Dev Psych: Intro to Life

• Human development is the study of how we change over time
• Cohort Effect:

  • A group of people born at roughly the same period in a particular society
  • Cohorts share histories and contexts for living
  • Members of a cohort have experienced the same historic events and cultural climates which impact values, priorities, and goals
• Socioeconomic status is a way to identify families and households based on shared levels of education, income, and occupation

  • Categories include: Upper class, Upper middle class, Middle class, Working class, Working poor, Underclass
• Culture is a blueprint or guideline shared by a group of people that specifies how to live

  • Includes ideas about what is right and wrong, what to strive for, what to eat, how to speak, what is valued, and what kinds of emotions are called for in certain situations
• Ethnocentrism:

  • Belief that our own culture is superior
  • Normal by-product of growing up in a culture
• Cultural relativity is an appreciation for cultural differences and understanding that cultural practices are best understood from the standpoint of that particular culture
• • Early Adulthood
  • Physiological peak but at risk for violent crimes and substance abuse
  • Focus on the future, making choices to earn the status of a full adult
  • Love and work are primary concerns
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  • Middle Childhood:
  • Ages six through eleven
  • Connected to early grades of school, learning new academic skills, and assessing abilities by comparing with others
  • Growth rates slow down, refine motor skills, and learn about social relationships beyond family
• Middle Adulthood:

  • Late thirties through mid-sixties
  • Aging becomes more noticeable
  • Peak of productivity in love and work
  • Period of gaining expertise and problem-solving efficiency
  • Realistic about life possibilities
  • Hardest hit by AIDS epidemic in Africa, leading to a decrease in the workforce
• Late Adulthood:

  • Increased lifespan in industrialized countries
  • Subdivided into "young old" (65-79) and "old old" (80+)
  • Young old similar to midlife adults, still working and healthy
  • Old old remain productive but at higher risk of age-related diseases like arteriosclerosis, cancer, and cerebral vascular disease
• Aging categories:

  • Optimal aging: very good health and active life
  • Normal aging: changes similar to most of the same age group
  • Impaired aging: more physical challenges and diseases than others of the same age
• Death and Dying:

  • Discomfort and acceptance in studying death
  • Focus on physical, psychological, and social aspects of death
  • Cultural variations in mourning, burial, and grief
• Confirmation Bias:

  • Tendency to seek evidence confirming beliefs and ignore contradictory evidence
• Sampling Bias:

  • Selecting study participants randomly
• Scientific Methods:

  • Determine research question
  • Review previous studies (literature review)
  • Gather information methodically
  • Conduct the study
  • Interpret results
  • Draw conclusions, state limitations, suggest future research
  • Share findings for scrutiny
• Types of Studies:

  • Descriptive studies: focus on describing occurrences
  • Explanatory studies: answer "why" questions
  • Evaluation research: assess effectiveness of policies or programs
• Research Designs:

  • Observational studies: watch and record participant actions
  • Experiments: test hypotheses in controlled settings
  • Case studies: explore single cases in detail
  • Surveys: enhance subject accessibility through various methods
• Research Designs (cont.):

  • Longitudinal research: measure a group repeatedly over a long period
  • Cross-sequential research: combine cross-sectional and longitudinal techniques
• Confirmation Bias

  • is the tendency to look for evidence that we are right and in so doing, we ignore contradictory evidence
• Sampling Bias

  • to select participants for a study in a random way 
• Observational studies involve watching and recording the actions of participants
• Experiments are designed to test hypotheses in a controlled setting to explain how certain factors or events produce outcomes
• Case studies involve exploring a single case or situation in great detail
• Surveys enhance accessibility to subjects and can be conducted in person, over the phone, through the mail, or online
• Secondary/Content analysis involves analyzing information that has already been collected or examining documents or media to uncover attitudes, practices, or preferences
• Content analysis looks at media such as old texts, pictures, commercials, lyrics, or other materials to explore patterns or themes in culture
• Developmental designs examine how age, cohort, gender, and social class impact development
• Cross‐sectional research begins with a sample that represents a cross‐section of the population
• Longitudinal research involves measuring a group of people repeatedly over a long period of time
• Cross‐sequential research combines aspects of cross‐sectional and longitudinal research by beginning with a cross‐sectional sample and measuring them through time
• Developmental Psychology

  • Study of human growth and development
  • Womb to tomb
  • From conception to death
• Upper Class:

  • Own substantial wealth and after-tax annual family income
  • Upper-upper class has money from investments or inheritance and tend to be stewards of family fortune
  • Old money brings a sense of polish and sophistication not shared by those with new money
  • The newly rich (0.5%) have made their fortunes as personalities in sports and media or as entrepreneurs
• Upper Middle Class:

  • Hold professional degrees that involve education beyond a four year bachelor degree
  • White collar workers have professional positions, enjoy a good deal of freedom and control over occupations
  • Having a sense of autonomy or control is a key factor in experiencing job satisfaction and personal happiness and ultimately health and well-being
• Middle Class:

  • Individuals work in lower-paying, less autonomous white collar jobs such as teaching and nursing
  • May hold 2-4 year degrees from less prestigious, state-supported schools
  • Own less property and have less discretionary income than members of the upper-middle and upper class but may yet share values and standards held by the upper-middle class
  • Carries debt which is extremely stressful and has a negative effect on health and social well-being
• Working Class:

  • Working in occupations such as retail, clerical or factory jobs
  • Jobs are typically routine and more heavily supervised than the middle class and require less formal education
• 1. Working poor - live near the poverty level and hold seasonal or temporary jobs as unskilled laborer
• 1. Underclass - they receive some governmental assistance and tend to be looked down upon by other members of society
• Prenatal Development

  • Conception occurs and development begins
  • All of the major structures of the body are forming and the health of the mother is of primary concern
  • Understanding nutrition, teratogens (or environmental factors that can lead to birth defects), and labor and delivery are primary concerns
• Infancy and Toddlerhood

  • The first year and a half to two years of life are ones of dramatic growth and change
  • A newborn, with a keen sense of hearing but very poor vision is transformed into a walking, talking toddler within a relatively short period of time
  • Caregivers are also transformed from someone who manages feeding and sleeping schedules to a constantly moving guide and safety inspector for a mobile, energetic child
• Early Childhood refers to the preschool years, which follow toddlerhood and precede formal schooling