HDFS NOTES 12 04 2013 Qualities of Development Quantitative o Easily counted or numeric height weight grades IQ money vitals number of siblings etc Qualitative o Having to do with the quality of functioning overall knowledge proficiency at a sport Realistically all development entails both to some degree o It s a matter of focus or emphasis The Life Span perspective Paul Baltes pg 14 in book Development is a lifelong process o Human development is multiply determined Lots of things determine it o Cannot be understood within the scope of a single framework 4 Central features of Life Span Perspective Multidirectionality o Gains and losses in same or different areas at different rates EX Work a lot to increase income but that decreases free time and maybe even happiness Plasticity o Capacity is not predetermined Many skills can be learned or improved with practice o Decreases with age More challenging as you get older Historically and contextual embeddedness History and culture strongly influence development Multiple Causation o Interaction of biological Systems Thinking Human beings are developing systems in the context of other Changing one component of the system has an effect on all parts of developing systems the system o EX stone in shoe Biological the way you walk Physical the way your foot looks Social grumpy Spiritual voo doo doll on Polkowitzs o The way you treat someone affects how they treat you and Systems interact Relationships are reciprocal everyone else All connected We are developing as a system Developmental Principles There is variation among individuals There are significant differences between what is POSSIBLE what is NORMAL and what is DESIRABLE Important to value and respect differences 9 3 Research is only ONE way of knowing Sometimes we de value other ways of knowing in our technologically advanced culture Need to have ECOLOGICALLY VALID AND MEANINGFUL research findings Developmental Research Studies how people change across time and what age related variables are associated with those changes Chronological age is often an independent variable Contexts of development or characteristic of person is often independent variables as well VERY FEW independent variables in developmental research None of these variables are randomly assigned Dependent variables are usually selected physical and psychological measures Important Constructs in Developmental Research Age cohort and time of measurement are central to every study of human development AGE EFFECTS differences between individuals associated with chronological age Age does NOT cause development o Third variables do Cohort a group of people born at the same general time Cohort effects are developmental differences between individuals that are the result of experiences and circumstances that are unique to a person s particular generation Different cohorts experience different contexts of development Time of measurement effects differences due to social environment historical or other events that have occurred at the time that data are collected Effects can be natural political economic historic etc Cross Sectional Designs Most frequently used Observe people at different ages at the same time Study of AGE DIFFERENCES o Ex are 20 year olds different than 30 year olds ADVANTAGES o Quick o Cover large span in short time o Good overview of development o Inexpensive DISADVANTAGES o NOTHING about individual change Longitudinal Design Follow the same group of people across time Used to study AGE CHANGES o How individuals change with age ADVANTAGES o Early the late linkage o Truly developmental o Studies age changes DISADVANTAGES o Expensive o Time consuming o Only one cohort o Test retest issues o Attrition or drop out o Have the keep in touch with the people There is a difference between age differences and age changes Age differences between people Age changes within people Time lag designs Study people at the same age born at different times o do they make them like they used to studies the effects of history or cohort Combine cross sectional longitudinal and time lag components in a Sequential designs single research design Complex expensive rare CONCLUSIONS No research is perfect Multiple approaches studies examples needed to truly answer a It is possible to design and recognize good research question 9 10 Birth occurs during an ongoing developmental process it neither initiated nor terminated development o Development definitely starts before birth Birthday does not mean you start developing Puberty in male begins when the sperm count is up to a certain Semen is nourishment for sperm as well as lubricant and way for number them to swim Females born with 400 000 eggs A LOT 1000 die every month once a female ovulates they release an egg on 1 day every month a female will ovulate between 300 400 eggs in a lifetime o day 14 is day of ovulation sperm can survive for 7 days in female reproductive tracts but can only fertilize for about 48 72 hours sperm gives X or Y to determine sex Egg is always X 26 days PC rudiments of every vital organ neural tube closed heart beating about 1 8 inch length increased 50X weight increased 8 000X 28 days PC about 1 5 inch heart beating and circulating blood beginning of eye spot gill arches arm buds tissue migration cephalocaudal development proximodistal 11 weeks PC fetus for 3 weeks now yolk sac atrophy blood cells made in liver and spleen now no new organs fingerprints can tell sex startle and sucking reflexed 4 mos pc normal protection 5 months PC fetal position about 10 inches birth size protection as safe as ever shock absorption 5 5 months pc every reflex there first reflex in region of the head lanugo protects skin from irritability from being submerged sucking swallowing amniotic fluid changes rates 6 5 months pc about 13 inches getting crowded in position head towards cervix Common themes Role of family and community Importance of sacred and secular Ties across each of these domains Teratogens Disease or environmental agent causing harm during prenatal development Diseases Drugs Environments hazards radiation pollution Useful constructs from prenatal teratology Critical and sensitive periods o Critical Time in development in rapid change now or never o Some physical critical periods o Some psychological sensitive periods Developmental sleeper effects o Teratogen can cause some sort of effect o Ex smoking and 5th grade reading comprehension scores The effects of teratogens