EPPP Lifespan Development

In this lecture, I will be discussing the key terms, concepts, and theories from Lifespan
Development. Lifespan development accounts for about 12% of the questions on the Examination
for Professional Practice in Psychology, or EPPP, so you can expect to see between 20 and 22
questions in this area. The exam questions will cover topics ranging from prenatal development to
parenting styles to diseases that impact the course of development. For the most part, the
questions on lifespan will be pretty straightforward. For example, you might be asked to identify
which parenting style outlined by Diana Baumrind is most associated with positive social and
academic outcomes, which is authoritative parenting. However, there will also be more difficult
questions where you might be asked to identify the cause of a chromosomal disorder, like Prader-
Willi syndrome, which is caused by a chromosomal deletion or when a part of a chromosome is
missing. As part of our review, we will discuss several practice questions that draw upon the
content in this domain and represent the types of questions you're likely to encounter on the
exam. As I highlight the main concepts within lifespan development, I also recommend you read
your study volume to continue your review.

The first section I would like to review is normal growth and development. To get started we will
discuss our first topic, brain development. This will help frame our discussions around typical and
atypical development. There are three main stages of prenatal development. The first two weeks
is called the germinal stage and the fertilized ovum is called a zygote. The second stage is the
embryonic stage, which starts at the end of the third week and goes to about the eighth week. This
is an important time in development because this is when major brain structures are developed.
Finally, the third stage is called the fetal stage, which includes the ninth week to when the baby is
born or around 40 weeks.

The brain is comprised of billons of connections (synapses) between brain cells or neurons, across
various parts of the brain. The majority of these neural connections are formed within the first few
years of life. In fact, by the age of two, the brain is nearly 80% of its adult weight. This makes sense
because a newborn is flooded with new information from the body’s senses regarding their
environment. As we discussed earlier, many of these brain or cell connections are reinforced by
repeated use and experiences in their environment. Around age two, given the rapid cell growth,
brain connections are reduced by a process called pruning. This process makes the brain more
efficient. During the pruning process, stronger connections are kept, while weaker or unused
connections are eliminated. By age five, the brain is approximately 90% of its adult weight.

In terms of development, sensory pathways like basic vision and hearing are the first areas to
develop. For example, a newborn sees about 20 feet whereas an adult sees about 200-400 feet. By
six months, the infant’s vision is very close to an adult’s vision. In terms of hearing, newborns are
only slightly less sensitive than adults to sound intensity. Within days after birth, they also exhibit
auditory localization, so infants will turn their heads in the direction of a sound. Then, the child’s
motor and language skills develop. You should be familiar with the developmental milestones
outlined in your text.
Finally, higher order functions such as planning, organization, and decision-making start to
develop, which are housed in the frontal lobes. It is helpful to remember that the brain develops
from the bottom up, starting with the more primitive areas and ending with areas responsible for
higher order cognitive functions, frontal lobes. In fact, the frontal lobes are not fully developed
until the early 20s. Then, over time, starting around age 30, the brain starts to gradually shrink as a
result of a loss of neurons and a reduction in the connections between neurons. While
neuroscientists used to believe that we were not able to create new brain cells after birth, we now
know that new neurons are formed throughout the lifespan at least in some regions of the brain.
This process is called neurogenesis.

Before we end our discussion on brain development, I would like to take a look at a practice
question that's similar to questions you're likely to encounter on the licensing exam. Here's the
question.

Recent research suggests that the impulsivity, rebelliousness, and poor judgment that characterize
adolescence may be due to the fact that which of the following areas of the brain is not fully
developed until early adulthood:
A) Occipital Lobe
B) Parietal Lobe
C) Frontal Lobe
D) Temporal Lobe

I’ll repeat the question (PAUSE).

Recent research suggests that the impulsivity, rebelliousness, and poor judgment that characterize
adolescence may be due to the fact that which of the following areas of the brain is not fully
developed until early adulthood:
A) Occipital Lobe
B) Parietal Lobe
C) Frontal Lobe
D) Temporal Lobe

To answer this question, you must be familiar with the research on brain development or know
that the frontal lobes are involved in planning and decision making. Indeed, this area of the brain
helps us assess risk and determine the best course of action. Let's take a look at the answers which
lists the four lobes of the brain. Answer A, the occipital lobes, are primarily involved in visual
processing so that doesn’t sound right. Answer B, the parietal lobes, are responsible for
integrating sensory input. That doesn't seem like the correct answer either. Answer C is the frontal
lobes – that sounds correct, but let’s review all of our options. Answer D, the temporal lobes, play
an important role in processing auditory information. After reviewing all of our options, Answer C,
the frontal lobes. is the correct response.

Let’s now review language development. You should be familiar with the general stages of
language development. This ranges from a newborn crying as a means to communicate their
internal states, such as hunger or tiredness, to their caregiver, to babbling at around four or six
months, to saying their first word around 12 months, to putting two or three words together to
express their needs. Developmental psychologists refer to the use of a single word to express
one’s needs as holophrasic speech. Combining two or three words is referred to as telegraphic
speech. For example, a child may say “daddy go” rather than “go,” or “shoe on” rather than “on.”

The main theories of language development are behaviorist, nativist, and interaction theories.
Behaviorists believe that language is acquired through operant conditioning or pairing the use of
language with rewards or punishments. However, while one’s environment definitely plays a role
in their development, there is strong support that language is not acquired like any other
behavior. The nativist theory proposes that we are actually born with genes that allow us to learn
language. According to Noam Chomsky, a well-known advocate of this approach, people are born
with the ability to analyze language that they hear and acquire the rules of grammar and syntax.
This is sometimes referred to as an innate language acquisition device. This theory also states that
there are universal grammar rules, and almost all languages use nouns and verbs to structure
thoughts. While there is strong support for this theory, it is likely that learning a language has both
biological and social components. This brings us to the interactionist theory, which suggest that,
while children are wired to learn language, they learn language out of a desire to communicate
with their surroundings, and their language development is heavily influenced by their
environment and interactions with others. Thus, language development results from a
combination of nurture and nature. For example, when a child needs help putting on their shoes,
they say, “Shoes on,” and a caregiver may respond, “Yes, let’s put your shoes on now.” This helps
the child further develop their articulation, clarify, and complexity of their speech.

I also want to touch on bilingual language development. Studies have shown that, while bilingual
children tend to have smaller vocabulary in each language as compared to their monolingual
peers, their overall vocabulary knowledge (in both languages) is the same or greater than their
peers. In addition, research suggests that non-English speaking children who participate in
bilingual education programs, as compared to immersion or English only programs, perform the
same or better on tests of English and knowledge of subject matter. Finally, it is likely that
knowing two languages has a number of cognitive advances and actually increases a child’s
cognitive flexibility and inhibition. This is not surprising given that they are frequently code
switching, or switching back and forth between their languages, and inhibiting one language while
they select another, depending on their audience. Let’s review another practice question. Here’s
the question.

Monolingual Spanish speaking children who attend a dual language curriculum, English and
Spanish, as compared to their counterparts who are submerged in monolingual English only
education, end up:

A) more deficient in both the native language and in English.

B) more proficient in the native language but more deficient in English.
C) more deficient in the native language.
 D) at least equally proficient in English.

I’ll repeat the question (PAUSE).

Monolingual Spanish speaking children who attend a dual language curriculum, English and
Spanish, as compared to their counterparts who are submerged in monolingual English only
education, end up:

A) more deficient in both the native language and in English.

B) more proficient in the native language but more deficient in English.
C) more deficient in the native language.
D) at least equally proficient in English.

This is really a test of your memory because we just reviewed this. We are talking about
monolingual speaking children who attend dual curriculum programs versus monolingual
programs. We know that these children do the same or better than children in a monolingual
curriculum on tests of academic English and subject matter. Let’s review. Answer A is more
deficient in both the native language and in English. That doesn’t seem right. Answer B is more
proficient in the native language but more deficit in English. They may be stronger in one
language; however, we don’t know for sure that it would be in English. In fact, they may actually
be stronger in English if they are now using English at school, when talking to their friends, and in
their community. Let’s see if there’s a better answer. Answer C says more deficient in their native
language. Okay, we can eliminate that one. Answer D says at least equally proficient in English.
Answer D seems to be the best option and matches what we know about bilingual language
development.

That brings us to the end of language acquisition and the section of normal growth and
development.

Our next section reviews risk factors in development. A number of events may occur during the
prenatal and postnatal period that can negatively impact a child’s development. For example,
prolonged oxygen deprivation at birth due to a twisted umbilical cord or another stressor may lead
to a different developmental trajectory for a child, such as delayed cognitive and motor
development.

The timing of exposure to adversity is also important to consider and you should be familiar with
the difference between a critical versus a sensitive period in development. Critical periods refer to
a time in which a new skills or trait must be formed with the proper experience. If this experience
doesn’t occur, then this skill will not be achieved or will be very difficult to achieve. For example,
with vision, neurons in the brain actually develop after the baby is born based on the signals from
the eyes. A study by David Hubel showed that when kittens have one of their eyes sewn shut from
birth to three months, the connections to the eye that was fully open are abnormally high while
the connections to the blind eye are unusually small. In contrast, when adult cats had one eye shut
for a year, the connectivity in the visual cortex remained the same for both eyes. That is an
example of a critical period in development. On the other hand, a sensitive period refers to a time
when the brain is relatively more plastic and more sensitive to experience when forming new
synapses for a particular skill; however, they can still develop this skill later on.

Teratogens, are substances that raise the risk of birth defects, including recreational drugs,
alcohol, and toxic chemicals. Of course, we know that the impact of the teratogen depends on
various factors, such as the frequency of use, when in the pregnancy the substance abuse
occurred, and how the mother metabolizes the substance. Experts believe that exposure to
teratogens during the first three to eight weeks (embryonic stage) is most likely to be linked to
major structural abnormalities. Actually, during the first two weeks of gestation, teratogenic
agents are more likely to kill the embryo rather than cause birth defects. Pregnant mothers who
drink high doses of alcohol, a fairly common drug used during pregnancy, are more likely to have a
child with a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), which is associated with of various physical,
cognitive, emotion, and behavioral deficits.

That concludes our discussion on risk factors in development. I want to note that there are also
protective factors in development and we will discuss these in more detail later on when we talk
about attachment, parenting styles, and environmental influences.

Moving onto our next section, I want to briefly discuss disorders and diseases that impact the
course of development. Let’s first review genes and chromosomes. From conception, each human
cell contains 23 chromosomes, on which there are thousands of genes that carry hereditary traits.
Of the 23 pairs of chromosomes, 22 pairs are autosomes, which are not related to sexual
expression. The 23rd pair are the sex chromosomes, one from the mother and one from the father.
The ovum is an X and the sperm may be an X or a Y. Thus, you will either have an XX (female) or an
XY (male). So, the father actually determines the sex of the baby.

From here, we’ll discuss chromosomal abnormalities and their relation to physical or mental
disorders. Chromosomal abnormalities refer to a variation in the number of chromosomes or in
the structure of chromosomes. Given that we have 22 pairs of autosomes, it makes sense that the
majority of disorders are due to autosomal abnormalities. For example, Down Syndrome, or
trisomy 21, involves three chromosomes on chromosome 21. This disorder is associated with an
intellectual disability, delayed physical growth and motor development, and distinctive physical
features. There is some evidence that the risk of this disorder increases as the mother’s age, and
possibly father’s age, increases. In addition, Prader-Willi is caused by a chromosomal deletion or
part of the chromosome missing. In about 70% of the cases, this disorder is caused by a segment
of the parental chromosome 15 being deleted. Children with this disorder tend to have intellectual
disabilities, obesity, sleep abnormalities, distinct facial features like a narrow forehead, small
hands and feet, and obsessive-compulsive behaviors.

There are also disorders that result from abnormalities in the number of sex chromosomes. For
example, Klinefelter’s Syndrome occurs only in men and results from an extra X chromosome, so
XXY. This disorder is associated with abnormal development of secondary sex characteristics, such
as partial breast development and small penis and testes. They typically produce little or no
sperm, though assisted reproductive procedures have it made it possible for some to father a
child. In contrast, Turner Syndrome occurs only in women and results from a missing X
chromosome, so they only have a single X chromosome. Females with Turner syndrome tend to be
shorter, have cognitive deficits, and have abnormal development of secondary sexual
characteristics, for example, not ovulating or menstruating. It is important to be able to
differentiate between these syndromes. y

It is important to note that there are also environmental factors that can impact development. In
fact, studies show that heredity only accounts for about 50% of a person’s characteristics. Thus,
the environment plays a large role in a person’s development. Urie Bronfenbrenner proposed a
theory that emphasizes the influence of environmental factors and systems on individual
development. Bronfenbrenner believes that in order to really understand a person, we must
consider their development within the context of these environments.

There are five types of ecological systems – the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem,
macrosystem, and chronosystem. The individual is at the center. There are biological influences,
such as sex, age, and health that impact their development; however, in addition to that, we have
the first system, which is the microsystem. The microsystem refers to the person’s everyday
environment and the people that the person encounters, like her family, friends, school, and
neighborhood. The mesosystem consists of the connections between microsystems, such as a
meeting with the child’s parent and teacher to discuss a child’s learning. The exosystem refers to a
relationship between two or more settings, one of which the individual does not directly interact
with, though it indirectly influences them. For example, a child whose parent has a stressful job
that requires frequent travel may be indirectly impacted by this and experience increased parental
conflict or stress at home. Then, the macrosystem refers to the impact of the broader social
context, religion, and cultural values. This is really speaking to the dominant culture and its impact
on the person’s beliefs and values. Finally, the chronosystem refers to the role of the passage of
time in a person’s life; so, any changes that take place in the family, like the birth of a new sibling,
or an economic recession.

The next section I’d like to review includes research-based theories and models of development,
starting with cognitive development. You want to be familiar with the major theories of cognitive
development and some of the specific changes that occur in cognition during childhood and mid to
late adulthood.

Piaget’s theory proposes that cognitive development is an active process that relies on a
combination of biological maturation and environmental stimulation. A key concept in Piaget’s
theory is adaptation, which consists of two complementary processes—assimilation and
accommodation. Assimilation occurs when a child applies an existing cognitive structure or
schema to a new object, while accommodation occurs when the child creates a new schema or
modifies an existing one to fit a new object. For example, when a child who knows what a dog is
and sees a cat for the first time, the child may call the cat “doggy” because he has assimilated cats
into his existing dog scheme. But when the child’s interactions with cats make him realize that cats
differ from dogs, and he begins calling them cats instead of dogs, the child has accommodated by
creating a new cognitive schema for cats.

Piaget’s theory distinguishes between four universal stages that emerge in a fixed sequence. The
first is the sensorimotor stage which extends from birth to about 24 months of age. During this
stage, children learn about themselves and their environment by coordinating sensory experience
with motor activity. An important accomplishment of the sensorimotor stage is the development
of object permanence. This refers to the understanding that people and objects continue to exist
even when they are out of sight.

Piaget’s second stage is the pre-operational stage, which extends from ages two to seven. Piaget
described this stage primarily in terms of its limitations rather than its accomplishments. Three
limitations in the stage are: 1) Pre-causal or transductive reasoning, which is the belief that
thinking about something will actually cause it to occur—for example, thinking bad thoughts will
actually cause those bad thoughts to happen; 2) Egocentrism, or the inability to put themselves in
someone else’s shoes or see their point of view; and 3) Irreversibility, or the inability to
understand that actions can be reversed—for example, when you pour liquid from a short fat glass
into a tall glass in the front of a child, they will say that the tall glass has more liquid.

The next stage is the concrete operational stage which is from seven to 11 or 12 years old. During
the concrete operational stage, children start to use logical operations or mental activities to think
about objects and events. As a result, they are much better at classifying, working with numbers,
understanding causality, and distinguishing reality from fantasy. A key accomplishment of the
concrete operational stage is conservation, which is the ability to recognize that the quantity of a
substance remains the same when its outward appearance changes, as long as nothing is added to
or subtracted from it. For instance, recognizing that pouring a liquid from a short fat glass into a
tall thin glass doesn't change the amount of liquid.

Finally, the formal operational stage begins at about age 12 and continues throughout adulthood.
People in this stage have the capacity for abstract thinking, including hypothetical deductive
reasoning. Hypothetical deductive reasoning involves beginning with a theory about the factors
that produce a particular outcome, then, generating hypotheses that can be systematically tested
to evaluate the validity of that theory. This is also where there is a sense of adolescent
egocentrism, which includes thinking that the rules do not apply to them, which is called the
personal fable belief, as well as believing that they are always at the center of attention, which is
referred to as imaginary audience.

There are several alternative theories of cognitive development, and it is important to know and
be able to differentiate them from each other. The Vygotsky sociocultural theory emphasizes the
role of interpersonal interactions in cognitive development and proposes that learning is socially
mediated. This theory states that learning is based on the child’s interactions with others that are
later internalized. For example, young children often talk aloud when performing tasks to help
them regulate and organize their behaviors. Then, as they grow older, this self-directed speech is
internalized.
A key concept in Vygotsky’s theory is the zone of proximal development, which is defined by what
the learner can currently accomplish alone and what they can do with assistance from a more
skilled person. According to Vygotsky, instruction is most effective when a teacher provides the
learner with scaffolding or support and instruction within the zone. For example, when teaching
statistics to psychology undergraduates, an instructor wouldn't want to introduce standardized
scores unless the students have already mastered the concepts of a normal distribution and a
standard deviation. Without this understanding, the concept of a Z score would be outside the
student zone of proximal development.

That brings us to the end of my review of the series of cognitive development. Before we move on
to the next topic, let's try a practice question on Piaget. Here's the question:

When the mother of an 18-month-old child leaves the room, the child cries and frantically looks
around the room for her. According to Piaget the child's behavior is attributable to which of the
following?
A) Assimilation
B) Egocentrism
C) Horizontal decalage
D) Object permanence

I’ll repeat the question (PAUSE).

When the mother of an 18-month-old child leaves the room, the child cries and frantically looks
around the room for her. According to Piaget the child's behavior is attributable to which of the
following?
A) Assimilation
B) Egocentrism
C) Horizontal decalage
D) Object permanence

All of the answer choices are part of Piaget’s theory, but only one accounts for the behavior
described in the question. Answer A is assimilation, which refers to the incorporation of new
information into an existing cognitive schema. That doesn’t seem right. Answer B is egocentrism,
or the inability to separate one's own perspective from the perspective of others. Egocentrism
doesn't explain the child's behavior either. Answer C is horizontal decalage, or the acquisition of
conversation abilities. This doesn’t seem relevant. Finally, answer D is object permanence. Object
permanence develops during the sensorimotor stage and is responsible for a child's ability to
understand that people and things continue to exist even when they can't be seen or heard. It is
the development of object permanence that explains why a child would search for his mother
after she leaves the room. This ability accounts for the child's behavior; therefore, answer D is the
correct response.

On the licensing exam, you are likely to encounter several questions similar to this one, which
require you to understand a term well enough to recognize it in the context of a concrete
example. You want to be sure that you don't just memorize the definitions of key terms and
theories. Instead, you want to understand them well enough to apply them to specific behaviors
or situations—for example, how object permanence might manifest in a child's actual behavior.

Let’s move onto the next topics, which are Freud’s, Erikson’s, and Levinson’s theories of
personality development. Although Freud and Erickson both propose that development follows a
universal sequence of stages, they focused on different factors.

Freud viewed personality as being determined by the ways in which conflicts related to the sex
drive or libido are resolved during early childhood. According to his psychosexual theory of
development, sexual impulses shift their focus to different parts of the body during five stages of
psychosexual development: oral phase (birth to one year), anal phase (one to three years), phallic
phase (three to five years), latency (five years to adolescence), and genital phase (adolescence
through adulthood). For optimal development to occur at each stage, parents must provide their
child with just the right amount of gratification of their needs. Failure to resolve a conflict at any
stage often stems from excessive or insufficient gratification of their needs and thus results in
fixation at that stage. For instance, during the initial oral stage, under-gratification of a child’s oral
needs is associated with thumb sucking or nail biting, whereas, over-gratification of their needs
may cause the child to become fixated in the oral stage and engage in compulsive eating or
smoking in adulthood.

In contrast to Freud, Erikson viewed personality development as being influenced primarily by

social factors. Each of Erikson's eight stages is characterized by a different psychosocial conflict.
For example, during the initial basic trust vs. mistrust stage, the infant’s task is to develop a
balanced sense of how reliable and trustworthy people are. This means that the child must
develop trust without completely eliminating the capacity for mistrust. If caregiving from parents
is primarily nurturing, consistent, and responsive during this stage, the child develops a realistic
sense of trust, hope, and confidence. In contrast, if the child receives inadequate or inappropriate
care, this produces a sense of mistrust and suspicion. Erikson considered adolescence to be a
particularly important time for identity formation. According to Erikson, the psychosocial conflict
of adolescence is one of identity vs. role confusion. Unsuccessful resolution of this conflict results
in role and identity confusion, whereas a successful resolution of this stage is associated with a
sense of personal identify and direction for the future.

The final personality theory you want to be familiar with is Levinson’s seasons of a man’s life,
which divides the lifespan into four main periods. They are infancy through adolescence, early
adulthood, middle adulthood, and late adulthood. These stages correspond with major changes in
one’s life. For example, it was theorized that the mid-life transition phase (ages 40 to 45)
represents a time when your outlook or perspective on life changes from “time since birth” to
“time left to live,” and there is an increasing awareness of one’s mortality. It should be noted that
this theory is heavily criticized, as it was based on interviews with 40 men who held professional
jobs and may not be fully representative of all individuals. In addition, studies have found that only
small minority of people actually experience the extreme interpersonal struggles associated with a
“mid-life crisis.”
Now that we’ve reviewed Freud, Erickson, and Levinson, let's try a practice question that's similar
to one you might encounter on the exam. Here's the question.

Erikson’s industry vs. inferiority stage corresponds to which of Freud's stages?

A) anal stage
B) phallic stage
C) genital stage
D) latency stage

I’ll repeat the question (PAUSE).

Erikson’s industry vs. inferiority stage corresponds to which of Freud's stages?

A) anal stage
B) phallic stage
C) genital stage
D) latency stage

This is a straightforward question that requires you to be familiar with the ages at which Freud's
and Erikson stages occur. For Erikson, industry vs. inferiority is a conflict that is characteristic of
school-aged children ages six to 11. This conflict is successfully resolved when the child develops a
sense of competence and mastery over tasks presented at home, school, and elsewhere. Answer A
is the anal stage – this is the second stage in Freud's theory and occurs between the ages of one
and three. According to Freud, conflicts during this stage are related to toilet training. Freud's anal
stage corresponds to Erikson’s autonomy vs. shame and doubt in toddlerhood, so that doesn’t
sound correct. Answer B is the phallic stage. This is Freud's third stage of development. It occurs
between the ages of three and six and involves resolution of the Oedipal conflict. This stage
corresponds to Erikson’s initiative versus guilt stage. Answer C is the genital stage. This is the last
of Freud's five stages and begins at about age 12. During this stage, sexual energy is centered in
the genitals and a successful outcome is associated with the development of mature sexual desires
and relationships. Freud's genital stage corresponds to Erikson’s stage of identity vs. role
confusion. Finally, answer D is the latency stage. Freud's latency stage spans ages six to 12 and is
characterized by rechanneling of sexual energy into socially acceptable activities, such as play and
schoolwork. Freud's latency stage corresponds to Erikson’s industry versus inferiority stage.
Answer D is the correct response. Note that for the exam you want to be familiar with the order
and the major features of both Freud’s and Erikson’s stages so that you are able to answer
questions similar to this one.

The next topic I’d like to discuss is moral development. For the exam, you want to be aware of the
theories of both Piaget and Kohlberg. Piaget distinguished between two stages of moral
development. The first is the stage of heteronomous morality, which extends from about seven to
10 years old. Children in the heteronomous stage believe that rules are determined by authorities
and are unchangeable, and that a violation of rules should lead to immediate punishment. They
follow rules without question. Then, the second stage is autonomous morality, which begins at
around 11 years old. Children in the autonomous stage no longer believe that rules are absolute
and instead recognize that rules can be changed by mutual agreement. When judging an act, they
focus more on the actor's intention than on the outcomes. The rules are no longer black and
white. They are more flexible in their thinking patterns and can recognize multiple aspects of a
situation.

Kohlberg’s theory of moral development is also based on the assumption that moral development
depends on improvements in both cognition and social perspective taking. This model includes
three levels that are each divided into two substages. Kohlberg identified these stages by
questioning children and adolescents about scenarios that posed a conflict between two moral
values. The best known of these is the Heinz dilemma, in which a man must choose between
stealing an overpriced drug to save his wife's life or obeying the law by not stealing the drug and
thereby letting his wife die. For the exam, you want to be familiar with Kolhberg’s three levels of
moral development. The first is the preconventional morality level. At this level, moral judgments
are based on concerns related to punishments or rewards. In response to the Heinz dilemma, a
child at the preconventional level might say that Heinz should not steal the drug because if he's
caught, he'll have to go to jail. Kohlberg’s second level is the conventional morality level. At this
level, moral judgments are based on concerns about conforming to existing rules and laws in order
to gain social approval or maintain the social order. A person at the conventional level might say
that Heinz should not steal the drug because stealing is against the law, and people must always
obey the law to maintain social order. Finally, Kohlberg’s third level is the postconventional level.
At this level, moral judgments are based on consideration of abstract moral principles and values.
A person at the post conventional level might say it's acceptable for Heinz to steal the drug
because a life is more important than property rights. Although Kohlberg’s theory continues to be
widely accepted, it has not gone unchallenged. For example, since his early studies were based on
boys and men, some claim that they are biased towards traditional male values, such as justice
and fairness, rather than traditional female values, like compassion, caring, and responsibility to
others.

That brings me to the end of my review of the theories of moral development. Let's try another
practice question before moving on to the next topic. Here's the question.

An individual in the first stage of Kohlberg’s postconventional level of moral development bases
their judgments about moral issues on:
A) a duty to uphold the law.
B) a desire to maintain the social order.
C) rewards and punishments.
D) the welfare of society and democratically determined laws.

I’ll repeat the question (PAUSE).

An individual in the first stage of Kohlberg’s post conventional level of moral development bases
their judgments about moral issues on:
A) a duty to uphold the law.
 B) a desire to maintain the social order.
C) rewards and punishments.
D) the welfare of society and democratically determined laws.

This question is probably more difficult than what you'll actually encounter on the licensing exam
since I'm asking about the substages rather than his three general stages. I've included this
question to provide another example of how to use the process of elimination to choose the
correct response when a question asks about something you're not entirely familiar with. Recall
that I said people at Kohlberg’s postconventional level based their moral judgments on abstract
moral principles and values. Answer A is the duty to uphold the law. Individuals at the
conventional level base their moral judgments on conformity to existing rules and laws. So, that
doesn’t sound correct. Answer B is a desire to maintain the social order. This is also characteristic
of the conventional level; individuals at the conventional level believe that existing rules and laws
should be maintained in order to maintain social harmony. That doesn’t seem correct either.
Answer C refers to rewards and punishments, which, as I've mentioned, is characteristic of people
at the preconventional level. And finally, answer D is the welfare of the society and democratically
determined laws. Through the process of elimination, we're left with answer D, and in fact it does
describe the first stage of Kohlberg’s postconventional level. Kohlberg referred to the stage as the
stage of morality of contract, individual rights, and democratically accepted laws. People in this
stage base their moral judgments on the will of the majority and the welfare of society. Even if you
cannot see the association between abstract moral principles and democratically accepted laws,
this answer is the only one that is not clearly describing one of the other two levels of moral
development, and, consequently, it's the best choice. Keep in mind that process of elimination is a
useful test taking strategy whenever an exam question addresses a concept you are familiar with
but are having trouble answering because the answers contain unfamiliar or confusing language.

Before we move onto family development, configuration, and protective factors, I want to speak
to the impact of diverse identities on development. Studies show that infants show an awareness
of racial differences as early as six months. At around three or four years old, children are able to
identify or label people in terms of their racial group. While they may not fully understand racial
differences and social connotations, studies show that children are likely aware that color
differences have social meaning. For example, a study by Katz found that the preference for same-
race peers increases from ages three to six for white children and, unfortunately, decreases for
black children. Thus, while children may not be able to fully verbalize or articulate the social
constructions around race, they are likely picking up on these social meanings earlier than we
think.

The next topic is family development, including configuration and protective factors in
development. Attachment is the strong positive emotional bond that develops between an infant
and their primary caregivers. Clear signs of attachment and human infants become apparent
during the second half of the first year of life. For example, soon after six months of age babies,
exhibit social referencing, which refers to a baby's ability to read the emotional reactions of a
caregiver in uncertain circumstances and then use that information to guide their own behavior. A
baby is demonstrating social referencing when she checks her caregiver's reaction after she
unexpectedly falls when running before she reacts herself.

Some of the earliest research on attachment was conducted by an ethologist who investigated the
behavior of animals in their natural habitats. Research by Konrad Lorenz found that baby goslings
develop a bond with the first moving object they see after hatching, which is ordinarily the
mother. Lorenz referred to this process as imprinting, and he found that imprinting has a critical
period; it develops only during the first few days after a gosling is born. He found that goslings
who were separated from their mother at birth actually imprinted on him and continued to do so
even when they were reunited with other geese.

John Bowlby, a psychoanalyst, was one of the major contributors to our understanding of human
attachment. Bowlby concluded that human infants and parents have a biological predisposition
that fosters the development of attachment between them and ensures the infant’s safety and
survival. According to Bowlby, attachment develops in four phases during the first two years of
life, and, as a result of their experiences during these phases, children develop an internal working
model about the availability of attachment figures and how they will respond during times of
stress. This mental representation then acts as a model for future social relationships.

Another important contributor to our knowledge about human attachment is Mary Ainsworth,
who developed the strange situation as a method for studying attachment in infants. The strange
situation consisted of a series of brief events during which a child is separated and then reunited
with their mother. Studies using this procedure have identified four distinct attachment patterns,
which are secure, insecure avoidant, insecure ambivalent, and disorganized-disoriented
attachment. Babies with secure attachment, which is the majority of babies, show distress when
they are separated from their mother and excitement upon their return. This type of attachment
is associated with a warm, affectionate, and responsive parenting style. In contrast, children with
insecure avoidant attachment do not seek proximity to their mothers. They are unlikely to cry
when she leaves the room and either ignore or avoid her when she returns. This is associated with
an aloof, distant, and unresponsive parenting style or an overly intrusive parenting style. The third
attachment style is the insecure ambivalent type. Children with this pattern stay close to or cling
to their caregiver. They become very upset when their mother leaves the room but are ambivalent
or angry when they return and may actively resist their attempts at contact. For example, they
may wiggle away from their caregiver when they try and pick them up. Caregivers of insecure
ambivalent children tend to be inconsistent in their caregiving, oscillating between being attentive
or insensitive and indifferent. Finally, children with disorganized-disoriented attachment have no
clear strategy in dealing with the caregiver’s absence and they display contradictory reactions.
These children often seem frightened of or confused by their caregiver. They may cry when they
leave the room but then stand motionless or run away when they return. In many cases children
with this pattern seen in children who have been neglected, abused, or mistreated by their
caregivers. Longitudinal studies for attachment patterns have shown that early attachment is
predictive to some degree of later behavior. One study found that five-year-olds who were
securely attached as infants got along better with their parents and peers as compared to children
who were insecurely attached.
Diana Baumrind is another important contributor to social and personality development through
her research on parenting and child rearing practices. Child rearing practices have been
extensively studied by Baumrind and her colleagues, who distinguish between four parenting
styles. The first is referred to as authoritarian parents, who are caring and responsive while setting
firm limits and boundaries. Although authoritative parents expect their children to comply with
rules, they consider their child’s desires and individuality when setting rules and explain the
rationale for rules to their children. This was actually the initially described as an “energetic
friendly” parenting style. Children and adolescents of authoritative parents have the best
outcomes. They tend to be self-confident, cooperative, independent, socially mature, popular with
their peers, and academically successful.

The next parenting style is authoritarian. These parents expect unquestioned obedience and are
demanding and controlling. They are also low in responsiveness. In other words, they are more
detached and less warm than other parents. They do not consider their children's opinions when
making rules. They are rigid in their enforcement of rules, and, when rules are broken, they often
resort to harsh punishment. Children who have been raised with this parenting style tend to be
moody, mistrusting, and irritable, as well as exhibit more behavioral problems. Some students
have trouble remembering the difference between authoritative and authoritarian, so here is a
trick I like to use. Authoritarian ends with a “N” and N is associated with more negative outcomes
for children.

The third style is permissive parents, who are low in demanding behaviors and high in
responsiveness. These parents are overindulgent and encourage their children to express their
feelings and impulses. They do not clearly communicate rules or enforce them, and they tend to
ignore or accept inappropriate behaviors. Children of permissive parents have a poor ability to
self-regulate. They tend to be more impulsive, self-centered, easily frustrated, and immature.

Finally, rejecting—lneglecting or uninvolved parents—are both low in demanding and responsive

behaviors. They either neglect their children or overtly reject them. These parents minimize
interactions with their children and consider their parental role as only requiring them to provide
their children with food, clothing, and shelter. Children of uninvolved parents have the worst
outcomes. They tend to be hostile, non-compliant, demanding, and emotionally detached. They
are prone to drug use and poor grades, and they are more likely to have trouble with the law.

It should be noted that parenting styles are heavily influenced by a family’s cultural background.
For example, in Asian cultures, a parent who may rely upon many authoritarian methods may be
viewed as loving and caring. Generally speaking, parenting styles that are associated with
successful outcomes tend to prioritize warmth over rejection.

Let’s briefly discuss family composition. Research has found that family birth order affects
personality and behaviors. For example, firstborn children tend to have stronger language skills
and grades in school. They tend to be more achievement-oriented and conscientious. In contrast,
later born children often are more rebellious, have better peer relationships, and are more
confident in social situations. However, at the end of the day, it is important to note that these
effects are small because personality and behavior are determined by multiple factors, such as the
size of the family and the age gap between siblings, with greater outcomes associated with larger
age gaps and smaller family size.

In addition, children living in single parent homes tend to have lower academic achievement,
though this is likely related to various factors, such as their income and resources, rather than
parenting style, per se.

Finally, I want to speak to the research on working parents and daycare. The research is pretty
mixed in terms of social emotional development and there doesn’t seem to be a strong argument
either way. For example, one study found that children who enter daycare as infants tend to be
more social and confident but are also more disobedient. Another study found that children
attending high quality daycares tend to perform better on intelligence tests, during creative play,
and on language tasks as compared to those raised at home with a parent or babysitter; however,
these effects seem to be temporary, with the two groups of children becoming indistinguishable
by the end of first grade.

In concluding this section, I would like to briefly speak to the research on television and its impact
on child development. There has been a lot of research conducted on the influence of television
and social media within the past 10 years with mixed results. However, one consistent finding is
that viewing violent TV shows, computer games, or video games is associated with increased
aggressive behaviors and tolerance for aggression. Also, because excessive TV viewing likely takes
away from other activities such as playing with friends or spending time outside, children who
watch a great deal of television tend to read less, do worse in school, and spend less time
interacting with their family.

This brings me to the last topic which is family factors and life events that affect development.
Let's briefly review the literature on the effects of divorce. The effects are dependent on the
ability of the parents to work together and co-parent, with children showing fewer problems after
a divorce when their parents have a high degree of acceptance and consistency in discipline.
However, as many divorced parents experience emotional distress following a divorce, this can
negatively impact their ability to co-parent. Generally speaking, the research has confirmed that
the negative consequences of divorce for children are usually most severe during the first year
after the divorce, after which most children begin to return to their pre-divorce levels of
adjustment. However, the effects are mediated by several factors. One of the most significant
factors is the extent to which children are exposed to overt intense conflict between their parents
after the separation, with greater conflict associated with worse outcomes.

Another factor is the child's age. Children who are in preschool tend to exhibit more problems
than older children directly after the divorce, which is probably related to difficulties
understanding the reasons behind the divorce, difficulties verbalizing their feelings, and a
tendency to blame themselves for the divorce. In contrast, older children tend to have worse long-
term outcomes and may worry that they will have an unsuccessful marriage later on in life. In
addition, some research has found that boys tend to display more behavioral problems
immediately after the divorce and in subsequent years; however, other research says that the
long-term consequences are actually similar for girls and boys. In fact, some girls may exhibit a
sleeper effect. That is, girls who were in preschool or elementary school at the time of the divorce
may not show substantial problems until adolescence or early adulthood. These young women are
prone to low self-esteem, non-compliant behaviors, sexual promiscuity, and other problems as
young adults.

Another important contributor to the positive adjustment of children and adolescents following
the divorce of their parents is parenting styles. In a study of eight- to 15-year old children whose
parents had divorced within the previous two years, those whose parents had an authoritative
style and were warm and consistent in terms of discipline showed fewer adjustment problems.
The importance of authoritative parenting has also been demonstrated by studies showing that
the frequency of contact with the noncustodial father is, by itself, not strongly predictive of
children's outcomes; however, a greater frequency of contact is associated with better outcomes,
especially for boys, when two conditions are met: first, there is a cooperative relationship
between the parents, and, second, the non-custodial father has an authoritative parenting style.

Before we move onto a practice question, I want to briefly discuss death and dying as this speaks
to another life event that can influence the course of development. Kubler-Ross interviewed over
200 terminally ill patients and concluded that people tend to progress through the following five
stages of grief. These include 1) denial and isolation (thinking, “This isn’t happening.”), 2) anger
(“Why me?”), 3) bargaining (“Yes, me, but not until my granddaughter graduates from college.”),
4) depression (“Yes, me.”), and 5) acceptance (“My time is close and that’s okay.”). Subsequent
studies have shown that these do not necessarily occur in order and that stages may be repeated.
One easy way to remember these stages is with the mnemonic DABDA.

Let's try one more practice question. Here's the question.

Results from a longitudinal study of divorce and remarriage indicate that children of divorced
parents who have increased frequency of contact with the noncustodial father show:
A) consistently fewer behavior problems, better academic achievement, and higher levels
of self-esteem for boys when the parent has an authoritarian parenting style.
B) consistently fewer behavior problems, better academic achievement, and higher levels
of self-esteem for girls only.
C) fewer behavior problems, better academic achievement, and higher self-esteem,
especially for boys, when the parent has an authoritative parenting style.
D) no relation to the severity of behavioral problems, academic achievement, or level of
self-esteem.

I’ll repeat the question (PAUSE).

Results from a longitudinal study of divorce and remarriage indicate that children of divorced
parents who have increased frequency of contact with the noncustodial father show:
A) consistently fewer behavior problems, better academic achievement, and higher levels
 of self-esteem for boys when the parent has an authoritarian parenting style.
B) consistently fewer behavior problems, better academic achievement, and higher levels
of self-esteem for girls only.
C) fewer behavior problems, better academic achievement, and higher self-esteem,
especially for boys, when the parent has an authoritative parenting style.
D) no relation to the severity of behavioral problems, academic achievement, or level of
self-esteem.

We recently summarized the results of research on the effects of divorce. Although I didn't
mention the name of the study, I did say that the researchers found that the frequency of contact
with the noncustodial father itself is not predictive of child outcomes but that a greater frequency
is associated with better outcomes, especially for boys, when the father has an authoritative
parenting style. Thus, answer C is the best choice.

Note that this question illustrates another important test taking strategy, which is to eliminate
answers that use absolutes such as always, never, and sometimes, consistently. Answers A and B
both contain the word consistently and the language of answer D implies an absolute condition. It
states that the frequency of contact with the noncustodial father has no relation to the severity of
children's behavioral problems or academic achievement, which doesn't allow for any exceptions.
Keep in mind when answering licensing exam questions that in the field of psychology there are
rarely absolutes and be sure to choose an answer containing an absolute as the correct response
only when you have eliminated all of the other answers.

This concludes my lecture on Lifespan Development. Please note, this is not an exhaustive list of
the content within this domain. I encourage you to also study our written materials on Lifespan
Development as this will expand your understanding of the most important topics on the EPPP.
Good luck on your exam!