PSYA01H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Visual Acuity, Depth Perception, Synaptic Pruning
Document Summary
Development psychology is the study of human physical, cognitive, social, and behavioral characteristics across the lifespan. A cross-sectional design is used to measure and compare samples of people at different ages at a given point in time. Cross-sectional designs are relatively cheap and easy to administer and can be done quickly, but can suffer from cohort effects, which are difference between people that result from being born in different time periods. A longitudinal design follows the development of the same set of individuals through time. To account for both period of slow and rapid growth, development is seen as a progression of abrupt transitions in physical or mental skills, interspersed with slower, more gradual change. The transition from stage to stage involves rapid shifts in thinking and behaving, and fundamental shifts in the types of ability a child can perform. Complex interactions between genetics and the environment are constantly shaping developmental process.
