Lecture 1 - Theoretical Approaches, Research Methods & Prenatal Development PDF

02/09/2024 PSYC 2012 DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY LECTURE 1 Theoretical Approaches, Research Methods &...

02/09/2024 PSYC 2012 DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY LECTURE 1 Theoretical Approaches, Research Methods & Prenatal Development 1 IMPORTANT NOTICE TO STUDENTS You are hereby prohibited from reproducing, re-publishing, re-broadcasting, re-posting, re-transmitting or transferring in whole or in part any Course Outlines, Course Materials or Lectures which have been provided to you as part of your course of study at The University of the West Indies (The UWI), without the prior permission of The UWI its authorised agents or copyright holders. 2 IMPORTANT NOTICE TO STUDENTS In this course, students may use AI-powered resources as a supplementary learning tool to enhance their understanding of course material, seek clarification on concepts, and receive additional practice only. However, the use of AI platforms to prepare submitted written assignments for this course is prohibited. The primary responsibility for learning and completing assignments rests with the student. To maintain transparency and ensure that AI-generated work is identified, students are required to declare if AI tools were employed and acknowledge their role in their written assignment. Students are urged to familiarize themselves with the UWI’s plagiarism regulations. These regulations will be strictly enforced in this course. 3 1  02/09/2024 LEARNING OUTCOMES At the end of this session, you will be able to:  Define Development  Explain the Goals of Studying Development  Evaluate the Developmental Issues in studying the nature of development  Assess the Research Methods in Developmental Psychology  Describe the processes involved in Conception  Identify the Chromosomal Abnormalities  Describe the Three Stages of Prenatal Development  Explain Teratology and Hazards to Prenatal Development 7 WHAT IS DEVELOPMENT? 8 DEVELOPMENT  Development: the pattern of movement or change that begins at conception and continues through the human life span  Systematic and lasting changes that occur over time in various aspects of an individual, including physical and neurological structures, cognitive processes, emotions, social interactions, and a wide range of behaviors.  Traditional Approach: emphasizes extensive change from birth to adolescence, little to no change in adulthood, and decline in old age.  Life-Span Approach: emphasizes developmental change throughout childhood and adulthood; more comprehensive than traditional approach. 9 2  02/09/2024 CHARACTERISTICS OF TRADITIONAL PERSPECTIVE  Sequential and Predictable Stages  Focus on Early Life  Biological Maturation  Universal Developmental Patterns  Deficit Model  Emphasis on Stability  End-State Focus 10 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LIFE- SPAN PERSPECTIVE  Development is/involves:  Lifelong  Multidimensional  Multidirectional  Plastic  Contextual  Multidisciplinary  Growth, maintenance, and regulation of loss  Co-construction of biology, culture, and individual 11 LIFE-SPAN DEVELOPMENT 12 3  02/09/2024 THE NATURE OF DEVELOPMENT Biological: changes in an individual’s physical nature Cognitive: changes in thought, intelligence, and language Socioemotional: changes in relationships with other people, changes in emotions, and changes in personality Connecting Biological, Cognitive, and Socioemotional Processes: changes in thought, intelligence, and language 13 GOALS IN STUDYING DEVELOPMENT Understand changes that appear to be universal. Explain individual changes. Understand how children’s behaviour is influenced by the environmental context. To understand the interaction between biological and cultural factors 14 SIGNIFICANCE OF AGE Chronological Number of years that have elapsed since age birth Biological age Age in terms of biological health Psychological Individual’s adaptive capacities compared with those of other individuals age of the same chronological age Connectedness with others and the social Social age roles individuals adopt 15 4  02/09/2024 DEVELOPMENTAL ISSUES Environmental Active vs. vs. Biological Passive Nature Determinants of of the Child Behaviour Continuity vs. Stability over Discontinuity in time Development Consistency across situations 16 ENVIRONMENTAL VS. BIOLOGICAL DETERMINANTS OF BEHAVIOUR Biological determinists argue that much of human behaviour is guided by genetic make- up, physiological and neurological factors. Environmentalists argue that the physical and social environment is the key influence in shaping development 17 ACTIVITY:QUESTION? Can you think of one form of behaviour that could be explained by the influence of both nature & nurture? Would you assign more weight to Nature or Nurture and why? 18 5  02/09/2024 ACTIVE VS. PASSIVE Are children passive receivers of experience, or are According to the they active in active view, children organizing, actively interpret restructuring and in their environment. some sense creating their own world? 19 CONTINUITY VS. DISCONTINUITY Continuity versus discontinuity relates to whether development is solely and evenly continuous, or whether it is marked by age-specific periods Continuous development is the gradual improvement in skills Discontinuous changes are in as a series of discrete stages, each of which is characterized by at least one task that an individual must accomplish before progressing to the next stage 20 STABILITY OVER TIME Stability over time is the debate over Studies of children have often whether a particular trait or revealed impressive stability over behaviour is best characterized by time in aspects of development stability over time or by change such as the attachment bond to their parents (e.g. Sroufe, Egeland, & Kreutzer, 1990) or in personality 21 6  02/09/2024 CONSISTENCY ACROSS SITUATIONS Learning Theory argues that behaviour is quite variable across situations. Research indicates consistency over time for broad traits. Although consistent over time, how a trait is manifested in behavior might change over time. 22 RESEARCH DESIGN  Descriptive: aims to observe and record behavior  Correlational: a non-experimental research method used to examine the relationship between two or more variables  Primary goal is to determine the strength of the relationship between two or more events or characteristics using a Correlation Coefficient.  The + or – sign indicates the direction of the correlation  The number describes the magnitude of the relationship/correlation. 23 RESEARCH DESIGN  ExperimentalDesign: one or more factors are manipulated while all other factors are held constant  Can demonstrate cause and effect  Independent Variable: manipulated, influential, experimental factor  Dependent Variable: a factor that can change in response to changes in the independent variable 24 7  02/09/2024 RESEARCH DESIGN  Experimental Designs cont’d 25 ACTIVITY  Take a minute to formulate a study that will use an experimental design. Share with the class your study by stating: 1. The title of the study 2. The hypothesis (es) 3. The independent variable (s) 4. The dependent variable (s) 5. Method of sampling 6. Expected results 26 RESEARCH DESIGN Cross-sectional Design –individuals of different ages are compared at one point in time Longitudinal Design – the same individuals are observed or tested at regular intervals over an extended period of time Cross-sequential Design-Combines the cross- sectional and longitudinal approaches by observing different cohorts repeatedly over time 27 8  02/09/2024 ETHICAL ISSUES IN RESEARCH  Informed Consent: all participants must know what their research participation will involve and what risks might develop  Parental and child assent required for studying minors  Confidentiality: researchers are responsible for keeping the data completely confidential and, if possible, anonymous  Debriefing: after the study, participants should be informed of the study’s purpose and methods that were used  Deception: researchers must ensure that deception will not harm participants, and that participants are fully debriefed  Minimize Risk associated with distress and discomfort  Minimizing Bias  Gender Bias  Cultural and Ethnic Bias 28 PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT 29 VIDEO: LIFE IN THE WOMB Let’s take a few minutes to look at the video- Life in the womb. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WH9ZJu4 wRUE 30 9  02/09/2024 CONCEPTION  Development begins with the contribution of a sperm cell from the father penetrating the wall of an ovum or egg from the mother.  Sperm releases 23 chromosomes  Nucleus of the ovum breaks up releasing 23 chromosomes 31 CONCEPTION CON’T  Theindividual begins life with 46 chromosomes.  22 of these chromosome pairs are called autosomes  The remaining pair are the sex chromosomes  Females have XX and males have XY chromosomes 32 CHROMOSOMAL ABNORMALITIES 33 10  02/09/2024 STAGES OF PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT  Prenatal development is divided into 3 periods lasting approximately 38-40 weeks:  Germinal period: first 2 weeks after conception ▪ Implantation  Embryonic period: from 2 to 8 weeks after conception ▪ Organogenesis  Fetal period: from 2 months after conception until birth 34 GERMINAL PERIOD  This period includes:  The creation of the zygote  Continued cell division  Attachment of the zygote to uterine wall (implantation-10 days)  The group of cells (blastocyst) consists of an inner mass of cells (embryo) and outer (trophoblast) layer of the organism. 35 ILLUSTRATION OF GERMINAL PERIOD 36 11  02/09/2024 EMBRYONIC PERIOD  Theinner cell mass, begins to differentiate into three distinct layers: 1.Ectoderm (outer layer): the epidermis, hair, nails, parts of the teeth, skin glands, sensory cells and nervous system 2. Mesoderm (middle layer): the dermis, muscles, skeleton, and circulatory and excretory organs 3. Endoderm (inner layer): the entire gastrointestinal tract and Eustachian tubes, trachea, bronchia, lungs, liver, pancreas, salivary glands, thyroid glands and thymus 37 EMBRYONIC PERIOD CONT’D  Outerlayers of cells give rise to two fetal structures:  The chorion  The amnion  Other fetal sacs are formed: ▪ The umbilical cord (the lifeline of the embryo)  This period is characterized by extremely rapid development of the nervous system. 38 ILLUSTRATION OF FETAL SACS 39 12  02/09/2024 FETAL PERIOD  Fetal period is characterized by rapid growth  From 8 weeks:  The fetus is capable of responding to tactile stimulation  Motor functions become increasingly differentiated and complex  The reproductive system begins to develop 40 FETAL PERIOD CONT’D Three months after conception: The fetus moves legs, arms, head and closes mouth Facial features are distinguishable Genitals can be identified Six months after conception: All organ systems mature rapidly preparing the fetus for birth Fetus reaches Age of Viability At birth the average American baby weighs 7 ½ lbs and is about 20” long. 41 THE THREE TRIMESTERS OF PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT 42 13  02/09/2024 THE THREE TRIMESTERS OF PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT 43 THE THREE TRIMESTERS OF PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT 44 THE COURSE OF PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT  Brain ▪ Neurons: Nerve cells, which handle information processing at the cellular level in the brain ▪ Important phases of the brain’s development ▪ Neural tube ▪ Failure of the neural tube to close may cause anencephaly and spina bifida ▪ Neurogenesis - Generation of new neurons ▪ Neuronal migration - Cells moving outward from their point of origin to their appropriate locations ▪ Neural connectivity 45 14  02/09/2024 TERATOLOGY AND HAZARDS TO PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT Teratogen- any agent that can cause a birth defect or negatively alter cognitive and behavioral outcomes. The effects of teratogens are worst during the Embryonic stage. 46 ACTIVITY Why are the effects of teratogens worst during the Embryonic Stage? 47 TIMING OF TERATOGENIC EFFECTS 48 15  02/09/2024 TERATOLOGY AND HAZARDS TO PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT CONT’D ▪ Prescription and Nonprescription drugs: ▪ Psychoactive drugs - Act on the nervous system to alter states of consciousness, modify perceptions, and change moods ▪ Caffeine ▪ Alcohol ▪ Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders: Appear in the off spring of mothers who drink alcohol heavily during pregnancy ▪ Nicotine ▪ Illegal drugs (marijuana, cocaine, heroin) 49 VIDEO: FAS  Let’s take a few minutes to look at the video-FAS. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRyMKUKEQ ho 50 TERATOLOGY AND HAZARDS TO PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT CONT’D Incompatible blood types: Rh Factor Environmental hazards: Radiation Chemicals Other hazards in our modern industrial world 51 16  02/09/2024 TERATOLOGY AND HAZARDS TO PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT CONT’D Maternal diseases: Rubella Syphilis Genital Herpes HIV/AIDS How do you think the Covid-19 Virus affected pregnancy? Other parental factors: Maternal age Maternal nutrition Maternal stress 52 ACTIVITY Take 5 minutes to write two statements that can summarise this lecture. 53 END OF LECTURE 1 THANK YOU! 54 17