What are the five steps of the scientific method?
(1) Pose a question; (2) develop a hypothesis; (3) test the hypothesis (usually by doing research); (4) draw conclusions; and (5) report the results.
Why is replication important?
Replication confirms, modifies, or refutes the conclusions of a scientific study.
What basic question is at the heart of the nature-nurture controversy?
The basic question is: How much of any characteristic, behavior, or emotion is the result of genes, and how much is the result of experience?
What is the difference between "genetics" and "epigenetics"?
The term "genetics" refers to the influence of genes. "Epigenetics" is a new discipline that explores the many ways environmental factors affect genes and genetic expression.
How might differential susceptibility apply to understanding students' varied responses to a low exam grade?
This concept applies here because it explains that people vary in how sensitive they are to particular experiences, depending on their genetic makeup. Some students might take a poor grade to mean that they are failures, while others shrug off the low gra
What are the three domains of development?
The three domains are biological, cognitive, and psychosocial.
How does multidisciplinary research connect with the three domains?
The interaction between and among domains is essential to understanding the whole developing person. Every individual is a tapestry of many-colored threads, and every aspect of growth touches on all three domains.
How can both continuity and discontinuity be true for human development?
Development is multi-directional; if human traits were all charted over time from birth to death, some traits would appear while others disappear, with increases, decreases, and zigzags.
What are some of the contexts of your life?
Development takes place within many contexts, including one's physical surroundings (climate, noise, population density, etc.) and family configurations (married couple, single parent, cohabiting couple, extended family, etc.).
How does the exosystem affect children's schooling?
Exosystems (community structures, and local educational, medical, employment, and communications systems) influence microsystems, which intimately and immediately shape human development. In this example, the school's structure and administration (the exo
What are some cohort differences between your generation and the one of your parents?
Answers can include (but are not limited to) the values, events, technologies, and culture of each era.
What factors comprise a person's SES (socioeconomic status)?
Answers can include (but are not limited to) income, occupation, education, neighborhood, and family size.
Can you think of an example (not one in the book) of a social construction?
Stereotypes�such as assuming from media coverage that Catholic priests are sexual predators (the vast majority of them are most certainly not)�are social constructions.
What is the difference between race and ethnicity?
The term race has been used to categorize people on the basis of physical differences, particularly outward appearance. Ethnicity is a different social construction, affected by the social context rather than a direct outcome of biology.
How does a culture pass on values to the next generation, according to Vygotsky?
Vygotsky believed mentors use the universal process of guided participation to teach children cultural knowledge, skills, and habits. Guided participation often happens informally, through mutual involvement in several widespread cultural practices with g
In what two contrasting ways is human development plastic?
The term plasticity denotes two complementary aspects of development: Human traits can be molded (as plastic can be), and yet people maintain a certain durability of identity (as plastic does).
What is implied when human development is described as dynamic?
Human development is an ongoing, ever-changing interaction between the body and mind and between the individual and every aspect of the environment.
What is the role of the unconscious in Freud's theory?
In Freud's theory, our unconscious drives and motives influence every aspect of our thinking and behavior
What are the stages envisioned by Freud?
Oral (birth to 1 year); anal (1 to 3 years); phallic (3 to 6 years); latency (6 to 11 years); genital (adolescence); and adulthood
How do Erikson's stages differ from Freud's?
Erikson's stages differ significantly from Freud's in that they emphasize family and culture, not sexual urges.
How is behaviorism a reaction to psychoanalytic theory?
Behaviorism arose in direct opposition to the psychoanalytic emphasis on unconscious, hidden urges. Behaviorists emphasize nurture, the specific, observable responses from other people and the environment to whatever a developing person does.
How do classical and operant conditioning differ?
In classical conditioning, one stimulus may be associated with another (tone-then-food sequence with Pavlov's dogs). With operant conditioning, reinforcement and punishment may guide future behavior.
How is social learning connected to behaviorism?
The social learning theory is a major extension of behaviorism because it argues that humans are social beings�they learn from observation without personally receiving any reinforcement.
What is the basic idea of cognitive theory?
Cognitive theory focuses on changes in how people think over time. According to this theory, thoughts shape attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors.
How does information processing differ from Piaget's theory?
Unlike Piaget's stage theory, information processing provides a detailed description of the steps of cognition, with attention to perceptual and neurological processes.
According to Maslow, what are the needs of a person?
Physiological (needing food, water, warmth, and air); safety (feeling protected from injury and death); love and belonging (having loving friends, family, and a community); esteem (being respected by the wider community as well as by oneself); and self-ac
Why is humanism particularly relevant for the medical professions?
Medical professionals realize that pain can be physical (the first two levels) or social (the next two), and they are aware that their focus on physical health might overlook the person's higher needs.
How does evolutionary theory apply to human development?
Evolutionary theory contends that to understand human development, one needs to recognize what was adaptive thousands of years ago. Some of the best human qualities, such as cooperation, spirituality, and self-sacrifice, may have originated thousands of y
Why do careful observations not prove "what causes what"?
Observation is crucial in developing hypotheses for the causes and sequences of behavior, but experiments are needed to determine cause-and-effect relationships.
Why do experimenters use a control (or comparison) group as well as an experimental group?
The purpose of an experiment is to find out whether an independent variable (the imposed treatment or special condition) affects the dependent variable (whatever they are studying); therefore, one needs to compare the impact of the independent variable on
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the survey method?
The biggest strengths of the survey method are that it is quick and direct. Its biggest weakness is that answers may not be accurate because people may lie, want to come across favorably, or be influenced by the wording of the questions.
Why would a scientist conduct a cross-sectional study?
It is the quickest and least expensive way to study development over time.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of longitudinal research?
The biggest advantage of longitudinal research is that it is useful in tracing development over many years. Disadvantages include dropout of participants, participants becoming increasingly aware of the questions or the goals of the study, and the influen
Why do developmentalists prefer cross-sequential research, even though it takes longer and is more expensive?
This research allows researchers to study several groups of people of different ages and then follow those groups over the years. This type of research is the most time-consuming and complex, but it yields the best information.
Why does correlation not prove causation?
Just because two variables are correlated does not mean that one causes the other�even if it seems logical that it does. It proves only that the variables are connected somehow.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of quantitative research?
Quantitative research data can be categorized, ranked, or numbered and thus can be easily translated across cultures and for diverse populations. However, when data are presented in categories and numbers, some nuances and individual distinctions are lost
What are the advantages and disadvantages of qualitative research?
Qualitative research reflects cultural and contextual diversity, but it is also more vulnerable to bias and harder to replicate.
What is the role of the IRB?
An IRB, or Institutional Review Board, is a group that permits only research that follows certain guidelines. Most medical and educational institutions have an IRB to maintain strict ethical codes and standards.
Why should a study not be done without informed consent and confidentiality?
Participants must be kept confidential and give informed consent to prove they understand and agree to the research procedures and know what risks are involved. A dilemma occurs when severe consequences might follow either participation or non-participati
What reasons might a political leader have to not fund developmental research?
A political leader may not want to fund this type of research because of potential unethical research. Some of the benefits (promotion, acclaim) of publishing remarkable, unreplicated findings encourage unethical research, such as slanting conclusions.
What is one additional question that you can think of about development that you think should be answered?
Possible examples may include but are not limited to the following: Do we know enough about prenatal drug use to protect every fetus? Do we know enough about dying to enable everyone to die with dignity? Do we know enough about poverty to enable everyone