Chapter 1 Flashcards
maturation
aspects of development that are largely under genetic control, and hence largely uninfluenced by environmental factors
‘folk’ theories of development
ideas held about development that are not based upon scientific investigation
paradigm
literally, a pattern or sample, the term is now frequently applied to a theoretical or philosophical framework in any scientific discipline
organismic world view
the idea that people are inherently active and continually interacting with the environment, and therefore helping to shape their own development. piaget’s theory is an example of this world view
mechanistic world view
the idea that a person can be represented as being like a machine (such as a computer), which is inherently passive until stimulated by the environment
behaviourism
the theoretical view, associated with J.B. Watson and B.F. Skinner, that sees directly observable behaviour as the proper focus of study, and that sees the developing child as a passive respondent to conditioning, reinforcement, and punishment.
cross-sectional design
a study where children of different ages are observed at a single point in time
longitudinal design
a study where more than one observation of the same group of children is made at different points in their development
cohort
a group of people who were raised in the same environment or who share certain demographic characteristics
microgenetic method
a method that examines change as it occurs and involves individual children being tested repeatedly, typically over a short period of time so that the density of observations is high compared with the typical longitudinal study
intelligence quotient (IQ)
an IQ score gives an indication of an individual’s intelligence compared with other individuals of the same chronological age
intelligence test
any test that aims to measure an individual’s intellectual ability
sequential design
a combination of longitudinal and cross-sectional designs that examines the development of individuals from different age cohorts
flynn effect
an increase in the average intelligence quotient (IQ) test scores over generations
observational studies
studies in which behaviour is observed and recorded, and the researcher does not attempt to influence the individual’s natural behaviour in any way
experimental methods
experimental methods control an individual’s environment in systematic ways in an attempt to identify which variables influence the behaviour of interest
psychological tests
instruments for the quantitative assessment of some psychological attribute or attributes of a person
correlational studies
studies that examine whether two variables vary systematically in relation to each other, e.g., as height increases, will weight reliably increase as well?
baby biographies
diaries detailing an infant’s development, usually kept by the infant’s parent or caregiver.
time sampling
an observational study that records an individual’s behaviour at frequent intervals of time
affect
emotional state or feelings, contrast with behaviour (what one does in a situation) and cognition (how one thinks about a situation)
event sampling
an observational study which records what happens during particular events. events include playing, bath time, feeding, and reading
clinical method
research method first used by piaget whereby natural behaviour is observed and then the individual’s environment is changed in order to understand better the behaviour of interest
independent variable
a factor of variable in a study or experiment which can be systematically controlled and varied by the experimenter to see if there are changes in the child’s response. the behaviour that changes is called the dependent variable
dependent variable
the behaviour that is measured or observed in a study. changes in the behaviour are dependent on, that is, caused by, changes to the independent variable
structured observation
an observational study in which the independent variable is systematically controlled and varied, and the investigator then observes the child’s behaviour. similar to an experiment but the degree of control is less precise than in a laboratory setting
personality trait
facet of a person’s character that is relatively stable.
experimental group
the group of individuals who receive a particular treatment or manipulation. in order to measure the effectiveness of the treatment, their results are compared with those from a control group that does not receive the treatment
control group
in order to evaluate the effectiveness of a particular treatment or manipulation, the control group of individuals in an experiment who do not receive the treatment. their behaviour is then compared with that of the experimental group, which does receive the treatment
marker task
a method designed to elicit a behaviour with a known neural basis
medial temporal (MT) area
a specific area of the visual system. the development of this area and its connections with other parts of the visual system is responsible for the onset of smooth pursuit in humans
imaging methods
methods of recording brain activity
electroencephalogram (EEG)
a scalp recording done with electrodes that measure electrical activity produced by neurons
event-related potential (ERP)
scalp recordings in which brain activity is monitored during the presentation of specific perceptual events
positron emission topography (PET)
an imaging method measuring cortical activity. PET works by measuring blood flow to tissues in the body, including tissues in the brain; blood flow is localised to regions of high activity
functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
an imaging method measuring cortical activity, which works by measuring blood flow, and involves no invasive procedures
ecological validity
the results obtained from a study are ecologically valid if they are meaningful in the real world
catharsis hypothesis
the argument that watching aggressive tendencies in others will reduce your own feelings of aggression
social policies
actions, rules, and laws aimed at solving social problems or attaining social goals, in particular intended to improve existing conditions
head start and sure start
a federally supported programme in the United States with five components:(1) preschool enrichment education; (2) health screening and referral services; (3) nutrition education and hot meals; (4) social services; and (5) parent education and involvement. Research has indicated that children’s cognitive and language development is enhanced during the period that they are participating in a Head Start programme. The British equivalent is called Sure Start.
developmental functions
typical trends in development; for example, we typically get more intelligent as we age
continuous function - increasing ability
behaviour that improves with age. for example, during the first year of life the precision with which infants reach for objects increases
continuous function - decreasing ability
behaviour that gets worse as we age. for example, young infants can initially distinguish non-native speech sounds very easily; however, for many sounds they lose this ability after their first year of life
discontinuous (step) function
where development takes place in a series of stages, where each new stage appears to be qualitatively different from the preceding (and following) stages
theory of mind
the understanding that different people may have different emotions, feelings, thoughts, and beliefs from one’s own
moral judgement stages
Piaget described two stages in the development of moral reasoning: heteronomous and autonomous. Kohlberg described five stages: punishment and obedience orientation, instrumental morality, interpersonal normative morality, social system morality, and human rights and social welfare morality.
U-shaped functions
behaviour where ability is initially very good, then decreases, and then increases again follows a U-shaped function of development. An inverted U-shaped function follows the opposite trend, initially poor, then getting better, and then becoming poor again.
