Learn: HLSC 252 Chapter 1: Human Development | Quizlet

Human Development

The multidisciplinary study of how and why people change or remain the same over time.

Nature-Nurture Issue

The debate over whether genetic (nature) or environmental (nurture) influences determine human behavior.

Continuity-Discontinuity Issue

The debate on whether development is a smooth progression or a series of abrupt shifts.

Universal vs. Context-Specific Development

The debate on whether development follows a single path for all or multiple paths based on context.

Biopsychosocial Framework

A model incorporating biological, psychological, sociocultural, and life-cycle forces of development.

Neuroscience

The study of the brain and nervous system in terms of brain-behavior relationships.

Psychodynamic Theories

Theories holding that development is determined by how well people resolve age-specific conflicts.

Psychosocial Theory

Erikson's theory proposing eight distinct stages of human development.

Epigenetic Principle

The principle that each psychosocial strength has its own special period of particular importance.

Operant Conditioning

Learning process where the consequences of a behavior determine if it is repeated.

Positive Reinforcement

Giving a reward to increase the likelihood of a behavior.

Negative Reinforcement

Increasing a behavior by taking away unpleasant things.

Punishment

A consequence that decreases the likelihood of a behavior.

Social Learning Theory

Proposes that people learn by observing others through imitation or observational learning.

Self-Efficacy

People's beliefs about their own abilities and talents.

Information-Processing Theory

Proposes human cognition consists of mental hardware and mental software.

Microsystem

People and objects in a person's immediate environment.

Mesosystem

The mutual influences of various microsystems on each other.

Exosystem

Social, environmental, and governmental forces that indirectly affect development.

Macrosystem

The subculture and culture in which the other environmental systems are embedded.

Competence-Environmental Press Theory

Suggests optimal adaptation occurs when personal abilities match environmental demands.

Multidirectionality (Life-Span)

The life-span feature stating that development involves both growth and decline.

Plasticity (Life-Span)

The life-span feature stating that human capacity is not predetermined or fixed.

Historical Context (Life-Span)

The life-span feature stating development occurs within specific historical and cultural circumstances.

Multiple Causation (Life-Span)

The principle that development results from biological, psychological, sociocultural, and life-cycle forces.

SOC Model

Selection, optimization, and compensation model generating and regulating aging and development.

Life-Course Perspective

Describes how generations experience developmental forces within their respective historical contexts.

Systematic Observation

Research method involving watching people and carefully recording what they do or say.

Naturalistic Observation

Observing people as they behave spontaneously in real-life situations.

Structured Observation

A researcher-created setting designed to bring out a specific behavior of interest.

Self-Reports

People's answers to questions about a topic of interest.

Reliability

Whether a research method consistently measures what it is intended to study.

Validity

Whether a research method accurately measures the variable of interest.

Correlational Study

Research investigating relationships between variables without manipulation.

Correlation Coefficient

A number expressing the strength and direction of a relation between two variables.

Experimental Study

Research involving systematic manipulation of factors to study cause and effect.

Independent Variable

The variable being manipulated as the cause in an experiment.

Dependent Variable

The behavior being observed as the effect in an experiment.

Qualitative Research

Method for gaining an in-depth understanding of behavior and its underlying reasons.

Longitudinal Study

Research design studying the same individuals over an extended period of time.

Cross-Sectional Study

Design identifying developmental differences by testing people of different ages at once.

Cohort Effects

Age-group differences stemming from environmental events rather than developmental processes.

Sequential Design

A research design combining cross-sectional and longitudinal approaches.

Meta-Analysis

A tool enabling researchers to synthesize results from many studies to estimate variable relations.