Introduction and Studying Human Development Flashcards
fundamental distinctions in developmental theories
qualitative vs quantitative
domain-general vs specific
innate vs acquired
qualitative
children think in fundamentally different ways over time by improving quality
quantitative
change in quantity of information to be processed and available knowledge
domain-general
characterise broader patterns in development of behaviours
domain-specific
focus on particular behaviours with narrow effects
innate
early-developing, similar across children, contexts, and culture
acquired
extended-over-time, with significant variation between children, contexts, and culture
how did kamirloff-smith (2013) define developmental change?
“the process of change that occurs in human beings throughout development”
what does developmental science aim to do?
- describe developmental change (what develops and when)
- explain developmental change (the mechanisms by which change occurs)
- predict developmental outcomes
how can the nature of developmental change be seen?
examples of brain development
- growth and increase in folding of the brain (cachia, 2022)
- changes in synaptic connections (keil, 2014)
- changes in neuron structure and myelination (kulikova, 2016)
changes in synaptic connection
synaptic pruning occurs at 1 years old, where their density decreases because abilities stabilise over time to make processing become more efficient
changes in neuron structure and myelination
dramatic increase of myelin after 1 month old, which insulates neurones to increase their efficiency of processing
what does the nature of developmental change show?
psychological development is not a monolithic concept, as complex changes occur across several different dimensions and cannot be equated with simple growth/increase
what is studying development an insight into?
both the mature form and children’s capabilities, which allows for understanding into shaping social policy
piaget (1896-1980)
was interested in where knowledge comes from after observing common mistakes made by children during experimental tasks
discoveries of piaget
- children’s thinking changes qualitatively with age through developmental stages
- they are “little scientists” who actively construct knowledge by theories and testing
not entirely accurate, but still remains hugely inspiring for the field
what does empiricism consider?
knowledge as built up by forming associations between the phenomena we experience, as newborns understand nothing due to lack of experience with the world
what does empiricism consist of?
all-purpose learning system, with no biases towards acquiring particular information
general learning occurs by linking together co-occurring information
empiricism is informed by…
goode, berkley, and hume
what does nativism consider?
some elements of the cognitive toolkit are provided by genetic inheritance, and there are specialised learning systems designed to process particular kinds of information
nativism is informed by…
descartes and leibniz
what do comparative and evolutionary perspectives believe?
different organisms experience similar challenges during development, as traits emerge through natural selection
what do comparative and evolutionary perspectives allow for?
this allows for cross-species comparison to find out the origins of various psychological capabilities
what do cross-cultural perspectives consider?
aspects of development which remain stable despite cultural differences, (e.g., visual depth, language development, or religious beliefs)
