Developmental Psychology Overview

Module 1: Basic Concepts and Methods

• Class: January 10, 2025
• Time: 12:30 PM - 2:20 PM

Course Learning Outcomes

• 1.1: Define developmental psychology.
• 1.2: Explain the importance of the lifespan perspective.
• 1.3: Discuss past and present issues in the scientific study of human development.
• 1.4: Summarize the three major domains of development (physical, cognitive, socioemotional).
• 1.5: Describe the interactionist model of development.
• 1.6: List and describe the research goals of developmental scientists.
• 1.7: Describe descriptive (e.g., case study) and experimental research designs. Compare advantages and disadvantages of each.
• 1.8: Summarize the importance of cross-sectional methods in studying human development.
• 1.9: Identify ethical standards for developmental researchers.

What is Developmental Psychology?

• The scientific study of age-related changes in bodies, behavior, thinking, emotions, social relationships, and personality.

From Womb to Tomb Lifespan Development Quiz

• Go to https://kahoot.it/ on your laptop or cell phone.
• Enter the pin.
• Choose a username.

Historical Philosophical Perspectives on Development

• Discussion on whether children are born with innate emotional and behavioral tendencies or if these are learned through experience.

Historical Philosophical Perspectives on Development (Table)

A Brief History of Developmental Psychology

• Darwin: Kept baby biographies to understand human species development.
• Hall: Studied inheritance and used questionnaires to study large groups of children.
• Gesell: Studied maturation (genetically programmed change) and stages of development.
• Piaget: Studied children's cognitive development.
• Ainsworth: Pioneered research on infant attachment.

Perspectives in Developmental Psychology

• Lifespan Perspective: Important life changes occur throughout all development phases (childhood, adolescence, etc). Changes need to be interpreted in context (families, schools, cities, and culture). An interdisciplinary approach (psychology, sociology, genetics, and physiology) is needed to fully understand development.
• Interactionist Model: Developments result from complex reciprocal interactions between nature (genes) and nurture (social environment).

Interactionist Model (Vulnerabilities and Protective Factors)

• Each child is born with vulnerabilities (e.g., emotional instability, allergies) and protective factors (e.g., high intelligence).
• The vulnerabilities and protective factors interact with the environment (e.g., parenting styles) to produce unique outcomes for each individual.
• Example: Dandelion vs. Orchid children (Boyce, 2019).

Continuity & Discontinuity in Development

• Continuity: Quantitative change in amount or degree. Developmental stages are unimportant.
• Discontinuity: Qualitative change in type or kind. Development stages are important.
• Example: Friendships and Puberty.

Domains of Development

• Physical: Changes in body size, shape, physical characteristics, and sense organs.
• Cognitive: Changes in attention, thinking, memory, problem-solving, and language.
• Socioemotional: Changes in relationships, social skills, emotions, and personality.

Types of Changes

• Universal Changes: Developmental changes that characterize most members of a species.
• Group-Specific Changes: Developmental changes that may be group or culture-specific.
• Individual Differences: Individual variations in the rate, extent, or direction of development.

Critical vs. Sensitive Periods of Development

• Critical Period: Limited time-frame when environmental input is necessary to develop a capacity or skill. Example: Monocular deprivation in infancy.
• Sensitive Period: Period when an individual is responsive to specific forms of experience, or especially impacted by their absence. Example: Psychosocial deprivation in infancy can affect attachment.

Goals of Psychological Research

• Describe: What is it like?
• Explain: What causes it?
• Predict: What will happen?
• Control: How do I influence it?

Research Methods

• Descriptive Research (Case Studies): In-depth data collection on individuals or small groups—interviews, questionnaires, psychological tests. Example: Capgras syndrome.
• Descriptive Research (Naturalistic Observation): Observing behavior in natural settings—either overt or covert. Example: Observing children interacting on playgrounds.
• Descriptive Research (Cross-Sectional): Studying participants of different ages at one point in time. Example: relationship between age & risk-taking behavior.

Cross-Sectional Designs

• Advantages: Simple, efficient, and cost-effective.
• Disadvantages: Cannot capture change across time, cannot establish cause-and-effect, and issues with validity.

Experiments

• Experiment: Carefully controlled situation to study cause-and-effect relationships.
• Independent Variable: The variable that is manipulated.
• Dependent Variable: The variable that is measured.

The Experimental Method Continued

• Research Question: Does attending goat yoga improve mood compared to no goat yoga?
• IV: Goat yoga attendance (yes/no).
• DV: Mood.

Experimental Design Continued

• Advantages: Examines cause-and-effect relationships between variables.
• Disadvantages: Artificial context, control of extraneous variables needed, ethical considerations, assignment to age groups cannot be random.

Next Steps:

• Module 1 complete, move to Module 2.
• Complete course outline & section syllabus.
• Read Chapters 1-2.
• Review the rubric for Assignment #1.

Test your understanding of key concepts in developmental psychology with this quiz. Explore topics such as lifespan perspectives, philosophical viewpoints, and influential theorists. Perfect for psychology students looking to deepen their knowledge.