Lecture 1: Introduction, Methods, Lifespan Development Flashcards
development
a systematic change and continuity of an individual that takes place between conception and death
physical development
the growth of the body and its organs, the brain, changes in motor skills, etc
cognitive development
changes and continuities in perception, language, learning, memory, problem-solving, and other mental processes
psychosocial development
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
growth
physical changes that take place from conception to adulthood
biological aging
the deterioration of a living being that leads to death
developmental psychology
the scientific study of human growth throughout life
normative transitions
transitions that almost everyone experiences
- transition to secondary school, retiring
non-normative transitions
transitions not experienced by everyone
- divorce, death of a child
continuous development
gradual development
discontinuous development
development of different abilities at different times
periods of life and age ranges
social clock
the feeling of whether you are ahead or behind schedule, as set by age norms
socio-economic statuses
your place in society based on prestige, education, and income
childhood as an age of innocence
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
adolescence
not until the late 19th and early 20th century that adolescence was given a name and recognized as a separate phase of life
emerging adulthood
a transitional period between adolescence and adulthood, with an age between 18-25/29
middle age as an emptying of the nest
originated in the 20th century, when parents had fewer children and lived long enough to see their children grow up
old age as retirement
not until the 20th century that old age was seen as a period of retirement
nature-nurture debate
is development biologically driven or influenced by the environment
nature
the influence of heredity, genes, biological predispositions, evolution, hormones
nurture
changes are dependent on the environment, all external physical and social conditions, stimuli, and events that affect humans
narrow conception of development
- 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
extended conception of development
- 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
Stanley Hall
considered the father of developmental psychology
gerontology
the study of ageing and old age
how is development examined
- self reporting or by proxy
- naturalistic behavioral observations
- structured behavioral observations
- standardized tests
- experiments
cross-sectional study
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
sequential design
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
age stereotype threat
when using the same study material but give different instructions
- elderly receiving different instructions will perform differently in the study
research methods with babies
- sucking preference
- head turn preference
- paired visual preference
sucking preference
if the baby sucks, the baby is interested
head turn preference
when the baby turns its head, the baby is interested
paired visual preference
if the baby looks, the baby is interested
the 7 principles of developmental psychology
- lifelong
- multidisciplinary
- multidirectional
- gains and losses
- lifelong plasticity
- embedded in history
- contextualized (multiply influenced)
lifelong
study change throughout the life span
multidisiplinary
everything from biochemical reactions to historical context influences development
multidirectional
different capacities change according to different time patterns, so the development is not a universal process that only goes in one direction
gains and losses
development happens through the convergence of growth and loss
lifelong plasticity
important aspects can change in response to experience due to neuroplasticity
embedded in history
the course of development is shaped by cohort effects such as the Great Depression (living through economic crisis)
contextualized (mulitply influenced)
development is seen as the product of both nature and nurture
