Developmental Psychology Chapter #1

Development

the pattern of movement or change that starts at conception and continues through the life span

Life Span Perspective

development is a lifelong, multidimensional, multidirectional, plastic, multidisciplinary, and contextual; that involves growth, maintenance, and regulation: that is constructed through biological, sociocultural, and individual factors

Development is multidirectional

throughout life, some dimensions or components of a dimension expand and others shrink

Development is lifelong

in the life-span perspective, early adulthood is not the endpoint of development; rather, no age period dominates development

Development is Multidimensional

consists of biological, cognitive, and socioemotional dimensions

Development is Plastic

means that there is a capacity for change

possibly there is less capacity for change when we grow old

Development is Contextual

occurs within a context/setting

context

the setting in which development occurs, which is influenced by historical, economic, social, and cultural factors

Normative age-graded influences

biological and environmental influences that are similar for individuals in a particular age group

Normative history graded influence

Biological and environmental influences that are associated with history. These influences are common to people of a particular generation

nonnormative life events

unusual occurrences that have a major impact on a person’s life. The occurrence, pattern, and sequence of these events are not applicable to many individuals

culture

the behavior patterns, beliefs, and all the other products of a group that are passed on from generation to generation

Analyzing Context

culture

ethinicity

socioeconomic status

gender

cross cultural studies

Comparisons of one culture with one or more other cultures. These provide information about the degree to which children’s development is similar, or universal, across cultures, and the degree to which it is culture-specific

ethnicity

a range of characteristics rooted in cultural heritage, including nationality, race, religion, and language

socioeconomic status (SES)

Refers to the conceptual grouping of people with similar occupational, educational, and economic characteristics

gender

the characteristics of people as females and males

Social Policy

a national government’s course of action designed to promote the welfare of its citizens.

Biological Processes

Changes in an individual’s physical nature

cognitive processes

changes in an individual’s thought, intelligence, and language

socioemotional processes

Changes in an individual’s relationship with other people, emotions, and personality

developmental cognitive neuroscience

explores the links between cognitive processes, development, and the brain

Developmental Social Neuroscience

examines connections between socioemotional processes, development, and the brain

prenatal period

time of conception to birth

from a single cell to a complete organism with a brain and behavioral capabilities

9 month period

Infancy

birth to 18 or 24 months when humans are extremely dependent on adults

psychological activities are just beginning

Early childhood

period from the end of infancy to age 5 or 6

Middle and late childhood

period from about 6 to 11 years of age, approximately corresponding to elementary school years

Adolescence

childhood to early adulthood, (10-12 years of age to 18-22 years of age)

thought is more logical, abstract, and idealistic

Early adulthood

begins in the late teens or early twenties and lasts through the thirties

Middle adulthood

period of 40 years of age to about 60 years of age

Late adulthood

begins in the 60s or 70s and lasts till death

Biological age

person’s age in terms of biological health

Psychological Age

individual’s adaptive capacities compared with those of other individuals of the same chronological age

Social Age

connectedness to others and the social roles of individuals adopt

Nature nurture issue

the debate about the extent to which development is influenced by nature and nurture. Nature refers to an organism’s biological inheritance, nurture to its environmental experiences

Stability Change Issue

the debate about the degree to which early traits and characteristics persist through life or change

Continuity-discontinuity issue

the debate about the extent to which development involves gradual cumulative change (continuity) or distinct stages (discontinuity)

theory

a coherent set of ideas that helps to explain data and to make predictions

psychoanalytic theories

theories holding that development depends primarily on the unconscious mind and is heavily couched in emotion that behavior is merely a surface characteristic, that it is important to analyze the symbolic meanings of behavior, and that early experiences are important in development

Erikson’s theory

eight stages of psychosocial development unfold throughout a life span. Each stage consists of a unique developmental task that confronts individuals with a crisis that must be faced

Piaget’s Theory

The theory that children construct their understanding of the world and go through four stages of cognitive development

Vygotsky’s theory

a sociocultural cognitive theory that emphasizes how culture and social interaction guide cognitive development

information processing theory

individuals manipulate information, monitor it, and strategize about it. The processes of memory and thinking are central

Behavioral and Social Cognitive Theories

development can describes in terms of the behaviors learned through the interactions with the environment

Social Cognitive Theory

the theory that behavior, environment, and person/cognitive factors are important in understanding development

Ethology

an approach stressing that behavior is strongly influenced by biology, tied to evolution, and characterized by critical or sensitive periods.

imprinting

the rapid, innate learning that involves attachment to the first moving object seen

Bronfenbrenner Ecological Theory

holds that development reflects the influence of several environmental systems (microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, chronosystem

Eclectic theoretical orientation

an approach that selects and uses whatever is considered the best in many theories

naturalistic observation

observation that occurs in the real world setting without any attempt to manipulate the situation.

laboratory

a controlled setting in which research can take place

standardized test

a test that is given with uniform procedures for administration and scoring

case study

an in depth examination of an individual

descriptive research

type of research that aims to observe and record behavior

correlational research

a type of research that focuses on describing the strength of the relation between two or more events or characteristics

correlation coefficient

a number based on statistical analysis that is used to describe the degree of association between two variables

experiment

a carefully regulated procedure in which one or more of the factors believed to influence the behavior being studied is manipulated and all other factors are held constant. Experimental research permits the determination of cause

cross sectional approach

a research strategy in which individuals of different ages are compared at one time

longitudinal approach

a research strategy in which the same individuals are studied over a period of time usually several years or more

cohort effects

effects that are due to a subject’s time of birth or generation but not age