Exploring Approaches to Developmental Psychology
There are many different theoretical approaches regarding human development. As we evaluate them in this module, recall that developmental psychology focuses on how people change, and keep in mind that all the approaches that we present in this module address questions of change: Is the change smooth or uneven (continuous versus discontinuous)? Is this pattern of change the same for everyone, or are there many different patterns of change (one course of development versus many courses)? How do genetics and environment interact to influence development (nature versus nurture)?
Is Development Continuous or Discontinuous?
continuous and discontinuous development
Continuous development views development as a cumulative process, gradually improving on existing skills (Figure 1). With this type of development, there is gradual change. Consider, for example, a child’s physical growth: adding inches to her height year by year.
In contrast, theorists who view development as discontinuous believe that development takes place in unique stages: It occurs at specific times or ages. With this type of development, the change is more sudden, such as an infant’s ability to conceive object permanence. Psychologists who hold this viewpoint are considered stage theorists.
Is There One Course of Development or Many?
Is development essentially the same, or universal, for all children (i.e., there is one course of development) or does development follow a different course for each child, depending on the child’s specific genetics and environment (i.e., there are many courses of development)? Do people across the world share more similarities or more differences in their development? How much do culture and genetics influence a child’s behavior?
Is development the same for everyone?
Stage theories hold that the sequence of development is universal, emphasizing discontinuous development. For example, in cross-cultural studies of language development, children from around the world reach language milestones in a similar sequence (Gleitman & Newport, 1995). Infants in all cultures coo before they babble. They begin babbling at about the same age and utter their first word around 12 months old.
Yet we live in diverse contexts that have a unique effect on each of us, so the timing of developmental stages can vary. For example, researchers once believed that motor development follows one course for all children regardless of culture. However, childcare practices vary by culture, and different practices have been found to accelerate or inhibit the achievement of developmental milestones such as sitting, crawling, and walking (Karasik, Adolph, Tamis-LeMonda, & Bornstein, 2010).
For instance, let’s look at the Aché society in Paraguay. They spend a significant amount of time foraging in forests. While foraging, Aché mothers carry their young children, rarely putting them down in order to protect them from getting hurt in the forest. Consequently, their children walk much later: They walk around 23–25 months old, in comparison to infants in Western cultures who begin to walk around 12 months old. However, as Aché children become older, they are allowed more freedom to move about, and by about age 9, their motor skills surpass those of U.S. children of the same age: Aché children are able to climb trees up to 25 feet tall and use machetes to chop their way through the forest (Kaplan & Dove, 1987). As you can see, our development is influenced by multiple contexts, so the timing of basic motor functions may vary across cultures. However, the functions themselves are present in all societies (Figure 2).
How do Nature and Nurture Influence Development?
Are we who we are because of nature (biology and genetics), or are we who we are because of nurture (our environment and culture)? One of the issues that emerged in early developmental research, is known as the nature versus nurture debate.
For instance, why do biological children sometimes act like their parents—is it because of genetics or because of early childhood environment and what the child has learned from the parents? What about children who are adopted—are they more like their biological families or more like their adoptive families? And how can siblings from the same family be so different?
We are born with specific genetic traits inherited from our parents, such as eye color, height, and certain personality traits. Beyond our basic genotype, however, there is a deep interaction between our genes and our environment: Our unique experiences in our environment influence whether and how particular traits are expressed, and at the same time, our genes influence how we interact with our environment (Diamond, 2009; Lobo, 2008). Over the decades of research, psychologists have generally accepted that it is likely that nature and nurture separately and combined influence our development.
nature and nurture in development
The nature versus nurture debate in developmental psychology examines the impact of genetics and environmental factors on our development. While we inherit certain genetic traits from our parents, our unique experiences in the environment interact with our genes to influence the expression of these traits. It is widely accepted among researchers that both nature and nurture contribute to our development, shaping who we are.