Ch 1 - Psychology of Human Development

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