Smartbook 1 Notes

  • Development is the pattern of movement or change that begins at conception and continues through the human lifespan

  • These are included in studying lifespan development, where we will learn about ourselves

    • How we came to be this way

    • Who we are

    • How we will age

  • The focus of lifespan development is from conception to death

  • It is a continuous process

  • Lifespan development is multidimensional

  • Begins at conception and continues through human life span

  • Socioemotional processes involve changes in an individual's emotions, personality, and relationships with others, playing a crucial role in overall development.

  • Biological processes can influence cognitive processes and vice vera, which is a reflection of the fact that they are bidirectional

  • The developmental periods are approximate age ranges, and there are also variations in individuals’ capabilities

  • In the lifespan perspective, no age period dominates development, which highlights the view that development is considered to be lifelong\

  • Development involves the interaction of age, body, mind, emotion and relationships. These are continually changing and affecting each other. The best way to characterize this is that development is multidimensional

  • In general, research on happiness has found that older people in the US are happier than younger people

  • Developmental social neuroscience examines the connections of socioemotional processes, development, and the brain

  • The developmental period refers to a time frame in a person’s life that is characterized by certain features.

  • The nature part of the nature vs nurture controversy is best described as a biological perspective

  • Some developmentalists believe that biological inheritance and early childhood experiences are crucial to development and that early traits and characteristics persist throughout life. These developmentalists have a stability perspective on development.

  • A study revealed that happiness increases with age.

  • In terms of development, distinct changes is an example of discontinuity.

  • Erikson proposed the eight-stage psychosocial theory of development

  • Developmental cognitive neuroscience explores the connection of cognitive processes and brain development.

  • The nurture portion of the nature vs nurture controversy is best described as an environmental perspective on how people develop

  • Organization and adaptation underlie Piaget’s theory of cognitive development

  • Plasticity is characteristic of an emphasis on change in human development

  • Continuity and discontinuity involve either gradual change or distinct stages

  • According to Piaget’s theory, a child’s way of thinking has four distinct stages

  • A multistage theory in which a developmental task in each stage confronts individuals with a crisis that must be resolved: Best describes Erikson’s theory of development

  • Each of Piaget’s age-related stages consists of a distinct way of thinking

  • The microgenetic method examines learning processes in real time

  • These are views of developmentalists who emphasize stability in human development:

    • Positive experiences in adulthood typically cannot override the negative experiences from childhood

    • Early childhood experiences are most important for development

    • Heredity plays an important role in development

  • The central idea of Piaget’s cognitive development theory is that developmental stages introduce unique ways of perceiving the world.

  • Ethological theory stresses biological factors, and ecological theory emphasizes environmental factors.

  • The scientific method is the best guide for testing and refining theories of lifespan development

  • In naturalistic observation, researchers observe behavior in real-world settings while making no effort to manipulate or control the situation.

  • According to Siegler, the most effective way to understand children’s learning is to observe them while they are learning.

  • These are physiological measures used to study development:

    • Electroencephalography (EEG)

    • Heart rate

    • Eye movement

  • A cross-sectional research approach is most helpful so that the researcher does not have to wait for the individuals to grow up or become older, so it can be completed in a shorter amount of time. A major disadvantage is that is gives no information about how individuals change.

  • Bronfenbrenner’s theory believes that development reflects the influence of five environmental systems: microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem.

  • A longitudinal approach studies one group of the same individuals over time, usually over several years or more.

  • Heart rate is used to study development as an indicator of infant attention levels.

  • A cohort is a group of people who are born at a similar point in history and share similar experiences.

    • Included era, generation, and year of birth