Chapter 1: The Science of Human Development

Question 1

What is developmental psychology?

Answer 1

scientific study of how and why humans grow, change, and adapt across the course of their lives

Question 2

What is meant by Lifespan Perspective?

Answer 2

study of change

Question 3

What areas are included in Biosocial Development?

Answer 3

brain, body, diet, and others that determine change

Question 4

What areas are included in Cognitive Development?

Answer 4

thoughts, language, education

Question 5

What areas are included in Psychosocial Development?

Answer 5

emotions, temperament, social skills

Question 6

Define Human development:

Answer 6

refers to the physical, cognitive, and psychosocial development of humans throughout the lifespan.

Question 7

Compare and contrast quantitative and qualitative changes.

Answer 7

Quantitative: change with numbers
Qualitative: change in structure or organization

Question 8

What are the different levels of analysis we can study development from (hint, the first one is physical)?

Answer 8

biological, cognitive, and sociocultural.

Question 9

What is the difference between descriptive and explanatory research?

Answer 9

Explanatory = explain “why”
Descriptive = describe what behaviors

Question 10

What is the scientific method and what are its steps?

Answer 10

Begin with curiosity; on the basis of theory, prior research, or personal observation, pose a question

Develop a hypothesis; shape the question into a hypothesis, a specific prediction that can be tested

Test the hypothesis.

Draw conclusion

Report results

Question 11

In psychological measurement, what is meant by “population”?

Answer 11

entire group of people whom a scientist wants to learn about

Question 12

In psychological measurement, what is meant by “sample”?

Answer 12

small representation of a “population”

Question 13

Describe the 2 Criteria for Good Research (Reliability, Validity).

Answer 13

Reliability: repeatability of a scale or test

Validity: am I measuring what I think I am measuring?

Question 14

What is an Experiment?

Answer 14

Procedure with manipulation in certain variables while also having controls in others.

Question 15

What is an Independent Variable? Give Examples.

Answer 15

variable that is changed,

ex) the music types for children in womb

Question 16

What is a Dependent Variable? Give Examples.

Answer 16

does not change, what is being measured,

ex) IQ level of children at age 8

Question 17

What is an Experimental Group?

Answer 17

anyone who gets a treatment

Question 18

What is a Control Group?

Answer 18

doesn’t get treatment, placebo group or inert

Question 19

What does “Random Assignment” mean?

Answer 19

involves using chance to make sure that all participants have an equal likelihood of being assigned to a group

Question 20

You should be able to apply the terms to a research design: Independent Variable, Dependent Variable, Experimental Group, Control Group, and Random Assignment.

Question 21

What are some advantages of doing research on animals?

Answer 21

less variables (more control), shorter lifespan

Question 22

What is meant by “experimental methods” and what are some advantages to doing experimental research?

Answer 22

is an investigation in which the independent variable is manipulated (or changed) in order to cause a change in the dependent variable.

prove cause and effect

Question 23

What does Correlational Research measure?

Answer 23

explore relationships between variables.

Question 24

What is a Positive Correlation? Give Examples.

Answer 24

two variable covary in the same direction, one goes up the other goes up

when two variables go in the SAME direction. For example, domestic violence and bowling. When bowling goes up, so does domestic violence. When domestic violence decreases, so does bowling.

Question 25

What is a Negative Correlation? Give examples.

Answer 25

two variables that covary in opposite direction, one goes up the other goes down

Question 26

Numerically, how are strong and weak correlations defined?

Answer 26

perfect is 1

Strong is 0.7 - 0.9

weak is 0.1 - 0.3

Question 27

What are the advantages of correlational research?

Answer 27

Correlational research allows researchers to collect much more data than experiments.

Furthermore, because correlational research usually takes place outside of the lab, the results tend to be more applicable to everyday life.

Question 28

What are the disadvantages of correlational research?

Answer 28

only uncovers a relationship; it cannot provide a conclusive reason for why there’s a relationship

Question 29

What is an Observational study? Give examples.

Answer 29

watching subjects

comparing subjects against a control group, in cases where the researcher has no control over the experiment.

Darwin and Jane Goodall

Question 30

How might we conduct a study using Interviews and Questionnaires?

Answer 30

best way to find information is normally face to face

Question 31

What is meant by a Case Study?

Answer 31

in-depth look at a single individual, stroke victims

Advantage- cheap and easy, allows us to study things that we can’t legally manipulate

Disadvantage- correlation does not equal cause

Question 32

What is meant by Cross-Sectional Design? What are some advantages and disadvantages of this design?

Answer 32

A cross-sectional study is one type of study in which people of different ages are examined at the same time(s). This is usually done with cohorts, so that researchers can examine how people of different ages perform, behave, or respond to a particular function.

For example, a researcher may give one type of test to children in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades, to examine the differences in performance across these age groups.

ex child tv watching pattern from 6 to 8, get a group of 6 years and test and a group of 8 year olds and test them

Advantage- quick, easy, no attrition- moved away , no practice effect- taking something once and then taking it a second time

Disadvantage- selection bias- don’t know if your pool of 6 year olds is the same as your pool of 8 year olds, cohort effect

Question 33

What is meant by Longitudinal Design? What are some advantages and disadvantages of this design?

Answer 33

people are study and restudied over a period of time (as opposed to studied across different experimental conditions as is the case with a repeated measures study).

The longitudinal study design is good for looking at the effects or changes over a long period of time, usually as people age. For example, a psychologist may study the effects of counseling for children of divorce as they age. The children may get counseling for one year and then the researcher measures the children on different things (e.g., coping, stress, anxiety, etc.) once a year for the next 10 years and compare them to children who did not receive the counseling, but were measured in the same way and times. This would allow the researcher to see if the counseling had any effects as the children aged compared to those who did not receive counseling.

group of 6 tested and then same group tested at 8

Advantage- no selection bias, allows us to see developmental change in an individual

Disadvantage- practice effects and attrition, cohort effect- lived through different things

Question 34

What is meant by Sequential Design? What are some advantages and disadvantages of this design?

Answer 34

combination of cross and longitudinal

Ex) 10 infants that were seen at 6 months- 10 months and then 10 infants at 6,7,8,9, and 10 months

Selection bias in CS then they should be better or worse than

If group A equals group B than no practice effect

Question 35

Describe Sampling Bias. Give examples.

Answer 35

errors that can occur in research studies by not properly selecting participants for the study

Question 36

Describe Placebo Effects. Give an example of what we might use this for.

Answer 36

substance that is not known to have any pharmacological effects that is made to look like an active (“real”) drug. Sometimes the act of taking a pill produces an effect if the person believes the pill is active.

Question 37

What are Social Desirability Effects? Give an example.

Answer 37

peoples tendency to give socially desirable answers, doctors ask if we smoke and drink and we lie because we don’t want the doctors how much we smoke or drink

Question 38

What is Experimenter Bias? How might this affect research?

Answer 38

experimenters expectations can affect the results

Question 39

Define Confounding Variable. Give an example.

Answer 39

any variable that affects the results of your experiment that you did not control for

ex) sampling bias and selection bias

Question 40

Describe the ethics guidelines psychologists must follow in their research.

Answer 40

Know everyone has to sign an informed consent form- if a child is of mental ability then they have to sign the form, children and parents must sign

Have to be truthful, not deceiving

Have to protect from harm and discomfort

Confidential

Have to debrief you

Question 41

Compare and contrast the views of John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau on child development.

Answer 41

John Locke- 17th century, children are born tabula rasa, blank slates- they are capable of anything. Deals with experience

Jean-Jacques Rousseau- 18th century children were noble savages with an innate plan for orderly growth , children are inherently good

Question 42

Describe the Organismic vs. Mechanistic child debate. How would Locke and Rousseau argue in this debate?

Answer 42

Organismic- children drive their own development and actively seek out new experiences ex) children wanting to play a new sport- Rousseau

Mechanistic- children are passively shaped by their contexts- Locke

Question 43

Describe the Continuity vs. Discontinuity in the development debate. How would Locke and Rousseau argue in this debate?

Answer 43

Continuity- development is gradual ex) acorn turn to tree- Locke

Discontinues- discontinuous, discrete things occur at different times- great leaps followed

Question 44

Describe the Nature vs. Nurture debate. How would Locke and Rousseau argue in this debate?

Answer 44

Nature- our genes is what drives our development- Rousseau

Nurture- our environment is going to be most important in determining our development- Locke