CD 001 CH.1 Flashcards
(35 cards)
SCIENTIFIC METHOD
A way to answer questions using empirical research and data-based conclusions.
*SCIENCE OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
The science that seeks to understand how and why people of all ages and circumstances change or remain the same over time.
THEORY
A comprehensive set of ideas.
HYPOTHESIS
A specific prediction that can be tested.
EMPIRICAL
Based on observation, or experiment; not theoretical.
REPLICATION
Repeating a study, usually using different participants,perhaps of another age, SES, or culture.
SUDDEN INFANT DEATH SYNDROME (SIDS)
A situation in which a seemingly healthy infant, usually between 2 and 6 months old, suddenly stops breathing and dies unexpectedly while asleep.
NATURE
In development, nature refers to the traits, capacities, and limitations that each individual inherits genetically from his or her parents at the moment of conception.
NURTURE
In development, nurture includes all the environmental influences that affect the individual after conception. This includes everything from the mother’s nutrition while pregnant to the cultural influences in the nation.
CRITICAL PERIOD
A time when a particular type of development growth ( in body or behavior) must happen for normal development to occur.
SENSITIVE PERIOD
A time when a certain type of development is most likely, although it may still happen later with more difficulty. Ex: early childhood is considered a sensitive period for language learning.
PLASTICITY
The idea that abilities, personality, and other human characteristics can change over time.
DIFFERENCE-EQUALS-DEFICIT ERROR
The mistaken belief that a deviation from some norm is necessarily inferior to behavior or characteristics that meet the standard.
SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION
An idea that is built on shares perceptions, not on objective reality. Many age related terms ( such as childhood, adolescence, yuppie, and senior citizen) are social constructions, connected to biological traits but strongly influenced by social assumptions .
CULTURE
A system of shared beliefs, norms, behaviors, and expectation that persists over time and prescribe social behavior and assumption.
ETHNIC GROUP
People whose ancestors were born in the same region and who often share a language, culture, and religion.
RACE
A group of people who are regarded by themselves or by others as distinct from other groups on the basis of physical appearance, typically skin color. Social scientists think race is misleading concept, as biological differences are not signified by outward appearance.
SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS (SES)
A person’s position in society as determined by income, occupation, education, and place of residence. Sometimes called social class.
DYNAMIC SYSTEMS
A view of human development as an ongoing, ever-changing, interaction between physical, cognitive, and psychosocial influences. The crucial understanding is that development is never static but is always affected by and affects, many systems of development.
ECOLOGICAL-SYSTEMS APPROACH or BIOLOGICAL THEORY
A perspective on human development that considers all considers all the I influences from the various contexts of development.
COHORT
People born within the same historical period who therefore move through life together, experiencing the same events, new technologies, and cultural shifts at the same ages. Ex: the effect of the Internet varies depending on what cohort a person belongs to.
BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL
A term emphasizing the interaction of the three developmental domains ( bio social, cognitive, and psychosocial).
MIRROR NEURONS
Cells in an observer’s brain that are activated by watching an action performed by someone else as they would be if the observer had personally performed that action.
SCIENTIFIC OBSERVATION
A method of testing a hypothesis by unobtrusively watching and residing participants’ behavior in a systematic and objective manner.
