PSYCH101: Introduction to Psychology

6.1: Important Theories and Research Related to Developmental Psychology

• Khan Academy: "Overview of Theories of Development" Page

  Watch this video for an overview of the basic theories of lifespan development. What concepts are central to all theories of development?  Contrast the four theories discussed.
  

• OpenStax College: Psychology: "Chapter 9: Lifespan Development" URL

  Read this chapter about lifespan development. Its scope is broad, touching on a wide range of topics that address how people grow and change through the course of life.
  

• 6.1.1: Harry Harlow and Rhesus Monkeys

  • The Noba Project: Dan-Mikael Ellingson, Siri Leknes, and Guro E. Loseth's "Touch and Pain" Page

    Read this article, paying extra attention to the sections on the Harlow experiments and the "Affective Aspects of Touch Are Important for Development and Relationships" section.
    

• 6.1.2: Gerontology: Successful Aging

  • The Noba Project: Tara Queen and Jacqui Smith's "Aging" Page

    Read this selection and think about what it means to “grow old”? Which psychological processes change in later life and which do not?
    

• 6.1.3: Vygotsky: Scaffolding and Zone of Proximal Development

  • Khan Academy: "Vygotsky Sociocultural Development" Page

    Compare and contrast Piaget's notion that children’s' development must necessarily precede their learning with Vygotsky’s idea that "learning is a necessary and universal aspect of the process of developing culturally organized, specifically human psychological function."
    

• 6.1.4: Freud’s Theory of Development

  • The Noba Project: Robert Bornstein's "The Psychodynamic Perspective" Page

    Read this article about Freud’s psychodynamic perspective. Focus on the core assumptions and phases of this model. In addition, consider Freud’s assumptions that the successful completion of each stage leads to a healthy personality as an adult while an unresolved conflict at any stage might result in fixation at that particular stage of development. Why do you agree or disagree? 
    

  • Khan Academy: "Freud's Psychosexual Development" Page

    Think about the limitations of Freud's theory as you review this lecture on Freud and Psychosexual development.