Chapter 1 The Science of Development Defining Development Development - Systematic changes and continuities in the individual that occurs

between conception to death or from womb to tomb. Systemic changes: orderly, patterned and enduring. Continuities: ways in which we remain the same or continue to reflect our past selves.

Systemic changes and continuities fall under three broad domains: Physical Development: The growth of the body and its organs, the functioning of physiological systems, physical signs of aging, changes in motor abilities, and so on. Cognitive development. Changes and continuities in perception, language, learning, memory, problem solving and other mental processes. *Memory, problem solving skills and attention span change *IQ does not change with age. Psychosocial development. Changes and carryover in personal and interpersonal aspects of development, such as motives, emotions, personality traits, interpersonal skills and relationships, and roles played in the family and in the larger society. *Traditionally, development was believed to follow the gainthen stabilitythen loss pattern. Many people picture tremendous positive gains in capacity from infancy to young adulthood, little change during early adulthood and middle age, and loss of capacities in the later years. *Development does not always follow the gainthen stabilitythen loss pattern.

Causes of Development I am the master of my fate, the captain of my soul. - William Ernest Henley

The Nature-Nurture Debate Nature refers to the influence of genes which we inherit. Nurture refers to environmental influences, such as: health and diet of the embryos mother

family school community society

Maturation refers to the biological unfolding of the individual according to species-typical biological inheritance and an individual persons biological inheritance with respect to the aging process. Learningthe process through which our experiences produce changes in our feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. Although a certain degree of physical maturation is necessary before a grade-school child can become reasonably procient at dribbling a basketball, careful instruction and many, many hours of practice are essential if this child is ever to approximate the ball-handling skills of a professional basketball player.

Types of Development Normative Development: developmental changes that characterize most or all members of a species; typical patterns of development. Ideographic development: individual variations in the rate, extent, or direction of development.

DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY The scientific study of age-related changes throughout the human life span. A discipline of scientific inquiry, developmental psychology recognizes humans of all societies and cultures as beings who are in process, or constantly growing and changing. This discipline identifies the biological, psychological, and social aspects that interact to influence the growing human lifespan process.

ISSSUES CONCERNING DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY Continuity VS Discontinuity Development is solely and evenly continuous, or whether it is marked by age-specific period Continuity: development as a relatively smooth process with small steps, without sharp or distinct stages, through which an individual must pass. When grade school children gradually gain weight from year to year.

Discontinuous: describe development as a series of discrete stages, each of which is characterized by at least one task that an individual must accomplish before progressing to the next stage. When an adolescent boy rapidly shoots up 6 inches in height, gains a bass voice, and grows a beard, the change seems discontinuous.

Second aspect of Continuity VS Discontinuity Quantitative changes are changes in degree and indicate continuity: a person gains more wrinkles, grows taller, knows more vocabulary words, or interacts with friends less frequently. Qualitative changes are changes in kind and suggest discontinuity. They are changes that make the individual fundamentally different in some way. The transformations of a caterpillar into a buttery rather than just a bigger caterpillar, of a nonverbal infant into a speaking toddler, and of a prepubertal child into a sexually mature adolescent are examples of qualitative changes.

Nature VS Nurture Concern over the relative degree to which heredity and learning affect functioning. Nature: normal children achieve the same developmental milestones at similar times because of maturational forces, that major changes in functioning in late adulthood are biologically based, and that differences among children or adults are largely because of differences in genetic makeup and physiology. Nurture: emphasize on the environmentthe range of influences outside the person. Human development can take many forms depending on the individuals experiences over a lifetime. Physical environment such as: Crowding Pollution

Social environment: Learning experiences Child rearing methods Societal changes

Cultural context

Goodness VS Badness of Human Nature Are people inherently good, inherently bad, or neither (tabula rasa), or both?

Activity VS Passivity The activitypassivity issue focuses on whether people are active in their own development or passively shaped by forces outside themselves. Activity: humans are curious, active creatures who orchestrate their own development by exploring the world around them and shaping their environment. Passivity: humans are passive beings shaped largely by forces beyond their controlnot only by environmental influences but also by strong biological forces too.

Universality VS Context Specificity To what extent are developmental changes are common to all humans (universal) or different from person to person (context specific)?

THE BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL PERSPECTIVE OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY The interaction of biological, psychological, and social aspects of developmental psychology from the essence of the holistic biopsychosocial perspective. The biopsychosocial perspective attributes complex phenomena or events to multiple causes.

Theories of Human Development DEVELOPMENTAL THEORIES: These are assumptions that try to explain the how human development occurs. 1. Psychoanalytic Theory 2. Learning Theories 3. Developmental Cognitive Theories

School refusal or school phobia is a reluctance or refusal to go to school, affects from 1% to as many as 5% of school-age children, and is most common among 5- to 7-year-olds. It can have a number of different causes, and it can involve considerable anxiety and emotional distress for the child. How might we explain a 6-year-olds school refusal or a 15-year-olds unwanted pregnancy from a developmental perspective? What are your theories? What explanations might the leading theories of human development offer?

Theories of Human Development Psychoanalytic Theory A theory of human development that holds that irrational, unconscious drives and motives, often originating in childhood, underlie human behavior. Psychoanalytic theory originated with Sigmund Freud (1856 1939)

Ericksons Stages Erik Erikson (19021994) Described eight developmental stages, each characterized by a challenging developmental crisis. His first five stages build on Freuds theory; but, he also described three adult stages.

Behaviorism A theory of human development that studies observable behavior. Behaviorism is also called learning theory, because it describes the laws and processes by which behavior is learned. Conditioning- According to behaviorism, the processes by which responses become linked to particular stimuli and learning takes place.

Classical conditioning - Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)

(Also called respondent conditioning), a process in which a person or animal learns to associate a neutral stimulus with a meaningful stimulus, gradually reacting to the neutral stimulus with the same response as to the meaningful one.

Operant conditioning - B.F. Skinner (19041990) (Also called instrumental conditioning) a learning process in which a particular action is followed either by something desired (which makes the person or animal more likely to repeat the action) or by something unwanted (which makes the action less likely to be repeated).

Reinforcement Defined as a consequence that follows an operant response that increase (or attempts to increase) the likelihood of that response occurring in the future.

Positive Reinforcement In an attempt to increase the likelihood of a behavior occurring in the future, an operant response is followed by the presentation of an appetitive stimulus.

If you stroke a cat's fur in a manner that is pleasing to the cat it will purr. The cat's purring may act as a positive reinforcer, causing you to stroke the cat's fur in the same manner in the future.

Negative Reinforcement In an attempt to increase the likelihood of a behavior occurring in the future, an operant response is followed by the removal of an aversive stimulus. When a child says "please" and "thank you" to his/her mother, the child may not have to engage in his/her dreaded chore of setting the table. Therefore, not having to set the table will act as a negative reinforcer and increase the likelihood of the child saying "please" and "thank you" in the future.

Punishment Defined as a consequence that follows an operant response that decreases (or attempts to decrease) the likelihood of that response occurring in the future.

Positive Punishment In an attempt to decrease the likelihood of a behavior occurring in the future, an operant response is followed by the presentation of an aversive stimulus. If you stroke a cat's fur in a manner that the cat finds unpleasant, the cat may attempt to bite you. Therefore, the presentation of the cat's bite will act as a positive punisher and decrease the likelihood that you will stroke the cat in that same manner in the future.

Negative Punishment In an attempt to decrease the likelihood of a behavior occurring in the future, an operant response is followed by the removal of an appetitive stimulus. When a child "talks back" to his/her mother, the child may lose the privilege of watching her favorite television program. Therefore, the loss of viewing privileges will act as a negative punisher and decrease the likelihood of the child talking back in the future.

Social Learning Theory - Albert Bandura (b. 1925) An extension of behaviorism that emphasizes the influence that other people have over a persons behavior. Modeling- people learn by observing other people and then copying them. Self-efficacy- (how effective people think they are when it comes to changing themselves or altering their social context.

Theories of Human Development Cognitive Theory Thoughts and expectations profoundly affect action. Focuses on changes in how people think over time. Jean Piaget (18961980)

Theories of Human Development Assimilation, in which new experiences are interpreted to fit into, or assimilate with, old ideas Ex. Boy & clown Accommodation, in which old ideas are restructured to include, or accommodate, new experiences Ex. Bald man & boy

Systems Theory Systems Theory Change in one part of a person, family, or society affects every aspect of development Ecological systems approach- Urie Bronfenbrenner (19172005) The person should be considered in all the contexts and interactions that constitute a life.