Chapter 1: An Introduction to Child Development Flashcards
MIDTERM 1
clinical interview
a procedure in which questions are adjusted in accord with the answers the interviewee provides
cognitive development
the development of thinking and reasoning
continuous development
the idea that changes with age occur gradually, in small increments, like that of a pine tree growing taller and taller
control group
the group of children in an experimental design who are not presented the experience of interest but in other ways are treated similarly
correlation
the association between two variables
correlational designs
studies intended to indicate how two variables are related to each other
counting-on strategy
counting up from the larger addend the number of times indicated by the smaller addend
cross-sectional design
a research method in which children of different ages are compared on a given behavior or characteristic over a short period
dependent variable
a behavior that is measured to determine whether it is affected by exposure to the independent variable
direction-of-causation problem
the concept that a correlation between two variables does not indicate which, if either, variable is the cause of the other
discontinuous development
the idea that changes with age include large shifts, like the transition from caterpillar to cocoon to butterfly
epigenetics
the study of stable changes in gene expression that are mediated by the environment
experimental control
the ability of researchers to determine the specific experiences that children have during the course of an experiment
experimental designs
a group of approaches that allow inferences about causes and effects to be drawn
experimental group
a group of children in an experimental design who are presented the experience of interest
external validity
the degree to which results can be generalized beyond the particulars of the research
genome
each person’s complete set of heredity information
hypotheses
educated guesses
independent variable
the experience that children in the experimental group receive and that the children in the control group do not receive
internal validity
the degree to which effects observed within experiments can be attributed to the factor that the researcher is testing
interrater reliability
the amount of agreement in the observations of different raters who witness the same behavior
longitudinal design
a method of study in which the same children are studied twice or more over a substantial length of time
methylation
a biochemical process that influences behavior by suppressing gene activity and expression
microgenetic design
a method of study in which the same children are studied repeatedly over a short period
naturalistic observation
examination of ongoing behavior in an environment not controlled by the researcher
nature
our biological endowment; the genes we receive from our parents
neurotransmitters
chemicals involved in communication among brain cells
nurture
the environments both physical and social, that influence our development
random assignment
a procedure in which each child has an equal chance of being assigned to each group within an experiment
reliability
the degree to which independent measurements of a given behavior are consistent
scientific method
an approach to testing beliefs that involves choosing a question, formulating a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis, and drawing a conclusion
sociocultural context
the physical, social, cultural, economic, and historical circumstances that make up any child’s environment
socioeconomic status (SES)
a measure of social class based on income and education
stage theories
approaches that propose that development involves a series of discontinuous, age-related phases
structured interview
a research procedure in which all participants are asked to answer the same questions
structured observation
a method that involves presenting an identical situation to each child and recording the child’s behavior
test-retest reliability
the degree of similarity of a child’s performance on two or more occasions
third-variable problem
the concept that a correlation between two variables may stem from both being influenced by some third variable
validity
the degree to which a test measures what it is intended to measure
variables
attributes that vary across individuals and situations, such as age, sex, and popularity
