PSY 2340 Human Growth and Development - Chapters 1 & 2 Review

Flashcards covering key vocabulary from the 'Introduction to Human Growth and Development' and 'Research Methods' chapters of PSY 2340.

Developmental Psychology

Scientific study of growth, change, and stability in behavior and mental processes across the life span.

Topical approach (Developmental Psychology)

Divides development into physical, cognitive, and socioemotional domains.

Physical development

Changes in body growth, senses, and motor skills.

Cognitive development

Changes in thinking, learning, memory, and language.

Socioemotional development

Changes in emotions, personality, and relationships.

Stability vs. Change

A developmental issue regarding whether characteristics remain consistent or evolve over time.

Continuous change

Gradual, cumulative changes that build on previous development.

Discontinuous change (Stages)

Development occurring in distinct steps or stages, each qualitatively different from the last.

Nature

Influences on development stemming from genetics inherited from biological parents and inborn characteristics.

Nurture

Influences on development stemming from environmental factors like education, ethnicity, family, and experience.

Prenatal period

The developmental period from conception to birth.

Infancy

The developmental period from birth to 18-24 months.

Early childhood

The developmental period from 3 to 5 years.

Middle and late childhood

The developmental period from 6 to 10/11 years.

Adolescence

The developmental period from 10-12 to 18-21 years.

Early adulthood

The developmental period encompassing the 20s and 30s.

Middle adulthood

The developmental period encompassing the 40s and 50s.

Late adulthood

The developmental period from 60s-70s to death.

Normative influences

Biological or environmental events that affect many or most people in a society, or all people in certain groups.

Age-graded influences

Events strongly related to age and therefore fairly predictable in when they occur and how long they last.

Cohort/history-graded influences

Influences associated with historical events that affect a particular generation or group of people born at a similar time.

Sociocultural-graded influences

Influences that result from social and cultural factors, such as ethnicity, social class, and subcultural membership.

Non-normative life events

Unusual occurrences that have a major impact on an individual's life but do not happen to most people.

Critical periods

Specific times during which a particular event or the absence of it has its greatest consequences.

Sensitive periods

A point in development when organisms are particularly susceptible to certain kinds of stimuli in their environment, but the absence of those stimuli does not always produce irreversible consequences.

Socioeconomic Status (SES)

A measure of an individual's or family's economic and social position in relation to others, based on income, education, and occupation.

Psychodynamic perspective

A theoretical perspective, associated with theorists like Sigmund Freud and Erik Erikson, focusing on unconscious forces and early experiences shaping personality and behavior.

Behaviorism

A theoretical perspective, associated with B.F. Skinner, focusing on observable behavior and how it is shaped by environmental stimuli through conditioning.

Cognitive perspective

A theoretical perspective, associated with Jean Piaget, focusing on mental processes such as thinking, learning, memory, and problem-solving.

Humanistic perspective

A theoretical perspective, associated with Carl Rogers, emphasizing free will, self-actualization, and the inherent potential for good in all people.

Contextual perspective

A theoretical perspective, associated with Urie Bronfenbrenner and Lev Vygotsky, emphasizing the interrelationship between individuals and their physical, cognitive, personality, and social worlds.

Microsystem

In Urie Bronfenbrenner's ecological model, the immediate environment of the individual, such as family, school, peers, and health services.

Mesosystem

In Urie Bronfenbrenner's ecological model, the connections and interactions between different microsystems in an individual's life, such as the link between family and school.

Exosystem

In Urie Bronfenbrenner's ecological model, the broader social settings that the individual does not directly participate in but that still affect them, such as friends of family, mass media, or neighborhood groups.

Macrosystem

In Urie Bronfenbrenner's ecological model, the outermost layer representing the attitudes and ideologies of the broader culture in which the individual lives.

Chronosystem

In Urie Bronfenbrenner's ecological model, the patterning of environmental events and transitions over the life course, including sociohistorical conditions and time since life events.

Scientific Method

A systematic process involving posing a question, conducting a literature review, developing a hypothesis, testing it by collecting data, analyzing the data, and drawing conclusions.

Hypothesis

A testable prediction, often an educated guess, that specifies an anticipated relationship between variables.

Theory

A broad explanation or framework based on observations, reasoning, and confirmed by numerous investigations.

Goals of Research (Psychology)

To describe behavior, explain behavior, predict behavior, and modify behavior.

Field study

Research conducted in a natural, real-world setting.

Laboratory study

Research conducted in a controlled environment, allowing for precise manipulation of variables.

Theoretical research

Research focused on testing and building theories.

Applied research

Research designed to solve practical problems or to improve conditions in the real world.

Qualitative research

Research that explores experiences, meanings, and perspectives, often using non-numerical data like interviews or observations, to gain in-depth understanding.

Quantitative research

Research that involves numerical data and statistical analysis to describe, explain, or predict phenomena.

Descriptive Research

Research designed to observe and document behavior or characterize a particular phenomenon without manipulating variables.

Naturalistic observation

A descriptive research method involving observing behavior in its natural context without intervention.

Case study

A descriptive research method involving an in-depth investigation of a single individual, group, or event.

Survey research

A descriptive research method that gathers data by asking people questions, typically through questionnaires or interviews, about their attitudes, behaviors, or opinions.

Psychophysiological research

Research that examines the relationship between physiological processes (e.g., brain activity, heart rate) and psychological phenomena (e.g., emotions, thoughts) using techniques like EEG, CAT, or fMRI.

Correlational research

Research that examines the relationships between two or more variables to see if they are associated, without implying causation.

Correlation coefficient

A numerical measure ranging from -1.00 to +1.00 that indicates the strength and direction of a linear relationship between two variables.

Positive Correlation (+r)

A relationship where as one variable increases, the other variable also tends to increase.

Negative Correlation (-r)

A relationship where as one variable increases, the other variable tends to decrease.

Zero Correlation

Indicates no linear relationship between two variables.

Experimental Research

A research method designed to determine if one factor causes another by manipulating an independent variable and observing its effect on a dependent variable.

Independent variable

The variable that is manipulated or changed by the researcher in an experiment.

Random assignment

A procedure used in experimental research to assign participants to different groups (e.g., treatment or control) by chance, minimizing pre-existing differences.

Treatment group

The group in an experiment that receives the manipulation or intervention being studied.

Control group

The group in an experiment that does not receive the manipulation or intervention; serves as a baseline for comparison.

Dependent variables

The variable that is measured in an experiment to see if it changes as a result of the independent variable manipulation.

Cross-sectional study

A developmental research design where different groups of people (of various ages) are compared at the same point in time.

Longitudinal study

A developmental research design where the same group of individuals is studied repeatedly over an extended period of time.

Sequential studies

A complex developmental research design that combines elements of both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies to account for cohort effects.