Introduction

Question 1

Developmental psychology

Answer 1

The study of physical, cognitive, social, emotional and behavioural changes throughout life span

Question 2

Aims of developmental psychology

Answer 2

Describe human development
Explain human development
Optimise human development

Question 3

Baltes’ Model of Development

Answer 3

3 types of influence on development
- normative age-graded influences -> e.g. puberty, starting school
- normative history-graded influences -> e.g. WW2, natural disasters
- non-normative life events -> e.g. death of parents, serious Injury

Question 4

How do we test for these influences?

Answer 4

Age
Cohort
Time of testing

Question 5

Research designs

Answer 5

Cross-sectional studies
Longitudinal studies
Cohort studies
Cohort-sequential studies

Question 6

Cross-sectionla studies

Answer 6

Different ppts, different ages, same time
Cost effective
Quick
Confounds
- individual differences
- cohort effects

Question 7

Longitudinal designs

Answer 7

Same ppts, different ages, different times
High attrition rate
Time-consuming
Original research question still viable at study completion
Confounds
- biased samples

Question 8

Cohort studies

Answer 8

Different ppts, same ages, different historical time
- e.g. the effect of the invention of tv in 8 year olds born in 1949, 1970 and 2000
Time consuming
Danger of research question becoming obsolete
Confounds
- age of child

Question 9

Cohort sequential design

Answer 9

Different same same ppts, different and same ages, different and same historical time
- e.g. effect of preschool programmes on children born in 1990, 2000 and 2010, follow them from 3-12 years of age
High attrition rate
Time consuming
Question may become obsolete

Question 10

What influences development

Answer 10

Many things such as
- siblings
- friends
- genes
- parents
- culture
- individual learning
- evolution
- social learning
- biology
- environment

Question 11

Major development “themes”

Answer 11

Continuity/discontinuity
Stability/change
Nature/nurture

Question 12

Twin studies

Answer 12

Monozygotic twins (~100% identical)
Dizygotic or fraternal twins (50% identical)
Confounding effect of environmental
- identical twin reared apart?

Question 13

Adoption studies

Answer 13

Rearing environment from adaptive parents
Genetic inheritance from biological parents
Whom do they resemble most?
Draw backs
- cross-fostering experiments
- e.g. Kikusui et al (2011)

Question 14

Nature and nurture

Answer 14

Genotype-environment interaction
- e.g. child’s temperament affect interaction with parents

Question 15

Evolution and development

Answer 15

Evolutionary psychology
- does human ancestry tell us about ourselves now?
- e.g. nomadic hunter-gatherer environment
- spatial mapping -> hunting and tracking animals
- remembering locations -> finding and gathering
Evolutionary development psychology
- e.g. play differences in girls and boys
Example
- young chimpanzee females more likely to carry stick of rock ‘dolls’ than males
- does this mean the behaviour is innate in humans?
- is this evidence to support an evolutionary explanation for sex differences
Other explanation?
- copying behaviour of older individuals
- females use tools more often
Criticisms
- learning/experience and culture
- e.g. Karbi and Lhasa tribes (Hoffman et al, 2011)
- neurosexism and binary view

Question 16

Cross-cultural differences

Answer 16

Motor milestones
- WHO guidelines for windows of achievement for: string without support, standing with assistance, hangs and knees crawling, walking with assistance, standing alone, walking alone
Problems
- are they universal or cultural conventions
- cultural practises impact upon development (e.g. encourages to sit earlier/massages vs restrained for long periods of time)
- Karasik and Robinson (2022)
How does culture affect development views?
- e.g. tests designed by one culture to test intelligence in another?
- over emphasis on particular culture to describe “universal” human development? (W.E.I.R.D science)
- scientists are products of their culture