Introduction To Methods In developmental psychology Flashcards
What is physical development
Body size and proportions
Physical health
Perceptual and motor development
What is cognitive development
Intellectual abilities including attention and memory
Imagination and creativity
Language
What is social and emotional development
Understanding self and others
Emotional understanding and regulation
Moral reasoning and behaviour
Intimate relationships
What are the different periods of development
Pre-natal: conception to birth
Infancy and toddlerhood: birth to 2 years
Early childhood: 2-6 years old
Middle childhood: 7-11 years old
Adolescence: 11-18 years old
What is normative development
Species normal development over time
Focus on similarities
Example: Piaget’s theory of cognitive development
What is Individual differences
Differences observed between children at a given age/time/place
Example: temperament differences
What is continuous development
Development is continuous
Development involves quantitative change
Example: Information processing theories
What is discontinuous development
Development is discontinuous
Development involves qualitative changes
Example: Piaget’s stages of cognitive development
Common development Curve (Increase)
Height and weight and age
Age and vocabulary size
Common development curve (Decrease)
Age and hours of sleep needed
Age and hearing (late life decline)
Learning a new language (Johnson and Newport, 1991)
Development curves (stage like)
Qualitative or discontinuous
Cognitive development according to Piaget (1954)
Moral development according to Kohlberg 1981)
What is Nature (side of the debate)
Biological instincts
Innate behaviour traits
Genetic influences
What is the nurture (side of the debate)
Environment
Culture
Context
Family influences
Environmental influences
Observational Research (naturalistic)
In the natural environment where behaviour happens
E.g. Farver and Branstetter (1994)
* youtube vid
Observational Research (structured)
Laboratory situations set up evoke behaviour of interest
All participants have equal chance to display behaviour
E.g. Mischel, Ebbsen ad Zeiss (1972)
*youtube vid