1. A CULTURAL APPROACH TO CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Chapter 1
A CULTURAL APPROACH TO CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Instructor: Monica Garcia
Wednesday evening class: 6:50 pm to 10:00 pm
Spring 2016

2. Learning Objectives Learning Objectives
LO 1.1 Distinguish between the demographic profiles of developed countries and developing countries in terms of population, income, and education
LO Define the term socioeconomic status (SeS) and explain why SeS, gender, and ethnicity are important aspects of human development within countries
LO Trace the evolutionary origins of the human species and summarize the features of the first human cultures
LO Apply information about human evolution to how human development takes place today
LO Summarize Freud’s psychosexual theory and Erikson’s psychosocial theory of human development and describe the main limitations of each
LO 1.6 Summarize the behaviorist theories of Watson, Skinner, and Bandura

3. Learning Objectives Learning Objectives
LO Summarize the constructivist theories of Piaget and Vygotsky
LO 1.8 Define the five systems of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory and explain how it differs from stage theories
LO Recall the five steps of the scientific method and the meanings and functions of hypotheses, sampling, and procedure in scientific research
LO 1.10 Describe some ethical standards for human development research
LO 1.11 Summarize the main methods used in research on human development
LO 1.12 Describe the major types of research designs used in human development research

4. Behaviorist and Learning Theories
LO 1.6 Watson, Skinner, & Bandura
Social learning theory- learning can also occur via observation, without directly experiencing reinforcement or conditioning.
Bandura- Bobo doll experiments
L.O. 1.6

5. Constructivist Theories
LO 1.7 Piaget and Vygotsky
Piaget’s Stage Theory- focused on how cognition changes as the child interacts with the environment.
Schemes
Two processes involved in the use of schemes:
accommodation
assimilation

6. Constructivist Theories
LO 1.7 Piaget and Vygotsky
Vygotsky’s Social Constructivist Theory- views cognitive development as a social and cultural process.
zone of proximal development
Scaffolding
L.O. 1.7 Ask students to give an example of learning within their ZPD and how others who were more skilled provided them with scaffolding.

7. Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory
LO 1.8 Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory
Focuses on multiple influences that shape behavior.
Five levels:
Microsystem-Immediate environment
Mesosystem-Interconnections between microsystems
Exosystem-institutions that have indirect effects on development
Macrosystem-Cultural Beliefs
Chronosystem-Time
L.O. 1.8 This is not a stage theory
Ask students to generate examples of how influences at each of these levels shaped their devlopment.

8. L.O. 1.10
Figure The Systems in Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory How does this theory of human development differ from Freud’s and Erikson’s?

9. Stage Theory Prenatal Development Infancy Toddlerhood Early childhood
Middle Childhood
Adolescence
Emerging adulthood
Young adulthood
Middle adulthood
Late Adulthood
Outline the time periods of each stage with emerging adulthood
Stress the social nature of each time period.
Highlight continuity and discontinuity
L.O. 1.9

10. How We Study Human Development

11. Scientific Study of Human Development
The scientific method
Composed of 5 steps:
Identifying a question
Forming a hypothesis
Choosing a research method or design
Collecting data
Drawing conclusions
L.O. 1.10

12. The Scientific Method LO 1.9 Scientific Method
Figure The Steps of the Scientific Method

13. The Five Steps of the Scientific Method
1. Every study starts with an idea or question
Can come from previous research, a theory or personal observation
2. Forming a hypothesis
The researcher’s idea about a possible answer to a research question
Will dictate research methods, design, and analysis
Possible in class activity on research question and walking through each step
L.O. 1.10
Identifying a question.
Why is it that women cannot seem to get along.
2. Forming a hypothesis- Women can’t get along because they have an issue with body image.

14. The Five Steps of the Scientific Method
3. Choose a research method and design
The way hypotheses are investigated
4. Collecting data
Researchers try to collect a sample that represents the population
5. Draw conclusions
Data is inferred and peer reviewed
Can lead to theory modification or changes
L.O Identify importance of representativeness of population when choosing method and collecting data. Note that much of the early research focused on White, middle-class males.
3. Method or design- questionnaires,
4. Interviews is Qualitative data
5. What I found.

15. Ethics in Human Development Research
Institutional Review Boards work to prevent ethical violations
Ethical guidelines include:
Protection from physical and psychological harm
Informed consent prior to participation
Confidentiality
Deception and debriefing
L.O. 1.11
(LO 1.10 Ethical standards)

16. Methods and Designs in Research
LO 1.11 Research methods
Researchers use various methods to investigate human development
Questionnaires
Closed- or Open-ended
Interviews-qualitative
Observations
Ethnographic Research
Case studies
Biological Methods
L. O. 1.12

17. Methods and Designs in Research
Experiments establish cause and effect
Tend to have basic components
Experimental Group
Control Group
Independent Variable
Dependent Variable
Natural experiments
Give specifics of Experiment/Control/IV and DV
Give difference between this and Natural Experiment
L.O. 1.12

18. Table 1.4 Research Methods: Advantages and Limitations
L. O
Table Research Methods: Advantages and Limitations

19. Methods and Designs in Research
Researchers use multiple methods, but it is important that they have reliability and validity
Reliability-Consistency of measurement
Validity-Truthfulness of the measure
Does it measure what it claims to measure?
L. O. 1.12

20. Developmental Research Designs
LO 1.12 Research designs
These designs allow researchers to examine changes over time
1. Cross-sectional
Gathers information from wide age range at a single time
Yields a Correlation-measures relation between two variables, but can not prove causation.
Positive
Negative
Go in detail about strengths which connects to weaknesses and describe causation and correlation
L.O. 1.13

21. L.O. 1.15
Go in detail about strengths which connects to weaknesses and describe causation and correlation
L.O. 1.15
Figure Physical Health and Exercise Are Correlated—But Which Causes Which?

22. Developmental Research Designs
2. Longitudinal design follows same persons over time
Can focus on how people change over time
Can deal with cohort effects to SOME degree
Note strengths and weakness and there may still be generational effects as all individuals are from one time period
L.O. 1.13

23. L.O. 1.15