223 - CH1: Intro to Lifespan Development

beginnings, theoretical perspectives, and research methods

life span development

the scientific study of patterns of growth, change, stability, and decline in behaviours that occur throughout the entire life span

physical development

how brain, nervous system, muscles, need for food, sleep, etc. affect behaviour

cognitive development

emphasizes intellectual abilities, including memory, learning, intelligence, etc.

personality and social development

emphasizes enduring characteristics that differentiate one person from another, and how interactions with others and social relationships grow and change over the lifespan.

moderating factors

factors that change how the influence presents

ex. environment

prenatal period

conception to birth

infancy

0-3 years

early childhood

3-6 years

middle childhood

6-12 years

adolescence

12-20 years

young adulthood

20-40 years

middle adulthood

40-60 years

late adulthood

60+ years

emerging adulthood

passed adulthood but not mature enough to be considered and adult (middle zone between adolescence and young adulthood)

types of influences

universal changes, individual specific changes, group specific changes

universal changes

age-graded influences or maturation, changes that happen as you get older/age. happen to all

ex. puberty

individual specific changes

non-normative life events, makes an individual unique in the way they change

ex. car crash

group specific changes

an event that a group goes through together

ex. historical events, sociocultural-graded influences

cohort

a group of people born at around the same time in the same place

continuous change

gradual, cummulative changes, quantitative

ex. height

discontinuous change

distinct qualities, qualitative

ex. babies walking to crawling (different motor processes)

critical period

when events have the greatest irreversible consequences

ex. prenatal period for a fetus

sensitive period

susceptibility to some events, consequences can be reversed

ex. language development (can learn languages in adulthood, though harder)

nature

inherited traits resulting from maturation

ex. hair loss

nurture

external influences

ex. parenting style

maturation

age-related genetic changes

theory

broad organized explanations and predictions about the phenomena of interest, providing a framework for understanding the relationships

ex. X happens because of Y ∴ i think Z will happen

psychodynamic perspectives

behaviour is motivated by inner forces, memories, and conflicts that are generally beyond people’s awareness and control.

> freud and erikson

Freud’s psychoanalytical theory

Unconscious forces act to determine personality and behaviour

psychosexual development

a series of stages that children go through where pleasure/gratification is focused on s different part of the body

ex. mouth, bowel control, genitals, etc

fixation

behaviour arising from unresolved conflicts in previous stages

the 3 aspects of personality

id, ego, supergo

id

raw, unorganized, innate desires.

unconscious mind.

ego

develops out of id and controls its impulses. rational and reasonable

superego

provides a sense of right and wrong based on morality.

conscious mind.

Erikson’s psychosocial theory

individuals change in 8 distinct stages, and have to solve a conflict in each stage

ex. trust vs. distrust in infancy

behavioural perspective

development can be understood through observable behaviour and stimuli in the environement.

> pavlov, watson, skinner, bandura

classical conditioning (Pavlov & Watson)

type of learning where an organism responds in a particular way to neutral stimulus that normally does not bring about that type of response.

extinction

conditioned associations fade if not reinforced, learnt response is lost

generalisation

conditioned associations can be extended to other similar stimuli

ex. a brown rat instead of white rat with little albert.

operant conditioning (Skinner)

type of learning where voluntary responses are strengthened or weakened by positive or negative consequences; respectively.

reinforcement

introduction to stimuli that are likely to increase the probability of a behaviour

punishment

introduction of stimuli that are likely to decrease the probability of a certain behaviour

positive reinforcement

adding a pleasant consequence

negative reinforcement

removing an unpleasant consequence

positive punishment

adding an unpleasant consequence

negative punishment

removing a pleasant consequence

behaviour modification

a formal technique used for promoting the frequency of desirable behaviours, and decreasing the frequency of undesirable behaviours

Social-Cognitive Learning Theory (Bandura)

learning occurs by observing the behaviour of a ‘model’ person, learn by imitation. learning vicariously.

reciprocal determinism

the ideal that human development is based on the interaction of personal, behavioural and environemental factors.

> encourages learning & human perspective

cognitive perspective

focuses on the processes that allow people to know, understand and think about the world

> Piaget

Piaget’s theory of cognitive development

individuals go through a fixed sequence of universal stages of cognitive development. quality and quantity of knowledge increase.

scheme, accommodation, assimilation, equilibration

> ends at adolescence

scheme (1)

organized mental patterns or internal cognitive structures that represent behaviours and actions

ex. seeing a dog, who has 4 legs

assimilation (2)

understanding a new experience in terms of an existing schema

ex. seeing a 4 legged animal and thinking it a cat

accommodation (3)

making changes to existing schema to include new information

ex. realizing not all 4-legged animals are dogs

equilibration (4)

process of balancing assimilation and accomodation to create schemes

Piaget’s stages of cognitive development

sensorimotor, pre-operational, concrete operational, formal operational

sensorimotor

baby understands the world through her senses and motor actions

birth - 18months

pre-operational

child can use symbols both to think and to communicate ; develops the abilities to take others POV, classify objects, and use simple logic

18months - 6years

concrete operational

development of new internal operations such as convo and class inclusion, tied to the known world. can reason about simple “what if” questions.

6years - 12years

formal operational

the child begins to manipulate ideas and objects, thinks hypothetically. by adulthood can easily manage a variety of “what if” questions. improves ability to organize ideas and pbjects mentally.

12+years

information processing approach (Neo-Piaget)

theories that seek to identify how individuals absorb, use, and store information.

information processing theories

encoding: organizing information to be stored in memory

storage: keeping information

retrieval: getting information out of memory

cognitive neuroscience approach

examine cognitive development/look at neurological activity in terms of neurological processes

humanistic perspective

suggests that people have a natural capacity to make decisions about their lives and control their behaviour, behaviour is guided by self-worth and need to be liked

> Rogers, Maslow

self-actualization

a state of fulfillment where people achieve their highest potential in their own way

Maslow’s view of development

hierarchy of motives, once basic needs are met, then higher wants can be obtained

deficiency motives

physical or emotional balance, required needs

ex. food > safe environment > affection > self-respect

being motives

desire to understand self and others

ex. need for self-actualization, what it means to be human

contextual perspectives

considers the relationship between individuals and their physical, cognitive, personality, and social worlds

> Vygotsky, Brofenbrenner

Vygotsky’s Sociocultural perspective

emphasizes how cognitive development occurs because of social interactions between individuals

Scaffolding

learning new skills through temporary support of other skilled individuals

Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Approach (Levels’s theory)

development is simultaneously influenced by different levels of an individual’s environment

5 levels of the bioecological model

microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, chronosystem

microsystem

immediate environment; direct influence on the child’s development

ex. family, daycare

mesosystem

inter-connections between microsystems

ex. connections between daycare and family at home

exosystem

broader influences; indirect by the overall environment

ex. school, government

macrosystem

larger cultural influences, affects values and beliefs

ex. religion, public policy

chronosystem

passage of time and history

biological perspectives

contend that the most development is guided by biological processes such as genetic inheritance, epigenetic changes and physiological processes.

> Darwin

epigenetic factors

molecular markers that can change gene function, inherited or acquired.

evolutionary theories

seek to identify behaviour resulting from genetic inheritance from our ancestors

behavioural genetics

the study of how heredity affects behaviour and causes individual differences.

evolutionary psychology

hardwired cognitive and social thinking patterns which have been shaped by time.

ethology

study of survival behaviours.

> used in evolutionary theories.

scientific method

the process of posing and answering questions using careful, controlled techniques that include systemic orderly observation and the collection of data.

describe what happens > explain using theories why > predict using theories to generate hypothesis > influence practices with research conclusion

correlational research

seeks to identify association, but does not give information about causality.

experimental research

designed to discover causal relationships, involves introducing a change to see its consequences.

naturalistic observation

naturally occurring behaviour is observed without intervention.

> less control

case studies

extensive interviews with a particular individual or group of people.

> unique occurrences, conclusions could apply to others

qualitative research

researchers carefully document and describe a setting of interest

> detailed view of behaviours being studied, low generalizability

surveys

a representative group of people answer questions about their attitudes, opinions, and experience.

> gain knowledge about the general attitude of a population.

psychophysiological methods

focus on the relationship between physiological processes and behaviour

> EEG, CT, fMRI

electroencephalography (EEG)

measures brain activity

computed tomography scan (CT)

takes x-rays to give detailed structure of the brain

functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

measures change in brain oxygen levels

meta-analyses

statistical procedures that allow researchers to combine results from multiple studies

theoretical research

aimed at testing some developmental explanation and expand scientific knowledge.

applied research

aimed at providing practical solutions to immediate problems.

cross-sectional studies

measure people of different ages at different points in time

> can only lead to inferences that are age-related, not due to aging. and chances of selective attrition (dropping out).