Lifespan Development Lecture Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering foundational theories, research methods, physical growth, brain development, sensory and cognitive processes, language acquisition, and socioemotional development in lifespan psychology.

Lifespan development

The study of patterns of growth, change, and stability in behavior throughout the entire lifespan.

Oldest old

The age range of 85 and older, identified as the fastest-growing population in lifespan development.

Cohort

A group of people born around the same time and place.

Cohort effects

Differences in development caused by the particular historical circumstances experienced by a cohort.

History-graded influences

Events that affect people because they live through the same historical period, such as growing up during a major war or pandemic.

Age-graded influences

Biological and environmental influences associated with a particular age, such as puberty.

Sociocultural-graded influences

Social and cultural factors affecting a particular individual, such as cultural expectations about family or education.

Non-normative life events

Unexpected events that do not follow the typical life script, such as an unexpected major illness or winning the lottery.

Nature

Genetic and hereditary influences on development, including physical characteristics, physiological capacities, and biological limitations.

Nurture

Environmental influences on development, including school, media, religion, sports, parenting, and culture.

Potential

What a person can achieve if they are sufficiently motivated and challenged.

Continuous development

Gradual development in which new abilities build upon previous abilities.

Discontinuous development

Development occurring in distinct stages, where each stage produces qualitatively different behavior.

Psychodynamic perspective

The theoretical view associated with Freud asserting that behavior is motivated by inner forces, memories, and conflicts outside conscious awareness.

Id

The raw, inborn component of personality that wants immediate gratification.

Ego

The rational and reasonable component of personality that balances desires with reality.

Superego

The conscience component of personality that represents standards and morality.

Fixation

An unresolved conflict at a particular psychosexual developmental stage.

Classical conditioning

A form of learning identified by Pavlov where an organism responds to a previously neutral stimulus with an automatic or involuntary response.

Operant conditioning

A learning process identified by Skinner in which a voluntary, purposeful behavior is strengthened or weakened through its consequences.

Behavioral modification

Techniques used to increase desirable behaviors and decrease undesirable behaviors.

Model

The individual being observed in Bandura's social-cognitive learning approach.

Scheme

An organized mental pattern used to understand and respond to experiences.

Assimilation

The process of interpreting a new experience using an existing scheme by adding to what one already has.

Accommodation

The process of changing existing ways of thinking because new information does not fit current understandings.

Automatization

The process by which a behavior that once required considerable attention becomes increasingly automatic.

Bioecological approach

Bronfenbrenner's perspective that development is simultaneously influenced by five environmental systems: microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem.

Sociocultural theory

Vygotsky's approach emphasizing that cognitive development results from social interactions, play, and cooperation within a culture.

Correlational research

Research that identifies whether a relationship or association exists between variables without establishing causation.

Experimental research

Research where investigators manipulate variables to determine cause-and-effect relationships.

Naturalistic observation

A correlational method where researchers observe naturally occurring behavior without intervening.

Case study

An extensive, in-depth investigation focusing on one individual or a small group.

Independent variable (IV)

The variable in an experiment that the researcher directly manipulates.

Dependent variable (DV)

The variable in an experiment that the researcher measures as the data outcome.

Theoretical research

Research designed specifically to test developmental explanations and expand scientific knowledge.

Applied research

Research designed specifically to solve practical problems and provide immediate solutions.

Longitudinal design

A developmental study design where the same group of participants is investigated over an extended period of time.

Cross-sectional design

A developmental study design in which participants of different ages are compared simultaneously at a single point in time.

Sequential design

A developmental study design combining approaches by examining multiple age groups across multiple points in time.

Informed consent

An ethical requirement that research participants must receive appropriate information about a study and freely agree to take part.

Cephalocaudal principle

The growth principle stating that physical development proceeds from the head downward to the upper and lower body.

Proximodistal principle

The growth principle stating that physical development proceeds from the center of the body outward to the arms, hands, and fingers.

Hierarchical integration

The growth principle stating that simple skills develop independently and are later combined into more complex skills.

Independence of systems

The growth principle stating that different body systems develop at different rates.

Synaptic pruning

The process of eliminating unused neural connections while strengthening frequently used connections in the brain.

Brain plasticity

The infant brain's capacity to adapt and reorganize, allowing other brain areas to sometimes compensate for early damage.

Rhythm

A repetitive, cyclical pattern of infant behavior, such as breathing, sucking, or sleep/wake cycles.

State

The degree of awareness an infant displays toward internal and external stimulation, such as being alert, fussing, or sleeping.

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)

The unexpected death of an apparently healthy infant during sleep.

Reflexes

Inborn, unlearned, organized, and involuntary responses to stimuli.

Gross motor skills

Motor abilities involving large-muscle movements, such as sitting, crawling, and walking.

Fine motor skills

Motor abilities involving smaller, more precise movements, such as grasping, picking up objects, or holding a cup.

Dynamic systems theory

The theory that motor development does not simply appear, but emerges through the interaction of muscles, perception, cognition, and motivation.

Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS)

A developmental assessment measuring an infant's neurological and behavioral responses, motor behavior, physiological control, and stress responses.

Nonorganic failure to thrive

A reversible condition in which an infant stops growing due to a lack of stimulation and attention rather than inadequate nutrition, often linked to neglect.

Sensation

The physical stimulation of sensory organs.

Perception

The mental process of sorting, interpreting, analyzing, and integrating sensory information.

Multimodal perception

The process where sensory information from different systems is combined and coordinated.

Affordances

The action options or possibilities that a particular situation or stimulus provides.

Deferred imitation

The imitation of a behavior by a child after the individual who performed it is no longer present.

Object permanence

The cognitive understanding that an object continues to exist even when it cannot be seen.

Explicit memory

Conscious memory that can be deliberately recalled.

Implicit memory

Memory that affects behavior and performance without conscious awareness.

Infantile amnesia

The general inability of individuals to consciously recall memories formed before roughly age 3.

Phonology

The sounds of a language.

Morpheme

The smallest meaningful unit of a language.

Semantics

The linguistic rules governing meaning.

Prelinguistic communication

Communication through sounds, facial expressions, gestures, and imitation before actual words are spoken.

Babbling

Speech-like but meaningless sounds produced by infants.

Holophrases

One-word utterances used by young children to communicate an entire phrase or idea.

Telegraphic speech

Early speech that leaves out words that are not essential to the message, such as saying 'Mommy go store.'

Underextension

A language error where a child uses a word too narrowly, such as applying 'dog' only to the family dog.

Overextension

A language error where a child uses a word too broadly, such as calling every four-legged animal a 'dog.'

Referential style

A language style in which words are used primarily to label objects.

Expressive style

A language style in which words are used primarily to express feelings and needs.

Universal grammar

Chomsky's premise that all human languages share a common underlying structure.

Language Acquisition Device (LAD)

A hypothesized neural mechanism proposed by Chomsky that enables humans to acquire language.

Infant-directed speech

A communication pattern characterized by higher pitch, shorter sentences, simplified vocabulary, repetition, and exaggerated intonation.

Social smile

A smile produced by an infant in direct response to another person.

Stranger anxiety

The caution and wariness displayed by infants around unfamiliar people.

Separation anxiety

The distress displayed by infants when a caregiver leaves their presence.

Social referencing

The intentional act of looking to other people for emotional cues to interpret an uncertain situation.

Nonverbal decoding

The ability to interpret emotional information from facial expressions and vocal expressions.

Self-awareness

Knowledge of oneself, including recognition of one's own physical capabilities.

Theory of mind

The understanding that other people possess minds, beliefs, feelings, and intentions that influence their behavior.

Empathy

An emotional response that corresponds directly to another person's feelings.

Attachment

A positive emotional bond between a child and another individual.

Strange Situation

A structured sequence of staged episodes developed by Ainsworth to assess the strength and pattern of infant-caregiver attachment.

Secure attachment

An attachment pattern where a child uses the caregiver as a secure base to explore and is comfortable in their presence.

Avoidant attachment

An attachment pattern in which a child does not seek proximity to the caregiver and avoids them.

Ambivalent attachment

An attachment pattern where a child displays a combination of positive and negative reactions toward the caregiver.

Disorganized-disoriented attachment

An attachment pattern characterized by inconsistent and contradictory behavior toward the caregiver.

Reactive Attachment Disorder

A psychological condition characterized by extreme difficulty in forming attachment relationships with others.

Mutual regulation model

A model stating that infants and caregivers learn to communicate emotional states and respond appropriately to one another.

Reciprocal socialization

The bidirectional process in which infant behavior influences caregiver behavior, and caregiver behavior simultaneously influences the infant.

Temperament

Consistent and enduring patterns of emotionality and arousal that describe how someone behaves.

Goodness-of-fit

The concept that developmental outcomes depend partly on how well a child's temperament matches the demands and characteristics of their environment.