Chapter 2: Theory and Research Flashcards
Coherent set of logically related concepts that seeks to organize, explain, and predict data.
theory
Psychologists who
believe in thisdevelopment conceptualize the developing child as a hungry sponge
that soaks up experiences and is shaped by this input over time.
reactive development
Possible explanations for phenomena,
used to predict the outcome of research.
hypotheses
Model that views human development
as a series of predictable responses to
stimuli.
mechanistic model
Psychologists who believe in this development argue that people create experiences for themselves and are motivated to learn about the world around them. Things aren’t just happening to them, they are involved in making their world what it is.
active development
Changes in number or amount, such as
in height, weight, size of vocabulary, or
frequency of communication.
quantitative change
Model that views human development as
internally initiated by an active organism
and as occurring in a sequence of quali-
tatively diff erent stages.
organismic model
Organismic theorists are proponents
of this theories in which development
is seen as occurring in a series of distinct
stages, like stair steps.
stage theories
View of human development as
shaped by unconscious forces that
motivate human behavior.
psychoanalytic perspective
Discontinuous changes in kind, struc-
ture, or organization.
qualitative change
In Freudian theory, an unvarying
sequence of stages of childhood
personality development in which gratification shifts from the mouth to the anus and then to the genitals.
psychosexual development
Under the pleasure
principle —the drive to seek immediate satisfaction of their needs and desires.
id
Represents reason, develops gradually during the fi rst year or so of life and operates under the reality principle.
ego
Includes the conscience and
incorporates socially approved “shoulds” and “should nots” into the child’s value
system.
superego
An arrest in development that can show up in adult personality.
fixation
Boys develop sexual attachment to their mothers, and girls to their fathers, and they have aggressive urges toward the same-sex parent, whom they regard as a rival. Freud called these developments the ______.
Oedipus and Electra complexes.
In Erikson’s eight-stage theory, the socially and culturally influenced process of development of the ego, or self.
psychosocial development
In personality*—a major psychosocial challenge that is particularly important at that time and will remain an issue to some degree throughout the rest of life.
Crisis
View of human development that holds that changes in behavior result from experience or from adaptation to the environment.
learning perspective
Learning theory that emphasizes the predictable role of environment in causing observable behavior.
behaviorism
A mental link is formed between two events.
associative learning,
The process by which a behavior is
strengthened, increasing the likelihood
that the behavior will be repeated.
reinforcement
The process by which a behavior is
weakened, decreasing the likelihood of
repetition.
punishment
Learning based on association of
behavior with its consequences.
operant conditioning
Learning based on associating a
stimulus that does not ordinarily elicit a
response with another stimulus that
does elicit the response.
classical conditioning
This therapy is a form of operant conditioning used to eliminate
undesirable behavior, such as temper tantrums, or to instill desirable behavior, such as putting away toys after play.
Behavior modification
Theory that behaviors are learned by observing and imitating models.
social learning theory
—the person acts on the world as the world acts on the person.
reciprocal determinism
Classic social learning theory maintains that people learn appropriate social behavior chiefly by observing and imitating models—that is, by watching other people. This process is called ______.
observational learning
Bandura’s term for bidirectional forces
that affect development.
reciprocal determinism
Learning through watching the behavior
of others.
observational learning
Sense of one’s capability to master
challenges and achieve goals.
self-efficacy
View that thought processes are central
to development.
cognitive perspective
Piaget’s theory that children’s cognitive
development advances in a series of
four stages involving qualitatively
distinct types of mental operations.
cognitive-stage theory
Piaget’s term for adjustment to new
information about the environment,
achieved through processes of
assimilation and accommodation.
adaptation
Piaget’s term for the creation of
categories or systems of knowledge.
organization
Piaget’s term for organized patterns of
thought and behavior used in particular
situations.
schemes
Piaget’s term for changes in a cognitive
structure to include new information.
accommodation
Piaget’s term for incorporation of new information into an existing cognitive structure.
assimilation
Piaget’s term for the tendency to seek
a stable balance among cognitive
elements; achieved through a balance
between assimilation and
accommodation.
equilibration
Vygotsky’s theory of how contextual factors aff ect children’s development.
sociocultural theory
Vygotsky’s term for the difference between what a child can do alone and what the child can do with help.
zone of proximal development (ZPD)
Temporary support to help a child
master a task
scaffolding
Approach to the study of cognitive development by observing and analyzing the mental processes involved in perceiving and handling information.
information-processing approach
View of human development that sees the individual as inseparable from the social context.
contextual perspective
Bronfenbrenner’s approach to understanding processes and contexts of human development that identifies five levels of environmental influence.
bioecological theory
A ______ is the everyday environment of home, school, work, or neighborhood,
including face-to-face relationships with spouse, children, parents, friends, classmates, teachers, employers, or colleagues.
microsystem
The _____ is the interlocking of various microsystems. It may include linkages
between home and school (such as parent-teacher conferences) or between the family
and the peer group (such as relationships that develop among families of children in a
neighborhood play group).
mesosystem
the _____ consists of interactions between a microsystem and an outside system or institution. Though the effects are indirect, they can still have a profound impact on a child.
exosystem
Adds the dimension of time: change or constancy in the person and the environment. Time marches on, and, as it does, changes occur.
chronosystem
View of human development that focuses on evolutionary and biological bases of behavior.
evolutionary/sociobiological
perspective
Behaviors that developed to solve problems in adapting to an
earlier environment.
Evolved mechanisms
Study of distinctive adaptive behaviors of species of animals that have evolved to increase survival of the species.
ethology
Application of Darwinian principles of natural selection and survival of the fittest to individual behavior.
evolutionary psychology
Research that deals with objectively
measurable data.
quantitative research
System of established principles and processes of scientifi c inquiry, which includes identifying a problem to be studied, formulating a hypothesis to be tested by research, collecting data, analyzing the data, forming tentative conclusions, and disseminating findings.
scientific method
Research that focuses on nonnumerical
data, such as subjective experiences,
feelings, or beliefs.
qualitative research
Group of participants chosen to represent the entire population under study.
sample
Selection of a sample in such a way that each person in a population has an equal and independent chance of being chosen.
random selection
Research method in which all participants are observed under the same
controlled conditions.
laboratory observation
Research method in which behavior is
studied in natural settings without inter-
vention or manipulation.
naturalistic observation
Definition stated solely in terms of the
operations or procedures used to pro-
duce or measure a phenomenon.
operational definition
Research method in which the observer
lives with the people or participates in
the activity being observed.
participant observation
Study of links between neural pro-
cesses and cognitive abilities.
cognitive neuroscience
Study of a single subject, such as an
individual or family.
case study
Rigorously controlled, replicable procedure in which the researcher manipulates variables to assess the effect of one on the other.
experiment
In-depth study of a culture, which uses
a combination of methods including
participant observation.
ethnographic study
Research design intended to discover
whether a statistical relationship
between variables exists.
correlational study
In an experiment, the group receiving
the treatment under study.
experimental group
In an experiment, a group of people,
similar to those in the experimental
group, who do not receive the treat-
ment under study.
control group
In an experiment, the condition overwhich the experimenter has direct control.
independent variable
Assignment of participants in an experi-
ment to groups in such a way that each
person has an equal chance of being
placed in any group.
random assignment
In an experiment, the condition that may
or may not change as a result of
changes in the independent variable.
dependent variable
Study designed to assess age-related
diff erences, in which people of diff erent
ages are assessed on one occasion.
cross-sectional study
Study designed to assess age changes
in a sample over time.
longitudinal study
Study design that combines cross-
sectional and longitudinal techniques.
sequential study
