1. Domains of development Goals of developmental psychology
Lecture Outline
What is development?
Domains of development
Goals of developmental psychology
Two realms of development (McCall, 1981)
Broad issues/questions in developmental psychology 1

2. What is Development?
Development refers to systematic, successive changes in the individual that occur over time from conception to death

3. Domains of Development
Physical Development
Changes in the body and brain
Cognitive Development
Changes in thought, intelligence, and language
Socioemotional Development
Changes in relationships, emotions, and personality 3

4. Goals of Developmental Psychology
Describe behavior and how it changes across development
Description makes it possible to establish guidelines for typical development
Explain development
Identify the underlying processes or causes of change
Apply knowledge to promote positive development 4

5. Two Realms of Development (McCall, 1981)
Developmental Functions ( or Normative Development)
Defined by the average “score” on a behavior or characteristic within a group over time (i.e., at different ages)
Example: expressive vocabulary
At 13 months, average number of words expressed is 10
At 18 months, average number of words expressed is 100
At 24 months, average number of words expressed is 200 5

6. Measured by the mean score on a given behavior or characteristic within a group over time (i.e., at different ages)

7. Individual Differences
Rank ordering of individuals on a given behavior or characteristic at a particular point in time (i.e., specific age)
Ex: Expressive vocabulary—at any given age, some children can say more words than others
Stability of individual differences
Do individuals maintain their rank order within a group at different ages?
Ex: Do the same children who have bigger vocabularies at 12 months also have bigger vocabularies at 18 months? 7

8. Measured by the correlation between two sets of scores from different points in time (i.e., different ages)

9. Broad Issues/Questions in Developmental Psychology
Original question: Is development due to nature (genes) or nurture (environment)?
No longer nature versus nurture
General agreement that genetic and environmental factors influence all aspects of development
But still debate about how to conceptualize genetic and environmental influences on development
Should we be asking “How much?” or “How?”

10. Developmental continuity and discontinuity

11. Continuous (Quantitative)
Gradual, small, steady changes in behaviors/characteristics

12. Discontinuous (Qualitative)
Development proceeds in a series of discrete steps/stages
Relatively abrupt transitions between stages
Fundamental re-organization of behaviors/characteristics at each stage

13. 13

15. How important is early experience in affecting later development?15