PSYC 2110 Lecture 1: PSYC 2110 Lecture 1 Notes
30 May 2018
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PSYC 2110 Lecture 1 Notes
Introduction
Introduction to Developmental Psychology
• The aim is to seek answers for these and many other fascinating questions about
developing persons by reviewing the theories, methods, discoveries, and many practical
accomplishments of the modern developmental sciences.
• This introductory chapter lays the groundwork for the remainder by addressing
important issues about the nature of human development and how knowledge about
development is gained.
• What does it mean to say that people “develop” over time?
• How is your experience of development different from that of developing persons in
past eras or in other cultures?
• Why are scientific studies of human development necessary?
• And what strategies, or research methods, do scientists use to study the development of
children and adolescents?
• Let’s begin by considering the nature of development.
• What Is Development?
• Development refers to systematic continuities and changes in the individual that occur
between conception (when the father’s sperm penetrates the mother’s ovum, creating
a new organism) and death.
• By describing changes as “systematic,” we imply that they are orderly, patterned, and
relatively enduring, so temporary mood swings and other transitory changes in our
appearances, thoughts, and behaviours are therefore excluded.
• We are also interested in continuities in development, or ways in which we remain the
same or continue to reflect our past.
• If development represents the continuities and changes an individual experiences from
“womb to tomb,” a developmental science refers to the study of these phenomena and
is a multidisciplinary enterprise.
