Our most basic link is that we all inhabit the same planet. We all breathe the same air.
We all cherish our children’s future.
John F. Kennedy
Outline: 9-11-00
- Enrollment, practica, business
- Scientific goals
- Characteristics of human development
- Stages of life
- Theories in developmental psychology
- The nature/nurture controversy
- Research methods
Scientific Goals
Developmental psychologists study changes throughout the life span in order to:
- Describe
- Compare
- Explain
- Predict (control, improve, prevent)
- Relate knowledge to other disciplines
Some Problems With "Scientific Facts"
- Replicable vs unique events
- Normative vs individual evidence
- Context-bound vs context-free events
- Popular vs unpopular explanations
Maturation vs Development
Maturation
- biological unfolding
- physical growth
- mostly genetic influence
Development
- includes maturation plus experiences and education
- influenced by family, culture, history (cohort effects)
- cognitive, language, personality, plus physical dev
Characteristics of Human Development (Baltes, 1987)
- Lifelong
- Multidimensional
- Multidirectional
- Plastic
- Historically Embedded
- Multidisciplinary
- Contextual
Stages of Human Development
- Different meanings of stages
- Conversational (awkward stage)
- Conventional (adolescence)
- Theoretical (formal operations)
- Theoretical features of stages (Flavell)
- Coherent structures
- Qualitative changes
- Abrupt shifts
- Concurrent developments
How Do We Identify Stages?
- Age periods (Chronological)
- "terrible twos"
- Biological markers (Biological)
- puberty
- Psychosocial markers (Psychological)
- identity formation
- Life tasks (Social)
- becoming a parent
Periods of Development
- Prenatal - Conception to birth
- Infancy - 0 to 2 years
- Early Childhood - 2 to 5 years
- Middle & Late Childhood - 6 to puberty
- Adolescence - Puberty to 18/22 years
- Early adulthood - 20s & 30s
- Middle adulthood - 40s & 50s
- Late adulthood - 60s to death
Types of Theories (see p.48)
- Ethological - maturational, biological
- Behavioral & Social Learning - conditioning, social learning
- Cognitive - Piaget, info processing
- Psychoanalytic - psychosexual (Freud), psychosocial (Erikson)
- Ecological-Contextual - Vygotsky, Elder, Bronfenbrenner
- An eclectic orientation
Issues in Developmental Psychology
- Continuity-Discontinuity
- Stability-Change
- Sensitive Periods-Equal Potential
- Nature-Nurture
Some Biological Influences on Development
- Prepared responses
- Physical characteristics
- Emotional temperament
- Intelligence
Methods to Study Hereditary Influences on Development
- Adoption studies
- Consanguinity studies (i.e, degree of biological relationships)
- Twin studies
Some Environmental Influences on Development
- Prenatal teratogens
- Family styles & conditions
- Cohort effects
Genotype x Environment Interactions
?Scarr & McCartney (1983) identified three modes of influence. With increasing age, active selection of environments increases.
Research Strategies
- Descriptive studies
- Correlational studies
- Experimental studies
Typical Measures
- Observations
- Interviews & questionnaires
- Standardized tests (achievement, ability)
- Life-history records (diaries, journals)
- Physiological indices (heart rate)
- Task performance (accuracy, rate, duration, intensity, persistence, etc.)
Developmental Research Designs
- Cross-sectional
- Longitudinal
- Sequential
Some Research Issues
- Ethics of research
- Publication & dissemination of results
- Public use =& misuse of information
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