2. • Domains and Periods of Development
• Theory
• Research Strategies
Plan for lecture
3. Domains of Development
Domain Changes in
Physical Body size & proportions, appearance
Functioning of body systems, health
Perceptual & motor capacities
Cognitive Intellectual abilities
Emotional
and Social
Emotional communication
Self-understanding, knowledge about
others
Interpersonal skills & relationships
Moral reasoning & behavior
5. Periods of Development
Prenatal Conception to birth
Infancy and Toddlerhood Birth to 2 years
Early Childhood 2 to 6 years
Middle Childhood 6 to 11 years
Adolescence 11 to 18 years
Emerging Adulthood 18 to 25 years
6. Theory
An orderly, integrated set of
statements that describes,
explains, and predicts
behavior
Gives meaning to what we
see
Provides a basis for
practical action
7. Basic Issues in Development
1. Continuous or discontinuous?
2. One course of development or many
possible courses?
3. Relative influence of nature and nurture?
9. One or many courses?
One course: Stage theorists assume that
people everywhere follow the same sequence
of development
Multiple courses: Distinct contexts may result
in different paths of change
Combination of personal and environmental
circumstances
10. Nature or Nurture?
Nature
Inborn, biologic givens
Based on genetic
inheritance
Nurture
Physical and social world
influences biological and
psychological
development
11. Stability vs. Plasticity?
Stability
Individuals high or
low in a characteristic
remain so at later
ages
Heredity and early
experience are
important
Plasticity
Change is possible,
based on new,
influential
experiences
Implications for practice?
12. Resilience
Ability to adapt effectively in the face
of threats to development:
Personal characteristics
A warm parental relationship
Social support outside the immediate
family
Community resources and opportunities
13. Early Scientific Study
of Development
Evolutionary
Theory
Darwin’s ideas of natural selection
and survival of the fittest are still
influential
Normative
Approach
Hall & Gesell: Age-related
averages based on measurements
of large numbers of children
Mental Testing
Movement
Binet & Simon: Early developers
of intelligence tests
14. Historical Views of Childhood
Medieval Era Childhood (to age 7 or 8) regarded
as separate phase with special
needs, protections
16th Century Puritan “child depravity” views
17th Century John Locke “tabula rasa” or “blank
slate” view; continuous
development
18th Century Jean-Jacques Rousseau “noble
savages” view; natural maturation
15. Freud’s Three Parts of
the Personality
Id
Largest portion of the mind
Unconscious, present at birth
Source of biological needs & desires
Ego
Conscious, rational part of mind
Emerges in early infancy
Redirects id impulses acceptably
Superego
The conscience
Develops from ages 3 to 6, from
interactions with caregivers
22. Ethology
Concerned with the adaptive or survival value
of behavior and its evolutionary history
Roots traced to Darwin:
Imprinting
Critical period
Sensitive period
23. Sensitive Period
An optimal time for
certain capacities to
emerge
Individual is especially
responsive to
environment
Boundaries less
clearly defined than a
critical period
24. Evolutionary
Developmental Psychology
Seeks to understand adaptive value of human
competencies
Studies cognitive, emotional, and social
competencies as they change with age
Expands upon ethology
Wants to understand the entire organism–
environment system
25. Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory
Transmission of culture
to new generation
Beliefs, customs, skills
Social interaction vital
for cognitive
development
Cooperative dialogues
with more
knowledgeable
members of society
26. Ecological Systems Theory
Development within a complex system of
relationships affected by multiple levels of the
surrounding environment
Microsystem
Mesosystem
Exosystem
Macrosystem
Chronosystem
28. A. Development is a continuous, gradual
progression, with new abilities, skills,
and knowledge gradually added at a
relatively uniform pace
B. Development occurs at different rates,
alternating between periods of little
change and periods of abrupt, rapid
change
Your Stance on Development1
29. A. All humans follow the same general
sequence of development
B. Each individual has a unique course of
development
Your Stance on Development2
30. A. Children respond to the world in much
the same way as adults. The main
difference is that children’s thinking is
less sophisticated and complex than
adults’
B. Children have unique ways of thinking
about and responding to the world that
are very different from those of adults
Your Stance on Development3
31. A. An individual’s personality is mostly
determined by heredity
B. An individual’s personality can be
modified through caregiving experiences
Your Stance on Development4
32. - Which theory or theories take stances most similar
to your own?
- Would you choose one theory to represent your
stance or elements of several?
- Which aspects of your chosen theory or theories
make it more attractive than the others?
Your Stance on Development
33. Table 1.3
Your Stance
1. A- Continuous
B- Discontinuous
2. A- One course
B- Many courses
3. A- Continuous
B- Discontinuous
4. A- Nature
B- Nurture
35. Scientific Research
Hypothesis: prediction drawn directly from a
theory
Research methods: activities of participants
Research designs: overall plans for research
studies
36. Observational Research
Naturalistic
Observation
In the “field” or
natural environment
where behavior
happens
Structured
Observations
Laboratory situation
set up to evoke
behavior of interest
All participants have
equal chance to
display behavior
39. Interviews
Clinical Interview
Flexible,
conversational style
Probes for
participant’s point of
view
Structured
Interview
Each participant is
asked same
questions in the
same way
May use
questionnaires, get
answers from groups
Not as in-depth
40. Case Study
Brings together wide range
of information, including
interviews, observations,
test scores
Best used to study unique
phenomena
May be subjective
41. Ethnography
To understand a culture or social group rather
than an individual
Descriptive, qualitative technique
Often through participant observation
42. Correlational Design
Researchers gather
information and make no
effort to alter their
experiences.
Correlation coefficients:
The magnitude of the
number indicates the
strength of the relationship.
The sign of the number
indicates the direction of the
relationship.
45. Experimental Design
Independent Variable
Experimenter changes
or manipulates
Expected to cause
changes in another
variable
Dependent Variable
Experimenter
measures but does not
manipulate
Expected to be
influenced by the
independent variable
46. Modified Experiments
Field
Experiments
Use rare
opportunities for
random assignment
in natural settings
Natural
Experiments
Compare differences
in treatment that
already exist
Groups chosen to
match characteristics
as much as possible
47. Designs for Studying
Development
Longitudinal
Same participants studied repeatedly at
different ages
Cross-sectional
Participants of differing ages all studied at
the same time
Sequential
Several similar cross-sectional or
longitudinal studies are conducted at
varying times.
Microgenetic
Participants are presented with a novel
task, and their mastery is followed over a
series of sessions.
