CHAPTER ONE: BASIC CONCEPTS AND METHODS BASIC CONCEPTS AND METHODS Copyright © 2012 Pearson Canada Inc.

I. THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER ONE: BASIC CONCEPTS AND METHODS I. THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT Developmental psychology is the scientific study of age-related changes in behaviour, thinking, emotion, and personality Many Western beliefs about human development are based on philosophers' explanations for differences they observed in individuals of different ages Copyright © 2012 Pearson Canada Inc.

CHAPTER ONE: BASIC CONCEPTS AND METHODS A. Philosophical Roots Christian doctrine of original sin Jean-Jacques Rousseau claimed that all humans have innate goodness John Locke proposed that the mind of a child is a blank slate Copyright © 2012 Pearson Canada Inc.

B. The Study of Human Development Becomes a Science CHAPTER ONE: BASIC CONCEPTS AND METHODS B. The Study of Human Development Becomes a Science Charles Darwin understood the development of the human species by studying child development G. Stanley Hall identified norms, the average ages at which milestones happen Arnold Gesell suggested the existence of a genetically programmed sequential pattern of change Jean Piaget described 4 stages in the development of logical thinking between birth and adolescence Copyright © 2012 Pearson Canada Inc.

Development in the Real World: Toys Are More Than Just Playthings CHAPTER ONE: BASIC CONCEPTS AND METHODS Development in the Real World: Toys Are More Than Just Playthings A vital element of children’s development today is centred on playing with toys Toy designers create many toys to promote children’s physical, cognitive, emotional, and social development The Canadian Toy Testing Council (CTTC) conducts ongoing research to ensure that toys are age-appropriate, safe, perform as they should, appealing, useful, and durable as well as to suggest potential improvements Toys should challenge and stimulate based on a child’s chronological age; labels provide guidelines for parents Copyright © 2012 Pearson Canada Inc.

C. A Brief History of the Roots of Psychology in Canada CHAPTER ONE: BASIC CONCEPTS AND METHODS C. A Brief History of the Roots of Psychology in Canada The first psychology courses (moral philosophy) in Canada were taught at Dalhousie University in 1838 In 1925 William Blatz opened the St. George’s School for Child Study in Toronto which is now a part of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) The Canadian Psychological Association was founded in 1939 Copyright © 2012 Pearson Canada Inc.

II. CONTEMPORARY DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY CHAPTER ONE: BASIC CONCEPTS AND METHODS II. CONTEMPORARY DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY Developmental psychology has changed in the following three ways since the early days: The term development now encompasses the entire human lifespan Developmentalists have come to understand that inborn characteristics interact with environmental factors in complex ways The pioneers thought of change almost exclusively in terms of norms, while today’s developmentalists view norms as representing only one kind of change Copyright © 2012 Pearson Canada Inc.

A. The Lifespan Perspective CHAPTER ONE: BASIC CONCEPTS AND METHODS A. The Lifespan Perspective Psychologists’ views of adulthood have changed for the following reasons: Developmental psychology has become more interdisciplinary, incorporating research in other sciences such as anthropology, sociology, and biology Adults more commonly go through major life changes, like divorce and career shifts, resulting in stage models of development that include adult phases Stage models view development as comprising periods of stability punctuated by periods of transition throughout the lifespan Significant increases in life expectancy have occurred in the industrialized world Copyright © 2012 Pearson Canada Inc.

B. The Domains of Development CHAPTER ONE: BASIC CONCEPTS AND METHODS B. The Domains of Development Age-related changes across the lifespan can be classified in 3 broad categories Physical Domain Includes changes in size, shape and characteristics of the body Cognitive Domain Includes changes in thinking, memory, problem-solving and other intellectual skills Social Domain Includes changes in variables associated with the relationship of an individual to others Copyright © 2012 Pearson Canada Inc.

C. Nature and Nurture Interact in Development CHAPTER ONE: BASIC CONCEPTS AND METHODS C. Nature and Nurture Interact in Development Early developmentalists thought of change as resulting from inside the person (nature) or outside the person (nurture) This view of internal verses external influences on development was termed nature vs. nurture Today an interactionist model, respecting the complex interactions of nature and nurture, is more common (continued) Copyright © 2012 Pearson Canada Inc.

Nature and Nurture Interact in Development (continued) CHAPTER ONE: BASIC CONCEPTS AND METHODS Nature and Nurture Interact in Development (continued) Vulnerability versus Resilience Vulnerabilities and protective factors interact with the child’s environment The same environment can have quite different effects The effect depends on the qualities the child brings to the interaction Combining a highly vulnerable child and a poor environment produces the most negative outcome Either condition alone – a vulnerable child or a poor environment – can be overcome Copyright © 2012 Pearson Canada Inc.

D. Continuity and Discontinuity in Development CHAPTER ONE: BASIC CONCEPTS AND METHODS D. Continuity and Discontinuity in Development Continuity Age-related change (development) is quantitative (a change in amount or degree) Discontinuity Age-related change (development) is qualitative (changes in type or kind) Development involves reorganization Emergence of wholly new strategies, qualities, or skills Stage theories (continued) Copyright © 2012 Pearson Canada Inc.

Continuity and Discontinuity in Development (continued) CHAPTER ONE: BASIC CONCEPTS AND METHODS Continuity and Discontinuity in Development (continued) Universal changes are common to every individual in a species and are linked to specific ages. Social clock is a set of age norms Ageism can lead to prejudicial behaviour directed toward older adults Note: Canadian Oxford dictionary defines ageism as “prejudice or discrimination on the grounds of age” so students may find this term used elsewhere to describe discrimination against ANY age. (continued) Copyright © 2012 Pearson Canada Inc.

Continuity and Discontinuity in Development (continued) CHAPTER ONE: BASIC CONCEPTS AND METHODS Continuity and Discontinuity in Development (continued) Group-specific changes are shared by all individuals in a particular group growing up together Cohort describes groups of individuals born within some fairly narrow band of years who share the same historical experiences at the same times in their lives (continued) Copyright © 2012 Pearson Canada Inc.

Continuity and Discontinuity in Development (continued) CHAPTER ONE: BASIC CONCEPTS AND METHODS Continuity and Discontinuity in Development (continued) Individual Changes result from unique, unshared events Critical period: there may be specific periods in development when an organism is especially sensitive to the presence (or absence) of some particular kind of experience Sensitive period: a span of months or years during which a child may be particularly influenced by the presence (or absence) of some particular kind of experience Atypical development - deviation from a typical, or “normal,” developmental pathway in a direction that is harmful to an individual Copyright © 2012 Pearson Canada Inc.

III. RESEARCH DESIGNS AND METHODS CHAPTER ONE: BASIC CONCEPTS AND METHODS III. RESEARCH DESIGNS AND METHODS Copyright © 2012 Pearson Canada Inc.

A. Relating Goals to Methods CHAPTER ONE: BASIC CONCEPTS AND METHODS A. Relating Goals to Methods Developmental psychology uses the scientific method to achieve the following four goals to study human development from conception to death: To describe development is simply to state what happens. To explain development involves telling why a particular event occurs. To predict development, researchers test hypotheses. To influence development is to modify the behaviour in some way. Copyright © 2012 Pearson Canada Inc.

B. Studying Age-Related Changes CHAPTER ONE: BASIC CONCEPTS AND METHODS B. Studying Age-Related Changes In cross-sectional designs, groups of subjects are selected at each of a series of ages. Longitudinal designs follow the same individual over a period of time. A sequential design begins with at least two age groups. Investigators then test each group over a number of years with two types of comparisons: age-group comparisons comparisons of each group to itself at an earlier testing point Copyright © 2012 Pearson Canada Inc.

Cross-Sectional Designs CHAPTER ONE: BASIC CONCEPTS AND METHODS Cross-Sectional Designs Copyright © 2012 Pearson Canada Inc.

CHAPTER ONE: BASIC CONCEPTS AND METHODS Longitudinal Designs Copyright © 2012 Pearson Canada Inc.

CHAPTER ONE: BASIC CONCEPTS AND METHODS Sequential Designs Copyright © 2012 Pearson Canada Inc.

COMPARISON OF DEVELOPMENTAL DESIGNS CHAPTER ONE: BASIC CONCEPTS AND METHODS COMPARISON OF DEVELOPMENTAL DESIGNS Advantages of Cross-Sectional Gathers large amount of data in short time Establishes norms Immediate comparisons of cohorts Saves person power Disadvantages of Cross-Sectional Confounds age with cohort Fails to gather information on individual patterns of development (continued) Copyright © 2012 Pearson Canada Inc.

COMPARISON OF DEVELOPMENTAL DESIGNS CHAPTER ONE: BASIC CONCEPTS AND METHODS COMPARISON OF DEVELOPMENTAL DESIGNS Advantages of Longitudinal Information on the stability of behaviour is acquired Establishes patterns of individual growth and change Detects effects of earlier events on development Disadvantages of Longitudinal Imposes inflexibility Is costly in terms of person power Takes a long time to get data Attrition from study is common Shows time-of-measurement effects (continued) Copyright © 2012 Pearson Canada Inc.

COMPARISON OF DEVELOPMENTAL DESIGNS (continued) CHAPTER ONE: BASIC CONCEPTS AND METHODS COMPARISON OF DEVELOPMENTAL DESIGNS (continued) Advantage of Sequential Makes use of multiple cohorts of same age Disadvantage of Sequential Varies; it depends on type of design. Copyright © 2012 Pearson Canada Inc.

C. Identifying Relationships between Variables CHAPTER ONE: BASIC CONCEPTS AND METHODS C. Identifying Relationships between Variables Variables are characteristics that vary from person to person such as physical size, intelligence, and personality. When two or more variables vary together, we say there is a relationship between them Case studies are in-depth examinations of single individuals When psychologists use the naturalistic observation method, they observe people in their normal environments Surveys involve the use of interviews and/or questionnaires (continued) Copyright © 2012 Pearson Canada Inc.

Identifying Relationships between Variables (continued) CHAPTER ONE: BASIC CONCEPTS AND METHODS Identifying Relationships between Variables (continued) Correlations A correlation is a number ranging from -1.00 to +1.00 that describes the strength of a relationship between two variables A correlation of zero indicates that there is no relationship between those variables A positive correlation means that high scores on one variable are usually accompanied by high scores on the other. The closer a positive correlation is to +1.00, the stronger the relationship between the variables (continued) Copyright © 2012 Pearson Canada Inc.

Identifying Relationships between Variables (continued) CHAPTER ONE: BASIC CONCEPTS AND METHODS Identifying Relationships between Variables (continued) Correlations (continued) Two variables that move in opposite directions result in a negative correlation, and the nearer the correlation is to -1.00, the more strongly the two are connected Correlations have a major limitation: they do not tell us about causal relationships. In order to identify causes, we have to carry out experiments (continued) Copyright © 2012 Pearson Canada Inc.

Scatter Plots of Three Correlations CHAPTER ONE: BASIC CONCEPTS AND METHODS Scatter Plots of Three Correlations Copyright © 2012 Pearson Canada Inc.

Identifying Relationships between Variables (continued) CHAPTER ONE: BASIC CONCEPTS AND METHODS Identifying Relationships between Variables (continued) Experiments An experiment is a study that tests a causal hypothesis—something causes something to happen A key feature of an experiment is that subjects are assigned randomly to participate in one of several groups—chance determines the group in which the researcher places each subject (continued) Copyright © 2012 Pearson Canada Inc.

Identifying Relationships between Variables (continued) CHAPTER ONE: BASIC CONCEPTS AND METHODS Identifying Relationships between Variables (continued) Experiments (continued) Subjects in the experimental group receive the treatment the researcher thinks will produce a particular effect, while those in the control group receive either no treatment or a neutral treatment The presumed causal element in the experiment is called the independent variable and the behaviour on which the independent variable is expected to show its effect is called a dependent variable Copyright © 2012 Pearson Canada Inc.

D. Cross-Cultural Research CHAPTER ONE: BASIC CONCEPTS AND METHODS D. Cross-Cultural Research Studies comparing cultures or contexts An ethnography is a detailed description of a single culture or context based on extensive observation Compare two or more cultures (or subcultures) directly by testing children or adults in each of several cultures with the same or comparable measures. Cross-cultural research is important to developmental psychology for the following two reasons: It identifies universal changes It identifies specific variables that explain cultural differences Copyright © 2012 Pearson Canada Inc.

CHAPTER ONE: BASIC CONCEPTS AND METHODS E. Research Ethics Guidelines researchers follow to protect the rights of animals and humans who participate in studies. Some common guidelines include: Protection from harm Informed consent Confidentiality Knowledge of results Deception, if used, must be explained fully Copyright © 2012 Pearson Canada Inc.