Chapter 1 Flashcards
developmental science
a field of study devoted to understanding constancy and change throughout the lifespan
why are theories vital tools?
provide frameworks and, once verified, provides a basis for research
3 basic issues of developmental psych?
1) is development continuous or discontinuous
2) are there mult. courses. of development or just one?
3) roles of nature and nuture in development
contexts
unique combinations of personal and environmental circumstances that result in different paths of change
what 4 assumptions make up the lifespan perspective?
development is: lifelong, multidimensional and multidirectional, highly plastic, affect by multiple, interacting forces
3 types of developments
social/emotional
physical
cognitive
major periods of human development
prenatal: conception to birth
infancy and toddlerhood: birth-2
early childhood: 2-6
middle childhood: 6-11
adolescence: 11-18
early adulthood: 18-40
middle adulthood: 40-65
late adulthood: 65-death
aged-graded influences
events that are strongly related to age and therefor fairly predictable in when they occur/how long they last
history-graded influences
explain why some people are born around the same time and tend to be more similar to people their age than other ages
nonnormative influences
irregular events
enhance the multidirectionality of development
what boosts resilience?
personal characteristics
a warm parental relationship
social support outside immediate family
community resources and opportunities
normative approach (who invented it and what does it entail)
Hall and Gesell
measures of behavior are taken on large numbers of individuals and age-related averages are computed to represent typical development
psychoanalytic perspective
people move through series of stages where they confront conflicts between biological drives and social expectations
Freud’s psychosexual theory
emphasis on how parents manage child’s sexual and aggressive drives in first years of life
three parts of freud’s theory
Id (irrational), ego (rational), superego (societal values)
freud’s psychosexual stages
oral: birth-1
anal: 1-3
phallic: 3-6
latency: 6-11
genital: adolescence
Erikson’s psychosocial theory
in addition to the id, ego, and superego, the ego makes positive contribution to development of a good member of society
who is most famously known for the social learning theory?
Albert Bandura
goal of applied behavioral analysis?
eliminate undesirable behaviors and increase desirable responses
cognitive development theory (who and what)
Piaget
children actively construct knowledge as they manipulate and explore their world
piaget stages
sensorimotor: birth-2
preoperational: 2-7
concrete operational: 7-11
formal operational: 11-death
do people who study information-processing think development is continuous or discontinuous?
continuous
ethology
seeks to understand the adaptive value of behavior and its evolutionary history
emphasis on the relevance of environmental contexts
Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory
how culture is transmitted to the next generation
believed that the more parents and adults help children master activities, the more similar the child will think to them
Bronfenbrenner’s structure of environment for development
microsystem
- individual
mesosystem
- connections/relationships/immediate fam
exosystem
- school/work
macrosystem
- government/values/customs
chronosystem
- time (generational or individual)
types of research methods
clinical interview
structured interviews (i.e. surveys)
naturalistic observation
structured observation
clinical, or case study, method
ethnography (study group or culture)
correlation design and one limitation
gathering information on individuals w/o altering their experiences
limitation: cannot infer cause and effect
correlation coefficient
+1 = strong positive relationship
0 = no relationship
-1 = strong negative relationship
longitudinal vs. cross-sectional vs. sequential designs
long - observed over life (all ppl same age)
cross - different age studied at same time
sequential - several similar long and cross studies @ same time
What is a theory?
- a set of ideas or organizing principles
- relevant assumptions based on beliefs about a phenomenon
- systematically related to each other
- empirical/operational definitions
example of empirical definitions
colic
- 3x3x3 rule!
developmental theories allow us to: (and why?)
describe, explain, predict
b/c it is important to know when development goes off course
domains of dev psych
cognitive, social, physical, and (sometimes) spiritual
do the domains of development interact or are separate?
interact + all affect each other
otitis media (OM)
an infection/improper drainage in the ear
some kids show all symptoms, some show some, and sometimes no symptoms are present,making diagnosis hard
is OM contagious? where is it most prevalent?
not contagious, most present in daycare settings
Feagans, Kipp, and Blood
observed the interaction between domains with OM
results: children w/ chronic OM (physical) in low quality day care settings (social) attended less (cognitive) to the book they were reading
is development qualitative or quantitative?
both! multidirectional
is development continuous or discontinuous?
both! multidimensional
organismic (and example)
- qualitative chance
- active development
- movement towards goal
ex: Freud and Erikson
mechanistic (and example)
- no qualitative change
- passive reaction
- no movement towards a goal
ex: social learning theory
important ethological concepts
imprinting
sensitive/critical periods
bonding
physical features of babyness
rounded head shape
large eyes below middle of the head
protruding forehead
what term describes the reaction triggered by the traits of babies, causing them to be nurtured?
releasing mechanisms
supernormal stimulus
an exaggeration of something to make it more appealing (ex. cartoon dog with large, sad eyes)
increased family meals leads to
reduced sexual risk taking
enhanced language development
