DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY What do Developmental Psychologists study? Development: Systematic continuities and changes in the individual that occur between conception and death.

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT IS CONTINUAL, CUMULATIVE AND HOLISTIC Continual and Cumulative: Holistic:

WHAT MIGHT YOU LEARN IN THIS COURSE ?? 1. What the world looks like to a newborn infant. 2. Why 1-year-olds are afraid of strangers. 3. How children learn their native language. 4. Why you don’t remember much before the age of three. 5. How children from the same family can be so different. 6. Why teenagers are so difficult to get along with.

GOALS OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY Understanding: a. Universal Change b. Individual Change c. Situational Influences

GOALS OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY Understanding: a. Universal Change b. Individual Change c. Situational Influences How to Study Development: a. Describe b. Explain c. Optimize

CHRONOLOGICAL OVERVIEW OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT Period of Life Age Range Prenatal Conception to Birth Infancy/Toddler First two years Preschool 2-6 years Middle Childhood 6-puberty Adolescence Puberty-20 yrs Young Adult 20-40 years Middle Age 40-65 years Old Age 65 and up

RESEARCH IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT Basic Definitions: Hypothesis: An educated proposition about how the factors being studied are related to each other.

RESEARCH IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT Basic Definitions: Hypothesis: An educated proposition about how the factors being studied are related to each other. Theory: A set of concepts and propositions that allow the theorist to describe and explain some aspect of experience. What are good theories?

RESEARCH IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT Reliability: Extent to which a measuring instrument yields consistent results, both over time and across observers.

RESEARCH IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT Reliability: Extent to which a measuring instrument yields consistent results, both over time and across observers. Validity: Extent to which a measuring instrument accurately reflects what the researchers intended to measure.

RESEARCH IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT Gathering data: Self-report Methodologies 1. Interviews & Questionnaires 2. Clinical Methods

RESEARCH IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT Gathering data: Self-report Methodologies Observational Methodologies 1. Naturalistic 2. Structured

RESEARCH IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT Gathering data: Self-report Methodologies Observational Methodologies Case Studies

RESEARCH IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT Gathering data: Self-report Methodologies Observational Methodologies Case Studies Ethnography

RESEARCH IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT Gathering data: Self-report Methodologies Observational Methodologies Case Studies Ethnography Psychophysiological Methods

RESEARCH IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT Sampling: The sample, or group of subjects chosen, is an important consideration in research. Random Samples Representative Samples Population Generalization

RESEARCH IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT Experimental Design: Be sure to review these terms on your own: 1. Independent, Dependent & Confounding Variables 2. Experimental Control, Random Assignment, & Ecological Validity 3. Correlational Design, Laboratory, Field & Natural (quasi-) Experiments

DESIGNS FOR STUDYING DEVELOPMENT Cross-Sectional Design: subjects from different age groups are studied at the same point in time.

DESIGNS FOR STUDYING DEVELOPMENT Cross-Sectional Design: subjects from different age groups are studied at the same point in time. Cohort Effects Strengths Limitations

DESIGNS FOR STUDYING DEVELOPMENT Longitudinal Design: one group of subjects is studied repeatedly over a period of months or years.

DESIGNS FOR STUDYING DEVELOPMENT Longitudinal Design: one group of subjects is studied repeatedly over a period of months or years. Strengths Weaknesses Practice Effects Selective Attrition Nonrepresentative Sample Cross-generational problem

DESIGNS FOR STUDYING DEVELOPMENT Longitudinal-Sequential Design: subjects from different age groups are studied repeatedly over a period of months or years.

DESIGNS FOR STUDYING DEVELOPMENT Longitudinal-Sequential Design: subjects from different age groups are studied repeatedly over a period of months or years. Strengths Weaknesses

LONGITUDINAL-SEQUENTIAL DESIGNS Two Samples of Children - one born in 1991 - one born in 1993 Both observed longitudinally

LONGITUDINAL-SEQUENTIAL DESIGNS Longitudinal Comparisons Cross-Sectional Comparisons Cohort Comparisons 6-year olds 8-year olds 10-year olds 1993 Year of birth (Cohort) 8-year olds 10-year olds 12-year olds 1991 1999 2001 2003 Year of testing

LONGITUDINAL-SEQUENTIAL DESIGNS Note: Even this technique is limited unless you repeat it cross culturally!

MICROGENETIC DESIGNS A research design in which researchers present children with a novel task and follow their mastery over a series of closely spaced sessions. e.g. Long-division problems

MICROGENETIC DESIGNS A research design in which researchers present children with a novel task and follow their mastery over a series of closely spaced sessions. e.g. Long-division problems Strengths Weaknesses

Now YOU can evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the studies you read or hear about in the news.