Basic Concepts & Methods Flashcards
Developmental Psychology
the biological, psychological, and socio-cultural study of human change across the lifespan
Behaviorism
Watson’s view that science must study observable behavior only and investigate relationships between stimuli and responses, believed in “nurture” and importance of environments
Maturation
the unfolding of genetically determined traits, structures and functions
Psychosexual Development
the process by which libidinal energy is expressed through different erogenous zones during difficult stages of development
Stage Theory
a theory of development characterized by distinct periods in life
Defense Mechanism
a method to reduce anxiety when the id and superego are too demanding
Oedipal Complex
the rivalry between a boy and his father for his mother’s love
Electra Complex
the rivalry between a girl and her mother for her father’s love
Psychosocial Development
Erikson’s Theory, which emphasizes the importance of social relationships and conscious choice throughout eight stages of development
Life Crisis
an internal conflict that attends each stage of psychosocial development
Identity Crisis
according to Erikson, a period of inner conflict during which individuals examine their values and make decisions about their life roles
Classical Conditioning
a simple form of learning in which stimulus comes to bring forth the response usually brought forth by a second stimulus as a result of being paired repeatedly with the second stimulus
Operant Conditioning
a simple form of learning in which an organism learns engage in behavior that is reinforced
Reinforcement
the process of providing stimuli following responses in an effort to increase the frequency of the responses
Positive Reinforcer
when applied, increases the frequency of a response
Negative Reinforcer
when removed, increases the frequency of a response
Punishment
aversive vents that suppresses or decreases the frequency of the behavior they follow
Extinction
the cessation of a response that is the result of the absence of reinforcement
Social Cognitive Theory
a cognitively oriented learning theory that emphasizes observational learning
Cognitive Development Theory
the stage theory that suggests that children’s abilities to mentally represent the world and solve problems are a result of the interaction of experience and the maturation of neurological structures
Schema
an action pattern or mental structure involved in the acquisition and organization of knowledge
Adaptation
the interaction between the organism and the environment, consisting of assimilation and accommodation
Assimilation
the incorporation of new events or knowledge into existing schemas
Accomodation
the modification of existing schemas to permit the incorporation of new events or knowledge
Equilibration
the creation of an equilibrium, or balance between assimilation and accommodation
Ethology
the study of behavior specific to a species from the evolutionary perspective
Fixed Action Pattern (FAP)
a stereotyped pattern of behavior that is evoked by a “releasing stimulus”, an instinct
Ecology
a branch of biology that studies the relationships between living organisms and their environment
Ecological Systems Theory
the view that explains child development in terms of the reciprocal influences between children and their environmental settings
Microsystem
the immediate settings with which the child interacts, such as the home, the school, and peers
Mesosystem
the interlocking settings that influence the child, such as the interaction of the school and the larger community
Exosystem
community institutions and settings that indirectly influence the child, such as the school board and parent’s workplaces
Macrosystem
the basic insinuations and ideologies that influence the child
Chronosystem
the environmental changes that occur over time and have an effect on the child
Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)
Vygotsky’s term for the range of tasks a child can carry out with the help of someone who is more skilled
Scaffolding
Vygotsky’s term for temporary cognitive structures or methods of solving problems that help children as they learn to function independently
What were perspectives of development in the 4th century?
original sin, children are sinful, lots of discipline to correct
What were perspectives of development in the 17th century?
fewer extended families, nuclear family, blank state, John Locke, experiences mold us
What were perspectives of development in the 18th century?
nurture, care, protect, to preserve goodness, innate goodness, Jean-Jacques Rousseau
What were perspectives of development in the 19th/20th century?
baby biographies
Charles Darwin: to help understand how over species evolved
Stanley Hall: understand what normal development looks like
Arnold Gesell: thought development was maturation, environment has no effect
Jean Piaget: documented everything about his kids
What are some terms of contemporary human development?
lifespan perspective
domains of development
nature vs. nurture
active vs. passive roles
discontinuity and continuity
age-related changes
critical period and sensitive periods
What is the lifespan perspective?
humans can change in response to their environment throughout their whole lifespan
studies change, stability, growth, decline
Baltes: plasticity (capacity for positive change)
life-force
What are the domains of development?
physical: body’s makeup
cognitive: learning, memory, intelligence, problem solving
socio-emotional: interaction with others, what makes you unique
Why study development?
describe
explain and predict (theories, hypothesis)
influence
What are descriptive methods of research?
case studies: document everything about one person
naturalistic observation (observer bias)
surveys
What are correlational methods of research?
-1.00 to +1.00
do not indicate causal relationships
What are experimental methods of research?
random assignment to experimental and control groups
independent and dependent variable
Nature
the processes within an organism that guide it to develop according to its genetic code
Nurture
environmental factors that influence development
Empirical
based on observation and experimentation
Case Study
a carefully written account of the behavior of an individual
Correlation Coefficient
a number ranging from -1.00 and +1.00 that expresses the direction and strength of the relationship between two variables
Positive Correlation
a relationship between two variables in which one variable increases as the other increases
Negative Correlation
a relationship between two variables in which one variable increases as the other decreases
Experiment
a method of scientific investigation that seeks to discover cause-and-effect relationships by introducing independent variables and observing their effects on dependent variables
Independent Variable
a condition in a scientific study that is manipulated so that it’s effects can be observed
Dependent Variable
a measure of an assumed effect of an independent variable
Longitudinal Research
the study of development processes by takin repeated measures of the same group of participants at various stages of development
Cross-Sectional Research
the study of developmental processes by taking measures of participants of different age groups at the same time
Cohort Effect
similarities in behavior among a group of peers as a result of being approximately the same age
What are cross-sectional designs?
does not tell consistency of individual changes
cohort effects: cultural and historical differences between generations
groups of different ages compared to each other
doesn’t tell us why differences occur
What are longitudinal designs?
follow same person over several years
cannot generalize results to population at end of study
time consuming
attrition bias: leave, they cannot guarantee they left randomly
practice effects: might increase because you practice and get good at the test
What are sequential designs?
the best of two worlds
compare groups of people of different cohorts a similar ages to control for confounds
What are cross-cultural designs?
universal changes: at what age babies walk and talk
cultural differences: in Western cultures first words are nouns (ball, mom) in Eastern cultures they are more social words (hi, goodbye)
What are the principles of research ethics?
respect for individual: protection from harm, informed consent, knowledge of results
respect for care: risk/benefits analysis
integrity in relationship: confidentiality, lack of bias, deception
responsibility to society: beneficial research
What is Freud’s Psychosexual Theory?
unconscious (inner) force determines personality and behavior
id, ego, and superego
discontinuous psychosexual stages of development
fixation on a stage: unmet needs, didn’t get what you want or got too much
never studied children, only adults, majority male
What are the psychosexual stages of development?
Oral: babies suck on things
Anal: toilet training
Phallic: starting to have sexual desires (love your mom)
Latency: repress everything into unconscious
Genital: express feelings (not to parents) to someone else
What are the stages of Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory?
- Infancy: trust vs. mistrust (feeding)
- Early Childhood: autonomy vs. shame and doubt (toilet training)
- Preschool: initiative vs. guilt (exploration)
- School Age: industry vs. inferiority (school)
- Adolescence: identity vs. role confusion (social relationships)
- Young Adulthood: intimacy vs. isolation (relationships)
- Middle Adulthood: generativity vs. stagnation (work and parenthood)
- Maturity: ego integrity vs. despair (life review)
What is the humanistic perspective?
Maslow: deficiency motives are to maintain physical or emotion balance, being motives are to achieve self-actualization
Rodgers: personal growth, actualizing tendency, ideal self and perceived self need to overlap, more overlap means less anxiety
What are the theories of the learning perspective?
Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning
Skinner’s Operant Conditioning
Bandura’s Social-Cognitive Theory
Piaget’s Constructivist Theory
Information Processing
What is Skinner’s Operant Conditioning Theory?
reinforcement: increases the behavior
punishment: decreases the behavior
What is Bandura’s Social-Cognitive Theory?
observational learning (modelling): see other people get punished/reinforced
reciprocal determinism: cognition (interest in soccer) –> environment (joins soccer team) –> behavioral (spends time with soccer team)
self-efficiency
What is Piaget’s Constructivist Theory?
schemes
equilibrium: assimilation plus accommodation
4 main stages (fixed sequence): sensorimotor, pre-operational, concrete operational, formal operational
What is information processing?
computer metaphor
memory processes: encoding, storage, retrival
