DEVELOPMENT 1: CONCEPTION THROUGH CHILDHOOD

CHAPTER 11 DEVELOPMENT 1: CONCEPTION THROUGH CHILDHOOD Contents LEARNING OBJECTIVES LECTURES 11.1 Language Development: Are There Critical Periods? 11.2 Mendel in Context: The Mechanisms of Heredity 11.3 Prenatal Development: Cephalocaudal and Proximodistal 11.4 Down Syndrome and Neurons at Birth 11.5 Emotional Problems: Who Is to Blame? 11.6 Developmental Theories Have to Coincide with Common Sense 11.7 Do Male and Female Brains Develop Differently? THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT RESEARCH BIOLOGICAL/HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY SUPPLEMENT 11.1 DISCUSSIONS 11.1 Heredity: Sometimes Genetics Is Not Important 11.2 How Do We Study the Life Span? Research with Animals 11.3 Why Do We Change Our Minds? Longitudinal Research 11.4 The Eugenics Movement: Should Psychological Theories Be Used for Social Policies? 11.5 How Can the Babinsky Reflex Be Used to Diagnose Brain Damage? 11.6 How Do Developmental Theories Impact on Educational Policies? 11.7 Where Do College Students Fall in Erikson’s Stages? – LEARNING OBJECTIVES – When you finish teaching this chapter, your students should be able to complete the following tasks in each area listed: DEVELOPMENTAL ISSUES 1. Describe the two sides of the nature-nurture controversy, and discuss the current perspective psychologists have concerning the controversy. 2. Discuss the opposing views regarding whether development is characterized by continuity (with quantitative changes) or discontinuity (with qualitative changes). 3. Define and give an example of a critical period, and summarize research on whether there are critical periods in human development. DEVELOPMENTAL RESEARCH 4. Describe three different research designs used to study development, and explain the strengths and weaknesses of each. THE BEGINNING OF LIFE 5. Define chromosomes, genes, and DNA, and discuss how the three terms are interrelated. 6. Explain how monozygotic and dizygotic twins differ, and explain why psychologists are interested in studying these two types of twins. 7. Discriminate between genotypes and phenotypes, and explain how dominant, recessive, and sex-linked genes influence the phenotype. 8. Describe the symptoms of a number of genetic disorders, and discuss the genetic causes of each. PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT 9. Name and describe the three stages of prenatal development. PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT 10. Describe the development of the brain from birth to the end of childhood, and discuss how early experiences influence brain development. 11. Describe physical growth from birth to the end of childhood, and explain the cephalocaudal and proximodistal patterns of growth. 12. Describe motor development from birth to the end of childhood, and discuss hereditary and environmental influences on motor development. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 13. Define Piaget’s basic concepts: schemas, assimilation, and accommodation, and discuss how these are interrelated. 14. Give the ages associated with Piaget’s sensorimotor stage of cognitive development, and summarize the major changes that take place in this stage. 15. Give the ages associated with Piaget’s preoperational stage of cognitive development, and summarize the major changes that take place in this stage. 16. Give the ages associated with Piaget’s concrete-operations stage of cognitive development, and summarize the major changes that take place in this stage. 17. Give the ages associated with Piaget’s formal-operations stage of cognitive development, and summarize the major changes that take place in this stage. 18. Describe any gender differences in cognitive abilities. PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 19. Define attachment, and describe the three stages of child–caretaker attachment. 20. Describe the effects of attachment deprivation in monkeys and humans, and summarize research concerning whether these effects can be reversed. 21. Describe infants who show secure and insecure attachment, and discuss factors that influence the type of attachment an infant will display. 22. Describe father–child attachment. 23. Describe three styles of parenting, and indicate the influence that each may have on the personality of a child. 24. List the ages associated with Erikson’s eight stages of psychosocial development, and explain the crisis faced in each stage. GENDER IDENTITY 25. Define gender identity, and describe several biological factors that influence gender identity. 26. Describe three conditions resulting in abnormal prenatal sexual differentiation, and discuss how these conditions relate to gender identity. 27. Discuss social-learning factors in gender identity, and explain why the interactional model is commonly used to account for gender identity. 28. Define gender roles, and describe four important agents that influence the socialization of gender roles. – LECTURES – Lecture 11.1 Language Development: Are There Critical Periods? The appearance of language occurs in all humans born with normal brains. Most of the time language is represented through speech, although with the deaf, sign language is an alternate form. One of the aspects of language development that has intrigued psychologists is the degree to which we have inborn language-acquisition devices and how much biology determines our language development. It appears that there is a critical period for language development in the sense that, after a certain age, if language functions are lost, they will not be recovered. Typically, language is highly lateralized in the left hemisphere, a pattern that develops across one’s early years. Thus, an infant who suffers left-hemisphere damage will likely recover full language ability, mediated through the right hemisphere. A child of two or three will take somewhat longer to begin the recovery of language, but will progress nicely. Puberty is the point at which language functioning, when impaired, may only be partially recovered. According to Lenneberg (1967), the very establishment of our cortical asymmetry actually prevents further language development in the brain. Occasionally, someone surfaces who has had virtually no linguistic experience and who is in adolescence. These people ultimately develop rudimentary syntax but not normal, sophisticated linguistic functioning. These unfortunate individuals have invariably been raised in intolerable confinement, however, so the generalizability of some findings may be unclear. Reference Lenneberg, E. H. (1967). Biological Foundations of Language. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Lecture 11.2 Mendel in Context: The Mechanisms of Heredity Gregor Mendel is widely regarded as the originator of modern genetics. His work with smooth versus wrinkled peas was a humble beginning for what has become a powerful and sometimes controversial branch of science. Mendel’s work is a good example of how unpredictable factors in one’s life affect the course of events. For example, Mendel wanted to become a teacher but failed to pass a critical exam that would have permitted that activity. As such, he was relegated to an administrative position in a monastery where he was fortunate enough to have extra time to devote to his research with peas. His conclusions about some putative hereditary mechanisms have withstood a century and a quarter of further research (although his work was largely unknown until the turn of the century). He developed his ideas from the characteristics of peas, although his data were “too good,” statistically speaking. That is, a simple chi-square test on his expected and observed results suggests that it is unlikely that he would have gotten such favorable values. Some have attributed the good fortune of Mendel to “a too helpful research assistant” (Mosteller & Rourke, 1973, p. 163). Subsequent to his initial findings, Mendel published his results in an obscure journal, and not many people were aware of his work for 35 years or so. Unfortunately, one of the individuals who was aware of his work was Karl von Nagli, a renowned biologist, who counseled Mendel to study hawkweed rather than peas in his genetic research. As it turns out, hawkweed propagates parthenogenetically, so it was not suitable for Mendel’s work. Finally, after Mendel’s death, his successor saw fit to burn his notes and records. Thus, Mendel’s work began when he was unable to pursue the career he desired; subsequently he developed a useful technique to study genetics, but was advised to pursue a course that was ultimately useless. In the end, however, his research has provided insights that would have been considered magical during his lifetime. Reference Mosteller, F., & Rourke, R. E. K. (1973). Sturdy Statistics: No Parametric and Order Statistics. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Lecture 11.3 Prenatal Development: Cephalocaudal and Proximodistal Fetal development follows predictable patterns, beginning with the brain and working toward the feet, while simultaneously starting in the middle of the body and working outward. These patterns are called cephalocaudal and proximodistal, respectively. These patterns reflect the important areas of the body: the brain and the centrally located vital organs. Nature seems to have been prepared to place its early emphasis at these spots. The critical time period for such development is during the embryonic state when vital organs develop and grow rapidly. At this state the fetus is quite vulnerable to negative environmental insult caused by such factors as drugs or maternal disease. Most of the miscarriages (spontaneous abortions) that are environmentally caused occur during the embryonic period, as well as most environmentally caused birth defects. If you consider the infant at birth, the size of its head (more than other body structures) is much more nearly the same size as it will be in adulthood. Similarly, the number of cells in the brain is virtually complete in number (although they may grow in size) at birth. The distal and caudal areas of the body will have considerable development to undergo, however. Lecture 11.4 Down Syndrome and Neuronal development One of the most distressing characteristics of children with Down syndrome is their sometimes extreme mental retardation. There is a number of potential explanations for this problem, fewer suggestions as to the causes, and no sign of imminent remediation. Recently, however, the cellular basis for mental impairment in Down syndrome has been suggested. Petit (1987) reports that Down syndrome fetuses and normally developing fetuses demonstrate the same number of dendritic spines in cortical neurons early in gestation. The number diverges just after birth, and the separation continues and grows as infants develop. Not only are there fewer cortical neurons at birth, they are also less well developed in Down syndrome children. Without adequate numbers of dendrites, neurons in the brain will have difficulty communicating; further, the formation of new synapses is less readily accomplished in the brains of Down syndrome children. All this is logically consistent with their lower cognitive capabilities. Based on wide-ranging research, scientists have begun to speculate that the ability or inability to learn is associated with plasticity in the structure of dendrites and synapses. Down syndrome children show less flexibility than do normal children, possibly because of a deficiency in their ability to store or absorb the calcium for changes in neuronal structure. Reference Petit, T. L. (1987). The shape of intelligence. The Sciences, 27(2), 58–61. Lecture 11.5 Emotional Problems: Who Is to Blame? Sigmund Freud wrote of a particular patient named Dora. At first encounter, she was age 18 and had been brought to Freud by her father after Dora threatened suicide. The situation was indeed convoluted. Dora’s father was, according to Freud, a selfish individual; her mother was cold and sexually unresponsive to the father. Dora’s father responded by consorting with the wife of a neighbor named Herr K. In return for the “use” of Herr K’s wife, Dora’s father implicitly granted his permission for Herr K to have sexual relations with Dora, age 14, who was quite repulsed by the entire situation. Freud’s response was to blame the situation on Dora who, he felt, was not appropriately thankful to Herr K for his willingness to introduce her to her own sexuality. Freud interpreted her anger… as a cover for her love for Herr K, and for Frau K as well. He traces her hysteria back to childhood Oedipal desires, triggered when she heard her parents in the act of love. Dora wants her father and is bitter because she cannot have him; she both hates and loves her father-substitute, Herr K (Klein & Tribich, 1982, p. 14). The problem, according to Freud, was that children who claim sexual abuse would do so regardless of whether or not any abuse had occurred because it is the nature of children (especially girls) to go through such fantasies. Initially, Freud had suggested that all neuroses were attributable to sexual trauma, and then changed his mind to favor the fantasy explanation. The result was that for Dora and other children, the damage done by parents was blamed on the child rather than on the parents and environmental constraints. Reference Klein, M. I., & Tribich, D. (1982). Blame the child. The Sciences, 22(8), 14–20. Lecture 11.6 Developmental Theories Have to Coincide with Common Sense Any theory of development has to make sense at some level. Two different approaches, those of Freud and of John Watson, will be discussed here. Their common-sense basis will be briefly examined. First, Freud developed theories of infant sexuality, hidden feelings, neuroses based on fantasies. How would these have been accepted? During his lifetime, sexuality was a hidden topic. It was not avoided, but people were quite circumspect about their feelings and behaviors. Consequently, even though there was considerable surprise and consternation concerning Freud’s ideas, there was probably an acceptance because sexuality was a common (if hidden) theme of people’s lives. Thus, people would probably have been willing to accept sexuality as an inherent part of one’s psychological makeup, because it was so important to them. Second, Watson developed his ideas about behavioral and environmental control in America where change was possible if one were industrious enough. According to Watson and the behaviorists, and almost antithetically to Freud, we were not constrained by many biological or hereditary mechanisms driving our behaviors. These two different approaches both gained wide acceptance. That is, both theories were seen as reasonable and sensible to a large number of people, even though the theories are diametrically opposed to one another in some ways. The acceptance of these theories probably says more about the people accepting them than about the theories themselves. That is, the theories are not “correct” in any fundamental sense; they may be useful in generating new ideas and more research on human behavior, but their mechanisms are probably not universal among people. Ultimately what makes sense depends on the perspective of the viewer. Any theory has to get support through observations of behaviors of people in everyday life. Freud and Watson were both extremely astute and able to predict some behaviors well; they were also both able to communicate the strengths of their own theories articulately. Many psychologists have abandoned both of these approaches because they are no longer useful—that is, they no longer make sense. Lecture 11.7 Do Male and Female Brains Develop Differently? Have you ever noticed that men and women give different kinds of instruction when you ask them how to get somewhere? Women tend to use landmarks when they give directions, such as “Go past the SuperDuper Market on Main Street and turn left at the bank.” Men, on the other hand, will use compass directions and measured distances, like “go north 1.5 miles, turn right and go east for 2 miles.” Routes appear to be learned differently by men and women. Women rely on landmarks, and men rely on spatial cues. A number of investigators from the University of Western Ontario and York University in Canada have been studying sex differences in route learning. These differences in perception have been linked to differential brain development and brain organization in males and females. The sex hormones, testosterone and estrogen, have been demonstrated to play an important role in the development and organization of the hypothalamus, amygdala, and hippocampus in rats. Like human males, male rats use spatial cues, like distance and direction, in spatial learning tasks; in contrast, female rats rely on landmarks in these same tasks. Reference Kimura, D. (1992). Sex differences in the brain. Scientific American, September issue, 118–125. – THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT RESEARCH – In the discussion of sex differences in brain development in the textbook, the results of a study of Sandhu, Cook, and Diamond (1986) were described. Your students might be interested in how investigators conduct research on brain development, and the experiment by Sandhu et al. (1986) is a good one to examine. Sandhu and his collaborators were interested in determining estrogen levels in both hemispheres of the cerebral cortex in young male and female rats. They were particularly interested in estrogen (or, more correctly, estradiol) because estradiol is well known to have growth-inhibiting effects on the cerebral cortex, and they hypothesized that differential amounts of estradiol in the two hemispheres would account for differences in cerebral dominance observed in males and females. There are a number of lessons to be learned from looking at this study. First of all, since this was a study of brain development, Sandhu and his collaborators designed an experiment that examined the brains of rats over a span of development. That is, in this experiment, the investigators studied the brains of rats that were 2–3, 7–8, 14–l5, and 25–26 days old. Second, since Sandhu et al. wanted to study sex differences, they compared the brains of male and female rats in their study. Third, the authors were interested in cerebral dominance and, therefore, compared the left and right cerebral cortices in each subject. The independent variables, then, were age of the rat, sex of the rat, and left/right side of the cortex. Perhaps the hardest lesson for the students to grasp is the fact that Sandhu et al. (1986) were interested in estradiol levels, but they were not able to directly study estradiol levels in the brain. That is, in order to study the rats’ brains, the rats were decapitated, and their brains dissected. When an animal dies, enzymes in the brain and blood immediately decompose most chemicals in the brain, including estradiol. Therefore, Sandhu et al. measured the number of estrogen receptors in both halves of the cortex, in order to determine indirectly estradiol activity in each cerebral hemisphere. The dependent variable, then, was the number of estrogen receptors in each hemisphere. What Sandhu et al. (1986) discovered is that the number of estradiol receptors was highest at days 2–3 of age in both hemispheres and decreased until 25 days of age. This means that estrodiol’s effect on the brain occurs very early in the animal’s life. In addition, in female rats that are 2–3 days old, the right cerebral cortex had more estradiol receptors (and, hence, more estradiol) than the left cortex, while males of the same age had more estradiol receptors in the left hemisphere than in the right. From these findings we would expect that the left cerebral cortex would be more developed in female rats and the right cerebral cortex to be more developed in males. Reference Sandhu, S., Cook, P., & Diamond, M. C. (1986). Rat cerebral cortical estrogen receptors: male–female, left–right. Experimental Neurology, 92, 186–196. – BIOLOGICAL/HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY – Supplement 11.1 Brain Development Thanks to the work of Carla Shatz and other investigators, our understanding of the process of brain development has blossomed over the past decade. We now know that neonates are born with most, if not all, of the neurons they will have as adults, although the weight of the neonatal brain is 250 g, or about 25 percent of that of the adult brain, which usually weighs between 1,200 and 1,400 g. The brain of a one-year-old human infant, however, weighs about 1,000 g. The changes that occur in the brain over the course of one year are remarkable: neurons grow in size and change shape, and their dendrites and axons increase in size and number as connections are made between them. You might want to discuss the stages of brain development with your students, to help them understand the miraculous changes that occur in the developing brain of a child. When the human embryo is two-weeks-old, brain development begins with the formation of the neural tube. The neural tube, which runs the length of the embryo, changes shape over time, with the anterior end (the part near the head) enlarging to become the brain and the posterior part becoming the spinal cord. Neurons develop along the neural tube and are taken to their final destination by glial cells, which appear to direct the development of the nervous system. The neural tube itself transforms into the ventricular system of the brain and spinal cord. Researchers have identified four stages of brain development: proliferation, migration, differentiation, and myelination. Proliferation is the first stage and involves the production of primitive neurons along the wall of the neural tube (or the ventricles). Migration, which follows proliferation, occurs as glial cells conduct the primitive neurons from the center of the central nervous system to its final position in the brain. Both proliferation and migration take place, for the most part, before birth. Differentiation begins before birth but continues after birth. During differentiation, primitive neurons mature to attain to their adult form (e.g., pyramidal, granular, bipolar). In addition, axonal and dendritic growth occurs during this stage. Shatz has studied the maturation of neurons in the lateral geniculate nucleus of the thalamus. Her research indicates that the axons of these neurons initially have a stick-like appearance. Next, the axons begin to look hairy, with short side branches protruding along their lengths. In the final stage of differentiation, these axons shed their side branches and develop the elaborate terminal branches that are the hallmark of their mature form. The final stage of brain development is myelination. Once the appropriate connections have been made between axons and dendrites of communicating neurons, glial cells surround the mature axon and cover it with a fatty insulating coating known as a myelin sheath. Myelination allows for rapid transmission of action potentials along the axon. This stage begins prenatally and continues postnatally. References Kalat, J. W. (2009). Biological Psychology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing. Shatz, C. J. (1992). The developing brain. Scientific American, September issue, 60–67. – DISCUSSIONS – Discussion 11.1 Heredity: Sometimes Genetics Is Not Important Heredity has been thought of as the prime force in the development of our capabilities. Similarly, the environment has been claimed as the fertile ground for the development of our capabilities. Then there is the rather prosaic consideration that we are products of both heredity and environment. In this discussion, one particular case-intelligence-will be discussed in the context of the idea that, even if intelligence has a large hereditary component, that may be quite unimportant. In The Mismeasure of Man, Stephen Jay Gould (1981) makes the argument that if genetically identical seeds are planted in high-quality soil versus barren soil, the difference in growth will be notable even though the hereditary component that controls growth is identical. Questions 1. If intelligence is highly heritable, how could it be that the environment is crucial in its expression? (Answer: A simple answer is perhaps that the limit of development may be genetically determined, but short of that, the environment directs the path of development.) 2. To put the issue of intelligence into perspective, what exactly constitutes intelligence? (Answer: A high score on an IQ test is the operational definition of intelligence, but in reality it is such a complex set of traits and behaviors that differ across situations, that even if we know that intelligence is highly heritable, we would not really know what it is that is inherited.) Reference Gould, S. J. (1981). The Mismeasure of Man. New York: W. W. Norton. Discussion 11.2 How Do We Study the Life Span? Research with Animals In determining behavioral changes across the life span, we need to follow organisms throughout their different developmental periods. For some animals, this would not be feasible, such as elephants that live 30 to 40 years, or even cats which live 10 to 12 years. Given that most psychologists are interested in human behavior, the life span of over 70 years (in the United States) would be troublesome. If we were interested in differences across age groups, we could use a cross-sectional design to measure the young, the middle-aged, and the old. Unfortunately, we don’t know about the differences in life experiences among the individuals in these groups. Sometimes the most useful approach is longitudinal, but how can it be accomplished? For some processes, we can use an animal model to mimic human development. To this purpose, psychologists often use rats or mice that have relatively short life spans. To the degree that their behaviors are analogous to ours, we might be able to draw some useful conclusions about humans based on animal studies. Question If you are interested in the effects of aging on memory or on speed of response, how can you do this? Remember that older adults are selected by nature to be better at living longer, being healthier, and so on, so you cannot directly compare the performance of a random group of young people with a select group of older people. They may differ on too many variables. (Answer: You may be forced to use an animal model and hope that it holds for humans in similar ways. There really is no viable alternative to using short-lived animals like mice and rats, who may live for three years in any case.) Discussion 11.3 Why Do We Change Our Minds? Longitudinal Research Gun control is a controversial issue in the United States. According to polls, the majority of Americans favor some kind of restriction on the acquisition of guns, ranging from registration of ownership to total bans. If one were to study attitudes relating to this issue, a longitudinal approach might be useful. During World War II, there would have been little objection to ownership of guns, but after the assassination of John Kennedy in 1963, there was a greater awareness of the possible need for some kind of regulation. Between Kennedy’s murder and the most recent assassination attempt (on ex-President Reagan), there has been increased pressure to create some gun-control legislation. (The National rifle Association has vigorously fought such control, using various tactics and forms of logic.) In the minds of the public, however, the desire for gun control is clear. Question Why would a longitudinal approach be better than a cross-sectional approach if you were interested in the social and environmental factors that influence people’s perceptions of gun control? (Answer: Doing research on opinions and opinion changes is sometimes best approached from a longitudinal strategy. In this case, a cross-sectional approach would not be useful because everybody would have been interviewed in the same social milieu; differences across groups—but not change over time—could have been detected. If one were interested in the effect of a particular event as it shapes public opinion, the murder of John Kennedy would serve as a pivotal marker in people’s lives, and the issue of gun ownership could be seen to circle around that event. Depending on the type of question you wanted to answer, a longitudinal design might be the most appropriate way to obtain your information.) Discussion 11.4 The Eugenics Movement: Should Psychological Theories Be Used for Social Policies? In the middle of the nineteenth century, scientists began to consider the question of heritability of intelligence, morals, and other complex behaviors. One of the conclusions based on research that an astute undergraduate would recognize as scientifically worthless, was that these things were inherited and that, for the good of humanity, people with lower-than-desired intelligence and morality should be prevented from procreating. One way was to sterilize the individuals so identified. Quite a number of states in the U.S. participated in this kind of activity, often without informing the people to be sterilized that sterilization would be performed on them. Another impact of the eugenics movement, allied with the mass IQ testing done in World War I, as to restrict immigration from countries populated by the feeble-minded. These included eastern and southern European countries, Africa and Asia, the sources of test takers in World War I that produced the most mentally handicapped individuals. (In retrospect, the most telling factors were probably the degree of schooling and the familiarity with the English language and American culture.) In fact, even though the immigration restrictions were ultimately decided on in 1924, the quotas for immigration from different countries were set at 2 percent of the population from that country as recorded in the 1890 census, rather than the 1920 census. The reason for this implementation was that the wave of immigrants from eastern and southern Europe had not yet begun in 1890, so the weighting of immigrants from “good” countries was enhanced. Question Should psychological theories be used to set social policy? (Answer: If we are going to have social policies that are useful, we should base these on the best information we have. Unfortunately, in the case of intelligence, we had bad science that was primarily used to reinforce the prior biased beliefs of the researchers.) Reference Gould, S. J. (1981). The Mismeasure of Man. New York: W. W. Norton. Discussion 11.5 How Can the Babinsky Reflex Be Used to Diagnose Brain Damage? When an automobile accident victim is brought unconscious to an emergency room, one of the first diagnostic tests made is to stroke the bottom of the victim’s foot. The physician doing this test is doing it for the same reason that a pediatrician strokes the bottom of a baby’s foot-to test for the Babinsky reflex. The presence of this reflex indicates that lower-brain processes are predominating. In an infant, this is normal because higher cortical functions are not as yet developed; on the other hand, with an accident victim, the presence of the reflex may signal brain damage. The Babinsky reflex won’t appear for normal adults. Question Why would it be normal for an infant to show the Babinsky reflex, but not for an adult? (Answer: In adults, higher cerebral functions override the reflexive foot movement of the Babinsky reflex; if the reflexive movement reappears, it is a sign that these higher functions are no longer operative.) Discussion 11.6 How Do Developmental Theories Impact on Educational Policies? Children typically do not start school until about age 5 in the United States. It may be somewhat later in different countries, but seldom earlier. This pattern was developed before theories of child development were created, but the ages at which various elements enter the curriculum are predictable from such theories. The dominant approach, that of Piaget, makes certain predictions about children’s capabilities. Questions 1. What should determine the age at which a child starts school? (Answer: Given the way schools typically are structured, a child needs a combination of social and cognitive skills that will allow for learning. According to Piagetian theory, trying to force a child to a higher level of information processing will have no beneficial effects. Research has also indicated that young children typically have very poor rehearsal strategies, so they have difficulty learning things that require memorization. An optimally structured school system would focus on constrained tasks that a child can perform with extensive memory needs and without requiring a young child to deal with “what-if” questions.) 2. What does Piagetian theory have to say about a child’s ability to learn abstract mathematical symbols? (Answer: It should not even be attempted until the child is in the concrete operations stage and can at least manipulate the symbols, even if all the subtleties or implications of the mathematics are not appreciated.) Discussion 11.7 Where Do College Students Fall in Erikson’s Stages? According to Erikson, we all go through various stages at predictable times in our lives. Young children are still trying to figure out the ground rules for life, so they are concerned, the theory states, with learning what is physically and psychologically safe. Once that is determined, they move on to more complicated aspects of life in which they place themselves in a context relative to the rest of their environment. Where do college students fall on this continuum? Question Considering Eriksonian stages (see alphabetical listing), determine where college students are likely to fall. Why would this be the case? (Answer: College students will typically be in Erikson’s Stage 5, identity versus role confusion, or in Stage 6, intimacy versus isolation. In order to answer this question adequately, students will need to know what underlies the labels at each stage, so a resolution of crises involving identity and role confusion must precede dealing with intimacy versus isolation.) Erickson’s Stages, Listed Alphabetically with Approximate Ages Stage Alphabetical List Approximate Age 2 Autonomy versus shame and doubt 18 months to 3 years 8 Ego integrity versus despair Older years of adulthood 7 Generativity versus stagnation Middle years of adulthood 5 Identity versus role confusion 12–18 years 4 Industry versus inferiority 6–11 years 3 Initiative versus guilt 3–5 years 6 Intimacy versus isolation Early years of adulthood 1 Trust versus mistrust 12–18 months Chapter 11 • 119