Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
An introduction to Developmental Psychology (DP) - Coggle Diagram
An introduction to Developmental Psychology (DP)
What is DP.
It's understanding how kids grow, develop, and adapt.
Focuses on cognitive, emotional, social, and physical development.
Developing from conception to death and understanding milestones.
Evolution over time due to biological maturation and environmental factors.
3.Philosophical roots.
Western Philosophy
Emphasis on individualism.
Cognitive development stages (Piaget).
Moral development.
African Philosophy.
Ubuntu to understand collective social development.
Interconnectedness.
Community-oriented growth.
Islamic and Eastern Philosophies.
Understanding moral development.
Understanding spiritual development.
Understanding social development.
Legal framework.
Children's rights.
Policies on education.
Child protection in SA.
Diversity in SA.
Cultural diversity.
Linguistic diversity.
Economic diversity.
The importance of DP
Influences learning experiences: Shapes educational approaches and curriculum design.
Guides interactions: Informs how we communicate and connect with kids.
Environment and activities: Helps to create supportive environments and selecting activities.
Understanding adults: Offers insights into adult behaviours and origins.
Identifying atypical development: Facilitates early detection and support for development challenges.
Central issues in DP.
Continuity vs. Discontinuity.
Investigate whether development is a smooth progression or distinct stages.
Theories vary between development being continuous and gradual or in stages.
Plasticity.
The capacity for change and the sensitivity to environmental influences at different ages.
Highlights sensitive periods, like early language acquisition.
Nature vs. Nurture (Epigenetics).
Explores the balance between innate capacities and environmental shaping.
Integrates evolutionary developmental psychology, focus on interaction with genetics and environment.
Evolutionary DP
Foundation: Theory of natural selection, focusing on variation, competition, and inheritance.
Person-environment fit: Examines adaptation and mutual influence between individuals and their environments.
Early Empiricism vs. Rationalism.
Plato (428-347 BCE).
Innate knowledge: Knowledge is inherent and not derived from experiences or the senses. Kids have inner knowledge that needs to be uncovered with guidance.
Idealism: Dismissed the material world, proposing that true knowledge comes from understanding the perfect forms beyond sensory experience.
Nature vs. Nurture debate: Align with the 'nature' side, suggesting development and knowledge are pre-determined by innate factors.
Aristotle (384-322 BCE).
Tabula Rasa (Blank Slate): Mind at birth is a blank slate and knowledge comes from sensory experiences and over time.
Empirical evidence & observation: Focus on empirical evidence and observation in gaining knowledge. Environment and experiences important in shaping development.
Nature vs. Nurture debate: Align with the 'nurture' side, highlighting the impact of environmental influences on development.
Contemporary Empiricism and Rationalism theories.
Empiricism: Behavioural study.
Core principle: Focuses on observable behaviours and external, sensory experiences.
Environmental impact: Emphasises the significant role the environment plays in shaping development.
Blank slate theory: Kids are born without innate knowledge; learning and development are primarily products of experience.
Nurture in debate: Suggests development is influenced by environmental factors and experiences.
Rationalism: Cognitive development.
Nativist view: Kids are born with inherent neurological and physiological frameworks necessary for development.
Innate abilities: Highlights the built-in capabilities that guide the develpment of complex skills like language, reasoning and problem-solving.
Cognitive fields: Focuses on internal processes which are not directly observable but inferred from behaviour.
Language development: Suggests that kids are equipped with a language acquisition device that facilitates the learning of language.
Philosophical perspectives.
John Locke: Empiricism.
Tabula Rasa: Born without innate knowledge, the mind as a blank slate at birth.
Knowledge through experience: Knowledge is gained through sensory experiences.
Influence on Behaviorism: Focus on environment and experiences laid the groundwork for behavioral psychology.
Rene Descartes: Rationalism.
Cogito Ergo Sum: Certainty of his existence through thinking and challenging the reliance on sensory perception.
Skepticism of Empiricism: Questioned the reliability of the senses, suggesting that senses can be deceptive.
Deductive method: Using reasoning to gain knowledge, focusing on the innate capacity for thought as the foundation for understanding.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Nativism.
Innate knowledge: Believed that kids are born with inherent knowledge that naturally unfold as they mature.
Maturation and freedom in learning: Focus on the natural progression of development, advocating for the environment to facilitate natural growth rather than impose structured education.
Nativist position: Highlighted the innate predispositions in development, suggesting that development is pre-determined and unfolds in a predetermined manner.
Qualitative vs. Quantitative paradigms in research.
Qualitative.
Focus on non-numerical observation assessments, interlinking theory with data collection.
Theory-driven data collection, yielding rich, detailed insights.
Quantitative.
Rely on numerical data, testing generalisability through statistical analysis, and recognising the theoretical underpinnings of statistics.
Emphasises objectivity and generalisability, using statistical tools for analysis.
Naturalistic observations in developmental studies.
Observation methods: Phenomena observed in natural settings, capturing behaviours unobtrusively to avoid influencing behaviour.
Data collection: Uses counts, researcher narratives, and audio/video recordings.
Challenges: Unable to manipulate variables, limiting the ability to infer causality. Data collection is subjective and dependent on the researcher's perspective.
Sampling methods.
Purpose: Select events or behaviours for observation, aiming for fair and unbiased access to necessary data.
Types of sampling.
Situation sampling: Varied settings to generalise findings.
Time sampling: Observations at specific intervals to capture phenomena.
Importance: Ensure Representativeness and relevance to research questions.
Cross-sectional and Longitudinal
Cross-sectional studies: Observe different subjects at one point in time to infer population characteristics, with challenges in generalisation.
Longitudinal studies: Track development over time, providing insights into changes and continuities,
Correlational design in DP
Focus: Examines relationships between two variables.
Limitations: Correlation does not imply causation, emphasising the need to distinguish between associative and causal relationships.
Experimental design in DP
Variables: Independent variables manipulated to observe effects on dependent variables.
Methodology: Divide subjects into control and experimental groups to test hypotheses.
Objective: Determine causal relationships through controlled manipulation.
Quality measures: Using quantitative research or qualitative research.
Ethics: Protecting welfare and well-being, especially in kids.
Cautionary tale: The debunked vaccine-autism link underscores the importance of reliable and valid research findings.
Binary or Dualism: Nature vs. Nurture.
Nature: Genetic inheritance and biological predispositions.
Nurture: Impact of environmental factors and experiences.
Scientific approach: Uses scientific methods to study psychological, emotional, and perceptual changes.
Investigates if development is gradual or occurs in stages.
Examines the influence of experience vs. innate mental structures.
South African context.
How apartheid and socio-economic disparities impact child development (CD).
The role of family, community and educational system in development.
Interaction or dynamic development.
Biological factors: Genetic and physiological development impacting growth, brain development and health.
Psychological factors: Cognitive and emotional development including learning, memory and problem-solving.
Social factors: The influence of family, peers, culture, values and society.