Chapter 1 -Theory and Research in Human Development Flashcards
Opened the first psychology lab in 1879 in Leipzig, Germany
Wilhelm Wundt
Wrote ‘The principles of psychology’
Williams James
Founder of the Psycho-dynamic approach/ study of unconsciousness
Sigmund Freud
Founder of behaviorism
John Watson
Major pioneer in behaviorism
B. F. Skinner
Cofounders of Humanism
Carl Roger and Abraham Maslow
The view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most psychologist today agree with (1) but not (2)
Behaviorism
Emphasized the growth potential of healthy people.
Humanistic psychology
The interdisciplinary study of the brain activity linked with mental activity (including perception, thinking, memory, and language.)
Cognitive neuroscience
The science of behavior and mental processes.
Psychology
Thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, uncovers hidden values, weighs evidence, and assesses conclusions
Critical thinking
An approach that integrates different but complementary views from biological, psychological, and social-cultural viewpoints.
Biopsychosocial approach
The enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, values, and traditions shared by a group of people and handed down from one generation to the next
Culture
The age-old controversy over the relative influence of genes and experience in the development of psychological traits and behaviors. Today’s psychological science sees traits and behaviors arising from the interaction of nature and nurture
Nature-nurture issue
The principle that, at the same time, our mind processes information on separate conscious and unconscious tracks
Dual processing
The scientific study of human functioning, with the goals of discovering and promoting strengths and virtues that help individuals and communities to thrive.
Positive psychology
The tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that we could have predicted it
Hindsight bias
An explanation using principles that organize observations and predict behaviors or events
Theory
A testable prediction, often implied by a theory
Hypothesis
A carefully worded statement of the exact procedures (operations) used in a research study
Operational definition
Repeating the essence of a research study, usually with different situations, to see whether the basic finding extends to other participants and circumstances.
Replication
A descriptive technique in which one individual or group is studied in depth in the hope of revealing universal principles.
Case study
A descriptive technique of observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to change or control the situation
Naturalistic observation
A descriptive technique for obtaining the self-reporting attitudes or behaviors of a group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of that group
Survey
All those in a group being studied, from which samples may be drawn. (note: except for national studies, this does not refer to a country’s whole population.)
Population
A sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion
Random sample
A measure of the extent to which two events vary together, and thus of how well either one predicts the other
Correlation
A graphed cluster of dots, each of which represents the values of two factors. The slope of the dots suggests the direction of the relationship between the two factors. How much the dots are scattered suggests the strength of the correlation
Scatterplot
A method in which researchers vary one or more independent variables to see its effect(s) on the dependent variable
Experiment
Assigning participants to experimental and control groups by chance
Random assignment
In an experiment, the group exposed to the treatment
Experimental group
In an experiment, the group not exposed to the treatment; the control group serves as a comparison with the experimental group for judging the effect of the treatment
Control group
An inactive substance or condition that is sometimes given to those in a control group in place of the treatment given to the experimental group
Placebo
A procedure in which participants and research staff are blind about who has received the treatment or a placebo
Double-blind procedure
Results caused by expectations alone
Placebo effect
In an experiment, the factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied
Independent variable
In an experiment, a factor other than the independent variable that might produce an effect
Confounding variable
In an experiment, the factor that is measured; the variable that may change when the independent variable is manipulated.
Dependent variable
Giving people enough information about a study to enable them to decide whether they wish to participate
Informed consent
After an experiment ends, explaining to participants the study’s purpose and any deceptions researcher used.
Debriefing
Enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simple rereading, information. also sometimes called the retrieval practice effect or test-enhanced learning.
Testing effect
A study method incorporating five steps: survey, question, read, retrieve, review
SQ3R
Development is (1) lifelong (2) multidimensional and multi directional (3) highly plastic and (4) affected by multiple, interacting forces
Lifespan perspective
A field of study devoted to understanding constancy and change throughout the lifespan
Developmental Science
A fair set of research procedures agreed on by the scientific community, and findings must endure, or be replicated over time
Scientific Verification
A process of gradually augmenting the same types of skills that were there to begin with
Continuous Development
A process in which new ways of understanding and responding to the world emerge at specific times
Discontinuous Development
Unique combinations of personal and environmental circumstances that can result in different paths of change
Contexts
As open to change in response to influential experiences
Plasticity
A perpetually ongoing process, extending from conception to death, that is molded by a complex network of biological, psychological and social influences
Lifespan as a dynamic system
Affected by an intricate blend of biological, psychological and social forces
Multidimensional
A joint expression of growth and decline
Multidirectional
Events that are strongly related to age and therefore fairly predictable in when they occur and how long they last
Age-graded influences
The ability to adapt effectively in the face of threats to development
Resilience
Explains why people born around the same time–called a cohort– tend to be alike in ways that set them apart from people born at other times
History-graded influences
Events are are irregular. They happen to just one person or a few people and do not follow a predictable timetable
Non-normative influences
Measures of behavior are taken on large numbers of individuals, and age-related averages are computed to represent typical development
Normative approach
People move through a series of stages in which they confront conflicts between biological drives and social expectations. How these conflicts are resolved determines the person’s ability to learn, to get along with others and to cope with anxiety
Psychoanalytic perspective
Emphasizes that how parents manage their child’s sexual and aggressive drives in the first few years is crucial for healthy personality development
Psycho-sexual theory
Erikson emphasized that in addition to meditating between ID impulses and superego demands, the ego makes a positive contribution to development, acquiring attitudes and skills that make the individual an active, contributing member of society
Psycho-social theory
The conscious, rational part of the personality which emerges in early infancy to redirect the ID’s impulses into acceptable behaviors
Ego
The largest portion of the mind, the source of basic biological needs and desires
ID
The conscience. This develops as parents insist that children conform to the values of society
Superego
A social learning theory that emphasizes modeling, also known as imitation or observational learning, as a powerful source of development
Albert Bandura
Consists of procedures that combine conditioning and modeling to eliminate undesirable behavior and increase desirable responses
Behavior modification
In this cognitive-developmental theory, children actively construct knowledge as they manipulate and explore their world
Piaget’s cognitive-developmental theory
A perspective where the human mind might also be viewed as a symbol-manipulating system through which information flows
Information processing perspective
A field of study that brings together researchers from psychology, biology, neuroscience and medicine to study the relationship between changes in the brain and the developing person’s cognitive processing and behavior patterns
Developmental cognitive neuroscience
A field of study concerned with the adaptive, or survival, value of behavior and its evolutionary history
Ethology
A time that is optimal for certain capacities to emerge and in which the individual is especially responsive to environmental influences. Development can occur later, but it is harder to induce.
Sensitive period
A branch of study that seeks to understand the adaptive value of species-wide cognitive, emotional, and social competencies as those competencies change with age
Evolutionary developmental psychology
A theory that focuses on how culture is transmitted to the next generation.
Sociocultural theory
A theory that views the person as developing within a complex system of relationships affected by multiple levels of the surrounding environment
Ecological systems theory
A prediction about behavior drawn from a theory
Hypothesis
Researchers use a flexible conversational style to probe for the participant’s point of view
Clinical interview
This includes both tests and questionnaires in which each participant is asked the same set of questions in the same way
Structured interviews
A descriptive, qualitative technique that is directed toward understanding a culture of a distinct social group through participant observation
Ethnography
Researchers gather information on individuals, generally in natural life circumstances, without altering their experiences. Then they look at relationships between participants’ characteristics and their behavior or development
Correlational design
A number that describes how two measures, or variables, are associated with each other
Correlation coefficient
Participants are studied repeatedly, and changes are noted as they get older
Longitudinal design
Groups of people differing in age are studied at the same point in time
Cross-sectional design
Researchers conduct several similar cross-sectional or longitudinal studies
Sequential designs
Committees with the purpose to check and hold researchers to a code of ethical integrity
Institutional review boards (IRBs)
