Lifespan Development and Personality Theories

A series of flashcards summarizing key concepts from the lecture on lifespan development and personality theories.

Cognitive Development

The process of growth and change in mental capabilities such as learning, memory, language, thinking, and creativity.

Psychosocial Development

The development of emotions, personality, and social relationships throughout a person's life.

Continuous Development

A perspective in development that views growth as a cumulative process, gradually building on existing skills.

Discontinuous Development

A perspective that views development as occurring in distinct stages, or specific times in life.

Nature vs. Nurture

The debate regarding the relative contributions of genetics (nature) and environment/culture (nurture) to human development.

Freud's Psychosexual Theory

A theory stating that childhood experiences shape adult personality, progressing through five stages: oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital.

Erikson's Psychosocial Theory

A theory proposing eight stages of psychosocial development, each characterized by a psychological conflict that must be resolved.

Cognitive Theory (Piaget)

A theory focused on children's cognitive growth, which occurs through specific stages of cognitive development.

The Heinz Dilemma

A moral thought experiment by Lawrence Kohlberg used to explore moral reasoning and justify decisions regarding right and wrong.

Socioemotional Selectivity Theory

The theory that as people age, they prioritize meaningful relationships and social interactions.

Attachment Theory (Bowlby)

A psychological model describing the dynamics of long-term interpersonal relationships, emphasizing the importance of security in attachments.

Parenting Styles

Different approaches to parenting typically categorized into authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and uninvolved.

Cognitive Empathy

The ability to take the perspective of others and feel concern for them, which increases during adolescence.

Locus of Control

A psychological concept that refers to how strongly individuals believe they can control the events that affect them.

Trait Theory

A psychological perspective that focuses on measuring individual personality traits and characteristics.

Five Factor Theory (OCEAN)

A model that identifies five broad dimensions of personality: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

A personality assessment based on Carl Jung's theory, categorizing individuals into 16 personality types through dichotomous traits.

Projective Tests

Assessment tools relying on projection to evaluate unconscious processes, often using ambiguous stimuli.