SLO's ch.1 Flashcards
Define the field of lifespan development and
describe what it encompasses
Lifespan development is a scientific approach to questions
about growth, change, and stability in the physical, cognitive,
social, and personality characteristics at all ages from
conception to death.
Describe the areas that lifespan development
specialists cover
Some developmentalists focus on physical development,
examining the ways in which the body’s makeup helps
determine behavior. Other developmental specialists examine
cognitive development, seeking to understand how
growth and change in intellectual capabilities influence
a
person’s behavior. Still other developmental specialists focus
on personality and social development. In addition to
choosing to specialize in a particular topical area, developmentalists
also typically look at a particular
age range.
Describe some of the basic influences on
human development
Each individual is subject to normative history-graded
influences, normative age-graded influences, normative
sociocultural-graded influences, and non-normative life
events. Culture—both broad and narrow—is an important
issue in lifespan development. Many aspects of development
are influenced not only by broad cultural differences
but also by ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic differences
within a particular culture.
Summarize four key issues in the field of
lifespan development
Four key issues in lifespan development are (1) whether
developmental change is continuous or discontinuous; (2)
whether development is largely governed by critical periods
during which certain influences or experiences must
occur for development to be normal; (3) whether to focus
on certain particularly important periods in human development
or on the entire life span; and (4) the nature–nurture
controversy, which focuses on the relative importance
of
genetic versus environmental influences.
Describe how the psychodynamic perspective
explains lifespan development
The psychodynamic perspective is exemplified by the psychoanalytic
theory of Freud and the psychosocial theory of
Erikson. Freud focused attention on the unconscious and
on stages through which children must pass successfully
to avoid harmful fixations. Erikson identified eight distinct
stages of development, each characterized by a conflict, or
crisis, to work out.
Describe how the behavioral perspective
explains lifespan development.
The behavioral perspective typically concerns stimulus–response
learning, exemplified by classical conditioning,
the operant conditioning of Skinner, and Bandura’s social-cognitive
learning theory.
Describe how the cognitive perspective
explains lifespan development.
Within the cognitive perspective, the most notable theorist
is Piaget, who identified developmental stages through
which all children are assumed to pass. Each stage involves
qualitative differences in thinking. In contrast, information
processing approaches attribute cognitive growth to
quantitative changes in mental processes and capacities,
and cognitive neuroscience approaches focus on biological
brain processes.
Describe how the humanistic perspective
explains lifespan development.
The humanistic perspective contends that people have
a natural capacity to make decisions about their lives
and control their behavior. The humanistic perspective
emphasizes
free will and the natural desire of humans to
reach their full potential.
Describe how the contextual perspective
explains lifespan development.
The contextual perspective considers the relationship
between
individuals and their physical, cognitive, personality,
and social worlds. The bioecological approach stresses
the interrelatedness of developmental areas and the importance
of broad cultural factors in human development.
Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory emphasizes the central influence
on cognitive development exerted by social
interactions
between members of a culture.
Describe how the evolutionary perspective
explains lifespan development
The evolutionary perspective attributes behavior to genetic
inheritance from our ancestors, contending that
genes determine not only traits such as skin and eye
color, but certain personality traits and social behaviors as
well.
Discuss the value of applying multiple
perspectives to lifespan development
The various theoretical perspectives provide different ways
of looking at development. An eclectic approach paints a
more complete picture of the ways humans change over the
life span.
Describe the role that theories and hypotheses
play in the study of development
Theories are broad explanations of facts or phenomena
of interest, based on a systematic integration of prior
findings and theories. Hypotheses are theory-based predictions
that can be tested. The process of posing and answering
questions systematically is called the scientific
method.
Describe the two major categories of lifespan
development research
Researchers test hypotheses by correlational research
(to determine whether two factors are associated) and
experimental
research (to discover cause-and-effect
relationships).
Identify different types of correlational
studies and their relationship to cause
and effect.
Correlational studies use naturalistic observation, case
studies, and survey research to investigate whether certain
characteristics of interest are associated with other
characteristics. Some developmental researchers also
make use of psychophysiological methods. Correlational
studies lead to no direct conclusions about cause and effect.
Explain the main features of an experiment
Typically, experimental research studies are conducted
on participants in a treatment group who receive the
experimental
treatment and participants in a control group
who do not. Following the treatment, differences between
the two groups can help the experimenter to determine the
effects of the treatment. The independent variable is the
variable that researchers manipulate in the experiment,
whereas the dependent variable is the variable that researchers
measure in an experiment and expect to change
as a result of the experimental manipulation. Experiments
may be conducted in a laboratory or in a real-world setting.
