chapter 1 review guide child psyc

What is physical development

physical development refers to the biological changes that occur in children as they grow, including changes in size, shape, and motor skills. It encompasses everything from growth in height and weight to the development of fine and gross motor abilities.

what is cognitive development

refers to the processes by which children acquire knowledge, develop problem-solving abilities, and learn to think, reason, and understand the world around them. It includes advancements in memory, language, and decision-making skills.

what is Socioemotional development

encompasses the emotional and social changes that occur in children as they grow, including the ability to understand and manage emotions, form relationships, and develop a sense of identity and self-regulation.

What is "context" in relation to human development?

Context refers to the various environmental, social, and cultural factors that influence an individual's development. It includes the relationships and experiences that shape a person's growth and development throughout their life.

nature

Refers to the genetic and biological factors that influence an individual's development, including inherited traits and characteristics.

nurture

Encompasses the environmental influences and experiences that impact an individual's development, including upbringing, culture, and education.

Describe the concept of an "active child" in the context of development

refers to the idea that children are not passive recipients of experiences but rather active participants in their own learning and growth. They engage with their environment, explore, make choices, and influence their own development. This perspective emphasizes the role of children in shaping their experiences, skills, and understanding of the world around them through interaction and experimentation.

continuous development

The theory that development is a gradual, ongoing process rather than discrete stages. It suggests that individuals develop skills and capacities steadily over time, with no clear boundaries separating one stage from another.

discontinuous development

The theory that development occurs in distinct stages, with qualitative differences between each stage. It suggests that children undergo abrupt changes in abilities and behaviors as they transition from one developmental stage to another.

Behavioralist theories

are mostly focused on a person's behavior that can be observed, they also believe that all behavior is influenced by one's physical AND social environment 

Psychoanalytic theories

describe both behavior and development as a result form inner thoughts/emotions such as drives, memories, and conflicts we can’t control/are unaware of

Information processing theory

the mind works in multiple ways that are similar to a computer, such as when information enters, it is then manipulated, stored, and then recalled when it comes to problem solving. 

 Piaget’s theory in terms of its approach to understanding development?

breaks the understanding of development up into 4 parts: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational where each part/stage shows a change in thinking. This is when a child can acquire new ways of thinking that allows them to understand the world around them, in more complex ways.

How does Vygotsky's theory view the role of culture in development?

Vygotsky focuses on how culture is also an important factor to one's development/ways of learning. His theory is called sociocultural theory, which examines how different cultures, languages and thought patterns, as well as behavior, are transmitted from one generation (the generation before) to the next, through social interaction.

Microsystem

interactions with one's immediate physical and/or social environment that surrounds them, (family, peers, school)

Mesosystem

relations and interactions among microsystems, or connections among contexts. Examples being any experiences in the home is considered one microsystem, while influence at a school is another microsystem. So if parents encourage their children to read it will also influence the child's experience in the classroom.

Exosystem

includes settings that an individual is not included in/ a participant in, but still has an influence on him/herself. Ex: a child does not participate in their parents work setting, but when work affects the parents’ mood, that indirectly affects the child.

Macrosystem

Greater sociocultural context includes the microsystem, mesosystem, and the exosystem all together. Includes political policies, cultural values, and other society elements

Chronosystem

how the bioecological system changes overtime. As people go through life they take or let go of many different “roles” graduating college, becoming a parent, or even getting married. These are called ecological transitions

What is Esther Thelen's dynamic systems theory?

This theory posits that a child's developmental domains, environment, and even their maturation forms an integrated system that is constantly rearranging and changing. This then results in developmental changes and emergence of new abilities.

Naturalistic Observation

 scientists observe and record behavior in real-world settings (natural environment) ex: observing a child making gestures toward their parents when they played, then a year later the child used a lot more gestures, the child was also more engaged in its joint attention.

Structured Observation

observing and recording behaviors in a controlled environment/ a situation constructed by an experimenter. Ex: being observed in a laboratory doing puzzles/challenges, or even tasks. 

Open ended Interview

 a trained interviewer uses a conversational style that almost encourages the child understudy to expand their responses which results in more data that can be used. The interview length and questions will vary depending on the responses given.

Structured Interview

the interview is less flexible and yet, because the children receive the same set of questions, the differences in responses are much more likely to reflect a true difference among children.

Correlational research

allows researchers to identify relations among the measured characteristics, events, and behaviors.

Experimental research

used when scientists wish to test a hypothesis about casual relationships, like media exposure influencing behavior or if listening to specific kinds of music can influence ones mood

Longitudinal

follows the same group of students/participants over MANY points in time. Example, measuring students between 1st and 7th grade, this kind of research would measure the child's vocabulary size in first grade, then follow up with that same child 2 years later in 3rd grade, then another 2 years later in 5th, and finally in 7th. 

Cross- sectional

compares groups of children of all different ages at a single point in time, example being if researchers wanted to see how vocabulary improves in elementary school, they measure the vocabulary size of children in 3rd grade, 1st grade, and even 5th grade, this is to compare the different grades vocab at the same time but different ages/grades.

What is the principle of respect for autonomy, and how does it relate to obtaining informed

consent?

Most important principle of research, scientists have a special obligation/rule to respect all participants’ autonomy and the participants ability to implement and make decisions as well. Codes of conduct, being ethical, require informed consent from the participants, a rational and voluntary agreement to participate.