Development through the lifespan chapter 1

theory

is an orderly, integrated set of statements that describes, explains, and predicts behavior

Cross-sectional design

groups of people differing in age are studied at the same time

Cohort effects

individuals born in a certain time period are influenced by a particular set of historical and cultural conditions

Sensitive Period

is a time that is optimal for certain capacities to emerge in which the individual is especially responsive to environmental influences. Development can occur late but is much harder to induce.

ethnography

like clinical method, instead it aims to gain information on culture or distinct social group through participant observation

naturalistic observation

one approach is to go into the field or natural environment and record the behavior of interest

plasticity

open to change in response to influential experiences

Longitudinal Design

participants are studied repeatedly and changes are noted as they get older

psychoanalytic perspective

people move through a series of stages in which they confront conflicts between biological drives and social expectations. how these conflicts are resolved determines the person's ability to learn, to get along with others, and to cope with anxiety

Experimental Design

permits inferences about cause and effects

stages

qualitative changes in thinking, feeling, and behaving that characterize specific periods of development

correlation design

researchers gather information on individuals without altering experiences. Relationship between participants characteristics and their behavior of development

correlational design

researchers gather information on individuals, generally in natural life circumstances, without altering their experiences. then they look at relationships between participants' characteristics and their behavior or development

sequential designs

several cross sectional and longitudinal designs

information processing

the human mind can also be viewed ass a symbol manipulating system through which information flows

structured observations

the investigator sets up a laboratory situation that evokes the behavior of interest so that every participant has equal opportunity to display the response

Ind. Variable

the one the investigator expects to cause change

Random Assignment

unbiased procedure used to increase equal distribution (flipping a coin or drawing out of a hat)

Dep. Variable

variable investigator expects to be caused to change by ind. variable

ecological systems theory

views the person as developing within a complex system of relationships affected by multiple levels of the surrounding environment

Clinical Interview

researches use a flexible, conversational style to probe for the participant's POV

chronosystem

Brofenbrenner's temporal dimension of his model; Life changes can be imposed externally. Alternatively, they can arise from within the person, since individuals select, modify and create many of their own settings and experiences ; people are products and producers of their environments

discontinuous

A process in which new ways of understanding and responding to the world emerge at specific times.

continuous

A process of gradually augmenting the same types of skills that were there to begin with.

resilience

Ability to adapt effectively in the face of threats to development

ethology

Adaptive, survival value of behavior and its evolutionary history

macrosystem

Consists of cultural values, laws, customs and resources.

behavior modification

Consists of procedures that combine conditioning and modeling to eliminate undesirable behaviors and increase desirable responses.

exosystem

Consists of social settings that do not contain the developing person but nevertheless affect experiences in immediate settings.

psychosexual theory (Freud)

Emphasizes that how parents manage their child's sexual and aggressive drives in the first few years is crucial for healthy personality development.

mesosystem

Encompasses connections between microsystems

microsystem

Environments in which the person engages in direct, personal interaction with others over time (e.g. family, classroom, athletic team, small business, self help group)

psychosocial theory (Erikson)

Erikson emphasized that in addition to mediating between id impulses and superego demands, the ego makes a positive contribution to development, acquiring attitudes and skills at each stage that make the individual an active, contributing member of society

history-graded influences

Explain why people born around the same time--called a cohort--tend to be alike in ways that set them apart from people born at other times.

Vygotsky sociocultural theory

Focuses on how culture--the values, beliefs, customs, and skills of a social group--is transmitted to the next generation. According to Vygotsky, social interaction--in particular, cooperative dialogues with more knowledgeable members of society--is necessary for children to acquire the ways of thinking and behaving that make up a community's culture.

lifespan perspective

Four assumptions make up the broader view, that development is (1) lifelong, (2) multidimensional, (3) highly plastic, and (4) affected by multiple interacting forces

Social Learning Theory

Imitation learning and a sense of self-sufficiency (their belief that their own characteristics and abilities will help them succeed)

evolutionary developmental psychology

It seeks to understand the adaptive value of specieswide cognitive, emotional, and social competencies as those competencies change with age.

normative approach

Measures of behavior are taken on large numbers of individuals and age-related averages are computed to represent typical development.

Multidimensional and Multidirectional

Multidimensional- development is affected by an intricate blend of biological, psychological, and social forces Multidirectional- First, at every period development is a joint expression of growth and decline overtime(think of opportunity costs). Second, change is multidirectional within each domain of development ( Physical, Cognitive, and Emotional and Social)

Nature Nurture Controversey

Nature- (stability) hereditary info from our parents at the moment of conception Nurture- (plasticity) the complex force of the physical and social world that influence our biological makeup and psychological experiences before and after birth

contexts

Unique combinations of personal and environmental circumstances that can result in different paths of change.

Developmental science

a field of study devoted to understanding constancy and change throughout the lifespan

correlation coefficient

a number that describes how two measures, or variables, are associated with each other

Case Study or Clinical Method

brings together a wide range of information on one person, including interviews, observations and test scores

developmental cognitive neuroscience

brings together researchers from psychology, biology, neuroscience, and medicine to study the relationship between changes in the brain and the developing person's cognitive processing and behavior patterns

cognitive-developmental theory

children actively construct knowledge as they manipulate and explore their world

behaviorism

directly observable events-stimuli and responses-are the appropriate focus of study

Structured Interviews

each participant is asked the same questions in the same way

nonnormative influences

events that are irregular: they happen to just one person or a few people and do not follow a predictable timetable

age-graded influences

events that are strongly related to age and therefore fairly predictable in when they occur and how long they last