Basic Issues in DevPsych

Prenatal Phase

Conception-birth

• From single-cell to complete organism, in utero (i.e. during pregnancy)

Infant phase

0-2 years

• Dependence on adults

• Beginning of many psychological activities

  • Motor coordination

  • Symbolic thought

  • Language

  • Social learning

Early childhood phase

2-6 years

• Pre-school years

• Increased self-sufficiency

• Development of ‘school readiness’ skills and social skills e.g. playing with peers

Middle and late childhood phase

6-12 years

• Primary school years

• Mastery of reading, writing and maths

• Learning about culture

• Social skills; increased self-control and reasoning ability

Adolescent phase

12-20 yeara

• Rapid physical changes

• Sexual development

• Pursuit of independence and identity

• Though becomes logical, abstract and idealistic

Hobbes: Original Sin

Children are inherently sinful, development shaped by control and discipline.

Rousseau: Innate purity

Children are inherently innocent; development is shaped by following children’s natural stages

Locke: Tabula rasa

Children are neither inherently sinful or innocent, but a blank slate to be written on by experience

Pioneers of child psych

• Darwin: Evolutionary origins of behaviour

• Freud: Psychosexual theory of development

• Erikson: Psychosocial theory of development

• Piaget: Cognitive development

• Vygotsky: Sociocultural development

• Harlow: Attachment theory

• Watson: Social conditioning

• Skinner: Operant conditioning

• Bandura: Social learning

Naturalistic view

Development driven by the maturation of ones’ own hereditary endowment, given at conception.

Nurture view

Development driven by physical and social environment and experience before and after birth.

Mechanistic (passive) view

Environment shapes child behaviour and stimulates development

• Chn are at the mercy of those who raise them

Organismic (active) view

Internal physiological structures drive development

• Chn are active contributors to their own development

Continuous development

Children are simply less able adults

• Development is an additive process with gradual changes over time

Discontinuous development

Fundamental differences between adults and children

• Development marked by a series of abrupt changes

Typical development

What children have in common

• i.e. what is typical at a certain age?

Atypical development

What makes a child different?

• i.e. what is not typical at a certain age?

• Considers individual differences

Universal milestones

Patterns of change are the same for everyone

• Language sequence consistent across cultures e.g. cooing precedes babbling

Motor skills paradox

Different patterns of change

• e.g. Ache society in Paraguay: avg walking age 24mo, however by age 9 phys. capabilities surpass Western peers

Reliability

Does a measurement procedure give the same accurate measure each time it is used?

Validity

Does this procedure test the construct it intends to?

Test-retest reliability

Another researcher repeats the analysis using the same methods

Inter-observer reliability

Two or more observers can analyse the same phenomena (artefacts)

Construct validity

Do test items appear to be measuring the content of interest?

External validity

To what extent can an effect in research be generalised?

Case Studies

Examine a single participant in depth

+ Detailed information

- n = 1, not generalisable, subjective

Longitudinal studies

Measure behaviours in same participant, different ages

+ Estimates of change/stability over time; impact of early experience on later behaviour

- Biased sample; practice effects; attrition rates

Cross-sectional studies

Measure behaviours in different participants, same time point

+ Quick to collect data

- Development only at group level, cohort effects

Twin studies

• DZ twins: Different DNA, same environment. If intelligence same = environment, if intelligence different = genetics

• MZ twins: Same DNA, same or different environment. If intelligence same = genetics, if different = environment

Observation

Behaviours observed and recorded

• Naturalistic or structured

• Descriptive or systematic

Experimentation

Aims to show causal relationship between IV and DV

• Tests hypotheses

• Conducted in lab or naturalistic settings

Correlations

Describe relationship between one aspect of development and another

• Direction and strength of the relationship expressed as a correlation coefficient +1 or -1

• Correlation /= causation

Ethics in child research

Set out by Society for Research in Child Development

• Special care should be given to children, and research should comply with the following:

  • Non-harmful procedures

  • Informed consent

  • Anonymity/confidentiality

  • Measures for unforeseen consequences