Stage 1 Psychology Lifespan Psychology L Notes
Topic One: Lifespan Psychology
Developmental psychology
- Explores the changes in thoughts, feelings, and behaviours throughout the lifespan
Nature vs Nurture Debate
- Centered on the question: to what extent is our development the product of heredity (nature) and of
environment (nurture)?
Nature refers to genetic factors that influence who we are
- Physical appearance
- Personality characteristics
Nurture refers to all of the environmental variables that influence who we are
- Early childhood experiences
- How we were raised
Topic Two: Human Development
The Four Types of Development:
Social
Changes in individuals’ relationships with others and interaction skills
Physical
Changes in the body and its systems, such as development of the brain and nervous system, bones and
muscles, motor skills, hormonal changes etc.
Emotional
Changes in how individuals express and experience different feelings, including recognition of emotion
Cognitive
Changes in an individual’s mental abilities such as learning, memory, perception, language, and moral
reasoning.
Topic Three: Harlow’s Monkey Experiments
In 1958, Harlow wanted to study how newborn monkeys bond with their mothers, since newborns have high
dependence for various factors. Harlow studied this by removing the monkeys from their mothers a few hours
after birth. They were raised by ‘surrogate mothers’. The monkeys could choose between a cloth mother with
no food, or a wire mother with an attached baby bottle. Babies chose the cloth mother, most likely to seek
comfort. The research design was experimental and the results were qualitative and subjective.
This study poses various ethical issues. It does not follow ‘protection from harm’, as the infant monkeys were
placed under psychological and emotion stress being separated from their mothers a few hours after birth.
Strengths of the study:
- The use of baby monkeys as participants provides us with a close answer to human behaviour, due to
the various similarities between the two organisms.
- It was conducted in a controlled laboratory setting.
Weaknesses of the study:
- Ethical guidelines were not followed.
- Animals are unable to make their own choices and therefore should not be used as participants.
Topic One: Lifespan Psychology
Developmental psychology
- Explores the changes in thoughts, feelings, and behaviours throughout the lifespan
Nature vs Nurture Debate
- Centered on the question: to what extent is our development the product of heredity (nature) and of
environment (nurture)?
Nature refers to genetic factors that influence who we are
- Physical appearance
- Personality characteristics
Nurture refers to all of the environmental variables that influence who we are
- Early childhood experiences
- How we were raised
Topic Two: Human Development
The Four Types of Development:
Social
Changes in individuals’ relationships with others and interaction skills
Physical
Changes in the body and its systems, such as development of the brain and nervous system, bones and
muscles, motor skills, hormonal changes etc.
Emotional
Changes in how individuals express and experience different feelings, including recognition of emotion
Cognitive
Changes in an individual’s mental abilities such as learning, memory, perception, language, and moral
reasoning.
Topic Three: Harlow’s Monkey Experiments
In 1958, Harlow wanted to study how newborn monkeys bond with their mothers, since newborns have high
dependence for various factors. Harlow studied this by removing the monkeys from their mothers a few hours
after birth. They were raised by ‘surrogate mothers’. The monkeys could choose between a cloth mother with
no food, or a wire mother with an attached baby bottle. Babies chose the cloth mother, most likely to seek
comfort. The research design was experimental and the results were qualitative and subjective.
This study poses various ethical issues. It does not follow ‘protection from harm’, as the infant monkeys were
placed under psychological and emotion stress being separated from their mothers a few hours after birth.
Strengths of the study:
- The use of baby monkeys as participants provides us with a close answer to human behaviour, due to
the various similarities between the two organisms.
- It was conducted in a controlled laboratory setting.
Weaknesses of the study:
- Ethical guidelines were not followed.
- Animals are unable to make their own choices and therefore should not be used as participants.
