JANET BELSKYS EXPERIENCING THE LIFESPAN, 2E

Chapter 1: The People and The Field

What We Are Studying?

Developmental Psychology Also known as lifespan development Is the scientific study of systematic psychological changes

that occur in human beings over the course of the life span. Includes physical, cognitive, socio-emotional changes during the life span
This field includes the study of: Infant and Child Development Adult Development Gerontology Exploration of predictable milestones in development Individual Differences Life Transitions and Practices

Questions to Ask Yourselves

What are some of the changes that occur over our lives?? How have you changed? Has your thinking changed? Are your relationships different? Do you feel different?

Life Changes

Periods of Development
Prenatal Period Includes process from conception through birth Infancy Includes the developmental period from birth to about age 2 Childhood Early- preschool years ages 3 through 5 Middle- ages 6-11 Adolescence Early- ages 12 through14 Middle- ages 15 through 19

Periods of Development
Adulthood Early- 20s and 30s

Issues include achieving intimacy, career choices,

marriage, and potential parenthood.

Middle-40s and 50s

Issues include launching children, changing physical

performance, increased freedom, and increased career success

Late-60s and Over Issues include declining physical health, changing

relationships, death and dying.

Changing Perceptions of Childhood

Historical Background
Mortality rates high;

poverty Childhood not perceived as a special life stage Abusive treatment common Children assume adult responsibilities much earlier Norms: child labor; child abandonment among poor

Changing Perceptions of Childhood

Modern view, late 19th Century: kinder, gentler view of

children
Childhood protected, dependent life stage Universal education: primary school mandatory

Adolescence: identified by G. Stanley Hall in early 20th

Century
Stage of storm and distress between childhood and adulthood In 1930s, High school attendance became mandatory (Great

Depression and President Franklin Roosevelt)

Emerging Adulthood: Age 18 to late 20s Time for personal exploration

Changing Perceptions of Later Life: Adulthood and Old Age

Life Expectancy Before 20th century medical advances, average life expectancy was low Today, twentieth-century life expectancy revolution! Infectious diseases wiped out Chronic diseases (heart disease, cancer, etc.) today New Stages Young-old (60s, 70s) Old old (80s and beyond)

Theories of Development
Theory Any perspective which attempts to explain individual behavior Allows us to predict behavior Presents ideas for interventions to improve behavior Nature/Nurture Are we shaped by biological/genetic forces or is the environment more influential?

Theories of Development
Psychoanalytic Theory Freud Erickson Bolby Learning Theory (Behaviorism) Skinner Watson Bandura Humanistic Theory Rogers Maslow Cognitive Theory Piaget

Do we need to know names?

And theories? And Faces? And thats it!

Freud

Watson

Bandura

Maslow

Bowlby

Erickson

Skinner

Piaget

Rogers

Evolutionary Psychology: Nature

Evolutionary psychologists focus on biological and

predispositions
Inborn, species-specific behaviors influence human development Speculate about the genetic roots of human behaviors Survival of the fittest!

Behavioral Genetics: Nature

Field devoted to scientifically

determining the role that hereditary forces play in individual differences in behavior Twin Studies (identical and fraternal) Adoption Studies Twin/Adoption Studies Heritability- 1 (totally genetic) to 0 (no genetic contribution)
Statistic to summarize the extent to

which a given behavior is shaped by genetics

Nature and Nurture Combined

Consider both nature and nurture

when studying human development! Evocative Forces

Inborn talents and temperamental

tendencies naturally evoke certain responses from others. Bidirectional forces in relationships

Active Forces We actively select our environments based on our genetic tendencies. Person-Environment Fit crucial to

flourishing in life!

Person-Environment Fit
Basic goal of developmental science is to foster the

correct person-environment fit

The real impact of the nature revolution is to allow us to

intervene to change the environment in order to enhance ones quality of life.

Age-Linked Theories: Piaget

Cognitive-Developmental

Theory
Qualitatively different stages exist in

the way thinking develops (different age groups conceptualize the world in completely different ways). Schemas (cognitive structures) Assimilation, Accommodation Studies focused on children

Cognitive Development: Piaget

Tried to understand the unique qualities of

childhood cognition by entering childrens mental framework, setting up tests, watching childrens actions, and listening to them speak.
Believed that we grow mentally through

assimilation, fitting information from the outside world into our schemas (or current mental capacities), and accommodation, enlarging our capacities to fit in this data from the world.

A Preview of Piagets Stages

Personality Development
______________________________ Stage
Oral (0-18 months) Anal (18-36 months) Phallic (3-6 years) Latency (6 to puberty) Genital (puberty on)

Focus
Pleasure centers on the mouth sucking, biting, chewing Pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder elimination; coping with demands for control Pleasure zone is the genitals; coping with incestuous sexual feelings Dormant sexual feelings Maturation of sexual interests

Psychosocial Development: Erikson

Considered father or lifespan development  Believed we continue to develop
throughout life  Exception to Freuds idea that development ends in adolescence

 Identified core developmental tasks,

or psychosocial tasks, for each of eight stages from infancy to old age  Believed that we need to master the task of each previous stage in order to progress to the next.

A Preview of Eriksons Stages

Research Methods
Two standard research strategies:
Correlations Relate two or more variables as they naturally occur Correlation does not mean causation! Experimensts Randomly assign individuals to groups Give each group a different treatment Determine if intervention produced a predicted effect Experiments can determine cause!

Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Studies: How do we change with age?

Cross-Sectional Testing and comparing different age groups
Gives differences between age groups Does not tell us the changes that occur with age

Cogitative Test at intervals one group over many years Note: Its all statistics. These methods are valuable, not because they apply to everyonebut because they allow us to make educated guesses about human life!

Quantitative and Qualitative Research

Quantitative The typical research mode in developmental science

using groups and statistical analyses to make general predictions about behavior
Qualitative

 Scientist not interested in numerical comparisons  Studying through observation and interviews the life of a
single person, or observing a single individual in depth