Introduction I.docx - Introduction I Definition:...

Introduction I
Definition:
 Development refers to systematic continuities and changes in the individual that occur between
conception and death.
 “The progressive series of changes in structure, function, and behavior patterns that occur over the
lifespan of a human being or other organism” (APA Dictionary, 2015)
 Systematic: changes are orderly, patterned, and relatively enduring
 Temporary mood swings and other transitory changes in our appearances, thoughts, and behaviors are
therefore excluded.
 We are also interested in continuities in development, or ways in which we remain the same or continue
to reflect our past.
 Lifespan
- Some kind of pattern, order, so its not random , and its also relatively enduring
- not interested in temporary mood changes
- We (psych) are interested in continuities, not just about change, but about balance between change and
continuities,
Goals of Developmentalists
 Describe development
o Normative development
o Ideographic development
 Explain development
o Why do individuals develop differently?
 Optimize development
o Apply research findings to the “real world”
1) Want to say a child can do____ and _____ at age __. There are typical patterns and that’s what we call normative
development (what is typical for child development)
- Ideographic: is about something foreign, just means something is different/atypical (idiot = foreigner).
Kids develop in different ways,
- Ideographic research = qualitative research
2) Why do people look differently/behave differently/hair color/
3) Became very important over last decade, applied developmental psychology – recognize that we need to
apply research to improve
- Childhood psych is diff from mainstream psych because it was always focused on applying research
findings
Emmy E. Werner (1929-2017)
- who was born in Eltville (Germany), was an American developmental psychologist. She received her Ph.D. from
the University of Nebraska and was a professor in the Department of Human and Community Development at
the University of California, Davis. Werner can be considered one of the founders of resilience research. She
became particularly famous for conducting the Kauai Longitudinal Study, which followed children from birth to
midlife. The study explored the impact of a variety of biological and psychosocial risk factors, stressful life
events, and protective factors on a multi-racial cohort of 698 children born in 1955 on the Hawaiian island of

Kauai. The participants were evaluated at ages 1, 2, 10, 18, 32, and 40 years. Approximately 30% of the
participants experienced a combination of these challenges: born and raised in poverty, pre- or perinatal
complications; lived in families characterized by high conflict, divorce, or parental psychopathology; reared by
mothers with less than grade 8 education. The study found that two-thirds of the children who had experienced
four or more of such risk factors by age two developed learning and/or
behavioral problems by age 10 or had delinquency records and/or mental health problems by age 18. However,