Psychology 1100: Lifespan Development - Lecture Notes

Introduction

• Lecturer: Bart Pson
• Course: Psychology 1100 - Lifespan Development
• Lecture Focus: Chapter 1 - What is Lifespan Development?
  • Theories of Development
  • Research Methods in Lifespan Development

Historical Context

• Early Views on Children:
  • Ancient times & Middle Ages: Children viewed as innately evil, harsh discipline.
  • Enlightenment: More positive views by John Locke (Tabula Rasa - blank slate) and Jean Jacques Rousseau (inherent goodness in children).
• Industrial Revolution:
  • Shift from rural to urban settings, child labor in factories.
  • Emergence of child labor laws, recognition of childhood as a distinct life phase.

Theories of Development

Sigmund Freud

• Psychoanalysis: Developed as a psychological therapy.
• Psychosexual Theory:
  • Stages: Oral, Anal, Phallic, Latency, Genital.
  • Conflicts between basic drives and societal expectations.
  • Concepts: Id, Ego, Superego.
  • Fixations during stages lead to adult problems.

Erik Erikson

• Psychosocial Development:
  • Stages: Trust vs. Mistrust, Autonomy vs. Shame, Initiative vs. Guilt, Industry vs. Inferiority, Identity vs. Role Diffusion, Intimacy vs. Isolation, Generativity vs. Stagnation, Ego Integrity vs. Despair.
  • Focus: Development across the entire lifespan.

Behaviorism

• Key Figures: John Watson, B.F. Skinner.
• Conditioning: Classical (Pavlov) and Operant Conditioning.
  • Positive/Negative Reinforcement, Punishment.

Albert Bandura

• Social Cognitive Theory:
  • Learning through observation (modeling).
  • Role of models in learning behaviors.

Jean Piaget

• Cognitive Development Theory:
  • Stages: Sensorimotor, Preoperational, Concrete Operational, Formal Operational.
  • Concepts: Schemes, Assimilation, Accommodation.

Urie Bronfenbrenner

• Ecological Systems Theory:
  • Interactions between individuals and their environments (Microsystem, Mesosystem, Exosystem, Macrosystem, Chronosystem).

Lev Vygotsky

• Sociocultural Theory:
  • Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), Scaffolding.
  • Social interactions as a basis for cognitive development.

Developmental Controversies

• Nature vs. Nurture: Biological vs. environmental influences.
• Continuity vs. Discontinuity: Gradual vs. stage-based development.
• Active vs. Passive Development: Historical views on the child's role in development.

Next Steps

• The next lecture will cover research methods used in lifespan development.