Class Notes for Development Across the Life Span, 8th Edition

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Instructor’s ManualAlan SwinkelsSt. Edward's UniversityDEVELOPMENTACROSS THELIFE SPANEighthEditionRobert S. FeldmanUniversity of Massachusetts, Amherst

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1Chapter 1AN INTRODUCTION TOLIFESPAN DEVELOPMENTCONTENTSChapter-at-a-Glance2Learning Objectives3Chapter Outline4Lecture Launchers13Activities for the First Day of Class13Biographies of the Theorists13Introducing Developmental Theories14Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Theory14Comparing Piaget and Vygotsky14StudentActivities15Supplemental Reading18Multimedia Ideas20Handouts21

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2CHAPTER-AT-A-GLANCEChapter OutlineInstructor’s ResourcesProfessorNotesAn Orientation to LifespanDevelopmentCharacterizing LifespanDevelopmentThe Scope of the Field ofLifespan DevelopmentInfluences on LifespanDevelopmentKey Issues and Questions:Determining the Nature—andNurture—of LifespanDevelopmentLearning Objectives 1.1, 1.2, 1.3,1.4Lecture Launcher 1.1Student Activity 1.1MyDevelopmentLabVideo:Evolutionary PsychologyTheoretical Perspectives onLifespan DevelopmentThe Psychodynamic Perspective:Focusing on the Inner PersonThe Behavioral Perspective:Focusing on Observable BehaviorThe Cognitive Perspective:Examining the Roots ofUnderstandingThe Humanistic Perspective:Concentrating on the UniqueQualities of Human BeingsThe Contextual Perspective:Taking a Broad Approach toDevelopmentEvolutionary Perspectives: OurAncestors’ Contributions toBehaviorWhy “Which Approach IsRight?” Is the Wrong QuestionLearning Objectives 1.5, 1.6, 1.7,1.8, 1.9, 1.10, 1.11Lecture Launchers 1.2,1.3,1.4,1.5Student Activities1.7,1.8Research MethodsTheories and Hypotheses: PosingDevelopmental QuestionsChoosing a Research Strategy:Answering QuestionsCorrelational StudiesExperiments: Determining Causeand EffectTheoretical and AppliedResearch: ComplementaryApproachesMeasuring DevelopmentalChangeEthics and ResearchLearning Objectives 1.12, 1.13,1.14, 1.15, 1.16, 1.17, 1.18Student Activities1.2,1.3,1.4,1.5,1.6MyDevelopmentLabVideo:Research MethodsMyDevelopmentLab Video:Ethics and PsychologicalResearch< Return to Contents

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3LEARNING OBJECTIVESLO 1.1: Define the field of lifespan development and describe what it encompasses.LO 1.2: Describe the areas that lifespan development specialists cover.LO 1.3: Describe some of the basic influences on human development.LO 1.4:Summarize four key issues in the field of lifespan development.LO 1.5: Describe how the psychodynamic perspective explains lifespan development.LO 1.6: Describe how the behavioral perspective explains lifespan development.LO 1.7: Describe how the cognitive perspective explains lifespan development.LO 1.8: Describe how the humanistic perspective explains lifespan development.LO 1.9: Describe how the contextual perspective explains lifespan development.LO 1.10: Describe how the evolutionary perspective explains lifespan development.LO 1.11: Discuss the value of applying multiple perspectives to lifespan development.LO 1.12:Describe therole that theories and hypotheses play in the study of development.LO 1.13:Compare the two major categories of lifespan development research.LO 1.14:Identify different types of correlational studies and their relationship to cause and effect.LO 1.15:Explain the main features of an experiment.LO 1.16:Distinguish between theoretical research and applied research.LO 1.17:Comparelongitudinal research, cross-sectional research, and sequential research.LO 1.18:Describe some ethical issues that affect psychological research.< Return to Contents

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4CHAPTER OUTLINEI.Prologue: New ConceptionsA.Louise Brown, the first “test tube baby,” wasborn by IVF 28 years ago.B.Lifespan development research interestsrelated to Louise Brown’s story:1.Lifespan development researchers who investigate behavior at the level of biological processesmight determine if Louise’s functioning prior to birth was affected by her conception outside thewomb.2.Specialists in lifespan development who study genetics might examine how the geneticendowment from Louise’s parents affects her later behavior.3.For lifespan development specialists who investigate the ways thinking changes over the courseof life, Louise’s life might be examined in terms of how her understanding of the nature of herconception changed as she grew older.4.Researchers in lifespan development who focus on physical growth might consider whether hergrowth rate differed from children conceived more traditionally.5.Lifespan development experts who specialize in the social world and social relationships mightlook at the ways that Louise interacted with others and the kinds of friendships she developed.II.An Orientation to Lifespan DevelopmentLearning Objectives 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4Lecture Launcher 1.1Student Activity 1.1MyDevelopmentLab Video: Evolutionary PsychologyA.LIFESPAN DEVELOPMENTis the field of study that examines patterns of growth, change, andstability in behavior that occur throughout the entire lifespan.1.Developmental psychologists test their assumptions about the nature and course of humandevelopment by applyingscientificmethods.2.Lifespan development focuses onhumandevelopment.a)Universal principles of developmentb)Cultural, racial, ethnic differencesc)Individual traits and characteristics3.Lifespan developmentalists view development as a lifelong, continuing process.4.Lifespan developmentalists focus on change and growth in addition to stability, consistency, andcontinuityin people’s lives.5.Lifespan developmentalists are interested in people’s lives from the moment of conception untildeath.B.The Scope of the Field1.Topical Areasa)PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENTinvolves the body’s physical makeup, including the brain,nervous system, muscles, and senses, and the need for food, drink, and sleep as adeterminant of behavior.b)COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENTinvolves the ways that growth and change in learning,memory, problem solving, and intelligence influence a person’s behavior.c)PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENTinvolves the ways that the enduring characteristicsthat differentiate one person from another change over thelifespan.d)SOCIAL DEVELOPMENTis the way in which individuals’interactions with others andtheir social relationships grow, change, and remain stable over the course of life.2.Age Ranges and Individual Differencesa)Thelifespanis usually divided into broad age ranges.(1)Prenatal period (conception to birth)

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5(2)Infancy and toddlerhood (birth to age 3)(3)Preschool period (ages 3 to 6)(4)Middle childhood (ages 6 to 12)(5)Adolescence (ages 12 to 20)(6)Young adulthood (ages 20 to 40)(7)Middle adulthood (ages 40 to 60)(8)Late adulthood (age 60 to death)b)It is important to remember that people mature at different rates and reach developmentalmilestones at different points.(1)These broad periods of development aresocial constructions.Asocial constructionis ashared notion of reality, one that is widely accepted but is a function of society andculture at a given time.c)Environmental factors, such as one’s culture, can play a significant role in determining theage at which a particular event is likely to occur.d)In addition, age ranges areaveragesand some people will show substantial deviation.C.Influences on Development1.One’sCOHORTis the group of people born around the same time and same place.2.HISTORY-GRADED INFLUENCESare the biological and environmental influencesassociated with a particular historical moment.3.AGE-GRADED INFLUENCESare biological and environmental influences that are similarfor individuals in a particular age group, regardless of when or where they are raised.4.SOCIOCULTURAL-GRADED INFLUENCESinclude the impact of social and culturalfactors present at a particular time for a particular individual, depending on such variables asethnicity, social class, and subcultural membership.5.NON-NORMATIVE LIFE EVENTSare specific, atypical events that occur in a particularperson’s life at a time when they do not happen to most people.6.Developmental Diversityand Your Life:How Culture, Ethnicity, and Race InfluenceDevelopmenta)Developmentalists must take into consideration broad cultural factors and ethnic, racial,socioeconomic, and gender differences if they are to achieve an understanding of how peoplechange and grow throughout the lifespan.b)Progress concerning issues of human diversity has been slow in the field of lifespandevelopment.c)Members of the research community have sometimes used terms such asraceandethnicgroupin inappropriate ways.(1)Raceis a biological concept referring to classifications based on physical and structuralcharacteristics.(2)Ethnic groupandethnicityare broader terms, referring to cultural background,nationality, religion, and language.d)There is little agreement about which names best reflect different races and ethnic groups(i.e., African American or black).e)Race is not independent of environmental and cultural contexts.D.Key Issues and Questions:Determining the Nature—and Nurture—of Lifespan Development1.Continuous ChangeversusDiscontinuous Changea)CONTINUOUS CHANGEinvolves gradual development in which achievements at onelevel build on those of previous levels.b)DISCONTINUOUS CHANGEis development that occurs in distinct steps or stages, witheach stage bringing about behavior that is assumed to be qualitatively different frombehavior at earlier stages.2.Critical and Sensitive Periods:Gauging the Impact of Environmental Events

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6a)ACRITICAL PERIODis a specific time during development when a particular event hasits greatest consequences.b)Becauseindividualsarenowconsideredmoremalleablethanwasfirstthought,developmentalists are more likely to speak ofSENSITIVE PERIODSas a point indevelopment when organisms are particularly susceptible to certain kinds of stimuli in theirenvironments, but the absence of those stimuli does not always produce irreversibleconsequences.3.Lifespan Approachesversusa Focus on Particular Periodsa)Early developmentalists focused on “infancy” and “adolescence.”b)Today,the entire lifespan is seen as important for several reasons.(1)Growth and change continue throughout life.(2)An important part of every person’s environment is the other people around him or her,the person’s social environment.4.The Relative Influence of NatureandNurture on Developmenta)Naturerefers to traits, abilities, and capacities that are inherited from one’s parents.(1)It encompassesMATURATION,any factor that is produced by the predeterminedunfolding of genetic information.b)Nurturerefers to the environmental influences that shape behavior.5.The Later Action of Nature and Nurturea)Developmental psychologists reject the notion that behavior is the result solely of eithernature or nurture.b)It is useful to think of the nature-nurture controversy as opposite ends of a continuum, withparticular behaviors falling somewhere between the two ends.III.Theoretical Perspectiveson Lifespan DevelopmentLearning Objectives 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 1.9, 1.10, 1.11Lecture Launchers 1.2,1.3,1.4,1.5Student Activities 1.7,1.8A.THEORIESare explanations and predictions concerning phenomena of interest, providing aframework for understanding the relationships among an organized set of facts or principles.B.ThePSYCHODYNAMIC PERSPECTIVEis the approach that states behavior is motivated byinner forces, memories, and conflicts of which a person has little awareness or control.1.Freud’sPsychoanalytic Theorya)PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORYsuggests that unconscious forces act to determinepersonality and behavior.b)According to Freud (1856–1939):(1)Theunconsciousis a part of the personality about which a person is unaware and isresponsible for much of our everyday behavior.(2)One’s personality has three aspects:(a)ID:the raw, unorganized, inborn part of personality present at birth that representsprimitive drives related to hunger, sex, aggression, and irrational impulses.(i)Operates according to thepleasure principle, in which the goal is to maximizesatisfaction and reduce tension.(b)EGO:the part of personality that is rational and reasonable.(i)Acts as a buffer between the outside world and the primitive id.(ii)Operates on thereality principle, in which instinctual energy is restrained inorder to maintain the safety of the individual and help integrate the person intosociety.(c)SUPEREGO:the aspect of personality that represents a person’s conscience,incorporating distinctions between right and wrong.(i)Develops about age five or six.

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7(ii)Learned from parents, teachers, and other significant figures.(3)Freud suggested thatPSYCHOSEXUAL DEVELOPMENTis a series of stages thatchildren pass through in which pleasure, or gratification, is focused on a particularbiological function and body part.(a)Oral(birth to 12–18 months)(b)Anal(12–18 months to 3 years)(c)Phallic(3 to 5–6 years)(d)Latency(5–6 years to adolescence)(e)Genital(adolescence to adulthood)(4)If children are unable to gratify themselves sufficiently or receive too much gratification,aFIXATION,behavior reflecting an earlier stage of development,may occur.2.Erikson’s Psychosocial Theorya)PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENTis the approach that encompasses changes in ourunderstanding of individuals, their interactions with others, and their standing as membersof society.b)Erikson (1902–1994) suggested that developmental change occurs throughout our lives ineight distinct stages.(1)Trust vs.mistrust(birth to 12–18 months)(2)Autonomy vs.shameanddoubt(12–18 months to 3 years)(3)Initiative vs.guilt(3 to 5–6 years)(4)Industry vs.inferiority(5–6 years to adolescence)(5)Identity vs.role diffusion(adolescence to adulthood)(6)Intimacy vs.isolation(early adulthood)(7)Generativity vs.stagnation(middle adulthood)(8)Egointegrityvs.despair(late adulthood)c)Each stage emerges in a fixed pattern and is similar for all people.d)Each stage presents a crisis or conflict that each individual must address sufficiently at aparticular age.e)No crisis is ever fully resolved, which makes life increasingly complicated.f)Unlike Freud, Erikson believed that development continued throughout thelifespan.3.Assessing the Psychodynamic Perspectivea)Contemporary psychological research supports the idea that unconscious memories have aninfluence on our behavior.b)The notion that people pass through stages in childhood that determine their adultpersonalities has little research support.c)Because Freud based his theory on a small sample of upper-middle class Austrians livingduring a strict, puritanical era, it is questionable how applicable the theory is to multiculturalpopulations.d)Because his theory focuses on men, it has been criticized as sexist and devaluing women.e)Erikson’s view that development continues throughout thelifespanis highly important andhas received considerable support.f)Erikson also focused more on men than women.g)Much of Erikson’s theory is too vague to test rigorously.h)In sum, the psychodynamic perspective provides a good description of past behavior, butimprecise predictions of future behavior.C.TheBEHAVIORAL PERSPECTIVEsuggests that the keys to understanding development areobservable behavior and outside stimuli in the environment.1.Behaviorists reject the notion that people universally pass through a series of stages.2.Development occurs as the result of continuing exposure to specific factors in the environment.3.Development is viewed as quantitative rather than qualitative.4.CLASSICAL CONDITIONINGis a type of learning in which an organism responds in a

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8particular way to a neutral stimulus that normally does not bring about that type of response.a)John B. Watson (1878–1958) argued that by effectively controlling a person’s environment,it was possible to produce virtually any behavior.5.OPERANT CONDITIONINGis a form of learning in which a voluntary response isstrengthened or weakened, depending on its association with positive or negative consequences.a)B. F. Skinner (1904–1990) claimed that peopleoperateon their environments to bring abouta desired state of affairs.b)Reinforcementis the process by which a stimulus is provided that increases the probabilitythat a preceding behavior will be repeated.c)Punishmentisthe introduction of an unpleasant or painful stimulus or the removal of adesirable stimulus; it will decrease the probability that a behavior will occur in the future.d)When behavior receives no reinforcement,it is likely to be discontinued orextinguished.e)Principles of operant conditioning are used inBEHAVIOR MODIFICATION, aformaltechnique for promoting the frequency of desirable behaviors and decreasing the incidenceof unwanted ones.6.Albert Bandura suggests that a certain amount of learningoccursin the form ofSOCIAL-COGNITIVE LEARNING THEORY,which is learning by observing the behavior of anotherperson, called a model.a)Observer must pay attention to model’s behavior.b)Observer must successfully recall the behavior.c)Behavior must be reproduced accurately.d)Observer must be motivated to learn and carry out behavior.7.Assessing the Behavioral Perspectivea)According to classical and operant conditioning, people and organisms areblack boxesinwhich nothing that occurs inside is understood or even cared about.b)Social-cognitive learning theory argues that what makes people different from rats andpigeons is mental activity,whichmust be taken into account.c)Social-cognitive learning theory has come to predominate over classical and operantconditioning.D.TheCOGNITIVE PERSPECTIVEfocuses on the processes that allow people to know, understand,and think about the world.1.Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Developmenta)Jean Piaget (1896–1980) proposed that all people pass in a fixed sequence through a series ofuniversal stages of cognitive development.b)In each stage, the quantity of information increases; the quality of knowledge andunderstanding changes as well.c)Piaget suggested that human thinking is arranged into schemes, organized mental patternsthat represent behaviors and actions.d)Piaget suggested that the growth of children’s understanding of the world can be explainedby two principles:(1)ASSIMILATIONis the process in which people understand an experience in terms oftheir current stage of cognitive development and way of thinking.(2)ACCOMMODATIONis the process that changes existing ways of thinking in responseto encounters with new stimuli or events.e)Assessing Piaget’s Theory(1)Thousands of investigations have shown it to be largely accurate.(2)Some cognitive skills emerge earlier than Piaget suggested.(3)Some cognitive skills emerge according to a different timetable in non-Westerncountries.(a)In every culture, some adults never reach Piaget’s highest level of cognitivethought—formal, logical thought.

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9f)Some developmentalists believe cognitive thought does not develop discontinuously, butslowly, steadily, and continuously.2.INFORMATION PROCESSING APPROACHESprovidethe model that seeks to identify theways individuals take in, use, and store information.a)The theory grew out of the computer age.b)Theoristsassume that even complex behaviors such as learning, remembering, categorizing,and thinking can be broken down into a series of individual steps.c)They assume cognitive growth is more quantitative than qualitative.d)They suggest that as people age, they are better able to control their mental processing andchange the strategies they choose to process information.e)Assessing Information Processing Approaches:(1)Paylittle attention to behavior such as creativity.(2)Donot take into account the social context in which development takes place.3.COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE APPROACHESlook at cognitive development through thelens of brain processes.a)Cognitive neuroscientists seek to identify actual locations and functions within the brain thatare related to different types of cognitive activity; for example, by using brain scans.b)This innovative research has identified specific genes associated with some physical andpsychological disorders.c)Brains of children diagnosed with the disorder autism show explosive, dramatic growth inthe first year of life.d)Assessing the Cognitive Neuroscience Approach(1)Definitelya new frontier(2) Results of investigations are often more descriptive than explanatoryE.TheHUMANISTIC PERSPECTIVEcontends that people have a natural capacity to makedecisions about their lives and control their behavior.1.According to this approach, each individual has the ability and motivation to reach moreadvanced levels of maturity, and people naturally seek to reach their full potential.2.This perspective emphasizes free will, the ability of humans to make choices and come todecisions about their lives.3.Carl Rogers suggests that all people have a need for positive regard that results from anunderlying wish to be loved and respected.4.Abraham Maslow suggests that self-actualization, a state of self-fulfillment in which peopleachieve their highest potential in their own unique way, is a primary goal in life.5.Assessing the Humanistic Perspectivea)The humanistic perspective has not had a major impact on the field of lifespan development.b)It has not identified any sort of broad developmental change that is the result of age orexperience.c)Some criticize the theory’s assumption that people are basically good, which is unverifiable.F.TheContextual Perspective: Taking a BroadApproach to Development1.TheBIOECOLOGICAL APPROACH(Bronfenbrenner)is the perspective suggesting thatdifferent levels of environment simultaneously influence individuals.a)Themicrosystemis the everyday, immediate environment such as homes, caregivers, friends,and teachers.b)Themesosystemconnects various aspects of the microsystem, linking children to parents,students to teachers, employees to bosses, and friends to friends.c)Theexosystemrepresents such broad influences as local government, the community,schools, places of worship, and the local media.d)Themacrosystemrepresents larger cultural influences such as society in general, types ofgovernment, religious systems, and political thought.

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10e)Thechronosysteminvolves the way the passage of time, including historical events, affectschildren’s development.2.There are several advantages to taking a bioecological approach to development.a)It emphasizes the interconnectedness of the influences on development.b)It illustrates that influences are multidirectional.c)It stresses the importance of broad cultural factors that affect development.(1)The dominant Western philosophy isindividualism,emphasizing personal identity,uniqueness, freedom, and the worth of the individual.(2)Collectivismis the notion that the well-being of the group is more important than that ofthe individual.3.Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theorya)Vygotsky (1896–1934), a Russian child developmentalist, developedSOCIOCULTURALTHEORY,an approach that emphasizes how cognitive development proceeds as a result ofsocial interactions betweenmembers of a culture.b)Vygotsky argued that children’s understanding of the world is acquired through theirproblem-solving interactions with adults and other children.c)He also argued that to understand the course of development,we must consider what ismeaningful to members of a given culture.d)Sociocultural theory emphasizes that development is the result of recurringreciprocaltransactionsbetween people in the child’s environment and the child.e)AssessingVygotsky’sTheory:(1)Some suggest the strong emphasis on culture and social experience ignores biologicalfactors.(2)Vygostky minimizes the role individuals can play in shaping their own environment.G.Evolutionary Perspectives: Our Ancestors’Contributions to Behavior1.EVOLUTIONARY PERSPECTIVESseek to identify behavior in today’s humans that is theresult of our genetic inheritance from our ancestors.a)Evolutionary perspectives grew out of the work of Charles Darwin,who argued inTheOrigin of Speciesthat a process of natural selection creates traits in a species that areadaptive to their environment.b)The evolutionary perspectives argue that our genetic inheritance determines not only suchphysical traits as skin and eye color, but also certain personality traits and social behaviors.c)The evolutionary perspective draws on the field ofethology(Konrad Lorenz,1903–1989),which examines the ways in which our biological makeup influences our behavior.d)The evolutionary perspective encompasses one of the fastest growing areas within the fieldof lifespan development:behavioral genetics, which studies the effects of heredity onbehavior.2.Assessing theEvolutionary Perspectivesa)Some developmentalists criticize the evolutionary perspective for paying insufficientattention to the environment and social factors.b)Others argue that there is no goodexperimentalway to support theories derived fromevolution.H.Why “Which Approach Is Right?” Is the Wrong Question1.Each emphasizes different aspects of development.2.Psychodynamicapproachemphasizes emotions, motivational conflicts, and unconsciousdeterminants of behavior.3.Behavioral approaches emphasize overt behavior.4.Cognitive and humanist approaches look more at what peoplethinkthan what they do.5.The evolutionary perspective focuses on how inherited biological factors underlie development.IV.Research Methods

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11Learning Objectives 1.12, 1.13, 1.14, 1.15, 1.16, 1.17, 1.18Student Activities 1.2,1.3,1.4,1.5,1.6MyDevelopmentLab Video: Research MethodsMyDevelopmentLab Video: Ethics and Psychological ResearchA.Theories and Hypotheses: Posing Developmental Questions1.TheSCIENTIFIC METHODis the process of posing and answering questions using careful,controlled techniques that include systematic, orderly observation and the collection of data.a)The scientific method involves the formulation of theories, broad explanations, andpredictions about phenomena.b)Theoriesare used to developHYPOTHESES,predictions stated in a way that permittesting.B.Choosing aResearchStrategy: Answering Questions1.CORRELATIONAL RESEARCHseeks to identify whether an association or relationshipbetween two factors exists.a)The strength and direction of a relationship between two factors is represented by amathematical score, called a correlational coefficient, which ranges from +1.0 (positive)to–1.0 (negative).(1)A positive correlation indicates that as the value of one factor increases, it can bepredicted that the value of the other will also increase.(2)A negative correlation informs us that as the value of one factor increases, the value ofthe other factor declines.b)Finding that two variables are correlated with one another proves nothing about causality.2.Types of Correlational Studiesa)NATURALISTIC OBSERVATIONis the observation of a naturally occurring behaviorwithout intervention in the situation.(1)This research has the advantage of seeing people [children] in their natural habitats.(2)Critiques(a)Researchers cannot control factors of interest and may be unable to see enoughbehavior to draw any conclusions.(b)Children may know they are being watched and modify their behavior.(3)Ethnographyisa method borrowed from the field of anthropology and used toinvestigate cultural questions.(a)Researchers act as participant observers, living for a period of weeks, months, oreven years in another culture or environment.(b)Ethnography has the same drawbacks as other naturalistic observation,in addition tothe problems of generalizing from one culture to another or misinterpreting what isobserved.(4)In qualitative research, researchers select particular settings and seek to describe, innarrative fashion, what is occurring, and why.b)CASE STUDIESinvolve extensive, in-depth interviews with a particular individual or asmall group of individuals.(1)Case studies are designed to derive broader principles or draw tentative conclusions thatmight apply to others.(2)Diaries may be used in that participants are asked to record specific behaviors.c)SURVEY RESEARCH,where people are chosen to represent some larger population andare asked questions about their attitudes, behavior, or thinking on a given topic.d)PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICALMETHODSfocusontherelationshipbetweenphysiological processes and behavior.C.Experiments:Determining Cause and Effect1.AnEXPERIMENTis a process in which an investigator, called an experimenter, devises twodifferent experiences for subjects or participants.

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122.These are calledTREATMENTS,procedures applied by an investigator based on two differentexperiences devised for participants.3.ThegroupreceivingthetreatmentisknownastheTREATMENTGROUPorEXPERIMENTAL GROUP.4.TheCONTROL GROUPis the group that receives either no treatment or alternative treatment.5.The formation of treatment and control groups represents theINDEPENDENT VARIABLE,the variable that researchers manipulate in an experiment.6.In contrast, theDEPENDENT VARIABLEis the variable that researchers measure in anexperiment and expect to change as a result of the experimental manipulation.7.A critical step in the design of an experiment is to assign participants to different treatmentgroups on the basis of chance alone, calledrandom assignment, allowing the researcher, throughlaws of statistics, to draw conclusions with confidence.8.Choosing a Research Settinga)First, researchers choose aSAMPLE,a group of participants chosen for the experiment.b)FIELD STUDYis a research investigation carried out in a naturally occurring setting.c)LABORATORY STUDYis a research investigation conducted in a controlled settingexplicitly designed to hold events constant.D.Theoretical and Applied Research1.THEORETICAL RESEARCHis research designed specifically to test some developmentalexplanation and expand scientific knowledge.2.APPLIED RESEARCHis research meant to provide practical solutions to immediateproblems.E.Measuring Developmental Change1.InLONGITUDINAL RESEARCH,the behavior of one or more individuals is measured as thesubjects age.a)They require a tremendous investment of time.b)There is the possibility of participant attrition, or loss.c)Participants may become “test-wise.”2.From Research to Practice:DevelopmentalResearch to Improve Public Policya)Research on the benefits of foster care encouraged legislation, extending eligibility for fostercare to older children (Peters et al., 2008).3.InCROSS-SECTIONAL RESEARCH,people of different ages are compared at the samepoint in time.a)Differences may be due to cohort effects.b)Selective dropout, where participants in some age groups are more likely to quit participatingin the study than others.c)Changes in individuals or groups are unable to be explained.4.InCROSS-SEQUENTIAL STUDIES,researchers examine a number of different age groupsover several points in time.a)This combines longitudinal and cross-sectional research.b)It can tell about age changes and age differences.F.Ethics and Research1.TheSociety for Research in Child Development and the American Psychological Associationhave developed ethical guidelines for researchers.a)Freedom from harmb)Informed consentc)Use of deceptiond)Maintenance of privacy< Return to Contents

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13LECTURE LAUNCHERSLecture Launcher 1.1:Activities for the First Day of ClassHumanity:Individually and CollectivelyPresent the following quotation to your students (on a PowerPoint slide, handout, or simply written on theblackboard):Every person is like every other person.Every person is like some other person.Every person is like no other person.(Adapted from Kluckhohn & Murray, 1948, p. 35)Read the quotation and ask students to write three examples of eachstatementin their notebooks.Askstudents to volunteer their answers.Explain to the class that duringthe semester youwill be discussing howdevelopmental psychologists attempt to discover:1.Universalhuman qualities over the course of thelifespan(the firststatement);2.Howmembership in social groups (gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, age, etc.) affectshumandevelopment (the secondstatement); and3.Thatresearchers cannot know the answer to the thirdstatement becauseall humans are individuals withunique qualities.Psychologists call this human variation.I Once Was Blind…Table 1-4 in the textbook offers a fine summary of the major perspectives on lifespan development. Share thattable with your students (through Revel, MyPsychLab, or simply on a projection screen) as you distributeHandout 1-1, whichreprints Saxe’sThe Blind Men and the Elephant.This poem is a good introduction to why there are so many theoretical perspectives indevelopmentalpsychology.As Feldman states in the text, “…each perspective emphasizes somewhat different aspects ofdevelopment…the same developmental phenomenon can be looked at from a number of perspectivessimultaneously.In fact, some lifespan developmentalists use aneclecticapproach, drawing on severalperspectives simultaneously.”Althoughthe textbookbriefly introduces the major theories of development (Psychodynamic, Behavioral,Cognitive, Humanistic, and Evolutionary) in Chapter 1, later chapters to go into greater depth on each.Youmay want to introduce these theories in depth in the beginning of the semester.Some students may beconfused by the various theories and an early, in-depth introduction provides more opportunities for yourstudents to understand the similarities and differences among the theories.Lecture Launcher 1.2:Biographies of the TheoristsStudents often find theories more meaningful and understandable when they understand how each theorist’slife influenced the development of theory.You may want to supplement your introduction to the varioustheories by relating germane pointsfromeach theorist’s life.Someusefulreadings are referenced below andingreaterdetail in theSupplemental Readingsection later in this chapter.

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14Freud:seeOlson & Hergenhan; Miller.Erikson:seeOlson & Hergenhan; Miller.Hopkins, J. R. (1995).Erik Homburger Erikson (1902–1994).American Psychologist, 50(9), 796–797.Skinner:seeOlson & Hergenhan;American PsychologistBandura:seeOlson & Hergenhan; Miller.Piaget:seeFlavell; MillerVygotsky:Blank, G. (1992).Vygotsky: The man and his cause.In L. C. Moll (Ed).Vygotsky and education:Instructional implications and applications of sociohistorical psychology.New York: CambridgeUniversity Press.Lecture Launcher 1.3:Introducing Developmental TheoriesPatricia Miller’s introductory chapter (seeSupplemental Readingbelow for reference) is an excellent guidewhen developing your first lectures for a course in lifespan development.She asks the following questions:What is a theory?What is developmental theory?Of what value is developmental theory?How are facts and theories related?What are the main issues of developmental psychology?Another reference to help you with a lecture on the life cycle and development is Chapter 2 in DanielLevinson’s bookThe Seasons of a Woman’s Life(seeSupplemental Readingbelow for reference).Heprovides a nice history of how the fields of geriatrics and gerontology provided an impetus fordevelopmentalists to think beyond adolescence.Lecture Launcher 1.4:Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological TheoryUrieBronfenbrennerdeveloped a model for studying the interactions among an individual’s socialenvironments.The five basic structures of the model are themicrosystem(family, peers, school, community,media), themesosystem(interaction between twomicrosystems;e.g., parent conferences are an interactionbetween family and school; the community censoring the media is another example), theexosystem(parent’sjobs, school boards, city council); themacrosystem(a person’s subculture or culture); and thechronosystem(involving the way the passage of time affectschildren’s development).Explaining Bronfenbrenner’s theorycan stimulate a good class discussion about the various interactions among each system.Bronfenbrenner, U. (1989).Ecological systems theory.In R. Vasta (Ed.),Annals of child development(Vol. 6).Greenwich, CT:JAIPress.Lecture Launcher 1.5:Comparing Piaget and VygotskyBoth Piaget and Vygotsky have influenced how childrenare taught, especially in elementary school. Piagetemphasized the child as an active learner who progressed through discrete stages of cognitive development.Thus, knowing the child’s appropriate cognitive stage is crucial for appropriate learning to take place.Vygotsky coined the term “zone of proximal development” to show how important the culture and olderindividuals are in guiding the child through learning.In addition, Vygotsky presaged the mainstreamingconcept, wherechildrenwith special needsare in the same classes astypicalchildren so that each can learnfrom the other.Youmightwant to share the “modern” views of these “old timers” with your students.Elkind, D. (1987).Miseducation: Preschoolers at risk.New York: Alfred A. Knopf.Moll, L. (Ed.) (1992).Vygotsky and education:Instructional implications and applications of sociohistorical psychology.New York:Cambridge University Press.< Return to Contents

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15STUDENT ACTIVITIESStudent Activity 1.1:Myths about Aging QuizDistribute copies ofHandout1-2toyour class.Ask your students totake the quiz and tell them you are goingto collect it and save it until you get to the chapters on late adulthood (and then put them where you willremember them!).You can tell yourstudentsthat late adulthood is a relatively new area of study indevelopmental psychology.Those who study this life stage are calledgerontologists.The reason it isbecoming such a popular field of study is that more people are living longer than ever before.Most of yourclass can expect to live into their80sor beyond.You might want to ask the class whytheythink people areliving longer.Student Activity 1.2:Design a Research StudyAn appropriate collaborative learning activityforresearch methods is to allow students the opportunity todesign their own research.Divideyour class into groups.Tell them their assignment is to design a study insome area related to human development.Some suggestions are: What foods do infants prefer?Why arechildren aggressive?Why do adolescents like to hang out at malls?What methods of quitting smoking aremost effective?Why do we fall in love?Does having a pet increase the well-being of elderly people? Groupscanalsobrainstorm some ideas of their own.UsingHandout 1-3,askeach grouptodesign a study to investigate the topic of their choice.Groups canshare their designs with the class and other groups can critique the designs.Student Activity1.3:Critical Thinking ExercisesHere are a few ways you can incorporate critical thinking into your class.Write a critical thinking question (orseveral) on the board just before class begins.As students enter,they should take out a piece of paper and try to answer the question.This is useful for motivatingthem to read the relevant chapter before class if you give them credit for their answers.You can addadditional motivation if you tell them some of the critical thinking questions will be on the test.It’shelpful for grading purposes if you decide ahead of time the three or fourmainpoints you are lookingfor in each question.You can choose a critical thinking question as an “exit pass.”Discipline yourself to stop lecturing orhavingclass discussion about five minutes before class ends (this can bedifficult!).Students mustanswer the critical thinking question to exit class.Give them credit for their answers.This is alsohelpful as a means of taking attendance and preventing students from leaving class early without agood reason.Student Activity 1.4:What If?Lynne A. Bond suggests this exercise to encourage critical thinking about the implications of developmentaltheories.Itcan be conducted in small groups or individually (in writing).Students are asked to assume that aparticular theory is true and to generate the implications.For example, I ask students, “What if Freud’s theory of gender role development is accurate?What would you then expect to find in the development of:(a) a boy who is raised in a singlemother-headed household from the time he isoneyear old?(b) a girl whose parents divorce

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16when she is three, and whose father single-handedly raises her to adolescence?(c) a girl raisedfrom birth by two lesbian parents?What if the cognitive-developmental perspective is correct?What would you then expect...?” (p. 51).Bond, L. A. (1988).Teaching developmental psychology.In Bronstein, P. & Quina, K. (Eds.),Teaching a psychology of people:Resources for gender and sociocultural awareness.Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.Student Activity 1.5:How to Think Like a PsychologistDonald McBurneyhas examined somefundamental principles, vocabulary, and common misconceptionsabout psychology.Here are a few critical thinking exercises adapted from his book that relate to Chapter1.1.Name several theories of science (or, in particular, developmental psychology) that are “facts” in theeveryday sense because they are universally accepted as true.2.How might considering child development as a puzzle to figure out, rather than a mystery to wonderabout, lead one to take a different approach to working with children?3.How would defining violent incidents operationally help one to study the amount of violence on differentTV programs?How would that reduce the subjectivity involved in comparing different programs?4.If you askedone ofyour grandparentshow child-rearing practices have changed inherorhislifetime,how might she or heexplain the changes?What do you thinkyour grandparentswould think of them?5.How does psychology relate to other sciences, such asbiology, chemistry, and physics?McBurney, D. H. (2001).How to think like a psychologist:Critical thinking in psychology(2nded.).Upper Saddle River, NJ:PearsonEducation.StudentActivity 1.6:Reading Professional JournalsThe following assignment (seeHandouts 1-4and1-5) is designed to acquaint students with researchpublished in the field of developmental psychology.This assignment also familiarizes students with thescientific method and the tone of professional writing. Students can learn to use computer databases to selecttopics of interest and find various journals.It’s even better to have a selection of journals on hand for the students to browse through.This is a goodopportunity to have students check out the methods section and determine whether experimental research orcorrelational research was used. An alternative way of using this assignment is to have students find tworesearch reports on the same topic and compare how each study was conducted.Which study was theirfavorite?Why?Finally, you might want to incorporateHandouts 1-6 and 1-7into this exercise. These handouts ask studentsto think critically about research methods, and they can be applied to this or other activities relevant to thischapter.Student Activity 1.7:Reflective JournalsKeeping a journal throughout the course is a good way for students to integrate material learned in class withtheir own lives.Determine ahead of time how often students will hand in their journals for comment(handingin journals on quiz dates makes it easy to remember). Keep in mind that if students are graded on their

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17reflections,they will make a greater effort to give youbetterquality work.Realize also that it may take a fewweeks for students to feel comfortable sharing their lives with you.Stress that any journal material is strictlyconfidential and will only be read by the instructor.Note:You might want to assign a particular type ofnotebook or binder so that you can carry all the journals on the day students turn them in.UseHandout 1-6toguide the first reflective journal assignment.Student Activity 1.8:Magazine Articles and CartoonsAnn Ewing assigns what she calls a “Psychology in theRealWorld”assignment.Students bring in articles orcartoons pertaining to themes and issues in human development and write a short essay on how their article orcartoon illustrates some principle in developmental psychology.You might consider incorporating these intostudents’ journals(see below)andassign extra credit for the effort.< Return to Contents

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18SUPPLEMENTAL READINGAmerican Psychological Association. (2013).PublicationManualof the American PsychologicalAssociation(5thed.). Washington, DC.(Internet Access: American Psychological Association Style)Students should become familiar with the “bible” of psychological writing.Bring a copy to class.You mightwant to pass out copies of Chapter 1 when you introduce the scientific method.You can explain to them thatall professional psychological journals follow this particularformat. You also might like to refer toAppendixC:Ethical Standards for the Reporting and Publishing of Scientific Informationon pages 387–396.American Psychological Association.(1992).American Psychologist,47 (11), 1261.This special issue is dedicated to the contribution made by B. F. Skinner to psychology.In particular, youmight like to read articles by Schlinger (pp. 1396–1410) and Gewirtz & Pelaez-Nogueras (pp. 1411–1422) onSkinner’s views on developmental psychology.Blake, T. (1995).How does psychological development occur?Enduring issues in psychology.San Diego,CA:Greenhaven Press.This book is one in a series calledOpposing Viewpoints.This particular reference (Chapter 3) reprints shortexcerpts from the writings of Freud, Erikson, Piaget, Kohlberg, and Bandura.It’s a good resource for studentsand could be the basis of a panel or a group discussion.Flavell, J. H. (1965).The developmental psychology of Jean Piaget.Princeton, NJ: D. Van Nostrand.This definitive work is not easy reading; however, Chapter 1 introduces Piaget’s theory in an easier style thanthe rest of the book, and Part III presents a good critique of the theory.Halpern D. F., & Riggio, H. R. (2013).Thinking critically about critical thinking(4thed.). New York:Taylor and Francis.The authors present principles of critical thinking and an array of case studies for application.Although thebook is geared toward an introductory psychology course, several sections apply to developmentalpsychology.Olson, M. H.,&Hergenhahn, B. R.(2011).An introduction to theories of personality(8thed.).Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.Good chapters on Freud, Erikson, Skinner, and Bandura.Kagan, J.(1989).Unstable ideas: Temperament, cognition, and self.Cambridge, MA:HarvardUniversity Press.Chapter 2 is a good essay on how societal trends affect how psychology researchers study humandevelopment.Kluckhohn, C. & Murray, H. A. (1948).Personality:In nature, society, and culture.New York:AlfredA. Knopf.

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19Levinson, D. L. (1996).The seasons of a woman’s life.New York:Alfred A. Knopf.Chapter 2 provides a nice overview of the history and current thinking on the entirelifespanand humandevelopment.Miller, P. H. (2009).Theories of developmental psychology(5thed.).New York:Worth.Miller’s book is an excellent and clearly written overview of the major theories in development.The strengthof her book is its organization and comparison of theories. Her introductory chapter is a good guide for firstlectures.< Return to Contents

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20MULTIMEDIA IDEASMyDevelopmentLab Video Series+ Discussion QuestionsTheMyDevelopmentLab Video Seriesengages students and brings to life a wide range of topics spanningprenataldevelopmentthrough the end of the lifespan. New international videos shot on location allowstudents to observe similarities and differences in human development across various cultures.Video:Evolutionary PsychologyDiscussion Questions1.Discuss the main principles of the evolutionary perspective on psychology.2.How does an evolutionary viewpoint help us to understand human development over the lifespan?3.How do evolutionary principles such as mate selection or reproductive advantage inform ourunderstanding of daily human behavior?Video:Scientific Research MethodsDiscussion Questions1.Discuss the necessity of both an experimental and a control group for reaching conclusions from researchfindings.2.Distinguish between independent and dependent variables.3.Using the exampleof trustworthiness discussed in the video, identify the key components of a researchdesign that need to be present.Video:Ethics and Psychological ResearchDiscussion Questions1.Summarize thebasic ethical guidelines that all researchers must follow before conducting research withhuman or animal subjects.2.Give 2 or 3 examples of psychological research questions that would be interesting (and perhaps evencrucial) to answer, but that could not be ethically investigated using experimentation.3.Imagine that you are aparticipant in a research study. What “mental checklist” would you follow to makesure you were being treated in accordance with ethical guidelines?< Return to Contents

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21Handout 1-1The Blind Men and the ElephantBy John Godfrey SaxeIt was six men of IndostanTo learning much inclined,Who went to see the elephant(Though all of them were blind),That each by observationMight satisfy his mind.The First approached the elephant,And, happening to fallAgainst his broad and sturdy side,At once began to bawl:“God bless me! but the elephantIs nothing but a wall!”The Second, feeling of the tusk,Cried, “Ho! what have we hereSo very round and smooth and sharp?To me ‘tis mighty clearThis wonder of an elephantIs very like a spear!”The Third approached the animal,And, happening to takeThe squirming trunk within his hands,Thus boldly up and spake:“I see,” quoth he, “the elephantIs very like a snake!”The Fourth reached out his eager hand,And felt about the knee:“What most this wondrous beast is likeIs mighty plain”, quoth he;“‘Tis clear enough the elephantIs very like a tree.”The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,Said, “E’en the blindest manCan tell what this resembles most;Deny the fact who can,This marvel of an elephantIs very like a fan!”The Sixth no sooner had begunAbout the beast to grope,Than, seizing on the swinging tailThat fell within his scope,“I see,” quoth he, “the elephantIs very like a rope!”And so these men of IndostanDisputed loud and long,Each in his own opinionExceeding stiff and strong,Though each was partly in the right,And all were in the wrong!So, oft in theologic warsThe disputants, I ween,Rail on in utter ignoranceOf what each other mean,And prate about an elephantNot one of them has seen!

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22Handout 1-2The Mythsof Aging QuizCircle T for true or F for false.TF1.The majority of old people (age 65 and older) are senile (have defectivememory, are disoriented, or demented).TF2.The five senses (sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch) all tend to weaken inold age.TF3.The majority of old people have no interest in, nor capacity for, sexualrelations.TF4.Lung vital capacity tends to decline in old age.TF5.The majority of old people feel miserable most of the time.TF6.Physical strength tends to decline in old age.TF7.At least one-tenth of the aged are living in long-stay institutions (such asnursing homes, mental hospitals, and homes for the aged).TF8.Aged drivers have fewer accidents per driver than those under age 65.TF9.Older workers usually cannot work as effectively as younger workers.TF10.Over three-fourths of the aged are healthy enough to carry out their normalactivities.TF11.The majority of old people are unable to adapt to change.TF12.Old people usually take longer to learn something new.TF13.It is almost impossible for the average old person to learn something new.TF14.Older people tend to react more slowly than do younger people.TF15.In general, old people tend to be pretty much alike.TF16.The majority of old people say they are seldom bored.TF17.The majority of old people are socially isolated.TF18.Older workers have fewer accidents than younger workers.

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23Handout 1-3Design a Research StudyWorking with your group members, design a study related to human development.In doing so,address the following issues:1.What is your research problem or question?2.Are you seeking to establish cause and effect (anexperimental design) or looking for arelationship between variables (acorrelational design)?3.What are your variables? Is thereaneed to identify one as the independent variable and one asthe dependent variable? If so, what are they? How are the variables operationally defined?4.What is your hypothesis?5.What major developmental design are you using? Note whether you are incorporatinglongitudinal, cross-sectional, cross-sequential, or cross-cultural methods.6.Whoare the members ofyour population? How did you draw your sample? Will you have anexperimental and control group? If so, how areparticipantsassigned to each group?7.What data gathering strategies and/or “treatment” will you use?8.Describe, diagram, or explain your research procedure.9.What do you think your results will be?10.How did you minimize bias in your study?

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24Handout 1-4Professional Journal AssignmentThe purpose of this assignment is to provide students an opportunity to familiarize themselves with publishedresearch.The tasks of the assignment are as follows:1.Choose an empirical article from a professional journal where the author(s) describe the purpose, method,and results of a scientific investigation.Some examples of relevant journals indevelopmentalpsychologyare:AdolescenceAging and CognitionChild DevelopmentDeath StudiesDevelopmental PsychologyDevelopmental ReviewHispanic Journal of Behavioral SciencesHuman DevelopmentJournal of Black PsychologyJournal of Marriage and the FamilyJournal of Personality and Social PsychologyJournal of Youth and AdolescenceMerrill-Palmer QuarterlyPsychology and AgingResearch on AgingNote that not all research articles are complicated reading.As a novice, it might help to browse throughthe journals until you come upon one that is of interest as well as readable.2.Identify your article by including a full APA style reference of it at the top of your assignment.3.Briefly summarize the research article using the headings most common to such empirical reports.Theseinclude theIntroduction, which generally states a rationale for the investigation and the purpose of thestudy.TheIntroduction also reviews relevant research.Next is theMethodsection, which includes adescription of the participants, instruments, and procedures.TheResultssection follows next, whichaddresses the significant findings of the study.Finally comes theDiscussion andConclusion,where theauthorssummarize the findings and future directions.Note that in writing an abstract you do not want to reproduce or summarize the entire article.Rather, youwant to provide the most salient information as succinctly as possible in each of the aforementionedareas.Further, insomeinstances you might choose to replicate or incorporate part of the original text.Inthese cases you MUST put quotation marks around the words you are copying, followed by the pagenumber in parentheses.4.Type your one-page abstract.

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25Handout 1-5Sample AbstractOltjenbruns, K. A. (1991).Positive outcomes of adolescents’ experience with grief.Journal of AdolescentResearch, 6(1), 43–53.INTRODUCTIONReports suggest that by the time youngsters finish high school,90 percent of them will have experienced thedeath of a family member or friend.Yet, there is very little grief-related literature examining adolescentpopulations, particularly in terms of possible positive outcomes to grief.Thus, the purpose of this researchwas to “examine the perceptions of older adolescents regarding positive outcomes, if any, to the griefexperience” and “to determine if there are significant differences in responses related to ethnicity, gender, orthe personality variable of locus of control” (p. 46).METHODParticipantsResearch packets were mailed to a computer-generated random sample list of 1,200 addresses.A total of 336individuals returned consent forms and completed surveys;however, only 93 fit the criteria for inclusion inthe study.Of these 93 participants, 37 percent were Mexican-American, 63 percent were Anglo-American, 28percent were male, and 72 percent were female.The age range of participants was 16 to 22 years old.ProcedureParticipants responded to the question “What positive outcomes, if any, do you feel were the result of yourgrief experience(s)?Check all that apply” (p. 47).Seven checklist options were included, for example, “havea deeper appreciation for life, developed emotional strength, and increased empathy for others” (p. 47).Inorder to measure the personality variable, participants also responded to the Rotter I-E Locus of ControlScale.RESULTSResults indicated that 96 percent of the participants identified at least one positive outcome.The mostfrequent positive outcomes were “deeper appreciation of life (74 percent), greater caring for loved ones (67percent), strengthened emotional bonds with others (56 percent), and developed emotional strength (53percent)” (p. 48).The less-noted positive outcomes were “increased empathy for others (47 percent), bettercommunication skills (28 percent), and enhanced problem solving skills (9 percent)” (p. 48).Chi-square testswith Yates correction formula were computed to determine if there were significant differences in responsesbetween ethnic groups or gender.No differences were found.However, “significantly more persons with aninternal locus of control orientation reported that better communication skills were a positive outcome of theirgrief experience (X2= 4.153 [1, N = 93],p< .05)” (p. 48).Some participants added positive outcomes thatwere not included in the list, for example, “put priorities in a different perspective and made me moreindependent” (p. 49).DISCUSSIONIt is suggested that learning more about adolescent grief reactions, both painful and positive outcomes, can bebeneficial for both the griever and helper.It is also suggested that more research be conducted.

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26Handout 1-6Strengthsand Weaknessesof Research MethodsMETHODSTRENGTHSWEAKNESSESExperimentCorrelationalstudyQuestionnaire/surveyNaturalisticobservationCasestudyLongitudinalstudyCross-sectionalstudyCross-sequentialstudy

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27Handout 1-7Evaluating ResearchStepCritical Thinking Questions1.Initial observations:The idea1.What idea or theory underlies this study?2.What are some assumptions the researcher is making?3.Is the idea derived from a larger theory and, if so, is itconsistent with that theory?4.Is the context of the problem being taken into account?2.The hypothesis1.Is this a testable (answerable) question?2.Are there any hidden assumptions in the way theresearch question is stated?3.Is the researcher introducing any bias into the study?3.The method1.Does this approach make sense to you?2.Is it logically derived from the theory?3.If it is a laboratory design, how well does it capture thereal world?4.Are any variables being introduced via the designthatmay distort the results?4.The experiment (collecting data)1.Are the results accurate?2.Are the results presented in appropriate context?3.What isNOTbeing reported?4.Are these results consistent and expected with what isalready known?5.Are there opposing ways of analyzing the results?5.Criticism1.Do these results make sense?2.Could you generate alternative explanations?3.What is being presented as factual that may be anopinion or a subjectively-held value?6.Further studies1.How do you evaluate different explanations for results?2.Is one better than another?3.Can they be synthesized into a new alternative?Coats, E. J., Feldman, R. S., & Schwartzberg, S. (1994).Critical thinking: General principles and case studies(pp. 29–33). NewYork: McGraw-Hill.

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28Handout 1-8Journal Exercise #1Think of yourself at a particular time in your childhood (e.g., age 10).Using the model from UrieBronfenbrenner, reflect in your journal about the following:microsystemDescribe:your family.your school and teacher.your peer group.the media–favorite TV shows, books, movies.your surrounding community.mesosystemDescribe:how your parents interacted with your peers.how your parents interacted with your school.whether your parents helped with schoolwork.how your community supported your school or activities (e.g., sports).exosystemDescribe:your parents’ jobs.vacations you took.whether there was a divorce in your family.macrosystemDescribe:your ethnic heritage.your religious affiliations.whether you lived in an urban (city) or rural (country) setting.your social class (poor, working class, middle class, wealthy).what was going on in the world at the time (e.g.,Gulfwar, who was president, etc.).chronosystemDescribe:howyou were impacted byanhistorical event (such astheterrorist attacks ofSeptember11,2001) or more gradual historical changes (the change in the numberof women who work outside of the home).

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29Chapter2THE START OF LIFE:PRENATALDEVELOPMENTCONTENTSChapter-at-a-Glance30Learning Objectives31Chapter Outline32Lecture Launchers40The Epidemic That Wasn’t—Crack Babies40Fertility40Infertility40In Vitro Fertilization and Multiple Births41My Mother, Myself42Student Activities43Supplemental Reading45Multimedia Ideas46Handouts47

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