Transcript Slide 1
CHAPTER 1
UNDERSTANDING LIFESPAN
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
What is Development?
Systematic
continuities
In
changes and
the individual
Between
“Womb
Three
conception and death
to Tomb”
broad domains
Physical,
Cognitive, Psychosocial
Other Developmental
Definitions
Growth: Physical changes that
occur from birth to maturity
Aging: Positive and negative
changes in the mature organism
Maturation: The biological unfolding
of the individual genetic plan
Learning: Relatively permanent
changes due to environmental
experiences
Age Grades, Age Norms, and the
Social Clock
Age Grade: Socially defined age groups
Statuses, roles, privileges, responsibilities
Adults can vote, children can’t
Age Norms: Behavioral expectations by age
Social Clock: When things should be done
Children attend school
Early adulthood – time for 1st marriages
“Off time” experiences are more difficult
Phases of the Life Span
Before 1600: Children viewed as
miniature adults
Modern View: Children innocent, need
protection
Average life expectancy in 1900 was 47
years
In 2000 it was 77.5 years
Females: White=80, Black=76
Males: White=75, Black=69
Increasing population - age 65 and older
Framing the Nature/Nurture
Issue
Nature: heredity
Maturational processes guided by genes
Biologically based predispositions
Biological unfolding of genes
Nurture: environment
Learning: experiences cause changes in
thoughts, feelings, and behaviors
Interactionist view: nature & nurture interact
The Bioecological Model
Microsystem: Immediate
environment
Mesosystem: Relationships among
microsystems
Exosystem: Social Systems
Macrosystem: Culture
Chronosystem: Changes occur in a
time frame
This is an interactionist model
Urie Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model of development pictures
environment as a series of nested structures. The microsystem refers to
relations between the developing person and her immediate environment,
the mesosystem to connections among microsystems, the exosystem to
settings that affect but do not contain the individual, the macrosystem to
the broader cultural context of development, and the chronosystem to the
patterning over time of historical and life events. Researchers face many
challenges in studying the developing person in context.
Goals of Studying Life-Span
Development
Description
Normal development, individual
differences
Explanation
Typical and individually different
development
Optimization
Positive development, enhancing
human capacities
Prevention and overcoming difficulties
Methods of Studying Life-Span
Development
Historical
Baby Biographies: Charles Darwin
Questionnaires: G. Stanley Hall
Key Assumptions of Modern Life-Span
Perspectives
Lifelong, multidirectional process
Gain and loss and lifelong plasticity
Historical/cultural contexts, multiple
influences
Multi-disciplinary studies
Unique Challenges in
Developmental Research
Infants
and young children
Attention,
instruction,
answering questions may be
difficult
Elderly
Adults
Possible
sensory impairments
Discomfort being studied,
tested
The scientific method in action
Conducting Developmental Research
Self-reports: interview, questionnaires, tests
Behavioral Observations
Naturalistic
Advantage:
natural setting
Disadvantage: conditions not
controlled
Structured (Lab)
Disadvantage:
cannot generalize to
natural settings
Advantage: conditions controlled
The Experiment
Three Critical Features
1. Manipulation of independent
variable
2. Random assignment of
individuals to treatment conditions
3. Experimental control
Quasi-Experiment: No random
assignment
The Correlational Method
Determine if 2 or more variables are related
Correlation: A measure of the relationship
Can range from +1.0 to –1.0
Positive: variables move in same direction
Negative: variables move in opposite dir.
Also tells you the strength of the
relationship
No relationship if correlation is 0
Cannot establish a causal relationship
Developmental Research
Designs
Cross-Sectional Designs
>1 cohorts or age-groups studied
1 time of testing
Studying age differences at any one time
Longitudinal Designs
<1 cohort
+1 time of testing
Study changes across time in one cohort
Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies of
development from age 30 to age 70.
Age, Cohort, and Time of Measurement
Effects
Age effects: Changes which occur due
to age
Cohort Effects: Born in one historical
context
Changes due to differences in
society
Disadvantage of cross-sectional
design
Time of measurement effects:
Historical
Take place at time of data collection
Disadvantage of longitudinal design
Sequential Designs
A combination of cross-sectional and
longitudinal designs
Advantages of both designs
Gives information about
Which age-related trends are age effects
Which age-related trends are truly cohort
effects
Which age-related trends are a result of
historical events
•
A sequential study. This study begins in 1970 with a group of 30-yearolds studied longitudinally every 10 years thereafter. In 1980, a
second longitudinal study is launched, in 1990 a third, and so on.
Notice that at a point in time such as 2000 (orange shading) age
groups can be compared in a cross sectional study. Notice too that 30year-olds from different cohorts can be compared (blue shading).
Issues in Developmental
Studies
Random sampling
Increases likelihood that sample is
representative of population
Protecting rights of research participants
Must assess the benefit to risk balance
Researcher responsibilities
Informed consent, debriefing,
protection from harm, confidentiality
Cultural and Subcultural Sensitivity
in Research
Variety
of contexts considered
Culturally sensitive methods &
measurements
SES particularly important
Ethnocentrism