Psychology 30
WELCOME!
Unit 1: What is developmental psych?
 This unit serves as the basis upon which all of the
other units of study will be developed. This first unit
sets the context for the course by describing
psychology as an empirically-based, scientificallyconducted, discipline.
 This unit introduces students to the origins,
development, and perspectives of psychology, setting
the foundation for a consideration of research
methods by which the students can then begin to
acquire knowledge about the concepts of
developmental psychology.
 Students are then directed to organize and integrate
the new knowledge by making connections with their
existing knowledge and understandings, as well as
between psychology and other disciplines. The final
step in the process is to apply those concepts and
understandings in a practical, contemporary
manner.
 Objectives:
At the conclusion of this lesson, you should be able
to answer the following questions: What is
developmental psychology?
 What is the lifespan approach to human
development?
 What are the key issues and questions in
developmental psychology?
 Read the info provided, The Wild Boy of Aveyron.
 What aspects of human development for an 11 or 12
year old boy were missing or delayed in the
behaviours of the Wild Boy?
 What aspects of human behaviour for an 11 or 12
year old boy were present?
 What does this case study say about the relative
influence of Nature (genetic inheritance) or Nurture
(social environment) in terms of human
development?
 What aspects of human development are genetically
determined?
 What aspects of human development are influenced
more by our surroundings and upbringing?
The lifespan perspective on human development
has seven basic characteristics.
 Development is: Life-long
No age period dominates development.
 Multi-dimensional
Development consists of biological, cognitive,
socioemotional, and spiritual dimensions.
 Multi-directional
Some aspects of development increase, while others
decrease.
 Plastic
Depending on the individual's life conditions, development
may take many paths.
 Historically-embedded
Development is influenced by historical conditions.
 Multidisciplinary
Psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists, neuroscientists
and medical researchers all study human development and
share a concern for unlocking the mysteries of development
throughout the lifespan.
 Contextual
The individual continually responds to and acts on contexts,
which include a person’s biological makeup, physical
environment, social, historical, and cultural contexts
(Santrock, 1999, p. 10).
 Assignment for tomorrow:
 How does the lifespan approach apply to your life?
Find examples of each of the seven aspects in your
life.

Please come prepared with 7 examples (preferably one from
each category of the lifespan approach) to discuss tomorrow.
These should be in complete sentences and on a clean sheet of
paper with your name on it.
Key issues and questions in human development

From the time of its establishment, several key issues
and questions have dominated the field of
developmental psychology. Among these issues are
the nature of developmental change, the importance
of critical periods, lifespan approaches versus the
more focused approaches, and the nature/nurture
issue.
Continuous change versus discontinuous
change:
 In continuous change, developmental change is
gradual, with achievements at one level building on
those of previous levels. In contrast, discontinuous
change occurs in distinct stages or steps. Each stage
brings about behaviour that is assumed to be
qualitatively different from behaviour at earlier
stages.
 A critical period is a specific time during
development when a particular event has its greatest
consequences. Critical periods occur when the
presence of certain kinds of environmental stimuli
are necessary for development to proceed normally.
Lifespan approaches versus a focus on a
particular period:
 Developmentalists now believe the entire lifespan is
important, for several reasons. One is the discovery
that developmental growth and change continue
during every part of life. Furthermore, to understand
fully the social influences on people of a given age,
we need to understand the people who are, in large
measure, providing those influences. For instance, to
understand development in infants, we need to
unravel the effects of their parents’ ages on the social
environment.
Nature versus Nurture:
 One of the enduring questions of development involves
how much of people’s behaviour is due to their
genetically-determined nature and how much is due to
nurture, the physical and social environment in which a
child is raised.
 In this context, nature refers to traits, abilities and
capacities that are inherited from one’s parents. Nature
encompasses any factor that is produced by the
predetermined unfolding of genetic information, a
process known as maturation.
 These genetic inherited influences are at work as we
move from the one-celled organism that is created at the
moment of conception to the billions of cells that make
up a fully-formed human being.
 In contrast nurture refers to the environmental
influences that shape behaviour. Some of these
influences may be biological, such as the impact of
a pregnant mother’s substance abuse on the fetus,
or the amount and kind of food available to
children. Other environmental influences are more
social, such as the ways parents discipline their
children and the effects of peer pressure on
adolescents (Feldman, 2000, p. 10).
 For each of the 5 major stages of development (prenatal,
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infancy, childhood, adolescence and adulthood), find
examples for each of the four critical issues in
developmental psychology.
For example, during childhood, can you find examples of
both continuous change and discontinuous change?
Are there critical periods in childhood when the
influences of genetics and the environment are especially
important?
In what ways have the events and influences of the
preceding stages influenced childhood development?
And finally, what are the relative influences of Nature
and Nurture during childhood?