Lifespan Development: Key Concepts Flashcards

A comprehensive set of practice questions and answers covering lifespan development concepts, theories, research methods, and ethical considerations based on the lecture notes.

What is lifespan development?

The scientific study of how people change and stay the same from conception to death, across physical, cognitive, and psychosocial domains.

What are the three broad domains of development?

Physical (body/biological changes), Cognitive (intelligence, memory, language), and Psychosocial (emotions, self-perception, relationships).

What does plasticity mean in the lifespan perspective?

The capacity to change and the brain’s malleability to learn from experience and recover from injury.

What is the Lifespan Perspective (Baltes) and its main assumptions?

Development is lifelong, multidirectional, multidimensional, plastic, and occurs within multiple contexts; it is multidisciplinary.

What does multidirectional development refer to?

People can show gains in some areas while experiencing losses in others; change occurs in multiple directions.

What does multidimensional development mean?

Development occurs across physical, cognitive, and psychosocial domains that influence each other.

What is Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory?

A framework describing how nested environmental systems (microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, chronosystem) shape development.

List the five ecological systems in Bronfenbrenner’s theory.

Microsystem, Mesosystem, Exosystem, Macrosystem, Chronosystem.

What are normative age-graded influences?

Developmental changes tied to specific ages or life stages (e.g., toddler, adolescent, senior).

What are normative history-graded influences?

Cohort-based influences shaped by the historical time period in which a person is born.

What are non-normative life influences?

Unique events not typical for an age group (e.g., the loss of a parent) that affect development.

What does SES stand for and how is it defined?

Socioeconomic status; a composite of education, income, and occupation that affects patterns of health, opportunities, and daily life.

What is poverty and its general developmental impact?

Income below government thresholds; associated with poorer health, stress, and lower life expectancy.

How is culture defined in lifespan development?

The totality of shared language, knowledge, material objects, behavior, values, and norms learned over a lifetime.

What is ethnocentrism?

The belief that one’s own culture is superior to others.

What is cultural relativity?

Appreciation for cultural differences and understanding practices from the standpoint of that culture.

What is the difference between lifespan and life expectancy?

Lifespan is the maximum length of life under optimal conditions; life expectancy is the predicted average years a group is expected to live.

How can age be conceptualized beyond chronological age?

Biological age (physical aging rate), psychological age (adaptive/cognitive/emotional capacity), and social age (societal norms for one's age).

Name the development periods and a brief description of prenatal development.

Prenatal: conception to birth; major body structures form; maternal health and teratogens are key concerns.

What are infancy and toddlerhood, early childhood, and middle/late childhood?

Infancy/toddlerhood: birth to ~2 years; Early childhood: 2–6 years; Middle/Late childhood: 6 years to onset of puberty.

What are adolescence and emerging adulthood?

Adolescence: onset of puberty to ~18; Emerging adulthood: ~18 to 29; identity formation and independence are central.

What characterizes established adulthood, middle adulthood, and late adulthood?

Established: 30–45; Middle: 45–65; Late: 65+ with young-old (65–84) and oldest-old (85+). Aging and productivity are prominent themes.

What is the core idea of nature vs. nurture in development?

An ongoing debate about whether heredity (nature) or environment (nurture) is more influential; most agree on interaction between both.

What is continuity versus discontinuity in development?

Continuity: gradual, gradual accumulation of changes; Discontinuity: qualitative, stage-like changes.

What is active vs. passive development?

Active: individuals influence their own development (e.g., Piaget’s view of exploration); Passive: development driven largely by external forces.

Who is associated with the psychodynamic perspective and early personality theories?

Sigmund Freud; emphasized early childhood experiences and unconscious drives shaping personality.

What is Erikson’s psychosocial theory?

Eight lifespan stages, each with a psychosocial crisis; successful resolution leads to healthy development and positive traits in later stages.

What is a key criticism of Freud’s theory and what did Erikson emphasize instead?

Freud’s theory is difficult to test scientifically; Erikson emphasizes social relationships and psychosocial crises across the lifespan.

What is Social Learning Theory (Bandura) and the idea of reciprocal determinism?

People learn by observing others; environment and personal factors influence each other in a reciprocal way.

What is observational learning and the Bobo doll study?

Learning by watching others; Bandura’s study showed children imitate observed aggression from a model.

What are Piaget’s four stages of cognitive development?

Sensorimotor (birth–2): object permanence; Preoperational (2–7): language and perspective-taking; Concrete operational (7–11): logical thinking; Formal operational (11+): abstract reasoning.

What is Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory?

Cognitive development is shaped by culture and social interaction; emphasis on guidance within the zone of proximal development.

What is Information Processing theory?

Cognitive development is continuous; mental processing abilities build over time with brain maturation and environmental input.

What are the main research designs in psychology?

Descriptive (describes current state), Correlational (examines relationships), Experimental (tests causality with manipulation and control).

What is a case study and its main limitation?

In-depth study of a few individuals; provides detailed data but limited generalizability to others.

What is naturalistic vs laboratory observation?

Naturalistic observes behavior in real settings without interference; laboratory is controlled but may not generalize to real life.

What is a cross-sectional study and its advantage/limit?

Looks at different ages at one point in time; quick and inexpensive but confounds age and cohort effects.

What is a longitudinal study and its advantage/limit?

Follows the same individuals over time; reveals stability/change but is time-consuming and may have attrition.

What is a sequential design in time-span research?

Combines longitudinal and cross-sectional elements to study age-related changes while addressing cohort effects.

What are the key ethical principles in research with humans?

No Harm, Informed Consent, Confidentiality, Deception avoidance/justification, and Debriefing.

How did COVID-19 impact life expectancy in 2020?

U.S. life expectancy at birth declined by about 1.0 year in 2020, with larger declines for some racial/ethnic groups.

What is an ERP in psychophysiology?

Event-Related Potentials; brain activity measured via EEG caps to study processing in response to stimuli.