PSY 3044: Psychological Science II Christine Ruva
A. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778): Nativism - innate processes driving force behind development. Human development unfolds naturally in very positive ways as long as society allows it to do so.
B. John Locke (1632-1704): Empiricism - all knowledge comes from experience ("Tabula Rasa" - blank slate).
D. Charles Darwin (1809-1882): competition for survival, natural selection, evolutionary value of behaviors (ethology).
1. The baby biographies: Darwin observed and recorded his eldest son's behavior.
E. William James: Described infancy as “one great blooming buzzing confusion.”
II. Pioneers of Child Psychology
A. G. Stanley Hall (1844-1924): Father of child Psychology
1. Questionnaire Method: groups of children
2. Biological view - influenced by Darwin
B. Sigmund Freud (1856-1939): stage theorist (psychosexual model - drive theory), experience during each stage influences development (fixation). C. C. John B. Watson (1878-1958): founder of behaviorism
1. Got rid of consciousness as an area of scientific study
2. Psychology as a purely objective experimental branch of natural science: the goal is the prediction and control of behavior.
D. Arnold Gesell (1920's & 1930's): normative patterns - these patterns unfold naturally with maturation.
E. Jean Piaget (1896-1980): Genetic Epistemology (knowledge and its changes)
1. Qualitative Differences in mistakes children made - incorrect answers to IQ questions more informative than correct ones - same kinds of mistakes were made by children of same age.
2. Theories based on observation made by Piaget and his wife on their own children - criticized for use of own children.
III. NEW METHODOLOGY USED BY DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGISTS: These have allowed us to learn more about infants. Today infants are viewed as being a lot less helpless and to have greater perceptual and cognitive abilities than previously believed.
(Time:
11:00 – 14:54)
A. Spence (1986): Dr. Seuss's "The Cat in the Hat"
1. Fetuses can hear their mothers’ voices.
B. Vision:
Born legally blind – Reasons for this?
a. Do
not have enough cone cells functioning in the retinas at birth
b. Do
not have enough connection among neurons in the visual cortex.
c. Vision develops very quickly during the first few months of life: Infants begin to perceive patterns, objects, and depth w/in 1st 2-4 mos.
IV. HOW
CAN RESEARCHERS DETECT WHAT INFANTS SEE, HEAR, SMELL, TASTE, & KNOW?
A. Developmental
researchers know what infants can do and they use these behaviors to infer what
meaning certain stimuli have for infants.
1. Infants
can move eyes to look at things, suck liquids, reach out to touch things.
2. Infants
prefer novelty to familiarity
B. Methods:
1. Habituation
– Dishabituation
2. Changes
in the rate of response
3. Preference
for looking at something new led to the preferential looking paradigm
(Robert Fantz, 1958).
4. Piaget’s
Methods: Simple demonstrations/problems that reveal the working of child’s
mind.
1. Conservation
task:
a. Criticism:
underestimated the age at which children develops these skill because he
confused their physical ability with their ability with their ability to understand.
b. Often
a child’s mental functions develop before their ability to make a certain
physical response.
2. Object
Permanence: same criticisms of this
Piagetian task
a. Possible
& Impossible Event Paradigm (Jean Baillargeon) – Infants stare longer
at the impossible event. Object
permanence demonstrated in infants as young as 3 ˝ months.
5. Judy
Deloache – Symbols & symbolic understanding (language)
6. Visual
Cliff (Gibson & Walk, 1960): Depth perception
(Time: 19:19 – 20:34)
7. Temperament:
Temperaments are present at birth & are biologically based tendencies that
can affect children’s personality.
(Time: 20:34
–25:20)
a. Jerome
Kagan
b. Animal
Research