Human Development Across the Life Span PDF

Human Development Across the Life Span 1 Developmental Psychology Developmental Psychology Area of psychology that is concerned with changes in physical and psychological functioning How & Why people change over time Occurs from conception across entire...

Human Development Across the Life Span 1 Developmental Psychology Developmental Psychology Area of psychology that is concerned with changes in physical and psychological functioning How & Why people change over time Occurs from conception across entire life span Development is the more or less predictable changes in behavior associated with age. Stage Theories of Development Stages – series of abrupt changes from one period to another (discontinuity) All children must pass through in same order … what are some North American milestones? Many advocate that changes unfold over time (continuous change or continuity) Qualitative than quantitative (such as child mastering physical properties of object)  Studying Development Often conceptualize the lifespan as either gains or losses (debits & credits) How do we study changes over time? Normative investigations Describe characteristics of a specific age or developmental stage (average level – norms) – height, weight, reading, writing Chronological & developmental age – what is normal/make comparisons Variations in Development  Studying Development Often conceptualize the lifespan as either gains or losses (debits & credits) How do we study changes over time? A sequential design incorporates both longitudinal and cross sectional designs Longitudinal design Repeated observation & testing of the same people over time Is there benefit? Short term & long term Up Series by Michael Apted - followed the lives of fourteen British children since 1964 Cross-sectional design Groups of participants of different chronological ages are observed and compared at the same time (e.g., a census) Studying Development Advantages & Disadvantages Longitudinal design Able to study longer term individual differences Age related changes cannot be confused with variations in different societal circumstances (assessment of Gen Z, Gen Y & Gen X) Costly, time consuming, where is the data?, only one group Cross-sectional design More groups can be studied Political and societal variables may confound the results The sequential design is actually a combination of both a cross-sectional design and a longitudinal design. Using a sequential design, we study several cohorts, or age groups, over a long period of time. Piaget & Development Jean Piaget believed that representations of reality change at different stages – needed for adaptation Wasn’t interested in the amount of knowledge Theories are still used today Mental structures that enable individuals to interpret the world called schemes Assimilation – modifies new environmental information to fit into what is already known (interpret new input according to existing schemes) – ball vs. apple vs. pumpkin Accommodation – restructures or modifies the child’s existing schemes so that new information is accounted for Balance & Imbalance (e.g., change in belief system) Assimilation & Accommodation work in tandem What we see changes what we know. What we know changes what we see..." (Piaget) Stages of Cognitive Development 1) Sensorimotor stage (0-2)  Senses & motion – without the use of symbols  Mobility allows for knowledge acquisition  Object permanence – understanding that objects exist independent from awareness (around age 2)  At age 2 – brain is 80% of adult weigh Preoperational stage (2-7)  Use of symbols, language matures, memory develops, imagination develops – most learning here  Non-reversable thinking  Egocentrism – inability to take other’s perspectives  Centration – tendency for attention to be captured by perceptually striking features of objects Stages of Cognitive Development Stages of Cognitive Development 1) Concrete operations stage (7-11)  Conservation – physical properties of objects don’t change even though appearance might (reversibility)  Intelligence is demonstrated through logical systematic manipulation of symbols to concrete objects  Reversibility – 1 + 1 = 2 & 2 minus 1 = 1 2) Formal operations stage (11-adult)  Development of abstract and hypothetical thinking  Consider series of alternatives and logical thinking  Return to egocentric thinking Contemporary Cognitive Views Renée Baillargeon & infant cognition Demonstrated that some aspects of Piaget’s stages don’t occur in order Violation of expectation experiments – rudimentary object permanence at a younger age (4-5 months) Theory of Mind Frameworks for initial understanding called foundational theories (accumulation of experiences) Lev Vygotsky & internalization Process of absorbing knowledge from the social & cultural context that has a major impact on how cognition unfolds over time Zone of Proximal Development – Little Apprentices Theory of Mind – False Belief Task Theory of Mind – False Belief Task Social Development Social development How individual’s social interactions and expectations change over time Conclusions based on the “average” life course, but development not independent from cultural and environmental aspects Erikson’s psychosocial stages represent 8 conflicts or crises that every individual must face through the life span Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages Social Development Socialization Lifelong process through which an individual’s behaviour patterns, values, standards, skills, attitudes, and motives are shaped to conform to those regarded as desirable in a particular society Process involves many individual and social factors - but family is most important in basic responsiveness to others Helps us understand societal norms What are some Canadian norms? Temperament Temperament Biologically based levels of emotional and behavioural response to the environment We are not all the same in regards to our social responses Inhibited (shy, withdrawn) & uninhibited babies (sociable, outgoing) - falls on a continuum Sets the stage for later aspects of development and can have interactive effects (social anxiety, antisocial) – but not always 21 Attachment Attachment Intense social-emotional relationship with mother, father, or regular caregiver Some species experience imprinting of the first moving object they see (Konrad Lorenz) John Bowlby Humans biologically predisposed to form attachments – agreed with Maslow – but become more selective in their attachment choices (indiscriminant attachment - newborns, discriminant attachment – 3 months, specific attachment – 7 months) Attachment forms lifelong schema for relationships called internal working model Contact & Social Bonding Freud’s Cupboard Theory - Is bonding only for the purpose of being fed? Harry Harlow & contact comfort Monkey studies Stephen Suomi & cross- fostering Attentive adoptive monkey mothers Human deprivation and lack of consistency linked to physical and social deficits Attachment  Mary Ainsworth & the Strange Situation Test – Stranger & Separation Anxiety Attachment  Mary Ainsworth & the Strange Situation Test  Three main types of attachment style: 1) Secure (70%) 2) Insecure-avoidant (20%) 3) Insecure-ambivalent/resistant (10%)  Highly predictive of child’s later behaviour & interactions with others Parenting Style & Practices Parenting styles range on dimensions of demandingness and responsiveness Parents have different socialization goals for their children which determine parenting The child may influence the goals Parenting Style & Practices Dani’s Story  Moral Development Morality A system of beliefs, values, and underlying judgments about the rightness or wrongness of human acts Lawrence Kohlberg & theory of moral development Studied moral reasoning in seven stages Shaped by Piaget – changing importance of consequences of acts and intentions Moral dilemmas used to evaluate reasons for moral decisions – Privacy – Facebook/Instagram? Should Apple unlock the phone? Swimming badges? Children do not see morality as adults do – they are more interested in what others think Moral Development Moral Development  Four key principles in Kohlberg’s model: - An individual can be at only one stage at a given time - Everyone goes through the stages in a fixed order - Each stage is more comprehensive and complex than the preceding - The same stages occur in every culture