Chapter 1 Life Span / Development

1.1 What are the three fundamental issues of development? What are the key aspects of each one?

Nature v. Nurture, heredity v. environment; Continuity vs. discontinuity, does development smoothly progress or shift abruptly?; Universal vs. context-specific development, Is there just one or multiple ways in which development occurs?

Nature vs. Nurture

Heredity vs. Environment

Continuity vs. discontinuity

Does development smoothly progress or shift abruptly?

Universal vs. context-specific development

Is there just one or multiple ways in which development occurs?

1.1 What are the basic forces in the biopsychosocial framework? What are the key aspects of each?

Biological (genetic), Sociocultural (culture, ethnic), Psychological (emotional, personality), Life-Force (identical life events at different age groups)

Biological forces

Genetic, health related

Psychological forces

Cognitive/perceptual, emotional, and personality

Sociocultural forces

Societal, cultural, ethnic, and interpersonal

Life-cycle forces

Identical events and different age groups

1.1 What is the neuroscience perspective? What are its advantages in understanding human development?

The study of the brain and the nervous system. It helps understand the biopsychosocial framework

Neuroscience

study of the brain and the nervous system

1.2 What is meant by a developmental theory?

Meant to make predictions about behavior

Theory

an organized set of ideas that is designed to explain development

1.2 What are the major aspects of psychodynamic theories of development?

That development is largely determined by how well people resolve conflicts at different age groups.

Psychosocial theory

psychosocial development of personality

1.2 What are the major versions of learning theories of development? What are the major aspects of each?

Basic trust vs. mistrust; Autonomy vs. shame; Initiative vs. guilt; Industry vs. inferiority; Identity vs. identity confusion; Intimacy vs. isolation; Generativity vs. stagnation; Integrity vs. despair

Basic trust vs. mistrust Age:

Birth to 1 year

Basic trust vs. mistrust Challenge:

To develop a sense that the world is safe, a "good place"

Autonomy vs. shame Age:

1 to 3 years

Autonomy vs. shame Challenge:

To realize that one is an independent person who can make decisions and doubt

Initiative vs. guilt Age:

3 to 6 years

Initiative vs. guilt Challenge

To develop the ability to try new things and to handle failure

Industry vs. inferiority Age:

6 years to adolescence

Industry vs. inferiority Challegnce:

To learn basic skills and to work with others

Identity vs. identity confusion Age:

Adolescence

Identity vs. identity confusion Challenge:

To develop a lasting, integrated sense of self

Intimacy vs. isolation Age:

Young adulthood

Intimacy vs. isolation Challenge:

To commit to another in a loving relationship

Generativity vs. stagnation Age

Middle adulthood

Generativity vs. stagnation Challenge

To contribute to younger people through childrearing, child care, mentoring

Integrity vs. despair Age:

Late life

Integrity vs. despair Challenge:

To view one's life as satisfactory and having been worth living

1.2What are the main points in theories of cognitive development?

We learn in stages and learn more as we mature

Cognitive-Developmental Theory Piaget's approach:

We develop in four discrete stages

Cognitive-Developmental Theory Vygotsky's theory:

sociocultural expectations we learn at different ages, and our “apprenticeship” with skilled others, shape development

Cognitive-Developmental Theory Information-processing theory:

we become more efficient at processing information as we mature

Operant conditioning

consequences of a behavior determine whether it will be repeated.

Reinforcement increases the chance that a behavior will be repeated

increases the chance that a behavior will be repeated; positive or negative

Punishment Reinforcement

decreases the chance that a behavior will be repeated

Observational learning

learn by watching others

Self-efficacy

people’s beliefs about their own abilities and talents.

1.2 What are the main points in the ecological and systems approach to human development?

That how a person develops is integrated with environmental context and complex and interactive systems

Ecological theory

views human development as inseparable from the environmental context

Bronfenbrenner’s theory

the developing person is embedded in a series of complex and interactive systems

1.2 What are the main points of life-span and life-course perspectives of human development?

Many factors influence development, and different generations experience/adjust to biological and sociological forces

1.3a What are the four approaches researchers use to measure topics of interest in studying human development? What are the major aspects of each?

Naturalistic, real life observations; Structured, created space to promote wanted response; Self-report, results of surveys and questionaries; Physiological, physical responses

Naturalistic observation

“real life” observation

Structured observation

create a situation likely to result in the type of behavior they are interested

Self-reports

basing results off of questionaries or surveys

Physiological measures

how the body reacts to shown objects or stimuli

1.3b What are reliability and validity?

does the method consistently measure and does it accurately measure the variable of interest

Reliability

Does the method consistently measure what is being studied

Validity:

Does this accurately measure the variable of interest?

Populations

Broad groups of people in which researchers may be interested

Sample

A subset of people chosen to well represent the population

1.4 What are the three general designs for research? What are the major aspects of each?

Correlational, measure relations between variables; Experimental, cause and effect between two variables; Qualitative, understanding of behavior and the underlying reasons to it

Correlational studies

Measure the relations between variables

Experimental Studies

study the possible “cause and effect” relationship between two variables

Qualitative Studies

in-depth understanding of behavior and what governs it by uncovering reasons underlying

1.4 What are the three specific research designs used in developmental research? What are the major aspects of each?

Longitudinal, test a group of people at different time periods; Cross-Sectional, testing a group of different ages at the same time; Cohort effects, differences may result due to each group unique environmental events

Longitudinal studies

observe or test one group of individuals at each of several time periods

Cross-Sectional studies

test groups of different ages at the same period in time

Cohort effects:

differences may result from each group’s unique environmental events

1.4 What are the techniques researchers use to integrate results from multiple studies

Meta-analysis

Meta-analysis

Analysis of multiple studies that all examined the same research questions and variables, verify whether the same relationships among variables are replicated, Synthesizes the results

1.4 What are the ethical procedures researchers must follow in studying human development?

Focus is on the rights and protection of research participants, Minimize and warn of any risks to participants, Informed consent, Individual results or data must be kept anonymous