Developmental Psychology

Assumptions

This approach suggests that the way we think and behave change over our lifespan.

Many theories suggest cognitive abilities develop in stages, e.g. Moral reasoning, our
thinking gets more complex as we get older.

Longitudinal or snapshot studies are often used to investigate how behaviours change
over time.

Developmental psychology is interested in discovering the psychological processes of

development. The three core studies in this section all focus on how children develop. It is worth
noting that developmental psychologists also study adulthood too.

Samuel and Bryant's (1984) study is an example of a experiment which attempted to criticise Jean
Piaget's cognitive developmental approach to child development. Piaget's influential approach to
child development is also called the structuralist approach.

Piaget argued that younger children do not have the capabilities to think in the same way as older
children. And that children have to go through a process of cognitive development in order to
achieve the abilities of an older child or adult. Piaget believed that there are a number of stages
that all children go through in the same order. Piaget is therefore arguing that these stages are
innate.

Bandura takes a very different approach to developmental psychology. In his study of aggression,
Bandura (1961) demonstrated that children learn development from role models. Bandura's
approach is an extension of behavioural theories which emphasise the way we learn behaviour
from others, our environment, experiences and so on. Bandura was particularly interested in the
way children learn new behaviours through observing and imitating role models.

Whereas Piaget was mainly interested in cognitive development and Bandura behavioural
development, Freud (1909) was interested in emotional development. Freud's psychodynamic
approach argued that a child's early experiences will shape its personality in later life. He believed
that all children pass through a number of psycho-sexual stages as they develop. Freud's study of
Little Hans provides a detailed account of a young boy coming to terms with his emotional
conflicts.

A main assumption therefore of the developmental approach is that cognitive, emotional and
behavioural development is an ongoing process and that such changes result from an interaction
of nature and nurture.

A strength of the developmental approach is that many studies in this area are longitudinal which
means that they do get to investigate changes and how these changes are influenced. Freud’
study was a case study carried out over 2 years enabling the emotional development of a young
boy to be investigated in great detail. Samuel and Bryant selected a sample of children aged from
5 years to 8.5 years old which again allowed the researchers to investigate developmental
changes in the children. Furthermore the developmental approach enables psychologists to
investigate different areas of development such as cognitive in the Samuel and Bryant study and
emotional development in Freud’s study of Little Hans. However there is a tendency for
developmental psychology to neglect adult development. None of the three core studies in this

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area take a life span approach. For example, it would be interesting to discover if adults are
influenced by role models to the same extent as children.

Another strength of the developmental approach is that it can provide useful information about
how we can better understand how children learn and deal with emotional difficulties and therefore
improve the lives of children. For example, the findings of the Samuel and Bryant study could be
used to identify and help children with cognitive developmental difficulties and Bandura’s findings
have massive implications about how adults should act in the presence of children. Furthermore
Freud’s psychodynamic approach has provided therapies mainly through talking cures that have
enabled individuals to cope with earlier traumatic experiences.

A problem with the developmental approach is a tendency to generalise findings from often very
limited samples. The developmental approach often looks for general patterns of development
based on non representative samples. Freud, for example argued that all children experience
psychosexual stages based on case studies such as the one carried out on little Hans and his own
introspections. Samuel and Bryant generalised their findings about cognitive development from
children in one town in the UK which ignores cultural differences relating to how children may learn
in other parts of the world. However, many studies such as the one carried out by Bandura have
been replicated in other cultures again showing the importance of role models on shaping
children’s behaviour.

A further limitation with the developmental approach is the validity of measuring children’s
behaviour and thoughts. We can therefore question if psychologists are actually measuring what
they are attempting to measure especially as children may have qualitatively different thoughts to
adults. For example, Bandura’s study could be criticised for interpreting the children’s behaviour
towards the Bobo doll as aggression. Perhaps the children interpreted their own behaviour as
play. Similarly we can question Freud’s interpretation of Hans’ behaviour as the case study is
really Freud's interpretations of Hans' father's interpretation of his son's own phobia. Again this
seriously reduces the validity of the study. However, the study by Samuel and Bryant could be
seen as a more valid measurement of cognitive development as they were using tests that
children in pre-schools and schools would be familiar with and such conservation tasks on a
number of different materials are recognised ways of measuring the cognitive development of
children.

Individual Differences

This individual differences approach assumes that:-

1 That all human beings are unique

2 That human beings will be different in terms of intelligence, personality, lifestyles etc
3 These differences make it difficult to categorise our behaviour
4 Some behaviour is normal and some abnormal and often this is difficult to define
5 We can use psychological tests to measure and compare individuals’ characteristics

Psychology often makes generalisations about people. Depending upon your point of view this can
be seen as a great strength of psychology or a weakness or probably both.

It is important that we recognise that there are as many differences between people as there are
similarities

An issue that is often included in the section of individual differences is what psychologists refer to
as abnormality. However the concept of abnormality is also a highly controversial issue. The

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judgement that somebody is abnormal is relative and is based on factors such as culture, class,
religion, sexuality and so on.

The study by Rosenhan (1973) challenges the ability of psychiatrists to classify abnormality. The
study by Thigpen and Cleckley (1954) also illustrates the controversy of diagnosing multiple
personality.

The study by Griffiths (1994) suggests that cognitive distortions underlie the behaviour of regular
gamblers and this may explain why some people take part in addictive behaviour whereas other
people do not.

A main strength of the individual differences perspective is that it can provide useful in improving
the experiences of people with mental health problems. For example the Rosenhan study led to a
revision of the way that people with mental health problems are both diagnosed and treated.
Similarly the study by Griffiths suggests that a type of cognitive behavioural therapy may be
successful with addicted gamblers.

A further strength of the individual differences approach has been the development and use of
psychometric tests to measure the differences between individuals in qualities such as personality
and intelligence. These psychometric tests provide reliable and quantitative data which can easily
be analysed and therefore similarities and differences between individuals can be discovered.
Psychometric tests were used in the study of multiple personality by Thigpen and Cleckley and
have also been used in other studies on this course such as in the BBC experiment. However, not
all tests are reliable and objective. For example, the projective tests used by Thigpen and Cleckley
have little evidence to suggest that they are reliable and rely upon the subjective interpretation of
the researcher.

A weakness of the individual differences approach is a reliance on dispositional explanations at

the expense of situational explanations. That is the individual differences approach explains
individual differences as resulting from a person’s own characteristics or disposition and has a
tendency to ignore external factors such as the situation a person is in. For example many of
Eve’s difficulties could also be explained by the expectations of being a wife in the US in the
1950s. The study by Rosenhan does highlight the weakness of this dispositional approach by
showing how the behaviour of the pseudopatients was misinterpreted as being a consequence of
their supposed illness when it was in fact a result of the hospital environment.

A further issue related to the individual differences approach is the ethical issues raised with
labelling people as being different. The tendency to label people as being different, abnormal and
so on can have a negative effect on individuals. Rosenhan was particularly critical about both the
reliability of labelling and the negative effects such labelling has on the person. Furthermore such
labels particularly negative ones can lead to a self fulfilling prophecy in which expectations about a
person (or a group of people) can come true simply because of those expectations.

Social Psychology

Assumptions
 Other people and the situation are major influences on an individual’s behaviour, thought
processes and emotions.
 Groups and group processes have a strong influence on behaviour.
 The social approach uses a range of techniques to investigate this

Strengths

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 It helps us understand how behaviour can be influenced by other people and the situation in
which people find themselves...
 It can provide explanations for a great many phenomena…

Weaknesses may include:

 It underestimates the influence of individual differences on behaviour…
 It often fails to emphasise that human behaviour has not just a cultural but also an historical
context…

A snapshot study is a research design in which participants of different ages or from different
groups are studied simultaneously, often only once, and their behaviour compared using one set
of data/a snapshot study is an independent measures research design where participants are
studied only once and the data gathered is then compared.

Strength: Snapshot studies can be conducted over a short period of time/snapshot studies allow
the researcher to compare individuals or groups at one period in time to see how they may be
similar or different.

People can’t dropout.

Weakness: snapshot studies do not allow the researcher to discover whether results are due to
the development of the behaviour or to individual differences.

Doesn’t show how experiences affect later behaviour

Longitudinal studies involve studying participants over an extended period of time, where
measurements are taken repeatedly in order to investigate how behaviours may change over time.
This can be seen as a repeated measures design.

Strength: No individual differences – therefore more valid

Can show how experiences affect later behaviour
Weaknesses: More time consuming
Participants may dropout

Individual explanations of behaviour focus on how factors from within the individual affect their
behaviour. Examples could be – genetics, cognitive processes, biological factors etc

Situational explanations of behaviour focus on how aspects of the situation may affect
behaviour. Examples could be peer pressure, authority figures, ingroups/outgroups etc

Reductionism involves explaining a behaviour by reducing it down to one factor, possibly ignoring
other factors.

Strengths
This is a very scientific approach, experiments require you to manipulate usually 1 variable.
If you can identify 1 cause for an illness then it is easier to develop treatments.
Weaknesses
Ignores complexity of behaviour and can be oversimplified.
Context is important in understanding meaning of behaviour.

Holism - The theory that the parts of any whole cannot exist and cannot be understood except in
their relation to the whole.

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Strengths
Provides a more complete picture.
Accepts and deals with the complex nature of behaviour.
Behaviour is influenced by many factors, so holistic explanations may be more useful.

Weaknesses
It is difficult to investigate the many differing types and levels of explanation.
More hypothetical – not based on empirical evidence.(Experimental evidence)
Lacks predictive power of more scientific explanations.
Neglects importance of biological influences.