Developmental Psychology Lecture Notes PDF

1. Evolution theory The law of natural selection Individuals who are best suited to their environment are most likely to survive and reproduce “survival of the fittest” Adaptation __________ : species change to respond to the changing environmental conditions Emphasises the importance of reproductiv...

1. Evolution theory The law of natural selection Individuals who are best suited to their environment are most likely to survive and reproduce “survival of the fittest” Adaptation __________ : species change to respond to the changing environmental conditions Emphasises the importance of reproductive functions as they contribute to fitness and long-term adaptation o Adaptive value 載入中⋯ 3 1. Evolution theory The study of the evolutionary origins of mental structures, emotions, and social behaviours 1. Mating process (reproduction) o Both males and females like attractive faces; males love women with certain range of hip-towaist ratio and bigger breasts; females love men with greater power… 2. An infant’s smile attracts caregiver’s attention (adaptive significance) - Human instincts to protect babies of their own kin, parents are willing to sacrifice sleep, money, time to protect and nurture their offsprings 3. Change of behavioural patterns from 2 million years ago to the modern life 4 2. Psychoanalytic theory (1) Basic concepts Freud believed that all behaviours are motivated by Unconsciousness _________________ – a storehouse of powerful yet primitive motives Drives, or libido - sexual and aggressive forces that desire to be satisfied; Psychic energy to be expressed Three structures of personality Id, Ego, Superego 載入中⋯ 5 2. Psychoanalytic theory (1) Basic concepts Children develop through a series of stages They confront conflicts between biological drives and social expectations Healthy personality development Determined by how parents manage child’s early sexual and aggressive drives Focuses on how individuals resolve conflicts between drives Influence of ________: fixation When a child’s sexual desires are either overly satisfied or undersatisfied 7 Psychosexual stages and fixation Stage (age) Energy in body parts Conflicts/experiences Adult traits associated with fixation Oral (birth to 1) Mouth Weaning Oral gratification from sucking, eating, biting Overeating, alcoholic, cynical, dependency, Smoking passivity, hostility, gum Chewing Toilet training Gratification from expelling or withholding feces Excessive cleanliness, stubborn, compulsive, messiness, rebellious, destructiveness, orderliness Anal (1 to 3) Anus nail bitin - 吗 - ob{ssive比S§ Phallic (3 to 6) Genitals rigidity Oedipus complex, Electra complex sexual curiosity, masturbation (= touching sex organs) Flirty, vanity, promiscuity, chastity, pride, lack of genuine feelings Cxibifio isrm 的 Latency (6 to puberty) None Period of sexual calmness Interest in school, hobbies, build friendship --- Genital (Puberty onwards Genitals Re-awakening of sexual drives; build intimate relationships --- More examples for defense mechanisms Implications for human development The psychoanalytic approach recognises: 1. The tension between interpersonal and intrapsychic demands helps shape personality E.g. Ego develops skills to deal with interpersonal needs 2. 3. The influence of childhood experiences on adult behaviours The role of sexual impulses during childhood, e.g. need for hugs and physical touch from caregivers 13 3. Cognitive development theory Cognition (thoughts/ thinking processes) The process of organising and making meaning of experience o E.g., problem solving, critical analysis, etc. 2 major cognitive development theories Piaget’s cognitive development theory Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory 14 order to decrease the discrepancy between what is Piaget’s theory: basic concepts Adaptation is essential for all organisms for survival It includes: Assimilation + Accommodation (1) Assimilation The tendency to use one’s existing schemes to interpret new experiences Preserve existing schemes by incorporating new information, i.e. using existing knowledge to understanding new experience E.g. A child believes dolphins and whales are fish (2) Accommodation The tendency to modify familiar schemes to interpret new experiences Change existing schemes in light of new information creates the basis for future assimilation E.g. The child understands the differences between dolphins and whales and fish dolphins and whales are mammals 16 Piaget’s stage theory of development 1. Sensorimotor stage (0-18 months) (**IntroPsy 0-2) Lack of object permanence 2. Preoperational stage (18 months-6 years) (**IntroPsy 2-7) Development of symbolic thoughts and languages, egocentrism, animism, irreversibility, centration, lack of conservation 3. Concrete operational stage (7-11 years) Logical mental operations applied to concrete events and hierarchical classification, concept of conservation, reversible thinking 4. Formal operational stage (11 years on) Logical mental operations on abstract ideas, systematic and reasonable hypothesis testing 18 Vygotsky’s Sociocultural theory Human development can only be understood within a socialhistorical framework Cognitive development is a socially constructed process Complex forms of thinking in human beings are originated from in social interactions The theory emphasises the social context of cognitive development E.g., an older sibling is effective for promoting learning in the zone of proximal development 19 Vygotsky’s Sociocultural theory Children learn new cognitive skills guided by a more skilled partner or an experienced adult Scaffolding – the process of guidance Zone of proximal development (ZPD) o the distance between the actual level of a child’s performance and the potential level that a child is capable of reaching, with the help from a more skilled peer or adult o Importance of assisted discovery Provide scaffolding for children’s discovery, through questions, demonstrations and explanations 20 4. Learning theories (a) Classical conditioning (J.B. Watson) NS, UCS, UR, CS, CR 22 4. Learning theories (b) Operant/instrumental conditioning (B.F. Skinner) Processes: (+/-) reinforcement, (+/-) punishment Schedule of reinforcement o Fixed/variable ratio, fixed/variable interval Positive (Add) Increase Behaviour GOAL Decrease Behaviour Negative (Remove) Positive Reinforcement Negative Reinforcement Bonus for working hard leads to more hard work Aspirin relieving headache leads to more aspirin use Positive Punishment Negative Punishment Getting speeding ticket leads to less speeding Losing the privilege to hang out late with friends 23 Examples of Schedule of reinforcement 1. 2. 3. 4. Fixed ratio schedule (FR) reward is provided after a fixed number of responses E.g. salary of factory worker, piece rate Variable ratio schedule (VR) reward is provided after a unpredictably varying number of responses, e.g. slot machines Fixed interval schedule (FI) reward is provided after a fixed amount of time E.g. monthly salary, examination Variable interval schedule (VI) reward is provided after an unpredictably varying amount of time, e.g. pop-up quiz 24 4. Learning theories (c) Social learning theory / Observational Learning (Albert Bandura) Imitation Learning via ______________ and _________ Observation Role of modeling o Learning resulting from observing consequences experienced a model > reinforced or punished for a behaviour 4 major factors o Attention (Focus) o Memory (Retention) o Imitation (Reproduction) Motivation (Reasons benefits Reasons / benefits) o Motivation We learn → we grow 25 5. Cultural theory Culture: the learned systems of meanings and patterns of behaviours that are shared by a group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next Culture influences our worldview – the way we make meaning of our circumstances 26 Cultural determinism Cultural determinism People’s psychological experiences are shaped by the expectations, resources and challenges in a specific cultural group People’s behaviours are shaped through enculturation o Culture leaders (e.g., parents/teachers) use strategies to transmit the values to next generations 27 https://blog.gaijinpot.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2015/06/bowing.gif Culture comparison How does culture influence your development? 28 6. Systems theory Systems theories describe and account for the characteristics of systems and the relationships among the components found within the system Only identifying each component cannot fully understand the whole system E.g., language system 載入中⋯ 29 Urie Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems theory 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Urie Bronfenbrenner argues that individuals develop within a multi-layered system of relationships Microsystem - Immediate context / setting o A child’s home, day care, church, grandparents’ home Mesosystem - Interactions between two microsystems o The interactions between a child’s home, day care, church, grandparents’ home Exosystem - Settings that do not involve the person directly but affect the person o Changes in parents’ workplace time spent with the child; government policies, health care system Macrosystem - Culture or society o Europe, Hong Kong Chronosystem - Environmental events and transitions over one’s life o Pandemic, climatic changes, online learning/meeting 30 7. Psychosocial theory The framework we adopt in this course (1) Basic concepts Emphasis on the interplay among biological, psychological and societal system Stages of development 1. Developmental tasks 2. Psychosocial crisis 3. The central process for resolving the psychosocial crisis at each stage 32 Stages Erickson) Stagesofofpaychosocial psychosocialdevelopment development(Erik (Erik Erikson) 0-18 months old 18 months – 3 years old 3 – 5 years old 5 – 13 years old 13-21 years old 21-39 years old 40-65 years old 65 years older + Developmental tasks Havighurst’s concept of developmental tasks Process by which humans learn tasks required by society Age-graded expectations Tasks change with age Sensitive periods Periods of development when an individual is most ready to acquire a new ability (teachable moments) Some tasks if not learned at a particular age (i.e. the sensitive period) , they will be more difficult to be learned later in life 35 Developmental Tasks associated with the Life Stages 36 Psychosocial Crises Psychosocial crises State of tension that results from discrepancies between the person’s competences at the beginning of the stage and society’s expectations (Erikson, 1963) These conflicts provide opportunities for us to produce new social capabilities What psychological crises are you facing now? 38 From your textbook Resolving psychosocial crises Central process to resolve the crises Suggests a way that the person takes in cultural expectations and results in changes of self-concept o E.g., Imitation in toddlerhood > sense of autonomy 40 8. Eclecticism INTEGRATED APPROACH adopt multiple theoretical approaches to explain individuals’ development Benefits of eclecticism Build on ideas from several sources Avoid rigid loyalty to a single theory Allow deeper and more complete understanding on specific behaviours View human beings holistically 41