THEORY 

Psychoanalytic theories are the theory of what?

Theories of Child Development:

∙ Psychoanalytic Theories 

o Primarily unconscious and heavily colored by emotion. Behavior is  just a characteristic of underlying workings of the mind. Early  

experiences with parents are emphasized  

» Freud’s Psychosexual Development Theory

∙ Stage theory (5 stages)

» Erickson’s Psychosocial Theory

∙ Review stages

∙ Cognitive Theories 

o Emphasis on conscious thought. Interactions with the environment  are emphasized. Childhood experiences have important influences.  » Piaget’s Developmental Stage Theory

Cognitive theories are the theory of what?

∙ Sensorimotor, Preoperational, Concrete Operational, Formal  Operational  

» Vgotsky’s Sociocultural Cognitive Theory

∙ Culture and Social Interaction guide cognitive development.

∙ Development follow child’s potential to learn. Zone of Proximal  Development.

∙ You can increase potential if you give the child help.

» (Computers) Information-Processing Theory

∙ Information comes in, it is processed, manipulated, and then  acted upon.  

∙ Development does not occur in stages. Capacity for  If you want to learn more check out What are the different types of validity?

information grows.  

∙ Behavioral & Social Cognitive Theories 

Behavioral & social cognitive theories are the theory of what?

o Development does not occur in stages. Behavior, environmental  experiences, and cognition are the key factors in development. Strong  emphasis on research – we study what can be directly observed and  measured. Have to see it to believe it.

» Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning

∙ Behaviorism – we can scientifically study only what can be  

directly observed and measured.

∙ Classical Conditioning – a neutral stimulus (bell) can produce a  response originally produced by another stimulus (food).

» Skinner’s Operant Conditioning  

∙ Operant Conditioning – the consequences of behavior produce  changes in the probability of the behavior’s occurrence.  

» Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory

∙ Observational learning – we observe and then we imitate the  behaviors of others. Don't forget about the age old question of What is the meaning of “rule of law”?

∙ Ethological Theory 

- Behavior is strongly influenced by biology.

- Human behavior is tied to evolution.

- There are sensitive periods of development. We also discuss several other topics like Which compound reacts with a fatty acid to form an ester linkage?

» Lorenz (Mother Goose)

∙ Imprinting – rapid, innate learning within a limited, critical period  of time. New creatures become attached to the first moving object  seen.

» Bowlby (Attachment Parenting)

∙ Success in human development is greatly weighted o whether or  not infants experience positive attachment to caregiver during a  critical period.

∙ Ecological Theory

» Brofenbrenner (role of the environment)

∙ Microsystem – where the person lives

∙ Mesosystem – relations between microsystems

∙ Exosystem – links to social systems where the child has no active  role but may be affected by (how mom’s job affects your life)

∙ Macrosystem – culture

∙ Chronosystem – how the system transitions overtime

RESEARCH METHODS 

Methods for Collecting Data (know benefits and limitations)

» Observation Don't forget about the age old question of Who has authored and established the first family?

o Laboratory Research

▪ Benefits: controlled environment, record findings more  

systematically  

▪ Limitations: unnatural environment, participants know they  are being studied, sample not representative, intimidating,  

target behaviors not present in lab setting, unethical methods  

my be used to induce behaviors

o Naturalistic Observation (Jane Goodell)

▪ Benefits – record behaviors in context

▪ Limitations – difficult to control factors

» Survey & Interview 

o Person – person  

o Telephone

o Mail

o Internet (survey monkey, etc.)

» Standardized Test 

o Uniform procedures for administration

▪ Limitations: predictability, reliability, culture adaptability

» Case Study (Shirley Ardell Mason)

o Case studies are in-depth portrayals of people’s lives.  

▪ Benefits – you can learn about a person far beyond what can be  measured

▪ Limitations – psychologists rarely look for multiple opinions in  cases If you want to learn more check out What does a variant of something meaningful?

» Physiological Measures 

o Physiology—how it works (vs. anatomy) ???? the body

o How do we measure physiology?

▪ EKG (heart activity)  

▪ EEG (brain activity)

▪ EMG (muscle activity)

▪ Respiration

▪ Heart rate

o Benefits – multimodal research capabilities  If you want to learn more check out What happens when atoms share electrons equally?

Experimental Design:

» Descriptive 

o Observe and record behavior

o Limited when used alone

» Correlational 

o Descriptive and predictive

o Relationship between 2 events or characteristics  

o Correlational coefficient (-1 - +1); if no relationship ???? 0

» Experimental 

o Experiments are carefully regulated

o Independent vs. dependent variables

o Experimental vs. control groups

» Cross – sectional (Judith Walenstine – The Unexpected Legacy of Divorce) o Comparisons of different age groups  

o Can see changes over time without waiting for your participants to  grow

» Longitudinal  

o Study the same group of people over time

o Expensive and time consuming  

**Statistical significance 

∙ The findings you got are better than chance

Ethics in Research:

» Informed consent: All participants must agree to participate knowing all  possible risks.

» Confidentiality: All data must be kept confidential.

» Debriefing: Participants should be informed about the research. » Deception: Deception of the purpose of research will not be harmful to the  participants.

Minimizing Bias

∙ Gender Bias

o Drawing conclusions based on gender alone.  

o Magnifying conclusions to support gender bias.

∙ Cultural & Ethnic Bias 

o Research should include children from a variety of backgrounds to  achieve a representative sample.  

o **Ethnic gloss – using labels in a superficial way. It wrongly suggests  cultural homogeneity.  

BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES 

Basic Cell Biology:

∙ Cell

∙ Nucleus

∙ Chromosome

∙ Gene/DNA

Cell Duplication:  

» Mitosis: Cellular reproduction

Genetics

» Genotype: genetic identity

» Phenotype: observable characteristics

Genetic Abnormalities:

- Cystic fibrosis

- Diabetes

- Hemophilia

- Huntington Disease

- PKU

- Sickle-Cell Anemia

- Spina bifida  

- Tay-Sachs Disease

Chromosomal Abnormalities: chromosomes are arranged in 23 pairs. When there  are additions or deletions from that number, the result is a chromosomal  abnormality.

- Trisomy 21 aka Down-Syndrome  

- Klinefelter Syndrome (XXY) – extra X chromosome

- Fragile X – damage to the X chromosome (only present with boys) - Turner Syndrome (XO) – missing X chromosome

- XYY Syndrome – extra Y chromosome

Behavior genetics: investigates the influence of heredity in environment on  individual differences in human traits and development

∙ How do our genes shape our behavior?

o Twin Studies

▪ Identical twins had more similarities  

▪ But- shared environment  

o Adoption Studies

▪ More similar to biological or adoptive parents?

o Bouchard: Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart

▪ Jim twins

Epigenetic View

- Development is the result of an ongoing, bi-directional interchange of  heredity/environment

o Diabetes

o Other examples

▪ Gambia study – mother’s diet (what mom ate mattered)

▪ UC Davis – Environmental epigenetics symposium  

Prenatal Testing:

∙ Ultrasound sonography

∙ Nuchal translucency (measurement of the brain stem)

∙ Triple screen / Quad screen

∙ Chorionic villus sampling (CVS)

∙ Amniocentesis

PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT 

∙ Germinal Period

o Conception and the first two weeks

o Growth of a zygote

o Blastocyst & trophoblast form

o Zygote implants into the wall of the uterus.

∙ Embryonic Period

o 2-8 weeks after conception

???? Embryo forms

▪ Digestive & respiratory

▪ Circulatory system

▪ Nervous system, brain, sensory receptors, skin

▪ Organogenesis: the beginning of your organs; all of your  

internal organs are being formed during that Embryonic Period

∙ Fetal Period

o Months: 2 – 9 of pregnancy

o Major growth occurs

o Fetus becomes viable ???? around 24 weeks (point of viability)

Risk Factors:

- Incompatible blood types

- Environmental Hazards

???? Teratogens

o Terotogenic factors that can lead to birth defects

▪ Dose susceptibility, time of exposure  

▪ Greatest potential for damage during Embryonic Period;  

most sensitive

o Examples:

▪ Prescription & nonprescription drugs

∙ Category A (vitamins)

∙ B (Tylenol, etc.)

∙ C (tramadol, amlodipine, trazodone)

∙ D (antipsychotic, seizure medication, etc.)

∙ X (Accutane)

▪ NAS (Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome)

▪ Psychotic drugs

- Maternal Diseases  

- Diet & Nutrition

- Age (of parents)

- (Maternal) Stress