Chapter 1

Question 1

Define Environmental Evolutionary Adaptedness (EEA)

Answer 1

original baseline of humans from which future generations have created morphological/psychological adaptations

Question 2

Describe ideas of Plato’s view of development

Answer 2

-nature vs nurture
-children born with innate knowledge
-discipline & self-control important (esp. for boys)

Question 3

Describe ideas of Aristotle’s view of development

Answer 3

-tabulua rasa (blank slate)
-knowledge through experience
-values timing (>7 is out of hand)

Question 4

Describe ideas of Rousseau’s view of development

Answer 4

-value of childhood
-importance of play

Question 5

Describe ideas of John Watson’s view of development

Answer 5

-infants can be trained regardless of tendencies & abilities
-nurture

Question 6

Define nature

Answer 6

biological traits of genetic inheritance (can influence physical makeup, mental health, personality, & preferences)

Question 7

Define nurture

Answer 7

environments that influence development (womb, home, school, etc.

Question 8

continuous development

Answer 8

changes with age occur gradually in small increments (pine tree growing)

Question 9

discontinuous development

Answer 9

changes with age include large occasional shifts (caterpillar to cocoon to butterfly)

Question 10

3 reasons to study child development

Answer 10

raising children, choosing social policies, & understanding human nature

Question 11

Describe ideas of Darwin’s view of development

Answer 11

attachment to mothers, fear of natural dangers, sex differences, learning mechanisms

Question 12

Describe ideas of Kagan’s view of development

Answer 12

-innate moral sense
-5 abilities (infer feelings of others, good vs bad, reflect on past, understand avoidable consequences, understand own & others’ motives

Question 13

Define genome

Answer 13

set of hereditary info- influence behaviors & experiences which also influence the genome

Question 14

define epiginetics

Answer 14

study of changes in gene expression from environmental factors

Question 15

define methylation

Answer 15

biochemical process that influences behavior by suppressing gene activity/expression

Question 16

define stage theory

Answer 16

development involves a series of large, discontinuous, age-related phases

Question 17

4 reasons for individual differences

Answer 17

1. genetic differences
2. treatments by parents/others
3. reactions to similar experiences (interpretations)
4. choices of environments

Question 18

4 steps of scientific method

Answer 18

1. choosing question
2. formulate hypothesis
3. develop testing method
4. use data to draw conclusion

Question 19

define reliability

Answer 19

the degree that independent measurements of a given behavior are consistent

Question 20

define interrater reliability

Answer 20

amount of agreement in observations of different raters who witness the same behavior

Question 21

define test-retest reliability

Answer 21

degree of similarity of a participant’s performance on 2+ occasions

Question 22

define validity

Answer 22

degree that a test measures what it is designed to

Question 23

define internal validity

Answer 23

degree that observed effects can be attributed to the testing research factor

Question 24

define external validity

Answer 24

degree that results can be generalized beyond particulars of research in question

Question 25

define structured interviews

Answer 25

all participants asked to answer same questions

Question 26

define questionnaires

Answer 26

gather info from large number of participants by presenting them uniform set of printed questions

Question 27

clinical interview

Answer 27

procedure where questions are adjusted in accord with the answers the interviewee provides (follow child’s lead)

Question 28

define naturalistic observation

Answer 28

examination of behavior in a non-controlled environment

Question 29

define structured observation

Answer 29

presenting identical situations to each participant & recording behavior

Question 30

benefits / disadvantages of interview/questionnaire

Answer 30

advantages: subjective, inexpensive, flexibility
disadvantages: bias, incomplete/inaccurate memory, prediction can be inaccurate

Question 31

benefits / disadvantages of naturalistic observation

Answer 31

advantages: behavior in everyday settings, illuminate social interaction
disadvantages: difficult to know influential aspects, limited for studying infrequent behaviors

Question 32

benefits / disadvantages of structured observation

Answer 32

advantages: all behaviors observed in same context, controlled comparison
disadvantages: less natural & subjective

Question 33

define correlation

Answer 33

studies to show relation between two variables

Question 34

define correlation

Answer 34

association between two variables

Question 35

define direction of causation problem

Answer 35

a correlation does not indicate which variable is the cause of the other