-
Developmental science examines:
- 1. human thinking, feeling, behavior
- 2. similarities and differences across culture
- 3. the present with a focus on the future
-
Developmental growth and change proceed from:
simple and global to complex and specific
-
4 main goals of developmental science
- description
- explanation
- prediction
- intervention
-
Description
what people are like at different ages and how they change (or stay the same) over time
-
Explanation
the origins of individual differences and the causes of development
-
Prediction
what an individual will be like at a later point in development based on what is known about the individuals' past and present characteristics
-
Intervention
how best to use developmental knowledge to improve well-being
-
Two central issues in developmental science:
norms and individual differences
-
Norms
looking at what is average or typical in the population
-
Individual differences
variations. those that grow at a faster rate (reaching the same height, or exceeding)
-
Consistency
- remaining constant over time
- individual or group
-
Stability
- describes consistency in relative standing of individuals on some characteristic through time
- stability vs. instability
-
Continuity
- describes the group mean level consistency and refers to degree of change in the developmental trajectory
- continuity vs. discontinuity
-
Descriptive continuity
behavior seen at one point in life can be represented in the same way as behavior later
-
Descriptive disconuity
behavior seen at one point cannot be represented in the same way at another point
-
Four combinations of stability and continuity
- stability-continuity
- stability-discontinuity
- instability-continuity
- instability-discontinuity
-
Descriptive quantitative changes
differences in how much or how many of something exists
-
Descriptive qualitative change
differences in "what" exists, in what sort of phenomenon is present
-
Four interrelated components of developmental systems theories:
- 1. change and relative plasticity
- 2. relationism and the integration of levels of organization
- 3. historical embeddedness and temporality
- 4. the limits of generalizability, diversity, and individual differences
-
Bioecological theory of developmental processes (Bronfenbrenner)
stressed the importance of interrelated ecological levels conceived of as nested systems
-
5 levels of bioecological model
- microsystem
- mesosystem
- exosystem
- macrosystem
- chronosystem
-
Microsystem
- setting in which a child interacts with others on an everyday basis
- ex. sex, age
-
Mesosystem
linkages between two or more microsystems
-
Exosystem
like mesosystem, consists of linkages between two or more settings. at least one of these settings does not contain the developing person and thus affects him or her only indirectly
-
Macrosystem
- describes the culture in which individuals live. the beliefs, customs, economic and social systems are included in this cultural context
- ex. beliefs, social influences
-
Chronosystem
term for the effects of time on other developmental systems. represents the degree of stability or change in a person's world
-
4 interrelated components of Process-Person-Context-Time (PCCT) model:
- 1. the developmental process- involving the fused and dynamic relation of the individual and the context
- 2. person
- 3. context
- 4. time- conceptualized as involving the multiple dimensions of temporality
-
Developmental contextualism (Richard Lerner)
- Research should:
- Stress the bidirectional relations existing between individuals at multiple levels and multiple contexts
- Promote individual-in-context research
- Have the potential for actions / have a point!
-
6 key principles of Paul Baltes's Life-Span Developmental Approach
- 1. Development is lifelong
- 2. Development involves both gain and loss
- 3. Relative influences of biology and culture shift over the life span
- 4. Development involves a changing allocation of resources
- 5. Development shows plasticity
- 6. Development is influenced by the historical and cultural context
-
Baltes's 3 variables
- 1. Normative, age-graded- biological and environmental determinants correlated with chronological age
- 2. Normative, history-graded- biological and environmental determinants correlated with historical time. Normative defined by extent to which most people experience them
- 3. Non-normative- not directly indexed by time because they do not occur for most people
-
Timing of Baltes's 3 variables
- age-graded
- history-graded
- non-normative
-
Brandtsädter Action Theories of Human Development
- Active producer and the product of his or her development
- Role of self-reflection and self-regulative loops in human development
- Actions: means through which individuals affect their contexts
- Feedback: resulting from such actions people organize their ideas about their contexts and themselves
- Consequence of this understanding- individuals develop a set of “guides”
-
Developmental regulation (Brandtsadter)
the processes of dynamic person-context relations
-
Guides (Brandtsadter)
motivations (intentions, goals) or regulators-for or of future actions
-
2 distinctive features of action theories
- Central role of intentionality, or the individual moderating exchanges
- Change in development are derived from the intention-based exchanges
-
5 principles framing life-course theory (Elder and Shanahan)
- 1. principle of life-span development
- 2. human agency
- 3. principle of timing
- 4. linked lives
- 5. historical time and place
-
Principle of life-span development
human development and aging are a life-long process
-
Human agency
individuals construct their own life course through the choices and actions they take
-
Principle of timing
refers to the fact that the developmental antecedents and consequences of life transitions, events, and behavior patterns vary according to their timing in a person's life
-
Linked lives
involves the idea that lives are linked interdependently and social-historical influences are expressed through this network of shared relationships
-
Historical time and place
the life course of individuals is embedded in and shaped by the historical times and places they experience over their lifetime
-
Definitions of personality
- a person's emotion, attitudinal, and behavioral patterns
- sum of mental, emotional, social characteristics
- definitions of personality: are based on theorists own theoretical positions
-
Cross-cultural psychology
- culture as an independent variable that acts on psychological processes
- compares different cultural groups
- uses experimental methods
-
Cultural psychology
- culture as a medium which people acquire and share symbolic meanings and practices
- studies within and between cultural groups can be made
- uses ethnographic methods
- (culture and individual behavior are inseparable)
-
Definition of culture in Latin
cultivation- tending of something, crops or animals
-
Culture in biology
- culture virus/bacteria to see how they will grow
- seeking to understand environments that promote and hinder growth
-
Culture according to Vygotsky
- cultural medium has both material and mental components
- we are transformed by the artifacts of prior generations
- history in the present
- every individual is different
- learning occurs best through working in the zone of proximal development
-
Zone of proximal development
distance between ability to perform task under adult guidance and ability independently- this is the zone
-
Symbolic inheritance
consists of its received ideas and understandings about persons, society, nature, and the metaphysical realm of the divine
-
Behavioral inheritance
consists of its routine or institutionalized family life, social, economic, and political practices
-
Ecological psychologists' garden metaphor
- provide optimal conditions for growth- tools/materials, knowledge
- culture as a garden:
- optimal artificial environment (culture)
- best soil, till the soil, nutrients, moisture, best time to plant, protect against predators, disease, which plants to put with others, which to keep separate, etc
- cities/suburbs...availability of resources such as distance to grocery store, public transportation, education, healthcare
-
Boas
- conducted research on the peoples of the American and Canadian Northwest
- collected objective data on technology, language, customs and myths
- wanted to compare these groups
- concluded that culture represents a combination of locally developed and borrowed features
-
Boas's implications of research
important to view history of interaction between and within culture we are observing to avoid making misinterpretations
-
18th century "cultural evolution" Taylor
- cultures could be classified according to their level of development and characterized by the sophistication of their technology and the complexity of their social organization
- development from more simple to complex
-
Doctrine of psychic unity
people are born with the same potential, but some develop more fully than others
-
Stryker's Identity Theory
- human social behavior is organized by symbolic designations of both physical and social aspects of the environment
- includes the symbols and associated meanings of the positions that people occupy in social structures
-
Structural positions (stryker's identity theory)
- awareness of our roles and positions impacts the expectations of ourselves and how we should behave
- individuals designate themselves as objects in relation to their location in structural positions and their perceptions of broader definitions of the situation
- behavior isn't completely determined by these designations or definitions
-
Social structures can be:
- 1. open and flexible
- 2. closed and rigid
- all have some constraints about how to be with face to face interaction
-
Salience
the degree to which an individual identifies with ___ in a certain situation/context
-
Salience Hierarchy
- identities are organized into a salience hierarchy
- high in the hierarchy are more likely to be evoked than those lower
-
Identity
- identities are parts of larger sense of self
- they are internalized self-designations associations with positions that individuals occupy within various social contexts
-
Commitment
- the link between social structure and the self
- degree to which a person's relationship to others depends on being a certain kind of individual with a particular identity
-
Bio-social-behavioral shifts
- developmental change as the emergent synthesis of several major factors interacting over time
- over time these factors give rise to qualitative rearrangements in the organization of behavior
-
Developmental niche
the child's location within the complex set of socio-cultural-ecological relations that form the proximal environment of development
-
Correlational studies
examine how variables are naturally related in the real word, without any attempt by the researcher to alter them
-
Correlational studies advantages
- rely on naturally occurring relationships
- may take place in a real-world setting
-
Correlational studies disadvantages
- cannot be used to support caused relationships (correlation does not mean causation)
- cannot show direction of the cause/effect
- an unidentified variable may be involved (third variable problem)
-
Experimental studies
examine how variables are related when manipulated by researchers
-
Experimental studies advantages
- can demonstrate causal relationships
- avoid the directionality problem
-
Experimental studies disadvantages
often take place in an artificial/lab setting
-
Validity
the extent to which the data collected address the research hypothesis in the way intended
-
Internal validity
there is no confounds
-
External validity
extent to which findings generalize to the population
-
Reliability
the extent to which a measure is stable and consistent over time in similar conditions
-
Variable
- something in the world that can be measured and that can vary
- independent variable and dependent variable
-
Confound
anything that affects the DV and may unintentionally vary between the experimental conditions of a study
-
Self-reports advantages
- can be used to gather data from a large # of people
- easy to administer, cost-effective, and fast
-
Self-reports disadvantages
people can introduce biases into their answers or may not recall info accurately
-
Case studies advantages
- can provide extensive data about one or a few individuals or organizations
- can study extreme cases
-
Case studies disadvantages
- can be very subjective- if a researcher has a causal theory, this theory can bias what is observed and recorded
- also, it is not possible to generalize the results from an individual to the population
-
Selection bias
- when participants in different groups in an experiment differ systematically
- avoid this through random assignment
-
3 general ethical principles
- 1. beneficience
- 2. respect
- 3. justice
-
Beneficience
the obligation to maximize research benefits and minimize research harm
-
Respect
the responsibility to ensure that research participation is informed, rational, and voluntary
-
Justice
the obligation to ensure the fair distribution of research benefits and burdens across populations
-
SRCD's (society for research in child development) 16 principles regarding research with children
- 1. non-harmful procedures
- 2. informed consent and assent
- 3. parental consent
- 4. additional consent
- 5. incentives
- 6. deception
- 7. anonymity
- 8. mutual responsibilities
- 9. jeopardy
- 10. unforeseen consequences
- 11. confidentiality
- 12. informing participants
- 13. reporting results
- 14. implications of findings
- 15. scientific misconduct
- 16. personal misconduct
-
Non-harmful procedures
investigators should not use research procedures that may harm the child, and are obligated to use the least stressful operation whenever possible
-
Informed consent and assent
investigators working with toddlers and preschool children should make efforts to at least tell the children what will be done, where it will be done, who will be involved, how long their participation will last, whether or not an incentive will be offered
-
Parental consent
- investigators should obtain written informed consent from parents or children's legal guardians
- parents/guardians can refuse
- right to withdraw permission at any time without penalty
-
Additional consent
investigators should afford the same rights just mentioned for parents to those with roles such as teachers or camp counselors (in loco parentis), particularly if their interaction with the child is the focus of the study
-
Incentives
incentives to participate must be fair and must not exceed the range of incentives that the child normally experiences (they shouldn't coerce the child to participate)
-
Deception
- some psychologists take the position that deception is never justified with children, bust this is not a generally accepted position. if deception is used, investigators believe that the deception they employ has the potential to harm, they should apprise participants of the need for deception in a sensitive and developmentally appropriate manner
- debriefing to provide good feelings about their research participation
-
Anonymity
if investigators collect data from institutional records, they should obtain permission from responsible individuals and take precautions to preserve the anonymity of the information contained in these records
-
Mutual responsibilities
- investigators should clarify the responsibilities of all participants in the research enterprise - children, parents, teachers, administrators, and research assistants - at the inception of the study
- investigators should also honor all promises made to parties involved in the research
-
Jeopardy
if an investigator learns of information that jeopardizes a child's well-being during the conduct of a study, he or she has a responsibility to discuss the information with the parents and with experts in the field who may arrange the necessary assistance for the child
-
Unforeseen consequences
if research procedures result in unforeseen negative consequences for child participants the investigators should take immediate action to amend the untoward effects and should modify the procedure for subsequent participants
-
Confidentiality
procedures insuring the confidentiality of participants' responses must be in place. when a possibility exists that others may gain access to research responses, investigators should explain this possibility (along with plans for protecting confidentiality) to participants as part of the procedure of obtaining informed consent
-
Informing participants
the investigator recognizes a duty to inform participants of any misunderstandings, and to report general findings to them in terms of appropriate to their understanding. if investigators must withhold information, they should make efforts to ensure that the participants are not damaged by the withheld information
-
Reporting results
because investigators' comments may carry undue weight, they should exercise caution in reporting results, making evaluative statements, or giving advice to parents, teachers and the like
-
Implications of findings
investigators should be particularly mindful of the social, political, and human implications of their research
-
Scientific misconduct
investigators must refrain from scientific misconduct, including such practices as plagiarism. the fabrication of data also constitutes scientific misconduct (does not include unintentional errors)
-
Personal misconduct
committing a criminal felony may be grounds fro expulsion from SRCD
|
|