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VCU PSYC 304 - Lifespan Development

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Lifespan Development- the study of how and why we change and remain the same over the lifespanConception to deathSenescence- universal things that happen to us as we age (wrinkles, thinning hair, etc.)Wrinkles determined by geneticsDevelopment is multidirectional, changes in many ways:Increasing, decreasing, steady (linear), stages, curved line, unpredictableAlso multicultural- culture affects every aspect of our livesIs a result of dynamic systemsDynamic systems- things keep changing, a change in one system may affect change in other or all aspects, each system connected to everything elseFamily, school, health, government, economy, religion, jobsBronfenbrenner and the Bio-Ecological ModelThe environment has layers of influence- some close up and direct, others at distanceIndividual- brings her own personal characteristics and responses to the situation, changes the environment that she is inMicrosystem- people and places, everything you own, touch, interact withPeople- interactions between the target person and the individualPlaces- immediate settings in which the individual developsVery direct influenceMesosystem- relationships between parts of the microsystem; interchanges between two systems or two individuals who are outside the targetEx: child in the middle of two fighting parents, or having a parent who doesn’t like a boyfriend, clash between work and class schedulesExosystem- resources of the community (town, state, large scale institutions), impact is at a distanceSchools, police, jobs, highways, water supply, hospitals, wifi accessMacrosystem- overarching cultural, economic, legal influencesPolitical system, laws, religions, lifestyle, values, economy, war/peace, natural disaster, technology, weatherChronosystem- time in history, the broad sweep of time in history AND the influence of specific eventsEx: civil war, WWII, 9/11Influences move across levels- does a child know about national economy?Recession (macro.)> local businesses fail (exo.)> dad loses job (micro.)> family loses home (micro.)> parents fight and separate (meso.)This is part of dynamic nature!Research in developmentEthicsResearch must be safe- not hurt people in any wayRight of privacy and anonymity of participantsRight to full informationAbility to stop or withdraw at any pointConsent- before somebody takes part in research they must give active consent (or must be given by parents if child is not old enough to give consent)Oversight by an IRB- Institutional Review BoardExperimentParticular research design- used to look for causation!Independent variable (IV)- the treatment (or groups, or predictor variables)Dependent variable (DV)- the outcomeRequirements:Must have treatment and control groupParticipants are randomly assigned to groups- they cannot chooseGive treatment to one group, compare to control groupQuestions that experiments cannot answer:Practical constraintsEthical constraintsCorrelationDegree and direction of relationship between variables (positive, negative)Studying people, things, as they exist, not going in and changing or manipulatingCorrelation does not show causationDoes A cause B? B cause A? Something else entirely?Studying Development3 variables: age, cohort, time of measurementCohort- group of people who were born at about the same time, share life experiences at same age; strengths and points of view unique to their generationTime of Measurement- time in history, like chronosystem; was childhood in 1810 same as 2010? No.Cross sectional research- compares groups of people who differ in ageEx: 3-5-7, 10-15-20, 30-40-50Time of measurement is held constantCan show us age difference (or is it cohort difference?)Cannot show us change with age (disadvantage of this type of study)Advantages: fast, cheap, quick start on potential developmental changesLongitudinal research- same individuals followed over time; repeated measures over months or years; typically only one cohortCan show change with age (big advantage)Disadvantage: slow, takes long time, very expensive, select sample to start with, drop-outs from studyTime Lag design- looks at one age, over different times in history; are “x year olds” the same across history?Advantage: look for effects of policies and laws across time (differing school practices, health practices, immigration)Ex: 5 year olds entering kindergarten18 year olds graduating high school65 year olds signing up for MedicareCross-Sequential Research- combination of cross sectional and longitudinal designDisadvantage: time consuming, expensive, keeping track of people is hardVery complicated, involves comparing ages and cohorts over a span of timeBuy bookRead ch. 1& 2Syllabus quizCHAPTER 1Theories: tell us general principles, where to look/what is important, a summary and explanationPsychoanalytic theorySigmund Freud, born in Austria- medical doctor, invented “talk therapy”Conscious mind is not important, most of mind at unconscious levelHow to know what’s in the unconscious- slips of the tongue, dreamsSexual urges at the heart of developmentUniversal, unconsciousFreud’s psychosexual stages:Oral stageSexual pleasure in mouth- sucking, feeding, biting, hurtingBirth to 1-2 yearsIf frustrated, might: overeat, chew pencils, fingernails, sarcastic, swears a lotAnal stageAnus feels good- child must learn to CONTROL pooping and other actionsWhen to “let it out”, when to “hold back”- self control1-3 yearsif frustrated, might be: messy, reckless, defiant (letting it out), uptight, stingy, withholding (holding it in)Phallic stageSexual feelings for the opposite sex parent4-6 yearsResults in two important advances:Superego developed (conscience)Oedipal complex- boysElectra complex- girlsGender identityBe more like mom- little girlsBe more like dad- little boysLatency stageNothing much happeningEnergy goes into schoolwork, friends, daily life6-12 yearsGenital stageIntimacy with a sexual partnerAdolescence through adulthood- final stageHow the genital stage goes is dependent on how the first stages went!Importance of early years in terms of who we are for rest of livesEric EricksonExpanded Freud’s ideasPsychological crises at every stage of life- less emphasis on sexual urges, considered family and cultureSome stages line up with Freud’s- others expand past genital stageBehaviorism (Learning) TheoryJohn Watson 1878-1958All behavior is learned- no unconsciousStudy observable behavior, not thoughts or feelingsNo stages- the way we learn and change is the


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