Chapter Introduction
The Science of Human Development
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- Understanding How and Why
- The Scientific Method
- The Nature-Nurture Controversy
- The Life-Span Perspective
- Development Is Multidirectional
- Development Is Multicontextual
- Development Is Multicultural
- OPPOSING PERSPECTIVES: Using the Word Race
- Development Is Multidisciplinary
- Development Is Plastic
- A CASE TO STUDY: David
- Using the Scientific Method
- Observation
- The Experiment
- The Survey
- Studying Development over the Life Span
- Cautions and Challenges from Science
- Correlation and Causation
- Ethics
- What Should We Study?
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WHAT WILL YOU KNOW?
- What are the complexities of studying growth over the life span?
The science of human development seeks to understand how and why people—all kinds of people, everywhere, of every age—change over time. Developmentalists recognize that growth over the life span is multidirectional, multicontextual, multicultural, multidisciplinary, and plastic.
- What research methods do developmentalists use to study change over time?
To study change over time and to capture the dynamics of that change, developmental researchers use one of three basic research designs: cross-sectional, longitudinal, or cross-sequential.
- Why do scientific conclusions need to be interpreted with caution?
Scientific conclusions need to be interpreted with caution to avoid misinterpreting a correlation as causation, depending too heavily on numbers, and ignoring ethical concerns.
At 6:11 a.m. I hold my daughter’s bent right leg in place with all my strength. A nurse holds her left leg while the midwife commands, “Push…push…push.” Finally, a head is visible, small and wet, but perfect. In a moment, body and limbs emerge, all 4,139 grams of Caleb, perfect as well. Every number on the monitor is good, and Caleb breathes and moves as a healthy newborn should. Bethany, smiling, begins to nurse.
This miracle makes celestial music ring in my ears. The ringing grows louder. Suddenly, I am on the floor, looking up at six medical professionals: I have fainted.
“I am fine,” I insist, scrambling back onto the couch where I spent the night. Six people stare at me.
“You need to go to triage,” one says.
“No, I am fine. Sorry I fainted.”
“We must send you to triage, in a wheelchair.”
What can I say to make them ignore me and focus on Caleb?
“You can refuse treatment,” a nurse tells me.
I remember; the law requires patient consent.
I am wheeled down to Admitting; I explain that I was with my laboring daughter all night with no food or sleep. I refuse treatment.
The admitting nurse takes my blood pressure—normal—and checks with her supervisor. She lets me return before the placenta is delivered.
I am thankful, but puzzled. I understand birth, numbers, jargon, monitors, body language, medical competence, hospital cleanliness, hall noises, and more. I do not panic. I told the triage nurse that I had not slept or eaten all night—true, but I had done that before, never fainting. Why this time?
This incident is a fitting introduction for Chapter 1, which begins to explain what we know, what we don’t know, and how we learn about human development. For me and other scientists, and also for you and everyone else, surprises occur as each life is lived. Emotions mix with intellect, family bonds with professional competence, contexts with cultures, personal experiences with academic knowledge, general conclusions with individual oddities.
Many details of Caleb’s arrival were distinct from details of birth in other cultures and eras. Yet other aspects have always been part of the human experience. This chapter, and those that follow, will help you understand the specifics and the universals of human life.
Observation Quiz What is universal and what is culture-specific about Caleb’s birth?
Answer to Observation Quiz: Dozens of answers are correct. From the photo, you can see at least two universals—the family connection between grandmother and grandchild, and the relatively large head of the newborn. You can also see two specifics: the clothes we are both wearing (Caleb’s little blue cap), and the setting—an urban hospital (note objects on the window sill, the view) not a humble home.
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