Human Growth & Development - Chapter 1

Front 1

Behaviorists

Back 1

Do not view development as occurring in discrete stages. They focus entirely on the nature, or environment, side of the nature-nurture debate and consider development as a more continuous process. Focus only on observable behavior, labeling the products of the mind the "black box" that cannot be studied objectively. Human actions are the result of patterns of reinforcement from the environment, rather than innate abilities. (Ivan Pavlov, John Watson, BF Skinner, Edward Thorndike, Albert Bandura)

Front 2

Assimilation

Back 2

(Jean Piaget-Child Cognitive Development)

Taking in information as it is - incorporating that new knowledge into an existing framework (called a schema).

Front 3

Case Study

Back 3

(Data Collection Procedure)

One individual is observed very closely, given surveys, or interviewed, and the information is discussed in a case study report.

Front 4

Age-Graded

Back 4

(Characteristic of Lifespan Development)

Every culture has designated roles or activities based on age, such as naming ceremonies for infants, puberty rituals, and ages at which a person begins formal schooling, gets a driver's license, or retires.

Front 5

Chronosystem

Back 5

The pattern of events that unfold over chronological age, including the historical and social context.

Urie Bronfenbrenner
*Parts of a Chronosystem*
(Individual, Microsystem, Mesosystem, Exosystem, Macrosystem)

Front 6

Classical Conditioning

Back 6

(Pavlov's dogs)

A reflex behavior (salivation) that is generally caused by the smell or taste of meat had become conditioned by his presence, a previously neutral stimuli.

Front 7

Cognitive Development

Back 7

The concept of intelligence as well as to specific aspects of our thinking processes such as moral reasoning, language development, memory skills and the ability to learn to read, write, or do math.

Front 8

Cohort Differences

Back 8

Differences that arise when studying people over time (longitudinally), from the unique sociocultural factors to which people of different generations are exposed.
Ex. "new math" in 1970s, Computer literacy today.

Front 9

Confounding Variables

Back 9

(Type of variable in an experiment)

Things that might affect the result in unanticipated ways or that were not controlled for in the design of the experiment.

ex. Flu epidemic, Child's personality, How well the child did in math before the experiment, How well the child likes math.

Front 10

Continuity

Back 10

Continuity theorists believe that development is the result of gradual and cumulative changes over the entire lifespan.

Front 11

Controlled Experiments

Back 11

(Type of experiment)
Done in a laboratory setting where much greater control over extraneous variables can take place.

Front 12

Correlational

Back 12

(AKA Descriptive Research)

The variables are related, but you cannot say whether one caused the other.

Front 13

Cross-sectional

Back 13

Studying groups of individuals at only one point in time.

Ex. Studying 5-year-olds.

Front 14

Data Analysis

Back 14

Statistical procedures that are done to make sense of the findings of a study.

Front 15

Defense Mechanisms

Back 15

Mechanisms that our egos use to defend us from daily assaults.

Ex. Repression, Largely unconscious

Front 16

Dependent Variables

Back 16

The outcome measures of interest, such as the score on the math test after having special instruction.

Front 17

Descriptive Research

Back 17

(AKA Correlational Research)

The variables are related, but you cannot say whether one caused the other.

Front 18

Descriptive Statistics

Back 18

Means, medians, modes, frequencies, and simple correlations.

Used when there is a definitive correlation of variables, but not necessarily a direct cause-and-effect relationship.

Front 19

Development

Back 19

Changes that occur over time, across the entire lifespan.

It includes all aspects of human living, from physical growth and maturation, to cognitive changes, to our personality and social and emotional transitions.

Front 20

Discontinuity

Back 20

Discontinuity Theorists believe that development occurs in discrete, identifiable stages.

Front 21

Ecological Theory

Back 21

Focuses on the social environment of the individual.

Urie Bronfenbrenner: Set of concentric circles, with the individual in the middle.
Individual, Microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem

All evolve in a Chronosystem

Front 22

Ego

Back 22

Balances the demands of the Id and the restrictions of the superego in order to meet the realities of the situation.

The ego is centered on the reality principle and starts to develop in infancy.

Front 23

Ethology

Back 23

The idea that behavior is largely influenced by biological factors, particularly behaviors that have developed over time. (Evolutionary)

Today, sociobiology has come to mean the same thing.

Front 24

Exosystem

Back 24

(One variable that makes up a Chronosystem. Urie Bronfenbrenner)

The world that is not so close to the individual: Extended family, mass media, social welfare agencies, and government policies.

Chronosystem: Individual, microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem.

Front 25

Field Experiment

Back 25

A research method where the observation takes place in a natural setting, but there is some manipulation or control over variables, such as giving some children special math instructions and others the usual math instructions, then observing their scores on a math test.

Front 26

Growth/Maturation

Back 26

Physical growth includes the development of human organs in prenatal period, the growth in size, and changes in functioning that occur in childhood and adolescence, and then the declines and alterations in functioning that occur with more advanced aging.

Front 27

Hierarchy of Human Needs

Back 27

(Abraham Maslow)

Physical needs, like hunger & thirst, and emotional needs, like feeling safe & secure, must be met before the child is ready for academic/cognitive tasks.

Front 28

History-Graded

Back 28

(Characteristic of Lifespan Development)

Each generation (age cohort)is influenced by the historical events that occur in their lifetime, such as growing up during the Depression, going to school in the computer era, or living in a war-torn area.

Front 29

Humanistic Theories

Back 29

Stress that people can take control over their own behavior and are not merely pawns of reinforcement or driven by genetic factors. They tend to focus on the ways in which humans achieve some higher level of existence.

Front 30

Hypothesis

Back 30

A research question based on some theoretical perspective.

Front 31

Id

Back 31

Part of the personality that is centered on seeking pleasure and avoiding pain and is present at birth.

Front 32

Independent Variables

Back 32

(one of 3 main types of variables in an experiment)

The ones that are manipulated by the experimenter, such as the type of math instruction. In descriptive research, independent variables might not be manipulated, but will be controlled in some way.

Ex: A study comparing the math skills of 10-year-old boys & girls will use gender as the independent variable. A researcher cannot manipulate gender, but can control for it.

Front 33

Inferential Statistics

Back 33

Are used to determine if there is a significant difference between two or more scores, or to determine if some score could occur by chance.

Chi squares, T-Tests, analyses of variance, and multiple regression analyses can be used as inferential statistics.

Front 34

Informed Consent

Back 34

- Completely understanding what one is consenting to.
- Lifespan research must be conducted in an ethical, responsible manner.
- Participants in a Lifespan study must provide informed consent.
- Consent: saying 'yes' or 'no' to participation.
- Difficult to obtain with young children, people with mental disabilities, and older people with dementia.

Front 35

Longitudinal

Back 35

Study of Lifespan psychology on groups of individuals at many different times.

Studying people over time. (Accounts for cohort differences that arise from the unique sociocultural factors to which people of different generations are exposed).

Front 36

Macrosystem

Back 36

(Urie Bronfenbrenner)

One variable that evolves in a Chronosystem, the pattern of events that unfold over chronological age, including the historical & social context.

Macrosystem: consists of the dominant ideology (attitudes & beliefs of a culture reflected in its educational, legal, religious, and governing body practices)

Front 37

Mesosystem

Back 37

(Urie Bronfenbrenner)

One variable that evolves in a Chronosystem, the pattern of events that unfold over chronological age, including the historical & social context.

Mesosystem looks at how the structures in the microsystem intersect with each other. Parent's relationship to the school.

Front 38

Microsystem

Back 38

(Urie Bronfenbrenner)

One variable that evolves in a Chronosystem, the pattern of events that unfold over chronological age, including the historical & social context.

Microsystem: the structures that impinge on the individual every day, such as family, school, peers, and close neighbors.

Front 39

Moral Reasoning

Back 39

Lawrence Kohlberg
The way that people use cognitive processes to solve ethical dilemmas.

Moral reasoning proceeds in 3 levels, with with 2 substages to each level
1. Preconventional
2. Conventional
3. Postconventional

Front 40

Multidimensional

Back 40

Characteristic of Lifespan development

Physical, cognitive, emotional, personality.

Front 41

Naturalistic Observation

Back 41

Research Method

Involves watching people in their natural settings, such as at a daycare center, a school, or a workplace, and recording information about how people behave. There is no manipulation of the setting by the observer, however, the mere fact of being observed may alter some people's behavior.

Front 42

Non-Normative

Back 42

Characterisitc of Lifespan Development

There are many events that are not universal or even widespread, but can have significant influence on a person's development.

Ex: Being an employee at the World Trade Center during 9/11/2001, winning the lottery, or having breast cancer.

Front 43

Operant Conditioning

Back 43

BF Skinner

Operant conditioning differs from classical conditioning in that no reflexive behavior is required.

People (or animals) are reinforced for certain behaviors that result in pleasurable outcomes (pos & neg reinforcement) are likely to be repeated, whereas behaviors that result in unpleasant outcomes (penalty & punishment) or no reinforcement (extinction) are not likely to be repeated.

Front 44

Physical Growth

Back 44

Includes the development of human organs in prenatal period, the growth in size and changes in functioning that occur in childhood & adolescence, and then the declines and alterations in functioning that occur with more advanced aging.

Front 45

Conscious

Back 45

Level of personality where the information is readily available to us (Freud)

Front 46

Preconscious

Back 46

(Freud)
Level of personality where the information lies somewhere between the conscious and unconscious minds.

We are not usually aware of it, but it pops out in dreams, jokes, and slips of the tongue.

Front 47

Unconscious

Back 47

(Freud)
Level of personality where information has been repressed because it is sexually charged or includes painful memories. It is only available through hypnosis.

Front 48

Psychosocial Theory

Back 48

(Erik Erikson)

Focuses more on non-sexual crises, or turning points that occur throughout the entire lifespan,

Personality development continues into adulthood. (8 stages)
1. Trust vs Mistrust
2. Autonomy vs Shame & Doubt
3. Initiative vs Guilt
4. Industry vs inferiority
5. Identity vs Identity confusion
6. Intimacy vs Isolation
7. Generativity vs Stagnation
8. Integrity vs Despair

Front 49

Sample

Back 49

A Consideration in Lifespan Research

The group of people chosen to be representative of the population on most important variables.

Front 50

Psychodynamic Theories

Back 50

Originated with Freud and focus on the idea that we have an "unconscious" mind that contains emotionally charged memories of early life experiences.

Behaviors are the manifestations of our inner minds, but behaviors often have symbolic meanings that are not readily apparent.

Front 51

Schema

Back 51

(Jean Piaget)

An existing framework of knowledge.

Front 52

Self-efficacy

Back 52

(Albert Bandura)

The study of how people come to believe that they are competent or likely to succeed at different kinds of tasks.

It appears that self-perception is more important than reality when it comes to many human behaviors.

Front 53

Scientific Method

Back 53

Involves formulating a hypothesis (a research question based on some theoretical perspective), then testing the hypothesis, drawing conclusions, and making the findings available to others.

Front 54

Superego

Back 54

Part of the personality. It is the conscience; it tells the person what s/he should or should not do. The superego develops last, starting in early childhood.

Front 55

Self-actualized

Back 55

(Abraham Maslow)

A person who has all of his/her needs met can become self-actualized.

A self-actualized person is one who is spontaneous, creative, good at solving problems, and self-directed, and who has good social relationships, but also likes his/her privacy.

People rarely achieve this state, but are constantly striving for it.

Front 56

Zone of Proximal Development

Back 56

(Lev Vygotsky)

There are some tasks that are too difficult for children to achieve alone, but they can be achieved with the assistance of an adult or older peer.

Lower Level of the Zone= What the child can do alone.
Upper Level of the Zone= What the child can do w/ assistance

Front 57

Sequential Design

Back 57

A way in which groups can be studied.
It is the most complicated design and includes a combination of cross-sectional and longitudinal designs.

We might study 100 5-yr-olds in 1998, and then in 2000 we might study the same children, who are now 7 yrs old, along with a new group of 5-yr-olds.

Front 58

Social/Emotional Development

Back 58

Encompasses temperament (our style of responding to new situations), personality (the deeply ingrained habits we are born with or acquire), and socialization into a particular cultural group.

Front 59

Abraham Maslow

Back 59

Offered an important perspective on human learning with his "Hierarchy of Human Needs", He proposed that physical needs, Like hunger & thirst, and emotional needs, like feeling safe & secure, must be met first before the child is ready for academic/cognitive tasks.

(Self-actualized- when a person has all of his/her needs met).

Front 60

Erik Erikson

Back 60

Modified Freud's theory somewhat & developed a Psychosocial Theory that focuses more on non-sexual crises or turning points that occur throughout the entire lifespan. He thought that personality development continued into adulthood. (8 stages)

Front 61

BF Skinner

Back 61

Proposed Operant Conditioning. Operant Conditioning differs from Classical Conditioning in that no reflexive behavior is required.

People are reinforced for certain behaviors. Behaviors that result in pleasurable outcomes are likely to be repeated, whereas behaviors that result in unpleasant outcomes(punishment/penalty) or no reinforcement (extinction) are not likely to be repeated.
Ex. "Time-out"

Front 62

Sigmund Freud

Back 62

The founder of Psychodynamic Theory. Freud proposed a Psychosexual Theory of Development with the underlying assumption that people are sexual beings from the time of birth and that sexual desires affect behavior. Each stage of his theory is associated with a different erogenous zone.
1. Oral (mouth) 0-18 mos
2. Anal (Anus) 18 mos - 3 yrs
3. Phallic (Penis) 3-5 yrs
4. Latency (none) 6-12 yrs
5. Genital (Genitals) 12-Adult

Front 63

Carl Rogers

Back 63

Developed a humanistic, person-centered form of psychotherapy that encourages the therapist to listen closely to the client, "reflect" back what the client says, and allow the client to draw conclusions rather than being advised by the therapist.

- Founder of "client-directed" or "non-directive" therapy

Front 64

Albert Bandura

Back 64

Offered a theory that bridges the behavioral approach and the cognitive perspective.

He believed that Operant & Classical Conditioning principles alone could not explain human behavior and added the following components:
1. People could learn by observing others being punished or rewarded (observation & imitation)
2. People do not imitate all the behaviors they observe; they are selective.
Experiment: kids watching violence on TV

Front 65

Lawrence Kohlberg

Back 65

Took a small piece of Piaget's theory that applied to the development of moral reasoning and expanded it into a more comprehensive stage theory.

Moral Reasoning refers to the way that people use cognitive processes to solve ethical dilemmas.

Moral Reasoning proceeds in 3 levels, with 2 substages to each level.
1. Preconventional
2. Conventional
3. Postconventional

Front 66

Urie Bronfenbrenner

Back 66

Proposed a theory that focuses on the social environment of the individual.

Chronosystem (Individual, microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem)

Front 67

Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Reasoning

Back 67

Preconventional
Punishment/obedience
Orientation
Individualism & Purpose
Conventional
Interpersonal norms
Social system morality
Postconventional
Community vs Individual rights
Universal ethical principles

Front 68

Accommodation

Back 68

(Jean Piaget)
Occurs when the information does not fit any exitsing schema or challenges an old schema. Either a new schema must be constructed or an old one modified.

Front 69

Daniel Levinson

Back 69

Psychodynamic theorist (like Erikson) Studied the development of men from midlife to older age. He focused on achieving a stable life structure in early adulthood, which means becoming completely independent. Having life dreams & a mentor facilitate the process. In their late 20s & 30s, men focus on developing careers & family (becoming one's own man). Midlife yrs can present conflict or turmoil as they seek to reconcile societal attitudes about men w/ their own lives & their aging.

1. Novice Phase of Early Adulthood (17-33)
a. Early adult transition (17-22)
b. Entry Life Structure (22-28)
c. Age 30 Transition (28-33)
2. Culminating Phase of Early Adulthood (33-45)
a. Culminating Life Structure (33-40)
b. Midlife Transition (40-45)

Front 70

George Vaillant

Back 70

Expanded on Erikson's stages for midlife and older adulthood. He proposed additional developmental tasks for these two age cohorts.

Contributed to discussion of the "Midlife Crisis".

Front 71

John Watson

Back 71

The "Father of Behaviorism". He explored the application of classical conditioning in humans. Experiment: "Little Albert" introduced to a white rat. Child enjoyed playing with rat until Watson began to pair presentation of rat w/ a loud, unexpected noise. The child learned to fear the rat, & the fear generalized to all types of white furry objects, such as rabbits, dogs, & Santa Claus mask. Helped scientists to understand phobias or irrational fears.

Front 72

Ivan Pavlov

Back 72

A Russian physiologist who studied the digestive system in dogs, "accidentally" discovered the concept of Classical Conditioning.

Reflex behaviors
- Blink before a camara flash goes off
- Pavlov's dogs

Front 73

Lev Vygotsky

Back 73

A Russian psychologist who was particularly interested in cognitive development. He proposed that language directs our behavior & that young children first control their behavior by talking out loud to themselves. As speech becomes internalized into thought, the process is no longer visible.
He also proposed the "Zone of Proximal Development". (There are some tasks too difficult for children to achieve alone, but they can be achieved w/ the direct assistance of an adult or older peer.

Front 74

Robbie Case

Back 74

Neo-Piagetian theorist who expanded on Piaget's work. He proposed that children have limits on the amount of information they can deal with, but practise makes the skill more proficient and under automatic control, which frees up the mind for new info.
Development is like a staircase; there are sudden changes, then a plateau, then sudden changes, etc., until the child has achieved the skill.

Front 75

Jean Piaget

Back 75

Proposed a highly influential, organismic theory of Child Cognitive Development. He thought that children were active participants in their own learning, rather than passive recipients of info from others.

One of the things that characterizes humans is their capacity to adapt to changes in the environment. Occurs through a two-pronged process of ASSIMULATION & ACCOMMODATION
(Stage Theory of Cognitive Development)

Front 76

Edward Thorndike

Back 76

Extended behaviorist learning principles to a more precise science by attempting to quantify the relationships among stimuli & responses.

Two most basic types of intelligence: Trial & Error, and Stimulus-Response Association.

- Cats escaping from puzzle boxes (Gradual Learning)
- Foundation for current day IQ Tests.

Front 77

Experimental Design

Back 77

Naturalistic Observations
Watching people in their natural
setting. Daycare, work, school,
playground.
Field Experiment
Takes place in a natural setting,
but there is some control over
variables. Ex. giving some
children special math
instructions.
Controlled Experiments
Done in a lab where much
greater control over extraneous
variables can take place.