Kathleen Stassen Berger

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Part I

Introduction

Chapter One

Defining Development

Five Characteristics of

Development

Developmental Study as a

Science

Cautions from Science

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Defining Development

The science of human development seeks to understand how and why people—all kinds of people, everywhere—change or remain the same over time.

There are 3 crucial elements.

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1. Science

• developmental study is a science….–theories–data–analysis–critical thinking–sound methodology

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2. Diversity

• studying all kinds of people–young and old–rich and poor–every ethnicity, background–sexual orientation

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3. Connections Between Change and Time

• Changing or remaining the same over time–transformations–consistencies of human life•beginning to end–understanding each segment of life

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Dynamic Systems Theory

• stresses the fluctuations and transitions– the dynamic synthesis of multiple levels of analysis

• the interaction between people and within each person– parent and child– prenatal and postnatal life– between ages 2 and 102

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Bioecological Systems• Urie Bronfenbrenner

•he believed that developmentalists need to examine all systems surrounding the development of each person–microsysems–exosystems–macrosystems

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The Ecological Model• microsysems

– a person’s immediate surroundings

• exosystems– local institutions, such as schools and churches

• macrosystems– larger social setting, including cultural values, economic polices, and political processes

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Five Characteristics of Development

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1. Multidirectional

• changes in direction; development is dynamic, not static–each fraction of a second–years are analyzed, revealing unexpected twist and turns

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Gains and Losses

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The Butterfly Effect–the power of a small change•all change may have a large effect•every change affects a dynamic system

–a tiny event could have an enormous impact, not that is always does•opposite can occur… large changes can affect people in contradictory ways (i.e., lottery jackpots)

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2. Multicontextual“…humans develop in dozens of contexts that profoundly affect their development…”– physical surroundings– family patterns

• Social context– historical– socioeconomic

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The Historical Context–cohort•people born within a few years of one another–these people are affected by the same

» values» events» technologies» culture

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The Socioeconomic Context

– socioeconomic status (SES)•“social class”

– more than money– occupation– education– place of residence

•includes advantages and disadvantages

• Question: does low SES cause damage in infancy or in late adulthood?

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3. Multicultural“…culture affects each human at every moment… culture is so pervasive, people rarely notice their culture while they are immersed in it…”

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Deciding What to Do Each Moment

– culture•the patterns of behavior that are passed from one generation to the next

•groups have their own culture– values– customs– clothes– dwellings– cuisine– assumptions

•people are influenced by more than one culture

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4. Multidisciplinary“…a broad array of disciplines and cross-cutting topics… each person develops simultaneously in body, mind, and spirit…”

Development is divided into three domains; – biosocial– cognitive– psychosocial

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The Three Domains

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Biosocial Domain

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Cognitive Domain

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Psychosocial Domain

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5. Plasticity

• denotes two complementary aspects of development– human traits can be molded

•yet maintaining durability of identity

•culture and upbringing affect both aspects of plasticity

•Genes and other biological influences

– provides hope and realism•hope = changes is possible•realism = each developing person must build on what has come before

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Developmental Study as a Science

• based on objective evidence

• laden with subjective perceptions• making developmental science

challenging

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Steps of the Science Method• to avoid distortions of

unexamined opinions and to control the biases of personal experience1. ask a question2. developing a hypothesis3. test the hypothesis4. draw conclusions5. Make the finding available

– Replication

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Ways to Test Hypotheses

• Four methods:1. Observation2. The Experiment3. The Survey4. The Case Study

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Observation• record behavior

systematically and objectively– occur in a naturalistic

setting– tries to be unobtrusive– can occur in a laboratory or

in searches of archival data

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The Experiment

• used to establish cause– a particular treatment to

expose to a specific condition• notes whether their behavior

changes– independent variable = imposed

treatment or special condition– dependent variable = specific

behavior being studied– experimental group: is given a particular

treatment– control group: does not get the treatment

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The Experiment

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The Survey

• Information is collected from a large number of people by: – interview– questionnaire– some other means• wording and the questions can

influence answers

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The Case Study

• intensive study of one individual or situation– asking about past history– current thinking– future plans

• can provide unanticipated insight

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Studying Change over Time

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Studying Change over Time

• Cross-Sectional Research– designed to compare groups

of people who differ in age but share other important characteristics (i.e., education, SES, ethnicity)

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Studying Change over Time• Longitudinal Research

– design in which the same individuals are followed over time and their development is repeatedly assessed

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Studying Change over Time

• Cross-Sequential Research– designed to first study

several groups of different ages and then follow those groups over the years

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Caution from Science

• developmental scientists also discover changes that are not beneficial– divorce, shift work, popular

television and video games.

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Caution from Science

• Correlation and Causation– can be confusing

• a correlation indicates the degree of relationship between two variables.

– a correlation is positive if both variables tend to increase or decrease together

– a correlation is negative if one variables tends to increase when the other decreases

– a correlation is zero if no connection is evident

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Caution from Science

• Ethics in Research– Caution for all scientists

is to ensure that research meets ethical standards• “code of ethics”– A set of moral principles that

members of a profession or group are expected to follow

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Caution from Science

• Protection of Research Participants– Researcher must ensure that

participation is voluntary, confidential, and harmless

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Caution from Science

• What should we Study?– Consider the most important

ethical concern: • “Are scientists studying

issues that are crucial to human development?”