Chapter 1 (The Science of Development) Lecture Slides

reserved
rights reserved
Chapter 1
Copyright ©
Copyright 2021 by
© 2021 Macmillan Learning.
by Macmillan All rights
Learning. All
The Science of Development
The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence Berger | Twelfth Edition
Copyright © 2021 by Macmillan Learning. All rights reserved
WHAT WILL YOU KNOW?
1. Why is science crucial for understanding how people

develop?
2. Are all children the same, or does time and place

make each unique?
3. Can we experiment on people to learn how they

develop?
4. What questions about child development are hard to

ask?
Understanding How and Why (part 1)
The science of human development
… seeks to understand how and why people of all

ages and circumstances change or remain the
same over time.
 Scientific method is
 Way to answer questions using empirical research
and data-based conclusions.
 Five basic steps of the scientific method include:

 Begin with curiosity and pose a question.
 Develop a hypothesis.
 Test the hypothesis.
 Draw conclusions.
 Report the results.
Process, Not Proof
 Replication
 Repeat of a study, usually using different
participants, perhaps of another age, SES, or
culture
 Scientific method is not foolproof.
 Quick conclusions, misinterpreted data, ignored
alternative perspectives, data falsification
 No study exactly mirrors another because humans
and cultures differ.
 Nature–nurture controversary
 Nature
 Influences of genes we inherit
 Nurture
 Influences of our environment, including the entire
developmental context
 Nature always affects nurture and nurture

always affects nature.
 Nature–nurture controversary
 Differential susceptibility
 Variation in how sensitive people are to
particular experiences
 Differences are often genetic.
Childhood and Adulthood (part 1)
 Development occurs lifelong.

 Each life reflects what has happened in
earlier years.
 Five perspectives arose from study of
lifespan development: multidirectional,
multicontextual, multicultural,
multidisciplinary, and plasticity.
 Development is multidirectional.
 Patterns of change: Discontinuity and
continuity
 Critical and sensitive periods
 Development is multicontextual.
 Social context
 Ecological systems
 Historical context
 Socioeconomic context
 Let’s take a look at these.
 Social context includes everyone who

influences each individual, both
immediately and over time, both directly
and indirectly.
 Ecological systems approach considers all

influences from various contexts of development
(Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006).
 Each person is affected by many social contexts and
interpersonal interactions.
 Nested levels and systems surround individuals and

affect them.
 This approach was later named the “bioecological

theory.”
 Ecological systems recognizes three nested

levels (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006).
 Microsystems
 Exosystems
 Macrosystems
 Two more systems affect these three levels.

 Mesosystem
 Chronosystem
The Ecological Model
 Historical context
 All persons born within a few years of one
another are called a cohort.
 Move through life together
 Experience same events, new technologies, and cultural
shifts at the same ages
 Influence of attitudes and behaviors
 Socioeconomic context
 Economic context reflected in
socioeconomic status (SES)
 Involves education, occupation, neighborhood,
income
 Brings advantages and disadvantages
Top and Bottom 1 Percent
 Development is multicultural.
 Culture is social construction.
 Culture is a powerful social construction.
 Difference-equals-deficit error is prevalent.
 Differentiation among culture, ethnic groups,
and race is important.
Difference, But Not Deficit
 This Syrian refugee living in
a refugee camp in Greece is
quite different from the aid
workers who assist there.
 But the infant, with a pacifier

in her mouth and a mother
who tries to protect her,
illustrates why
developmentalists focus on
similarities rather than on
differences.
 Intersectionality
 Identities interact with
and influence each
other.
 Focus on power
differences between
groups
 Highlights
discrimination in many
institutions
 Development is multidisciplinary.
 Biosocial includes biology, neuroscience, and
medicine.
 Cognitive includes psychology, linguistics,
and education.
 Psychosocial includes economics, sociology,
and history.
 Development is plastic.
 Abilities, personality, and other human traits can be
molded over time.
 Individuals, families, and societies are moldable.
 People maintain certain durability of identity.
 Plasticity underlies all other four aspects of
development.
 Dynamic-systems approach illustrates a complex

mix of complementary, interrelated effects.
Thinking About Marijuana
 Research on marijuana and the brain

 Reported to relieve pain by decreasing neurotransmitters,
less addiction or neurological risk than opioids, and
improved thinking
 Linked to structural abnormalities in brains of young people
 Scientists have no consensus about the long-term effects
of marijuana because the federal government made it
illegal for scientists to undertake objective research.
 Are current attitudes more rational than those our our

great-grandparents?
Double Trends
Using the Scientific Method (part 1)
 Researchers seek research designs to

verify or refute a hypothesis.
 Three basic types of research designs:

 Scientific observation
 Experiment
 Survey
 Scientific observation
 Requires researcher to systematically and
objectively record behavior
 Careful definition
 Methods for accurate observations
 May be conducted in a naturalistic setting or a

laboratory
 Is crucial to development of hypotheses for future

study
 Experiment establishes causal

relationships between two variables
 Variables
 Independent variable
 Dependent variable
 Groups
 Experimental group
 Comparison group
How to Conduct an Experiment
 Survey is research method in which information is

collected from large number of people.
 Interview
 Questionnaire
 Other means
 Challenges
 Acquiring valid survey data is not easy.
 Some people lie; some change their minds.
 Survey answers are influenced by the wording and the
sequence of the questions.
 If these were the only data
available, you might
conclude that ninth
graders have suddenly
become more sexually
active than eleventh-
graders.
 But we have 20 years of
data — those who are
ninth-graders now will
answer differently by
eleventh grade.
 Meta-analysis combines results of many

studies to come to an overall conclusion.
 Small samples can be added together to lead
to significant conclusions.
 Variations from study to study sometimes
make combining them impossible.
 Widely accepted as a standardized, less
biased way to weigh the evidence.
 Publication bias; file-drawer problem
Studying Development Over the Life
Span
 Basic research designs
 Cross-sectional research: compares groups of
people who differ in age but are similar in other
important characteristics
 Longitudinal research: same individuals are
followed over time, as their development is
repeatedly assessed
 Cross-sequential research: several groups of people
of different ages (cross-sectional approach) and follow
them over the years (longitudinal approach)
Comparing
Approaches
(part 1)
Comparing Approaches (part 2)
 Which approach is best?

 Cross-sectional research: Most convenient,
quickest, and least expensive way to study
developmental change over time; does not always
indicate processes of development
 Longitudinal research: Useful in studying
development over many years; uncovers links that
cross-sectional research does not; more time and
resource intensive
 Cross-sequential research: Allows disentanglement
of age and historical context
Cautions and Challenges from Science
(part 1)
 Correlation and causation
 A correlation exists between two variables if
one variable is more (or less) likely to occur
when the other does.
 Positive correlation
 Negative correlation
 Zero correlation
 Correlation is not causation!
(part 2)
 Quantitative Research  Qualitative Research
 Provides data that is  Best captures the
numerical, and is best to nuance of individual lives
compare children in  Reports information
different contexts and without being quantified
cultures  Often provides
 Is easier to replicate, descriptions of particular
interpret, and verify conditions and
 Can be expressed with participants’ expressed
numbers, such as ranks ideas
or scales
(part 3)
 Ethics
 Each academic discipline and professional society
involved in the study of human development has a
code of ethics.
 In the United States, most educational and medical
institutions have an Institutional Review Board (IRB).
 Results must be fairly gathered, reported, and
interpreted.
 Participants must be informed and protected.
 Collaboration, replication, and transparency are
essential ethical safeguards.
And so…
 The most important ethical question is

whether scientists are designing,
conducting, analyzing, publishing, and
applying the research that is most critically
needed.

Chapter 1 (The Science of Development) Lecture Slides

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Chapter 1 (The Science of Development) Lecture Slides

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

reserved

1. Why is science crucial for understanding how people

2. Are all children the same, or does time and place

3. Can we experiment on people to learn how they

4. What questions about child development are hard to

The science of human development

… seeks to understand how and why people of all

 Five basic steps of the scientific method include:

 Nature always affects nurture and nurture

 Development occurs lifelong.

 Let’s take a look at these.

 Social context includes everyone who

 Ecological systems approach considers all

 Nested levels and systems surround individuals and

 This approach was later named the “bioecological

 Ecological systems recognizes three nested

 Two more systems affect these three levels.

 But the infant, with a pacifier

 Dynamic-systems approach illustrates a complex

 Research on marijuana and the brain

 Are current attitudes more rational than those our our

 Researchers seek research designs to

 Three basic types of research designs:

 May be conducted in a naturalistic setting or a

 Is crucial to development of hypotheses for future

 Experiment establishes causal

 Survey is research method in which information is

 Meta-analysis combines results of many

 Which approach is best?

 The most important ethical question is

You might also like