PSY 240 1st Edition Lecture 1 PSY 240: Developmental PsychologyLecture Outline #1: Themes and Research in DevelopmentMajor Themes in Developmental PsychologyTheme #1: Nature & Nurture - Why are we the way that we are?- Nature: biology, geneso Genome: individual’s complete set of DNA- Nurture: environment, experiences- Nature “vs” nurture? Both!o Epigenetics: study of changes in gene expression due to environment.Theme #2: Discontinuity & Continuity-discontinuity: traditional view-developmental occurs in discrete stages (qualitative change)-Continuity: modern view-constant, gradual development over time (quantitative change)-Does this ultimately rest on perspective?Theme #3: Development seems to be about change, but what about stability?-Personality & attachment style-anxiety-Shyness-aggressiveness-Why are some things stable, while others change?-Cross-sectional vs longitudinal studies ****(couple of ? on test)Theme #4: How does change occur?-What is the psychological process of change?-Focus on mediationThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.-cause mediator effectTheme #5: Role of Context-physical, social, cultural, economic, historical-socioeconomic status (SES): measure of social class, based on income and education-Bradley & Corwyn (2002): higher SES families healthier children, better academic achievement.- effects of airplane noise?Hyegye et al. -Culture:  societal progress, beliefs, traditions, etc. E.g Where should children sleep?US: parent’s room until 2-6 months, then own room-many other cultures: much longer, same bed (as mother)?-What does a culture value?- ex. Independence vs. interdependence-morelli et al (1992); cross-cultural study on sleeping arrangementsUS: nighttime separation important part of learning self-reliance-ritualistic separation: ~50% bring comfort object to bed-Guatemala: sleeping together important part of mother-child bond-no bedtime rituals, comfort objectsTheme #6: Individual Differences-mostly focus on commonality (esp. within culture) but genetic difference: -siblings share 50% of genes-fraternal twins: 50%-identical twins: 100%-different treatment by adults-subjective interpretation of adult treatment-activity levelTheme #7: The Active Child-are young children better compared to a sponge, or a lump of clay?-traditional view: infants as “blank slate” (incompetent, passive)-modern view: active engagementResearch Methods in Developmental Psychology4 steps to scientific method:Step 1: Choose a research question (previous research, current events, personal interests, etc.)Step 2: create a hypothesis-Hypothesis: a prediction about the outcome of a studyStep 3: Test the hypothesisStep 4: interpret data, evaluate hypothesisThe goal of research,Create evidence-based theories by testing hypotheses-Theory: integrated set of principles that explains outcomes of studies -Hypothesis Research  Theoryhypothesis:theory:-operational definition: the specific way that a variable is manipulated or measured in a study-How could we operationalize aggression?3 Types of Research1. Descriptive research: describes characteristics of developing person a. We ask them..b. Surveysstructured interview: ask children about their lives- same questions for all P’s; scriptedclinical interview: in depth interview with one childstructured observation: present same situations to all p’s, record reactionsnaturalistic observation: observing children in natural uncontrolled environments-strengths2. Correlational research: measures association between two variables not manipulated by researcher-does a change in one variable predict a change in the other?correlation coefficient: (-1 to +1) direction and sizepositive correlations: as one variable increases, so does the other-height & weight; health & incomenegative correlations: as one variable increases, the other decreases- self-esteem & depressionzero correlations: no correlation small correlations: .10 to .29 (+/-)moderate correlations: (.30 to .49 (+/-)large correlations: .50 to 1.00 (+/-)the larger the correlation, the more predictive it is. Pros and cons of correlational research:Pros: quick and easy-when variables can’t be manipulated Cons: -Correlation does not imply causation-third variable problemmedia violence  aggressive