Developmental Psychology PDF

DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY - Is lifelong Development - Is multidirectional - Systematic changes and continuities in the - Involves gains and losses individual that occur betwe...

DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY - Is lifelong Development - Is multidirectional - Systematic changes and continuities in the - Involves gains and losses individual that occur between conception and - Is plastic death - Is shaped by the historical-cultural context - Is multiply influenced * Biological/Physical development - Is multidisciplinary *Cognitive development * Psychosocial development Growth: Physical changes that occur from Issues Addressed by Developmental Theorists conception to maturity ISSUE DESCRIPTION *Biological aging: Deterioration of organisms that leads to death Nature-Nurtur Is development primarily the *Aging: Physical, cognitive, and psychosocial e product of genes, biology, and changes, positive and negative, in the mature maturation-or of experience, organism learning, and social influences? Conceptualizing the Life Span Emerging adulthood is a recent addition to Activity-Passiv Do humans actively shape their the life span: ity own environments and Identity exploration contribute to their own Lead unstable lives development or are they Self-focused passively shaped by forces Feel in between beyond their control? Belief in limitless possibilities Continuity-Dis Do humans change gradually Cultural Differences (1 of 2) continuity and in quantitative ways or do Culture impacts the recognized periods of they progress through the life span. qualitatively different stages Age grade: and develop very different - Socially defined age group in a society. competencies and - Assigned different roles, responsibilities, characteristics? statuses, and privileges; - a) Separating children into grades in school Universality-C Is development similar from based on age. ontext Specific person to person and from - b) Adults granted voting privileges culture to culture-or do Rite of passage- Ritual that marks a pathways of development vary person's "passage" from one status in considerably depending on the another." social context? Age norms - Society's way of telling people how to act their age Early Beginnings influence people's decisions about how to Baby biographies: lead their lives - Scholars observe the growth and development of Social clock- Person's sense of when their own children. things should be done and when they are - Biographies were difficult to compare. ahead of or behind the schedule dictated by - Not generalizable to other children age norms G. Stanley Hall: - Founder of developmental psychology Subcultural Differences (1 of 2) - Termed adolescence storm and stress Ethnicity: A theory is a set of ideas to describe and explain - People's classification or affiliation with a group a certain phenomena. based on common heritage or traditions Good theory is falsifiable and supported by data. Socioeconomic status (SES): - Standing in society based on occupational Influential Developmental Theories prestige, education, and income Individuals from lower-income families tend to Evolutionary theory looks to the evolution reach milestones of adulthood earlier. of the human species for explanations of Poverty can be damaging to human development: why humans are as they are and develop as - In the United States, one in every five children, they do. and one in every three children of color, lives in Psychoanalytic theory focused on the poverty. development and dynamics of the - Lower academic achievement, poorer mental personality. health and wellbeing People are driven by motives and emotional -Increased stress conflicts. Noise, crowding, family disruption, hunger, and Shaped by their earliest experiences in the exposure to violence family. Social cognitive theory: Humans are The Life-Span Perspective cognitive beings whose active processing of information plays a critical role in their Development: learning, behavior, and development. Template by: commissio_nurse DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY Piaget viewed intelligence as a process that Will behavior generalize to behavior in the help an organism adapt to its environment. real world? Systems theories view changes over the life Physiological measurements: span arise from ongoing transactions in - Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI): which a changing organism and a changing Measures increase in blood flow to an area environment affect one another. of the brain that occurs when that brain area is active Goals and Uses of Studying Development Hard to fake Goals of life-span development: Useful in the study of infants - Description Not always clear exactly about what is being - Prediction assessed - Explanation SHORTCUTS - Optimization HEADERS ctrl + alt + 1 The Scientific Method ctrl + alt + 2 Scientific method: ctrl + alt + 3 Belief that investigators should allow facts to determine the merits of their thinking ctrl + alt + 4 Theory Concepts and propositions intended to describe and The Case Study, Experimental, and Correlational explain certain phenomena Methods Hypotheses Case study: Specific predictions generated from theories - In-depth examination of an individual or a small number of individuals Sample Selection: Can complement correlational and experimental Sample: research - Group of individuals studied - Can be a good source of hypotheses - Can provide a rich picture of atypical Population: development - Well-defined group - Results may not generalize to other individuals Experimental method: Random sampling: Investigator manipulates some aspect of the - Sample formed by identifying all members of environment to see how this affects the behavior of the larger population and then by a random the sample of individuals studied. means selects a portion of the population to Independent variable (IV): study. - Variable that is manipulated so that its causal effects can be assessed Data Collection Dependent variable (DV): Major types of data collection - Variable expected to be affected Verbal reports involve asking people , questions Three critical features of a true about themselves or others: experiment. - Interviews ーRandom assignment of participants to different - Written questionnaires or surveys experimental conditions - Ability and achievement tests - Manipulation of the IV - Personality scales - Experimental control Cannot be used with certain populations All factors other than the independent Behavioral observations: variable are controlled or held constant. - Naturalistic observation observing people in their Correlational method: everyday surroundings: - Determine whether two or more variables are Some behaviors occur too infrequently and related in a systematic way. unexpectedly to be observed. - No random assignment or manipulation of IV Observer presence can sometimes make - Calculate correlation coefficient. people behave differently. *Index of the strength of the relationship between Behavioral observations: two variables of interest - Naturalistic observation observing people in their *Ranges from +1.00 to - 1.00 everyday surroundings: Rival interpretations in correlational Used to study children and adults studies: Some behaviors occur too infrequently and - Directionality problem unexpectedly to be observed. - Third variable problem Difficult to pinpoint the causes of the Cannot establish a causal relationship behavior observed between one variable and another Observer presence can sometimes make Meta analysis: people behave differently - Results of multiple studies addressing the Behavioral observations: same question are combined to produce - Structured observations: overall conclusions Achieve greater control over the conditions. - Aids in the confidence of research findings Create special stimuli, tasks, or situations Developmental Research Designs designed to elicit the behavior of interest. Cross-sectional design: Will research participants behave naturally? - Age effects and cohort effects are confounded. Template by: commissio_nurse DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY ーCohort differences can tell us about the influence of the sociocultural environment on development. - Researchers learn nothing about how people change with age. - Quicker and easier than longitudinal studies Longitudinal design: - One cohort of individuals is assessed repeatedly over time. -Provides information about age changes rather than age differences -Can indicate whether the characteristics and behaviors measured remain consistent over time. Sequential design: -Combines cross-sectional approach and longitudinal approach in a single study -Can reveal Which age-related trends are developmental in nature Which age trends differ from cohort to cohort Time-of-measurement effects - Very complex and expensive Conducting Culturally Sensitive Research Baltes's life-span perspective emphasizes tai development is shaped by its cultural context. Most developmental research is WEIRD: - People living in societies that are Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic Ethnocentrism can impact research. Protecting the Rights of Research Participants Research ethics: - Standards of conduct to protect research participants from physical or psychological harm - Federal regulations require organizations that conduct research with humans to have institutional review boards. Informed consent: - Must be voluntary. - Obtain at least the "assent" or agreement of the individual in vulnerable populations. - Must not to pressure anyone to participate - Must respect participants' right to: *Refuse to participate. *Drop out during the study. *Refuse to have their data used by the investigator. Debriefing: - Tell participants about the study afterward if they are not told everything in advance or are deceived. -Explain the true purpose of the study. ーObligation to make sure that participants do not leave feeling upset Protection from harm: - Researchers are bound to not harm research participants either physically or psychologically. - If harm seems likely, researcher needs to find another method. - Federal regulations provide extra protection from harm to children. Confidentiality: - Ethical responsibility to keep the information collected confidential - Information collected can be shared only if: * Participants give explicit permission. *Law requires disclosure of information. Template by: commissio_nurse