Developmental Psychology: Understanding Human Development

1. Contents • What is Developmental Psychology? • Methods of Investigation • Core Studies from Developmental Psychology: Bandura et al (1961) andHodges and Tizard (1989) • Contributions to Psychology • Advantages and Disadvantages • Summary

2. Developmental Psychology Developmental Psychology is an area of psychology that looks at how people change through the lifespan. It includes research from other approaches to psychology, for example, it includes research from cognitive psychology on how we develop abstract thought.

3. Methods of Investigation 1) Experimental. Developmental Psychologists conduct their research under laboratory conditions. An Independent variable is manipulated and a dependent variable is measured. For example the IV in Bandura’s (1961) study is whether the children are exposed to an aggressive or non-aggressive role model and the DV is the number of imitative and non-imitative acts of aggression displayed by the child when no model is present. A Quasi (or natural) Experiment is where a researcher can not control the independent variable. In developmental psychology the iv is often the age of the child. This allows researchers to compare children of different ages. • An alternative method to the Quasi Experiment is Longitudinal research.

4. Longitudinal Research Longitudinal research involves studying people in detail over a number of years. This allows the researcher to collect information on how an individual changes through the life span. It allows researchers to see how events in childhood affect people later in life. The benefits of Longitudinal research over a quasi experiments is that the researcher can trace the development of one individual rather than comparing people of different ages which will be liable to individual differences rather than differences.

5. Core Studies from Developmental Psychology Transmission of aggression through imitation of aggressive models. Bandura et al (1961) • Aim: To demonstrate that learning can occur through the observation of a model and that imitation will occur when no model is present. • Design: Laboratory Experiment • Procedure: Children were individually taken to a room containing toys. They played in the corner for 10 minutes while either: an adult behaves aggressively towards a 5 foot inflated Bobo doll; an adult plays in a quiet and subdued manner; No adult is present. Children are then subjected to mild aggression arousal through being stopped from playing in a room with desirable toys. They are then taken to a room with a Bobo doll and various other toys and observed through a one-way mirror. • Results: Children who were showed the aggressive model displayed significantly more imitative and non-imitative aggression than the other children. This shows us that children copy behaviour.

6. Hodges and Tizard (1989) Social and Family Relationships of ex-institutional Adolescents • Aim: To examine the effects of ex-institutional upbringing on attachments. • Design: Longitudinal research. • Participants: 31 ex-institutional children. All children had been in institutional care until the age of 2. At 2 they were either restored to their families and or adopted. Children were compared to a comparison group of children who had always lived with their parents. • Procedure: interviews, questionnaires and psychometric tests were conducted over a number of years. Data collected included: attachment to parents; relations with siblings and peer relationships. • Results: Adopted children were more attached to parents than those restored to a biological parent. Both groups required more adult attention and had more difficulty with social relationships than the comparison group.

7. Contributions to Psychology Developmental Psychology have helped Psychologists to understand. • How children learn. • The psycho-sexual stages of development. • The development of abstract thought. • The development and variety of attachments. • The development of language • The effects of maternal deprivation and privation. • The effects of day care on children’s cognitive and social development.

8. Wide Applications Developmental research has helped with childhood problems/issues. The use of the longitudinal method allows us to see how people change through the lifespan which provides rich information about factors affecting development. Ethical Concerns. Experimental research on children raises ethical concerns surrounding informed consent, debriefing and harm. Longitudinal research can be an invasion of privacy. Advantages and Disadvantages of the Developmental Approach

9. Summary • Developmental Psychology looks at how people develop/change through the life span. • Research is conducted using both longitudinal methods and experimental methods. • Longitudinal methods allow the same individual’s development to be tracked, but this is time consuming and expensive. Experimental research often compares children of different ages allowing results to be obtained more quickly. • This area of psychology has wide applications, but is often criticised for being unethical.