PSYDEVE

i. Human Development
-the scientific study of age-related changes 7. Development
in behavior, thinking, emotion, and
personality
-developmental psychology is 1. Nature vs nurture
interested in change over time 1. To what extent does biological and
-significant age-related changes environmental influences affect
occur across the entire lifespan development
-developmental psychology is 2. Biological-what is passed on
NOT the psychology of childhood 2. Discontinuity vs Continuity
1. Is development a matter of distinct
The Lifespan Perspective stages or gradual, cumulative change
[Baltes, 1987] 2. Discontinuity- changes happen
-important changes occur every period of distinctly, approaches in new stages is abrupt
development 3. Continuous - there are no distinct
-these changes must be interpreted in terms stages, ex height, gradual change
of the culture and context in which they 3. Stability versus Change
occur 1. Do early traits and characteristics
persists for life or is there potential for
1. Development is Lifelong change
-development encompasses the Stability- if child is introverted, you
entire lifespan would still be introverted in adulthood
Plasticity/change - [plasticity]
2. Development is multidimensional ‘adaptability of an organism to changes in its
-various domains influence each environment’
other and overall development

3. Development is Multidirectional Behavioral Genetics

-Throughout life, there are periods of -science of how genes and environments
growth and periods of decline work together
-adoption studies
4. Development is Plastic -twin studies
-Individuals have the capacity for change, -quantitative genetics
undesired outcomes may be avoided, and -heritability coefficient
there is no single pathway in development
Developmental Research
5. Development is Multidisciplinary -using the scientific method to reach these
-development is a shared interest across four goals
disciplines and fields, and understanding 1. Describe
development requires considering multiple -Some researchers heavily
perspectives rely on describing
2. Explain
6. Development is Contextual ex. These people who seem to
-development occurs within contexts that have substance abuse have all these
influence outcomes in different ways similarities, using the principles of
development it can be explained.
Influences (contexts of development): 3. Predict
-normative age-graded (social clock) -when hypothesis are used,
-universal and linked to specific ages there could be predictions
or because of shared experiences 4. Influence
-normative history-graded (cohorts)
Research Methods

 Best for children and infants for Iii. Theories of Development

developmental research
-involuntary responses Theory
=participants does not need to -interrelated ideas that help explain
effortlessly respond phenomena and facilitate predictions
ex= eye tracking, violation of -guidelines to interpret research findings
expectation paradigm
-voluntary responses Psychoanalytic [freud erikson] (unconscious)
=tasks that require imitation, -development is primarily unconscious
children are tasked to -behaviour influenced by emotion, on the
-physiological data tip of the iceberg, on the surface
=brain waves-reaction to -early childhood experiences extensively
sound, visuals shape development
-survey, questionnaires, and Interviews
-freud is most known as the founder
Ii. Research Designs 3 levels of the mind=
Descriptive research a. Pre-conscious
=only describes b. Conscious
Experimental c. Unconscious (does not think about
=only design that can be causal, but heavily influence)
explanation
Correlational 3 components that make up the
=comparing two variables and their personality=
relationship, but does not mean causal a. id (pleasure principle, drive that
pushes us to get the most pleasure, most
Longitudinal Design instinctive/primitive)
=using the same sample in a length of time b. Supergo (moral principle,
-disadvantage, time and drop-out conscience, formed later in life, influences us
rates, expense to fit in the expectations of society, to control
ourselves)
Cross-sectional design c. Ego
=using different samples [cohort] in a certain
time, and comparing them -> ex. Infants, teething stage,
=cohort effects (psychoanalytic=it feels good, drives most
-disadvantage, difficult to determine physical pleasure [id])
the causal effect
ex. Rate of IQ differences in Cognitive (mental process)
different age levels, however the cause may -emphasizes the construction of thought
be because child was born in pandemic year processes
or because they are in that age group -focuses on how mental processes
(remembering, decision-making, etc), evolve
Sequential Design throughout the lifespan
=mix of cross-sectional and longitudinal -how do we observe the world around us,
=collect data in a cohort of samples, and how do we know that things exist even
follow each cohort to a length of time without noticing them
-disadvantage, all of the -> ex. Why babies engage in repetitive
disadvantages of cross-sectional and action, babies throw object and watch where
sequential it goes, (psychoanalytic=feels good,
cognitive=they are using their motor and
Issues in Conducting Developmental mental skill to familiarize themselves of the
Research whole interaction, watch until they have
1. Informed Consent learned the most in this interaction )
2. Attrition
3. Recruitment Piaget, Vygotsky, Information processing

 -attachment to a caregiver in the early

Learning (Behavuourist) development of children
-the key to understanding development is
observable behavior
-external stimuli is more important than
internal processes
-through learned processes they can develop
a certain behavior
-development does not occur in a stage like
fashion, behavior occurs in gradual-and- Embryonic stage (embryo)
continuous -week 2-8 after conception
-formulation of life support systems, amnion,
John Watson - umbilical cord, and placenta
Ex. If children are taught with the right -organogenesis (important organs)
environment, they can achieve anything
Skinner, Bandura
Fetal stage
Ecological -2 months to birth
-emphasize environmental factors and -organ refinement
relationships of individuals with their contexts -neural proliferation (formation of neurons)
-environment=where people grow up -gender can be identified by week 12
-age of viability (chances of probability gets
Bronfenbrenner higher as 9 months approaches)
- ecological, biological components
where people grow up in Parental Learning and Behavior
-evidences of fetal learning
Evolutionary -experiment= researchers try to test sound
-development is tied to genetic inheritance recognition of baby
from ancestors -gasper & _____ =pacifier sounds
-emphasizes genetically determined -stable identity ,, fetus who are ‘hyperly’-
behaviors presumed to have evolved for active in the uterus may have a chance to be
survival intellectually challenged in birth.
-certain personality traits that people adapts
from survival Fetal Brain development
-neural tube
Darwin -spinal cord, hollow tube (18-42 days
-Evolution theory after conception)
Buss -if tube won’t close, may cause birth
defects
Ethological -neurogenesis
-behaviour is strongly influenced by biology -neuro tube,
and tied to evolution -neuro proliferation (200,000 neuro
-critical or sensitive periods cells/ minute)
-imprinting, attachment -neuro migration
-some traits can only be learned in a certain -migration of neurons throughout the
time, language is easier to learn when body
younger -nueral connectivity

Lorenz Genetic abnormalities

-imprinting of birds -result of genes or chromosomal error
-birds bond in the first object that moves -gene-linked abnormalities
Bowlby -sex linked disorder
-attachment theory -trisomies
-sex chromosome anomalies

 3. Moro
Teratogens -raise their arms as they fall
-exposure to certain substances can lead to 4. Grasping reflex
birth defects or even death during the -hands and feet
prenatal period 5. Stepping reflex
-critical periods -baby automatically steps
-ex, mothers who contract measles 6.
while pregnant may cause their baby to have
a hearing defect

Newborn assessment
-can baby cope with the new environment
-NBAS (tests neurological development)
-NNNS (for infants who are born at risk)

Infancy (0-2 years)

-brain development
-motor and sensory milestones
-Sensorimotor stage
-basic trust vs mistrust

Synaptogensis
Brain development
-development of connections between
neurons
-occurs in spurts
-quadruples the size of the brain by the age 4
-region-specific

Pruning
-elimination of unused neural pathways
-neuroplaticity

Myelination
-improves the conductivity of nerve cells
-most rapid during the first 2 years

Myelin sheath
-insulating film around the nerves
-brain is the first to be fully developed, first
that they can move

Reflexes
-involuntary responses to stimuli
-govern newborn movement
-adaptive reflexes
-primitive reflexes (reflexes that are not
necessary in modern times, but are important
for development)

1. Rooting
-stroking of cheek would lead
to infant to turn their head
2. Sucking