Introduction and RM Flashcards
What is developmental psychology?
The study of change and stability over the lifespan - looks at how we change physically, cognitively, behaviourally and socially due to biological, individual and environmental differences
What are the three types of development?
Ontogenetic, microgenetic, phylogenetic
What is ontogenetic development?
The development of an individual over their lifetime
What is microgenetic development?
Changes that occur over very brief periods of time
What is phylogenetic treatment?
Changes over evolutionary time
What are the three levels of explanation?
The brain, mental processes, individual differences and environment
Describe the brain as a level of explanation
How changes in the brain can cause change in behaviour
Describe mental processes as a level of explanation
Language, memory, attention - how we can observe and measure changes in these processes
Describe individual differences and environment
How this causes development
What are the different domains development can be examined in?
Physical, cognitive and psychosocial
Describe the physical domain of measuring development
How we grow and mature physically
Describe the cognitive domain of examining development
How we learn, memorise, and problem solve
Describe the psychosocial domain of examining development
How our personality and emotions change
What are the different ways of studying development?
Quantitative, qualitative, and stability
What are quantitative changes?
Easily measurable and quantifiable aspects of development
What are qualitative changes?
Changes in functions or processes
What are the factors that affect development?
Nature and nurture
What is continuity?
The extent that development is a series of gradual small continuous changes (e.g adding more of the same skill)
What is discontinuity?
The extent that development involves abrupt transformations (e.g a process in which new ways of thinking emerge at specific times)
What is the order of the scientific method?
Observation, hypothesis, test hypothesis, analyses, report finding and draw conclusions, then either replicate results or test new hypothesis
What are important considerations
1) Are measures reliable and valid
2) When does change actually occur
3) What age group are we testing
4) WEIRD samples
What does WEIRD stand for?
Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich, Democratic
What are methods for understanding change?
Cross - sectional studies, Longitudinal, and microgenetic
What are cross-sectional studies
Children of different ages studied at the same time.