Theory and Research

Two Big Questions

I. Is Development Active or Passive?

A. Mechanistic Model: people are like machines that react to environmental input (and activated genetic predispositions).

B. Organismic Model: people are active growing organisms that set their own development in motion.

II. Is Development Continuous or Does It Occur in Stages?

A. Mechanistic theorists...

1. Quantitative (Continuous) Change: incrementalchanges that build on each other leading to constant psychological growth.

B. Organismic theorists

2. Qualitative (Discontinuous) Change: changes occur ina series of distinct stages. At each new stage, people areable to deal with entirely different problems with entirelynew abilities.

Five Theoretical Perspectives of Human Development

I. Psychoanalytic Perspective: Sigmund FreudA. Libido: a psychosexual energy.

B. Personality

1) Id: the part that is comprised of all of our biological drives that demand immediate gratification.

2) Ego: the rational, negotiating, and decision-making component of the personality.

3) Superego: the internalized values and rules we receive from our parents and society.

When the conflict is resolved in a positive and constructive manner, the person moves into the next stage of development in a psychologically healthy state. If the conflict is not resolved, the negative effects will most likely carry over into future stages, and have a detrimental effect on the challenges that are yet to be faced.

II. Psychosocial Perspective: Erik Erikson

III. Learning Perspective: changes in behavior result from experience or adaptation to the environment.

A. Learning Theory 1: Behaviorism: a mechanistic theory that describes observed behavior as a predictable response to experience.

1) Classical Conditioning: Learning based on association of a stimulus that does not ordinarily elicit a particular response with another stimulus that does elicit the response.Applies to involuntary responses.

2) Operant Conditioning: Learning based on association of behavior with its consequences. The individual learns from the consequences of “operating” in the environment.Applies to voluntary responses.

Behaviorism: Classical Conditioning

John Watson: Conditioning of Fear

Orphan boy ‘Little Albert’

– 3. Albert cried because of noise– 4. Eventually, site of rat made

Albert cry

– 1. Albert liked the furry rat – 2. Rat presented with loud CRASH!

Operant Conditioning: Reinforcement

Increases likelihood of behavior reoccurring

Positive: Giving a rewardCandy for finishing a task

Negative: Removing something aversiveNo chores for getting an A+ on homework

Operant Conditioning: Punishment

Decreases likelihood of behavior reoccurring

Positive: Adding something aversiveExtra Chores

Negative: Removing something pleasantTaking away car keys

B. Learning Theory 2: Social Learning

1) Social Learning: we learn about many behaviors before we attempt them for the first time by observing the behaviors of others and from imagining the consequences of our own.

2) Self-Efficacy in Social Learning: we tend to imitate people we admire and who are perceived as similar to us in some fashion.

Bandura’s“Bobo” Doll Study

IV. Cognitive Perspective

A. Jean Piaget’s Cognitive-Stage Theory: He tried to understand how children cognitively develop through the mistakes they make.

1) Schema: a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information.

2) Assimilation: we interpret new experiences in terms of our existing schemas.

3) Accommodation: we adapt our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new and different information.

B. Jean Piaget’s 4 Stages

1) Sensorimotor: experiencing the world through our senses and our actions, such as looking, touching, tasting, etc., (age 0 to 2).

Lack of…Object Permanence: the awareness that objects continue to exist even when not perceived.

2) Pre-operational: representing things with words and images, but lacking logical reasoning (age 2 to 6).

Kids realize that they exist, understand time, and the permanence of objects, but they do not understand the...

Conservation of Mass: the understanding that physical propertiesdo not change when nothing is added or taken away, even thoughappearances may change.

They suffer from…Egocentrism: the inability to take another person’s physical view.

3) Concrete Operational: the ability to think logically about concrete events and engage in inductive reasoning. The ability to do basic math and understand the conservation of mass (age 7 to 11).

4) Formal Operational: engage in abstract reasoning and deductive reasoning. Capable of moral and ethical thought (age 11 and up).

C. The Information-Processing approach: cognitive development is continuous and improvements are due to age-related increases in speed, complexity, and efficiency of mental processing and increases in information storage capacity.

V. Evolutionary Perspective: Charles Darwin

Developmentally, certain behaviors are more adaptable at certain stages of development.

1) Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development: the distance between what a child can do alone and what a child can do with assistance from others.

2) Scaffolding: temporary support to help a child master a task.

Darwin argued that all species shared a remote common ancestor and over time we broke off into separate species. Different characteristics of a species may be more or less adaptable in particular environments. Those that were more adaptable continued into future generations while themaladaptive ones died off.

Research Methods

A. Quantitative Research: focuses on “hard” data and numerical or statistical measures.

B. Qualitative Research: focuses on non-numerical data such as subjective experiences, feelings, beliefs, etc...

I. Methodological Concepts

C. Theory: an explanation or model created from a great many observations and capable of making valid predictions or hypotheses.

D. Falsifiable: stated in such clear, precise terms that we can see what evidence would count against it.

E. Hypothesis: a tentative explanation for an observation that can be tested through research.

II. Basic Research Designs

A. Case Study: a thorough description of the person, including the person’s abilities and disabilities, medical conditions, life history, unusual experiences, or whatever else seems relevant.

B. Ethnographic Studies: an in-depth examination of the patterns of relationships, customs, beliefs, technology, arts, and traditions that make up a society’s way of life.

1) Correlation: a measured relationship between 2 variables.

C. Correlational Study: a procedure in which investigators measure the correlation between 2 variables without controlling for either of them.

2) Correlation Coefficient: a mathematical estimate of the relationship between 2 variables: The range is –1 to +1.

D. Experiment: a study in which the investigator manipulates atleast one variable while measuring at least one other variable.

1) Independent Variable: the item that the experimenter manipulates to get an effect.

2) Dependent Variable: the item that the experimentermeasures to see if the independent variable had an effect.

3) Experimental Group: group that receives the treatment (Independent Variable) that an experiment is designed to test.

4) Control Group: group that is treated just like theexperimental group, but does not receive the treatment.

5) Random Assignment: experimenter uses some randomprocess of assigning people to each group.

III. Scientific Method: the way in whichscientists go about investigating and makingclaims about phenomena.

A. Hypothesis: a tentative explanation for an observation thatcan be tested through research.

B. Method: the process by which you test your hypothesis.

C. Results: the recorded outcome of the method.

D. Interpretation: your evaluation of the results.

E. Replicability: the ability for other people to replicateprevious results through further experimentation using thesame procedures.

F. Operational Definitions: a definition that specifies the procedures used to produce or measure something.

IV. Sampling

A. Population: the entire group of people to be considered.

B. Sample: a small number of people taken from the population.

1) Convenience Sample: a sample that can include anyone.

2) Representative Sample: a sample that closely resembles the population you are studying.

3) Random sample: each member of the population has an equal chance of being selected for the sample.

V. Forms of Data Collection

A. Survey: a study of the prevalence of certain beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors based on people’s responses to specific questions.

B. Naturalistic Observation: a careful examination of what happens under more or less natural conditions.

C. Laboratory Observation: behavior is observed and recorded in a controlled environment.

VI. Developmental Research Designs

A. Cross-Sectional Study: a study designed to assess age-related differences, in which people of different ages are assessed on one occasion.

B. Longitudinal Study: a study designed to assess changes in a sample over time.

C. Sequential Study: a combination of a Cross-Sectional Study and a Longitudinal Study.

VII. Ethical Concerns with Humans: experimenters must be careful that the designs of their studies do not harm participants mentally, emotionally, or physically.

A. Informed Consent: a statement informing participants what to expect in an experiment and that requires their acceptance of the procedures.

C. Right to Privacy and Confidentiality: results and names must be kept confidential.

B. Avoidance of Deception