Chapter 1 Flashcards
child
a person undergoing the period of development from infancy through puberty
infancy
a period of very early childhood, characterized by lack of complex speech; the first two years after birth
early childhood
2 to 5 years old
middle childhood
6 to 12 years old
development
processes by which organisms unfold features and traits, grow, and become more complex and specialized in structure and function
growth
processes by which organisms increase in size, weight, strength, and other traits as they develop
child development
field of study that tries to understand the processes the govern the appearance and growth of children’s biological structures, psychological traits, behavior, understanding, and ways of adapting to the demands of life
Why do researchers study child development?
- gain insight into the nature of human nature
- gain insight into the origins of adult behavior
- gain insight into the origins of sex differences and gender roles, and into the effects of culture on development
- gain insight into the origins, prevention, and treatment of developmental problems
- optimize conditions of development
behaviorism
Watson’s view that a science/theory of development must study observable behavior only and investigate relationships
theory
formation of relationships underlying observed events; involved assumptions and logically derived explanations and predictions
psychosexual development
Freud’s view that as children develop, they find sexual gratification through stimulating different parts of their body
stage theory
theory of development characterized by hypothesizing the existence of distinct periods of life and in order
ID
present at birth and is unconscious, represents biological drives and demands instant gratification
ego
conscious sense of self, begins to develop when children learn to obtain gratification for themselves, curbs ID
superego
develops through infancy and early childhood, brings inward the norms and morals
psychosocial development
Erikson emphasized the importance of social relationships and conscious choice throughout 8 stages of development
life crisis
an internal conflict that attends each stage of psychosocial development
identity crisis
an adolescent period of inner conflict during which one examines one’s values and make decisions
classical conditioning
simple form of learning int which one stimulus comes to bring forth the response usually elicited by a second stimulus by being paired repeatedly with the second stimulus
stimulus
change in the environments that leads to a change in behavior
operant conditioning
an organism learns to engage in behavior that is reinforced
reinforcement
process of providing stimuli following a behavior, which has the effect of increasing the frequency of behavior
positive reinforcer
increase the frequency of a behavior (ex: teacher approval of a student studying)
negative reinforcer
increases the frequency of a behavior (ex: teacher disapproval is removed when a student studies)
punishment
unpleasant stimulus that suppresses behavior (ex: student gets a detention for talking in class)
shaping
procedure for teaching complex behavior patterns by reinforcing small steps toward the target behavior
social cognitive theory
emphasizes the role of observation learning in determining behavior
cognitive-developmental theory
Piaget’s stage theory that holds that the child’s abilities to mentally represent the world and solve problems unfold as a result of the interaction of experience and the maturation of neurological structures
scheme
an action pattern or mental structure that is involved in the acquisition and organization of knowledge
adaptation
an interaction between the organism and environment that consists of assimilation and accommodation
assimilation
the incorporation of new events or knowledge into existing schemes
accommodation
modification of existing schemes to permit the incorporation of new event of knowledge
equilibration
creation of a balance between assimilation and accommodation as a way of incorporating new events
ethology
study of behaviors that area specific to a species; how these behaviors evolved, adapt, and develop during critical periods
imprinting
process by which some animals exhibit attachment in response to a releasing stimulus; occurs during critical periods
ecology
branch of biology that deals with the relationships between living organisms and their environment
ecological systems theory
explains child development in terms of the reciprocal influences between children and their environment
microsystem
immediate settings with which the child interacts, such as the home, school, and peers
mesosystem
interlocking settings that influence the child (ex: community and field trips)
exosystem
community institutions and settings that indirectly influence the child (ex: school board)
macrosystem
basic institutions and ideologies that influence a child
chronosystem
environmental changes that occur over time and have an impact on the child
zone of proximal development
range of tasks that a child can carry out with the help of someone who is more skilled
ethnic group
groups of people distinguished by their cultural heritage, race, language, and common history
socioeconomic status
social position as determined mainly by level of income
nature
processes within an organism that guide it to develop according to its genetic code (cognitive-development and biological theories)
nurture
processes external to an organism that nourish it as it develops (learning theories)
empirical
based on observation and experimentation
scientific method
1) form a research question
2) develop a hypothesis
3) test the hypothesis
4) draw conclusions
5) publish findings
genes
the basic building blocks of heredity
hypothesis
specific statement about behavior that is tested by research
naturalistic observation
a method of scientific observation in which children (and others) are observed in their natural environments
case study
a carefully drawn biography of the life of an individual
standardized test
a test of some ability or trait in which an individual’s score is compared to the scores of a group of similar individuals
correlation
a relationship between variables in which one variable increases as a second variable also increases (positive) or decreases (negative)
variables
quantities that can vary from child to child or from occasion to occasion, such as height, weight, intelligence, and attention span
correlation coefficient
a number ranging from +1.00 to -1.00 that expresses the direction (positive or negative) and strength of the relationship between the two variables
positive correlation
a relationship between two variables in which one variable increases as the other variable increases
negative correlation
a relationship between two variables in which one variable decreases as the other variable increases
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
treatment
in an experiment, a condition received by subjects so that its effects may be observed
independent variable
in a scientific study, the condition that is manipulated (changed) so that its effects can be observed
dependent variable
in a scientific study, a measure of an assumed effect of an independent variable
experimental group
a group made up of subjects who receive a treatment in an experiment
control group
a group made up of subjects in an experiment who do not receive the treatment, but for whom all other conditions are comparable to those of subjects in the experimental group
longitudinal research
the study of developmental processes by taking repeated measures of the same group of children at various stages of development
cross-sectional research
the study of developmental processes by taking measures of children of different age groups at the same time
cohort effect
similarities in behavior among a group of peers that stem from the fact that group members are approximately the same age
cross-sequential research
an approach that combines the longitudinal and cross-sectional methods by following individuals of different ages for abbreviated periods of time
time-lag comparison
the study of developmental processes by taking measures of children of the same age group at different times
naturalistic study
when researchers observe children in their natural environment without interfering-such as watching a group of children play on the playground
survey
help researchers learn about behavior and mental processes that can’t be observed in a natural setting or studied experimentally
time-out
a behavior-modification technique in which a child who misbehaves is temporarily removed form positive reinforcement
scaffolding
Vygotsky’s term for temporary cognitive structures ore methods of solving problems that help the child as he or she learns to function independently
