PSYC105 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Life Matters, Psychoanalytic Theory, Attachment Theory
10 May 2018
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Department
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PSYC105 Lecture
II: Developmental Psychology
What is developmental psychology?
• The study of human behaviour as a function of age
• How and why we change
• Change as a function of
• Physical maturation
• Cognitive development
• Social experience
Change and continuities
• Change: systematic changes are orderly, patterned, and relatively enduring (milestones)
• Continuities: refer to the ways in which we remain the same or consistent over time
Where does it all start?
• Video: conception to birth
• Blastocyst - embryo - foetus - baby
• Things can go wrong
• Genes, chromosomes
• Teratogens - smoking, alcohol, drugs, illness
• Placental failure
• Premature / traumatic birth (37 weeks - fully developed)
Early experience
• Sensitive periods
• From the study of embryology
• Teratogens - timing of exposure is critical
• Foetal alcohol spectrum disorder
• Hearing - rubella virus
• Empirical evidence for sensitive periods?
• Neurological development (1-3 years)
• Extensive myelination of the nervous system
• Language development - early deprivation important
• Studies of Romanian orphans who were later adoptive
• Cognitive impairments are related to timing, but also duration of deprivation
Some conceptual challenges
• Bidirectional influences
• Parent <--> child (transactional)
• Gene environment interactions
• Cohort effects
• Technology competency and age
• SIDS prevention and motor development
• Early experience - critical and sensitive periods
• Early life matters BUT
• Can be an oversimplification - more applicable to biological aspects of development
Areas of study in developmental psychology
• Physical development
• Cognitive development
• Psychosocial development
Developmental theories
find more resources at oneclass.com
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• A framework - organise thinking
• A lens - guides collection of new facts
• Different theories dominate at different times
• Impact of parents’ theories: folk psychology
• Parental focus of control and efficacy
• Representations of the child
• Discipline approaches
Major theories of development
• Psychoanalytic theory: Freud, Erikson
• Cognitive development theory: Piaget and Kohlberg
• Social congitive theory: early behaviourist theories through to Bandura’s social cognitive
theory - Kay Bussey
• Ethological theory: attachment theories of Ainsworth and Bowlby
Stage theorists vs learning theorists
• Nature
• State theorists
• Universality (?)
• Common patterns
• Nurture
• Learning theorists
• Environment specific
• Individual differences
Nature and nurture/culture
• Universal genetically determined capacities for language, motor development
• But expression influenced by environment - what babies need to know to survive/ do well and
what is valued and what is possible
Example: motor development
• Maturation: unfolding of genetically programmed behaviour patterns but environment has an
impact
• Swaddling
• Carrying on bodies
• Seats, floor
• Swings
• Experience in SIDS prevention
Key theories of cognitive development
• Stage theorists
• Piaget, Erikson, Kohlberg
• Piaget
• Constructive theory
• Stages
• Classic discoveries - one example
• Vygotsky
• Social and cultural influences on learning
• Sense of self and theory of mind
• Classic discoveries - rogue/sticker
• False belief task
Piaget’s theory of cognitive development
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
What is developmental psychology: the study of human behaviour as a function of age, how and why we change, change as a function of, physical maturation, cognitive development, social experience. Change and continuities: change: systematic changes are orderly, patterned, and relatively enduring (milestones, continuities: refer to the ways in which we remain the same or consistent over time. Areas of study in developmental psychology: physical development, cognitive development, psychosocial development. Developmental theories: a framework - organise thinking, a lens - guides collection of new facts, different theories dominate at different times. Impact of parents" theories: folk psychology: parental focus of control and efficacy, representations of the child, discipline approaches. Major theories of development: psychoanalytic theory: freud, erikson, cognitive development theory: piaget and kohlberg, social congitive theory: early behaviourist theories through to bandura"s social cognitive theory - kay bussey, ethological theory: attachment theories of ainsworth and bowlby.
