Santrock lsd14e ppt_ch1

Introduction

Chapter 1

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Chapter Outline

• Discuss the distinctive features of a life-span perspective on development

• Identify the most important processes, periods, and issues in development

• Describe the main theories of human development

• Explain how research on life-span development is conducted


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The Life-Span Perspective

• The importance of studying life-span development

• Characteristics of the life-span perspective• Some contemporary concerns


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The Importance of Studying Life-span Development

• Prepares us to take responsibility for children• Gives us insight about our own lives• Gives us knowledge about what our lives will

be like as we age


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• Pattern of change that begins at conception and continues through the life span

DevelopmentDevelopment

• Involves growth, maintenance, and regulation• Is constructed through biological, sociocultural,

and individual factors working together

Life-span perspectiveLife-span perspective

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Characteristics of the Life-Span Perspective

• Development:– Is contextual– Is lifelong– Is multidimensional– Is multidirectional– Is plastic– Is multidisciplinary


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Types of Contextual Influences

• Normative age-graded influences: Similar for individuals in a particular age group

• Normative history-graded influences: Common to people of a particular generation because of historical circumstances

• Nonnormative life events: Unusual occurrences that have a major impact on an individual’s life


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• Contemporary concerns– Health and well-being– Parenting and education– Sociocultural contexts and diversity• Culture: Behavior patterns, beliefs, and all other

products of a group that are passed on from generation to generation


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• Cross-cultural studies: Comparison of one culture with one or more other cultures • Ethnicity: Based on cultural heritage, nationality

characteristics, race, religion, and language• Socioeconomic status: Grouping of people with similar

occupational, educational, and economic characteristics• Gender: Characteristics of people as males or females

– Social policy: National government’s course of action designed to promote the welfare of its citizens


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The Nature of Development

• Biological, cognitive, and socioemotional processes

• Periods of development• The significance of age• Developmental issues


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Biological, Cognitive, andSocioemotional Processes


• Changes in an individual’s physical nature

Biological processesBiological processes

• Changes in an individual’s thought, intelligence, and language

Cognitive processesCognitive processes

• Changes in an individual’s relationships with other people, emotions, and personality

Socioemotional processesSocioemotional processes

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Periods of Development

• Four ages– First age - Childhood and adolescence– Second age - Prime adulthood, ages 20 through 59– Third age - Approximately 60 to 79 years of age– Fourth age - Approximately 80 years and older

• Development in one period is connected to development in another period


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Figure 1.8 - Processes and Periods of Development


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Significance of Age

• A full evaluation of age requires consideration of chronological, biological, psychological, and social age– Chronological age• Number of years that have elapsed since birth

– Biological age• Age in terms of biological health


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Significance of Age

– Psychological age• An individual’s adaptive capacities compared with

those of other individuals of the same chronological age

– Social age• Connectedness with others and the social roles

individuals adopt


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Developmental Issues

• Nature-nurture issue: Debate about whether development is primarily influenced by nature or nurture– Nature - Organism’s biological inheritance– Nurture - Environmental experiences


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Developmental Issues

• Stability-change issue– Debate about:• Whether we become older renditions of our early

experience • Whether we develop into someone different from who

we were at an earlier point in development

• Continuity-discontinuity issue: Debate about the extent to which development involves– Gradual, cumulative change or distinct stages


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Theories of Development

• Scientific method: An approach that can be used to obtain accurate information– Conceptualize the problem– Collect data– Draw conclusions – Revise research conclusions and theory


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• Theory: An interrelated, coherent set of ideas that helps to explain phenomena and facilitate predictions

• Hypotheses: Specific assumptions and predictions that can be tested to determine their accuracy


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Psychoanalytic Theories

• Describe development as primarily unconscious and heavily colored by emotion


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• Psychoanalytic theories• Cognitive theories• Behavioral and social cognitive theories• Ethological theory• Ecological theory• An eclectic theoretical orientation


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Figure 1.11 - Freudian Stages


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• Erikson’s psychosocial theory– Eight stages of development• Trust versus mistrust• Autonomy versus shame and doubt• Initiative versus guilt• Industry versus inferiority• Identity versus identity confusion• Intimacy versus isolation• Generativity versus stagnation• Integrity versus despair


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• Evaluation– Emphasis on: • A developmental framework• Family relationships • Unconscious aspects of the mind

• Criticisms • Lack of scientific support• Too much emphasis on sexual underpinnings • An image of people that is too negative


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Figure 1.13 - Piaget’s Four Stages of Cognitive Development


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Cognitive Theories

• Vygotsky’s theory: Emphasizes how culture and social interaction guide cognitive development

• Information-processing theory: Emphasizes that individuals: – Manipulate information– Monitor it– Strategize about it


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Cognitive Theories

• Evaluation – Positive view of development– Emphasis on the active construction of

understanding– Criticisms• Skepticism about the pureness of Piaget’s stages• Little attention to individual variations


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Behavioral and Social Cognitive Theories

• Skinner’s operant conditioning– Development consists of the pattern of behavioral

changes that are brought about by rewards and punishments

• Bandura’s social cognitive theory– Emphasizes behavior, environment, and cognition

as the key factors in development


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Behavioral and Social Cognitive Theories

• Evaluation– Emphasis on scientific research and

environmental determinants of behavior– Criticisms• Little emphasis on cognition in Skinner’s view • Inadequate attention paid to developmental changes


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Ethological Theory

• Ethology: Stresses that behavior is strongly influenced by biology, is tied to evolution, and is characterized by critical or sensitive periods

• Konrad Lorenz helped bring ethology to prominence

• John Bowlby - Attachment to a caregiver over the first year of life has important consequences throughout the life span


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Figure 1.15 - Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory of Development


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Five Environmental Systems Bronfenbrenner’s Model

• Microsystem - Setting in which the individual lives

• Mesosystem - Relations between microsystems or connections between contexts

• Exosystem - Links between a social setting in which the individual does not have an active role and the individual’s immediate context


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Five Environmental Systems Bronfenbrenner’s Model

• Macrosystem - Culture in which individuals live

• Chronosystem - Patterning of environmental events and transitions over the life course and sociohistorical circumstances


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Eclectic Theoretical Orientation

• Does not follow any one theoretical approach – Selects from each theory whatever is considered

the best in it


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Research in Life-Span Development

• Methods for collecting data• Research designs• Time span of research• Conducting ethical research• Minimizing bias


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Methods for Collecting Data

• Observation– Laboratory: Controlled setting in which many of

the complex factors of the real world are removed– Naturalistic observation: Studies that involve

observing behavior in real-world settings

• Survey and interview


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Methods for Collecting Data

• Standardized test: Uniform procedures for administration and scoring

• Case study: In-depth look at a single individual• Physiological measures


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Research Designs

• Descriptive research: Designed to observe and record behavior

• Correlational research: Describe the strength of the relationship between two or more events or characteristics– Correlation coefficient: A number based on

statistical analysis that is used to describe the degree of association between two variables

– Ranges from -1.00 to +1.00


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Research Designs

• Experimental research– Experiment: One or more of the factors are

manipulated while all other factors are held constant

– Independent and dependent variables– Experimental and control groups


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Time Span of Research

• Cross-sectional approach: Individuals of different ages are compared at one time

• Longitudinal approach: Same individuals are studied over a period of time, usually several years or more

• Cohort effects: Due to a person’s time of birth, era, or generation rather than the person’s actual age


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Conducting Ethical Research

• Informed consent• Confidentiality• Debriefing• Deception


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Minimizing Bias

• Gender bias• Cultural and ethnic bias– Ethnic gloss: Using an ethnic label in a superficial

way that portrays an ethnic group as being more homogeneous than it really is
