Dev't Psych - EXAM 1

Human Development

age related changes in behavior, thinking, emotion and personality (social relationships)

Original Sin Doctrine

-St. Augustine of Hippo (4th century)

- Proposed that children are born innately selfish and immoral

Blank Slate Theory

-John Locke (17th century)

- Argues that babies are born innately nothing (as a blank slate); development is entirely experience based and are shaped by adults/environment

- Also called "Tabula Rasa"

Doctrine of Innate Purity

- Jean Jacques Rousseau (18th century)

- Believes babies are born with innate goodness or "divine design" that leads them to good outcomes

- Babies are born with a road map, and if provided basic survival resources they could be left alone and grow just fine

Were Philosophers scientists?

No, they did not test ideas by collecting data (only proposed what they noticed from observation)

Charles Darwin

- 19th century

- first to suggest that babies develop systematically through stages; credited with developing first systematic study of children

What were Baby Biographies?

- Diaries used by Darwin to record what his children were doing and tracked their development

What were some limitations to Darwins research?

-He only studied his own children; could cause bias and is a very small sample

G. Stanley Hall

-19th century

-Argued that we need to collect LARGE amounts of information on kids OBJECTIVELY; credited for developmental norms and suggesting that adolescence is a period of life deserving of its own special study

Who is credited as the father of developmental psychology?

G. Stanley Hall

Arnold Gesell

-19th century

-innovator who collected information through questionaries, interviews, and observed kids (recording them with equipment (like cameras) and one way mirrors)

-memorable for suggestions that kids develop through the process of maturation

Process of maturation

process through which genes control and influence the nature and rate of which we grow; what develops and when it develops (genetic makeup)

Lifespan Perspective

-Current view of devt psych

-suggests it is important to understand that people develop across the lifespan

Lifespan Perspective: Continuity of Influence

- part of Lifespan Perspective

- experiences at any age can have ramifications for future development and current behavior can be connected to experiences in the past

-All life experiences are connected

Lifespan Perspective: Context and Culture

- it is important to undetstand how context, culture, and environment may influence a person; you must put all these pieces together to understand influence/predict behavio

Lifespan Perspective: Plasticity

-our development is flexible; we are moldable, adaptable and can be resilient

-depending on circumstance and environment, someone who was abused is still capable of recovery and development into a well adjusted person; we can rewire our thinking and outlook

-Past abuse does not mean a permanent negative life path

Lifespan Perspective: Interdisciplinary Research

-collaboration with professionals from other disciplines allows psychologists to develop a more complex profile of an individual

-different windows to understand why a child may function the way they do; important to use as many tools possible in understanding an individual and their development

-past psychologists remained disconnected from other fields; worked only with other psychologists

Lifespan Perspective: Multi-Contextual development

-always important to recognize multiple different contexts that children grow in

- children function in multiple environments (neighborhood, community, school, etc); any of which may be the primary influence on their behavior

- parents have values that are reinforced by the context they are raising their child in

What are the three main domains of development?

physical, cognitive, and social

What specific domain of development does Piaget's theories apply to?

Cognitive; Piaget suggests kids are born actively trying to understand their environment by picking up concepts and developing a collection of concepts to understand their world

How does the social domain of development change with age?

-focuses on the key relationships that kids have; as an infant they are attached to parents; as a child they begin to detach from parents as they meet the world (school etc); as adolescents peers become the primary social relationship (less focus on parents)

Nature vs Nurture

is development primarily influence/determined by genes (biology) or is it shaped by environmental experiences?

answer: not one or the other but BOTH; the question is HOW the two work together

continuity vs discontinuity

should devt best be characterized as a continuous, quantitative build up of behaviors and characteristics, or is it discontinuous and stage like?

answer: both at the same time

continuity = shy person becomes more shy as they develop; trait remains same and only intensifies

discontinuity = shy person becomes shy in different ways as they age and develop; change as a person

active vs passive child

are children active and engaged in their own development, or passive recipients of their own experiences?

answer: children are both; we must watch their activity and observe how they shape the environment they are exposed to - children have the capacity to shape what their parents expose them to through temperament (integration and synergy of devt)

Did piaget believe children were active or passive?

active; he argued that children are born trying to understand their environment and actively build concepts of their world

active vs passive - learning perspective

child is observing their environment and are passive, developing from what they are exposed to

Developent universal vs individual

Is development univesal and the same in all children globally, or particular and uniquely specific for all people?

Development is universal in some areas (ex. all children need emotional support) AND individual (ex. norms of where that support comes from varies in different cultures)

It is BOTH

person/context fit (match)

Is there a good match between the child and their formative environments?

A child who is temperamental will be a good match to parents who are patient and engaging; if parents are impatient and lack tolerance towards child's behavior neither party can adapt and thrive (not a good match)

Scientific Method

value system that guides research; maintains that we should collect information in the most objective way possible (unbiased collection of data) that allows the data to guide conclusions

What are the four main goals of dev't psych in conducting research?

describe, explain, predict, influence

Describe is usually based in observation; explanations are a simple theory about the observations; predictions are based on the theory and develop hypothesis which can be supported by data; influence allows findings to spread to the public for consumers to learn from

Correlations and Descriptive methods

describe behaviors with the intent of determining if variables are related

Naturalistic observation

type of descriptive study; go to natural settings where kids would naturally exhibit certain behaviors and observe in a structured way

How are naturalistic observations structured?

Time sampling and coding scheme

time sampling: specifies exactly how much time will be alotted to observing each child (ex. each child will be watched for 5 minutes); multiple phases of observations are conducted (after each kid is watched for 5 minutes, start back at the first kid and repeat process multiple times)

coding scheme: defines specifically what behaviors you are looking for (ex. looking for aggressive behavior - define that as physical acts of aggression including hitting, punching, kicking etc. but not non physical acts like name calling); defines what you will be recording in that time sample

What are the benefits of naturalistic observation?

can get a clear understanding of what the behavior looks like in its natural setting

what are the disadvantages of naturalistic observation?

time consuming and very expensive; requires multiple observers (to confirm recorded observations match) who must be trained

Case Studies

in-depth studies typically of single individuals and often in very unique and unusual circumstances

Why are case studies important?

Have recorded information and data on atypical circumstances which can help prepare for future similar situations (learning how to treat person in that situation etc)

Laboratory observations

observation of behavior under controlled conditions; participants are observed in a controlled setting under specific conditions

What are the benefits of a laboratory observation?

can fully control the setting and observe these families under conditions that are set up and controlled (expose them to different circumstances and see how they respond to the situration)

What are the disadvantages of a laboratory observation?

expensive; requires some kind of technology to record and measure behavior

Surveys: questionnaires and interviews

researchers use interviews and/or questionnaires to collect data about attitudes, interests, values and various kinds of behaviors

What is an example of a study using surveys to collect data?

simple correlational study; looking at differences between parents self described parenting style and their child's self described behavior (permissiveness vs delinquency levels)

Correlational studies

designed to asses the strength and direction of the relationship between two or more variables (ex. is permissive behavior and delinquency related?)

Why does correlation not equal causation?

correlation only indicates a possible relationship, but does not tell us what kind; there could always be some other third variable impacting both

Possibilities: A may cause B; B may cause A; some other variable may cause A and B

What method is common for dev't psych and why?

correlational questionnaire interviews are most common because you cannot manipulate certain aspects

(ex. understanding correlation between parent behavior and kid behavior, cant ask parent to change their parenting style so must conduct interviews to record what they are already doing)

Correaltion coefficient

(r) = +1/-1, 0

Positive correlations

A increases, B increases

Negative correlations

A increases, B decreases

Experimental research

a study that tests a causal hypothesis; assesses causal relations in a controlled setting with participants randomly assigned to experimental conditions

ex. families come in to a controlled lab setting and are randomly assigned to different conditions; want to understand whether those conditions make a difference in behavior

Independent variable

variable that the researcher manipulates and controls

Dependent variable

variable that is measured; believed that dependent variable will be impacted by independent variable

Confounding variable

variables other than the independent variable that may effect dependent variable - why we cannot assume correlation equals causation

Developmental studies

studies to assess age-related changes in thinking and behavior

Cross sectional studies

compares children of different ages at the same time

What are the advantages of cross sectional studies?

Efficient and cost effective

What are the disadvantages of cross sectional studies?

vulnerable to the cohort effect

What is the cohort effect?

people born during the same time period under similar conditions, culturally or historically, impacted by time period

What age group is most at risk of cohort effect?

older participants

Longitudinal studies

follows a single group of participants over spans of time

What are the advantages of longitudinal studies?

can assess norms/normative development and individual differences

What are the disadvantages of longitudinal studies?

drop out effect (systematic) and generational effects (single cohort)

How do researchers try to reduce drop out effect in longitudinal studies?

Oversampling of at risk participant type

Sequential studies

a combination of cross sectional and longitudinal; take two groups of different ages (cross sectional) and study each over time (longituindal)

What are the two types of cross cultural studies?

Ethnographies and cross cultural comparison

Ethnographic study

researcher gos to setting and environment of interest and spends a period of time studying that context

How is most data in ethnographic studies collected?

qualitative research often involved in mixed method research; uses questionnaire and interviews

cross cultural comparison

simple studies that take one group from one culture and assesses them, then taking a second group from a second culture and comparing assessments

Theory

a set of logically related concepts which seek to describe behaviors and explain why they take place

What are the components of a good theory?

concise, testable, and heuristic (proposes next steps, new directions, new questions)

What did Freuds followers think of his theories?

Captured the essence of human behavior

What did Freuds skeptics think of his theories?

Found theories interesting with a kernel of truth, but did not believe in them

What did Freuds critics think of his theories?

problematic and pornographic; bad for the profession and wider public would reject research

Problem with Freuds psychoanalytic theory

people have a hard time with the idea that urges and desires impact their behavior; focus on the importance of unconscious, sexual urges/impulses difficult to accept

Freuds theory development

observation and study of his clients in therapy, specifically in discussing traumatic experiences and taboo subjects

What methods did Freud use in developing his theories?

Hypnosis, dream analysis, free association

What did Freud believe from his observations?

Methods reveal unconscious urges and desires; these unconscious urges create conflict continuously throughout life

What two biological instincts did Freud believe all human behavior is driven by?

Eros and Thanatos

Eros

biological instincts and urges we have to help us sustain life which we will always have in operation (breathing, crying, parenting ability)

Thanatos

destructive set of urgest that affect us everyday; death instinct

Relationship between Eros and Thanatos

unequal balance where Eros is stronger and keeps Thanatos in check

Components of personality that serve instincts (Freud)

id, ego, superego

Id

urges; impulsive side which seeks immediate gratification; governed by the pleasure principle (seeks out what it wants when it wants it)

Ego

logical, rational, manages ids impulses; Executive personality governed by the Realtiy Principle and puts off our urges so we can make logical choices that will actually satisfy needs

Superego

moral check on egos actions; makes sure that the egos logical choices are also morally sound

Dynamic of three components of personality

Id seeks to meet gratification; ego helps control our impulses until we can find a rational way of meeting those needs; superego checks to see if those decisions are the morally right thing to do

Freuds Stages of Development

Oral; Anal; Phallic; Latency; Genital

Oral Stage

(birth - 1 year): focus on oral activities (feeding)

Anal Stage

(1-3 years): first real conflict (potty training)

Phallic Stage

(3-6 years): Males = oedipal conflict; females = electra conflict

Latency Stage

(6-12 years): focus on school and peers

Genital Stage

(12 - beyond): focus on finding a mate and having a family

At what stage did Freud argue the superego develops?

Phallic stage (3-6 years)

How and why did Freud argue the superego develops?

children begin to develop desires for the parent of the opposite sex and want to become closer, mental conflicts with parent of same gender develops a fear, the only possible solution is to identify with parent of same sex (moral solution)

Why is the concept of identification crucial (Freud)

development of superego; gender role behavior develops from identification in this period

What did Freud argue about female superego?

not same intensity of fear that boys experience, therefore girls dont develop as strong of a superego and have weaker moral judgement; problem behavior in a man is the product of a woman from his past

In what stage so people typically recover from emotions and psychological turmoil experienced in previous stages (Freud)

Latency Stage

Negative Critique of Freuds Theories

lack of empirical evidence and testability

Positive Critique of Freuds Theories

Stress on importance of early experiences and emotions especially as relates to traumatic expereinces

How was Erikson’s theory similar to Freud?

Argued for importance of instincts; believed personality includes id, ego, and superego; and suggested that we develop through stages

How was Erikson’s theory different to Freud?

believed children are active and adaptive rather than simply slave to instincts; argued that ego is the most important component of personality; and that culture plays a role in development