Fundamentals of Lifespan Development SEPTEMBER 5 TH, 2014 – HISTORY, THEORY, AND RESEARCH STRATEGIES

Video Why do researchers need to obtain informed consent from participants? Ewen Cameron, Memory Thief – Part 1 Ewen Cameron, Memory Thief – Part 2 Ewen Cameron, Memory Thief – Part 3 The Fifth Estate documentary on Ewen Cameron

Rights of Research Participants Table 1.7 on Page 31 of Exploring Lifespan Development

What is Developmental Science? A field of study devoted to understanding constancy and change throughout the lifespan Interdisciplinary - Psychology, sociology, biology, neuroscience, medicine, social services, education, family studies, public health….

Methods & Designs in Developmental Psychology Methods Table 1.5 on Page 23 of Exploring Lifespan Development Designs Table 1.6 on Page 28 of Exploring Lifespan Development

Overview of Theories Theory of Evolution (Early 1800) Natural Selection Darwin & Spencer Normative Approach (Middle 1800) Measures of behaviour are taken on large numbers of individuals, and age-related averages are computed to represent typical development. Hall & Gesell – Maturational process: a genetically determined series of events that unfold automatically, much like a flower. The Mental Testing Movement (Early 1900) Development of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale Binet

Overview of Theories Psychoanalytic (Early to Middle 1900) People move through a series of stages in which they confront conflicts between biological drives and social expectations. How these conflicts are resolved determines the person’s ability to learn, to get along with others, and cope with anxiety. Freud – Psychosexual Erikson – Psychosocial Behaviourism and Social Learning Theory (Early to Middle 1900) Directly observable events – stimuli and response – are the appropriate focus of study. Pavlov – Classical Conditioning Watson – School of Behaviourism Skinner – Operant Conditioning Bandura – Social Learning Theory Cognitive Development Theory (Middle 1900) Children actively construct knowledge as they manipulate and explore the external world. Piaget

Overview of Theories Information Processing (Middle to Late 1900) The design of digital computers that use mathematically specified steps to solve problems suggested to psychologists that the human mind might also be viewed as a symbol-manipulating system through which information flows. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience (Late 1900) Brings together researchers from psychology, biology, neuroscience, and medicine to study the relationship between changes in the brain and the developing person’s cognitive processing and behaviour patterns. Ethnology (Middle 1900) Concerned with the adaptive, or survival, value, of behaviour and its evolutionary history. Lorenz & Tinbergen – Imprinting - critical period vs sensitive period

Overview of Theories Sociocultural Theory (late 1800 Early 1900) Focuses on how culture – the values, beliefs, customs, and skills of a social group – is transmitted to the next generation. According to Vygotsky, social interaction – in particular, cooperative dialogues with more knowledgeable members of society – is necessary for children to acquire the ways of thinking and behaving that make up a community’s culture. Vygotsky Ecological Systems Theory Views the person as developing within a complex system of relationships affected by multiple levels of the surrounding environment. Bronfenbrenner – Chronosystem (temporal dimension)

Tables in Text Book Stances on Major Theories on Basic Issues in Human Development Table 1.4 on Page 22 of Exploring Lifespan Development Freud & Erikson Table 1.2 on Page 13 of Exploring Lifespan Development Piaget Table 1.3 on Page 15 of Exploring Lifespan Development Ecological Systems Theory Figure 1.5 on Page 19 of Exploring Lifespan Development

Discussion Psychology research is based in positivism – a form of research that focuses on information that is scientifically verifiable, usually measured by mathematical formulas. There are other ways to understand the world. What are some of these ways? What are limitations to positivism?