Developmental Psychology - Sparknotes

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Cross-Sectional Study

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A study in which separate groups of subjects at different ages are compared. For example, a study in which the performance of a group of three-year-olds on a language comprehension test is compared to the performance of a difference group of four-year-olds.

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Experimental Study

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A study in which one variable is manipulated (the independent variable) and its effect on another variable (the dependent variable) is observed.

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Incremental Theory

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A developmental theory that postulates that development proceeds in a series of steps or a gradual increase in capabilities. For example, information-processing theories.

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Longitudinal Study

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A study in which changes over time in the performance of a single group of subjects is studied. For example, a study in which the same group of children is studied at age three and a year later at age four.

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Observational Study

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A study in which the variables of interest are observed, rather than manipulated. Harder to interpret than an experimental study because other, unmeasured factors, may be the cause of any observed relationship between the variables of interest.

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Stage Theory

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A developmental theory that postulates that development proceeds in a sequence of qualitatively different stages. For example, Piaget's theory of cognitive development.

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Jean Piaget

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children went through four stages of development through their childhood, during which qualitatively different rules applied to their behavior and growth.

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one of the "functional invariants" that Piaget thought drove cognitive development

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Assimilation

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John Bowlby is best known for his theory of

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Attachment

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Harlow found that when he frightened the young monkeys he had raised in isolation, they tended to seek comfort from:

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The cloth mother that did not dispense food

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Harlow found that monkeys that were raised in isolation and then introduced into a social group:

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Never became a part of the social group

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The male hormone testosterone is associated with:

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Aggression

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The development of visual acuity depends on:

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Maturation of rods and cones and changes in the cortex

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Piaget's preoperational stage lasts approximately between the ages of:

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2 and 7

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Studies that look at a single group of children over time are called:

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Longitudinal studies

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studies that look at separate groups of children at different ages

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Cross-sectional studies

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Piaget's theory of development and information- processing theories of development are examples of:

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Stage-based and continuous theories, respectively

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One of Chomsky's original arguments for the innateness of language was that:

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Children don't receive enough linguistic input to learn language.

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Children with Williams syndrome are interesting because:

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They are mentally retarded but extremely social and verbal.

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Freud believed that the driving force behind psychosexual development was:

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The libido

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Erikson disagreed with Freud about the driving force behind development. He thought it was:

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Social needs

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What is the name for children's tendency to use words to describe a broader class of objects than adults do (e.g. calling all animals "dog")?

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Overextension

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What is the name for children's tendency to use words to describe a smaller class of objects than adults do (e.g. using "dog" to describe a pet but not other dogs)?

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Underextension

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Bob, a four-year-old, keeps saying "goed" instead of "went" and "runned" instead of "ran." What kind of error is Bob making?

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Overgeneralization

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Young children's inability to remember that they once had a false belief is a failure of:

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Metacognition

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If a young child is shown a piece of white paper that is then put behind a blue filter, the child will say that the paper is now blue. This demonstrates a failure to distinguish between:

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Appearance and reality

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In order to deceive another person purposefully, a child must be able to understand:

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False belief

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Autistic children show deficits in:

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Theory of mind and other cognitive abilities

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The Oedipal complex arises during which of Freud's psychosexual stages?

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The phallic stage

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Because humans infants are almost entirely helpless, humans are:

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Altricial

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An information-processing theorist might say that:

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Infants' cognitive abilities improve because of increases in working memory capacity.

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Ethology is the study of:

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Animal behavior in the natural environment.

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Secure attachment, as measured by the Strange Situation Test, predicts:

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Successful social relations

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The naming burst refers to:

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An exponential increase in the rate of word learning that takes place around the third or fourth year of age.

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The "poverty of the stimulus" is a phrase introduced into psychology by:

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Chomsky

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The production of nonsense syllables by the nine- to ten-month-old child is called:

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Babbling

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Chomsky called the innate mechanism for language learning the:

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Language acquisition device

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What is the primary function of babbling?

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To begin the process of language acquisition.

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In Piaget's theory, "accommodation" refers to the process of:

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Adjusting one's assumptions to fit one's perceptions.

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In Piaget's theory, "assimilation" refers to:

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Adjusting one's perceptions to fit one's assumptions.

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The first stage of Erikson's developmental theory focuses on:

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Trust

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Piaget's sensorimotor stage lasts from ages:

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2 to 7

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is not an argument for an innate language learning module?

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Children with Down's syndrome learn language more slowly than children without it

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The theorist who focused most strongly on the role of the social environment in cognitive development was:

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Vygotsky

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Bowlby's theory of attachment was strongly influenced by both:

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Psychodynamic theory and ethology

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The cognitive abilities of pre-speech children are frequently measured using:

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Looking-time

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Development is most powerfully determined by:

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The interaction between genes and the environment

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Boys' groups tend to differ from girls' groups in that:

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They are larger and more competitive

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Vygotsky believed that cognitive skills were acquired through a relationship he called:

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Apprenticeship

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Freud's last stage in theory of psychosexual development

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Genital stage

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Attachment theory and Freudian theory have which of the following characteristics in common?

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The assumption that early life events have a lasting effect on behavior.

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The theorist that emphasized changing social needs throughout the life course was:

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Erikson