Developmental psychology

A branch of scientific psychology is that Developmental psychology. She researches human development from birth to death in all psychological conditions and the associated changes in human behavior and experience, including z. B. the development of personality, language, thinking and all learning processes based on them.

Accordingly, the entire lifespan of a person is considered, while changes due to moods or external influences only play a role to a limited extent. For the description, developmental psychology uses social science methods in the form of surveys, observations and various experiments.

What is Developmental Psychology?

Developmental psychology studies human development from birth to death in all psychological conditions and the associated changes in human behavior and experience.

Whether human development is more influenced by biological or environmental factors, whether the development according to Jean-Jaques Rousseau and nativism takes place on the basis of the predispositions a child brings with them while their upbringing and environment inhibit them, or whether the child according to John Lure comes into the world rather without skills and knowledge in order to learn all this first, these are fundamental questions that developmental psychology asks.

Using various theories and models, she tries to explain people's changes. The most important were drawn up by Albert Bandura, Jean Piaget, Sigmund Freud, Erik H. Erikson Jane Loevinger, and John Bowlby.

Focus & theories

Bandura developed the theory of social learning, which implied that the observational learning process only makes social skills possible and takes place through an acquisition and execution phase. The acquisition phase is determined by attention and memory processes, the execution phase by motor reproduction, reinforcement and motivation processes. Play u. a. Expectations also play an important role, which are decisive for imitation, therefore for the learning process.

The step theory model was developed by Jean Piaget. It describes the different levels of human cognitive development and defines the existing cognitive abilities for each level, which in turn determine which cognitive tasks a person can solve at that time.

Freud developed the structural model of the psyche, assuming three instances, which he divides into id, ego and super-ego. On the other hand, he set up the five phases of psychosexual development that have an impact on developmental psychology. Erik H. Erikson's step model of psychosocial development is based on this model. It describes the tension between all the wishes and needs of a child and the demands placed on them by the environment and interpersonal contact, which change as they develop.

Equally important is Loevinger's step model, which assumes an ego development as a specific pattern through which people and their surroundings perceive and interpret themselves. This ego structure goes through some changes in the course of development that lead to a higher level of awareness. Loevinger is based on a thought and experience process, not a psychological instance like psychoanalysis.

John Bowlby, in turn, proposed attachment theory, which implies that children use non-verbal communication and physical signs to develop strong, emotional bonds with loved ones that change as they develop. His concern as a child psychiatrist was to research the effects of family and generation influences on child development.

All of these models, of which there are many more, show that developmental psychology deals with a broad spectrum of topics. The focus remains on infant and toddler research, the relationship between child and parent, which takes place on a non-verbal level, and the associated social, emotional and motor developments and changes or disorders in development processes. In addition, the general life span of a person up to age is examined.

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Investigation methods

The concept of development is being taken more and more broadly under modern conditions, so that every type of change is viewed as development and even inter-individual or environment-dependent differences have recently been included, whereby one speaks of an ecological or differential developmental psychology.

Traditionally, however, the term development is relatively narrow. It is viewed as a discontinuous process, whereby the changes remain qualitative-structural transformations that always advance towards a higher level and are oriented towards a final state of maturity. Functions such as emotion, cognition, motivation, language, morality and social behavior play an important role in their change processes. The family is viewed in a social context. This examines how psychological functions change with growing up and getting older. For developmental psychology, age, in turn, provides information about the motivational and mental limitations people have during this period.

It is assumed that a person in his development has to cope with tasks at different stages of development that reflect different aspects of his life, his personality, his interpersonal relationships and physiological functions as a basic requirement.

So z. For example, a young person is brought up in a society to break away from their parents, find their identity and prepare for a job. If there are disruptions in this process, difficulties arise in coping with all further steps, as these build on one another. The result is dissatisfaction, frustration and fear of frustration. Early childhood in particular is based on social and emotional development, including periods of defiance and possible developmental disorders. Such can express themselves in demarcation, impairment in language, communication and social ties.

Part of the theories in developmental psychology is the concept that humans actively shape their development. It is not determined solely by hereditary disposition, but rather depends on a person's experiences, living conditions and desired goals, which in turn result in a number of variations.