chapter 1

intro to child development

active child

children contribute to their own development from early in life, and their contributions increase as they grow older

• attentional patterns

• use of language

• play

continuity

age related changes occur gradually

discontinuity

age related changes include ocasional large shifts so that children of different ages seem quantitatively different

correlation

a statistical relationship or association between two or more variables

correlational designs

a non-experimental research method that measures two or more variables to assess the statistical relationship between them

independent variable

the factor in an experiment or study that you manipulate, control, or change to see what effect it has

dependent variable

the factor that you measure or observe in an experiment to see if it changes

experimental design

a structured, detailed plan for conducting a scientific study or experiment to test a hypothesis and establish a clear cause-and-effect relationship

hypothesis

a proposed, testable, and falsifiable explanation for a phenomenon or a reasoned answer to a research question based on limited evidence and prior knowledge

longitudinal design

follows and repeatedly measures the exact same group of individuals across an extended period (months, years, or decades)

cross-sectional design

compares multiple groups of people from different age brackets (or cohorts) at a single, shared point in time

microgenetic design

observes the same small group of individuals intensively and repeatedly over a very short time frame (e.g., daily or hourly across a period of rapid learning or transition)

meta-analysis

a statistical technique that combines and analyzes the quantitative results of multiple independent studies on the same research topic

nativists

contemporary group of psychologists that argue that evolution has created many remarkable capabilities that are present even in early infancy, like understanding basic properties of objects, plants, animals, people, etc.

empiricists

group of psychologists that argue that infants possess general learning mechanisms that allow them to learn a great deal quite quickly, but that infants and young children lack the specialized capabilities that navists attribute to them

nature

our biologiical endownment, espically the genes we get from our parents

nurture

the wide range to social and physical environments that influence our development

reliability

the degree to which independent measurements of a given behavior are consistent

scientific method

a systematic, step-by-step procedure that researchers use to empirically observe, test, and explain human behavior and mental processes

sociosconomic status

a multi-faceted measure of an individual's or group's social standing and economic position in society

naturalistic observation

research method where psychologists observe and record behavior in its natural, real-world environment without any interference, manipulation, or control by the researcher

structured observation

research method where psychologists create a specific task, setup, or controlled environment (such as a laboratory or a structured classroom scenario) to observe and quantify targeted, predefined behaviors

validity

degree to which a test measures what its supposed to

variables

the elements in a study