Psych 212 Quiz
psychosocial theory
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 that make the individual an active, contributing member of society
sensitive period
a time that is optimal for certain capacities to emerge and in which the individual is especially responsive to environmental influences
cohort effects
Individuals born in the same time period are influenced by a particular set of historical and cultural conditions. Results based on one cohort may not apply to people developing at other times.
cognitive developmental theory
children actively construct knowledge as they manipulate and explore their world
ethology
concerned with the adaptive, or survival, value of behavior and its evolutionary history
sequential design
conduct several similar cross-sectional or longitudinal studies at varying times
macrosystem
consists of cultural values, laws, customs, and resources
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
sociocultural theory
focuses on how culture - the values, beliefs, customs, and skills of a social group - is transmitted to the next generation (Vygotsky)
longitudinal design
research design in which one participant or group of participants is studied over a long period of time
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
clinical interview
researchers use a flexible, conversational style to probe for the participant's point of view
evolutionary developmental psychology
seeks to understand the adaptive value of species-wide cognitive, emotional, and social competencies as those competencies change with age
developmental social neuroscience
studies the relationship between changes in the brain and emotional and social development
plasticity
the brain's ability to change, especially during childhood, by reorganizing after damage or by building new pathways based on experience
contexts
unique combinations of personal and environmental circumstances that can result in different paths of change
Ecological Systems Theory
views the person as developing within a complex system of relationships affected by multiple levels of the surrounding environment
three basic issues
1. is the course of development continuous or discontinuous? 2. does one course of development characterize all people, or are there many possible courses? 3. What are the roles of genetic and environmental factors-nature vs nurture- in development?
nature-nurture controversy
Are genetic or environmental factors more important in influencing development?
Applied Behavior Analysis
Careful observations of individual behavior and related 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 responses.
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.
independent variable
The experimental factor that is manipulated; the variable whose effect is being studied.
dependent variable
The measurable effect, outcome, or response in which the research is interested.
developmental sciene
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
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
Microsystem
activities and interaction patterns in the person's immediate surroundings
critical period
an optimal period shortly after birth when an organism's exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces proper development
theory
an orderly, integrated set of statements that describes, explains and predicts behavior 1. provide organizing frameworks for our observations of people, guiding and and giving meaning to what we see. 2. when verified by research, provide a sound basis for practical action. 3. influenced by cultural values and belief systems of their times. 4. depends on scientific verification
random assignment
assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups
clinical/case study method
brings together a wide range of information on one person, including interviews, observations, and test scores
developmental cognitive neuroscience
brings together researchers to study the relationship between changes in the brain and the developing person's cognitive processing and behavior patterns
exosystem
consists of social settings that do not contain the developing person but nevertheless affect experiences in immediate settings
lifespan perspective
development is lifelong, multidimensional and multidirectional, highly plastic, and affected by multiple interacting forces
behaviorism
directly observable events- stimuli and responses- are the appropriate focus of study
social learning theory
emphasizes modeling, also known as imitation or observational learning, as a powerful source of development (Bandura)
psychosexual theory
emphasizes that how parents manage their child's sexual and aggressive drives in the first few years is crucial for healthy personality development
cross-sectional study
groups of people differing in age are studied at the same point in time.
structured interview
involves asking each applicant the same questions and comparing their responses to a standardized set of answers
chronosystem
life changes can be imposed externally or, alternatively, can arise from within the person, since individuals select, modify, and create many of their own settings and experiences
normative approach
measures of behavior are taken on large numbers of individuals and age-related averages are computed to represent typical development
naturalistic observation
observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation
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 effect
mesosystem
provides connections across microsystems
stages
qualitative changes in thinking, feeling, and behaving that characterize specific periods of development
structured observation
the investigator sets up a laboratory situation that evokes the behavior of interest so that every participant has an equal opportunity to display the response