This is a full summary for the Exam of the "Developmental Psychology"- course in Block 2A (Psychology Bachelor, English track).
The summary briefly captures all relevant chapters of the course book "Life-Span Human Development", Edition 9e. It sticks close to the literature, but does not focus on ...
Test Bank for Life Span Human Development 9th Edition Sigelman All Chapters 1 - 17
Sigelman's "Life-Span Human Development": chapter 5, "Body, Brain, and Health"
Sigelman's "Life-Span Human Development": chapter 2, "Genetic Environment and Development"
All for this textbook (13)
Written for
Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (RuG)
Bachelor Psychology
Developmental psychology
All documents for this subject (10)
2
reviews
By: swelat • 3 year ago
By: kimberlyyancey • 4 year ago
Seller
Follow
meffertjulia
Reviews received
Content preview
DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
Own summary (book)
Block 2A
Legende:
Dvlp. = developmemtal
Rs. = researcher
HD = human development
Betw. = between
Chapter 1: Understanding Life-Span Human Development
1.1 How Should We Think about Development?
Development defined as:
- systematic changes & continuities over life span
- gains, losses & neutral changes in physical, cognitive & psychosocial functioning
- more than growth (childhood) & biological aging (adulthood)
Context & History:
- historical, cultural & subcultural context
- influenced by age grades, age norms & social clocks
- concepts changed over history in Europe & US, differ in cultures
- 17th century: children seen as innocents;
- late 19th century: adolescence emerged as distinct phase;
- only 20th century: recognition of emerging adulthood, middle-aged “empty nest”
period & old age with retirement
Nature-nurture:
- nature-nurture issue
understanding interaction of biology & maturation with environment & learning
1.2 What Is the Science of Life-Span Development?
Historical Development:
- goals of description, prediction, explanation & optimization, began with Darwin etc.
- American psychologist Stanley Hall:
o use of questionnaires & attention to all phases of life span, (also storm &
stress of adolescence)
o Hall = founder of developmental psychology
- Paul Baltes:
o modern assumptions about life-span perspective on human development:
(1) occurs throughout life span
(2) can take many different directions
(3) gains & interlinked losses (at every age)
(4) characterized by plasticity
(5) affected by historical & cultural context
(6) influenced by interacting causal factors
(7) understood if scholars from multiple disciplines work together
1
,1.3 How Is Development Studied?
Methods:
- scientific method formulating theories & testing hypotheses
o derived from theory by conducting research with sample (best: random
sample) representative of larger population of interest.
o Good theories = internally consistent, falsifiable & supp. by data
- Commonly: verbal reports, behavioral observations (naturalistic, structured) &
physiological measures.
- experiments best way to explain development
o random assignments to conditions, manipulation of IV & experimental control
o but: not all dvlp. issues studied with experiments for ethical reasons
- Case studies often limited generalizability
- Correlational studies directionality- & third variable problems (when aiming for cause-
effect conclusions)
- Developmentalists use meta-analyses
synthesize results of multiple studies of same issue
- Developmental research aims to describe age effects on development
o Cross-sectional studies compare different age groups but confound age
effects and cohort effects
o Longitudinal studies study age change but confound age effects and time-of-
measurement effects
o Sequential studies combine the cross-sectional and longitudinal approaches
1.4 What Challenges Do Developmental Scientists Face?
Challenges:
- to understand human development, researchers must:
o study it in variety of ecological contexts
o develop culturally sensitive methods & measures
o keep own cultural values/ethnocentrism from biasing conclusions
- standards of ethical research practice:
o informed consent
o debriefing individuals when withheld information
o protecting participants from harm
o maintaining confidentiality of data
Chapter 2: Theories of Human Development
2.1 Developmental Theories & The Issues They Raise
- Theories organize & explain facts of HD
o theories should be intern. consistent, falsifiable & supported by data
- The four major issues in Human Development:
o nature & nurture
o activity & passivity
o continuity & discontinuity
o universality & context specificity
2
, - Biological needs drive development, but parents affect a child’s success in dealing with
conflicts & can contribute to emotional problems (especially if overly restrictive/
punitive)
- Erik Erikson (neo-Freudian) compared to Freud:
o emphasized social influences more than biological urges
o ego more emphasis than ID
o more optimistic view of human nature
o theorized about whole life span
- Erikson’s psychosocial theory:
o development proceeds through 8 psychosocial stages
issues of trust
autonomy
initiative
industry
identity
intimacy
generativity
integrity
o Parents, peers & larger culture influence how conflicts are resolved
- Although benefits of Freud’s theory:
o attention to unconscious
o early experiences in family
o emotional aspects of development,
- downsides of Freud’s theory:
o not easily falsifiable
o many specifics lack support
- Although Erikson broadened Freud’s theory & considered whole life span, his theory
partly also difficult to test
2.2 Psychoanalytic Theory
- Freud’s psychoanalytic theory:
o humans are irrational beings
o driven by inborn biological instincts (largely unconscious)
o personality consists of: id, ego, and superego (that order)
- Libido rechanneled across five psychosexual stages:
o oral, anal, phallic, latent, and genital
o Each stage involves psychic conflicts that can
result in fixation at stage
create need for defense mechanisms
have lasting effects on personality
2.3 Learning Theories
- Learning theorists
humans change gradually & develop in many directions depending on environmental
- Behaviorist Watson focused on Pavlov’s classical conditioning in the learning of
emotional responses
- Skinner highlighted operant conditioning & roles of reinforcement and punishment
3
, - Bandura’s social cognitive theory:
o importance of cognitive processes in learning
o observational learning as most important type of human learning
o self-efficacy reciprocal determinism among person, behavior, and
environment shapes development
- Learning theories are:
o well supported & applicable across life-span
o but DON’T necessarily explain normal developmental changes
o UNDERemphasize biological influences on development
2.4 Piaget: Cognitive Developmental Theory
- Piaget’s cognitive developmental perspective
o humans adapt to- & create new understandings of world
o through active interactions with world (constructivism)
- interaction of biological maturation & experience:
children progress through four universal, invariant & qualitatively different
stages of thinking:
o sensorimotor,
o preoperational,
o concrete operational,
o formal operational
- great influence of Piaget
- but: critique for his concept
o broad stages incorrect
o underestimated young children
o lacks social- & cultural influences on development (Vygotsky’s sociocultural
perspective)
o too little emphasis on cognitive processes such as attention & memory
(information-processing approach)
2.5 Systems Theories
- Systems & contextual theories:
o development as product of ongoing transactions
o & mutual influence betw. individual & environment
- Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model:
o person & environment (at the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and
macrosystem levels) as mutually influencing each other over time
(chronosystem)
- Bronfenbrenner development-producing proximal processes
- Bronfenbrenner study process, person, context & time in his PPCT model
- BUT: Systems theories are incomplete & DON’T provide coherent picture of HD
2.6 Theories in Perspective
- 20th century: stage theories:
o Freud’s emphasizing biological forces
way to learning theories emphasizing environmental influences
Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory
4
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller meffertjulia. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $5.06. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
