Chapter 1 - Developmental themes and theories Flashcards
Continuity vs Discontinuity
Continuity - gradual, cumulative change
- information processing
- through repetition
Discontinuity - distinct stages
- Piagets theory - must wait for specific time
Development
he pattern of movement or change that begins at conception and continues through the life span.
Resilience
he capacity to overcome adverse experience and involves having access to resources and opportunities that allow the practice of coping skills in the presence of supportive relationships
Nature vs Nurture
Nature - getnetics
- Galton, Darwin
Nurture - environement
- Watson, Skinner - behaviourists principles
Brain plasticity - the ability of neural networks in the brain to change through growth and reorganization. Also known as neural plasticity.
The “active child”
- children themselves influence how they develop
Biological perspective
Changes in an individual’s body.
Genes, brain development, height, weight, motor skills, hormonal changes
Psychodynamic Perspective
- Freud - unconscious
- Erikson - driven by resolving social challenges
** we can’t access the unconscious making it impossible to make a scientific statement
Learning Perspective
- Skinner, Watson
- behavior explained by pairing associations with stim and responses (CC or OP)
Cognitive Perspective
- IP theories
- Intellectual capacities
Contextual Perspective
- Vygotsky through social interactions
- dynamic interaction between child and others
- cannot be studied in isolation without context
Scientific Method
Observation
Hypothesis
Test
Gather data
Conclusion
Observations (naturalistic vs structured)
Naturalistic - in child’s natural environment
Structured - in lab
Pro - get insight on natural behavior
Con - do you act the same in other spaces
Types of Experiments
- assessing relationship between 2 or more variables by manipulating (ID) and measuring (D) another
Measure by - sample a behavior, self-report, physiological measures
Pro - allow researchers to evalutate variables
Con - time consuming
Correlational studies
Evaluate relations between 2 or more variables that exist naturally (no manipulation)
Correlation coefficient - numerical value to represent the direction and strength of relations between variables (r=0 is no correlation, 1 is really good)
CORRELATION DOES NOT EQUAL CAUSATION
Developmental designs
Longitudinal - measure behavior same individual different ages
Pro - variables are unique and consistent
Con - practice effect, selective attrition, cohort effect
Cross - sectional - measure behavior different ages
Pro - efficient time and money
Con - cohort effect, lack of continuity in sample
Longitudinal-sequential - differnt gropus of children tested same way throughout life
- continuity across and less prone to selective attion and cohohrt effects
