Introduction to Developmental Psychology PDF

Introduction to developmental psychology Dr/ Naglaa abed elmegied Mohamed Outlines:  What is developmental psychology  Definitions  Theriortical perspective A- (Freud) Psychoanalytic perspective on development B- Erik H. Erikson (1902–94): psychosocial theory of development C- J...

Introduction to developmental psychology Dr/ Naglaa abed elmegied Mohamed Outlines:  What is developmental psychology  Definitions  Theriortical perspective A- (Freud) Psychoanalytic perspective on development B- Erik H. Erikson (1902–94): psychosocial theory of development C- Jean Piaget (1896–1980): Cognitive development theory 1-What is developmental psychology Developmental psychologists are interested in all aspects of our behavioral and psychological development. We are interested in the social development of a child: from trying to understand the complexity of the relationship between a new-born infant and parent to the role of play in developing long- lasting friendships Definitions:  Psychology: Psychology can be defined as the scientific study of the behavior and mental processes. The word “psychology” comes from the Greek words “psyche,” meaning life, and “logos,” meaning explanation.  Nature: the role of genetics in forming our behavior, our personality or any other part of ourselves. ‫الطبيعة‬  Nurture: the role of family, society, education and other social factors in forming our behavior, our personality or any other part of ourselves. ‫التنشئة‬  Stage theories: theories based on the idea that we progress through a pattern of distinct stages over time. These stages are defined by the acquisition or presence of abilities and we generally pass through them in a specified order and during a specified age range.  Continuous development: change that occurs at a steady pace, perhaps showing a constant, consistent improvement or growth.  Discontinuous development: change that occurs in what appear to be great bursts of achievement following a period of steady consolidation of perhaps knowledge or skill. (Freud) Psychoanalytic perspective on development The key assumptions of the psychoanalytic perspective are: There are three levels of consciousness – the conscious, the pre-conscious and the unconscious. The unconscious mind is key to understanding human behavior. The unconscious mind houses our instinctual drives, which strive to maximize our ability to survive.  Id: our biological impulses.  Ego: our conscious decision-making process.  Superego: our sense of morality and social norms. Freud’s stages of psychosexual development. Stage Approximate age Focus of libido Developmental task associated with this stage: Oral 0–12 months Mouth Feeding: moving from breast and other forms of milk on to solid foods. Anal 12–36 months Anus Toilet training: moving from passing urine and faces without control to manipulating the need to go to the toilet and using a potty rather than a diaper or nappy. Phallic 36 months–6 Genitals Gender: gender awareness, genital years stimulation and resolving anxiety by identifying with same-sex parent Latent 6–12 years No focus This is a period of calm and resolution of the previous stages. No dramatic development occurs. Genital 12 years Genitals Sexuality: becoming sexually aware of self onwards and others, sexual stimulation and formation of intimate relationships. 2-Erik H. Erikson (1902–94):the psychosocial theory of development Erikson’s stages were… 1.Basic trust versus basic mistrust (0 –18 months): Children must establish a sense of being able to rely on the environment (and caregivers) to take care of them. 2. Autonomy versus shame and doubt (18 months –3 years): Children learn ways to be able to act independently from their parents without feeling afraid they will venture too far off on their own. 3-Initiative versus guilt (3 –5 years): This is the play stage in which children learn to express themselves creatively without fear they will engage in activities that will get them in trouble. 4. Industry versus inferiority (5 –12 years): During this stage, children learn to identify with the world of work and develop a work ethic. 5. Identity versus identity diffusion (12 –21 years): Adolescents establish a sense of who they are and develop commitments in the areas of work and values. 6. Intimacy versus isolation (21 –30/40 years): Young adults are able to experience psychologically close relationships with others and develop long-term commitments. 7. Generativity versus stagnation (40–65 years): Middle-age adults feel a sense of caring and concern for the younger generation and determine what their legacy will be after they are gone. 8. Ego integrity versus despair (65 years till death): In later adulthood, individuals come to grips with mortality and with achieving a sense of acceptance about the life they have lived. 3- Jean Piaget (1896–1980): Cognitive development theory The three fundamental concepts for students to understand are: a. Schema: ‫المخطط‬A concept or category about the world b. Assimilation: The tendency to interpret new experiences in terms of existing schemas c. Accommodation: Changes in schemas to incorporate information from experiences Piaget came up with four stages of development… a. Sensorimotor stage i.This takes place from birth to roughly age 2. ii. In this stage, babies “take in” the world through their senses and interactions. iii. Babies here do not have object permanence – the realization that things continue to exist even when they can’t be seen. iv. Object permanence tends to show up around 8 months of age. v. There is some evidence to show babies do have some logic. 1. Babies were shown an illustration of the frame of a box. One was normal, one was impossible to construct (it was puzzling to look at). The babies looked at the impossible box longer which seems to show that they recognize it as impossible. 2. Babies also seem to be aware of numbers. If shown 5 toys, then shown only 4, they seem surprised. b. Preoperational stage i.This takes place from about age 2 to 6 or 7. ii. Children here are too young to do mental operations. iii. For example, children in this stage do not have a grasp of conservation. Conservation is the idea that something can retain or conserve a characteristic while something else changes. 1. For example, a liquid can retain its quantity or volume but change its shape. 2. Children were shown 2 identical glasses filled with a liquid. They obviously had equal volumes. Then one glass was poured into a tall, skinny glass. The liquid naturally filled up higher in the skinnier glass. When asked, “Which as more?” the children usually say the tall, skinny glass has more because it’s higher. iv. Children at this stage are egocentric – they view the world through their own viewpoints and are unable to view a situation from another person’s point-of-view. 1. A child here may cover his or her eyes thinking, if I can’t see them, they can’t see me. 2. The famous example is asking a 5 year old, “Do you have a brother?” He answers, “Yes, his name’s Billy.” Then asking, “Does Billy have a brother" ? The child answers, “No,” because he can’t see back to himself as being Billy’s brother. c. Concrete operational stage i.This takes place from about age 6 or 7 to about 12. ii. Children in this stage can think with concrete, physical objects and understand conservation. iii. They cannot think in the abstract, however. In math, a child here will often use his or her fingers (physical things) to add or subtract. They struggle to make the jump to an abstract algebra question, like “If you have 5, how many more do you need to make a dozen?” This would simply be shown as 5 + x = 12. The variable is an abstract concept. d. Formal operational stage i. This begins at about age 12. ii. Thinking changes from being confined to the concrete to including the abstract. iii. Children here can use symbols and variables in their thinking. iv. Children can figure if-then statements. These are systematic or logical reasoning abilities. 1. For example…If Bill is taller than Mary and Mary is taller than Jim, then what can we say about Bill’s height in relation to Jim’s? A child here would get this right; a child of age 7 may not.