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The study of psychology cannot have been made possible, without the use of theories to help in the interpretation of data, and formulation of strategies and theories concerning whoever is under a psychology program (Pope, 1992). The following paper, will be about the profession of developmental psychology. Developmental psychologists are mostly interested in the physical, cognitive, and psychosocial development of the individual. The following paper will look at theories that can be applicable in the developmental psychologists’ profession.

Theories Used in This Profession

Developmental psychology is the scientific way of looking into how the human beings can use the resources they have, and the conditions they face in their environment, to adapt and grow. It is simply, the study of human development, under a set of conditions. Like all other psychologists out there, the individuals who have played active roles in the development of the theories to be used, are all bound by the code of ethics, which requires that their conduct reflect back to their integrity and the kind of a person they are (American Psychological Association, 2010).

This profession has numerous theories under its wing. However, the two main theories that I found to be most applicable to this profession are; Jean Piaget’s Formal Operational Stage of Cognitive Development, as well as Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory of Human Development. Though highly critiqued, with a number of other additional theories having come up in time after these two theories were published, Piaget’s Formal Operational Stage of Cognitive Development, and Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory of Human Development have not been altered over time.

Once Popular Theory that is no Longer Accepted

In developmental stage psychology, there is a rift between the two opinions that popular theorists hold. Once child development was discovered and explained using the various theories, there were concerns about whether development is a continuous process, with both sides making very compelling arguments. This has been the bone of contention in this profession for quite some time now, and theorists have structured their theories to fit their manner of thinking, and show their stand on what they think about whether development is a continuous or a discontinuous process. However, despite this feud, my research was unable to yield any theory that is no longer accepted today.

Primary Research Areas

Backed with theories from popular psychologists such as; Jean Piaget, Erik Erikson, Freud, Vygotsky, Bowlby, and Bronfenbrenner, among many others, developmental psychology is a profession that mostly researches on the physical, cognitive, and psychosocial development of the child, and ultimately, of the human being. The physical development looks at the observable changes in the children, such as maybe their ability to walk, talk, and improve on their hand eye coordination, and so on. Cognitive development is the research of how the children are able to construct a thought process, which will allow them to remember the important details in their life, think about the possible ways of approaching a situation, and become aware of their being liable to consequences of their actions.

On the other hand, psychosocial development refers to the research into the eight normal stages that a normally developing individual should pass through in their journey from childhood into adulthood. These three research areas, form the primary research areas, of the developmental psychology profession.

Research Methods

Being a practical field, developmental psychology is endowed with numerous research methods, which can be used to carry out the various research that is done in this profession. From a wide range to pick from, I will discuss longitudinal research method. As a method of carrying out research, the longitudinal research method is very instrumental in studying a particular group, for a long time, in order to be present when the group is changing. This kind of a research method is very practical in developmental psychology.

Developmental psychology is involved in keeping track of the changes that an individual goes through, in order to be able to investigate on the relationship between the different circumstances that the individual was facing, and their present condition. The longitudinal research method allows the researchers to encounter the same group for a long time, thus allowing them to carry out their studies and investigation as accurately as possible.

The longitudinal research method is a kind of research whereby, the same group of individuals is studied for a period of time which could range from a few days, to a number of decades.

Scholarly Research Article

Baltes, P. B. (1987). Theoretical propositions of life-span developmental psychology: On the dynamics between growth and decline. Developmental psychology, 23(5), 611.

In this research presented from page 611 to 626 of the book above, the research was conducted into the domain of life-span developmental psychology (Baltes, 1987). In this, a number of other varied studies were conducted, all yielding up to the information required for the final area of study. For instance, there was a research on intellectual development, as being a facet of intellectual functioning and finally, life-span developmental psychology.

The longitudinal research method was used here, alongside other research methods as well. It was important to use this method because, the method provides an opportunity for the researcher to observe the subjects for a long period of time, allowing for the chance to see how the individual is affected by all the circumstances under investigation. Using this method therefore, intellectual development was investigated over time in a number of subjects.

References

Pope, K. S., & Vetter, V. A. (1992). Ethical dilemmas encountered by members of the American Psychological Association: A national survey. American Psychologist, 47(3), 397–411.