Developmental Psychology: Key Concepts

These flashcards cover key concepts in developmental psychology, including Piaget's theories, nature vs. nurture, and various contextual influences on development.

Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development

An example of cognitive development theory that does NOT represent continuous development.

Nature vs. Nurture

Two contrasting factors that influence personality, religion (Nurture), language (Nurture), and introversion (Nature).

Lifespan Perspective

An approach in developmental psychology that examines development across the entire lifespan, including aspects like multidirectional, multidimensional, and contextual influences.

Multidirectional Development

A concept referring to how development in one area can affect another, exemplified by an immigrant learning English and losing Spanish.

Phineas Gage

A case study that exemplifies the plasticity of development, often cited in discussions about brain injury and personality changes.

Contextualism

An approach in developmental psychology that acknowledges the influence of biological, historical, and environmental factors on development.

Normative Influences

Factors that are typical in development and may include age-graded, history-graded, or nonnormative influences.

Normative history-graded influences

Contextual influences that are specific to a certain historical period, exemplified by Millennials being tech-savvy due to growing up with technology.

Sensory Motions in Infants

An example of normative age-graded influences in developmental contexts as infants engage in activities like grabbing their toes.