Chapter 1
History, Theory,
and Research
Strategies
Introduction
Developmental Science:
The study of constancy and change throughout
the lifespan
The field is:
1. Scientific
2. Applied
3. Interdisciplinary
Copyright © 2018 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.
Basic Issues (1 of 5)
Theory
An orderly, integrated set of statements that:
Describes behavior Predicts behavior
Explains
behavior
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Basic Issues (2 of 5)
Basic Issues in Development
1. Continuous or discontinuous?
2. One course of development or many?
3. Relative influence of nature and nurture?
Copyright © 2018 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.
Figure 1.1
Is development continuous or discontinuous?
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Basic Issues (3 of 5)
One course of development or many?
Contexts of Development
Unique combinations of personal
and environmental circumstances
that can result in different paths of
change
Copyright © 2018 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.
Basic Issues (4 of 5)
Nature vs. Nurture
Nature
• Hereditary information
• Received from parents at conception
• EX: genetic diseases
Nurture
• Physical and social forces
• Influences biological and psychological development
• EX: home environment
• Many aspects of development involve a complex
interaction between nature and nurture
Copyright © 2018 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.
Basic Issues (5 of 5)
Stability and Plasticity
Stability
• Persistence of individual differences
• Lifelong patterns established by early
experiences
Plasticity
• Development is open to lifelong change
• Change occurs based on influential experiences
Copyright © 2018 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.
Theories
Copyright © 2018 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.
Mid-Twentieth-Century Theories (1 of 7)
Psychoanalytic Perspective
Freud and Erikson:
• Emphasis on
individual’s unique life
history
• Assumes people move
through series of
stages
– Conflicts between
biological drives and
social expectations
Copyright © 2018 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.
Mid-Twentieth-Century Theories (2 of 7)
Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages
Basic trust vs. mistrust Birth–1 year
Autonomy vs. shame and doubt 1–3 years
Initiative vs. guilt 3–6 years
Industry vs. inferiority 6–11 years
Identity vs. role confusion Adolescence
Intimacy vs. isolation Early adulthood
Generativity vs. stagnation Middle adulthood
Integrity vs. despair Late adulthood
Copyright © 2018 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.
Mid-Twentieth-Century Theories (3 of 7)
Behaviorism
Focus on studying directly observable events
and measurable behaviors
Classical Stimulus–
conditioning response
Reinforcers
Operant
and
conditioning
punishment
Copyright © 2018 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.
Mid-Twentieth-Century Theories (4 of 7)
Social Learning Theory
People learn from observing and imitating others
Modeling or A baby claps her hands after her
observational mother does so; a teenager
learning dresses like her friends
Emphasized today; social-
Cognition cognitive approach
Children develop a sense of self-
efficacy: a belief that their abilities
Personal standards
and characteristics will help them
succeed
Copyright © 2018 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.
Mid-Twentieth-Century Theories (5 of 7)
Behaviorism and Social Learning
Theory
Contributions:
• Behavior modification
• Applied behavior analysis (ABA)
• Modeling, observational learning
Limitations:
• Narrow view of environmental influences
• Underestimation of individual’s active role
Copyright © 2018 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.
Mid-Twentieth-Century Theories (6 of 7)
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development
• One of the most influential theorists in child
development is Jean Piaget
• Children are active constructors of
knowledge as they interact with
their environment
• Children move through four broad
developmental stages,
each characterized by distinct ways of thinking
• Viewed children’s understanding as distinct
from adults
Copyright © 2018 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.
Mid-Twentieth-Century Theories (7 of 7)
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development
Period of
Stages Description
Development
Infants use the senses and movement to
Sensorimotor Birth–2 years explore the world and invent ways of solving
sensorimotor problems.
Preschool children use symbols and develop
Preoperational 2–7 years language and make-believe play. Thinking still
lacks logic.
Concrete Children’s reasoning becomes logical and
7–11 years
operational better organized. Thinking is not yet abstract.
Abstract thinking enables adolescents to use
Formal
11 years on hypotheses and deduction. Adolescents can
operational
also evaluate the logic of verbal statements.
Copyright © 2018 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.
Mid-Twentieth-Century Theories
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development
• Limitations:
• Underestimates the abilities
of infants and preschoolers
• No regard
for social and cultural
influences
• Does not recognize the
many major cognitive
transformations occur
in adulthood.
Copyright © 2018 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.
Recent Theoretical
Perspectives
Copyright © 2018 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.
Recent Theoretical Perspectives (1 of 6)
Information Processing Theory
Human mind as a symbol-manipulating system
Researchers often design flowcharts to map problem-solving steps
Development as a continuous process
Strength: Use of rigorous research methods
Limitation: Lacks insight into nonlinear cognition, such as imagination and
creativity
Copyright © 2018 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.
Recent Theoretical Perspectives (1 of 6)
Developmental Neuroscience
Developmental cognitive neuroscience:
• Relationship between brain activity and cognitive
processing and behavior patterns
• Incorporates psychology, biology, neuroscience,
medicine
Developmental social neuroscience:
• Relationship between brain activity and emotional and
social development
– EX: Interest in identifying neural systems underlying
adolescent heightened risk-taking behavior
Copyright © 2018 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.
Recent Theoretical Perspectives (2 of 6)
Ethology
Concerned with the adaptive, or
survival, value of behavior and its
evolutionary history
Roots traced to work of Darwin:
• Critical period – limited time
span of biological preparation to
acquire adaptive behaviors
• Sensitive period - the effects
of environmental stimuli on the
developing organism are
stronger during certain periods
of development
Copyright © 2018 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.
Recent Theoretical Perspectives (3 of 6)
Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory
• Focuses on how culture
(values, beliefs, customs,
skills) is transmitted to next
generation
• Social interaction is
necessary for children to
acquire culture
• especially cooperative
dialogues with more
knowledgeable members of
society
Copyright © 2018 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.
Recent Theoretical Perspectives (4 of 6)
Ecological Systems Theory
Person develops within complex system of
relationships affected by multiple levels of
surrounding environment
• Most differentiated and complete account
of contextual influences on development
• Person and environment form a network of
interdependent effects
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Structure of the environment in ecological systems theory
Copyright © 2018 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.
Lifespan Perspective
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The Lifespan Perspective: A Balanced Point of View (1 of 4)
Lifespan Perspective
Development is:
• Lifelong
• Multidimensional and
multidirectional
• Highly plastic
• Influenced by
multiple, interacting
forces
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The Lifespan Perspective: A Balanced Point of View (2 of 4)
Influences on Development
Age-
graded
Non- History-
Normative graded
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The Lifespan Perspective: A Balanced Point of View (3 of 4)
Periods of Development
Prenatal Conception to birth
Infancy and toddlerhood Birth‒2 years
Early childhood 2‒6 years
Middle childhood 6–11 years
Adolescence 11‒18 years
Early adulthood 18‒40 years
Middle adulthood 40‒65 years
Late adulthood 65 years‒death
Copyright © 2018 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.
The Lifespan Perspective: A Balanced Point of View (4 of 4)
Domains of Development
Domain Changes in
Body size, proportions, appearance,
Physical functioning of body systems, perceptual
and motor capacities, physical health
Cognitive Intellectual abilities
Emotional communication, self-
Emotional understanding, knowledge of others,
and Social interpersonal skills, relationships, and
moral reasoning and behavior
Copyright © 2018 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.
Figure 1.3
The lifespan view of development
Copyright © 2018 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.
Table 1.4
Stances of Major Theories on Basic Issues in Human Development
(1 of 2)
One Course of Influence of
Continuous or
Theory Development or Nature and
Discontinuous?
Many? Nurture?
Psychoanalytic Both nature
Discontinuous One course
perspective and nurture
Behaviorism and
Many possible Emphasis
social learning Continuous
courses on nurture
theory
Piaget’s
cognitive- One course Both nature
Discontinuous
developmental and nurture
theory
Information One course Both nature
Continuous
processing and nurture
Copyright © 2018 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.
Table 1.4
Stances of Major Theories on Basic Issues in Human Development
(2 of 2)
One Course of Influence of
Continuous or
Theory Development or Nature and
Discontinuous?
Many? Nurture?
Ethology and
evolutionary Both continuous Both nature
One course
developmental and discontinuous and nurture
psychology
Vygotsky’s
Both continuous Many possible Both nature
sociocultural
and discontinuous courses and nurture
theory
Ecological Many possible Both nature
Not specified
systems theory courses and nurture
Lifespan Both continuous Many possible Both nature
perspective and discontinuous courses and nurture
Copyright © 2018 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.
Studying Development
Copyright © 2018 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.
Studying Development (1 of 10)
Systematic Observation
Naturalistic observation:
• Behavior recorded in the field or natural environment
• Not all individuals have same opportunity to display
behavior
• Cannot control conditions
Structured observation:
• Laboratory situation set up to evoke behavior
• All participants have equal chance to display behavior
• May not be typical of participants’ everyday behaviors
Copyright © 2018 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.
Studying Development (2 of 10)
Self-Reports
Clinical interview:
• Flexible conversation to get participants’ points of view
• Reflects everyday life and provides large amount of
information in short amount of time
• May not result in accurate reporting of information
Structured interview:
• Each participant is asked same questions in the same way
• Permits comparisons of responses and efficient data
collection
• Not as in-depth as clinical interview
Copyright © 2018 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.
Studying Development (3 of 10)
Clinical/Case Study Method
• Brings together wide range of information,
including interviews, observations, test
scores
• Well-suited to studying individuals who are
few in number but vary widely in
characteristics
• May be influenced by researcher biases, and
conclusions may not generalize to anyone
other than person studied
Copyright © 2018 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.
Studying Development (4 of 10)
Ethnography
• Participant observation of a
culture or distinct social group
• Mix of observations, self-
reports, interpretation by
investigator
• Investigators may observe
selectively or misinterpret what
they see
• Findings cannot be assumed
to generalize beyond people
and settings of research study
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Studying Development (5 of 10)
Correlational Research Design
• Researchers gather information on
individuals, without altering experiences
• Studies relationships between participants’
characteristics and their behavior or
development
• Cannot infer cause and effect
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Figure 1.6
The meaning of correlation coefficients
Copyright © 2018 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.
Studying Development (6 of 10)
Experimental Research Design
• Participants randomly assigned to
treatment conditions
• Permits inferences about cause and effect
• Findings obtained in laboratories may not
apply to everyday situations
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Studying Development (7 of 10)
Experimental Design
Independent variable:
• Manipulated by investigator
• Expected to cause changes in another
variable
Dependent variable:
• Measured but not manipulated
• Expected to be influenced by the independent
variable
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Studying Development (8 of 10)
Modified Experiments
Field experiment:
• Conducted in natural setting
• Participants assigned randomly to treatment
conditions
Natural, or quasi-, experiment:
• Compare differences in treatments that already
exist
• Groups chosen to ensure that their characteristics
are as much alike as possible
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Studying Development (9 of 10)
Designs for Studying Development
Same participants studied repeatedly
Longitudinal
at different ages
Participants of differing ages studied at
Cross-sectional
the same point in time
Several similar cross-sectional or
Sequential longitudinal studies are conducted at
varying times
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Studying Development (10 of 10)
Strengths and Limitations of Research Designs
Design Strengths Limitations
Permits study of common patterns
• Participant dropout
and individual differences, and
Longitudinal relationships between early and
• Practice effects
• Cohort effects
later events and behaviors
More efficient than longitudinal • Does not permit study of
design, and not plagued by individual developmental
Cross-sectional problems such as participant trends
dropout and practice effects • Cohort effects
With longitudinal sequences, • May have same problems
permits longitudinal and cross- as longitudinal and cross-
Sequential sectional comparisons. Also sectional strategies, but
reveals cohort effects and tracks design itself helps identify
age-related changes efficiently difficulties
Copyright © 2018 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.
Ethics in Lifespan Research
Rights of Research Participants
• Protection from harm
• Informed consent
• Privacy
• Knowledge of results
• Beneficial treatments
Copyright © 2018 Laura E. Berk. All Rights Reserved.