What is the nature? vs. nurture? debate? ?Apply this debate to a famous person. Do you think nature influenced them more, or nurture? In what ways? Choose a famous or infamous figure (it co
What is the “nature” vs. “nurture” debate? Apply this debate to a famous person. Do you think nature influenced them more, or nurture? In what ways? Choose a famous or infamous figure (it could be Barack Obama, the Unabomber, Michael Jordan, Michael Jackson, Jack Kevorkian, Gandhi, Oprah, Donald Trump – anybody where you can find good biographies of their life online that talks about their early childhood), and using information from their biographies, discuss whether you feel their family and environment played a role in who they became. Do you think genetics/heredity played a role? (If it is someone who is a basketball player, you may discuss how genetic height influenced their fame). Respond to two other students posts either agreeing or disagreeing with their ideas and why you agree or disagree.
Module 1 Developmental Psychology: Introduction, Major Theories,
and Research Methods
WHAT IS DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY?
Module 1: Part 1
Definition of Developmental Psychology
• The scientific study of progressive changes in development from conception until death.
• Focus: o Physical Development: growth, physical state o Cognitive Development: thought, intelligence,
language o Social and Emotional Development: relationships,
emotions, personality
Developmental Can be Viewed As: • Lifelong • Multidimensional • Multidimensional • Plastic • Nature vs. Nurture • Continuous • Mutlidiscipilinary
• Contextual: o Normative age-graded o Normative history-
graded o Non-normative life
events
Nature vs. Nurture view of Human Development • Some psychologists view nature (genetics,
heredity) as having greater influence over a person’s development than nurture (environmental influences such as where and how a person is raised).
• Are some people born cruel or bad or do their life experiences cause them to do bad things?
• Most psychologists agree that we are shaped by a combination of biological and environmental factors.
Contextual Influences • Normative age-graded influences: influences
that are determined by chronological age. Example: Marriage, retirement
• Normative history-graded influences: common to a group of people as a result of historical circumstances: Example: war, epidemics
• Nonnormative life events: Unusual events that have a major impact on a person’s life. Examples: natural disaster, abuse
Conceptions of Age
• Chronological Age: actual number of years alive
• Biological Age: Person’s age in terms of biological/physical health
• Psychological Age: adaptive capacity compared with others of the same chronological age.
• Social Age: Connection with others and social roles a person has chosen
Stability vs. Change
• To what degree do early traits and characteristics persist through life: o If you were a picky eater as a child, does this
change or remain the same? o Do we outgrow some personality characteristics
or behavior patterns? Do we grow into new ones?
Continuity vs. Discontinuity
• Development is a continuous slow and steady process in one direction or development occurs in distinct stages or steps
Periods of Development
• Prenatal • Infancy • Early Childhood • Middle Childhood • Adolescence • Early Adulthood • Middle Adulthood • Late Adulthood
THEORIES OF DEVELOPMENT
Module 1: Part 2
Major Psychological Theories of Development
• Psychoanalytic theories • Cognitive Theories • Behavioral and social cognitive theories • Ethological theory • Ecological theory • Eclectic theories
Psychodynamic Theories
• Freud: Stage theory of psycho-sexual development: o Oral Stage-Birth to 2 years o Anal State- 2 to 3 years o Phallic Stage- 3 to 6 years o Latent Stage – 6 years to puberty o Genital Stage – puberty onward
Psychodynamic Theories cont’d • Erikson’s Psychosocial theory: Eight stages of
developmental dilemmas that are faced throughout life: o Trust vs. Mistrust o Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt o Initiative vs. Guilt o Industry vs. Inferiority o Identity vs. Role Confusion o Intimacy vs. Isolation o Generativity vs. Stagnation o Integrity vs. Despair
Psychodynamic Theories cont’d
• View development as primarily unconscious • Emphasis is placed on family relationships • Erikson: resolution of a psychosocial crisis at
each stage: • Criticized for lack of scientific research
supporting the theories, too much emphasis on sexual development
Biological Theories
• Evolutionary Theory • Sociobiology • Ethology- study of animals in natural habitat,
focus on critical or sensitive periods
Cognitive Theories
• Piaget: Cognitive Developmental Theory: Children go through 4 stages of cognitive development.
• Main Concepts: o Schemas o Assimilation and Accommodation o Organization
Piaget’s Stages
• Sensorimotor Stage • Preoperational Stage • Concrete Operational Stage • Formal Operational Stage
Cognitive Theories cont’d
• Lev Vygotsky: Focuses on the influence of social, cultural, and historical factors on cognitive development
• Main concepts: o Zone of proximal development o Scaffolding
Cognitive Theories cont’d
• Information –Processing Theory: cognitive development is guided by self-modification in thinking o How do people manipulate information, monitor
information, and strategize.
Socioemotional Theories of Development
• Humanistic Theory: focuses on human development as conscious and aimed at achieving growth towards highest potential.
• Abraham Maslow: Hierarchy of Needs impacts development, Need for self- actualization
• Carl Rogers: Need for unconditional positive regard to assist development
Attachment Theories
• John Bowlby- attachment to caregiver during 1st year of life has consequences throughout lifespan
• Mary Ainsworth: Three types of infant attachment, The Strange Situation Experiment
Environmental/Contextual Theories
• Behavioral Theories: Classical and Operant Conditioning – Development can be shaped by reinforcement
• Social Cognitive Theory: Observational Learning, Modeling, Imitation – We learn through watching and imitating others (Bandura)
Ecological Theory of Development
• Bronfenbrenner: Marco and micro dimension of environmental systems
• Includes family, peers, religion, health services, neighborhood and other environmental and social contexts
RESEARCH METHODS
Module 1: Part 3
The Scientific Method
• Ask a question • Collect relevant data • Analyze data • Draw conclusions based on the analysis of
findings.
Important Terms:
• Theory: An idea that helps to explain a phenomenon and facilitate predictions
• Hypothesis: A specific assumption and prediction that can be tested
• Operational Definition • Variables
Psychologists Seek to:
• Describe phenomena or, • Understand relationships between
phenomena or, • Examine cause and effect between
phenomena
Descriptive Research
• Describes human development • Example: Newborn reflexes and when these
reflexes start to fade in different cultures • Uses methods such as:
o Naturalistic Observation o Ethnographic research o Laboratory research
Correlational Research
• Relationship between one or more variables • Example: Is there are relationship between
childhood trauma and juvenile delinquency? o Methods Used:
• Surveys • Physiological measurements • Interviews • Observation • Archival data
Types of Correlations
• Positive correlation • Negative correlation • Examples: Positive correlation –higher
amounts of lead in water is related to higher levels of developmental delay in children
• Example of Negative Correlation: higher family instability is related to lower academic performance
Experimental Research
• Seeks to determine if a cause and effect relationship exists between two variables.
• Independent variable: Variable being manipulated by the experimenter
• Dependent variable: measured to see if it was impacted by independent variable
• Experimental research requires: o Random Assignment, An Experimental group, a
control group
Cross-Sectional vs. Longitudinal Research
• Cross-Sectional: individuals of different age groups are compared at one time
• Longitudinal: Same individuals studied over a period of time.
• Examples of longitudinal studies: Harvard Grant Study (Vaillant)
Laboratory vs. Naturalistic
• Laboratory Observation: A setting where experimenters can observe behavior and control for extraneous variables
• Naturalistic Observation: Observing behavior in real-world settings
Twin Studies
• Twin Studies examine pairs of twins, some raised in the same environment, others raised in different environments, to examine the influence of genetics on behavior, personality traits and other forms of development.
Ethical Issues in Conducting Research
• Children and pregnant women are considered special populations under ethical guidelines- an extra consideration for development researchers
• Ethical Codes include: Informed Consent, Confidentiality, Debriefing participants
• Conducting Research with Human Subject Certificate can be taken through NIH:
https://phrp.nihtraining.com/users/login.php
- Module 1
- What is Developmental Psychology? �
- Definition of Developmental Psychology
- Developmental Can be Viewed As:
- Nature vs. Nurture view of Human Development
- Contextual Influences
- Conceptions of Age
- Stability vs. Change
- Continuity vs. Discontinuity
- Periods of Development
- Theories of Development
- Major Psychological Theories of Development
- Psychodynamic Theories
- Psychodynamic Theories cont’d
- Psychodynamic Theories cont’d
- Biological Theories
- Cognitive Theories
- Piaget’s Stages
- Cognitive Theories cont’d
- Cognitive Theories cont’d
- Socioemotional Theories of Development
- Attachment Theories
- Environmental/Contextual Theories
- Ecological Theory of Development
- Research Methods
- The Scientific Method
- Important Terms:
- Psychologists Seek to:
- Descriptive Research
- Correlational Research
- Types of Correlations
- Experimental Research
- Cross-Sectional vs. Longitudinal Research
- Laboratory vs. Naturalistic
- Twin Studies
- Ethical Issues in Conducting Research
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