CHAPTER ONE BASIC CONCEPTS AND METHODS “It is the growth of consciousness which we must thank for the existence of problems; they are the dubious gift.

CHAPTER ONE

BASIC CONCEPTS AND METHODS

“It is the growth of consciousness which we must thank for the existence of problems; they are the dubious gift of civilization”

- C.G. Jung

Developmental Stages & Domains INFANCY: (Birth to age 2) Task is to

develop a sense oftrust in self, others, and the environment

EARLY CHILDHOOD: (Ages 2 to 6) Task is to begin the journey toward autonomy

MIDDLE CHILDHOOD: (Ages 6 to 12) Task is to achieve a sense of industry

ADOLESCENCE: (Ages 12 to 19) Task is to search for anidentify and find one’s voice

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada 1-2

Developmental Stages & Domains EARLY ADULTHOOD: (Ages 20

to 40) Task is to formintimate relationship

MIDDLE ADULTHOOD: (Ages 40 to 60) Task is to learnhow to live creatively with ourselves and others

LATE ADULTHOOD: (Age 60+) Task is to decidewhat we want to do with the rest of our lives , to completea life review and put life into perspective



I. THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Developmental psychology is the scientific study of age-related changes in behaviour, thinking, emotion, and personality

Many Western beliefs about human development are based on philosophers' explanations for differences they observed in individuals of different ages

Christian notion of fallen, selfish state


A. Philosophical Roots

Philosophy

Original Sin

Innate Goodness

Blank Slate

Explanation

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Born complete, whole-good, environmental factors corrupt

John Locke proposed that the mind of a child is a blank slate

Fill in the following (p.3):


B. The Study of Human Development Becomes a Science Charles Darwin understood the development

of the human species by studying child development

G. Stanley Hall identified norms, the average ages at which milestones happen

Freud proposed stages of personality development that focussed on sexual feelings and behaviour in childhood

(continued)


The Study of Human Development Becomes a Science (continued)

John Watson coined the term ‘behaviourism’ which defines development in terms of behaviour changes caused by environmental influences

Arnold Gesell suggested the existence of a genetically programmed sequential pattern of change

Jean Piaget described 4 stages in the development of logical thinking between birth and adolescence


Milestones in the History of Modern Developmental Psychology


C. A Brief History of the Roots of Psychology in Canada The first psychology courses (moral

philosophy) in Canada were taught at Dalhousie University in 1838

In 1925 William Blatz opened the St. George’s School for Child Study in Toronto which is now a part of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE)

The Canadian Psychological Association was founded in 1939

Class Survey

Where would you go for advise on raising children?



Development in the Information Age: Child-Rearing Experts Generations of Canadians relied on government

publications-Canadian Mother’s Book and The Canadian Mother and Child, for child-rearing guidance

Dr. Benjamin Spock, predominant in the 1950s, urged parents to openly display affection towards their children, and to avoid too much conflict about achieving milestones such as toilet training

The latest trend is to use the internet as a source of expert advice

The internet can also be used to build social networks via such real-time communication methods as chat rooms and blogs


II. CONTEMPORARY DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

Developmental psychology has changed in the following three ways since the early days:

1. Developmentalists have come to understand that inborn characteristics interact with environmental factors in complex ways

2. The pioneers thought of change almost exclusively in terms of norms, while today’s developmentalists view norms as representing only one kind of change

3. The term development now encompasses the entire human lifespan


A. The Lifespan Perspective Psychologists’ views of adulthood have changed for

the following reasons:

1.Adults more commonly go through major life changes, like divorce and career shifts, resulting in stage models of development that include adult phases

Stage models view development as comprising periods of stability punctuated by periods of transition throughout the lifespan

2.Significant increases in life expectancy have occurred in the industrialized world

3.Developmental psychology has become more interdisciplinary, incorporating research in other sciences such as anthropology, sociology, and biology


C. Nature and Nurture Interact in DevelopmentEarly developmentalists thought of change as

resulting from inside the person (nature) or outside the person (nurture)

This view of internal verses external influences on development was termed nature vs. nurture

Today an interactionist model, respecting the complex interactions of nature and nurture, is more common

(continued)


Nature and Nurture Interact in Development (continued)

Vulnerability versus Resilience Vulnerabilities and protective factors interact

with the child’s environment The same environment can have quite different

effects The effect depends on the qualities the child

brings to the interaction Combining a highly vulnerable child and a poor

environment produces the most negative outcome

Either condition alone – a vulnerable child or a poor environment – can be overcome


D. Continuity and Discontinuity in DevelopmentContinuity

– Age-related change (development) is quantitative (a change in amount or degree)

Discontinuity– Age-related change (development) is qualitative

(changes in type or kind)• Development involves reorganization• Emergence of wholly new strategies, qualities, or

skills• Stage theories

(continued)


Continuity and Discontinuityin Development (continued)

Universal changes are common to every individual in a species and are linked to specific ages.

– Social clock is a set of age norms– Ageism can lead to prejudicial behaviour

directed toward older adults

(continued)


Continuity and Discontinuity in Development (continued)

Group-specific changes are shared by all individuals in a particular group growing up together– Cohort describes groups of individuals born

within some fairly narrow band of years who share the same historical experiences at the same times in their lives

(continued)


Continuity and Discontinuityin Development (continued)

Individual Changes result from unique, unshared events– Critical period: there may be specific periods in

development when an organism is especially sensitive to the presence (or absence) of some particular kind of experience

– Sensitive period: a span of months or years during which a child may be particularly influenced by the presence (or absence) of some particular kind of experience

– Atypical development - deviation from a typical, or “normal,” developmental pathway in a direction that is harmful to an individual


A. Relating Goals to Methods

Developmental psychology uses the scientific method to achieve the following four goals to study human development from conception to death:

1.To describe development is simply to state what happens.

2.To explain development involves telling why a particular event occurs.

3.To predict development, researchers test hypotheses.

4.To influence development is to modify the behaviour in some way.


B. Studying Age-Related Changes

In cross-sectional designs, groups of subjects are selected at each of a series of ages.

Longitudinal designs follow the same individual over a period of time.

A sequential design begins with at least two age groups. Investigators then test each group over a number of years with two types of comparisons:

1. age-group comparisons2. comparisons of each group to itself at an earlier

testing point


C. Identifying Relationships between Variables Variables are characteristics that vary from person

to person such as physical size, intelligence, and personality. When two or more variables vary together, we say there is a relationship between them

Case studies are in-depth examinations of single individuals

When psychologists use the naturalistic observation method, they observe people in their normal environments

(continued)


Identifying Relationships between Variables (continued)

Correlations– A correlation is a number ranging

from -1.00 to +1.00 that describes the strength of a relationship between two variables

– A correlation of zero indicates that there is no relationship between those variables

– A positive correlation means that high scores on one variable are usually accompanied by high scores on the other. The closer a positive correlation is to +1.00, the stronger the relationship between the variables

(continued)

Positive

Stress Illness



Correlations (continued)– Two variables that move in opposite

directions result in a negative correlation, and the nearer the correlation is to -1.00, the more strongly the two are connected

– Correlations have a major limitation:• they do not tell us about causal

relationships. In order to identify causes, we have to carry out experiments

(continued)

NegativeCigarettes Life Expectancy


Scatter Plots of Three Correlations



Experiments– An experiment is a study that tests a causal

hypothesis—something causes something to happen

– subjects are assigned randomly to participate in one of several groups

– Reliability- the ability of a test to yield nearly the same results.

– Validity- the ability of a test to measure what it is intended to measure.

(continued)



Experiments (continued)– Subjects in the experimental group receive the

treatment the researcher thinks will produce a particular effect, while those in the control group receive either no treatment or a neutral treatment

– The introduced element in the experiment is called the independent variable (treatment) and the behaviour on which the independent variable is expected to show its effect is called a dependent variable (problem or condition).


D. Cross-Cultural Research

Studies comparing cultures or contextsAn ethnography is a detailed description of a single

culture or context based on extensive observationCompare two or more cultures (or subcultures)

directly by testing children or adults in each of several cultures with the same or comparable measures.

Cross-cultural research is important to developmental psychology for the following two reasons:1. It identifies universal changes2. It identifies specific variables that explain cultural

differences


E. Research Ethics

Guidelines researchers follow to protect the rights of animals and humans who participate in studies. Some common guidelines include: Protection from harm Informed consent Confidentiality Knowledge of results Deception, if used, must be explained fully

CHAPTER ONE BASIC CONCEPTS AND METHODS “It is the growth of consciousness which we must thank for the existence of problems; they are the dubious gift.

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