Class notes

PSYC302 (Infancy) Module 1 & 2 Notes

7 views 0 purchase

Course
PSYC 302 (PSYC302)

Institution
University Of British Columbia (UBC )

This document contains comprehensive lecture notes from PSYC302 (Infancy) Modules 1 and 2, providing an in-depth overview of foundational topics in the study of infancy. Module 1 introduces historical perspectives on infant development and discusses key infant development theories. It details vario...

[Show more]

Preview 2 out of 11 pages

View example

Uploaded on August 28, 2024
Number of pages 11
Written in 2023/2024
Type Class notes
Professor(s) Alan kingstone
Contains All classes

CA$15.48

Add to cart

Add to wishlist

100% satisfaction guarantee
Immediately available after payment
Both online and in PDF
No strings attached

PSYC302 – Infancy Lecture Notes
Module 1 - An Introduction to Infancy (Historical Perspectives & Research
Methods)
Lesson 1: Introduction & Themes
Seven Themes in Child Development
1. Continuity/Discontinuity
 Some researchers see development as a continuous, gradual process, akin to
a tree growing taller with each passing year  pine tree: developmental
continuity
o A child’s ability to read and write may improve relatively continuously
 Others see it as a discontinuous process, involving sudden dramatic changes,
such as the transition from caterpillar to cocoon to butterfly  butterfly:
developmental discontinuity
o A child’s motor abilities may appear more stage like (crawling,
walking, fine-motor…)
2. Individual Differences
 Individuals differ from one another  even two children from within the same
family who share a lot of genetics and a lot of the same environments may
be different
 What are the sources of variation?
o Genetic and epigenetic differences
o Difference in ways parents and others treat them
o Differences in children’s choices of environment
o Similar experiences affect children differently
 Why study individual differences?
o Perhaps we want to know why some individuals are so resilient
o Risk factors vs. Resilience/Protective Factors
3. Nature and Nurture
 Nature and Nurture are constantly interacting
 Transactional Model:
o Nature & Nurture continually interact
o Influences are bidirectional  e.g., child’s temperament influences
how others react
 Direct vs Indirect Effects of Nature
o More direct: e.g. fearful/inhibited leads to social withdrawal
o Less direct: e.g. fearful/inhibited leads to social withdrawal which
leads to poor social understanding
4. Active Child
 What role do children play in their own development?
 Preferences to attend to certain things  people over objects, caregiver over
others
 Motivated to learn
o Little ‘experimenters’: e.g. dropping food
o Practice language in the absence of people
o Engage in pretend play
 Actively seek out their own environment
o This increases significantly with age
o Friends they play with, activities they engage in, places they go, books
they read etc.

, 5. Mechanisms of Change
 Brain maturation vs. experience?  if brain maturation, where and when?
o E.g., frontal lobes, hippocampus
o E.g. observation/imitation, hands-on trial and error, conditioning
6. Sociocultural Context
 Sociocultural context refers to the physical, social, cultural, economic, and
historical circumstances in a child’s life
7. Research and Children’s Welfare
 How does child development research help children?
o Shapes social policy and the Law
o Shapes education
o Improved parenting techniques
o Improves prevention, intervention, and treatment of problems

Lesson 2: Major Theories
Psychoanalytic - Largely fallen out of favour  untestable
Perspective - Most influential theorists in this approach were Freud and
Erikson
- Freud made 2 important contributions  importance of
early years, people can be influenced by implicit or
unconscious biases
Behaviourism and - Classical conditioning: associating a neutral stimulus with
Social Learning another stimulus that produces a reflexive response
Theory - Operant conditioning: influencing the frequency of a
behaviour by following it with reinforcers or punishment
Piaget’s Cognitive- - Famous for founding the field of Cognitive Development
Developmental - One of the broadest theories of the changes in children’s
Theory thinking
- Sensorimotor stage (1), pre-operational (2), concrete
operations (3), formal operations (4)
Information - Developmental cognitive neuroscience  aims to
Processing; understand how changes in the brain change cognitive
Developmental processing and behaviour (e.g. language and memory)
Neuroscience - Developmental social neuroscience  aims to understand
how changes in the brain affects emotional and social
development (e.g., adolescent depression, neurological
bases of autism)
Ethology and - Concerned with the adaptive, or survival, value of
evolutionary behaviour and its evolutionary history
developmental - Roots trace back to Darwin and his work
psychology
Vygotsky - Focuses on how culture (values, beliefs, customs, skills) is
Sociocultural Theory transmitted
- Development occurs from social interaction
Ecological Systems
Theory
Dynamic Systems
Perspective

The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:

Guaranteed quality through customer reviews

Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.

Quick and easy check-out

You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.

Focus on what matters

Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!

Frequently asked questions

What do I get when I buy this document?

You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.

Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?

Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.

Who am I buying these notes from?

Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller yaldahomayoun. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.

Will I be stuck with a subscription?

No, you only buy these notes for CA$15.48. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.

Can Stuvia be trusted?

4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)

56326 documents were sold in the last 30 days

Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now

Start selling