Unit 1 Flashcards
Define Developmental Psychology
study of changes in human development across the lifespan (including physical, cognitive, social, intellectual perceptual, personality, and emotional growth)
What are the periods of development?
Prenatal - conception to birth
Infancy - birth to 2 years
Toddler - 2-3 years
Early childhood - 3-5 years
Middle and late childhood - 6-11 years
Adolescence - 12 to 18-21 years
Early adulthood - 20s to 30s
Middle adulthood - 40s to 60s
Late adulthood - 60s to death
Prenatal - examples of growth
develop from single cell to organism with brain and behavior capabilities
Infancy - examples of growth
development in language, symbolic thought, social learning, sensorimotor coordination
Early childhood - examples of growth
emergence of self sufficiency, development of school readiness, more interest in peers
Middle/Late Childhood - examples of growth
mastery of reading, writing, and math, increases in self control
Adolescence - examples of growth
puberty, shift to abstract thinking, development of identity, increased independence
Early adulthood - examples of growth
establish independence, select mate
Middle adulthood - examples of growth and decline
expand responsibility, parenting, reaching satisfaction
decline - decrease in mobility
Late adulthood - examples of growth and decline
Growth - retirement
Decline in mobility and muscles strength, cognitive processes and social functions
Importance of understand development as a lifelong process
life expectancy is increasing, allows us to describe changes over life span and explain course of development, gives us knowledge about what our lives will be like as we age
Life span perspective
development is lifelong, multidimensional, multidirectional, plastic, multidisciplinary, and contextual. involves growth and maintenance and regulation, and is constructed through biological, sociocultural, and individual factors working together.
Lifelong
development continues through adulthood until death
ex: critical thinking and motor skills grow and decline throughout development
multidimensional
changes across biological, cognitive, and social emotional functioning influence development
ex: puberty causes physical/hormonal changes which lead to changes in thoughts and mood swings
multidirectional
some areas of development expand over time while others shrink
ex: capacity for learning a new language peaks at 20 and then declines
plastic
has the capacity for change, if a certain function is lost, it can be “covered” by another function
ex: born right handed, get injured and can learned to be left handed
multidisciplinary
development across the lifespan is studied by researchers in many disciplines
ex: philosophy, teaching, neuroscience, biology, etc
contextual influences
normative age graded influences - changes that are similar for individuals of same age group; puberty, kindergarten
normative history graded influences - changes that are common within a generation from historical events; 9/11, WW2, social media
nonnormative life events - changes that are unusual, with a significant impact on an individuals life; winning the lottery, teen pregnancy
Conflict between growth, maintenance, regulation
mastery of life involves conflict between these 3 goals
ex: grow motor skills as a child, maintain through middle adulthood, do things to cope with loss of functioning in late adulthood
co-construction of biology, culture, and individual
cultural/individual choices influence brain and biology which influence cultural and individual choices
ex: Micheal Phelps is tall and has broad shoulders, making him more likely to be a successful swimmer, more likely to swim, more likely to strengthen those muscles
biological, sociocultural, and individual influences on development
health and well-being, parenting, education, culture, cross cultural studies, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, social policy, family, technology
Example of biological processes
changes in an individual’s physical nature
ex: genes inherited from parents, brain development, height and weight gains, hormonal changes, exercise
example of cognitive processes
changes in the individual’s thought, intelligence, and language
ex: putting together multi-word sentences, being creative/imagination, solving crossword puzzles
examples of socioemotional processes
changes in the individual’s relationships with other people, changes in emotions, and changes in personality
ex: infant smiling at parent, toddler aggression with playmate, joy at prom, affection between elderly couple
Describe how the 3 developmental processes are inter-related (how do changes in one process impact another domain)?
life span development is multidimensional, changes in one domain impact function of others because they all work together to produce who we are
ex: when a baby smiles at caregiver, it must feel the touch and respond to it, understand that it is an intentional act, and understand that smiling reflect positive emotional feelings and connects us
Nature v. Nurture
conflict of who we are being a result of our genetic/biological inheritance or our environmental experiences, likely a result of both
ex: personality and mental/physical activity changes likely genetic; lifestyle, engaging in intellectual activities, and active social life are environmental and influence aging, cognitive functioning, and happiness
Stability v. Change
some traits are more malleable or plastic than others, more influenced by environmental factors; social skills
some traits are less changeable. stable throughout lifetime and more influenced by genetics; temperament
continuity v. discontinuity
continuous developmental tasks have gradual cumulative change over time. changes in amount, frequency or degree (quantity)
discontinuous developmental tasks have distinct stages. changes in kind, type, structure, or organization (quality)
multifinality v. equifinality
multifinality - individuals with very similar experience/risk factor have multiple different outcomes; childhood trauma to ptsd or healthy dev.
equifinality - individuals with very different experiences have the same outcome; different attachment styles all led to healthy adult relationships
Define theory and how it is developed via the scientific method
interrelated, coherent set of ideas that help explain phenomena and facilitate predictions
observe - question - form hypothesis - develop test - gather data - develop theory
Psychoanalytical Approach (describe limitations, benefits, and theorists)
describe development as primarily unconscious and influence by emotions
+developmental framework, focus on role of family, unconscious influence
-limited scientific support, over sexualization, negativity
Frued, Eric Erickson
Cognitive Approach (describe limitations, benefits, and theorists)
describe development as a conscious process driven by changes in thought
+positivity, active construction of understanding
-potential overlap of stages, lack of focus on individual differences
Piaget, Seigler, Vygotsky
Behavioral and Social Cognitive Approach (describe limitations, benefits, and theorists)
describe development as observable behaviors learned via environmental experiences
+research based, account for role of environment
- too little emphasis on cognition, little attention paid to developmental stages/changes
Skinner, Bandura, Watson
Ethological Approach (describe limitations, benefits, and theorists)
describe development as influence by biology, evolution, and sensitive periods
+observational research, focus on biology and evolution
-lack of emphasis on environmental factors, rigid sensitive periods
Francis Lawrence, John Boldy, Mary Ainsworth
Ecological Approach (describe limitations, benefits, and theorists)
describe development as influenced by several different environmental influences
+examines multiple environmental influences, accounts for interaction between influences, goes beyond home environment
-limited biology considerations, little cognitive emphasis
Brenner
5 Developmental Psychology Research Methods
Observational, Survey + Interview, Standardized Tests, Case Study, Physiological Measures (fMRI, EEG; hormone measurement, eye movement)
Define descriptive research design
used to observe and record behavior about something we don’t understand very well
Define correlational research
determine strength of relationship between two things
Define experimental research
determine one or more factors that influence functioning, allow us to determine cause and effect
Define cross sectional research
individuals of different ages compared at the same time, used to study how different cohorts respond to same event
Describe longitudinal approach
same individuals studied over a long period of time, used to study age changes in a single cohort
Define cohort effect
characteristics determined by individual time of birth, era, or generation instead of chronological age
