Chapter 1 : theory and research in human development Flashcards
what are lay theories?
informal theories that consist of ideas that can come from families, culture, or media.
what is an example of a lay theory?
terrible twos, midlife crisis, rebellious teenagers
describe the purpose of a good theory
Describe existing findings (not contradict)
explain existing findings
predict new findings
give insight to practical questions
what are the three big issues in developmental theories>
continuity vs discontinuity
one course vs many
nature vs nurture
Describe continuous vs discontinuous development
is change smooth or jagged?
totally different/big changes, or small incremental changes?
slow period of growth or different stages?
describe one course vs many
is developmental the same regardless of details or does context matter?
general principles of development
Describe Nature vs Nurture
stable (nature) vs change (nurture)
misleading
genetics and environment often intertwined
what is the lifespan view
general approach to development
what are four main assumptions in life span view
Development is life long
development is multidimensional and multidirectional
development is plastic
development is affected by multiple interacting forces
what does is mean when we say development is lifelong?
it does not stop when adulthood begins
what does it mean when we say development is plastic
Development changes according to circumstance and opportunities
what doe it mean when we say development is multidirectional and multidimensional
not just nature or nurture, but both
not just improvement or decline, more complex
physical cognitive and social development
Development is influenced by…
Multiple interacting forces like
age, historical era, personality, culture, family, resources, community
Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model consists of:
microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem, chronosystem
describe Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model in terms of the three big issues in dev. theories
continuous, many paths, nurture
What was Darwin’s contribution to dev. psych?
adaptive, evolutionary aspects of human development
Idea that development parallels the evolution of the species (not true)
What was G. Stanley Halls theory?
child development, norms across ages
Single normative path of development that is genetically determined
inspired by Darwin’s theory
What was Binet’s Contribution to dev. Psych?
intelligence testing, individual differences
what was Freuds theory?
Psychosexual Theory: several stages centered around erogenous zone
Issues that occurred during one of these stages would manifest as psychological symptoms in adulthood
What was Erikson’s Contribution to dev. psych
the theory of psychosocial development describes how a person’s psychological struggles in each stage of life contribute to their personality
what is piagets stages?
his stages of cognitive development are a theory that describes how children’s understanding of the world grows in four distinct stages
What is Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory?
a theory that explains how learning is a social process that occurs through interactions with others
transactional relationship between culture, language, and thought
how do we study development?
Observational methods that are naturalistic or structured
self reports like clinical interview or questionnaires
methods like clinical/case studies, ethnographies
what are the research designs in dev psych?
Correlational
experimental
quasi-experimental
cross-sectional
longitudinal
sequential
