Life Span Growth & Development Chapter 1

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Science of Human Development

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The science that seeks to understand how and why people change or remain the same over time. Developmentalists study people of all ages and circumstances.

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Empirical

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Based on observation, experience, or experiment; not theoretical.

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Dynamic-Systems Theory

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A view of human development as always changing. Life is the product of ongoing interactions between the physical and emotional being and between the person and every aspect of his or her environment, including the family and society. Flux is constant, and each change affects all the others.

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Ecological-Systems Approach

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A vision of how human development should be studied, with the person considered in all the contexts and interactions that constitute a life.

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Butterfly Effect

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The idea that a small effect or thing can have a large impact if it happens to tip the balance, causing other changes that create a major event.

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Cohort

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A group of people who were born at about the same time and thus move through life together, experiencing the same historical events and cultural shifts.

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Socioeconomic Status (SES)

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A person's position in society as determined by income, wealth, occupation, education, place of residence, and other factors.

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Ethnic Group

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People whose ancestors were born in the same region and who often share a language, culture, and religion.

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Race

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A group of people who are regarded (by themselves or by others) as genetically distinct from other groups on the basis of physical appearance.

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Social Construction

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An idea that is built more on shared perceptions than on objective reality. Many age-related terms, such as childhood, adolescents, yuppies, and senior citizens are social constructions.

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Mirror Neurons

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Brain cells that respond to actions performed by someone else, as if the observer had done that action. For example, the brains of dancers who witness another dancer moving onstage are activated in the same movement areas as would be activated if they themselves did that dance step, because their mirror neurons reflect the activity.

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Scientific method

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A way to answer questions that requires empirical research and data-based conclusions.

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Hypothesis

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A specific prediction that is stated in such a way that it can be tested and either confirmed or refuted.

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Replication

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The repetition of a scientific study, using the same procedures on a similar (but not identical) group of participants, in order to verify, or refine, or dispute the original study's conclusions.

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Scientific Observation

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A method of testing hypotheses by unobtrusively watching and recording participants' behavior in a systematic and objective manner, either in a laboratory or in a natural setting.

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Experiment

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A research method in which the researcher tries to determine the cause-and-effect relationship between two variables by manipulating one variable (called the independent variable) and then observing and recording the resulting changes in the other variable (called the dependent variable).

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Independent Variable

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In an experiment, the variable that is introduced to see what effect it has on the dependent variable (also called experimental variable).

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Dependent Variable

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In an experiment, the variable that may change as a result of whatever new condition or situation the experimenter adds. In other words, the dependent variable depends on the independent variable.

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Experimental Group

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A group of participants in a research study who experience some special treatment or condition (the independent variable).

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Comparison Group/Control Group

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A group of participants in a research study who are similar to the experimental group in all relevant ways but who do not experience the experimental condition (the independent variable).

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Survey

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A research method in which information is collected from a large number of people by interviews, written questionnaires, or some other means.

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Case Study

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A research method in which one individual is studied intensively.

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Cross-sectional Research

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A research design that compares groups of people who differ in age but are similar in other important characteristics.

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Longitudinal Research

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A research design in which the same individuals are followed over time and their development is repeatedly assessed.

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Cross-Sequential Research

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A hybrid research method in which researchers first study several groups of people of different ages (a cross-sectional approach) and then follow those groups over the years (a longitudinal approach). Also called cohort-sequential research or time-sequential research.

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Correlation

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A number indicating the degree of relationship between two variables, expressed in terms of the likelihood that one variable will (or will not) occur when the other variable does (or does not). It does not indicate that one variable cause the other, only that the two variables are realted to the indicated degree.

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Quantitative Research

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Research that provides data that can be expressed with numbers, such as ranks or scales.

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Qualitative Research

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Research that considers qualities instead of quantities. Descriptions of particular conditions and participants' expressed ideas are often part of qualitative studies.

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Code of Ethics

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A set of moral principles that members of a profession or group are expected to follow.

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What are the 5 characteristics of development?

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Multidirectional, multicontextual, multicultural, multidisciplinary, and plastic

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Plasticity

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Change is always possible but is never unrestricted. Change is possible but each developing person must build on what has come before. Childhood becomes the foundation for future growth.

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What are the five steps of the scientific method?

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1) Ask a question.
2) Develop a hypothesis.
3) Test the hypothesis.
4) Draw conclusions.
5) Make the findings available.

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What ethical issues must be addressed when conducting research on human subjects?

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1) Participants must be protected
2) Results must be clearly reported and understood
3) Scientists must be mindful of the implications of their research
4) Is research that is critically needed being designed, conducted, anyalyzed, and published?

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What are the 3 domains of human development?

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Biosocial, Cognitive, and Pyschosocial

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How is development multidirectional?

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Change occurs in every direction, not always in a straight line. Gains and losses, predictable growth and unexpected transformations, are evident.

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How is development multicontextual?

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Human lives are embedded in many contexts, including historical conditions, economic constraints, and family patterns.

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How is development multidisciplinary?

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Numerous academic fields - especially psychology, biology, education, and sociology, but also neuroscience, economics, religion, anthropology, history, medicine, genetics, and many more - contribute data and insight.

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How is development plastic?

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Every individual, and every trait within each individual, can be altered at any point in the life span. Change is ongoing, although neither random nor easy.

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How is development mutlicultural?

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Many cultures - not just between nations but also within them - affect how people develop.

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What are the three nested levels that affect each person according to a ecological-systems approach?

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Microsystem, Exosystem, and Macrosystem

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What is a microsystem?

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Elements of a person's immediate surroundings such as family and peer group in a bioecological system.

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What is an exosystem?

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Local institutions such as school and church in a bioecological system.

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What is a macrosystem?

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The larger social setting, including cultural values, economic policies, and political processes in a bioecological system.

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What are the crucial elements of human development?

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Science, diversity, and change

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What is a science?

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It depends on theories, data, analysis, critical thinking and sound methodology to understand the "how and why" to discover the processes and reasons.

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What theory of development did Sigmund Freud subscribe to?

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Psychoanalytic

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What theory of development did Erik Erikson subscribe to?

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Psychoanalytic

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John Watson was associated with what theory?

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Behaviorism

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Ivan Pavlov subscribed to what theory of developmen?

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Behaviorism

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Jean Piaget is known for what theory of development?

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Cognitive Theory

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What are the characteristics of science?

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1) it depends on theories, data, analysis, critical thinking and sound methodology
2) the goal is to understand the "how and why", to discover the processes and reasons for it
3) as scientists we ask questions and seek answers