Crash Course Analysis

Developmental Child Psychology has been defined as a field of study that examines and attempts to explain why and how human beings change and develop over time. Changes include physical change, mental change and social change.

Developmental psychology is the study of how human beings age and transform throughout the eight major stages of life. This paper will focus on the physical, cognitive, social, moral, and personality development of individuals found in stage two, (early childhood 1-6 year olds). Through exploring, and examining the countless influences that affect their growth development.

Psychology is a broad field that includes a wide variety of career opportunities. Some of these careers include health psychology, clinical psychology, sport psychology, and school psychology, only to mention a few. In this expansive field with much to offer, developmental psychology consists of just one of the many options available to psychologists. Developmental psychologists study the “social, cognitive, and physiological development during any of the following life stages: infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood” (PsychologyCareerCenter). They also study the various landmarks associated in that particular age range (American Psychological Foundation). For example, a developmental psychologist who works with children might focus on developmental disabilities or behavioral problems in young children. One who works with aging adults might concentrate on the effects of Alzheimer’s or dementia on the mind (American Psychological Foundation).

There are numerous debates in regards to developmental psychology. One of the main debates to begin with is nature vs nurture; some individuals believe that we are products of our environment while others regards us while others believe that we are products of our genetics. John Locke believes that when we are born we are a “tabula rasa” a blank slate

Developmental Psychology is the ways that people change throughout their lifespan. Studies include the psychological affects, physical and social growth, intellectual, emotional and perceptual changes that occur. Developmental Psychology focus on a wide range of behavior changes beginning with prenatal development. Developmental Psychology also focuses on developmental disabilities and the effects it might have on people’s behavior. As with many fields related to psychology, a developmental psychologist must obtain a doctorate for most positions; some positions at the university level requires a PhD.

According to Cliff Notes, Developmental psychology is the scientific study of age-related changes throughout the human life span. A discipline of scientific inquiry, developmental psychology recognizes humans of all societies and cultures as beings who are “in process,” or constantly growing and changing. This discipline identifies the biological, psychological, and social aspects that interact to influence the growing human life-span process. Within the last 25 years, developmentalist’s researchers who study human development expanded their focus to include the study of the physical, motor, cognitive, intellectual, emotional, personality, social, and moral changes that occur throughout all stages of the life span (cliff notes).

Life span developmental psychology takes a scientific approach to human growth and change, focusing on change during the life span. There are three main aspects to life span development: cognitive, social, and physical development. This class is not simply a discussion of nature vs. nurture, it explores the interaction between genetic and environmental factors that orient us towards specific behaviors. Initially, my views on life span development were limited to more sociological factors, and did not take into consideration physical developments of the brain. In relation to my personal and professional identity this course has made me realize that development occurs on a spectrum and that not everyone develops at the same time, in the same ways, making me more understanding and compassionate towards those who developed differently than me. The three most important lessons I have learned from this class are that development occurs throughout the entire life span, infants begin learning at a very young age, and that senescence begins as early as young adulthood.

The Third concept is Developmental Psychology. Developmental Psychology is the study of how organisms change over time as a result of biological and environmental influences. Monk’s behavior has changed dramatically as he started to have events happen in his life. He has had many things happen in his life that have changed him. The thought process of Monk is very different than it was before his wife’s death. His environment of being on the force is a big influence to the way his personality has developed.

Development psychology refers to the scientific study of the systematic psychological changes that normally occur to human beings throughout their growth period from birth to old age. It was originally concerned with children and infants, but it has since expanded to include the entire life span of mankind including adolescence and adulthood. Development psychology covers the extent to which human development occurs through gradual accumulation of knowledge, and the extent to which children born with inmate mental structures learn through experience. Several psychological theories and approaches like the behavioral, humanistic, psychoanalytic, biological, and cognitive approaches have been developed to explain the

Developmental Psychology has widened my perspective and knowledge of the nature of development from humans’ infancy to adolescence and emerging adulthood. Although I have learned about biological, cognitive, and socioemotional processes and periods of development, I am especially interested in socioemotional development in infancy because it is the foundation for a child’s future development. That is to say, if children have a healthy socioemotional development from infancy, they will have a healthy life later on. By understanding the developmental process in infancy, I will be fully prepared when I have children or when my family’s members do.

I’ve learned a lot of useful tips from this semester in ENG 201. English has never been my strong suit nor has it been my favorite class. However this college course has changed my point of view of the subject. Prior coming into college I viewed English as a useless class because I’ve already knew the basics: how to talk, read and write essays. Today I view English as an important class. It helped me in other courses that involved writing, such as World Civilization and Communications, because it allowed me to practice my skills. In my world civilization exams I had to write essays. This course helped me write an impactful essay. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that almost all of my exam scores were in the 90s, usually I do poorly in the

Traditional behaviorism focused exclusively on the direct observation of objectively measurable events (Wolf, 1978). Due to declining popularity, behaviorists had to rethink their position to remain relevant (Wolf, 1978). They discovered that society typically wanted to learn about concepts and ideas that are more subjective in nature (Wolf, 1978). Behaviorists began to acknowledge the social validity, or the relevance to society, of their research (Wolf, 1978). The population now had a voice in the research of behaviorists which stimulated research into new areas, such as teaching people how best to “relate” to young people (Wolf, 1978, p. 207). Behaviorists emphasize the importance of incorporating the subjective into what had once been an objective sub-division of psychology.

Developmental psychology is the point of view that occurs in learners over the course of a period of time. The developmental perspective includes theories that are continuous and discontinuous. Discontinuous theories are stage-like. The processes of learning and development involve distinct stages, which are characterized by qualitative differences in behavior. Theorists who use discontinuous theories use a specific beginning and end period for each stage. Continuous theories explain that learning and development generally happen in incremental processes. Learning involves changes throughout the lifespan. “Contemporary views on the nature of cognitive development have been vastly influenced by the work of one man. This was Jean Piaget (1896-1980), once a biologist, who turned his

Week one started off with developmental psychology, which is defined as identifying and explaining the continuities and changes individuals display over time. There are two ways that cause humans to develop, these are by maturity and learning experiences. A person that observes developmental psychology are known as developmentalist.

Human development transpires through “processes of progressively more complex reciprocal interactions” (Brofenbrenner, 1995, p. 620). For these interactions to be entirely effective, they must occur regularly over a period of time (Eamon, 2001). It is also evident that one’s biological and environmental experiences can shape their way of developing in the long run. In order to understand human development, it is essential to analyze various aspects. Through reading this text, you will better understand how developmental psychologist, Bronfenbrenner, and German psychologist, Baltes both conceptualized their views on the various effects on human development.