Chapter 1: Understanding Human Development - Approaches and Theories

Question 1

What are the nine stages in human development?

Answer 1

Prenatal, infancy and toddlerhood, early childhood, middle childhood, adolescence, early adulthood, middle adulthood, late adulthood, death

Question 2

What age is early childhood?

Answer 2

2-6 years

Question 3

What age is middle childhood?

Answer 3

6-11 years

Question 4

What age is adolescence?

Answer 4

11-18 years

Question 5

What age is early adulthood?

Answer 5

18-40 years

Question 6

What age is middle adulthood?

Answer 6

40-65 years

Question 7

What is lifespan development?

Answer 7

How people grow, change, and stay the same throughout life

Question 8

What are the five descriptors of lifespan human development?

Answer 8

Development is multidimensional, multidirectional, plastic, influenced by multiple contexts, and includes culture as a developmental context.

Question 9

What is meant by development is multidimensional?

Answer 9

Physical development, cognitive development (language, math, writing, problem-solving), socioemotional development (empathy, interactions, feelings)

Question 10

What is meant by development is multidirectional?

Answer 10

Life includes gains and losses, growth and decline, and shifting balance throughout lifespan

Question 11

What is meant by development is plastic?

Answer 11

Malleable, changeable, brain and body compensation, resilience

Question 12

What is included in the multiple contexts of development

Answer 12

The where and when of development, age-graded influences (puberty), history-graded influences (war, covid), non-normative influences (death of a primary caregiver)

Question 13

What is included in culture as a developmental context?

Answer 13

Developmental norms vary by cultural context, walking, talking, etc.

Question 14

What is meant by developmental science is multidisciplinary?

Answer 14

Disciplines relevant to human development including neuroscience, psychology, medicine, anthropology, etc.

Question 15

What are the three basic issues in lifespan development?

Answer 15

Continuous vs discontinuous development, whether individuals are active in development, and nature vs. nurture

Question 16

Active vs passive development

Answer 16

In passive development, things happen to you. In active development, individuals contribute to development (ex. babies smiling).

Question 17

Theory

Answer 17

An explanation for something that is well-tested and researched, but not fact and can change with new research

Question 18

Freud’s psychosexual theory

Answer 18

Individuals have unconscious impulses, and these impulses drive our actions. There are landmark events/obsessions called psychosexual stages.

Question 19

Erikson’s psychosocial theory

Answer 19

There are 8 psychosocial stages that is a crisis or conflict the individual must resolve. The first one is trust vs. mistrust in infants.

Question 20

What are the 8 psychosocial stages

Answer 20

• Trust vs mistrust
• Autonomy vs shame and doubt
• Initiative vs guilt
• Industry vs inferiority
• Identity vs role confusion
• Intimacy vs isolation
• Generativity vs stagnation
• Integrity vs despair

Question 21

Four Behaviorist and Social Learning Theories

Answer 21

• Behaviorism
• Classical conditioning
• Operant conditioning
• Social Learning Theory

Question 22

Behaviorism

Answer 22

All behavior is influenced by context/environment, includes only behavior that can be observed. “Learning theory” is a new behavior learned as a function of environment.

Question 23

Classical conditioning

Answer 23

Physiological and emotional responses, associating neutral stimulus with behavior

Question 24

Operant conditioning

Answer 24

Skills and habits, positive and negative reinforcement

Question 25

Social Learning Theory

Answer 25

• People are active in their own development
• Environment influences people through thoughts and feelings
• Punishment and reinforcement not needed
• Observational learning
• Reciprocal determinism

Question 26

Reciprocal determinism

Answer 26

A person has beliefs which influence behavior, which influences the environment, which influences the person

Question 27

Two cognitive theories

Answer 27

Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory and information processing theory

Question 28

Piaget’s cognitive-developmental theory

Answer 28

Thinking influences all behavior, we are active explorers of the world, cognitive schemas, four stages of development

Question 29

Information processing theory

Answer 29

We are all born with the ability to process info, development is continuous, storage and recall of info

Question 30

Three contextual theories

Answer 30

Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological system, dynamic systems theory

Question 31

Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory

Answer 31

Transmission of culture through social interaction, language acquisition

Question 32

Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological system

Answer 32

Microsystem (the individual), the mesosystem (family, school, peers), the exosystem (neighbors, extended family, things you don’t directly interact with), macrosystem (culture, country)

Question 33

Dynamic systems theory

Answer 33

Developmental domains are an integrated system that is constantly changing, three constrains contribute to spontaneous behavior
- Individual constraints
- Environmental constraints
- Task constraints

Question 34

Ethology and evolutionary developmental theory

Answer 34

Ethology is the evolutionary basis of behavior, principles of evolution, interaction of biology and context
(ex. baby imprints on parents to increase survival odds)

Question 35

Methods of data collection

Answer 35

Observational measures (naturalistic), structured, LENA (monitoring child’s behavior), self-report, physiological measures

Question 36

Research Designs

Answer 36

Case study, correlational research, experimental research, developmental research designs

Question 37

Case study

Answer 37

In-depth exam of a single person, lots of info but not generalizable

Question 38

Correlational research

Answer 38

Describes relations between variables, but doesn’t tell you why they’re related (correlation does not mean causation)

Question 39

Experimental research

Answer 39

Control and experiment groups, dependent and independent variables

Question 40

Four types of developmental research designs

Answer 40

Cross-sectional, retrospective, longitudinal, cross-sequential

Question 41

Cross-sectional research design

Answer 41

Compares groups of different ages at a single point

Question 42

Retrospective research design

Answer 42

Memories of experiences

Question 43

Longitudinal research design

Answer 43

Follows the same group over time

Question 44

Sequential research designs

Answer 44

Multiple cohorts across time
- Cross-sectional: different groups at one time
- Cross-sequential: different groups at evaluated at multiple points in time

Question 45

Five research ethical points

Answer 45

• Beneficence and nonmaleficence
• Responsibility
• Integrity
• Justice
• Respect for autonomy

Question 46

Beneficencedo and nonmaleficence

Answer 46

Do good and avoid harm

Question 47

Responsibility

Answer 47

Keep both participants and society in mind

Question 48

Integrity

Answer 48

Scientists must be accurate, honest, and truthful

Question 49

Justice

Answer 49

Benefits and risk must be spread equally across groups

Question 50

Respect for autonomy

Answer 50

Respect participant’s ability to make and implement decisions

Question 51

Ethical issues in lifespan development

Answer 51

Informed consent (child assent and passive consent), confidentiality

Question 52

Intersectionality

Answer 52

Parts of identity that influence how we see and interact with the world, and how the world interacts with us

Question 53

Freud’s stages in order

Answer 53

Oral (0-18 months), anal (18 months-3 years), phallic (3-6 years), latency (6-puberty), genital (adolescence)