PSYC1001 Final: Developmental Psychology
PSYC 1001
Issues and methods in developmental psychology
→ What is devel.?
• Process of going from a child → adult
• Change over time
• What develops?
- self awareness
- physical devel.
- motor devel.
- sexual devel.
- communication
- social / emotional understanding
- personality
** different domains of development
• What are the characteristics of devel. change??
- orderly
- goes in a path ∴ able to do higher order things
- cumulative – add on skills
- directional – become more sophisticated
→ Why study devel?
• Basic science:
- understand brain processes / thoughts / behav
- not as complex when young
∴ study to help understand adult thoughts
• Applied science
- how to deal w/ children
- policy devel.
- research into decisions about premature birth
- big implications for society
PSYC 1001
→ Issues in devel. psych.
1. Nature vs Nurture
• What causes devel change?
• Parents bio + envir grown up in
**Bio vs experience
**Genes vs envir
• Biological view:
- devel is simply maturation
- genetically determined process of growth that unfolds naturally over a
period of time
- genetic predisposition ??
- envir. makes little diff.
• Envir. view:
- envir. shapes the course of a childs devel.
- genetics / bio place no restrictions on how a child devel.
- engagement in childhood activities
- given right experience = any child thrive
• So which view is right?
• Neither both are incorrect / correct
• How can gene expression be altered by envir?
• Devel. proceeds as an INTERACTION of bio + envir. factors
2. Early experience vs Later experience
• To what extent does early experience shape later experience??
• To what degree + under what cond. does experience influence devel??
• Critical or sensitive periods of devel:
PSYC 1001
→ Timing of experience:
• Critical Periods
- period of time during devel. when certain experiences are crucial for a
particular feature of devel to emerge
- not as strong w/ human as w/ animals
- remarkably flexible
- devel. brain sensitive to language skills
- most constructs are determined by sensitive periods
- both early + late devel essential
• Sensitive Periods:
- period of time during which experience is optimal for devel. of particular
function
BUT not critical
- similar function can devel after sensitive period window has closed
-- but usually under more intense experience
3. Continuity vs discontinuity
• Gradually gain skills?
• Or stages of devel?
• Nature of devel. change
• Know it is a given ∴ improves w/ age
Continuous
Discontinuous
• Change is gradual / uniform
• Change is quantitative
- quantity of amount of skill / behav
e.g. Rovee – Colliers theory of infant
memory devel.
• Change is abrupt & step like
• Change is qualitative
- quality of kind of skill / behav
• Distinctive stages of devel??
e.g. Piagets stage theory of cognitive devel.
Document Summary
Goes in a path able to do higher order things. Understand brain processes / thoughts / behav. Study to help understand adult thoughts: applied science. Issues in devel. psych: nature vs nurture, what causes devel change, parents bio + envir grown up in. Genetically determined process of growth that unfolds naturally over a period of time. Envir. makes little diff: envir. view: Envir. shapes the course of a childs devel. Genetics / bio place no restrictions on how a child devel. Period of time during devel. when certain experiences are crucial for a particular feature of devel to emerge. Not as strong w/ human as w/ animals. Most constructs are determined by sensitive periods. Both early + late devel essential: sensitive periods: Period of time during which experience is optimal for devel. of particular function. Similar function can devel after sensitive period window has closed.
