Psych Lifespan Development

cohort

A group of people who are born at roughly the same period in a particular society.

Normative history-graded influences

Biological and environmental influences that are associated with history. These influences are common to people of a particular generation.

Normative age-graded influences

Biological and environmental influences that are similar for individuals in a particular age group

Baltes lifespan perspective: plastic

Characteristics are malleable or changeable.

Baltes lifespan perspective: multidisciplinary

Consists of psychologists, psychiatrists, internists, pediatricians, nutritionists, social workers, dietician, and nurse specialities

Baltes lifespan perspective: lifelong

Development occurs across one's entire life

Baltes lifespan perspective: multidirectional

Gains and losses throughout life

Hawthorne effect

Individuals tend to change their behavior when they know they are being watched

Nonnormative influences

Influences on lifespan development that are irregular, in that they happen to just one or a few individuals and do not follow a predictable timetable

content analysis

Involves looking at media such as old texts, pictures, commercials, lyrics or other materials to explore patterns or themes in culture

Quantitative Research

Involves numerical data that are quantified using statistics to understand and report what has been studied

Baltes lifespan perspective: multidimensional

Involves the dynamic interaction of factors like physical, emotional, and psychosocial development

Baltes lifespan perspective: contextual

The idea that three systems of biological and environmental influences work together to influence development.

Qualitative Research

Theoretical ideas are "grounded" in the experiences of the participants, who answer open-ended questions

control group

a comparison group that is equivalent to the experimental group, but is not given the independent variable

scatterplot

a plot or mathematical diagram consisting of data points that represent two variables

double-blind

a research design in which neither the participants nor the researchers know whether an individual is assigned to the experimental group or the control group

Jesse recently started elementary school and is forming new relationships with other children and the teacher. Social comparisons with schoolmates begin to influence Jesse's self-esteem. The changes described here best illustrate Jesse's development in the ________ domain of human development. a. psychosocial b. brain c. physical d. cognitive

a. psychosocial

lifespan perspective

an approach to the study of human development that takes into account all phases of life, not just childhood or adulthood

Secondary Content Analysis

archival research, involves analyzing information that has already been collected or examining documents or media to uncover attitudes, practices or preferences

survey

asking a standard set of questions to a group of subjects

Culture

blueprint or guideline shared by a group of people that specifies how to live; passed down from generation to generation; learned from parents and others

selective attrition

certain groups of individuals may tend to drop out more frequently resulting in the remaining participants no longer being representative of the whole population

sequential research design

combines aspects of cross-sectional and longitudinal designs, but also adding new cohorts at different times of measurement; allows for analyses to consider effects of age, cohort, time of measurement, and socio-historical change

operationalized

concepts transformed into variables that can be measured in research

experiments

designed to test hypotheses in a controlled setting in efforts to explain how certain factors or events produce outcomes; the only research method that measures cause and effect relationships between variables

Childcare practices differ across cultures, and different practices have been found to influence when and how children reach certain developmental milestones, such as sitting, crawling, and walking. Which approach to human development is conveyed by this finding? a)Development is essentially the same, or universal, for all children. b)Development can follow a different course for each child. c)Development is a cumulative, smooth process of improvement. d)Development occurs in specific stages, at specific times or ages

different for each child

nurture

environmental, social, and cultural influences on behavior

variables

factors that change in value

discontinuous development

idea that development takes place in unique stages and occurs at specific times or ages

If cross-cultural research reveals that certain aspects of childhood physical development are the same and happen at the same ages in different countries, this would most likely be evidence for: a. the discontinuous process of human development b. many different courses of human development c. the influence of nurture on human development d. the influence of nature on human development

influence of nature

observational study (also called naturalistic observation)

involves watching and recording the actions of participants

Andrea's brain has recently reached its adult size, though it continues to develop; her body's growth has slowed down for now, and her motor skills are more coordinated. She is busy with learning and testing in school; her friendships with other girls are especially important. Considering all of this information, Andrea is probably in this period of human development: a. adolescence b. middle childhood c. early childhood d. early adulthood

middle childhood

correlation coefficient

number from -1 to +1, indicating the strength and direction of the relationship between variables, and usually represented by r

attrition

occurs when participants fail to complete all portions of a study

correlational research

research design with the goal of identifying patterns of relationships, but not cause and effect

evaluation research

research designed to assess the effectiveness of policies or programs

descriptive studies

research focused on describing an occurrence

correlational research

research that formally tests whether a relationship exists between two or more variables, however, correlation does not imply causation

experimental research

research that involves randomly assigning people to different conditions and using hypothesis testing to make inferences about how these conditions affect behavior; the only method that measures cause and effect between variables

explanatory studies

research that tries to answer the question "why"

Research indicates that family education, income, and occupation strongly influence the academic achievement gap across racial/ethnic groups. Which contextual influence on development does this exemplify? a. Culture b. Cohort c. History d. Socioeconomic status

socioeconomic status

independent variable

something that is manipulated or introduced by the researcher to the experimental group; treatment or intervention

hypotheses

specific statements or predictions about the relationship between variables

case study

study of one individual in great detail

longitudinal research

studying a group of people who may be of the same age and background (cohort), and measuring them repeatedly over a long period of time; may confound age and time of measurement effects

experimental group

the group of participants in an experiment who receive the independent variable

continuous development

the idea that development is a progressive and cumulative process, gradually improving on existing skills

nature

the influences of biology and genetics on behavior

dependent variable

the outcome or variable that is supposedly affected by the independent variable

Correlation

the relationship between two or more variables; when two variables are correlated, one variable changes as the other does

research design

the strategy or blueprint for deciding how to collect and analyze information; dictates which methods are used and how

negative correlation

two variables change in different directions, with one becoming larger as the other becomes smaller; a negative correlation is not the same thing as no correlation

positive correlation

two variables change in the same direction, both becoming either larger or smaller

Cross-sectional research

used to examine behavior in participants of different ages who are tested at the same point in time; may confound age and cohort differences

Validity

when something yields accurate results

Reliability

when something yields consistent results