The five perspectives on human development:
1) Psychoanalytic: Focuses on unconscious emotions and drives. View of human
development as shaped by unconscious forces that motivate human
behavior.
2) Learning: Studies observable behavior. Holds that changes in behavior result
from experience or from adaptation to the environment.
3) Cognitive: Analyzes though processes. View that thought processes are
central to development.
4) Contextual: Emphasizes impact of the historical, social, and cultural context
5) Evolutionary/Sociobiological: Considers evolutionary and biological
underpinnings of behavior
Psychoanalytic Perspective: View of human development as shaped by unconscious
forces that motivate human behavior.
- Id: “Pleasure Principle.” Newborn. Seeks immediate gratification.
- Ego: “Reality Principle.” Gradually develops over first year of life. Finds
realistic ways to satisfy the Id that are okay for the superego.
- Superego: Develops around 5 or 6. Conscience and socially approves
“shoulds” and “should nots,” the value system.
Psychosexual Development: In Freudian theory, an unvarying sequence of stages
of childhood personality development in which gratification shifts from the mouth to
the anus and then to the genitals. Believed in Reactive and Qualitive changes over
time.
o Fixation: Arrest in development that shows up in adulthood
Psychosocial Development: (1) Pattern of change in emotions, personality, and
social relationships. (2) In Erikson’s eight-stage theory, the socially and culturally
influenced process of development of the ego, or self.
Learning Perspective: View of human development that holds that changes in
behavior result from experience or from adaptation to the environment.
Behaviorism: Learning theory that emphasizes the predictable role of environment
in causing observable behavior.
Associative Learning: A mental link is formed between two events. There are two
types:
- Classical Conditioning: Connecting one Stimulus to another
- Operant Conditioning: Learning based on the consequences of actions.
Uses Reinforcement and Punishment.
o Reinforcement: Process by which a behavior is encouraged
o Punishment: Process by which a behavior is discouraged
Social Learning Theory: Theory that behaviors are learned by observing and
imitating models. Also called social cognitive theory.
- Reciprocal Determinism: The person acts on the world as the world acts on
the person. Coined by Albert Bandura. States that development is
“bidirectional”
- Observational Learning: Learning through watching the behavior of others
- Social Cognitive Theory is the name of the updated version. This puts
more emphasis on the role of cognitive functions.
o Self-Efficacy: Sense of one’s capability to master challenges and
achieve goals.
Cognitive Perspective: View that thought processes are central to development.
Cognitive Stage Theory: Piaget’s theory that children’s cognitive development
advances in a series of four stages involving qualitatively distinct types of mental
operations. There are three types of mental operations he identified: Organization,
Adaptation, and Equilibration.
- Organization: Piaget’s term for the creation of categories or systems of
knowledge.
o Schemes: Piaget’s term for organized patterns of thought and
behavior used in particular situations. These can be MENTAL or
MOTOR in nature.
Example: The creation of a “Bird” Scheme for things that fly.
- Adaptation: Piaget’s term for adjustment to new information about the
environment, achieved through processes of assimilation and
accommodation.
o Assimilation: Piaget’s term for incorporation of new information into
an existing cognitive structure.
o Accommodation: Piaget’s term for changes in a cognitive structure
to include new information.
- Equilibration: Piaget’s term for the tendency to seek a stable balance
among cognitive elements; achieved through a balance between
assimilation and accommodation.
Example: Planes are discovered. They are too different from
birds, even though they fly. Accommodation occurs and
“Bird” and “Plane” are separated into two different Schema.
- Note: Piaget seemed to underestimate the ability of children, and his
development views the progression to logical thinking as the end girl,
ignoring other forms of maturity.
Sociocultural Theory: Vygotsky’s theory of how contextual factors affect
children’s development. Vygotsky believes that children learn collaboratively
through social interaction and shared activities.
- Zone of Proximal Development: Vygotsky’s term for the difference
between what a child can do alone and what the child can do with help.
o Scaffolding: Temporary support to help a child master a task.
- Note: His theories show great promise and studies have shown
effectiveness.
Information Processing Approach: (1) Approach to the study of cognitive
development by observing and analyzing the mental processes involved in
perceiving and handling information. (2) Approach to the study of cognitive
development that analyzes processes involved in perceiving and handling
information.
- This framework looks at the human brain like a computer, with inputs and
outputs. They create flow charts and use observational data to understand
what goes on between stimuli and responses
- Asserts that individuals develop an increasing capacity for sensing,
storing, and remembering information that allows them to acquire
increasingly complex knowledge and skills
Contextual Perspective: View of human development that sees the individual as
inseparable from the social context.
Bioecological Theory: Urie Bronfenbrenner’s approach to understanding
processes and contexts of human development that identifies five levels of
environmental influence.
Evolutionary/Sociobiological Perspective: View of human development that focuses
on evolutionary and biological bases of behavior.
- Ethology: Study of distinctive adaptive behaviors of species of animals
that have evolved to increase survival of the species. Compares two or
more species.
- Evolutionary Psychology: Application of Darwinian principles of natural
selection and survival of the fittest to individual behavior.
o Cognitive Adaptations: Psychological impacts of natural selection on
humans
Quantitative Research: Research that deals with objectively measurable data.
Such as “how much” or “how many.” Uses the SCIENTIFIC METHOD.
- Scientific Method: System of established principles and processes of
scientific inquiry, which includes identifying a problem to be studied,
formulating a hypothesis to be tested by research, collecting data,
analyzing the data, forming tentative conclusions, and disseminating
findings.
o 1. Identify thing to study
o 2. Formulate hypothesis
o 3. Collect data
o 4. Analyze data
o 5. Form conclusion
o 6. Disseminate findings
Qualitative Research: Research that focuses on nonnumerical data, such as
subjective experiences, feelings, or beliefs. Focuses on the the “How and Why”
SAMPLING
Population: The entire pool of individuals under study from which a sample is
drawn and to which findings may apply.
Sample: Group of participants chosen to represent the entire population under
study.
- Random Selection: Selection of a sample in such a way that each person
in a population has an equal and independent chance of being chosen.
o Random Sample: A sample of individuals chosen in such a way
that every individual in the population has an equal and
independent chance of being chosen. Product of Random Selection.
- Qualitative samples are less likely to use Random Selection
WEIRD: Acronym (Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic) for the
type of societies from which research samples are typically drawn.
Naturalistic Observation: Research method in which behavior is studied in
natural settings without intervention or manipulation.
Laboratory Observation: Research method in which all participants are observed
under the same controlled conditions.
- Observer Bias: Any expectations, beliefs, or personal preferences of a
researcher that unintentionally influence their findings.
Case Study and Ethnographic are generally Qualitive.
Correlational and Experimental are generally Quantitative.
Case Study: Study of a single subject, such as an individual or family.
Ethnographic Study: An-depth study of a culture, which uses a combination of
methods including participant observation.
- Participant Observation: Research method in which the observer lives
with the people or participates in the activity being observed.
Correlational Study: Research design intended to discover whether a statistical
relationship between variables exists.
Experimental Studies: Rigorously controlled, replicable procedure in which the
researcher manipulates variables to assess the effect of one on the other. Only way
to get CAUSE AND EFFECT.
- Experimental Group: In an experiment, the group receiving the
treatment under study.
- Control Group: In an experiment, a group of people, similar to those in
the experimental group, do not receive the treatment under study.
- Independent Variable: In an experiment, the condition over which the
experimenter has direct control.
- Dependent Variable: In an experiment, the condition that may or may
not change as a result of changes in the independent variable.
- Operational Definition: Definition stated solely in terms of the
operations or procedures used to produce or measure a phenomenon.
- Random Assignment: Assignment of participants in an experiment to
groups in such a way that each person has an equal chance of being
placed in any group.
- DOUBLE BLIND: Where neither the researchers nor subject know who is
what Group
DEVELOPEMENTAL RESEARCH DESIGNS
Cross-Sectional Study: Study designed to assess age-related differences, in
which people of different ages are assessed on one occasion. Different age groups
are assessed at the same time.
Longitudinal Study: Study designed to assess age changes in a sample over time.
A sample is assessed repeatedly several times as they age.
Sequential Study: Study design that combines cross-sectional and longitudinal techniques.
Informed Consent:
Three Principles:
- Beneficence: Obligation to maximize potential benefits to participants
and minimize potential harm
- Respect: Autonomy and protection of those who are unable to exercise
their own judgment
- Justice: Inclusion of diverse groups together with sensitivity to any
special impact the research may have on them