1.1 Introduction to developmental psychology

Lesson Objectives:

• What is developmental psychology?
• Why should we study human development from conception to death?
• Who are developmental psychologists and what are the career options in developmental psychology?
• What is the lifespan approach to human development?
• What are the key issues and questions in developmental psychology?

What is developmental psychology?

Lifespan development is the field of study that examines patterns of growth, change, and stability in behaviour that occur throughout the entire human lifespan (Feldman, 2000, p. 5).

Why should we study human development from conception to death?

Developmentalists assume that the process of development persists throughout every part of people’s lives, beginning with the moment of conception and continuing until death.  Developmental specialists assume that in some ways people continue to grow and change right up to the end of their lives, whereas in other respects their behaviour remains stable.  At the same time, developmentalists believe that no particular single period of life governs all development.  Instead, they believe that every period of life contains the potential for both growth and decline in abilities, and that individuals maintain the capacity for substantial growth and change throughout their lives (Feldman, 2000, p. 5).

 Who are developmental psychologists, and what do they do?

Because I teach at the University of Regina, my primary focus is academic, on the teaching of the concepts of psychology.  But a large part of my responsibilities also involves research with children, going out to see what children do, and how they change.  Developmental psychologists also perform community work, for example working with parenting groups, or support groups for parents with children with special needs.  Developmental psychologists also work closely with educators to assist them with children with developmental problems and learning disabilities.  You will also find developmental psychologists working with and for social welfare groups, and involved in legal issues related to psychology, for example, determining how reliable children’s eyewitness testimony is, or the validity of childhood memories in legal cases (Robinson, 2001).

What is the lifespan approach to human development?

The lifespan perspective on human development has seven basic characteristics.  Development is:

• Life-long
• No age period dominates development.
• Multi-dimensional
• Development consists of biological, cognitive, socioemotional, and spiritual dimensions.
• Multi-directional
• Some aspects of development increase, while others decrease.
• Plastic
• Depending on the individual's life conditions, development may take many paths.
• Historically-embedded
• Development is influenced by historical conditions.
• Multidisciplinary
• Psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists, neuroscientists and medical researchers all study human development and share a concern for unlocking the mysteries of development throughout the lifespan.
• Contextual
• The individual continually responds to and acts on contexts, which include a person’s biological makeup, physical environment, social, historical, and cultural contexts (Santrock, 1999, p. 10).

What are the key issues and questions in developmental psychology?

From the time of its establishment, several key issues and questions have dominated the field of developmental psychology.  Among these issues are the nature of developmental change, the importance of critical periods, lifespan approaches versus the more focused approaches, and the nature/nurture issue.

• Continuous change versus discontinuous change:  In continuous change, developmental change is gradual, with achievements at one level building on those of previous levels.  In contrast, discontinuous change occurs in distinct stages or steps.  Each stage brings about behaviour that is assumed to be qualitatively different from behaviour at earlier stages. 

• A critical period is a specific time during development when a particular event has its greatest consequences.  Critical periods occur when the presence of certain kinds of environmental stimuli are necessary for development to proceed normally.

• Lifespan approaches versus a focus on a particular period:  Developmentalists now believe the entire lifespan is important, for several reasons.  One is the discovery that developmental growth and change continue during every part of life.  Furthermore, to understand fully the social influences on people of a given age, we need to understand the people who are, in large measure, providing those influences.  For instance, to understand development in infants, we need to unravel the effects of their parents’ ages on the social environment.

• Nature versus Nurture:  One of the enduring questions of development involves how much of people’s behaviour is due to their genetically-determined nature and how much is due to nurture, the physical and social environment in which a child is raised.  In this context, nature refers to traits, abilities and capacities that are inherited from one’s parents.  Nature encompasses any factor that is produced by the predetermined unfolding of genetic information, a process known as maturation.  These genetic inherited influences are at work as we move from the one-celled organism that is created at the moment of conception to the billions of cells that make up a fully-formed human being.  In contrast nurture refers to the environmental influences that shape behaviour.  Some of these influences may be biological, such as the impact of a pregnant mother’s substance abuse on the fetus, or the amount and kind of food available to children.  Other environmental influences are more social, such as the ways parents discipline their children and the effects of peer pressure on adolescents (Feldman, 2000, p. 10).

Handouts: Course outline, Glossary of Terms, Endless Possibilities+,  Medicine Wheel, Circle of Human Kinship