CHAPTER 1 Santrock

Introduction
Chapter 1
© 2013 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This
document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
Chapter Outline
• Discuss the distinctive features of a life-span
perspective on development
• Identify the most important processes,
periods, and issues in development
• Describe the main theories of human
development
• Explain how research on life-span
development is conducted
1-2
The Life-Span Perspective
• The importance of studying life-span
development
• Characteristics of the life-span perspective
• Some contemporary concerns
1-3
The Importance of Studying Life-span
Development
• Prepares us to take responsibility for children
• Gives us insight about our own lives
• Gives us knowledge about what our lives will
be like as we age
1-4
Development
Development
• Pattern of change that begins at conception and

continues through the life span
Life-span
Life-spanperspective
perspective
• Involves growth, maintenance, and regulation

• Is constructed through biological, sociocultural,
and individual factors working together
1-5
Characteristics of the Life-Span
Perspective
• Development:
– Is contextual
– Is lifelong
– Is multidimensional
– Is multidirectional
– Is plastic
– Is multidisciplinary
1-6
Types of Contextual Influences
• Normative age-graded influences: Similar for
individuals in a particular age group
• Normative history-graded influences:
Common to people of a particular generation
because of historical circumstances
• Nonnormative life events: Unusual
occurrences that have a major impact on an
individual’s life
1-7
• Contemporary concerns
– Health and well-being
– Parenting and education
– Sociocultural contexts and diversity
• Culture: Behavior patterns, beliefs, and all other
products of a group that are passed on from generation
to generation
1-8
• Cross-cultural studies: Comparison of one culture with
one or more other cultures
• Ethnicity: Based on cultural heritage, nationality
characteristics, race, religion, and language
• Socioeconomic status: Grouping of people with similar
occupational, educational, and economic
characteristics
• Gender: Characteristics of people as males or females
– Social policy: National government’s course of
action designed to promote the welfare of its
citizens
1-9
The Nature of Development
• Biological, cognitive, and socioemotional
processes
• Periods of development
• The significance of age
• Developmental issues
1 - 10
Biological, Cognitive, and
Socioemotional Processes
Biological
Biologicalprocesses
processes
• Changes in an individual’s physical nature
Cognitive
Cognitiveprocesses
processes
• Changes in an individual’s thought, intelligence,

and language
Socioemotional
Socioemotionalprocesses
processes
• Changes in an individual’s relationships with other

people, emotions, and personality
1 - 11
Periods of Development
• Four ages
– First age - Childhood and adolescence
– Second age - Prime adulthood, ages 20 through 59
– Third age - Approximately 60 to 79 years of age
– Fourth age - Approximately 80 years and older
• Development in one period is connected to
development in another period
1 - 12
Figure 1.8 - Processes and Periods of
Development
1 - 13
Significance of Age
• A full evaluation of age requires consideration
of chronological, biological, psychological, and
social age
– Chronological age
• Number of years that have elapsed since birth
– Biological age
• Age in terms of biological health
1 - 14
Significance of Age
– Psychological age
• An individual’s adaptive capacities compared with
those of other individuals of the same chronological
age
– Social age
• Connectedness with others and the social roles
individuals adopt
1 - 15
Developmental Issues
• Nature-nurture issue: Debate about whether
development is primarily influenced by nature
or nurture
– Nature - Organism’s biological inheritance
– Nurture - Environmental experiences
1 - 16
Developmental Issues
• Stability-change issue
– Debate about:
• Whether we become older renditions of our early
experience
• Whether we develop into someone different from who
we were at an earlier point in development
• Continuity-discontinuity issue: Debate about
the extent to which development involves
– Gradual, cumulative change or distinct stages
1 - 17
Theories of Development
• Scientific method: An approach that can be
used to obtain accurate information
– Conceptualize the problem
– Collect data
– Draw conclusions
– Revise research conclusions and theory
1 - 18
• Theory: An interrelated, coherent set of ideas
that helps to explain phenomena and facilitate
predictions
• Hypotheses: Specific assumptions and
predictions that can be tested to determine
their accuracy
1 - 19
Psychoanalytic Theories
• Describe development as primarily
unconscious and heavily colored by emotion
1 - 20
• Psychoanalytic theories
• Cognitive theories
• Behavioral and social cognitive theories
• Ethological theory
• Ecological theory
• An eclectic theoretical orientation
1 - 21
Figure 1.11 - Freudian Stages
1 - 22
• Erikson’s psychosocial theory
– Eight stages of development
• Trust versus mistrust
• Autonomy versus shame and doubt
• Initiative versus guilt
• Industry versus inferiority
• Identity versus identity confusion
• Intimacy versus isolation
• Generativity versus stagnation
• Integrity versus despair
1 - 23
• Evaluation
– Emphasis on:
• A developmental framework
• Family relationships
• Unconscious aspects of the mind
• Criticisms
• Lack of scientific support
• Too much emphasis on sexual underpinnings
• An image of people that is too negative
1 - 24
Figure 1.13 - Piaget’s Four Stages of
Cognitive Development
1 - 25
Cognitive Theories
• Vygotsky’s theory: Emphasizes how culture
and social interaction guide cognitive
development
• Information-processing theory: Emphasizes
that individuals:
– Manipulate information
– Monitor it
– Strategize about it
1 - 26
Cognitive Theories
• Evaluation
– Positive view of development
– Emphasis on the active construction of
understanding
– Criticisms
• Skepticism about the pureness of Piaget’s stages
• Little attention to individual variations
1 - 27
Behavioral and Social Cognitive
Theories
• Skinner’s operant conditioning
– Development consists of the pattern of behavioral
changes that are brought about by rewards and
punishments
• Bandura’s social cognitive theory
– Emphasizes behavior, environment, and cognition
as the key factors in development
1 - 28
Behavioral and Social Cognitive
Theories
• Evaluation
– Emphasis on scientific research and
environmental determinants of behavior
– Criticisms
• Little emphasis on cognition in Skinner’s view
• Inadequate attention paid to developmental changes
1 - 29
Ethological Theory
• Ethology: Stresses that behavior is strongly
influenced by biology, is tied to evolution, and
is characterized by critical or sensitive periods
• Konrad Lorenz helped bring ethology to
prominence
• John Bowlby - Attachment to a caregiver over
the first year of life has important
consequences throughout the life span
1 - 30
Figure 1.15 - Bronfenbrenner’s
Ecological Theory of Development
1 - 31
Five Environmental Systems
Bronfenbrenner’s Model
• Microsystem - Setting in which the individual
lives
• Mesosystem - Relations between
microsystems or connections between
contexts
• Exosystem - Links between a social setting in
which the individual does not have an active
role and the individual’s immediate context
1 - 32
Five Environmental Systems
Bronfenbrenner’s Model
• Macrosystem - Culture in which individuals
live
• Chronosystem - Patterning of environmental
events and transitions over the life course and
sociohistorical circumstances
1 - 33
Eclectic Theoretical Orientation
• Does not follow any one theoretical approach
– Selects from each theory whatever is considered
the best in it
1 - 34
Research in Life-Span
Development
• Methods for collecting data
• Research designs
• Time span of research
• Conducting ethical research
• Minimizing bias
1 - 35
Methods for Collecting Data
• Observation
– Laboratory: Controlled setting in which many of
the complex factors of the real world are removed
– Naturalistic observation: Studies that involve
observing behavior in real-world settings
• Survey and interview
1 - 36
Methods for Collecting Data
• Standardized test: Uniform procedures for
administration and scoring
• Case study: In-depth look at a single individual
• Physiological measures
1 - 37
Research Designs
• Descriptive research: Designed to observe
and record behavior
• Correlational research: Describe the strength
of the relationship between two or more
events or characteristics
– Correlation coefficient: A number based on
statistical analysis that is used to describe the
degree of association between two variables
– Ranges from -1.00 to +1.00
1 - 38
Research Designs
• Experimental research
– Experiment: One or more of the factors are
manipulated while all other factors are held
constant
– Independent and dependent variables
– Experimental and control groups
1 - 39
Time Span of Research
• Cross-sectional approach: Individuals of
different ages are compared at one time
• Longitudinal approach: Same individuals are
studied over a period of time, usually several
years or more
• Cohort effects: Due to a person’s time of
birth, era, or generation rather than the
person’s actual age
1 - 40
Conducting Ethical Research
• Informed consent
• Confidentiality
• Debriefing
• Deception
1 - 41
Minimizing Bias
• Gender bias
• Cultural and ethnic bias
– Ethnic gloss: Using an ethnic label in a superficial
way that portrays an ethnic group as being more
homogeneous than it really is
1 - 42

CHAPTER 1 Santrock

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 Santrock

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Introduction

• Pattern of change that begins at conception and

• Involves growth, maintenance, and regulation

• Changes in an individual’s physical nature

• Changes in an individual’s thought, intelligence,

• Changes in an individual’s relationships with other

You might also like