The Science of Human Development PDF

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Development over the life span...

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Defining Development The science of human development… - seeks to understand how and why people of all ages and circumstances change or remain the same over time. Defining Development Understanding How and Why Scientific method – Way to answer questions that requires empirical research and data-based conclusions.

Five basic steps of the scientific method – Begin with curiosity and pose a question. – Develop a hypothesis. – Test the hypothesis.

– Draw conclusions. – Report the results.

The Scientific Method A sixth and crucial step-replication-is often needed before the scientific community accepts conclusions. Replication – Repetition of a study, using different participants

Process, Not Proof The Nature-Nurture Debate Nature – General term for the traits, capacities, and limitations that each individual inherits genetically from his or her parents at the moment of conception

Nurture – General term for all the environmental influences that affect development after an individual is conceived

The Life-Span Perspective Life-span perspective – Approach to the study of human development that takes into account all phases of life, not just childhood or adulthood.

Age Ranges for Different Stages of Development The Life-Span Perspective Development is multidirectional. – Over time, human characteristics change in every direction.

Several major theorists describe stages of development (discontinuous process): Freud, Erickson, Piaget.

Others view development as a continuous process.

Patterns of Developmental Growth Life-Span Perspective Development is multidirectional. Critical period – Time when a particular type of developmental growth (in body or behavior) must happen if it is ever going to happen

Sensitive period – Time when a certain type of development is most likely to happen

or happens most easily, although it may still happen later with more difficulty

The Life-Span Perspective Development is multicontextual. Ecological-systems approach – In the study of human development, the person should be considered in all the contexts and interactions that constitute a life.

The Life-Span Perspective Development is multicontextual. Ecological systems (Bronfenbrenner) Each person is affected by many social contexts and interpersonal interactions. Three nested levels surround individuals and affect them. Approach later named bioecological theory.

The Ecological Model The Life-Span Perspective Development Is multicontextual. Historical context Cohort: All persons born within a few years of one another; group defined by the shared age of its members Example: Attitudes about same-sex marriage The Life-Span Perspective Development is multicontextual. Socioeconomic context – Affected by national and historical texts – Is more critical in some jurisdictions than others – Includes pervasive context of SES

Socioeconomic status (SES) – Person’s position in society as determined by income, wealth,

occupation, education, and place of residence

The Life-Span Perspective Development Is multicultural. Culture – Patterns of behavior passed from one generation to the next

Social construction – Idea based on shared perceptions, not on objective reality – Many age-related terms, such as childhood, adolescence, yuppie, and senior citizen, are social constructions.

Socioeconomic Status and Human Development Global Trends Infant Mortality in the U.S.

The Life-Span Perspective Development Is Multicultural. Difference-equals-deficit error – Mistaken belief that a deviation from some norm is necessarily inferior to behavior or characteristics that meet the standard

Vygotsky: Guided participation – Is universal process used by mentors to teach cultural knowledge, skills, and habits – Can occur through school instruction, but more often it happens informally – Entails culturally different goals

The Life-Span Perspective Development Is multicultural. Ethnic group – People whose ancestors were born in the same region and who often share a language, culture, and religion

Race

– Group of people who are regarded by themselves or by others as distinct from other groups on the basis of physical appearance

The Life-Span Perspective Development Is multidisciplinary. All important human characteristics are epigenetic. – Referring to the effects of environmental forces on the expression of an individual’s, or a species’, genetic inheritance

Some epigenetic influences impede development; others facilitate it. – The inevitable epigenetic interaction between genes and the environment (nature and nurture) is illustrated on the next slide.

An Epigenetic Model of Development

Notice that there are as many arrows going down as there are going up, at all levels. Although development begins with genes at conception, it requires that all four factors interact.

Red Means Stop At top, the red areas on this PET scan show abnormally low metabolic activity and blood flow in a depressed person’s brain, in contrast to the normal brain at bottom. The Life-Span Perspective Multidisciplinary research on depression Depression – Is partly genetic, biochemical, and neurological – Is also developmental – Leads to better treatment – Broadens and deepens the scientific perspective

Links to depression – – – – – – – – – – –

Low serotonin Caregiver depression SAD Malnutrition Anthropology Diseases Disruptive social interaction Father absence Siblings Poverty Low cognitive skills

Why? Interpretation of these data depends on the interpreter’s assumption. The low rates in Japan could be caused by something wonderful in Japanese culture—close human bonds, for instance. Or it could be something negative— repression of emotions, perhaps, which would reduce the rate of diagnosed depression, but not the rate of actual depression. As with the results of most research, data often raise new questions.

The Life-Span Perspective

Development Is plastic. Plasticity denotes two complementary aspects of development. – Human traits can be molded – People maintain a certain durability of identity

Dynamic systems: Human development is viewed as an ongoing, ever-changing interaction. – Between the physical and emotional being and – Between the person and every aspect of his or her environment, including the family and society

The Life-Span Perspective Development is plastic. Dynamic systems approach – Builds on the multidirectional, multicontextual, multicultural, and

multidisciplinary nature of development – Urges consideration of all the interrelated aspects, every social and cultural factor, over days and years

The Life-Span Perspective Development is plastic. – Plasticity emphasizes that people can and do change, that predictions are not always accurate – More accurate predictions could improve prevention of developmental problems.

Three insights advance benefits of prediction. – Nature and nurture – Sensitive periods – Differential sensitivity

Using the Scientific Method Scientific Observation

– Requires the researcher to record behavior systematically and objectively – May be done in a naturalistic setting such as a home, school, or other public place – May be done in a laboratory

Using the Scientific Method Statistical measures often used to analyze research results – – – – – –

Effect size Significance Cost-benefit analysis Odds ratio Factor analysis Meta-analysis

Who Participates? – For all these measures, the characteristics of the people who participate in the study (formerly called the subjects, now called the

participants) are important, as is the number of people who are studied. – This also is presented with statistics.

Using the Scientific Method Experiment – Research method in which the researcher tries to determine the cause-and-effect relationship between two variables

Independent variable – Variable that is introduced to see what effect it has on the dependent variable

Dependent variable – Variable that may change as a result of whatever new condition or situation the experimenter adds

Using the Scientific Method Experimental group – Subjected to the particular treatment or condition (the independent variable)

– Comparison group (also called a control group) – Does not receive the experimental group treatment

How to Conduct an Experiment Using the Scientific Method The Survey – Involves collection of information from a large number of people – Presents challenges in acquiring valid information – Produces answers that are influenced by the wording and the sequence of the survey questions

I Forgot? If this were the only data available, you might conclude that ninth-graders have suddenly become more sexually active than twelfthgraders.

But we have 20 years of data—those who are ninth-graders now will answer differently by twelfth grade.

Studying Development over the Life Span Cross-sectional Research – Groups of people of one age compared with people of another age

Longitudinal Research – Collecting data repeatedly on the same individuals as they age

Cross-sequential Research – Study several groups of people of different ages (a cross-sectional approach) and follow them over the years (a longitudinal approach)

Which Approach Is Best? Which Approach Is Best? Cautions from Science Correlation and Causation

Correlation exists between two variables if one variable is more (or less) likely to occur when the other does. – Positive correlation - Both variables tend to increase or decrease together. – Negative correlation - One variable tends to increase while the other decreases. – Zero correlation - No connection is evident.

Correlation is not causation Quiz on Correlation Cautions from Science Quantitative research – Provides data that can be expressed with numbers, such as ranks or scales.

Qualitative research

– Considers qualities instead of quantities. – Descriptions of particular conditions and participants’ expressed ideas are often part of qualitative studies.

Ethics Each academic discipline and professional society involved in the study of human development has a code of ethics. • An Institutional Review Board (IRB) ensures that research follows established guidelines and remains ethical. • Participation is voluntary, confidential, and harmless. • Research subjects must give informed consent- understand the research procedures and any risks involved....