Developmental Psychology

2013 ◽  
pp. 2-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip David Zelazo
Keyword(s):  
Human Behavior ◽  
Neural Plasticity ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Developmental Psychology ◽  
Psychological Development ◽  
Levels Of Analysis ◽  
Synthetic Approach ◽  
Psychological Phenomena ◽  
Multiple Levels ◽  
Biological Maturity

This Handbook surveys what is now known about psychological development from birth to biological maturity, and it reflects the emergence of a new synthetic approach to developmental science that is based on several theoretical and methodological commitments. According to this new view: (1) psychological phenomena are usefully studied at multiple levels of analysis; (2) psychological development depends on neural plasticity, which extends across the lifespan; (3) the effect of any particular influence on psychological development will depend on the context in which it occurs; (4) psychological phenomena, and developmental changes in psychological phenomena, typically reflect multiple, simultaneous causal influences; and (5) these causal influences are often reciprocal. Research based on this synthetic approach provides new insights into the way in which processes operating at many levels of analysis (cultural, social, cognitive, neural, and molecular) work together to yield human behavior and changes in human behavior.

Developmental Psychology

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip David Zelazo
Keyword(s):  
Human Behavior ◽  
Neural Plasticity ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Developmental Psychology ◽  
Psychological Development ◽  
Levels Of Analysis ◽  
Synthetic Approach ◽  
Psychological Phenomena ◽  
Multiple Levels ◽  
Biological Maturity

ThisHandbooksurveys what is now known about psychological development from birth to biological maturity, and it reflects the emergence of a new synthetic approach to developmental science that is based on several theoretical and methodological commitments. According to this new view: (1) psychological phenomena are usefully studied at multiple levels of analysis; (2) psychological development depends on neural plasticity, which extends across the lifespan; (3) the effect of any particular influence on psychological development will depend on the context in which it occurs; (4) psychological phenomena, and developmental changes in psychological phenomena, typically reflect multiple, simultaneous causal influences; and (5) these causal influences are often reciprocal. Research based on this synthetic approach provides new insights into the way in which processes operating at many levels of analysis (cultural, social, cognitive, neural, and molecular) work together to yield human behavior and changes in human behavior.

The weirdest brains in the world

2010 ◽  
Vol 33 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 88-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joan Y. Chiao ◽  
Bobby K. Cheon
Keyword(s):  
Human Behavior ◽  
Levels Of Analysis ◽  
Cultural Neuroscience ◽  
Behavioral Sciences ◽  
Compelling Argument ◽  
The World ◽  
Multiple Levels

AbstractHenrich et al. provide a compelling argument about a bias in the behavioral sciences to study human behavior primarily in WEIRD populations. Here we argue that brain scientists are susceptible to similar biases, sampling primarily from WEIRD populations; and we discuss recent evidence from cultural neuroscience demonstrating the importance and viability of investigating culture across multiple levels of analysis.

scholarly journals Cross-cultural, developmental psychology: Integrating approaches and key insights

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorsa Amir ◽  
Katherine McAuliffe
Keyword(s):  
Child Development ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Developmental Psychology ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Levels Of Analysis ◽  
Formal Modeling ◽  
Developmental Origins ◽  
Behavioral Diversity ◽  
Narrow Focus ◽  
Multiple Levels

Like psychology more broadly, developmental psychology has long suffered from a narrow focus on children from WEIRD societies—or those that are Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic. In this review, we discuss how developmental scientists have sought to correct this bias through two complementary approaches: one centered on detailed, ethnographic investigations of child development within populations (increasing the depth of our understanding) and one focused on larger, multi-site studies that test children on standardized tasks across populations (increasing breadth) . We review key papers from each of these approaches, describe how they are currently practiced, and discuss their strengths and weaknesses. Next, we highlight exemplary papers from the adult literature that offer useful insights, namely the importance of formal modeling and a greater focus on studying variation at multiple levels of analysis. We end by outlining best practices for future waves of cross-cultural, developmental science. Overall, we argue that a more integrated perspective, combining the strengths of the breadth & depth approaches, can help better elucidate the developmental origins of human behavioral diversity.

scholarly journals Reconstructing the Study of Human Cognition

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Prather
Keyword(s):  
Human Behavior ◽  
Real World ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Levels Of Analysis ◽  
Modern Approach ◽  
Contextual Variation ◽  
Cognitive Revolution ◽  
Multiple Levels ◽  
Methodological Approaches ◽  
Significant Change

The study of human cognition is a prominent part of psychology and related disciplines. While the modern approach begun during the Cognitive Revolution hasbeen seemingly successful, it is not without concerns. I address five concerns with how human cognition is studied: (1) reliance on homogeneous participant sampleswhen trying to generalize behavior to real-world contexts; (2) focus on controlling for or ignoring "extraneous" variables; (3) assumption of a generic human actor instead of a focus on individual and contextual variation; (4) insufficient theory building.I contend that these concerns are deeply connected and that the solution is a significant change in how we study human cognition, similar in scope to the Cognitive Revolution. We need to reconsider the assumption of cognitive universals and how that assumption is built into the norms of the discipline. I propose a reconstruction of how researchers study human cognition by implementing acombination of methodological approaches and theoretical positions. These combined approaches (1) integrate human heterogeneity, (2) consider human behavior in context, (3) incorporate multiple levels of analysis and non-cognitivefactors, (4) focus not only on averaged behavior but variation across individuals and context, (5) create theory that combines cognition and context.

scholarly journals The SAGE Model of Social Psychological Research

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 359-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Séamus A. Power ◽  
Gabriel Velez ◽  
Ahmad Qadafi ◽  
Joseph Tennant
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Methods ◽  
Psychological Research ◽  
Levels Of Analysis ◽  
Synthetic Approach ◽  
Social Psychological ◽  
Multiple Methods ◽  
Social Psychological Research ◽  
Multiple Levels

We propose a SAGE model for social psychological research. Encapsulated in our acronym is a proposal to have a synthetic approach to social psychological research, in which qualitative methods are augmentative to quantitative ones, qualitative methods can be generative of new experimental hypotheses, and qualitative methods can capture experiences that evade experimental reductionism. We remind social psychological researchers that psychology was founded in multiple methods of investigation at multiple levels of analysis. We discuss historical examples and our own research as contemporary examples of how a SAGE model can operate in part or as an integrated whole. The implications of our model are discussed.

scholarly journals Instantiating the multiple levels of analysis perspective in a program of study on externalizing behavior

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 1003-1018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theodore P. Beauchaine ◽  
Lisa M. Gatzke-Kopp
Keyword(s):  
Middle Childhood ◽  
Externalizing Behavior ◽  
Developmental Psychopathology ◽  
Personality Development ◽  
Developmental Model ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Levels Of Analysis ◽  
Quarter Century ◽  
Trait Impulsivity ◽  
Multiple Levels

AbstractDuring the last quarter century, developmental psychopathology has become increasingly inclusive and now spans disciplines ranging from psychiatric genetics to primary prevention. As a result, developmental psychopathologists have extended traditional diathesis–stress and transactional models to include causal processes at and across all relevant levels of analysis. Such research is embodied in what is known as the multiple levels of analysis perspective. We describe how multiple levels of analysis research has informed our current thinking about antisocial and borderline personality development among trait impulsive and therefore vulnerable individuals. Our approach extends the multiple levels of analysis perspective beyond simple Biology × Environment interactions by evaluating impulsivity across physiological systems (genetic, autonomic, hormonal, neural), psychological constructs (social, affective, motivational), developmental epochs (preschool, middle childhood, adolescence, adulthood), sexes (male, female), and methods of inquiry (self-report, informant report, treatment outcome, cardiovascular, electrophysiological, neuroimaging). By conducting our research using any and all available methods across these levels of analysis, we have arrived at a developmental model of trait impulsivity that we believe confers a greater understanding of this highly heritable trait and captures at least some heterogeneity in key behavioral outcomes, including delinquency and suicide.

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