Development and Social Psychology: Key Concepts and Theories

Development Across the Lifespan

Nature/Nurture Debate

The nature/nurture debate explores the relative contributions of genetic inheritance (nature) and environmental factors (nurture) to human development. Understanding whether development is continuous (gradual and cumulative) or discontinuous (distinct stages) is central to this debate.

• Nature: Refers to genetic and biological influences on development.

• Nurture: Refers to environmental influences, such as upbringing and culture.

• Continuous Development: Gradual changes over time (e.g., height).

• Discontinuous Development: Distinct stages (e.g., Piaget's cognitive stages).

• Example: Language acquisition may involve both genetic predispositions and environmental exposure.

Experimental Designs in Developmental Psychology

Researchers use various designs to study development across the lifespan.

• Longitudinal Design: Follows the same individuals over time to observe changes.

• Cross-sectional Design: Compares individuals of different ages at one point in time.

• Cohort Design: Studies groups of people who share a common characteristic (e.g., birth year).

• Example: Studying cognitive changes from childhood to adulthood using a longitudinal approach.

Physical Development

Physical development includes changes in the body and brain throughout the lifespan.

• Stages of Prenatal Development:

  • Germinal Stage: First two weeks after conception.

  • Embryonic Stage: Weeks 3-8; major organs develop.

  • Fetal Stage: Week 9 to birth; growth and maturation.

• Teratogens: Environmental agents (e.g., drugs, viruses) that can harm prenatal development.

• Sensory Abilities in Infancy: Vision, smell, hearing, and taste develop at different rates.

• Physical Changes in Adolescence: Puberty, growth spurts, development of secondary sex characteristics.

• Additional info: Physical changes also occur in adulthood and into elderly years, including menopause and decreased bone density.

Cognitive Development

Cognitive development refers to changes in thinking, problem-solving, and information processing.

• Piaget's Theory: Suggests cognitive development occurs in stages.

• Stages of Piaget's Theory:

  • Sensorimotor: Birth to 2 years; learning through senses and actions.

  • Preoperational: 2 to 7 years; symbolic thinking, egocentrism.

  • Concrete Operational: 7 to 11 years; logical thinking about concrete events.

  • Formal Operational: 12 years and up; abstract and hypothetical reasoning.

• Example: Conservation tasks test children's understanding of quantity despite changes in shape.

Social Development

Social development involves learning to interact with others and understanding social norms.

• Socialization in Infants: Includes smiling, laughing, and imitation.

• Temperament: Refers to individual differences in emotional reactivity and self-regulation.

• Example: Easy, difficult, and slow-to-warm-up temperaments.

Attachment

Attachment is the emotional bond between a child and caregiver.

• Harlow's Monkeys: Demonstrated the importance of contact comfort over food.

• Strange Situation: Assesses attachment styles in children.

• Attachment Styles:

  • Secure Attachment: Child feels safe and comforted.

  • Avoidant Attachment: Child avoids caregiver.

  • Ambivalent Attachment: Child is anxious and unsure.

  • Disorganized Attachment: Child shows inconsistent behaviors.

Parenting Styles

Parenting styles influence children's development and behavior.

• Authoritarian: Strict, high demands, low responsiveness.

• Authoritative: High demands, high responsiveness; considered most effective.

• Permissive: Low demands, high responsiveness.

• Uninvolved: Low demands, low responsiveness.

Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development

Erikson proposed eight stages, each with a psychosocial crisis.

• Example: Adolescence involves the crisis of identity vs. role confusion.

• Additional info: Each stage builds on the previous, influencing personality and social relationships.

Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Reasoning

Kohlberg identified three levels of moral reasoning.

• Preconventional: Based on consequences and rewards.

• Conventional: Based on social rules and laws.

• Postconventional: Based on abstract principles and justice.

Adolescence

Adolescence is marked by physical, cognitive, and social changes.

• Imaginary Audience: Belief that others are watching and judging.

• Personal Fable: Belief in one's uniqueness and invulnerability.

• Puberty: Development of secondary sex characteristics.

Social Psychology

Introduction to Social Psychology

Social psychology is the scientific study of how people think, feel, and behave in social contexts.

• Social Influence: The ways people affect each other's attitudes and behaviors.

• Example: Peer pressure influencing decision-making.

Conformity and Obedience

Conformity involves changing behavior to match group norms; obedience is following direct orders from authority.

• Conformity: Solomon Asch's experiments showed people conform to group pressure even when the group is wrong.

• Obedience: Stanley Milgram's studies demonstrated people obey authority figures, even against their morals.

• Compliance: Responding to a direct request.

• Additional info: Factors influencing obedience include proximity to authority, legitimacy, and group unanimity.

Social Influence Techniques

Several techniques are used to influence behavior.

• Foot-in-the-door: Agreeing to a small request increases likelihood of agreeing to a larger one.

• Door-in-the-face: Refusing a large request increases likelihood of agreeing to a smaller one.

• Lowball: Getting commitment, then increasing the cost.

• That's-not-all: Adding incentives before a decision is made.

Authority and Research Ethics

Authority figures can strongly influence behavior, as shown in classic studies.

• Milgram's Study: Participants were told to administer shocks; many complied due to authority pressure.

• Research Ethics: Importance of informed consent, debriefing, and minimizing harm.

Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Study

This study examined the psychological effects of perceived power in a simulated prison environment.

• Findings: Participants quickly adopted roles of guards and prisoners, leading to abusive behavior.

• Implications: Situational factors can strongly influence behavior.

Attitudes and Persuasion

Attitudes are evaluations of people, objects, or ideas, and can be changed through persuasion.

• Components of Attitudes:

  • Affective: Emotional response.

  • Behavioral: Actions taken.

  • Cognitive: Beliefs and thoughts.

• Mere Exposure Effect: Repeated exposure increases liking.

• Persuasion Routes: Central (logic and evidence) vs. Peripheral (emotions and superficial cues).

• Cognitive Dissonance: Discomfort from holding conflicting attitudes; motivates attitude change.

• Elaboration Likelihood Model: Explains two routes to persuasion: central and peripheral.

Attribution Theory

Attribution theory explains how people interpret causes of behavior.

• Internal Attribution: Behavior due to personal traits.

• External Attribution: Behavior due to situational factors.

• Fundamental Attribution Error: Tendency to overestimate personal factors and underestimate situational factors.

Prejudice and Discrimination

Prejudice is a negative attitude toward a group; discrimination is negative behavior toward a group.

• Implicit Attitudes: Unconscious beliefs that influence behavior.

• Example: Implicit Association Test measures hidden biases.

Table: Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development

Stage	Age Range	Key Features
Sensorimotor	0-2 years	Object permanence, learning through senses and actions
Preoperational	2-7 years	Symbolic thinking, egocentrism, language development
Concrete Operational	7-11 years	Logical thinking, conservation, reversibility
Formal Operational	12+ years	Abstract reasoning, hypothetical thinking

Table: Parenting Styles

Style	Demand	Responsiveness	Outcomes
Authoritarian	High	Low	Obedient, less happy
Authoritative	High	High	Self-reliant, socially competent
Permissive	Low	High	Impulsive, less self-control
Uninvolved	Low	Low	Low self-esteem, poor outcomes

Key Equations and Models

• Cognitive Dissonance Equation: $Dissonance = \sum (Importance \times Discrepancy)$ Where importance is the value of the conflicting cognition and discrepancy is the degree of conflict.

• Elaboration Likelihood Model: $Attitude\ Change = f(Central\ Route, Peripheral\ Route)$ Attitude change is a function of the route of persuasion.