The Study of Human Development Chapter 1

Thinking About Development Learning Objectives -What fundamental issues of development have scholars addressed throughout history? -What are the basic forces in the biopsychosocial framework? -How does the timing of these forces make a difference in their impact? How does neuroscience enhance our understanding of human development?

Recurring Issues of Human Development Nature vs. Nurture Continuity vs. Discontinuity Universal vs. Context-Specific Development

Recurring Issues of Human Development Nature vs. Nurture: the degree to which genetic or hereditary influences (nature) and experiential or environmental influences determine the kind of person you are. Continuity vs. Discontinuity: concerns whether a particular developmental phenomenon represents a smooth progression through the life span (continuity ) or a series of abrupt shifts (discontinuity) Universal vs. Context-Specific Development: concerns whether there is just one path of development or several that depend on the environment and culture

Basic Force in Human Development: The Biopsychosocial Framework -Biological Forces – genetics and health -Psychological Forces – cognitive, emotional perceptual, personality forces, that are demonstrated through behavior -Sociocultural Forces: family, friends, co-workers, teachers, institutions, cultural group etc. Life-Cycle Forces – situation, age, finances

Developmental Theories Learning Objectives What is developmental theory? How do psychodynamic theories account for development? What is the focus of learning theories of development? How do cognitive-developmental theories explain changes in thinking? What are the main points in the ecological and systems approach? What are the major tenets of life-span and life-cycle theories?

What is theory? An organized set of ideas that is designed to explain development. develop predictions about behavior result in research that helps to support or clarify the theory

Major Theoretical Perspectives on Human Development Psychodynamic – development determined by how well people resolve conflict. -Freud, Erikson Learning – learning influences behavior -Watson, Skinner, Bandura Cognitive-Developmental – how people think and how thinking changes over time -Piaget, Kohlberg, Vygotsky Ecological & Systems – human development is inseparable from the environment, all aspects of development are interconnected -Bronfenbrenner, Lawton & Nahemow Lifespan -Baltes

Psychodynamic Theories Development is largely determined by how well people resolve conflicts Erickson’s psychosocial Theory – personality development is determined by the interaction of an internal maturational plan and external societal demands

Erikson’s 8 stages of development Trust vs. mistrust - birth to 1 year Autonomy vs. shame - 1-3 years Initiative vs. guilt – 3-6 years Industry vs. inferiority – 6- adolescence Identity vs. identity confusion – Adolescence Intimacy vs. isolation – Youne adulthood Generativity vs. stagnation – Middle adulthood Integrity vs. despair – Late life

Learning Theory Concentrates on how learning influences behavior Emphasizes the role of experience Stresses the influence of consequences on behavior Recognizes that people learn from watching Two theories Behaviorism Social Learning

Watson’s Behaviorism Learning determines behavior Experience is sufficient to explain the course of development Watson did little research to support his claims B.F. Skinner did the research

B. F. Skinner’s Operant Conditioning The consequences of a behavior determine whether it will be repeated A reinforcement increases the chance that a behavior will be repeated. Positive and negative. A punishment decreases the chance that a behavior will be repeated

Social Learning Theory Observational Learning or Imitation -People learn by watching others -Imitation is more likely when the subject of observation is seen as smart, popular, or talented observation is rewarded for the behavior

Albert Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory Cognitive – people actively try to understand what is going on rather that just imitate Social – what other people do is an important source of information Emphasizes how we perceive our world and experiences Experience gives self-efficacy, our belief about our own abilities and talents

Cognitive-Developmental Theory Emphasizes the development of the thought process as we mature Three approaches to the development of cognition -We develop our thinking in stages (Piaget, Kohlberg) -Like computers, we become more efficient at processing information as we mature (Information- Processing Theory)

Cognitive-Developmental Theory Jean Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory Children gradually learn more about how the world works by little “experiments” in which the test their understanding Cognitive development consists of stages in which children’s understanding of their surrounding become increasingly complex and accurate

Cognitive-Developmental Theory Piaget’s Stage of Cognitive Development Sensorimotor Stage (Birth to 2 years) -The infant interacts with the world through sensation and movement -Develops the ability to hold a mental representation of objects Preoperational Stage ( 2 to 7 years) -Develops the ability to use symbols -Egocentric: understands the world only from his/her perspective

Cognitive-Developmental Theory Piaget’s Stages Concrete Operational Thought (7 years to early adolescence) -Can us logic and reasoning -Cannot accurately consider the hypothetical Formal Operational Thought (Adolescence and beyond) -Thinks abstractly -Deals with hypothetical concepts

Cognitive-Developmental Theory Information – Processing Theory Uses the computer as a model of how thinking develops Mental Hardware: psychological structures such as memory capacity Mental Software: cognitive abilities that process information and help us to interact with the world

Cognitive-Developmental Theory Vygotsky’s Theory Emphasized the impact of socio-cultural influence on child development Focused on how adults pattern aspects of the culture on children Viewed development as an “apprenticeship”

The Ecological and Systems Approach Views all aspects of human development as interconnected No aspect of development alone can adequately explain development Understanding requires considering all factors: -environmental -family -social - and how they interact

The Ecological and Systems Approach Urie Bronfenbrenner’s Theory The Microsystem -People and objects in the immediate environment The Mesosystem -Influences the Microsystems have on each other The Exosystem -Social, environmental, and government forces The Macrosystem -Subcultures and cultures in which the other three systems are imbedded and influence development

The Ecological and Systems Approach Lawton and Nahemow’s Competence-Environmental Press THeory Adaptation or development depends upon a match between a person’s abilities or “competencies” and their environment and demands it places on them. -Emphasis is on how these factors interact

Questions Traditional Theories of Human Development Do Not Adequately Address Does development continue throughout the lifespan? What are the unique or specific developmental influences or issues of adulthood? How do we explain the apparent decline of abilities in later adulthood?

Current Perspectives Life-Span Perspective Human development is a lifelong process Understanding adult’s experiencer requires appreciating childhood and adolescence

Current Perspectives Selective Optimization with Compensation (SOC) model Selection process chooses goals, life domains, and life tasks. Elective or loss-based selection Optimization and compensation concern maintaining those goals. Compensation includes finding other ways to accomplish the goal. Optimization concerns minimizing loses and maximizing gains.

Current Perspectives The Life-Course Perspective -Examines how different generations experience and adjust to biological, psychological, and socio-cultural forces within the historical time period of their lives.

Dynamic interplay between individual and society How do people time and sequence their lives in the context of historical conditions? How do people balance their own lives with those of their family? What is the impact of earlier life events on subsequent ones?

Matilda Riley’s Life-Spain Perspective Emphasizes the need to view the entire life-span to understand a person’s development The social environment, and historical aspects of one’s life must be considered Learning about patterns of development influences society

Four Features of the Life-span Approach Multi-directionality Different areas of development grow and decline at the same time Plasiticity Skills and abilities can be improve or developed throughout the life-span Historical Context Historical time periods must be considered in examining development Multiple Causation Biological, psychological, socio-cultural, and life - cycle changes must be considered

Selective Optimization With Compensation (SOC) Elective Selection -Making choices to reduce involvement in order to concentrate on another Loss-based Selection -Reducing involvement because of lack of resources or abilities Compensation -Finding alternate ways of meeting goals due to loss of ability or diminished skills

The Life Course Perspective Emphasizes -How personal life-events interact with historical influences -How individual issues integrate with family issues -How earlier life events and the period of history in which they occurred shaped subsequent events and issues

The Big Picture Jim was a 25 year old firefighter in Cincinnati. On September 11, 2001 he watched on television as the World Trade Center collapsed. He was so moved by the need to help his fellow firefighters, he went to New York to assist in the rescue efforts. Jim now suffers from post traumatic stress syndrome after the weeks of intense work and emotion he experienced.

The Big Picture How did Jim’s age, his profession, and his choices interact to bring him to where he is today? What impact might this have on his work, family, and his health? How may these forces impact Jim’s future job choices, his marriage, and feelings about political and racial issues?

Doing Developmental Research Learning Objectives How do scientists measure topics of interest in studying human development? What research designs are used to study human development? How do researchers integrate results from multiple studies? What ethical procedures must researchers follow? How do investigators communicate results from research studies? How does research affect public policy?

Four Approaches to Human Development Research Observing systematically Using tasks to sample behavior Self reports Taking physiological measures

Measurement in Human Development Research Systematic Observation Naturalistic Observation ”Real life” observations Researchers must decide on variables to watch Difficult to use with behaviors that are rare or occur in a private setting Structured Observation Researcher creates a situation likely to result in a type of behavior in which she/he is interested. Structured setting may distort behavior

Other Behavioral Methods -Sampling Behavior with Tasks – may be invalid if the task does not sample behavior as it occurs naturally. -Self Reports – People may answer incorrectly because of forgetting or response bias -Physiological Measures – highly specific so cannot be applied broadly

Evaluating Research Methods Reliability -Does this method consistantly measure what is being studied? Validity -Does this measure provide a true picture of what is

Representational Sampling Populations -Broad groups of people in which researchers may be interested Sample -A subset of the population chosen to represent the population

General Research Designs Corelational Studies -Measures relationships between variables as they are observed naturally in the world -Provides an index call the correlation coefficient (“r”) which indicates the strength of the relationship between variables -The Dependent Variable is the behavior that is studied for possible change

Experimental Studies Studies the effect of one variable on another Studies possible “cause and effect” relationship The Independent Variable is the factor that is being manipulated The Dependent Variable is the behavior that is studied for possible change Results may be skewed by the laboratory setting that is not the natural setting.

Designs For Studying Development Longitudinal Studies Observes or tests one group of individuals over a long period Is expensive and requires a large time commitment, may have drop outs, or become test wise. Cross Sectional Studies Observes or tests groups of different ages More time effective, less expensive, but cannot show small changes of continuity of development, may be affected by cohort effects, cannot study stability of behavior

Design For Studying Development Sequential Studies A combination of cross-sectional and longitudinal designs Allows for flexibility to collect information in several ways Avoids cohort effects (differences in age groups (cohorts) may result as much from environmental events as from developmental processes),expensive and time consuming.

Integrating Findings From Different Studies Meta-analysis Analysis of many studies to estimate relations between variables Allows scientists to verify findings across many studies

Conducting Research Ethically Minimize and warn of any risks to participants “Informed Consent” Avoid deception, if necessary provide a full explanation as soon as possible Individual results or data must be kept anonymous or confidential All studies are reviewed by a panel of experts

Communicating Research Results Research results are published is scientific journals To be published in journal, research results must be Useful, well done, and original

Applying Research Results: Social Policy Driving age Stem cell research Adoption policies Laws against child abuse Laws for consuming Alcohol Elimination of mandatory retirement Lead based paint

Think About This: How does being a participant in a scientific study affect behavior? What if the only way to collect valid information about a factor requires putting subjects at risk, or not informing them of possible risks?