introduction
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The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence by Kathleen Stassen Berger. Chapter 1. Introduction. Science of Human Development. The study of human development: Seeks to understand how and why people change and remain the same over time. Is a science - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Introduction
The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence by Kathleen Stassen Berger
Chapter 1
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 1
Science of Human Development
The study of human development:
Seeks to understand how and why people change and remain the same over time.
Is a scienceStudies all kinds of peopleStudies change over time
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 1
Continuity and Discontinuity
Continuity refers to characteristics that are stable over time (e.g., biological sex).
Discontinuity refers to characteristics unlike those than came before (e.g., speaking a new language, quitting a drug).
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 1
The Complex Patterns of Developmental Growth
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 1
Multidirectional Multicontextual Multicultural Multidisciplinary Plasticity
Five Characteristics of Development
PHOTODISC
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 1
More About Change Over Time
Butterfly effectSometimes a small event may culminate in a
major event (e.g., one alcoholic drink at the wrong time during pregnancy).
No effectSometimes what seems to be a large event
has little long-term impact (e.g., children in war-torn Bosnia).
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 1
Contexts of Development
HISTORICAL In what ways do you differ from your
grandparents? Great grandparents?
Cohort: group of people of the same age
Social constructions create “shoulds” (e.g., ages one “should” marry)
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 1
Contexts of Development
SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS (SES)
A combination of income and other factors (parental education, occupation, etc.).
The impact of SES depends on many factors.
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 1
Contexts of Development
CULTURE
Includes values, technologies, customs of a group of people.
In what ways does culture influence development?
PHOTODISC
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 1
An Example of Culture and Development
Co-sleeping: children sleep with parents
Research in this area has found varying results
e.g.: Children who co-sleep do develop independence, but are less likely to sleep through the night.
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 1
Three Domains of Development
Biosocial = brain and body
Cognitive = thought processes, perceptual abilities, language
Psychosocial = emotions, personality, interpersonal relationships
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 1
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 1
Interaction of Developmental Domains
Research continues to highlight that development is complex–the 3 domains interact.
Research examples: amygdala activity, depression, violence, social skills, etc.
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 1
What is “plasticity”?
Plasticity refers to the fact that human traits can be molded into different forms, and yet people maintain a durability of identity.
It means that some aspects of development have the capacity for change, others may not….
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 1
Resilience─An Example of the Complexity of Development Resilience: the ability to overcome severe
threats to development
e.g.: The impact of poverty is lessened by supportive schools, families, neighborhoods, a stable residence, and by the child’s personality.
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 1
Collective Efficacy
This neighborhood in Washington, D.C. shows no signs of collective efficacy–neighbors showing concern for others and their environment.
SHEPARD SHERBELL/CORBIS SABA
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 1
Developmental Study as a Science
Scientific method: a general way to seek evidence to answer a question
Formulate a research questionDevelop a hypothesisTest the hypothesisDraw conclusionsMake findings available
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 1
Observational Research
Observation: systematically observe and record behavior
Can be laboratory or naturalistic
Example: A study on childhood obesity found that only 5% of kids walked or rode a bike to school.
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 1
Research method to establish cause
Independent variable = imposed treatment or special condition
Dependent variable = specific behavior being studied
The Experiment
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 1
The Experiment
Experimental group: is given a particular treatment
Control group: does not get the treatment
Read example in text about experiment on activity and obesity (p. 19).
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 1
The Experiment (cont.)
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 1
Survey = information collected from personal interviews, questionnaires, etc.
Problems include representativeness of
group, and phrasing of questions
Case study = intensive study of one individual or situation
Other Methods
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 1
Studying Changes Over Time
Design a study to answer the question: “How much does reading comprehension improve between 4 and 6 years of age?”
PHOTODISC
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 1
Cross-sectional research: groups differ in age but share other important characteristics (ethnicity, SES).
Longitudinal research studies individuals over a long period of time.
Advantage is studying the same peopleProblems include; people drop out,
participants learn goals of study, is costly
Studying Changes Over Time
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 1
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 1
Cross-sequential research studies several groups of people of different ages, then follows those groups longitudinally.
Studying Changes Over Time
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 1
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 1
Ecological-Systems Approach
Developed by Urie Bronfenbrenner, this approach suggests that a person should be considered in all the contexts and interactions in his/her life.
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 1
Correlations
A correlation indicates the degree of relationship between two variables.
Positive correlation: the variables increase or decrease together.
Example: The more hours you work, the more money you will be paid.
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 1
Correlations (cont.) Negative correlation: as one variable
increases, the other decreases.
Example: The more clothes you buy, the less money you will have in your checking account.
Correlations range from 0 to +/- 1.00
CORRELATION IS NOT CAUSATION
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 1
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 1
Quantity and Quality Quantitative research: provides data
that can be expressed with numbers (e.g., ranks, scales).
Qualitative research contains descriptions of conditions, and participants’ ideas.
Both types are valuable.
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 1
Ethics and Science
General principlesDo no harmSecure informed consentKeep information of participants confidentialReport research findings honestly and
carefullyBase generalizations on more than one study
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 1
Are scientists studying issues that are crucial to human development?
Part of ethics is making sure we choose topics of importance to children and to all people.
What Should We Study?