Chapter 1 Key Terms

Question 0

A general term for the traits, capacities, and limitations that each individual inherits genetically from his or her parents at the moment of conception.

Answer 0

Nature

Question 1

The science that seeks to understand how and why people of all ages and circumstances change or remain the same over time.

Answer 1

science of human development

Question 2

A general term for all the environmental influences that affect development after an individual is conceived
- Influence begin with the health and diet of the embryo’s
mother and continuing lifelong

Answer 2

Nurture

Question 3

A time when a particular type of developmental growth (in body or behavior) must happen if it is ever going to happen

Answer 3

Critical period

Question 4

A time when a certain type of development is most likely to happen or happens most easily, although it may still happen later with more difficulty

Answer 4

Sensitive period

Question 5

The mistaken belief that a deviation from some norm is necessarily inferior to behavior or characteristics that meet the standard

Answer 5

difference-equals-deficit error

Question 6

An approach to the study of human development that takes into account all phases of life, not just childhood or adulthood.

Answer 6

Life-span perspective

Question 7

Life-span perspective notes that development throughout life is:

Answer 7

1) Multidirectional
2) Multicultural
3) Multicontextual
4) Multidisciplinary
5) Plastic

Question 8

A group defined by the shared age of its members, who, because they were born at about the same time, move through life together, experiencing the same historical events and cultural shifts.

Answer 8

Cohort

Question 9

A person’s position in society as determined by income, wealth, occupation, education, and place of residence (sometimes called social class).

Answer 9

Socioeconomic Status

Question 10

People whose ancestors were born in the same region and who often share a language, culture, and religion.

Answer 10

Ethnic group

Question 11

Referring to the effects of environmental forces on the expression of an individual’s, or species’, genetic inheritance.

Answer 11

Epigenetic

Question 12

Cells in an observer’s brain that respond to an action performed by someone else in the same way they would if the observer had actually performed that action.

Answer 12

Mirror neurons

Question 13

A group of ideas, assumptions, and generalizations that interpret and illuminate the thousands of observations that have been made about human growth.
- It provides a framework for explaining the patterns and
problems of development

Answer 13

Developmental theory

Question 14

A theory of human development that holds that irrational, unconscious drives and motives, often originating in childhood, underlie human behavior.

Answer 14

Psychoanalytic theory

Question 15

A theory of human development that studies observable behavior
- Also called learning theory because it describes the laws and
processes by which behavior is learned

Answer 15

Behaviorism

Question 16

An extension of behaviorism that emphasizes the influence that other people have over a person’s behavior
- The basic principle is that even without specific reinforcement,
every individual learns many things through observation and
imitation of other people

Answer 16

Social learning theory (modeling)

Question 17

A theory of human development that focuses on changes in how people think over time.
- According to this theory, our thoughts shape our attitudes,
beliefs, and behaviors

Answer 17

Cognitive theory

Question 18

The view that in the study of human development, the person should be considered in all contexts and interactions that constitute a life (later renamed bioecological theory)

Answer 18

Ecological-systems approach

Question 19

A view of human development as an ongoing, ever-changing interaction between the physical and emotional being and between the person and every aspect of his or her environment, including the family and society.

Answer 19

Dynamic-systems theory

Question 20

A research design that compares groups of people who differ in age but are similar in other important characteristics.

Answer 20

Cross-sectional research

Question 21

A research design in which the same individuals are followed over time and their development is repeatedly assessed.

Answer 21

Longitudinal research

Question 22

A hybrid research design in which researchers first study several groups of people of different ages and then follow those groups over the years (also called cohort-sequential research or time-sequential research)

Answer 22

Cross-sequential research

Question 23

A number that indicates the degree of relationship between two variables, expressed in terms of the likelihood that one variable will (or will not) occur when the other variable does (or does not).
- This indicates only that two variables are related, not that one
variable causes the other to occur.

Answer 23

Correlation

Question 24

Research that provides data that can be expressed with numbers, such as ranks or scales.

Answer 24

Quantitative research

Question 25

Research that considers qualities instead of quantities. Descriptions of particular conditions and participants’ expressed ideas are often part of these studies.

Answer 25

Qualitative research