PSYC 2500H Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Informed Consent, Dependent And Independent Variables, Tabula Rasa
26 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
1
MODULE 1
Introduction to Developmental Psychology
Historical Perspectives on Childhood
-Ancient period (Rome, Carthage, Sparta):
oActive infanticide
oFamily possessions (children were acquired to a family)
oKnown as “little people”
oBoys were favoured (part of the warrior culture)
-Medieval times:
oTreatment of children debated by scientists
oMiniature adults
oDistinct phase of life
oUnconsciously incompetent
-17th and 18th century philosophers:
Thomas Hobbes Jean Jacques
Rousseau
John Locke
Child’s inherent
nature
Original sin (they
are inherently bad,
he enforced
adulthood)
Innate purity
(opposite of
original sin, innate
good, always
referred to as
“they”)
Tabula rasa
(biological
perspective, empty
vessels, you can
create this to be
anything you want
“it” to be)
Child’s role in
development
Passive Active (intimate
experience)
Passive
Developmental Psychology and Its Research Strategies
General Research Designs
-Correlational Design:
oGoal: to determine if 2 things are related
Is viewing violence on TV related to aggressive behaviour in children?
1. Gather data –interview about TV habits, make observations of aggressive
behaviours.
2. Calculate correlation coefficient, r (range between -1 and +1)
oUnderstanding correlation link
oR = 1 (perfect positive correlation)
oR = -1 (perfect negative correlation, same strength as positive correlation,
direction is just different)
-Experimental design:
oGoal: to determine whether a causal relationship exists
oAn experiment needs:
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Ancient period (rome, carthage, sparta): active infanticide, family possessions (children were acquired to a family, known as little people , boys were favoured (part of the warrior culture) Medieval times: treatment of children debated by scientists, miniature adults, distinct phase of life, unconsciously incompetent. Original sin (they are inherently bad, he enforced adulthood) Innate purity (opposite of original sin, innate good, always referred to as. Tabula rasa (biological perspective, empty vessels, you can create this to be anything you want. Correlational design: goal: to determine if 2 things are related. Experimental design: goal: to determine whether a causal relationship exists, an experiment needs: Dependent variable the measure used to collect data depends on the independent variable: an experimental test of tv violence & aggression in the laboratory. Iv: children watch violent tv show, watch non-violent tv show. Longitudinal design: same participants observed repeatedly over time, time period may be brief (6 months-1 year, some have lasted decades.
