Why studying development matters: Developmental PsychologyWhat is “normal” depends upon developmental expectationsDevelopmental PsychopathologyChange (or lack of change) over timeHard to diagnose children because of changes over timeCriteria change is different at different ages (behavior normal at one age is a diagnostic criteria at another)ContextChild would act different at school, home, or around other adultsAdults are more consistent in behaviors no matter the contextChildren aren’t very consistent with behaviorsPatterns of AdaptationBehaviors adaptive in some circumstances is anti-adaptive in othersEx: children form strong attachments versus children in foster homes where attachments may have negative effectsTypical  AtypicalFreud: Can’t draw a line to a specific causeEquifinalityMany different causes can lead to the same outcomeA or B or C or D  ADHDEx: Poverty, Fetal Anoxia, Genetic susceptibility, brain damage  all can lead to ADHDMultifinalityOnce cause can lead to many different outcomesEx: Abusive parenting  A or B or C or DAbusive Parenting can lead to depression, eating disorders, etc.Given these problems:How do we determining when development has gone awryWhen is a problem transient?Based on what we have learned this semester, we might consider:Competence vs. performanceWhat is really going on (child thinking, believing, feeling) vs. What they actually do (how they perform on a test, what they are actually thinking/feeling)Genetic factors mediating the behavior?E.g., Dunedin studyParenting exacerbating the behavior?Age-appropriateness of the behavior?Why studying development matters:Promoting the health and well being of all childrenConcluding the Semester:Goals of the Semester:Thinking about where behavior comes fromConvincing you that you should careMost important pointWe do develop! (Kids are very different than us)Broad Themes:Nature vs. NurtureContinuity vs. ChangeContinuity (more biological aspects)Competence vs. performanceAll over the place (especially experiments and studying)Limited in methods, limited to performance for some methodsDevelopment is multi-determinedMultifinalityNarrow Themes:Predictiveness matters! (kids are attuned to predictability in environment)Parenting(reciprocal interactions that allow kids to predict their behavior)Explains things like stranger anxiety (can’t predict what they will do_Language learningSocial DevelopmentEx: Children raised in a foster environment have different levels of predictability as they get moved aroundOthers?Individual DifferencesTypical vs. AtypicalWhat is ‘normal’?Cultural differencesEven within “our” culture!Misleading idea that everyone in a culture is the sameOthers?Cascading effects of development (Or… Chicken vs. egg problems (which came first?))ParentingIt is easier to parent an easy parent and vice versaSo does the kid with more challenges cause less than great parenting versus is bad parenting the cause of problemed childrenTemperament vs. AggressionWilliams SyndromeOthers?Child Psychology 560: Concluding Issues 03/04/2014Why studying development matters: Developmental Psychology What is “normal” depends upon developmental expectations Developmental Psychopathology -Change (or lack of change) over time oHard to diagnose children because of changes over time oCriteria change is different at different ages (behavior normal at one age is a diagnostic criteria at another)-ContextoChild would act different at school, home, or around other adultsoAdults are more consistent in behaviors no matter the contextoChildren aren’t very consistent with behaviors -Patterns of Adaptation oBehaviors adaptive in some circumstances is anti-adaptive in othersEx: children form strong attachments versus children in foster homes where attachments may have negative effects -Typical  Atypical Freud: Can’t draw a line to a specific cause Equifinality -Many different causes can lead to the same outcome -A or B or C or D  ADHD-Ex: Poverty, Fetal Anoxia, Genetic susceptibility, brain damage  all can lead to ADHDMultifinality -Once cause can lead to many different outcomes-Ex: Abusive parenting  A or B or C or D-Abusive Parenting can lead to depression, eating disorders, etc.Given these problems: -How do we determining when development has gone awry-When is a problem transient?Based on what we have learned this semester, we might consider:-Competence vs. performanceoWhat is really going on (child thinking, believing, feeling) vs. What they actually do (how they perform on a test, what they are actually thinking/feeling)-Genetic factors mediating the behavior?oE.g., Dunedin study -Parenting exacerbating the behavior?-Age-appropriateness of the behavior?Why studying development matters: -Promoting the health and well being of all children Concluding the Semester: Goals of the Semester:-Thinking about where behavior comes from -Convincing you that you should careMost important point-We do develop! (Kids are very different than us)Broad Themes: -Nature vs. Nurture-Continuity vs. ChangeoContinuity (more biological aspects)-Competence vs. performanceoAll over the place (especially experiments and studying)oLimited in methods, limited to performance for some methods -Development is multi-determined oMultifinality Narrow Themes: -Predictiveness matters! (kids are attuned to predictability in environment)oParenting (reciprocal interactions that allow kids to predict their behavior)Explains things like stranger anxiety (can’t predict what they will do_oLanguage learningoSocial DevelopmentEx: Children raised in a foster environment have different levels of predictability as they get moved aroundoOthers?-Individual DifferencesoTypical vs. Atypical oWhat is ‘normal’?oCultural differencesEven within “our” culture! Misleading idea that everyone in a culture is the sameoOthers?-Cascading effects of development (Or… Chicken vs. egg problems (which came first?))oParentingIt is easier to parent an easy parent and vice versaSo does the kid with more challenges cause less than great parenting versus isbad parenting the cause of problemed children oTemperament vs. Aggression oWilliams