CHAPTER 1: THE STUDY OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

I. Introduction to Human Development

 Human development is the scientific study of changes and stability throughout a person’s lifespan.
 It examines physical, cognitive, and psychosocial growth across different life stages.

A. Human Development: An Ever-Evolving Field

 The study of development has expanded to lifelong changes instead of just childhood.

B. Studying the Life Span

 Development is studied across the entire human life cycle, from conception to death.

C. Human Development Today

 Uses scientific methods to examine how people grow and change.

II. Basic Concepts of Human Development

A. Domains of Development

1. Physical Development
o Involves growth of the body, brain, sensory abilities, and motor skills.
o Example: Puberty, menopause, aging, brain maturation.
2. Cognitive Development
o Learning, memory, reasoning, language acquisition, intelligence, and problem-solving.
o Theorist: Jean Piaget proposed the Cognitive-Stage Theory (explained in Chapter 2).
3. Psychosocial Development
o Personality, emotions, self-concept, and relationships.
o Theorist: Erik Erikson proposed the Psychosocial Stages of Development.

B. Periods of the Life Span

 The human lifespan is divided into eight periods:

1. Prenatal Period (Conception to birth) – Genetic inheritance, rapid physical growth.
2. Infancy and Toddlerhood (Birth to 3 years) – Basic trust, language, motor skills.
3. Early Childhood (3 to 6 years) – Increased independence, motor skills development.
4. Middle Childhood (6 to 11 years) – Logical thinking, friendships, increased independence.
5. Adolescence (11 to 20 years) – Identity formation, puberty, abstract thinking.
6. Emerging and Young Adulthood (20 to 40 years) – Career choices, relationships, independence.
7. Middle Adulthood (40 to 65 years) – Career peak, parenting, physical aging.
8. Late Adulthood (65+ years) – Retirement, cognitive decline, reflection on life.

C. Influences on Development

1. Heredity, Environment, and Maturation

 Heredity (Nature) – Genetic traits passed from parents to children.

 Environment (Nurture) – External influences like family, culture, and socioeconomic status.
 Maturation – Biological growth that follows a natural sequence (e.g., puberty, aging).

2. Contexts of Development

 Family: The first social environment (nuclear vs. extended family).

 Socioeconomic Status (SES): Affects education, healthcare, and resources.
 Culture & Ethnicity: Shared traditions and values that influence development.
 Historical Context: Global and national events impact entire generations.
3. Normative and Nonnormative Influences

 Normative – Common experiences most people face.

o Age-Graded – Happen at a specific age (e.g., starting school, retiring).
o History-Graded – Events affecting generations (e.g., economic depression).
 Nonnormative – Unique life experiences (e.g., losing a parent at a young age).

III. Timing of Developmental Influences

 Critical Period – A specific time when certain experiences must happen for normal development (e.g.,
prenatal brain formation).
 Sensitive Period – A time when a person is more receptive to learning certain skills (e.g., language
acquisition in early childhood).

IV. The Life-Span Developmental Approach (Paul Baltes, 1939–2006)

Seven Principles of Lifespan Development:

1. Development is lifelong – No single period is more important.

2. Development is multidimensional – Involves biological, psychological, and social aspects.
3. Development is multidirectional – Gains and losses occur at all stages.
4. Relative influence of biology and culture changes over time.
5. Resource allocation changes – Focus shifts between learning, maintaining, and adapting to loss.
6. Development shows plasticity – Skills can be learned and improved at any stage.
7. Development is influenced by history and culture – Historical context matters.

CHAPTER 2: THEORY AND RESEARCH

I. Basic Theoretical Issues in Development

A. Key Debates in Human Development

1. Is development active or reactive?

o Mechanistic Model (John Locke) – People are passive, shaped by their environment.
o Organismic Model (Jean-Jacques Rousseau) – People actively shape their own development.
2. Is development continuous or discontinuous?
o Continuous – Gradual and cumulative development.
o Discontinuous – Development occurs in stages (e.g., Piaget’s theory).

II. Theoretical Perspectives on Development

1. Psychoanalytic Perspective

 Sigmund Freud’s Psychosexual Stages of Development

 Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) developed a stage theory that explains personality development through
different erogenous zones.

Stage Age Description

Oral Birth to 1 year Infant's pleasure centers on the mouth (sucking, biting, chewing). Fixation can
Stage lead to nail-biting, smoking, overeating.
Anal 1–3 years Focus on toilet training. Fixation can lead to anal-retentive (obsessive,
Stage controlling) or anal-expulsive (messy, disorganized) personality.
Phallic 3–6 years Child is aware of genital differences and develops the Oedipus complex (boys
Stage desire their mother, fear father) or Electra complex (girls desire their father,
compete with mother).
Latency 6–11 years Sexual impulses are dormant, and focus is on school, friendships, and skills
Stage development.
Genital Adolescence Sexual maturity is reached, and relationships with the opposite sex become
Stage onward important.
 Erik Erikson (1902–1994) – Psychosocial stages of development, focusing on social and emotional
challenges.

Stage Age Crisis

1. Trust vs. Mistrust Birth to 1 year Infants develop a sense of trust if caregivers are reliable.
Mistrust occurs if neglected.
2. Autonomy vs. Shame 1–3 years Toddlers learn independence. Over-control leads to
and Doubt shame and doubt.
3. Initiative vs. Guilt 3–6 years Children start planning activities; too much restriction
leads to guilt.
4. Industry vs. Inferiority 6–11 years Children develop a sense of competence or feel
inferior in skills.
5. Identity vs. Role Adolescence (11–20 Teens explore self-identity; confusion occurs if identity is
Confusion years) not established.
6. Intimacy vs. Isolation Young Adulthood (20– Forming meaningful relationships or experiencing
40 years) loneliness.
7. Generativity vs. Middle Adulthood (40– Contributing to future generations (career, family) or
Stagnation 65 years) feeling unfulfilled.
8. Integrity vs. Despair Late Adulthood (65+ Reflecting on life with satisfaction or regret (despair).
years)

2. Learning Perspective (Behaviorism)

1. Classical Conditioning (Ivan Pavlov, John Watson)

o Learning through association (e.g., Little Albert experiment).
2. Operant Conditioning (B.F. Skinner)
o Learning through consequences (rewards and punishments).

Types of Reinforcement & Punishment

Type Definition Example

Positive Adding something pleasant to encourage Giving a child candy for doing
Reinforcement behavior. homework.
Negative Removing something unpleasant to encourage Taking aspirin to remove a
Reinforcement behavior. headache.
Positive Punishment Adding something unpleasant to discourage Giving detention for being late to
behavior. school.
Negative Punishment Removing something pleasant to discourage Taking away a toy for bad behavior.
behavior.

3. Social Learning Theory (Albert Bandura)

 Modeling (Observational Learning): Learning by watching others.

 Bobo Doll Experiment: Showed children copy aggressive behavior from adults.

3. Cognitive Perspective

A. Jean Piaget’s Cognitive-Stage Theory

o Development occurs in four stages:

 Sensorimotor Stage (0–2 years): Learning through senses and movement.
 Preoperational Stage (2–7 years): Symbolic thinking but egocentric (can’t see others'
perspectives).
 Concrete Operational Stage (7–11 years): Logical thinking but only about concrete
objects.
 Formal Operational Stage (11+ years): Abstract and hypothetical thinking.
B. Important Cognitive Terms (Piaget’s Theory)

Term Definition Example

Egocentrism The inability to see things from another A child covering their eyes and thinking
person’s perspective. others can't see them.
Animism Believing non-living things have human Thinking a stuffed animal has feelings.
qualities.
Centration Focusing on one aspect of a problem. Thinking a taller glass has more liquid, even
if volume is the same.
Conservation Understanding that quantity remains the same Knowing clay stays the same amount when
despite appearance. reshaped.
Object Understanding that objects exist even when A baby looking for a hidden toy.
Permanence unseen.

B. Lev Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory

o Learning is influenced by social interaction.

o Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD): Skills that a child can learn with help.

A. Urie Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Model

o Development is influenced by multiple environmental systems:

 Microsystem – Immediate surroundings (family, school).
 Mesosystem – Interactions between microsystems.
 Exosystem – Indirect environmental influences (parent’s workplace).
 Macrosystem – Cultural values, laws, traditions.
 Chronosystem – Historical time period and life transitions.

4. Evolutionary Perspective

 Charles Darwin – Natural selection and survival of the fittest.

 Konrad Lorenz – Ethology, focusing on biological survival instincts (e.g., imprinting).

III. Research Methods in Developmental Psychology

Type Description Example

Correlational Measures relationships between variables but Studying the link between screen time and
Study doesn’t prove cause. grades.
Experimental Tests cause-and-effect relationships. Testing if a new teaching method
Study improves test scores.
Longitudinal Study Follows the same individuals over time. Tracking IQ development from childhood
to adulthood.
Cross-Sectional Compares different age groups at one time. Comparing 10-year-olds and 20-year-olds
Study on memory tests.