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