Module 1: Lifespan Development
What are the advantages and disadvantages of observational studies?
Advantage: -Researchers can see how people behave rather than relying on self-report. Disadvantage: -They do not allow the researcher to explain causal relationships due to the Hawthorne effect.
What social class makes up about 1% of the population in the US? The smallest category and represents the highest amounts of wealth and power.
Upper Class Famous people (sports, media or as entrepreneurs, investors) or inheritance
Which of the 3 classic stage theorists' interpretations of problems in childhood development, such as autism, thought that difficulties were in response to poor parenting?
Freudian
Human development is the study of?
How we change over time
What are the 9 stages that developmentalists break the life span into?
(PIE-MAE-MyLaDy) 1. Prenatal Development 2. Infancy and Toddlerhood 3. Early Childhood 4. Middle Childhood 5. Adolescence 6. Early Adulthood 7. Middle Adulthood 8. Late Adulthood 9. Death and Dying
If 2 variables are so weakly related as to be unrelated, we say they are uncorrelated, and the r value will be?
0 or very close to 0.
(White-Collar & Blue-Collar) _____(1)______ are rewarded for conformity while _____(2)_____workers are rewarded for initiative.
1. Blue-Collar 2. White-Collar
What are some advantages and disadvantagess of longitudinal designs?
Advantage: -People can be compared with themselves when they were younger -Provides a developmental analysis Disadvantage: -Being expensive -Taking a long time -Attrition -Practice effect -Limited to one cohort -Time in history effects confounded with age changes
Who are 3 well known classic stage theorists?
Freud, Erikson, and Piaget
Development is influenced by contextual and socio-cultural influences means?
(1) Normative age-graded influences (2) Normative history-graded influences (3) Nonnormative influences Development occurs in context and varies from person to person, depending on the 3 different influences.
What is included in our social locations?
(Come And Get Ready Everyone's at Saga) Cohort Age Gender Race Ethnicity Social class
What are the 3 types of studies used in research? Define each of them.
1. Descriptive (or qualitative) studies Describes a general or specific behavior; Research studies that do not test specific relationships between variables; a researcher will begin with a non-experimental approach to gather more information about the topic before addressing a specific hypothesis. 2. Explanatory studies Efforts to answer "why" questions 3. Evaluation studies Assesses the effectiveness of policies or programs
What are the 3 stages of prenatal development?
1. Germinal 2. Embryonic 3. Fetal periods
(Middle Class & Under Class) ___(1)___ are more likely to use shopping or travel as a way to cope with stressors, while ___(2)___ are more likely to eat or smoke in response to stress.
1. Middle Class 2. Under Class (Poor)
What are 3 advantages of qualitative methods of research?
1. Observe behavior in the natural environment 2. Researchers can see what people do rather than them tell you 3. Researchers can generate hypotheses
What are 2 disadvantages of qualitative methods of research?
1. Researchers cannot make general statements from your findings 2. Observational studies are often descriptive only
What 3 conditions must be met in order to establish a cause and effect relationship between variables?
1. The independent and dependent variable have to be related (correlated) in some way. 2. The independent variable (cause) must come before the dependent variable (effect). 3. There must be no outside cause creating the change that we see.
1. What is the the "formal operational thought" stage? (What number is it?) 2. Which classic stage theorist came up with it? 3. When does the stage start and how long does it last?
1. The stage in development where thinking becomes much more sophisticated and advanced. It is the 4th and final stage. 2. Jean Piaget 3. Begins in adolescence (12 y/o) and continues through/lasts into adulthood.
1. What is the the "genital" stage? 2. Which classic stage theorist came up with it? 3. How long does this stage last?
1. The stage where much of our motivation is focused on sex and reproduction. (It is the final stage in Freud's theory of psychosexual development and begins in puberty) 2. Freud 3. It continues through adulthood.
(Middle Class & Working Class) _______(1)_______ parents emphasized obedience, honesty, and conformity in their children while ______(2)_______ parents valued independence, initiative, and self-reliance.
1. Working Class 2. Middle Class
Define: Positive correlation
2 variables change in the same direction, both becoming either larger or smaller
What is a social class?
A category of people who share similar levels of education, income, occupational status, and consumption patterns.
Development is multidisciplinary means?
A combination of disciplines (Psychologists, sociologists, neuroscientists, educators, economists, historians, etc.) is necessary to understand development.
Define: Control group
A comparison group that is equivalent to the experimental group, but is not given the independent variable.
What is a cohort?
A group of people who are born at roughly the same period in a particular society. Members of a cohort have experienced the same historic events and cultural climates which have an impact on the values, priorities, and goals that may guide their lives.
Define: Correlation coefficient
A number from -1 to +1, indicating the strength and direction of the relationship between variables (represented by r)
What is puberty?
A period of dramatic physical change marked by an overall physical growth spurt and sexual maturation.
The absolute value of -.83 what type of correlation?
A strong negative correlation
Define: Independent variable
A variable that is controlled by or introduced by the researcher. It introduced to see if it brings about a change or effect.
The correlation coefficient indicates the weakest relationship when ________. A. It is closest to 0 B. It is closest to -1 C. It is negative D. It is positive
A. It is closest to 0
Michael's grandfather was teaching Michael how to drive a car. At first, Michael was frustrated because his grandfather's reactions and driving were rather slow; his grandfather explained that while he's not as fast as he used to be, he is more careful in his driving in later life. When Michael followed his grandfather's example and avoided hitting another car due to his cautious driving, he appreciated his grandfather's slow, but careful driving. This difference in ability involving the loss of speed but gain of caution best illustrates Baltes' principle that development is: A. Multidirectional B. Multidimensional C. Multidisciplinary D. Contexual
A. Multidirectional
If cross-cultural research reveals that certain aspects of childhood physical development are the same and happen at the same ages in different countries, this would most likely be evidence for: A. The influence of nature on human development B. The discontinuous process of human development C. The influence of nurture on human development D. Many different courses of human development
A. The influence of nature on human development
Define: Observational studies
AKA: naturalistic observation; involves watching and recording the actions of participants.
What stage of life is this? Puberty; cognitive change (begins to think of new possibilities and abstract concepts such as love, fear, and freedom); thinks they are invincibile which puts them at high risk of dying from accidents or getting STDs.
Adolescence
What are some advantages and disadvantagess of cross-sectional designs?
Advantage: -Saves time and less expensive -Can get a view from different age groups Disadvantage: -Results are not always valid because results can reflect the difference in cohorts/personality and not age (the researchers did not follow the same individuals as they got older.) -Limited to one time of measurement
What are the advantage and disadvantage of secondary content analysis (archival research) or content analysis (media)?
Advantage: -The time saved from not having to recruit participants Disadvantage: -If data that has been gathered by someone else is faulty then your research will also be faulty. -Media may not accurately reflect behavior/attitudes
What are some advantages and disadvantagess of cross-sequential designs?
Advantages: -Examines changes within individuals over time -Examines changes between participants of different ages at the same point in time -Examine cohort effects -Examine time in history effects Disadvantages: -Expensive -Long time -Practice effects -Attrition
What are the advantage and disadvantage of case studies?
Advantages: -Exploring unusual situations and generating hypotheses Disadvantages: -Confirmation bias -Cannot be generalized (or applied to larger populations)
What are the advantage and disadvantage of surveys?
Advantages: -People can easily be reached especially long distance Disadvantages: -Dishonesty (validity) due to sensitive topics or activities that are stigmatized. -Requires careful wording to not offend or ask biased questions
Define: Lifespan perspective
An approach to studying development which emphasizes that development is lifelong, multidimensional, multidirectional, plastic, contextual, and multidisciplinary.
What is poverty level? What is it based on?
An income amount established by the Social Security Administration. It is based on a formula called the "thrifty food plan" that allows 1/3 of income for food.
Height and weight are positively correlated. This means that ________.
As height increases, then weight increases
What can researchers do about selective attrition?
At each time of testing, they could randomly recruit more participants from the same cohort as the original members, to replace those who have dropped out.
Which of the following correlation coefficients indicates the strongest relationship between two variables? A. +.80 B. -.90 C. -.50 D. +.25
B. -.90
For funding purposes, research is done to assess the effectiveness of Head Start (preschool) programs on children's academic achievements. This type of research is: A. Explanatory B. Evaluation C. Descriptive D. Personal knowledge
B. Evaluation
Which statement best illustrates a negative correlation between the number of hours spent watching TV the week before an exam and the grade on that exam? A. Viewing TV interferes with a students ability to prepare for the upcoming exam. B. Students who watch more TV perform more poorly on their exams. C. Watching too much TV leads to poor exam scores. D. Smart students watch less TV
B. Students who watch more TV perform more poorly on their exams.
Researchers are interested in whether a new tutoring program can improve students' scores on math tests. All students were given math tests at the beginning. Then half of the students were randomly assigned to a group and given the new tutoring program; the other half were randomly assigned to another group and did not receive any tutoring. All students were given math tests again. Which of the following statements is true? A. The dependant variable is only given to the control group. B. The new tutoring program is the independent variable. C. The independent variable is given to all of the students.
B. The new tutoring program is the independent variable.
Define: Normative age-graded influences
Biological and environmental factors that have a strong correlation with chronological age.
Andrea's brain has recently reached its adult size, though it continues to develop; her body's growth has slowed down for now, and her motor skills are more coordinated. She is busy with learning and testing in school; her friendships with other girls are especially important. Considering all of this information, Andrea is probably in this period of human development: A. Early childhood B. Early adulthood C. Middle childhood D. Adolescence
C. Middle childhood
Iminathi and all of her siblings are being raised by their elderly grandmother (with few resources) because both of their parents have died from complications of AIDS. This is very common in recent years in South Africa, as many adults have died due to the AIDS/HIV epidemic, leaving their children to be raised by grandparents. According to Baltes' contextual paradigm, this best exemplifies: A. That development is context-free B. Normative age-graded influence C. Normative history-graded influence D. Nonnormative influence
C. Normative history-graded influence
Jesse recently started elementary school and is forming new relationships with other children and the teacher. Social comparisons with schoolmates begin to influence Jesse's self-esteem. The changes described here best illustrate Jesse's development in the ________ domain of human development. A. Brain B. Cognitive C. Psychosocial D. Physical
C. Psychosocial
_______________ are a good way to explore unusual situations and can provide a basis for hypotheses that can be tested in other research.
Case studies
Define: Selective attrition
Certain groups of individuals may tend to drop out more frequently resulting in the remaining participants no longer being representative of the whole population
_________ development involves learning, attention, memory, language, thinking, reasoning, and creativity.
Cognitive
When and where we live creates this context. What are some examples of contexts?
Cohort Social class Culture
Define: Operationalized
Concepts that are transformed into variables in research which means that the researcher must specify exactly what is going to be measured in the study. EX: If we are interested in studying marital satisfaction, we have to specify what marital satisfaction really means or what we are going to use as an indicator of marital satisfaction.
______________ involves analyzing information that has already been collected through the media such as old texts, pictures, commercials, lyrics or other materials.
Content analysis (media)
__________ development views development as a cumulative process, gradually improving on existing skills
Continuous
________ is a blueprint or guideline shared by a group of people that specifies how to live in a society. It is learned from parents, schools, churches, media, friends and others throughout a lifetime.
Culture
According to Baltes' lifespan perspective, what is true about development? A. Early childhood is the most important part of lifespan development. B. Development is only influenced by nature and not by nurture. C. Development consists of only one dimension or domain. D. Development is plastic.
D. Development is plastic.
What stage of life is this? The physical, psychological and social aspects of this stage, exploring grief or bereavement, and addressing ways in which helping professionals work in this stage of life; cultural variations in mourning, burial, and grief.
Death and Dying
(Describing changes or Explaining changes) For example, Arnold Gesell's study on infant motor skills.
Describing changes
(Describing changes or Explaining changes) Many of the studies we will examine simply involve the first step in investigation, which is description.
Describing changes
What are the main categories of psychological research?
Descriptive, correlational, and experimental research
Development is multidirectional means?
Development does not occur in a strictly linear fashion but development can be characterized as having the capacity for both an increase and decrease in efficacy over time
Development is lifelong means?
Development is not completed in infancy or childhood or at any specific age
___________ development takes place in unique stages and that it occurs at specific times or ages.
Discontinuous
What stage of life is this? These individuals are at their physiological peak but are most at risk for involvement in violent crimes and substance abuse; time to focus on the future and career and income; love and work are primary concerns.
Early Adulthood
What stage of life is this? "The preschool years"; they learn a language, gains a sense of self and independence, and learns how the world works. They have interesting conceptions of size, time, space and distance.
Early Childhood
What are teratogens?
Environmental factors that can lead to birth defects
Which classic stage theorist presents 8 developmental stages that encompass the entire lifespan?
Erik Erikson
Which classic stage theorist was responsible for the "psychosocial stages" ?
Erikson
Who is known as the "father" of developmental psychology? Why is that?
Erikson because his psychosocial developmental stages encompass the entire lifespan.
___________ are designed to test hypotheses (or specific statements about the relationship between variables) in a controlled setting in efforts to explain how certain factors or events produce outcomes.
Experiments
(Describing changes or Explaining changes) For example, Erikson offers an explanation about why our two-year-old is temperamental.
Explaining changes
(Describing changes or Explaining changes) Theories provide explanations for why we change over time.
Explaining changes
(T/F): Simple random sampling does not reduce bias.
False; it does reduce bias
(T/F): The experimental method is not the only research method that can measure cause and effect relationships between variables.
False; it is the only method
(T/F): Historic contexts will not shape our life choices and motivations as well as our eventual assessments of success or failure during the course of our existence.
False; it will shape it
(T/F): There is much that is known when comparing development across cultures.
False; much is unknown
(T/F): Sometimes quantitative studies are used initially to explore a topic and more qualitative studies are used to test or explain what was first described.
False; switch quantitative and qualitative
(T/F): Once we complete a stage of life, we will not revisit that stage.
False; there is no "completing" we may revisit a stage of life more than once.
(T/F): Biological events are not viewed in cultural contexts. (Give an example)
False; they can be (Ex: Girls' periods practices in the US vs. Kenya)
(T/F): The formal operational thought and genital stage theory succeed in highlighting developmental changes during adulthood.
False; they fail to
Define: Longitudinal designs
Following a particular group over a long period of time. Beginning with a group of people who may be of the same age and background (cohort) and measuring them repeatedly over a long period of time.
Define: Cross-sequential designs
Following a varied group (representing gender, race, age groups, etc.) over a long period of time.
Which classic stage theorist was responsible for the "psychosexual stages" ?
Freud
Which classic stage theorists' present a series of stages that essentially end during adolescence?
Freud and Piaget
What stage of life is this? These individuals experience a dramatic growth and change. They have a keen sense of hearing but very poor vision; separation anxiety; brain development happens at a remarkable rate, as does physical growth and language development.
Infancy and Toddlerhood
Define: Normative history-graded influences
Influences associated with a specific time period that define the broader bio-cultural context in which an individual develops
Development is multidimensional means?
It involves the dynamic interaction of factors like physical, emotional, and psychosocial development
What is contextual intelligence? Who came up with this?
It is the type of intelligence that has the ability to understand what is called for in a certain situation; Sternberg
What is socioeconomic status?
It is the way to identify families and households based on their shared levels of education, income, and occupation.
What stage of life is this? These people care about housing, healthcare, and extending active life expectancy. "Looks" matter more than age: optimal (best), normal, or impaired (worst) aging
Late Adulthood "young old" = 65 to 79 years old (are very similar to midlife adults) "old old" = 80 and older (majority live independently, at risk of diseases due to old age)
Define: Cross-sectional designs
Looking at a varied group (representing gender, race, age groups, etc.) at one point in time. Examines the behaviors in participants of different ages who are tested at the same point in time.
What stage of life is this? These individuals are at their peak of productivity in love, work and knowledge; becoming more realistic life. This is the age group hardest hit by the AIDS epidemic in Africa.
Middle Adulthood
What stage of life is this? These individuals experience/learn through their involvement in school; makes comparisons between self and others; growth rates decrease; kids are able to refine their motor skills and learn about social relationships beyond the family by interacting with friends and classmates.
Middle Childhood
What social class makes up about 30% of the population in the US? A large class that is comprised of people who hold professional jobs that pay less and have less status.
Middle Class Lower-paying, less autonomous white-collar jobs (teaching, nursing, lower-level managers, hold 2 or 4 year degrees from less prestigious schools)
What are the main types of descriptive studies?
Observation, case studies, surveys, and content analysis
Let's suppose that developmental researchers found a correlation coefficient of r = +.85 between how often parents read to their young children and the size of children's vocabulary. What conclusion could you accurately make from this information?
Parents reading to their young children often tends to be related to children having a large vocabulary.
___________ development involves growth and changes in the body and brain, the senses, motor skills, health and wellness, puberty, sexual health, fertility, menopause, changes in our senses, and primary vs. secondary aging
Physical
Which classic stage theorist was responsible for the "stages of cognitive development" ?
Piaget
What stage of life is this? Conception occurs and development begins. All of the major structures of the body are forming and the health of the mother is of primary concern. Understanding nutrition, teratogens, and labor and delivery are primary concerns.
Prenatal Development
____________ development involves emotions, personality, self-esteem, and social relationships.
Psychosocial
Define: Experimental research
Randomly assigns people to different conditions, using hypothesis testing to make inferences about how these conditions affect behavior. (Some use explanatory studies)
Distinguish the difference between research methods and research designs.
Research methods: tools that are used to collect information. Research design: the strategy or blueprint for deciding how to collect and analyze information.
Define: Quantitative methods
Research where there is more emphasis on beginning with a research question, reviewing literature , determining what aspect of the topic to explore, what method to use, find your sample, conducting the experiments, interpret the results, drawing conclusions, then sharing/publish your findings. This research relies on numerical data or using statistics to understand and report what has been studied.
Define: Qualitative methods
Research where there is more emphasis on tapping into the experiences, assumptions, and meanings subjects give to their situations. The researcher wishes to be led by the participants into seeing what they deem as important.
______________ involves analyzing information that has already been collected through another agency that gathers data, such as the census; or examining documents or media to uncover attitudes, practices or preferences.
Secondary content analysis (archival research)
____________ are used a lot because they allow you to reach a large number of people in a limited amount of time.
Surveys
Development is plastic means?
That characteristics are malleable (or changeable). There is no single pathway that must be taken in an individual's development across the lifespan.
What social class makes up about 5% of the population in the US? The most impoverished and the least powerful group.
The Underclass Poor, temporary workers, part-time workers, chronically unemployed or underemployed, may receive governmental assistance, mostly children or are disabled
What social class makes up about 20% of the population in the US? Have seasonal, inconsistent, and low-paying occupations and all of the difficulties associated with financial insecurity.
The Working Poor Live near the poverty level, hold seasonal or temporary jobs, paid minimum wage (unskilled laborers, migrant farm workers, temporary employees)
What is the primary advantage of a experimental design?
The ability to isolate cause and effect relationships.
What is cognitive change?
The ability to think and remember changes over time.
What is cultural relativity?
The appreciation for cultural differences and the understanding that cultural practices are best understood from the standpoint of that particular culture.
What is a context?
The background or setting in which a person exists
What is the Hawthorne Effect?
The change in behavior by the test subjects of a study due to their awareness of being observed.
Define: Experimental group
The group of participants in an experiment who receive the independent variable.
Define: Continuous Development
The idea that development is a progressive and cumulative process, gradually improving on existing skills.
Define: Discontinuous Development
The idea that development takes place in unique stages and occurs at specific times or ages.
What is a disadvantage of experimental design?
The potential difficulty in creating real life situations in an artificial, laboratory environment.
Define: Attrition
The reduction in the number of research participants as some drop out over time
What is sampling bias?
The tendency to get information from people who are accessible or close to us when trying to find out about how the world works.
What is confirmation bias?
The tendency to look for evidence that we are right and in so doing, we ignore contradictory evidence.
What is classic stage theories?
The theory that development occurrs in a series of predictable stages.
A perfect correlation has an absolute value of what number? The r value for a weak correlation will have a (low/high) absolute value. The r value for a strong correlation will have a (low/high) absolute value.
The whole number one (or 1.00) low high
Why must experiments measure subjects on the dependent variable before exposing them to the independent variable?
To establish a baseline. EX: To measure the subjects' level of stress before introducing exercise and then again after the exercise to see if there has been a change in stress levels.
(T/F): Adulthood is a dynamic period of life marked by continued cognitive, social, and psychological development.
True
(T/F): Although the timing of basic motor functions may vary across cultures, the functions are present in all societies.
True
(T/F): Being self-conscious can enhance our ability to think critically about the systems we live in and open our eyes to new courses of action to benefit the quality of life.
True
(T/F): Both nature (heredity - biology and genetics) and nurture (the environment and culture) shape our abilities throughout life.
True
(T/F): Humans are influenced by when and where we live and our actions, beliefs, and values are a response to circumstances surrounding us.
True
(T/F): Knowing about other people and their circumstances can help us live and work with them more effectively.
True
(T/F): Our journeys through life are more than biological; they are shaped by culture, history, economic and political realities as much as they are influenced by physical change.
True
(T/F): Sequential research has many of the same strengths and limitations as longitudinal and cross-sectional research.
True
(T/F): Some research designs that are especially useful in studying human development include cross-sectional, longitudinal, and cross-sequential designs.
True
(T/F): A theory that cannot be falsified is not scientific.
True because Popper said that science is falsifiable
(T/F): Great care is taken to ensure the validity and reliability of surveys. What do these 2 words mean?
True; Validity refers to accuracy and reliability refers to consistency in responses to tests and other measures.
What stage theory believe that the sequence of development is essentially the same for all children?
Universal stage theory
Define: Nonnormative influences
Unpredictable influences not tied to a certain developmental time, personally or historical period.
What social class makes up about 14% of the population in the US? A large class that has more highly paid professionals who have higher levels of education, status, and wealth.
Upper Middle Class Hold professional degrees, white-collar workers, are paid for their education and expertise
Define: Dependent variables
Variables that are outcomes; they depend on what has been introduced. They tend to be what the research is all about.
Define: Informed consent
When adults commonly sign an informed consent statement (a contract stating that they agree to participate in research) after learning about a study.
Define: Correlational research
When scientists passively observe and measure phenomena. Psychologists formally test whether a relationship exists between two or more variables.
What is ethnocentrism?
When we tend to believe that our own culture's practices and expectations are the right ones and is superior.
What social class makes up about 30% of the population in the US? A large category consisting of people who are more likely to hold jobs in vocational skills or trade occupations.
Working Class Retailers, clerical, factory jobs, blue-collar workers, less formal education, less job stability, less health insurance benefits
Can ethnocentrism become a roadblock? How?
Yes when it inhibits the understanding of cultural practices from other societies.
Define: Practice effect
Your performance would likely improve over time, not necessarily because you developed better math abilities, but because you were continuously practicing the same math problems. Occurs when participants become better at a task over time because they have done it again and again (not due to natural psychological development).
Define: Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)
a panel of experts who read and evaluate proposals for research.
The cohort effect is often mistaken for _____.
age
You are interested in finding out if life satisfaction changes with age. You send a survey to individuals who are 15, 25, 35, 45, 55, 65, 75, and 85 years old in 2019 and compare their life satisfaction ratings. From what you've learned about developmental research designs differences found could be due to what?
age or cohort effect caused by cross-sectional research
When scientists passively observe and measure phenomena it is called __________ research because it is not a not cause and effect situation and 2 variables can be examined at a time.
correlational
According to classic stage theorists, those who did not develop in predictable ways were often thought of as?
delayed or abnormal
Correlation (does/does not) mean causation.
does not
_________ correlation is when the two variables move in opposite directions. _________ correlation is when the two variables go up or down together.
negative positive
It was not until the 1960s that more medical explanations of autism began to replace Freudian assumptions showing that it was not caused by ______________.
poor parenting (being unloving and cold)
_____________ is associated with poorer health and a lower life expectancy due to poorer diet, less healthcare, greater stress, working in more dangerous occupations, higher infant mortality rates, poorer prenatal care, greater iron deficiencies, greater difficulty in school, and many other problems.
poverty
If the absolute value is large, it is a (strong/weak) correlation. If the absolute value is small, it is a (strong/weak) correlation.
strong weak
The stronger a correlation is, the _________ the dots in the scatterplot will be arranged along a sloped line. The weaker a correlation is, the _________ the dots in the scatterplot will be arranged along a sloped line.
tighter looser
A (strong/weak) correlation is one in which the two variables correspond some of the time, but not most of the time.
weak
