Chapter 1: An Introduction to Child Development

Question 1

clinical interview

Answer 1

a procedure in which questions are adjusted in accord with the answers the interviewee provides

Question 2

cognitive development

Answer 2

the development of thinking and reasoning

Question 3

continuous development

Answer 3

the idea that changes with age occur gradually, in small increments, like that of a pine tree growing taller and taller

Question 4

control group

Answer 4

the group of children in an experimental design who are not presented the experience of interest but in other ways are treated similarly

Question 5

correlation

Answer 5

the association between two variables

Question 6

correlational designs

Answer 6

studies intended to indicate how two variables are related to each other

Question 7

counting-on strategy

Answer 7

counting up from the larger addend the number of times indicated by the smaller addend

Question 8

cross-sectional design

Answer 8

a research method in which children of different ages are compared on a given behavior or characteristic over a short period

Question 9

dependent variable

Answer 9

a behavior that is measured to determine whether it is affected by exposure to the independent variable

Question 10

direction-of-causation problem

Answer 10

the concept that a correlation between two variables does not indicate which, if either, variable is the cause of the other

Question 11

discontinuous development

Answer 11

the idea that changes with age include large shifts, like the transition from caterpillar to cocoon to butterfly

Question 12

epigenetics

Answer 12

the study of stable changes in gene expression that are mediated by the environment

Question 13

experimental control

Answer 13

the ability of researchers to determine the specific experiences that children have during the course of an experiment

Question 14

experimental designs

Answer 14

a group of approaches that allow inferences about causes and effects to be drawn

Question 15

experimental group

Answer 15

a group of children in an experimental design who are presented the experience of interest

Question 16

external validity

Answer 16

the degree to which results can be generalized beyond the particulars of the research

Question 17

genome

Answer 17

each person’s complete set of heredity information

Question 18

hypotheses

Answer 18

educated guesses

Question 19

independent variable

Answer 19

the experience that children in the experimental group receive and that the children in the control group do not receive

Question 20

internal validity

Answer 20

the degree to which effects observed within experiments can be attributed to the factor that the researcher is testing

Question 21

interrater reliability

Answer 21

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

Question 22

longitudinal design

Answer 22

a method of study in which the same children are studied twice or more over a substantial length of time

Question 23

methylation

Answer 23

a biochemical process that influences behavior by suppressing gene activity and expression

Question 24

microgenetic design

Answer 24

a method of study in which the same children are studied repeatedly over a short period

Question 25

naturalistic observation

Answer 25

examination of ongoing behavior in an environment not controlled by the researcher

Question 26

nature

Answer 26

our biological endowment; the genes we receive from our parents

Question 27

neurotransmitters

Answer 27

chemicals involved in communication among brain cells

Question 28

nurture

Answer 28

the environments both physical and social, that influence our development

Question 29

random assignment

Answer 29

a procedure in which each child has an equal chance of being assigned to each group within an experiment

Question 30

reliability

Answer 30

the degree to which independent measurements of a given behavior are consistent

Question 31

scientific method

Answer 31

an approach to testing beliefs that involves choosing a question, formulating a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis, and drawing a conclusion

Question 32

sociocultural context

Answer 32

the physical, social, cultural, economic, and historical circumstances that make up any child’s environment

Question 33

socioeconomic status (SES)

Answer 33

a measure of social class based on income and education

Question 34

stage theories

Answer 34

approaches that propose that development involves a series of discontinuous, age-related phases

Question 35

structured interview

Answer 35

a research procedure in which all participants are asked to answer the same questions

Question 36

structured observation

Answer 36

a method that involves presenting an identical situation to each child and recording the child’s behavior

Question 37

test-retest reliability

Answer 37

the degree of similarity of a child’s performance on two or more occasions

Question 38

third-variable problem

Answer 38

the concept that a correlation between two variables may stem from both being influenced by some third variable

Question 39

validity

Answer 39

the degree to which a test measures what it is intended to measure

Question 40

variables

Answer 40

attributes that vary across individuals and situations, such as age, sex, and popularity