The Study of Human Development (Lifespan) The study of how and why people

change over time Physically, cognitively, psychologically,

and socially To describe, explain, predict, and

influence change

Contexts of Human Development

Contexts Cohort Social Class Culture

Ethnocentrism Cultural relativity

Profile of U. S. Social Classes

Upper class (1%) Upper middle (14%) Middle class (30%) Working class (30%) Working poor (20%) Underclass (5%)

The Context for Stage Theories

Stage Theories Examples Newer Assumptions and

Understandings Developmental delay? The interplay between nature and nurture Continuity rather than change? Stages revisited?

Stages of Development Prenatal

Development Infancy Early Childhood Middle Childhood

Adolescence Early Adulthood Middle Adulthood Late Adulthood Death and Dying

Research Methods

How do we know what we know?

Problems in Research

Personal knowledge Based on what I know Believing is seeing

Confirmation bias Sampling bias

Scientific Methods Quantitative

Research question Review previous studies Determine method Conduct research Interpret results Draw conclusions Share findings

Scientific Methods Qualitative

Begin with broad interest Gain entrance Gather general information Modify research questions Note patterns Explore new ideas Report findings

Types of Research

Research Designs

Observational Studies Advantages

Natural Environment

See what people do

Generate hypotheses

Disadvantages Cannot generalize

findings Descriptive only

Independent Variables

A “variable” reflects change in value

Independent variable Manipulated by the researcher

Dependent Variable

Varies in response to what’s introduced

Value depends on the IV Subject of the research

Name that variable: IV or DV? “Smoking causes

cancer.” (DV) “Men commit

suicide more frequently than women.” (DV)

“Stress declines with exercise.” (IV)

“Income increases with education.” (DV)

“Studying improves grades.” (IV)

“Education reduces prejudices.” (IV)

Experiments Advantages

Establish cause and effect

Conditions for establishing cause and effect:

IV & DV related IV comes first No outside cause

Disadvantages Hawthorne Effect Artificial

environment

Case Study Finding out as

much as possible about a single case.

A variety of techniques

Case Study Advantages

Explore unusual situations

Generate hypotheses

Disadvantages “confirmation

bias”

Surveys Ask a standard

set of questions to a sample of people

Surveys Advantages

Can reach many (telephone, mail,

internet)

Disadvantages Self-report Sensitive topics Requires careful

wording

Secondary/Content Analysis

Analyzing information that has already been collected

Examples: Census data Headlines in the news Themes in advertising products for

boys and girls

Secondary/Content Analysis Advantages

Information already collected

Disadvantages Poor quality data

yields poor results Media may not

accurately reflect behavior/attitudes

Developmental Designs Cross-sectional

Varied sample One measure

Longitudinal Cross-sequential

Varied sample Over time