Lecture 1: Introduction, Methods, Lifespan Development

Question 1

development

Answer 1

a systematic change and continuity of an individual that takes place between conception and death

Question 2

physical development

Answer 2

the growth of the body and its organs, the brain, changes in motor skills, etc

Question 3

cognitive development

Answer 3

changes and continuities in perception, language, learning, memory, problem-solving, and other mental processes

Question 4

psychosocial development

Answer 4

changes in personal and interpersonal aspects of development such as motives, emotions, personality traits, interpersonal skills and relationships and roles in the family and society

Question 5

growth

Answer 5

physical changes that take place from conception to adulthood

Question 6

biological aging

Answer 6

the deterioration of a living being that leads to death

Question 7

developmental psychology

Answer 7

the scientific study of human growth throughout life

Question 8

normative transitions

Answer 8

transitions that almost everyone experiences
- transition to secondary school, retiring

Question 9

non-normative transitions

Answer 9

transitions not experienced by everyone
- divorce, death of a child

Question 10

continuous development

Answer 10

gradual development

Question 11

discontinuous development

Answer 11

development of different abilities at different times

Question 12

periods of life and age ranges

Answer 12

Question 13

social clock

Answer 13

the feeling of whether you are ahead or behind schedule, as set by age norms

Question 14

socio-economic statuses

Answer 14

your place in society based on prestige, education, and income

Question 15

childhood as an age of innocence

Answer 15

not until the 17th century, children were seen as different from adults
- were given adult clothes and treated as adults by law
- today children should be happy rather than economically useful

Question 16

adolescence

Answer 16

not until the late 19th and early 20th century that adolescence was given a name and recognized as a separate phase of life

Question 17

emerging adulthood

Answer 17

a transitional period between adolescence and adulthood, with an age between 18-25/29

Question 18

middle age as an emptying of the nest

Answer 18

originated in the 20th century, when parents had fewer children and lived long enough to see their children grow up

Question 19

old age as retirement

Answer 19

not until the 20th century that old age was seen as a period of retirement

Question 20

nature-nurture debate

Answer 20

is development biologically driven or influenced by the environment

Question 21

nature

Answer 21

the influence of heredity, genes, biological predispositions, evolution, hormones

Question 22

nurture

Answer 22

changes are dependent on the environment, all external physical and social conditions, stimuli, and events that affect humans

Question 23

narrow conception of development

Answer 23

• development takes place in stages, meaning it is sequential
• earlier stages are necessary to go through to reach later stages, development is unidirectional
• development reaches an end state and is irreversible
• development is qualitative and independent of culture
• universal

Question 24

extended conception of development

Answer 24

• development is not necessarily sequential
• end state is not always of higher value
• quantitative changes are possible
• development can be universal, but can also be affected by culture and biology

Question 25

Stanley Hall

Answer 25

considered the father of developmental psychology

Question 26

gerontology

Answer 26

the study of ageing and old age

Question 27

how is development examined

Answer 27

• self reporting or by proxy
• naturalistic behavioral observations
• structured behavioral observations
• standardized tests
• experiments

Question 28

cross-sectional study

Answer 28

different age groups are compared at the same time with respect to the characteristics the researchers are interested in
- shows the differences between cohorts at a given moment

Question 29

sequential design

Answer 29

combines the cross-sectional and longitudinal design
- e.g. cohort of people is tested every seven years and a new cohort is added at each measurement moment

Question 30

age stereotype threat

Answer 30

when using the same study material but give different instructions
- elderly receiving different instructions will perform differently in the study

Question 31

research methods with babies

Answer 31

• sucking preference
• head turn preference
• paired visual preference

Question 32

sucking preference

Answer 32

if the baby sucks, the baby is interested

Question 33

head turn preference

Answer 33

when the baby turns its head, the baby is interested

Question 34

paired visual preference

Answer 34

if the baby looks, the baby is interested

Question 35

the 7 principles of developmental psychology

Answer 35

• lifelong
• multidisciplinary
• multidirectional
• gains and losses
• lifelong plasticity
• embedded in history
• contextualized (multiply influenced)

Question 36

lifelong

Answer 36

study change throughout the life span

Question 37

multidisiplinary

Answer 37

everything from biochemical reactions to historical context influences development

Question 38

multidirectional

Answer 38

different capacities change according to different time patterns, so the development is not a universal process that only goes in one direction

Question 39

gains and losses

Answer 39

development happens through the convergence of growth and loss

Question 40

lifelong plasticity

Answer 40

important aspects can change in response to experience due to neuroplasticity

Question 41

embedded in history

Answer 41

the course of development is shaped by cohort effects such as the Great Depression (living through economic crisis)

Question 42

contextualized (mulitply influenced)

Answer 42

development is seen as the product of both nature and nurture