behavior helps people adapt the environment to themselves and themselves to the environment。
From the Human Animal series； hosted by Phil Donahue。
Race； Intelligence； and Education （1974）。 TLF； 53 minutes
Introduces Dr。 H。 J。 Eysenck； advocate of the theory that heredity influences intelligence more than
environment does。 Presents six other scientists who discuss their controversial ideas as well as the
theories of other American psychologists and sociologists。 Great for stimulating classroom
discussion
They Call Me Names （1972）。 EMC UC； 20 minutes
This film examines how the “inferior” stereotype of the mentally or developmentally delayed
individual affects their lives。 The film also provides a glimpse of the techniques used in providing
suitable living environments for the mentally impaired； going beyond custodial care。
CASE STUDY LECTURE LAUNCHER
At the age of 37； Esquire columnist Bob Greene started to suspect that he was dumber than he had
been in high school。 At 17； he had been able to add； subtract； and multiply without using a
calculator。 Twenty years later； those skills seemed to have disappeared。 To see if he could still make
the grade； Greene decided to retake the Scholastic Aptitude Test （SAT）； the three…hour examination
of verbal and mathematical abilities that many colleges use to select students for admission。 Greene
sent in his 11； and on the designated Saturday morning； he showed up at his local high school
with six sharpened no。 2 pencils in his pocket。 After one hour； “all of us looked dazed； unhappy；
and disoriented； although I believe that I was the only student to go to the water fountain and take
an Inderal for his blood pressure” （Greene； 1985）。
The SAT was designed as a standardized measure of high school students’ academic performance。
Admissions officers had difficulty interpreting grade…point averages from thousands of high
schools with different standards and grading policies。 Although the tests were designed as
objective evaluations； they have been accused of bias； and； despite many revisions over the years； it
has been difficult to quell those accusations。 Across all ethnic groups； average SAT scores increase
as family ine goes up。 Whites and Asian Americans consistently outperform Mexican
Americans； Puerto Ricans； and African Americans （Hacker； 1986）。 Men； on the average； score
higher than women do （Gordon； 1990）。
However； the SAT is changing。 Consider the question of calculators。 When the SAT was introduced
in 1941； pocket calculators did not exist。 When Greene took the test for the second time； the proctor
instructed that “Calculators or calculator watches may not be used。”
When Greene’s test results finally arrived in the mail； his hands were shaking。 He felt ridiculous。
After all； he already had a college degree and a successful career。 Nevertheless； he nervously ripped
open the envelope。 Not surprisingly for a writer； Greene’s verbal score had gone up 56 points。 In
math； over the two decades； his score had nose…dived by 200 points。 Just as it is difficult to know
why some groups perform better than others on the SAT； it is impossible to know for sure why Bob
Greene’s math score plummeted。 Wasn’t the test supposed to measure his basic aptitude for math—
what he understood and not just what he had learned？ Had his math aptitude decreased because
in his work he does not often use the math skills that he once practiced regularly in high school？
Would he have improved his score if he had signed up for a course that prepared him in advance
for the test？ Had he just been watching too much TV？
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CHAPTER 11
Human Development across the Life Span
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
On pletion of this chapter； students should be able to：
1。 Describe the significance and characteristics of the pubescent growth spurt
2。 Explain the physical and psychological changes that occur during the adult years
3。 Describe Piaget’s stages of cognitive development and discuss their significance
4。 Define the concept of critical periods and explain its significance to development
5。 Describe Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development
6。 ment on the importance and influence of culture to development
7。 Identify Kohlberg’s stages of moral reasoning
8。 Describe the importance of attachment styles and the problems experienced by those
without secure attachments
9。 Describe the influence of gender roles and gender identity on development
10。 Describe the developmental tasks and challenges of adulthood
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I。 Studying and Explaining Development
A。 Developmental psychology is the area of psychology that is concerned with changes in
physical and psychological functioning that occur from conception across the entire life
span
B。 Documenting Development
1。 Documenting development requires learning to differentiate between
research that documents age changes and research that documents
age differences
a） Age change documents the ways in which individuals change
as they grow older
b） Age differences document the ways in which individuals of
different ages differ from one another
2。 Normative investigations seek to describe characteristics of a specific
age or stage of development； providing norms based on observations
of many individuals； such research efforts permit distinctions to be
made between：
a） Chronological age： The number of months or years since birth
b） Developmental age： The chronological age at which most
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CHAPTER 11： HUMAN DEVELOPMENT ACROSS THE LIFE SPAN
individuals display the particular level of physical and
mental development demonstrated by that individual
3。 Norms permit a standardized basis （such as the Bayley Scales in the
text） for parisons between individuals and between groups
4。 Research designs
a） Longitudinal designs make repeated observations of the same
individuals； over an extended period of time
b） Cross…sectional designs （includes most developmental research）
observe and pare groups of individuals of different
chronological ages； at the same time
c） Sequential designs bine the best features of both
longitudinal and cross…sectional designs； by studying； over
time； individuals from different birth cohorts
C。 Explaining Development
1。 Explaining shared aspects of development requires consideration of
both universal aspects of change and the unique aspects of change
that characterize each individual
2。 The nature—nurture contrast is most often applied to the childhood
aspects of change by asking such questions as：
a） To what extent is development determined by heredity
（nature）？
b） To what extent is development a product of learned
experiences （nurture）？
3。 John Locke proposed empiricism； a nurture perspective that credits
human development to experience
4。 Jean…Jacques Rousseau proposed a nativist view； that the evolutionary
legacy each individual brings into the world is the mold that shapes
development
5。 Locke’s and Rousseau’s respective positions fail to do justice to
human behavior； because plex actions are shaped by both
heredity and experience
a） Heredity provides potential
b） Experience determines the manner in which potential is （or is
not） fulfilled
II。Physical Development across the Life Span
A。 Physical Development refers to an organism’s changes； maturation； and growth from
conception and continuing across the life span
B。 Prenatal and Childhood Development
1。 Physical Development in the Womb
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PSYCHOLOGY AND LIFE
a） A zygote is formed when a male’s sperm cell fertilizes a
female’s egg
b） Earliest behavior； the heartbeat； appears during prenatal
period； about 3 weeks after conception
c） Spontaneous movements observed by week 8
d） After week 8； the developing embryo is referred to as a fetus
e） Mother feels fetal movements at about week 16
f） Prenatal brain growth generates 250；000 neurons per minute
（i） Proliferation and migration of neurons in humans
and many other mammals occur prenatally
（ii） Development of branching processes of axons and
dendrites occurs largely after birth
2。 Babies Prewired for Survival
a） Hearing functions before birth； as evidenced by neonates
preference for its mother’s voice
b） Vision is less well developed at birth than are other senses；
and though “legally blind；” neonates’ eyes turn in the
direction of a voice
（i） Infants perceive best large objects displaying high
contrast
（ii） By 4 months of age； infants prefer looking at
contoured objects rather than plain ones； plex
objects to simple ones； and whole faces to those with
disarrayed features
3。 Growth and Maturation in Childhood
a） Disproportionate early growth takes place within the head
（i） Total mass of axons and neurons rapidly increases
the total mass of brain cells
（ii） Infant boys’ weight doubles in the first 6 months of
life； and triples by age 1
（iii） At age 2； the child’s trunk is about half its adult
length
（iv） Genital tissue growth is unremarkable until
adolescence
b） Much of early growth occurs in concentrated bursts
c） In most children； physical growth is acpanied by
maturation of motor ability
d） Maturation refers to the process of growth typical of all
members of a species who are reared in the species usual
habitat； and describes systematic changes occurring； over
time； in bodily functioning and behavior
e） Maturation is influenced by genetic factors； pre… and postnatal
chemical environments； and sensory factors that are constant
for all members of the species
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CHAPTER 11： HUMAN DEVELOPMENT ACROSS THE LIFE SPAN
f） By ages 6 to 7； most basic motor skills are in place
4。 Physical Development in Adolescence
a） First concrete indication of childhood’s end is the pubescent
growth spurt； about age 10 for girls and about 12 for boys； with
flow of hormones into bloodstream
b） Puberty； sexual maturity； is reached 2 to 3 years following the
onset of the growth spurt
（i） For females； puberty begins with menarche
（ii） For males