Description
THEORY
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
Don't forget about the age old question of What is the meaning of concurrent validity?
∙ 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. We also discuss several other topics like What is the meaning of “rule of law”?
» (Computers) Information-Processing Theory
∙ Information comes in, it is processed, manipulated, and then acted upon.
∙ Development does not occur in stages. Capacity for We also discuss several other topics like Where is the alpha carbon in an amino acid?
information grows.
∙ Behavioral & Social Cognitive Theories
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.
∙ Ethological Theory
- Behavior is strongly influenced by biology.
- Human behavior is tied to evolution.
- There are sensitive periods of development.
» Lorenz (Mother Goose) We also discuss several other topics like Who has authored and established the first family?
∙ Imprinting – rapid, innate learning within a limited, critical period of time. New creatures become attached to the first moving object seen. If you want to learn more check out What was the conflict between athens and sparta?
» 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 If you want to learn more check out What happens when atoms share electrons equally?
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
» 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
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