Lecture 1 27.01.2020 Introduction To Developmental Psychology

PYU516
Developmental Psychology:
An Ethological Perspective
Lecture 1 Themes & Theories in

Developmental Psychology
Newman University, Genners Lane, Bartley Green, Birmingham B32 3NT T: +44(0)121 476 1181 www.newman.ac.uk
Reading
 Siegler, DeLoache & Eisenberg (2006)
Chapter 1 pp.1-23
Learning Outcomes
 After the lecture you should be able to:
1. Discuss good reasons for learning about

developmental psychology
2. Identify the strength & limitations in the

contributions of philosophers & early scientific
theorists to the study of development
3. Explain several key themes in child development

Why Study Child Development?
 Take a minute to think why studying

development is important…
Overview
 Why Study Child Development?
 Historical Foundations of the study of Child

Development
 Enduring Themes in Child Development
Why Study Child Development?
Reason #1: Raising Children

 Knowledge of child development can help parents &
teachers meet the challenges of rearing & educating
children
 For example,
researchers have
identified effective
approaches that parents
& other caregivers can
successfully use in
helping children manage
anger & other negative
emotions
Reason #2:
Choosing Social Policies
 Knowledge of child development permits informed
decisions about social-policy questions that
affect children
 For example, psychological research on children’s

responses to leading interview
questions can help courts obtain
more accurate testimonies from
preschool children
Reason #3:
Understanding Human Nature
 Important insights into some of the most intriguing
questions regarding human nature (such as the
existence of innate concepts & the relationship between
early & later experiences)
 Romania orphanage studies supports principle

that the timing of experiences often influences
their effects
 Real world theory relates to ethologists who

studied animals in natural environment using
careful observational techniques.
Early Philosophers
 Provided enduring insights about
critical issues in childrearing, even
though their methods were
unscientific
 Both Plato & Aristotle believed

that the long-term welfare of
society depended on children’s
being raised properly – Platonic
relationships!
Plato vs. Aristotle
 Plato emphasized self-control & discipline
 Aristotle was concerned with fitting child-rearing to

the needs of the individual child
 Plato believed that children are born with innate

knowledge
 Aristotle believed that knowledge comes from

experience
Later Philosophers
 John Locke, like Aristotle, saw the child as a tabula rasa &
advocated first instilling discipline, then gradually
increasing the child’s freedom
 Jean-Jacques Rousseau, French philosopher, argued that

parents & society should give the child maximum freedom
from the beginning
Research-Based Approaches
 19th Century
 two driving forces
 Social reform movements established legacy of research

conducted for the benefit of children & provided the earliest
descriptions of adverse effects of harsh environments can
have on child development – children had virtually no rights
 Charles Darwin’s theory of Evolution inspired research in

child development in order to gain insights into the nature of
the human species
Formal Field of Inquiry
 Child development
emerged as a formal field
of inquiry in the late 19th &
20th Centuries
 Sigmund Freud & John

Watson (in film)
formulated influential
theories of development
during this period
Freud & Watson
 Freud suggested that “innate” drives, especially sexual
ones, had a vital effect on the development of a person
 Watson argued that children’s behaviour arises from the

rewards & punishments that follow particular behaviours
 Watson’s methods were more “sophisticated” &

replicable than those of Freud, neither really focused on the
details of the changes throughout the formative years of the
child.
Themes cover in this module
• Nature & Nurture

• The Active Child
• Continuity/Discontinuity
• General or Specific (Modular)
• Mechanisms of Developmental Change
• The Sociocultural Environment
• Individual Differences
Basic Questions about Child
Development
1. How do nature & nurture together shape
development?
2. How do children shape their own development?
3. In what ways is development continuous, & in what
ways is it discontinuous?
4. Does learning & development happen across all
domains or does the child mature as a whole?
5. How does change occur?
6. How does the sociocultural context influence
development?
7. How do children become so different from each other?
Nature & Nurture
 Single most basic question about
child development is how nature &
nurture interact to shape the
developmental process
 Nature refers to our biological

endowment, especially the genes
we receive from our parents
 Nurture refers to the wide range

of environments, both physical &
social, that influence our
development
Continuity vs. Discontinuity
Continuous
development:
Age-related
changes occur
gradually
Discontinuous
development: Age-
related changes include
occasional large shifts in
appearance, thought &
behaviour such that
children of different ages
might appear to be from
almost a different
species!
• Stage theories such as those of Piaget, Kohlberg
& Freud propose that development occurs in a
progression of age-related, qualitative shifts
• Behaviourist & other theories propose that

development occurs in a much more gradual
progression of age-related, quantitative shifts
• Alternatively, other theories suggest the pattern of

development is very difficult to predict because of
individuality & complexity of gene versus environment
interactions
Development - Global or Local
• Does development affect all aspects of a child’s thinking & behaviour
or is change local & domain specific?
• For example, is the child’s ability to do math also reflected in their

language acquisition
• Many theories suggest the brain “innately modular” & that

development in 1 discrete area may not be reflected in other aspects
of the way the child thinks.
• Other theories… Piaget suggest that underlying the child’s thinking

are global ways of viewing the world (logical schemas) that are
pervasive
• Other theories… the brain is plastic & modularity & develops

according to specific experiences
How does developmental change
occur?
 Darwin’s theory of evolution useful framework for thinking
about the brain mechanisms that produce change in children’s
development
 Variation refers to differences in thought & behavior within

& amongst individuals
 Selection describes the more frequent survival & reproduction of

organisms that are well adapted to their environment
 Gerald Edelman & Esther Thelen emphasise that development

is not uniform, neat & predictable but is related to experiences
that a brain is exposed to.
How does developmental change
occur?
 Adapt to changes in the environment over millions of
years (evolutionary time), psychological variation &
selection appear to produce changes within an individual
lifetime
 Variation & Selection are apparent in brain development

that affect the strategies that young children acquire to
solve problems that might be social or physical
How does the socio-cultural environment
influence development?
 Socio-cultural environment pertains to the physical,
social, cultural, economic, & historical context that have
affected the child’s surroundings
 Differ from family-to-family & are most obvious

between different cultures
How does the sociocultural environment
influence development?
 Development is affected by gender,
ethnicity, race, & socioeconomic
status.
 These factors, however, often lead to

spurious work claiming that they
constitute genetic influences rather
than environmental influences.
 For example, Chris Brand’s work on G-

Factor intelligence,
Individual difference?
 Individual differences among children are the consequences of genetics
& environment – including in utero.
 As well as genetic variation & physical environment other factors

including treatment by other people, subjective reactions
to situations & other people (inter-subjectivity see Trevarthen), & their
active choice of social environments & activities all contribute to
differences among babies - even those who have identical genes
Any Questions?

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PYU516

Lecture 1 Themes & Theories in

1. Discuss good reasons for learning about

2. Identify the strength & limitations in the

3. Explain several key themes in child development

 Take a minute to think why studying

 Why Study Child Development?

 Historical Foundations of the study of Child

 Enduring Themes in Child Development

Reason #1: Raising Children

 For example, psychological research on children’s

 Romania orphanage studies supports principle

 Real world theory relates to ethologists who

 Both Plato & Aristotle believed

 Aristotle was concerned with fitting child-rearing to

 Plato believed that children are born with innate

 Aristotle believed that knowledge comes from

 Jean-Jacques Rousseau, French philosopher, argued that

 Social reform movements established legacy of research

 Charles Darwin’s theory of Evolution inspired research in

 Sigmund Freud & John

 Watson argued that children’s behaviour arises from the

 Watson’s methods were more “sophisticated” &

• Nature & Nurture

 Nature refers to our biological

 Nurture refers to the wide range

• Behaviourist & other theories propose that

• Alternatively, other theories suggest the pattern of

• For example, is the child’s ability to do math also reflected in their

• Many theories suggest the brain “innately modular” & that

• Other theories… Piaget suggest that underlying the child’s thinking

• Other theories… the brain is plastic & modularity & develops

 Variation refers to differences in thought & behavior within

 Selection describes the more frequent survival & reproduction of

 Gerald Edelman & Esther Thelen emphasise that development

 Variation & Selection are apparent in brain development

 Differ from family-to-family & are most obvious

 These factors, however, often lead to

 For example, Chris Brand’s work on G-

 As well as genetic variation & physical environment other factors

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