Chapter 1: Introduction

What is developmental psychology?

The study of development from conception until death

What is nature (Nature vs. Nurture)?

Your genetic blueprint

What is nurture (Nature vs. Nurture)?

Environmental factors

How can development be best explained?

An interaction between nature and nurture

What age is the prenatal period?

Conception until birth

What age is infancy?

0-2 years old

What age early childhood?

3-5 years old

What age is middle/late childhood?

6-10 years old

What age is adolescent?

11-19 years old

What age is young adulthood?

20-39 years old

What age is middle adulthood?

40-64 years old

What age is late/older adulthood?

65+ years old

What influences do biological processes have on development?

Produce changes in an individual’s physical nature

What influences do cognitive processes have on development?

Involve changes in an individual’s cognition

What influences do socioemotional process have on development?

Involve changes in an individual’s relationships with other people, emotions, and personality

How is development best understood?

The way biological, cognitive, and socioemotional processes interact with each other in one’s life

What is the theoretical psychodynamic perspective?

Behavior is motivated by inner forces, memories, and conflicts that are generally beyond people’s conscious awareness and control

What is the theoretical behavioral perspective?

Behavior is motivated by external forces in one’s environment

What is the theoretical cognitive perspective?

The approach that focuses on the processes that allow people to know, understand, and think about the world

What is the theoretical ethological perspective?

Behavior is strongly influenced by biology, tied to evolution, and characterized by critical or sensitive periods

What is the theoretical ecological perspective?

The theory the considers the relationship between individuals, and their physical, cognitive, personality, and social worlds over several layers.

How is Freud’s psychosexual theory characterized?

Where the libido (sex instinct) is centered in our body

What is the motivation for our behavior according to Freud’s psychosexual theory?

Sex and aggression

When does personality develop according to Freud’s psychosexual theory?

Established at the age of 5

How are Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages characterized?

By psychological and social dilemmas

What is the motivation for our behavior according to Erikson’s psychosocial theory?

Social, reflects a desire to affiliate with people

When does personality develop according to Erikson’s psychosocial theory?

Changes throughout lifespan

What period of development does Trust vs. Mistrust affect?

Infancy

What is Trust vs. Mistrust according to Erikson’s stages?

Concerned with whether or not to trust others

What period of development does Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt affect?

Toddlerhood

What is Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt according to Erikson’s stages?

Development of independence and self-reliance; or dependence on other and self-doubt

What period of development does Initiative vs. Guilt affect?

Early childhood

What is Initiative vs. Guilt according to Erikson’s stages?

Developing initiative in exploring the environment; or feeling too guilty to do so

What period of development does Industry vs. Inferiority affect?

Middle childhood

What is Industry vs. Inferiority according to Erikson’s stages?

Feeling of competence or feelings of inferiority

What period of development does Identity vs. Role Confusion affect?

Adolescence

What is Identity vs. Role Confusion according to Erikson’s stages?

Establishing an identity, or identity confusion

What period of development does Intimacy vs. Isolation affect?

Young adulthood

What is Intimacy vs. Isolation according to Erikson’s stages?

Establishing intimate relationship, or being alone

What period of development does Generativity vs. Stagnation affect?

Adulthood

What is Generativity vs. Stagnation according to Erikson’s stages?

Raising your kids well, or doing something else that will benefit others, versus concern with self only

What period of development does Ego Integrity vs. Despair affect?

Aging (Late adulthood)

What is Ego Identity vs. Despair according to Erikson’s stages?

Satisfaction with life accomplishments, or regret, bitterness, and despair

What is Skinner’s Operant Conditioning?

Personality influenced by rewards and punishments

According to Skinner’s Operant conditioning, what will happen if a behavior is followed with a reward?

It is likely to re-occur

According to Skinner’s Operant conditioning, what will happen if a behavior is followed with a punishment?

It is less likely to re-occur

Does Skinner’s Operant conditioning strongly emphasize nature or nurture?

Nurture, if a behavior keeps re-occurring, it is likely being rewarded in some way

What is Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory?

Observational learning (nurture)

What is Observational Learning according to Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory?

We learn by observing others (who he called models)

What three factors influence development according to Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory?

Behavior, the individual (cognition), and the environment

What is Brofenbrenner’s Ecological Theory?

Different “levels” of the environment simultaneously influence individuals

What is a microsystem?

Immediate environment

What is a mesosystem?

Linkages between microsystems

What is an exosystem?

Settings that could affect, but do not include, the individual

What is a macrosystem?

Larger cultural context

What is a chronosystem?

Changes that occur because of events that occur during the passage of time

What are not reliable tools for anyone for arriving at sound conclusions?

Experience and common sense

What can even the most intelligent and well-educated people be fooled by?

Biases and emotions

What is the scientific method?

A method of research (not just a field of study) used to observe data rather than speculate

Metaphorically, what can the scientific method be referred to as?

A toolbox of research to help us avoid our own biases

What is a scientific attitude?

An attitude of the critical thinker

What are attributes of a scientific thinker?

Skeptical until evidence is observed, careful examination of the evidence before conclusions are drawn, and understanding that what we know is not final, and may change with new evidence

Where may the observation method of collecting data occur?

Laboratory

What is a laboratory in terms of the observation method of collecting data?

A controlled setting from which many complex factors of the “real world” have been removed

What is naturalistic observation?

Observed behavior in real-world settings

What is the disadvantage of the observation method of collecting data?

Lack of control for testing hypothesis

What is the survey and interview method of collecting data?

Standard set of questions used to obtain people’s self-reported attitudes or beliefs

What are the disadvantages of the survey and interview method of collecting data?

Assumption that people have insight into their own personality

What kind of study is not helpful when finding cause and effect?

Correlational study

What is the research procedure for a correlational study?

Administering surveys and looking for links, or tracking people over time and watching naturally occurring variables being linked to each other

What does a correlational study procedure not involve?

An actual experiment where it identifies whether an association or relationship between two factors exist and it does not seek to find out if one factor causes the other

What does a relationship between two variables not mean?

That one causes the other, many other variables could come into play.

What is the only way to find cause and effect?

To run an experimental design

What is an experimental design?

A process in which an experimenter intentionally devises two different experiences for two different groups, and then compares the outcomes

With an experimental design, how are the participant selected into their groups?

Randomly

With an experimental design, what does the experimenter do to the situation of both groups?

Controls

If an experimenter does not randomly assign groups or does not control the situation of the groups in an experimental design, what does the design become?

A correlational design

What is a cross-sectional approach in developmental research design?

Compares the performances of people of different age groups at the same time

What is a cohort in terms of the cross-sectional approach?

A group of individuals born at the same time

What is the cohort effect?

Effects of being born a member of a cohort or a generation in a historical context, rather than occurring from natural development

What are advantages of the cross-sectional design?

Very easy, a lot of data obtained quickly

What are disadvantages of the cross-sectional design?

Cohort effect, cannot conclude that differences are due to human development

What is a longitudinal approach in developmental research design?

Studies the same group of people over a long period of time

What are advantages of the longitudinal design?

Reveals information about development, can link early behavior to later behavior

What are disadvantages about the longitudinal design?

Dropout rate, participant may be affected by previous testing

What are sequential designs in developmental research design?

Several different age groups at many different times

What two designs does sequential designs combine and improve?

The cross-sectional and longitudinal approach

Which is the most optimal design for developmental research?

Sequential designs

What does ethical research need to have?

Informed consent, deception, and debriefing

What is informed consent?

Informing research participants of what is involved in a study before asking them to participate

What is deception in research ethics?

Deliberately misleading participants to ensure internal validity

What is debriefing in research ethics?

Process where researchers explain to the participants when participants are blind to the study, or went through deception