M1 Developmental Psychology.pdf

DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY MODULE 1 EVA EVANGELIO- PACAYRA, PhD.,RPsy DEFINITION: Developmental psychology- is the study of changes that occur in human beings over the course of their life. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to include adolescen...

DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY MODULE 1 EVA EVANGELIO- PACAYRA, PhD.,RPsy DEFINITION: Developmental psychology- is the study of changes that occur in human beings over the course of their life. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to include adolescence, adult development, aging, and the entire life span. JOHN LOCKE vs. JEAN JACQUES ROUSSEAU John Locke believed that people at birth are a blank slate (tabula rasa) and it is society that would change them. This would mean each person starts from zero. What happens next is due to the influence of family, peers, community, and culture. On the other hand, Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-78) believed that the human person is by nature good and possesses the will to choose and craft changes to cope better in the environment. Lesson 1: Nature and Nurture Development is influenced by BOTH “nature,” or heredity, and “nurture,” or the environment. 1. Each individual inherits a specific pattern of genes from his or her parents. The expression of those genes is influenced by the environment in which the individual grows. 2. It is no longer a case of nature versus nurture because researchers understand that both play a role in influencing the changes throughout life. 3. Furthermore, specific environmental factors can influence the expression of genes. Case in point: Heredity determines intelligence. However, studies also show that IQ gains can happen through proper nutrition and motivation. The role of nature and nurture in developmental psychology 1. Age of the person - Is he old enough to play with the other children? 2. Biological factor or physical development - Is he strong enough or tall enough to take part in the game? 3. Behavior under investigation - What is the game and could he take part? 4. Social Situation - Does he know the children playing the game? 5. Cognitive power - Can he understand the rules of the game? Deterministic vs. Non-Deterministic NATURE- biological bases of behavior which include genetic make-up. - This usually follows a deterministic view where the belief is that persons are essentially fully formed during early childhood and ones' personality is unchangeable. Deterministic vs. Non-Deterministic NURTURE- refers to the social situation, the material and non-material supports, the interpretation of the event, and culture. -This usually follows a non-deterministic view where the belief is that persons continue to change and develop even in adulthood. Adults have the capacity to change impacts of negative early childhood experiences.  Lesson 2: Continuity and Change in Development Some developmental psychologists see development as a continuous process of change where development is a continuous. - Life-long experience which does not follow specific steps and stages, but early experiences are built, and skills expanded continuously. - The process occurs at a steady pace, perhaps showing a constant, consistent improvement or growth. The continuous perspective has at its core four assumptions: 1. development is life-long, 2. is multi-dimensional, 3. is plastic (or flexible) and can ebb and flow across the lifespan, and 4. can be affected by many elements, both predictable and unpredictable.  PRINCIPLES OF LIFE SPAN DEVELOPMENT (Baltes, et al.) 1. Development is lifelong- 2. Development is multidimentional- 3. Development is multidirectional- 4. Development is plastic (change)-  PRINCIPLES OF LIFE SPAN DEVELOPMENT (Baltes, et al.) 5. Development is contextual (setting) 6. Development is a co-construction of biology, culture, and individual 7. Development involves changing resource allocation - Growth (Skills) - Maintenance - Regulation of loss  Lesson 2: Continuity and Change in Development Others see development as a discontinuous process of change, where development happens in a series of specific stages. - Each stage is distinct from the other. - One period ends with a steady consolidation then another period begins. Assignment 2 What are the four assumptions of the continuous or life span perspective? Explain each briefly. Lesson 3: Critical Periods Critical periods are also referred to as sensitive periods since the term critical period implies that something happens in a specific time period to develop normally (e.g., imprinting in ducks and geese). IMPRINTING- Lesson 3: Critical Periods Critical periods can involve biological changes, such as the growth of the nervous system, which may be affected negatively by maternal illness early in pregnancy. Article: Fertile Minds During the first years of life, the brain undergoes a series of extraordinary changes. Starting shortly after birth, a baby's brain produces trillions more connections between neurons than it can possibly use. Then, the brain eliminates connections, or synapses, that are seldom or never used. The excess synapses in a child's brain undergo a draconian pruning, starting around the age of 10 or earlier, leaving behind a mind whose patterns of emotion and thought are, for better or worse, unique. Article: Fertile Minds Deprived of a stimulating environment, a child's brain suffers. Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, for example, have found that children who don't play much or are rarely touched develop brains 20% to 30% smaller than normal for their age. Turned to Danger Children who are physically abused early in life, he observes, develop brains that are exquisitely tuned to danger. Early abuse is particularly damaging. Says Dr. Bruce Perry of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston: "Experience is the chief architect of the brain." And because these early experiences of stress form a kind of template around which later brain development is organized, the changes they create are all pervasive. Emotional deprivation early in life has a similar effect. Windows of Opportunity ❖With a few exceptions, the windows of opportunity in the human brain do not close quite so abruptly. ❖There appears to be a series of windows for developing language. The window for acquiring syntax may close as early as five or six years of age, while the window for adding new words may never close. ❖The ability to learn a second language is highest between birth and the age of six, then undergoes a steady and inexorable decline. Many adults still manage to learn new languages, but usually only after great struggle. Windows of Opportunity The brain's greatest growth spurt, neuroscientists have now confirmed, draws to a close around the age of 10. Over the next several years, the brain will ruthlessly destroy its weakest synapses, preserving only those that have been magically transformed by experience. This magic, once again, seems to be encoded in the genes. The ephemeral bursts of electricity that travel through the brain, creating everything from visual images and pleasurable sensations to dark dreams and wild thoughts. Windows of Opportunity By the end of adolescence, around the age of 18, the brain has declined in plasticity but increased in power. Talents and latent tendencies that have been nurtured are ready to blossom. Potential for greatness may be encoded in the genes, but whether that potential is realized as a gift for mathematics, say, or a brilliant criminal mind depends on patterns etched by experience in those critical early years. Lessons from the New Findings: Among other things, it is clear foreign languages should be taught in elementary school. That remedial education may be more effective at the age of three or four than at nine or 10. That good, affordable day care is not a luxury or a fringe benefit for welfare mothers and working parents but essential brain food for the next generation. For while new synapses continue to form throughout life, and even adults continually refurbish their minds through reading and learning, never again will the brain be able to master new skills so readily or rebound from setbacks so easily. Assignment 3 Define the following terms and give an example for each. Get your answers from the article "Fertile Minds." 1. "wiring" and ""hardwired" 2. windows of learning Lesson 4: Contexts of Development Life is a story full of episodes. To be able to explain, predict, and control the changes in our lives, let us classify life events as follows: 1. Normative age-graded influences Normative age-graded influences are developmentally relevant influences determined through biology or the environment. The onset of a child’s formal education is one example of an age-graded influence on development (Feldman, 2006). The beginning of school typically occurs once a child is potty trained. Thus, attending school is biologically influenced and this event typically occurs on the same time schedule, regardless of an individual’s culture or nationality. Examples of normative age-graded influences include becoming potty trained, losing your first tooth, menarche, and menopause. Can you recall your own story of a specific normative age -graded events? What made it so memorable? 2. Normative sociocultural-graded influences Normative sociocultural-graded influences are circumstances related to an individual’s ecological niche. In particular, an understanding of an individual’s ethnicity and social class is needed to describe the sociocultural influences on their development (Feldman, 2006). A family's socioeconomic status (SES) falls under this category. Numerous researches have been done concerning the impact of poverty on child development. Dangerous neighborhoods, poor air quality, few books in the home, and low parental involvement in school-related activities are all examples of the insidious ways that poverty could negatively affect human development (Evans, 2004). However, there are also studies which investigates how coming from a high SES background may negatively impact child and adolescent development as well (Luthar, 2003). Do you have family rituals? customs and traditions which you treasure? Why? 3. History-graded influences History-graded influences are biological and environmental developmental influences that are related to the unique historical period during which an individual develops (Feldman, 2006). Imagine the impact of this pandemic to those who missed the usual gathering for their graduation? junior-senior prom? debut? postponed wedding? In connection with the gadget generation, where would you classify yourself?  Lesson 5: Research Methods in Life Span Development Three main concepts underlying research in development: 1. Age: The chronological age of the individual 2. Cohort: The historical period in which the individual was born 3. Time of measurement: The historical period in which testing takes place - Does a particular change in behavior/habit/perception happen as part of coming of age? generation (cohort)? time and circumstances when research was conducted? Researchers have been interested in these aspects: Life span. The biological limits to life’s length, determined by species- specific hereditary factors. Life expectancy. The average length of time that a given age-based cohort is expected to live. Life course. The term used by sociologists to refer to the normal, expected set of events that take place over an individual’s life, determined in many ways by the society’s norms. Studies designed to investigate developmental change can be grouped roughly into two categories: descriptive and sequential Descriptive research designs. Three types of studies are considered “descriptive” because they do not attempt to separate personal from social aging: 1. Cross-sectional: Individuals from different cohorts are compared at one point in time. 2. Longitudinal: Individuals from one cohort are followed over several time periods. 3. Time lag: Individuals of the same age who were born at different times and are being tested in the same year are compared, e.g., such as comparing different generations of high school students on the same measure. Holding age constant points out generational differences. The time-sequential design ❖It is one in which a longitudinal study is replicated on more than one cohort. ❖Essentially, this design attempts to replicate the findings of one longitudinal study by repeating it on different samples born at different times. ❖Thus, it is much like any replication of a scientific finding, except that in this case, the replication occurs specifically to test the impact of historical time.  As professionals, we conduct our profession as psychologists, nutritionists, social workers, etc. using evidence-based practice Links to an external site. This means that we practice our profession by consuming research findings. As such, it is very important that we observe the following attitudes: 1. conscientiousness 2. explicitness 3. judiciousness THANK YOU FOR LISTENING