CHYS 2P10 - Midterm Review
Lecture 1 - Introduction to Developmental Psychology (Chapter 1 of Textbook)
Developmental Sciences
● Science is a method of understanding physical and mental world
● Describe Development
○ Normative (behaviour)
○ Ideographic (individual)
● Explain Development
○ Why do individuals develop different (appearance, cultural)
● Optimize Development
○ Apply research findings to real world
Theories and Hypotheses
● Common use of fact (gravity is a fact) are correctly labelled as a theory in science
● A theory is an idea that attempts to account for/explain facts/observations. Thus, every so-called scientific
fact is actually a theory
● Predictions resulting from theories are known as hypotheses
● Makes testable predictions to let us find out when we are wrong
○ Climate change models (happening faster)
○ Gets closer to the truth, never have certainty
○ Must correct your mistakes
Research Designs for Examining Children’s Development
● Cross Sectional Design
● People from different ages studied a the same point
● One task, multiple groups participate
● Is there a difference between age groups
● Cohort effects
● Longitudinal Design
● Same participants observed repeatedly over time
● Time period may be brief (6 months - 1 yrs)
● Some have lasted decades
● Temperment to an adult
● Sequential Design
● Combination of cross-sectional and longitudinal
● Participants of different ages selected at outset (like cross sectional)
● All participants observed repeatedly for a period of time (like longitudinal)
● Microgenetic Design
● Small level or change
● Understand children's thinking in a small way
Key Terms:
Correlation → the association between two variables
Correlation Coefficient → descriptive statistic that is used to illustrate the strength and direction of a relationship
between two variables (between -1 and 1)
Epigenetics → the study of stable changes in gene expression that are mediated by the environment
Inferential Stat → used to determine how likely a hypothesis is to be true (use mathematical formulas to
determine the statistical significance of a given scientific result)
Longitudinal Design → a method of study in which the same participants are studied twice or more over a
substantial length of time
, Microgenetic Design → a method of study in which the same participants are studied repeatedly over a short
period
Nature → our biological endowment; the genes we receive from our parents
Neurotransmitters → chemicals involved in communication among brain cells
Nurture → the environments, both physical and social, that influence our development
Reliability → the degree to which independent measurements of a given behaviour are consistent
Stats Inferences → convention dictates that any theory that is 95% likely to be true is taken as having “passed”
the test of falsifiability … scientific theories are therefore constantly being tested with new data that is then
analyzed using inferential statistics to determine the likelihood that the theory is still true
Validity → the degree to which a test measures what is intended to measure
Chapter 1 Notes:
● Turtle shell technique: help preschoolers cope with their own anger
● Meta-analysis: method of combining and analyzing the results from several independent studies
● Children’s testimony is usually accurate when an interviewer does not ask leading questions
● Watson’s behaviourist theory proposed that development is determined by rewards and punishments
(environment)
● Developmentalists → development is influenced by the joint workings of nature and nurture
● Active child → how children contribute to their own development (later choose their own environment)
● After infancy, most developmental changes occur gradually
● Study of development of “effortful attention” provides insight to the role of brain activity, genes, and learning
experiences
● Physical, social, economical and historical circumstances that make up a child’s environment →
sociocultural context
○ Influences children
● First basic step in using scientific method is choosing a question
● Generalize findings beyond the individuals who participated in her study, Dr. Liu needs to conduct an
external validity
● Experience that children in the experimental group receive that others in a control group don’t (independent
variable)
● Test 3 month olds, 6 months old and 9 months old → cross sectional
● Study developmental change as it is occurring by observing participants numerous times over a relatively
short span of time (microgenetic)
● Tri-council guidelines, what’s not a stated ethical principle → information about the child uncovered through
the course of the study must not be revealed to the parents or guardians
● Ethical issues → can’t harm kids physical or psychological - must have consent to participate
Lecture 2 - Theories of Human Development (Chapter 9 of the Textbook)
Nature/Nurture
● Development, as we’ll see next week, is a combination of the two
● For political and practical reasons, nurture often gets extra credit
● In reality, nurture is what we can control more easily than nature, so we tend to focus on it more
do we manipulate biology and DO we manipulate biology
● Everyone has different genetics and environment both play a role
Dr. Sigmund Freud
● Studied adults and looked back at their childhood
● Studied how childhood influenced how you became
● Matter who ur parents are or ur experience?
Three Components of Personality
Lecture 1 - Introduction to Developmental Psychology (Chapter 1 of Textbook)
Developmental Sciences
● Science is a method of understanding physical and mental world
● Describe Development
○ Normative (behaviour)
○ Ideographic (individual)
● Explain Development
○ Why do individuals develop different (appearance, cultural)
● Optimize Development
○ Apply research findings to real world
Theories and Hypotheses
● Common use of fact (gravity is a fact) are correctly labelled as a theory in science
● A theory is an idea that attempts to account for/explain facts/observations. Thus, every so-called scientific
fact is actually a theory
● Predictions resulting from theories are known as hypotheses
● Makes testable predictions to let us find out when we are wrong
○ Climate change models (happening faster)
○ Gets closer to the truth, never have certainty
○ Must correct your mistakes
Research Designs for Examining Children’s Development
● Cross Sectional Design
● People from different ages studied a the same point
● One task, multiple groups participate
● Is there a difference between age groups
● Cohort effects
● Longitudinal Design
● Same participants observed repeatedly over time
● Time period may be brief (6 months - 1 yrs)
● Some have lasted decades
● Temperment to an adult
● Sequential Design
● Combination of cross-sectional and longitudinal
● Participants of different ages selected at outset (like cross sectional)
● All participants observed repeatedly for a period of time (like longitudinal)
● Microgenetic Design
● Small level or change
● Understand children's thinking in a small way
Key Terms:
Correlation → the association between two variables
Correlation Coefficient → descriptive statistic that is used to illustrate the strength and direction of a relationship
between two variables (between -1 and 1)
Epigenetics → the study of stable changes in gene expression that are mediated by the environment
Inferential Stat → used to determine how likely a hypothesis is to be true (use mathematical formulas to
determine the statistical significance of a given scientific result)
Longitudinal Design → a method of study in which the same participants are studied twice or more over a
substantial length of time
, Microgenetic Design → a method of study in which the same participants are studied repeatedly over a short
period
Nature → our biological endowment; the genes we receive from our parents
Neurotransmitters → chemicals involved in communication among brain cells
Nurture → the environments, both physical and social, that influence our development
Reliability → the degree to which independent measurements of a given behaviour are consistent
Stats Inferences → convention dictates that any theory that is 95% likely to be true is taken as having “passed”
the test of falsifiability … scientific theories are therefore constantly being tested with new data that is then
analyzed using inferential statistics to determine the likelihood that the theory is still true
Validity → the degree to which a test measures what is intended to measure
Chapter 1 Notes:
● Turtle shell technique: help preschoolers cope with their own anger
● Meta-analysis: method of combining and analyzing the results from several independent studies
● Children’s testimony is usually accurate when an interviewer does not ask leading questions
● Watson’s behaviourist theory proposed that development is determined by rewards and punishments
(environment)
● Developmentalists → development is influenced by the joint workings of nature and nurture
● Active child → how children contribute to their own development (later choose their own environment)
● After infancy, most developmental changes occur gradually
● Study of development of “effortful attention” provides insight to the role of brain activity, genes, and learning
experiences
● Physical, social, economical and historical circumstances that make up a child’s environment →
sociocultural context
○ Influences children
● First basic step in using scientific method is choosing a question
● Generalize findings beyond the individuals who participated in her study, Dr. Liu needs to conduct an
external validity
● Experience that children in the experimental group receive that others in a control group don’t (independent
variable)
● Test 3 month olds, 6 months old and 9 months old → cross sectional
● Study developmental change as it is occurring by observing participants numerous times over a relatively
short span of time (microgenetic)
● Tri-council guidelines, what’s not a stated ethical principle → information about the child uncovered through
the course of the study must not be revealed to the parents or guardians
● Ethical issues → can’t harm kids physical or psychological - must have consent to participate
Lecture 2 - Theories of Human Development (Chapter 9 of the Textbook)
Nature/Nurture
● Development, as we’ll see next week, is a combination of the two
● For political and practical reasons, nurture often gets extra credit
● In reality, nurture is what we can control more easily than nature, so we tend to focus on it more
do we manipulate biology and DO we manipulate biology
● Everyone has different genetics and environment both play a role
Dr. Sigmund Freud
● Studied adults and looked back at their childhood
● Studied how childhood influenced how you became
● Matter who ur parents are or ur experience?
Three Components of Personality
