Introduction and Overview Flashcards
To understand the basic introduction of this module and key concepts
Define what is meant by Developmental Psychology?
Developmental Psychology Studies Humans Across the Lifespan. Developmental psychologists focus on human growth and changes across the lifespan, including physical, cognitive, social, intellectual, perceptual, personality and emotional growth.
Traditionally, however, developmental psychology has been mainly concerned with child psychology.
Why is there such focus on Developmental Psychology?
Outline why do researchers study Developmental Psychology?
Outline what is meant by Applied perspectives?
Outline what is meant by theoretical perspectives?
Can you suggest some questions researchers may ask themselves with each distinct perspective?
If a researcher is asking and forming questions based on practicality of development, which perspective are they following and why?
The motivation comes from two perspectives:
Theoretical: The understanding of human behaviours: -Are they innate? -Do they develop throughout childhood? -Do they undergo structural changes? -Were they the result of learning/experience?
Applied: This involves more practical questions like: -Should mothers go out to work? -When should formal schooling begin? -Is a particular child developing normally? -How should developmental issues inform policies pursued by society?
What is meant by course and cause in Developmental Psychology?
Outline what two major aspects within exploring developmental psychology do researchers consider?
Applied and theoretical perspectives are linked to the two major aspects of development:
Course : At which age can children do and understand certain things? Such descriptive information is vital for teachers, parents, and for informing social policy.
Cause: What causes the process and what is the driving force behind?
Outline the role of Nature and Nurture that supposedly contributes to the development of a human being?
Define Nature
Define Nurture
Which has the most influence?
Historically, the so-called nature-nurture debate has a philosophical origin:
Some theorists thought that psychological processes are largely the product of our genetic inheritance (i.e., of nature, cf. J. J. Rousseau).
Others maintained that they are largely the product of our environment and the experiences we have made (i.e., of nurture, cf. J. Locke).
Today there is a consensus that both factors are important. The controversy is more about their relative contribution.
Define Instincts.
Instincts: innate behaviours that are the result of genetic programming.
Define Maturation
Maturation: the emergence of instinctive behaviour patterns at a particular point in development.
Define learning
Learning: the change of behaviour due to specific environmental information.
Describe Classical Conditioning and Instrumental Conditioning as a means of learned behaviour within development.
Classical Conditioning: Here an innate response (i.e., an instinctive behaviour) is paired with a new stimulus (conditioned stimulus) to form a conditioned response.
Instrumental/Operant Conditioning: Here behaviour is changed by way of reinforcement (e.g., reward or punishment). Genetics has only a very indirect impact.
Provide an example of maturation to explain this component within development
Explain what Chomsky said about children learning a language.
How is ‘the bird song example’ an explanation for environmental learning
Learning to speak your native language:
Specific language is determined by environment.
Critical age for automatic language acquisition (about 2-12 years) suggests effect of maturation.
Idea of innate knowledge of language (→ Chomsky’s theory of language acquisition, Lecture D9).
This is also true for bird song: for somespecies environmental input is needed(e.g. the Chaffinch; cf. Thorpe, 1972). (Critical period involved-can be fixed and unaltered)
Describe Imprinting including relevant research.
Imprinting
Imprinting is related to maturation and refers to a form of learning that occurs at a particular age.
The term imprinting has particularly been used to describe the development of attachment between adult animals and their offspring.
The phenomenon of imprinting is associated with Konrad Lorenz’s behavioural experiments with goslings.
Lorenz showed that goslings attach themselves to (i.e., they imprint upon) the first conspicuous moving object they see.
In his studies, he succeeded to make the goslings attached to his rubber boots.
The attachment to an object crucially depends on the timing, the so-called critical (or sensitive) period. Outside this time window the capacity for forming attachments is much reduced.
Lorenz’s experiments influenced John Bowlby’s theory of attachment (→ Lectures D2 and D3).
How do researchers conduct research on children?
Baby diaries Observation Preferential looking tasks Habituation tasks Physiological measures
Describe examples of baby diaries
Often diaries have involved the experimenter’s own children.
Examples:
Charles Darwin’s (1877) account of his own son’s development…
Jean Piaget’s (→ Lectures D6 and D7)
observations on his children Jaqueline and Laurent.
Example:
“Jaqueline grasps an unfamiliar cigarette case which I present to her. At first she examines it very attentively, turn it over, then holds it in both hands while making the sound off (a kind of hiss which she usually makes in the presence of people). After that she rubs it against the wicker of her cradle then draws herself up while looking at it, then swings it above her and finally puts it into her mouth.“ (Piaget, 1936)
Example of research conducting observations
Use of special observation rooms, multiple observers and technical aids make the subjective observation process more ‘objective’
Example:
studies involvingMary Ainsworths’sStrange Situation paradigm(→ Lecture D2)
Here the baby is presented with two stimuli to look at. It is measured which of the stimuli the baby looks at more often or longer.
This task can not only used to measure preference but also visual discrimination abilities (→ Lectures D4 and D5).
What is habituation?
This method typically involves both habituation and dishabituation:
An infant is shown a stimulus (A) until they s/he looses interest in it.
Stimulus (A) is then replaced by a novel stimulus (B).
The infant now shows renewed interest in the novel stimulus, i.e. s/he dishabituates.
Physiological measures?
Such measures can be used even without an overt behavioural response.
Examples:
Measuring change of heart rate.
Measuring brain activity using fMRI, PET, EEG and MEG
( the first MEG system in Europe for use with children is currently being build at the
Aston Brain Centre (ABC) )
