PSYCHOLOGY OF LIFESPAN

LECTURER: IQRA FATIMA

BSPP, BUIC
THE FIELD OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

• Definition

• Historical Roots of developmental Psychology

• Fundamental issues about studying human development

• Facts about human development

• Research Methods in developmental psychology.

• Introduction of Theories of developmental psychology.

What is Developmental
Psychology?

 Scientific study of changes that occur in human beings

over the course of their life span. The pattern of change

that begins at conception and continues through the life

cycle.
 Cont..

 Developmental psychology is the branch of psychology that tries to

understand how a child grows and develops, and how the role of
the family and schooling can impact on this.

 It looks at how our behaviour, our thinking patterns, our emotions

and our personalities begin and change from birth to adulthood.
 Meaning of Growth and Development
Development
Growth
1. The term growth is used in a purely 1. Development implies overall changes
physical sense. it refers to increase in shape, form or structure resulting in
in size, length ,height and weight. the improved working/functioning.
2. Change in quality or character
(improvement in functioning and
2. Change in quantitative aspect
behaviour, difficult to be measured
(can be measured, observable)
directly)
3. It’s a continuous process and goes
3. Doesn’t continue throughout life. It from womb to tomb. It doesn’t end
stops once maturity is attained. with the attainment of maturity.
Growth Development
 4. Growth may or may not bring  4. Development is also possible without
development. A child may grow in terms growth as we see in cases of some children
of weight by becoming fat but this who do not gain in terms of height, weight or
size but they do experience functional
growth may not bring any functional
improvement or development in physical,
improvement (qualitative change) or social ,emotional or intellectual aspects .
development.
 For example, babies who are not walking by
 For example, children's height and 15 months may be demonstrating a
weight can be measured with numerical developmental delay or signs of a more
scales. For example, language serious health condition another example,
development can be quantified with language development can be quantified with
vocabulary tests. vocabulary tests
Periods of Development
Historical Roots of developmental
Psychology

 G. Stanley Hall is most frequently credited with the establishment of

the discipline. Hall also collaborated with Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung
in their efforts to understand the human psyche.


 Freud’s work proposed that there were distinct stages in development

from infancy to adolescence. Hall stressed the importance of the
transition to maturity (adolescence), and Jung theorized about the
conscious and unconscious mind, paving the way for the study of
personality.
Historical Roots of developmental
Psychology

 Jean Piaget: Most famous developmental psychologist. He highlighted the

importance of the biological as well as the environmental aspects of children’s
lives. Specifically, he noted children’s active role in their own cognitive
maturity and thus gave rise to constructivist theories of development.
 In exploring emotional development, John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth, while
working with children after World War II, identified the importance of
relationships between children and their caregivers (most frequently
mothers).

 Lev Vygotsky’s focus on the sociocultural development.

 Scope of Developmental
Psychology
 Developmental psychologists are interested in all aspects of our behavioural
and psychological development.
 They are interested in the social development of a child: from trying to
understand the complexity of the relationship between a new-born infant and
parent to the role of play in developing long-lasting friendships.
 They are interested in the cognitive development of the child: the
development of language; understanding numbers; and developing
an appreciation for art and poetry.
 They are interested too in emotional development and the way we make
decisions and the role of parents and friends in developing our sense
of morality and teenage decision making: careers, friendships, sexuality and
risk taking.
Fundamental issues in Developmental
Psychology
Nature/Nurture

 The nature-nurture-issue revolves around the idea that both nature

and nurturing may play a role in the growth and development of an
individual.

 Some argue the tabula rasa theory, that every person's mind is a
blank slate at birth, while others believe that some traits are inborn.

 Some researchers place a great deal of emphasis on the nurturing a

child receives during his or her formative years, believing this
nurturing results in the formation of traits and characteristics in an
individual.
Continuity/discontinuity

 Continuous development: change that occurs at a steady pace,

perhaps showing a constant, consistent improvement or growth.

 Discontinuous development: change that occurs in what appear

to be great bursts of achievement following a period of steady

consolidation of perhaps knowledge or skill.

Cont..

 There are two contrasting positions on developmental change.

 According to those who hold to the first position, development is best
viewed as a continuous process. That is, development is conceived of
as a process of the gradual accumulation of a behaviour, skill, or
knowledge. On this model, development proceeds in a smooth and
orderly fashion, with each change building on previous abilities.
 In contrast, those who hold to the second view would suggest that
developmental change is best characterized as discontinuous in nature.
These theorists suggest that behaviours or skills often change
qualitatively across time, and that new organizations of behaviours,
skills, or knowledge emerge in a rather abrupt or discrete fashion.
Stability and Change

 Stability implies personality traits present during infancy endure throughout the
lifespan. In contrast, change theorists argue that personalities are modified by
interactions with family, experiences at school, and acculturation.

 This capacity for change is called plasticity. For example, Rutter (1981) discovered
that babies living in understaffed orphanages often become cheerful and
affectionate when placed in socially stimulating adoptive homes.
Example of Stability and change

 Simply put, we can ask whether development is best characterized by

stability (for example, does a behaviour or trait such as shyness stay
stable in its expression over time?) or change (could a person's degree
of shyness fluctuate across the life span?).
Facts About Human Development

 1. Growth and development occur in an orderly pattern from

simple to complex; one task must be accomplished before the
next one is attempted. For example, infants must learn head
control before they can learn to sit.

 2. Growth and development are continuous processes

characterized by spurts of growth and periods of slow, steady
growth. For example, infancy is a period of very rapid growth;
after infancy, the rate of growth slows down until adolescence.
Facts About Human Development

 3. Growth and development progress at highly individualized rates that

vary from child to child. Individuals have their own growth timetables,
and one child’s pattern of growth should not be compared to another’s.

 4. Growth and development affect all body systems but at different

times for specific structures. Although many organs mature and
develop throughout childhood, the reproductive organs mature at
puberty.

 5. Growth and development form a total process that affects a person

physically, mentally, and socially.
Research methods used in Developmental Psychology

 Quantitative Research
 Qualitative Research
 Cross-sectional Research Design
 Longitudinal Research Design
 Experimental Methods
 The research methods used in developmental
psychology research have evolved to take into
account the particular difficulties of
investigating behaviour and other phenomena
in infants and young children.

 A questionnaire might be a suitable tool to use

with the adult population to measure, for
example, voting behaviour, choice of washing
powder or even emotional states.


However, when dealing with young children,
developmental psychologists need to consider
other factors, such as reading ability,
comprehension and linguistic capability.

A 4-year-old child, for instance, may not be able

to read the questions, or write an answer, but if
asked the questions by the researcher, it is
possible that the child will be able to reply verbally.
 1. Quantitative Methods

 Quantitative methods can be described as methods that

use numbers to describe and define concepts.

 A typical quantitative method would use a survey or

questionnaire to collect numerically coded data.
 Commonly used quantitative methods

 Questionnaires and Surveys

 A questionnaire or survey is a quick way of collecting a lot of
information.
 It comprises simply a list of questions.
 Questionnaires usually require answers to be collected in a
structured format. Thus you can collect yes/no answers, answers
on a scale of 1 to 5, answers that fall into categories and answers on
a continuous scale.
 2. Qualitative methods

 Qualitative methods can be described as methods that describe

and define concepts, without the use of numbers.

 A typical qualitative method involves observing behaviour or, more

commonly, talking to individuals or groups to discover their
personal experiences.

 Commonly used qualitative methods are : observational study,

interviews, case studies
Observation Method

 Using an observation study essentially

involves watching a person or group of people

in a particular situation.
 Interviews

 There are two main types of interview used in

psychology are:

 1. Structured interview

 2. Unstructured interview.
 Interviews
1. Structured interview:

It is useful for collecting opinions and

preferences or data that require the
respondent to answer every question from a
pre-planned list. It ensures that all respondents
answer all the same questions.
2. Unstructured interview:

Allows the interviewer and respondent the

flexibility to explore the answers given and
the issues raised within them. Neither the
interviewer nor the participant is required
necessarily to answer a set of questions and
the flow of the interview depends on the
answers given.

Lawrence Kohlberg (1963) used interviews in

his famous paper on moral development
Case studies

 Case studies are in-depth investigations of

a single person, group, event or community.
Typically, data are gathered from a variety of
sources and by using several different methods
(e.g. observations, archival
records & interviews).
Case studies

The researcher may use this method to

report the effectiveness of a particular
counselling technique or teaching
method that brought about significant
behavioural change in the participant.
 Case studies

 An example of case study work comes from some of the

most influential work on child–mother attachment and the

effects of periods of brief separation carried out in London

in the 1960s and early 1970s by researchers James and

Joyce Robertson (Robertson and Robertson, 1989).

 3. Cross-sectional research design

 Cross sectional research is a study in which subjects of

different ages are compared at the same time.

 A cross-sectional study is a type of research design in

which you collect data from many different individuals at

a single point in time.

 In cross-sectional research, you observe variables

without influencing them.

 It allows researchers to collect data that describe

the current situation.

3. Cross-sectional research design

 For Example,
What is the average score in a maths
test given to 7-year-old children?
Does maths score at age 7 years
predict ability in maths at age 16
years?
 Toanswer the first research question, you will need
to design a research project that measures every 7-
yearold child’s ability in mathematics. One way of
doing this would be to go into all the schools in the
region, hand out the same maths test to all the 7-
year-old children there and collect in their scores.

 When you have retrieved all the scores, you can

then work out what the average score in the maths
test is for this age group and confidently report
your findings. The research design you have used
here is a cross-sectional research design.
 In this example, the research design will allow you
to calculate the norm or average maths ability in 7-
year-olds and to show what the range of ability in 7-
year-olds might be.
 This information could then be used by educators to
identify children who are particularly able in maths,
who might be encouraged to study more difficult
problems, and children who are struggling with
maths and who might need more help.
4. Longitudinal Research Design


Researchers repeatedly examine the same
individuals to detect any changes that
might occur over a period of time.
The second research question (does maths score
at age 7 years predict ability in maths at age 16
years?) requires a longitudinal research design.
To answer this question, you need to start in the same
way as before and hand out a standard maths test to all
the 7-year-old children in a region and collect in all their
scores.
At this point, however, the method of data collection
changes. You must then return to the same children when
they are 16 years old and collect their scores in another
 5. Experimental methods

 The experimental method involves manipulating

one variable to determine if changes in one
variable cause changes in another variable.
 Cause and effect relationship
 Experimental group and control group
 Examples of experimental methods are measuring
recall of a list of words under conditions of silence or
noise, measuring mathematical performance under
conditions of high or low stress, and measuring young
babies’ responses to their mother’s and other faces.
 All of these experiments involve the manipulation of a
variable (silence or noise, high or low stress, mother’s
or other’s face) on a type of behaviour – memory,
maths ability and face recognition.
Theories of Developmental Psychology

1. Freud’s Stages of Psychosexual Development

2. Erickson’s Psychosocial Theory
3. Piaget’s Cognitive Theory
4. Maslow’s Human Needs Theory
5. Kohlberg Theory of Moral Development
6. Vygotsky Sociocultural Theory