Psyc 311 Development Psychology Chapter 01 Introduction to

Psyc 311 – Development Psychology Chapter 01 Introduction to Developmental Science Theory & Research Methods

i<clickers! • Are you HERE this morning? – A) Yes, absolutely! – B) No, definitely not. – C) Hard to say – I could be having a nightmare. – D) Uh…what do you mean by “HERE”? – E) All of the above. • Have you registered for My. Development. Lab? – A) Yes – B) No

characteristics of development • Lifelong • Multidimensional – Biological – Cognitive – Socio-emotional Surrounding physical and social environment developing physical body and brain

characteristics of development • Plastic – Gene/environment interaction • Multidirectional – Expansion (growth) – Contraction (decline) • Contextual – Age-graded influence – History-graded influence – Non-normative (individual experiences)

explaining development • Developmental science involves three distinct levels: Theory Question/Hypothesis But why do we investigate developmental processes in this manner? Research

science as a way of knowing • Our individual and collective goal is to build a body of knowledge. – Facts – knowing that p. – Skills – knowing how to p. What is it to know that p? Knowledge = belief true justified

science as a way of knowing • There are three common ways of knowing AUTHORITY REASON EXPERIENCE LIMITATIONS: opportunities for bias, motivated by power, desire to maintain status quo, lack of sufficient information…. ***** SCIENCE ***** Requires: clear standards for authority, open dissemination of methods and data, shared assumptions, relicatable studies, data-driven conclusions, objectivity (removal of personal bias), theories that can be disproven…

science as a way of knowing • What are the limitations of science? Objectivity = a view from NOWHERE You cannot disentangle subject and object. v You cannot draw meaningful generalizations. v Only WEIRD people are allowed to contribute. v ? ? Response ? ? *** Inter-subjectivity = a view from EVERYWHERE ***

Developmental Theories

evolution of theory • The evolution of (developmental) theory – starts with • The theory of evolution! • Plasticity – natural selection – survival of the fittest Ethology and Evolutionary Psychology v Inter-species behaviors/competencies v Intra-species behaviors/competencies

evolution of theory • The Age of Measurement – Normative period • Identification of “norms” of development Mental Retardation Normal Intelligence Sociopathy Normal Morality Gifted Intelligence Moral Exemplar

psychoanalytic • What causes development to go wrong? • Psychoanalytic – development involves confrontations between biological drives and social expectations. – Freud: psychosexual conflicts • Focus on sexual and aggressive drives – Erickson: psychosocial conflicts • Focus on socio-emotional development

behavioral learning • Behaviorism – Focus on direct stimulusresponse mechanisms that drive behavior. – Development is a product of past and present positive and negative reinforcement and punishment patterns. – Sophisticated rewardpunishment system in brain. Ask Yourself! How would Erickson and Skinner differ in explaining a child’s fear of the dark?

behavioral learning • Social learning theory – Indirect learning – Imitation – Observation

Bobo Doll example

cognitive learning • Piaget – cognitive-developmental theory v Child as scientist. v Child discovers knowledge that is out there. • Vygotsky – social-cultural theory v v Child as apprentice. Child creates knowledge with others.

cognitive learning • Information processing – The underlying architecture of cognitive development is computational. – Child as symbol-manipulation system. – Development involves • Maturation of hardware. • Upgrades in software.

contexts for development