PSY210H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Tabula Rasa, Developmental Psychology, Sigmund Freud
PSY210
Lecture 1- May 8th, 2018
What is developmental psychology
• Scientific study of changes or continuities is an organism between initial conception and death
Child developmental
• A field of study that seeks to account for the gradual evolution of the child's, cognitive, social, and
other capacitates first by describing changes in the child's observed behaviours and then by
uncovering the processes and strategies that underlie these changes
Basic research
• Seeks to understand development for the sake of sciences
o Example. Do children have an inborn attraction to human faces?
o Example. Does ses predict memory span in young children?
Applied research
• Has a clear practical application
o Example. Is lack of interest in faces early in developmental a predicator of autism?
o Example. Can free school meals improve school performance in socio-economicology
disadvantaged children
" I want to be an educator, not a theorist"
• Understanding of basic research -> understanding of fundamental questions and methodologies in
child development -> ability to identify interesting aspects of developmental and critically evaluate
research findings -> well informed and cutting-edge application of most recent knowledge to
practical areas
What is the history of this field? Who first studied developmental psychology?
• Plato (nativist)
o Experiences is not the source of human knowledge because our senses are too fallible
o Cave allegory
• Imagine being in a cave and there is a fire behind you and your shadow is casted, this
represents the how humans only see part of the world are not able to see everything
o Children enter the world armed with innate knowledge about the world and experience
simply triggers this pre-existing knowledge
• Aristotle (empiricist)
o Human knowledge is based in perceptual experience
o Children do not possess extensive innate knowledge
o Child's mind likened to a blank tablet
• John Locke
o Human knowledge is based in perceptual experience
o Child's mind likened to blank slate
o All children are created equal (how they "turn out" depends on their experiences
o Like Aristotle, Locke believed that children began their journey with lightly packed
knowledge
• Jacques Rousseau
o Children enter the world with extensive innate knowledge
o Human infants possess innate senses of justices and morality that naturally are developed
and unfold over the years
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
PSY210
Lecture 1- May 8th, 2018
• Using scientific method in the 20th century allowed human development to be established as
nativist and empiricist
• Charles Darwin
o Observed development of his own son and published his observation in what was known as
a 'baby biography'
• G. Stanley Hall
o Founder of developmental psychology
o Was inspired by Darwin theory of evolution
o Believed hildren developed aording to …. it of a nativist
o Established the normative approach to studying development
o Opened first psychology lab in North America
• Alfred Binet
o Developed first tests of mental ability
o Test could be used to identify school children at risk
o Revealed individual differences in children
• John B. Watson
o Founder of behaviourism movement
o Emphasized importance of punishment and reward in child rearing
o Believed individual variation could be entirely attributes to differed in how they were reared
• Sigmund Freud
o Emphasized the role of childhood experiences in explaining adult behaviour
o Psychodynamic theory
• Development, which proceeds in discrete stages, is determined largely by biologically-
based drives shaped by encounters with the environment and through the interaction
of three components of personality- id, ego and superego.
Nativist
• Emphasizes the role of nature (or innate factors) in development
Empiricist
• Emphasises the role of nurture in development
Today, nature vs nature
• No theories support the extreme position
• Most aspects of human development involve some interaction between nature and nurture
• Experiences begins even before birth
What are some underlying themes that interest developmental psychologists?
• What roles do biology and environment play in child development?
• Are development changes best described as qualitative changes or quantitative changes?
• Continuous
o Each new event builds on earlier experiences
o Development is a smooth and gradual accumulation of abilities
o Quantitative
• Discontinuous
o Abrupt changes in ability
o Development n is a series of discrete steps (stage-like)
o Qualitative
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Scientific study of changes or continuities is an organism between initial conception and death. Seeks to understand development for the sake of sciences: example. Do children have an inborn attraction to human faces: example. Applied research: has a clear practical application, example. Is lack of interest in faces early in developmental a predicator of autism: example. Can free school meals improve school performance in socio-economicology disadvantaged children. Who first studied developmental psychology: plato (nativist, experiences is not the source of human knowledge because our senses are too fallible, cave allegory. Jacques rousseau: children enter the world with extensive innate knowledge, human infants possess innate senses of justices and morality that naturally are developed and unfold over the years. John b. watson: founder of behaviourism movement, emphasized importance of punishment and reward in child rearing, believed individual variation could be entirely attributes to differed in how they were reared. Nativist: emphasizes the role of nature (or innate factors) in development.
