Chapter 1

Question 1

Why is it important to study life-span development?

Answer 1

• help raise children

- understand your own life

Question 2

How much had life expectancy increased in the 20th century alone?

Answer 2

30 years

Question 3

What are some dimensions of the Life-Span Perspective

Answer 3

• Development is lifelong
• Development is multidimensional
• Development is multidirectional
• Developmental Science is Multidisciplinary
• Development is plastic
• Development is Contextual

Question 4

Context exerts what 3 types of influences on development?

Answer 4

1. Normative age-graded influences (things similar to ppl in particular age groups like menopause and starting school)
2. Normative history-graded influences (things common to ppl in a particular generation like boomers experiencing the assassination of jfk)
3. Non-normative life events (unusual occurrences that have major impact on someones life like winning the lottery or house fire)

Question 5

What 3 main processes govern lifespan development?

Answer 5

• Biological processes
• Cognitive processes
• Socioemotional processes

Question 6

What are the 8 periods of development?

Answer 6

1. the prenatal period
2. infancy
3. early childhood
4. adolescence
5. emerging adulthood
6. early adulthood
7. middle adulthood
8. late adulthood

Question 7

What are some contemporary concerns in Life-Span Development?

Answer 7

• health and wellbeing
• parenting and education
• sociocultural contexts and diversity
• social policy
• technology

Question 8

What are the 4 types of age?

Answer 8

• chronological
• biological
• psychological
• social

Question 9

What are the 3 developmental patterns of aging?

Answer 9

• normal aging (psychological functioning peaks in early middle age, remains stable till late 50s, modest decline in 80s)
• pathological aging (greater than average decline as they age, Alzheimers)
• successful aging (physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development is maintained longer and declines later)

Question 10

What is the stability and change issue?

Answer 10

the degree to which early traits and characteristics persist or change over time

Question 11

What is the continuity and discontinuity issue?

Answer 11

The degree to which development involves either gradual changes or distinct stages

Question 12

What are Piaget’s 4 stages of cognitive development?

Answer 12

1. sensorimotor stage
2. Preoperational stage
3. Concrete operational stage
4. Formal Operational stage

Question 13

During which of Piaget’s stages can children reason logically about concrete events?

Answer 13

Concrete operational stage

Question 14

During which of Piaget’s stages can people think abstractly?

Answer 14

Formal operational stage

Question 15

What are the 3 key factors in development according to Bandura’s social cognitive theory?

Answer 15

Behavior, environment, and person/cognition

Question 16

Describe the ethological theory of development

Answer 16

Behavior and development are strongly influenced by biology and evolution

Question 17

What are critical or sensitive periods?

Answer 17

Time frames where the presence or absence of certain experiences has a long lasting influence on people
(ex. the critical period of language acquisition is between 5 and puberty)

Question 18

What does the ecological theory of development emphasize?

Answer 18

Evironmental factors

Question 19

What are the 5 environmental systems of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory?

Answer 19

1. microsystem
2. mesosystem
3. exosystem
4. macrosystem
5. chronosytem

Question 20

Describe the microsystem

Answer 20

the setting in which the individual lives, includes family, peers, school, and neighborhood

Question 21

Describe the mesosystem

Answer 21

the relations between microsystems; ie. home and school, if a child’s parents communicate with the child’s teachers, this interaction may influence the child’s development

Question 22

Describe the exosystem

Answer 22

Settings that affect the developing individual, despite them not being an active participant in those settings

Question 23

Give an example if the exosystem

Answer 23

A husband and child’s experience at home would be affected by a the wife/mother’s promotion that involves more travel

Question 24

Describe the macrosystem

Answer 24

the culture in which the individuals live (how culture influences development)

Question 25

Describe the chronosystem

Answer 25

the environmental events and transitions that occur over the life course as well as sociohistorical circumstances

Question 26

Give an example of the chronosystem

Answer 26

Moving to a new city (example of transition)

1960s feminist movement (example of sociohistorical)

Question 27

What is scaffolding (Vygotsky ZPD)

Answer 27

The help or guidance from a teacher/adult that allows a learner to work within the ZPD