Chapter 1
Social learning theory
(Albert Bandura) emphasized modeling, also known as imitation or observational learning as a big source of development
Middle childhood
6-11 years
psychosocial theory
Erikson emphasized that in addition to mediation between id impulses and superego demands, the ego makes a positive contribution to development, acquiring attitudes and skills that make the individual an active, contributing member of society.
sensitive period
a time that is biologically optimal for certain capacities to emerge because the species is especially responsive to environmental influences
Nature vs Nurture
are genetic or environmental factors more important in influencing development?
Developmental Science
changes we experience through the lifespan
Cognitive-developmental theory
children actively construct knowledge as they manipulate and explore the world
Ecological systems theory
children are developing within a complex system of relationships affected by multiple levels of the surrounding environment.
psychoanalytic perspective
children move through a series of stages in which they confront conflicts between biological and social expectations. How these conflicts are handled determine person's ability to learn, get along with others and to cope with anxiety.
Applied behavior analysis
consists of observations of relationships between behavior and environmental events, followed by systematic changes in those events based on procedures of conditioning and modeling. (The goal is to eliminate undesirable behaviors and increase desirable ones).
Exosystem
consists of social settings that do not contain children but that nevertheless affect children's experiences in immediate settings.
clinical interview
flexible, conversational style to probe for the participants point of view
Maturation
refers to a genetically determined, naturally unfolding course of growth.
correlational design
researchers gather info on individuals in natural life circumstances and make no effort to alter their experiences.... they look at relationships between characteristics and behavior/development.
sequential designs
several similar cross-sectional studies or longitudinal studies at varying times.
ethnography
understanding a culture or distinct social group through participant observation
dependent variable
variable expected to be influence by independent variable
Adolescence
11- 18 years
Emerging adulthood
18- mid-late 20s
Information processing
From the time information is presented to the senses at input until it emerges as a behavioral response at output, information is actively codes, transformed and organized.
Three domains of development
Physical, cognitive, and emotional and social
Dynamic systems perspective
The child's mind, body and physical and social worlds form an integrated system that guides mastery of new skills. The system in dynamic and any change will disrupt organism environment relationship.
Macrosystem
The outermost level of the model....cultural values, laws, customs, and resources
Mesosystem
The second level of bronfenbrenner's model.... encompasses connections between microsystems such as home, school, neighborhood and child-care center.
Context
Unique combination of personal and evironmental circumstances that can result in different paths of change (no child alike perfectly, no ideal)
Discontinuous Development
a process in which new ways of understanding and responding to the world emerge at specific times.
Continuous Development
a process of gradually adding more of the same types of skills that were there to begin with.
Ethology
adaptive, or survival value of behavior and its evolutionary history
microgenetic design
an adaptation of the longitudinal approach presents children with a novel task and follows their mastery over a series of closely spaced sessions
Child Development
an area of study devoted to understanding constancy and change from conception through adolescence
Developmental cognitive neuroscience
brings research from different disciplines (psych, bio, neuroscience, medicine) to study the relationship between changes in the brain and the developing child's cognition and behavioral patterns.
clinical/ case study method
brings together a wide range of information on one child, including interviews, observations and test scores
Plasticity
development is open to change in response to influential experiences.
Developmental social neuroscience
devoted to study relationship between changes in the brain and emotional and social development
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 (tests, questionnaires)
Sociocultural theory
focuses on how values, beliefs, customs, and skills of a social group are transmitted to the next generation (Vygotsky) - Dialogue with knowledgeable members (0lder) of society is necessary for children to acquire the was of thinking that make up a culture
Early childhood
from 2-6 years
Infancy and toddlerhood
from birth to 2 years
Prenatal Period
from conception to birth (9 month period) most rapid time of change
cross-sectional study
groups of people differing in age that are studied at the same time
psychosexual theory
how parents manage their child's sexual and aggressive drives in the first few years is crucial for healthy personality development.
normative approach
in which measures of behavior are taken on large numbers of individuals and age-related averages are computed to represent typical development
structured observation
investigator sets up a laboratory situation that evokes the behavior of interest so that every participant has an equal opportunity to display the response
Theory of development
is an orderly integrated set of statements that describe, explains and predicts behavior. example: a good theory... 1. describe the behaviors of babies around 6-8 months 2. explain how and why infants develop bonds 3. predict the consequences of this emotional bond for future relationships helps us understand and improve knowledge
evolutionary developmental psychology
it seeks to understand adaptive value of species-wide cognitive, emotional and social competencies as those competencies changes with age.
Naturalistic obsevation
just watching
Chronosystem
life changes can be imposed on the child and can arise within the child (as they get older) (in bronfenbrenner's)
correlation coefficient
number that describes how two measures or variables are associated.
Theory
orderly, integrated set of statements that describes, explains, and predicts behavior
longitudinal design
participants are studies over time
cohort effects
people born at the same time who are influenced by a cultural or historical condition (in longitudinal studies)
Stages of development
quantitative changes in thinking, feeling and behaving that characterize specific periods of development (goes with discontinuous development idea)
experimental design
permits inferences about cause and effect with two or more treatment conditions
Children's research rights
protection from harm, informed consent, privacy, knowledge of results, beneficial treatment (IRB)
Microsystem
the innermost level of the environment... consists of activities and interaction patterns in the child's immediate surroundings.
independent variable
the one that expects to cause change in other variable
random assignment
unbiased procedure to randomize
