Monthly Archives: February 2012

What is Developmental Psychology?

grandfather and grandson playDevelopmental psychology is the scientific study of the age-related changes that occur over the course of the human lifespan. Although early developmental theorists were mainly concerned with children, the focus of this field has now expanded to include changes over the entire human lifespan from conception to death. Developmental psychologists study various domains of development,  including physical, emotional, cognitive, moral, personality and social change. Although in theory, these domains can be viewed as separate, they all influence and are influenced by each other. Developmental psychologists therefore investigate ways in which these areas of development interact, resulting in more complex patterns of change. For example, physical development during the adolescent years can result in emotional changes (e.g. reduced or heightened self-confidence) which could in turn, affect one’s pattern of social interaction. Continue reading

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Serving Size just as influential on Food Intake as Taste

portion size mattersEating fresh, tasty food can bring a measure of delight and satisfaction to just about anyone’s life. Eating is fun. And given a larger portion of whatever it is that we enjoy eating, we likely expect ourselves to consume more. That’s logical. That’s a no brainer. But how willing would you be to scarf down stale food that is over 2 weeks old? “Not very – that’s disgusting,” you might think. Well, think again. Continue reading

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Does Media Violence affect our Children?

violent video gamesIt is a generally accepted fact that the media influence how persons construct and perceive reality. It is also widely “believed that repeated exposure to real-life and to entertainment violence may alter cognitive, affective, and behavioral processes, possibly leading to desensitization” (Funk, Baldacci, Pasold & Baumgardner, 2003). The term desensitization refers to the weakening of cognitive, emotional, and, ultimately, behavioral responses to a particular stimulus.

Desensitization to violence is slow and subtle, and may occur as a consequence of “repeated exposure to real-life violence, as well as from exposure to media violence” (Funk, et al., 2003). Continue reading

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