Developmental Psychology Key Terms Ch. 1-4

Front 1

A view of human development that takes into account all phases of life, not just childhood or adulthood

Back 1

life-span perspective

Front 2

A characteristic of development, referring to its nonlinear progression- gains and losses, compensations and deficits, predictable and unexpected changes.

Back 2

multidirectional

Front 3

A characteristic of development, referring to the fact that each human life takes place within a number of contexts - historical, cultural, and socioeconomic

Back 3

multicontextual

Front 4

A characteristic of development, which takes place within many clutural settings worldwide and thus reflects a multitude of values, traditions, and tools for living

Back 4

multicultural

Front 5

A characteristic of development encompassing the idea that dozens of academic disciplines contribute data and insight to the science of development.

Back 5

multidisciplinary

Front 6

A characteristic of development that indicates that individuals- including their personlities as well as their bodies and minds - change throughout the life span

Back 6

plasticity

Front 7

A process of continual change within a person or group, in which each change is connected systematically to ever other development in each individual and every society

Back 7

dynamic systems

Front 8

the idea that a small action or event (butterfly wing flap) may set off a series of changes that culminate in a major event (hurricane)

Back 8

butterfly effect

Front 9

A group of people whose shared birth year, or decade, means that they travel through life together, experiencing the same major historical changes.

Back 9

cohort

Front 10

An idea that is built more on shared perceptions of social order than on objective reality

Back 10

social construction

Front 11

An indicator of a person's social and economic standing, measured through a combination of family income, educational level, place of residence, occupation, and other variables

Back 11

socioeconomic status (ses)

Front 12

the specific manifestations of a social group's design for living, developed over the years to provide a social structure for the group members life together

Back 12

culture

Front 13

a collection of people who share certain attributes, almost always including ancestral heritage and often including national origin, religion, customs, and language

Back 13

ethnic group

Front 14

a social construction by which biological traits (such as hair or skin color, facial features, and body type) are used to differentiate people whose ancestors came from various regions of the world

Back 14

race

Front 15

an apprach to the systematic pursuit of knowledge that, when applied to the study of development, involves five basic steps: Formulate a research question, develop a hypothesis, test the hypothesis, draw conclusions, and make the findings available

Back 15

scientific method

Front 16

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

Back 16

hypothesis

Front 17

the repetition of a scientific study, using the same precedures on another group of participants, to verify or refute the original study's conclusions

Back 17

replication

Front 18

a method of testing hypotheses by unobtrusively watching and recording participants' behavior either in a laboratory or in a natural setting

Back 18

scientific observation

Front 19

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). A correlation is not an indication that on variable causes the other

Back 19

correlation

Front 20

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

Back 20

experiment

Front 21

in an experimental, the participants who are given a particular treatment

Back 21

experimental group

Front 22

in an experiment, the participants who are not given special treatment but who are similar to the experimental group in other relevant ways

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comparison group

Front 23

a research method in which information is collected from a large number of people by personal interview, written questionnaire, or some other means

Back 23

survey

Front 24

a research method in which one individual is studied intensively

Back 24

case study

Front 25

a researh method in which groups of people who differ in age but share other important characteristics are compared

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cross-sectional research

Front 26

a research method in which the same individuals are studied over a long period of time

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longitudinal research

Front 27

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 (longitudinal approach)

Back 27

cross-sequential research

Front 28

research that takes into consideration the relationship between the individual and the environment

Back 28

ecological-systems approach

Front 29

a set of moral principles that is formally adopted by a group or organization

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code of ethics

Front 30

a systematic statement of principles and generalizations that provides a coherent framework for studying and explaining development

Back 30

developmental theory

Front 31

comprehensive theories that have traditionally inspired and directed thinking about development. (ex: psychoanalytic theory, behaviorism, and cognitive theory)

Back 31

grand theories

Front 32

theories that focus on some specific area of development and thus are less general and comprehensive than the grand theoreis

Back 32

minitheories

Front 33

theories that bring together information from many disciplines but that have not yet cohered into theories that are comprehensive and systematic

Back 33

emergent theories

Front 34

a grand theory of human development that holds that irrational, unconscious drives and motives, many of which originate in childhood, underlie human behavior.

Back 34

psychoanalytic theory

Front 35

a grand theory of human development that focuses on the sequences and precesses by which behavior is learned
(also called learning theory)

Back 35

behaviorism

Front 36

according to behaviorism, any process in which a behavior is learned. (classic and operant)

Back 36

conditioning

Front 37

the process by which a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a meaningful stimulus, so that the organism responds to the former stimulus as if it were the latter

Back 37

classical conditioning

Front 38

the process by which a response is gradually learned via reinforcement or punishment

Back 38

operant conditioning

Front 39

the process in which a behavior is followed by results that make it more likely that the behavior will be repeated. this occers in operant conditioning

Back 39

reinforcement

Front 40

an application of behaviorism that emphasizes that many human behaviors are learned through observation and imitation of other people

Back 40

social learning theory

Front 41

in social learning theory, the process in which people observe and then copy the behavior of others.

Back 41

modeling

Front 42

in social learning theory, the belief that one is effective, it motivates people to change themselves and their contexts

Back 42

self-efficacy

Front 43

a grand theory of human development that focuses on the structure and development of thinking, which shapes people's attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors.

Back 43

cognitive theory

Front 44

in cognitive theory, a state of mental balance in which a person is able to reconcile new experiences with existing understanding

Back 44

cognitive equilibrium

Front 45

an emergent theory that holds that human development results from the dynamic interaction between each person and the surrounding social and cultural forces

Back 45

sociocultural theory

Front 46

In sociocultural theory, the process by which novices develop cognitive competencies through interaction with more skilled members of the society, often parents or teachers, who act as tutors or mentors

Back 46

apprenticeship in thinking

Front 47

in sociocultural theory, the process by which a skilled person helps a novice learn by providing not only instruction but also a direct, shared involvement in the learning process

Back 47

guided participation

Front 48

in sociocultural theory, the range of skills that a learner can exercise and master with assistance but cannot yet perform independently. According to vygotsky, learning can occur within this zone

Back 48

zone of proximal development

Front 49

an emergent theory of development that emphasizes the interaction of the genes and the environment- that is, both the gentec origins of behavior and the direct, systematic influence that enironmental forces have, oer time, on genes.

Back 49

epigenetic theory

Front 50

the belief that every aspect of development is set in advance by genes and then is gradually manifested in the course of maturation

Back 50

preformism

Front 51

the idea that humans and other animals grdually adjust to their environment; specifically, the process by which the frequency of particular genetic traits in a population increases or decreases over generations, depending on whether the traits contribute to the survival of the species.

Back 51

selective adaptation

Front 52

the study of patterns of animal behavior, particularly as that behavior relates to evolutionary origins and species survival

Back 52

ethology

Front 53

the approach taken by most developmentalists, in which they apply aspects of each of the various theories of development rather than adhering exclusively to one theory

Back 53

eclectic perspective

Front 54

a general term for the traits, capacties, and limitations that each individual inherits genetically from his or her parents at the moment of conception

Back 54

nature

Front 55

a general term for all the environmental influences that affect development after and individual is conceived.

Back 55

nurture