PSYC 307 Developmental Psychology Instructor Heather Bortfeld PSYC 255 Tuesday Thursday 12 1 hbortfeld psych tamu edu http www tamu edu classes psyc bortfeld Teaching Assistant Eswen Fava PSYC 413 Tuesday 4 6 Eswen mac com Developmental Psychology Week 1 1 15 2008 1 Required Reading 0073405515 9780073405513 Essentials of Life Span Development John W Santrock 2008 0073514942 9780073514949 Taking Sides Clashing Views in Lifespan Development Andrew Guest 2007 Both published by McGraw Hill Developmental Psychology Week 1 Developmental Psychology Lecture1 1 15 2008 2 1 Grading Midterm Exam 1 Midterm Exam 2 Write up on Taking Sides Final Exam Total Developmental Psychology Week 1 30 30 10 30 100 1 15 2008 3 Learning outcomes for lecture 1 Understand why we study developmental psychology z Know and be able to discuss the key issues in developmental psychology z Reading z Santrock Chapters 1 2 z Guest Introduction Part 1 Issue 1 Developmental Psychology Week 1 Developmental Psychology Lecture1 1 15 2008 4 2 Why Study Developmental Psychology Reason 1 Raising Children z Knowledge of child development can help parents and teachers meet the challenges of rearing and educating children For example researchers have identified effective approaches that parents and other caregivers can successfully use in helping children manage anger and other negative emotions Developmental Psychology Week 1 1 15 2008 5 Why Study Developmental Psychology Reason 2 Choosing Social Policies z Knowledge of child development permits informed decisions about social policy questions that affect children For example psychological research on children s responses to leading interview questions can help courts obtain more accurate testimonies from preschool children Developmental Psychology Week 1 Developmental Psychology Lecture1 1 15 2008 6 3 Why Study Developmental Psychology Reason 3 Understanding Human Nature z Child development research provides important insights into some of the most intriguing questions regarding human nature such as the existence of innate concepts and the relationship between early and later experiences Recent investigations of development among children adopted from inadequate orphanages in Romania supports the principle that the timing of experiences often influences their effects Developmental Psychology Week 1 1 15 2008 7 Historical Foundations Early Philosophers Provided enduring insights about critical issues in childrearing even though their methods were unscientific z Both Plato and Aristotle believed that the long term welfare of society depended on children s being raised properly but they differed in their approaches z Developmental Psychology Week 1 Developmental Psychology Lecture1 1 15 2008 8 4 Historical Foundations Plato vs Aristotle Plato emphasized self control and discipline Aristotle was concerned with fitting child rearing to the needs of the individual child z Plato believed that children are born with innate knowledge Aristotle believed that knowledge comes from experience z Developmental Psychology Week 1 1 15 2008 9 Historical Foundations Later Philosophers z The English philosopher John Locke like Aristotle saw the child as a tabula rasa and advocated first instilling discipline then gradually increasing the child s freedom z Jean Jacques Rousseau the French philosopher argued that parents and society should give the child maximum freedom from the beginning Developmental Psychology Week 1 Developmental Psychology Lecture1 1 15 2008 10 5 Historical Foundations Research Based Approach z Emerged in the nineteenth century in part as a result of two converging forces Social reform movements established a legacy of research conducted for the benefit of children and provided some of the earliest descriptions of the adverse effects that harsh environments can have on child development Charles Darwin s theory of evolution inspired research in child development in order to gain insights into the nature of the human species Developmental Psychology Week 1 1 15 2008 11 Historical Foundations Formal Field of Inquiry z Child development emerged as a formal field of inquiry in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries z Sigmund Freud and John Watson formulated influential theories of development during this period Developmental Psychology Week 1 Developmental Psychology Lecture1 1 15 2008 12 6 Historical Foundations Freud and Watson z z z Freud concluded that biological drives especially sexual ones exerted a crucial influence on development Watson argued that children s behavior arises largely from the rewards and punishments that follow particular behaviors Although the research methods on which these theories were based were limited the theories were better grounded in research and inspired more sophisticated thinking than their predecessors Developmental Psychology Week 1 1 15 2008 13 Historical Landmarks z John Watson 1878 1958 Behaviorism z B F Skinner 1904 1990 Radical Behaviorism Developmental Psychology Week 1 Developmental Psychology Lecture1 1 15 2008 14 7 Historical Landmarks z Albert Bandura 1925 Social Learning Theory Reciprocal determinism vs Watson s environmental determinism Observational learning or notrial learning Developmental Psychology Week 1 1 15 2008 15 Bandura s Bobo Doll Study Developmental Psychology Week 1 Developmental Psychology Lecture1 1 15 2008 16 8 Historical Landmarks z Piaget 1896 1980 Father of Cognitive Development asked Where does knowledge come from Genetic epistemology attempts to explain knowledge and in particular scientific knowledge on the basis of its history its sociogenesis and especially the psychological origins of the notions and operations upon which it is based z Information Processing Theories Thinking is both limited and flexible focus is on the structural characteristics that determine limits and the processes that provide ability to flexibly adapt Developmental Psychology Week 1 1 15 2008 17 Historical Landmarks z Vygotsky 1896 1934 Sociocultural theory Zone of Proximal Development Developmental Psychology Week 1 Developmental Psychology Lecture1 1 15 2008 18 9 Historical Landmarks z Urie Bronfenbrenner 1917 Ecological Systems Theory Microsystem child Mesosystem immediate surroundings Exosystem extended surroundings Macrosystem broader culture Developmental Psychology Week 1 1 15 2008 19 Developmental Psychology Week 1 1 15 2008 20 Developmental Psychology Lecture1 10 Themes in Developmental Psychology z z z z z z
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