The document discusses various philosophical and scientific perspectives on human development including innate goodness, blank slate, and evolutionary theories. It then covers research methods such as observations, surveys, correlations and experimental designs that are used to study development across the lifespan. Key issues include the interplay between nature and nurture, continuity versus discontinuity of changes, and factors like gender, resilience and timing that influence development.

1. Chapter 1:
Basic Concepts and Methods

2. In This Chapter
 Introduction to Human Development
 Key Issues in the Study of Human
Development
 Research Methods and Designs

3. An Introduction to Human
Development
Human Development: Scientific study of
age-related changes in:
• Behavior
• Thinking
• Emotion
• Personality
An entire lifespan!

4. Philosophical Roots
Original Sin
Augustine of Hippo
 Humans are born selfish and must seek
spiritual rebirth.
Developmental Outcomes
 Individuals struggle to overcome immoral
actions.

5. Philosophical and Scientific Roots
Innate Goodness
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
• Emphasis on children and basic
goodness of human nature
• Nurturance and protection needed
Developmental Outcomes
• Children’s environment interferes or
encourages

6. Philosophical and Scientific Roots
The Blank Slate
John Locke
• Empiricism
• Children as passive recipients of
environmental experiences
Developmental Outcomes
• Individual differences due to
experience

7. Early Scientific Theories
Charles Darwin
First organized study of human development
Evolution
 Interplay of genetics and environmental
adaptation
Baby biographies
 Detailed records of his own children’s
early years

8. Early Scientific Theories
First scientific study of child development
G. Stanley Hall
 Psychologist
 Emphasis on norms or average ages
at which developmental milestones
occur
 Coined “storm and stress”
(adolescence)

9. The Lifespan Perspective
Overview
Important changes occur in each period of
development.
Children and adults experience major life
passages.
Increased longevity

10. Early Scientific Theories
Systematic description of children across
domains, particularly in the first five years
of life
Arnold Gesell
 Maturation occurs “naturally” from
genetically programmed sequence.
 Used movie cameras, one-way mirrors

11. The Lifespan Perspective
Paul Baltes
• Multi-contextual nature of development
• Plasticity and adaptability at all ages
• Interdisciplinary perspective and research
• With age, strategies used to maximize gain
and compensate for losses

12. Domains and Periods
of Development
Three broad domain categories:

13. Periods of Development

14. Stop and Think!
What marks the end of each of
these periods of development?
How do you know?

15. Key Issues in the Study of Human
Development
Nature versus Nurture
Nature
 Inborn propensities; biological influences
 Inborn biases
Nurture
 Learning from environmental experiences
 Internal models of experience

16. Continuity versus Discontinuity
Continuity = Quantitative change in
amount or degree
Discontinuity = Qualitative, step-like
change
What are the advantages and
disadvantages of each kind of
change?

17. Another Way to Look at It!
If development consists only of additions,
the concept of stages is not needed.
If development involves reorganization or
emergence strategies, quality, or skills,
than stages are useful.

18. Three Kinds of Change
Qualitative Changes in Kind or Type
Normative age-graded universal changes
 Social clock or age norms
Normative history-graded changes
 Cohort or generational effects
Non-normative changes
 Unique, unshared changes or individual
differences

19. Contexts of Development
Vulnerability and Resilience
 Vulnerabilities and protective factors interact
with a child’s environment.
 Environments cause differential effects.
 Resilient children gain support from optimal
environments.

20. Contexts of Development
Gender
Gender matters.
 Influences individual development
 Interaction between characteristics and
environment influences and is influenced by
gender.

21. Contexts of Development
Origins of Delinquency
Patterson et al., 2002

22. Contexts of Development
Individual differences related to timing
 Critical period
 Sensitive period
 On-time events
 Off-time events
 Atypical development
 “Double Whammy”

23. Now that you have heard several issues, which
do you think are more important in
understanding development—nature issues
or nurture issues? Why?
What part of the life span interests you the
most? What issues would you like to learn
about the most?
Questions To PonderQuestions To PonderQuestions To PonderQuestions To Ponder

24. Research Methods and Designs
Are theories and hypotheses the same?
 Theories
 Predictions or hypotheses

25. The Goals of Developmental Science
 Describe development
 Explain development
 Predict developmental event
 Influence some developmental
outcome

26. Descriptive Methods
Variables: characteristics that vary across
people
Relationship: when two or more variables
vary together
Can you think of two variables we could
study to learn about our class?

27. Descriptive Methods
Naturalistic Observations
Descriptive methods: ways to identify
relationship
• People observed in their normal
environments
• Potential observer biases
• Limited generalizability
• Time consuming

28. Descriptive Methods
Case Studies and Laboratory
Observations
Case Studies
 In-depth examination of a single
individual
Laboratory Observations
 Controlled setting for study

29. Descriptive Methods
Surveys, Interviews and Questionnaires
Two broad survey areas:
 Questionnaires
 Interviews
Methods
 Questions asked; answers recorded
 Samples used

30. Correlations
Correlations
 Describe the strength of the relationship
between two variables
Positive correlation
 High scores on one variable usually
accompany high scores on the other.
Negative correlation
 Scores on two variables move in opposite
directions.

31. Limitations of Correlations
Correlation is NOT causality.
• Correlations measure the level or degree
of covariation between two variables.
• They do not prove causal relationships.

32. Experimental Designs
 Test causal hypotheses.
 Randomly assign participants to different
treatment and control groups.
 Experimental (treatment) group
 Control group

33. Experimental Designs
Variables
Independent variable or “cause”
Dependent variable or “effect”
 The dependent variable depends on
the “cause.”
Quasi-experiments
 Participants not randomly assigned

34. Experimental Designs
Three General Categories
Let’s take a closer look at each.

35. Designs to Study Age-Related
Changes
Cross-Sectional Designs
 People studied from different age groups at
same time point
 Can indicate possible age differences or
age changes
 But age-related differences may become
confused with cohort or generational
effects.

36. Birth Cohort or Generational Effects
 Different generations have unique
experiences.
 Cohort and generational effects can
become entangled.

37. Can you see any cohort patterns?
Figure 1.1 An Example of a Cross-Sectional Design

38. Designs to Study Age-Related
Changes
Longitudinal Designs
 Same individuals studied over a period of
time
 Individual consistencies and
inconsistencies can be observed.
 Net change assessed over time in the
same people.

39. Longitudinal Designs:
Some Problems
 Practice or testing affect
 Study attrition

40. Figure 1.2 Example of a Longitudinal Design

41. Designs to Study Age-Related
Changes
Sequential Designs
 Combined groups from at least two cohorts
followed in a longitudinal study
 Comparison of cohorts while incorporating
some degree of individual differences
 Both aging AND cohort effects are possible.

42. Figure 1.3 An Example of a Cross-
Sequential Design

43. Cross-Cultural Research
Ethnographies
 In-depth descriptions of single culture or
context
 May compare two or more cultures or
subcultures
 Can provide both descriptive and interpretive
information

44. Cross-Cultural Research
Benefits
Cross-cultural Studies
• Search for universal and unique
developmental changes
• Demonstrate degree of environmental
variation within human development

45. Research Ethics
Ethics: broad ethical principles for responsible
conduct of research and use of any
outcomes resulting from research
In Research:
 Protection of animal rights and human
subjects
 Universities, government, and organizations
often have Institutional Review Boards
(IRBs).

46. Research Ethics
 Protection from harm
 Informed consent
 Confidentiality
 Knowledge of result
 Deception