quiz1 Flashcards
• What does the field of human development study? Why is the field described as scientific, applied, and interdisciplinary?
~It is seeks to understand how and why people— all kinds of people, everywhere– change or remain the same over time.evoted to understanding constancy and change throughout the lifespan (science).
~ It is described as scientific, applied, and interdisciplinary because it also has been stimulated by social pressures to improve people’s lives (applied). It has also grown through the combined efforts of people from many fields of study (interdisciplinary).
• What is a theory? Why are theories important?
A theory is an orderly, integrated set of statements that describes, explains, and predicts behavior. Theories are important because they provide organizing frameworks for our observations of people, guiding and giving meaning to what we see and if they are verified by research they provide a sound basis for practical action.
Continuous or Discontinuous Development (def. & example of each)
~Continuous= a process of slowly increasing the same types of skills that were there to begin with. An example would be the view that infants and preschoolers responfd to the world in much the same way as adults do. (puppy dog to adult dog) ~Discontinuous= a process in which new ways of understanding and responding to the world emerge at different times. An example would be catepillar to butterfly.
one course or many
Too many variables, people can take different routes. for example one 18 year old may go to college, another one will not.
nature vs nurture
are we the way we are because of genetics or because of our environment? Which plays a more substantial role? example:
• What is plasticity?
every individual and every trait within each individual, can be altered at any point in the life span. People can be molded yet they remain durable.
Explain the lifespan perspective of development.
Development is lifelong. No single age period is supreme in its impact on the life course. Events occuring during any period can have equally powerful effects on future change.
age-graded & example
These are events that are strongly related to age & are therefore fairly predictable in when they occur and how long they last. An example would be getting your drivers license when you are 16.
nonnormative & example
events that are irregular. they happen to just one person or a few people and do not follow a particular timeline. An example would be aliens abducting your next door neighbor.
history-graded & example
explains why people born around the same time-called a cohort-tend to be alike in ways that set them apart from people born at other times. An example would be the great depression. People had to adjust their eating habits due to the lack of resources which in turn still affects them to this day; while in this day in age, our eating habits are much different b/c we have more resources
The microsystem
At the center, all that impacts the individual regularly and directly.
Mesosystem
connection between things in your microsystem: any two given things in the microsystem can impact the individual.
exosystem
people/events/institutions/things that might have an impact on you. They don’t contain the individual but they still have somewhat of an impact. (ex: parent’s workplace can impact the individual)
Macrosystem
Laws and cultural factors, social norms.
Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory
The world impacts the person and the person can impact the world back.
What is the difference between correlational and experimental research designs?
- In correlation design, researchers gather info on individuals w/o alertering their experiences. Then they look at relationships between participants’ charecteristics & their behavior/development.
- Experimental design permits influences about cause & effect b/c researchers use an evenhanded procedure to assign people to two or more treatment conditions.
