week 11: development

developmental psychology

the study of change in behavior and thinking over time; any aspect of behavior can be studied from a developmental perspective; perception, thinking, language, etc; friendships

nature

genes, maturation, biology

nurture

experience, learning, environment

cross-sectional design

study different people of many different ages; usually short-term; cheaper and faster to conduct study; cohort effects

longitudinal design

study the same group of people over time; usually long-term; can examine individual change; takes longer, subjects may drop out (attrition)

cohort effects

effects on development due to having been a specific age at a particular time in history; may appear to be an age-related change, when vowed cross-sectionally, is due to change in the environment

cognitive development

age-related change in thinking

piaget’s theory

b