@Developmental Issues, Prenatal Development,

a n d the Newborn
Researchers find human development interesting for the same reasons most of us
do —they want to understand more about how we've become our current selves, and
how we may change in the years ahead.

Developmental Psychology's Major Issues

LEARNING OBJECTIVE QUESTION (LOQ 14-1 What three issues have engaged
developmental psychologists?
developmental psychology abranch o f
psychology that studies physical, cognitive,
and social development throughout the life
Developmental psychologists often do cross-sectional studies (comparing people of dif- span.
ferent ages) and longitudinal studies (following people across time) to explore three
major issues:
1. Nature and nurture: How does our genetic inheritance (our nature) interact with our same point ni time.
experiences (our nurture) ot influence our development? (This is our focus ni the longitudinal study research that follows
Nature, Nurture, and Human Diversity modules.) and retests the same people over time.
 168 CHAPTER5 DEVELOPING THROUGH THE LIFE SPAN (MODULES 14-17)

TO O MUCH COFFEE M A N B
Y SHANNON WHEELER 2. Continuity and stages: What parts of development are gradual and
した と
continuous, like riding an escalator? What parts change abruptly in
separate stages, like climbing rungs on a ladder?
3. Stability and change: Which of our traits persist through life? How do we
change as we age?

Continuity and Stages

Do adults differ from infants as a giant redwood differs from its seedling— a
difference created mainly by gradual, cumulative growth? Or do they differ as
a butterfly differs from a caterpillar —a difference of distinct stages?
Researchers who emphasize experience and learning typically see devel-
opment as a slow, continuous shaping process. Those who emphasize bio-
logical maturation tend to see development as a sequence of genetically
predisposed stages or steps: Although progress through the various stages
may be quick or slow, everyone passes through the stages in the same order.
Are there clear-cut stages of psychological development, as there are
physical stages such as walking before running? The stage theories we will
consider —of Jean Piaget on cognitive development, Lawrence Kohlberg on
moral development, and Erik Erikson on psychosocial development- propose
Stages of the life cycle developmental stages (summarized ni FIGURE 14.1). But as we will also see,
some research casts doubt on the idea that life proceeds through neatly defined age-
linked stages.
Although many modern developmental psychologists do not identify as stage theo-
rists, the stage concept remains useful. The human brain does experience growth spurts
during childhood and puberty that correspond roughly to Piaget's stages (Thatcher et al.,
1987). And stage theories contribute a developmental perspective on the whole life span,
by suggesting how people of one age might come to think and act differently when they
arrive at a later age.

Stability and Change

As we follow lives through time, do we find more evidence for stability or change? fI
reunited with a long-lost childhood friend, do we instantly realize that "it's the same old
Jordan"? Or do long-ago friends now seem like strangers? (At least one acquaintance of
mine [DMs'] would choose the second option. At his 40-year college reunion, he failed
to recognize a former classmate. The understandably appalled classmate was his first
wife!)
We experience both stability and change. Some of our characteristics, such as
temperament, are very stable. Following thousands of people in New Zealand and the
D FIGURE 14.1 United States over several decades, researchers have been struck by the consistency
Comparing the stage theories (With of temperament and emotionality across time (Kassing et al., 2019; Moffitt et al,. 2013;
thanks to D.r Sandra Gibbs, Muskegon Slutske et a,l. 2012). Inhibited 14-month-olds mostly grow up ot eb reserved, introverted
Community College, for inspiring this
illustration.)
Lawrence Kohlberg: Moral development

Preconventional morality
Convenoitnal moryatil / p o l Postconventional morality for some

Erik Erikson: Psychosocial development

Basic i n i t i a t i v e
Competence Identity intimacy Genera- Integrity
Trust
tivity
Jean Piaget: Cognitive development
Sensorimotor Preoperational Concrete Formal operational
operational

Birth 2 5 1 21 31 14 Death
Age (years)
 MODULE 14 DEVELOPMENTAL ISSUES, PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT, AND THE NEWBORN 169

adults (Tang et al., 2020). Out-of-control preschoolers are later the most
likely to engage in teen smoking, adult criminal behavior, or out-of-
control gambling. From age 10 ot 22, most people become nicer, though
the meaner kids tend also to become the meaner adults (Vaillancourt &
Farrell, 2021). Inattentive Canadian kindergarteners are less likely to
earn high salaries in their adult careers (Vergunst et al., 2019). Moreover,
children observed being repeatedly cruel to animals often became vio-
lent adults (Hensley et al., 2018). But on a happier note, the widest smil-
ers in childhood and college photos are the ones most likely to enjoy
enduring marriages (Hertenstein et al., 2009).
We cannot, however, predict all aspects of our future selves based
on our early life. Our social attitudes, for example, are much less stable (a) (b)
than our temperament, especially during the impressionable late ado- Perks of temperament stability nI one
lescent years (Krosnick &Alwin, 1989; Rekker et al., 2015). Older children and adoles- study of 306 U.S. college graduates, 1ni 4
cents learn new ways of coping. Although delinquent children have elevated rates of with yearbook expressions keil het one ni
later problems, many confused and troubled children blossom into mature, successful photo (a) later had divorced, as had only
adults (Moffitt et al., 2002; Roberts et al., 2013; Thomas &Chess, 1986). Life si a process of 1 ni 20 with smiles like the one inphoto
becoming. Our present struggles may lay the foundation for a happier tomorrow. b() (Hertenstein et al., 2009).
In some ways, we all change with age. Most shy, fearful toddlers begin opening up "As at 7, so at 70." —hw
seJi bovpre
by age 4, and after adolescence people gradually become more conscientious and self-
disciplined (Richmond-Rakerd et al., 2021). Risk-prone adolescents tend, as adults, to
become more cautious (Mata et al., 2016). Indeed, many irresponsible 18-year-olds have BEFORE AFlER
matured into 40-year-old business or cultural leaders. (If you are the former, you aren't
done yet.) But when asked how they have changed ni the last decade and will change
in the next decade, people —both young and old —exhibit an end of history illusion.
They recognize that they have changed but expect they will change little in the future
(Quoidbach et al., 2013).
Life requires both stability and change. Stability provides our identity. Change gives us
our hope for a brighter future, allowing us to adapt and grow from experience.
M
UE
L
E
X
A S K YOURSELF
As adults grow older, there is
Are you the same person you were as a preschooler? A
s an 8-year-old? As a 12-year-old? How continuity of self.
are you different? How are you the same?

RETRIEVAL PRACTICE
RP-1 Developmental researchers who emphasize learning and experience are supporting
; those who emphasize biological maturation are supporting

RP-2 What findings in psychology support (1) the stage theory of development and (2) the
idea of stability in personality across the life span?
ANSWERS N
I APPENDIX E

Prenatal Development and the Newborn

LOQ 14-2 What si the course of prenatal development, and how do teratogens
affect that development?

Conception
Nothing si more natural than a species reproducing itself. And nothing is more
wondrous. For you, the process started inside your grandmother— as an egg formed
inside a developing female fetus inside of her. (Your mother was born with al the imma-
ture eggs she would ever have.) Your father, in contrast, began producing sperm cells
nonstop at puberty— in the beginning at a rate of more than 1000 sperm during the
second it takes to read this phrase.
Some time after puberty, your mother's ovary released a mature eg— a cell roughly
the size of the period that ends this sentence. Like space voyagers approaching a huge
 CHAPTER5 DEVELOPING THROUGH THE LIFE SPAN (MODULES 14-17)

• FIGURE 14.2
Life is sexually transmitted (a) Sperm
cells surround an egg. (b) One sperm
penetrates the egg's jellylike outer coating,
triggering a series of chemical events that
will cause sperm and egg to fuse into a
single cell. fI all goes well, that cell wil
subdivide again and again to emerge
9 months later as a 37-trillion-cell human
being (Bianconi et al., 2013).

(a)

z y g o t e the fertilized egg; it enters a 2-week planet, some 250 million deposited sperm began their frantic race upstream, approach-
period of rapid cell division and develops into ing a cell 85,000 times their own size. The small number reaching the egg released
an embryo. digestive enzymes that ate away the egg's protective coating (FIGURE 14.2a). As soon
embryo the developing human organism as the one winning sperm penetrated that coating and was welcomed in (Figure 14.2b),
from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the egg's surface blocked out the others. Before half a day elapsed, the egg nucleus and
the second month. the sperm nucleus fused: The two became one.
Consider it your most fortunate of moments. Among some 250 million sperm, the
one needed ot make you, in combination with that one particular egg, won the race. (As
individual humans, we do not reproduce, we recombine.) And so it was for innumerable
generations before us. If any one of our ancestors had been conceived with a different
sperm or egg, or died before conceiving, or not chanced ot meet their partner, or ..... The
mind boggles at the improbable, unbroken chain of events that produced us.
Prenatal Development
How many fertilized eggs, called zygotes, survive beyond the first 2 weeks? Fewer than
half (Grobstein, 1979; Hall, 2004). But for us, good fortune prevailed. One cell became 2,
then—4 each just like the first—until this cell division had produced some 100 identical
D FIGURE 14.3 cells within the first week. Then the cells began to differentiate —to specialize ni struc-
Prenatal development (a) The embryo ture and function ("'ll become a brain, you become intestines!").
grows and develops rapidly. At 40 days, the About 10 days after conception, the zygote attaches to the mother's uterine wall,
spine si visible and the arms and legs are beginning approximately 37 weeks of the closest human relationship. Near the begin-
beginning to grow. (b) B y the start fo the ning of this maternal bodybuilding feat, the tiny clump of cells forms two parts. The
ninth week, when the fetal period begins, inner cells become the embryo (FIGURE 14.3a). Many outer cells become the placenta,
facial features, hands, and feet have formed. the life-link that transfers nutrients and oxygen from mother to embryo. Over the next
(c) As the fetus enters the sixteenth week, its 6 weeks, the embryo's organs begin to form and function. The heart begins ot beat.
3ounces could fit in the palm of your hand.

(a) (b) (c)

 MODULE 14 DEVELOPMENTAL ISSUES, PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT, AND THE NEWBORN 171

By 9 weeks after conception, an embryo looks unmistakably human (Figure 14.3b). It

is now a fetus (Latin for "offspring" or "young one"). During the sixth month, organs such
as the stomach develop enough ot give the fetus a good chance of surviving and thriving
if born prematurely.
At each prenatal stage, genetic and environmental factors affect our development.
y the sixth month, the fetus is responsive to sound. Microphone readings taken inside
B
the uterus reveal that the fetus is exposed to the sound of its mother's muffled voice
(Ecklund-Flores, 1992; Hepper, 2005). Immediately after emerging from their underwater
world, newborns prefer their mother's voice to another woman's, or to their father's Review prenatal development:
(DeCasper et al., 1986, 1994; Lee &Kisilevsky, 2014). Zygote: Conception to 2 weeks
They also prefer hearing their mother's language. In one study, day-old American Embryo: 2 weeks through 8 weeks
and Swedish newborns paused more ni their pacifier sucking when listening to familiar Fetus: W e e k s t o o r

vowels from their mother's language (Moon et al,. 2013). After repeatedly hearing a fake
word (tatata) in the womb, Finnish newborns' brain waves displayed recognition when
hearing the word after birth (Partanen et al., 2013). fI their mother spoke two languages
during pregnancy, newborns displayed interest ni both (Byers-Heinlein et al,. 2010). And
just after birth, the melodic ups and downs of newborns' cries bear the tuneful signa-
ture of their mother's native tongue (Mampe et al., 2009). Babies born to French-speaking
mothers tended to produce cries with the rising intonation of French; babies born to
German-speaking mothers produced cries with the falling tones of German (Mampe
et al., 2009). Would you have guessed? The learning of language begins in the womb.
In the 2 months before birth, fetuses demonstrate learning in other ways, as when
they adapt to a vibrating, honking device placed on their mother's abdomen (Dirix et al.,
2009). Like people who adapt to the sound of trains in their neighborhood, fetuses get
used ot the honking. Moreover, 4 weeks later, they recall the sound (as evidenced by their
blasé response, compared with the reactions of those fetuses not previously exposed).
Sounds are not the only environmental factors that impact fetal development. In
addition to transferring nutrients and oxygen from mother to fetus, the placenta screens
out many harmful substances. But some slip by. Teratogens, agents such as viruses and
drugs, can damage an embryo or fetus. This is one reason pregnant people are advised
not to drink alcoholic beverages or use nicotine or marijuana (Kuehn, 2019; Saint Louis,
2017). A pregnant person never smokes, vapes, or drinks alone: When alcohol, nico-
tine, or other drugs enter their bloodstream, and that of the fetus, activity is affected
in the parent and the baby's central nervous systems. Those exposed to alcohol in the
womb may be primed to like alcohol, which may put them at risk for heavy drinking
and alcohol use disorder during their teen years. nI experiments, when pregnant rats
drank alcohol, their young offspring later displayed a liking for alcohol's taste and odor
(Youngentob &Glendinning, 2009; Youngentob et al., 2007).
Worldwide, 1 ni 10 women report consuming alcohol while pregnant (S. Popova et al,.
2019). Even light drinking, occasional binge drinking, or marijuana smoking can affect
the fetal brain (CDC, 2018; Ghazi Sherbaf et al., 2019; Lees et al., 2020). Persistent heavy
drinking puts the fetus at risk for congenital (present at birth) disorders, future behavior
problems, and lower intelligence. For 1ni about 130 children worldwide and 1ni 03 in
the United States, the effects are visible as fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (Lange et al.,
2017; May et al., 2018). Its most serious form is fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), which is
marked by lifelong physical and mental function deficits. The fetal damage may occur
because alcohol has an epigenetic effect: It leaves chemical marks on DNA that switch
genes abnormally on or off (Liu et al., 2009). Smoking cigarettes or marijuana during fetus the developing human organism
from 9 weeks after conception to birth.
pregnancy also leaves epigenetic scars that may increase vulnerability to stress or addic-
tion (Stroud et al., 2014; Szutorisz & Hurd, 2016). teratogens agents, such as chemicals and
viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus
during prenatal development and cause
R E T R I E VA L P R A C T I C E harm.

RP-3 The first 2 weeks of prenatal development si the period of the fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) physical and
The period of the lasts from 9 weeks after conception until cognitive function deficits in children caused
birth. The time between those two prenatal periods is considered the period of the by their mother's heavy drinking during
pregnancy. In severe cases, symptoms include
ANSWERS N
I APPENDIX E a small, out-of-proportion head and distinct
facial features.
 CHAPTER5 DEVELOPING THROUGH THE LIFE SPAN (MODULES 14-17)

→ habituation decreasing responsiveness The Competent Newborn

with repeated stimulation. As infants gain
familiarity with repeated exposure to a LOQ 14-3 What are some newborn abilities, and how do researchers explore
stimulus, their interest wanes and they look infants' mental abilities?
a w a y s o o t e

Babies come with apps preloaded. Having survived prenatal hazards, we as newborns
came equipped with automatic reflex responses ideally suited for our survival. W e with-
drew our limbs to escape pain. fI a cloth over our face interfered with our breathing, we
turned our head from side to side and swiped at it.
New parents are often in awe of the coordinated sequence of reflexes by which their
baby gets food. When something touches their cheek, babies turn toward that touch,
open their mouth, and vigorously root for a nipple. Finding one, they automatically
close on it and begin sucking. (Failing to find satisfaction, the hungry baby may cry a—
behavior parents find highly unpleasant, and very rewarding to relieve.) Other adaptive
reflexes include the startle reflex (when arms and legs spring out, quickly followed by
fist clenching and loud crying) and the surprisingly strong grasping reflex, both of which
may have helped infants stay close ot their caregivers.
The pioneering American psychologist William James presumed that the newborn
experiences a "blooming, buzzing confusion," an assumption few people challenged until
the 1960s. But then scientists discovered that babies can tell you a lot—if you know how
to ask. To ask, you must capitalize on what babies can do- - gaze, suck, and turn their
heads. So, equipped with eye-tracking machines and pacifiers wired ot electronic gear,
researchers set out to answer parents' age-old questions: What can my baby see, hear,
smell, and think?
Consider how researchers exploit habituation a—decrease ni responding with
repeated stimulation. W e saw this earlier when fetuses adapted to a vibrating, honking
↑ FI GURE 14. 4 device placed on their mother's abdomen. The novel stimulus gets attention when first
Newborns' preference for faces When presented. With repetition, the response weakens. This seeming boredom with familiar
shown these two images with eht same stimuli gives us a way ot ask infants what they see and remember.
three elements, Italian newborns spent As newborns, we prefer sights and sounds that facilitate social responsiveness. W e
nearly twice as many seconds looking ta turn our head ni the direction of human voices. And we prefer face-like images over
the face-like image (Valenza et al., 1996). abstract images (FIGURE 144). Even late-stage fetuses look more at face-like patterns in
Newborns - - average age 35 minutes ni red lights shined into the womb (Reid et al., 2017). As young infants, we also prefer to
one Canadian study —have na apparently look at objects 8 to 21 inches away, which —wonder of wonders —ujst happens to be
inborn preference for looking toward faces about the distance between a nursing infant's eyes and its mother's (Maurer & Maurer,
(Mondloch et al., 1999). 1988). Our brain's default settings help us connect socially.
Within days after birth, our brain's neural networks were stamped with the smell of our
mother's body. Week-old nursing babies, placed between a gauze pad from their mother's
bra and one from another nursing mother, have usually turned toward the smell of their
own mother's pad (MacFarlane, 1978). What's more, that smell preference lasts. One exper-
iment capitalized on the fact that some nursing mothers in a French maternity ward used
a chamomile-scented balm to prevent nipple soreness (Delaunay-El Allam et al., 2010).
Twenty-one months later, their toddlers preferred playing with chamomile-scented toys!
Their peers who had not sniffed the scent while breast-feeding showed no such prefer-
ence. (This makes us wonder: Wil these children grow up to become devoted chamomile
tea drinkers?) Such studies reveal the remarkable abilities with which we enter our world

Prepared to feed and eat ekL i birds and

other animals, we are predisposed to respond
ot our offspring's cries for food —evenfi ew
are inthe middle of a 314-mile ultramarathon,
[D] was when my 18-month-old, Bevy,
as I N
decided that only Daddy could feed her.
 MODULE 15 INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD (173

RETRIEVAL PRACTICE
RP-4 Infants'
isachologists ustdy whatnifanst caneerde imation hepls deveolpmenatl
I APPENDIXE
ANSWERS N

14) REVE
IW Developmental Issues, Prenatal Development, and the Newborn
LEARNING OBJECTIVES 3. Although development si lifelong, there si stability of personality
Test Yourself Answer these repeated Learning Objective Questions on over time. For example,
your own (before "showing" the answers here, or checking the answers ni
Appendix D) to improve your retention of the concepts (McDaniel et al..
.a most personality traits emerge ni infancy and persist
throughout life.
2009, 2015).
b. temperament tends ot remain stable throughout life.
LOQ 14-1 What three issues have engaged developmental
c. few people change significantly after adolescence.
psychologists? d. people tendot undergo greater personality changes as
they age.
LOO 14-2 What si the course of prenatal development, and how
do teratogens affect that development? .4 B ydo fan fist nbgeiomrtof dnafu-tin, the organs
the period of the
mhosnt aredunrig
LOQ 14-3 What are some newborn abilities, and how do sufficiently functional ot provide a good chance of surviving
researchers explore infants' mental abilities? and thriving.
TERMS AND CONCEPTS TO REMEMBER .a zygote; embryo
Test Yourself Write down the definition ni your own words, then check
b. zygote; fetus
your answer. c. embryo; fetus
developmental psychology, p. 167 fetus, p. 171
d. placenta; fetus
cross-sectional study, p. 167 teratogens, p. 171 5. Chemicals that the placenta isn't able to screen out that can
harm an embryo or fetus are called
longitudinal study, p. 167 fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS),
zygote, p. 170 p. 171 6. Stroke a newborn's cheek and the infant will root for a nipple.
This illustrates
embryo, p. 170 habituation, p. 172
a. a reflex.
MODULE TEST b. nurture.
Test Yourself Answer the following questions on your own first, then c. a preference.
"show" the answers here, or check your answers ni Appendix .E d. continuity.
1. How do cross-sectional and longitudinal studies differ?
2. The three major issues that interest developmental
psychologists are nature/nurture, stability/change, and