An Introduction to Development:

1
An Introduction to Development

• Fundamental Issues in
• Developmental Psychology

2
Developmental Psychology

• Basic question What shapes the way we change
  over time?
• Investigate the influence of multiple factors on
  development, including biological, environmental,
  social, cultural, and behavioral factors
• Every area of psychology can be looked at from
  this perspective
• biological development
• social development
• cognitive / perceptual development
• personality development

3
What is Developmental Psych?

• Developmental psychology is the study of how
  people change physically, mentally, and socially
  throughout the lifespan
• At every age and stage of life, developmental
  psychologists investigate the influence of
  multiple factors on development, including
• Biological
• Environmental
• Social
• Cultural
• Behavioral factors

4
Continuity and Stages

• How much of behavior is continuous and how much
  follows a more stage like development?

5
Fundamental Issues Is Development Continuous?

• Development means change - change can be abrupt
  or gradual
• Two views of human development
• stage theories there are distinct phases to
  intellectual and personality development
• continuity development is continuous
• These views have been applied to social, personal
  and intellectual development

6
Types of Growth Patterns
7
Stability and Change

• What developmental traits remain stable over
  time, and which change?

8
Fundamental Issues Critical Periods

• Critical period - Are there periods when an
  individual is particularly sensitive to certain
  environmental experiences?
• Are the first hours after birth critical for
  parent-child bonding?
• Is first year critical for developing trust?
• Easier to learn a language before age 10?
• Are there individual differences in stages and
  critical periods?
• Some aspects of development, such as prenatal
  development and language development, are closely
  tied to critical periods

9
Themes in DevelopmentGradual Changes

• Typical course of human (physical, mental,
  social) development is gradually unfolding
  changes.

10
Themes of DevelopmentNature and Nurture

• How much of our behavior is due to nature and how
  much is due to nurture?
• How do nature and nurture interact in development?

11
Nature vs. Nurture

• What is role of heredity vs. environment in
  determining psychological makeup?
• Is your IQ inherited or determined by nutrition
  and early environment?
• Is there a criminal gene or does poverty lead
  to criminal behavior?
• Is sexual orientation a choice or genetically
  determined?
• These are some of our greatest societal debates
• Mistake to pose as either / or questions

12
Developmental Research Methods

• Cross-sectional - performance of people of
  different age groups is compared
• Longitudinal - performance of one group of people
  is assessed repeatedly over time
• Sequential - combines cross-sectional and
  longitudinal approaches in a single study