Psychology and Neuroscience Stack Exchange
Psychology and Neuroscience Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [developmental-psychology]

For questions involving psychological changes taking place during the lifespan of an individual, not just during infancy or childhood, and using multiple approaches.

For questions involving psychological changes taking place during the lifespan of an individual, not just during infancy or childhood, and using multiple approaches.

For further information see Developmental psychology.

200 questions
10
votes
2 answers

Where does the distinction between motives and goals lie in activity theory?

Activity has an hierarchical structure, and can be analyzed at different levels: activities, actions and operations. (Leontiev 1974) (source: interaction-design.org) The top level is activity itself, oriented towards its motive. At a lower level…
Steven Jeuris
  • 3,523
  • 5
  • 30
  • 56
8
votes
2 answers

Is there any research on what causes a pseudo-scientific mindset?

As of late I've been coming across a lot of people online who are convinced that, without much (or any) formal training and often without any collaboration, they have solved a major unsolved problem in the quantitative sciences. They are incredibly…
Eben Kadile
  • 200
  • 1
  • 5
6
votes
1 answer

Descriptions of human behavior should be extensible and reducible. Why?

In Prometheus Rising, Robert Anton Wilson explains Timothy Leary's theory of personality types, the "interpersonal grid", the diagrammatic representation of which consists of a circle divided by the two dimensions of friendly/hostile and…
Anna
  • 163
  • 3
5
votes
0 answers

Does any theory explain the tendency for toddlers to desire objects held by other toddlers?

Very often, I observe that a toddler A who currently focuses their attention on a specific toy or activity becomes distracted if another toddler B begins playing with an object O that A played with previously. Subsequently, A shifts their attention…
user1146332
  • 151
  • 3
5
votes
1 answer

Is dyslexia less common among visually impaired?

I couldn't find any information on whether dyslexia is equally prevalent in normally sighted people and among visually impaired people who learned reading and writing through braille?
HeLi8
  • 59
  • 2
4
votes
1 answer

Is there a psychological explanation for the age of 18 being important in many societies?

The age of eighteen is an age that in many societies gives rise to various additional rights and responsibilities. Is there a scientific reason for assigning such right and responsibilities at the age of 18? What are some of reasons and history for…
Fereydoon Shekofte
  • 143
  • 3
4
votes
3 answers

What is a science concept that we can teach preschoolers that's purely visual?

We are trying to develop a scientific study to test preschoolers (3-5 years old) ability to learn a new science concept. The problem is that children that young can only remember concepts based on how they look but cannot remember any abstract…
SurpriseDog
  • 43
  • 7
4
votes
0 answers

How much tablet time is bad for kids?

In a Psychology Today blog we read: When very small children get hooked on tablets and smartphones, says Dr. Aric Sigman, an associate fellow of the British Psychological Society and a Fellow of Britain’s Royal Society of Medicine, they can…
the gods from engineering
  • 10,180
  • 1
  • 25
  • 59
4
votes
3 answers

What is the difference between Symbolism and Abstract thinking in Piaget's Theory?

I'm having trouble understanding the difference between symbols and abstract thinking in Piaget's Cognitive Development Theory. Piaget says that in the preoperational stage, children 2-7 years old can think of things in terms of symbols, and that…
terpenedude
  • 43
  • 1
  • 4
3
votes
1 answer

What are some examples of emergent abilities?

By emergent ability I mean this: suppose that competently performing ability Z is contingent on, and only on, having skill X and skill Y developed to a certain level (that is, ability Z is a non-linear combination of ability X and Y that is distinct…
jflournoy
  • 378
  • 3
  • 7
3
votes
1 answer

Is there a developmental purpose to adolescent transgressions?

Many adolescents transgress rules and break laws, not out of criminal intent or because they have some disorder, but "for fun", as an adventure, for the experience. How is this explained from the perspective of psychology and cognitive sciences?…
user3116
2
votes
0 answers

Approaches to assigning chores to children

I was discussing with my fiancée about our expectations of our future children to perform chores at home. While we do both agree that chores are to be performed (in accordance to the child's development), we disagree on how that should be enforced.…
Luiz Cordeiro
  • 121
  • 3
2
votes
1 answer

How to learn about children using hitting affectionately

When I am about to leave, my youngest son will show affection by hugging me before I leave. When we are playing a game and he is really enjoying it, he will actually smile at me and hit me really quickly maybe 5 times a row. Sometimes this coincides…
Jay
  • 121
  • 4
2
votes
1 answer

Erik Erikson: "We live in a continuous process of making the present 'former' "

I'm reading Identity: Youth and Crisis and I was particularly struck by this passage: However, I'm completely lost by the idea that we are in constant process of making the present into the past - I don't believe I've seen this idea before, and I…
Matt
  • 23
  • 5
1
vote
0 answers

Is there any evidence that people follow crowds less at a certain age?

A while back I saw a chart of psychological development milestones, and it said around the age of 28 people tend to think less in a collective and more on their own. I can't find the chart nor can I find anything backing up that claim since. Is…
concealed curry
  • 11
  • 1
1
2