1.1 Flashcards
lifespan development
field of study
examines patterns of growth, change, stability in behaviour that happens throughout the lifespan
T/F lifespan development researchers follow scientific methods when testing their ideas, even though lifespan development is not a scientific discipline
false
it is a scientific discipline, so they follow scientific methods
T/F lifespan development only applies to humans
false
although the majority study humans, it can be applied to nonhuman species as well
T/F all developments lists view development as a continuing process throughout the lifespan
true
what are the 4 topical areas in life siam development?
physical development
cognitive development
personality development
social development
physical development
seeing how the body’s makeup (brain, muscles, need for sleep, etc) affects behaviour
cognitive development
seeing how growth and change in intellectual capabilities influences a persons behaviour
learning, memory, problem solving, intelligence
personality development
study of stability n change in the characteristics that differentiate one person from another over the lifespan
social development
the way in which individuals’ interactions w others grow, change, and remain stable over the course of life
what area of lifespan development deals with the following situation:
a researcher is looking at the effects of malnutrition on the pace of growth in children
physical development
what area of lifespan development deals with the following situation:
a researcher looks at how traumatic experiences from early life are remembered later in life
cognitive development
what area of lifespan development deals with the following situation:
a researcher wants to know whether there are stable, enduring personality traits throughout the lifespan
personality development
what area of lifespan development deals with the following situation:
a researcher wants to examine the effects of poverty on development
social development
what are the usual divisions of the lifespan
prenatal (conception-birth) infancy (birth-2) early childhood (2-6) middle childhood (6-12) adolescence (12-20) young adulthood (20-40) middle adulthood (40-65) late adulthood (65-death)
T/F the usual divisions of the lifespan have a basis in biology
false
they are social constructs, and thus arbitrary
T/F ppl mature and reach developmental milestones at diff. points
true
cohort
group of ppl born around the same time in the same place
history graded influences
biological n environmental influences associated w a particular historical moment
age graded influences
biological n environmental influences that r similar for individuals in a particular age group, regardless of when/where they’re raised
sociocultural-graded influences
the social n cultural factors present at a particular time for a particular individual, depends on class, ethnicity, subcultural membership
what types of influences on development are there?
history graded
age graded
sociocultural graded
what type of development influence are cohort effects?
history graded
what type of development influence is puberty
age graded
what type of development influence is poverty
sociocultural graded
continuous change
development is gradual, achievements at one level build on the previous level
is continuous change quantitative or qualitative
quantitative
the underlying processes of development stay the same, they just change in amount
discontinuous change
development occurs in distinct stages
is discontinuous development quantitative or qualitative
qualitative
T/F most developmentakists believe development is continuous
false
they think it doesn’t make sense to take an either/or stance
critical period
time during development when an event will have its greatest consequences
sensitive periods
point in development when organisms r susceptible to certain stimuli in their environment
diff between sensitive n critical periods
in sensitive periods, the absence of a stimulus does not always produce irreversible consequences
early specialists in lifespan development emphasized ________ periods
critical
modern lifespan development specialists spend more time on __________ periods
sensitive
what periods of the lifespan did early developmentalists focus on
infancy and adolescence
nature
traits, abilities, capacities that r inherited from parents. any factor produced by maturation
maturation
the predetermined unfolding of genetic information
nurture
environmental influences that shape behaviour
can be biological or social
what do developmentalists believe about the nature vs. nature debate?
they refuse to believe that behaviour is due to just one.
what should we consider when regarding the nature/nurture debate
the interaction between nature n nurture
the time when children start attending school is an example of what kind of influence?
age graded
what assumptions do lifespan developmentalists make
1) focus on humans
2) stability + growth
3) development persists until death
