lifespan development
The field of study that examines patterns of growth, change, and stability in behavior that occur throughout the entire lifespan.
personal development
Development involving the body's physical makeup, including the brain, nervous system, muscles, and senses, and the need for food, drink, and sleep.
cognitive development
development involving the ways that growth and change in intellectual capabilities influence a person's behavior.
personality development
development involving the ways that the enduring characteristics that differentiate one person from another change over the life span.
social development
the way in which individuals' interactions with others and their social relationships grow, change, and remain stable over the course of life.
cohort
A group of people born at around the same time in the same place.
history-graded influences
biological and environmental influences associated with a particular historical moment
cohort effects
Variation in health status arising from different causal factors to which each birth cohort in a population is exposed as environment and society change.
age-graded influences
biological and environmental influences that are similar for individuals in a particular age group, regardless of when or where they were raised.
sociocultural graded influences
the social and cultural factors present at a particular time for a particular individual, depending on such variables such as ethnicity, social class, and subcultural membership.
non-normative life events
specific, atypical events that occur in a particular person's life at a time when such events do not happen to most people
Microsystem
the everyday, immediate environment in which children live their daily lives. Home, caregivers, friends, and teachers are ifluences, and so are children
mesosystem
provides connections between the various aspects of the microsystem. binds children to parents, students to teachers, employees to bosses, friends to friends. diret and indirect influences that bind us to one another
exosystem
represents broader influences, encompassing societal institutions such as local government, the community, schools, places of worship, and the local media.
macrosystem
represents larger cultural influences on an idividual. society in general, government, religious, and political value systems
chronosystem
underlies each of the other systems, it involves the way the passage of time, including historical events and more gradual historical changes affect children's development
Bioecological approach
the perspective suggesting that different levels of the environment simultaneously influence individuals
Discontinuous vs. continuous change
Continuous change: change is gradual; achievements at one level build on the previous level; underlying developmental processes remain the same over the lifespan.
Discontinuous: change occurs in distinct steps or stages; behavior and processes are qualitatively different at different stages.
critical/sensitive periods
Critical: certain environmental stimuli are necessary for normal development; emphasized by early developmentalists
sensitive: people are susceptible to certain environmental stimuli, but consequences of absent stimuli are reversible; current emphasis in lifespan development
nature vs. nurture
nature: emphasis is on discovering inherited genetic traits and abilities
nurture: emphasis is on environmental influences that affect a person's development
psychodynamic perspective (Sigmund Freud and Erik Erikson)
the approach stating that behavior is motivated by inner forces, memories, and conflicts that are generally beyond people's awareness and control
Sigmund Freud (and Psychosexual Development
-suggested that unconscious forces act to determine personality and behavior called the psychoanalytic theory
-he believed everyone's personality has three aspects: the id, the ego, and the superego
-suggested the ways personality is developed during childhood called psychosexual development
--birth to 12 - 18 months-oral--interest in oral gratification from sucking, eating, mouthing, biting
--12 - 18 months to 3 years-anal--gratification from expelling and withholding feces; coming to terms with society's controls relating to toilet training
--3 to 5-6 years-phalic--interest in genitals, coming to term with oedipal conflict, leading to identification with same sex parent
--5-6 years to adolescence-latency--sexual concerns largely unimportant
--adolescence to adulthood-genital--reemergence of sexual interests and establishment of mature sexual relationships
id
the raw, unorganized, inborn part of the personality that is present at birth. It represents the primitive drives related to hunger, sex, aggression, and irrational impulses. operates according to the pleasure principle
pleasure principle vs. reality principle
pleasure principle (id)-the goal is to maximize satisfaction and reduce tension
reality principle (ego)-instinctual energy is restrained in order to maintain the safety of the individual and help integrate the person into society
ego
the part of the personality that is rational and reasonable, operates on the reality principle
superego
-a person's conscience, incorporating distinctions between right and wrong
-learned from an individual's parents, teachers, and other significant figures
psychosexual development
According to Freud, a series of stages that children pass through in which pleasure, or gratification, is focused on a particular biological function and body part
Erik Erickson (and Psychosocial Development)
-society and culture both challenge and shape us
-stages of psychosocial development:
--trust vs. mistrust-feelings of trust from environmental support vs. fear and concern regarding others
--autonomy vs. shame and doubt-self-suffiency if exploration is encouraged vs. doubt about slef, lack of independence
--initiative vs. guilt-discovery of ways to initiate actions vs. guilt from actions and thoughts
--industry vs. inferiority-development of sense of competence vs. feeling of inferiority, no sense of mastery
--identity vs. role diffusion-awareness of uniqueness of self, knowledge of role to be followed vs. inability to identify appropriate roles in life
--intimacy vs. isolation-development of loving, sexual relationships and close friendships vs. fear of relationships with others
--generativity vs. stagnation-sense of contribution to continuity of life vs. trivialization of one's activities
--ego-integrity vs. despair--sense of unity in one's accomplishments vs. regret over lost opportunities in life
classical vs. operant conditioning
(John Watson
classical conditioning-a type of learning in which an organism responds in a particular way to a neutral stimulus that normally does not bring about that type of response
operant conditioning-a form of learning in which a voluntary response is strengthened or weakened by its association with positive or negative consequences
social-cognitive learning theory (Albert Bandura)
learning by observing the behavior of another person, called a model
assimilation vs. accommodation
(Jean Piaget)
assimilation-process in which people understand an experience in terms of their current stage of cognitive development and way of thinking
accommodation-changes in existing ways of thinking in response to encounters with new stimuli or events.
Assimilation and accommodation work in tandem to bring about cognitive development.
scheme (Jean Piaget)
organized mental patterns that represent behaviors and actions
information processing approaches (Jean Piaget)
models that seek to identify the ways individuals take in, use, and store information
behavioral perspective (John B. Watson, B.F. Skinner, Albert Bandura)
development can be understood through studying observable behavior and environmental stimuli
humanistic perspective (Carl Rogers, Abraham Maslow)
behavior is chosen through free will and motivated by our natural capacity to strive to reach our full potential
evolutionary perspective (Charles Darwin, Konrad Lorenz)
behavior is the result of genetic inheritance from our ancestors; traits and behavior that are adaptive for promoting the survival of our species have been inherited through natural selection
Urie Bronfenbrenner
-proposed the bioecological approach
-can't fully understand development without considering how a person is influenced by each of these levels: microsystem, macrosystem, mesosystem, chronosystem, and exosystem
ethology
examines the ways in which our biological makeup influences our behavior
Konrad Lorenz
ethology; his work demonstrated the importance of biological determinants in influencing behavior patterns, ulimately led developmentalists to consider the ways in which human behavior might reflectinborn genetic patterns
free will
the ability of humans to make choices and come to decisions about their lives
Carl Rogers
humanistic perspective; suggested that all people have a need for positive regard that results from an underlying wish to be loved and respected. Because it is other people who provide this positive regard, we become dependent upon them. Consequently, our view of ourselves and our self worth is a reflection of how we think others view us.
Abraham Maslow
humanistic perspective; suggests that self-actualization is a primary goal in life.
self-actualization
a state of self-fulfillment in which people achieve their highest potential in their own unique way
hypothesis
a prediction stated in a way that permits it to be tested
correlational research
research that seeks to identify whether an association or relationship between two factors exists
experimental research
research designed to discover relationships between various factors
naturalistic observation
the observation of a naturally occuring behavior without intervention in the situation
case studies
involve extensive, in-depth interviews with a particular individual or small group of individuals.
survey research
a type of study where a group of people chosen to represent some larger population are asked questions abouth their attitudes, behavior, or thinking on a given topic.
longitudinal studies
reserch in which the behavior of one or more participants in a study is measured as they age
cross-sectional research
research in which people of different ages are compared at the same point in time
sequential studies
research in which researchers examine a number of different age groups over several points in time
independent variable
the variable that researchers manipulate in an experiment
dependent variable
the variable that researchers measure in an experiment and expect to change as a result of the experimental manipulation