Week 1 Flashcards
What 4 factors change over developmental time?
Knowledge, Motor Abilities, Language, Capacity
What do developmental theories make a distinctive difference between?
- Qualitative vs Quantitative
- Domain general vs Domain specific
- Innate vs Acquired
Give example of qualitative vs quantitative developmental theories
Quan - higher movements, higher knowledge, etc
Qual - older children thinking in fundamental ways
Describe domain general
Some domain general factors that determine your performance in certain domains (e.g. working memory, processing, speed)
Describe domain specific
The abilities that determine certain domains are different (i.e. one child can have one pattern of competence across domains and another child can have a different pattern)
What is the difference between innate and acquired?
Innate - early developing, similar across children, similar across cultures and contexts
Acquired - late developing, significant variation between children, varied between cultures and context
Why study development?
It is a means for insight into the mature form
It is a key to understand children’s capabilities
It is a source of insights for shaping social policy
Who developed the first standardised intelligence test?
Alfred Binet
What was Jean Piagets take on where knowledge comes from?
Children thinking changes qualitatively with age; they are little ‘scientists’ who actively construct their own knowledge and development by coming up with theories and testing
What is the empiricist take on knowledge?
Newborns understand nothing because they were unable to experience the world and learn when in the utero
All knowledge is built up by forming associations between the phenomena we experience
What is the nativist take on knowledge?
Some elements are provided genetically
There are specialised learning mechanisms and processing capacities for particular kinds of info
What are the comparative and evolutionary perspectives?
Organisms encounter similar challenges during development, so a particular trait emerged through the processes of natural selection
Do the ways children perceive visual depth vary cross cultures?
No
Is the cause of language development influenced by cultural variations?
No
Name and describe 2 ways to study developmental change over time
- Longitudinal = same group of people are studied at various points in time
- Cross Sectional = different groups of people are studied at each age of interest
