PSYC10004 Lecture 1: PSYC10004 Week 1 Lecture notes
29 Jun 2018
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PSYC10004 Mind, Brain & Behaviour 2
WEEKS 1 - 3: HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
LECTURE 2 (1.1) – Enduring Developmental Themes
Enduring Developmental Themes
Nature vs nurture
Activity vs passivity
Continuity vs discontinuity
Mechanisms of developmental change
Universality vs context specificity
Individual differences
Research and children’s welfare
LECTURE 2 (1.2) – Introduction to Understanding Human Development
Developmental psychology: systematic changes and continuities in 3 domains
Physical development
oGrowth of body & organs (brain, ageing, motor abilities)
Cognitive development
oPerception, language, learning, memory, problem-solving, mental
processes
Psychosocial development
oPersonal and interpersonal aspects of development (motives, emotions,
personality traits)
Why do we study children?
Analyse how to raise children effectively
oE.g. Assess anger & negative emotion management
To choose social policies
oDetect & prevent developmental problems with treatment
oChild testimony
To understand human nature
oE.g. effects of early deprivation
Historical foundations
Middle ages
oChildren were perceived more like skilled pets than actual people
oPerceived as adults by 7-8
Society becoming less rural and more industrialised
oCompulsory education introduced to prepare children for the adult world
oPassage of laws against child labour to protect children against the physical
hardships of factory life
Made them go to school instead of work
19th - 20th centuries: growing recognition of childhood
oNew ways to study kids behaviour
oBaby biography: detailed diary of a particular child
1
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PSYC10004 Mind, Brain & Behaviour 2
A method of descriptive observation
Made famous by Charles Darwin (1877)
oPiagetian concepts very important
John Locke & Jean-Jacques Rousseau
oRefocussed attention on child development, viewing children as born innocent
and needing to be protected from corrupt society
oLocke (1690): child is a blank slate (tabula rasa)
Parents should set a good example of honesty, stability and gentleness
oRousseau (1762): children should be allowed to develop at their own pace and
in natural surroundings, shielded from corrupt society and adult oppression
Perspectives on development
Psychoanalytic
oFreud — Psychosexual development theory
oErikson — Psychosocial development theory
Behavioural / social learning
oWatson — Classical conditioning
oSkinner — Operant conditioning
oBandura — Social learning theory
Cognitive
oPiaget — Cognitive-developmental theory
oVygotsky — Sociocultural theory
oInformation processing perspectives
Systems
oGottlieb — Ethological and evolutionary theories
oBronfenbrenner — Bioecological model
Theories in perspective
Stage theorists: Freud, Erikson, Piaget
oBiological-maturational forces
oParents are supporters of development
Learning theorists: Watson, Skinner, Bandura
oEmphasise environment over biology
oParents are children’s trainers
Systems/information processing theorists: Vygotsky, Maslow
oBiology & environment = inseparable components of a larger system
oParents are partners with children in the development process
Framing nature vs nurture
Biological & environmental forces act and interact with each other to make us
who we are
Nature researchers emphasise:
oInfluence of heredity; genes; innate/biologically based system
oDevelopment as a process of maturation
Nurture researchers emphasise:
oEnvironment; experience; cultural influences
oDevelopment as a process of learning
2
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find more resources at oneclass.com
PSYC10004 Mind, Brain & Behaviour 2
Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Model
oSystems interact with one another
oPresents the environment as a set of nested structures
Each structure emphasises a different level of influence
Environmental forces at each level vary in effect
oSystems: complex interconnectedness among levels
Microsystem: immediate physical & social environment
Mesosystem: interrelationships/linkages between 2 or more microsystems
Exosystem: linkages involving social systems that individuals don’t
experience directly; e.g. changes in parents’ workplace
Macrosystem: larger cultural context in which the other systems are
embedded; e.g. cultural beliefs, customs, laws
Chronosystem: changes in people and their environment, occurring across
time
LECTURE 3 (1.3) – Introduction to Understanding Human Development
Scientific method
1. Initial observations
2. Formulate theory
3. Propose hypothesis
4. Conduct research to test hypothesis
5. Compile the research data (observations)
6. Does the data confirm the hypothesis?
oNo: reject the current theory, formulate a new theory
oYes: keep/refine current theory
Good theories are:
Internally consistent: propositions don’t generate contradictory hypotheses
Falsifiable: can be proved wrong
Supported by data: predictions can be confirmed by research results
Types of data collection
Verbal reports
oFormats: interviews, questionnaires/surveys, personality scales,
ability/achievement tests, ask people questions about selves or others
oBenefit: questions asked in same order, responses directly comparable
oDrawbacks:
Can’t use with infants and young children
Different aged people understand the same questions differently
Participants tend to represent themselves in a positive or socially desirable
light
Behavioural observation
oObserving people in their everyday/natural surroundings
oBenefit: can study those lacking the verbal skills for questionnaires
oDrawbacks:
3
find more resources at oneclass.com
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Document Summary
Lecture 2 (1. 2) introduction to understanding human development. Developmental psychology: systematic changes and continuities in 3 domains o o. Growth of body & organs (brain, ageing, motor abilities) Perception, language, learning, memory, problem-solving, mental processes o. Personal and interpersonal aspects of development (motives, emotions, personality traits) Why do we study children? o o o o. Children were perceived more like skilled pets than actual people. Compulsory education introduced to prepare children for the adult world. Passage of laws against child labour to protect children against the physical hardships of factory life. Made them go to school instead of work. 19th - 20th centuries: growing recognition of childhood. Baby biography: detailed diary of a particular child o o. Refocussed attention on child development, viewing children as born innocent and needing to be protected from corrupt society o o. Locke (1690): child is a blank slate (tabula rasa) Parents should set a good example of honesty, stability and gentleness.
