PSY1004 WEEK 1 LO: define developmental psychology Flashcards
what does developmental psychology attempt to do
describe and explain the changes that occur over time in the thoughts, behaviours, reasoning and functioning of a person due to biological, individual and environmental influences
what did Lerner define paradigms, or world views
philosophical system of ideas that serves to organise a set or family of scientific theories and associated scientific method
define organismic world view
person represented as biological organism, inherently active and continually interacting with environment, shaping own development. interaction between maturation and experience leads to development of new internal psychological structures. new stages not reducible to components of previous stages, but represent stage specific characteristic (Piaget holds organismic world view)
define mechanistic world view
person represented as machine, inherently passive until stimulated by environment. behaviour is reduced to fundamental behavioural units and habits acquired accumulatively throughout aging. behaviours can also decrease through no function or negative consequences
what world view do developmentalists follow
mechanistic world view
what is ontogenetic development
development of individual over lifetime
what is microgenetic development
changes occurring over very brief periods of time
what is phylogenetic development
changes over evolutionary time
name some contributing nature factors in development
genes, maturation
name some contributing nurture factors in development
parents, family, friends, socio-culture, nutrition, physical activity, institutions
define continuity
to what extent is development a series of gradually small continuous changes (gradually adding more of same skill or characteristic)
define discontinuity
to what extent development involves discontinuous stages
