Developmental Psychology
Session 1
Introduction, methods, lifespan development
Defining Development
1. Physical development
2. Cognitive development
3. Psychosocial development
Narrow Conception of Development
● Sequential → based on several stages
● Unidirectional → earlier changes are prerequisite for later ones
● End state → higher value than the original state
● Irreversible → in progression
● Qualitative → structural transformations
● Biological growth → independent of culture
● Universal → the same for all humans
Extended Conception of Development
● Not necessarily based on stages
● Qualitative as well as quantitative
● Affected by culture and biology
Life Span:
,Cultural Differences:
● Social clock: a sense of when things should be done and when he or she is ahead of /
behind the schedule dictated by age norms
Nature vs Nurture:
The Modern Life-Span Perspective:
● Gerontology: the study of aging and old age
● Paul Baltes → 7 key assumptions of the life-span perspective
○ 1: Development is a lifelong process
○ 2: Development is multidirectional
○ 3: Development involves both gain and loss
○ 4: Development is characterized by lifelong plasticity
○ 5: Development is shaped by its historical-cultural context
○ 6: Development is multiply influenced
○ 7: Development must be studied by multiple disciplines
Developmental Research Designs
● Cross-sectional designs: the performances of people of different age groups, or
cohorts, are compared. A cohort is a group of individuals born at the same time, either
in the same year or within a specified span of years (for example, a generation is a
cohort).
● Longitudinal designs: one cohort of individuals is assessed repeatedly over time.
● Sequential design: combines the cross-sectional approach and the longitudinal
approach in a single study
, Session 2
Theories of Developmental Psychology
Important Debates in Developmental Psychology
Nature - nurture interaction → Critical / sensitive period
● Critical period: a maturational period in which the nervous system is especially
sensitive to certain environmental stimuli
○ If the organism does not receive the appropriate stimuli at the right time, it is
impossible to develop certain associated functions later in life
● Sensitive period: a maturational period in which specific experiences have maximal
positive or negative effects → periods of increased plasticity under the influence of
specific condition factors
○ Examples: binocular vision, language development, hearing, social
development
Gene-environment interaction
→ people with different genes
are affected differently by
environmental influences
, Gene-environment correlations
● Nature affects nurture
● Passive genotype-environment fit: Association between the inherited genotype of a
child and environment in which the child is raised
● Evocative genotype-environment fit: Association between genetically programmed
behavior and others’ reaction to that behavior → inborn characteristics evoke certain
responses from the environment
● Active genotype-environment fit: Association between an individual’s genetic
tendencies and the environmental niches that they actively select
● These types of genotype-environment fit changes across the lifespan
Epigenetics
● Nurture affects nature
● Environment-sensitive genes: gene expression can be changed by environmental
influences across the lifespan
Important Theories in Developmental Psychology
● Erikson’s Psychosocial Development Theory
○ Personality develops throughout the lifespan
○ Personality development is influenced by culture, society, and history
○ Development of personality can be divided into 8 stages
○ At each stage the individual must cope with a crisis/conflict in either an
adaptive or a maladaptive manner
■ If one stage was dealt with in a maladaptive manner, the following
stages could not be adequately attended, resulting in a maladapted
individual
■ Successful solution of the conflict leads to virtues
Session 1
Introduction, methods, lifespan development
Defining Development
1. Physical development
2. Cognitive development
3. Psychosocial development
Narrow Conception of Development
● Sequential → based on several stages
● Unidirectional → earlier changes are prerequisite for later ones
● End state → higher value than the original state
● Irreversible → in progression
● Qualitative → structural transformations
● Biological growth → independent of culture
● Universal → the same for all humans
Extended Conception of Development
● Not necessarily based on stages
● Qualitative as well as quantitative
● Affected by culture and biology
Life Span:
,Cultural Differences:
● Social clock: a sense of when things should be done and when he or she is ahead of /
behind the schedule dictated by age norms
Nature vs Nurture:
The Modern Life-Span Perspective:
● Gerontology: the study of aging and old age
● Paul Baltes → 7 key assumptions of the life-span perspective
○ 1: Development is a lifelong process
○ 2: Development is multidirectional
○ 3: Development involves both gain and loss
○ 4: Development is characterized by lifelong plasticity
○ 5: Development is shaped by its historical-cultural context
○ 6: Development is multiply influenced
○ 7: Development must be studied by multiple disciplines
Developmental Research Designs
● Cross-sectional designs: the performances of people of different age groups, or
cohorts, are compared. A cohort is a group of individuals born at the same time, either
in the same year or within a specified span of years (for example, a generation is a
cohort).
● Longitudinal designs: one cohort of individuals is assessed repeatedly over time.
● Sequential design: combines the cross-sectional approach and the longitudinal
approach in a single study
, Session 2
Theories of Developmental Psychology
Important Debates in Developmental Psychology
Nature - nurture interaction → Critical / sensitive period
● Critical period: a maturational period in which the nervous system is especially
sensitive to certain environmental stimuli
○ If the organism does not receive the appropriate stimuli at the right time, it is
impossible to develop certain associated functions later in life
● Sensitive period: a maturational period in which specific experiences have maximal
positive or negative effects → periods of increased plasticity under the influence of
specific condition factors
○ Examples: binocular vision, language development, hearing, social
development
Gene-environment interaction
→ people with different genes
are affected differently by
environmental influences
, Gene-environment correlations
● Nature affects nurture
● Passive genotype-environment fit: Association between the inherited genotype of a
child and environment in which the child is raised
● Evocative genotype-environment fit: Association between genetically programmed
behavior and others’ reaction to that behavior → inborn characteristics evoke certain
responses from the environment
● Active genotype-environment fit: Association between an individual’s genetic
tendencies and the environmental niches that they actively select
● These types of genotype-environment fit changes across the lifespan
Epigenetics
● Nurture affects nature
● Environment-sensitive genes: gene expression can be changed by environmental
influences across the lifespan
Important Theories in Developmental Psychology
● Erikson’s Psychosocial Development Theory
○ Personality develops throughout the lifespan
○ Personality development is influenced by culture, society, and history
○ Development of personality can be divided into 8 stages
○ At each stage the individual must cope with a crisis/conflict in either an
adaptive or a maladaptive manner
■ If one stage was dealt with in a maladaptive manner, the following
stages could not be adequately attended, resulting in a maladapted
individual
■ Successful solution of the conflict leads to virtues
