Chapter 1: Introduction

1. Chapter 1: Introduction Dr. M. Davis-Brantley

2. Life Span • Scientific Study of Human Development • Seeks to understand how and why people (all kinds of people) change, and how they do not change, from conception until death • Keep in mind • Study of Development should be approached as a science • Involves all types of people and observes generalities and specifics • Focus is on all the changes of life from conception to death

3. Life-Span Perspective • The view of human development that takes into account all phases of life, not simply in terms of childhood and adulthood • This perspective takes into account every moment of life from conception to death

4. Life-Span Perspective This perspective emphasizes 5 distinct characteristics for examining life • Multidirectional • Multicontextual • Multicultural • Multidisciplinary • Plasticity

5. Life is Multidirectional • Change occurs in every direction • Predictable growth and unexpected transformations are all part of the human experience evident at every age and every step of development • Development is a result of Dynamic Systems • Dynamic refers to the continual change within each person and each social group • Systems refers to the systematic connection of each change to other developments in every individual and every society

6. Life is Multidirectional • Ex: Physical Growth

7. Life is Multidirectional • All change is a part of a dynamic system • The Butterfly Effect • Idea that a small action or event may set off a series of changes that culminate in a major event • I.E., Can the breeze created by the flap of a butterfly’s wings result in trigger a hurricane 100’s of miles away

8. Life is Multicontextual • Life is not restricted and occurs in many contexts such as historical conditions, economic constraints, and cultural conditions

9. Life is Multicontextual: Historical Context • Cohort is a group of people who are born within years of one another and travel through life experiencing the same major historical changes and events • These individuals are subject to the same important public events, technologies, and popular trends • Social Construction exists in that an idea is built more on shared perceptions of social order than on objective reality • Ex: Role of Computers • Older cohort: Computers are complicated, filled with trouble (social isolation, pornography, etc…) • Middle cohort: Powerful tools to be mastered • Youngest cohort: Computers are necessary appliances, no more remarkable than toothbrushes

10. Life is Multicontextual: Socioeconomic Context • Focus is on a person’s SES (Socioeconomic Status) • SES is often used with or called “social class” (Wrong!) • SES is not solely determined by annual income; however, also education, income, neighborhood, and occupation • Ex: $12,000 earnings for an illiterate dishwasher with a family vs. postdoctoral student • Money is not enough. Consider the associated advantages/disadvantages, opportunities/limitations, and past history/future prospects

11. Life is Multicontextual: Socioeconomic Context • Neighborhood as an indicator of poverty • Low-income neighborhoods can be an indication of poverty, abuse, sickness, drug addiction • Low-income neighborhoods can also be an indication of just lower-income • Usually determined by the upkeep of the area (I.e.; keeping trash out of the streets, not storing cars, keeping up home repairs, watching to keep) • This often occurs as a result of collective efficacy • Religious institutions often enhance collective efficacy

12. Life is Multicontextual: Cultural Context • Culture—the specific manifestations of a social group’s design for living, developed over the years to provide a social structure for the group members’ life together • A social group can consist of: citizens of a nation, members of an ethnic group, residents within a region of a nation, etc… • Culture can include values, technologies, customs, clothes, dwellings, cuisine, and patterns of behavior

13. Life is Multicontextual: Cultural Context • Culture is dynamic and effects decisions that we make from what is culturally acceptable socially to what we decided to eat for breakfast • Ex: Who sleeps with whom? • Asian or African cultures: Males sleep in one bedroom and females sleep in another or everyone sleeps in the same room • Westerners: Believe in ritualized isolation of children during the night, the institution of “bedtime”, and the protection of the privacy of the “sacred couple”

14. Life is Multicultural • Development occurs within cultures and there are many cultures-not just internationally, but within each nation • Ex: Rich providers & Good homemakers • How standard is our culture in terms of marriage? • Study of Japan, U.S., and Sweden • Higher income reduced marriage prospects for women in Japan • Higher income slightly increased marriage prospects for women in the U.S. • Higher income significantly increased prospects for women in Sweden

15. Life is Multicultural • Ethnic Group is a collection of people who share certain attributes, typically including ancestral heritage, national origin, religion, customs, and language • Heritage refers to customs and traditions passed down to the present members • National origin means country of birth or ancestors country of birth • Individuals can be multiethnic • Term coined African American, Cuban American, Jamaican Brazilian • Why might it be unwise to completely assimilate or abandon your own culture?

16. Life is Multicultural • Race is a social construction by which biological traits (such as hair, skin color, facial features, and body type) are used to differentiate people whose ancestors came from various regions of the world • Keep in Mind: There are no clear-cut racial groups • Differences among people supposedly of the same race are greater than differences among people of different races

17. Life is Multidisciplinary • Development can be examined in the light of many academic or disciplinary fields • These disciplines contribute data and insight to the science of development • These disciplines include, but are not limited to: • Psychology, Biology, Sociology, Education, Neuroscience, Economics, Religion, Anthropology, History, Medicine, Genetics, etc…

18. Life is Multidisciplinary • Ex: Venus & Serena Williams • Biologist Perspective—Physical strength • Sociologist Perspective—Family drive and choice • Psychologist Perspective?

19. Plasticity • A characteristic of development that indicates individuals change throughout their life span, including their personalities, bodies, and minds • Human beings use genes, families, cultures, and experiences to mold and shape their lives

20. Person within the context • Five characteristics help us to keep in mind that no one is average and each person is guided in divergent directions by many other influences • Each person has unique genes and experiences which may defy the expectations scientists place on development

21. Developmental Study as Science The Scientific Method

22. The Scientific Method • Scientists ask questions and seek to understand life and answer questions • The Scientific Method • An approach to the systematic pursuit of knowledge that, when applied to the study of development involves Five basic steps

23. The Scientific Method • Formulate the research question • Pose a question • Develop a Hypothesis • Reformulate the question as a hypothesis which is a specific question that can be tested • Test the Hypothesis • Design and conduct a research project • Draw Conclusions • Use the evidence to support or refute the hypothesis • Make findings available • Possibly for replication

24. Research Methods • Scientific Observation • A method of testing hypotheses by unobtrusively watching and recording participants’ behavior • Natural Observation occurs in a naturalistic setting such as work, home, store, etc.. • Observation which occurs in a lab where scientists may sit behind a one-way mirror • Limitation: Does not indicate what causes the behavior or the why of the behavior • Ex: One child cheats on a test, another doesn’t=Why?

25. Research Methods • Correlation vs. Causation • Scientists attempt to understand a relationship between two variables • Correlation Coefficient is a number indicating the degree of relationship between 2 variables expressed in terms of the likelihood that one variable will or will not occur when the other variable does or does not • Positive Correlation is a relationship between variables in which one variable increases as the other also increases • Ex: IQ scores and grades • Negative Correlation is a relationship between two variables in which one variable increases as the other decreases • Ex: Stress and Immune Function • Expressed in figures –1.00 to +1.00 • Ex: Churches and Liquor Stores

26. Research Methods • Experiment • A research method in which the researcher tries to determine the cause and effect relationship between 2 variables by manipulating one variable (IV) and then observing and recording the resulting changes in the other variable • Independent Variable • The variable that is introduced or changed to see what effect it has on the dependent variable • Dependent Variable • The variable that may change as a result of the introduction of or changes made in the independent variable • Ex: Breakfast (IV) improves achievement (DV)

27. Research Methods • How we justify this causal relationship? • Experimental Group is composed of the participants of an experiment are given a particular treatment • Comparison Group (Control Group) is composed of the participants who are not given special treatment but who are similar to the experimental group in other relevant ways

28. Research Methods • Survey—research method in which information is collected from a large number of people by personal interview, written questionnaire, etc… • This method is quick and direct means of obtaining information • Limitations: Surveys are subject to bias • Ex: Type of person that participates in this kind of experiment is different from those who do not

29. Research Methods • Case Study is the intensive examination of one particular individual (case) • Ex: Genie, Victor • Often called the bedrock of psychological research in that they provide a wealth of detail and information which makes them rich in possible insights • Two most important uses: • To understand an individual very well • To provide a provocative starting point for other research

30. Research Over Time • Cross-sectional Research is a method in which groups of people who differ in age but share other important characteristics are compared • Ex: Educational Level, SES, or ethnic/cultural background • Ex: of Cross-sectional research=how much weight does a 6 year old gain over 4 years • Limitation: Cohort Differences

31. Research over time • Longitudinal Research is a method in which the same individuals are studied over a long period of time • Helps scientists to identify if the reason for an apparent developmental change • This eliminates the effects of background variables • Ex: Adjustment to divorce, Role of fathers in child development, Prevention of teen delinquency (parenting)

32. Research over time • Cross-sequential Research is a hybrid research method in which researchers first study several groups of people of different ages (cross-sectional approach) and then follow those groups over the years (longitudinal approach)

33. Research over time • Ecological-systems approach is research that takes into consideration the relationship between the individual and the environment • Among the environmental influences include: • Microsystems-elements of the person’s immediate surroundings (family/friends) • Exosystems-local institutions such as school and church • Macrosystems-the larger social setting, including cultural values, economic policies, and political processes • Chronosystems-historical influences • Mesosystem-involves the connection between microsystems