Unit 1 (exam 1) Flashcards
produce changes in an individual’s physical nature. Genes inherited from parents, the development of the brain, height and weight gains, changes in motor skills, nutrition, exercise, the hormonal changes of puberty, and cardiovascular decline are all examples
biological processes
holds that development reflects the influence of several environmental systems. The theory identifies five environmental systems: microsystem(setting in which the individual lives(family, peers, school, neighborhood)), mesosystem(relations between microsystems or connections between contexts. family experiences to school experiences, school to church experiences, family to peer(parents reject child, child has hard time developing positive relations with teachers)), exosystem(consists of links between a social setting in which the individual does not have an active role and the individual’s immediate context(child’s home experience, influenced by mother’s work experience)), macrosystem(involves the culture in which individuals live(culture=behavioral patterns beliefs and products passed down & cross-cultural info about generality of development)), and chronosystem(consists of the patterning of environmental events and transitions over the life course, as well as sociohistorical circumstances(divorce, opportunities for women to have a career have changed since the 1960s.))
Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory
an in-depth look at a single individual. (done when for either practical or ethical reasons, the unique aspects of an individual’s life cannot be duplicated and tested in other individuals.)
case study
refer to changes in an individual’s thinking, intelligence, and language. (Watching a colorful mobile swinging above the crib, putting together a two-word sentence, memorizing a poem, imagining what it would be like to be a movie star, and solving a crossword puzzle all involve)
cognitive processes
are due to a person’s time of birth, era, or generation but not to actual age. (In life-span development research)(important because they can powerfully affect the dependent measures in a study ostensibly concerned with age.)
cohort effects
focuses on the degree to which development involves either gradual, cumulative change or distinct stages. (In terms of cumulative change an oak tree grows from seedling to giant tree. In terms of distinct stages, a child’s first word, seemingly abrupt or discontinuous, is actually result of weeks and months of growth and practice.
continuity-discontinuity issue
a number based on a statistical analysis that is used to describe the degree of association between two variables.
correlation coefficient
the goal is to describe the strength of the relationship between two or more events or characteristics. The more strongly the two events are correlated, the more effectively we can predict one event from the other.
correlational research
a research strategy that simultaneously compares individuals of different ages. Might include three groups of children: 5-year olds, 8 year olds, 25 year olds etc. (compared with respect to dependent variables like IQ, memory, peer relations, etc.)
cross-sectional approach
encompasses the behavior patterns, beliefs, and all other products of a particular group of people that are passed on from generation to generation
culture
aims to observe and record behavior (for example, a researcher might observe the extent to which people are altruistic or aggressive toward each other)
descriptive research
the pattern of movement or change that begins at conception and continues through the human life span
development
does not follow any one theoretical approach but rather presents what are considered the best features of each theory. (In this way, it represents the study o f development as it actually exists-with different theorists making different assumptions, stressing different problems, and using different strategies to discover information.
eclectic theoretical orientation
recently there has been increased interest in the transition between adolescence and adulthood, a transition that has been referred to as__.(occurs approximately from 18 to 25 years of age and is a time of considerable exploration and experimentation, especially in the areas of identity, careers, and lifestyles.
emerging adulthood
eight stages of development unfold as we go through life. At each stage, a unique developmental task confronts individuals with a crisis that must be resolved. (trust versus mistrust, autonomy versus shame and doubt, initiative versus guilt, industry versus inferiority, identity versus identity confusion, intimacy versus isolation, generativity versus stagnation, integrity versus despair)
Erikson’s theory
rooted in cultural heritage, nationality, race, religion, and language. (African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans)
ethnicity
the study of the behavior of animals in their natural habitat.(stresses that behavior is strongly influenced by biology, is tied to evolution, and is characterized by critical or sensitive periods(during which the presence or absence of certain experiences has a long-lasting influence on individuals))
ethology
a carefully regulated procedure in which one or more factors believed to influence the behavior being studied are manipulated while all other factors are held constant.
experiment
the characteristics of people as females and males, is another important aspect of sociocultural contexts.
gender
specific assertions and predictions that can be tested
hypothesis
emphasizes that individuals manipulate information, monitor it, and strategize about it.(Does not describe development stage-like. instead individuals develop a gradually increasing capacity for processing information, which allows them to acquire increasingly complex knowledge and skills)
information processing theory
a controlled setting where many of the complex factors of the “real world” are absent.
laboratory
views development as lifelong, multidimensional, multidirectional, plastic, multidisciplinary, and contextual, and as a process that involves growth, maintenance, and regulation of loss.
life-span perspective
a research strategy in which the same individuals are studied over a period of time, usually several years or more (70 year time span)
longitudinal approach
means observing behavior in real-world settings and making no effort to manipulate or control the situation.
naturalistic observation
concerns the extent to which development is influences by nature and by nurture. Nature refers to an organism’s biological inheritance, nurture to its environmental experiences.
nature-nurture issue
unusual occurrences that have a major impact on the individual’s life. These events do not happen to all people, and when they do occur they can influence people in different ways. (death of parent, teen pregnancy, fire, lottery)
nonnormative life events
common to people of a particular age group. These influences include biological processes such as puberty and menopause, beginning formal education, and retirement.
normative age-graded influences
common to people of a particular generation because of historical circumstances. For example, in their youth AMerican baby boomers shared the experience of the cuban missle crisis, the assassination of J.F.K., and the beatles invasion.
normative history-graded influences
states that children go through four stages of cognitive development as they actively construct their understanding of the world.(two processes underlie this cognitive construction of the world: organization and adaptation. (sensorimotor(symbolic thought), preoperational(words and images), concrete operational(reason logically and classify objects), formal operational(abstract, idealistic and logical))
Piaget’s theory
brain, use one hemisphere to be able to do any type of function. The ability for the brain to change through new experiences. (Create new neurons and networks, adapt and grow over time, influenced by various factors such as genetics, environment, and learning)(the ability to materials or living tissues to change shape or function under stress or stimulation)
plasticity
describe development primarily in terms of unconscious processes that are heavily colored by emotion. (emphasize that behavior is merely surface characteristic and that a true understanding of development requires analyzing the symbolic means of behavior and the deep inner workings of the mind.
psychoanalytic theories
hold that development can be described in terms of behaviors learned through interactions with our surroundings.
social cognitive theory
refers to a person’s position within society based on occupational, educational, and economic characteristics.
socioeconomic status (SES)
involve changes in an individual’s relationships with other people, in emotional regulation, and in personality.(infant smile in response to parent’s touch)
socioemotional processes
involving the degree to which early traits and characteristics persist or change over time.
stability-change issue
has uniform procedures for administration and scoring. (allow performance comparisons)
standardized test
an interrelated, coherent set of ideas that helps to explain phenomena and make predictions
theory
a sociocultural cognitive theory that emphasizes how culture and social interaction guide cognitive development. (learn from knowledgeable others, scaffolding, zone of proximal development)
Vygotsky’s theory
investigators seek to discover whether the behavior and psychological characteristics of adopted children are more like those of their adoptive parents, who have provided a home environment, or more like those of their biological parents, who have contributed heredity.
adoption study
widely used to assess the health of newborns at one and five minutes after birth. (heart rate, respiratory, muscle tone, body color, and reflex. 0-2 scoring. 7-10=good, 5-maybe developmental difficulties, 3& under-emergency
apgar scale
the field that seeks to discover the influence of heredity and environment on individual differences in human traits and development(twin studies and adoptive families
behavior genetics