Unit 1

Question 1

Define Developmental Psychology

Answer 1

study of changes in human development across the lifespan (including physical, cognitive, social, intellectual perceptual, personality, and emotional growth)

Question 2

What are the periods of development?

Answer 2

Prenatal - conception to birth
Infancy - birth to 2 years
Toddler - 2-3 years
Early childhood - 3-5 years
Middle and late childhood - 6-11 years
Adolescence - 12 to 18-21 years
Early adulthood - 20s to 30s
Middle adulthood - 40s to 60s
Late adulthood - 60s to death

Question 3

Prenatal - examples of growth

Answer 3

develop from single cell to organism with brain and behavior capabilities

Question 4

Infancy - examples of growth

Answer 4

development in language, symbolic thought, social learning, sensorimotor coordination

Question 5

Early childhood - examples of growth

Answer 5

emergence of self sufficiency, development of school readiness, more interest in peers

Question 6

Middle/Late Childhood - examples of growth

Answer 6

mastery of reading, writing, and math, increases in self control

Question 7

Adolescence - examples of growth

Answer 7

puberty, shift to abstract thinking, development of identity, increased independence

Question 8

Early adulthood - examples of growth

Answer 8

establish independence, select mate

Question 9

Middle adulthood - examples of growth and decline

Answer 9

expand responsibility, parenting, reaching satisfaction
decline - decrease in mobility

Question 10

Late adulthood - examples of growth and decline

Answer 10

Growth - retirement
Decline in mobility and muscles strength, cognitive processes and social functions

Question 11

Importance of understand development as a lifelong process

Answer 11

life expectancy is increasing, allows us to describe changes over life span and explain course of development, gives us knowledge about what our lives will be like as we age

Question 12

Life span perspective

Answer 12

development is lifelong, multidimensional, multidirectional, plastic, multidisciplinary, and contextual. involves growth and maintenance and regulation, and is constructed through biological, sociocultural, and individual factors working together.

Question 13

Lifelong

Answer 13

development continues through adulthood until death
ex: critical thinking and motor skills grow and decline throughout development

Question 14

multidimensional

Answer 14

changes across biological, cognitive, and social emotional functioning influence development
ex: puberty causes physical/hormonal changes which lead to changes in thoughts and mood swings

Question 15

multidirectional

Answer 15

some areas of development expand over time while others shrink
ex: capacity for learning a new language peaks at 20 and then declines

Question 16

plastic

Answer 16

has the capacity for change, if a certain function is lost, it can be “covered” by another function
ex: born right handed, get injured and can learned to be left handed

Question 17

multidisciplinary

Answer 17

development across the lifespan is studied by researchers in many disciplines
ex: philosophy, teaching, neuroscience, biology, etc

Question 18

contextual influences

Answer 18

normative age graded influences - changes that are similar for individuals of same age group; puberty, kindergarten
normative history graded influences - changes that are common within a generation from historical events; 9/11, WW2, social media
nonnormative life events - changes that are unusual, with a significant impact on an individuals life; winning the lottery, teen pregnancy

Question 19

Conflict between growth, maintenance, regulation

Answer 19

mastery of life involves conflict between these 3 goals
ex: grow motor skills as a child, maintain through middle adulthood, do things to cope with loss of functioning in late adulthood

Question 20

co-construction of biology, culture, and individual

Answer 20

cultural/individual choices influence brain and biology which influence cultural and individual choices
ex: Micheal Phelps is tall and has broad shoulders, making him more likely to be a successful swimmer, more likely to swim, more likely to strengthen those muscles

Question 21

biological, sociocultural, and individual influences on development

Answer 21

health and well-being, parenting, education, culture, cross cultural studies, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, social policy, family, technology

Question 22

Example of biological processes

Answer 22

changes in an individual’s physical nature
ex: genes inherited from parents, brain development, height and weight gains, hormonal changes, exercise

Question 23

example of cognitive processes

Answer 23

changes in the individual’s thought, intelligence, and language
ex: putting together multi-word sentences, being creative/imagination, solving crossword puzzles

Question 24

examples of socioemotional processes

Answer 24

changes in the individual’s relationships with other people, changes in emotions, and changes in personality
ex: infant smiling at parent, toddler aggression with playmate, joy at prom, affection between elderly couple

Question 25

Describe how the 3 developmental processes are inter-related (how do changes in one process impact another domain)?

Answer 25

life span development is multidimensional, changes in one domain impact function of others because they all work together to produce who we are
ex: when a baby smiles at caregiver, it must feel the touch and respond to it, understand that it is an intentional act, and understand that smiling reflect positive emotional feelings and connects us

Question 26

Nature v. Nurture

Answer 26

conflict of who we are being a result of our genetic/biological inheritance or our environmental experiences, likely a result of both
ex: personality and mental/physical activity changes likely genetic; lifestyle, engaging in intellectual activities, and active social life are environmental and influence aging, cognitive functioning, and happiness

Question 27

Stability v. Change

Answer 27

some traits are more malleable or plastic than others, more influenced by environmental factors; social skills
some traits are less changeable. stable throughout lifetime and more influenced by genetics; temperament

Question 28

continuity v. discontinuity

Answer 28

continuous developmental tasks have gradual cumulative change over time. changes in amount, frequency or degree (quantity)
discontinuous developmental tasks have distinct stages. changes in kind, type, structure, or organization (quality)

Question 29

multifinality v. equifinality

Answer 29

multifinality - individuals with very similar experience/risk factor have multiple different outcomes; childhood trauma to ptsd or healthy dev.
equifinality - individuals with very different experiences have the same outcome; different attachment styles all led to healthy adult relationships

Question 30

Define theory and how it is developed via the scientific method

Answer 30

interrelated, coherent set of ideas that help explain phenomena and facilitate predictions
observe - question - form hypothesis - develop test - gather data - develop theory

Question 31

Psychoanalytical Approach (describe limitations, benefits, and theorists)

Answer 31

describe development as primarily unconscious and influence by emotions
+developmental framework, focus on role of family, unconscious influence
-limited scientific support, over sexualization, negativity
Frued, Eric Erickson

Question 32

Cognitive Approach (describe limitations, benefits, and theorists)

Answer 32

describe development as a conscious process driven by changes in thought
+positivity, active construction of understanding
-potential overlap of stages, lack of focus on individual differences
Piaget, Seigler, Vygotsky

Question 33

Behavioral and Social Cognitive Approach (describe limitations, benefits, and theorists)

Answer 33

describe development as observable behaviors learned via environmental experiences
+research based, account for role of environment
- too little emphasis on cognition, little attention paid to developmental stages/changes
Skinner, Bandura, Watson

Question 34

Ethological Approach (describe limitations, benefits, and theorists)

Answer 34

describe development as influence by biology, evolution, and sensitive periods
+observational research, focus on biology and evolution
-lack of emphasis on environmental factors, rigid sensitive periods
Francis Lawrence, John Boldy, Mary Ainsworth

Question 35

Ecological Approach (describe limitations, benefits, and theorists)

Answer 35

describe development as influenced by several different environmental influences
+examines multiple environmental influences, accounts for interaction between influences, goes beyond home environment
-limited biology considerations, little cognitive emphasis
Brenner

Question 36

5 Developmental Psychology Research Methods

Answer 36

Observational, Survey + Interview, Standardized Tests, Case Study, Physiological Measures (fMRI, EEG; hormone measurement, eye movement)

Question 37

Define descriptive research design

Answer 37

used to observe and record behavior about something we don’t understand very well

Question 38

Define correlational research

Answer 38

determine strength of relationship between two things

Question 39

Define experimental research

Answer 39

determine one or more factors that influence functioning, allow us to determine cause and effect

Question 40

Define cross sectional research

Answer 40

individuals of different ages compared at the same time, used to study how different cohorts respond to same event

Question 41

Describe longitudinal approach

Answer 41

same individuals studied over a long period of time, used to study age changes in a single cohort

Question 42

Define cohort effect

Answer 42

characteristics determined by individual time of birth, era, or generation instead of chronological age