Psychology Summary
Chapter 1
3 domains
1. Physical development
2. Cognitive development (perception, language, learning, memory,
problem solving)
3. Psychosocial development (motives, emotions, personality traits,
interpersonal skills etc.)
1.1 How should we think about development?
Biological aging deterioration of organisms
Emerging adulthood between adolescence & full adulthood. 18-
25. WW2 educational period
Age grade different socially defined age groups in a society
Rite of passage ritual for passage from one status to another
(childhood adulthood)
Age norms expectations; society’s way of telling people how to
act their age
Social clock a person’s sense of when things should be done and
when he/she is ahead or behind the schedule dictated by age norms
Socioeconomic status (SES)
Nature hereditary / genes, maturation
Nurture environment, learning, experience Nature affect
Nurture
1.2 What is the science of life-span development?
Goals of driving the study of life-span development: Describing,
Predicting, Explaining & optimizing
Baby biographies
Developmental psychology G. Stanley Hall. research tool;
questionnaire
influential book ‘Adolescence’ (1904) inspired by Darwin’s
evolutionary theory. Emotional ups & downs + rapid changes
period called Storm & stress.
Gerontology study of aging & old age
Life-span perspective: 7 key assumptions (Baltes)
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 (interaction)
7. Development must be studied by multiple disciplines
,1.3 How is development studied?
The scientific method method & attitude
A good theory should be
o Internally consistent
o Falsifiable
o Supported by data
Naturalistic observations observing people
in their everyday surroundings
Structured observations create special
stimuli, tasks, or situations designed to elicit
the behaviour of interest
Case study in-depth examination of
individual; compiling & analysing information
from a variety of sources such as
observations, testing & interviewing people
who know them
Directionality problem (in correlational
studies) the direction of cause-effect
relationship could be reverse
Video deficit in infants difficulty
learning as much from video
presentations as they do from face-to-
face presentations. Need to perceive a
social partner who is personally talking
with them in order to learn.
Cross-sectional studies how different cohorts (like ages) differ
Longitudinal design one cohort of individuals is assessed
repeatedly over time
Time-of-measurement effects effects of historical events and
trends occurring when data are being collected
Sequential design combines cross-sectional & longitudinal
approach in single study
1.4 What special challenges do developmental scientists
face?
WEIRD people living in societies that are Western, Educated,
Industrialized, Rich & Democratic.
Ethnocentrism the belief that one’s own group and its culture are
superior
Chapter 2
2.1 Developmental theories and the issues they raise
Nature-Nurture
, Activity-Passivity focusses on the extent to which human beings
are active in creating & influencing their own environments and, in
the process, in producing their own development, or are passively
shaped by forces beyond their control.
Continuity-Discontinuity whether the changes people undergo
over their life-span are gradual or abrupt.
o Continuity small steps, without sudden changes
o Discontinuity development more as a series of stair steps
each which elevates the individual to a new level of
functioning developmental stages.
Changes are quantitative or qualitative
o Quantitative in degree continuity
o Qualitative in kind discontinuity
Universality-context specificity the extent to which
developmental changes are common to all humans (universal) or
different across cultures, subcultures, task contexts & individuals
(context specific)
2.2 Psychoanalytic Theory
Freud psychoanalytic theory focused on the development &
dynamics of the personality
Notion that humans have basic biological urges or drives that must
be satisfied.
Newborn instincts that motivate behaviour source of psychic
energy that fuels human behaviour
Strongly believed in unconscious motivation power of instincts
and other inner forces to influence our behaviour without our
awareness.
Freud’s theory tilts toward the nature side: development is shaped
by biological forces that provide an unconscious motivation for
behaviour.
His theory also includes environmental influences on development;
experiences in family during first 5 years of life
3 components of personality as child develops:
o Id impulsive, irrational, selfish part of personality whose
mission is to satisfy the instincts.
o Ego rational side, tries to find realistic ways of gratifying
instincts. Emerges during infancy, takes form of cognitive
processes (perception, learning, problem solving)
o Superego individual’s internalized moral standards. 3- to
6-y-o children internalize moral standards/values of parents
, Libido psychic energy of sex instinct. Shifts from one part of the
body to another as the child matures,
seeking to gratify different biological
needs.
5 psychosexual stages: Oral, Anal,
Phallic, Latency & Genital.
Fixation arrested development in
which part of the libido remains tied to
an earlier stage of development
might become “stuck” in a stage
Oedipus complex boy loves mother
Electra complex girl desires father.
Both complexes resolved by
identification.
Defense mechanisms as unconscious
coping devices
o Repression removing unacceptable thoughts or traumatic
memories from consciousness
o Regression retreating to an earlier, less traumatic stage of
development
Erikson:
Placed less emphasis on sexual urges as drivers of development.
More emphasis on social influences.
Nature/nurture equally important
Less emphasis on id. More on rational ego & adaptive powers
More positive view of human nature. People active in development.
More emphasis on development after adolescence
Eight major psychosocial stages
o Trust vs. mistrust infants
learn to trust other people if
their caregivers are responsive
to needs.
o Autonomy vs. shame and
doubt (1-3y) assert that
they have wills of their own
o Initiative vs. guilt (3-6y)
develop a sense of purpose by
devising bold plans and talking
prite in accomplishing goals
they set.
o Industry vs. inferiority (6-12y) children must master
important cognitive/social/academic skills and keep up with
their peers; otherwise, they will feel inferior. More social
comparison.
o Identity vs. role confusion (12-20y): ask who they are,
establish social identities otherwise confused about roles they
should play as adults
, o Intimacy vs. isolation (20-40y): seek to form shared
identity, may fear intimacy, experience loneliness/isolation
o Generativity vs. stagnation (40-65y): must feel they are
producing something that will outlive them, otherwise
stagnant/self-centered. Care bout welfare of future
generations.
o Integrity vs. despair (65+y): view lives as meaningful, face
death without worries and regrets.
Children who successfully master each of these conflicts gain
new ego strengths.
2.3 Learning theories
Watson nurture is everything, nature counts for
nothing
Behaviourism rested on belief that
conclusions about human development and
functioning should be based on observations
of overt behaviour rather than speculations
about unobservable cognitive processes
Classical conditioning
Skinner research with animals.
Operant conditioning
o Positive reinforcement; adding a pleasant stimulus
o Negative reinforcement; withdrawing an unpleasant stimulus
o Positive punishment; adding an unpleasant stimulus
o Negative punishment; withdrawing a pleasant stimulus
Believed, like Watson, that the course of human development
depends on the individual’s learning experiences.
Bandura
Social cognitive theory (social learning theory) humans are
cognitive beings whose active processing of information plays a
critical role in their learning, behaviour and development.
Prefers social cognitive theory rather than learning theory to
distance himself from learning theories like Watson’s & Skinner’s.
Emphasize his theory is about the motivating & self-regulating role
of cognition in human behaviour.
Observational learning
Chapter 1
3 domains
1. Physical development
2. Cognitive development (perception, language, learning, memory,
problem solving)
3. Psychosocial development (motives, emotions, personality traits,
interpersonal skills etc.)
1.1 How should we think about development?
Biological aging deterioration of organisms
Emerging adulthood between adolescence & full adulthood. 18-
25. WW2 educational period
Age grade different socially defined age groups in a society
Rite of passage ritual for passage from one status to another
(childhood adulthood)
Age norms expectations; society’s way of telling people how to
act their age
Social clock a person’s sense of when things should be done and
when he/she is ahead or behind the schedule dictated by age norms
Socioeconomic status (SES)
Nature hereditary / genes, maturation
Nurture environment, learning, experience Nature affect
Nurture
1.2 What is the science of life-span development?
Goals of driving the study of life-span development: Describing,
Predicting, Explaining & optimizing
Baby biographies
Developmental psychology G. Stanley Hall. research tool;
questionnaire
influential book ‘Adolescence’ (1904) inspired by Darwin’s
evolutionary theory. Emotional ups & downs + rapid changes
period called Storm & stress.
Gerontology study of aging & old age
Life-span perspective: 7 key assumptions (Baltes)
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 (interaction)
7. Development must be studied by multiple disciplines
,1.3 How is development studied?
The scientific method method & attitude
A good theory should be
o Internally consistent
o Falsifiable
o Supported by data
Naturalistic observations observing people
in their everyday surroundings
Structured observations create special
stimuli, tasks, or situations designed to elicit
the behaviour of interest
Case study in-depth examination of
individual; compiling & analysing information
from a variety of sources such as
observations, testing & interviewing people
who know them
Directionality problem (in correlational
studies) the direction of cause-effect
relationship could be reverse
Video deficit in infants difficulty
learning as much from video
presentations as they do from face-to-
face presentations. Need to perceive a
social partner who is personally talking
with them in order to learn.
Cross-sectional studies how different cohorts (like ages) differ
Longitudinal design one cohort of individuals is assessed
repeatedly over time
Time-of-measurement effects effects of historical events and
trends occurring when data are being collected
Sequential design combines cross-sectional & longitudinal
approach in single study
1.4 What special challenges do developmental scientists
face?
WEIRD people living in societies that are Western, Educated,
Industrialized, Rich & Democratic.
Ethnocentrism the belief that one’s own group and its culture are
superior
Chapter 2
2.1 Developmental theories and the issues they raise
Nature-Nurture
, Activity-Passivity focusses on the extent to which human beings
are active in creating & influencing their own environments and, in
the process, in producing their own development, or are passively
shaped by forces beyond their control.
Continuity-Discontinuity whether the changes people undergo
over their life-span are gradual or abrupt.
o Continuity small steps, without sudden changes
o Discontinuity development more as a series of stair steps
each which elevates the individual to a new level of
functioning developmental stages.
Changes are quantitative or qualitative
o Quantitative in degree continuity
o Qualitative in kind discontinuity
Universality-context specificity the extent to which
developmental changes are common to all humans (universal) or
different across cultures, subcultures, task contexts & individuals
(context specific)
2.2 Psychoanalytic Theory
Freud psychoanalytic theory focused on the development &
dynamics of the personality
Notion that humans have basic biological urges or drives that must
be satisfied.
Newborn instincts that motivate behaviour source of psychic
energy that fuels human behaviour
Strongly believed in unconscious motivation power of instincts
and other inner forces to influence our behaviour without our
awareness.
Freud’s theory tilts toward the nature side: development is shaped
by biological forces that provide an unconscious motivation for
behaviour.
His theory also includes environmental influences on development;
experiences in family during first 5 years of life
3 components of personality as child develops:
o Id impulsive, irrational, selfish part of personality whose
mission is to satisfy the instincts.
o Ego rational side, tries to find realistic ways of gratifying
instincts. Emerges during infancy, takes form of cognitive
processes (perception, learning, problem solving)
o Superego individual’s internalized moral standards. 3- to
6-y-o children internalize moral standards/values of parents
, Libido psychic energy of sex instinct. Shifts from one part of the
body to another as the child matures,
seeking to gratify different biological
needs.
5 psychosexual stages: Oral, Anal,
Phallic, Latency & Genital.
Fixation arrested development in
which part of the libido remains tied to
an earlier stage of development
might become “stuck” in a stage
Oedipus complex boy loves mother
Electra complex girl desires father.
Both complexes resolved by
identification.
Defense mechanisms as unconscious
coping devices
o Repression removing unacceptable thoughts or traumatic
memories from consciousness
o Regression retreating to an earlier, less traumatic stage of
development
Erikson:
Placed less emphasis on sexual urges as drivers of development.
More emphasis on social influences.
Nature/nurture equally important
Less emphasis on id. More on rational ego & adaptive powers
More positive view of human nature. People active in development.
More emphasis on development after adolescence
Eight major psychosocial stages
o Trust vs. mistrust infants
learn to trust other people if
their caregivers are responsive
to needs.
o Autonomy vs. shame and
doubt (1-3y) assert that
they have wills of their own
o Initiative vs. guilt (3-6y)
develop a sense of purpose by
devising bold plans and talking
prite in accomplishing goals
they set.
o Industry vs. inferiority (6-12y) children must master
important cognitive/social/academic skills and keep up with
their peers; otherwise, they will feel inferior. More social
comparison.
o Identity vs. role confusion (12-20y): ask who they are,
establish social identities otherwise confused about roles they
should play as adults
, o Intimacy vs. isolation (20-40y): seek to form shared
identity, may fear intimacy, experience loneliness/isolation
o Generativity vs. stagnation (40-65y): must feel they are
producing something that will outlive them, otherwise
stagnant/self-centered. Care bout welfare of future
generations.
o Integrity vs. despair (65+y): view lives as meaningful, face
death without worries and regrets.
Children who successfully master each of these conflicts gain
new ego strengths.
2.3 Learning theories
Watson nurture is everything, nature counts for
nothing
Behaviourism rested on belief that
conclusions about human development and
functioning should be based on observations
of overt behaviour rather than speculations
about unobservable cognitive processes
Classical conditioning
Skinner research with animals.
Operant conditioning
o Positive reinforcement; adding a pleasant stimulus
o Negative reinforcement; withdrawing an unpleasant stimulus
o Positive punishment; adding an unpleasant stimulus
o Negative punishment; withdrawing a pleasant stimulus
Believed, like Watson, that the course of human development
depends on the individual’s learning experiences.
Bandura
Social cognitive theory (social learning theory) humans are
cognitive beings whose active processing of information plays a
critical role in their learning, behaviour and development.
Prefers social cognitive theory rather than learning theory to
distance himself from learning theories like Watson’s & Skinner’s.
Emphasize his theory is about the motivating & self-regulating role
of cognition in human behaviour.
Observational learning
