the infant’s development. This suggests that when parents treat an
educational video or app like a picture book, infants can benefit from it.
However, APA still recommends no watching of videos alone for children
under 18 months of age.
One intriguing component of the young child’s linguistic environment is
child-directed speech (also referred to as “parentese”), which is language
spoken in a higher-than-usual pitch, slower tempo, and exaggerated
intonation, with simple words and sentences (Hayashi & Mazuka, 2017). It is
hard for most adults to use child-directed speech when not in the presence of
a baby. As soon as adults start talking to a baby, though, they often shift into
child-directed speech. Much of this is automatic and something most parents
are not aware they are doing. Child-directed speech serves the
important functions of capturing the infant’s attention,
maintaining communication and social interaction between
infants and caregivers, and providing infants with information about their
native language by heightening differences between speech directed to
children and adults (Golinkoff & others, 2015). Even 4-year-olds speak in
simpler ways to 2-year-olds than to their 4-year-old friends. In recent
research, child-directed speech in a one-to-one social context for 11 to 14
years of age was related to productive vocabulary at 2 years of age for
Spanish-English bilingual infants across languages and in each individual
language (Ramirez-Esparza, Garcia-Sierra, & Kuhl, 2017).
Most research on child-directed speech has involved mothers, but a recent
study in several North American urban areas and a small society on the island
of Tanna in the South Pacific Ocean found that fathers in both types of
contexts engaged in child-directed speech with their infants (Broesch &
Bryant, 2018).
Adults often use strategies other than child-directed speech to enhance the
child’s acquisition of language, including recasting, expanding, and labeling.
Recasting is when an adult rephrases something the child has said that might
lack the appropriate morphology or contain some other error. The adult
restates the child’s immature utterance in the form of a fully grammatical
sentence. For example, when a 2-year-old says, “dog bark,” the adult can
respond by saying, “Oh, you heard the dog barking!” The adult sentence
provides an acknowledgment that the child was heard and then adds the
morphology /ing/ and the article (the) that the child’s utterance lacked.
Expanding is adding information to a child’s incomplete utterance. For
example, a child says, “Doggie eat,” and the parent replies, “Yes, the dog is
eating his food out of his special dish.” Labeling is naming objects that
children seem interested in. Young children are forever being asked to
identify the names of objects. Roger Brown (1958) called this “the original
word game.” Children want more than the names of objects, though; they
often want information about the object too.
Parents use these strategies naturally and in meaningful conversations.
Parents do not (and should not) use any deliberate method to teach their
children to talk, even with children who are slow in learning language.
Children usually benefit when parents guide their discovery of language
rather than overloading them; “following in order to lead” helps a child learn
language. If children are not ready to take in some information, they are
likely to indicate this, perhaps by turning away. Thus, giving the child more
information is not always better.
Infants, toddlers, and young children benefit when adults read books to
and with them, a process called shared reading (Brown & others, 2018;
Marjanovic-Umek, Fekonja-Peklaj, & Socan, 2017; Sinclair & others, 2018).
In one study, reading daily to children at 14 to 24 months was positively
related to the children’s language and cognitive development at 36 months
(Raikes & others, 2006).
What are some effective ways that parents can facilitate their children’s
language development? They include the following strategies (Baron, 1992;
Galinsky, 2010; Golinkoff and Hirsh-Pasek, 2000):
Parents should begin talking to their babies at the start. The best language teaching occurs
when the talking is begun before the infant becomes capable of intelligible speech. What
are some other guidelines for parents to follow to help their infants and toddlers develop
their language skills?
©John Carter/Science Source
Be an active conversational partner. Initiate conversation with the baby.
Narrate your daily activities to the baby as you do them. For example,
talk about how you will put the baby in a high chair for lunch and ask
what she would like to eat, and so on.
Talk in a slowed-down pace and don’t worry about how you sound to
other adults when you talk to your baby. Talking in a slowed-down pace
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will help your baby detect words in the sea of sounds they experience.
Use parent-look and parent-gesture, and name what you are
looking at. When you want your child to pay attention to
something, look at it and point to it. Then name it—for
example, by saying “Look, Alex, it’s an airplane.”
When you talk with infants and toddlers, be simple, concrete, and
repetitive. Don’t try to talk to them in abstract, high-level ways and think
you have to say something new or different all of the time. Using familiar
words often will help them remember the words.
Play games. Use word games like peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake to help
infants learn words.
Remember to listen. Since toddlers’ speech is often slow and laborious,
parents are often tempted to supply words and thoughts for them. Be
patient and let toddlers express themselves.
Expand and elaborate language abilities and horizons with infants and
toddlers. Ask questions that encourage answers other than “Yes” and
“No.” Actively repeat, expand, and recast the utterances. Your toddler
might say, “Dada.” You could follow with, “Where’s Dada?” and then
you might continue, “Let’s go find him.”
How Would
You…?
As a human
development and
family studies
professional, how
would you encourage
parents to talk with their
infants and toddlers?
An Interactionist View
If language acquisition depended only on biology, Genie and the Wild Boy of
Aveyron (discussed earlier in the chapter) should have talked without
difficulty. A child’s experiences do influence language acquisition (Adams &
others, 2018; Pace & others, 2016). But we have seen that language also has
strong biological foundations (Dubois & others, 2016); no matter how much
you converse with a dog, it won’t learn to talk. Unlike dogs, children are
biologically equipped to learn language (McMurray, 2016; Pinker, 2015).
Children all over the world acquire language milestones at about the same
time and in about the same order. An interactionist view emphasizes that both
biology and experience contribute to language development (Adams &
others, 2017; McGillion & others, 2017b).
This interaction of biology and experience can be seen in variations in the
acquisition of language. Children vary in their ability to acquire language,
and this variation cannot be completely explained by differences in
environmental input alone. However, virtually every child benefits
enormously from opportunities to talk and be talked with. Children whose
parents and teachers provide them with a rich verbal environment show many
positive outcomes (Ahun & others, 2018; Clark, 2017; Marchman & others,
2018; Pickard & others, 2018). Parents and teachers who pay attention to
what children are trying to say, expand their children’s utterances, read to
them, and label things in the environment, are providing valuable, if
unintentional, benefits (Capone Singleton, 2018; Weisleder & others, 2018).
Summary
Physical Growth and Development in Infancy
Most development follows cephalocaudal and proximodistal patterns.
Physical growth is rapid in the first year, but the rate of growth slows in
the second year.
Dramatic changes characterize the brain’s development in the first two
years. The neuroconstructivist view is an increasingly popular view of the
brain’s development.
Newborns usually sleep 16 to 17 hours a day, but by 4 months many
American infants approach adult-like sleeping patterns.
Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is a condition that occurs when a
sleeping infant suddenly stops breathing and dies without an apparent
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cause.
Infants need to consume about 50 calories per day for each pound they
weigh. The growing consensus is that breast feeding is more beneficial
than bottle feeding.
Motor Development
Dynamic systems theory seeks to explain how motor behaviors are
assembled for perceiving and acting. This theory emphasizes that
experience plays an important role in motor development, and
that perception and action are coupled.
Reflexes—automatic movements—govern the newborn’s
behavior.
Key gross motor skills, which involve large-muscle activities, developed
during infancy include control of posture and walking.
Fine motor skills involve finely tuned movements. The onset of reaching
and grasping marks a significant accomplishment, and this becomes more
refined during the first two years of life.
Sensory and Perceptual Development
Sensation occurs when information interacts with sensory receptors.
Perception is the interpretation of sensation.
Created by the Gibsons, the ecological view states that perception brings
people into contact with the environment to interact with and adapt to it.
The infant’s visual acuity increases dramatically in the first year of life.
By 3 months of age, infants show size and shape constancy. In Gibson
and Walk’s classic study, infants had depth perception as young as 6
months of age.
The fetus can hear several weeks prior to birth. Just after being born,
infants can hear but their sensory threshold is higher than that of adults.
Newborns can respond to touch, feel pain, differentiate among odors, and
may be sensitive to taste at birth.
A basic form of intermodal perception is present in newborns and
sharpens over the first year of life.
In explaining developments in perception, nature advocates are referred to
as nativists and nurture proponents are called empiricists. A strong
empiricist approach is unwarranted. A full account of perceptual
development includes the roles of nature, nurture, and the infant’s
developing sensitivity to information.
Cognitive Development
In Piaget’s theory, children construct their own cognitive worlds, building
mental structures to adapt to their world. Schemes, assimilation and
accommodation, organization, and equilibration are key processes in
Piaget’s theory. According to Piaget, there are four qualitatively different
stages of thought. In sensorimotor thought, the first of Piaget’s four
stages, the infant organizes and coordinates sensations with physical
movements. The stage lasts from birth to about 2 years of age. One key
accomplishment of this stage is object permanence. In the past several
decades, revisions of Piaget’s view have been proposed based on
research.
An approach different from Piaget’s focuses on infants’ operant
conditioning, attention, imitation, memory, and concept formation.
Language Development
Rules describe the way language works. Language is characterized by
infinite generativity.
Infants reach a number of milestones in development, including first
words and two-word utterances.
Chomsky argues that children are born with the ability to detect basic
features and rules of language. However, environmental influences are
important, and babies are bathed in language early in their lives.
How much of language is biologically determined, and how much
depends on interaction with others, is a subject of debate among linguists
and psychologists. However, all agree that both biological capacity and
relevant experience are necessary. Parents should talk extensively with an
infant, especially about what the baby is attending to.
Key Terms
A-not-B error
accommodation
assimilation
attention
cephalocaudal pattern
child-directed speech
concepts
core knowledge approach
deferred imitation
dishabituation
dynamic systems theory
ecological view
equilibration
explicit memory
fine motor skills
gross motor skills
habituation
implicit memory
infinite generativity
intermodal perception
joint attention
language
language acquisition device (LAD)
lateralization
memory
neuroconstructivist view
object permanence
organization
perception
proximodistal pattern
schemes
sensation
sensorimotor stage
sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
telegraphic speech
visual preference method
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©Sam Edwards/Getty Images
4
Socioemotional
Development in Infancy
CHAPTER OUTLINE
Emotional and Personality Development
Emotional Development
Temperament
Personality Development
Social Orientation and Attachment
Social Orientation and Understanding
Attachment
Social Contexts
The Family
Child Care
Stories of Life-Span Development:
Darius and His Father
An increasing number of fathers are staying home to care for their
children (Bartel & others, 2018; Dette-Hagenmeyer, Erzinger, &
Reichle, 2016). And researchers are finding improved outcomes
when fathers are positively engaged with their infants (Alexander
& others, 2017; Cabrera & Roggman, 2017; Roopnarine &
Yildirim, 2018; Sethna & others, 2018). Consider 17-month-old
Darius. On weekdays, Darius’ father, a writer, cares for him during
the day while his mother works full-time as a landscape architect.
Darius’ father is doing a great job of caring for him. He keeps
Darius nearby while he is writing and spends lots of time talking to
him and playing with him. From their interactions, it is clear that
they genuinely enjoy each other’s company.
Last month, Darius began spending one day a week at a child-
care center. His parents selected the center after observing a
number of centers and interviewing teachers and center directors.
His parents placed him in the center because they wanted him to
get some experience with peers and his father to have some time
out from caregiving.
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How might fathers influence their infants’ and children’s development?
©Rick Gomez/Corbis/Getty Images
Darius’ father looks to the future and imagines the Little
League games Darius will play in and the many other activities he
can enjoy with his son. Remembering how little time his own
father spent with him, he is dedicated to making sure that Darius
has an involved, nurturing relationship with his father.
When Darius’ mother comes home in the evening,
she spends considerable time with him. Darius is
securely attached to both his mother and his father.
You have read about how infants perceive, learn, and
remember. Infants also are socioemotional beings, capable of
displaying emotions and initiating social interaction with people
close to them. The main topics that we explore in this chapter are
emotional and personality development, attachment, and the social
contexts of the family and child care. ■
Emotional and Personality
Development
Anyone who has been around infants for even a brief time can tell that they
are emotional beings. Not only do infants express emotions, but they also
vary in temperament. Some are shy and others are outgoing. Some are active
and others much less so. Let’s explore these and other aspects of emotional
and personality development in infants.
Emotional Development
Imagine what your life would be like without emotion. Emotion is the color
and music of life, as well as the tie that binds people together. How do
psychologists define and classify emotions, and why are they important to
development? How do emotions develop during the first two years of life?
What Are Emotions?
For our purposes, we will define emotion as feeling, or affect, that occurs
when a person is in a state or an interaction that is important to him or her,
especially to his or her well-being. Especially in infancy, emotions have
important roles in (1) communication with others and (2) behavioral
organization (Ekas, Braungart-Rieker, & Messinger, 2018; Perry & Calkins,
2018). Through emotions, infants communicate such important aspects of
their lives as joy, sadness, interest, and fear (Burkitt, 2018; Johnson, 2018;
Tottenham, 2017). In terms of behavioral organization, emotions influence
infants’ social responses and adaptive behavior as they interact with others in
their world (Cole, 2016; Cole & Hollenstein, 2018; Hoskin, 2018; Thompson,
2019).
Psychologists classify the broad range of emotions in many ways, but
almost all classifications designate an emotion as either positive (pleasant) or
negative (unpleasant) (Laurent, Wright, & Finnegan, 2018; Parsons & others,
2017). Positive emotions include happiness, joy, love, and enthusiasm.
Negative emotions include anxiety, anger, guilt, and sadness.
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Biological and Environmental Influences
Emotions are influenced by biological foundations, cognitive processes, and
by a person’s experiences (Causadias, Telzer, & Lee, 2017; Cole, Lougheed,
& Ram, 2018; Foroughe, 2018; Johnson, 2018; Perry & Calkins, 2018).
Certain regions of the brain that develop early in life (such as the brain stem,
hippocampus, and amygdala) play a role in distress, excitement, and rage,
and even infants display these emotions (van den Boomen, Munsters &
Kemner 2018; Tottenham, 2017). But, as we discuss later in the chapter,
infants only gradually develop the ability to regulate their emotions, and this
ability seems tied to the gradual maturation of the frontal regions of the
cerebral cortex that can exert control over other areas of the brain (Bell,
Broomell, & Patton, 2018; Bell & others, 2018; Lusby & others, 2016).
Also, cognitive processes, both in immediate “in the moment” contexts
and across development, influence infants’ and children’s emotional
development (Bell, Diaz, & Liu, 2018; Jiang & others, 2017). Attention
toward or away from an experience can influence infants’ and children’s
emotional responses. For example, children who can distract themselves from
a stressful encounter show a lower level of negative affect in the context and
less anxiety over time (Crockenberg & Leerkes, 2006).
Also, as children become older, they develop cognitive
strategies for controlling their emotions and become more adept
at modulating their emotional arousal (Bell, Diaz, & Liu, 2018;
Kaunhoven & Dorjee, 2017).
Cultural experiences and relationships influence emotional development
(Bedford & others, 2017; Causaudias, Telzer, & Lee, 2017; Morris & others,
2018; Otto, 2018; Perry & Calkins, 2018). Emotion-linked interchanges
provide the foundation for the infant’s attachment to the parent (Johnson,
2018). When toddlers hear their parents quarreling, they often react with
distress and inhibit their play. Well-functioning families make each other
laugh and may develop a light mood to defuse conflicts. One study of 18- to
24-month-olds found that parents’ elicitation of talk about emotions was
associated with their toddlers’ sharing and helping behaviors (Brownell &
others, 2013).
How do East Asian mothers handle their infants’ and children’s emotional development
differently from non-Latina White mothers?
©ICHIRO/Getty Images
Emotional development and coping with stress are influenced by whether
caregivers have maltreated or neglected children and whether children’s
caregivers are depressed or not (Almy & Cicchetti, 2018; Thompson, 2019).
When infants become stressed, they show better biological recovery from the
stressors when their caregivers engage in sensitive caregiving with them
(Sullivan & Wilson, 2018; Thompson & Goodvin, 2016).
Display rules—rules governing when, where, and how emotions should
be expressed—are not universal. For example, researchers have found that
East Asian infants display less frequent and less intense positive and negative
emotions than do non-Latino White infants (Cole & Tan, 2007). Throughout
childhood, East Asian parents encourage their children to show emotional
reserve rather than to be emotionally expressive (Cole, 2016).
Early Emotions
Emotions that infants express in the first six months of life include surprise,
interest, joy, anger, sadness, fear, and disgust (see Figure 1). Other emotions
that appear in infancy include jealousy, empathy, embarrassment, pride,
shame, and guilt; most of these occur for the first time at some point in the
second half of the first year or during the second year. These later-developing
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emotions have been called self-conscious or other-conscious emotions
because they involve the emotional reactions of others (Lewis, 2007, 2010,
2015, 2016).
Figure 1 Expression of Different Emotions in Infants
(Left to right) ©Kozak_O_O/Shutterstock; ©McGraw Hill Companies/Jill Braaten,
Photographer; ©Stanislav Photographer/Shutterstock; ©Stockbyte/Getty Images
Some experts on infant socioemotional development, such as Jerome
Kagan (2010, 2013), conclude that the structural immaturity of the infant
brain makes it unlikely that emotions that require thought—
such as guilt, pride, despair, shame, empathy, and jealousy—
can be experienced in the first year. Thus, both Kagan (2010)
and Joseph Campos (2009) argue that so-called “self-conscious” emotions
don’t occur until after the first year, a view that increasingly is shared by
most developmental psychologists.
Emotional Expressions and Relationships
Emotional expressions are involved in infants’ first relationships. The ability
of infants to communicate emotions permits coordinated interactions with
their caregivers and the beginning of an emotional bond between them
(Thompson, 2015, 2016). Not only do parents change their emotional
expressions in response to those of their infants (and each other), but infants
also modify their emotional expressions in response to those of their parents
(Firk & others, 2018; Johnson, 2018). In other words, these interactions are
mutually regulated. Because of this coordination, the interactions between
parents and infants are described as reciprocal, or synchronous, when all is
going well. Sensitive, responsive parents help their infants grow emotionally,
whether the infants respond in distressed or happy ways (Bell, Broomell, &
Patton, 2018; Birmingham, Bub, & Vaughn, 2017). For example, a recent
observational study of mother-infant interaction found that maternal
sensitivity was linked to a lower level of infant fear (Gartstein, Hancock, &
Iverson, 2017).
Crying Cries and smiles are two emotional expressions that infants display
when interacting with parents. These are babies’ first forms of emotional
communication. Crying is the most important mechanism newborns have for
communicating with their world. A recent study revealed that depressed
mothers rocked and touched their crying infants less than non-depressed
mothers (Esposito & others, 2017a). Cries may also provide information
about the health of the newborn’s central nervous system. A recent study
found that excessive infant crying in 3-month-olds doubled the risk of
behavioral, hyperactive, and mood problems at 5 to 6 years of age (Smarius
& others, 2017).
What are some different types of cries?
©Design Pics/Don Hammond
Babies have at least three types of cries:
Basic cry: A rhythmic pattern that usually consists of a cry, followed by a
briefer silence, then a shorter whistle that is somewhat higher in pitch
than the main cry, then another brief rest before the next cry. Some
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experts believe that hunger is one of the conditions that incite the basic
cry.
Anger cry: A variation of the basic cry, with more excess air forced
through the vocal cords.
Pain cry: A sudden long, initial loud cry followed by holding of the
breath; no preliminary moaning is present. The pain cry may be
stimulated by physical pain or by any high-intensity stimulus.
How Would
You…?
As a human
development and
family studies
professional, how
would you respond to
the parents of a 13-
month-old baby who are
concerned because their
son has suddenly started
crying every morning
when they drop him off
at child care despite the
fact that he has been
going to the same child
care provider for over
six months?
Most adults can determine whether an infant’s cries signify anger or pain
(Zeskind, Klein, & Marshall, 1992). Parents can distinguish among the
various cries of their own baby better than among those of another baby.
Parents of infants want to know whether it is a good idea to respond to
their infant cries (Maule & Perren, 2018; Zeifman & St. James-Roberts,
2017). Many developmental psychologists recommend that
parents soothe a crying infant, especially during the first year.
This reaction should help infants develop a sense of trust and
secure attachment to the caregiver. One study revealed that mothers’ negative
emotional reactions (anger and anxiety) to crying increased the risk of
subsequent attachment insecurity (Leerkes, Parade, & Gudmundson, 2011).
Also, another study found that problems in infant soothability at 6 months of
age were linked to insecure attachment at 12 months of age (Mills-Koonce,
Propper, & Barnett, 2012). And a recent study found that mothers were more
likely than fathers to use soothing techniques to reduce infant crying (Dayton
& others, 2015).
Smiling Smiling is a critical social skill and a key social signal (Martin &
Messinger, 2018). Two types of smiling can be distinguished in infants:
Reflexive smile: A smile that does not occur in response to external
stimuli and appears during the first month after birth, usually during
sleep.
Social smile: A smile that occurs in response to an external stimulus,
typically a face in the case of the young infant. Social smiling occurs as
early as 2 months of age.
Researchers have found that smiling and laughter at 7 months of age were
associated with self-regulation at 7 years of age (Posner & others, 2014). And
one study found that higher maternal effortful control and positive
emotionality predicted more initial infant smiling and laughter, while a higher
level of parenting stress predicted a lower trajectory of infant smiling and
laughter (Bridgett & others, 2013).
Fear One of a baby’s earliest emotions is fear, which typically first appears
at about 6 months and peaks at about 18 months. However, abused and
neglected infants can show fear as early as 3 months (Witherington & others,
2010). The most frequent expression of an infant’s fear involves stranger
anxiety, in which an infant shows fear and wariness of strangers (Van Hulle
& others, 2017).
Stranger anxiety usually emerges gradually. It first appears at about 6
months in the form of wary reactions. By 9 months, fear of strangers is often
more intense, and it continues to escalate through the infant’s first birthday
(Emde, Gaensbauer, & Harmon, 1976).
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Not all infants show distress when they encounter a stranger. Besides
individual variations, whether an infant shows stranger anxiety also depends
on the social context and the characteristics of the stranger. Infants show less
stranger anxiety when they are in familiar settings. For example, in one study,
10-month-olds showed little stranger anxiety when they met a stranger in
their own home but much greater fear when they encountered a stranger in a
research laboratory (Sroufe, Waters, & Matas, 1974). Also, infants show less
stranger anxiety when they are sitting on their mothers’ laps than when they
are in an infant seat several feet away from their mothers (Bohlin &
Hagekull, 1993). Thus, it appears that when infants feel secure they are less
likely to show stranger anxiety.
Who the stranger is and how the stranger behaves also influence stranger
anxiety in infants. Infants are less fearful of child strangers than of adult
strangers. They also are less fearful of friendly, outgoing, smiling strangers
than of passive, unsmiling strangers (Bretherton, Stolberg, & Kreye, 1981).
In addition to stranger anxiety, infants experience fear of being separated
from their caregivers. The result is separation protest—crying when the
caregiver leaves. Separation protest tends to peak at about 15 months among
U.S. infants. A study of four different cultures found, similarly, that
separation protest peaked at about 13 to 15 months (Kagan, Kearsley, &
Zelazo, 1978). Although the percentage of infants who engaged in separation
protest varied across cultures, the infants reached a peak of protest at about
the same age—just before the middle of the second year.
Social Referencing Infants not only express emotions like fear but also
“read” the emotions of other people (Carbajal-Valenzuela &
others, 2017). Social referencing involves “reading” emotional
cues in others to help determine how to act in a particular
situation. The development of social referencing helps infants interpret
ambiguous situations more accurately, as when they encounter a stranger
(Stenberg, 2017). By the end of the first year, a parent’s facial expression—
either smiling or fearful—influences whether an infant will explore an
unfamiliar environment.
Infants become better at social referencing in the second year of life. At
this age, they tend to “check” with their mother before they act; they look at
her to see if she is happy, angry, or fearful.
Emotion Regulation and Coping
During the first year, the infant gradually develops an ability to inhibit, or
minimize, the intensity and duration of emotional reactions (Calkins & Perry,
2016; Ekas, Braungart-Rieker, & Messinger, 2018). From early in infancy,
babies put their thumbs in their mouths to soothe themselves. In their second
year, they may say things to help soothe themselves. When placed in his bed
for the night, after a little crying and whimpering, a 20-month-old was
overheard saying, “Go sleep, Alex. Okay.” But at first, infants depend mainly
on caregivers to help them soothe their emotions, as when a caregiver rocks
an infant to sleep, sings lullabies, gently strokes the infant, and so on. In a
recent study, young infants with a negative temperament used fewer attention
regulation strategies, and maternal sensitivity to infants was linked to more
adaptive emotion regulation (Thomas & others, 2017). And in another recent
study of 10-month-old infants, maternal sensitivity was linked to better
emotion regulation in the infants (Frick & others, 2018).
Later in infancy, when they become aroused, infants sometimes redirect
their attention or distract themselves in order to reduce their arousal. By age
2, children can use language to define their feeling states and identify the
context that is upsetting them (Calkins & Markovitch, 2010). A 2-year-old
might say, “Doggy scary.” This type of communication may cue caregivers to
help the child regulate emotion.
Contexts can influence emotion regulation (Frick & others, 2018; Groh &
Haydon, 2018; Morris & others, 2018). Infants are often affected by fatigue,
hunger, time of day, which people are around them, and where they are.
Infants must learn to adapt to different contexts that require emotion
regulation. Further, new demands appear as the infant becomes older and
parents modify their expectations. For example, a parent may take it in stride
if a 6-month-old infant screams in a restaurant but may react very differently
if a 1½-year-old starts screaming.
Temperament
Do you get upset easily? Does it take much to get you angry or to make you
laugh? Even at birth, babies seem to have different emotional styles. One
infant is cheerful and happy much of the time; another seems to cry
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constantly. These tendencies reflect temperament, or individual differences
in behavioral styles, emotions, and characteristic ways of responding. With
regard to its link to emotion, temperament refers to individual differences in
how quickly the emotion is shown, how strong it is, how long it lasts, and
how quickly it fades away (Campos, 2009).
Another way of describing temperament is in terms of predispositions
toward emotional reactivity and self-regulation (Bates & Pettit, 2015).
Reactivity involves variations in the speed and intensity with which an
individual responds to situations with positive or negative emotions. Self-
regulation involves variations in the extent or effectiveness of an individual’s
control over emotions.
Describing and Classifying Temperament
How would you describe your temperament or the temperament of a friend?
Researchers have described and classified the temperaments of individuals in
different ways (Abulizi & others, 2017; Gartstein & others, 2017; Janssen &
others, 2017; Kagan, 2018). Here we examine three of those ways.
Chess and Thomas’ Classification Psychiatrists Alexander
Chess and Stella Thomas (Chess & Thomas, 1977; Thomas &
Chess, 1991) identified three basic types, or clusters, of temperament:
Easy child: This child is generally in a positive mood, quickly establishes
regular routines in infancy, and adapts easily to new experiences.
Difficult child: This child reacts negatively and cries frequently, engages
in irregular daily routines, and is slow to accept change.
Slow-to-warm-up child: This child has a low activity level, is somewhat
negative, and displays a low intensity of mood.
In their longitudinal investigation, Chess and Thomas found that 40
percent of the children they studied could be classified as easy, 10 percent as
difficult, and 15 percent as slow to warm up. Notice that 35 percent did not fit
any of the three patterns. Researchers have found that these three basic
clusters of temperament are moderately stable across the childhood years.
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One study revealed that young children with a difficult temperament
showed more problems when they experienced low-quality child care and
fewer problems when they experienced high-quality child care than did
young children with an easy temperament (Pluess & Belsky, 2009).
Kagan’s Concept of Behavioral Inhibition Another way of classifying
temperament focuses on the differences between a shy, subdued, timid child
and a sociable, extraverted, bold child. Jerome Kagan (2002, 2010, 2013)
regards shyness with strangers (peers or adults) as one feature of a broad
temperament category called inhibition to the unfamiliar. Inhibited children
react to many aspects of unfamiliarity with initial avoidance, distress, or
subdued affect, beginning around 7 to 9 months. In one study, having an
inhibited temperament at 2 to 3 years of age was related to having social
phobia symptoms at 7 years of age (Lahat & others, 2014). And research also
indicates that infants and young children who have an inhibited temperament
are at risk for developing social anxiety disorder in adolescence and
adulthood (Perez-Edgar & Guyer, 2014; Rapee, 2014). Further, recent
research indicates that if parents have a childhood history of behavioral
inhibition, their children who have a high level of behavioral inhibition are at
risk for developing anxiety disorders (Stumper & others, 2017).
Effortful Control (Self-Regulation) Mary Rothbart and John Bates
(2006) stress that effortful control (self-regulation) is an important dimension
of temperament. Infants who are high in effortful control show an ability to
keep their arousal from getting too intense and have strategies for soothing
themselves. By contrast, children who are low in effortful control
are often unable to control their arousal; they are easily agitated
and become intensely emotional.
What are some ways that developmentalists have classified infants’ temperaments? Which
classification makes the most sense to you, based on your observations of infants?
©Tom Merton/Getty Images
A number of studies have supported the view that effortful control is an
important influence on children’s development. For example, a study found
that young children higher in effortful control were more likely to wait longer
to express anger and were more likely to use a self-regulatory strategy,
distraction (Tan, Armstrong, & Cole, 2013). Another study revealed that
effortful control was a strong predictor of academic success skills in
kindergarten children from low-income families (Morris & others, 2013).
Further, a recent study revealed that self-regulation capacity at 4 months of
age was linked to school readiness at 4 years of age (Gartstein, Putnam, &
Kliewer, 2016). And recent studies indicate that lower effortful control and
self-regulation capacity in early childhood are linked to a higher risk for
developing ADHD in childhood (Willoughby, Gottfredson, & Stifter, 2017)
and adolescence (Einziger & others, 2018).
An important point about temperament classifications such as Chess and
Thomas’ and Rothbart and Bates’ is that children should not be pigeonholed
as having only one temperament dimension, such as “difficult” or “negative.”
A good strategy when attempting to classify a child’s temperament is to think
of temperament as consisting of multiple dimensions (Bates, 2012a, b). For
example, a child might be extraverted, show little emotional negativity, and
have good self-regulation. Another child might be introverted, show little
emotional negativity, and have a low level of self-regulation.
The development of temperament capabilities such as effortful control
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allows individual differences to emerge (Bates & Pettit, 2015). For example,
although maturation of the brain’s prefrontal lobes must occur for any child’s
attention to improve and the child to achieve effortful control, some children
develop effortful control while others do not. And it is these individual
differences in children that are at the heart of what temperament is (Bates,
2012a, b).
Biological Foundations and Experience
How does a child acquire a certain temperament? Kagan (2010, 2013) argues
that children inherit a physiology that predisposes them to have a particular
type of temperament. However, through experience they may learn to modify
their temperament to some degree. For example, children may inherit a
physiology that predisposes them to be fearful and inhibited but then learn to
reduce their fear and inhibition to some degree.
How might caregivers help a child become less fearful and inhibited? An
important first step is to find out what frightens the child. Comforting and
reassuring the child, and addressing their specific fears, are good strategies.
Biological Influences Specific physiological characteristics have been
linked with different temperaments (O’Connor & others, 2017). In particular,
an inhibited temperament is associated with a unique
physiological pattern that includes a high and stable heart rate,
high levels of the hormone cortisol, and high activity in the right
frontal lobe of the brain (Kagan, 2013). This pattern may be tied to the
excitability of the amygdala, a structure in the brain that plays an important
role in fear and inhibition. Twin and adoption studies also suggest that
heredity has a moderate influence on differences in temperament within a
group of people (Schumann & others, 2017).
Too often the biological foundations of temperament are interpreted as
meaning that temperament cannot develop or change. However, important
self-regulatory dimensions of temperament such as adaptability, soothability,
and persistence look very different in a 1-year-old and a 5-year-old
(Thompson, 2015). These temperament dimensions develop and change with
the growth of the neurobiological foundations of self-regulation (Calkins &
Perry, 2016).
Gender, Culture, and Temperament Gender may be an important factor
shaping the context that influences temperament (Korczak & others, 2018;
Planalp & others, 2017a). Parents might react differently to an infant’s
temperament based on whether the baby is a boy or a girl. For example, in
one study, mothers were more responsive to the crying of irritable girls than
to that of irritable boys (Crockenberg, 1986).
Similarly, the reaction to an infant’s temperament may depend in part on
culture (Matsumoto & Juang, 2017). For example, an active temperament
might be valued in some cultures (such as the United States) but not in others
(such as China). Indeed, children’s temperament can vary across cultures. For
example, behavioral inhibition is valued more highly in China than in North
America (Cole, 2016).
In short, many aspects of a child’s environment can encourage or
discourage the persistence of temperament characteristics (Glynn & others,
2017; Parade & others, 2018; Schumann & others, 2017). One useful way of
thinking about these relationships applies the concept of goodness of fit,
which we examine next.
Goodness of Fit and Parenting
Goodness of fit refers to the match between a child’s temperament and the
environmental demands the child must cope with. Suppose Jason is an active
toddler who is made to sit still for long periods and Jack is a slow-to-warm-
up toddler who is abruptly pushed into new situations on a regular basis. Both
Jason and Jack face a lack of fit between their temperament and
environmental demands. Lack of fit can produce adjustment problems
(Planalp & others, 2017b). In terms of positive goodness of fit, researchers
have found that decreases in infants’ negative emotionality are linked to
higher levels of parental sensitivity, involvement, and responsivity (Wachs &
Bates, 2010).
How Would
You…?
As a social worker,
how would you apply
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information about an
infant’s temperament to
maximize the goodness
of fit in a clinical
setting?
Many parents don’t come to believe in the importance of temperament
until the birth of their second child. They viewed their first child’s behavior
as stemming from how they treated the child. But then they find that some
strategies that worked with their first child are not as effective with the
second child. Some problems experienced with the first child (such as those
associated with feeding, sleeping, and coping with strangers) may not arise
with the second child, but new problems arise. Such experiences strongly
suggest that children differ from each other very early in life and that these
differences have important implications for parent-child interaction
(Rothbart, 2011).
What are the implications of temperamental variations for parenting?
Decreases in infants’ negative emotionality occur when parents are more
involved, responsive, and sensitive when interacting with their children
(Goodvin, Thompson, & Winer, 2015). Temperament experts Ann Sanson
and Mary Rothbart (1995) also recommend the following strategies for
temperament-sensitive parenting:
Attention to and respect for individuality. One implication is that it is
difficult to generate general prescriptions for “good parenting.” A goal
might be accomplished in one way with one child and in another way
with another child, depending on each child’s temperament.
Parents need to be flexible and sensitive to the infant’s signals
and needs.
Structuring the child’s environment. Crowded, noisy environments can
pose greater problems for some children (such as a “difficult child”) than
for others (such as an “easy child”). We might also expect that a fearful,
withdrawing child would benefit from slower entry into new contexts.
Avoid applying negative labels to the child. Acknowledging that some
children are harder to parent than others is often helpful, and advice on
how to handle particular kinds of difficult circumstances can be helpful.
However, labeling a child “difficult” runs the risk of becoming a self-
fulfilling prophecy. That is, if a child is identified as “difficult,” people
may treat him or her in a way that elicits “difficult” behavior.
What are some good strategies for parents to adopt when responding to their infant’s
temperament?
©Corbis/age fotostock
A final comment about temperament is that recently the differential
susceptibility model and the biological sensitivity to context model have been
proposed and studied (Baptista & others, 2017; Belsky, 2016; Belsky &
Pluess, 2016; Belsky & van IJzendoorn, 2017). These models emphasize that
certain characteristics—such as a difficult temperament—that render children
more vulnerable to difficulty in adverse contexts also make them more
susceptible to optimal growth in very supportive conditions. These models
may help us see “negative” temperament characteristics in a new light.
Personality Development
Emotions and temperament are key aspects of personality, the enduring
personal characteristics of individuals. Let’s now examine characteristics that
are often thought of as central to personality development during infancy:
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trust, the development of a sense of self, and progress toward independence.
Trust
According to Erik Erikson (1968), the first year of life is characterized by the
trust-versus-mistrust stage of development. Upon emerging from a life of
regularity, warmth, and protection in the mother’s womb, the infant faces a
world that is less secure. Erikson proposed that infants learn trust when they
are cared for in a consistently nurturant manner. If the infant is not well fed
and kept warm on a consistent basis, a sense of mistrust is likely to develop.
In Erikson’s view, the issue of trust versus mistrust is not resolved once
and for all in the first year of life. Instead, it arises again at each successive
stage of development, and the outcomes can be positive or negative. For
example, children who leave infancy with a sense of trust can still have their
sense of mistrust activated at a later stage, perhaps if their parents become
separated or divorced.
The Developing Sense of Self
It is difficult to study the self in infancy mainly because infants cannot tell us
how they experience themselves. Infants cannot verbally express their views
of the self. They also cannot understand complex instructions from
researchers.
A rudimentary form of self-recognition—being attentive and positive
toward one’s image in a mirror—appears as early as 3 months (Mascolo &
Fischer, 2007; Pipp, Fischer, & Jennings, 1987). However, a central, more
complete index of self-recognition—the ability to recognize
one’s physical features—does not emerge until the second
year (Thompson, 2006).
One ingenious strategy to test infants’ visual self-recognition is the use of
a mirror technique in which an infant’s mother first puts a dot of rouge on the
infant’s nose. Then, an observer watches to see how often the infant touches
its nose. Next, the infant is placed in front of a mirror and observers detect
whether nose touching increases. Why does this matter? The idea is that
increased nose touching indicates that the infant recognizes itself in the
mirror and is trying to touch or rub off the rouge because the rouge violates
the infant’s view of itself; that is, the infant thinks something is not right,
since it believes its real self does not have a dot of rouge on it.
Figure 2 displays the results of two investigations that used the mirror
technique. The researchers found that before they were 1 year old, infants did
not recognize themselves in the mirror (Amsterdam, 1968; Lewis & Brooks-
Gunn, 1979). Signs of self-recognition began to appear among some infants
when they were 15 to 18 months old. By the time they were 2 years old, most
children recognized themselves in the mirror. In sum, infants begin to
develop a self-understanding, called self-recognition, at approximately 18
months of age (Hart & Karmel, 1996; Lewis, 2005).
Figure 2 The Development of Self-Recognition in Infancy
The graph shows the findings of two studies in which infants less than 1 year of age did
not recognize themselves in the mirror. A slight increase in the percentage of infant self-
recognition occurred around 15 to 18 months of age. By 2 years of age, a majority of
children recognized themselves. Why do researchers study whether infants recognize
themselves in a mirror?
©Digital Vision/Getty Images
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In one study, biweekly assessments of infants from 15 to 23 months of
age were conducted (Courage, Edison, & Howe, 2004). Self-recognition
emerged gradually over this period, first appearing in the form of mirror
recognition, followed by use of the personal pronoun “me” and then by
recognizing a photo of themselves. These aspects of self-recognition are often
referred to as the first indications of toddlers’ understanding of the mental
state of “me,” “that they are objects in their own mental representation of the
world” (Lewis, 2005, p. 363).
Late in the second year and early in the third year, toddlers show other
emerging forms of self-awareness that reflect a sense of “me” (Goodvin,
Thompson, & Winer, 2015). For example, they refer to themselves by saying
“Me big”; they label internal experiences such as emotions; they monitor
themselves, as when a toddler says, “Do it myself”; and they announce that
things are theirs (Bullock & Lutkenhaus, 1990; Fasig, 2000).
Also, researchers recently have found that the capacity to understand
others may begin to develop during infancy (Carpendale & Lewis, 2015;
Grossman, 2017). Research indicates that as early as 13 months of age,
infants seem to consider another’s perspective when predicting that person’s
actions (Choi & Luo, 2015).
Independence
Not only does the infant develop a sense of self in the second year of life, but
independence also becomes a more central theme in the infant’s life. Erikson
(1968) stressed that independence is an important issue in the second year of
life. Erikson’s second stage of development is identified as autonomy versus
shame and doubt. Autonomy builds as the infant’s mental and motor abilities
develop. At this point, not only can infants walk, but they can also climb,
open and close, drop, push and pull, and hold and let go. Infants feel pride in
these new accomplishments and want to do everything themselves, whether
the activity is flushing a toilet, pulling the wrapping off a
package, or deciding what to eat. It is important to recognize
toddlers’ motivation to do what they are capable of doing at their
own pace. Then they can learn to control their muscles and their impulses
themselves. Conversely, when caregivers are impatient and do for toddlers
what they are capable of doing themselves, shame and doubt develop. To be
sure, every parent has rushed a child from time to time, and one instance of
rushing is unlikely to result in impaired development. It is only when parents
consistently overprotect toddlers or criticize accidents (wetting, soiling,
spilling, or breaking, for example) that children are likely to develop an
excessive sense of shame and doubt about their ability to control themselves
and their world.
How Would
You…?
As a human
development and
family studies
professional, how
would you work with
parents who showed
signs of being overly
protective or critical to
the point of impairing
their toddler’s
autonomy?
Erikson also argued that the stage of autonomy versus shame and doubt
has important implications for the development of independence and identity
during adolescence. The development of autonomy during the toddler years
gives adolescents the courage to be independent individuals who can choose
and guide their own future.
Social Orientation and Attachment
So far, we have discussed how emotions and emotional competence change
as children develop. We have also examined the role of emotional style; in
effect, we have seen how emotions set the tone of our experiences in life. But
emotions also write the lyrics because they are at the core of our interest in
the social world and our relationships with others.
Social Orientation and Understanding
In Ross Thompson’s (2006, 2014, 2015, 2016) view, infants are
socioemotional beings who show a strong interest in their social world and
are motivated to orient themselves toward it and to understand it. In other
chapters we described many of the biological and cognitive foundations that
contribute to the infant’s development of social orientation and
understanding. We will call attention to relevant biological and cognitive
factors as we explore social orientation; locomotion; intention, goal-directed
behavior and meaningful interactions with others; and social referencing.
Discussing biological, cognitive, and social processes together reminds us of
an important aspect of development that was pointed out earlier—that these
processes are intricately intertwined (Cole, Lougheed, & Ram, 2018; Perry &
Calkins, 2018).
Social Orientation
From early in their development, infants are captivated by the social world.
Young infants are attuned to the sounds of human voices and stare intently at
faces, especially their caregiver’s face (Peltola, Strathearn, & Puura, 2018;
Sugden & Moulson, 2017). As infants develop, they become adept at
interpreting the meaning of facial expressions (Weatherhead & White, 2017).
Face-to-face play often begins to characterize caregiver-infant interactions
when the infant is about 2 to 3 months of age. Such play reflects many
mothers’ motivation to create a positive emotional state in their infants
(Laible, Thompson, & Froimson, 2015).
Infants also learn about the social world through contexts other than face-
to-face play with a caregiver. Even though infants as young as 6 months
show an interest in each other, their interaction with peers increases
considerably in the latter half of the second year. Between 18 and 24 months,
children markedly increase their imitative and reciprocal play—for example,
imitating nonverbal actions like jumping and running (Eckerman &
Whitehead, 1999). One study involved presenting 1- and 2-year-olds with a
simple cooperative task that consisted of pulling a lever to get an attractive
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toy (Brownell, Ramani, & Zerwas, 2006) (see Figure 3). Any
coordinated actions of the 1-year-olds appeared to be
coincidental rather than cooperative, whereas the 2-year-olds’
behavior was characterized as active cooperation to reach a goal.
Figure 3 The Cooperation Task
The cooperation task consisted of two handles on a box, atop which was an animated
musical toy, surreptitiously activated by remote control when both handles were pulled.
The handles were placed far enough apart that one child could not pull both handles. The
experimenter demonstrated the task, saying, “Watch! If you pull the handles, the doggie
will sing” (Brownell, Ramani, & Zerwas, 2006).
©Celia A. Brownell, University of Pittsburgh
Locomotion
Recall from earlier in the chapter how important independence is for infants,
especially in the second year of life. As infants develop the ability to crawl,
walk, and run, they are able to explore and expand their social world. These
newly developed and self-produced locomotor skills allow the infant to
independently initiate social interchanges on a more frequent basis.
Locomotion is also important for its motivational implications (Adolph,
2018; Adolph & Hoch, 2019; Kretch & Adolph, 2018). Once infants have the
ability to move in goal-directed pursuits, the rewards gained from these
pursuits lead to further efforts to explore and develop skills.
Intention, Goal-Directed Behavior, and Meaningful
Interactions with Others
The ability to perceive people as engaging in intentional and goal-directed
behavior is an important social-cognitive accomplishment, and this initially
occurs toward the end of the first year (Thompson, 2015, 2016). Joint
attention and gaze-following help the infant understand that other people
have intentions (Gueron-Sela & others, 2018; McClure & others, 2018). By
their first birthday, infants have begun to direct their caregiver’s attention to
objects that capture their interest (Marsh & Legerstee, 2017).
Amanda Woodward and her colleagues (Krogh-Jespersen, Liberman, &
Woodward, 2015; Krogh-Jespersen & Woodward, 2016, 2018; Liberman,
Woodward, & Kinzler, 2018) argue that infants’ ability to understand and
respond to others’ meaningful intentions is a critical cognitive foundation for
effectively engaging in the social world. They especially emphasize that an
important aspect of this ability is the capacity to grasp social knowledge
quickly in order to make an appropriate social response. Although processing
speed is an important contributor to social engagement, other factors are
involved such as infants’ motivation to interact with someone, the infant’s
social interactive history with the individual, the interactive partner’s social
membership, and culturally specific aspects of interaction (Krogh-Jespersen
& Woodward, 2016, 2018; Liberman, Woodward, & Kinzler, 2018).
Infants’ Social Sophistication and Insight
In sum, researchers are discovering that infants are more socially
sophisticated and insightful at younger ages than was previously envisioned
(Perry & Calkins, 2018; Steckler & others, 2018; Thompson, 2015, 2016).
This sophistication and insight is reflected in infants’ perceptions of others’
actions as intentionally motivated and goal-directed and their motivation to
share and participate in that intentionality by their first birthday (Tomasello,
2014). The more advanced social-cognitive skills of infants could be
expected to influence their understanding and awareness of attachment to a
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caregiver.
Attachment
Attachment is a close emotional bond between two people. There is no
shortage of theories about infant attachment. Three theorists—Freud,
Erikson, and Bowlby—proposed influential views of attachment.
Freud theorized that infants become attached to the person or object that
provides them with oral satisfaction. For most infants, this is the mother,
since she is most likely to feed the infant. Is feeding as important as Freud
thought? A classic study by Harry Harlow (1958) indicates that the answer is
no (see Figure 4).
Figure 4 Contact Time with Wire and Cloth Surrogate Mothers
Regardless of whether the infant monkeys were fed by a wire or a cloth mother, they
overwhelmingly preferred to spend contact time with the cloth mother. How do these
results compare with what Freud’s theory and Erikson’s theory would predict about
human infants?
©Martin Rogers/Getty Images
Harlow removed infant monkeys from their mothers at birth; for six
months they were fed by two surrogate (substitute) “mothers.” One surrogate
mother was made of wire, the other of cloth. Half of the infant monkeys were
fed by the wire mother, half by the cloth mother. Periodically, the amount of
time the infant monkeys spent with either the wire or the cloth mother was
computed. Regardless of which mother fed them, the infant monkeys spent
far more time with the cloth mother. Even if the wire mother, but not the
cloth mother, provided nourishment, the infant monkeys spent more time
with the cloth mother. And when Harlow frightened the monkeys, those who
were “raised” by the cloth mother ran to that mother and clung to it; those
who were raised by the wire mother did not. Whether the mother provided
comfort seemed to determine whether the monkeys associated that mother
with security. This study clearly demonstrated that feeding is not the crucial
element in the attachment process and that contact comfort is important.
Physical comfort also plays a role in Erik Erikson’s (1968) view of the
infant’s development. Recall Erikson’s proposal that during the first year of
life infants are in the stage of trust versus mistrust. Physical comfort and
sensitive care, according to Erikson (1968), are key to establishing a basic
level of trust during infancy. The infant’s sense of trust, in turn, is the
foundation for attachment and sets the stage for a lifelong expectation that the
world will be a good and pleasant place.
The ethological perspective of British psychiatrist John Bowlby (1969,
1989) also stresses the importance of attachment in the first year of life and
the responsiveness of the caregiver. Bowlby believed that both the infant and
its primary caregivers are biologically predisposed to form attachments. He
argued that the newborn is biologically equipped to elicit attachment
behavior. The baby cries, clings, coos, and smiles. Later, the infant crawls,
walks, and follows the mother. The immediate result is to keep the primary
caregiver nearby; the long-term effect is to increase the infant’s chances of
survival (Thompson, 2006, 2015).
Attachment does not emerge suddenly but rather develops in a series of
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phases, moving from a baby’s general preference for human figures to a
partnership with primary caregivers. Following are four such phases based on
Bowlby’s conceptualization of attachment (Schaffer, 1996):
Phase 1: From birth to 2 months. Infants instinctively direct their
attachment to human figures. Strangers, siblings, and parents are equally
likely to elicit smiling or crying from the infant.
Phase 2: From 2 to 7 months. Attachment becomes focused
on one figure, usually the primary caregiver, as the baby
gradually learns to distinguish between familiar and
unfamiliar people.
Phase 3: From 7 to 24 months. Specific attachments develop. With
increased locomotor skills, babies actively seek contact with regular
caregivers, such as the mother or father.
Phase 4: From 24 months on. Children become aware of other people’s
feelings, goals, and plans and begin to take these into account in directing
their own actions.
Bowlby argued that infants develop an internal working model of
attachment, a simple mental model of the caregiver, their relationship to him
or her, and the self as deserving of nurturant care. The infant’s internal
working model of attachment with the caregiver influences the infant’s, and
later the child’s, subsequent responses to other people (Cassidy, 2016; Coyne
& others, 2018; Dozier & Bernard, 2018; Hoffman & others, 2017). The
internal model of attachment also has played a pivotal role in the discovery of
links between attachment and subsequent emotional understanding, conscious
development, and self-concept (Bretherton & Munholland, 2016; Vacaru,
Sternkenburg, & Schuengel, 2018).
Individual Differences in Attachment
Although attachment to a caregiver intensifies midway through the first year,
isn’t it likely that the quality of a baby’s attachment varies? Mary Ainsworth
(1979) thought so. Ainsworth created the Strange Situation, an
observational measure of infant attachment in which the infant experiences a
series of introductions, separations, and reunions with the caregiver and an
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adult stranger in a prescribed order. In using the Strange Situation,
researchers hope that their observations will provide information about the
infant’s motivation to be near the caregiver and the degree to which the
caregiver’s presence provides the infant with security and confidence
(Brownell & others, 2015; Gaskins & others, 2017; Solomon & George,
2016).
Based on how babies respond in the Strange Situation, they are described
as being securely attached or insecurely attached (in one of three ways) to the
caregiver:
Securely attached babies use the caregiver as a secure base from which
to explore the environment. When they are in the presence of their
caregiver, securely attached infants explore the room and examine toys
that have been placed in it. When the caregiver departs, securely attached
infants might protest mildly; when the caregiver returns, these infants
reestablish positive interaction with her, perhaps by smiling or climbing
onto her lap. Subsequently, they often resume playing with the toys in the
room.
Insecure avoidant babies show insecurity by avoiding the caregiver. In
the Strange Situation, these babies engage in little interaction with the
caregiver, are not distressed when she leaves the room, usually do not
reestablish contact with her upon her return, and may even turn their back
on her. If contact is established, the infant usually leans away or looks
away.
Insecure resistant babies often cling to the caregiver and then resist her
by fighting against the closeness, perhaps by kicking or pushing away. In
the Strange Situation, these babies often cling anxiously to the caregiver
and don’t explore the playroom. When the caregiver leaves, they often
cry loudly and then push away if she tries to comfort them upon her
return.
Insecure disorganized babies are disorganized and
disoriented. In the Strange Situation, these babies might
appear dazed, confused, and fearful. To be classified as
disorganized, babies must show strong patterns of avoidance and
resistance or display certain specified behaviors, such as extreme
fearfulness around the caregiver.
What is the nature of secure and insecure attachment?
©George Doyle/Stockbyte/Getty Images
How Would
You…?
As a psychologist, how
would you identify an
insecurely attached
toddler? How would
you encourage a parent
to strengthen the
attachment bond?
Do individual differences in attachment matter? Ainsworth proposed that
secure attachment in the first year of life provides an important foundation for
psychological development later in life. The securely attached infant moves
freely away from the caregiver but keeps track of where she is through
periodic glances. The securely attached infant responds positively to being
picked up by others and, when put back down, freely moves away to play. An
insecurely attached infant, by contrast, avoids the caregiver or is ambivalent
toward her, fears strangers, and is upset by minor, everyday separations.
If early attachment to a caregiver is important, it should set the stage for a
child’s social behavior later in development. For many children, early
attachments seem to foreshadow later functioning (Dozier & others, 2018;
Coyne & others, 2018; Finelli, Zeanah, & Smyke, 2018; Sroufe, 2016; Steele
& Steele, 2017; Woodhouse, 2018; Woodhouse & others, 2017). In an
extensive longitudinal study conducted by Alan Sroufe and his colleagues
(2005), early secure attachment (assessed by the behavior during the Strange
Situation at 12 and 18 months) was linked with positive emotional health,
high self-esteem, self-confidence, and socially competent interaction with
peers, teachers, camp counselors, and romantic partners through adolescence.
Also, a research meta-analysis found that secure attachment in infancy was
linked to social competence with peers in childhood (Groh & others, 2014).
Further, a recent study revealed that infant attachment insecurity (especially
insecure resistant attachment) and early childhood behavioral inhibition
predicted adolescent social anxiety symptoms (Lewis-Morrarty & others,
2015).
Few studies have assessed infants’ attachment security to the mother and
the father separately. However, one study revealed that infants who were
insecurely attached to their mother and father (“double-insecure”) at 15
months of age had more externalizing problems (out-of-control behavior, for
example) in the elementary school years than their counterparts who were
securely attached to at least one parent (Kochanska & Kim, 2013).
An important issue regarding attachment is whether infancy is a critical or
sensitive period for development. The studies just described show continuity,
with secure attachment in infancy predicting subsequent positive
development in childhood and adolescence. For some children, though, there
is little continuity. Not all research reveals the power of infant attachment to
predict subsequent development (Hudson & others, 2015; Lamb & Lewis,
2015; Roisman & others, 2016; Thompson, 2015, 2016). In one longitudinal
study, attachment classification in infancy did not predict attachment
classification at 18 years of age (Lewis, Feiring, & Rosenthal, 2000). In this
study, the best predictor of an insecure attachment classification at 18 was the
occurrence of parental divorce in the intervening years.
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To what extent might this adolescent girl’s development be linked to how securely or
insecurely attached she was during infancy?
(Top) ©Westend61/Getty Images; (bottom) ©iStock.com/RichVintage
Consistently positive caregiving over a number of years is likely to be an
important factor in connecting early attachment with the child’s functioning
later in development. Indeed, researchers have found that early secure
attachment and subsequent experiences, especially maternal
care and life stresses, are linked with children’s later behavior
and adjustment (Roisman & Cicchetti, 2017). For example, a
longitudinal study revealed that changes in attachment security/insecurity
from infancy to adulthood were linked to stresses and supports in
socioemotional contexts (Van Ryzin, Carlson, & Sroufe, 2011). These results
suggest that attachment continuity may be a reflection of reflect stable social
contexts as much as early working models. The study just described (Van
Ryzin, Carlson, & Sroufe, 2011) reflects an increasingly accepted view of the
development of attachment and its influence on development: the idea that
attachment security in infancy does not always by itself produce long-term
positive outcomes, but rather is linked to later outcomes through connections
with the way children and adolescents subsequently experience various social
contexts as they develop.
The Van Ryzin, Carlson, and Sroufe (2011) study reflects a
developmental cascade model, which involves connections across domains
over time that influence developmental pathways and outcomes (Almy &
Cicchetti. 2018; Roisman & Cicchetti, 2017). Developmental cascades can
include connections between a wide range of biological, cognitive, and
socioemotional processes (attachment, for example), and also can involve
social contexts such as families, peers, schools, and culture. Further, links can
produce positive or negative outcomes at different points in development,
such as infancy, early childhood, middle and late childhood, adolescence, and
adulthood (Luyten & Fonagy, 2018; Smith & others, 2018).
In addition to challenging whether secure attachment in infancy serves as
a critical or sensitive period, some developmentalists argue that the secure
attachment concept does not adequately consider certain biological factors in
development, such as genes and temperament (Bakermans-Kranenburg & van
IJzendoorn, 2016; Belsky & van IJzendoorn, 2017; Esposito & others, 2017b;
Kim & others, 2017). For example, Jerome Kagan (1987, 2002) points out
that infants are highly resilient and adaptive; he argues that they are
evolutionarily equipped to stay on a positive developmental course, even in
the face of wide variations in parenting. Kagan and others stress that genetic
characteristics and temperament play more important roles in a child’s social
competence than the attachment theorists, such as Bowlby and Ainsworth,
are willing to acknowledge (Bakermans-Kranenburg & van IJzendoorn,
2011). For example, if some infants inherit a low tolerance for stress, this
tendency, rather than an insecure attachment bond, may be responsible for an
inability to get along with peers. Also, one study found links between
disorganized attachment in infancy, a specific gene, and levels of maternal
responsiveness (Spangler & others, 2009). In this study, infants with the short
version of the gene—serotonin transporter gene 5-HTTLPR—developed a
disorganized attachment style only when mothers were slow or inconsistent
in responding to them. However, some researchers have not found support for
genetic influences on infant-mother attachment (Leerkes & others, 2017) or
for gene-environment interactions related to infant attachment (Fraley &
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others, 2013).
Another criticism of attachment theory is that it ignores the diversity of
socializing agents and contexts that exists in an infant’s world. A culture’s
value system can influence the nature of attachment (Matsumoto & Juang,
2017; Otto & Keller, 2018). In northern Germany, for example, expectations
for an infant’s independence may be responsible for infants showing little
distress upon a brief separation from the mother, whereas the Japanese
mother’s motivation for extremely close proximity to her infant may explain
why Japanese infants become upset when they are separated from the mother.
Also, in some cultures infants show attachments to many people. Among the
Hausa (who live in Nigeria), both grandmothers and siblings provide a
significant amount of care for infants (Harkness & Super, 1995). Infants in
agricultural societies tend to form attachments to older siblings, who have
major responsibility for their younger siblings’ care. In a
recent study in Zambia where siblings were substantially
involved in caregiving activities, infants showed strong
attachments to both their mothers and their sibling caregivers (Mooya,
Sichimba, & Bakersman-Kranenburg, 2016). In this study, secure attachment
was the most frequent attachment classification for both mother-infant and
sibling-infant relationships.
In the Hausa culture, siblings and grandmothers provide a significant amount of care for
infants. How might these variations in care affect attachment?
©Penny Tweedie/The Image Bank/Getty Images
Researchers recognize the importance of competent, nurturant caregivers
in an infant’s development (Almy & Cicchetti, 2018; Johnson, 2018). At
issue, though, is whether or not secure attachment, especially to a single
caregiver, is essential (Roisman & others, 2017).
Despite such criticisms, there is ample evidence that security of
attachment is important to development (Coyne & others, 2018; Dozier &
Bernard, 2018; Hoffman & others, 2017; Sroufe, 2016; Stevens & N’zi,
2018; Thompson, 2016; Woodhouse, 2018). Secure attachment in infancy
reflects a positive parent-infant relationship and provides a foundation that
supports healthy socioemotional development in the years that follow.
Caregiving Styles and Attachment
Is the style of caregiving linked with the quality of the infant’s attachment?
Securely attached babies have caregivers who are sensitive to their signals
and are consistently available to respond to the infant’s needs (Groh &
Haydon, 2018; Woodhouse & others, 2017). These caregivers often let their
babies take an active part in determining the onset and pacing of interactions
in the first year of life. A recent study revealed that maternal sensitivity and a
better home environment in infancy predicted higher self-regulation at 4
years of age (Birmingham, Bub, & Vaughn, 2017). Further, recent research
indicates that if parents who engage in inadequate and problematic caregiving
are provided with practice and feedback focused on interacting sensitively
with their infants, the parent-infant attachment becomes more secure (Coyne
& others, 2018; Dozier & Bernard, 2017, 2018; Dozier, Bernard, & Roben,
2017; Woodhouse, 2018; Woodhouse & others, 2017).
How Would
You…?
As a health-care
professional, how
would you use an
infant’s attachment style
and/or a parent’s
caregiving style to
determine whether an
infant may be at risk for
neglect or abuse?
How do the caregivers of insecurely attached babies interact with them?
Caregivers of avoidant babies tend to be unavailable or rejecting. They often
don’t respond to their babies’ signals and have little physical contact with
them. When they do interact with their babies, they may behave in an angry
and irritable way. Caregivers of resistant babies tend to be inconsistent;
sometimes they respond to their babies’ needs, and sometimes they don’t. In
general, they tend not to be very affectionate with their babies and show little
synchrony when interacting with them. Caregivers of disorganized babies
often neglect or physically abuse them (Almy & Cicchetti, 2018).
Page 132
Social Contexts
Now that we have explored the infant’s emotional and personality
development and attachment, let’s examine the social contexts in which these
occur. We begin by studying a number of aspects of the family and then turn
to a social context in which infants increasingly spend time: child care.
The Family
The family can be thought of as a constellation of subsystems—a complex
whole made up of interrelated, interacting parts—defined in terms of
generation, gender, and role. Each family member participates in several
subsystems (Chen, Hughes, & Austin, 2017; Solomon-Moore & others,
2018). The father and child represent one subsystem, the mother and father
another; the mother, father, and child represent yet another subsystem; and so
on.
These subsystems have reciprocal influences on each other, as
Figure 5 highlights (Maccoby, 2015; Schwartz & Scott, 2018).
For example, Jay Belsky (1981) stresses that marital relations,
parenting, and infant behavior and development can have both direct and
indirect effects on each other. An example of a direct effect is the influence
of the parents’ behavior on the child. An indirect effect is how the
relationship between the spouses mediates the way a parent acts toward the
child. For example, marital conflict might reduce the efficiency of parenting,
in which case marital conflict would indirectly affect the child’s behavior
(Dubow & others, 2017; Taylor & others, 2017). The simple fact that two
people are becoming parents may have profound effects on their relationship.
Figure 5 Interaction Between Children and Their Parents: Direct and Indirect
Effects
©Katrina Wittkamp/Photodisc/Getty Images
The Transition to Parenthood
Whether people become parents through pregnancy, adoption, or
stepparenting, they face disequilibrium and must adapt to it (Carlson &
VanOrman, 2017). Parents want to develop a strong attachment with their
infant, but they also want to maintain strong attachments to their spouse and
friends, and possibly to continue their careers. Parents ask themselves how
the presence of this new being will change their lives. A baby places new
restrictions on partners; no longer will they be able to rush out to a movie at a
moment’s notice, and money may not be readily available for vacations and
other luxuries. Dual-career parents ask, “Will it harm the baby to place her in
child care? Will we be able to find responsible baby-sitters?”
In a longitudinal investigation of couples from late pregnancy until three
years after the baby was born, couples enjoyed more positive marital
relations before the baby was born than afterward (Cowan & Cowan, 2000;
Cowan & others, 2005). Still, almost one-third reported an increase in marital
satisfaction. Some couples said that the baby had both brought them closer
together and moved them farther apart; being parents enhanced their sense of
themselves and gave them a new, more stable identity as a couple. Babies
opened men up to greater concern with intimate relationships, and the
demands of juggling work and family roles stimulated women to manage
family tasks more efficiently and pay attention to their own personal growth.
The Bringing Home Baby project is a workshop for new parents that
emphasizes strengthening their relationship with each other, understanding
and becoming acquainted with their baby, resolving conflict, and developing
parenting skills (Gottman, 2018). Evaluations of the project revealed that
parents who participated became better able to work together as parents;
fathers were more involved with their baby and sensitive to the baby’s
behavior; mothers had fewer symptoms of postpartum depression; and babies
showed better overall development than was the case among parents and
babies in a control group (Gottman, Gottman, & Shapiro, 2009).
Other recent studies have explored the transition to parenthood (Kuersten-
Hogan, 2017). One study revealed that mothers experienced unmet
expectations in the transition to parenting, with fathers doing less than their
partners had anticipated (Biehle & Mickelson, 2012). And in a study of dual-
earner couples, a gender gap was not present prior to the transition to
parenthood, but after a child was born, women did more than 2 hours of
additional work per day compared with an additional 40 minutes for men
(Yavorksy, Dush, & Schoppe-Sullivan, 2015).
Reciprocal Socialization
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For many years, socialization was viewed as a one-way process: Children
were considered to be the products of their parents’ socialization techniques.
According to more recent research, however, parent-child interaction is
reciprocal (Klein & others, 2017). Reciprocal socialization is
socialization that is bidirectional. That is, children socialize their
parents just as parents socialize their children (Maccoby, 2015).
The types of behaviors involved in reciprocal socialization in infancy are
temporally connected, mutually contingent behaviors such as one partner
imitating the sound of another or the mother responding with a vocalization
to the baby’s arm movements. These reciprocal interchanges and mutual
influence processes are sometimes referred to as transactional (Sameroff,
2009, 2012).
Caregivers often play games with infants such as peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake. How is
scaffolding involved in these games?
(Left) ©Brand X Pictures/Getty Images; (right) ©Stephanie Rausser/The Image
Bank/Getty Images
An important form of reciprocal socialization is scaffolding, in which
parents time interactions in such a way that the infant experiences turn-taking
with the parents. Scaffolding can be used to support children’s efforts at any
age (Norona & Baker, 2017).
The game peek-a-boo, in which parents initially cover their babies, then
remove the covering, and finally register “surprise” at the babies’
reappearance, reflects the concept of scaffolding. As infants become more
skilled at this game, they gradually do some of the covering and uncovering
themselves. Parents try to time their actions in such a way that the infant
takes turns with the parent.
How Would
You…?
As an educator, how
would you explain the
value of games and the
role of scaffolding in the
development of infants
and toddlers?
Research supports the importance of scaffolding in infant development
(Maitre & others, 2017; Mermelshtine, 2017). For example, a recent study
found that when adults used explicit scaffolding (encouragement and praise)
with 13- and 14-month-old infants they were twice as likely to engage in
helping behavior as were their counterparts who did not receive the
scaffolding (Dahl & others, 2017). A study involving disadvantaged families
revealed that an intervention designed to enhance maternal scaffolding with
infants was linked to improved cognitive skills when the children were 4
years old (Obradovic & others, 2016).
Increasingly, genetic and epigenetic factors are being studied to discover
not only parental influences on children but also children’s influence on
parents (Baptista & others, 2017; Lomanowska & others, 2017). Recall that
the epigenetic view emphasizes that development is the result of an ongoing,
bidirectional interchange between heredity and the environment (Moore,
2015, 2017). For example, harsh, hostile parenting is associated with negative
outcomes for children, such as being defiant and oppositional (Deater-
Deckard, 2013; Thompson & others, 2017). This likely reflects bidirectional
influences rather than a unidirectional parenting effect. That is, the parents’
harsh, hostile parenting and the children’s defiant, oppositional behavior may
mutually influence each other. In this bidirectional influence, the parents’ and
children’s behavior may have genetic linkages as well as experiential
Page 134
connections.
Managing and Guiding Infants’ Behavior
In addition to sensitive parenting involving warmth and caring that can result
in infants being securely attached to their parents, other important aspects of
parenting infants involve managing and guiding their behavior in an attempt
to reduce or eliminate undesirable behaviors (Holden, Vittrup, & Rosen,
2011). This management process includes (1) being proactive and
childproofing the environment so infants won’t encounter potentially
dangerous objects or situations; and (2) engaging in corrective methods when
infants engage in undesirable behaviors such as excessive fussing and crying,
throwing objects, and so on.
One study assessed discipline and corrective methods that
parents had used by the time their infants were 12 and 24 months
old (Vittrup, Holden, & Buck, 2006) (see Figure 6). Notice in
Figure 6 that the main method parents used by the time infants were 12
months old was diverting the infants’ attention, followed by reasoning,
ignoring, and negotiating. Also note in Figure 6 that more than one-third of
parents had yelled at their infant, about one-fifth had slapped the infant’s
hands or threatened the infant, and approximately one-sixth had spanked the
infant by their first birthday.
Figure 6 Parents’ Methods for Managing and Correcting Infants’ Undesirable
Behavior
Shown here are the percentages of parents who had used various corrective methods by
the time the infants were 12 and 24 months old.
Source: Vittrup, B., Holden, G. W., & Buck, M. “Attitudes Predict the Use of
Physical Punishment: A Prospective Study of the Emergence of Disciplinary
Practices,” Pediatrics, 117, 2006, 2055–2064.
As infants move into the second year of life and become more mobile and
capable of exploring a wider range of environments, parental management of
the toddler’s behavior often triggers increased corrective feedback and
discipline (Holden, Vittrup, & Rosen, 2011). As indicated in Figure 6, in the
study just described, yelling increased from 36 percent at 1 year of age to 81
percent by 2 years of age, slapping the infant’s hands increased from 21
percent at 1 year to 31 percent by age 2, and spanking increased from 14
percent at age 1 to 45 percent by age 2 (Vittrup, Holden, & Buck, 2006).
A special concern is that such corrective discipline tactics not become
abusive (Almy & Cicchetti, 2018). Too often what starts out as mild to
moderately intense discipline on the part of parents can move into highly
intense anger. Later in this text, you will read more extensively about the use
of punishment with children and child maltreatment.
Maternal and Paternal Caregiving
Much of our discussion of attachment has focused on mothers as caregivers.
Do mothers and fathers differ in their caregiving roles? In general, mothers
on average still spend considerably more time in caregiving with infants and
children than do fathers (Blakemore, Berenbaum, & Liben, 2009). Mothers
especially are more likely to engage in the managerial role with their
children, coordinating their activities, making sure their health-care needs are
met, and so on (Clarke-Stewart & Parke, 2014).
However, an increasing number of U.S. fathers stay home full-time with
their children (Bartel & others, 2018; Dette-Hagenmeyer, Erzinger, &
Reichle, 2016). The number of stay-at-home dads in the United States was
estimated to be 2 million in 2012 (Livingston, 2014). This figure represents a
significant increase from 1.6 million in 2004 and 1.1 million in 1989.
A large portion of these full-time fathers have career-focused wives who
are the primary providers of family income (O’Brien & Moss, 2010). One
study revealed that the stay-at-home fathers were as satisfied with their
marriage as traditional parents, although they missed their daily life in the
workplace (Rochlen & others, 2008). In this study, the stay-at-home fathers
reported that they tended to be ostracized when they took their children to
playgrounds and often were excluded from parent groups.
Observations of fathers and their infants suggest that fathers have the
ability to act as sensitively and responsively with their infants as mothers do
(Cabrera & Roggman, 2017; Lamb & Lewis, 2015). Consider the Aka pygmy
culture in Africa, in which fathers spend as much time interacting with their
infants as mothers do (Hewlett, 1991, 2000; Hewlett & MacFarlan, 2010).
One study also found that marital intimacy and partner support during
prenatal development were linked to father-infant attachment following
childbirth (Yu & others, 2012). Remember, however, that although fathers
Page 135can be active, nurturant, involved caregivers, as in the case of
Aka pygmies, in many cultures men have not chosen to
follow this pattern.
Do fathers interact with their infants differently from the way mothers
do? Maternal interactions usually center on child-care activities—feeding,
changing diapers, and bathing. Paternal interactions are more likely to include
play, especially rough-and-tumble play (Lamb & Lewis, 2015). Nonetheless,
mothers engage in play with their children three times as often as fathers do,
and mothers and fathers play differently with their children (Cabrera &
Roggman, 2017). Fathers bounce infants, throw them up in the air, tickle
them, and so on. Mothers’ play is less physical and arousing than that of
fathers. In a recent study of low-income families, fathers’ playfulness with 2-
year-olds was associated with more advanced vocabulary skills at 4 years of
age while mothers’ playfulness with 2-year-olds was linked to a higher level
of emotion regulation at 4 years of age (Cabrera & others, 2017).
An Aka pygmy father with his infant son. In the Aka culture, fathers were observed to be
holding or near their infants 47 percent of the time (Hewlett, 1991).
©Nick Greaves/Alamy
However, if fathers have mental health problems, they may not interact as
effectively with their infants. For example, in a recent study, children whose
fathers’ behavior was more withdrawn and depressed at 3 months had a lower
level of cognitive development at 24 months of age (Sethna & others, 2018).
Also in this study, children whose fathers were more engaged and sensitive,
as well as less controlling, at 24 months of age had a higher level of cognitive
development at that age.
Do children benefit in other ways when fathers are positively involved in
their caregiving? A study of more than 7,000 children who were assessed
from infancy to adulthood revealed that those whose fathers were extensively
involved in their lives (such as engaging in various activities with them and
showing a strong interest in their education) were more successful in school
(Flouri & Buchanan, 2004). Further, a recent study revealed that both fathers’
and mothers’ sensitivity, as assessed when infants were 10 to 12 months old,
were linked to children’s cognitive development at 18 months and language
development at 36 months (Malmberg & others, 2016). Other recent studies
indicate that when fathers are positively engaged with their children,
developmental outcomes are better (Alexander & others, 2017; Roopnarine &
Yildirim, 2018).
Child Care
Many U.S. children today experience multiple caregivers. Most do not have a
parent staying home to care for them; instead, the children receive “child
care”—that is, some type of care provided by others. Many parents worry
that child care will have adverse effects such as reducing their children’s
emotional attachment to them, constraining their children’s cognitive
development, failing to teach them how to control anger, or allowing them to
be unduly influenced by their peers. Are these concerns justified?
In the United States, approximately 15 percent of children age 5 and
younger experience more than one child-care arrangement. One study of 2-
and 3-year-old children revealed that an increase in the number of child-care
arrangements the children experienced was linked to increased behavioral
problems and decreased prosocial behavior (Morrissey, 2009).
Parental Leave
Today far more young children are in child care than at any other time in U.S.
history. About 2 million children in the United States currently receive
formal, licensed child care, and uncounted millions of children are cared for
Page 136
by unlicensed baby-sitters. In part, these numbers reflect the fact that many
U.S. adults do not receive paid leave from their jobs to care for their young
children.
Child-care policies around the world vary (Burchinal & others, 2015).
Europe has led the way in creating new standards of parental leave: In 1992,
the European Union (EU) mandated a paid 14-week maternity leave. In most
European countries today, working parents on leave receive
70 to 100 percent of the worker’s prior wage, and paid leave
averages about 16 weeks (Tolani & Brooks-Gunn, 2008). The
United States currently allows up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for parents
who are caring for a newborn.
Most countries restrict eligible benefits to women who have been
employed for a minimum length of time prior to childbirth. In Denmark,
however, even unemployed mothers are eligible for extended parental leave
related to childbirth. In Germany, child-rearing leave is available to almost all
parents. The Nordic countries (Denmark, Norway, and Sweden) have
extensive gender-equity family leave policies for childbirth that emphasize
the contributions of both women and men. For example, in Sweden parents
can take an 18-month, job-protected parental leave with benefits to be shared
by both parents and applied to full-time or part-time work.
How are child-care policies in many European countries, such as Sweden, different from
those in the United States?
©Matilda Lindeblad/Johner Images/Getty Images
Variations in Child Care
Because the United States does not have a policy of paid leave for child care,
child care in the United States has become a major national concern (Lamb &
Lewis, 2015). Many factors influence the effects of child care, including the
age of the child, the type of child care, and the quality of the program.
Child care arrangements vary extensively (Burchinal & others, 2015;
Hasbrouck & Pianta, 2016). Child care is provided in large centers with
elaborate facilities and in private homes. Some child-care centers are
commercial operations; others are nonprofit centers run by churches, civic
groups, and employers. Some child-care providers are professionals; others
are untrained adults who want to earn extra money. Infants and toddlers are
more likely to be found in family child care and informal care settings, while
older children are more likely to be in child-care centers and preschool and
early education programs. Figure 7 presents the primary care arrangements
for U.S. children under age 5 with employed mothers (Clarke-Stewart &
Miner, 2008).
Figure 7 Primary Care Arrangements in the United States for Children Under 5
Years of Age with Employed Mothers
Child-care quality makes a difference (Howes, 2016; Vu, 2016). An
Australian study revealed that higher-quality child care that included positive
child-caregiver relationships at 2 to 3 years of age was linked to children’s
better self-regulation of attention and emotion at 4 to 5 and 6 to 7 years of
age (Gialamas & others, 2014). What constitutes a high-quality child-care
program for infants? In high-quality child care (Clarke-Stewart & Miner,
2008, p. 273):
Page 137
Caregivers encourage the children to be actively engaged in a variety
of activities, have frequent, positive interactions that include smiling,
touching, holding, and speaking at the child’s eye level, respond
properly to the child’s questions or requests, and encourage children
to talk about their experiences, feelings, and ideas.
High-quality child care also involves providing children with a safe
environment, access to age-appropriate toys and participation in age-
appropriate activities, and a low caregiver-child ratio that allows caregivers to
spend considerable time with children on an individual basis.
Children are more likely to experience poor-quality child care if they
come from families with few resources (psychological, social, and economic)
(Carta & others, 2012). Many researchers have examined the role of poverty
in quality of child care. One study found that extensive child care was
harmful to low-income children only when the care was of low quality
(Votruba-Drzal, Coley, & Chase-Lansdale, 2004). Even if the child was in
child care more than 45 hours a week, high-quality care was associated with
fewer internalizing problems (anxiety, for example) and externalizing
problems (aggressive and destructive behaviors, for example).
One study revealed that children from low-income families
benefited in terms of school readiness and language
development when their parents had access to higher-quality child care
(McCartney & others, 2007).
How Would
You…?
As an educator, how
would you design the
ideal child-care program
to promote optimal
infant development?
To read about one individual who provides quality child care to
individuals from impoverished backgrounds, see Careers in Life-Span
Development.
Careers in life-span development
Wanda Mitchell, Child-Care Director
Wanda Mitchell is the Center Director at the Hattie Daniels Day Care
Center in Wilson, North Carolina. Her responsibilities include
directing the operations of the center, which involves creating and
maintaining an environment in which young children can learn
effectively and ensuring that the center meets state licensing
requirements. Wanda obtained her undergraduate degree from North
Carolina A&T University, majoring in Child Development. Prior to
her current position, she had been an education coordinator for Head
Start and an instructor at Wilson Technical Community College.
Describing her chosen career, Wanda says, “I really enjoy working in
my field. This is my passion. After graduating from college, my goal
was to advance in my field.”
Wanda Mitchell, child-care director, works with some of the children at her
center.
Courtesy of Wanda Mitchell
The National Longitudinal Study of Child Care
Page 138
In 1991, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
(NICHD) began a comprehensive longitudinal study of child-care
experiences. Data were collected from a diverse sample of almost 1,400
children and their families at 10 locations in the United States across several
decades. Researchers used multiple methods (trained observers, interviews,
questionnaires, and testing) and measured many facets of children’s
development, including physical health, cognitive development, and
socioemotional development. Following are some of the results of what is
now referred to as the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth
Development or NICHD SECCYD (NICHD Early Child Care Research
Network, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005a, b, 2006, 2010).
Quality of care. Evaluations of quality of care were based on
characteristics such as group size, child–adult ratio, physical
environment, caregiver characteristics (such as formal education,
specialized training, and child-care experience), and caregiver behavior
(such as sensitivity to children). An alarming conclusion is that a majority
of the child care in the first three years of life was of unacceptably low
quality. Positive caregiving by nonparents in child-care settings was
infrequent—only 12 percent of the children in the study experienced
positive nonparental child care (such as positive talk and language
stimulation). Further, infants from low-income families experienced
lower-quality child care than did infants from higher-income families.
When quality of caregivers’ care was high, children performed better on
cognitive and language tasks, were more cooperative with their mothers
during play, showed more positive and skilled interaction with peers, and
had fewer behavior problems. Caregiver training and favorable child–
staff ratios were linked with higher cognitive and social competence
when children were 54 months of age. In research involving the NICHD
sample, links were found between nonrelative child care from
birth to 4 years of age and adolescent development at 15 years
of age (Vandell & others, 2010). In this analysis, better
quality of early care was related to a higher level of academic
achievement and a lower level of externalizing problems at age 15. In
another study, high-quality infant-toddler child care was linked to better
memory skills at the end of the preschool years (Li & others, 2013).
Amount of child care. The quantity of child care predicted some outcomes
(Vandell & others, 2010). When children spent extensive amounts of time
in child care beginning in infancy, they experienced fewer sensitive
interactions with their mothers, showed more behavior problems, and had
higher rates of illness. In general, when children spent 30 hours or more
per week in child care, their development was less than optimal.
However, a study conducted in Norway (a country that meets or exceeds
8 of 10 UNICEF benchmarks for quality child care) revealed that a high
quantity of child care there was not linked to children’s externalizing
problems (Zachrisson & others, 2013).
Family and parenting influences. The influence of families and parenting
was not weakened by extensive child care. Parents played a significant
role in helping children regulate their emotions. Especially important
parenting influences were being sensitive to children’s needs, being
involved with children, and providing cognitive stimulation. Indeed,
parental sensitivity has been the most consistent predictor of secure
attachment (Friedman, Melhuish, & Hill, 2010). An important final point
about the extensive NICHD SECCYD research is that findings have
consistently shown that family factors are considerably stronger and more
consistent predictors of a wide variety of child outcomes than are child-
care experiences (quality, quantity, type). The worst outcomes for
children occur when both home and child-care settings are of poor
quality. For example, a study involving the NICHD SECCYD data
revealed that worse socioemotional outcomes (more problem behavior,
lower levels of prosocial behavior) for children occurred when they
experienced both home and child-care environments that conferred risk
(Watamura & others, 2011).
What are some important findings from the national longitudinal study of child care
conducted by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development?
©Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal/Landov Images
What are some strategies parents can follow in regard to child care?
Child-care expert Kathleen McCartney (2003, p. 4) offers this advice:
Recognize that the quality of your parenting is a key factor in your child’s
development.
Make decisions that will improve the likelihood that you will be good
parents. “For some this will mean working full-time”—for personal
fulfillment, income, or both. “For others, this will mean working part-
time or not working outside the home.”
Monitor your child’s development. “Parents should observe for
themselves whether their children seem to be having behavior problems.”
They should also talk with child-care providers and their pediatrician
about their child’s behavior.
Take some time to find the best child care. Observe different child-care
facilities and be certain that you like the one you choose. “Quality child
care costs money, and not all parents can afford the child care they want.”
Page 139
How Would
You…?
As a psychologist,
based on the findings
from the NICHD study,
how would you advise
parents about their role
in their child’s
development versus the
role of nonparental child
care?
Summary
Emotional and Personality Development
Emotion is feeling, or affect, that occurs when a person is in a state or an
interaction that is important to them. Infants display a number of
emotions early in their development, such as by crying, smiling, and
showing fear. Two fears that infants develop are stranger anxiety and fear
of separation from a caregiver. As infants develop, it is important for
them to increase their ability to regulate their emotions.
Temperament is an individual’s behavioral style and characteristic way of
responding emotionally. Chess and Thomas classified infants as (1) easy,
(2) difficult, or (3) slow to warm up. Kagan proposed that inhibition to
the unfamiliar is an important temperament category. Rothbart and Bates
emphasized that effortful control (self-regulation) is an important
temperament dimension. Goodness of fit can be an important aspect of a
child’s adjustment.
Erikson argued that an infant’s first year is characterized by the stage of
trust versus mistrust. Independence becomes a central theme in the
second year of life, which is characterized by the stage of autonomy
versus shame and doubt.
Social Orientation and Attachment
Infants show a strong interest in their social world and are motivated to
understand it. Infants are more socially sophisticated and insightful at an
earlier age than was previously thought.
Attachment is a close emotional bond between two people. In infancy,
contact comfort and trust are important in the development of attachment.
Securely attached babies use the caregiver, usually the mother, as a secure
base from which to explore their environment. Three types of insecure
attachment are avoidant, resistant, and disorganized. Caregivers of
securely attached babies are more sensitive to the babies’ signals and are
consistently available to meet their needs.
Social Contexts
The transition to parenthood requires considerable adaptation and
adjustment on the part of parents. Children socialize parents just as
parents socialize children. Parents use a wide range of methods to manage
and guide infants’ behavior. In general, mothers spend more time in
caregiving than fathers do; fathers tend to engage in more physical,
playful interaction with infants than mothers do.
The quality of child care is uneven, and child care remains a controversial
topic. Quality child care can be achieved and seems to have few adverse
effects on children.
Key Terms
anger cry
attachment
basic cry
developmental cascade model
difficult child
easy child
emotion
goodness of fit
insecure avoidant babies
insecure disorganized babies
insecure resistant babies
pain cry
reciprocal socialization
reflexive smile
scaffolding
securely attached babies
separation protest
slow-to-warm-up child
social referencing
social smile
Strange Situation
stranger anxiety
temperament
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©Tim Pannell/Getty Images
5
Physical and Cognitive
Development in Early
Childhood
CHAPTER OUTLINE
Physical Changes
Body Growth and Change
The Brain
Motor Development
Nutrition and Exercise
Illness and Death
Cognitive Changes
Piaget’s Preoperational Stage
Vygotsky’s Theory
Information Processing
Language Development
Understanding Phonology and Morphology
Changes in Syntax and Semantics
Advances in Pragmatics
Young Children’s Literacy
Early Childhood Education
Variations in Early Childhood Education
Education for Young Children Who Are Disadvantaged
Controversies in Early Childhood Education
Stories of Life-Span Development:
Reggio Emilia’s Children
The Reggio Emilia approach is an educational program for young
children that was developed in the northern Italian city of Reggio
Emilia. Children of single parents and children with disabilities
have priority in admission; other children are admitted according
to a scale of needs. Parents pay on a sliding scale based on income.
The children are encouraged to learn by investigating and
exploring topics that interest them (Bredekamp, 2017). A wide
range of stimulating media and materials are available for children
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to use as they learn music, movement, drawing, painting, sculpting,
collage, puppetry, and photography, among other things (Bond,
2015).
In this program, children often explore topics in a group, which
fosters a sense of community, respect for diversity, and a
collaborative approach to problem solving (Jones & Reynolds,
2011). In this group setting, two co-teachers guide the children in
their exploration. The Reggio Emilia teachers treat each project as
an adventure. It can start from an adult’s suggestion, from a child’s
idea, or from an unexpected event such as a snowfall. Every
project is based on what the children say and do. The teachers
allow children enough time to plan and craft a project.
At the core of the Reggio Emilia approach is an image of
children who are competent and have rights, especially the right to
outstanding care and education. Parent participation is considered
essential, and cooperation is a major theme in the
schools. Many experts on early childhood
education believe that the Reggio Emilia approach
provides a supportive, stimulating context in which children are
motivated to explore their world in a competent and confident
manner (Follari, 2019; Morrison, 2017, 2018; Vatalaro, Szente, &
Levin, 2015).
Parents and educators who understand how young children
develop can play active roles in creating programs that foster
children’s natural interest in learning, rather than stifling it. In this
chapter, the first of two chapters on early childhood (ages 3 to 5),
we explore the physical, cognitive, and language changes that
typically occur as the toddler develops into the preschooler, and
then we look at early childhood education. ■
In a Reggio Emilia classroom, young children explore topics that interest them.
©Ruby Washington/The New York Times/Redux Pictures
Physical Changes
Earlier, we described a child’s growth in infancy as rapid and following
cephalocaudal and proximodistal patterns. Fortunately, the growth rate slows
in early childhood; otherwise, we would be a species of giants.
Body Growth and Change
Despite the slowing of growth in height and weight that characterizes early
childhood, growth is still the most obvious physical change during this period
of development. Yet unseen changes in the brain and nervous system are no
less significant in preparing children for advances in cognition and language.
The average child grows 2½ inches in height and gains between 5 and 7
pounds a year during early childhood. As the preschool child grows older, the
percentage of increase in height and weight decreases with each additional
year (Hockenberry, Wilson, & Rodgers, 2017). Girls are only slightly smaller
and lighter than boys during these years, a difference that continues until
puberty. In addition, girls have more fatty tissue than boys, and boys have
more muscle tissue than girls.
The bodies of 5-year-olds and 2-year-olds are different. Notice that the 5-year-old not
only is taller and weighs more, but also has a longer trunk and legs than the 2-year-old.
Can you think of some other physical differences between 2- and 5-year-olds?
©Michael Hitoshi/Getty Images
During the preschool years, both boys and girls slim down as the trunk of
the body lengthens (Kliegman & others, 2016). Although the head is still
somewhat large for the body, by the end of the preschool years most children
have lost the top-heavy look they had as toddlers. Body fat also shows a
slow, steady decline during the preschool years. The chubby baby often looks
much leaner by the end of early childhood.
Growth patterns vary from one individual to another (Grimberg & Allen,
2017). Think back to your preschool years. That was probably the first time
Page 142
you noticed that some children were taller than you, some shorter; some were
fatter, some thinner; some were stronger, some weaker. Much of the variation
was due to heredity, but environmental experiences were also involved (Hay
& others, 2017). A review of the height and weight of children around the
world concluded that the two most important contributors to height
differences are ethnic origin and nutrition (Meredith, 1978). Urban, middle-
socioeconomic status, and firstborn children were taller than rural, lower-
socioeconomic status, and later-born children. In the United States, African
American children are taller than White children.
The Brain
One of the most important physical developments during early childhood is
the continuing development of the brain and other parts of the nervous
system (Bell, Broomell, & Patton, 2018; Bell & others, 2018). The increasing
maturation of the brain, combined with opportunities to experience a
widening world, contribute to children’s emerging cognitive abilities. In
particular, changes in the brain during early childhood enable children to plan
their actions, attend to stimuli more effectively, and make considerable
strides in language development.
Although the brain does not grow as rapidly during early childhood as in
infancy, it does undergo remarkable changes. By repeatedly obtaining brain
scans of the same children for up to four years, researchers have found that
children’s brains experience rapid, distinct spurts of growth (Gogtay &
Thompson, 2010). The overall size of the brain does not increase
dramatically from ages 3 to 5; what does change dramatically are local
patterns within the brain. The amount of brain material in some areas can
nearly double in as little as a year, followed by a dramatic loss of tissue as
unneeded cells are pruned and the brain continues to reorganize itself. From 3
to 6 years of age the most rapid growth in the brain takes place in the part of
the frontal lobes known as the prefrontal cortex (see Figure 1), which plays a
key role in planning and organizing new actions and maintaining attention to
tasks (Gogtay & Thompson, 2010).
Figure 1 The Prefrontal Cortex
The brain pathways and circuitry involving the prefrontal cortex (shaded in purple) show
significant advances in development during middle and late childhood. What cognitive
processes are linked with these changes in the prefrontal cortex?
The continuation of two changes that began before birth contributes to the
brain’s growth during early childhood. First, the number and size of dendrites
increase, and second, myelination continues. Recall that myelination is the
process through which axons (nerve fibers that carry signals away from the
cell body) are covered with a layer of fat cells, which increases the speed and
efficiency of information traveling through the nervous system. Myelination
is important in the development of a number of abilities (Juraska & Willing,
2017; van Tilborg & others, 2018). For example, myelination in the areas of
the brain related to hand-eye coordination is not complete until about age 4.
Myelination in the areas of the brain related to focusing attention is not
complete until the end of middle or late childhood. And myelination of many
aspects of the prefrontal cortex, especially those involving higher-level
thinking skills, is not completed until late adolescence or emerging adulthood
(Bell, Ross, & Patton, 2018; Cohen & Casey, 2017; Dahl & others, 2018). In
a recent study, young children with higher cognitive ability showed increased
myelination by 3 years of age (Deoni & others, 2016).
Recently, researchers have found that contextual factors such as poverty
and parenting quality are linked to the development of the brain (Black &
others, 2017; Farah, 2017; Marshall & others, 2018). In one study, children
from the poorest homes had significant maturational lags in their frontal and
temporal lobes at 4 years of age, and these lags were associated with lower
school readiness skills (Hair & others, 2015). In another study, higher levels
of maternal sensitivity in early childhood were associated with higher total
Page 143
brain volume (Kok & others, 2015).
Motor Development
Running as fast as you can, falling down, getting right back up and running
just as fast as you can . . . building towers with blocks . . . scribbling,
scribbling, and scribbling some more . . . cutting paper with scissors . . .
During your preschool years, you probably developed the ability to perform
all these activities. What physical changes made this possible?
Gross Motor Skills
The preschool child no longer has to make an effort simply to stay upright
and move around. As children move their legs with more confidence and
carry themselves more purposefully, moving around in the environment
becomes more automatic (Hockenberry, Wilson, & Rodgers, 2017; Perry &
others, 2018).
Around age 3, children enjoy simple movements such as
hopping, jumping, and running back and forth, just for the sheer
delight of performing them. They are eager to demonstrate how
they can run across a room and jump all of 6 inches. The run-and-jump will
win no Olympic medals, but for the 3-year-old it brings considerable pride
and a sense of accomplishment.
At age 4, children are still enjoying the same kinds of activities, but they
have become more adventurous. They scramble over low jungle gyms as they
display their athletic prowess. Although they have been able to climb stairs
with one foot on each step for some time, they are just beginning to be able to
come down the same way.
By age 5, children are even more adventuresome than when they were 4.
It is not unusual for self-assured 5-year-olds to perform hair-raising stunts on
playground equipment. Five-year-olds also run hard and enjoy races with
each other and their parents.
How can early childhood educators support young children’s motor
development? Young children need to practice skills in order to learn them,
so instruction should be followed with ample time for practice (Follari, 2019;
Morrison, 2017, 2018). A recent study of 4-year-old girls found that a nine-
week motor skill intervention improved the girls’ ball skills (Veldman &
others, 2017).
There can be long-term negative effects for children who fail to develop
basic motor skills (Barnett, Salmon, & Hesketh, 2016; Gorgon, 2018). These
children will not be as able to join in group games or participate in sports
during their school years and in adulthood. In a recent study, children with a
low level of motor competence had a lower motivation for sports
participation and had lower global self-worth than their counterparts with a
high level of motor competence (Bardid & others, 2018). Another recent
study found that higher motor proficiency in preschool was linked to
engaging in a higher level of physical activity in adolescence (Venetsanou &
Kambas, 2017).
Fine Motor Skills
By the time they turn 3, children have had the ability to pick up the tiniest
objects between their thumb and forefinger for some time, but they are still
somewhat clumsy at it. Three-year-olds can build surprisingly high block
towers, each block placed with intense concentration but often not in a
completely straight line. When 3-year-olds play with a simple jigsaw puzzle,
they are rather rough in placing the pieces. Even when they recognize the
hole a piece fits into, they are not very precise in positioning the piece. They
often try to force the piece into the hole or pat it vigorously.
By age 4, children’s fine motor coordination has improved substantially
and is much more precise. Sometimes 4-year-olds have trouble building high
towers with blocks because, in their desire to place each of the blocks
perfectly, they may upset those already in the stack. Fine motor coordination
continues to improve so that by age 5, hand, arm, and body all move together
under better command of the eye. Mere towers no longer interest the 5-year-
old, who now wants to build a house or a church, complete with steeple,
though adults might still need to be told what each finished project is meant
to be.
Nutrition and Exercise
Page 144
Eating habits are important aspects of development during early childhood
(Blake, Munoz, & Volpe, 2019; Thompson & Manore, 2018; Wardlaw,
Smith, & Collene, 2018). What children eat affects their skeletal growth,
body shape, and susceptibility to disease. Exercise and physical activity are
also very important aspects of young children’s lives (Powers & Dodd, 2017;
Powers & Howley, 2018; Walton-Fisette & Wuest, 2018).
Eating Behavior and Overweight Young Children
Young children’s eating behavior is strongly influenced by their caregivers’
behavior (Black & others, 2017; Lindsay & others, 2018; Scaglioni & others,
2018; Tan & Holub, 2015). Children’s eating behavior improves when
caregivers eat with children on a predictable schedule, model eating healthy
food, make mealtimes pleasant occasions, and engage in certain feeding
styles (Daelmans & others, 2017; Profili & others, 2017).
Distractions created by television, family arguments, and
competing activities should be minimized so that children can
focus on eating. Experts recommend a sensitive, responsive caregiver feeding
style, in which the caregiver is nurturant, provides clear information about
what is expected, and responds appropriately to children’s cues (Black &
Armstrong, 2017; Black & Hurley, 2017). Forceful and restrictive caregiver
behaviors are not recommended, as they can lead to excessive weight gain
(Rollins & others, 2016).
What are some trends in the eating habits and weight of young children?
©Lilian Perez/age fotostock
Being overweight has become a serious health problem in early childhood
(Donatelle, 2019; Perry & others, 2017; Roberts, Marx, & Musher-Eizenman,
2018; Smith & Collene, 2019). A national study revealed that 45 percent of
children’s meals exceed recommendations for saturated and trans fat, which
can raise cholesterol levels and increase the risk of heart disease (Center for
Science in the Public Interest, 2008). This study also found that one-third of
children’s daily caloric intake comes from restaurants, twice the percentage
consumed away from home in the 1980s. Further, 93 percent of almost 1,500
possible choices at 13 major fast-food chains exceeded 430 calories—one-
third of what the National Institute of Medicine recommends that 4- to 8-
year-old children consume in a day. Nearly all of the children’s meal
offerings at KFC, Taco Bell, Sonic, Jack in the Box, and Chick-fil-A were
too high in calories. Also, a study of U.S. 2- and 3-year-olds found that
French fries and other fried potatoes were the vegetable they were most likely
to consume (Fox & others, 2010).
How Would
You…?
As a health-care
professional, how
would you work with
parents to increase the
nutritional value of
meals and snacks they
provide to their young
children?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2018) has established
categories for obesity, overweight, and at risk for being overweight. These
categories are determined by body mass index (BMI), which is computed
using a formula that takes into account height and weight. Children and
adolescents at or above the 97th percentile are classified as obese; those at the
95th or 96th percentile as overweight; and those from the 85th to the 94th
Page 145
percentile as at risk of being overweight.
The percentages of young children who are overweight or at risk of being
overweight in the United States have increased dramatically in recent
decades, but in the last several years there are indications that fewer
preschool children are obese (Wardlaw, Smith, & Collene, 2018). In 2009–
2010, 12.1 percent of U.S. 2- to 5-year-olds were classified as obese,
compared with 5 percent in 1976–1980 (Ogden & others, 2012). However, in
2013–2014, a substantial drop in the obesity rate of 2- to 5-year-old children
occurred in comparison with their counterparts in 2009–2010 (Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, 2018). In 2013–2014, 9.4 percent of 2- to 5-
year-olds were obese compared with 12.1 percent in 2004. It is not clear why
this drop occurred, but among the possible explanations are families buying
lower-calorie foods and being influenced by the Special Supplementation
Program for Women, Infants, and Children (which subsidizes food for
women and children in low-income families) that emphasizes consuming less
fruit juice, cheese, and eggs and more whole fruits and vegetables. In a recent
study, 2½-year-olds’ liking for fruits and vegetables was related to their
eating more fruits and vegetables at 7 years of age (Fletcher & others, 2018).
The risk that overweight children will continue to be overweight when
they are older was documented in a U.S. study of nearly 8,000 children
(Cunningham, Kramer, & Narayan, 2014). In this study, overweight 5-year-
olds were four times more likely to be obese at 14 years of age than their 5-
year-old counterparts who began kindergarten at a normal weight. Also, in
the study described earlier in which obesity was reduced in preschool
children, the children who were obese were five times more likely to be
overweight or obese in adulthood (Ogden & others, 2014).
A comparison of 34 countries revealed that the United States
had the second highest rate of childhood obesity (Janssen &
others, 2005). Childhood obesity contributes to a number of
health problems in young children (Eno Persson & others, 2018). For
example, physicians are now seeing type 2 (adult-onset) diabetes (a condition
directly linked with obesity and a low level of fitness) in children as young as
age 5 (Baskaran & Kandemir, 2018). Many aspects of children’s lives can
contribute to becoming overweight or obese (Labayen Goñi & others, 2018;
Sun & others, 2018). Recently, the following 5-2-1-0 obesity prevention
guidelines have been established for young children: 5 or more servings of
fruits and vegetables, 2 hours or less of screen time, minimum of 1 hour of
physical activity, and 0 sugar-sweetened beverages daily (Khalsa & others,
2017). Prevention of obesity in children also includes helping children,
parents, and teachers see healthy food as a way to satisfy hunger and meet
nutritional needs, not as proof of love or as a reward for good behavior.
Routine physical activity should be a daily occurrence (Powers & Howley,
2018). One research study found that viewing as little as one hour of
television daily was associated with an increase in body mass index (BMI)
between kindergarten and first grade (Peck & others, 2015).
Malnutrition
Poor nutrition affects many young children from low-income families (Lucas,
Richter, & Daelmans, 2018; Schiff, 2019). Many of these children do not
obtain essential amounts of iron, vitamins, or protein. Poor nutrition is a
particular concern for infants from low-income families (Petry & others,
2017).
To address this problem in the United States, the WIC (Women, Infants,
and Children) program provides federal grants to states for healthy
supplemental foods, health-care referrals, and nutrition education for women
from low-income families beginning in pregnancy, and to infants and young
children up to 5 years of age who are at nutritional risk (Chang, Brown, &
Nitzke, 2017; Gilmore & others, 2017). WIC serves approximately 7,500,000
participants in the United States. Positive influences on infants’ and young
children’s nutrition and health, as well as mothers’ health, have been found
for participants in WIC (Black & Armstrong, 2017; Chen & others, 2018;
Gross & others, 2017; Lee & others, 2017; Martinez-Brockman & others,
2018; McCoy & others, 2018). For example, a multiple-year literacy
intervention with Spanish-speaking families in the WIC program in Los
Angeles increased literacy resources and activities at home, which in turn led
to a higher level of school readiness in children (Whaley & others, 2011).
And in longitudinal studies, when mothers participated in WIC programs
prenatally and during their children’s first five years, young children showed
short-term cognitive benefits and longer-term reading and math benefits
(Jackson, 2015).
How Would
You…?
As a health-care
professional, how
would you advise
parents who want to get
their talented 4-year-old
child into a soccer
league for preschool
children?
How much physical activity should preschool children engage in per day?
©RubberBall Productions/Getty Images
Exercise
Young children should engage in physical activity every day (Insel &
Walton, 2018; Lintu & others, 2017; Walton-Fisette & Wuest, 2018). Expert
panels from Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States
have issued physical activity guidelines for young children that are quite
similar (Pate & others, 2015). The guidelines recommend that young children
get an average of 15 or more minutes of physical activity per hour over a 12-
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hour period, or about 3 hours per day total. These guidelines reflect an
increase from earlier guidelines (National Association for Sport and Physical
Education, 2002). The child’s life should center on activities, not meals
(Powers & Howley, 2018; Rowland, 2016).
Illness and Death
The vast majority of children in the United States go through the physical
changes just described and reach adulthood without serious illness or death.
However, some do not. In the United States accidents are the leading cause of
death in young children, followed by cancer and cardiovascular disease
(National Center for Health Statistics, 2018). In addition to motor vehicle
accidents, other accidental deaths in children involve drowning, falls, and
poisoning.
Children’s safety is influenced not only by their own skills and safety-
related behaviors but also by characteristics of their family and home, school
and peers, and community (Onders & others, 2018; Saunders & others,
2017). Figure 2 describes steps that can be taken in each of these contexts to
enhance children’s safety and prevent injury (Sleet & Mercy, 2003).
Figure 2 Characteristics That Enhance Young Children’s Safety.
In each context of a child’s life, steps can be taken to create conditions that enhance the
child’s safety and reduce the likelihood of injury. How are the contexts listed in the figure
related to Bronfenbrenner’s theory?
How Would
You…?
As a health-care
professional, how
would you talk with
parents about the impact
of secondhand smoke
on children’s health to
encourage parents to
stop smoking?
One major danger to children is parental smoking (Merianos, Dixon, &
Mahabee-Gittens, 2017). An estimated 22 percent of children and adolescents
in the United States are exposed to tobacco smoke in the home. An increasing
number of studies indicate that children are at risk for health problems when
they live in homes in which a parent smokes (Hatoun & others, 2018;
Miyahara & others, 2017; Pugmire, Sweeting, & Moore, 2017; Rosen &
others, 2018). Children exposed to tobacco smoke in the home are more
likely to develop wheezing and asthma than are children in homes where no
one smokes (Vo & others, 2017). One study revealed that exposure to
secondhand smoke was related to young children’s sleep problems, including
sleep-disordered breathing (Yolton & others, 2010). Researchers have also
found that maternal cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption when
children were 5 years of age were linked to early onset of smoking in
adolescence (Hayatbakhsh & others, 2013). And a recent study found that
young children who were exposed to environmental tobacco smoke were
more likely to engage in antisocial behavior when they were 12 years old
(Pagani & others, 2017).
Although accidents and serious illnesses such as cancer are the leading
causes of death among children in the United States, this is not the case in a
number of other countries in the world, where many children die of
preventable infectious diseases. Many of the deaths of young children around
the world could be prevented by a reduction in poverty and improvements in
nutrition, sanitation, education, and health services (UNICEF, 2018). High
poverty rates have devastating effects on the health of a country’s young
children, who are likely to experience hunger, malnutrition, illness,
inadequate access to health care, unsafe water, and a lack of protection from
harm (Black & others, 2017; UNICEF, 2018). In the last decade, there has
been a dramatic increase in the number of young children who have died
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because HIV/AIDS was transmitted to them by their parents. Deaths of
young children due to HIV/AIDS especially occur in countries with high
rates of poverty and low levels of education (UNICEF, 2018).
Many children in impoverished countries die before reaching the age of 5 from
dehydration and malnutrition brought about by diarrhea. What are some of the other main
causes of death in young children around the world?
©Kent Page/AP Images
Cognitive Changes
The cognitive world of the preschool child is creative, free, and fanciful.
Preschool children’s imaginations work overtime, and their mental grasp of
the world improves. Our coverage of cognitive development in early
childhood focuses on three theories: Piaget’s, Vygotsky’s, and information
processing.
Piaget’s Preoperational Stage
Remember that during Piaget’s first stage of development, the sensorimotor
stage, the infant becomes increasingly able to organize and coordinate
sensations and perceptions with physical movements and actions. The
preoperational stage, which lasts from approximately age 2 to 7, is the
second stage in Piaget’s theory. In this stage, children begin to represent the
world with words, images, and drawings. They form stable concepts and
begin to reason. At the same time, the young child’s cognitive world is
dominated by egocentrism and magical beliefs.
Because Piaget called this stage “preoperational,” it might sound like an
unimportant waiting period. Not so. However, the label preoperational
emphasizes that the child does not yet perform operations, which are
reversible mental actions that allow children to do mentally what before they
could do only physically. Mentally adding and subtracting numbers are
examples of operations. Preoperational thought is the beginning of the ability
to reconstruct in thought what has been established in behavior. This stage
can be divided into two substages: the symbolic function substage and the
intuitive thought substage.
The Symbolic Function Substage
The symbolic function substage is the first substage of preoperational
thought, occurring roughly between the ages of 2 and 4. In this substage, the
young child gains the ability to mentally represent an object that is not
present. This ability vastly expands the child’s mental world (Lillard &
Kavanaugh, 2014). In this substage, children use scribble designs to represent
people, houses, cars, clouds, and so on; they begin to use language more
effectively and engage in pretend play. However, although young children
make distinct progress during this substage, their thinking still has important
limitations, two of which are egocentrism and animism.
Egocentrism is the inability to distinguish between one’s own
perspective and someone else’s perspective. The following telephone
conversation between 4-year-old Marie, who is at home, and her father, who
is at work, typifies Marie’s egocentric thought:
Father: Marie, is Mommy there?
Marie silently nods.
Father: Marie, may I speak to Mommy?
Marie nods again, silently.
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Marie’s response is egocentric in that she fails to consider her father’s
perspective before replying. A nonegocentric thinker would have responded
verbally.
Jean Piaget and Barbel Inhelder (1969) initially studied young children’s
egocentrism by devising the three mountains task (see Figure 3). The child
walks around the model of the mountains and becomes familiar with what the
mountains look like from different perspectives, and she can see that there are
different objects on the mountains. The child is then seated on one side of the
table on which the mountains are placed. The experimenter moves a doll to
different locations around the table, and at each location asks the child to
select from a series of photos the one that most accurately reflects the view
that the doll is seeing. Children in the preoperational stage often pick their
own view rather than the doll’s view. Preschool children frequently show the
ability to take another’s perspective on some tasks but not others.
Figure 3 The Three Mountains Task
Photo 1 shows the child’s perspective from where he or she is sitting (location A). Photos
2, 3, and 4 show what the mountains would look like to a person sitting at locations B, C,
and D, respectively. When asked to choose the photograph that shows what the mountains
looks like from position B, the preoperational child selects a photograph taken from
location A, the child’s view at the time. A child who thinks in a preoperational way cannot
take the perspective of a person sitting at another spot.
Animism, another limitation of preoperational thought, is the
belief that inanimate objects have lifelike qualities and are
capable of action. A young child might show animism by saying,
“That tree pushed the leaf off, and it fell down,” or “The sidewalk made me
mad; it made me fall down.” A young child who shows animism fails to
distinguish among appropriate and inappropriate occasions for using human
perspectives.
The Intuitive Thought Substage
The intuitive thought substage is the second substage of preoperational
thought, occurring between ages 4 and 7. In this substage, children begin to
use primitive reasoning and want to know the answers to all sorts of
questions. Consider 4-year-old Terrell, who is at the beginning of the
intuitive thought substage. Although he is starting to develop his own ideas
about the world he lives in, his ideas are still simple, and he is not very good
at thinking things out. He has difficulty understanding events that he knows
are taking place but that he cannot see. His fantasized thoughts bear little
resemblance to reality. He cannot yet answer the question “What if?” in any
reliable way. For example, he has only a vague idea of why he needs to avoid
getting hit by a car. He also has difficulty negotiating traffic because he
cannot do the mental calculations necessary to estimate whether an
approaching car will hit him when he crosses the road.
How Would
You…?
As a human
development and
family studies
professional, how
would you explain the
child’s response in the
following scenario: A
parent gives a 3-year-
old a cookie. The child
says, “I want two
cookies.” The parent
breaks the cookie in half
and hands the two
pieces to the child, who
happily accepts them.
By age 5 children have just about exhausted the adults around them with
“why” questions. The child’s questions signal the emergence of interest in
reasoning and in figuring out why things are the way they are. Following are
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some samples of the questions children ask during the intuitive thought
substage (Elkind, 1976): “What makes you grow up?” “Why does a woman
have to be married to have a baby?” “Who was the mother when everybody
was a baby?” “Why do leaves fall?” “Why does the sun shine?”
Piaget called this substage intuitive because young children seem so sure
about their knowledge and understanding, yet are unaware of how they know
what they know. That is, they know something but know it without the use of
rational thinking and are sometimes wrong as a result.
Centration and the Limits of Preoperational Thought
Another limitation of preoperational thought is centration, a centering of
attention on one characteristic to the exclusion of all others. Centration is
most clearly evidenced in young children’s lack of conservation; that is, they
lack the awareness that altering an object or substance’s appearance does not
change its basic properties. For example, to adults it is obvious that a certain
amount of liquid remains the same when it is poured from one
container to another, regardless of the containers’ shapes. But this
is not at all obvious to young children.
The situation that Piaget devised to study conservation is his most famous
task. In the conservation task, children are presented with two identical
beakers, each filled to the same level with liquid (see Figure 4). They are
asked if these beakers contain the same amount of liquid, and they usually
say yes. Then the liquid from one beaker is poured into a third beaker, which
is taller and thinner than the first two. The children are then asked if the
amount of liquid in the tall, thin beaker is equal to that which remains in one
of the original beakers. Children who are less than 7 or 8 years old usually
say no and justify their answers in terms of the differing height or width of
the two beakers. They are typically struck by the height of the liquid in a tall,
narrow container and focus on that characteristic to the exclusion of others.
Older children usually answer yes and justify their answer appropriately (“If
you poured the water back, the amount would still be the same”).
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Figure 4 Piaget’s Conservation Task
The beaker test is a well-known Piagetian test to determine whether a child can think
operationally—that is, can mentally reverse actions and show conservation of the
substance. (a) Two identical beakers, A and B, are presented to the child. Then the
experimenter pours the liquid from B into C, which is taller and thinner than A or B. (b)
The child is asked if these beakers (A and C) have the same amount of liquid. The
preoperational child says “no.” When asked to point to the beaker that has more liquid, the
preoperational child points to the tall, thin beaker.
©Tony Freeman/PhotoEdit
In Piaget’s theory, failing the conservation of liquid task is a sign that
children are at the preoperational stage of cognitive development. The failure
demonstrates not only centration but also inability to mentally reverse
actions. For example, in the conservation of matter example shown in Figure
5, preoperational children say that the longer shape contains more clay
because they assume that “longer is more.” Preoperational
children cannot mentally reverse the clay-rolling process to
see that the amount of clay is the same in both the shorter ball
shape and the longer stick shape.
Figure 5 Some Dimensions of Conservation: Number, Matter, and Length
What characteristics of preoperational thought do children demonstrate when they fail
these conservation tasks?
In addition to failing to conserve volume, preoperational children fail to
conserve number, matter, length, and area. However, children often vary in
their performance on different conservation tasks. Thus, a child might be able
to conserve volume but not number.
Some developmental psychologists do not believe that Piaget was entirely
correct in his estimate of when children’s conservation skills emerge. For
example, Rochel Gelman (1969) showed that when children’s attention to
relevant aspects of the conservation task is improved, they are more likely to
conserve. Gelman has also demonstrated that attentional training on one
dimension, such as number, improves preschool children’s performance on
another dimension, such as mass. Thus, Gelman believes that conservation
appears earlier than Piaget thought and that attention is especially important
in explaining conservation.
Vygotsky’s Theory
Like Piaget, Vygotsky was a constructivist, but Vygotsky’s theory is a social
constructivist approach, and it emphasizes the social contexts of learning
and the construction of knowledge through social interaction. In Vygotsky’s
view, children’s cognitive development depends on the tools provided by
society, and their minds are shaped by the cultural context in which they live
(Moura da Costa & Tuleski, 2017; Yu & Hu, 2017). Earlier, we described
some basic elements of Vygotsky’s theory. Here we expand on his theory,
exploring his ideas about the zone of proximal development, scaffolding, and
the young child’s use of language.
The Zone of Proximal Development and Scaffolding
Vygotsky’s belief in the importance of social influences, especially
instruction, on children’s cognitive development is reflected in his concept of
the zone of proximal development. Zone of proximal development (ZPD) is
Vygotsky’s term for the range of tasks that are too difficult for the child to
master alone but can be learned with the guidance and assistance of adults or
more-skilled children. Thus, the lower limit of the ZPD is the level of skill
reached by the child working independently. The upper limit is the level of
additional responsibility the child can accept with the assistance of an able
instructor (see Figure 6). The ZPD captures the child’s cognitive skills that
are in the process of maturing and can be accomplished only with the
assistance of a more-skilled person (Holzman, 2017). Vygotsky (1962) called
these the “buds” or “flowers” of development, to distinguish them from the
“fruits” of development, which the child can already accomplish
independently.
Figure 6 Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development
Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development has a lower limit and an upper limit. Tasks in
the ZPD are too difficult for the child to perform alone. They require assistance from an
adult or a more-skilled child. As children experience the verbal instruction or
demonstration, they organize the information in their existing mental structures so they
can eventually perform the skill or task alone.
©Ariel Skelley/Blend Images
How Would
You…?
As an educator, how
would you apply
Vygotsky’s ZPD theory
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and the concept of
scaffolding to help a
young child complete a
puzzle?
What are some factors that can influence the effectiveness of the ZPD in
children’s learning and development? Researchers have found that the ZPD’s
effectiveness can be enhanced by factors such as the following (Gauvain,
2013): better emotion regulation, secure attachment, absence of maternal
depression, and child compliance.
Closely linked to the idea of the ZPD is the concept of
scaffolding, introduced earlier in the context of parent-infant
interaction. Scaffolding means changing the level of support.
Over the course of a teaching session, a more-skilled person (a teacher or
advanced peer) adjusts the amount of guidance to fit the child’s current
performance (Daniels, 2017). When the student is learning a new task, the
skilled person may use direct instruction. As the student’s competence
increases, less guidance is given.
Language and Thought
According to Vygotsky, children use speech not only for social
communication but also to help them solve tasks. Vygotsky (1962) further
believed that young children use language to plan, guide, and monitor their
behavior. This use of language for self-regulation is called private speech.
Piaget viewed private speech as egocentric and immature, but Vygotsky saw
it as an important tool of thought during the early-childhood years (Lantolf,
2017).
Vygotsky said that language and thought initially develop independently
of each other and then merge. He emphasized that all mental functions have
external, or social, origins. Children must use language to communicate with
others before they can focus inward on their own thoughts. Children also
must communicate externally and use language for a long time before they
can make the transition from external to internal speech. This transition
period occurs between ages 3 and 7 and involves talking to oneself. After a
while, self-talk becomes second nature to children, and they can act without
verbalizing. When this occurs, children have internalized their egocentric
speech in the form of inner speech, which becomes their thoughts.
Vygotsky saw children who use a lot of private speech as more socially
competent than those who don’t. He argued that private speech represents an
early transition toward becoming more socially communicative. For
Vygotsky, when young children talk to themselves they are using language to
govern their behavior and guide themselves. For example, a child working on
a puzzle might say to herself, “Which pieces should I put together first? I’ll
try those green ones first. Now I need some blue ones. No, that blue one
doesn’t fit there. I’ll try it over here.” Researchers have found support for
Vygotsky’s view that private speech plays a positive role in children’s
development (Winsler, Carlton, & Barry, 2000).
Teaching Strategies Based on Vygotsky’s Theory
Vygotsky’s theory has been embraced by many teachers and has been
successfully applied to education (Adams, 2015; Daniels, 2017; Holtzman,
2017). Here are some ways in which educators can apply Vygotsky’s theory:
1. Assess the child’s ZPD. Like Piaget, Vygotsky did not believe that
formal, standardized tests are the best way to assess children’s learning.
Rather, Vygotsky argued that assessment should focus on determining
the child’s zone of proximal development. The skilled helper presents the
child with tasks of varying difficulty to determine the best level at which
to begin instruction.
2. Use the child’s zone of proximal development in teaching. Teaching
should begin near the zone’s upper limit, so that the child can reach the
goal with help and move to a higher level of skill and knowledge. Offer
just enough assistance. You might ask, “What can I do to help you?” Or
simply observe the child’s intentions and attempts, providing support
only when it is needed.
3. Use more-skilled peers as teachers. Remember that it is not just adults
who are important in helping children learn. Children also benefit from
the support and guidance of more-skilled children.
4. Monitor and encourage children’s use of private speech. Be aware of the
developmental change from talking to oneself externally when solving a
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problem during the preschool years to talking to oneself privately in the
early elementary school years. In the elementary school years, encourage
children to internalize and self-regulate their talk to themselves.
5. Place instruction in a meaningful context. Educators today
are moving away from abstract presentations of material,
instead providing students with opportunities to experience
learning in real-world settings. For example, instead of just memorizing
math formulas, students work on math problems that have real-world
implications.
With Vygotsky’s theory in mind, let’s examine an early childhood
program that reflects these concepts. Tools of the Mind is an early-childhood
education curriculum that emphasizes children’s development of self-
regulation and the cognitive foundations of literacy. The curriculum was
created by Elena Bodrova and Deborah Leong (2007, 2015) and has been
implemented in more than 200 classrooms. Most of the children in the Tools
of the Mind programs are considered at risk of academic failure because of
their living circumstances, which in many instances are characterized by
poverty and other difficult conditions such as being homeless and having
parents with drug problems.
Tools of the Mind is grounded in Vygotsky’s (1962) theory, with special
attention to cultural tools and the development of self-regulation, the zone of
proximal development, scaffolding, private speech, shared activity, and play
as important activity. In a Tools of the Mind classroom, dramatic play has a
central role. Teachers guide children in creating themes that are based on the
children’s interests, such as treasure hunt, store, hospital, and restaurant.
Teachers also incorporate field trips, visitor presentations, videos, and books
in the development of children’s play. They help children develop a play
plan, which increases the maturity of their play. Play plans describe what the
children expect to do in the play period, including the imaginary context,
roles, and props to be used. The play plans increase the quality of their play
and self-regulation.
Scaffolding children’s writing is another important theme in the Tools of
the Mind classroom. Teachers guide children in planning their own message
by drawing a line to stand for each word the child says. Children then repeat
the message, pointing to each line as they say the word. Then the child writes
on the lines, trying to represent each word with some letters or symbols.
Research assessments of children’s writing in Tools of the Mind
classrooms revealed that they have more advanced writing skills than do
children in other early childhood programs (Bodrova & Leong, 2007, 2015).
For example, they write more complex messages, use more words, spell more
accurately, show better letter recognition, and have a better understanding of
the concept of a sentence. The effectiveness of the Tools of the Mind
approach also was examined in another study of 29 schools, 79 classrooms,
and 759 students (Blair & Raver, 2014). Positive effects of the Tools of the
Mind program were found for the cognitive processes of executive function
(improved self-regulation, for example) and attention control. Further, the
Tools of the Mind program improved children’s reading, vocabulary, and
mathematics at the end of kindergarten and into the first grade. The most
significant improvements occurred in high-poverty schools.
Evaluating Vygotsky’s Theory
How does Vygotsky’s theory compare with Piaget’s? We already have
mentioned several comparisons, such as Vygotsky’s emphasis on the
importance of inner speech in cognitive development and Piaget’s view that
such speech is immature. Figure 7 compares the two theories. The
implication of Piaget’s theory for teaching is that children need support to
explore their world and discover knowledge. The main implication of
Vygotsky’s theory is that students need many opportunities to learn with a
teacher and more-skilled peers (Gauvain, 2016; Holtzman, 2017). In both
theories, teachers serve as facilitators and guides rather than as directors and
molders.
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Figure 7 Comparison of Vygotsky’s and Piaget’s Theories
(Left) ©A.R. Lauria/Dr. Michael Cole, Laboratory of Human Cognition, University
of California, San Diego; (right) ©Bettmann/Getty Images
Even though their theories were proposed at about the same time, most of
the world learned about Vygotsky’s theory later than they learned about
Piaget’s, so Vygotsky’s theory has not yet been evaluated as thoroughly.
Vygotsky’s view of the importance of sociocultural influences on children’s
development fits with the current belief that it is important to evaluate
contextual factors in learning (Yu & Hu, 2017).
Some critics say that Vygotsky was not specific enough about age-related
changes (Gauvain & Perez, 2015). Another criticism is that he
overemphasized the role of language in thinking. His emphasis on
collaboration and guidance also has potential pitfalls. Might
facilitators be too helpful in some cases, as when a parent
becomes overbearing and controlling? Further, some children
might become lazy and expect help when they could do something on their
own.
Information Processing
Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s theories provided important ideas about how young
children think and how their thinking changes. More recently, the
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information-processing approach has generated research that illuminates how
children process information during the preschool years (Braithwaite &
Siegler, 2018a, b; Chevalier, Dauvier, & Blaye, 2018). What are the
limitations and advances in young children’s ability to pay attention to their
environment, to remember, to develop strategies and solve problems, and to
understand their own mental processes and those of others?
Attention
Recall that we defined attention as the focusing of mental resources on select
information. The child’s ability to pay attention improves significantly during
the preschool years (Wu & Scerif, 2018). Toddlers wander around, shift
attention from one activity to another, and seem to spend little time focused
on any one object or event. By comparison, the preschool child might be
observed watching television for half an hour.
Young children especially make advances in two aspects of attention:
executive attention and sustained attention (Bell & Cuevas, 2015). Executive
attention involves planning actions, allocating attention to goals, detecting
and compensating for errors, monitoring progress on tasks, and dealing with
novel or difficult circumstances (McClelland & others, 2017; Schmitt &
others, 2017). Sustained attention, also referred to as vigilance, is focused
and extended engagement with an object, task, event, or other aspect of the
environment (Benitez & others, 2017). Research indicates that although older
children and adolescents show increases in vigilance, it is during the
preschool years that individuals show the greatest increase in vigilance
(Rothbart & Posner, 2015).
In at least two ways, however, the preschool child’s control of
attention is still deficient:
What are some advances in children’s attention in early childhood?
©Weedezign/Getty Images
1. Salient versus relevant dimensions. Preschool children are likely to pay
attention to stimuli that stand out, or are salient, even when those stimuli
are not relevant to solving a problem or performing a task. For example,
if a flashy, attractive clown presents the directions for solving a problem,
preschool children are likely to pay more attention to the clown than to
the directions. After age 6 or 7, children attend more efficiently to the
dimensions of the task that are relevant, such as the directions for solving
a problem. This change reflects a shift to cognitive control of attention,
so that children act less impulsively and reflect more.
2. Planfulness. When experimenters ask children to judge whether two
complex pictures are the same, preschool children tend to use a
haphazard comparison strategy, not examining all the details before
making a judgment. By comparison, elementary-school-age children are
more likely to systematically compare the details across the pictures, one
detail at a time (Vurpillot, 1968).
In central European countries such as Hungary, kindergarten children
participate in exercises designed to improve their attention (Posner &
Rothbart, 2007). For example, in one eye-contact exercise, the teacher sits in
the center of a circle of children and each child is required to catch the
teacher’s eye before being permitted to leave the group. In other exercises
created to improve attention, teachers have children participate in stop-go
activities during which they have to listen for a specific signal, such as a
drumbeat or an exact number of rhythmic beats, before stopping the activity.
Computer exercises have been developed to improve children’s attention
(Rothbart & Posner, 2015; Stevens & Bavelier, 2012). For example, one
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study revealed that five days of computer exercises that involved learning
how to use a joystick, relying on working memory, and resolving conflict
improved the attention of 4- to 6-year-old children (Rueda, Posner, &
Rothbart, 2005). Although not commercially available, further information
about computer exercises for improving children’s attention can be
downloaded from www.teach-the-brain.org/learn/attention/index.
The ability of preschool children to control and sustain their attention is
related to school readiness (Rothbart & Posner, 2015). For example, a study
of more than 1,000 children revealed that their ability to sustain their
attention at 54 months of age was linked to their school readiness (which
included achievement and language skills) (NICHD Early Child Care
Research Network, 2005). In another study, the ability to focus attention
better at age 5 was linked to a higher level of school achievement at age 9
(Razza, Martin, & Brooks-Gunn, 2012). Also, a recent study found that
preschoolers’ sustained attention was linked to a greater likelihood of
completing college by 25 years of age (McClelland & others, 2013).
Memory
Memory—the retention of information over time—is a central process in
children’s cognitive development. Most of an infant’s memories are fragile
and, for the most part, short-lived—except for the memory of perceptual-
motor actions, which can be substantial (Bauer, 2018). Thus, to understand
the infant’s capacity to remember, we need to distinguish implicit memory
from explicit memory. Explicit memory itself, however, comes in many forms
(Radvansky & Ashcraft, 2018). One distinction is between relatively
permanent or long-term memory and short-term memory.
Short-Term Memory In short-term memory, individuals retain
information for up to 30 seconds if there is no rehearsal of the information.
Using rehearsal (repeating information after it has been presented), we can
keep information in short-term memory for a much longer period. One
method of assessing short-term memory is the memory-span task. You hear a
short list of stimuli—usually digits—presented at a rapid pace
(one per second, for example). Then you are asked to repeat the
digits.
Research with the memory-span task suggests that short-term memory
increases during early childhood. For example, in one investigation memory
span increased from about 2 digits in 2- to 3-year-old children to about 5
digits in 7-year-old children, yet between ages 7 and 13 memory span
increased by only 1½ digits (Dempster, 1981) (see Figure 8). Keep in mind,
though, that memory span varies from one individual to another.
Figure 8 Developmental Changes in Memory Span
In one study, from 2 to 7 years of age children’s memory span increased from 2 digits to
about 5 digits (Dempster, 1981). Between 7 and 13 years of age, memory span had
increased on average only another 1½ digits, to about 7 digits. What factors might
contribute to the increase in memory span during childhood?
Why does memory span change with age? Rehearsal of information is
important; older children rehearse the digits more than younger children do.
Also important are efficiency of processing and speed, especially the speed
with which memory items can be identified (Schneider, 2011).
The speed-of-processing explanation highlights a key point in the
information-processing perspective: The speed with which a child processes
information is an important aspect of the child’s cognitive abilities, and there
is abundant evidence that the speed with which many cognitive tasks are
completed improves dramatically during the childhood years (Rose, Feldman,
& Jankowski, 2015). One study found that myelination (the process by which
the sheath that encases axons helps electrical signals travel faster down the
axon) in a number of brain areas was linked to young children’s processing
speed (Chevalier & others, 2015).
How Accurate Are Young Children’s Long-Term Memories? Just as
toddlers’ short-term memory span increases during the early childhood years,
their memory also becomes more accurate. Young children can remember a
great deal of information if they are given appropriate cues and prompts
(Bruck & Ceci, 2012). Increasingly, young children are even being allowed
to testify in court, especially if they are the only witnesses to abuse or a crime
(Andrews, Ahern, & Lamb, 2017; Pantell & others, 2018). Several factors
can influence the accuracy of a young child’s memory, however (Bruck &
Ceci, 1999):
There are age differences in children’s susceptibility to suggestion.
Preschoolers are the most suggestible age group (Lehman & others,
2010). For example, preschool children are more susceptible to believing
misleading or incorrect information given after an event (Ghetti &
Alexander, 2004). Despite these age differences, there is still concern
about the reaction of older children when they are subjected to suggestive
interviews (Ahern, Kowalski, & Lamb, 2018; Peixoto & others, 2017).
There are individual differences in susceptibility. Some preschoolers are
highly resistant to interviewers’ suggestions, whereas others immediately
succumb to the slightest suggestion (Ceci, Hritz, & Royer, 2016).
Interviewing techniques can produce substantial distortions in children’s
reports about highly salient events. Children are suggestible not just
about peripheral details but also about the central aspects of an event. In
some cases, children’s false reports can be tinged with sexual
connotations. In laboratory studies, young children have made false
claims about “silly events” that involved body contact (such as “Did the
nurse lick your knee?” or “Did she blow in your ear?”). A significant
number of preschool children have falsely reported that someone touched
their private parts, kissed them, or hugged them, when these events
clearly did not happen. Nevertheless, young children are capable of
recalling much that is relevant about an event (Ahern, Kowalski, &
Lamb, 2017). When young children do recall information accurately, the
interviewer often has a neutral tone and avoids asking misleading
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questions, and there is no reason for the child to make a false report.
In sum, the accuracy of a young child’s eyewitness testimony may
depend on a number of factors, such as the type, number, and intensity of the
suggestive techniques the child has experienced (Andrews,
Ahern, & Lamb, 2017; Andrews & Lamb, 2018). It appears
that the reliability of young children’s reports has as much to
do with the skills and motivation of the interviewer as with any natural
limitations on young children’s memory (Bruck & Ceci, 2012; Ceci, Hritz, &
Royer, 2016).
Autobiographical Memory Another aspect of long-term memory that has
been extensively studied in regard to children’s development is
autobiographical memory (Bauer, 2018; Bauer & others, 2017).
Autobiographical memory involves memory of significant events and
experiences in one’s life. You are engaging in autobiographical memory
when you answer questions such as these: Who was your first-grade teacher
and what was s/he like? What is the most traumatic event that happened to
you as a child?
During the preschool years, young children’s memories increasingly take
on more autobiographical characteristics (Bauer, 2018; Bauer & Larkina,
2016). In some areas, such as remembering a story, a movie, a song, or an
interesting event or experience, young children have been shown to have
reasonably good memories. From 3 to 5 years of age, they (1) increasingly
remember events as occurring at a specific time and location, such as “on my
birthday at Chuck E. Cheese’s last year” and (2) include more elements that
are rich in detail in their narratives (Bauer, 2013). In one study, children went
from using 4 descriptive items per event at 3½ years of age to 12 such items
at 6 years of age (Fivush & Haden, 1997).
Executive Function
Recently, increased interest has been directed toward the development of
children’s executive function, an umbrella-like concept that encompasses a
number of higher-level cognitive processes linked to the development of the
brain’s prefrontal cortex (Knapp & Morton, 2017; Perone, Almy & Zelazo,
2017). Executive function involves managing one’s thoughts to engage in
goal-directed behavior and exercise self-control. Earlier in this chapter, we
described the recent interest in executive attention, which comes under the
umbrella of executive function.
In early childhood, executive function especially involves developmental
advances in cognitive inhibition (such as inhibiting a strong tendency that is
incorrect), cognitive flexibility (such as shifting attention to another item or
topic), goal-setting (such as sharing a toy or mastering a skill like catching a
ball), and delay of gratification (the ability to forego an immediate pleasure
or reward for a more desirable one later) (McClelland & others, 2017; Muller
& others, 2017). During early childhood, the relatively stimulus-driven
toddler is transformed into a child capable of flexible, goal-directed problem
solving that characterizes executive function (Zelazo & Muller, 2011).
How did Walter Mischel and his colleagues study young children’s delay of gratification?
In their research, what later developmental outcomes were linked to the preschoolers’
ability to delay gratification?
©Amy Kiley Photography
Researchers have found that advances in executive function during the
preschool years are linked with math skills, language development, and
school readiness (Blair, 2017; Hoskyn, Iarocci, & Young, 2017; Liu &
others, 2018; Muller & others, 2017). One study revealed that executive
function skills predicted mathematical gains in kindergarten (Fuhs & others,
2014). Another study of young children also revealed that executive function
was associated with emergent literacy and vocabulary development (Becker
& others, 2014). And a recent study found that young children who showed
delayed development of executive function had a lower level of school
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readiness (Willoughby & others, 2016).
Walter Mischel and his colleagues (Berman & others, 2013; Mischel,
2014; Mischel, Cantor, & Feldman, 1996; Mischel & Moore, 1980; Mischel
& others, 2011; Schlam & others, 2013) have conducted a number of studies
of delay of gratification with young children. One way they assess delay of
gratification is to place a young child alone in a room with an alluring
marshmallow that is within their reach. The children are told that they either
can ring a bell at any time and eat the marshmallow or they can wait until the
experimenter returns and then receive two marshmallows. For the young
children who waited for the experimenter to return, what did they do to help
them wait? They engaged in a number of strategies to distract their attention
from the marshmallow, including singing songs, picking their noses—
anything to keep from looking at the marshmallow. Mischel and his
colleagues labeled these strategies “cool thoughts” (that is, doing non-
marshmallow-related thoughts and activities), whereas they said the young
children who looked at the marshmallow were engaging in
“hot thoughts.” The young children who engaged in cool
thoughts were more likely to eat the marshmallow later or
wait until the experimenter returned to the room. In one study using the delay
of gratification task just described, longer delay of gratification at 4 years of
age was linked to a lower body mass index (BMI) three decades later
(Schlam & others, 2013).
Researchers have found that advances in executive function in the
preschool years are linked with math skills, language development, and
school readiness (Blair & Razza, 2007). For example, a recent study found
that young children who showed delayed development of executive function
had a lower level of school readiness (Willoughby & others, 2016).
Parents and teachers play important roles in the development of executive
function (Cheng & others, 2018; Duncan, McClelland, & Acock, 2017). Ann
Masten and her colleagues (Labella & others, 2018; Masten, 2013; Masten &
others, 2008; Monn & others, 2017) have found that executive function and
parenting skills are linked to homeless children’s success in school. Masten
believes that executive function and good parenting skills are related. In her
words, “When we see kids with good executive function, we often see adults
around them that are good self-regulators. . . . Parents model, they support,
and they scaffold these skills” (Masten, 2012, p. 11). For example,
researchers have found that secure attachment to mothers during the toddler
years was linked to a higher level of executive function at 5 to 6 years of age
(Bernier & others, 2015).
Some developmental psychologists use their training in areas such as
cognitive development to pursue careers in applied areas. To read about the
work of Helen Hadani, an individual who followed this path, see the Careers
in Life-Span Development profile.
Careers in life-span development
Helen Hadani, Developmental Psychologist, Toy
Designer, and Associate Director of Research for
the Center for Childhood Creativity
Helen Hadani obtained a Ph.D. from Stanford University in
developmental psychology. As a graduate student at Stanford, she
worked part-time for Hasbro Toys and Apple testing children’s
software and computer products for young children. Her first job after
graduate school was with Zowie Intertainment, which was
subsequently bought by LEGO. In her work as a toy designer there,
Helen conducted experiments and focus groups at different stages of a
toy’s development and also studied the age-effectiveness of the toy. In
Helen’s words, “Even in a toy’s most primitive stage of development .
. . you see children’s creativity in responding to challenges, their
satisfaction when a problem is solved or simply their delight in having
fun” (Schlegel, 2000, p. 50).
More recently, she began working with the Bay Area Discovery
Museum’s Center for Childhood Creativity (CCC) in Sausalito,
California, an education-focused think tank that pioneers new
research, thought-leadership, and teacher training programs that
advance creative thinking in all children. Helen is currently the
Associate Director of Research for the CCC.
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Helen Hadani, a developmental psychologist, has worked as a toy designer and
is currently directing research on creativity at a children’s museum.
©Dr. Helen Hadani
The Child’s Theory of Mind
Even young children are curious about the nature of the human
mind (Birch & others, 2017; Devine & Hughes, 2018a, b). They have a
theory of mind, a term that refers to awareness of one’s own mental
processes and those of others. Studies of theory of mind view the child as “a
thinker who is trying to explain, predict, and understand people’s thoughts,
feelings, and utterances” (Harris, 2006). Children’s theory of mind changes
as they develop through childhood (Devine & Hughes, 2018a, b; Wellman,
2015). However, whether infants have a theory of mind continues to be
questioned by some (Rakoczy, 2012). The consensus is that some changes
occur quite early in development, as we see next (Scott & Baillargeon, 2017).
The main changes occur at ages 2 to 3, 4 to 5, and beyond age 5.
Ages 2 to 3 In this time frame, children begin to understand the following
three mental states:
1. Perceptions: The child realizes that other people see what is in front of
their eyes and not necessarily what is in front of the child’s eyes.
2. Emotions: The child can distinguish between positive and negative
emotions. A child might say, “Vic feels bad.”
3. Desires: The child understands that if someone wants something, he or
she will try to get it. A child might say, “I want my mommy.”
Children refer to desires earlier and more frequently than they refer to
cognitive states such as thinking and knowing (Harris, 2006). Two- to 3-year-
olds understand the way desires are related to actions and to simple emotions
(Harris, 2006). For example, they understand that people will search for what
they want and that if they obtain it, they are likely to feel happy, but if they
don’t, they will keep searching for it and are likely to feel sad or angry.
Ages 4 to 5 Children come to understand that the mind can represent
objects and events accurately or inaccurately (Tompkins & others, 2017). The
realization that people can have false beliefs—beliefs that are not true—
develops in a majority of children by the time they are 5 years old (Wellman,
Cross, & Watson, 2001) (see Figure 9).
Figure 9 Developmental Changes in False-Belief Performance
False-belief performance—the child’s understanding that a person has a false belief that
contradicts reality—dramatically increases from 2½ years of age through the middle of the
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elementary school years. In a summary of the results of many studies, 2½-year-olds gave
incorrect responses about 80 percent of the time (Wellman, Cross, & Watson, 2001). At 3
years, 8 months, they were correct about 50 percent of the time, and after that, gave
increasingly correct responses.
In a classic false-belief task, children are told a story about Sally and
Anne. In the story, Sally places a toy in a basket and then leaves the room. In
her absence, Anne takes the toy from the basket and places it in a box.
Children are asked where Sally will look for the toy when she returns. The
major finding is that 3-year-olds tend to fail false-belief tasks, saying that
Sally will look in the box (even though Sally could not know that the toy has
been moved to this new location). Four-year-olds and older children tend to
pass the task, correctly saying that Sally will have a “false belief”—she will
think the object is in the basket, even though that belief is now false. The
conclusion from these studies is that children younger than age 4 do not
understand that it is possible to have a false belief.
Beyond Age 5 It is only beyond the preschool years that children have a
deepening appreciation of the mind itself rather than just an understanding of
mental states (Wellman, 2015). Not until middle and late childhood do
children see the mind as an active constructor of knowledge or a processing
center (Flavell, Green, & Flavell, 2000). It is only then that they move from
understanding that beliefs can be false to realizing that the same event can be
open to multiple interpretations (Carpendale & Chandler, 1996).
Individual Differences As in other developmental research, there are
individual differences in the ages when children reach certain milestones in
their theory of mind (Devine & Hughes, 2018a, b; Wellman,
2015). For example, children who talk with their parents about
feelings frequently as 2-year-olds show better performance on
theory of mind tasks (Ruffman, Slade, & Crowe, 2002), as do children who
frequently engage in pretend play (Harris, 2000).
Executive function, which describes several functions discussed earlier in
this chapter, such as planning and inhibition, that are important for flexible,
future-oriented behavior, also is connected to theory of mind development
(Lecce & others, 2018; Powell & Carey, 2017). Children who perform better
at such executive function tasks show a better understanding of theory of
mind (Benson & Sabbagh, 2017). For example, in one study of 3- to 5-year-
old children, earlier development of executive function predicted theory of
mind performance, especially on false belief tasks (Doenyas, Yavuz, &
Selcuk, 2018). Language development also likely plays a prominent role in
the increasingly reflective nature of theory of mind as children go through the
early childhood and middle and late childhood years (Meins & others, 2013).
Researchers have found that differences in children’s language skills predict
performance on theory of mind tasks (Devine & Hughes, 2018a, b). For
example, in one study of 3- to 5-year-old children, earlier development of
executive function predicted theory of mind performance, especially on false
belief tasks (Doenyas, Yavuz, & Selcuk, 2018).
Among other factors that influence children’s theory of mind
development are advances in prefrontal cortex functioning (Powers, Chavez,
& Heatherton, 2016), engaging in make-believe play (Kavanaugh, 2006), and
various aspects of social interaction (Hughes, Devine, & Wang, 2017).
Among the social interaction factors that advance children’s theory of mind
are being securely attached to parents who engage children in mental state
talk (“That’s a good thought you have” or “Can you tell what he’s
thinking?”) (Laranjo & others, 2010), having older siblings and friends who
engage in mental state talk (Hughes & others, 2010), and living in a higher-
socioeconomic-status family (Devine & Hughes, 2018a). A recent study
found that parental engagement in mind-mindedness (viewing children as
mental agents by making mind-related comments to them) advanced
preschool children’s theory of mind (Hughes, Devine, & Wang, 2018). Also,
research indicates that children with an advanced theory of mind are more
popular with their peers and have better social skills in peer relations
(Peterson & others, 2016; Slaughter & others, 2014).
Another individual difference in understanding the mind involves autism
(Jones & others, 2018; Leung & others, 2016). Researchers have found that
children with autism have difficulty developing a theory of mind, especially
in understanding others’ beliefs and emotions (Berenguer & others, 2018;
Garon, Smith, & Bryson, 2018). Also, a recent study found that theory of
mind predicted the severity of autism in children (Hoogenhout & Malcolm-
Smith, 2017). Thus, it is not surprising that autistic children have difficulty in
interactions with others.
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Language Development
Toddlers move rather quickly from producing two-word utterances to
creating three-, four-, and five-word combinations. Between ages 2 and 3,
they begin the transition from saying simple sentences that express a single
proposition to saying complex sentences.
As young children learn the special features of their own language, there
are extensive regularities in how they acquire that particular language (Clark,
2017; Litz, Snyder, & Pater, 2017). For example, all children learn the
prepositions on and in before other prepositions. Children learning other
languages, such as Russian or Chinese, also acquire the particular features of
those languages in a consistent order.
Understanding Phonology and Morphology
Phonology refers to the sound system of a language, including the sounds
used and how they may be combined. During the preschool years, most
children gradually become more sensitive to the sounds of spoken words and
increasingly capable of producing all the sounds of their language
(Goad, 2017; Kelly & others, 2018). By their third birthday they
can produce all the vowel sounds and most of the consonant
sounds (Menn & Stoel-Gammon, 2009). They recognize the sounds before
they can produce them, as in the noun “Merry-go-round.”
By the time children move beyond two-word utterances, they demonstrate
a knowledge of morphology rules (Snyder, 2017). Morphology refers to the
units of meaning involved in word formation. Children begin using the plural
and possessive forms of nouns (such as dogs and dog’s). They put
appropriate endings on verbs (such as -s when the subject is third-person
singular and -ed for the past tense). They use prepositions (such as in and on),
articles (such as a and the), and various forms of the verb to be (such as “I
was going to the store”). Some of the best evidence for changes in children’s
use of morphological rules occurs in their overgeneralization of the rules, as
when a preschool child says “foots” instead of “feet,” or “goed” instead of
“went.”
In a classic experiment that was designed to study children’s knowledge
of morphological rules, such as how to make a plural, Jean Berko (1958)
presented preschool and first-grade children with cards such as the one shown
in Figure 10. The children were asked to look at the card while the
experimenter read aloud the words on the card. Then the children were asked
to supply the missing word. This might sound easy, but Berko was interested
in the children’s ability to apply the appropriate morphological rule—in this
case, to say “wugs” with the z sound that indicates the plural.
Figure 10 Stimuli in Berko’s Study of Young Children’s Understanding of
Morphological Rules.
In Jean Berko’s (1958) study, young children were presented with cards such as this one
with a “wug” on it. Then the children were asked to supply the missing word; in supplying
the missing word, they also had to say it correctly. “Wugs” is the correct response here.
Source: Gleason, Jean Berko, “The Child’s Learning of English Morphology,”
Word, Vol. 14, 1958, p. 154. Copyright ©1958 by Jean Berko Gleason. All rights
reserved. Used with permission.
Although the children’s answers were not perfect, they were much better
than chance. What makes Berko’s study impressive is that most of the words
were made up for the experiment. Thus, the children could not base their
responses on remembering past instances of hearing the words. That they
could make the plurals or past tenses of words they had never heard before
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was proof that they knew the morphological rules.
Changes in Syntax and Semantics
Preschool children also learn and apply rules of syntax, which involves the
way words are combined to form acceptable phrases and sentences (Clark,
2017; Tieu & others, 2018). They show a growing mastery of complex rules
for how words should be ordered. Consider wh- questions, such as “Where is
Daddy going?” or “What is that boy doing?” To ask these questions properly,
the child must know two important differences between wh- questions and
affirmative statements (for instance, “Daddy is going to work” and “That boy
is waiting for the school bus”). First, a wh- word must be added at the
beginning of the sentence. Second, the auxiliary verb must be inverted—that
is, exchanged with the subject of the sentence. Young children learn quite
early where to put the wh- word, but they take much longer to learn the
auxiliary-inversion rule. Thus, preschool children might ask, “Where Daddy
is going?” and “What that boy is doing?”
Gains in semantics, the aspect of language that refers to the meaning of
words and sentences, also characterize early childhood. Vocabulary
development is dramatic (Thornton, 2017). Some experts have concluded that
between 18 months and 6 years, young children learn an average of about one
new word every waking hour (Gelman & Kalish, 2006)! By the time they
enter first grade, it is estimated that children know about 14,000 words
(Clark, 1993).
How can children learn so many new words so quickly? One
possible explanation is fast mapping, which involves children’s
ability to make an initial connection between a word and its
referent after only limited exposure to the word (McGregor, 2017; van Hout,
2017). Researchers have found that exposure to words on multiple occasions
over several days results in more successful word learning than the same
number of exposures in a single day (Childers & Tomasello, 2002). Also, fast
mapping brings a deeper understanding of word meaning, such as where the
word can apply and its nuances.
What are some important aspects of how word learning optimally occurs?
Following are six key principles in young children’s vocabulary development
(Harris, Golinkoff, & Hirsh-Pasek, 2011):
1. Children learn the words they hear most often. They learn the words
they encounter when interacting with parents, teachers, siblings, and
peers, and also from books. They especially benefit from encountering
words that they do not know.
2. Children learn words for things and events that interest them. Parents
and teachers can direct young children to experience words in contexts
that interest the children; playful peer interactions are especially helpful
in this regard.
3. Children learn words best in responsive and interactive contexts rather
than passive contexts. Children who experience turn-taking
opportunities, joint focusing experiences, and positive, sensitive
socializing contexts with adults encounter the scaffolding necessary for
optimal word learning. They learn words less effectively when they are
passive learners.
4. Children learn words best in contexts that are meaningful. Young
children learn new words more effectively when new words are
encountered in integrated contexts rather than as isolated facts.
5. Children learn words best when they access clear information about
word meaning. Children whose parents and teachers are sensitive to
words the children might not understand and provide support and
elaboration with hints about word meaning learn words better than
children whose parents and teachers quickly state a new word and don’t
monitor whether the child understands its meaning.
6. Children learn words best when grammar and vocabulary are
considered. Children who experience a large number of words and
diversity in verbal stimulation develop a richer vocabulary and better
understanding of grammar. In many cases, vocabulary and grammar
development are connected.
Advances in Pragmatics
Changes in pragmatics, the appropriate use of language in different contexts,
also characterize young children’s language development (Fujiki & Brinton,
2017). A 6-year-old is simply a much better conversationalist than a 2-year-
old. What are some of the improvements in pragmatics during the preschool
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years?
Young children begin to engage in extended discourse (Akhtar & Herold,
2008). For example, they learn culturally specific rules of conversation and
politeness, and they become sensitive to the need to adapt their speech to
different settings. Their developing linguistic skills and increasing ability to
take the perspective of others contribute to their generation of more
competent narratives.
As children grow older, they become increasingly able to talk about
things that are not here (Grandma’s house, for example) and not now (what
happened to them yesterday or might happen tomorrow, for example). A
preschool child can tell you what she wants for lunch tomorrow, something
that would not have been possible at the two-word stage of language
development.
Around age 4 or 5, children learn to change their speech style to suit the
situation. For example, even 4-year-old children speak to a 2-year-old
differently from the way they talk to a same-aged peer; they use shorter
sentences with the 2-year-old. They also speak to an adult differently from a
same-aged peer, using more polite and formal language with the adult (Shatz
& Gelman, 1973).
Young Children’s Literacy
Concern about U.S. children’s ability to read and write has led to a careful
examination of preschool and kindergarten children’s experiences, with the
hope that a positive orientation toward reading and writing can be developed
early in life (Reutzel & Cooter, 2019; Temple & others, 2018). Parents and
teachers need to provide young children with a supportive environment for
the development of literacy skills (Meyer, 2017). Children should be active
participants in a wide range of interesting listening, talking, writing, and
reading experiences (Tompkins, 2017, 2019).
Instruction should be built on what children already know about oral
language, reading, and writing. Further, early precursors of literacy and
academic success include language skills, phonological and syntactic
knowledge, letter identification, and enjoyment of books (Temple & others,
2018).
What are some strategies for using books effectively with preschool
children? Ellen Galinsky (2010) offers the following recommendations:
Use books to initiate conversation with young children. Ask them to put
themselves in the book characters’ places and imagine what they might be
thinking or feeling.
Use what and why questions. Ask young children to tell you what they
think is going to happen next in a story and then to see if it occurs.
Encourage children to ask questions about stories.
Choose some books that play with language. Creative books on the
alphabet, including those with rhymes, often interest young children.
Early Childhood Education
How do early education programs treat children, and how do the children
fare? Our exploration of early childhood education focuses on variations in
programs, education for children who are disadvantaged, and some
controversies in early childhood education.
Variations in Early Childhood Education
There are many variations in the way young children are educated
(Bredekamp, 2017; Gestwicki, 2017). The foundation of early childhood
education is the child-centered kindergarten.
The Child-Centered Kindergarten
Nurturing is a key aspect of the child-centered kindergarten, which
emphasizes educating the whole child and promoting his or her physical,
cognitive, and socioemotional development (Morrison, 2017, 2018).
Instruction is organized around the child’s needs, interests, and learning
styles. Emphasis is on the process of learning, rather than what is learned
(Feeney, Moravcik, & Nolte, 2019). The child-centered kindergarten honors
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three principles: (1) each child follows a unique developmental pattern; (2)
young children learn best through firsthand experiences with people and
materials; and (3) play is extremely important in the child’s total
development. Experimenting, exploring, discovering, trying out,
restructuring, speaking, and listening are frequent activities in excellent
kindergarten programs. Such programs are closely attuned to the
developmental status of 4- and 5-year-old children.
The Montessori Approach
Montessori schools are patterned on the educational philosophy of Maria
Montessori (1870–1952), an Italian physician-turned-educator who at the
beginning of the twentieth century crafted a revolutionary approach to young
children’s education. The Montessori approach is a philosophy
of education in which children are given considerable freedom
and spontaneity in choosing activities. They are allowed to move
from one activity to another as they desire, and the teacher acts as a facilitator
rather than a director. The teacher shows the child how to perform intellectual
activities, demonstrates interesting ways to explore curriculum materials, and
offers help when the child requests it (Bahmaee, Saadatmand, &
Yarmohammadian, 2016; Taylor, 2017). “By encouraging children to make
decisions from an early age, Montessori programs seek to develop self-
regulated problem solvers who can make choices and manage their time
effectively” (Hyson, Copple, & Jones, 2006, p. 14). The number of
Montessori schools in the United States has expanded dramatically in recent
years, from one school in 1959 to 355 schools in 1970 and more than 4,000
today.
Larry Page and Sergey Brin, founders of the highly successful Internet search engine,
Google, said that their early years at Montessori schools were a major factor in their
success (International Montessori Council, 2006). During an interview with Barbara
Walters, they said they learned how to be self-directed and self-starters at Montessori
(ABC News, 2005). They commented that their Montessori experiences encouraged them
to think for themselves and allowed them the freedom to develop their own interests.
©James Leynse/Corbis Images/Getty Images
Some developmental psychologists favor the Montessori approach, but
others believe that it neglects children’s socioemotional development. For
example, although the Montessori approach fosters independence and the
development of cognitive skills, it deemphasizes verbal interaction between
the teacher and child and between peers. Montessori’s critics also argue that
it restricts imaginative play and that its heavy reliance on self-corrective
materials may not adequately allow for creativity and for a variety of learning
styles.
Developmentally Appropriate Education
Many educators and psychologists conclude that preschool and young
elementary school children learn best through active, hands-on teaching
methods such as games and dramatic play. They believe that schools need to
accommodate individual differences in children’s development. They also
argue that schools should focus on promoting children’s socioemotional
development as well as their cognitive development. Educators refer to this
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type of schooling as developmentally appropriate practice (DAP), which is
based on knowledge of the typical development of children within a
particular age span (age-appropriateness), as well as on the uniqueness of the
individual child (individual-appropriateness). DAP emphasizes the
importance of creating settings that encourage children to be active learners
and reflect children’s interests and capabilities (Beaver, Wyatt, & Jackman,
2018; Bredekamp, 2017; Morrison, 2017, 2018). Desired outcomes for DAP
include thinking critically, working cooperatively, solving problems,
developing self-regulatory skills, and enjoying learning. The emphasis in
DAP is on the process of learning rather than on its content.
Do developmentally appropriate educational practices improve young
children’s development? Some researchers have found that young children in
developmentally appropriate classrooms are likely to feel less stress, be more
motivated, be more socially skilled, have better work habits, be more
creative, have better language skills, and demonstrate better math skills than
children in developmentally inappropriate classrooms (Hart & others, 2003).
However, not all studies find DAP to have significant positive effects
(Hyson, Copple, & Jones, 2006). Among the reasons that it is difficult to
generalize about research on developmentally appropriate education is that
individual programs often vary, and developmentally
appropriate education is an evolving concept. Recent changes
in the concept have given more attention to sociocultural
factors and the teacher’s active involvement and implementation of
systematic intentions, as well as how strongly academic skills should be
emphasized and how they should be taught.
How Would
You…?
As an educator, how
would you design a
developmentally
appropriate lesson to
teach kindergartners the
concept of gravity?
Education for Young Children Who Are Disadvantaged
For many years, U.S. children from low-income families did not receive any
education before they entered the first grade. Often when they began first
grade they were already several steps behind their classmates in readiness to
learn. In the summer of 1965, the federal government began striving to break
the cycle of poverty and poor education for young children through Project
Head Start, a compensatory program designed to give children from low-
income families the opportunity to acquire skills and experiences that are
important for success in school (Hustedt, Friedman, & Barnett, 2012; Miller,
Farkas, & Duncan, 2016; Paschall & Mastergeorge, 2018). More than half a
century after the program’s inception, Head Start continues to be the largest
federally funded program for U.S. children, with almost 1 million children
enrolled in it annually (Hagen & Lamb-Parker, 2008). In 2007, 3 percent of
Head Start children were 5 years old, 51 percent were 4 years old, 36 percent
were 3 years old, and 10 percent were under age 3 (Administration for
Children & Families, 2008).
Mixed results have been found for Head Start. A recent study found that
one year of Head Start was linked to higher performance in early math, early
reading, and receptive vocabulary (Miller, Farkas, & Duncan, 2016). In
another study, the best results occurred for Head Start children who had low
initial cognitive ability, whose parents had low levels of education, and who
attended Head Start more than 20 hours a week (Lee & others, 2014). It is not
unusual to find early gains, then see them go away in elementary school. For
example, a national evaluation of Head Start revealed that the program had a
positive influence on the language and cognitive development of 3- and 4-
year-olds (Puma & others, 2010). However, by the end of the first grade,
there were few lasting outcomes.
How Would
You…?
As a health-care
professional, how
would you explain the
importance of including
health services as part of
Page 165
an effective Head Start
program?
Often the best Head Start results occur when parents make positive
contributions to their young children’s development (Alarcon, 2017). For
example, two recent studies found that improved parenting engagement and
skills were linked to the success of children in Head Start programs (Ansari
& Gershoff, 2016; Roggman & others, 2016).
Also, one-fourth of Head Start children have mothers who also
participated in Head Start. In a multigenerational study, a positive influence
on cognitive and socioemotional development (assessed in the third grade)
occurred for Head Start children whose mothers had also attended Head Start
programs (when compared with Head Start children whose mothers were not
in Head Start) (Chor, 2018). This result likely occurred because of improved
family resources and home learning environments.
Early Head Start was established in 1995 to serve children from birth to 3
years of age (Burgette & others, 2017). In 2007, half of all new funds
appropriated for Head Start programs were used for the expansion of Early
Head Start. One study revealed that Early Head Start had a protective effect
on risks young children might experience in parenting stress, language
development, and self-control (Ayoub, Vallotton, & Mastergeorge, 2011).
However, some studies have revealed mixed effects for Early Head Start
(Love & others, 2013).
More attention needs to be given to developing consistently high-quality
Head Start programs (Faria & others, 2017). One person who is strongly
motivated to make Head Start a valuable learning experience for young
children from disadvantaged backgrounds is Yolanda Garcia. To read about
her work, see Careers in Life-Span Development.
Careers in life-span development
Yolanda Garcia, Director of Children’s Services,
Head Start
Yolanda Garcia was the director of the Children’s Services
Department of the Santa Clara, California, County Office of
Education for several decades. As director, she was responsible for
managing child development programs for 2,500 3- to 5-year-old
children in 127 classrooms. Recently, she became the Director of
WestEd’s E3 Institute, which focuses on excellence in early
childhood education in Santa Clara County.
Her training includes two master’s degrees: one in public policy
and child welfare from the University of Chicago and another in
education administration from San Jose State University.
Garcia has served on many national advisory committees that
have produced improvements in the staffing of Head Start programs.
Most notably, she served on the Head Start Quality Committee that
recommended the development of Early Head Start and revised
performance standards for Head Start programs. Garcia currently is a
member of the American Academy of Science Committee on the
Integration of Science and Early Childhood Education.
Yolanda Garcia, Director of WestEd’s E3 Institute, works with a child.
©Yolanda Garcia
One high-quality early childhood education program (although not a
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Head Start program) is the Perry Preschool program in Ypsilanti, Michigan, a
two-year preschool program that includes weekly home visits from program
personnel. In analyses of the long-term effects of the program, adults who
had been in the Perry Preschool program were compared with a control group
of adults from the same background who had not received the enriched early
childhood education (Schweinhart & others, 2005; Weikert, 1993). Those
who had been in the Perry Preschool program had fewer teen pregnancies and
better high school graduation rates, and at age 40 they were more likely to be
in the workforce, to own a home, to have a savings account, and to have had
fewer arrests.
Controversies in Early Childhood Education
Two current controversies in early childhood education involve (1) what the
curriculum for early childhood education should be (Morrison, 2017, 2018)
and (2) whether preschool education should be universal in the United States
(Zigler, Gilliam, & Barnett, 2011).
Controversy Over Curriculum
A current controversy in early childhood education involves what the
curriculum for early childhood education should be (Bredekamp, 2017;
Follari, 2019). On one side are those who advocate a child-centered,
constructivist approach much like that emphasized by the National
Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), along the lines
of developmentally appropriate practice. On the other side are those who
advocate an academic, direct-instruction approach.
In practice, many high-quality early-childhood education programs
include both academic and constructivist approaches. Many education
experts, such as Lilian Katz (1999), though, worry about academic
approaches that place too much pressure on young children to achieve and
don’t provide opportunities to actively construct knowledge. Competent early
childhood programs also should focus on both cognitive
development and socioemotional development, not
exclusively on cognitive development (Feeney, Moravcik, &
Nolte, 2019; Follari, 2019).
What is the curriculum controversy in early childhood education?
©Ronnie Kaufman/Corbis/Getty Images
Universal Preschool Education
Another controversy in early childhood education focuses on whether
preschool education should be instituted for all U.S. 4-year-old children.
Publicly funded preschool programs now are present in 42 states and the
District of Columbia (National Institute for Early Education Research, 2016).
Edward Zigler and his colleagues (2006, 2011) argue that the United
States should have universal preschool education. They emphasize that
quality preschools prepare children for later academic success. Zigler and his
colleagues (2006) cite research showing that quality preschool programs
decrease the likelihood that children will be retained in a grade or drop out
before graduating from high school. They also point to analyses indicating
that universal preschool would bring cost savings on the order of billions of
dollars because of a diminished need for remedial and justice services
(Karoly & Bigelow, 2005).
Critics of universal preschool education argue that the gains attributed to
preschool and kindergarten education are often overstated. They especially
stress that research has not proven that nondisadvantaged children benefit
from attending a preschool. Thus, the critics say it is more important to
improve preschool education for young children who are disadvantaged than
to fund preschool education for all 4-year-old children. Some critics,
especially homeschooling advocates, emphasize that young children should
be educated by their parents, not by schools. Thus, universal preschool
education remains a subject of controversy.
How Would
You…?
As a psychologist, how
would you advise
preschool teachers to
balance the
development of young
children’s skills for
academic achievement
with opportunities for
healthy social
interaction?
Summary
Physical Changes
The average child grows 2½ inches in height and gains between 5 and 7
pounds a year during early childhood, although growth patterns vary from
one child to another.
Some of the brain’s growth in early childhood is due to increases in the
number and size of dendrites, some to myelination. From ages 3 to 6, the
most rapid growth in the brain occurs in the frontal lobes.
Gross and fine motor skills improve dramatically during early childhood.
Too many young children in the United States are being raised on diets
that are too high in fat. Other nutritional concerns include malnutrition in
early childhood and the inadequate diets of many children living in
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poverty. The child’s life should be centered on activities, not meals.
Regular exercise should be a part of young children’s lives.
Accidents are the leading cause of death in young children. A special
concern is the poor health status of many young children in low-income
families. There has been a dramatic increase in HIV/AIDS in young
children in developing countries in recent decades.
Cognitive Changes
According to Piaget, in the preoperational stage children cannot yet
perform operations, but they begin to represent the world with symbols,
to form stable concepts, and to reason. Preoperational thought is
characterized by two substages: symbolic function (2 to 4 years) and
intuitive thought (4 to 7 years). Centration and a lack of conservation also
characterize the preoperational stage.
Vygotsky’s theory represents a social constructivist approach to
development. Vygotsky argues that it is important to discover
the child’s zone of proximal development to improve the
child’s learning.
Young children make substantial strides in executive and sustained
attention. Significant improvement in short-term memory occurs during
early childhood. Advances in executive function, an umbrella-like
concept that consists of a number of higher-level cognitive processes
linked to the development of the prefrontal cortex, occur in early
childhood. Theory of mind is the awareness of one’s own mental
processes and the mental processes of others. Children begin to
understand mental states involving perceptions, emotions, and desires at 2
to 3 years of age and at 4 to 5 years of age realize that people can have
false beliefs.
Language Development
Young children increase their grasp of language’s rule systems. In terms
of phonology, children become more sensitive to the sounds of spoken
language. Berko’s classic study demonstrated that young children
understand morphological rules.
Preschool children learn and apply rules of syntax, which involves how
words should be ordered. In terms of semantics, vocabulary development
increases dramatically in early childhood.
Young children’s conversational skills improve in early childhood.
Early precursors of literacy and academic success develop in early
childhood.
Early Childhood Education
The child-centered kindergarten emphasizes the education of the whole
child. The Montessori approach has become increasingly popular.
Developmentally appropriate practice focuses on the typical patterns of
children (age appropriateness) and the uniqueness of each child
(individual appropriateness).
The U.S. government has tried to break the poverty cycle with programs
such as Head Start. Model programs have had positive effects on young
children’s education.
Controversy over early childhood education involves what the curriculum
should be and whether universal preschool education should be
implemented.
Key Terms
animism
centration
child-centered kindergarten
conservation
developmentally appropriate practice (DAP)
egocentrism
executive attention
executive function
fast mapping
intuitive thought substage
Montessori approach
morphology
myelination
operations
phonology
pragmatics
preoperational stage
Project Head Start
semantics
short-term memory
social constructivist approach
sustained attention
symbolic function substage
syntax
theory of mind
zone of proximal development (ZPD)
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©Rawpixel/Getty Images
6
Socioemotional
Development in Early
Childhood
CHAPTER OUTLINE
Emotional and Personality Development
The Self
Emotional Development
Moral Development
Gender
Families
Parenting
Child Maltreatment
Sibling Relationships and Birth Order
The Changing Family in a Changing Society
Peer Relations, Play, and Media/Screen Time
Peer Relations
Play
Media and Screen Time
Stories of Life-Span Development:
Nurturing Socioemotional
Development
Like many children, Sarah Newland loves animals. During a trip to
the zoo when she was 4 years old, Sarah learned about an animal
that was a member of an endangered species, and she became
motivated to help. With her mother’s guidance, she baked lots of
cakes and cookies, then sold them on the sidewalk outside her
home. She was excited about making $35 from the cake and cookie
sales, and she mailed the money to the World Wildlife Fund.
Several weeks later, the fund wrote back to Sarah requesting more
money. Sarah was devastated because she thought she had taken
care of the animal problem. Her mother consoled her and told her
that the endangered animal problem and many others are so big
that it takes ongoing help from many people to solve them. Her
mother’s guidance when Sarah was a young child must have
worked because by the end of elementary school, Sarah had begun
helping out at a child-care center and working with her mother to
Page 169
provide meals to the homeless.
Sensitive parents like Sarah’s mother can encourage young
children’s sense of morality. Just as parents support and guide their
children to become good readers, musicians, or athletes, they also
play key roles in promoting young children’s socioemotional
development. (Source: Kantrowitz & Namuth, 1991). ■
Emotional and Personality
Development
Many changes characterize young children’s socioemotional development in
early childhood. Children’s developing minds and social experiences produce
remarkable advances in the development of the self, emotional maturity,
moral understanding, and gender awareness.
The Self
During the second year of life, children make considerable progress in self-
recognition. In the early childhood years, young children develop in many
ways that enable them to enhance their self-understanding.
Initiative Versus Guilt
Erik Erikson’s (1968) eight developmental stages are encountered during
certain time periods in the human life span. Erikson’s first stage, trust versus
mistrust, describes what he regarded as the main developmental task of
infancy. According to Erikson, the psychosocial stage associated with early
childhood is initiative versus guilt. At this point in development, children
have become convinced that they are persons of their own; during early
childhood, they begin to discover what kind of person they will become.
They identify intensely with their parents, who most of the time appear to
them to be powerful and beautiful, though often unreasonable, disagreeable,
and sometimes even dangerous. During early childhood, children use their
perceptual, motor, cognitive, and language skills to make things happen.
They have a surplus of energy that permits them to forget failures quickly and
to approach new areas that seem desirable—even if dangerous—with
undiminished zest and an increased sense of direction. On their own
initiative, then, children at this stage exuberantly move out into a wider social
world.
The great governor of initiative is conscience. Children’s initiative and
enthusiasm may bring them not only rewards but also guilt, which lowers
self-esteem.
Self-Understanding and Understanding Others
Research studies have revealed that young children are more psychologically
aware—of themselves and others—than was formerly thought (Thompson,
2015). This increased awareness reflects young children’s expanding
psychological sophistication.
What characterizes young children’s self-understanding?
©Craig G. Bates/Getty Images
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Self-Understanding In Erikson’s portrait of early childhood, the young
child clearly has begun to develop self-understanding, which is the
representation of self, the substance and content of self-conceptions (Harter,
2012, 2016). Though not the whole of personal identity, self-understanding
provides its rational underpinnings. Mainly through interviews, researchers
have probed children’s conceptions of many aspects of self-understanding
(Harter, 2016).
Early self-understanding involves self-recognition. In early childhood,
young children think the self can be described by material characteristics
such as size, shape, and color. They distinguish themselves from others
through physical and material attributes. Says 4-year-old Sandra, “I’m
different from Jennifer because I have brown hair and she has blond hair.”
Says 4-year-old Ralph, “I am different from Hank because I am taller, and I
am different from my sister because I have a bicycle.” Physical activities are
also a central component of the self in early childhood (Keller, Ford, &
Meacham, 1978). For example, preschool children often
describe themselves in terms of activities such as play. In
sum, in early childhood, children often provide self-
descriptions that involve body attributes, material possessions, and physical
activities.
Although young children mainly describe themselves in terms of
concrete, observable features and activities, at age 4 to 5, as they hear others
use psychological trait and emotion terms, they begin to include these in their
self-descriptions (Marsh, Ellis, & Craven, 2002). Thus, in a self-description a
4-year-old might say, “I’m not scared. I’m always happy.”
Young children’s self-descriptions are typically unrealistically positive,
as reflected in the comment of the 4-year-old who says he is always happy,
which he is not (Harter, 2012, 2016). They express this optimism because
they don’t yet distinguish between their desired competence and their actual
competence, tend to confuse ability and effort (thinking that differences in
ability can be changed as easily as can differences in effort), don’t engage in
spontaneous social comparison of their abilities with those of others, and tend
to compare their present abilities with what they could do at an earlier age
(which usually makes them look quite good).
Understanding Others Children also make advances in their
understanding of others (Danovitch & Mills, 2018; Harter, 2016; Landrum,
Pflaum, & Mills, 2016; Ma & others, 2018). Young children’s theory of mind
includes understanding that other people have emotions and desires (Devine
& Hughes, 2018a, b). And at age 4 to 5 children not only start describing
themselves in terms of psychological traits but also begin to perceive others
in terms of psychological traits. Thus, a 4-year-old might say, “My teacher is
nice.”
An important part of children’s socioemotional development is gaining an
understanding that people don’t always give accurate reports of their beliefs
(Mills & Elashi, 2014). Researchers have found that even 4-year-olds
understand that people may make statements that aren’t true to obtain what
they want or to avoid trouble (Lee & others, 2002). Another important aspect
of understanding others involves understanding joint commitments. As
children approach their third birthday, their collaborative interactions with
others increasingly involve obligations to the partner (Tomasello, 2014).
Young children are more psychologically aware of themselves and others than used to be
thought. Some children are better than others at understanding people’s feelings and
desires—and, to some degree, these individual differences are influenced by conversations
caregivers have with young children about feelings and desires.
©Don Hammond/Design Pics
Young children also learn extensively through observing others’
behavior. For example, a recent study found that young children who
observed a peer being rewarded for confessing to cheating on a task were
more likely to be more honest in the future themselves (Ma & others, 2018).
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Both the extensive theory of mind research and the recent research on
young children’s social understanding underscore that young children are not
as egocentric as Piaget envisioned (Birch & others, 2017; Devine & Hughes,
2018a, b). Piaget’s concept of egocentrism has become so ingrained in
people’s thinking about young children that too often the current research on
social awareness in infancy and early childhood has been overlooked.
Research increasingly shows that young children are more socially sensitive
and perceptive than previously envisioned, suggesting that parents and
teachers can help them to better understand and interact in the social world by
how they interact with them (Thompson, 2015). If young children are seeking
to better understand various mental and emotional states (intentions, goals,
feelings, desires) that they know underlie people’s actions, then talking with
them about these internal states can improve young children’s understanding
of them (Thompson, 2015).
However, there is ongoing debate about whether young children are
socially sensitive or basically egocentric (Birch & others, 2017). Ross
Thompson (2012, 2015) comes down on the side of viewing
young children as socially sensitive, while Susan Harter
(2012, 2016) argues that there is still evidence to support the
conclusion that young children are essentially egocentric.
Emotional Development
The young child’s growing awareness of self is linked to the ability to feel an
expanding range of emotions. Young children, like adults, experience many
emotions during the course of a day. Their emotional development allows
them to try to make sense of other people’s emotional reactions and to begin
to control their own emotions (Blair, 2017; Morris & others, 2018; Rogers &
others, 2016).
Expressing Emotions
Recall that even young infants experience emotions such as joy and fear, but
to experience self-conscious emotions children must be able to refer to
themselves and be aware of themselves as distinct from others (Lewis, 2010,
2014, 2015, 2016). Pride, shame, embarrassment, and guilt are examples of
self-conscious emotions. These emotions do not appear to develop until self-
awareness appears around 18 months of age. In a recent study, the broad
capacity for self-evaluative emotion was present in the preschool years and
was linked to young children’s empathetic concern (Ross, 2017). In this
study, young children’s moral pride, pride in response to achievement, and
resilience to shame were linked to a greater tendency to engage in
spontaneous helping.
During the early childhood years, emotions such as pride and guilt
become more common. They are especially influenced by parents’ responses
to children’s behavior. For example, a young child may experience shame
when a parent says, “You should feel bad about biting your sister.” One study
revealed that young children’s emotional expression was linked to their
parents’ own expressive behavior (Nelson & others, 2012). In this study,
mothers who expressed a high incidence of positive emotions and a low
incidence of negative emotions at home had children who were observed to
use more positive emotion words during mother-child interactions than did
the children of mothers who expressed few positive emotions at home.
Understanding Emotions
Among the most important changes in emotional development in early
childhood is an increased understanding of emotions (Calkins & Perry, 2016;
Kuhnert & others, 2017; Perry & Calkins, 2018). Young children
increasingly understand that certain situations are likely to evoke particular
emotions, facial expressions indicate specific emotions, and emotions affect
behavior and can be used to influence others. One study found that young
children’s emotional understanding was linked to an increase in prosocial
behavior (Ensor, Spencer, & Hughes, 2011). Also, in a study of 5- to 7-year-
olds, understanding others’ emotions was related to the children’s emotion
regulation (Hudson & Jacques, 2014).
Between ages 2 and 4, children considerably increase the number of
terms they use to describe emotions. During this time, they are also learning
about the causes and consequences of feelings (Denham & others, 2012).
When they are 4 to 5 years old, children show an increased ability to
reflect on emotions. They also begin to understand that the same event can
elicit different feelings in different people. Moreover, they show growing
Page 172
awareness that they need to manage their emotions to meet social standards.
And by age 5 most children can accurately identify emotions that are
produced by challenging circumstances and describe strategies they might
call on to cope with everyday stress (Cole & others, 2009).
Regulating Emotions
Emotion regulation is an important aspect of development. In particular, it
plays a key role in children’s ability to manage the demands and conflicts
they face in interacting with others (Blair, 2017).
Many researchers consider the growth of emotion regulation
in children as fundamental to the development of social
competence (Cole, Lougheed, & Ram, 2018; Cole & Hollenstein,
2018; Perry & Calkins, 2018). Emotion regulation can be conceptualized as
an important component of self-regulation or of executive function. Recall
that executive function is increasingly thought to be a key concept in
describing the young child’s higher-level cognitive functioning (Cheng &
others, 2018; Liu & others, 2018; Muller & others, 2017; Schmitt & others,
2017). Cybelle Raver and her colleagues (Blair, 2017; Blair & Raver, 2012,
2015; Blair, Raver, & Finegood, 2016; Raver & others, 2011, 2012, 2013) are
using interventions, such as increasing caregiver emotional expressiveness, to
improve young children’s emotion regulation and reduce behavior problems
in Head Start families.
Emotion-Coaching and Emotion-Dismissing Parents Parents can
play an important role in helping young children regulate their emotions
(Bendezu & others, 2018; Norona & Baker, 2017; Quinones-Camacho &
Davis, 2018). Depending on how they talk with their children about emotion,
parents can be described as taking an emotion-coaching or an emotion-
dismissing approach (Gottman, 2018). The distinction between these
approaches is most evident in the way the parent deals with the child’s
negative emotions (anger, frustration, sadness, and so on). Emotion-coaching
parents monitor their children’s emotions, view their children’s negative
emotions as opportunities for teaching, assist them in labeling emotions, and
coach them in how to deal effectively with emotions. In contrast, emotion-
dismissing parents view their role as to deny, ignore, or change negative
emotions. Emotion-coaching parents interact with their children in a less
rejecting manner, use more scaffolding and praise, and are more nurturant
than are emotion-dismissing parents. Moreover, children of emotion-
coaching parents are better at soothing themselves when they get upset, are
more effective in regulating their negative affect, focus their attention better,
and have fewer behavior problems than do children of emotion-dismissing
parents. Researchers have found that fathers’ emotion coaching is related to
children’s social competence (Baker, Fenning, & Crnic, 2011) and that
mothers’ emotion coaching is linked to less oppositional behavior
(Dunsmore, Booker, & Ollendick, 2013).
What are some differences between emotion-coaching and emotion-dismissing parents?
©Jamie Grill/Getty Images
Parents’ knowledge of their children’s emotional world can help them to
guide their children’s emotional development and teach them how to cope
effectively with problems (Bendezu & others, 2018; Hurrell, Houwing, &
Hudson, 2017). For example, one study found that mothers’ knowledge about
what distresses and comforts their children predicts the children’s coping,
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empathy, and prosocial behavior (Vinik, Almas, & Grusec, 2011).
Regulation of Emotion and Peer Relations Emotions play a strong
role in determining the success of a child’s peer relationships (Smetana &
Ball, 2018). Specifically, the ability to modulate one’s emotions is an
important skill that benefits children in their relationships with peers. Moody
and emotionally negative children are more likely to experience rejection by
peers, whereas emotionally positive children are more popular. For example,
a recent study found that young children who were more skilled in emotion
regulation were more popular with their peers (Nakamichi, 2018).
Moral Development
Unlike a crying infant, a screaming 5-year-old is likely to be considered
responsible for making a fuss. The parents may worry about whether the 5-
year-old is a “bad” child. Although there are some who view children as
innately good, many developmental psychologists believe that just as parents
help their children become good readers, musicians, or athletes, parents must
nurture goodness and help their children develop morally.
Moral development involves the development of thoughts,
feelings, and behaviors regarding rules and conventions about
what people should do in their interactions with other people.
Major developmental theories have focused on different aspects of moral
development (Gray & Graham, 2018; Hoover & others, 2018; Killen & Dahl,
2018; Narváez, 2017a, b, 2018; Turiel & Gingo, 2017).
Moral Feelings
Feelings of anxiety and guilt are central to the account of moral development
provided by Freud’s psychoanalytic theory. According to Freud, children
attempt to reduce anxiety, avoid punishment, and maintain parental affection
by identifying with their parents and internalizing their standards of right and
wrong, thereby developing the superego, the moral element of the
personality.
Freud’s ideas are not backed by research, but guilt certainly can motivate
moral behavior. Other emotions, however, also contribute to moral
development, including positive feelings. One important example is empathy,
or responding to another person’s feelings with an emotion that echoes those
feelings (Kim & Kochanska, 2017).
Infants have the capacity for some purely empathic responses, but
empathy often requires the ability to discern another person’s emotional
states, or what is called perspective taking. Learning how to identify a wide
range of emotional states in others, and to anticipate what kinds of action will
improve another person’s emotional state, help to advance children’s moral
development (Thompson, 2015).
Also, connections between emotions can occur and the connections may
influence children’s development. For example, in a recent study,
participants’ guilt proneness combined with their empathy predicted an
increase in prosocial behavior (Torstveit, Sutterlin, & Lugo, 2016).
Moral Reasoning
Interest in how children think about moral issues was stimulated by Piaget
(1932), who extensively observed and interviewed children from ages 4
through 12. Piaget watched children play marbles to learn how they used and
thought about the game’s rules. He also asked children about ethical issues—
theft, lies, punishment, and justice, for example. He concluded that children
go through two distinct stages in how they think about morality:
From ages 4 to 7, children display heteronomous morality, the first
stage of moral development in Piaget’s theory. Children think of justice
and rules as unchangeable properties, beyond the control of people.
From ages 7 to 10, children are in a period of transition, showing some
features of the first stage of moral reasoning and some of the second
stage, autonomous morality.
From about age 10 and older, children show autonomous morality. They
become aware that rules and laws are created by people, and in judging
an action they consider the actor’s intentions as well as the action’s
consequences.
Piaget extensively observed and interviewed 4- to 12-year-old children as they played
games to learn how they used and thought about the games’ rules.
©Yves De Braine/BlackStar/StockPhoto
How Would
You…?
As a health-care
professional, how
would you expect a
child in the
heteronomous stage of
moral development to
judge the behaviors of a
doctor who
unintentionally caused
pain to a child during a
medical procedure?
Because young children are heteronomous moralists, they judge the
rightness or goodness of behavior by considering its consequences, not the
intentions of the actor. For example, to the heteronomous moralist, breaking
twelve cups accidentally is worse than breaking one cup intentionally. As
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children develop into moral autonomists, intentions become more important
than consequences.
The heteronomous thinker also believes that rules are
unchangeable and are handed down by all-powerful authorities.
When Piaget suggested to young children that they use new rules
in a game of marbles, they resisted. By contrast, older children—moral
autonomists—accept change and recognize that rules are merely conventions
that are subject to change.
How will this child’s moral thinking about stealing a cookie differ according to whether
he is in Piaget’s heteronomous or autonomous stage?
©Fuse/Getty Images
The heteronomous thinker also believes in immanent justice, the concept
that if a rule is broken, punishment will be meted out immediately. The
young child believes that a violation is followed automatically by its
punishment. Thus, young children often look around worriedly after doing
something wrong, expecting the inevitable punishment. Immanent justice
also implies that if something unfortunate happens to someone, that person
must have transgressed earlier. Older children, who are moral autonomists,
recognize that punishment occurs only if someone witnesses the wrongdoing
and that, even then, punishment is not inevitable.
How do these changes in moral reasoning occur? Piaget argued that as
children develop, they become more sophisticated in their thinking about
social matters, especially about the possibilities and conditions of
cooperation. Piaget stressed that this social understanding comes about
through the mutual give-and-take of peer relations. In the peer group, where
others have power and status similar to the child’s, plans are negotiated and
coordinated, and disagreements are reasoned about and eventually settled.
Parent-child relations, in which parents have power and children do not, are
less likely to advance moral reasoning, because rules are often handed down
in an authoritarian manner.
Moral Behavior
The behavioral and social cognitive approach to development focuses on
moral behavior rather than moral reasoning. It holds that the processes of
reinforcement, punishment, and imitation explain the development of moral
behavior. When children are rewarded for behavior that is consistent with
laws and social conventions, they are likely to repeat that behavior. When
models who behave morally are provided, children are likely to adopt their
actions (Ma & others, 2018). And when children are punished for immoral
behavior, those behaviors are likely to be reduced or eliminated. However,
because punishment may have adverse side effects, it needs to be used
judiciously and cautiously.
If a mother has rewarded a 4-year-old boy for telling the truth when he
broke a glass at home, does this mean he is likely to tell the truth to his
preschool teacher when he knocks over a vase and breaks it? Not necessarily,
because the situation influences behavior. More than half a century ago, a
comprehensive study of thousands of children in many situations—at home,
at school, and at church, for example—found that a totally honest child is
virtually nonexistent, as is a child who cheats in all situations (Hartshorne &
May, 1928–1930). Behavioral and social cognitive researchers emphasize
that what children do in one situation is often only weakly related to what
they do in other situations. For example, a child might cheat in class but not
in a game, or a child might steal a piece of candy when alone but not when
others are present.
Social cognitive theorists also emphasize that the ability to resist
temptation is closely tied to the development of self-control (Mischel, 2004),
which involves learning to delay gratification. According to social cognitive
theorists, cognitive factors are important in the child’s development of self-
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control (Bandura, 2012).
Gender
Gender refers to the characteristics of people as females and males. Gender
identity is the sense of being male or female, which most children acquire by
the time they are 3 years old. Gender roles are sets of expectations that
prescribe how females or males should think, act, and feel.
During the preschool years, most children increasingly act in
ways that match their culture’s gender roles.
How do these and other gender differences come about? Biology clearly
plays a role. Among the possible biological influences are chromosomes,
hormones, and evolution (Antfolk, 2018; Hawley & Bauer, 2018; Li, Kung,
& Hines, 2017). However, our focus in this chapter is on the social aspects of
gender.
Social Influences
Many social scientists do not locate the cause of psychological gender
differences in biological dispositions. Rather, they argue that these
differences are due to social experiences (Leaper & Bigler, 2018; Rose &
Smith, 2018; Weisgram & Dinella, 2018). Their explanations include both
social and cognitive theories.
First imagine that this is a photograph of a baby girl. What expectations would you have of
her? Then imagine that this is a photograph of a baby boy. What expectations would you
have of him?
©Kwame Zikomo/Purestock/SuperStock
Social Theories of Gender Three main social theories of gender have
been proposed: social role theory, psychoanalytic theory, and social cognitive
theory. Alice Eagly (2001, 2010, 2012, 2016, 2017) proposed social role
theory, which states that gender differences result from the contrasting roles
of women and men. In most cultures around the world, women have less
power and status than men do, and they control fewer resources (Helgeson,
2017). Compared with men, women perform more domestic work, spend
fewer hours in paid employment, receive lower pay, and are more thinly
represented in the highest levels of organizations. In Eagly’s (2016, 2017)
view, as women adapted to roles with less power and less status in society,
they showed more cooperative, less dominant profiles than men did. Thus,
the social hierarchy and division of labor are important causes of gender
differences in power, assertiveness, and nurture (Eagly, 2017; Eagly &
Wood, 2017).
The psychoanalytic theory of gender stems from Freud’s view that the
preschool child develops a sexual attraction to the opposite-sex parent. This
is the process known as the Oedipus (for boys) or Electra (for girls) complex.
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At age 5 or 6, the child renounces this attraction because of anxious feelings.
Subsequently, the child identifies with the same-sex parent, unconsciously
adopting that parent’s characteristics. However, developmental psychologists
have observed that gender development does not proceed in the manner that
Freud proposed (Callan, 2001). Children become gender-typed much earlier
than age 5 or 6, and they become masculine or feminine even when the same-
sex parent is not present in the family.
The social cognitive approach provides an alternative explanation.
According to the social cognitive theory of gender, children’s gender
development occurs through observation and imitation of what other people
say and do, and through being rewarded and punished for gender-appropriate
and gender-inappropriate behavior (Bussey & Bandura, 1999). From birth
onward, males and females are treated differently. When infants and toddlers
show gender differences, adults tend to reward them. Parents often use
rewards and punishments to teach their daughters to be feminine (“Karen,
you are being a good girl when you play gently with your doll”) and their
sons to be masculine (“Keith, a boy as big as you are is not supposed to cry”).
Parents, however, are only one of many sources from which children learn
gender roles (Brown & Stone, 2018). Culture, schools, peers, the media, and
other family members also provide gender role models (Chen, Lee, & Chen,
2018). For example, children learn about gender by observing other adults in
the neighborhood and on television. As children grow older, peers become
increasingly important. Let’s look more closely at the influence of parents
and peers.
Parental Influences
Parents influence their children’s gender development by action and by
example. (Helgeson, 2017; Leaper & Bigler, 2018). Both mothers and fathers
are psychologically important to their children’s gender
development (Tenenbaum & May, 2014). Cultures around the
world, however, can vary in their role expectations for mother
and fathers (Chen, Lee, & Chen, 2018). A research review provided these
conclusions (Bronstein, 2006):
How Would
You…?
As a human
development and
family studies
professional, how
would you describe the
ways in which parents
influence their
children’s notions of
gender roles?
Mothers’ socialization strategies. In many cultures, mothers socialize
their daughters to be more obedient and responsible than their sons. They
also place more restrictions on their daughters’ autonomy.
Fathers’ socialization strategies. Fathers show more attention to their
sons than to their daughters, engage in more activities with their sons, and
put forth more effort to promote their sons’ intellectual development.
Thus, according to Bronstein (2006, pp. 269–270), “Despite an increased
awareness in the United States and other Western cultures of the detrimental
effects of gender stereotyping, many parents continue to foster behaviors and
perceptions that are consonant with traditional gender role norms.”
Peer Influences
Parents provide the earliest discrimination of gender roles, but before long,
peers join the process of responding to and modeling masculine and feminine
behavior (Brown & Stone, 2018; Rose & Smith, 2018; Zozuls & others,
2016). In fact, peers become so important to gender development that the
playground has been described as “gender school” (Luria & Herzog, 1985).
Peers extensively reward and punish gender behavior (Rubin, Bukowski,
& Bowker, 2015). For example, when children play in ways that the culture
considers sex-appropriate, their peers tend to reward them. But peers often
reject children who act in a manner that is considered more characteristic of
the other gender (Handrinos & others, 2012). A little girl who brings a doll to
the park may find herself surrounded by new friends; a little boy who does
the same thing might be jeered at. However, there is greater pressure for boys
to conform to a traditional male role than for girls to conform to a traditional
female role (Fagot, Rodgers, & Leinbach, 2000). For example, a preschool
girl who wants to wear boys’ clothing receives considerably more approval
than a boy who wants to wear a dress. The very term “tomboy” implies broad
social acceptance of girls’ adopting traditional male behaviors. In a recent
study of 9- to 10-year-olds in Great Britain, gender-nonconforming boys
were most at risk for peer rejection (Braun & Davidson, 2017). In this study,
gender-nonconforming girls were preferred more than gender-conforming
girls, with children most often citing masculine activities as the reason for
this choice.
Gender molds important aspects of peer relations (Rubin, Bukowski, &
Bowker, 2015). It influences the composition of children’s groups, the size of
groups, and interactions within a group (Maccoby, 1998, 2002).
Gender composition of children’s groups. Around age 3, children already
show a preference for spending time with same-sex playmates. This
preference increases until around age 12, and during the elementary
school years children spend a large majority of their free time with
children of their own sex (see Figure 1). Observations of children show
that they are more likely to play in same-sex than mixed-sex groups. This
tendency increases between 4 and 6 years of age.
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Figure 1 Developmental Changes in Percentage of Time Spent in Same-Sex and
Mixed-Sex Group Settings
Observations of children show that they are more likely to play in same-sex than mixed-
sex groups. This tendency increases between 4 and 6 years of age.
Group size. From about age 5, boys are more likely to interact socially in
larger clusters than girls are. Boys are also more likely to participate in
organized group games than girls are. In one study, same-sex
groups of six children were permitted to use play materials in
any way they wished (Benenson, Apostolaris, & Parnass,
1997). Girls were more likely than boys to play in dyads or triads, while
boys were more likely to interact in larger groups and seek to attain a
group goal.
Interaction in same-sex groups. Boys are more likely than girls to engage
in rough-and-tumble play, competition, conflict, ego displays, risk taking,
and quests for dominance. By contrast, girls are more likely to engage in
“collaborative discourse,” in which they talk and act in a more reciprocal
manner.
Cognitive Influences
Observation, imitation, rewards, and punishment—these are the mechanisms
by which gender develops, according to social cognitive theory. Interactions
between the child and the social environment are the main keys to gender
development. Some critics argue that this explanation pays too little attention
to the child’s own mind and understanding, and portrays the child as
passively acquiring gender roles (Martin & Ruble, 2010).
How Would
You…?
As an educator, how
would you create a
classroom climate that
promotes healthy gender
development for both
boys and girls?
One influential cognitive theory is gender schema theory, which states
that gender typing emerges as children gradually develop gender schemas of
what is gender-appropriate and gender-inappropriate in their culture (Halim
& others, 2016; Liben, 2017; Liben & others, 2018; Martin & Cook, 2017;
Martin, Fabes, & Hanish, 2018). A schema is a cognitive structure, a network
of associations that guide an individual’s perceptions. A gender schema
organizes the world in terms of female and male. Children are internally
motivated to perceive the world and to act in accordance with their
developing schemas. Bit by bit, children pick up what is gender-appropriate
and gender-inappropriate in their culture, developing gender schemas that
shape how they perceive the world and what they remember (Conry-Murray,
Kim, & Turiel, 2012). Children are motivated to act in ways that conform
with these gender schemas. Thus, gender schemas fuel gender typing.
Families
Attachment to a caregiver is a key social relationship during infancy, but
some experts maintain that secure attachment and the infant’s early
experiences have been overdramatized as determinants of life-span
development. Social and emotional development is also shaped by other
relationships and by temperament, contexts, and social experiences in the
early childhood years and later (Almy & Cicchetti, 2018; Gartstein & others,
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2017). In this section, we discuss aspects of social relationships in early
childhood that go beyond attachment.
Parenting
Some recent media accounts portray many parents as unhappy, feeling little
joy in caring for their children. However, researchers have found that parents
are more satisfied with their lives than are nonparents, feel relatively better
on a daily basis than do nonparents, and have more positive feelings related
to caring for their children than to engaging in other daily activities (Nelson
& others, 2013).
Good parenting takes time and effort (Grusec, 2017; Lindsay, 2018;
Serrano-Villar, Huang, & Calzada, 2017). You can’t do it in a minute here
and a minute there. You can’t do it with CDs or DVDs. Of course, it’s not
just the quantity of time parents spend with children that is important for
children’s development—the quality of the parenting is clearly important.
Baumrind’s Parenting Styles
Diana Baumrind (1971) stresses that parents should be neither punitive nor
aloof. Rather, they should develop rules for their children and be affectionate
with them. She has described four parenting styles:
Authoritarian parenting is a restrictive, punitive style in which parents
exhort the child to follow their directions and respect their work and
effort. The authoritarian parent places firm limits and controls on the
child and allows little verbal exchange. For example, an authoritarian
parent might say, “You will do it my way or else.” Authoritarian parents
also might spank the child frequently, enforce rules rigidly but not
explain them, and show anger toward the child. Children of authoritarian
parents are often unhappy, fearful, and anxious about comparing
themselves with others; they also fail to initiate activity and have weak
communication skills. Also, a recent research review of a large number of
studies concluded that authoritarian parenting is linked to a higher level
of externalizing problems (acting out, higher levels of aggression, for
example) (Pinquart, 2017).
Authoritative parenting encourages children to be independent but still
places limits and controls on their actions. Extensive verbal give-and-take
is allowed, and parents are warm and nurturant toward the child. An
authoritative parent might put his arm around the child in a comforting
way and say, “You know you shouldn’t have done that. Let’s talk about
how you could handle this type of situation better next time.”
Authoritative parents show pleasure and support in response to their
children’s constructive behavior. They also expect independent, age-
appropriate behavior. Children whose parents are authoritative are often
cheerful, self-controlled, self-reliant, and achievement-oriented; they tend
to maintain friendly relations with peers, cooperate with adults, and cope
well with stress. In a recent study, children of authoritative parents
engaged in more prosocial behavior than their counterparts whose parents
used the other parenting styles described in this section (Carlo & others,
2017). Also, in a recent research review, authoritative parenting was the
most effective parenting style in predicting which children and
adolescents would be less likely to be overweight or obese later in their
development (Sokol, Qin, & Poti, 2017). Also, a recent study of young
children found that an authoritarian parenting style, as well as pressuring
the child to eat, were linked to increased risk that the children would be
overweight or obese (Melis Yavuz & Selcuk, 2018).
Neglectful parenting is a style in which the parent is uninvolved in the
child’s life. Children whose parents are neglectful develop the sense that
other aspects of the parents’ lives are more important than they are. These
children tend to be socially incompetent. Many have poor self-control and
don’t handle independence well. They frequently have low self-esteem,
are immature, and may be alienated from the family. In adolescence, they
may show patterns of truancy and delinquency. In the recent research
review described under authoritarian parenting, neglectful parenting was
associated with a higher level of externalizing problems (Pinquart, 2017).
Indulgent parenting is a style in which parents are highly involved with
their children but place few demands or controls on them. Such parents
let their children do what they want. Some parents deliberately rear their
children in this way because they believe the combination of warm
involvement and few restraints will produce a creative, confident child.
However, children whose parents are indulgent rarely learn respect for
others and have difficulty controlling their behavior. They might be
Page 179
domineering, egocentric, and noncompliant, and have unsatisfactory peer
relations.
These four classifications of parenting involve combinations
of acceptance and responsiveness on the one hand and demand
and control on the other (Maccoby & Martin, 1983). How these
dimensions combine to produce authoritarian, authoritative, neglectful, and
indulgent parenting is shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2 Classification of Parenting Styles
The four types of parenting styles (authoritative, authoritarian, indulgent, and neglectful)
involve the dimensions of acceptance and responsiveness, on the one hand, and demand
and control on the other. For example, authoritative parenting involves being both
accepting/responsive and demanding/controlling.
©Steve Debenport/Getty Images
Parenting Styles in Context
Among Baumrind’s four parenting styles, authoritative parenting clearly
conveys the most benefits to the child and to the family as a whole. Do the
benefits of authoritative parenting transcend the boundaries of ethnicity,
socioeconomic status, and household composition? Although some
exceptions have been found, evidence linking authoritative parenting with
competence on the part of the child occurs in research across a wide range of
ethnic groups, social strata, cultures, and family structures (Steinberg, 2014).
Nevertheless, researchers have found that in some ethnic groups, aspects
of the authoritarian style may be associated with more positive outcomes than
Baumrind predicts (Pinquart & Kauser, 2018). In the Arab world, many
families are very authoritarian, dominated by the father’s rule, and children
are taught strict codes of conduct and family loyalty (Booth, 2002). As
another example, Asian American parents often continue aspects of
traditional Asian child-rearing practices that have sometimes been described
as authoritarian. The parents exert considerable control over their children’s
lives. However, Ruth Chao (2001, 2005, 2007; Chao & Otsuki-Clutter, 2011;
Chao & Tseng, 2002) argues that the style of parenting used by many Asian
American parents is distinct from the domineering control that is
characteristic of the authoritarian style. Instead, Chao argues that it reflects
concern and involvement in children’s lives and is best conceptualized as a
type of training. The high academic achievement of many Asian American
children may be a consequence of their parents’ “training” (Stevenson &
Zusho, 2002).
How Would
You…?
As a human
development and
family studies
professional, how
would you characterize
the parenting style that
prevails within your
own family?
Page 180
Further Thoughts on Parenting Styles
First, keep in mind that research on parenting styles and children’s
development is correlational, not causal, in nature. Thus, if a study reveals
that authoritarian parenting is linked to higher levels of aggression in
children, it may be just as likely that aggressive children elicited authoritarian
parenting as it is that authoritarian parenting produced aggressive children.
Also recall that a third factor may influence the correlation between two
factors. Thus, in the example of the correlation between authoritarian
parenting and aggressive children, possibly authoritarian parents
(first factor) and aggressive children (second factor) share genes
(third factor) that predispose them to behave in ways that
produced the correlation.
How Would
You…?
As a psychologist, how
would you use the
research on parenting
styles to design a parent
education class that
teaches effective skills
for interacting with
young children?
Second, parenting styles do not capture the important themes of
reciprocal socialization and synchrony (Cox & others, 2018). Remember that
children socialize parents, just as parents socialize children (Klein & others,
2018).
According to Ruth Chao, which type of parenting style do many Asian American parents
use?
©Blend Images/SuperStock
Third, many parents use a combination of techniques rather than a single
technique, although one technique may be dominant. Consistent parenting is
usually recommended, yet a wise parent may sense the importance of being
more permissive in certain situations, more authoritarian in others, and more
authoritative in yet other circumstances.
Fourth, much of the parenting style research has involved mothers but not
fathers. In many families, mothers will use one style, fathers another style.
Especially in traditional cultures, fathers have an authoritarian style and
mothers a more permissive, indulgent style. It has often been said that it is
beneficial for parents to engage in a consistent parenting style; however, if
fathers are authoritarian and aren’t willing to change, children benefit when
mothers use an authoritative style.
Punishment
Use of corporal (physical) punishment is legal in every state in the United
States. A national survey of U.S. parents with 3- and 4-year-old children
found that 26 percent of parents reported spanking their children frequently,
and 67 percent reported yelling at their children frequently (Regalado &
others, 2004). A study of more than 11,000 U.S. parents indicated that 80
percent of the parents reported spanking their children by the time they
reached kindergarten (Gershoff & others, 2012). Another recent research
review concluded that there is widespread approval of corporal punishment
by U.S. parents (Chiocca, 2017). A cross-cultural comparison found that
individuals in the United States and Canada were among those who held the
most favorable attitudes toward corporal punishment and were most likely to
remember it being used by their parents (see Figure 3) (Curran & others,
2001). Physical punishment is outlawed in 41 countries, with a number of
countries increasing the ban on physical punishment mainly to promote
children’s rights to protection from abuse and exploitation (Committee on the
Rights of the Child, 2014).
Figure 3 Corporal Punishment in Different Countries
A 5-point scale was used to assess attitudes toward corporal punishment, with scores
closer to 1 indicating an attitude against its use and scores closer to 5 suggesting an
attitude favoring its use. Why are studies of corporal punishment correlational studies,
and how does that affect their usefulness?
What are some reasons for avoiding spanking or similar punishments?
They include the following:
When adults punish a child by yelling, screaming, or spanking, they are
presenting children with out-of-control models for handling stressful
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situations. Children may imitate this behavior.
Punishment can instill fear, rage, or avoidance. For example, spanking the
child may cause the child to avoid being near the parent and to fear the
parent.
Punishment tells children what not to do rather than what to
do. Children should be given constructive feedback, such as
“Why don’t you try this?”
Parents might unintentionally become so angry when they are punishing
the child that they become abusive.
Most child psychologists recommend handling misbehavior by reasoning
with the child, especially explaining the consequences of the child’s actions
for others. Time out, in which the child is removed from a setting that offers
positive reinforcement, can also be effective. For example, when the child has
misbehaved, a parent might forbid TV viewing for a specified time.
Debate about the effects of punishment on children’s development
continues (Afifi & others, 2017a, b; Ferguson, 2013; Gershoff & Grogan-
Kaylor, 2016; Gershoff, Lee, & Durrant, 2017; Grusec & others, 2013;
Holden & others, 2017; Laible, Thompson, & Froimson, 2015). Several
longitudinal studies have found that physical punishment of young children is
associated with higher levels of aggression later in childhood and
adolescence (Gershoff & others, 2012; Thompson & others, 2017). An in one
longitudinal study, harsh physical punishment in childhood was linked to a
higher incidence of intimate partner violence in adulthood (Afifi & others,
2017b).
However, a meta-analysis that focused on longitudinal studies revealed
that the negative outcomes of punishment on children’s internalizing and
externalizing problems were minimal (Ferguson, 2013). A research review of
26 studies also concluded that only severe or predominant use of spanking,
not mild spanking, compared unfavorably with alternative discipline practices
(Larzelere & Kuhn, 2005). Nonetheless, in a recent meta-analysis, when
physical punishment was not abusive it still was linked to detrimental child
outcomes (Gershoff & Grogan-Kaylor, 2016). And in a recent Japanese
study, occasional spanking at 3 years of age was associated with a higher
level of behavioral problems at 5 years of age (Okuzono & others, 2017).
In sum, in the view of some experts, it is still difficult to determine
Page 182
whether the effects of physical punishment are harmful to children’s
development, although such a view might be distasteful to some individuals
(Ferguson, 2013). Also, as with other research on parenting, research on
punishment is correlational in nature, making it difficult to discover causal
factors. Also, consider the concept of reciprocal socialization (discussed in
the chapter on socioemotional development in infancy and earlier in this
chapter), which emphasizes bidirectional child and parent influences.
Nonetheless, a large majority of leading experts on parenting conclude
that physical punishment has harmful effects on children and should not be
used (Afifi & others, 2017a, b; Gershoff, Lee, & Durrant, 2017; Holden &
others, 2017). Also, in a research review, Elizabeth Gershoff (2013)
concluded that the defenders of spanking have not produced any evidence
that spanking produces positive outcomes for children, while negative
outcomes of spanking have been replicated in many studies. Further, physical
punishment that involves abuse can be very harmful to children’s
development, as discussed later in this chapter (Almy & Cicchetti, 2018).
Coparenting
Coparenting refers to the support that parents give each other in raising a
child. Poor coordination between parents, undermining of one parent by the
other, lack of cooperation and warmth, and aloofness by one parent are
conditions that place children at risk (Bertoni & others, 2018; Lam & others,
2018; Latham, Mark, & Oliver, 2018; Pruett & others, 2017; Reader, Teti, &
Cleveland, 2017). In addition, one study revealed that coparenting is more
beneficial than either maternal or paternal parenting in helping children to
development self-control (Karreman & others, 2008). Another study found
that greater father involvement in young children’s play was linked to an
increase in supportive coparenting (Jia & Schoppe-Sullivan, 2011).
Parents who do not spend enough time with their children or who have
problems in child rearing can benefit from counseling and therapy. To read
about the work of marriage and family counselor Darla Botkin, see Careers
in Life-Span Development.
Careers in life-span development
Darla Botkin, Marriage and Family Therapist
Darla Botkin is a marriage and family therapist who teaches,
conducts research, and engages in marriage and family therapy. She is
on the faculty of the University of Kentucky. Botkin obtained a
bachelor’s degree in elementary education with a concentration in
special education, and she went on to receive a master’s degree in
early childhood education. She spent the next six years working with
children and their families in a variety of settings, including child
care, elementary school, and Head Start. These experiences led her to
recognize the interdependence of the developmental settings that
children and their parents experience (such as home, school, and
work). She returned to graduate school and obtained a Ph.D. in family
studies from the University of Tennessee. She then became a faculty
member in the Family Studies program at the University of Kentucky.
Completing further coursework and clinical training in marriage and
family therapy, she became certified as a marriage and family
therapist.
Darla Botkin (left) conducts a family therapy session.
©Dr. Darla Botkin
Botkin’s current interests include working with young children in
family therapy, exploring gender and ethnic issues in family therapy,
and understanding the role of spirituality in family wellness.
Child Maltreatment
Unfortunately, punishment sometimes leads to the abuse of infants and
children (Cicchetti, 2017; Doyle & Cicchetti, 2018). In 2013, 679,000 U.S.
children were found to be victims of child abuse at least once during that year
(U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2015). Ninety-one percent
of these children were abused by one or both parents. Laws in many states
now require physicians and teachers to report suspected cases of child abuse,
yet many cases go unreported, especially those involving battered infants.
Types of Child Maltreatment
The four main types of child maltreatment are physical abuse, child neglect,
sexual abuse, and emotional abuse (National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse
and Neglect, 2013):
Physical abuse is characterized by the infliction of physical injury as a
result of punching, beating, kicking, biting, burning, shaking, or
otherwise harming a child. The parent or other person may not intend to
hurt the child; the injury may result from excessive physical punishment
(Lo & others, 2017; Smith & others, 2018).
Eight-year-old Donnique Hein lovingly holds her younger sister, 6-month-old Maria
Paschel, after a meal at Laura’s Home, a crisis shelter in suburban Cleveland run by the
Page 183
City Mission.
©Joshua Gunter/The Plain Dealer/Landov Images
Child neglect is characterized by failure to provide for the child’s basic
needs. Neglect can be physical (abandonment, for example), educational
(allowing chronic truancy, for example), or emotional (marked inattention
to the child’s needs, for example) (Naughton & others, 2017). Child
neglect is by far the most common form of child maltreatment. In every
country where relevant data have been collected, neglect occurs up to
three times as often as abuse (Read & others, 2018). A recent research
review of risk factors for engaging in child neglect found that most risks
involved parent factors, including a history of antisocial
behavior/criminal offending, having mental/physical
problems, and experiencing abuse in their own childhood
(Mulder & others, 2018).
Sexual abuse includes fondling of genitals, intercourse, incest, rape,
sodomy, exhibitionism, and commercial exploitation through prostitution
or production of pornographic materials (Beier, 2018; Oates, 2018).
Emotional abuse (psychological/verbal abuse/mental injury) includes acts
or omissions by parents or other caregivers that have caused, or could
cause, serious behavioral, cognitive, or emotional problems (Hagborg,
Tidefors, & Fahlke, 2017; Prino, Longobadi, & Setanni, 2018).
Although any of these forms of child maltreatment may be found
separately, they often occur in combination. Emotional abuse is almost
always present when other forms are identified.
The Context of Abuse
No single factor causes child maltreatment (Cicchetti & Toth, 2016; Doyle &
Cicchetti, 2018). A combination of factors, including cultural norms,
characteristics of the family, and developmental characteristics of the child,
likely contribute to child maltreatment (Cicchetti, 2018). Among the family
and family-associated characteristics that may contribute to child
maltreatment are parenting stress, substance abuse, social isolation, single
parenting, and socioeconomic difficulties (especially poverty) (Almy &
Cicchetti, 2018). The interactions among all family members need to be
considered, regardless of who performs violent acts against the child. For
example, even though the father may be the one who physically abuses the
child, the behavior of the mother, the child, and siblings should also be
evaluated.
Developmental Consequences of Abuse
Among the consequences of maltreatment in childhood and adolescence are
poor emotion regulation, attachment problems, problems in peer relations,
difficulty in adapting to school, and other psychological problems, such as
depression, delinquency, and substance abuse (Almy & Cicchetti, 2018; Bell
& others, 2018; Handley, Rogosch, & Cicchetti, 2018). For example, a recent
study also found that physical abuse was linked to lower levels of cognitive
development and school engagement in children (Font & Cage, 2018). Also,
compared with their peers, adolescents who experienced abuse or neglect as
children are more likely to engage in violent romantic relationships,
delinquency, sexual risk taking, and substance abuse (Trickett & others,
2011). And a recent study found that exposure to either physical or sexual
abuse in childhood and adolescence was linked to an increase in 13- to 18-
year-olds’ suicidal ideation, plans, and attempts (Gomez & others, 2017).
During their adult years, individuals who were maltreated as children are
more likely to experience physical illness, mental illness, and sexual
problems (Brown & others, 2018; Gekker & others, 2018). As adults,
maltreated children are also at higher risk for violent behavior toward other
adults—especially dating partners and marital partners—as well as for
substance abuse, anxiety, and depression (Miller-Perrin, Perrin, & Kocur,
2009). Also, in a longitudinal study, experiencing early abuse and neglect in
the first five years of life were linked to having more interpersonal problems
and lower academic achievement from childhood through their thirties (Raby
& others, 2018). Further, a 30-year longitudinal study found that middle-aged
adults who had experienced maltreatment during childhood were at increased
risk for diabetes, lung disease, malnutrition, and vision problems (Widom &
others, 2012). However, this study also found that 75 percent of parents who
had experienced maltreatment during childhood had never abused their own
children. Thus, it is important to note that the majority of people who were
abused in childhood are unlikely to abuse their own children.
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How Would
You…?
As a health-care
professional, how
would you work with
parents during infant
and early childhood
checkups to prevent
child maltreatment?
How Would
You…?
As an educator, how
would you explain the
potential impact of
maltreatment at home
on a child’s
performance in school?
An important research agenda is to discover how to prevent
child maltreatment or intervene in children’s lives when they
have been maltreated (Almy & Cicchetti, 2018; Cozza & others,
2018; McCarroll & others, 2017; Weiller & Taussig, 2018). In one study of
maltreating mothers and their 1-year-old children, two treatments were
effective in reducing child maltreatment: (1) home visitation that emphasized
improved parenting, coping with stress, and increasing support for the
mother; and (2) parent-infant psychotherapy that focused on improving
maternal-infant attachment (Cicchetti, Toth, & Rogosch, 2005).
Sibling Relationships and Birth Order
How do developmental psychologists characterize sibling relationships? And
how does birth order influence behavior, if at all?
Sibling Relationships
Approximately 80 percent of American children have one or more siblings—
that is, sisters and brothers (Dunn, 2015; Fouts & Bader, 2017). If you grew
up with siblings, you probably have rich memories of your relationships with
them. Two- to 4-year-old siblings in each other’s presence have a conflict
once every 10 minutes, on average; the rate of conflict declines somewhat
from ages 5 to 7 (Kramer, 2006). What do parents do when they encounter
siblings having a verbal or physical confrontation? One study revealed that
they do one of three things: (1) intervene and try to help them resolve the
conflict, (2) admonish or threaten them, or (3) do nothing at all (Kramer &
Perozynski, 1999). Of interest is the fact that in families with two siblings
ages 2 to 5 the most frequent parental reaction to sibling conflict is to do
nothing at all.
Laurie Kramer (2006), who has conducted a number of research studies
on siblings, says that not intervening and letting sibling conflict escalate are
not good strategies. She developed a program titled “More Fun with Sisters
and Brothers” that teaches 4- to 8-year-old siblings social skills for
developing positive interactions (Kramer & Radey, 1997). Among the skills
taught in the program are how to appropriately initiate play, how to accept
and refuse invitations to play, how to take another person’s perspective, how
to deal with angry feelings, and how to manage conflict.
However, conflict is only one of the many dimensions of sibling relations
(McHale, Updegraff, & Whiteman, 2013; Pike & Oliver, 2017). Sibling
relations also include helping, sharing, teaching, compromising, and playing,
and siblings can act as emotional supports and communication partners as
well as rivals. A research review concluded that sibling relationships in
adolescence are not as close, are less intense, and are more egalitarian than in
childhood (East, 2009).
Do parents usually favor one sibling over others—and if so, does it make
a difference in a child’s development? One study of 384 sibling pairs
revealed that 65 percent of their mothers and 70 percent of their fathers
showed favoritism toward one sibling (Shebloski, Conger, & Widaman,
2005). When favoritism of one sibling occurred, it was linked to lower self-
esteem and sadness in the less-favored sibling. Indeed, equality and fairness
are major concerns in regard to siblings’ relationships with each other and
how they are treated by their parents (Aldercotte, White, & Hughes, 2016;
Campione-Barr, Greer, & Kruse, 2013).
Judy Dunn (2007, 2015), a leading expert on sibling relationships,
described three important characteristics of sibling relationships:
What characterizes children’s sibling relationships?
©RubberBall Productions/Getty Images
1. The emotional quality of the relationship. Siblings often express intense
emotions—both positive and negative—toward each other. Many
children and adolescents have mixed feelings toward their siblings.
2. The familiarity and intimacy of the relationship. Siblings typically know
Page 185each other very well, and this intimacy suggests that they can
either provide support or tease and undermine each other,
depending on the situation.
3. The variation in sibling relationships. Some siblings describe their
relationships more positively than others do. Thus, there is considerable
variation in sibling relationships. We just noted that many siblings have
mixed feelings about each other, but some children and adolescents
describe their siblings mainly in warm, affectionate ways, whereas others
primarily talk about how irritating and mean a sibling is.
Birth Order
Whether a child has older or younger siblings has been linked to the
development of certain personality characteristics. For example, one research
review concluded that “firstborns are the most intelligent, achieving, and
conscientious, while later-borns are the most rebellious, liberal, and
agreeable” (Paulhus, 2008, p. 210). Compared with later-born children,
firstborn children have also been described as more adult-oriented, helpful,
conforming, and self-controlled. However, when actual birth-order
differences are reported, they often are small.
What accounts for differences related to birth order? Proposed
explanations usually point to variations in interactions associated with a
particular position in the family. In one study, mothers became more
negative, coercive, and restraining and played less with the firstborn
following the birth of a second child (Dunn & Kendrick, 1982).
What about children who don’t have siblings? The popular conception is
that an only child is a “spoiled brat” with undesirable characteristics such as
dependency, lack of self-control, and self-centered behavior. But researchers
present a more positive portrayal in which only children are often
achievement-oriented and display desirable personality characteristics,
especially in comparison with later-borns and children from large families
(Falbo & Poston, 1993; Jiao, Ji, & Jing, 1996).
So far, our discussion suggests that birth order might be a strong predictor
of behavior. However, an increasing number of family researchers stress that
when all the factors that influence behavior are considered, birth order by
itself has limited accuracy as a predictor of behavior. Indeed, in a recent
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large-scale study, a birth order effect occurred for intelligence, with firstborns
having slightly higher intelligence, but there were no birth order effects for
life satisfaction, internal/external control, trust, risk taking, patience, and
impulsivity (Rohrer, Egloff, & Schmukle, 2017). Think about some of the
other important factors in children’s lives that influence their behavior. They
include heredity, models of competency or incompetency that parents present
to children on a daily basis, peer and school influences, socioeconomic and
sociohistorical factors, and cultural variations. When someone says that
firstborns are always like this but last-borns are always like that, he or she is
making overly simplistic statements that do not adequately take into account
the complexity of influences on a child’s development.
The Changing Family in a Changing Society
Beyond variations in number of siblings, the families that children experience
differ in many important ways (Hardy, Smeeding, & Ziliak, 2018; Parke,
2017; Patterson & others, 2018). As shown in Figure 4, the United States has
one of the highest percentages of single-parent families in the world. Among
two-parent families, there are those in which both parents work, those in
which parents have found new spouses after divorce, and those in which the
parents are gay or lesbian. Differences in culture and socioeconomic status
(SES) also influence families. How do these variations in families affect
children?
Working Parents
More than half of U.S. mothers with a child under age 5 are in the labor
force, as are more than two-thirds with a child 6 to 17 years old. Maternal
employment is a part of modern life, but its effects are still being debated.
Parental employment can have both positive and negative effects on
parenting (O’Brien & others, 2014). Research indicates that what matters for
children’s development is the nature of the parents’ work
rather than whether or not both parents work outside the home
(Clarke-Stewart & Parke, 2014; Goldberg & Lucas-
Thompson, 2008). For example, a study of almost 3,000 adolescents found a
negative association of the father’s, but not the mother’s, unemployment on
the adolescents’ health (Bacikova-Sleskova, Benka, & Orosova, 2015). Also,
a recent study found that mothers’ and fathers’ work-family conflict was
linked to lower self-control in 4-year-old children (Ferreira & others, 2018).
Figure 4 Single-Parent Families in Different Countries
Ann Crouter (2006) described how parents bring their experiences at
work into their homes. She concluded that parents who experience poor
working conditions, such as long hours, overtime work, high levels of stress,
and lack of autonomy at work, are likely to be more irritable at home and
engage in less effective parenting than their counterparts who experience
better working conditions. A consistent finding is that children (especially
girls) whose mothers are employed engage in less gender stereotyping and
have more egalitarian views of gender than do children whose mothers do not
work outside the home (Goldberg & Lucas-Thompson, 2008).
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How does work affect parenting?
©Keith Brofsky/Photodisc/Getty Images
Children in Divorced Families
Divorce rates changed rather dramatically in the United States and many
countries around the world in the late twentieth century (Braver & Lamb,
2013). The U.S. divorce rate increased dramatically in the 1960s and 1970s
but has declined since the 1980s. However, the divorce rate in the United
States is still much higher than in most other countries.
It is estimated that 40 percent of children born to married parents in the
United States will experience their parents’ divorce (Hetherington & Stanley-
Hagan, 2002). Let’s examine some important questions about children in
divorced families:
Are children better adjusted in intact, never-divorced families than in
divorced families? Most researchers agree that children from divorced
families show poorer adjustment than their counterparts in never-divorced
families (Amato & Anthony, 2014; Arkes, 2015; Hetherington, 2006;
Weaver & Schofield, 2015) (see Figure 5). Those who have experienced
multiple divorces are at greater risk. Children in divorced
families are more likely than those in never-divorced families
to have academic problems, to exhibit externalized problems
(such as acting out and delinquency) and experience internalized
problems (such as anxiety and depression), to be less socially responsible,
to have less competent intimate relationships, to drop out of school, to
become sexually active at an earlier age, to take drugs, to associate with
antisocial peers, to have low self-esteem, and to be less securely attached
to their partners as young adults (Lansford, 2012, 2013). In a recent
study, both parental divorce and child maltreatment were linked to
midlife suicidal ideation (Stansfield & others, 2017). Also, a recent meta-
analysis found that when their parents had been divorced, adults were
more likely to have depression (Sands, Thompson, & Gaysina, 2017).
Figure 5 Divorce and Children’s Emotional Problems
In Hetherington’s research, 25 percent of children from divorced families showed serious
emotional problems, compared with only 10 percent of children from intact, never-
divorced families. However, keep in mind that a substantial majority (75 percent) of the
children from divorced families did not show serious emotional problems.
Should parents stay together for the sake of the children? Whether
parents should stay in an unhappy or conflictual marriage for the sake of
their children is one of the most commonly asked questions about divorce
(Hetherington, 2006; Morrison, Fife, & Hertlein, 2017). If the stresses
and disruptions in family relationships associated with an unhappy
marriage that erode the well-being of children are reduced by the move to
a divorced, single-parent family, divorce can be advantageous. However,
if the diminished resources and increased risks associated with divorce
are accompanied by inept parenting and sustained or increased conflict,
not only between the divorced couple but also among the parents,
children, and siblings, the best choice for the children would be for an
unhappy marriage to be continued (Hetherington & Stanley-Hagan,
2002). It is difficult to determine how these “ifs” will play out when
parents either remain together in an acrimonious marriage or become
divorced.
What concerns are involved in whether parents should stay together for the sake of the
children or become divorced?
©Image Source/PunchStock
Many of the problems experienced by children of divorced parents begin
during the predivorce period, a time when parents often are in active
conflict. Thus, when children of divorced parents show problems, the
problems may be due not only to the divorce itself but also to the marital
conflict that led to it (Cummings & others, 2017; Davies, Martin, &
Cummings, 2018; Davies, Martin & Sturge-Apple, 2016). E. Mark
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Cummings and his colleagues (2017; Cummings & Miller, 2015;
Cummings & Valentino, 2015) have proposed emotion security theory,
which has its roots in attachment theory and states that children appraise
marital conflict in terms of their sense of security and safety in the family.
These researchers make a distinction between marital conflict that is
negative for children (such as hostile emotional displays and destructive
conflict tactics) and marital conflict that can be positive for children (such
as marital disagreement that involves calmly discussing each person’s
perspective and then working together to find a solution). In a recent
study, intensification of interparental conflict in the early elementary
school years predicted increases in emotional insecurity five years late in
early adolescence, which in turn predicted decreases in adolescent
friendship affiliation, and this friendship decrease was linked to a
downturn in social competence (Davies, Martin, & Cummings, 2018).
How much do family processes matter after a divorce? They matter a
great deal (Bastaitis, Pasteels, & Mortelmans, 2018; Demby, 2016).
When divorced parents’ relationship with each other is harmonious and
when they use authoritative parenting, children’s adjustment improves
(Hetherington, 2006). A number of researchers have shown that a
disequilibrium, which includes diminished parenting skills, occurs in the
first year following the divorce—but by two years after the divorce,
restabilization has occurred and parenting skills have improved
(Hetherington, 1989). When the divorced parents can agree on
childrearing strategies and can maintain a cordial relationship with each
other, frequent visits by the noncustodial parent usually benefit the child
(Fabricius & others, 2010). Following a divorce, father
involvement with children drops off more than mother
involvement, especially for fathers of girls. Further, a recent
study of non-residential fathers in divorced families indicated that high
father-child involvement and low interparental conflict were linked to
positive child outcomes (Flam & others, 2016). Also, a recent research
review concluded that co-parenting (co-parental support, cooperation, and
agreement) following divorce was related to positive child outcomes such
as lower anxiety and depression, as well as higher self-esteem and
academic performance (Lamela & Figueiredo, 2016).
What factors influence an individual child’s vulnerability to suffering
negative consequences as a result of divorce? Among the factors
involved are the parent’s and child’s adjustment prior to the divorce, as
well as the child’s personality and temperament, gender, and custody
situation (Hetherington, 2006). In one study, a higher level of predivorce
maternal sensitivity and child IQ served as protective factors in reducing
children’s problems after the divorce (Weaver & Schofield, 2015).
Children whose parents later divorce show poorer adjustment before the
breakup (Lansford, 2012, 2013). Children who are socially mature and
responsible, who show few behavioral problems, and who have an easy
temperament are better able to cope with their parents’ divorce. Children
with a difficult temperament often have problems coping with their
parents’ divorce (Hetherington, 2006). Joint custody also works best for
children when the parents can get along with each other (Clarke-Stewart
& Parke, 2014).
What role does socioeconomic status play in the lives of children whose
parents have divorced? Mothers who have custody of their children
experience the loss of about one-fourth to one-half of their predivorce
income, compared with a loss of only one-tenth by fathers who have
custody. This income loss for divorced mothers is accompanied by
increased workloads, high rates of job instability, and residential moves
to less desirable neighborhoods with inferior schools (Lansford, 2009).
Gay and Lesbian Parents
Increasingly, gay and lesbian couples are creating families that include
children (Farr, 2017; Oakley, Farr, & Scherer, 2017; Simon & others, 2018).
Data indicate that approximately 20 percent of same-sex couples are raising
children under the age of 18 in the United States (Gates, 2013).
Like heterosexual couples, gay and lesbian parents vary greatly. They
may be single, or they may have same-gender partners. Many lesbian mothers
and gay fathers are noncustodial parents because they lost custody of their
children to heterosexual spouses after a divorce.
Parenthood among lesbians and gay men is controversial. Opponents
claim that being raised by gay or lesbian parents harms the child’s
development. But researchers have found few differences between children
growing up with lesbian mothers or gay fathers on the one hand, and children
growing up with heterosexual parents on the other (Farr & Goldberg, 2018;
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Golombok, 2011a, b; Patterson, Farr, & Hastings, 2015). For example,
children raised by gay or lesbian parents are just as popular with their peers,
and no differences are found in the adjustment and mental health of children
living in these families in comparison with children raised by heterosexual
parents (Farr & others, 2018; Patterson, Farr, & Hastings, 2015). For
example, in a recent study, the adjustment of school-aged children adopted
during infancy by gay, lesbian, and heterosexual parents showed no
differences (Farr, 2017). Rather, children’s behavior patterns and family
functioning were predicted by earlier child adjustment issues and parental
stress. In another recent study of lesbian and gay adoptive parents, 98 percent
of the adoptive parents reported that their children had
adjusted well to school (Farr, Oakley, & Ollen, 2016).
Contrary to the once-widespread expectation that being raised
by a gay or lesbian parent would result in the child’s growing up to be gay or
lesbian, in reality the overwhelming majority of children from gay or lesbian
families have a heterosexual orientation (Golombok, 2011a, b).
What are the research findings regarding the development and psychological well-being
of children raised by gay and lesbian couples?
©Creatas/Getty Images
Also, one study compared the incidence of coparenting in adoptive
heterosexual, lesbian, and gay couples with preschool-aged children (Farr &
Patterson, 2013). Both self-reports and observations found that lesbian and
gay couples shared child care more than heterosexual couples did, with
lesbian couples being the most supportive and gay couples the least
supportive. Further, researchers have found more positive parenting in
adoptive gay father families and fewer child externalizing problems in these
families than in heterosexual families (Golombok & others, 2014).
Cultural, Ethnic, and Socioeconomic Variations
Parenting can be influenced by culture, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status
(Nieto & Bode, 2018; White & others, 2013). Recall from Bronfenbrenner’s
ecological theory that a number of social contexts influence the child’s
development. In Bronfenbrenner’s theory, culture, ethnicity, and
socioeconomic status are classified as part of the macrosystem because they
represent broader societal contexts.
Cross-Cultural Studies Different cultures often give different answers to
such basic questions as what the father’s role in the family should be, what
support systems are available to families, and how children should be
disciplined (Matsumoto & Juang, 2017; Suh & others, 2017). There are
important cross-cultural variations in parenting. In some cultures, such as
rural areas of many countries, authoritarian parenting is widespread (Smetana
& Ball, 2018).
Cultural change, brought about by factors such as increasingly frequent
international travel, the Internet and electronic communications, and
economic globalization, is affecting families in many countries around the
world (Eo & Kim, 2018). There are trends toward greater family mobility,
migration to urban areas, and separation as some family members work in
cities or countries far from their homes. Other trends include smaller families,
fewer extended-family households, and increased rates of maternal
employment (Brown & Larson, 2002). These trends can change the nature of
the resources available to children. For example, when several generations no
longer live in close proximity, children may lose the support and guidance of
grandparents, aunts, and uncles. On the positive side, smaller families may
produce more openness and communication between parents and children.
Ethnicity Families within various ethnic groups in the United States differ in
their typical size, structure, composition, reliance on kinship networks, and
levels of income and education (Nieto & Bode, 2018). Large and extended
families are more common among minority groups than among the non-
Latino White majority. For example, 19 percent of Latino families have three
or more children, compared with 14 percent of African American and 10
percent of White families. African American and Latino children interact
more with grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and more distant relatives
than do non-Latino White children.
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What are some characteristics of families within different ethnic groups?
©Bill Aron/PhotoEdit
Single-parent families are more common among African Americans and
Latinos than among non-Latino White Americans. In comparison with two-
parent households, single parents often have more limited resources in terms
of time, money, and energy (Koppelman, 2017). Ethnic minority parents also
tend to be less educated and are more likely to live in low-
income circumstances than their non-Latino White
counterparts. Still, many impoverished ethnic minority
families manage to find ways to raise competent children.
What are some of the stressors that immigrant families experience when they come to the
United States?
©J. Emilio Flores/Corbis/Getty Images
Of course, individual families vary, and how ethnic minority families deal
with stress depends on many factors (Derlan & others, 2018; Yoshikawa &
others, 2017). Whether the parents are native-born or immigrants, how long
the family has been in this country, its socioeconomic status, and its national
origin all make a difference (Giuntella, 2017). The characteristics of the
family’s social context also influence its adaptation. What are the attitudes
toward the family’s ethnic group within its neighborhood or city? Can the
family’s children attend good schools? Are there community groups that
welcome people from the family’s ethnic group? Do members of the family’s
ethnic group form community groups of their own?
A major change in families in the last several decades has been the
dramatic increase in the immigration of Latino and Asian families into the
United States (Anguiano & others, 2018; Bas-Sarmiento & others, 2017; Non
& others, 2018; Umana-Taylor & Douglass, 2017). Immigrant families often
experience stressors uncommon to or less prominent among longtime
residents, such as language barriers, dislocations and separations from
support networks, the dual struggle to preserve identity and to acculturate,
and changes in SES status (Gangamma & Shipman, 2018; Nair, Roche, &
White, 2018; Wang & Palacios, 2017).
Many members of families that have recently immigrated to the United
States adopt a bicultural orientation, selecting characteristics of the U.S.
culture that help them to survive and advance, while still retaining aspects of
their culture of origin. In adopting characteristics of the U.S. culture, Latino
families are increasingly embracing the importance of education. Although
their school dropout rates have remained higher than the rates for other ethnic
groups, toward the end of the first decade of the twenty-first century they
declined considerably (National Center for Education Statistics, 2017).
However, while many ethnic/immigrant families adopt a bicultural
orientation, parenting in many ethnic minority families also focuses on issues
associated with promoting children’s ethnic pride, knowledge of their ethnic
group, and awareness of discrimination (McDermott & others, 2018; Umana-
Taylor & Douglass, 2017: Umana-Taylor & others, 2018).
Socioeconomic Status Low-income families have less access to
resources than do higher-income families (Singh & Mukherjee, 2018;
Yoshikawa & others, 2017). The resources in question include nutrition,
health care, protection from danger, and enriching educational and
socialization opportunities, such as tutoring and lessons in various activities
(Coley & others, 2018). These differences are compounded in low-income
families characterized by long-term poverty (Nieto & Bode, 2018). A
longitudinal study found that a multicomponent (school-based educational
enrichment and comprehensive family services) preschool to third-grade
intervention with low-income minority children in Chicago was effective in
increasing their rate of high school graduation, as well as undergraduate and
graduate school success (Reynolds, Qu, & Temple, 2018).
In the United States and most Western cultures, researchers have
identified differences in child-rearing practices among groups of varying
socioeconomic status (SES) (Hoff, Laursen, & Tardif, 2002, p. 246):
“Lower-SES parents (1) are more concerned that their children conform
to society’s expectations, (2) create a home atmosphere in which it is
clear that parents have authority over children,” (3) are more likely to use
physical punishment in disciplining their children, and (4) are more
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directive and less conversational with their children.
“Higher-SES parents (1) are more concerned with developing
children’s initiative” and their capacity to delay gratification,
(2) “create a home atmosphere in which children are more
nearly equal participants and in which rules are discussed as opposed to
being laid down” in an authoritarian manner, (3) are less likely to use
physical punishment, and (4) “are less directive and more conversational”
with their children.
Peer Relations, Play, and Media/Screen
Time
The family is an important social context for children’s development.
However, children’s development also is strongly influenced by what goes on
in other social contexts, such as in peer groups and when children are playing
or using various media (Bukowski, Laursen, & Rubin, 2018; Rose & Smith,
2018).
Peer Relations
As children grow older, they spend an increasing amount of time with their
peers—children of about the same age or maturity level.
What are the functions of a child’s peer group? One of its most important
functions is to provide a source of information and comparison about the
world outside the family. Children receive feedback about their abilities from
their peer group. They evaluate what they can do in terms of whether it is
better than, as good as, or worse than what other children can do. It is hard to
make these judgments at home because siblings are usually older or younger.
Good peer relations promote normal socioemotional development
(Bukowski, Laursen, & Rubin, 2018). Special concerns in peer relations
focus on children who are withdrawn or aggressive (Rubin & others, 2018).
Withdrawn children who are rejected by peers or are victimized and feel
lonely are at increased risk for depression (Coplan & others, 2018). Children
who are aggressive with their peers are at increased risk for developing a
number of problems, including delinquency and dropping out of school
(Vitaro, Boivin, & Poulin, 2018).
Good peer relations can be necessary for normal socioemotional
development (Prinstein & others, 2018). Recall from our discussion of gender
that by about age 3, children already prefer to spend time with same-sex
rather than opposite-sex playmates, and this preference increases in early
childhood. During these same years, the frequency of peer interactions, both
positive and negative, picks up considerably (Cillessen & Bukowski, 2018).
Although aggressive interactions and rough-and-tumble play increase, the
proportion of aggressive exchanges, compared with friendly exchanges,
decreases. Many preschool children spend considerable time in peer
interaction just conversing with playmates about such matters as “negotiating
roles and rules in play, arguing, and agreeing” (Rubin, Bukowski, & Parker,
2006).
What are some characteristics of young children’s peer relations?
©INSADCO Photography/Alamy Stock Photo
Parents may influence their children’s peer relations in many ways, both
direct and indirect (Booth-Laforce & Groh, 2018). Parents affect their
children’s peer relations through their interactions with their children, how
they manage their children’s lives, and the opportunities they provide to their
children (Brown & Bakken, 2011). For example, when mothers coached their
preschool daughters about the negative aspects of peer conflicts involving
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relational aggression (harming someone by manipulating relationships), the
daughters engaged in lower rates of relational aggression (Werner & others,
2014).
Play
An extensive amount of peer interaction during childhood involves play, but
social play is only one type of play. Play is a pleasurable activity that is
engaged in for its own sake, and its functions and forms vary.
Functions of Play
Play is an important aspect of children’s development (Bergen, 2015; Clark,
2016; Taggart, Eisen, & Lillard, 2018). Theorists have focused on different
aspects of play and highlighted a long list of functions (Henricks, 2015a, b).
According to Freud and Erikson, play helps the child master anxieties and
conflicts (Demanchick, 2015). Because pent-up tensions are released through
play, the child can cope better with life’s problems. Therapists use play
therapy both to allow the child to work off frustrations and to analyze the
child’s conflicts and ways of coping with them (Clark, 2015, 2016). Children
may feel less threatened and be more likely to express their true feelings in
the context of play.
Play is also an important context for cognitive development (Taggart,
Eisen, & Lillard, 2018). Both Piaget and Vygotsky concluded that play is the
child’s work. Piaget (1962) maintained that play advances children’s
cognitive development. At the same time, he said that children’s cognitive
development constrains the way they play. Play permits children to practice
their competencies and acquired skills in a relaxed, pleasurable way. Piaget
thought that cognitive structures need to be exercised, and play provides the
perfect setting for this exercise (DeLisi, 2015).
Vygotsky (1962) also considered play to be an excellent setting for
cognitive development. He was especially interested in the symbolic and
make-believe aspects of play, as when a child substitutes a stick for a horse
and rides the stick as if it were a horse. For young children, the imaginary
situation is real (Bodrova & Leong, 2015). Parents should encourage such
imaginary play because it advances the child’s cognitive development,
especially creative thought.
Daniel Berlyne (1960) described play as exciting and pleasurable in itself
because it satisfies our exploratory drive. This drive involves curiosity and a
quest for information about something new or unusual. Play encourages
exploratory behavior by offering children the possibilities of novelty,
complexity, uncertainty, surprise, and incongruity.
More recently, play has been described as an important context for the
development of language and communication skills (Taggart, Eisen, &
Lillard, 2018). Language and communication skills may be enhanced through
discussions and negotiations regarding roles and rules in play as young
children practice various words and phrases. These types of social
interactions during play can benefit young children’s literacy skills
(Bredekamp, 2017; Follari, 2019). And play is a central focus of the child-
centered kindergarten and is thought to be an essential aspect of early
childhood education (Feeney, Moravcik, & Nolte, 2019; Morrison, 2017,
2018).
Types of Play
The contemporary perspective on play emphasizes both the cognitive and the
social aspects of it (Loizou, 2017; Sim & Xu, 2017). Among the most widely
studied types of children’s play are sensorimotor and practice play,
pretense/symbolic play, social play, constructive play, and games (Bergen,
1988).
Sensorimotor and Practice Play Sensorimotor play is behavior that
allows infants to derive pleasure from exercising their sensorimotor schemes.
The development of sensorimotor play follows Piaget’s description of
sensorimotor thought. Infants begin to engage in exploratory and playful
visual and motor transactions during the second quarter of the first year of
life. By the age of 9 months, many infants can select novel objects for
exploration and play, especially responsive objects such as toys that make
noise or bounce.
Practice play involves the repetition of behavior when new skills are
being learned or when physical or mental mastery and coordination of skills
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are required for games or sports. Sensorimotor play, which
often involves practice play, is primarily confined to infancy,
whereas practice play can continue to occur throughout life.
During the preschool years, children often engage in practice play.
Pretense/Symbolic Play Pretense/symbolic play occurs when the child
transforms the physical environment into a symbol (Taggart, Eisen, &
Lillard, 2018). Between 9 and 30 months, children increasingly use objects in
symbolic play. They learn to transform objects—substituting them for other
objects and acting toward them as if they were these other objects. For
example, a preschool child may treat a table as if it were a car and say, “I’m
fixing the car” as he grabs a leg of the table.
A preschool “superhero” at play.
©RichVintage/Getty Images
Many experts on play consider the preschool years the “golden age” of
pretense/symbolic play that is dramatic or sociodramatic in nature. This type
of make-believe play often appears at about 18 months and reaches a peak at
ages 4 to 5, then gradually declines.
Some child psychologists believe that pretend play is an important aspect
of young children’s development and often reflects advances in their
cognitive development, especially as an indication of symbolic understanding
(Taggart, Eisen, & Lillard, 2018). For example, Catherine Garvey (2000) and
Angeline Lillard (2006, 2015) emphasize that hidden in young children’s
pretend-play narratives are remarkable capacities for role-taking, balancing of
social roles, metacognition (thinking about thinking), testing of the
distinction between reality and pretense, and numerous nonegocentric
capacities that reveal young children’s remarkable cognitive skills.
Social Play Social play is play that involves interaction with peers. It
increases dramatically during the preschool years. For many children, social
play is the main context for their social interactions with peers (Solovieva &
Quintanar, 2017). Social play includes varied interchanges such as turn
taking, conversations about numerous topics, social games and routines, and
physical play. It often provides a high degree of pleasure to the participants.
Constructive Play Constructive play combines sensorimotor/practice
play with symbolic representation. It occurs when children engage in the self-
regulated creation of a product or solution. Constructive play increases in the
preschool years as symbolic play increases and sensorimotor play decreases.
Constructive play is also a frequent form of play in the elementary school
years, both in and out of the classroom.
Games Games are activities that are engaged in for pleasure and have rules.
Often they involve competition. Preschool children may begin to participate
in social games that involve simple rules of reciprocity and turn taking.
However, games take on a much stronger role in the lives of elementary
school children. In one study, the highest incidence of game playing occurred
between ages 10 and 12 (Eiferman, 1971). After age 12, games decline in
popularity (Bergen, 1988).
How Would
You…?
As an educator, how
would you integrate
play into the learning
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process?
Trends in Play
Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Roberta Golinkoff, and Dorothy Singer (Hirsh-Pasek &
others, 2009; Singer, Golinkoff, & Hirsh-Pasek, 2006) are concerned about
the reduced amount of free play time that young children have, reporting that
it has declined considerably in recent decades. They especially are worried
about young children’s play time being restricted at home and
school so they can spend more time on academic subjects. They
also point out that many schools have eliminated recess. And it is
not just the decline in free play time that bothers them. They underscore that
learning in playful contexts captivates children’s minds in ways that enhance
their cognitive and socioemotional development—Singer, Golinkoff, and
Hirsh-Pasek’s (2006) first book on play was titled Play = Learning. Among
the cognitive benefits of play they described are these skills: creative; abstract
thinking; imagination; attention, concentration, and persistence; problem-
solving; social cognition, empathy, and perspective taking; language; and
mastering new concepts. Among the socioemotional experiences and
development they believe play promotes are enjoyment, relaxation, and self-
expression; cooperation, sharing, and turn-taking; anxiety reduction; and self-
confidence. With so many positive cognitive and socioemotional outcomes of
play, clearly it is important that we find more time for play in young
children’s lives (Taggart, Eisen, & Lillard, 2018).
What are some concerns of Hirsh-Pasek and her colleagues about trends in children’s
play?
©ONOKY Photononstop/Alamy
Media and Screen Time
Few developments in society in the second half of the twentieth century had a
greater impact on children than television. Television continues to have a
strong influence on children’s development, but children’s use of other media
and information/communication devices has led to the use of the term screen
time, which encompasses the time individuals spend watching/using
television, DVDs, and computers; playing video games; and using hand-held
electronic devices such as smartphones (Gebremariam & others, 2017; Li &
others, 2017). In a national survey, there was a dramatic increase in young
children’s use of mobile devices in just two years from 2011 to 2013
(Common Sense Media, 2013). In this survey, playing games was the most
common activity they performed using mobile devices, followed by using
apps, watching videos, and watching TV/movies.
Despite the move to mobile devices, television is still a strong influence
in young children’s media life, with 2- to 4-year-old children watching TV
approximately 2 to 4 hours per day (Common Sense Media, 2013). In a
national survey, 50 percent of U.S. children’s screen time was spent in front
of TV sets (Common Sense Media, 2013). Compared with their counterparts
in other developed countries, children in the United States watch television
for considerably longer periods. The American Association of Pediatrics
(2016) recommends that 2- to 5-years olds watch no more than one hour of
TV a day. The AAP also recommends that they view only high-quality
programs such as Sesame Street and other PBS shows for young children.
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What are some concerns about young children’s media and screen time?
©karelnoppe/Getty Images
Some types of TV shows are linked to positive outcomes for children. For
example, a recent meta-analysis found that children’s exposure to prosocial
media is linked to higher levels of prosocial behavior and empathetic concern
(Coyne, Padilla-Walker, & Holmgren, 2018). And a meta-analysis of studies
in 14 countries found three categories of positive outcomes from watching
the TV show Sesame Street: cognitive, learning about the world, and social
reasoning and attitudes toward outgroups (Mares & Pan, 2013).
However, too much screen time can have a negative influence on children
by making them passive learners, distracting them from doing homework,
teaching them stereotypes, providing them with violent models of aggression,
and presenting them with unrealistic views of the world (Calvert, 2015;
Picherot & others, 2018). Among other concerns about young children
engaging in so much screen time are decreased time spent in
play, less time interacting with peers, reduced physical
activity, poor sleep habits, increased risk of being overweight
or obese, and higher rates of aggression (Berglind & others, 2018; Hale &
others, 2018; Lissak, 2018). A research review concluded that higher levels
of screen time (mostly involving TV viewing) were associated with lower
levels of cognitive development in early childhood (Carson & others, 2015).
Also, a study of preschool children found that each additional hour of screen
time was linked to less nightly sleep, later bedtimes, and reduced likelihood
of sleeping 10 or more hours per night (Xu & others, 2016). Further,
researchers have found that a high level of TV viewing is linked to a greater
incidence of obesity in children and adolescents. For example, a recent study
of 2- to 6-year-olds indicated that increased TV viewing time on weekends
was associated with a higher risk of being overweight or obese (Kondolot &
others, 2017). Indeed, viewing as little as one hour of television daily was
associated with an increase in body mass index (BMI) between kindergarten
and first grade (Peck & others, 2015).
The extent to which children are exposed to violence and aggression on
television raises special concerns (Calvert, 2015). For example, Saturday
morning cartoon shows average more than 25 violent acts per hour. In a study
of children, greater exposure to TV violence, video game violence, and music
video violence was independently associated with a higher level of physical
aggression (Coker & others, 2015).
Parents play an important role in children’s media use. One study found
that a higher degree of parental monitoring of children’s media use was
linked to a number of positive outcomes in children’s lives (more sleep,
better school performance, less aggressive behavior, and more prosocial
behavior) (Gentile & others, 2014). Another study found that when parents
reduced their own screen time, their children’s screen time also decreased
(Xu, Wen, & Rissel, 2014).
How Would
You…?
As a human
development and
family studies
professional, how
would you talk with
parents about strategies
for reducing young
children’s screen time?
Summary
Emotional and Personality Development
In Erikson’s theory, early childhood is a period when development
involves resolving the conflict of initiative versus guilt. Young children
improve their self-understanding and understanding of others.
Young children’s range of emotions expands during early childhood as
they increasingly experience self-conscious emotions such as pride,
shame, and guilt. Children benefit from having emotion-coaching parents.
Moral development involves thoughts, feelings, and actions regarding
rules and regulations about what people should do in their interactions
with others. Piaget proposed cognitive changes in children’s moral
reasoning. Behavioral and social cognitive theorists argue that there is
considerable situational variability in moral behavior.
Gender refers to the social and psychological dimensions of being male or
female. Both psychoanalytic theory and social cognitive theory
emphasize the adoption of parents’ gender characteristics. Peers are
especially adept at rewarding gender-appropriate behavior. Gender
schema theory emphasizes the role of cognition in gender development.
Families
Authoritarian, authoritative, neglectful, and indulgent parenting styles
produce different results. Authoritative parenting is the style most often
associated with children’s social competence. Ethnic variations
characterize parenting styles. Physical punishment is widely used by U.S.
parents, but there are a number of reasons why it is not a good choice.
Coparenting has positive effects on children’s development.
Child maltreatment may take the form of physical abuse, child neglect,
sexual abuse, and emotional abuse.
Siblings interact with each other in positive and negative ways. Birth
order is related in certain ways to child characteristics, but by itself it is
not a good predictor of behavior.
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In general, having both parents employed full-time outside the home has
not been shown to have negative effects on children. If divorced parents
develop a harmonious relationship and practice authoritative parenting,
children’s adjustment improves. Researchers have found few differences
between children growing up in gay or lesbian families and children
growing up in heterosexual families. Culture, ethnicity, and
socioeconomic status are linked to a number of aspects of
children’s development.
Peer Relations, Play, and Media/Screen Time
Peers are powerful socialization agents. Peers provide a source of
information and comparison about the world outside the family.
Play’s functions include affiliation with peers, tension release, advances
in cognitive development, exploration, and provision of a safe haven. The
contemporary perspective on play emphasizes both the cognitive and the
social aspects of play. Among the most widely studied types of children’s
play are sensorimotor play, practice play, pretense/symbolic play, social
play, constructive play, and games.
There are serious concerns about the extensive amount of time young
children are spending with various media. Watching TV violence and
playing violent video games have been linked to children’s aggressive
behavior.
Key Terms
authoritarian parenting
authoritative parenting
autonomous morality
constructive play
games
gender identity
gender roles
gender schema theory
heteronomous morality
immanent justice
indulgent parenting
moral development
neglectful parenting
practice play
pretense/symbolic play
psychoanalytic theory of gender
self-understanding
sensorimotor play
social cognitive theory of gender
social play
social role theory
Page 197
©Digital Vision/Getty Images
7
Physical and Cognitive
Development in Middle
and Late Childhood
CHAPTER OUTLINE
Physical Changes and Health
Body Growth and Change
The Brain
Motor Development
Exercise
Health, Illness, and Disease
Children with Disabilities
The Scope of Disabilities
Educational Issues
Cognitive Changes
Piaget’s Cognitive Developmental Theory
Information Processing
Intelligence
Language Development
Vocabulary, Grammar, and Metalinguistic Awareness
Reading
Second-Language Learning and Bilingual Education
Stories of Life-Span Development:
Angie and Her Weight
Angie, an elementary-school-age girl, offered the following
comments about facing her weight problem and dealing with it
effectively:
When I was eight years old, I weighed 125 pounds. My
clothes were the size that large teenage girls wear. I hated
my body, and my classmates teased me all the time. I was
so overweight and out of shape that when I took a P.E.
class my face would get red and I had trouble breathing. I
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was jealous of the kids who played sports and weren’t
overweight like I was.
I’m nine years old now and I’ve lost 30 pounds. I’m much
happier and proud of myself. How did I lose the weight?
My mom said she had finally decided enough was enough.
She took me to a pediatrician who specializes in helping
children lose weight and keep it off. The pediatrician
counseled my mom about my eating and exercise habits,
then had us join a group that he had created for overweight
children and their parents. My mom and I go to the group
once a week, and we’ve now been participating in the
program for six months. I no longer eat fast-food meals,
and my mom is cooking more healthy meals. Now that I’ve
lost weight, exercise is not as hard for me, and I don’t get
teased by the kids at school. My mom’s pretty happy, too,
because she’s lost 15 pounds herself since we’ve been in
the counseling program.
Not all overweight children are as successful as Angie at
reducing their weight. Indeed, being overweight in childhood has
become a major national health concern in the United States. Later
in the chapter, we further explore the problems associated with
being overweight in childhood.
During the middle and late childhood years, which
last from approximately 6 years of age to 10 or 11
years of age, children grow taller, heavier, and
stronger, and become more adept at using their physical skills.
During these years, disabilities may emerge that call for special
attention and intervention. It is also during this age period that
children’s cognitive abilities increase dramatically. Their
command of grammar becomes proficient, they learn to read, and
they may acquire a second language. ■
Physical Changes and Health
Continued growth and change in proportions characterize children’s bodies
during middle and late childhood. During this time period, some important
changes in the brain also take place and motor skills improve. Developing a
healthy lifestyle that includes regular exercise and good nutrition is a key
aspect of making sure these years are a time of healthy growth and
development.
Body Growth and Change
The period of middle and late childhood involves slow, consistent growth
(Hockenberry, Wilson, & Rodgers, 2017). This is a period of calm before the
rapid growth spurt of adolescence. During the elementary school years,
children grow an average of 2 to 3 inches a year until, at the age of 11, the
average girl is 4 feet, 10¼ inches tall, and the average boy is 4 feet, 9 inches
tall. During middle and late childhood, children gain about 5 to 7 pounds a
year. The weight increase is due mainly to increases in the size of the skeletal
and muscular systems, as well as the size of some body organs.
Proportional changes are among the most pronounced physical changes in
middle and late childhood (Kliegman & others, 2016). Head and waist
circumference decrease in relation to body height. A less noticeable physical
change is that bones continue to ossify during middle and late childhood,
although they still yield to pressure and pull more than do mature bones.
Muscle mass and strength gradually increase during these years as “baby
fat” decreases (Perry & others, 2018). The loose movements and knock-knees
of early childhood give way to improved muscle tone. Thanks both to
heredity and to exercise, children double their strength capabilities during
these years. Because of their greater number of muscle cells, boys are usually
stronger than girls.
What characterizes physical growth during middle and late childhood?
©Chris Windsor/Digital Vision/Getty Images
The Brain
Total brain volume stabilizes by the end of late childhood, but significant
changes in various structures and regions of the brain continue to occur
(Wendelken & others, 2016, 2017). As children develop, activation in some
brain areas increases while it decreases in other areas (Denes, 2016;
Khundrakpam & others, 2018; Mah, Geeraert, & Lebel, 2017). One shift in
activation that occurs is from diffuse, larger areas to more focal, smaller areas
(Turkeltaub & others, 2003). This shift is characterized by synaptic pruning,
in which areas of the brain not being used lose synaptic connections and
those areas being used show increased connections. In one study, researchers
Page 199
found less diffusion and more focal activation in the prefrontal cortex from 7
to 30 years of age (Durston & others, 2006). This shift in activation was
accompanied by increased efficiency in cognitive performance, especially
cognitive control, which involves effective control and flexibility in a number
of areas (Markant & Thomas, 2013).
Leading researchers in developmental cognitive neuroscience
have proposed that the prefrontal cortex likely orchestrates the
functions of many other brain regions during development (de
Haan & Johnson, 2016). As part of this organizational role, the prefrontal
cortex may provide an advantage to neural networks and connections that
include the prefrontal cortex. In this view, the prefrontal cortex coordinates
which neural connections are the most effective for solving a problem at
hand.
Connectivity between brain regions increases as children develop (Faghiri
& others, 2018). In a longitudinal study that followed individuals from 6 to
22 years of age, connectivity between the prefrontal and parietal lobes in
childhood was linked to better reasoning ability later in development
(Wendelken & others, 2017).
Motor Development
During middle and late childhood, children’s motor skills become much
smoother and more coordinated than they were in early childhood
(Hockenberry, Wilson, & Rodgers, 2017). For example, only one child in a
thousand can hit a tennis ball over the net at the age of 3, yet by the age of 10
or 11 most children can learn to play the sport. Running, climbing, skipping
rope, swimming, bicycling, and skating are just a few of the many physical
skills elementary school children can master. In gross motor skills that
involve large muscle activity, boys usually outperform girls.
Increased myelination of the central nervous system is reflected in the
improvement of fine motor skills during middle and late childhood. Children
can more adroitly use their hands as tools. Six-year-olds can hammer, paste,
tie shoes, and fasten clothes. By 7 years of age, children’s hands have
become steadier. At this age, children prefer a pencil to a crayon for printing,
and they reverse letters less often. Printing becomes smaller. At 8 to 10 years
of age, they can use their hands independently with more ease and precision.
Page 200
Fine motor coordination develops to the point at which children can write
rather than print words. Cursive letter size becomes smaller and more even.
At 10 to 12 years of age, children begin to show manipulative skills similar to
the abilities of adults. They can master the complex, intricate, and rapid
movements needed to produce fine-quality crafts or to play a difficult piece
on a musical instrument. Girls usually outperform boys in their use of fine
motor skills.
Exercise
American children and adolescents are not getting enough exercise (Dumuid
& others, 2017; Walton-Fisette & Wuest, 2018). Increasing children’s
exercise levels has positive outcomes (Powers & Dodd, 2017; Powers &
Howley, 2018).
An increasing number of studies document the positive impact of exercise
on children’s physical development (Dowda & others, 2017; Martin & others,
2018; Yan & others, 2018). A recent study of more than 6,000 elementary
school children revealed that 55 minutes or more of moderate-to-vigorous
physical activity daily was associated with a lower incidence of obesity
(Nemet, 2016). Researchers also have found that aerobic exercise benefits
children’s attention, memory, effortful and goal-directed thinking and
behavior, creativity, and academic success (Ludyga & others, 2017; Martin &
others, 2018). A recent meta-analysis concluded that sustained physical
activity programs were linked to improvements in children’s attention,
executive function, and academic achievement (de Greeff & others, 2018).
Also, a recent study found that a 6-week high-intensity exercise program with
7- to 13-year-olds improved their cognitive control and working memory
(Moreau, Kirk, & Waldie, 2018). Further, a recent meta-analysis concluded
that children who engage in regular physical activity have better cognitive
inhibitory control (Jackson & others, 2016).
Parents and schools play important roles in determining children’s
exercise levels (Brusseau & others, 2018; de Heer & others, 2017; Lind &
others, 2018; Lo & others, 2018a; Solomon-Moore & others, 2018). Growing
up with parents who exercise regularly provides positive models of exercise
for children (Crawford & others, 2010). Also, in one study, a
school-based physical activity was successful in improving
children’s fitness and lowering their fat content (Kriemler & others, 2010).
How Would
You…?
As an educator, how
would you structure the
curriculum to ensure
that elementary school
students are getting
adequate physical
activity throughout the
day?
Some of the ways children spend their time can have negative
consequences. For example, the total amount of time that children and
adolescents spend in front of a television or computer screen daily places
them at risk for reduced activity and being overweight (Taverno Ross &
others, 2013). In other studies, excessive screen time has been linked to lower
levels of physical activity, increased rates of obesity, worse sleep patterns,
and lower brain and cognitive functioning in children (Biddle, Pearson, &
Salmon, 2018; Dumuid & others, 2017; Xu & others, 2016). Also, a recent
study of 8- to 12-year-olds found that large amounts of screen time were
associated with lower connectivity between brain regions, as well as lower
levels of language skills and cognitive control (Horowitz-Kraus & Hutton,
2018). In this study, time spend reading was linked to higher levels of
functioning in these areas.
Health, Illness, and Disease
For the most part, middle and late childhood is a time of excellent health.
Disease and death are less prevalent at this time than during other periods in
childhood and in adolescence. However, many children in middle and late
childhood face health problems that threaten their development (Blake,
Munoz, & Volpe, 2019).
Overweight Children
Being overweight is an increasingly prevalent health problem in children
(Thompson & Manore, 2018; Wardlaw, Smith, & Collene, 2018). Over the
last three decades, the percentage of U.S. children who are at risk for being
overweight has increased dramatically. Recently there has been a decrease in
the percentage of 2- to 5-year-old children who are obese, which dropped
from 12.1 percent in 2009–2010 to 9.4 percent in 2013–2014 (Ogden &
others, 2016). In 2013–2014, 17.4 percent of 6- to 11-year-old U.S. children
were classified as obese, a rate that was essentially unchanged from 2009–
2010 (Ogden & others, 2016).
It is not just in the United States that more children are becoming
overweight (Zhou & others, 2017). One study found that general and
abdominal obesity in Chinese children increased significantly from 1993 to
2009 (Liang & others, 2012).
What are some concerns about overweight children?
©Image Source/Getty Images
Causes of Being Overweight During Childhood Heredity and
environmental contexts are related to being overweight in childhood (Insel &
Roth, 2018; Yanovski & Yanovski, 2018). Recent genetic analysis indicates
that heredity is an important factor in children becoming overweight
(Donatelle, 2019). Overweight parents tend to have overweight children
Page 201
(Pufal & others, 2012). Environmental factors that influence whether children
become overweight include availability of food (especially food high in fat
content), energy-saving devices, declining physical activity, parents’ eating
habits and monitoring of children’s eating habits, the context in which a child
eats, and heavy screen time (Ren & others, 2017; Valgarda, 2018). In a recent
Japanese study, the family pattern that was linked to the highest rates of
overweight/obesity in children was a combination of irregular mealtimes and
the most screen time for both parents (Watanabe & others, 2016). Further, a
recent study found that children were less likely to be obese or overweight
when they attended schools in states that had a strong policy emphasis on
healthy foods and beverages (Datar & Nicosia, 2017). Also, in a 14-year
longitudinal study, parental weight change predicted children’s
weight change (Andriani, Liao, & Kuo, 2015). As described
earlier, a recent study of more than 6,000 elementary school
children revealed that 55 minutes or more of moderate-to-vigorous physical
activity daily was associated with a lower incidence of obesity (Nemet,
2016).
How Would
You…?
As a social worker,
how would you use your
knowledge of
overweight risk factors
to design a workshop
for parents and children
about healthy lifestyle
choices?
Consequences of Being Overweight During Childhood The
increasing number of overweight children in recent decades is cause for great
concern because being overweight raises the risk for many medical and
psychological problems (Powers & Dodd, 2017; Schiff, 2019). Diabetes,
hypertension (high blood pressure), and elevated blood cholesterol levels are
common in children who are overweight (Chung, Onuzuruike, & Magge,
2018; Martin-Espinosa & others, 2017). Research reviews have concluded
that obesity was linked with low self-esteem in children (Gomes & others,
2011; Moharei & others, 2018).
Intervention Programs A combination of diet, exercise, and behavior
modification is often recommended to help children lose weight (Martin &
others, 2018). Intervention programs that emphasize getting parents to engage
in healthier lifestyles themselves, as well as to offer their children healthier
food choices and persuade them to exercise more, can produce weight
reduction in overweight and obese children (Yackobovitch & others, 2018).
Child life specialists are among the health professionals who strive to
reduce stress in children who have health issues. To read about the work of
child life specialist Sharon McLeod, see Careers in Life-Span Development.
Careers in life-span development
Sharon McLeod, Child Life Specialist
Sharon McLeod is a child life specialist who is clinical director of
the Child Life and Recreational Therapy Department at the Children’s
Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati. Under McLeod’s direction, the
goals of the Child Life Department are to promote children’s optimal
growth and development, reduce the stress of health-care experiences,
and provide support to child patients and their families. These goals
are accomplished through therapeutic play and developmentally
appropriate activities, educating and psychologically preparing
children for medical procedures, and serving as a resource for parents
and other professionals regarding children’s development and health-
care issues, including problems related to being overweight.
McLeod says that human growth and development provides the
foundation for her profession as a child life specialist. She also
describes her best times as a student as those when she conducted
fieldwork, had an internship, and experienced hands-on applications
of theories and concepts she learned in her courses.
Page 202
Sharon McLeod, child life specialist, works with a child at Children’s Hospital
Medical Center in Cincinnati.
©Sharon McLeod
Children with Disabilities
The elementary school years are a time when disabilities become prominent
for some children. What are some of the disabilities that children have? What
characterizes the educational issues facing children with disabilities?
The Scope of Disabilities
Of all children in the United States, 12.9 percent from 3 to 21 years of age
received special education or related services in 2012–2013, an increase of 3
percent since 1980–1981 (Condition of Education, 2016). As indicated in
Figure 1, students with a learning disability were by far the largest group of
students with a disability who received special education, followed by
children with speech or language impairments, autism, intellectual
disabilities, and emotional disturbance. Note that the U.S. Department of
Education includes both students with a learning disability and students with
ADHD in the category of learning disability.
Figure 1 U.S. Children with a Disability Who Receive Special Education Services
Figures are for the 2012–2013 school year and represent the four categories with the
highest numbers and percentages of children. Both learning disability and attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder are combined in the learning disabilities category (Condition of
Education, 2016).
Source: US Department of Education. The Condition of Education: Participation in
Education. Washington, DC: U.S. Office of Education, 2016.
Learning Disabilities
The U.S. government uses the following definition to determine whether a
child should be classified as having a learning disability: A child with a
learning disability has difficulty in learning that involves understanding or
using spoken or written language, and the difficulty can appear in listening,
thinking, reading, writing, and spelling. A learning disability also may
involve difficulty in doing mathematics. To be classified as a learning
disability, the learning problem is not primarily the result of visual, hearing,
or motor disabilities; intellectual disability; emotional disorders; or
environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage.
About three times as many boys as girls are classified as having a
learning disability. Among the explanations for this gender difference are a
greater biological vulnerability among boys and referral bias. That is, boys
are more likely than girls to be referred by teachers for treatment because of
troublesome behavior.
How Would
You…?
As an educator, how
would you explain the
nature of learning
disabilities to a parent
whose child has recently
been diagnosed with a
learning disability?
Approximately 80 percent of children with a learning disability have a
reading problem (Shaywitz, Gruen, & Shaywitz, 2007). Three types of
learning disabilities are dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia:
Dyslexia is a category reserved for individuals who have a severe
impairment in their ability to read and spell (Nergard-Nilssen & Eklund,
2018).
Dysgraphia is a learning disability that involves difficulty in handwriting
(Hook & Haynes, 2017). Children with dysgraphia may write very
slowly, their writing products may be virtually illegible, and they may
make numerous spelling errors because of their inability to match up
sounds and letters.
Dyscalculia, also known as developmental arithmetic disorder, is a
learning disability that involves difficulty in math computation
(McCaskey & others, 2018; Nelson & Powell, 2018).
The precise causes of learning disabilities have not yet been determined
(Friend, 2018). To reveal any regions of the brain that might be involved in
learning disabilities, researchers use brain-imaging techniques such as
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magnetic resonance imaging (Ramus & others, 2018) (see Figure 2). This
research indicates that it is unlikely learning disabilities reside in a single,
specific brain location. More likely, learning disabilities are
due to problems integrating information from multiple brain
regions or subtle difficulties in brain structures and functions.
Figure 2 Brain Scans and Learning Disabilities
An increasing number of studies are using MRI brain scans to examine the brain pathways
involved in learning disabilities. Shown here is 9-year-old Patrick Price, who has dyslexia.
Patrick is going through an MRI scanner disguised by drapes to look like a child-friendly
castle. Inside the scanner, children must lie virtually motionless as words and symbols
flash on a screen, and they are asked to identify them by clicking different buttons.
©Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Images
Interventions with children who have a learning disability often focus on
improving reading ability (Cunningham, 2017; Temple & others, 2018).
Intensive instruction over a period of time by a competent teacher can help
many children (Tompkins, 2018).
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a disability in which
children consistently show one or more of these characteristics over a period
of time: (1) inattention, (2) hyperactivity, and (3) impulsivity. Children who
are inattentive have such difficulty focusing on any one thing that they may
get bored with a task after only a few minutes—or even seconds. Children
who are hyperactive show high levels of physical activity, seeming to be
almost constantly in motion. Children who are impulsive have difficulty
curbing their reactions; they do not do a good job of thinking before they act.
Depending on the characteristics that children with ADHD display, they can
be diagnosed as (1) ADHD with predominantly inattention; (2) ADHD with
predominantly hyperactivity/impulsivity; or (3) ADHD with both inattention
and hyperactivity/impulsivity.
Many children with ADHD show impulsive behavior, such as this boy reaching to pull a
girl’s hair. How would you handle this situation if you were a teacher in this classroom?
©Nicole Hill/Rubberball/Getty Images
The number of children diagnosed and treated for ADHD has increased
substantially in recent decades, by some estimates doubling in the 1990s. The
American Psychiatric Association (2013) reported in the DSM-V that 5
percent of children have ADHD, although estimates are higher in community
samples. For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2017)
estimates that ADHD continues to increase in 4- to 17-year-old children,
going from 8 percent in 2003 to 9.5 percent in 2007 and to 11 percent in
2016. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 13.2
percent of U.S. boys and 5.6 of U.S. girls have ever been diagnosed with
ADHD. The disorder is diagnosed four to nine times more often in boys than
in girls.
There is controversy, however, about the reasons for the increased
diagnosis of ADHD (Hallahan, Kauffman, & Pullen, 2019; Turnbull &
others, 2016). Some experts attribute the increase mainly to heightened
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awareness of the disorder; others are concerned that many children might be
incorrectly diagnosed (Watson & others, 2014).
Adjustment and optimal development also are difficult for children who
have ADHD, so it is important that the diagnosis be accurate (Hallahan,
Kauffman, & Pullen, 2019; Hechtman & others, 2016). Children who are
diagnosed with ADHD have an increased risk of lower academic
achievement, problematic peer relations, school dropout, adolescent
pregnancy, substance use problems, and antisocial behavior (Machado &
others, 2018). A recent study found that childhood ADHD was associated
with long-term underachievement in math and reading (Voigt & others,
2017). Also, a recent research review concluded that in comparison with
typically developing girls, girls with ADHD had more problems with
friendship, peer interaction, social skills, and peer victimization (Kok &
others, 2016). Further, a recent research review concluded that ADHD in
childhood was linked to the following long-term outcomes: failure to
complete high school, other mental and substance use disorders, criminal
activity, and unemployment (Erskine & others, 2016). And a recent study
revealed that individuals with ADHD were more likely to become parents at
12 to 16 years of age (Ostergaard & others, 2017).
How Would
You…?
As a health-care
professional, how
would you respond to
this comment from a
parent? “I do not believe
that ADHD is a real
disorder. Children are
supposed to be active.”
Definitive causes of ADHD have not been found. However, a number of
causes have been proposed (Mash & Wolfe, 2019; Smith & others, 2018).
Some children may inherit a tendency to develop ADHD from
their parents (Hess & others, 2018). Other children likely
develop ADHD because of damage to their brain during prenatal or postnatal
development (Hinshaw, 2018). Among early possible contributors to ADHD
are cigarette and alcohol exposure, as well as a high level of maternal stress
and depression during prenatal development and low birth weight
(Weissenberger & others, 2017; Wolford & others, 2017).
As with learning disabilities, the development of brain-imaging
techniques is leading to a better understanding of ADHD (Riaz & others,
2018; Sun & others, 2018). One study revealed that peak thickness of the
cerebral cortex occurred three years later (10.5 years) in children with ADHD
than in children without ADHD (peak at 7.5 years) (Shaw & others, 2007).
The delay was more prominent in the prefrontal regions of the brain that are
especially important in attention and planning (see Figure 3). Another study
also found delayed development in the brain’s frontal lobes among children
with ADHD, which likely was due to delayed or decreased myelination
(Nagel & others, 2011). Researchers also are exploring the roles that various
neurotransmitters, such as serotonin and dopamine, might play in ADHD
(Ledonne & Mercuri, 2017; Vanicek & others, 2017).
Figure 3 Regions of the Brain in Which Children with ADHD Had a Delayed Peak in the
Thickness of the Cerebral Cortex
Note: The greatest delays occurred in the prefrontal cortex.
The delays in brain development just described are in areas linked to
executive function (Munroe & others, 2018). An increasing focus of interest
in the study of children with ADHD is their difficulty on tasks involving
executive function, such as behavioral inhibition when necessary, use of
working memory, and effective planning (Krieger &Amador-Campos, 2018).
Researchers also have found deficits in theory of mind in children with
ADHD (Maoz & others, 2018; Mary & others, 2016). Children diagnosed
with ADHD have an increased risk of school dropout, adolescent pregnancy,
substance use problems, and antisocial behavior (Machado & others, 2018;
Regnart, Truter, & Meyer, 2017).
Stimulant medication such as Ritalin or Adderall (which has fewer side
effects than Ritalin) is effective in improving the attention of many children
with ADHD, but it usually does not improve their attention to the same level
as in children who do not have ADHD (Sclar & others, 2012). A recent
research review also concluded that stimulant medications are effective in
treating ADHD during the short term but that longer-term benefits of
stimulant medications are not clear (Rajeh & others, 2017). Researchers have
often found that a combination of medication (such as Ritalin) and behavior
management improves the behavior of children with ADHD better than
medication alone or behavior management alone, although this treatment
does not work in all cases (Parens & Johnston, 2009).
How Would
You…?
As a human
development and
family studies
professional, how
would you advise
parents who are hesitant
about medicating their
child who was recently
diagnosed with a mild
form of ADHD?
Recently, researchers have been exploring the possibility that three types
of training exercises might reduce ADHD symptoms. First, neurofeedback
can improve the attention of children with ADHD (Goode & others, 2018;
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Thibault & others, 2018). Neurofeedback trains individuals to become more
aware of their physiological responses so they can attain better control over
their brain’s prefrontal cortex, where executive control primarily occurs.
Second, mindfulness training also has been found to decrease ADHD
symptoms in children (Lo & others, 2018b). For example, a recent meta-
analysis concluded that mindfulness training significantly improved the
attention of children with ADHD (Cairncross & Miller, 2018). Also, a recent
study confirmed that an 8-week yoga program was effective in improving the
sustained attention of children with ADHD (Chou & Huang, 2017). And,
third, physical exercise also is being investigated as a possible treatment for
children with ADHD (Den Heijer & others, 2017; Pan & others, 2018). For
example, a recent meta-analysis concluded that physical exercise is effective
in reducing cognitive symptoms of ADHD in individuals 3 to 25 years of age
(Tan, Pooley & Speelman, 2016). Another meta-analysis concluded that
short-term aerobic exercise is effective in reducing symptoms such as
inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity (Cerillo-Urbina & others, 2015).
And a third recent meta-analysis indicated that exercise is
associated with better executive function in children with
ADHD (Vysniauske & others, 2018).
Despite the encouraging recent studies of using neurofeedback,
mindfulness training, and exercise to improve the attention of children with
ADHD, it has not yet been determined whether these non-drug therapies are
as effective as stimulant drugs and/or whether they benefit children as add-
ons to stimulant drugs to provide a combination treatment (Den Heijer &
others, 2017).
Autism Spectrum Disorders
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD), also called pervasive developmental
disorders, range from the more severe disorder called autistic disorder to the
milder disorder called Asperger syndrome. Autism spectrum disorders are
characterized by problems in social interaction, problems in verbal and
nonverbal communication, and repetitive behaviors (Boutot, 2017; Gerenser
& Lopez, 2017; Jones & others, 2018). Children with these disorders may
also show atypical responses to sensory experiences (National Institute of
Mental Health, 2018). Autism spectrum disorders can often be detected in
children as young as 1 to 3 years of age.
Recent estimates of autism spectrum disorders indicate that they are
dramatically increasing in occurrence or are increasingly being detected.
Once thought to affect only 1 in 2,500 children decades ago, they were
estimated to be present in about 1 in 150 children in 2002 (Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, 2007). In the most recent survey, the
estimated percentage of 8-year-old children with autism spectrum disorders
had increased to 1 in 68 (Christensen & others, 2016). In the recent surveys,
autism spectrum disorders were identified five times more often in boys than
in girls, and 8 percent of individuals aged 3 to 21 with these disorders were
receiving special education services (Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, 2017).
What characterizes autism spectrum disorders?
©Rob Crandall/Alamy
Autism is usually identified during early or middle childhood rather than
during infancy. In recent surveys, only a minority of parents reported that
their child’s autism spectrum disorder was identified prior to 3 years of age,
and one-third to one-half of the cases were identified after 6 years of age
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(Sheldrick, Maye, & Carter, 2017). However, researchers are conducting
studies that seek to find earlier determinants of autism spectrum disorders
(Reiersen, 2017).
Autistic disorder is a severe developmental autism spectrum disorder that
has its onset during the first three years of life and includes deficiencies in
social relationships; abnormalities in communication; and restricted,
repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behavior.
Asperger syndrome is a relatively mild autism spectrum disorder in which
the child has relatively good verbal language skills, milder nonverbal
language problems, and a restricted range of interests and relationships
(Boutot, 2017). Children with Asperger syndrome often engage in obsessive,
repetitive routines and preoccupations with a particular subject. For example,
a child may be obsessed with baseball scores or YouTube videos.
Children with autism have deficits in cognitive processing of information
(Jones & others, 2018). For example, a recent study found that a lower level
of working memory was the executive function most strongly associated with
autism spectrum disorders (Ziermans & others, 2017). Children with these
disorders may also show atypical responses to sensory experiences (National
Institute of Mental Health, 2018). Intellectual disability is present in some
children with autism; others show average or above-average intelligence
(Volkmar & others, 2014).
What causes autism spectrum disorders? The current consensus is that
autism is a brain dysfunction characterized by abnormalities in brain structure
and neurotransmitters (Fernandez, Mollinedo-Gajate, & Penagarikano, 2018).
Recent interest has focused on a lack of connectivity between brain regions
as a key factor in autism (Abbott & others, 2018; Nair & others, 2018; Nunes
& others, 2018). Genetic factors also likely play a role in the development of
autism spectrum disorders (Valiente-Palleja & others, 2018;
Yuan & others, 2017), but there is no evidence that family
socialization causes autism. Intellectual disability is present in
some children with autism, while others show average or above-average
intelligence (Memari & others, 2012).
Children with autism benefit from a well-structured classroom,
individualized teaching, and small-group instruction (Mastropieri & Scruggs,
2018). Behavior modification techniques are sometimes effective in helping
autistic children learn (Alberto & Troutman, 2017).
Educational Issues
Until the 1970s most U.S. public schools either refused enrollment to
children with disabilities or inadequately served them. This changed in 1975,
when Public Law 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act,
required that all students with disabilities be given a free, appropriate public
education. In 1990, Public Law 94-142 was recast as the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). IDEA was amended in 1997 and then
reauthorized in 2004 and renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Improvement Act.
IDEA spells out broad mandates for providing educational services to
children with disabilities of all kinds (Heward, Alber-Morgan, & Konrad,
2017; Smith & others, 2018). These services include evaluation and
eligibility determination, appropriate education and an individualized
education plan (IEP), and education in the least restrictive environment
(LRE) (Cook & Richardson-Gibbs, 2018).
An individualized education plan (IEP) is a written statement that
spells out a program that is specifically tailored for a student with a disability
(Hallahan, Kauffman, & Pullen, 2019). The least restrictive environment
(LRE) is a setting that is as similar as possible to the one in which children
who do not have a disability are educated. This provision of the IDEA has
given a legal basis to efforts to educate children with a disability in the
regular classroom. The term inclusion describes educating a child with
special educational needs full-time in the regular classroom (Lewis, Wheeler,
& Carter, 2017). In 2014, 61 percent of U.S. students with a disability spent
more than 80 percent of their school day in a general classroom (compared
with only 33 percent in 1990) (Condition of Education, 2016).
IDEA mandates free, appropriate education for all children. What services does IDEA
mandate for children with disabilities?
©Bill Aron/PhotoEdit
Many legal changes regarding children with disabilities have been
extremely positive (Smith & others, 2016). Compared with several decades
ago, far more children today are receiving competent, specialized services.
For many children, inclusion in the regular classroom, with modifications or
supplemental services, is appropriate (Mastropieri & Scruggs, 2018).
However, some leading experts on special education argue that some children
with disabilities may not benefit from inclusion in the regular classroom.
James Kauffman and his colleagues, for example, advocate a more
individualized approach that does not necessarily involve full inclusion but
allows options such as special education outside the regular classroom with
trained professionals and adapted curricula (Kauffman, McGee, & Brigham,
2004). They go on to say, “We sell students with disabilities short when we
pretend that they are not different from typical students. We make the same
error when we pretend that they must not be expected to put forth extra effort
if they are to learn to do some things—or learn to do something in a different
way” (p. 620). Like general education, special education should challenge
students with disabilities “to become all they can be.”
Cognitive Changes
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It is the wisdom of the human life span that at no time are children more
ready to learn than during the period of expansive imagination at the end of
early childhood. Do children enter a new stage of cognitive development in
middle and late childhood?
Piaget’s Cognitive Developmental Theory
According to Piaget (1952), the preschool child’s thought is preoperational.
Preschool children can form stable concepts, and they have begun to reason,
but their thinking is flawed by egocentrism and magical belief systems. As
we discussed in the chapter on physical and cognitive development in early
childhood, however, Piaget may have underestimated the cognitive skills of
preschool children. Some researchers argue that under the right conditions,
young children may display abilities that are characteristic of Piaget’s next
stage of cognitive development, the stage of concrete operational thought
(Gelman, 1969). Here we will cover the characteristics of concrete
operational thought and evaluate Piaget’s portrait of this stage.
The Concrete Operational Stage
Piaget proposed that the concrete operational stage lasts from approximately
7 to 11 years of age. In this stage, children can perform concrete operations,
and they can reason logically as long as reasoning can be applied to specific
or concrete examples. Remember that operations are mental actions that are
reversible, and concrete operations are operations that are applied to real,
concrete objects.
The conservation tasks described in the chapter on physical and cognitive
development in early childhood indicate whether children are capable of
concrete operations. For example, recall that in one task involving
conservation of matter, the child is presented with two identical balls of clay.
The experimenter rolls one ball into a long, thin shape; the other remains in
its original ball shape. The child is then asked if there is more clay in the ball
or in the long, thin piece of clay. By the time children reach the age of 7 or 8,
most answer that the amount of clay is the same. To answer this problem
correctly, children have to imagine the clay rolling back into a ball. This type
of imagination involves a reversible mental action applied to a real, concrete
object. Concrete operations allow the child to consider several characteristics
rather than focus on a single property of an object. In the clay example, the
preoperational child is likely to focus on height or width. The concrete
operational child coordinates information about both dimensions.
What other abilities are characteristic of children who have reached the
concrete operational stage? One important skill is the ability to classify or
divide things into different sets or subsets and to consider their
interrelationships. Consider the family tree of four generations that is shown
in Figure 4 (Furth & Wachs, 1975). This family tree suggests that the
grandfather (A) has three children (B, C, and D), each of whom has two
children (E through J), and that one of these children (J) has three children
(K, L, and M). A child who comprehends the classification system can move
up and down a level, across a level, and up and down and across within the
system. The concrete operational child understands that person J can at the
same time be father, brother, and grandson, for example.
Figure 4 Classification: An Important Ability in Concrete Operational Thought
A family tree of four generations (I to IV): The preoperational child has trouble
classifying the members of the four generations; the concrete operational child can
classify the members vertically, horizontally, and obliquely (up and down and across). For
example, the concrete operational child understands that a family member can be a son, a
brother, and a father, all at the same time.
Children who have reached the concrete operational stage are also
capable of seriation, which is the ability to order stimuli along a quantitative
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dimension (such as length). To see if students can serialize, a teacher might
haphazardly place eight sticks of different lengths on a table. The teacher
then asks the students to order the sticks by length. Many young children end
up with two or three small groups of “big” sticks or “little” sticks, rather than
a correct ordering of all eight sticks. Another ineffective strategy they use is
to line up the tops of the sticks evenly but ignore the bottoms. The concrete
operational thinker simultaneously understands that each stick must be longer
than the one that precedes it and shorter than the one that follows it.
Another aspect of reasoning about the relations between classifications is
transitivity, which is the ability to logically combine
relations to understand certain conclusions. In this case,
consider three sticks (A, B, and C) of differing lengths. A is
the longest, B is intermediate in length, and C is the shortest. Does the child
understand that if A is longer than B and B is longer than C, then A is longer
than C? In Piaget’s theory, concrete operational thinkers do; preoperational
thinkers do not.
How Would
You…?
As a psychologist, how
would you characterize
the contribution Piaget
made to our current
understanding of
cognitive development
in childhood?
Evaluating Piaget’s Concrete Operational Stage
Has Piaget’s portrait of the concrete operational child stood the test of
research? According to Piaget, various aspects of a stage should emerge at
the same time. In fact, however, some concrete operational abilities do not
appear in synchrony. For example, children do not learn to conserve at the
same time they learn to cross-classify.
Furthermore, education and culture exert stronger influences on
children’s development than Piaget reasoned (Feeney, Moravcik, & Nolte,
2019; Follari, 2019; Morrison, 2018; Roberts & others, 2018). Some
preoperational children can be trained to reason at a concrete operational
stage. And the age at which children acquire conservation skills is related to
how much practice their culture provides in these skills.
Thus, although Piaget was a giant in the field of developmental
psychology, his conclusions about the concrete operational stage have been
challenged. Later, after examining the final stage in his theory of cognitive
development, we will further evaluate Piaget’s contributions and consider
criticisms of his theory.
Neo-Piagetians argue that Piaget got some things right but that his theory
needs considerable revision. They give more emphasis to how children use
attention, memory, and strategies to process information (Case & Mueller,
2001). They especially believe that a more accurate portrayal of children’s
thinking requires attention to children’s strategies, the speed at which
children process information, the particular task involved, and the division of
problems into smaller, more precise steps (Morra & others, 2008). These
issues are addressed by the information-processing approach, and we will
discuss some of them later in this chapter.
An outstanding teacher and education in the logic of science and mathematics are
important cultural experiences that promote the development of operational thought.
Might Piaget have underestimated the roles of culture and schooling in children’s
cognitive development?
©Majority World/Getty Images
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Information Processing
If we examine how children handle information during middle and late
childhood instead of analyzing the type of thinking they display, what do we
find? During these years, most children dramatically improve their ability to
sustain and control attention (Posner, 2018a, b; Wu & Scerif, 2018). Other
changes in information processing during middle and late childhood involve
memory, thinking, and metacognition (Braithwaite & Siegler, 2018; Meltzer,
2018).
Memory
Short-term memory increases considerably during early childhood but after
the age of 7 does not show as much increase. British cognitive psychologist
Alan Baddeley (1990, 2001, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2018a, b) defines
working memory as a kind of mental “workbench” where individuals
manipulate and assemble information when they make decisions, solve
problems, and comprehend written and spoken language. Working memory is
described as being more active and powerful in modifying information than
short-term memory. Working memory involves bringing information to mind
and mentally working with or updating it, as when you link one
idea to another and relate what you are reading now to something
you read earlier.
Working memory develops slowly. Even by 8 years of age, children can
only hold in memory half the items that adults can remember (Kharitonova,
Winter, & Sheridan, 2015). Working memory is linked to many aspects of
children’s development (Baddeley & others, 2018a, b; Nicolaou & others,
2018; Sanchez-Perez & others, 2018; Swanson, 2017). For example, children
who have better working memory are more advanced in language
comprehension, math skills, problem solving, and reasoning than their
counterparts with less effective working memory (Ogino & others, 2017;
Simms, Frausel, & Richland, 2018; Tsubomi & Watanabe, 2017). Also, in a
recent study, children’s verbal working memory was linked to acquisition of
the following skills in both first- and second-language learners: morphology,
syntax, and grammar (Verhagen & Leseman, 2016).
Long-term memory, a relatively permanent and unlimited type of
memory, increases with age during middle and late childhood. In part,
improvements in memory reflect children’s increased knowledge and their
increased use of strategies. Keep in mind that it is important not to view
memory in terms of how children add something to it but rather to underscore
how children actively construct their memory (Bauer & others, 2017;
Radvansky & Ashcraft, 2018).
Knowledge and Expertise Much of the research on the role of knowledge
in memory has compared experts and novices. Experts have acquired
extensive knowledge about a particular content area; this knowledge
influences what they notice and how they organize, represent, and interpret
information (Ericsson & others, 2018; Varga & others, 2018). This in turn
affects their ability to remember, reason, and solve problems. When
individuals have expertise about a particular subject, their memory also tends
to be good regarding material related to that subject (Staszewski, 2013).
For example, one study found that 10- and 11-year-olds who were
experienced chess players (“experts”) were able to remember more
information about chess pieces than college students who were not chess
players (“novices”) (Chi, 1978). In contrast, when the college students were
presented with other stimuli, they were able to remember them better than the
children were. Thus, the children’s expertise in chess gave them superior
memories, but only regarding chess.
There are developmental changes in expertise (Ericsson & others, 2018).
Older children usually have more expertise about a subject than younger
children do, which can contribute to their better memory for the subject.
Strategies Long-term memory depends on the learning activities
individuals engage in when learning and remembering information.
Strategies consist of deliberate mental activities to improve the processing of
information. They do not occur automatically but require effort and work
(Braithwaite & Siegler, 2018; Chu & others, 2018; Graham & others, 2018;
Harris & others, 2018). Following are some effective strategies for adults to
use in helping children improve their memory skills:
Guide children to elaborate about the information they are to remember.
Elaboration involves more extensive processing of the information, such
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as thinking of examples or relating the information to one’s own life.
Elaboration makes the information more meaningful.
Encourage children to engage in mental imagery. Mental imagery can
help even young school children to remember visuals. However, for
remembering verbal information, mental imagery works better for older
children than for younger children.
Motivate children to remember material by understanding it rather than
by memorizing it. Children will remember information better over the
long term if they understand the information rather than just rehearse and
memorize it. Rehearsal works well for encoding information into short-
term memory, but when children need to retrieve the information from
long-term memory, rehearsal is much less efficient. For most information,
encourage children to understand it, give it meaning, elaborate on it, and
personalize it.
Repeat and vary instructional information and link it to other
information early and often. These recommendations improve
children’s consolidation and reconsolidation of the
information they are learning (Bauer, 2009). Varying the themes of a
lesson increases the number of associations in memory storage, and
linking the information expands the network of associations in memory
storage; both strategies expand the routes for retrieving information from
storage in the brain.
Embed memory-relevant language when instructing children. Teachers
who use mnemonic devices and metacognitive questions that encourage
children to think about their thinking can improve student performance.
Fuzzy Trace Theory Might something other than knowledge and strategies
be responsible for the improvement in memory during the elementary school
years? Charles Brainerd and Valerie Reyna (2014) argue that fuzzy traces
account for much of this improvement. Their fuzzy trace theory states that
memory is best understood by considering two types of memory
representations: (1) verbatim memory trace and (2) gist. The verbatim
memory trace consists of the precise details of the information, whereas gist
refers to the central idea of the information. When gist is used, fuzzy traces
are built up. Although individuals of all ages extract gist, young children tend
to store and retrieve verbatim traces. At some point during the early
elementary school years, children begin to use gist more, and according to the
theory, this contributes to the improved memory and reasoning of older
children because fuzzy traces are more enduring and less likely to be
forgotten than verbatim traces.
Thinking
Thinking involves manipulating and transforming information in memory.
Two important aspects of thinking are being able to think critically and
creatively.
Critical Thinking Currently there is considerable interest among
psychologists and educators regarding critical thinking (Bonney & Sternberg,
2017). Critical thinking involves thinking reflectively and productively and
evaluating evidence. In this book, the “How Would You . . . ?” questions
challenge you to think critically about a topic or an issue related to the
discussion.
Jacqueline and Martin Brooks (2001) lament that few schools really teach
students to think critically and develop a deep understanding of concepts.
Deep understanding occurs when students are stimulated to rethink
previously held ideas. In Brooks and Brooks’ view, schools spend too much
time getting students to give a single correct answer in an imitative way,
rather than encouraging them to expand their thinking by coming up with
new ideas and rethinking earlier conclusions. They observe that too often
teachers ask students to recite, define, describe, state, and list, rather than to
analyze, infer, connect, synthesize, criticize, create, evaluate, think, and
rethink. Many successful students complete their assignments, do well on
tests and get good grades, yet they don’t ever learn to think critically and
deeply. They think superficially, staying on
