Psyc311 – Development Psychology Chapter 01 Introduction to Developmental Science Theory & Research Methods

i<clickers! Are you HERE this morning? –A) Yes, absolutely! –B) No, definitely not. –C) Hard to say – I could be having a nightmare. –D) Uh…what do you mean by “HERE”? –E) All of the above. Have you registered for MyDevelopmentLab ? –A) Yes –B) No

characteristics of development Lifelong Multidimensional –Biological –Cognitive –Socio-emotional developing physical body and brain Surrounding physical and social environment

characteristics of development Plastic –Gene/environment interaction Multidirectional –Expansion (growth) –Contraction (decline) Contextual –Age-graded influence –History-graded influence –Non-normative (individual experiences)

explaining development Developmental science involves three distinct levels: Theory Question/Hypothesis Research But why do we investigate developmental processes in this manner?

science as a way of knowing Our individual and collective goal is to build a body of knowledge. – Facts – knowing that p. – Skills – knowing how to p. belief true justified What is it to know that p ? Knowledge =

science as a way of knowing There are three common ways of knowing AUTHORITYREASONEXPERIENCE LIMITATIONS : opportunities for bias, motivated by power, desire to maintain status quo, lack of sufficient information…. ***** SCIENCE ***** Requires : clear standards for authority, open dissemination of methods and data, shared assumptions, relicatable studies, data-driven conclusions, objectivity (removal of personal bias), theories that can be disproven…

science as a way of knowing What are the limitations of science? Objectivity = a view from NOWHERE  You cannot disentangle subject and object.  You cannot draw meaningful generalizations.  Only WEIRD people are allowed to contribute. *** Inter-subjectivity = a view from EVERYWHERE *** ?? Response ??

Developmental Theories

evolution of theory The evolution of (developmental) theory –starts with The theory of evolution ! Plasticity –natural selection –survival of the fittest Ethology and Evolutionary Psychology  Inter-species behaviors/competencies  Intra-species behaviors/competencies

evolution of theory The Age of Measurement –Normative period Identification of “norms” of development Mental Retardation Normal Intelligence Gifted Intelligence Sociopathy Normal Morality Moral Exemplar

psychoanalytic What causes development to go wrong? Psychoanalytic – development involves confrontations between biological drives and social expectations. – Freud : psychosexual conflicts Focus on sexual and aggressive drives – Erickson : psychosocial conflicts Focus on socio-emotional development

behavioral learning Behaviorism –Focus on direct stimulus- response mechanisms that drive behavior. –Development is a product of past and present positive and negative reinforcement and punishment patterns. –Sophisticated reward- punishment system in brain. Ask Yourself! How would Erickson and Skinner differ in explaining a child’s fear of the dark?

behavioral learning Social learning theory – Indirect learning –Imitation –Observation

Bobo Doll example

cognitive learning Piaget – cognitive-developmental theory  Child as scientist.  Child discovers knowledge that is out there. Vygotsky – social-cultural theory  Child as apprentice.  Child creates knowledge with others.

cognitive learning Information processing –The underlying architecture of cognitive development is computational. –Child as symbol-manipulation system. –Development involves Maturation of hardware. Upgrades in software.

contexts for development