1. Introduction to developmental psychology & nuances of its
research methods
1.1 Developmental psychology
1. Development: changes that occur in an individual in a somewhat enduring, orderly,
patterned and continue from conception till death.
2. Developmental science: is a multidisciplinary field (e.g. developmental science is of
interest to biologists, anthropologists, neuroscientists, etc.) and studies the phenomena
mentioned above.
3. Developmentalist: any scholar who aims to comprehend and study the developmental
process
Causes of development:
2 processes essential for a developmental change:
1. Maturation: the way that an individual biologically changes, depending upon their
species/ genetic inheritance (e.g. we talk when we are around 1 year old).
• Also responsible for psychological growth/maturity- increase in our ability to
reason, understand other’s feelings, etc.
2. Learning: a relatively permanent change produced as a result of experience
• It changes our response to certain situations/persons as we learn to feel,
behave and think in certain ways
Both these processes bring about the developmental changes.
Goals of Developmental Psychology:
1. to describe
Developmentalists observe people’s behavior who are of different ages & record the
changes that occur in these people over the course of their life or with time.
Everyone follows a different path of development although certain patterns of
development are recognized as the typical ones. (e.g. siblings may show different interests
and be developed in different skills more than the other skills etc.)
Sufficient description of development comes from a description of both normative (typical
patterns of development) & ideographic (individual patterns of development) development.
, Such description provides us with some facts regarding one’s development but further
explanation is essential.
2. to explain
here developmentalists explain the observed changes
they hope to determine the reasons behind the normative & ideographic development of
people.
3. to optimize development
they apply what was learnt through the previous stages, so such knowledge can lead to
better development
E.g. it helps developmentally delayed children succeed at school, and adolescents who struggle
socially can also be helped with such knowledge, to help them build healthy social bonds.
1.2 Character of development
1. Continual and Cumulative Process
• Developmentalists state that first 12 years are critical to form a basis for later years
of adolescence and adulthood
• This is not to say that later life experiences of adolescence and adulthood aren’t
important, as they are essential too; this is because as we grow up, we take up new
hobbies/ interests etc.
• Development keeps continuing in such a way into middle age and senior age up until we
die
• Hence it is cumulate and continual and these changes that occur through the
development have important implications for the future as well.
research methods
1.1 Developmental psychology
1. Development: changes that occur in an individual in a somewhat enduring, orderly,
patterned and continue from conception till death.
2. Developmental science: is a multidisciplinary field (e.g. developmental science is of
interest to biologists, anthropologists, neuroscientists, etc.) and studies the phenomena
mentioned above.
3. Developmentalist: any scholar who aims to comprehend and study the developmental
process
Causes of development:
2 processes essential for a developmental change:
1. Maturation: the way that an individual biologically changes, depending upon their
species/ genetic inheritance (e.g. we talk when we are around 1 year old).
• Also responsible for psychological growth/maturity- increase in our ability to
reason, understand other’s feelings, etc.
2. Learning: a relatively permanent change produced as a result of experience
• It changes our response to certain situations/persons as we learn to feel,
behave and think in certain ways
Both these processes bring about the developmental changes.
Goals of Developmental Psychology:
1. to describe
Developmentalists observe people’s behavior who are of different ages & record the
changes that occur in these people over the course of their life or with time.
Everyone follows a different path of development although certain patterns of
development are recognized as the typical ones. (e.g. siblings may show different interests
and be developed in different skills more than the other skills etc.)
Sufficient description of development comes from a description of both normative (typical
patterns of development) & ideographic (individual patterns of development) development.
, Such description provides us with some facts regarding one’s development but further
explanation is essential.
2. to explain
here developmentalists explain the observed changes
they hope to determine the reasons behind the normative & ideographic development of
people.
3. to optimize development
they apply what was learnt through the previous stages, so such knowledge can lead to
better development
E.g. it helps developmentally delayed children succeed at school, and adolescents who struggle
socially can also be helped with such knowledge, to help them build healthy social bonds.
1.2 Character of development
1. Continual and Cumulative Process
• Developmentalists state that first 12 years are critical to form a basis for later years
of adolescence and adulthood
• This is not to say that later life experiences of adolescence and adulthood aren’t
important, as they are essential too; this is because as we grow up, we take up new
hobbies/ interests etc.
• Development keeps continuing in such a way into middle age and senior age up until we
die
• Hence it is cumulate and continual and these changes that occur through the
development have important implications for the future as well.
