Chapter 1: History, Theories, And Methods

Front 1

Child

Back 1

A person undergoing the period of development from infancy through puberty

Hint 1

pg4

Front 2

Infancy

Back 2

The period of very early childhood, characerized by lack of complex speech; the first two years of birth

Hint 2

PG 4

Front 3

Development

Back 3

The processes by which organisms unfold features and traits, grow, and become more complex and specialized in structure and function (p. 4)

Hint 3

Development is the orderly appearance, over time, of physical structres, psychological traits, behaviors, and ways of adapting to the demands of life.

Front 4

Growth

Back 4

The processes by which organisms increase in size, weight, strength and other traits as they develope (p. 4)

Hint 4

Growth is generally used to refer to changes in size or quantity, whereas development also refers to changes in quality.

Front 5

Behaviorism

Back 5

John B. Watson's view that a science or theory of development must study observble behavior only and investigate relatonships between stimuli and responses. (p. 7)

Hint 5

John B. Watson, the founder of American behaviorism viewed development in terms of learning.

Front 6

Theory

Back 6

A formulation of relationships underlying observed events. A theory involves assumptions and logically derived explanations and predictions. (p. 8)

Hint 6

When possible, descriptive terms and concepts are interwoven into theories.

Front 7

Psychosexual development

Back 7

Freud's view that as children develop, they find sexual gratification through stimulating different parts of their bodies. (p. 9)

Hint 7

In this section, we explore Freud's theory of psychosexual development.

Front 8

Stage theory

Back 8

A theory development characerized by hypothesizing the existence of distnct periods of life. Stages follow one another in an oderly sequence. (p. 9)

Hint 8

Each is a stage theory that sees children as developing through distint periods of life.

Front 9

Psychosocial development

Back 9

Erikson's theory, which emphasizes the importance of social relationships and conscious choice throughout the eight stages of development. (p.12)

Hint 9

Furthermore, it seemed to Erickson that he had developed his own personality through a series of conscious and purposeful acts.

Front 10

Life crisis

Back 10

An internal conflict that attends each stage of psychosocial development. Positive resolution of early life crises sets the stage for positive resolution of subsequent life crises. (p. 12)

Hint 10

Rather than labeling his stages after parts of the body, Erickson labeled stages after the life crisis that the child (and then the adult) might encounter during that stage.

Front 11

Identity crisis

Back 11

According to Erikson, an adolescent period of inner conflict during which one examines one's values and makes decisions about one's life role. (p. 13)

Hint 11

For example, Erikson's views about an adolescent identity crisis have entered the popular culture and have affected the way many parents and teachers deal with teenagers.

Front 12

Classical Conditioning

Back 12

A simple form of learning in which one stimulus comes to bring forth the response usually elicited by a second stimulus by being paired repeatedly with the second stimulous. (p. 13)

Hint 12

Classical conditioning is a simple form of learning in which an originally neutral stimulus comes to bring forth, or elicit, the response usually brought forth by a second stimulus as a result of being paired repeatedly with the second stimulus.

Front 13

Stimulus

Back 13

A change in the environment that leads to a change in behavior. (p. 15)

Hint 13

The bell ringing was a what that lead to the test subject pairing urinary tension with waking up.

Front 14

Operant conditioning

Back 14

A simple form of learning in which an organism learns to engage in behavior that is reinforced. (p. 15)

Hint 14

But in operant conditioning, children learn to do something because of its effects.

Front 15

Reinforcement

Back 15

The process of providing stimuli following a behavior, which has the effect of increasing the fequency of the behavior. (p. 15)

Hint 15

Reinforcers are stimuli that increase th frequency of the behavior they follow.

Front 16

Positive reinforcers

Back 16

A reinforcer that, when applied, increases the frequency of a behavior. (p. 14)

Hint 16

Positive reinforcers increase the frequency of behaviors when they are applied.

Front 17

Negative reinforcers

Back 17

A reinforcer that, when removed, increases the frequency of the behavior. (p. 14)

Hint 17

Negative reinforcers increase the frequency of behaviors when they are removed.

Front 18

Punishment

Back 18

An unpleasant stimulus that suppresses behavior. (p. 14)

Hint 18

Punishments are aversive events that suppress or decrease the frequency of the behavior they follow.

Front 19

Shaping

Back 19

A procedure for teaching complex behavior patterns by reinforcing small steps torward the target behavior. (p. 16)

Hint 19

We can teach children complex behaviors by shaping, or reinforcing small steps toward the behavioral goals.

Front 20

Time-out

Back 20

A behavior-modification technique in which a child who misbehaves is termporarily removed from positive reinforcement. (p. 17)

Hint 20

Teachers frequently use time-out from positive reinforcement to discourage misbehavior.

Front 21

Social cognitive theory

Back 21

A cognitively oriented learning theory that emphasizes the role of observational learning in determining behavior. (p. 17)

Hint 21

Social cognitive theorists, such as Albert Bandura, have shown that much of children's learning also occurs by observing parents, teachers, other children, and characters in the media.

Front 22

Cognitive-developmental theory

Back 22

The stage theory that holds the child's abilties to mentally represent the world and solve problems unfold as a result of the interaction of experience and the maturation of neurological structures. (p. 18)

Hint 22

One cognitive perspective is cognitive-developmental theory, advanced by Swiss biologists Jean Piaget (1896-1980).

Front 23

Scheme

Back 23

According to Piaget, an action patterns or mental structure that is involved in the aquisition and organization of knowledge. (p. 19)

Hint 23

Piaget defines the scheme as a pattern of action or a mental stucture that is involed in acquirin or organizing knowledge.

Front 24

Adaptation

Back 24

According to Piaget, an interaction between the organism and the environment that consists of two processes: assimilation and accommodation. (p. 19)

Hint 24

Adaptation reflects the interaction between the organism and the environment.

Front 25

Assimilation

Back 25

According to Piaget, the incorporation of new events or knowledge into existing schemes. (p. 19)

Hint 25

Cognitive assimilation is the process by which someone responds to new objects or events according existing schemes or ways of organizing knowledge.

Front 26

Accommodation

Back 26

According to Piaget, the modification of existing shemes to permit the incorporation of new events or knowledge. (p. 19)

Hint 26

Within the first month of life, infants modify sucking behavior as a result of their experience sucking various objects.

Front 27

Equilibration

Back 27

The creation of an equilibrium, or balance, between assimilation and accommodation as a way of incorporating new events or knowledge. (p. 19)

Hint 27

Piaget believed that the attempt to restore equilibrium is the source of interllectual motivation and lies at the heart of the natural curiosity of the child.

Front 28

Ethology

Back 28

The study of behaviors that are specific to a species - how those behaviors evolved, help the organism adapt, and develop into critical periods. (p. 21)

Hint 28

Ethology is concerned with instinctive, or inborn, behavior patterns,- how they help the organism adapt and how they have evolved.

Front 29

imprinting

Back 29

The process by which some animals ehibit the fixed action pattern (FAP) of attachment in response to a releasing stimulus. The FAP occurs during a critical period and is difficult to modify. (p. 22)

Hint 29

During their critical period, geese develop an attachment to the first moving object they perceive.

Front 30

ecology

Back 30

the branch of biology that deals with the relationships between living organisms and their environment. (p. 22)

Hint 30

Ecology is the branch of biology that deals with the relationships between living organisms and their environment.

Front 31

ecological systems theory

Back 31

The view that explains child development in terms of the reciprocal influences between children and the settings that make up their environment. (p. 22)

Hint 31

Ecological system theorists explain child development in terms of the interactions between children and the settings in which they live.

Front 32

microsystem

Back 32

The immediate settings with which the child interacts, such as the home, the school, and the childs peers (from the Greek mikros, meaning "small"). (p. 23)

Hint 32

Initially, the microsystem is small, involving care-giving interactions with the parents or others, usually at home.

Front 33

mesosystem

Back 33

the interlocking settings that influence the child, such as the interaction of the school and the larger community when children are taken on field trips (from the Greek mesos, meaning "middle"). (p. 23)

Hint 33

For instance, the home and the school interact during parent-teacher conferences.

Front 34

exosystem

Back 34

community institutions and settins that indirectly influence the child, such as the school board and the parents workplaces (from the greek word exo, meaning "outside"). (p. 24)

Hint 34

The exosystem involves the institutions in which the child does not directly participate but which exert an indirect influence on the child.

Front 35

macrosystem

Back 35

the basic insitutions and ideologies that influence the child, such as the american ideals of freedom of expression and equality under the law (from the greek word makros, meaning long or enlarged) (p. 24)

Hint 35

The macrosystem involves the interaction of children with the beliefs, values, expectations, and lifestyles of their cultural settings.

Front 36

chronosystem

Back 36

The environment changes that occur over time and have an impact on the child (from the greek word chronos, meaning time) (p. 24)

Hint 36

The chronosystem considers the changes that occur over time.

Front 37

zone of proximal development

Back 37

Vygotsky's term for the range of tasks that a chid can carry out with the help of someone who is more skilled, frequently an adult who represents the culture in which the child develops. (pg. 25)

Hint 37

The ZPD is a range of tasks that a child can carry out with the help of someone who is more skilled.

Front 38

scaffolding

Back 38

Vygotsky's term for temporary cognitive structures or methods of solving problems that help the child as he or she learns to function independently. (p. 25)

Hint 38

For example, a childs instructor's may offer advice

Front 39

ethnic groups

Back 39

groups of people distinguished by their cultural heritage, race, language, and common history.

Hint 39

pg 26

Front 40

socioeconomic status

Back 40

social position as determined mainly by level of income

Hint 40

pg 27

Front 41

nature

Back 41

the process within an organism that guide that organism to develop according to its genetic code.

Hint 41

pg 31

Front 42

nurture

Back 42

the processes external to an organism that nourish it as it develops according to its genetic code or that cause it to swerve from its genetically programmed course.

Hint 42

environmental factors that influence development. pg 31

Front 43

genes

Back 43

the basic building blocks of heredity

Hint 43

pg 31

Front 44

empirical

Back 44

based on observation and experimentation

Hint 44

pg 32

Front 45

hypothesis

Back 45

a specific statement about behavior that is tested by research

Hint 45

pg 33

Front 46

naturalistic observation

Back 46

a method of scientific observation in which children (and others) are observed in their natural environments.

Hint 46

pg 33

Front 47

case study

Back 47

a carefully drawn biography of the life of an individual.

Hint 47

pg 34

Front 48

standardized test

Back 48

a test of some ability or trait in which an individuals score is compared to the scores of a group of similar individuals.

Hint 48

pg 35

Front 49

correlation

Back 49

a relationship between variables in which one variable increases as a second variable also increases (a positive correlation) or decrease (a negative correlation)

Hint 49

pg 35

Front 50

variables

Back 50

quantities that can vary from child to child or from occasion to occasion, such as height, weight, intelligence, and attention span.

Hint 50

pg 35

Front 51

correlation coefficient

Back 51

a number ranging from +1.00 to -1.00 that expresses the direction (positive or negative) and strength of the relationship between two variables

Hint 51

pg 35

Front 52

positive correlation

Back 52

a relationship between two variables in which one variable increases as the other variable increases

Hint 52

pg 35

Front 53

negative correlation

Back 53

a relationship between two variables in which one variable decreases as the other variable increases.

Hint 53

pg 36

Front 54

experiment

Back 54

a method of scientific investigation that seeks to discover cause-and-effect relationships by introducing independent variables and observing their effects on dependent variables

Hint 54

pg 37

Front 55

treatment

Back 55

in an experiment, a condition received by subjects so that its effects may be observed

Hint 55

pg 37

Front 56

independent variable

Back 56

in a scientific study, the condition that is manipulated (changed) so that its effects can be observed.

Hint 56

pg 37

Front 57

dependent variable

Back 57

in a scientific study, a measure of an assumed effect of an independent variable.

Hint 57

pg 38

Front 58

experimental group

Back 58

a group made up of subjects who receive a treatment in an experiment

Hint 58

pg 38

Front 59

control group

Back 59

a group made up of subjects in an experiment who do not receive the treatment, but for whom all other conditions are comparable to those of subjects in the experimental group.

Hint 59

pg 38

Front 60

longitudinal research

Back 60

the study of developmental processes by taking repeated measures of the same group of children at various stages of development

Hint 60

pg 39

Front 61

cross-sectional research

Back 61

the study of developmental processes by taking measures of children of different age groups at the same time.

Hint 61

pg 39

Front 62

cohort effect

Back 62

similarities in behavior among a group of peers that stem from the fact that group members are approcimately the same age.

Hint 62

pg 40

Front 63

cross-sequential research

Back 63

an approach that combines the longitudinal and cross-sectional methods by following individuals of different ages for abbreviated periods of time.

Hint 63

pg 40

Front 64

time-lag comparison

Back 64

the study of development processes by taking measures of children of the same age group at different times

Hint 64

pg 41