Psy. 412A Ch. 1 Flashcards
Developmental Scientists
Experts who study development—regardless of their disciplinary training. prenatal period
Empirical Evidence
Information obtained through systematic observations and experiments.
Prenatal Period
The period of development from conception to birth.
Infancy
The period of development from birth to age two.
Early childhood
The period of development from about ages 2-6.
Middle Childhood
The period of development from about 6-11.
Adolescence
The period of development from about 11-21.
Physical Development
The domain of development that includes changes in size, shape, outward, appearance, and inner physical functioning; changes in physical capabilities; and changes in structure and function of the brain.
Cognitive Development
The domain of development that involves changes intellectual abilities, including memory, thinking, reasoning, language, problem solving, and decision making.
Socioemotional Development
The domain of development that includes changes in feelings and motivation, temperament and personality, and relationships with other other. Sometimes referred to as psychological development.
Development
Relatively enduring growth and change that makes an individual better adapted to the environment, by enhancing the individual’s ability to engage in, understand, and experience more complex behavior, thinking, and emotions.
Developmental Trajectory
A pathway of developmental change that connects the past, present, and future.
Psychoanalytic Theory
The theory of human behavior and development, first articulated by Sigmund Freud, that focuses on the inner self and how emotions determine the way we interpret our experiences and thus how we act.
Learning Theory
The theory of human behavior, based on principles of classical and/or operant conditioning, as well as observational learning, that stresses the role of external influences on behavior.
Classical Conditioning
A process of associative learning by which a subject comes to respond in a desired manner to a previously neutral stimulus (e.g. The sound of a steel bar being hit with a hammer) that has been repeatedly presented along with an unconditional stimulus (e.g. A white furry object) that elicits the desired response. (E.g. Fear)
Operant Conditioning
A process of learning in which the likelihood of a specific behavior is increased or decreased as a result of reward or punishment that follows.
Behavioral Therapy
An attempt to change behavior through the deliberate use of rewards and punishment.
Social Learning Theory
A theory of human behavior that emphasizes the ways in which individuals learn by observing others and through the application of social rewards (e.g. Praise) and punishment (e.g. Disapproval).
Observational Learning
A process of learning based on the observation of others.
Cognitive-Developmental Perspective
A perspective on human development that emphasizes qualities changes in the ways that individuals think as they mature, mainly associated with the work of Jean Piaget.
Sensorimotor Stage
In Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development from birth to age 2, during which infants learn by relating sensations to motor action.
Prepositional Stage
In Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development from approximately ages 2-7, during which children acquire a mental storehouse of images of symbols, especially spoken and written words.
Concrete Operational Stage
In Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development from approximately ages 7-11, during which children make giant strides in their ability to organize ideas and think logically, but where their logical reasoning is limited to real objects and actual experiences and events.
Formal Operational Stage
In Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development that emerges approximately at age 11, during which individuals develop the ability to apply to logical reasoning to abstract phenomena.
Assimilation
In Piaget’s theory, the child’s attempt to fit new information into his or her existing way of thinking.
Accommodation
In Piaget’s theory, the child’s adaption of an existing way of thinking in respond to new information.
Ecological Perspective
A perspective on human development that emphasizes the contexts, both proximal and distant, in which development occurs.
Sociocultural Perspective
A perspective on human development that stresses the way in which development involves adaption to specific cultural demands.
Behavioral Genetics
The study of the inherited bases of behavior.
Evolutionary Perspective
A perspective on human development that emphasizes the evolved basis of human behavior.
Dynamic Systems Theory
A perspective on human development that views the many facets of development as part of a single, dynamic, constantly changing system.
Scientific Method
A systematic, step-by-step procedure for testing ideas.
Hypothesis
A prediction that can be tested empirically and supported or rejected on the basis of scientific evidence.
Self-Report
A method of data collection in which the researcher asks individuals about themselves, either through questionnaires or interviews.
Standardized Tests
Measures that are generally accepted by other scientists as reliable and valid, often with norms derived from their prior administration to large and representative samples.
Reliability
The extent to which a measure yields assessments that are consistent, or the degree to which an instrument measures something the same way each time it is used under the same condition with the same subjects.
Validity
The extent to which a measure assesses what it is supposed to measure rather than something else; also can be used to refer to the truth or accuracy of a conclusion drawn from a scientific study.
Case Study
An intensive study of one or a small number of individuals or families.
Correlational Study
A study in which the researcher examines two or more variables to see if they are linked in any way.
Positive Correlation
When two variables are correlated such that high levels of one variable are associated with high levels of the other, and low levels of one are associated with low levels of the other.
Negative Correlation
When two variables are correlated such that high levels of one variable are associated with low levels of the other, and low levels of one are associated high levels of the other.
Experiment
A research design in which the researcher controls conditions in the hopes of drawing conclusions about cause and effect.
Random Assignment
In an experiment, the practice of assigning participants to treatment OR control groups on a random basis, to attempt to limit any observed differences between them to the presence or absence of the treatment.
Natural Experiment
A research design that takes advantage of naturally occurring events that affect some individuals but not others, or that makes use of an opportunity to measure development before and after a naturally occurring event has occurred.
Longitudinal Study
A study in which researchers follow the same individuals over time and assess them more than once.
Cross-Sectional Study
A study in which researchers compare individuals of different ages at the same time.
Cohort Effect
The influence of the fact that people of different ages grew up in different eras and had different experiences, which complicates drawing conclusions about age differences found in cross-sectional studies.
Accelerated longitudinal study
A study that is both cross-sectional and longitudinal, in which the researcher follows different age groups over time and assesses them more than once.
