Life-Span Development Chapter 1 Terms

laboratory

A controlled setting in which many of the complex factors of the "real world" are removed.

social policy

A government's course of action designed to promote the welfare of its citizens.

correlation coefficient

A number based on statistical analysis that is used to describe the degree of association between two variables.

cross-sectional approach

A research strategy in which individuals of different ages are compared at one time.

longitudinal approach

A research strategy in which the same individuals are studied over a period of time, usually several years or more.

Vygotsky's theory

A sociocultural cognitive theory that emphasizes how culture and social interaction guide cognitive development.

standardized test

A test with uniform procedures for administration and scoring. Many standardized tests allow a person's performance to be compared with the performance of other individuals.

descriptive research

A type of research that aims to observe and record behavior.

correlational research

A type of research that strives to describe the strength of the relationship between two or more events or characterists.

case study

An in-depth look at a single individual.

eclectic theoretical orientation

An orientation that does not follow any one theoretical approach, but rather selects from each theory whatever is considered the best in it.

Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory

Bronfenbrenner's environmental systems theory that focuses on five environmental systems: microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem.

experiment

Carefully regulated procedure in which one or more factors believed to influence the behavior being studied are manipulated while all other factors are held constant.

socioeconomic status (SES)

Classification of a person's position in society based on occupational, educational, and economic characteristics.

cross-cultural studies

Comparison of one culture with one or more other cultures. These provide information about the degree to which development is similar, or universal, across cultures, and to the degree to which it is culture-specific.

nature-nuture issue

Debate about whether devlopement is primilary influenced by nature or nurture. Nature refers to to an organism's biological inhertiance, nuture to its environmental experiences.

stability-change issue

Debate as to whether and to what degree we become older renditions of our early experience (stability) or whether we develop into someone different from who we were at an earlier point in development (change).

continuity-discontinuity issue

Debate that focuses on the extent to which development involves gradual, cumulative change (continuity) or distinct stages (discontinuity).

cohort effect

Effects due to a person's time of birth, era, or generation but not to actual age.

normative history-graded influences

Influences that are common to people of a particular generation because of historical circumstances.

normative age-graded influences

Influences that are similar for individuals in a particular age group.

naturalistic observation

Observing behavior in real-world settings.

socioemotional processes

Processes that involve changes in an individual's relationships with other people, emotions, and personality.

cognitive processes

Processes that involve changes in an individual's thought, intelligence, and language.

biological processes

Processes that produce changes in an individual's physical nature.

hypotheses

Specific assumptions and predictions that can be tested to determine their accuracy.

culture

The behavior, patterns, beliefs, and all other products of a group of people that are passed on from generation to generation.

gender

The characteristics of people as males or females.

theory

The interrelated, coherent set of ideas that helps to explain phenomena and make predictions.

development

The pattern of movement or change that begins at conception and continues through the human life span.

life-span perspective

The perspective that development is lifelong, multidimensional, multidirectional, plastic, multidisciplinary, and contextual; involves growth, maintenance, and regulation; and is constructed through biological, sociocultural, and individual factors working together.

social cognitive theory

Theoretical view that behavior, environment, and cognition are the key factors in development.

psychoanalytic theories

Theories that describe development as primarily unconscious and heavily colored by emotion. Behavior is merely a surface characteristic, and the symbolic workings of the mind have to be analyzed to understand behavior. Early experiences with parents are emphasized.

information-processing theory

Theory emphasizing that individuals manipulate information, monitor it, and strategize about it. Central to this theory are the processes of memory and thinking.

Piaget's theory

Theory stating that children actively construct their understanding of the world and go through four stages of cognitive development.

ethology

Theory stressing that behavior is strongly influenced by biology, is tied to evolution, and is characterized by critical or sensitive periods.

Erikson's theory

Theory that proposes eight stages of human development. Each stage consists of a unique developmental task that confronts individuals with a crisis that must be resolved.

nonnormative life events

Unusual occurrences that have a major impact on the individual's life.

ethnic gloss

Use of an ethnic label such as African American or Latino in a superficial way that portrays an ethnic group as being more homogeneous than it really is.

ethnicity

a characteristic based on cultural heritage, nationality characteristics, race, religion, and language.