Lifespan Development Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering core concepts, theoretical frameworks, research designs, and genetic terms from the Lifespan Development lecture transcript.

Preformationism

The belief that an organism is preformed at birth as miniature adults in the sperm or egg, and development is merely physical growth.

Spermist

One who believes that the complete human being is contained in the sperm.

Ovists

One who believes that the complete human being is contained in the ovum.

Epigenesis

A process supported by Aristotle whereby larger entities, patterns, and regularities arise through interactions among smaller or simpler entities that themselves do not exhibit such properties.

Nature

The traits, capacities, and limitations each individual inherits genetically from parents, supported by Plato's view that children are born with innate knowledge.

Nurture

All environmental influences that affect development, supported by Aristotle's view that all knowledge comes from experience.

Correlational Design

A research design that explores the relationships between two or more variables without researcher manipulation or control, and does not establish cause-and-effect.

Experimental Design

A research design where the investigator manipulates an independent variable (IV) through random assignment to examine its effect on a dependent variable (DV) and determine cause and effect.

Longitudinal Design

A developmental research design that observes or tests one group of individuals at each of several time periods.

Cross Sectional Design

A developmental research design that observes or tests groups of different ages at the same period in time.

Sequential Design

A developmental research design combining longitudinal and cross-sectional strategies to track age-related changes efficiently and reveal cohort effects.

Self Report Study

A type of survey, questionnaire, or poll in which respondents read questions and select responses by themselves without researcher interference.

Expert Observation

A study method in which an experimenter directly observes and quantifies participant behavior without daily contact.

Behaviorism

A grand theory focused on the study of observable behavior.

Classical Conditioning

The learning process in which a natural response becomes triggered by a neutral stimulus by repeatedly pairing it with the stimulus that triggers that response.

Operant Conditioning

The learning process by which a particular action is followed by something desired (making it more likely to repeat) or by something unwanted (making it less likely to repeat).

Positive Reinforcement

Increasing a behavior by adding an appetitive stimulus following correct behavior.

Negative Reinforcement

Increasing a behavior by removing a noxious stimulus following correct behavior.

Positive Punishment

Decreasing a behavior by adding a noxious stimulus following the behavior.

Negative Punishment

Decreasing a behavior by removing an appetitive stimulus following the behavior.

Ethological Theory

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

Flinn Effect

The observed phenomenon where IQ scores grow over generations.

Mirror Neurons

Neurons that fire both when an animal acts and when the animal observes the same action performed by another.

Freud's Oral Stage

Psychosexual stage from birth to age 1 where the focus is the mouth, with sucking and feeding being the most stimulating activities.

Freud's Anal Stage

Psychosexual stage from ages 1 to 3 where the focus is the anus, with toilet training being the most important activity.

Freud's Phallic Stage

Psychosexual stage from ages 3 to 6 where pleasure is derived from genital stimulation and tension is resolved by identifying with the same-sex parent.

Freud's Latency Stage

Psychosexual stage from ages 6 to 11 where focus centers on conventional activities like academics and sexual needs are postponed.

Freud's Genital Stage

Psychosexual stage from adolescence onward where the focus is on the genitals, seeking sexual stimulation and balancing romantic feeling with work.

Basic Trust vs. Mistrust

Erikson's psychosocial stage during infancy (birth to 1 year) focused on developing primary attachment with a maternal person to trust the world.

Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt

Erikson's psychosocial stage during toddlerhood (ages 1 to 2) focused on parental relationships and trying to do things independently.

Initiative vs. Guilt

Erikson's psychosocial stage during early childhood (ages 3 to 6) focused on basic family relationships and starting self-directed activities.

Industry vs. Inferiority

Erikson's psychosocial stage during middle childhood (age 6 to puberty) focused on school and neighborhood interactions to measure success against others.

Identity vs. Role Confusion

Erikson's psychosocial stage during adolescence (teens to 20s) focused on peer groups to figure out personal identity.

Intimacy vs. Isolation

Erikson's psychosocial stage during young adulthood (20s to 40s) focused on forming intimate partnerships in friendship, sex, competition, and cooperation.

Generativity vs. Stagnation

Erikson's psychosocial stage during middle adulthood (40s to 60s) focused on guiding the next generation through work, production, and family.

Integrity vs. Despair

Erikson's psychosocial stage during late adulthood (60+) focused on accepting life's limitations, sharing wisdom, or fearing what was and what is to come.

Sensorimotor Stage

Piaget's cognitive stage from 0 to 2 years where infants explore the world through senses, ending with language development.

Preoperations Stage

Piaget's cognitive stage from ages 2 to 7 where children believe what they see and must see an object to talk about it.

Concrete Operations Stage

Piaget's cognitive stage from ages 8 to 12 where children develop a realistic understanding of the world but lack abstract thought.

Formal Operations Stage

Piaget's cognitive stage starting at age 12+ where full cognitive abilities have been mastered.

Zone of Proximal Development

Vygotsky's concept describing how acquisition of new knowledge depends on previous learning guided by someone with more knowledge.

Preconventional Morality

Kohlberg's level of moral reasoning where individuals consider personal rewards and punishments when making decisions.

Conventional Morality

Kohlberg's level of moral reasoning where decisions are made to maintain social norms and order.

Postconventional Morality

Kohlberg's level of moral reasoning where individuals base decisions on personal ethical principles and moral guidelines apart from society's rules.

Microsystem

The immediate level in Bronfenbrenner's model that an individual directly interacts with, such as family, peer groups, or classroom.

Ecosystem

The system level in Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model (exosystem) that indirectly impacts a child, such as mass media, school systems, or parent workplaces.

Macrosystem

The level in Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model containing broader societal, cultural, and economic values and ideologies.

Chronosystem

The temporal level in Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model representing changes over time.

Mesosystem

The component in Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model that describes how all different systems interact with each other.

Dynamic Systems Theory

A developmental theory developed by Esther Thelen and Linda Smith viewing development as a constant, fluid, emergent, non-linear interaction across multiple levels and time scales.

Genotype

An organism's entire genetic inheritance, or genetic potential.

Phenotype

The observable characteristics of a person.

Incomplete Dominance

A genetic pattern where both alleles are expressed in the phenotype, resulting in a combined trait or intermediate outcome.

Polygenic Inheritance

A genetic pattern where many genes affect a characteristic that varies among people, such as height, weight, intelligence, or personality.

Meiosis

The process of creating sex cells that leads to genetic diversity.

Zygote

The single cell formed when a sperm and ovum unite.