Chapter 1: The scope and methods of developmental psychology Flashcards
maturation
aspects of development that are largely under genetic control, and hence largely uninfluenced by environmental factors
“folk” theories of development
ideas held about development that are not based on scientific investigation
paradigm
pattern/ sample/ model/ word hypothesis
organismic world view
idea that people are inherently active and continually interacting with the environment, and therefore helping to shape their own development; example: Piaget
mechanistic world view
idea that a person can be represented like a machine, which is inherently passive until stimulated by the environment
behaviourism
theoretical view, associated with J.B. Watson and B.F. Skinner that sees directly observable behaviour as the proper focus of study, and sees the developing child as a passive respondent to conditioning, reinforcement, and punishment
cross-sectional design
study where children of different ages are observed at a single point of time
longitudinal design
study where more than one observation of the same group of children is made at different points in their development
cohort
group of people who were raised in the same environment or who share certain demographic characteristics
microgenetic method
method that examines change as it occurs and involves individual children being tested repeatedly, typically over a short period of times that the density of observations is high compared with the typical longitudinal design
sequential design
combination of longitudinal and cross-sectional designs that examines the development of individuals from different age cohorts
Flynn effect
increase of the average IQ test scores over generations
observational studies
studies in which observation is observed and recorded, and the researcher does not attempt to influence the individual’s natural behaviour in any way
experimental methods
controlling an individual’s environment in systematic ways in an attempt to identify which variables influence the behaviour of interest
psychological tests
instruments for the quantitative assessment of some psychological attributes of a person
correlational studies
studies that examine whether two variables vary systematically in relation to each other
baby biographies
diaries detailing an infant’s development, usually kept by the infant’s parents/ caregivers
time sampling
observational study that records an individual’s behaviour at frequent intervals of time
affect
emotional state/ feelings
event sampling
observational study which records what happens during particular events
clinical method
research method first used by Piaget whereby natural behaviour is observed and then the individual’s environment is changed in order to understand better the behaviour of interest
structured observation
observational study in which the independent variable is systematically controlled and varied, and the investigator observes the child’s behaviour; similar to an experimental design but the degree of control is less precise than in a laboratory setting
personality trait
facet of a person’s character that is relatively stable; e.g. shyness, extraversion, confidence
marker task
method designed to elicit a behaviour with a known neural basis
medial temporal area (MT)
specific area of the visual system; the development of this area and its connections with other parts of the visual system is responsible for the onset of smooth pursuit in humans
EEG (electroencephalogram)
scalp recording done with electrodes that measure electrical activity produced by neurons
ecological validity
results obtained from a study are ecologically valid if they are meaningful in the real world
catharsis hypothesis
argument that watching aggressive tendencies in others will reduce your own feelings of aggression
social policies
actions/rules/laws aimed at solving social problems or attaining social goals, in particular, intended to improve existing conditions
developmental functions
typical trends in development; e.g. getting more intelligent with age
continuous function - increasing ability
behaviour that improves with age; e. g. precision with which infants reach for objects increases
continuous function - decreasing ability
behaviour that gets worse as we age; e.g. young infants can initially distinguish non-native speech sounds very easily, for many sounds they lose this ability after the first year of life
discontinuous (step) function
where development takes place in a series of stages, where each new stage appears to be qualitatively different from the preceding/ following stages
theory of mind
understanding that different people may have different emotions, feelings, thoughts, and beliefs from one’s own
moral judgement stages
Piaget described two stages in the development of moral reasoning: heteronomous and autonomous. Kohlberg described five stages: punishment and obedience orientation, instrumental morality, interpersonal normative morality, social system morality, and human rights and social welfare morality
U-shaped function
behaviour where ability is initially very good, then decreases, and then increases again follows a U-shaped function of development
An inverted U-shaped function follows the opposite trend
