Developmental Psychology Lecture Notes PDF

Different approaches to study development (1) Nature VS. Nurture Nature (genetic factors, innate qualities…) Nurture (environmental factors, e.g. socialisation, experiences, care that the person receives…) A scientific controversy over years regarding the source of influencing human development Some...

Different approaches to study development (1) Nature VS. Nurture Nature (genetic factors, innate qualities…) Nurture (environmental factors, e.g. socialisation, experiences, care that the person receives…) A scientific controversy over years regarding the source of influencing human development Some studies may inspire us 4 (2) Psychosocial approach Integration of the biological, psychological and societal Biopsychosocial systems > _______________ nature of human thoughts and behaviours i.e. nature and nurture → 載入中⋯ The biological system Biological processes are necessary for the physical functioning and mental activity E.g., healthy brain, healthy circulatory system, etc It may be influenced and changed by psychological and societal systems 6 The biological system Psychological system may change biological system E.g., falling in love > change of hormones/sexual behaviours → Societal system may change biological system Vaccination > change in immune ≥ E.g., pandemic > ____________ system and biological makeup 7 The psychological system Mental processes are central to person’s ability to make meaning of experiences and take action Meaning-making system The psychological processes change and develop over one’s life span, which can be influenced by Genetic information Life experiences such as education, quality of parenting, travel, friendship, music, etc. Self-insight 8 The psychological system “meaning-making” The meaning we make of our experiences changes over the course of life o Love carries different meanings across different age periods e.g., physical > open communication → “meaning-making” to search for identity 9 The societal system It includes processes that foster or disrupt a person’s sense of social integration and social identity E.g., social support, culture, family structure, ethnic influences, religions, poverty, etc. It influences the psychosocial development of individuals and change their course of life for future generations 10 Research designs for studying development 1. 2. 3. 4. Retrospective studies Cross-Sectional studies Longitudinal studies Cohort Sequential studies 14 1. Retrospective studies Participants are asked to report on experiences from an earlier time in their lives E.g., study the effect of stress during pregnancy 也 o women are asked to recall their emotional state before, during, and after their child was born E.g., study the personality development 氮 o adolescents are asked to recall important childhood events (1) Advantage Past personal experience can be revealed (2) Limitations Quality of memory decreases over time Participants may make up a story 15 2. Cross-Sectional studies To compare people of different ages, social backgrounds, from different school or community settings, etc. E.g., cognitive development (memory) across ages o IV: Age (Groups: 1-2 vs. 5-6 vs. 12-14) E.g. how social development of 3-year-olds differ from those in 8-year-olds 16 2. Cross-Sectional studies Limitations It measures group differences, not patterns of individual changes/development over time Cohort effect – people at a given age are affected by factors unique to their generation, e.g. wartime, famine, pandemic. 3. Longitudinal studies It involves repeated observation of the same participants at different times It can be descriptive, correlational or experimental Remember the study of H.M. who suffered from long-term memory loss? 2 types of research questions: Stability – the persistence of behaviours, e.g. temperament Effects of early experiences – study long-term effects of certain events/conditions during a child’s early years, e.g. divorce of parents, quality of diet The observations may be repeated over the entire life course E.g., the Terman gifted children study (https://www.nytimes.com/1995/03/07/science/75-years-later-study-still-tracking-geniuses.html) 18 3. Longitudinal studies (1) Advantages Tracking _______ the course of development/changes of participants of a particular group o E.g., the change of individuals’ language development o (2) Limitations Difficult to complete (e.g. drop out from the study) Intensive manpower and expensive Participants’ behaviours may be influenced by repeated interaction, e.g. children tend to perform better on tests through repeated trials They focus on only one generation or cohort of participants E.g., The development patterns of people born in different decades can be hugely different due to historical and social factors 19 Cohort sequential studies (or Cross-sequential studies) Cohort: groups of participants (certain number of years apart in age, in different generations) Combination between cross-sectional studies and longitudinal studies E.g., Details of manipulation Begin with 3 groups of adolescents aged 11, 14, 17 respectively Every 3 year, they will be interviewed until the 11-year-olds turn 17 Every 3 year, a new group of 11-year-olds will be added to the study 20 Cohort sequential studies Advantages It provides immediate cross-sectional data, longitudinal data after some time and a comparison of children who are in the same age at different times Enables to control for historical and social factors Disadvantage Requires complex data analysis techniques 21