Developmental Psychology Assumptions

Question 1

Name 3 types of development?

Answer 1

Social cognitive and physiological

Question 2

Development is maturational. What does this mean?

Answer 2

Development happens in stages

Question 3

How long is development?

Answer 3

Lifelong not just childhood

Question 4

What are the strengths of developmental psychology?

Answer 4

• dynamic view of behaviour many applications (education)
• can demonstrate the influence of behaviour of internal and environmental factors
• helps us to understand the psychological development of children
• case study method provides a great deal qualities data
• longitudinal date. Gain a full picture of experience (Freud)
• has many practical applications

Question 5

What are the weaknesses of developmental psychology?

Answer 5

• studying children raises ethical issues
• problems of studying children under 16 in lab conditions (tested by strangers etc)
• researcher bias (Freud)
• difficult to generalise from
• lab experiment. Low ecological validity