Development (topic 1)

Developmental psychology

examines how people grow from infancy through adulthood and into old age.

• seeks to understand how and why people change overtime as well as how they remain the same

discontinuous development

the idea that growth happens in abrupt, distinct stages rather than a smooth gradual climb

continuous development

development is more gradual, ongoing loop where development gets pushed out and minor improvements and big fixes continuously

why do developmental psychologists believe discontinuous development is more theoretical than real?

people usually change gradually in real life, even if theories divide development into stages.

nature

when genes/ biology is the cause of a persons development

nurture

When the environment is the cause of a persons development

heritability

how much differences in a trait within a group are linked to genes

stability

traits that stay the same over time

change

how people develop or become different overtime

longitudinal design

researches study individuals at several points during the life span

• can last months, decades, or years

how can it be useful?

to study the impact of a degenerative illness.

potential downsides to longitudinal design?

takes a long time + people may drop out

cross- sectional design

comparing different groups

• based on variables such as age, socioeconomic status, and gender

pros of cross sectional design

fast +cheaper+ and compares different age groups at once

cons of cross sectional design

can’t show how the same person changes over time and groups may differ for reasons other than age.