Themes and Perspectives Flashcards
what is development?
the process by which an organism grows and changes through its lifespan
these processes can either be of growth or lasting change
what is development interested in?
sequential influence- the process of systematic, organised, and successive changes
what questions does developmental psychology ask?
- what develops?
- what are the causes of development?
what does developmental psychology focus on?
the importance of temporal order and individual differences
what are universals?
consider what species have in common during a particular point of development
what do universals assume?
- commonality
- children will achieve key milestones within sequential qualitative stages
- they do not consider variation important
what do universals rely on?
experimental methods, by comparing groups of children
what are individual differences?
fascinated with variation between children
what do individual differences focus on?
qualitative differences between people
what do individual differences rely on?
naturalistic designs, through longitudinal studies and behaviour genetic research
they aim to study naturally occuring differences
continuous characteristic
when a group continuously performs at the same mean level across a period
discontinuous characteristic
when the mean level changes over time
stability
consistency within the rank order of individuals, and if this remains relative to the group performance
instability
when the relative order in a group is not maintained
homotypic stability
using the same test to measure the same construct at multiple time points
heterotypic stability
when a different measure is used to test the same construct
what can heterotypic stability designs only able to look at?
rank order, rather than mean order and change
this is due to using a different test to measure the same construct
what do domain specific theories focus on?
particular behaviours, traits, and skills
what do domain specific theories claim?
they do not make broad claims, and instead emphasise the development of particular mechanisms with narrow effects
what do domain general theories focus on?
a broader range of behaviours
what do domain general theories claim?
they characterise broader patterns in development, and emphasise influences that might affect many outcomes
why is age never a causal variable?
the entire concept of age can vary across time and culture
prenatal
conception to birth
infancy
0-2 years
early childhood
3-5 years
middle childhood
6-11 years
adolescence
11-25 years
empiricism
- believes that the basis of all knowledge is experience
- believes that development occurs as a process of learning through reinforcement
- antecedent stimuli can either reinforce or discard behaviour
example of an empiricist theory
skinner’s behaviourism, due to its emphasis on nurture
what does empiricism believe?
‘children are blank slates, and everything is learned through reinforcement and operant learning’
nativism
- believes that concepts are innate and not derived from experience
what did fodor believe about nativism?
the human mind is modular- compromised of innate specialised functions for different concepts
these modules are fundamentally innate and shaped by evolution
nurture vs nature
focus on learning and environment is central
focus on natural maturation and environment is peripheral
pragmatism
- stresses action rather than reflection
- believes cognitive development is a process of action, adaptation, and experience
piaget’s constructivism
piaget viewed cognitive development as a progression through distinct, qualitative stages
what does constructivism claim about cognitive development?
cognitive development occurs as a process of internalising action and social interaction
new connections are filtered through ‘schemata’ assimilation and accomodation
what do pragmatism and constructivism encourage?
moving beyond the nature-nurture dichotomy and support the systems theory
believe that children must act within the wolrd in order to learn
developmental systems theory
development occurs within different domains
‘nature and nurture are inextricably tied together and never exist independent of the other’
it is an interactionist approach as genes can influence the environment
what evidence has been found to support the interactionist systems theory?
research using adoptive families and biological parents, as antisocial behaviour genetically inherited from parents can evoke harsh parenting in adoptive parents
what evidence towards environment influencing genetic expression was found by a meta-analysis?
children in low socioeconomic backgrounds are unable to live up to the ‘innate potential’ of their intelligence
bronfenbrenner’s environmental ‘developmental systems theory’
children are surrounded by different systems of influence, such as identity, society, culture, and time
