290 CHAPTER 9 H um a n D e v e l o p me nt

PREVIEW Developmental psychologists are interested in all the ways a person grows and changes through-
out the time travel that is life, from its beginning to its inevitable end. We begin this chapter by
examining the meaning of human development and exploring key questions in the field. We then
trace the processes of physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development throughout the life
span: prenatally (before birth), during childhood, and in adolescence and adulthood. We round
off our tour of the human life span with a look at development and wellness.

1. EXPLORING HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

! development The pattern of continuity Development refers to the pattern of continuity and change in human capabilities that
and change in human capabilities that occurs throughout the course of life. Most developmental change involves growth, but it
occurs throughout life, involving both also encompasses decline (such as in physical abilities). Developmental psychology studies
growth and decline.
how people change as they age. These changes occur on three levels:
! Physical processes involve changes in a person’s biological nature. Inherited genes;
hormonal changes of puberty and menopause; and changes throughout life in the
brain, height, weight, and motor skills—all of these reflect the developmental role
of biological processes. Such biological growth processes are called maturation.
! Cognitive processes are changes in a person’s thinking, intelligence, and language.
Watching a colorful mobile that swings above a crib, constructing a sentence about
the future, imagining oneself as a movie star, learning the route to class each day—
these activities reflect the role of cognitive processes in development.
! Socioemotional processes are changes in social relationships, in emotions, and in
personality. An infant’s smile in response to a parent’s touch, a child’s development
of honesty, an adolescent’s joy at the prom, a young adult’s competitiveness in
sports, and an older couple’s mutual affection all reflect the role of socioemotional
processes.

Human development is complex because it is the product of several processes. A child’s growth in height and weight, a phone user’s tapping out
a friend’s number from memory, and a young couple’s joy at their prom reflect physical, cognitive, and socioemotional processes, respectively.
(first) Adam Gault /Science Photo Library RF/Science Source; (second) Studio 642/Getty Images; (third) Digital Vision/Getty Images

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Developmental psychologists are interested in how these three interrelated processes—

physical, cognitive, and socioemotional—change over the human life span. Their work
investigates how a person’s age relates to different aspects of their physical, cognitive, and
socioemotional characteristics. Age cannot be manipulated experimentally. So, studies on
the relationship between age and other characteristics are correlational—an aspect of devel-
opmental research has important implications for research design, as we now consider.

Research Methods in Developmental Psychology

Human development involves the changes that occur with age. To know what age differ-
ences mean, however, we must consider the kind of research presented.
In cross-sectional studies, researchers assess characteristics of people of different ages
at one timepoint. The correlation of age with those characteristics tells us whether younger
people differ from older ones. A positive correlation means that older people are higher
on some characteristic than younger people, for example. Age differences, however, are
not the same as developmental change.
A problem in cross-sectional studies is cohort effects. A cohort is a generational group
consisting of people born in the same time period. Cohort effects are age differences that
stem not from development with age but from the historical and social time period in
which people grew up. Examples of cohort effects would be the likely positive correlation
between age and ability to use an old-time videocassette recorder (or VCR) or a paper
map, or the negative correlation between age and texting speed. Such differences between
age groups are not due to development but rather to differing experiences. Certainly as
they age, younger people are quite unlikely to develop acuity with VCRs. Cohort effects
are observed in many human characteristics, including physical (Kelley & Thorpe, 2021),
cognitive (Sørensen & others, 2021), and socioemotional processes (Hockey & others,
2021; Twenge & Blake, 2021).
In contrast to a cross-sectional study, a longitudinal study, as described in the chapter
“Psychology’s Scientific Method,” assesses the same participants multiple times over a
lengthy period. Longitudinal studies show not only whether age groups differ but also
whether the same persons change on a particular characteristic as they age. Conclusions
about developmental change in psychological characteristics require longitudinal designs.
Using these and other methods, human development researchers have grappled with three
big questions that are relevant to all of psychology, as we consider next.

How Do Nature and Nurture

Influence! Development? ! nature A person’s biological inheritance,
especially the person’s genes.
Developmental psychologists seek to understand how nature and nurture influence devel-
opment. Nature refers to a person’s biological inheritance, especially the person’s genes; ! nurture An individual’s environmental
nurture refers to a person’s environmental and social experiences. and social experiences.
We have previously considered the concepts of a genotype (a person’s genetic heritage—
the actual genetic material) and phenotype (a person’s observable characteristics). The
phenotype shows the contributions of both nature (genes) and nurture (environment). The
genotype may be expressed in various ways, depending on both the environment and char-
acteristics of the genotype itself. Recall, for example, that a recessive gene, though part of
the genotype, will not show up in the phenotype if it is paired with a dominant gene.
Experience can influence how genetic characteristics are expressed. For example, the
genetic condition phenylketonuria (PKU) is caused by two recessive genes. A person with
PKU cannot metabolize the amino acid phenylalanine (a part of the artificial sweetener
aspartame, used in many soft drinks and other products). Decades ago, the genotype for
PKU was believed to lead to a specific phenotype: irreversible brain damage, developmen-
Researchers often study twins to measure
tal disabilities, and seizures. However, we now know that if those with the PKU genotype the influence of nature or genetics on
stick to a diet that is very low in phenylalanine, many of these phenotypic characteristics development. Keep in mind that even among
can be avoided (van Spronsen & others, 2021). Environmental precautions can change twins, the nurture, or experience, matters.
the phenotype associated with a genotype (Burgoyne & others, 2020). Comstock Images/SuperStock

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PKU shows that a person’s measurable characteristics (phenotype) might not reflect
the person’s genetic heritage (genotype) very precisely because of experience. Instead, for
each genotype, a range of phenotypes may be expressed, depending on environmental
factors. Development is the product of nature (genes), nurture (experience), and the
complex interaction of the two. One factor that must be taken into account in the devel-
opment is the developer, as we now consider.

What Is the Developer’s Role in Development?

You might think of nature and nurture as the raw ingredients of yourself as a person, but
the fact is that you take those ingredients and make them into the person you are. The
developing human being also has a role to play in development.
Indeed, some psychologists believe that we can develop beyond what
our genetic inheritance and our environment give us (Turkheimer, 2011).
One way people contribute to their own develop is by seeking optimal
experiences in life (Shoshani & Yaari, 2021; Weststrate & others, 2018).
Optimal experiences happen when a person experiences a match
between skills and abilities and the challenges of a particular task. People
can be driven by their own sense of agency and their own passions to
take on challenges that benefit not only themselves but others. These
individuals build and shape their own lives, authoring a unique develop-
mental path, and sometimes transforming apparent weaknesses into real
strengths.
In search of optimal experiences, we develop life themes that involve
activities, social relationships, and life goals (Perlin & Fivush, 2021;
Ramasubramanian & others, 2022; Weststrate & others, 2018). Some
individuals are especially successful at constructing optimal life experi-
ences. For example, Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa, Nelson
President Barack Obama awards the Presidential Medal of
Mandela, and Oprah Winfrey looked for and found meaningful life
Freedom to Oprah Winfrey, during an event in the East Room at themes as they developed. Their lives were not restricted to biological
the White House in Washington, DC, November 20, 2013. survival or to settling for their particular life situations. Many of them,
Kevin Dietsch/Alamy Stock Photo in fact, faced hardships early in life yet managed to contribute to the
world in meaningful ways. A developmental question that naturally
flows from this discussion is whether early or later life experiences are more important
to a person’s development over the life span.

Are Early or Later Life Experiences

More! Important in Development?
A key question in developmental psychology centers on the extent to which childhood
experiences (nurture) determine aspects of later life. If early experiences provide the
foundation for later development, does that mean that childhood experiences are likely to
influence (and limit or damage) us for the rest of our life?
Developmental psychologists debate whether early experiences or later experiences are
more important. Some believe that unless infants receive warm, nurturing caregiving in
their first year or so of life, they will not develop to their full potential (Davis & Kramer,
2021; Tang & others, 2021). Other psychologists emphasize the power of later experience,
arguing that important development occurs later in life as well (Fraley & others, 2021;
Hatton & others, 2018).
Life-span developmentalists, who study children and adults, stress that researchers have
given too little attention to adult development and aging. From a life-span perspective,
Having a supportive relationship with a
early experiences contribute powerfully to development, but they are not necessarily more
parent or a competent adult outside the influential than later experiences (Infurna, 2021). Life-span developmentalists say that
home can contribute to childhood resilience. both early and later experiences make significant contributions to development, and we
Realistic Reflections are not doomed to be prisoners of our childhoods.

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A key concept in understanding the role of negative early experiences in later develop- ! resilience A person’s ability to recover
ment is resilience. Resilience is a person’s ability to recover from or adapt to difficult times. from or adapt to difficult times.
Resilience means that even in the face of adversity, a person experiences positive function-
ing. Resilience can refer to factors that compensate for difficulties, buffering the individual
from the effects of these, or to the fact that moderate difficulties may themselves help to
promote development (McLaughlin & others, 2020; Türk-Kurtça & Kocatürk, 2020).
te st y our self
Despite undergoing hardships time and time again, resilient children grow up to be 1. What three broad processes of
capable adults. Resilient children possess one or more advantages—such as high intelli- change do developmental
psychologists study?
gence or a close, supportive relationship with a parent or other adult—that help them to
2. Why are longitudinal studies
overcome their disadvantages. Although often studied as an aspect of childhood and commonly used to investigate
adolescence, resilience can also characterize development in adulthood and old age developmental questions? What
(Anstey & Dixon, 2021). are the limitations of cross-
It may be simplistic to think about the effects of early experiences solely in terms of risk sectional studies with respect to
or resilience (Ellis & others, 2017). Instead of asking whether the effects of any experience studying such questions?
are “good or bad,” psychologists examine how those experiences shape development. 3. In what ways can developing
individuals play a role in their own
development?
2. CHILD DEVELOPMENT
In this section we focus on the three fundamental developmental processes—physical,
cognitive, and socioemotional—of childhood. To understand childhood we must begin
before it starts, with prenatal development.

Prenatal Development
Prenatal development is a time of astonishing change, beginning with conception.
Conception occurs when a single sperm cell from the biological father merges with the
biological mother’s ovum (egg) to produce a zygote, a single cell with 23 chromosomes
from each biological parent.

THE COURSE OF PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT

Development from zygote to fetus is divided into three periods:
! Germinal period—weeks 1 and 2: The germinal period begins with conception. After
1 week and many cell divisions, the zygote is made up of 100 to 150 cells. By the
end of 2 weeks, the mass of cells has attached to the uterine wall.
! Embryonic period—weeks 3 through 8: The rate of cell differentiation intensifies, sup-
port systems for the cells develop, and the beginnings of organs appear (Figure 1a).
In the third week, the neural tube, which eventually becomes the spinal cord, starts
to take shape. By 4 weeks, the neural tube is formed and closes, encased inside the
embryo. By the end of the embryonic period, the heart begins to beat, the arms and
legs become more differentiated, the face starts to form, and the intestinal tract
appears (Figure 1b).
! Fetal period—months 2 through 9: At 2 months, the fetus is the size of a kidney bean
and has started to move around. At 4 months, the fetus is 5 inches long and weighs
about 5 ounces (Figure 1c). At 6 months, the fetus has grown to 1.5 pounds. The
last 3 months of pregnancy are the time when organ functioning increases and the
fetus puts on considerable weight and size, adding baby fat.
Although it floats in a well-protected womb, the fetus is not immune to the larger
environment. Typical development can be affected by environmental insults.

THREATS TO THE FETUS

A teratogen is any agent that can disrupt the development of the fetus, including chemical
substances ingested by the person carrying the fetus (such as nicotine or alcohol) and
certain illnesses and viruses (such as rubella or the Zika virus).

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(a) (b) (c)

FIGURE 1 From Embryo to Fetus (a) At about 4 weeks, an embryo is about 0.2 inch (less than 1 centimeter) long. The head, eyes, and
ears begin to show; the head and neck are half the length of the body; the shoulders will be located where the whitish arm buds are attached.
(b) At 8 weeks, the embryo (which is about 1.6 inches or 4 centimeters long) has become a fetus. Everything that will be found in the fully
developed human being has now begun to form. The fetal stage is a period of growth and perfection of detail. The heart has been beating for
1 month, and the muscles have just begun their first exercises. (c) At 4.5 months, the fetus is just over 7 inches (about 18 centimeters) long.
When the thumb comes close to the mouth, the head may turn, and the lips and tongue begin their sucking motions—a reflex for survival.
(a) Biophoto Associates/Science Source; (b) Joo Lee/Corbis/Getty Images; (c) Joo Lee/Corbis/Getty Images

For example, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) are a cluster of features that appear
in the offspring of those who drink alcohol heavily during pregnancy (Kruithof & Ban,
2021). These features include a small head, limb and heart defects, and below-average intel-
ligence (Darbinian & others, 2021). Heavy drinking is linked to FASD, but even moderate
drinking can lead to serious problems and disabilities. The best advice for someone who is
pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant is to avoid alcohol completely.
The effects of teratogens depend on the timing of exposure. The body part or organ
system that is developing when the fetus encounters the teratogen is most vulnerable (van
Gerwen & others, 2021). Genetic characteristics may buffer or worsen teratogen effects.
Importantly, the environment the child encounters after birth influences the ultimate
effects of prenatal insults.
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) also threaten the fetus. STIs can be transmit-
ted to a fetus in the womb or during delivery. Besides transmission of infections to the
fetus and newborns, STI exposure enhances the risk of stillbirth and other problems,
such as eye infections and blindness. Many STIs also increase the risk of preterm birth.
A preterm infant, one born prior to 37 weeks after conception, may also
be at risk for developmental difficulties. Whether a preterm infant will have
developmental problems is a complex issue, however. Preterm infants who
grow up in poverty are more likely to have problems than are those who
live in better socioeconomic conditions (Lester & others, 2021; Weiss &
Leung, 2021).
Postnatal experience plays a crucial role in determining the ultimate effects
of preterm birth. For example, warm close contact including infant massage
can improve developmental outcomes for preterm infants (Field, 2019).

Physical Development in Infancy

and! Childhood
Human infants are the world’s most helpless newborns. One reason for their
Tiffany Field is shown massaging a newborn infant. Field’s helplessness is that they are born not quite finished. Our enormous brain
research has demonstrated the power of massage in sets humans apart from other animals. Getting that big brain out of the
improving the developmental outcome of at-risk infants.
Under her direction, the Touch Research Institute in Miami,
relatively small birth canal is a challenge that nature has met by sending
Florida, investigates the role of touch in a number of human babies out of the womb before the brain has fully developed. The first
domains of health and well-being. months and years of life allow the developing human (and the environment)
Courtesy of Dr. Tiffany Fields/Touch Research Institutes to put the finishing touches on that important organ.

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REFLEXES
Newborns enter the world equipped with several genetically wired reflexes that are crucial
for survival. Babies are born with the ability to suck and swallow. If they are dropped in
water, they will naturally hold their breath, contract their throats to keep water out, and
move their arms and legs to stay afloat at least briefly. Some reflexes persist throughout
life—coughing and yawning, for example. Others, such as automatically grasping something
that touches the fingers, disappear in the months following birth, as the brain matures
and infants develop voluntary control over many behaviors. Figure 2 shows some examples
of reflexes.

MOTOR AND PERCEPTUAL SKILLS

Compared to the rest of the body, a newborn’s head is huge, and it flops around uncon-
trollably. Within 12 months, the infant becomes able to sit upright, stand, stoop, climb,
and often walk. During the second year, growth decelerates, but rapid gains occur in
activities such as running and climbing. Researchers used to think that motor milestones—
such as sitting up, crawling, and walking—unfolded as part of a genetic plan. Now, psy-
chologists recognize that experience, not simply genetics, plays a role in motor development.
Remember that physical development is intertwined with cognitive and socioemotional
development. For example, improvements in children’s motor skills can have positive
impact on cognitive abilities and math skills (Hudson & others, 2021).
One of the most remarkable motor skills attained by infants is the ability to reach for
things. Reaching may seem like a small thing, but during infancy extending one’s own
arm to grasp an object is a complex act filled with implications (Ferronato & others, 2021;
Meyer & others, 2022). Babies who see a stuffed bunny and are able to reach for it have
mastered a skill that transforms their relationship to the world: Their focus shifts from
people to objects, including toys, food, a caregiver’s earrings, and all the things that they
can now get their hands on.
Emerging between 3 and 5 months of age, the ability to reach for an object involves
a wide array of processes:
! Sensory capacities: seeing or hearing the object
! Motivation: wanting to grasp the object
! Attention: being able to focus on a particular thing, among all the other interesting
things in the baby’s world

Rooting Gripping Toe Curling Moro or Startle Galant

What provokes the What provokes the What provokes the What provokes the What provokes the
response? Stroking of the response? Something response? Stroking of the response? Sudden noise or response? Stroking of the
infant’s cheek placed in the infant’s hand inner or outer sole of the movement infant’s lower back, next to
infant’s foot the spinal cord
What the infant does What the infant does The What the infant does If the What the infant does The What the infant does The
Head turns in the direction infant grasps the item and inner sole is stroked, the infant throws the head infant curves toward the
of the touch, and the infant can hold on very well— infant curls the toes. If the back and arms and legs side that was stroked— and
opens mouth for feeding. almost enough to support outer sole is stroked, the out (and then cries). looks like a fencer when
own weight. toes spread out. doing so.

FIGURE 2 Some Infant Reflexes Infants are born with a number of reflexes to get them through life, and they are incredibly cute when
they perform them. These reflexes disappear as infants mature.

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! Bodily control: having the ability to control posture, manage head movement, and cal-
ibrate arm movements
! Learning: getting positive reinforcement from the experience of attaining the object
of desire
Developmental psychologists have long studied the role of experience in the acquisition
of reaching. In one study, 3-month-old infants participated in play sessions wearing “sticky
mittens”—mittens with Velcro-covered palms that allow the infants to more easily “pick
up” objects (toys) (Needham & others, 2002). Infants who used sticky mittens looked at
objects longer, swatted at them, and put them in their mouths (compared with infants
who had not experienced the sticky mittens). It is not entirely clear if these results are
due to the sticky mittens or to being more engaged in experiences with their parents
(Williams & others, 2015). In any case, this line of research shows how experience can
affect the development of the important skill of reaching (Needham, 2021; van den Berg &
Gredebäck, 2021).
Infants are active developers, and their motor and perceptual skills develop together
and mutually promote each other. Babies are continually coordinating their movements
with information they perceive through their senses to learn how to maintain their balance,
reach for objects in space, and move across various surfaces and terrains (Han & Adolph,
2021). Moving from place to place in the environment teaches babies how objects and
people look from different perspectives and whether surfaces will support their weight
(Gibson, 2001). Actively participating in behaviors strongly influences infant develop-
ment, but infants can also gain motor skills in more passive ways, by watching and mod-
eling behavior (Kang & others, 2020).
Psychologists face a daunting challenge in studying infant perception. Infants cannot
talk, so how can scientists tell what they can see, hear, or feel? Researchers who study
infants have no choice but to become clever methodologists, relying on what infants can
do to understand what infants see, think, and know.
! preferential looking A research One thing infants can do is look. The preferential looking technique involves giving an
technique that involves giving an infant a infant a choice of what object to look at (Alcock & others, 2020; Liu & others, 2021). If
choice of what object to look at. an infant shows a reliable preference for one stimulus (say, a picture of a face) over
another (a scrambled picture of a face) when these are repeatedly presented in differing
locations, we can infer that the infant can tell the two images apart. Using this technique,
researchers have found that as early as 7 days old, infants are already engaged in organized
perception of faces and can put together sights and sounds. If presented with two faces
with mouths moving, infants will watch the face whose mouth matches the sounds they
are hearing (Lee & others, 2013b; Lewkowicz & Hansen-Tift, 2012). At 3 months, infants
prefer real faces to scrambled faces and prefer their mother’s face to a stranger’s (Slater &
others, 2007). By 6 months, babies can detect human faces more quickly than they can
detect animal faces, just as adults do (Dalrymple & others, 2018).
How do researchers know where infants are looking? In some studies, researchers
simply watch and record where babies are focused. An important technological advance
in this domain is the use of sophisticated eye-tracking equipment (Dean & others, 2021).
Figure 3 shows an infant wearing eye-tracking headgear in recent research on visually
guided motor behavior and social interaction.
Eye tracking also is used to study development in many other areas, including attention,
memory, and face processing (Dean & others, 2021) as well as to detect subtle differences
that might reveal risks for disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder (Keemink & others,
2021). Such techniques have provided a great deal of information about infants’ remark-
able abilities, but they too are limited. Research using brain imaging suggests that infants
may know more than even these clever strategies reveal.

THE BRAIN
FIGURE 3 What Are You Looking At?
Eye-tracking technology allows infant As they play, crawl, smile, and frown, the infant’s brain is changing dramatically. At birth
perception researchers to identify exactly and in early infancy, the brain’s 100 billion neurons have only minimal connections. The
what infants are looking at. Chen Yu infant brain literally is ready and waiting for the experiences that will create these

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 C hi ld D e v e lo p m e n t 297

FIGURE 4 Dendritic Spreading Note

the increase among neurons over the
course of the first 15 months of life.
Leisman, G. (2012). Intentionality and ‘Free-Will’
From a Neurodevelopmental Perspective. Frontiers
in Integrative Science, Figure 4. Copyright ©2012
by Gerry Leisman. All rights reserved. Used with
permission.

At birth 1 month 3 months 15 months

connections. During the first 2 years of life, the dendrites of the neurons branch out, and
the neurons become far more interconnected (Figure 4). Myelination, the process of
encasing axons with fat cells (the myelin sheath described in the chapter “Biological
Foundations of Behavior”), begins prenatally and continues well into adolescence and
young adulthood (Goldstein & others, 2021).
During childhood, synaptic connections increase dramatically (Sydnor & others, 2021).
Recall from the chapter “Biological Foundations of Behavior” that a synapse is a gap
between neurons that is bridged by chemical neurotransmitters. Nearly twice as many
synapses are available as will ever be used (Huttenlocher, 1999). The connections that are
used become stronger and will survive; the unused ones will be replaced by other neural
pathways or disappear (Sydnor & others, 2021). In the language of neuroscience, these
unused connections are “pruned.” Figure 5 illustrates the steep growth and later pruning
of synapses during infancy in specific areas of the brain.
Brain-imaging studies show that children’s brains undergo remarkable anatomical
changes. Repeated brain scans of the same children up to the age of 4 years show that
the amount of brain material in some areas can nearly double within as little as a year,
followed by a drastic loss of tissue as unneeded cells are purged and the brain continues

Newborn Adolescence FIGURE 5 Synaptic Density in the

60 Human Brain from Infancy to Adulthood
The graph shows the dramatic increase and
then pruning in synaptic density in three
50 regions of the brain: visual cortex, auditory
cortex, and prefrontal cortex. Synaptic
density is believed to be an important
40 indication of the extent of connectivity
between neurons.
Synaptic density

30

20
Visual cortex (vision)
Auditory cortex (hearing)
10 Prefrontal cortex (reasoning,
self-regulation)

0
Birth 1 Year 3 Years 11 Years Adult

100 200 300 400 500 600 800 1,000 1,500 2,000 3,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000
Age in days (from conception)

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to reorganize itself. From 3 to 6 years of age, the most rapid growth takes place in the
frontal lobes, which are involved in planning and organizing new actions and in maintain-
ing attention to tasks (Gogtay & Thompson, 2010; Kovacs-Balint & others, 2021). These
brain changes are not simply the result of nature; new experiences in the world also
promote brain development (Heuttig & others, 2018; Wang & others, 2021). Thus, as in
other areas of development, nature and nurture operate together to promote the develop-
ment of the child’s brain.
To summarize, myelination begins prenatally and continues throughout childhood, ado-
lescence, and young adulthood. In addition, the infant brain explodes with connections,
but these are pared away if not used. This process of pruning reflects the way experience
shapes the brain. As the brain develops, thinking matures. That thinking, in turn, shapes
the brain.

Cognitive Development in Infancy

and! Childhood
Cognitive development refers to how thought, intelligence, and language processes change
as people mature. Cognition refers to the way individuals think and also to their cognitive
skills and abilities. In this section we review one of the most important theories in psy-
chology, proposed by Jean Piaget (1896–1980), the famous Swiss developmental psychol-
ogist. In addition, we consider alternatives to Piaget’s view and more recent
information-processing approaches to cognitive development.
Jean Piaget (1896–1980) Piaget, the famous
Swiss developmental psychologist, changed PIAGET’S THEORY OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
the way we think about the development of
children’s minds. In Piaget’s view, throughout life we use schemas to make sense of experience. Recall from
Farrell Grehan/Corbis/Getty Images the chapter “Memory” that a schema is a mental concept or framework that organizes
and provides a structure for interpreting information. Schemas are expressed as various
behaviors and skills that the child can exercise in relation to objects or situations. For
example, sucking is a simple early schema. More complex schemas that occur later in
childhood include licking, blowing, and crawling. In adulthood, schemas represent more
complex expectations and beliefs about the world.
Piaget (1952) described two processes responsible for how schemas develop:
! assimilation An individual’s incorporation ! Assimilation occurs when individuals incorporate new information into existing knowl-
of new information into existing knowledge. edge. This means that when people are faced with a new experience, they apply old
ways of doing things. An infant who sucks on whatever new thing is encountered, an
adolescent who applies skills learned playing video games to driving a car, and an
adult who uses strategies that worked in the past with previous romantic partners to
resolve a conflict with a spouse are all using assimilation. In assimilation, a person’s
schemas do not change; the person uses existing schemas in a new way.
! accommodation An individual’s ! Accommodation occurs when people adjust their schemas in response to new experi-
adjustment of schemas to include new ences. Existing schemas are changed, or new schemas are created. Rather than using
information. one’s old ways of doing things, a new experience promotes new ways of dealing with
experience. An infant who has been sticking everything in the mouth might begin to
accommodate the sucking schema by being more selective with it. An adolescent
who has typically gone with the flow of social pressure might develop a new way of
dealing with such pressure by standing up for their beliefs. For an adult, accommo-
dation may mean rethinking old strategies for problem solving when a new challenge,
such as the loss of a job, presents itself. In accommodation, schemas change. Brand-
new ways of interacting with the world emerge as a function of new and different
experiences.
So, whenever people take a new experience and incorporate it into existing assumptions
and ways of doing things, that is assimilation. However, if new experiences require people
to revise what they think they know about the world, that is accommodation.
According to Piaget, we go through four stages of cognitive development (Figure 6).
Each stage involves a way of making sense of the world that is qualitatively different from

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Sensorimotor Preoperational Concrete Operational Formal Operational

Stage Stage Stage Stage
The infant constructs an The child begins to represent The child can now reason The adolescent reasons in more
understanding of the world the world with words and logically about concrete events abstract, idealistic, and logical
by coordinating sensory images. These words and and classify objects into ways.
experiences with physical images reflect increased different sets.
actions. An infant progresses symbolic thinking and go
from reflexive, instinctual action beyond the connection of
at birth to the beginning of sensory information and
symbolic thought toward the physical action.
end of the stage.

Birth to " Years of Age " to # Years of Age # to $$ Years of Age $$ Years of Age
Through Adulthood
FIGURE 6 Piaget’s Four Stages of Cognitive Development Jean Piaget described how human beings, through development, become
ever more sophisticated thinkers about the world. (first photo) Stockbyte/Getty Images; (second photo) Jacobs Stock Photography/BananaStock/Getty Images;
(third photo) Fuse/Image100/Corbis; (fourth photo) Twinsterphoto/Shutterstock

the approach that was used in the previous stage. The stages have names that might sound
strange to you and may be hard to remember—sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete
operational, and formal operational. To remember the stages in order, try this mnemonic:
“Smart People Can’t Forget.”

Sensorimotor Stage Piaget’s first stage, the sensorimotor stage, lasts from birth to ! sensorimotor stage Piaget’s first stage of
about 2 years of age. You can remember this stage as the first one because as the label cognitive development, lasting from birth to
implies, it is based on the very limited capacities that an infant has: sensation and move- about 2 years of age, during which infants
construct an understanding of the world by
ment. In this stage, infants construct an understanding of the world by coordinating coordinating sensory experiences with
sensory experiences (like seeing and hearing) with motor (physical) actions—hence the motor (physical) actions.
term sensorimotor. Newborns have little more than reflexive patterns with which to work,
but by the end of this stage 2-year-olds show complex sensorimotor patterns and are
beginning to use symbols or words in their thinking.
For Piaget, a major event of the sensorimotor stage is object permanence. Object ! object permanence Piaget’s term for the
permanence is Piaget’s term for understanding that objects and people continue to exist crucial accomplishment of understanding
even when they cannot be seen, heard, or touched. Piaget believed that “out of sight” that objects and events continue to exist
even when they cannot directly be seen,
literally meant “out of mind” for very young infants. To him, object permanence was an heard, or touched.
enormous developmental milestone. Piaget studied object permanence by showing an
infant an interesting toy and then covering the toy with a blanket. Piaget reasoned that if
the baby knew the toy still existed, the baby would try to uncover it. Very young infants
did not do so, but older infants did.
Piaget’s object permanence task has been criticized for not giving infants a chance to
show their stuff. To get a sense of the limitations of Piaget’s task, check out the Psycho-
logical Inquiry.
To understand Piaget’s next two stages, we must review another likely unfamiliar term—
what Piaget called operations. Operations are mental representations of changes that are ! operations Piaget’s term for mental
reversible. Imagine that you need to pack a very bulky sweater into a carry-on bag for an representations of changes in objects that
airplane flight. You painstakingly roll the sweater into the tiniest possible cylinder and can be reversed.

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 300 CHAPTER 9 H u m a n D e ve l o p me nt

psychological inquiry
Thinking Critically About Object Permanence
Let’s revisit the classic object permanence task developed by Piaget to
consider how the aspects of this task might have led Piaget to underesti-
mate infant abilities. Remember that from Piaget’s perspective, “proving”
object permanence meant that the child must search for the hidden toy,
reach out, and retrieve it. These might seem like simple steps to take but
for an infant they may be more complex.
Let’s assume that the child believes the toy exists even if the toy is not
in sight. What skills must the child possess to enact the behaviors that
Piaget thought would indicate object permanence? Answer the following
questions to sharpen your understanding of this measure of object
permanence.
$. Look at the two photos. Assuming that the child does understand that
the toy still exists behind the board, what behavior must the baby
exhibit to indicate that understanding?
". What motor and perceptual skills are required for the child to enact
those behaviors?
%. What motivational states (or goals) are required for the child to enact
them?
&. If the baby does not reach out for the toy despite knowing that it still
exists, what might the failure mean?
'. Why do you think it took over "# years for psychologists to question
the appropriateness of Piaget’s methods?

(first) D. Goodman/Science Source; (second) D. Goodman/

Science Source

cram it into the bag. If you compare “before” and “after” photos of the sweater, you might
take great pride. But what you would know, and what shows that you can perform “oper-
ations,” is that when you get to your destination, that sweater, after a quick shaking out,
will return to its original size. The change you made to the sweater is superficial and
temporary. Nothing central has changed about that sweater because you temporarily
changed its size. Not understanding that fact is what separates preoperational thought
from more mature thinking. So, understanding operations means that a person is aware
that superficial aspects of objects can change without changing objects in any central way.

! preoperational stage Piaget’s second Preoperational Stage Piaget’s second stage of cognitive development, the preoper-
stage of cognitive development, lasting ational stage, lasts from approximately 2 to 7 years of age. Preoperational children have
from about 2 to 7 years of age, during difficulty understanding that reversing an action may restore the original conditions from
which thought is more symbolic than
sensorimotor thought. which the action began—they may not, for instance, realize that your sweater is going to
look the same after your trip.
A well-known test for operational thinking is to present a child with two identical bea-
kers, A and B, filled with liquid to the same height (Figure 7). Next to them is a third
beaker: C. Beaker C is tall and thin; beakers A and B are short and wide. The liquid is
poured from B into C, and the child is asked whether the amounts in A and C are the
same. The 4-year-old child invariably says that the amount of liquid in the tall, thin beaker
(C) is greater than that in the short, wide beaker (A). An 8-year-old child consistently says
the amounts are the same. The 4-year-old child, a preoperational thinker, cannot mentally
reverse the pouring action; they cannot imagine the liquid going back from container C to

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 C hil d De v e l o p m e n t 301

FIGURE 7 Piaget’s Conservation Task

The beaker test determines whether a child
can think operationally—that is, can
mentally reverse action and understand
conservation of the substance. (a) Two
identical beakers are presented to the
child, each containing the same amount
of liquid. As the child watches, the
experimenter pours the liquid from B into
A B C C, which is taller and thinner than A and B.
(a)
(b) The experimenter then asks the child
whether 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 child points to the
tall, thin one. Marmaduke St. John/Alamy Stock
Photo

A B C
(b)

container B. For Piaget, such a child has not grasped the concept of conservation, under-
standing the permanence of some attributes of objects despite superficial changes.
To sharpen your sense of preoperational thought, consider this example. While babysit-
ting for two thirsty 4-year-olds, you give them each the same amount of apple juice poured
into two different cups: one tall and thin and the other short and wide. Try as you might
to explain to them that the amounts are exactly the same, they fight over the tall, thin
cup because it looks like more. Now, in the same situation, older children—who are oper-
ational thinkers—would not compete for the taller cup because they understand the
amounts are equal.
Preoperational thought is more symbolic than sensorimotor thought (but still limited)
as children begin to represent the world with words, images, and drawings. Preoperational
thought is egocentric: Preoperational children cannot put themselves in someone else’s
shoes. Here, being egocentric does not mean being selfish. It means not realizing that,
for example, another person cannot always see what they are seeing or know what they
are thinking. Preoperational thinking is also intuitive, meaning that preoperational chil-
dren make judgments based on gut feelings rather than logic.

Concrete Operational Stage Piaget’s concrete operational stage, from 7 to 11 years ! concrete operational stage Piaget’s third
of age, involves using operations and replacing intuitive reasoning with logical reasoning stage of cognitive development, lasting
in concrete situations. Children in this stage can successfully complete the beaker task from about 7 to 11 years of age, during
which the individual uses operations and
described earlier. Many of the concrete operations identified by Piaget are related to the replaces intuitive reasoning with logical
properties of objects. For instance, when playing with Play-Doh, the child in the concrete reasoning in concrete situations.
operational stage realizes that changing its shape does not change the amount of Play-Doh.
Even it was used to make a giant castle, once it is squeezed back together, it will still fit
in the original container.
An important skill at this stage is the ability to classify things into different sets or
subsets and to consider their interrelations. Children in the concrete operational stage
might enjoy playing games that involve sorting objects into types and identifying objects
that do not fit with a group. (You might remember the childhood song that goes, “One
of these things is not like the others,” which aimed to coax you into performing concrete
operations.) ! formal operational stage Piaget’s fourth
Concrete operational thought involves logical reasoning in concrete but not hypothet- stage of cognitive development, which
ical (imaginary or imagined) contexts. According to Piaget, this kind of abstract, logical begins at 11 to 15 years of age and
reasoning occurs in the fourth, and final, cognitive stage. continues through the adult years; it
features thinking about things that are not
concrete, making predictions, and using
Formal Operational Stage People enter the formal operational stage of cognitive logic to come up with hypotheses about
development at age 11 to 15 years. This stage continues through the adult years. Formal the future.

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 302 CHAPTER 9 H u ma n D e ve l o p m ent

operational thought is more abstract and logical than concrete operational thought. Most
important, formal operational thinking includes thinking about things that are not con-
crete, making predictions, and using logic to come up with hypotheses about the future.
Unlike elementary school children, adolescents can think of hypothetical, purely
abstract possibilities. This type of thinking is called idealistic because it involves comparing
how things are to how they might be. Adolescents also think more logically. Unlike
younger children who solve problems through trial and error, the adolescent begins to
think more like a scientist. That means devising plans to solve problems and systematically
testing solutions. Piaget called this type of problem solving hypothetical-deductive reasoning.
This term denotes two qualities of adolescent thinking:
! The ability to develop hypotheses about ways to solve a problem such as an algebraic
equation
! The ability to systematically deduce conclusions using logic
In summary, over the course of Piaget’s four developmental stages, a person progresses
from sensorimotor cognition to abstract, idealistic, and logical thought. Let’s consider the
current thinking about Piaget’s theories of cognitive development.

EVALUATING PIAGET’S THEORY

Piaget opened up a new way of looking at how the human mind develops. We owe him
for a long list of concepts that have enduring power and fascination. We also owe Piaget
for the currently accepted vision of children as active, constructive thinkers who play a
role in their own development.
Nevertheless, just as other psychological theories have been criticized and amended,
so have Piaget’s. First, Piaget may have overestimated the cognitive acumen of adolescents
and adults. Formal operational thought does not emerge as consistently and universally
in early adolescence as Piaget envisioned. Many adolescents and adults do not reason as
logically as Piaget proposed (Lazonder & others, 2021; Moshman, 2020).
While he overestimated adolescent and adult cognitive skills, Piaget likely underesti-
mated the cognitive capacities of very young children. Research shows that infants know
a great deal more about the world than Piaget imagined. For example, in one study,
3-month-old infants watched a puppet show featuring Minnie Mouse (Luo & Baillargeon,
2005). In the center of the stage was a flat cardboard cutout of a castle with an open
door. Minnie entered stage right and proceeded toward the castle, disappearing behind it.
When Minnie went behind the castle wall from one side, the infants looked for her to
appear in the doorway and to come out on the other side, suggesting that Minnie was
out of sight but not out of mind. Not only did these 3-month-olds realize that Minnie still
existed, they also had expectations about where she was heading. If Minnie came out the
other side of the castle without appearing in the doorway, the infants were surprised. Such
findings led many developmental psychologists to call for an expanded appreciation for
the cognitive tools that infants seem to bring with them into the world, as we now
consider.

THE NATIVIST APPROACH TO INFANT COGNITION

According to the nativist approach, infants possess primitive expectancies about events
and objects that are less dependent upon experience than Piaget thought. For example,
Elizabeth Spelke (2000) proposed core knowledge theory that suggests human infants (and
many nonhuman primates) possess an innate architecture—a kind of inborn storehouse of
knowledge—about physics and math that underlies many complex cognitive skills (Mehr
& Spelke, 2018; Westerberg & others, 2021). Evidence of this built-in knowledge can be
found as early as scientists have been able to measure it (Hespos & van Marle, 2012;
Kinzler & others, 2013). Nativist thinkers recognize experience as important but see it as
building on this preexisting architecture of core knowledge (Spelke & Kinzler, 2007).
In contrast to the nativist approach, the empiricist approach (Witherington, 2015)
emphasizes the role of experience in the world as the central driver of cognitive and

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 I N TE R S E C TI O N
Perception and Developmental Psychology:
Do People Who Are Blind Show Core Knowledge of Geometry?
T o see if people with no visual experience show core knowl-
edge of geometric principles, researchers (Heimler & others,
2021) asked adults who were blind their whole lives to complete
results suggest that, in the absence of visual experience, people
possess intuitions about geometry that support the existence of
core knowledge. (In fact, there are many famous mathematicians
geometric judgments. The researchers embossed mats with six who also happen to be blind.)
shapes on each. The mats allowed the shapes to be detectable Now, if you struggled with geometry, you might be surprised
by touch. For each set of shapes, participants were asked to to learn that you likely possess an intuitive architecture for this
explore the shapes and pick the one in the group that was most branch of math. Imagine, though, what it means if all of us have
different from the others—the one that did not belong. In every an intuitive, often unspoken, sense of physics and math. We
set, all the shapes were different in many different ways but the might think of principles of these fields as emerging from the
right answer for the task was the one that was different because genius minds of people like Pythagoras. But these geniuses did
of a geometric principle. not invent those principles, they put words to the knowledge we
For instance, one mat featured have all had inside us all along.
What other pairs of lines that differed in many
aspects of core ways (length, spacing, thickness). In
all but one pair, the lines were par-
knowledge allel. Relying on the sense of touch,
participants selected the lines that
might be were not parallel as most different
demonstrated from the others. Across many similar
tasks, the participants showed
in people with excellent detection of differences
that were determined by principles
visual or audi- of geometry.
tory disabilities? The participants returned for
another session and demonstrated
that these skills were consistent across time—their initial perfor-
mance was not a matter of luck. Further, the capacity to use
geometric principles did not depend on past educational experi-
ence, was very similar to sighted individuals, and to people from
an indigenous Amazonian group (the Mundurucu) who have no
words for geometric concepts (Heimler & others, 2021). These Holly Hildreth/McGraw Hill

perceptual development (Newcombe, 2002). The empiricist perspective points out that
the capacity of very young infants to understand object permanence might still originate
in (very early) experience (Spencer & others, 2009). Still, those very young infants would
have learned object permanence much earlier than Piaget asserted.
Comparing nativist and empiricist approaches, you might think infants provide the only
(mostly) blank slate required to address their differences. Yet, recent research has sought
to demonstrate the existence of core knowledge in other samples especially with regard
to geometry.
If you took geometry in high school, you probably recognize that this branch of math-
ematics seems to rely very much on visual perception. If asked whether two lines were
parallel, you would likely look at them to see if they cross (or might cross, if extended
out a bit). That judgment seems to rely on seeing the lines. Moreover, the principle of
parallelism as a notable feature that tells us important information about those lines was
probably something you learned in geometry class. What about people who cannot see?
Would they also appreciate the special quality of parallelism that a sighted person can
see just by looking at the lines? This question is important because if a person with no
visual experience (who has had minimal geometry training) recognizes parallelism as an
important feature of lines, this person may well be demonstrating core knowledge of this
geometric concept. A recent study tested this very idea. To read about this fascinating
work, see the Intersection. 303

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 304 CHAPTER 9 H um a n D e ve l o p m ent

VYGOTSKY’S SOCIOCULTURAL COGNITIVE THEORY

For Piaget, the child’s active interaction with the physical world was all that
was needed to go through these stages. The Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky
(1962) took a different approach, recognizing that cognitive development is
an interpersonal process that happens in a cultural context (Erbil, 2020;
Newman & Latifi, 2021).
Vygotsky thought of children as apprentice thinkers who develop as they
interact in dialogue with more knowledgeable others, such as parents and
teachers. Vygotsky theorized that these expert thinkers spur cognitive devel-
opment by interacting with a child in a way that is just above the level of
sophistication the child has mastered. In effect, these interactions provide
scaffolding that allows the child’s cognitive abilities to be built higher and
Image Source/Alamy Stock Photo
higher.
Furthermore, in Vygotsky’s view, the goal of cognitive development is to learn the skills
that will allow the person to be competent in a particular culture. Expert thinkers are not
simply guiding a child into a level of cognitive sophistication but also, along the way,
sharing with the child important aspects of culture, such as language and customs. For
Vygotsky, children are not simply learning to think about the world—they are learning to
think about their own world.

INFORMATION(PROCESSING THEORY
The information-processing theory of development focuses on how people encode informa-
tion, manipulate it, monitor it, and create strategies for handling it. Information-processing
theory focuses on specific cognitive processes, such as memory, as we have reviewed in
previous chapters.
For instance, contemporary researchers study topics such as the emergence of autobi-
ographical memory as children come to mentally represent the events that make up their
life stories. Working memory, that mental workspace that is used for problem solving (see
the chapter “Memory”), is linked to many aspects of children’s development. Children with
better working memory are more advanced in reading comprehension, math skills, problem
solving, and social thinking than their counterparts with less effective working memory.
Working memory in preschool students predicts lower dropout rates in high school, even
after accounting for differences in socioeconomic status and IQ (Fitzpatrick & others, 2015).
A particularly important aspect of cognitive development in childhood is executive
! executive function Higher-order, complex function. Recall that executive function refers to higher-order, complex cognitive processes,
cognitive processes, including thinking, including thinking, planning, and problem solving. Executive function involves managing
planning, and problem solving. one’s thoughts to engage in goal-directed behavior and to exercise self-control.
In preschoolers, executive function involves skills such as holding back from acting on
one’s automatic impulses, being cognitively flexible, setting goals, and forgoing an imme-
diate pleasure or reward for a more desirable one later. To be successful in school, one
must be able to sit still, wait in line, raise one’s hand before speaking, and so forth. These
simple tasks require self-control and the capacity to inhibit one’s automatic responses. It
is not surprising that executive function during the preschool years is linked to school
readiness, perhaps even more strongly than general IQ (Blair & Raver, 2015). Executive
function also predicts better motor coordination and physical fitness (Oberer & others,
2018). Executive function predicts the development of socioemotional abilities, including
better emotional understanding in small children (Li & others, 2020). Childhood executive
function predicts academic achievement and income later in life (Deer & others, 2020).
Clearly, then, executive function is important. Can it be fostered by experience? Just as
executive function predicts physical fitness, engaging in vigorous physical activity in pre-
schoolers predicts gains in executive function (McNeill & others, 2020). Parents and teach-
ers play important roles in the development of executive function. Parents who model
executive function and self-control can serve as scaffolds for these skills. A variety of
activities increase children’s executive function, such as training to improve working mem-
ory (Kirk & others, 2015) and mindfulness training (Geromini & others, 2020; Lu & others,
2021). Very specific activities that require children to stretch the way they think can

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influence executive function. For example, 5-year-olds who were told to complete an exec-
utive function measure as if they were someone else (for example, Batman) performed
better than children who did not receive these special instructions (White & Carlson, 2016).

Socioemotional Development in Infancy

and! Childhood
When we observe newborns behind the window of a hospital nursery, one thing is clear:
Humans differ from one another in terms of their emotional demeanor from the very
beginning of life. Some are easygoing, some are prone to distress. Furthermore, in the
earliest days of life, infants encounter a social network that will play an important role as
they develop their sense of self and the world. To begin our exploration of the socioemo-
tional aspects of development, we focus first on these raw ingredients of emotional and
social characteristics that are present early in life—infant temperament and attachment.

TEMPERAMENT
Temperament refers to an individual’s behavioral style and characteristic ways of respond- ! temperament An individual’s behavioral
ing. There are a number of ways to think about infant temperament. For example, psychi- style and characteristic ways of responding.
atrists Alexander Chess and Stella Thomas (1977, 1996) identified three basic types of
temperament in children:
! The easy child generally is in a positive mood, quickly establishes regular routines in
infancy, and adapts easily to new experiences.
! The difficult child tends to react negatively and to cry frequently, engages in irregular
daily routines, and is slow to accept new experiences.
! The slow-to-warm-up child has a low activity level, is somewhat negative, is inflexible,
and is very cautious in the face of new experiences.
Other researchers suggest that infant temperament also includes other dimensions, such
as effortful control or self-regulation (controlling arousal and not being easily agitated),
inhibition (being shy and showing distress in an unfamiliar situation), and positive and
negative affectivity (tending to be happy and even-tempered or frustrated and sad) (Hassan
& Schmidt, 2021; Kagan, 2018; Posner & Rothbart, 2018). These aspects of infant tem-
perament have been linked to prenatal characteristics, such as fetal heart rate (Pingeton
& others, 2021).
The emotional characteristics that a child brings into the world are thought to serve
as a foundation for later personality. For example, in one study, the temperament of 165
infants was classified at age 14 months (Tang & others, 2020). Results showed that inhib-
ited infants were more likely to be introverted adults some 30 years later. Similarly, the
child’s earliest social bonds might set the stage for later social relationships.

ATTACHMENT
Just as infants require nutrition and shelter, they need warm social interaction to survive
and develop. A classic (and controversial) study by Harry Harlow (1958) demonstrates
the essential importance of warm contact. Harlow separated infant monkeys from their
mothers at birth and placed them in cages with two artificial “mothers.” One of the
mothers was a physically cold wire mother; the other was a warm, fuzzy cloth mother
(the “contact comfort” mother). Each mother could be outfitted with a feeding mecha-
nism. Half of the infant monkeys were fed by the wire mother, half by the cloth mother.
Harlow found that the infant monkeys nestled close to the cloth mother and spent little
time on the wire one, even if the wire mother gave them milk (Figure 8). When afraid,
the infant monkeys ran to the comfy mom.
Harlow’s work shows that contact comfort, not feeding, is crucial to an infant’s attach-
ment to its caregiver. This work set the stage for our modern understanding of the vital
role of warm physical contact between caregivers and infants.

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FIGURE 8 Contact Time with Wire 24

Fed on cloth mother
and Cloth Surrogate Mothers Regardless Fed on wire mother
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. Science Source 18

Mean hours per day

Hours per day spent
with cloth mother
12

Hours per day spent

with wire mother

0
1–5 6–10 11–15 16–20 21–25
Days of age

! infant attachment The close emotional Infant attachment is the close emotional bond between an infant and its caregiver.
bond between an infant and its caregiver. British psychiatrist John Bowlby (1969, 1989) theorized that the infant and the mother
instinctively form an attachment. For Bowlby, all those cute things that newborns do,
smiling, clinging, cooing, and crying, are adaptive behaviors that stimulate the caregiver
to respond. Bowlby thought that this early relationship with a primary caregiver was
internalized so that it serves as our schema for our sense of self and the social world.
Many developmental psychologists concur that such attachment during the first year pro-
vides an important foundation for later development (Davis & Kramer, 2021; Roisman &
Groh, 2021; Sroufe, 2021; Tang & others, 2020). Interventions to promote secure attach-
ment in infants often focus on developing caregiver sensitivity to infants (Bergström &
others, 2020; Hepworth & others, 2020; Zayde & others, 2021).
Mary Ainsworth devised the strange situation test to measure children’s attachment
(Ainsworth, 1979; Ainsworth & others, 2015). In this procedure, caregivers leave infants
alone with a stranger and then return. Children’s responses to the situation are used to
! secure attachment The ways that infants classify them into one of three attachment styles. Secure attachment means infants use
use their caregiver, usually their mother, as the caregiver, usually the mother, as a secure base from which to explore the environment.
a secure base from which to explore the In the strange situation, the secure infant is upset when the caregiver leaves but calms
environment.
down and appears happy when the caregiver returns. The securely attached infant moves
freely away from but also keeps tabs on the caregiver by periodically glancing at the
caregiver. Most (about two-thirds of) infants are securely attached.
! insecure attachment Infants do not use In contrast, there are two types of insecure attachment: avoidant and anxious/ambiva-
the caregiver as a secure base from which lent. In the strange situation, the avoidant infant might not even notice the caregiver has
to explore; instead, they experience their gone. The anxious/ambivalent infant (also called preoccupied) responds with intense
relationship with the caregiver as unstable
and unreliable. The two types of insecure distress, only to rage at the caregiver upon return.
attachment are avoidant and anxious/ Although attachment theory has been very influential, it has been criticized for three
ambivalent (also called preoccupied). main shortcomings:
! It does not adequately account for cultural differences. In some cultures, infants
show strong attachments to many people, not just to their primary caregiver.
! It does not fully account for temperamental differences. Some babies are more
difficult than others and their personalities may color the attachment relationship.
! Finally, it does not consistently acknowledge that caregivers and infants often share
genetic characteristics, and the attachment relationship might be a product of these
shared genes.

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 C hi ld D e v e l op m e n t 307

Despite such criticisms there is ample evidence that secure attachment is important to
development (Thompson et al., 2021). Moreover, attachment research has come to more
consistently consider factors such as culture, temperament, and genetics (Groh & others,
2021; van IJzendoorn & Bakermans-Kranenburg, 2021).
From Bowlby’s perspective, an infant’s experiences lay the groundwork for expectations
about what human relationships will be like, setting the stage for future relationships,
including our romantic relationships as adults (Shaver, 2021; Waters & others, 2021).
Given the raw ingredients of temperament and attachment, how does a person develop
in the socioemotional domain? Erik Erikson devised a theory of psychosocial development
to address this question. Like Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, Erikson’s theory
has guided thinking about how human beings’ social and emotional capacities develop
throughout the life span.

ERIKSON’S THEORY OF SOCIOEMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Erik Erikson (1902–1994) proposed eight psychosocial stages of development from
infancy through old age that trace socioemotional development. In Erikson’s (1968) view,
the first four stages take place in childhood; the last four occur in adolescence and adult- Rushay Booysen/EyeEm/Getty Images
hood (Figure 9).
Erikson’s theory is important because it proposes that socioemotional development is
a lifelong process. Each of Erikson’s stages represents a developmental task for the person
to master at a particular place in the life span.
Erikson’s developmental tasks are represented by two possible outcomes—one, greater
strength and competence; the other, greater weakness and vulnerability. Which outcome
occurs depends on whether the person’s needs at each stage are well met or frustrated.
Using Erikson’s stages as a guide, let’s consider the various ways that human beings
develop in terms of their capacities for interpersonal relationships and emotional well-
being in infancy and childhood.

SOCIOEMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN INFANCY

AND CHILDHOOD: FROM TRUST TO INDUSTRY
We examine Erikson’s adolescence and adult stages later in this chapter. His four child-
hood stages are:
! Trust versus mistrust: Trust is built in infancy (birth to 18 months) when a baby’s
basic needs—such as comfort, food, and warmth—are met by responsive, sensitive
caregivers. At this stage, the helpless infant depends on caregivers to establish a Erik Erikson (1902–1994) Erikson generated
sense that the world is a predictable and friendly place. one of the most important developmental
theories of the twentieth century.
! Autonomy versus shame and doubt: During toddlerhood (18 months through 3 years), Ted Streshinsky Photographic Archive/Getty Images
children can develop either a positive sense of independence and autonomy or negative
feelings of shame and doubt. In seeking autonomy, they are likely to develop a strong
sense of independence. A toddler who is experiencing toilet training is learning the
beginnings of self-control. The toddler’s growing independence is evident in the
child’s insistence that no matter how difficult the task, “I can do it myself!” Similarly
common is the toddler’s assertion of autonomy with a simple two-letter word: “No!”
! Initiative versus guilt: In early childhood (3 to 5 years), preschoolers experience what it
is like to forge their own interests and friendships and to take on responsibilities. If you
have ever spent time with a 3-year-old, you know how often the child wants to help with
whatever an adult is doing. When they experience a sense of taking on responsibility,
preschoolers develop initiative. Otherwise, according to Erikson, they may feel guilty.
! Industry versus inferiority: Children in middle and late childhood (6 years to puberty)
can achieve industry by mastering knowledge and intellectual skills. When they do not,
they can feel inferior. At the end of early childhood, children are ready to turn their
energy to learning academic skills. If they do not, they can develop a sense of being
incompetent and unproductive. During the beginnings of elementary school, children
learn the value of what Erikson called industry, gaining competence in academic skills
and acquiring the ability to practice self-discipline and engage in hard work.

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 308 CHAPTER 9 H u ma n D e ve l op m ent

Trust Versus Mistrust Autonomy Versus Initiative Versus Guilt Industry Versus Inferiority
Shame and Doubt

Developmental period: Infancy Developmental period: Developmental period: Early Developmental period: Middle
(birth to $." years) Toddlerhood ($." to % years) childhood (preschool years, and late childhood (elementary
ages %–") school years, & years to puberty)
Characteristics: A sense of trust Characteristics: After gaining Characteristics: As preschool Characteristics: At no other
requires a feeling of physical trust in their caregivers, infants children encounter a widening time are children more enthusi-
comfort and minimal amount of start to discover that they have social world, they are chal- astic than at the end of early
fear about the future. Infants’ a will of their own. They assert lenged more and need to childhood’s period of expansive
basic needs are met by respon- their sense of autonomy, or develop more purposeful behav- imagination. As children move
sive, sensitive caregivers. independence. They realize their ior to cope with these chal- into the elementary school
will. If infants are restrained too lenges. Children are now asked years, they direct their energy
much or punished too harshly, to assume more responsibility. toward mastering knowledge
they are likely to develop a Uncomfortable guilt feelings and intellectual skills. The dan-
sense of shame and doubt. may arise, though, if the chil- ger at this stage involves feeling
dren are irresponsible and are incompetent and unproductive.
made to feel too anxious.

FIGURE 9 Erikson’s Eight Stages of Psychosocial Development Erikson changed the way psychologists think about development by
tracing the process of growth over the entire life span. (first photo) Tari Faris/Getty Images; (second photo) Stephan Hoeck/Getty Images; (third photo) Ariel
Skelley/Getty Images; (fourth photo) SpeedKingz/Shutterstock; (fifth photo) Lisa F. Young/Shutterstock; (sixth photo) Blue Moon Stock/Alamy Stock Photo; (seventh photo)
Ken Karp/McGraw Hill; (eighth photo) Ryan McVay/Getty Images

From Erikson’s perspective, then, children should grow toward greater levels of auton-
omy and self-confidence as they progress from infancy to school age and beyond. At each
stage, Erikson said, parents can facilitate the child’s growth or they can thwart it by being
overly protective or neglectful.

EVALUATING ERIKSON’S THEORY

Erikson’s conclusions have had their critics (Adler, 2018; Butterbaugh & Wood, 2020;
Jordan & Tseris, 2018). Erikson mainly relied on case studies, which some reject as the
sole research foundation for his approach. Critics also argue that Erikson’s attempt to
capture each developmental stage with a single concept leaves out other important devel-
opmental tasks. For example, as we will see, Erikson said that the main task for young
adults is to resolve a conflict between intimacy and isolation, yet another important
developmental task at this life stage revolves around careers and work. Erikson’s approach
also fails to accommodate the struggles of those who face injustice or have disabilities
(Adler, 2018; Alberts & Durrheim, 2018).

PARENTING AND CHILDHOOD SOCIOEMOTIONAL

DEVELOPMENT
Researchers have tried to identify styles of parenting associated with positive developmen-
tal outcomes. Diana Baumrind (1991, 1993, 2013) described four basic styles of interac-
tion between parents and their children:
! authoritarian parenting A restrictive, ! Authoritarian parenting is a strict punitive style. The authoritarian parent firmly limits
punitive style in which the parent exhorts and controls the child with little verbal exchange. In a difference of opinion about
the child to follow the parent’s directions. how to do something, for example, the authoritarian parent might say, “You must do

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 C hild D e v e l o p m e n t 309

Identity Versus Intimacy Versus Isolation Generativity Versus Integrity Versus Despair
Identity Confusion Stagnation

Developmental period: Developmental period: Developmental period: Developmental period:

Adolescence ($# to '# years) Early adulthood ('#s, %#s) Middle adulthood ((#s, "#s) Late adulthood (&#s– )

Characteristics: Individuals are Characteristics: Individuals face Characteristics: A chief concern Characteristics: Individuals look
faced with finding out who they the developmental task of form- is to assist the younger genera- back and evaluate what they
are, what they are all about, and ing intimate relationships with tion in developing and leading have done with their lives. The
where they are going in life. An others. Erikson described inti- useful lives. retrospective glances can be
important dimension is the macy as finding oneself yet los- either positive (integrity) or neg-
exploration of alternative solu- ing oneself in another person. ative (despair).
tions to roles. Career explora-
tion is important.

it my way or else.” Children of authoritarian parents sometimes lack social skills,

show poor initiative, and compare themselves with others. Authoritarian parenting is
more likely to occur in families stressed by the lack of financial resources (Schneider
& Schenck-Fontaine, 2021). In addition, culture may affect the link between authori-
tarian parenting and academic outcomes. Many immigrant parents may employ an
authoritarian style because they are striving for their children to have a better life
(Cama & Sehgal, 2021). First-year college students who recalled their parents having
an authoritarian style were more likely to engage in risky behavior (Osborne, 2020).
! Authoritative parenting encourages the child to be independent but still places limits ! authoritative parenting A parenting
and controls on behavior. This parenting style is more collaborative. Extensive verbal style that encourages the child to be
give-and-take is allowed, and parents are warm and nurturing toward the child. An independent but still places limits and
controls on behavior.
authoritative parent might put an arm around the child in a comforting way and say,
“You know you should not have done that; let’s talk about how you can handle the
situation better next time.” Children whose parents are authoritative tend to be
socially competent, self-reliant, and socially responsible.
! Neglectful parenting is distinguished by a lack of parental involvement in the child’s ! neglectful parenting A parenting style
life. Children of neglectful parents might develop a sense that other aspects of their characterized by a lack of parental
parents’ lives are more important than they are. Children whose parents are neglectful involvement in the child’s life.
tend to be less competent socially, to handle independence poorly, and (especially) to
show poor self-control.
! Permissive parenting involves placing few limits on the child’s behavior. A permissive ! permissive parenting A parenting style
parent lets the child do whatever the child desires. Some parents deliberately rear characterized by the placement of few
their children this way because they believe that the combination of warm involvement limits on the child’s behavior.
and few limits will produce a creative, confident child. However, children with very
permissive parents typically rate poorly in social competence. They often fail to learn
respect for others, expect to get their own way, and have difficulty controlling their
behavior. Recall that socioemotional development involves becoming increasingly
adept at controlling and regulating one’s emotions and behaviors. Children may
require structure from their caregivers to acquire these skills.

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Moral Development in Childhood

Another aspect of social development is how an individual becomes a person of charac-
ter—someone who behaves morally. This aspect of development features yet another classic
theory in developmental psychology, that of Lawrence Kohlberg (1927–1987). Moral
development involves changes over time in thoughts, feelings, and behaviors regarding the
principles and values that guide what people should do.

KOHLBERG’S THEORY
Kohlberg (1958) began his study of moral thinking by creating a series of stories and
asking children, adolescents, and adults questions about the stories. One story goes some-
thing like this: A man, Heinz, whose wife is dying of cancer, finds out about a drug that
might save her life. He approaches the pharmacist who has the drug, but the pharmacist
refuses to give it to him without being paid a very high price. Heinz is unable to scrape
together the money and eventually decides to steal the drug.
After reading the story, each person interviewed was asked a series of questions about
the moral dilemma involved. Should Heinz have stolen the drug? Kohlberg was less inter-
ested in the answer to this question than he was to how the person answered the next
question: Why? Based on the reasons people gave for their answers, Kohlberg (1986)
Lawrence Kohlberg (1927–1987) Kohlberg evaluated their level of moral development. Kohlberg’s stages of moral development con-
created a provocative theory of moral sist of three general levels:
development. In his view, “Moral development
consists of a sequence of qualitative changes 1. Preconventional: The individual’s moral reasoning is based on the consequences of
in the way an individual thinks.” behavior and punishments and rewards from the external world. Moral reasoning
Lee Lockwood/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty is guided by not wanting Heinz to go to jail or by feelings of concern for the
Images
druggists’ profits.
2. Conventional: The person abides by standards learned from parents or society’s
laws. At this level a person might reason that Heinz should act in accord with
expectations or his role as a good husband or reason that Heinz should follow
the law no matter what.
3. Postconventional: The individual recognizes alternative moral courses, explores the
options, and then develops an increasingly personal moral code. At this level, a
person might reason that saving Heinz’s wife is more important than obeying a law.
Kohlberg believed that moral development is based on maturation of thought, capacity
for role taking, and opportunities to discuss moral issues with a person who reasons at a
stage just above one’s own.
You can tell Kohlberg studied with Piaget as both placed great emphasis on a person’s
capacity to reason in a sophisticated way. Later approaches to moral development have
focused on its social and emotional components. For Kohlberg, a sense of justice was at
the heart of moral reasoning, which he believed laid the foundation for moral behavior.

EVALUATING KOHLBERG’S THEORY

Kohlberg’s ideas have stimulated considerable research about how people think about
moral issues. At the same time, his theory has many critics.
One criticism is that moral reasoning does not necessarily mean moral behavior. Asked
about moral reasoning, people might say things that fit into Kohlberg’s advanced stages,
but their actual behavior might involve cheating, lying, and stealing. Cheaters, liars, and
thieves might know what is right but still choose to do what is wrong. We would not
consider someone who behaves immorally to be morally developed.
Carol Gilligan (b. 1936) Gilligan argues that Another criticism is that Kohlberg’s view does not adequately reflect concern for other
Kohlberg’s approach does not give people and social bonds. Kohlberg’s theory is called a justice perspective because it focuses
adequate attention to relationships. In
Gilligan’s view, “Many girls seem to fear, on the rights of the individual as the key to sound moral reasoning. In contrast, the care
most of all, being alone—without friends, perspective, which lies at the heart of Carol Gilligan’s (1982) approach to moral develop-
family, and relationships.” ment, views people in terms of their connectedness with others and emphasizes interper-
Paul Hawthorne/Getty Images sonal communication, relationships, and concern for others. From Gilligan’s perspective,

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this weakness in Kohlberg’s approach explains why, using his measures, women generally
scored lower than men on moral development.
Culture can also influence whether a person approaches a moral dilemma from the
perspective of justice or care (Lapsley, 2018). In Western cultures, people generally tend
to have an individualistic sense of self and are therefore inclined to take a justice perspec-
tive. Such individuals might score higher in Kohlberg’s scheme than their counterparts in
collectivistic cultures where people view the self as part of a larger group.
A final criticism of Kohlberg centers on his overestimation of the role of logical rea-
soning in moral judgments. Contemporary research suggests that Kohlberg overlooked the
influence of emotion and intuition in moral decision making.

CURRENT RESEARCH ON MORAL DEVELOPMENT

In addition to justice and care, contemporary research on moral reasoning includes multi-
ple principles, or moral foundations, that people take into account as they reason about
moral issues. From this perspective there are at least five foundations that people consider
when they are making moral judgments (Graham & others, 2012; Harper & Rhodes, 2021):
! Care: People consider kindness and compassion toward others as well as avoiding
harm to others.
! Fairness: People think about just outcomes and seek outcomes that will be fair to all
involved.
! Loyalty: People consider their allegiances to groups and being true to the groups to
which they belong.
! Authority: People consider what their leaders believe and seek to obey them. ! prosocial behavior Behavior that is
! Purity: People base moral judgments on whether they find a behavior to be noble or, intended to benefit other people.
in contrast, disgusting or animalistic.
These moral foundations have been shown to play a role in many domains of life
including politics (Wendell & Tatalovich, 2021) and law (Smith, 2021).
In addition to moral reasoning, contemporary researchers have increasingly studied te st y our self
prosocial behavior, behavior that is intended to benefit other people (Pfattheicher & 1. What are teratogens? Give several
others, 2021). For instance, researchers are probing how conversations with preschoolers examples of them.
about other people’s experience can promote prosocial action even in toddlers (Brazelli 2. According to Piaget, what two
& others, 2021) and how parental support and children’s characteristics predict patterns processes are responsible for how
of change in prosocial behavior over the course of schooling (Shi & others, 2021). Parental people use and adapt their
warmth and support predict greater prosocial behavior in early adolescence (Luengo schemas, and what is involved in
Kanacri & others, 2021). each process? What are some key
aspects of Vygotsky’s theory and
Interestingly, executive function also predicts greater prosocial behavior (Traverso &
information-processing theory?
others, 2020), and engaging in prosocial behavior predicts gains in executive function over
3. What are Erikson’s four childhood
time. In fact, prosocial behavior in young children can be a source of resilience, buffering stages of development, and what is
them from the academic risks associated with lower socioeconomic status (Armstrong- the central concern of each stage?
Carter & others, 2021).

3. ADOLESCENCE
Adolescence is the developmental period of transition from childhood to adulthood, begin-
ning around ages 10 to 12 and ending at 18 to 21. Adolescents are not all the same.
Variations in ethnicity, culture, history, gender, socioeconomic status, and lifestyle
characterize their life trajectories. In this section we examine the changes that occur in
adolescence in the domains of physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development.

Physical Development in Adolescence

Dramatic physical changes characterize adolescence, especially early adolescence. Among
the major physical changes of adolescence are those involving puberty and the brain.

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PUBERTAL CHANGE
! puberty A period of rapid skeletal and The signature physical change in adolescence is puberty, a period of rapid skeletal and
sexual maturation that occurs mainly in sexual maturation that occurs mainly in early adolescence. Hormonal changes lie at the
early adolescence. core of pubertal development. The concentrations of certain hormones increase greatly
during puberty and have a cascading effect on development (Díaz-Morales & Parra-Robledo,
2021; Pfeifer & Allen, 2021). Two types of hormones lead to the development of the
genitals and secondary sex characteristics—such as a beard or breasts. We will discuss
these changes in more detail in the chapter “Gender, Sex, and Sexuality.” Hormonal changes
account for at least some of the emotional ups and downs of adolescence, but hormones
are not solely responsible for adolescent behavior (Calvete & others, 2020).
Recall that physical and socioemotional development are intertwined. Nowhere is this
link more apparent than in the timing of puberty (Laube & Fuhrmann, 2020). Gender
matters to the relations of early puberty to life experiences. Early puberty in boys predicts
positive outcomes, such as popularity and higher self-esteem (Graber & others, 2006) but
these outcomes may depend on the quality of the boys’ peer groups and parenting
(Klopack & others, 2020).
In contrast, girls who are early bloomers are less likely to engage in academic pursuits
and are less popular with their peers (but more popular with boys), and they are more
likely to become sexually active and to engage in unsafe sex (Blumenthal & others, 2011;
Skoog & Kapetanovic, 2021). Among early-blooming girls, these outcomes are at least
partially due to early use of substances such as drugs and alcohol (Hendrick & others,
2016). For these reasons, parents sometimes opt for puberty-blocking medical treatments
for children who enter puberty early (Zhan & others, 2021).

THE ADOLESCENT BRAIN

Brain-imaging studies show important changes in the brain during adolescence. These
changes focus on the earlier development of the amygdala, which involves emotion, and
the later development of the prefrontal cortex, which is concerned with reasoning and
decision making (Figure 10).
These brain changes may help to explain why adolescents often display very strong
emotions but cannot yet control these feelings. It is as if the adolescent brain does not
have the brakes to slow down emotions. Because of the relatively slow development of
the prefrontal cortex, which continues to mature into early adulthood, adolescents may
lack the cognitive skills to control their impulses effectively. This developmental disjunc-
tion may account for increased risk taking and other problems in adolescence.
Biological changes in the brain are linked
Prefrontal Cortex Amygdala with experiences (Andrews & others, 2021).
Involved in higher-order cognitive Involved in processing
For instance, one study of adolescents found
functioning, such as decision making information about emotion
that resisting peer pressure was correlated with
prefrontal cortex thickening and more brain
connections (Paus & others, 2008). This cor-
relational study cannot tell us if the brain
changes promoted peer-pressure resistance or if
this resistance promoted changes in the brain,
but it does highlight the nature–nurture ques-
tion that permeates the study of development.

Cognitive Development
in Adolescence
As they advance into Piaget’s stage of formal
operational thinking, adolescents undergo other
significant cognitive changes. One characteristic
FIGURE 10 Developmental Changes in the Adolescent’s Brain The amygdala,
which is responsible for processing information about emotion, matures earlier than the
of adolescent thinking, especially in early adoles-
prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for decision making and other higher-order cence, is egocentrism. Although children are also
cognitive functions. Tanya Constantine/Brand X Pictures/PunchStock considered egocentric, adolescent egocentrism has

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a different focus; it involves the belief that others are as preoccupied with the adolescent as
the adolescent is. Egocentric adolescents perceive others as observing them more than actu-
ally is the case—think of the eighth-grader who is certain that everyone has noticed the small
pimple on their face. In addition, adolescents show a belief that they are invincible (that is,
incapable of being harmed). Adolescents display a particularly problematic pattern in their
perception of risks; unlike adults, they underestimate risks associated with various behaviors
even as they prefer riskier experiences (Modecki, 2016; Willoughby & others, 2021).

Socioemotional Development in Adolescence

Among the key aspects of adolescent development are identity exploration and the roles
that parents and peers play in adolescent development.

IDENTITY
Recall from Figure 9 that Erikson (1968) viewed the key challenge of adolescence (his
fifth stage) as identity versus identity confusion. Erikson’s approach to the formation of
identity during adolescence is one of his most important contributions. In seeking an
identity, adolescents face the challenges of finding out who they are, what they are all
about, and where they are going in life. Adolescents are confronted with many new roles
and adult statuses—from jobs and careers to friendships and romantic relationships. If
they do not adequately explore their identity during this stage, they end up confused about
who they are. Erikson argued that parents should allow adolescents to explore many
different roles and many paths within a particular role.
Adolescents who spend this time in their lives exploring alternatives can reach some
resolution of the identity crisis and emerge with a new sense of self. Those who do not
successfully resolve the crisis suffer what Erikson calls identity confusion, which is expressed
in one of two ways: The person either withdraws from peers and family or seeks anonymity
within a crowd.

Marcia’s Theory on Identity Status Building on Erikson’s ideas, James Marcia

proposed the concept of identity status to describe a person’s progress in developing an
identity (Marcia, 1980, 2002). In Marcia’s view, two dimensions of identity—exploration
and commitment—are important. Exploration refers to investigating various options for a
career and for personal values. Commitment involves making a decision about which iden-
tity path to follow and making a personal investment in attaining that identity. Various
combinations of exploration and commitment give rise to one of four identity statuses.
Marcia’s approach focuses on identity as an active construction, an outcome of a
process of thinking about and trying on different identities. To understand Marcia’s
approach, check out the Psychological Inquiry.

Identity in Context The adolescent search for identity occurs in a larger culture and
is affected by the cultural messages conveyed by others. Developing an identity in adoles-
cence can be especially challenging for people with marginalized identities, including
minoritized racial or ethnic, sexual, and gender identity groups, Native American youth,
religious minorities, immigrant, or disability-related groups (Juang & others, 2020; Pohjola,
2020; Quam & others, 2020; Raifman & others, 2020). As they mature, many adolescents
become acutely aware of the evaluation of their groups by the majority culture. Ethnic
minority youth may also face the challenges of biculturalism or multiculturalism—identify-
ing in some ways with their ethnic group and in other ways with the majority culture
(Ferguson & others, 2020; Romero & others, 2020).
For ethnic minority youth, feeling both a positive attachment to their own group and
an attachment to the larger culture is related to more positive academic and emotional
outcomes (Caqueo-Urízar & others, 2020; Del Toro & Wang, 2021). Although it might
seem that being a member of a marginalized group would make life more stressful, having
a strong positive identification with one’s group can buffer adolescents from the effects of
discrimination (Sladek & others, 2020; Sladek & others, 2021). For both minority and
majority adolescents, developing a positive identity is an important life theme (Chung &
others, 2020; Palmqvist & others, 2020; Scroggs & Vennum, 2020). Living in a diverse

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psychological inquiry
Exploring Identity Exploration
This figure summarizes Marcia’s conceptu-
Has the person made a commitment? alization of identity development. Notice
Yes No that the different quadrants of the square
Has the person Identity
represent the crossings of the two factors
Yes Identity
explored achievement moratorium of commitment and exploration and that
meaningful
alternatives every possible combination of the two is
regarding Identity Identity represented. Then answer the questions
some identity No foreclosure diffusion that follow.
question?
$. Imagine an adolescent who comes from
a family in which no one has ever
attended college. What sorts of experi-
ences might influence this adolescent’s
journey to identity? How might back-
ground influence identity exploration?
". Find your current identity status in this
figure. In which quadrant is your own
identity located? Do you feel that you
have fully explored your potential iden-
Matthieu Spohn/Getty Images tities? Why or why not?
%. Which path to identity do you believe is most common in young people today?
Why?
&. Finding one’s path in life is a common theme in popular books, TV shows, and
film. Can you identify a book or movie that depicts the combination of exploration
and resolution? Why do you think this theme is so popular?

society means that people will be different from each other in many ways.
Creating a context where all identities are celebrated allows youth from all dif-
ferent groups to find a safe, nurturing, and positive context to be themselves.
Key aspects of identity that may come to the fore during adolescence are
sexual orientation and gender identity (Potter & others, 2021). We discuss these
issues in depth in the chapter “Gender, Sex, and Sexuality.”

PARENT AND PEER INFLUENCES

Parents and peers play important roles in adolescent development, including
helping adolescents explore and answer the central questions of identity: “Who
am I, and who do I hope to become?”

Parenting As in childhood, the preferred parenting style for most adolescents

The managerial role of parenting involves effective
monitoring of the adolescent’s friends, social activities,
is authoritative because this approach is associated with positive outcomes (Baum-
and academic efforts. rind, 2012). To help adolescents reach their full potential, a parent, in essence, must
MoMo Productions/Getty Images be an effective manager—one who locates information, makes contacts, helps to
structure offsprings’ choices, and provides guidance. By assuming this managerial role, parents
help adolescents to avoid pitfalls and to work their way through the decisions they face.
Although adolescence is a time of establishing independence, a crucial aspect of the man-
agerial role of parenting is effective monitoring (Romo & others, 2016). Monitoring includes
supervising the adolescent’s choice of social settings, activities, and friends, social media use,
and academic efforts. However, it is important for parents to be flexible and match their
involvement with their child’s life. This kind of flexible approach has been termed vigilant care
(Omer & others, 2016), an idea that captures the ways parents must allow adolescents to
explore while keeping an eye out for signs of problems. Parents may have to walk a fine line
between vigilance and snooping (Frampton & Fox, 2021; Son & Padilla-Walker, 2021).

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 E m e r g i n g A d u l t h o o d , A d u l t D e v e lo p m e n t , a n d A gi n g 315

How competent the adolescent will become often depends on access to legitimate
opportunities for growth, such as a quality education, community and societal support for
achievement and involvement, and good jobs. Despite adolescents’ potential beliefs to the te st y our self
contrary, they do need deeply caring support from adults. Successfully parenting adoles- 1. What characteristics of the
cents means allowing adolescents to explore their own identity and handle increasing adolescent brain help to explain
levels of autonomy in a positive manner, while also remaining an involved parent. why adolescents often display
strong emotions that they cannot
Peer Relations Adolescents spend more time with peers than children do. Peer influ- control?
ences can be positive or negative (Allen & others, 2020; Andrews & others, 2020). A 2. According to Erikson, what
significant aspect of positive peer relations is having one or more close friends. Adoles- challenges do adolescents face
in trying to establish an identity,
cents can learn to be skilled and sensitive partners in intimate relationships by forging
and what happens if they do not
close friendships with selected peers. In fact, research shows that skills acquired through
successfully resolve an identity
adolescent friendships (not romantic relationships) predict romantic satisfaction in later crisis?
relationships (Allen & others, 2020). However, some peers and friends can negatively 3. In what ways do parents and
impact adolescents’ development. Hanging out with delinquent peers in adolescence can peers contribute to adolescent
be a strong predictor of substance abuse, delinquent behavior, and depression (Andrews development?
& others, 2020).

4. EMERGING ADULTHOOD, ADULT

DEVELOPMENT, AND AGING
Developmental psychologists identify three approximate periods in adult development:
early adulthood (20s and 30s), middle adulthood (40s and 50s), and late adulthood (60s
until death). Each phase features distinctive physical, cognitive, and socioemotional
changes.
Erikson believed that once issues of identity are resolved, young adults turn to the
domain of intimate relationships. However, in recent decades, many young people are
putting off the commitments of marriage, family, and career. Jeffrey Arnett (2006) intro-
duced the concept of emerging adulthood to describe this transitional period, which is
partly an extended adolescence and partly a “trying on” of adult roles. We begin our
survey of postadolescence by briefly examining this transitional life stage.

Emerging Adulthood
Emerging adulthood is the transitional period from adolescence to adulthood (Arnett, ! emerging adulthood The transitional
2006, 2007, 2012; Wood & others, 2018), from about 18 to 25 years of age. Emerging period from adolescence to adulthood,
adults experiment with and explore career paths, identities, and close relationships. spanning approximately 18 to 25 years
of age.
Jeffrey Arnett (2006) identified five main features of emerging adulthood:
! Identity exploration, especially in love and work: Emerging adulthood is a time of
significant changes in identity for many individuals.
! Instability: Residential changes peak during emerging adulthood, a time during which
there also is often instability in love, work, and education.
! Self-focus: Emerging adults “are self-focused in the sense that they have little in the
way of social obligations, [and] little in the way of duties and commitments to
others, which leaves them with a great deal of autonomy in running their own lives”
(Arnett, 2006, p. 10).
! Feeling “in between”: Many emerging adults consider themselves neither adolescents
nor full-fledged adults.
! Age of possibilities, a time when individuals have an opportunity to transform their life:
Arnett (2006) described two ways in which emerging adulthood is the age of possi-
bilities: (1) Many emerging adults are optimistic about their future; and (2) for
emerging adults who have experienced difficult times while growing up, emerging
adulthood presents an opportunity to guide their lives in a positive direction.

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