Chapter 1, Section 3

Question 1

(The Nature of Development)

What is Development?

Answer 1

Development is the pattern of change that begins at conception and continues through the life span.

Question 2

(The Nature of Development)

Human Development is determined by?

Answer 2

biological, cognitive, and socioemotional processes. They all intertwine with one another.

Question 3

(The Nature of Development)

What are biological processes?

Answer 3

Biological processes involve physical changes in an individual’s body. Genes inherited from parents, the development of the brain, height and weight gains, advances in motor skills, and the hormonal changes of puberty all reflect biological processes.

Question 4

(The Nature of Development)

What are cognitive processes?

Answer 4

Cognitive processes involve changes in an individual’s thinking and intelligence. Memorizing a poem, solving a math problem, and imagining what being a movie star would be like all reflect cognitive processes.

Question 5

(The Nature of Development)

What are socioemotional processes?

Answer 5

Socioemotional processes involve changes in an individual’s emotions, personality, relationships with others, and social contexts. Talking back to parents, aggression toward peers, assertiveness, enjoyment of social events such as an adolescent’s senior prom, and gender-role orientation all reflect the role of socioemotional processes.

Question 6

(The Nature of Development)

What is developmental cognitive neuroscience?

Answer 6

Developmental cognitive neuroscience explores links between development, cognitive processes, and the brain (Diamond, Casey, & Munakata, 2011)

Question 7

(The Nature of Development)

What is developmental social neuroscience?

Answer 7

Developmental social neuroscience examines connections between socioemotional processes, development, and the brain (Bell, Greene, & Wolfe, 2010)

Question 8

(The Nature of Development)

What does childhood include?

Answer 8

Childhood includes the prenatal period, infancy, early childhood, and middle and late childhood.

Question 9

(The Nature of Development)

What is the prenatal period?

Answer 9

The prenatal period is the time from conception to birth—approximately 9 months. It is a time of tremendous growth—from a single cell to an organism complete with a brain and behavioral capabilities.

Question 10

(The Nature of Development)

What is infancy?

Answer 10

Infancy is the developmental period that extends from birth to 18 or 24 months of age. Infancy is a time of extreme dependency on adults. Many psychological activities—for example, language, symbolic thought, sensorimotor coordination,
social learning, and parent-child relationships—begin in this period.

Question 11

(The Nature of Development)

What is Early Childhood?

Answer 11

Early childhood is the developmental period that extends from the end of infancy to about 5 or 6 years of age, sometimes called the preschool years. During this time, young children learn to become more self-sufficient and to care for themselves. They develop school readiness (following instructions, identifying letters) and
spend many hours in play and with peers. First grade typically marks the end of early childhood.

Question 12

(The Nature of Development)

What is Middle and Late Childhood?

Answer 12

Middle and late childhood is the developmental period that extends from the age of about 6 to 10 or 11 years of age. In this period, sometimes called the elementary school years, children master the fundamental skills of reading, writing, and arithmetic, and they are formally exposed to the larger world and its culture. Achievement becomes a central theme of the child’s development, and self-control increases.

Question 13

(The Nature of Development)

What is adolescence?

Answer 13

Adolescence is the period of transition between childhood and adulthood that involves biological,
cognitive, and socioemotional changes. A key task of adolescence is preparation for adulthood. Indeed, the future of any culture hinges on how effective this preparation is.

Although the age range of adolescence can vary with cultural and historical circumstances, in the United States and most other cultures today adolescence begins at approximately 10 to 13 years of age and ends in the late teens. The biological, cognitive, and socioemotional changes of adolescence range from the development
of sexual functions to abstract thinking processes to independence.

Question 14

(The Nature of Development)

What is early adolescence?

Answer 14

Early adolescence corresponds roughly to the middle school or junior high school years and includes most pubertal change.

Question 15

(The Nature of Development)

What is late adolescence?

Answer 15

Late adolescence refers to approximately to the latter half of the second decade of life. Career interests, dating, and identity exploration are often more pronounced in late adolescence than
in early adolescence.

Question 16

(The Nature of Development)

Early adulthood

Answer 16

Usually begins in the late teens or early twenties and lasts through the thirties. It is a time of establishing personal and economic independence, and career development intensifies.

Question 17

(The Nature of Development)

Middle adulthood

Answer 17

Begins at approximately 35 to 45 years of age and ends at some point between approximately 55 and 65 years of age. It is a time of increasing interest in transmitting values to the next generation, increased reflection about the meaning of life, and enhanced concern about one’s body.

Question 18

(The Nature of Development)

Late adulthood

Answer 18

Lasts from approximately 60 to 70 years of age until death. It is a time of adjustment to decreasing strength and health and to retirement and reduced income

Question 19

(The Nature of Development)

Emerging adulthood

Answer 19

The transition from adolescence to adulthood. Approximately 18 to 25 years of age. At this point many individuals are still exploring which career path they want to follow, what they want their identity to be, and which lifestyle they want to adopt.

Question 20

What is resilience?

Answer 20

Resilence refers to adapting positively and achieving successful outcomes in the face of significant risks and adverse circumstances.

Question 21

What is nature-nurture issue?

Answer 21

It is the issue involving the debate about whether development is primarily influenced by an organism’s biological inheritance (nature) or by its environmental experiences (nurture).

Question 22

What is the continuity-discontinuity issue?

Answer 22

Focuses on the extent to which development involves gradual, cumulative change or distinct stages. Developmentalist who emphasize experience have described development as a gradual, continuous process; those who emphasize nature have described development as a series of distinct stages.

Question 23

What is early-later experience issue?

Answer 23

It is issue focusing on the degree to which early experiences (especially early in childhood) or later experiences are the key determinants of development.