CH 1 + 2 NOTES- Intro to Dev. Psych

developmental psychology

The field of study that focuses on the range of children’s physical, cognitive (intellectual), social, and emotional developments.

preformationism

 The belief that adultlike capacities, desires, interests, and emotions are present in early childhood

basic research

advance scientific knowledge of human development

applied research

answer practical questions related to improving children’s lives and experiences

reliability

the same behavior is measured on two or more occasions by the same or different observers, the measurements must be consistent with each other.

replicability

other researchers are able to use the same procedures as an initial investigator did and obtain the same results.

validity

the data being collected must actually reflect the phenomenon being studied.

naturalistic observation

Observation of the actual behavior of people in the course of their everyday lives.

experiment

research in which a change is introduced into a person’s experience and the effect of that change is measured.

experimental group

The group in an experiment whose experience is changed as part of the experiment.

control group

The group in an experiment that is treated as much as possible like the experimental group except that it does not participate in the experimental manipulation.

active development

child directs, shapes, and controls own environment

passive development

child is shaped by external forces

continuous development

gradual, quantative change; age-related changes occur gradually

discontinuous development

abrupt, qualitative change; age-related changes include occasional large shifts so that children of different ages seem qualitatively different

microsystem

immediate social context
ex: family, school, neighborhood

mesosystem

interconnections between microsystems
ex: parent-teacher connections

exosystem

larger environment, no direct contact
ex: parent’s workplace; school board

macrosystem

values of society/culture in which the individual lives

chronosystem

time, transitions
ex: parent’s divorce, marriage, going to college

theory

a set of concepts and propositions designed to organize, describe, and explain an existing set of observations

correlation

The condition that exists between two factors when changes in one factor are associated with changes in the other.

longitudinal design

A research design in which data are gathered about the same group of people as they grow older over an extended period of time.

cross-sectional design

 A research design in which individuals of various ages are studied at the same time.

triangulation

two or more methods are combined to confirm their conclusions.

behaviorism

focus is on observable behavior, and how it is shaped by environment around the child

operant conditioning

importance of reinforcement + punishment in shaping behavior

Schema

organized ways of making sense of experiences

Assimilation

using current schemes to interpret external world

Accommodation

adjusting old schemes + creating new ones to fit with experience