Development
the pattern of change that begins at conception and continues through the life span
Life-span approach
each stage of development involves significant changes
Life-span theorist
developmental changes occur in the early, middle, and late years of life
What does the life-span view of human development say about adulthood?
adulthood is a period of growth and change
Life expectancy
the average number of year a species can live
Life span
the maximum number of years a species can live
Normative age-graded
People of a certain generation
Culture
passing beliefs, behaviors, and attitudes from one generation to the next
Socioeconomic status
person's position in society based on occupational, educational, and economic characteristics
Socioemotional
changes in emotion and personality
Infancy
birth - 18 or 24 months
psychological activities are just beginning
Early childhood
3-5 years
become more self-sufficient
care for themselves
Middle/late childhood
6-11 years
achievement becomes more of a central theme
master fundamental skills
Adolescence
10-12 to 18-21 years
pursuit of independence and identity
Early adulthood
20s - 30s
establishing personal and economic independence
advancing career
starting a family
Middle adulthood
40 - 60 years
expanding personal and social involvement and responsibility
satisfaction in career
Late adulthood
60s or 70s - death
life review, retirement, and adjustment to new social skills
longest span of any development period
Chronological age
number of years elapsed since birth
Biological age
start of puberty, start of menopause are examples
Social age
societal expectation that a person will act their age
Theory
set of ideas that helps us explain our data and make further predictions
Hypothesis
specific assertions and predictions that can be tested
Psychoanalytic
unconscious, heavily colored by emotion
Crisis
a turning point of increased vulnerability and potential
2 Piaget processes
organization and adaptation
Concrete operational
thinking logically
Formal operational
abstract thought
Vygotsky
social interactions and culture
Information-processing approach
influence of biology, and evolution on a person's development
B.F. Skinner
behavior is a key aspect of development
Bandura
behavior, environment, and person/cognition
Ethological
believe nurturing is an evolutionary trait passed through generations
Microsystem
setting where a person lives
Eclectic theory
no single theory can account for all of human development
Control group
receives the independent variable
Longitudinal method of research
studying the same people over a long period of time
Cohort
people born at a similar point in history
Life-span Perspective
development is lifelong, multidimensional, plastic, multidisciplinary, and contextual
Life-span perspective involves
growth, maintenance, and regulation of loss
Life-span perspective is constructed through
biological, sociocultural, and individual factors
Lifelong (Baltes)
no one age period dominates development
Multidimensional (Baltes)
cognitive, biological, and socioemotional
Cognitive
mental
Biological
physical changes
Plastic (Baltes)
capacity to change
Multidisciplinary (Baltes)
throughout life, some dimensions or components of a dimension expand and others shrink
Contextual (Baltes)
all development occurs within a context or setting
Normative Age-graded
influences that are similar for people in a certain age group
puberty, menopause, starting school, retiring
Normative history-graded influences
common to people of a certain generation because of historical circumstances
Non-normative life events
unusual occurrences that have a major impact on an individual's life
Chronological Age
number of years that have elapsed since birth
Biological Age
person's age in terms of biological health
Psychological Age
individual's adaptive capacities compared with those of other individuals of the same chronological age
Social Age
connectedness with other and the social roles individuals adopt
Nature
genetics
Nuture
environment
Stability vs
change vs
Continuity
continuous pattern of growth/development
Discontinuity
stages
Social Policy
national government's course of action designed to promote the welfare of its citizens
Scientific Method
conceptualize problem to be studied
collect research information
analyze the data
draw conclusions
What is an IRB
Institutional Review Board
APA Ethical guidelines
informed consent, confidentiality, debriefing, deception
Surveys and interviews
best way to get info from a large group of people
Case study
in depth look at a single individual
Correlation
describe the strength of a relationship
Experimental research
procedure where one or more factors believed to influence the behavior being studied are manipulated while all other factors are held constant
Cross-sectional
compares individuals of different ages
Longitudinal
the same individuals are studied over a period of time
usually several years or more