Developmental Psychology PDF

Developmental Psychology PS4031/PS3011 Dr. Paul J. Maher Today Nature v Nurture  False dichotomy Infancy  Attachment Early Stages  Piaget  Vygotsky Beyond Childhood Periods of development ◼ ◼ ◼ ◼ ◼ ◼ ◼ ◼ The prenatal period Infancy Early childhood Middle and late childhood Adolescence Ea...

Developmental Psychology PS4031/PS3011 Dr. Paul J. Maher Today Nature v Nurture  False dichotomy Infancy  Attachment Early Stages  Piaget  Vygotsky Beyond Childhood Periods of development ◼ ◼ ◼ ◼ ◼ ◼ ◼ ◼ The prenatal period Infancy Early childhood Middle and late childhood Adolescence Early adulthood Middle adulthood Late adulthood Nature & nurture Phenotype Genotype Observable physical & psychological characteristics Genetic make-up Environment Genotype Phenotype Phenotype Phenotype Studying Nature & nurture Decades of research • Virtually all traits, characteristics & behaviours are the joint results of the combination and interaction of genetics & environment • Genetics & environment work in tandem to shape the human being Characteristics vary in terms of the genetic influence • • Physical traits have strong genetic component • Weight, height, appearance Psychological traits / behaviours vary Studying Nature & nurture Studying Nature & nurture Studying Nature & nurture Nature & nurture- Notes Equal environment assumption (Joseph, 2013) ❑ ❑ ◼ MZ and dizygotic DZ twins are equally correlated for their exposure to environmental influences Identical pairs are treated more alike and are socialized to be more alike than are fraternal pairs Transgenerational epigenetic inheritance ❑ The environment experienced during our lifetime may impact the health of our descendants Attachment ◼ ◼ ◼ ◼ Definition: Attachment is a deep and enduring emotional bond that connects one person to another across time and space (Ainsworth, 1973; Bowlby, 1969) A key concept in our understanding of social and emotional development Social and emotional bond between infant and caregiver Formed with caregiver(s) during first year of life Attachment Harlow (1956): Scientific examination of mothers’ role in monkeys ◼ Comforting versus Feeding ‘Mothers’ Baby monkeys more likely to find comfort with the cloth covered ‘mom’ ◼ Only went to cage ‘mom’ when hungry Video ◼ Consequences of attachment style ◼ Secure child ❑ ❑ ❑ ◼ Insecure-ambivalent child ❑ ◼ Less able to laugh or show positive emotion Insecure-avoidant child ❑ ◼ Flexible in managing impulses & desires Positive emotions Age-appropriate play Became very stressed at challenging tasks Age 3 ½ years ❑ ❑ Secure group more advanced in relationships with peers Superior social skills remained into adolescence John Bowlby ◼ Internal working models of attachment bonds ❑ ❑ ❑ Cognitive-affective structure constructed from the experienced patterns of interaction with AF Child develops expectations about mother’s availability based on past experience ◼ Patterns of relating with AF is internalised ◼ Unconscious mental representation of relationship with AF Internal working model remains stable across lifetime ◼ Contains expectations & beliefs about relationships ◼ Becomes a model for operating in future relationships ◼ Romantic relationships as attachment bonds Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Guided by assumptions of how learners interact with their environment and integrate new knowledge into existing knowledge. I. children are active learners who construct knowledge from their environments II. they learn through assimilation and accommodation III. the interaction with physical and social environments is key for cognitive development IV. development occurs in stages ◼ Research focus: How people think, not what they think A theory of Stages What is a stage/period? ❑ ◼ ◼ ◼ A duration of time with specific cognitive and behavioural characteristics Invariant sequence Are derived from previous stages or periods Are universal https://www.youtube.c om/watch?v=YJyuy4B 2aKU https://www.youtu be.com/watch?v= TRF27F2bn-A Piaget’s Central Concepts ◼ Schema: (mental structure) a generalization a child makes based on comparable occurrences of various actions (physical or motor) ❑ ❑ ◼ Guide thoughts based on prior experiences Can change through three processes: adaptation, assimilation, accommodation Adaptation: changing to meet situational demands ❑ ❑ Drives progression through stages Two sub processes: Assimilation & Accommodation Piaget’s Central Concepts ◼ Assimilation: absorb new ideas & experiences & incorporate into existing schema ❑ ❑ ◼ Ex. A child learns to grasp a ball & later grasps other round objects Example of assimilation: Calling an airplane a birdie Accommodation: modify present schema & adapt to new experiences ❑ Ex. By widening/narrowing grasp child learns to grasp more complex objects, Calling an airplane an airplane not a birdie Objects with wings = Airplane OR birdie LEV VYGOTSKY (1896 – 1934) ◼ Russian psychologist & teacher Died aged 37 ❑ Much of his work banned by Stalin despite Marxist approach ❑ Freely available only after break-up Soviet Union 1990s ❑ Extremely influential in education ❑ ◼ Social-cultural aspects of learning ❑ ❑ Piaget ◼ Individual scientist, figuring world out for himself Vygotsky ◼ Apprentices, learning from master teachers of LEV VYGOTSKY (1896 – 1934) Importance of the social & cultural world for cognitive development ❑ ❑ ❑ Cognitive skills develop in the context of social interaction Learn cognitive strategies & skills from adults & skilled peers around them Present new ideas or skills, along with assistance, instruction & motivation for learning LEV VYGOTSKY (1896 – 1934) Culture & society shape cognitive development ❑ ❑ Establish institutions which provide opportunities for cognitive growth ◼ Play groups / preschools / schools ‘Cultural tools’ provide a structure to aid cognitive development ◼ Actual physical items ❑ Pencils / paper / calculators / computers ◼ Conceptual frameworks ❑ Language / alphabetical & numbering schemes / religious system Major Themes Social Interaction ◼ The More Knowledgeable Other (MKO) ◼ Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) ◼ DEVELOPMENT IN ADULTHOOD Postformal thought “Ben is known to be a heavy drinker, especially when he goes to parties. Tyra, Ben’s wife, warns him that if he comes home drunk one more time, she will leave him and take the children. Tonight Ben is out late at an office party. He comes home drunk. Does Tyra leave Ben?” What do you think? Postformal thought Labouvie-Vief & colleagues ❑ Vignettes given to people aged 10 to 40 ❑ Adolescent answer ◼ Yes! ◼ Sheer logic ❑ Young adults ◼ See the complexity in situation ◼ Acknowledge different possibilities and real-life concerns Postformal thought Labouvie-Vief & colleagues ❑ Development continues beyond formal operations ◼ Formal operations not sufficient for complexities of society Young adulthood ❑ Thinking transcends logic… ◼ Practical experience ◼ Moral judgments ◼ Values & beliefs ❑ Learn to deal with ambiguous situations ◼ Move beyond black & white thinking to understanding gray Postformal thought Dialectical thinking ◼ Understanding that issues are not always clear-cut ◼ William Perry ❑ Studied thought processes of students at Harvard University ◼ Students entering college ❑ Dualistic thinking ❑ Something is right or wrong, good or bad ◼ As they progressed… ❑ Dualistic thinking declined ❑ Understood possibility of holding multiple perspectives on an issue ❑ Understanding of knowledge & values are relativistic Reading Psychology 2e; Chapter 9.2: Lifespan Theories