Chapter One Introduction

Child Psychology—Why Study First and most important stage of life Help psychologists understand origins of emotions, behaviors, thoughts, motivations, intelligence, personality, disorders, exceptionality Most of you will be parents one day If you screw up a child, there’s no fixing it

Processes Biological Processes Cognitive Processes Child psychology is part of the field of developmental psychology, in that we are studying it because it is part of human development. Within the study of human development, we can look at separate but interrelated ongoing processes. These include: Biological Processes Cognitive Processes Socioemotional Processes

Periods of Development The human life span is divided up into periods, or stages, based upon age, developmental milestones, life events, and life expectancy For the purpose of this course, the stages of human development are: Prenatal Infancy Early Childhood Middle to Late Childhood Adolescence (not this course) Early Adulthood Middle Adulthood Late Adulthood

Issues in Development Nature vs. Nurture Continuity vs. Discontinuity Early vs. Late Experiences

Research Descriptive Research Correlational Research Observation Survey Standardized Tests Case Study Correlational Research

More Research Experimental Research Longitudinal Research Cross Sectional Research Quasiexperimental Research Metanalyses

Issues in Research Child Subjects Bias --consent --researcher --gender and cultural/ethnic

More Issues in Research Ethics --deception --debriefing --confidentiality --reporting

Attendance for 9/2 On a sheet of paper, write the following: Name (of course) Where you were born Where you lived in between ages of 0-11 What kind of neighborhood/home you lived in Family Structure (parental units, siblings) Parent(s)/Guardians’ job(s) Your major What you want to do with that major after you graduate