Development Psychology: Introduction to child development

Chapter 1
The study of human development
© 2019 Cengage. All rights reserved.

1.1 Thinking about development:
Learning objectives
• Understand the fundamental issues of
development that scholars have addressed
throughout history.
• Identify the basic forces in the biopsychosocial
framework, and explain how the timing of these
forces affects their impact.
• Explain how neuroscience enhances our
understanding of human development.

Defining human development
• Examines how and why people change and how
they remain the same over time
• Examines how and why people are both unique
and similar to each other
• A multidisciplinary science based on theories
and research studies

Recurring issues in human
development
• Nature and nurture
– Influence of heredity vs. environment
• Continuity and discontinuity
– Does development smoothly progress or shift
abruptly?
• Universal and context-specific development
– Is there just one or multiple ways in which
development occurs?

Basic forces in human development:
The biopsychosocial framework
• Biological forces
– Genetic, health related
• Psychological forces
– Cognitive/perceptual, emotional, and personality
• Sociocultural forces
– Societal, cultural, ethnic, and interpersonal
• Lifecycle forces
– Identical events and different age groups

Neuroscience: A window into
human development
• Study of brain activity-behaviour relationships
• Helps in understanding interactions among the
four forces

HIV and AIDS as a biological force
• HIV and AIDS is a biological force that
affects an individual’s immune system
• It also affects social relationships
• Interventions need to target all the
developmental forces

1.2 Developmental theories:
Learning objectives (1 of 2)
• Define a developmental theory.
• Explain how psychodynamic theories account for
development.
• Explain the focus of learning theories of
development.
• Describe how cognitive-developmental theories
explain changes in thinking.

1.2 Developmental theories:
• Identify the main points in the ecological and
systems approach.
• Identify the major tenets of life-span and life-
course theories.

What is a theory?
• ’An organised set of ideas that is designed to
explain development’
• Essential for developing predictions about
behaviour
• Predictions result in research that helps to
support or clarify the theory
• There are no truly comprehensive theories of
human development

Psychodynamic theory
• This perspective can be traced to Sigmund
Freud’s theory that personality emerges from
conflicts
• Erik Erikson proposed the first comprehensive
life-span view of psychosocial development
• The psychodynamic perspective emphasises that
the trek to adulthood is difficult because the path
is strewn with challenges

Psychodynamic theory:
Erikson’s psychosocial theory
Table 1.1 The eight stages of psychosocial
development in Erikson’s theory
Psychosocial stage Age Challenge
Basic trust vs mistrust Birth to one year To develop a sense that the world is safe, a ‘good place’
Autonomy vs shame One to three years
To realise that one is an independent person who can make
decisions and doubt
Initiative vs guilt Three to six years To develop the ability to try new things and to handle failure
Industry vs inferiority
Six years to
adolescence
To learn basic skills and to work with others
Identity vs identity confusion Adolescence To develop a lasting, integrated sense of self
Intimacy vs isolation Young adulthood To commit to another in a loving relationship
Generativity vs stagnation Middle adulthood
To contribute to younger people through child rearing, child
care, or other productive work
Integrity vs despair Late life To view one’s life as satisfactory and worth living

Behaviourism
• Operant conditioning
– The consequences of a behaviour determine whether it
will be repeated
– A positive or negative reinforcement increases the
chance that a behaviour will be repeated
– A punishment decreases the chance that a behaviour
will be repeated

Social learning theory
• Observational learning, or imitation
– People learn by watching others
– Imitation is more likely when the subject of
observation is seen as smart, popular, or talented
– Imitation is more likely when the subject of
observation is rewarded for the behaviour
• Self-efficacy
– It refers to people’s beliefs about their own abilities
and talents

Cognitive-developmental theory
• Stresses development of thought processes
• Three approaches
– Piaget: We develop in four discrete stages
– Information-processing theory: Like computers, we
become more efficient at processing information
as we mature
– Vygotsky: Sociocultural expectations we should
know at different ages, and our ‘apprenticeship’
experiences shape development

Piaget’s stages
Table 1.2 Piaget’s four stages of cognitive development
Stage Approximate age Characteristics
Sensorimotor Birth to two years
Infant’s knowledge of the world is based on senses and
motor skills; by the end of the period, uses mental
representation
Preoperational
thought
Two to six years
Child learns how to use symbols such as words and
numbers to represent aspects of the world but relates to
the world only through his or her perspective
Concrete-
operational
thought
Seven years to early
adolescence
Child understands and applies logical operations to
experiences provided they are focused on the here and
now
Formal-
operational
thought
Adolescence and
beyond
Adolescent or adult thinks abstractly, deals with
hypothetical situations, and speculates about what may be
possible

Information-processing theory
• Uses the computer as a model of how thinking
develops
• Mental hardware: psychological structures, such
as memory capacity
• Mental software: cognitive abilities that process
information and help us to interact with the world
• Both improve with development

Vygotsky’s theory
• Emphasises sociocultural expectations on child
development
• Focuses on how adults convey aspects of their
culture to children
• Views development as an ‘apprenticeship’ with
children working with skilled adults to learn what
is valued in their culture

The ecological and systems
approach
• Human development is inseparable from the
environmental context
• No single aspect can adequately explain
development
• Consider all factors – environmental, family,
political, social, etc. – and how they interact

Urie Bronfenbrenner’s theory:
An ecological approach
• Microsystem
– People and objects in the immediate environment
• Mesosystem
– Influences of microsystems on each other
• Exosystem
– Social, environmental, governmental forces
• Macrosystem
– Subcultures and cultures in which the other three
systems are embedded

Bronfenbrenner’s ecological
approach

Lawton & Nahemow’s competence-
environmental press theory
• Adaptation or development depends upon
– The person’s abilities or ‘competencies’
– The demands the environment (‘presses’) places on
the person
• Emphasises how these factors interact to
achieve a ‘best fit’

Life-span perspective
• Ageing is a lifelong process from conception to
death
• Many factors influence development; no one
factor adequately explains it
• Key features:
– Multidirectionality
– Plasticity
– Historical context
– Multiple causation

Selective optimisation with
compensation (SOC)
• Choices determine and regulate development
– Selection
 Elective selection
o Reducing one goal to focus on another
 Loss-based selection
o Reducing involvement because of lack of resources or abilities
– Compensation
 Find alternate ways of meeting goals
– Optimisation
 Minimising losses and maximising gains

The life-course perspective
• Different generations experience/adjust to
biological, psychological, and sociocultural forces
within the historical contexts
– Individual timing of life events in relation to external
historical events
– Synchronisation of individual transitions with collective
familial ones
– The impact of earlier life events, as shaped by
historical events, on subsequent ones

The big picture (1 of 4)
Table 1.3. Theoretical perspectives on human
development.
Perspective Examples Main idea
Emphases in
biopsychosocial
framework
Positions on developmental
issues
Psychodynamic
Erikson’s
psychosocial
theory
Personality
develops
through
sequence of
stages
Psychological, social,
and lifecycle forces
crucial; less emphasis on
biological
Nature-nurture interaction,
discontinuity, universal sequence
but Individual differences in rate
Learning
behaviourism
(Watson,
Skinner)
Environment
controls
behaviour
In all theories, some
emphasis on biological
and psychological, major
focus on social, little
recognition of life cycle
In all theories, strongly nurture,
continuity, and universal principles
of learning
Social learning
theory
(Bandura)
People learn
through
modeling and
observing

Emphases in
biopsychosocial
framework
issues
Cognitive
Piaget’s theory
(and
extensions)
For Piaget,
thinking
develops in a
sequence of
stages
For Piaget, main
emphasis on biological
and social forces, less on
psychological, little on life
cycle
Strongly nature, discontinuity, and
universal sequence of stages
Information-
processing
theory
Thought
develops by
increases in
efficiency at
handling
information
Emphasis on biological
and psychological, less
on social and life cycle
continuity, individual differences in
universal structures
Vygotsky’s
theory
Development
influenced by
culture
Emphasis on
psychological and social
forces
continuity, individual differences

Emphases in
biopsychosocial
framework
issues
Ecological and
systems
Bronfenbrenner’s
theory
Developing
person
embedded in a
series of
interacting
systems
Low emphasis on
biological, moderate on
psychological and life
cycle, heavy on social
continuity, context-specific
Competence-
environmental
press (Lawton
and Nahemow)
Adaptation is
optimal when
ability and
demands are in
balance
Strong emphasis on
biological, psychological,
and social, moderate on
life cycle
continuity, context-specific

Emphases in
biopsychosocial
framework
issues
Life-span
perspective/ SOC
Baltes’s life-
span
perspective and
selective
optimisation
with
compensation
(SOC)
Development is
multiply
determined;
optimisation of
goals
Strong emphasis on the
interactions of all four
forces; cannot consider
any in isolation
continuity and discontinuity, context-
specific
Life-course
perspective
Life-course
theory
Life course
transitions
decreasingly
tied to age;
increased
continuity over
lime; specific life
paths across
domains are
interdependent
Strong emphasis on
psychological,
sociocultural, life cycle;
less on biological
continuity and discontinuity, context-
specific

1.3 Doing developmental research:
• Discuss how scientists measure topics of interest
in studying human development.
• State what research designs are used to study
human development.
• Explain how researchers integrate results from
multiple studies.
• Identify the ethical procedures that researchers
must follow.

1.3 Doing developmental research:
• Explain how investigators communicate results
from research studies.
• Describe how research affects public policy.

Measurement in human
development research
• Systematic observation consists of two types
– Naturalistic observation
• ‘Real-life’ observations
– Structured observation
• Researchers create a situation likely to result in the type of
behaviour in which they are interested

Other behavioural measures
• Sampling behaviour with tasks
– Example: showing photos to measure emotion
recognition accuracy
• Self-reports
– Example: measuring self-esteem using a
questionnaire
• Physiological measures
– Examples: measuring interest level using heart rate,
and measuring stress using cortisol levels

Reliability and validity
• Reliability: Does this method consistently
measure what is being studied?
– Example: IQ test yielding ‘identical’ scores when
given twice over a two-week interval
• Validity: Does this accurately measure the
variable of interest?
– Example: Personality test truly assessing level of
aggressiveness

Representative sampling
• The sample must reflect the characteristics of
the population of interest
• Populations: Broad groups of people in which
researchers may be interested
• Example: All IsiZulu-speaking grandparents
living in the province of KwaZulu-Natal
• Sample: A subset of people chosen to well
represent the population
• Example: Randomly selecting 100 older people
from a variety of backgrounds to study their
friendships

General research designs
• Correlational studies: Measure how people
score on two variables
• Calculate a correlation coefficient (r) between the two
variables’ scores
 r can range between -1.00 and +1.00
 r’s magnitude, regardless of sign shows how much the
scores on one variable can predict the other variable’s
scores
• Correlation does not prove causation

Possible interpretations of a
correlational study

Experimental studies
• Study the possible ‘cause and effect’ relationship
between two variables
– First manipulate exposure to different levels of a
factor (independent variable/IV)
– After exposure to the IV, measure how people score
on the behaviour of interest (dependent variable/DV)
– Main question is whether the DV’s scores differ
depending upon the level of the IV

Qualitative studies
• Involve gaining in-depth understanding of
behaviour and what governs it by uncovering
reasons underlying it
• Smaller but focused samples
• Observation over extended periods of time
• Categorise the data into patterns
• Can be conducted for its own sake, as a
preliminary step, or as a complement to
quantitative research

Longitudinal studies
Observe or test one group of individuals at each
of several time periods
• Expensive and a large time commitment
• Allows examination of (dis)continuity, because
the same people were tested across time

Cross-sectional studies
Observe or test groups of different ages at
the same period in time
• More time-effective, less expensive
• Cannot address (dis)continuity because
each age group involves different people
• Cohort effects
– Differences may result from each groups
unique environmental events

Sequential studies
• Sequential studies
– A combination of cross-sectional and longitudinal
designs
– Allow for flexibility to collect information in several ways
– Avoid cohort effects of cross-sectional designs

Integrating findings from
different studies
• Meta-analysis
– Analysis of multiple studies that all examined the same
research questions and variables
– Allows scientists to verify whether the same
relationships among variables are replicated across
multiple studies

Conducting research ethically
• Minimise and warn of any risks to participants
• Informed consent
• Avoid deception
• Individual results or data must be kept
anonymous or confidential

Communicating research results
• Research results are published in peer-reviewed
scientific journals
• To be published in journals, research results
must be useful, well done, and original
• Much of the satisfaction of developmental
research is planning a study that no one has
done before

Applying research results:
Social policy
• Developmental research has a strong influence
on policy makers and politicians
– Educational reforms
– Laws against child abuse
– Including highly debated issues like stem-cell research

Think about this
• Does being a participant in a scientific study
distort real-life behaviour?
• What if the only way to collect valid information
requires
– putting participants at risk?
– deception, such as not informing participants of
possible risks?

Development Psychology: Introduction to child development

More Related Content

Similar to Development Psychology: Introduction to child development (20)

Recently uploaded (20)

Development Psychology: Introduction to child development

Editor's Notes