chapter 1 student 2

8/3/2019 Chapter 1 Student 2

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JANET BELSKYSEXPERIENCING THE

LIFESPAN, 2E

Chapter 1:

The People and The Field


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WhatWe Are Studying?

Developmental Psychology

Also known as lifespan development

Is the scientific study of systematic psychological changesthat occur in human beings over the course of the life span.

Includes physical, cognitive, socio-emotional changes duringthe life span

This field includes the study of: Infant and Child Development

Adult Development Gerontology Exploration of predictable milestones in development Individual Differences Life Transitions and Practices


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Questions to Ask Yourselves

What are some of the changes that occur over our lives??

How have you changed?

Has your thinking changed?

Are your relationships different?

Do you feel different?


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Life Changes


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Periods of Development Prenatal Period

Includes process from conception through birth

Infancy

Includes the developmental period from birth to about age 2

Childhood

Early- preschool years ages 3 through 5

Middle- ages 6-11

Adolescence

Early- ages 12 through14

Middle- ages 15 through 19


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Periods of Development

Adulthood

Early- 20s and 30s

Issues include achieving intimacy, career choices,

marriage, and potential parenthood.

Middle-40s and 50s

Issues include launching children, changing physical

performance, increased freedom, and increased career

success

Late-60s and Over

Issues include declining physical health, changing

relationships, death and dying.


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Changing Perceptions of Childhood

Historical Background Mortality rates high;poverty

Childhood not perceived

as a special life stageAbusive treatmentcommon

Children assume adultresponsibilities much

earlier Norms: child labor; childabandonment among poor


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Changing Perceptions of Childhood

Modern view, late 19th Century: kinder, gentler view ofchildren Childhood protected, dependent life stage

Universal education: primary school mandatory

Adolescence: identified by G. Stanley Hall in early 20th

Century Stage of storm and distress between childhood and adulthood

In 1930s, High school attendance became mandatory (GreatDepression and President Franklin Roosevelt)

Emerging Adulthood: Age 18 to late 20s

Time for personal exploration


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Changing Perceptions of Later Life:

Adulthood and Old Age

Life Expectancy

Before 20th century medical

advances, average life

expectancy was low

Today, twentieth-century life

expectancy revolution!

Infectious diseases wiped out

Chronic diseases (heartdisease, cancer, etc.) today

New Stages

Young-old (60s, 70s)

Old old (80s and beyond)


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Theories of Development

Theory

Any perspective which attempts to explain individual

behaviorAllows us to predict behavior

Presents ideas for interventions to improve behavior

Nature/Nurture

Are we shaped by biological/genetic forces or is the

environment more influential?


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Theories of Development

Psychoanalytic Theory Freud

Erickson

Bolby

Learning Theory (Behaviorism) Skinner

Watson

Bandura

Humanistic Theory

Rogers Maslow

Cognitive Theory Piaget


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Do we need to know names?And theories?

And Faces? And thats it!

Freud Watson Bandura Maslow Bowlby

Erickson Skinner Piaget Rogers


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Evolutionary Psychology: Nature

Evolutionarypsychologists focus on biological and

predispositions

Inborn, species-specific behaviors influence human development

Speculate about the geneticroots of human behaviors

Survival of the fittest!


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Behavioral Genetics:Nature

Field devoted to scientificallydetermining the role that hereditaryforces play in individual differences

in behavior Twin Studies (identical and

fraternal)

Adoption Studies

Twin/Adoption Studies

Heritability- 1 (totally genetic) to 0(no genetic contribution) Statistic to summarize the extent to

which a given behavior is shaped bygenetics


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Nature and Nurture Combined

Consider both nature and nurturewhen studying humandevelopment!

Evocative Forces Inborn talents and temperamental

tendencies naturally evoke certainresponses from others.

Bidirectionalforces in relationships

Active Forces We actively select our environments

based on our genetic tendencies.

Person-Environment Fitcrucial toflourishing in life!


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Person-Environment Fit

Basic goalof developmental science is to foster the

correct person-environment fit

The real impactof the nature revolution is to allow us to

intervene to change the environmentin order to enhance

ones quality of life.


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Age-Linked Theories: Piaget

Cognitive-Developmental

Theory

Qualitativelydifferent stages exist inthe way thinking develops (different

age groups conceptualize the world

in completely different ways).

Schemas (cognitive structures)Assimilation, Accommodation

Studies focused on children


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Cognitive Development: Piaget

Tried to understand the unique qualities ofchildhood cognition by entering childrens mental

framework, setting up tests, watching childrensactions, and listening to them speak.

Believed that we grow mentally throughassimilation, fitting information from the outside

world into our schemas (or current mentalcapacities), and accommodation, enlarging ourcapacities to fit in this data from the world.


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A Preview of Piagets Stages


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Personality Development

______________________________

Stage Focus

Oral Pleasure centers on the mouth

(0-18 months) sucking, biting, chewing

Anal Pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder

(18-36 months) elimination; coping with demands for

control

Phallic Pleasure zone is the genitals; coping with

(3-6 years) incestuous sexual feelings

Latency Dormant sexual feelings

(6 to puberty)

Genital Maturation of sexual interests

(puberty on)


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Psychosocial Development:

EriksonConsidered father or lifespan

development

Believed we continue to developthroughoutlife

Exception to Freuds idea that

development ends in adolescence

Identified core developmental tasks,

orpsychosocialtasks, for each of

eight stages from infancy to old age

Believed that we need to master the

task of each previous stage in order

to progress to the next.


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A Preview of Eriksons Stages


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Research Methods

Two standard research strategies:

Correlations Relate two or more variables as they naturally occur

Correlation does not mean causation!

Experimensts

Randomly assign individuals to groups

Give each group a different treatment

Determine if intervention produced a predicted effect

Experiments can determine cause!


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Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Studies:

How do we change with age?

Cross-Sectional Testing and comparing different age groups

Gives differences between age groups

Does not tell us the changes that occur with age

Cogitative Test at intervals one group over many years

Note: Its all statistics. These methods are valuable,not because they apply to everyonebut becausethey allow us to make educated guesses abouthuman life!


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Quantitative andQualitative Research

Quantitative

The typical research mode in developmental science

using groups and statisticalanalyses to make general

predictions about behavior

Qualitative

Scientist not interested in numerical comparisons

Studying through observation and interviews the life of asingle person, or observing a single individual in depth


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