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The Developmental Psychology

Psychology A scientific study of human behavior and mental processes. Etymologically, it
came from the Greek words, Psyche which means soul or mind, and Logos which means
the study of.
Behavior - Any response or activity of an organism. It can either be simple or complex;
overt or covert; conscious or unconscious; voluntary or involuntary; rational or irrational.
Goals of Psychology
To Describe
To Explain
To Predict
To Control
They use scientific methods to find answers that are far more valid and legitimate
than those resulting from intuition and speculation
To test your knowledge of psychology, try answering the following questions True
or False?
Activity
1. Infants love their mothers primarily because their mothers fulfill their basic biological
needs such as providing food.
2. Geniuses generally have poor social adjustment
3. The best way to ensure that a desired behavior will continue after training is completed
is to reward that behavior every single time it occurs during training rather than rewarding
it only periodically.
4. People with schizophrenia have at least two distinct personalities.
5. If you are having trouble sleeping. The best way to get to sleep is to take a sleeping pill.
To test your knowledge of psychology. try answering the following questions:
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6. Children's IQ scores have little to do with how well they do in school.

7. Frequent masturbation can lead to mental illness.
8. Once people reach old age, their leisure activities change radically.
9. Most people would refuse to give painful electric shocks to other people.
10. One of the least important factors affecting how much we like another person is that
persons physical attractiveness
Contemporary Approaches
Neuroscience - Views behavior from the perspective of biological functioning
Psychodynamic - Believes behavior is motivated by inner, unconscious force over
which a person has little control
Behavioral - Focuses on observable behavior
Cognitive - Examines how people understand and think about the world
Humanistic Contends that people can control their behavior and that they naturally
try to reach their full potential
The Scientific Method
The approach used by psychologists to systematically acquire knowledge and
understanding about behavior and other phenomena of interest.
1. Identifying questions of interest,
2. Formulating an explanation, (Theories and Hypotheses)
3. Carrying out research designed to support or refute the explanation.
Methods Used in Psychology
Descriptive Research An approach to research designed to systematically investigate
a person, group, or patterns of behavior.
A. Naturalistic Observation - Research in which an investigator simply observes some
naturally occurring behavior and does not make a change in the situation
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B. Directed Observation (Survey) - Research in which people chosen to represent a

larger population are asked a series of questions about their behavior, thoughts, or
attitudes.
Correlational Method - The correlational method involves systematically measuring
the relationship between two or more variables
Correlation Coefficient: +1.00 to -1.00
Positive Correlation
Negative Correlation
Experimental Method - Considered as the most scientific of all methods. The
researcher investigate a phenomenon by preparing 2 identical groups and altering the
conditions of one of the groups; afterwards, measuring the difference.
Independent Variable
Dependent Variable

The Child Psychology

Studying psychology is a bit like sailing a small boat on the high seas.
Children should not be studied as embryonic adults, but in their essential child nature
so as to understand their capacities and know how to deal with them
~John Amos Comenius
Psychology is an extremely exciting and challenging field of knowledge, which has enormous
potential and offers us the hope of understanding and improving our lives, our communities
and our planet.
Scientific study of psychology is based on information collected through a set of
systematic procedures known as scientific method.
Behaviour any activity that can be observed, recorded and measured, it also includes
physiological or bodily changes
For example: smiling, sucking and sleeping are behaviours commonly seen in babies
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Mental processes includes thoughts, memories, emotions, motivations, dreams, perceptions

and beliefs.
The main aim of studying psychology is to gain an increased understanding of why
people respond as they do.
Child Psychology

Is the science that deals with the study of childs mind and how it functions, it also deals
with the mental power or an interaction between the conscious and subconscious element in
a child
Aims & objectives of child psychology
Knowledge of the child psychology will help us to:
Understand the child better
Better planning & interaction
Understand problems of psychosomatic origin
So that child understand oral hygiene
Modify child developmental process
Theories of child psychology
Psychodynamic theories
Behavior learning theories
Why Are Theories Important?
Useful in integrating and abstracting interrelatedness of natural phenomenon
They are like a quest for unknown and uncertain
Predict future events and in some instances control forces of nature
Provide pleasure to the scientist of his own creation
Basic Methods of Research
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Case study
Systematic naturalistic observation
Correlational methods
Systems approaches
Experimental methods
Small-n approaches
Time Strategies Development
Longitudinal strategies
Cross-Sectional strategies
Sequential strategies
Risk research
Retrospective designs
Prospective designs
Epidemiologic Research
Prevalence or incidence
Multiple Methods
Each method has strengths and weakness
Combining methods adds strength to the findings
Ethics in Research
Integrity
Openness
Awareness of research effects
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