developmental Flashcards
define developmental psychology
study of change and stability over a lifespan
how we change physically, cognitively, behaviourally, socially over time due to biological, individual and environmental differences
what are the 3 different ways to study development?
quantitative, qualitative, study stability
what the difference between ontogenetic and microgenetic development?
ontogenetic = development of an individual over their lifetime microgenetic = changes that occur over a brief period of time
define cohort
group of people raised in the same environment and share certain demographic characteristics
what are cohort effects?
changes across generations in the characteristic being studied
what is a cross sectional design?
children of different ages are observed at a single point in time
what is a longitudinal design?
more than one observation of the same group of children is made at different points in their development
what is a sequential design?
combination of cross sectional and longitudinal designs that examines development of individuals from different age cohorts
studies behaviour changes with age
list the pros and cons of a cross sectional design
pros = least time consuming, quick estimate of changes with age cons = only describes age differences, can't look at how individual change as performance is averaged over different individuals at each age
list the pros and cons of a longitudinal design
pros = can look at within and between children change with age cons = expensive, high drop out rates, time consuming
list the pros and cons of a micro genetic study
pros = very precise descriptions are taken due to high intensity of measurements cons = intensive to run so small sample size, practice effects
what designs would show continuous growth?
cross sectional and longitudinal data
what design would show discontinuous growth?
microgenetic studies where infants are tested daily/weekly
list the tools used to study development
interviews/questionnaires naturalistic observation structured observation (lab study) psychophysical methods = eyetracking, HR cognitive neuro methods = PET, fMRI, EEG cognitive measures = memory tests, IQ tests
what is a schema?
mental representations/ set of rules that enable children to interact with their world through defining a particular category of behaviour
they change through the joint process of assimilation and accommodation
they develop through experience and become more complex with development