Developmental Psychology: Key Concepts and Theories
Developmental Psychology: An Introduction
1. Definition of Developmental Psychology (Evolutionary Psychology)
Developmental psychology initially focused on describing behaviors at different ages, particularly in children and adolescents. Later, the focus shifted from simple description to explaining behavioral change.
2. Objectives in Studying Human Evolutionary Processes
The objectives in studying human evolutionary processes include:
- A – Describing changes with age and experience (cognitive, social, physical, and emotional).
- B – Comparing different trajectories of subjects and the normative trends of individual development.
- C – Explaining the changes caused by development and education.
- D – Predicting profiles from developing explanatory knowledge.
3. Heredity Versus Environment Controversy
The debate between heredity and environment depends on the individual features being examined. It varies whether we focus on physical attributes or behaviors.
4. Three Major Periods in the Establishment of Developmental Psychology and Contributors
- Training Period (identifying expressions like accommodation and assimilation)
- Period of Establishment (mechanistic and organismic models)
- Expansion Period (Metaphors)
5. Organismic and Mechanistic Models
The mechanistic model argued that studying the mind was impossible, and only observable behavior could be known. They rejected stages and allowed for continuity.
Organismic models believe that the engine starting development is internal to the subject but develops with the environment (Piaget was a great organismic).
6. Goal and Permissions of Life-Span Perspective
The goal is to study the development of a person throughout their existence in a specific biocultural context. Some permissions include:
- Development occurs at all ages.
- Development is given in a person in a specific biocultural context.
- All age periods manifest behavioral changes, so no stage is more important than another.
7. Behavioral and Ecological Theories
Ethological theory involves observing the appearance and development of animal behavior in its ecological environment and seeing if these appear in the human species.
Children and the environment are systems that constantly influence each other bidirectionally.
8. Theory Uniting Fodor’s Nativist Stance with Piaget
The theory of representational redescription by Karmiloff-Smith (1994) unites Fodor’s nativist stance with Piaget.
9. Coll (1990) on the Constructivist View of Learning
According to Coll (1990) on the constructivist view of learning, its advantages include:
- Utility of curricular proposals, reflection, and analysis.
- Your E/A.
- Integration capacity.
- Stimulus for Research in Educational Psychology.
10. Relations Between Developmental Psychology and Education
At least three relations between developmental psychology and education are:
- Education can be characterized as a form of intervention.
- The teaching program should always be flexible and adjust to evolving conditions of the student body.
- Education optimizes development in various areas: intelligence, social skills, language, etc.