Development Pt 2

Professor Espino Perez: Today,
we're going to finish our chapter

on human lifespan development.

In last lecture, we discussed

how a zygote becomes a child.

Today, we will discuss
how a child becomes

an adolescent and how an
adolescent becomes an adult.

Adolescence literally
means to become an adult.

This has existed
throughout all of

known history and in
all known societies,

although there are
cultural differences

with respect to who is
considered an adolescent,

an adolescent and
throughout what ages,

a person is considered
an adolescent.

The nature and length
of adolescence

differs from culture to culture.

In most societies,
adolescence ends in

the early to mid teens
for women, and for men,

it ends in the late teens

and in the US and
other societies,

adolescence ends at
age 20 and beyond.

Now, there are a lot of changes

that occur in adolescence.

One of the most notable
changes that occurs

in adolescence is puberty.

Of course, adolescence includes
a biological dimension.

Throughout puberty, one of

the clear markers of puberty

is the increase in
hormone production,

and this hormone
production peaks at

age 10 both men and women,

with the maturation
of adrenal glands,

and within the adrenal glands,

that's where all
the hormones are

released, testosterone and such.

Adrenarche is associated with

romantic and sexual feelings.

Adrenarche is when the
maturation of adrenal glands

occurs and when hormone
production reaches its peak.

In addition to that, personality

also tends to change and
adjust in adolescence.

Prior to adolescence,

children's beliefs really

reflected the beliefs
of their parents,

maybe the beliefs of
society as a whole,

the beliefs of their teachers.

But among adolescents,

that no longer is the case.

Adolescents become more free

to explore their own beliefs.

Apart from the
biological dimension

with respect to
changes in hormones,

there are also
changes in the brain

that occur during adolescence.

One, there are explosive changes
that occur in the brain,

and this is marked by changes
in white and gray matter.

Hopefully, you
remember this from

our chapter on the brain.

What is the difference between
white and gray matter?

White matter exists when axons

become myelinated or encased
in a fatty substance.

That creates faster and

more efficient neuronal
transmissions.

This creation of white matter
along the axons also allows

information from
multiple sources

to be combined more effectively.

Essentially, what's happening
to the adolescent brain is

that a lot of
connections are sped up,

and a lot more
neuronal connections

are being made between
different thoughts and ideas.

Gray matter, in turn, decreases.

This is the existence of slower,

unmyelinated axons, so
they decrease in density.

The increase in white
matter and the decrease in

gray matter is especially
pertinent in the limbic system.

In the limbic system,

that's associated with social
and emotional experiences.

This makes sense when you
talk about adolescents.

If you're increasing
your white matter,

you're increasing the speed

to which information
is processed and

also allowing multiple sources

of information to be
combined more effectively,

that might explain, um,

the variation in moods that

adolescents experience and also

the types of emotions
that they exhibit

and the types of

friendships that are
created during adolescence,

and how some of them
might be fraught

with a lot of uncertainty.

In addition, apart from

having increase in white and

gray matter in the
limbic system,

late adolescence into early
adulthood is when we have

an increase in white
matter and decreasing

gray matter in the
prefrontal cortex.

Now, the prefrontal cortex
is associated with judgment,

weighing of consequences,
and self-control.

Do you think that this
might be a problem?

Having an increase in white
matter in your limbic system,

which creates more extreme
emotional experiences,

has to do with
social connections,

has to do with rewards
and gratification.

That's more active relative to

the stop gap or something that

might stop those
emotional responses,

the prefrontal cortex, which

only develops much
later into adulthood.

Yes. The early development of

white matter in
the limbic system

and the late development of

white matter in the
prefrontal cortex

leads to problems at
least in the West.

This is clearly illustrated
by this statistic.

At least 50% of
adolescents drive drunk,

use illegal drugs, have
sex without protection,

or commit minor crimes.

This might be partially due

to the activation of
the limbic system

and only later development
of the prefrontal cortex.

Apart from just having

the limbic system, the
prefrontal cortex,

and all these hormones
change adolescent behavior,

adolescents aren't
free from choice.

Adolescents still have choices.

They also shape their brain
through their own behavior.

Of course, this is a time when

there's explosive
change in the brain.

Your neurons get myelinated.

You build new connections.

Some of you are still
considered adolescents.

It's really important for
you to choose your behaviors

appropriately
because that's what

you're training your brain

to do throughout the
rest of your life.

It's important for
adolescents to

carefully consider how
they're spending their time.

Are you training your
brain to reading?

Are you training your brain
to watching a lot of Netflix?

Are you training your
brain to enjoy exercising?

What things are you
training your brain

and your body to do throughout
the rest of your life?

Not only do an
adolescent's brain,

hormones, and behavior
determine their outcomes,

parents, of course, also matter.

We ended last lecture's
discussion on attachment styles.

This is an interesting
story about

a woman named
Judith Rich Harris.

She was a PhD student
at Harvard University,

but she was kicked out
of her grad program

at Harvard for her
lack of originality.

Her advisor thought
that she lacked

originality and
independence of thought.

Instead of graduating
with a PhD,

I believe she graduated
with a master's degree and

started writing textbooks on
developmental psychology.

After writing all of these
textbooks and becoming very

intimately aware
of all the issues

surrounding developmental
psychology,

and after watching
her own children

grow up and her
grandchildren grow up,

she was a grandmother
from New Jersey.

She wrote an article
in Psychology Review,

which is a pretty
prestigious journal.

Ironically, she won
the George A. Miller

Award for innovation in her
contribution to this article,

and George A. Miller was
the name of her advisor,

who kicked her out of
her graduate program.

I guess that must have
felt really great for her.

In this article, she argued that

parents weren't primary
socializers of children.

They aren't the
only ones who are

responsible for teaching
children what's right and wrong.

They're not the only
ones who are responsible

for shaping children's
affect or personality.

She argued that it might also

be the greater culture at large.

She argued that some
other socializers

might be teachers or peers,

and we know that to be true.

She also argued that this
assumption was an error among

developmental psychologists
and might have

stunted the
development of theory.

She argued against

the nurture assumption
of parenting styles.

The nurture assumption says

that the way that parents
treat their children has

a profound effect
on the way that

their children turn out as
adolescents and adults.

Often, if a child
is misbehaving,

the attribution that's made

is that their parents
aren't raising them right,

their parents aren't
strict enough,

maybe the parents are
spoiling the child.

But Judith Rich Harris
argued against that.

Now, within the
nurture assumption,

we have three classic styles.

We talked about this
also when we talked

about just parenting
styles in general,

in the last lecture, but

there are three classic
styles of parenting.

First, we have authoritarian.

This type of parent
imposes strict rules,

doesn't explain the rationale

for these rules, and
expects obedience.

You're going to do this

because I'm telling
you to do this.

It doesn't matter why I'm
telling you to do this.

You're just going to do this.

Then there's
authoritative parents.

These parents demonstrate love

and respect for
their children in

the warm environment
while maintaining control

on their children's behavior
with use of reason.

Again, this is seen as the
ideal parenting style.

Then we have the permissive
parenting style.

This occurs with
parents who are highly

accepting and warm in their

relations with their children,

but don't offer any
boundaries, limits, or rules.

Think about this as
existing on a continuum.

We have the authoritarian
being the most negative,

maybe the most strict

authoritative being
somewhere in the middle,

and then permissive
being the most lax.

Both ends of the spectrum,

authoritarian and permissive,

are seen as having a great
number of negative qualities

that can lead to
negative outcomes

for the children being raised
in these environments,

whereas the
authoritative parenting

style is seen as maybe

leading to the most well-adjusted
children and adults.

But we probably all know

of children or even parents

who might have
raised their kids in

a very authoritarian style,

imposing strict rules
doesn't explain

the rationale for these
rules and expects obedience.

In fact, right now, I'm watching

a really trashy reality TV show.

I think it's called

the Plath Family or
something like that,

and it's about a family
that lives really secluded

from other people in
the middle of Georgia.

They have a farmstead,

and they are raising
their children

without exposure to TV or
radio, or the Internet.

They only let them
sing religious songs.

The children don't know

anything about pop culture.
They're authoritarian.

But even while you're
seeing this show,

you realize that it
doesn't matter how

the parents are raising
these children,

whether they're
authoritarian or permissive.

Sometimes the children's
personalities might supersede

the parenting that is being
done within the home.

This supports Harris' argument.

Harris argues that, well,

parenting styles do have

an influence on
children's outcomes,

but it is not the sole
contributor to that.

The parent-child relationship is

not a one-way relationship.

It isn't just the parent
influences the child.

The child is a tabula rasa.

They are molded
by their parents.

Children are born with
their own personalities,

children are born with
their own behavior,

their own thoughts,
so they might

not necessarily
be a tabula rasa.

This is Harris' argument.
One, parents pass jeans

onto their children as well
as child-rearing style.

The kids are already partially

the way that the parents
are based on jeans.

Parents' child-rearing
style may result from

the type of child they
have, not vice versa.

For example, if a child is good,

they might be treated with more

flexibility from their parents.

They might be given more of a
permissive parenting style.

But if the child is bad,

really reckless,
makes bad decisions,

then that parent might
switch into more

of an authoritarian
parenting style.

I'm sure if you have siblings,

you've seen this occur
with your siblings.

For my brother, for example,

he was given more of

a permissive parenting
style from my parents,

I think because he was a
Latino male in our household,

whereas I was given more
of an authoritarian.

I had strict rules. I didn't

get any explanation about
why these rules existed,

and I just was expected to obey.

Great. I'd like you to think

about how in your own household,

this might have played
a role or played out,

and how you've seen this occur,

and how parenting
styles might have been

successful or not successful

among some of your peers, too.

Another factor that is
of great importance to

developmental psychologists

is the development
of moral reasoning.

Each stage of moral development

builds on the previous
one and reflects a child

in adolescents increasingly
sophisticated ways of

thinking about moral
issues and choices.

This is based on Lawrence
Kohlberg's three levels,

six stage theory of
moral reasoning.

The three levels include
pre-conventional morality.

Moral judgments are based
on reward or punishment.

I judge whether
things are good or

bad based on whether
I get a reward,

some candy, more time
on the computer,

more time watching
TV or punishment.

I get my switch taken away,

I'm not allowed to use my iPad,

I get a timeout, et cetera.

That's how really young
children decide what's moral.

You get cues based

on morality based on
reward or punishment.

Then there's
conventional morality.

This is the moral judgment of

school-aged children
and young adolescents,

and these are based
on respect for law,

social norms, and rules
set by authority figures.

Depending on the environment
where they grow up,

these are social norms,

the types of laws that exist,

and the rules set by
authority figures,

this is what determines
the morality

of school-aged children
and young adolescents.

Post-conventional
morality, though, is

a moral judgment based on

abstract principles
and personal beliefs.

An example of a law that may
be considered immoral now,

but that existed before,

it is called an
anti-miscegenation law.

What this was, it was a
law that made it illegal

to marry or date anyone
outside of your own race.

When this law existed,

based on conventional morality,

school-aged children
and young adolescents

would show respect for

law and think that marrying
someone outside of

your own race would be immoral.

Just because something's a law

doesn't mean that it's moral,

and this is the post-conventional
morality comes in.

Your moral judgment
is based more on

abstract principles and
personal beliefs, although,

anti-miscegenation
laws were legal,

people who have reached

the post-conventional
morality stage might say,

it might be legal,
but it's not moral.

There is no reason why
these laws should exist,

and glad to say,

that those laws no longer exist.

There you go.

Lawrence Kohlberg's three
level six stage theory

of moral reasoning is mostly

derived from Jonathan Haidt's

five foundations of morality.

Now, there are a few
very graphic examples

of this in the book that
I encourage you to read.

One of the examples that
I read stuck in my mind.

Just a disclaimer,
the examples that

Jonathan Haidt uses in
his work to illustrate

these five psychological
foundations

of morality are often

threatening to all of
these moral foundations.

They're meant to elicit

very negative
feelings because he

argues that these very
negative feelings

are the foundations of morality.

One of the examples
that he gives is that,

a man goes to a grocery store

every day and he buys a chicken,

he goes home and he
has sex with it,

and then he cooks it
and has it for dinner.

You are meant to feel

disgusted and you are meant
to feel just outraged.

Jonathan Haidt
argues that you feel

outraged because, one,

we're violating the purity
and sanctity rules.

We're also not caring

for others and
avoiding causing harm,

even though the chicken is dead.

It just seems like
it's disgusting.

Respect for authority,
we're not supposed

to engage in bestiality.

There are other examples

that you should
read in the book,

but that's just one that I
remember I read this morning,

and it really elicited a
negative reaction from me.

The fact that it elicited

a negative reaction from
me and hopefully elicited

a negative reaction from you is

because it violates
our moral foundations.

These foundations from which

all moral systems
are built are one,

caring for others and
avoiding causing harm.

Two, we have desire for
fairness and justice,

however, we define it.

Three, we have
loyalty to a group.

Four, we have respect
for authority.

Five, we have expectations
for purity and sanctity.

Great. Now, how does the
adolescent become an adult,

and when does it occur?

Researchers have
defined adulthood

in terms of five factors.

One is finishing school,

however, long that takes.

For me, I didn't
really officially

finish school until
I was about 29,

30 because I went
to a PhD program.

Another factor
that can determine

becoming an adult
is leaving home.

Another factor is becoming
financially independent.

I've been financially
independent for

a longer time than I've
been out of school.

Four is marrying someone,

and five is parenthood.

In the economy of
the 21st century,

employment doesn't always result

in financial independence,

especially because there was

news article that came out
yesterday that talked about

how nowhere in the US can you

work a minimum wage job

full-time and afford
an apartment.

It's just ridiculous. Of course,

employment doesn't always

result in financial
independence.

The amount of
schooling and training

that's necessary
to find employment

that does result in

financial independence has
increased dramatically.

For me with a bachelor's degree,

I wasn't sure if I would
be able to get a job.

That's why I went and got
a master's and then a PhD.

Then a vast number of
young people are stuck in

another world where they're

considered either
adolescents and adults.

A few of these things,

particularly in the current
state of our world,

so people can finish school,

but because of how

difficult it is to find
a job, maintain a job,

and get a job that pays
relatively good salary,

it's harder and harder
for young adults

to leave home to become
financially independent.

Because of these factors,

millennials,
zillennials, et cetera,

are delaying marrying someone

and also extremely
delaying parenthood.

We need to redefine
what it means

to be an adult in
the 21st century.

But that's what work has
described adulthood as being.

It'll be interesting to see

the developments that occur in

the next few years
when it comes to this.

Now, there are conflicts that
occur in adulthood based on

Erik Erikson's
psychosocial stages

that occur during different
periods of the lifespan.

During adulthood or during the
transition into adulthood,

Erik Erikson argues that

there are two
conflicts that exist.

First is intimacy
versus isolation.

The questions you ask yourself
during this conflict is,

can I make a lasting commitment
to another person in

a loving relationship or will

feelings of insecurity
isolate me from others?

This is what decides
whether you're able

to form a long-term
commitment with someone,

marry someone, and reach
that new stage of adulthood.

There's also generativity
versus stagnation.

Do you feel as though you've

accomplished anything of value

to pass on to the
next generation?

For adults, it seems to be

very important for
us to feel as though

we've made a mark
as though we have

contributed to
society as a whole.

Of course, work is an important
marker of being an adult.

Work, marriage and parenthood,

still somewhat define adulthood.

Even in jobs consisting of

repetitive work with a few
apparent intrinsic rewards,

people still form
friendships, find spouses,

experience feelings of
usefulness and find

sources of identity and
meaning within this work.

What I'm thinking about
right now is the office,

the TV show, this is a
good example of this.

We generally derive at least
some meaning from our work.

No matter how small,

no matter how repetitive,

no matter if we just
work at a paper company,

we can derive some
meaning from our work.

There are, however, some
sex differences when it

comes to how we choose
the work that we do.

In general, men tend to place

higher importance
on extrinsic reward

like higher salaries,

and are attracted to careers
that are high in prestige,

whereas women
prefer environments

that reflect intrinsic interest

and ability to work with
others and be socially useful.

This is a callback to

our chapter on
evolutionary psychology.

From an evolutionary
psychologists perspective,

this makes sense because
men are seeking a mate.

They place higher importance on

extrinsic reward like higher
salaries and prestige,

because they are demonstrating
to if they are straight,

they are demonstrating to
their female counterparts,

I can take care of you and
our future children by

having a high salary and

having a job that is
high and prestige.

I'm intelligent too,
we're going to pass

those genes on to our children,

whereas women prefer to
be more socially useful.

They're more interested
in benefiting the group,

that makes sense from

an evolutionary
psychology standpoint.

There are also racial
or ethnic differences.

European American and Latino and

Latinas place more emphasis on

independence and
intrinsic interest

in the career of their choice,

whereas African and
Asian American students

have been more concerned

with extrinsic rewards like
higher salaries and prestige.

I think this makes sense for me.

As a Latina, I place more
emphasis on intrinsic interest.

Liking being a psychologist,

liking being an instructor,

relative to other factors.

Marriage is also an
indicator of being an adult.

People may marry for
different reasons; for love,

for a sense of familial
responsibility

because your parents are making
you parental insistence,

for financial
security, et cetera.

But marriage and the promise of

marriage remain an
important part of

the lives and aspirations of
a large majority of adults.

Surveys report that marital
happiness contributes more to

an individual's
overall happiness than

financial status or satisfaction

with work and friendships.

While Western divorce rates
rose throughout most of

the 20th century as a result
of liberalized divorce laws,

they peaked in the late 1970s
and then began to fall.

Family satisfaction
by marital status,

percent in each group who say

they are very satisfied,

somewhat satisfied
or dissatisfied.

Married people are
84% of them say that

they're satisfied with
their family life,

unmarried people, 64% say

that they're very satisfied
with their family life.

Divorced people surprisingly,

50% say that they're very
satisfied with their life,

living with their partner,

almost as good as marriage,

71% say that they're very
satisfied with their life,

which is surprisingly
not too different from

single people who say that they

are very satisfied
with their life.

Finally, parenthood.

Also, disclaimer.

I don't like the way that
this is organized in

our textbook because
parenthood can happen

before marriage or it
doesn't necessarily

have to happen in
any linear order,

but that's the caveat,

let's talk about parenthood.

Factors that may influence

a new parent's experience
of parenthood,

whether they're married or not.

Typically, when
people are married,

they feel more of a
sense of security

and feel better
about being parents.

Initial level of mental health

and expectations for parenthood.

If you suffer from little to

no mental health issues and

expect parenthood
to be difficult,

then you might enjoy

parenthood a little bit
more relative to if you

expect parenthood to just
be a natural process

and you're just going to love

your baby as soon
as they're born,

you might be let down
because raising a child,

even though I haven't
necessarily raised one is

very difficult on parents.

Also, if your initial
level of mental health,

if you experience depression,

anxiety, any other
mental health issues,

it might also affect your
experience of parenthood.

If you have a family
history of divorce,

you may be concerned
that that will

happen when you
become a new parent

and you might not want
that to happen to

your child or have that
experience happen to your child.

Of course, your social status,

how much social
support you have,

how many financial
resources you have,

and your employment status is

definitely going to affect
your experience of parenthood,

if you are highly respected
within your community,

if you have a lot of friends
and family who can establish

a meal train to give
you meals while you're

getting back on your feet
after having a baby,

of course, you're going
to have a better time

than if you're not
relatively well

respected or well known in

your community and you have
very few friends and family.

Similarly, when it comes
to financial resources,

if you'll feel like
you can provide

your baby with everything
that it needs,

you have all sorts of
clothes and a crib

and an outlet and
all the things.

For those of you
that don't know,

the outlet is a little
sock that you put on

a baby and it tracks its
heart rate and breathing.

This is supposed
to help ameliorate

parents anxieties when

their babies are under a

year old because I
believe that that's

when SIDS or sudden infant

death syndrome is
supposed to happen.

Having this little device
helps ease parents anxieties.

Sing the financial resources
available to purchase

everything that you
think you need for

your baby and also having a job.

Both you and your
partner having a job,

maybe having maternity leave,

things like that can also

affect your experience
of parenthood.

The quality of the relationship
between the parents.

Hopefully, both
parents get along.

If they're not on good terms,

it might not lead to a great
experience of parenthood.

The gender of the parent

might affect their
experience of parenthood.

Maybe the male parent,

if it is a heterosexual
relationship,

might experience
more joy and less of

the negative effects
on your body

and things like that that
mothers may experience,

the gender of the child
might also influence

a parent's experiences of

parenthood um and the
temperament of the baby.

Whether the baby
is an easy baby,

whether the baby cries a lot,

whether the baby has colic,

whether the baby
eats enough, etc.

All these factors can
influence parenthood.

Then you've reached adulthood.

How does the adult age?

We're talking about getting
into your '40s and '50s.

During this stage in your life,

if you are a woman or a man,

for women, the most
significant physical change

that occurs in later
adulthood is menopause,

which is the cessation
of menstrual cycles.

This causes a lot of
symptoms among women,

like hot flashes, weight gain,

bloating, mental health,

you can develop
mental health issues

because of the
changes in hormones.

A lot of different
things change.

Some women experience severe
symptoms of menopause,

so they have to take hormones.

They can take hormones as
a prescription to help

stabilize their
hormone levels so that

they don't experience any of

the negative effects
of menopause.

For men, men experience
and/or pause,

which refers to the reduction in

available testosterone
in men as they age.

There are also changes in

cognition that occur as you age.

Cognitive abilities
such as memory

and processing speed begins to

decline very gradually in

the late '20s or early
'30s. About my age.

Cognitive functioning,
cognitive abilities

such as memory and

processing speeds. Processing
speed begins to decline

very gradually in the
late '20s or early '30s.

What is it that increases
processing speed,

Myelin which is the fatty
substance that surrounds axons.

What happens when you're in your

late '20s and early '30s is that

your myelin sheaths begin to

deteriorate, processing
speed increases.

Cognitive functioning
also decreases

more rapidly beginning
at about age 50.

But it's not all bad news.

With regard to the
accumulation of knowledge,

cognitive ability peaks at

about age 50 or 60 and
then begins to decline.

You can still continue learning,

continue incorporating
new ideas into

your existing knowledge base

throughout the age of 50 and 60.

Of course, there are social
and emotional changes

that involve losses and gains.

The losses of middle
to late adulthood may

include grown children
leaving the home.

Emptiness syndrome.

That's when the kids
all leave the home.

Your reduced health,

physical vitality,
cognitive ability,

and sexual attractiveness
based on current standards.

You might also lose your
employment status and income.

You might lose networks
of friends due to death,

geographical relocation,
or reduced motivation

to attend social events
and meet new people.

For example, in the
last year and a half.

Let's just say the
last two years.

I've had to move states twice,

and that is a lot of moving.

It's hard to make friends in

a new state if you three times.

It's hard to make friends
in a new location.

If you have to move because
of a job like I did,

you do lose networks of friends,

but it's important for you to

re-establish those once you
move to your no location.

This is a heavy one. The loss of

middle to late
adulthood also includes

the realization that
some of the dreams of

your youth are truly unlikely
ever to come to pass.

That's pretty intense. But
I think most people at

age 30 or so know that some

of the dreams that you had as

a young one might
not come to pass.

That's why it's important for
all of you who are in your

early '20s to really live
every day to the fullest.

But social and emotional
changes aren't

just about losses.
You also have games.

One, you have increased
leisure time,

you're able to read the
things that you want to read.

You're able to watch the TV
shows that you want to watch,

you're able to do
a lot more things

than you were able
to do when you were

young and busy and hustling.

You might have an
increased quality of

relationships with your spouse,

your children, and
some of your friends.

You also may have the entry

of grandchildren into your life,

which is amazing, I guess.

My mom loves being
a grandmother.

There's less unpredictability
in emotional life

and less frequent negative
emotions generally.

It seems like your
relationships have stabilized.

There's a lot less uncertainty,

and the achievement of
long term career goals,

I should say, has increased.

So for example,
I've gotten a gain.

I've lost friends or I've had

to re-establish friends
and things like that,

but I finally achieved
my long term career goal

of being a professor.

The difficulty there, though,

is that once you've achieved

this goal that you've
been working so hard

for like five or 10
years is, what's next?

You have to continue
building new goals.

Then the final loss
is death and dying.

I would highly
encourage you to take

a class with Dr. Tamina Torre,

who is a professor in the
psychology department,

she teaches a class on dying and

some religions or some
people believe that

death doesn't necessarily
mean the end of life.

But most current theorists no

longer believe that a
person passes through

specific psychological stages as

part of the dying process.

The meaning and experience
of dying vary greatly from

person to person and
culture to culture.

But those are all

ritualistic beliefs and if

you want to learn more
about death and dying,

you should take the class
at Dr. Tamina Torre.

That's the end of the chapter on

development and we've gone from

the womb from a zygote

to the tomb talking
about death and dying.

Get ready for the test
because it will be coming up.