001 Lifespan Development - Human Growth and Development

A teenager bemoans, "My life is a roller coaster. I've got all this new stuff to think about and I'm not as good at things I used to do well. I think I'm making progress in one area, but I'm losing ground in another." This statement about alternating between gains and losses reflects which of Baltes' key principles of lifespan development?

Development is multidirectional.

A researcher conducted an in-depth study of a child who was raised in isolation and had no contact with same-age peers until age 10. This researcher detailed the child's development in a number of spheres: physical/motor, language/cognitive, social, and emotional. What kind of research method is this?

Case study.

Teresa believes her cultural practices are the best and right ones, and it is difficult for her to understand the cultural practices of other societies. Tanya expresses an appreciation for cultural differences and a willingness to consider the perspectives of people in other cultures. Teresa's view demonstrates ________, while Tanya's view demonstrates ________.

Ethnocentrism; cultural relativity.

In a study of the effect of playing video games on sleep quality, researchers randomly assigned some participants to play an up-tempo video game for either one or three hours before bed. Other participants had no engagement with electronics the time before bed. Then, the researchers assessed all the participants' sleep quality (e.g., number of awakenings, percentage of time in deep sleep) during an overnight sleep study. In this experiment, the time spent playing video games (e.g., one or three hours) is the ________.

Independent variable.

Millennials, those born between 1982 and 2000, are considered tech-savvy because they grew up with technology and rely on it for daily activities. Millennials are defined by characteristics that were formed while growing up with advancements in technology as part of their world and culture. Which of Baltes' contextual influences does this represent?

Normative history-graded influences.

Researchers build upon each other's work by following up on suggested directions for future research and addressing the limitations of previous studies. For example, a researcher might extend a study that was originally conducted with an urban sample to include people living in suburban and rural areas. Which value of the scientific method does this demonstrate?

The scientific method facilitates the establishment of a literature or knowledge base.

A counselor is conducting an initial evaluation of a client and asks questions to better understand the client's feelings, relationships, identity, and personality. This counselor is exploring the ________ of human development.

Cognitive domain.

Parents track the number of new words their toddler learns each day and are surprised by how many new words their child has learned at the end of one month. By charting their child's language development, these parents are showing an interest in the ________ of human development.

Cognitive domain.

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?

Development can follow a different course for each child.

Parents exclaim, "One day my baby was crawling around on the floor, and the next day my toddler was wobbling around the house on two feet! It all happened so suddenly." Which approach to describing how developmental changes occur does the parents' statement reflect?

Discontinuous development.

Researchers conducted an experiment to study the effects of sleep training on sleep duration and quality. They randomly assigned some participants to a treatment condition where they received eight sessions of sleep enhancement training and some participants to a control condition where they did not receive the training. If the participants who received sleep enhancement training had better sleep duration and quality than the people who did not receive the training, then the researcher can conclude that the training works. What advantage of experimental research does this demonstrate?

Experimental research helps establish cause-and-effect relationships.

As an elementary school student, Hayden's life revolves around learning and testing new academic skills, refining motor skills, and developing social relationships with friends and students outside of the family. Hayden is in the ________ period of human development.

Middle childhood.

A theorist proposes that children learn language by observing and imitating their parents, who in turn reinforce the sounds and words their children produce. In the nature versus nurture debate, where does this theorist's proposal fit?

Nurture.

Parenting advice from researchers has changed over time. Consider changes in recommendations for safe sleeping positions for infants. This demonstrates which value of the scientific method?

The scientific method allows for continuous updating of information to support best practices.

In a study of children, let's suppose that researchers found a positive correlation (r= .63) between creativity and resilience. How is this finding interpreted?

Children who score higher on measures of creativity also score higher on measures of resilience.

Carlton conducts evaluation research on language enrichment programs for preschool children from low-income families. The objective of this research is to ________.

Assess the effectiveness of an academic enrichment program.

To examine the effectiveness of two types of interventions for anxiety, researchers randomly assigned participants to a 12-week course of cognitive-behavioral therapy, a 12-week mindfulness-based stress reduction program, or a waitlist control group. The researchers administered a standardized measure of anxiety to participants before and after the interventions or waitlist period. In this experiment, what is the dependent variable?

Anxiety.

A group of friends gets together and their conversation revolves around love and work: relationships, planning for future marriage and children, finishing formal education and establishing their careers, developing independence, and feeling like an adult. This group of friends is in the ________ period of human development.

Early adulthood.

A couple arrives at a research lab to participate in a research study of psychosocial factors related to relationship satisfaction. After they learn about the study, they are asked to review a(n) ________, which reviews the procedures to be used in the research, any expected risks or benefits, and serves as a contract stating that they agree to participate in the research.

Informed consent statement.

Petersen designed a correlational study to determine if time spent playing video games is related to obesity. What was the objective of this research?

To formally test whether a relationship exists between two or more variables.