DEVELOPMENTAL

PSYCHOLOGY
INTRODUCTION
1.Concept-Meaning ,Stages
2.Nature of development
3.Principles
4.Factors influencing Development
5.Theories
6.Biological Beginnings
CONCEPT OF DEVELOPMENT

Human development is the scientific

study of processes of growth, change
and stability through the lifespan.
NATURE VS NURTURE
 To what extent are behaviours the result of experience
or the result of genetics or biology

 Interactionist Approach: Both Nature and Nurture as

responsible at different levels
KEY DEVELOPMENT ISSUES

Nature versus nurture.

Can you think of one psychological concept that is based

on nature?
Can you think of one psychological concept that is based
on nurture?
Active or passive ?
 To what extent is development the result of the individual’s
degree of involvement or initiative?
Stability or change?
To what extent are behaviours constant or
changeable over the life span?
Continuity or change?
 Continuity view suggests that change is uniform and gradual
 Stage theory suggests that change can be rapid with qualitatively
different stages evident across the life span
DOMAINS OF DEVELOPMENT
 Different domains

Physical development refers to growth of body and brain and change or

stability in sensory capacities, motor skills and health.

Cognitive development refers to change or stability in mental abilities

such as learning, attention, memory, language ,thinking, reasoning and
creativity.

Psychosocial Development refers to change and stability in emotions,

personality and social relationships.

Moral Development is the process through which children develop

attitudes and behaviors toward other people in society, based on social
and cultural norms, rules, and laws.
DEVELOPMENTAL PROCESSES
Developmental scientists are interested in two processes namely:
Change and Stability

CHANGE maybe qualitative or quantitative

 Quantitative change is change in number or amount such as in height,

weight or vocabulary.

 Qualitative change is change in kind, structure or organization, such as

the change from non-verbal to verbal communication.
 It depends on earlier functioning but cannot be anticipated on the basis of earlier
functioning.

STABILITY of development refers to constancy of personality,

behaviour.
PERIODS OF DEVELOPMENT
Stage Approximate Age

Prenatal Conception to birth

Infancy Birth to 2 years
Early childhood 2 years to 6 years
Middle & Late childhood 6-12 (puberty)years
Adolescence (puberty)12-20 years
Young adulthood 20-40 years
Middle adulthood 40-65 years
Late adulthood 65 years to death
 Prenatal involves rapid multiplication of cells to form a complex
organism with brain and behavioural capacities in an approx. 9 month
period.

Infancy involves a time of extreme dependence and acquiring

psychological abilities such as language , symbolic thought, sensori-
motor coordination and social learning.

Early childhood is called ‘preschool years’. Children become more self

sufficient ,develop school readiness skills, spend many hours of play
with peers.

Middle & Late childhood correspond to the elementary school years.

Fundamental skills of reading and writing are acquired, achievement
becomes a central theme. Formal introduction into one’s culture.
Adolescence involves a rapid growth spurt –physical and sexual.
Issues of independence and identity form the central theme.
Thought becomes more abstract and logical.

Early adulthood involves establishing economic and personal

independence.

Middle adulthood involves expanding personal and social

responsibility and consolidating one’s gains.

Late adulthood involves adjustment to and acceptance of loss

and new social roles.
For the purpose of organization and understanding , development
is divided into periods.

Periods of development vary and depend on what we call as

Social Constructions: Concept of reality based on societal and
culturally shared perceptions or assumptions.

The norm is :
CHILDHOOD ADOLESCENCE ADULTHOOD
CONCEPTIONS OF AGE

Normative tasks are required at each stage for normal

development to occur
characteristic of an event that happens in a similar way
for most people

Non Normative events

Think of a Normative event that is dependent on
Age?

Do you feel like your chronological age and

psychological age are in sync?
 Biological
Age
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 PRINCIPLES OF DEVELOPMENT
(BALTES’S ET AL, 1987,1998)
Provides a conceptual framework for the study of lifespan
development

Development is lifelong

Adaptation , adjustment and meeting unique developmental tasks

Development involves both gain and loss

Multidirectional : indicates an increase in one domain while

there maybe a corresponding decrease/decline/loss in another
domain of development.

How do people deal with this shift of balance?

Multidimensional : indicates that development occurs in

multiple interacting dimensions i.e. biological, psychological
and social.

Each of these domains have their own rates of development.

Relative influences of biology and culture shift over the
lifespan

Biological influences like sensory acuity, muscular strength

and coordination

Cultural supports like education, relationships and

technologically advanced environment may help compensate
for these losses.
Development involves a changing allocation of resources

Individuals choose to ‘invest’ their resources of time, energy,

talent, money and social support in varying ways.

Resources maybe used for growth , maintenance or recovery

and dealing with loss.
Development is modifiable
Concept of plasticity
modifiability of performance
modifiability or ‘molding’ of the brain through
experience.

What kind of abilities are modifiable ?

Strength ; endurance ; memory and so on.
DEVELOPMENTAL RESEARCH
DESIGNS
ETHOLOGICAL THEORY

Based on study of animal behavior

Considers the influence of biology/evolution
Considers critical or sensitive periods
 Timing of an Influence
The story of the ducklings (Konrad Lorenz , 1957).

Phenomenon of IMPRINTING : Instinctive form of learning

in which during a critical period in early development - a
young animal forms an attachment to the first moving object it
sees, usually its mother.

This is automatic and irreversible.

This depends on the organism’s predisposition/readiness to

learn or acquire information/to be impacted or influenced.

Happens at CRITICAL PERIODS : Specific time when a

given event or its absence has a specific impact on
development.
In Humans, critical periods are not absolute or fixed but can be
changed to an extent
This again shows that development is modifiable, flexible and
adaptive…but only to an extent.
Hence rather than looking critical periods when development
takes place, the focus can be shifted to SENSITIVE PERIODS
which refer to times when a person is particularly responsive to
certain kinds of experiences.
ECOLOGICAL THEORY
(1986,1999,2000,2004)
Urie Bronfenbrenner - Emphasizes environmental
contexts

Microsystem: daily life

Mesosystem: 2nd order microsystems
Exosystem: influences from other social systems
Macrosystem: culture
Chronosystem: (time) personal/social history
INFLUENCES ON
DEVELOPMENT
In spite of ‘normal’ developmental expectations there
are individual differences.
INIDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES: Differences in
characteristics, influences or developmental
outcomes.
HEREDITY &
ENVIRONMENT
HEREDITY : Genetic endowment or inborn
characteristics inherited from the biological parents at
conception
ENVIRONMENT: Totality of non-hereditary or
experiential influences on development - world outside
and within the uterus ,i.e learning that comes from
experience.
 Thus even for processes that all people go through, the rates and
timing of events vary.

But there are AVERAGE AGES when people meet their

developmental milestones.

We need to look at various types of influences and how they may

impact development.