Developmental Psychology Lecture Notes - Introduction PDF

# Developmental Psychology Lecture One - Introduction to Developmental Psychology ## Learning Objectives - Explain key theoretical debates in relation to human development. - Compare and contrast theories of development in relation to these key theoretical questions. - List research methods typica...

# Developmental Psychology Lecture One - Introduction to Developmental Psychology ## Learning Objectives - Explain key theoretical debates in relation to human development. - Compare and contrast theories of development in relation to these key theoretical questions. - List research methods typically used in developmental psychology. ## Defining Development The word "development" suggests "growth", "progress" or "positive change". But how does your definition fit with these typical changes: - Loss of sensation of high frequency sounds over the age of 25 - Hair turning grey - Fading of reflexes So, when we talk about development, we probably really mean changes, which can be: - Complex - Dynamic - Increasingly intersecting ## Developmental Psychology Developmental psychology is the scientific study of psychological changes across the lifespan. This involves building testable theories based on systematic observation. ## How Useful is It? **Informs several applied fields:** - Educational psychology - Child psychopathology - Childhood studies - Cyberpsychology **Informs other branches of psychological research:** - Social psychology - Health psychology - Cognitive psychology ## Theoretical Perspectives Over the history of psychology, many different theoretical frameworks to understand development have been proposed. These different Perspectives: - Can have overlaps, but they can also be very different. - Have their own interpretations of observable behavioural/physical changes over the lifespan. - Make different assumptions about what kinds of psychological processes sit behind these changes. ## Major Child Development Theories - Sociocultural theory - Cognitive development - Psychosexual development - Behavioural child development - Social learning theory - Attachment theory - Psychosocial development ## Nature vs Nurture ### Nature - **Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)** - At birth the child is a "noble savage". - Nature (genes) is the driving force in development. - Introduced concepts of maturation and stages. - Evidence that genes affect development. - Developmental "universals" or "milestones". - Heritable traits ### Nurture - **John Locke (1632-1704)** - At birth the child is "tabula rasa" (blank slate). - Experience (through interaction) writes on this "blank slate". - All children have the same potential. - Nurture (environment) is the driving force in development. - Evidence that environment affects development. - Cross-cultural variation in developmental "milestones". ## Research Designs ### Longitudinal - Study the same children at different time points. - **Pros:** - Allows study of patterns across development. - Early vs. later events and behaviours. - **Cons:** - Cohort effect - can prevent generalisation. - High drop-out rate and long time scale. - Practice effects and experimenter effects. ### Cross-sectional - Study groups of children at different ages at the same time. - **Pros:** - More efficient than longitudinal studies. - **Cons:** - Cannot examine individual differences. - Cannot examine change over time.