Child Development 13th Edition -Santrock: Chapter 1

development

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

original sin view

advocated during the Middle Ages, the belief that children were born into the world as evil beings and were basically bad

tabula rasa view

the idea, proposed by John Locke, that children are like a "blank tablet"

innate goodness view

the idea, presented by Swiss-born French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rosseau, that children are inherently good

context

the settings, influenced by historical, economic, social, and cultural factors, in which development occurs

culture

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

cross-cultural studies

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

ethnicity

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

socioeconomic status (SES)

categorization based on a person's occupational, educational, and economic characteristics

gender

the characteristics of people as males and females

social policy

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

biological processes

changes in an individual's body

cognitive processes

changes in an individual's thinking, intelligence, and language

socioemotional processes

changes in an individual's relationships with other people, emotions, and personality

prenatal period

the time from conception to birth

infancy

the developmental period that extends from birth to about 18 to 24 months

early childhood

the developmental period that extends from the end of infancy to about 5 or 6 years of age, sometimes called the preschool years

middle and late childhood

the developmental period that extends from about 6 to 11 years of age, sometimes called the elementary school years

adolescence

the developmental period of transition from childhood to early adulthood, entered at approximately 10 to 12 years of age and ending at 18 or 19 years of age

nature-nurture issue

debate about whether development is primarily influenced by nature or nurture. The "nature" proponents claim biological inheritance is the most important influence on development; the "nurture" proponents claim that environmental experiences are the most important

continuity-discontinuity issue

question about whether development involves gradual, cumulative change (continuity) or distinct stages (discontinuity)

early-later experience issue

controversy regarding the degree to which early experiences (especially during infancy) or later experiences are the key determinants of children's development

scientific method

an approach that can be used to obtain accurate information by carrying out four steps:

1. conceptualize the problem,

2. collect data,

3. draw conclusions, and

4. revise research conclusions and theory

theory

an interrelated, coherent set of ideas that helps to explain and make predictions

hypothesis

specific assumptions and predictions that can be tested to determine their accuracy

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.

Erikson's theory

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

Piaget's theory

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

Vygotsky's theory

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

information-processing theory

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

social cognitive theory

the view or psychologists who emphasize behavior, environment, and cognition as the key factors in development

ethology

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

Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory

an environment systems theory that focuses on five environmental systems: microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem.

eclectic theoretical orientation

an orientation that does not follow any one theoretical approach but rather selects from each theory whatever is considered its best aspects

laboratory

a controlled setting from which many of the complex factors of the "real world" have been removed

naturalistic observation

behavioral observation that takes place in real-world settings

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

case study

an in-depth look at a single individual

descriptive research

research that involves observing and recording behavior

correlational research

research in which the goal is to describe the strength of the relationship between two or more events or characteristics

correlation coefficient

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

experiment

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

cross-sectional approach

a research strategy in which individuals of different ages are compared at the same point in time

longitudinal approach

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

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