Chapter 1 Flashcards
Development
Can be defined as systematic changes and continuities in the individual that occur between conception and death, or from “womb to tomb”
Growth
The physical changes that occur from conception to maturity
Biological aging
Is the deterioration of organisms (including humans) that leads inevitably to death
Depression
Low self esteem in adolescents can lead to depression
Aging
Involves more than biological aging; it refers to a range of physical, cognitive, and psychosocial changes, positive and negative in the mature organism
Emerging adulthood
A transitional period between adolescence and full-fledge adulthood that extends from about the age 18 to age 25( maybe as late as 29)
Age grade
Each socially defined age group in a society.
Rite of passage
Is a ritual that marks a Person’s passage from one status to another, usually in reference to the transition from childhood to adulthood.
Age norms
Expectations are society’s way of telling people how to act their age
Social clock
A persons sense when things should be done and when he or she is ahead of behind the schedule dictated by age norms
Ethnicity
People’s classification or affiliation with a group based on common heritage or traditions
Socioeconomic status (SES)
Standing in society based on such indicators as occupational prestige, education, and income
Adolescence
The transitional period between childhood and adulthood that begins with puberty and involves significant physical, cognitive, and psychosocial changes -recognized as a distinct phase of the life span
Life expectancy
For a newborn in the United States-the average number of years a newborn who is born now is expected to live -is 78 years, compared with 47 years in 1900
Nature-nurture issue
The questioned how biological forces and environmental act and interact to make us what we are
Maturation
The biological unfolding of the individual according to a blueprint contained in the genes
Genes
The hereditary material passed from the parents to child at conception
Environment
All the external physical and social conditions, stimuli, and events that can affect us, from crowded living quarters and polluted air, to social interactions with family members , peers, and teachers, to the neighborhood and broader cultural context it which we develop.
Learning
The process through which experience brings about relatively permanent changes in thoughts, feelings, or behavior.
Evidence-based practice
Grounding what they do in research and ensuring that the curricula and treatments they provide have been demonstrated to be effective
Storm and stress
A tempestuous period of the life span, a time of emotional ups and downs and rapid changes during the time of adolescence
Gerontology
The study of aging and old age
Life-span perspective
Seven key assumptions by Paul bales
- development is a lifelong process
- development is multidirectional
- development involves both gain and loss
- development is characterized by life long plasticity
- development is shaped by its historical-cultural context
- development is multiply influenced
- development must be studied by. Multiple disciplines
Plasticity
Refers to the capacity to change in response to experience, whether positive or negative
Neuroplasticity
The brains remarkable ability to change n response to experience throughout the life span
Scientific method
.involves a process of generating ideas and testing them by making observations
Theory
A set of concepts and propositions intended to describe and explain certain phenomena.
Hypothesis
Educated prediction
Sample
.a group of individuals studied with the intention of generalizing the results to larger population
Random sample
A sample formed by identifying all members of a larger population, and then by random means selecting a portion of the population to study
Naturalistic observation
.involves observing people in their everyday surroundings
Structured observation
They create special stimuli, tasks, or situations designed to elicit the behavior of interest
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
.a brain scanning technique that uses magnetic forces to measure the increase in blood flow to an area of the brain that occurs when that area is activer
Case study
Is an in depth examination of an individual (or a small number of individuals) typically carried out by a compiling and analyzing information from a variety of sources, such as observation, testing, and interviewing the person or people who know her.
Experiment
An investigator manipulates or alters some aspect of the environment to see how this affects the behavior of the sample of individuals studied
Independent variable
Dependent variable
The variable manipulated so that it’s casual effects can be assessed- have different effects on the behavior expected to be affected, the dependent variable
Random assignment
Participants to different experimental conditions example picking out a jar the assignment
Experimental control
All factors other than the independent variable are controlled or held constant so they cannot contribute to differences among the treatment groups
Correlational method
Generally involves determining whether two or more variables are related in a systematic way
Correlation coefficient
An index of the extent to which individuals score on one variable are systematically associated with their scores on another variable
Directionality problem
.the relationship of the cause effect relationship could be the reverse of what the researcher thinks it is
(One important rival interpretation in most correlational studies)
Third variable problem
The association between the two variables of interest may be caused by some third variable
(A second rival interpretation in correlational studies)
Meta-analysis
The results of multiple studies addressing the same question can be synthesized to produce overall conclusion through the research method of Meta analysis
Cross-sectional design
The performance of people of different age groups, or cohorts, are compared.
Cohort
Is a group of individuals born at the same time, either in the same year or within a specified span of years (for example a generation is a cohort)
Age effects
Are the relationship between age (a rough proxy for changes brought about by nature and nurture) and a particular aspect of development
Cohort effects
Are the effects of being born as member of a particular cohort or generation in a particular historical context
Longitudinal design
One cohort of individuals is assessed repeatedly over time
Baby boom generation
The huge cohort born after world war 2 between 1946 and 1964
Millennials
.also called the generation Y or the “boomlet” generation born from 1982 to 2004
Time of measurements effects
.in developmental research are the effects of historical events and tends occurring when the data are collected
(For example effects of an economic recession, a traumatic event like 9/11, advances in healthcare, or invention of personal computers and the internet)
Sequential design
Combines the cross-sectional approach and the longitudinal approach in a single study
Ethnocentrism
The belief that ones own group and it’s culture I are superior
Research ethics
The standards of conduct that investigators are ethically bound to honor to protect their research participants from physical or psychological harm.
Most commonly used techniques to collect data about human development
- verbal report measures
- behavioral observation
- physiological measures
The DeLouche study has three critical features shared by any true experiment
- Random assignment
- manipulation of the independent variable
- experimental control
