copyright © 2010 pearson education, inc. all rights reserved. introduction to human development...

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Introduction to Human

Development

Chapter 1

1


Introduction to Human Development

• Introduction to Development

• The Nature of Human Development

• Theoretical Frameworks for Human Development

• The Scientific Approach to the Study of Human Development


Introduction to Development

• Development refers to changes over time in a person’s body, thought, and behavior due to biological and environmental influences

• Developmental psychologists focus on common features of human development

• They usually divide the lifespan into developmental periods or stages that most people share


Developmental Periods in the Human Lifespan


Interactive Approach

• Human development is the result of several interacting forces

• An interdisciplinary approach is necessary in order to fully understand all the forces that have an impact on the lifespan

• These forces include biological potentials, social and environmental factors, and the individual’s own responses to those circumstances


Guiding Themes in Human Development

• Biological and environmental factors affect development

• Development occurs within a social context

• Development is best understood by considering domains or categories of human experience

• Development is best understood when placed in a theoretical framework and when studied through use of the scientific methods


The Nature of Human Development

• Individual biology and the environment interact

• Society and culture are powerful influences

• Children are viewed more favorably today than in the past

• Collectivist cultures stress interdependence and cooperation

• Individualistic cultures emphasize competition and individual achievement


The Domains of Human Development

• Physical – Changes in physical shape, size, sensory capabilities,

motor skills

• Cognitive– Acquisition of skills in perceiving, thinking, reasoning,

problem solving, language

• Personality– Acquiring stable and enduring personality traits

• Sociocultural– The processes of socialization and enculturation


Video clip

Interview with UNICEF executive director about the effect of war on children in Gaza: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2009/01/16/curnow.gaza.children.veneman.intv.cnn


Theoretical Frameworks for Human Development

• Theories are organized, coherent sets of ideas that help us understand, explain, and make predictions.

• Theories change over time and may contradict each other.

• Major types of theories:– Biological

– Psychodynamic

– Behavioral

– Cognitive


Biological Views of Human Development

• Genetics studies the biological instructions encoded in the human genome

• Developmental neuroscience focuses on links between brain function, behavior, and thought

• Evolution and natural selection focus on the adaptation of a species to its environment


Psychodynamic Approach

• Psychodynamic approach emphasizes role of unconscious mind and the interactions of psychic processes

– Sigmund Freud’s three processes (id, ego, superego) and five psychosexual stages.

– Erik Erikson developed a psychosocial theory, emphasizing individual and social interactions, in which people pass through eight stages.


Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages

• Trust versus mistrust – birth to 1 year

• Autonomy versus shame and doubt – 12 to 36 months

• Initiative versus guilt – 3 to 6 years

• Industry versus inferiority – 6 to 12 years

• Ego identity versus ego diffusion – 12 to 18 years

• Intimacy versus isolation – 18 to 40 years

• Generativity versus self-absorption – 40 to 65 years

• Integrity versus despair – 65 years and older


Behavioral Views

• Focus on the processes that produce observable behavior

– Classical Conditioning, Pavlov: reflexive, biologically-based responses to environment

– Operant Conditioning, B.F. Skinner: how rewards and punishment influence our behavior

– Social Learning Theory, Albert Bandura: what we learn from observing others


Cognitive Views

• Cognitive-developmental theories focus on the processes that underlie the development of thinking, reasoning, and problem solving

– Jean Piaget: Our minds adapt to new ideas through the processes of assimilating and accommodating new information to our schemes, or frameworks of knowledge

– Lev Vygotsky emphasized the importance of learning from other people


Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development

• Sensorimotor:

– Birth to 2 years

• Preoperational:

– 2 years to 7 years

• Concrete operational:

– 7 years to 11 or 12 years

• Formal operational:

– 11 or 12 years and up


Integrative Approaches

• Systems theories involve a broader focus on all the contexts in which humans develop

• Urie Bronfenbrenner developed the bioecological model that emphasizes the interaction between individual and family and societal forces

• Systems approach integrates biological, psychodynamic, behavioral, cognitive, and ecological perspectives


The Bioecological Model


Video Clip

Description of Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me7103oIE-g


The Scientific Approach to Studying Human Development

• The scientific method uses specific techniques and ethical guidelines to study human behavior. Methods include:

– Descriptive: case studies, observations, surveys, interviews, and psychological tests

– Longitudinal Studies: study people over time

– Correlational research: looks at relationships between variables

– Experiments: test hypothesis by means of rigid controls


Case Study and Observation

• Case study: compilation of detailed information on an individual, a family, or a community through interview, observations, & formal testing – Baby biography

• Systematic observation: observational method in which researchers go into everyday settings and observe and record behavior while being as unobtrusive as possible – Naturalistic observation– Laboratory observation


Questionnaires and Surveys

• Questionnaire: a paper and pencil method that asks respondents to answer questions about past or present behavior, attitudes, preferences, opinions, feelings, and so forth

• Survey: a questionnaire administered to a large group

• Interview: a questionnaire that is administered verbally, usually in a one on one setting

• Representative sampling: selecting a sample from a larger population so that the sample represents or mirrors the population in every important way


Psychological Tests

• Often involve the measurement of intelligence or personality traits

• Must be carefully constructed and administered so that accurate results are obtained


Studying Development Across Time

• Longitudinal design – same participants are studied at various points in time to see how they change as they age

• Cross-sectional design –compares individuals of different ages at one point in time– Confounding– Cohort effects

• Sequential cohort design –several overlapping cohorts of different ages are studied longitudinally


Developmental Research Designs Compared


Correlation

• Research technique that describes the relationship between two variables – The correlation coefficient

• Correlation tells us nothing about causation


Experiments

• The study of cause and effect

• Random assignment

• Independent variable – variable that is manipulated in order to observe its effects on the dependent variable

• Dependent variable – variable that changes as a result of manipulating the independent variable

• Replication


Research Methods

• Regardless of method, it is important to replicate, or repeat the studies to insure consistency of results

• Each method has strengths and weaknesses• Sometimes methods are combined, as in a

quasi-experiment• All methods must observe strict ethical

guidelines and are the subject to scrutiny by Institutional Review Boards

• Guiding ethical principles are informed consent, confidentiality, and doing no harm to the subject


Moral Foundations of Ethical Research with Human Participants1. Protection from Harm

– Institutional Review Boards evaluate research projects with regard to their potential risks to participants

2. Informed Consent– Informed consent is a clear statement of the procedures

and risks as well as the obligations of both the participants and the researchers

3. Privacy and Confidentiality4. Knowledge of Results5. Beneficial Treatments


Summary

• Human development is studied within four interacting domains—physical growth, cognitive growth, personality development, and sociocultural development

• We employ various theories in order to study human development using scientific methods

• The major theories we study today are biological, psychodynamic, behaviorism, cognitive-developmental, and systems theories


Summary

• The rules of science provide specific techniques and ethical guidelines for studying human development

• These methods include:

– case studies

– observations

– questionnaires, surveys, and interviews

– longitudinal, cross-sectional and sequential-cohort designs

– correlation studies

– experiments

• Ethical guidelines like informed consent, confidentiality and doing no harm to subjects must always be used

copyright © 2010 pearson education, inc. all rights reserved. introduction to human development...

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