Chapter 1: Human Development (Textbook)

Development

Pattern of change beginning at conception and continuing throughout life, including growth and decline.

Life expectancy

Average number of years a person can expect to live; U.S. life expectancy was ~78.8 years in 2019 and dropped to 77.3 in 2020.

Life-span perspective

View that development is lifelong, multidimensional, multidirectional, plastic, multidisciplinary, and contextual.

Lifelong development

No age period dominates; change occurs across the entire life span.

Multidimensional development

Biological, cognitive, and socioemotional dimensions interact simultaneously.

Multidirectional development

Some abilities increase while others decrease across the life span.

Plasticity

Capacity for change; skills can improve with training even in older adulthood.

Multidisciplinary perspective

Multiple fields contribute to understanding development.

Contextual development

Development shaped by historical, economic, social, and cultural contexts.

Growth, maintenance, and regulation of loss

Three competing goals of development across the life span.

Co-construction

Interaction of biology, culture, and individual factors in shaping development.

Normative age-graded influences

Biological and environmental influences similar for individuals of the same age.

Normative history-graded influences

Common influences experienced by a generation due to historical events.

Nonnormative life events

Unusual events that have a major impact on an individual's life.

Culture

Shared behavior patterns, beliefs, and products passed across generations.

Ethnicity

Characteristics based on cultural heritage, nationality, race, religion, and language.

Socioeconomic status (SES)

Grouping based on education, occupation, and economic resources.

Gender

Characteristics of femininity/masculinity shaped by social and cultural expectations.

Cross-cultural studies

Comparisons of cultures to determine universal vs. culture-specific development.

Social policy

Government actions designed to promote welfare of citizens.

Resilience

Ability to adapt positively despite adversity.

Biological processes

Changes in physical nature such as genes, brain development, puberty, and motor skills.

Cognitive processes

Changes in thought, intelligence, and language.

Socioemotional processes

Changes in relationships, emotions, and personality.

Developmental cognitive neuroscience

Study of links between development, cognition, and the brain.

Developmental social neuroscience

Study of links between socioemotional processes, development, and the brain.

Prenatal period

Conception to birth; rapid growth from a single cell to a complex organism.

Infancy

Birth to 18–24 months; extreme dependence and emergence of language and symbolic thought.

Early childhood

Ages 3–5; preschool years, self-care, and school readiness.

Middle and late childhood

Ages 6–10/11; mastery of reading, writing, arithmetic, and self-control.

Adolescence

Ages 10–12 to 18–21; rapid physical changes and identity exploration.

Emerging adulthood

Ages 18–25; identity exploration in love, work, and lifestyle.

Early adulthood

20s and 30s; independence, career development, family formation.

Middle adulthood

40–60; social involvement and guiding the next generation.

Late adulthood

60s/70s to death; life review, retirement, declining strength.

First age

Childhood and adolescence.

Second age

Prime adulthood (20–59).

Third age

Approximately 60–79; active, healthy years.

Fourth age

80+; increased frailty and decline.

Normal aging

Typical pattern of functioning peaking in early middle age with modest decline later.

Pathological aging

Greater-than-average decline due to disease or vulnerability.

Successful aging

Maintaining positive functioning longer.

Chronological age

Time elapsed since birth.

Biological age

Functional capacity of organs relative to actual age.

Psychological age

Adaptive capacities such as learning ability and emotional control.

Social age

Connectedness with others and social role expectations.

Nature-nurture issue

Debate over biological inheritance vs. environmental experience.

Epigenetic view

Development results from bidirectional gene–environment interactions.

Stability-change issue

Whether early traits persist or change over time.

Continuity-discontinuity issue

Whether development is gradual or stage-like.

Psychoanalytic theory

Development shaped by unconscious processes and early experiences.

Freud’s oral stage

Birth–1.5 years; pleasure centers on the mouth.

Freud’s anal stage

1.5–3 years; pleasure focuses on anus and toilet training.

Freud’s phallic stage

3–6 years; pleasure focuses on genitals.

Freud’s latency stage

6–puberty; sexual interest repressed.

Freud’s genital stage

Puberty onward; sexual reawakening.

Erikson’s psychosocial theory

Eight stages, each involving a developmental crisis.

Trust vs. mistrust

Infancy; developing trust in caregivers.

Autonomy vs. shame/doubt

1–3 years; independence vs. doubt.

Initiative vs. guilt

3–5 years; responsibility and purpose.

Industry vs. inferiority

6–puberty; mastery of skills.

Identity vs. identity confusion

Adolescence; exploring roles and identity.

Intimacy vs. isolation

Early adulthood; forming intimate relationships.

Generativity vs. stagnation

Middle adulthood; contributing to next generation.

Integrity vs. despair

Late adulthood; reflecting on life.

Piaget’s cognitive theory

Children construct understanding through four stages.

Sensorimotor stage

Birth–2 years; coordination of senses and motor actions.

Preoperational stage

2–7 years; symbolic thinking without logical operations.

Concrete operational stage

7–11 years; logical reasoning about concrete events.

Formal operational stage

11+; abstract and hypothetical thinking.

Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory

Development shaped by culture and social interaction.

Information-processing theory

Gradual increases in processing capacity.

Skinner’s operant conditioning

Behavior shaped by rewards and punishments.

Bandura’s social cognitive theory

Behavior shaped by interaction of behavior, cognition, and environment.

Ethological theory

Behavior influenced by biology and evolution.

Lorenz’s imprinting

Innate attachment to first moving object seen.

Bowlby’s attachment theory

Early attachment shapes lifelong development.

Microsystem

Immediate environments like family and school.

Mesosystem

Connections between microsystems.

Exosystem

Settings that indirectly affect the individual.

Macrosystem

Culture, values, and societal norms.

Chronosystem

Environmental events and transitions over time.

Eclectic orientation

Using the best features of multiple theories.

Laboratory observation

Systematic observation in a controlled setting.

Naturalistic observation

Observation in real-world settings.

Survey/interview

Self-report of beliefs or attitudes.

Standardized test

Uniform procedures for comparing individuals.

Case study

In-depth study of one individual.

Physiological measures

Biological data such as EEG or fMRI.

Descriptive research

Observes and records behavior.

Correlational research

Examines relationships; correlation ≠ causation.

Experimental research

Manipulates variables to determine cause and effect.

Independent variable

Factor manipulated by researcher.

Dependent variable

Outcome measured.

Control group

Group not exposed to the independent variable.

Random assignment

Assigning participants by chance.

Cross-sectional design

Different ages studied at one time.

Longitudinal design

Same individuals studied over time.

Cohort effects

Differences due to generation, not age.

Informed consent

Participants must know what participation involves.