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Lecture 2Developmental Psychology = The study of continuity and change across a lifespanFundamental Issues in developmental Psychology - Nature and nurture - Critical periods and plasticity o Physical and emotional milestones - Continuity and discontinuity o The self - University and specificity o A...

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Lecture 2 Developmental Psychology = The study of continuity and change across a lifespan Fundamental Issues in developmental Psychology - Nature and nurture - Critical periods and plasticity o Physical and emotional milestones - Continuity and discontinuity o The self - University and specificity o Are emotions expressed in similar or different ways across cultures?

Four goals of Developmental Psychology - Describe o When do children engage in magical thinking? - Explain o How does magical thinking influence cognitive development? - Predict o Will magical thinking in early childhood affect later cognitive development? - Modify/influence o Can greater socialization with peers reduce magical thinking? Domains of Development - Physical development o Body, brain, senses, motor skills & health - Cognitive development o Learning, memory, moral reasoning, language, thinking & creativity - Psychological development o Personality, emotional life, & relationships - Development involves gains, losses, changes and continuities - Development includes: o Growth o Stability o Decline More on Nature and nurture - Nature: The influence on development of heredity o The biological unfolding (maturation) according to genetic inputs- Nurture: The influence on development of the environment o External physical and socio-cultural experiences - Neither operates alone o Nature affects Nurture o Nurture affects Nature - Twin studies have long been used to examine the effects of heredity and environment

Periods of the Life span

The Nature-Nurture issue of development

Nature Developmental Change

Nurture -

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Nature: the influences of heredity • Emphasis on the process of maturation • Biological development Nurture: the influences of environment • Emphasis on learning • Experiences cause changes

Clinical Example : Schizophrenia

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Affects approx. 1% of population (51 million) M=F but M onset earlier commonly have their onset in early adult life usually leave the patient with varying degrees of cognitive, affective, and psychosocial impairment Symptom Triad o Negative: Disruptions (absence) of normal emotions and behaviors o Positive: The presence of abnormal behavior o Cognitive: Subtle impairment in executive function: attention and working memory

Genetic factors - The illness occurs in 1 percent of the general population BUT - Family history of schizophrenia within first-degree relative has a 10% lifetime risk (Source: NIMH) o 65% if identical twin is diagnosed, 28% dizygotic twin - No one specific chromosomal region is responsible for the disorder BUT there is a high genetic risk Environmental factors - Season of Birth - Maternal malnutrition - Adverse child rearing/child abuse - Drug abuse Treatment - Prolonged periods without treatment result in worse outcome - Family and patient psychoeducation - Social skills training - Early intervention in first episode of psychosis - Identification and early intervention for high-risk patients can be helpful in preventing development of the disorder (Olsen & Rosenbaum, 2006; McGrorry, Killackey, & Yung, 2008) Often, genes influence development in relation to the environment - Heredity (genes): instructions that tell molecules in the body how to form and organize to build and maintain our body - Environment- development takes place in the outside environment and developmental course is influenced by the context in which it exists - Epigenetics: the study of biological mechanisms that will switch genes on and off

Lecture 3 Developmental Designs •

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Longitudinal research • Based on a sample studied over time • Positives: Researchers are able to detect changes in the target population at both the group and the individual level • Notable New Zealand longitudinal studies • Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health & Development study (since 1972) • Christchurch Health & Development Study (1977) • Canterbury Methadone in Pregnancy Study Cross-sectional research • Make comparisons at a single point in time • Based on groups of children from different ages • Positives: Cheap and quick

Some developmental Design Drawbacks • Longitudinal • Time intensive • Expensive • Participant retention/attrition • Cross-sectional • Results provide information on age-related change rather than change over time • Risk of cohort effects Cohort Effects • Cohort: A group of people born at a similar point in history and sharing a set of similar experiences as a result

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• Ex: Teenagers now compared to teenagers in the 1970s or 80s Cohort effect: group differences due to the cohort that distort comparisons

Sequential Designs • A research design that includes elements of cross-sectional and longitudinal research designs. • Similar to cross-sectional designs, sequential research designs include participants of different ages within one study • Similar to longitudinal designs, participants of different ages are followed over time. • This research design is distinct from those that have been discussed previously in that individuals of different ages are enrolled into a study at various points in time to examine • age-related changes • development within the same individuals as they age account for the possibility of cohort effects. Research Methods in Developmental Psychology • Developmental research uses the same process and methodologies seen across the sciences • Observational, Correlational, Experimental, Quasi-experiment • The subject matter under question at times requires unique approaches such as: • Understanding the contribution of heredity (genetics) and the environment • Studying young children Separating Environmental from Genetic Influences Twin-study method • Procedure for separating the role of genetics from the role of environment • Takes advantage of monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins • The variable of interest identical twins is compared with that of fraternal twins. • Identical twins (MZ) develop from a single fertilized egg that splits into two genetically identical replicas, each of which becomes a person. • Fraternal twins (DZ) develop from separate eggs and separate sperm, making them genetically no more similar than ordinary siblings. • identical twins are more similar genetically than are fraternal twins. • If a trait has a high genetic load then those with similar genes should be more similar on the measured trait

The Minnesota Twins Study

Data Conclusions • Both genetics and environment play a role in IQ. • The more closely two individuals are related genetically, the more similar their IQ. However, genetics is not everything. Preferential Looking

Lecture 4

Statistics – Normal Distribution Adolphe Quetelet The Normal Law of Error - Emerged from Astronomy by the late 18th Century - Represented the frequency/ Probability of errors made either side (+/-) of the true value (e.g star’s position) Multiples Measurements vs Multiple Individuals Quetlet proposed a thought experiment 1) Imagine that you take many measurement of the chest circumference of a single individual – They would conform to normal law of error 2) Both genetics and environment play a role in IQ. The more closely two individuals are related genetically, the more similar their IQ. However, genetics is not everything. Properties for a Normal Distribution - Unimodal - Symmetric - Mean, median and mode

Lecture 5 Adolescence G. Stanley Hall (1846-1924) - Period of making the transition from childhood to Adulthood - Period of difficulty - High stress/mood changes - Historically 12 to 18 years old - Frequently co-occurs with puberty - Associated with a period of increased risk-taking behaviour as well as increased emotional reactivity o These behavioural changes occur in context of developmental changes Diathesis Stress - Theory that attempts to explain behaviour as a predisposition vulnerability together with the stress of life The Diathesis-Stress Model Interaction of genes and environment - Example: Depression o Genetic vulnerability o Environmental triggers

Key Concepts - Risk and Resilience o Risk: any condition or circumstance that increases the likelihood that psychopathology will develop o Risk factors increase the likelihood that psychopathology will result o Vulnerability factors intensify the response to the risk o Resilience: factors prevent/protect a child from psychopathology, despite the presence of risk factors (intelligence, family support) o Protective factors reduce the likelihood that psychopathology will result o Cognitive, Emotional, Biological, Moral, and Cultural factors influence both risk and resilience Puberty - Puberty: A period of rapid physical maturation involving hormonal and bodily changes that occur primarily during early adolescence o Menarche is a girl’s first menstruation o Marked weight and height gains o Growth spurt occurs about 2 years earlier for girls than boys o Girls increase in height 3.5 inches per year, boys about 4 inches o Pubic hair growth o Facial and chest hair growth in males o Breast growth in females o Sexual maturity -

Hormonal Changes: o Hormones: chemicals secreted by the endocrine glands and carried throughout the body by the bloodstream o Endocrine system’s role involves the interaction of the hypothalamus, pituitary glands, and gonads • Hypothalamus: brain structure involved with eating and sex • Pituitary gland: endocrine gland that controls growth and regulates other glands

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Gonads: testes in males, ovaries in females Concentration of testosterone and estrogen increases Hormones may contribute to psychological development in adolescence Behavior and moods can affect hormones Stress, eating patterns, exercise, sexual activity, tension, and depression Link between hormones and behavior is complex

Early and Late Maturation o Boy: • Early-maturing boys view themselves more positively and have more successful peer relations • Late maturing boys report a stronger sense of identity in their 30s • In general, early maturation seems to be better o Girls: • Early-maturing girls are more likely to smoke, drink, be depressed, have an eating disorder, struggle for earlier independence, have older friends, date earlier and have earlier sexual experiences

Brain Changes - Changes in Volume o Continued Pruning o Continued arboization o Increased myelination of existing neurons o Result: increased speed of processing - Changes in Structure o Prefrontal cortex (PFC) continues to develop o Connections between the PFC an other (often subcortical) regions are refined o Result: greater utility of executive function

Limbic System

Risky Behaviours in Adolescence

- Imbalance of development of prefrontal regions relative to subcortical regions (limbic system; involved in desire and fear) maximal during adolescence Information Processing - Improvement in executive functioning (EF) o Reasoning, making decisions, monitoring thinking critically, monitoring one’s cognitive process - Most people make better decisions when calm - Adolescents have a tendency to be emotionally intense - Dual Process theory suggests that decisions are a result of the interaction (or not) of two different processes: o implicit (automatic), unconscious process and an explicit (controlled), conscious process - Cognitive changes that improve critical thinking skills include: o Increased speed, automaticity, and capacity of information-processing

o More breadth of content knowledge in a variety of domains o Increased ability to construct new combinations of knowledge o A greater range and more spontaneous use of strategies or procedures for applying or obtaining knowledge Adolescent Egocentrism (Elkind) - Heightened self-consciousness of adolescents o Imaginary Audience: adolescents’ belief that others are as interested in them as they themselves are o Personal Fable: involves a sense of uniqueness and invincibility - Invincibility attitudes are associated with risk taking o Drug use o Suicide o Having unprotected sex o Interaction between vulnerability and physical development? Risk Taking - Risk-taking peaks around age 17 o “adolescent-limited” vs “life-course-persistent” - Can be adaptive o Individuation o Peer acceptance - Influences on risk taking o Sensation seeking o Maturity gap o Broad socialization practices

Lecture 6 Aggression and Violence What is Aggression? - Any behaviour that is intended to cause harm. o Key words: behaviour and intent - These behaviours can include physical or verbal behaviours - Harms may include physical, emotional, psychological - Aggression is often classified as either physical or relational; hostile or instrumental; and proactive or reactive Physical and Relational Aggression - Physical aggression: o Aggression intended to cause physical harm in another person - Relational aggression: o Aggression that is intended to affect the social relationships of another person

Hostile and Instrumental Aggression - Hostile aggression is an act of aggression stemming from feelings of anger and aimed at inflicting pain. o Ex: I have a toy->you take my toy->I am angry-> I hit you - Instrumental aggression is aggression that serves as a means to some goal other than causing pain. o Ex: I see that you have a toy-> I want the toy-> I hit you-> you cry-> the toy is now mine (goal achieved) Proactive and Reative Aggression - Reactive o An impulsive, defensive reaction paired with anger and a loss of control o Often a response to provocation - Proactive o Initiated behavior without provocation • to take possession (e.g., an object or the right to something) • to dominate, or intimidate o Aggression is viewed as a suitable manner to achieve a particular objective or end Developmental Trajectories : Physical Aggression (PA) - Acts like hitting and biting are common during the first few years of life o Approximately 70%–80% of children between the age of 18–36 months engage in some form of physical aggression - The frequency of physical aggression declines with age as children learn to resolve disputes with others - A subgroup of children, primarily male, display high levels of physical aggression into adolescence o Associated with an increased risk for violence and maladjustment later in life

PA as a function of Time 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Age 3

PA as a Function of Age 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Age 3 Age 6 Age 9 Age 12 Age 15 Age 18

Age 6

Age 9 Age 12 Age 15

Typical PA

PA subgroup

Developmental Trajectories : Relational Aggression - Longitudinal studies have shown that relational aggression (RA) starts to increase in middle childhood and through early adolescence - Tends to decrease following early adolescence

Why might RA increase during early adolescence? - Shift to new and increasingly large groups of peers. o These changes lead to reorganization of social dominance hierarchies that may alter patterns of RA. o Social Dominance Theory (Pellegrini, 2008), posits that during transitions that aggression is used to establish status with peers. o Studies on Western samples have reported that greater RA was associated with more perceived popularity. - The development of verbal ability and social perspective taking skills o Adolescents become more capable of using subtle and covert forms of aggression.

Relational Aggression as a Function of Age 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Age 3

Age 6

Age 9

Age 12 Age 15 Age 18

Developmental Trajectories - Children with high levels of both PA and RA are more likely to exhibit social-cognitive and emotion deficits, and thus experienced the most problematic outcomes. - One of the most consistent findings in aggression research is that aggression is a relatively stable behaviour that begins early in life. At each stage of life, one’s position relative to others remains the sam

Relational Aggression as a Function of Age 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Age 3

Age 6

Age 9 Age 12 High Medium

Dunedin Study Findings

Age 15 Low

Age 18

- According to Moffitt’s developmental taxonomy, there are two types of aggressive people: o Life-Course-Persistent: aggression or antisocial behaviour is stable and persistent o Adolescent-Limited: aggression is temporary and situational Two Comon Pathways - Life-course-persistent (LCP) path begins early and persists into adulthood o Antisocial behavior begins early • Subtle neuropsychological deficits heighten vulnerability to antisocial elements in social environment o Complete, spontaneous recovery is rare after adolescence o Associated with family history of externalizing disorders - Adolescent-limited (AL) path begins at puberty and ends in young adulthood o Less extreme antisocial behavior, less likely to drop out of school, and have stronger family ties o Delinquent activity is often related to temporary situational factors, especially peer influences Antisocial Behaviour Across the Lifespan

Causes of Aggression - No single theory explains all forms of antisocial behavior - Today conduct problems are seen as resulting from the interplay among child, family, and community factors - The following slides highlight several known factors that contribute to the aggression over the lifespan Genetic Influences - Adoption and twin studies o 50% of the variance in aggressive behaviour is explained by genetic influences in both males and females o The remaining 50% of the variance associated with environmental factors o Also, evidence of gene-environment interaction (G × E)

Prenatal Factors and Birth Complications - Pregnancy and birth factors including: o Low birth weight o Mother’s use of nicotine, cannabis, and other substances during pregnancy o Maternal alcohol use during pregnancy o Influence of substances depends upon: when, how much, and for how long Neurobiological Factors - Temperament: individual differences in behaviour that are seen early in post natal life and thought to be biologically based o Easy o Difficult o Slow to warm up - Overactive behavioral activation system (BAS) and underactive behavioral inhibition system (BIS) Social Cognitive Processing - Cognitive distortions o Hostile attribution bias - Deficits in facial expression recognition - Dodge’s Social Information Processing model Family Factors - Influence of family environment is complex and influenced by a multitude of factors including: o Quality of caregiver attention toward the child o Temperament of the child o Goodness of fit o Relationship between caregivers o Family instability and stress o High family stress may be both a cause and an outcome of child’s antisocial behavior - Parental criminality and psychopathology o Aggressive and antisocial tendencies run in families within and across generations o Caregiver Modeling Societal Factors - Individual and family factors interact with the larger societal and cultural context in determining conduct problems - Adverse contextual factors are associated with poor parenting - Neighborhood and school -Media Cultural Factors - Rates of antisocial behavior vary widely across and within cultures

- Antisocial behavior is often associated with minority status. o Likely due to confounding factors such as SES

Lecture 7 Personality Approaches Personality - Closely related to social psychology o Thoughts o Feelings o Behaviour - Study of individual differences Diverse Perspectives on Personality - Behavioural: Sensation-seeking rewarded - Biological: Activity in his motor cortex - Cultural: Internalised expectations of peers - Evolutionary: Attempting to signal hidden traits to potential mates - Humanistic: Find meaning in flying - Psychoanalytic: Personal history produced motive - Self: Conscious choice - Situationist: Unconsciously primed to - Experimental philosophy: Did Sam have free will to jump out of the plane? - Cultural Animal: Key feature to humans, evolved to use culture as a evolutionary strategy How d...