Introduction to

Developmental Psychology
Objectives
• Explain the lifespan perspective
and its assumptions about
development.
• Differentiate periods of human
development.
• Explain the issues underlying
lifespan development
• Identify the historical and
contemporary theories impacting
lifespan development
Lifespan Perspective
Principles
• Development is lifelong
• Development is multidirectional
• Development is multidimensional
o Physical
o Cognitive
o Psychosocial
Lifespan Perspective
Principles
• Development is multidisciplinary
• Development is characterized by
plasticity
• Development is multicontextual
o Normative age-graded influences
o Normative history-graded influences
o Non-normative life influences:
 • Socioeconomic status (SES)
• is a way to identify families and households based on their shared
levels of education, income, and occupation
• Poverty level is an income amount established by the federal
Other government that is based on a set of income thresholds that vary by
family size

contextual • Culture
• is the totality of our shared language, knowledge, material objects,
influences in and behavior
• Ethnocentrism

life • belief that our own culture is superior

• Cultural relativity
• is an appreciation for cultural differences and the
understanding that cultural practices are best understood from
the standpoint of that culture.
 • Lifespan, or longevity, refers to the length of
Lifespan vs. time a species can exist under the most
optimal conditions.
Life • Life expectancy is the predicted number of
expectancy years a person born in a particular time
period can reasonably expect to live
 • How do we answer the question: “How old
are you?”
Conceptions • Chronological age
of Age •
•
Biological age
Psychological age
• Social Age
Chronological age
based on the number of years since your birth
 This examines how quickly the body
is aging

Biological
age
 Psychological age
Adaptive capacity compared to others of our chronological age
 • This is based on the social norms of
our culture and the expectations
our culture has for people of our
age group
Social age
Periods of Development
Issues in Lifespan
Development
• Nature and Nurture:
• Nature argues that heredity plays the
most important role in bringing about
that feature.
• Nurture argues that one's
environment is most significant in
shaping the way we are.
Issues in Lifespan
Development
• Continuity versus Discontinuity:
• There are theories that assume
development is a more slow and
gradual process known as continuous
development

• Stage theories or discontinuous

development assume that
developmental change often occurs in
distinct stages that are qualitatively
different from each other, and in a set,
universal sequence.
Issues in Lifespan
Development
• Active versus Passive
• Stability versus Change
Historical
Theories on
Development
Historical • Preformationist View
• Preformationism, or the belief that a
Theories on tiny, fully formed human is implanted in
the sperm or egg at conception and

Development then grows in size until birth

 • John Locke
• A child’s mind as a tabula rasa or blank
slate, and whatever comes into the
child’s mind comes from the

Historical environment.
• He indicated that the environment

Theories on
exerts its effects through associations
between thoughts and feelings,
behavioral repetition, imitation, and
Development rewards and punishments
• His ideas became groundwork for
many behaviorist like: Pavlov, Skinner
and Bandura.
 • Jean-Jacques Rousseau
• Developed according to a natural plan
which unfolded in different stages

Historical (Crain, 2005).

• He did not believe in teaching them the

Theories on
correct way to think,
• Rather he believed children should be
allowed to think by themselves
Development according to their own ways and an
inner, biological timetable.
• Father of developmental psychology
 • Arnold Gesell
• He believed that the child’s
Historical development was activated by genes
and he called this process maturation

Theories on • He opposed efforts to teach children

ahead of schedule as he believed they
will engage in behaviors when their
Development nervous systems had sufficiently
matured
Historical • Sigmund Freud
• He emphasized the importance of early
Theories on childhood experiences in shaping our
personality and behavior.

Development
Contemporary Theories
on Development
 • Each stage emerges as a fixed pattern that is
similar for all people

In Erikson’s • Each stage presents a crisis or conflict that

each individual must address sufficiently at

Psychosocial
a particular stage
• No crisis is ever fully resolved, making life
complicated
theory… • UNLIKE FREUD, Erickson believed that
development continued throughout the
lifespan
Behavioral • Based on the idea that the keys to
understanding development are

Perspective
observable behavior and outside
environmental stimuli
• Behaviorists reject the idea that people

(Skinner, universally pass through a series of stages

• They view development as occurring

Watson, because of continuous exposure to

specific factors in the environment

Bandura)
The behavioral
perspective 1) Classical Conditioning (Watson)
(stimulus substitution; organism
believes that 2 responds to a previously neutral
stimulus in an atypical way)
main types of Pavlov (dog/bell),
Watson/rabbit
learning
contribute to
development
(2 main types 2) Operant Conditioning (Skinner)
(instrumental conditioning; a
of learning, voluntary response is strengthened or
weakened based on its association
with positive or negative
behavioral consequences; used in behavior
modification)
perspective birds/pecking; reinforcement,
punishment

continued)_
 • Social-Cognitive Learning Theory (Bandura)
• Emphasizes learning by observation of
(Behavioral another person (a model)
bobo doll, fearless peer

Perspectives *Social-cognitive theory DIFERS from

classical and operant conditioning by
taking mental activity into
Continued) consideration (thoughts, motivations,
expectations)
 • Focuses on the processes that allow people
Cognitive to know, understand, and think about the
world
Perspective --Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development

(Piaget, Vygotsky, * people pass in a fixed sequence through a

series of universal stages of cognitive
information- development

processing *in each stage, the quantity of information

increases; the quality of knowledge and
approaches) understanding increases too
 • Human thinking is arranged into schemas
(organized mental patterns representing
(Piaget’s behavior and action)
• The growth of children’s understanding of
Theory of the world can be explained by two
principles:

Cognitive • Assimilation (new experience

incorporated into current way of

Development
thinking)
• Accommodation (existing ways of
thinking change as a result of new
continued) stimuli)
• Equilibrium also known as Cognitive
Balance
 • Sensorimotor (0-2 Years): All sensory input
Jean Piaget: and motor responses are coordinated; most
intellectual development here is nonverbal.

Sensorimotor • Object Permanence: Concept that

objects still exist when they are out of

Stage
sight.
Sensorimotor
Stage
Object Permanence
Figure 3.16
•FIGURE 3.16 The panels on the left show a possible event, in which an infant
watches as a toy is placed behind the right of two screens. After a delay of 70
seconds, the toy is brought into view from behind the right screen. In the two
panels on the right, an impossible event occurs. The toy is placed behind the left
screen and retrieved from behind the right. (A duplicate toy was hidden there
before testing.) Eight-month-old infants react with surprise when they see the
impossible event staged for them. Their reaction implies that they remember
where the toy was hidden. Infants appear to have a capacity for memory and
thinking that greatly exceeds what Piaget claimed is possible during the
sensorimotor period.
 • Preoperational Stage (2-7 Years): Children
begin to use language and think
symbolically, BUT their thinking is still
Jean Piaget: intuitive and egocentric.
• Intuitive: Makes little use of reasoning
Preoperational and logic.
• Egocentric Thought: Thought that is
Stage unable to accommodate viewpoints of
others.
Three-Mountain
Task
(Preopperational)
Conservation of Volume
(Preoperational)
 • Concrete Operational Stage (7-11Years):
Children become able to use concepts of

Jean Piaget: time, space, volume, and number BUT in

ways that remain simplified and concrete,
not abstract.
Concrete • Conservation: Mass, weight, and
volume remain unchanged when the

Operational shape or appearance of objects

changes.
• Reversibility of Thought: Relationships

Stage involving equality or identity can be

reversed.
 • Formal Operations Stage (11 Years and Up):
Thinking now includes abstract, theoretical,

Jean
and hypothetical ideas. Hypothetical
Possibilities: Suppositions, guesses, or
projections.

Piaget:
• Critics of Piaget’s theory claim he
underestimated
children’s abilities because he

Formal
1) didn’t pay attention to cultural
differences
2) confused inability to make a

Operations
physical response with lack of cognitive
skills
3) didn’t think infants could form
internal representations
 • Children’s cognitive development is
heavily influenced by social and cultural
factors.

Lev • A child’s thinking develops through

dialogues with more capable persons

Vygotsky’s
• Zone of Proximal Development: Range of
tasks a child cannot master alone even
though they are close to having the

Sociocultural
necessary mental skills; they need
guidance from a more capable partner in
order to complete the task.

Theory • Scaffolding: Adjusting instruction so it is

responsive to a beginner’s behavior and
so it supports the beginner’s efforts to
understand a problem or gain a mental
skill
 • The ecological approach
(Bronfenbrenner)
• Suggests that different

The context of
environmental levels
simultaneously influence
individuals

development Four major levels:

1) Microsystem (everyday
immediate environment)—home,
takes a broad caregiver/parent, friends,
teachers

perspective… 2) Mesosystem (connects parts of

the microsystem)—parents
linked to kids, students to
teachers, friends to friends,
bosses to employees
(Bronfenbrenner’s 3) Exosystem (represents broad influences)
—local government, the community,
ecological schools, places of worship, local media

approach 4) Macrosystem (represents larger cultural

continued) influences)—society in general, federal
government, religious systems, political
thought
Research Methods
 Define the scientific method

Compare research methods noting the

Learning advantages and disadvantages of each.

Objectives:
Explain research involving time spans

Explain ways to conduct ethical research

Research Methods
• The SCIENTIFIC METHOD is the process of posing and
answering questions using careful, controlled techniques
that include systematic, orderly observation and the
collection of data.
• The scientific method involves the formulation of theories,
broad explanations, and predictions about phenomena.
Research Methods
• Theories allow developmentalists to summarize and
organize prior observations and allow them to go beyond
existing observations to draw deductions.
• Theories are used to develop HYPOTHESES, predictions
stated in a way that permits testing.
Research Design
• Is the specific method a researcher uses to
collect, analyze, and interpret data
• Descriptive research
• Correlational research
• Experimental research
Descriptive Research
• Research that describes what is occurring at a particular point in time
• Case Study
• which are descriptive records of one or a small group of individuals’
experiences and behavior.
• Observations
• naturalistic observation, psychologists observe and record behavior that
occurs in everyday settings
• Laboratory observation, is conducted in a setting created by the researcher
Descriptive Research

• Survey
• A measure administered through either a verbal or written
questionnaire to get a picture of the beliefs or behaviors of a sample of
people of interest
• Sample - The people chosen to participate in the research
• Population - all the people that the researcher wishes to know about
• Representative Sample - include the same percentages of males,
females, age groups, ethnic groups, and socio-economic groups as the
larger population.
Descriptive Research

• Interviews
• which means they are directly questioned by a researcher.
• Psychophysiological Assessment:
• record psychophysiological data, such as measures of heart rate,
hormone levels, or brain activity to help explain development
Correlational Research

• Seeks to identify whether an association or relationship between two

factors exists.
• The strength and direction of a relationship between two factors is
represented by a mathematical score,
• called a correlational coefficient, that ranges from +1.0 (positive) to -
1.0 (negative).
Suppose a study
found that
watching
aggression
on TV is correlated
with aggressive
behavior…3
possible
correlations…
Experimental Research

• Research designed to discover causal relationships between various factors.

• An EXPERIMENT is a process in which an investigator, called an
experimenter, devises two different experiences for subjects or
participants.
A. These two different experiences are called TREATMENTS.
B. The group receiving the treatment is known as the TREATMENT
GROUP.
C. The CONTROL GROUP is the group that receives either no treatment
or alternative treatment
Experimental Research
-The formation of treatment and control groups represents the
INDEPENDENT VARIABLE, the variable that researchers
manipulate in an experiment.

-In contrast, the DEPENDENT VARIABLE is the variable that

researchers measure in an experiment and expect to change
as a result of the experimental manipulation.
Research Involving Time-Spans
• Cross-sectional research
• people of different ages are compared at the same point in time.
• Longitudinal research
• involves studying a group of people who are the same age, and measuring
them repeatedly over a period-of-time.
• Sequential research
• includes elements of both longitudinal and cross-sectional research designs.
Cross-Sectional Design
Longitudinal Design
Sequential research
Conducting Ethical Research

• No Harm
• The most direct ethical concern of the scientist is to prevent harm to
the research participants.
• Informed Consent:
• Researchers must obtain informed consent, which explains as much as
possible about the true nature of the study, particularly everything that
might be expected to influence willingness to participate.
• Participants can withdraw their consent to participate at any point.
• Confidentiality:
• Researchers must also protect the privacy of the research participants’
responses by not using names or other information that could identify the
participants.
• Deception:
• Deception occurs whenever research participants are not completely and fully
informed about the nature of the research project before participating in it.
• Debriefing:
• A procedure designed to fully explain the purposes and procedures of the
research and remove any harmful aftereffects of participation, must occur.