Chapter 1

Question 1

What was Sofie’s deathbed advice?

Answer 1

“I learned from my own life and marriage that you must build a life together but also a life apart. You must grant each other the time, space, and support to forge your own identities, your own ways of expressing yourselves and giving to others. The most important ingredient of your relationship must be respect.”

Question 2

The central questions addressed by developmental science?

Answer 2

1. What determines the physical characteristics, mental capacities, interest and behaviors that we share with others or are unique to us?
2. Why do we retain some persistent characteristics throughout life but change in other essential ways?
3. How do historical and cultural conditions affect well-being throughout life?
4. How does the timing of event affect development?
5. What factors, both genetic and environmental, cause some people to die sooner than expected? pg 4

Question 3

What is the single goal of developmental science?

Answer 3

to identify those factors that influence consistencies and transformations in people from conception to death. pg 4

Question 4

1.1 What factors stimulated expansion of the field of developmental science?

Answer 4

applied (practical) importance, scientific curiosity, social pressure to improve people’s lives, interest in improving people’s health, desire to treat emotional problems and help people adjust to major life events, expert advice about child-rearing practices and experiences that promise the well-being of children. pg 4

Question 5

1.1 What is developmental science?

Answer 5

a field of study devoted to understanding constancy and change throughout the lifespan (Lerner et al., 2014; Overton & Molenaar, 2015). A body of knowledge that is not only scientifically important but also relevant and useful. pg. 4

Question 6

1.2 Identify three basic issues on which theories of human development take a stand.

Answer 6

(1) Is the course of development continuous or discontinuous?
(2) Does one course of development characterize all people, or are there many possible courses?
(3) What are the roles of genetic and environmental factors—nature and nurture—in development? pg. 5

Question 7

What is a theory?

Answer 7

an orderly, integrated set of statements that describes, explains, and predicts behavior.

It’s existence depends on scientific verification. (must be tested using fair research procedures, findings must endure or be replicated.
pg 5

Question 8

What are 2 reasons that theories are vital tools?

Answer 8

1. They provide organizing frameworks for our observations of people. (guide and give meaning to what we see.)
2. Second, they are verified by research and provide a sound basis for practical action. (understanding development informs the welfare of and treatment of children and adults.) pg 5

Question 9

What influences theories?

Answer 9

The cultural values and believe systems of the time. pg 5

Question 10

Why doesn’t the study of development provide ultimate truth?

Answer 10

1. Investigators do not always agree on the means of what they see. (different points of view)
2. Humans are complex and change over time.
3. No single theory has ever explained all aspects, physical, mental, emotional, and social, of humans.

Question 11

What must researchers continually try to do as they study human developmental science?

Answer 11

They must try to support, contradict, and integrate different points of view.

Question 12

What is the theory of continuous development?

Answer 12

The belief that development is a smooth, continuous process. Individuals gradually add more of the same types of skills.

The response of a person from infancy to adulthood is the same, the difference in behaviors in a result of maturity (amount of complexity) - in other words a process of gradually augmenting the same types of skills that were there to begin with.

Change is gradual rather than sudden. Augmenting of skills that have always been present.
pg 5

Question 13

What is the theory of discontinuous development?

Answer 13

The belief that development takes place in discontinuous stages. People change rapidly as they step up to a new level and then change very little for a while. With each new step, the person interprets and responds to the world in a reorganized, qualitatively different way.

Infants and children have unique ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving, ones quite different from those of adults - new ways of understanding and responding to the world emerge at specific times. We move through a series of developmental steps, each with unique features, until we reach the highest level of functioning.

Move through STAGES- qualitative changes in thinking, feeling, and behaving. Similar to climbing a staircase. Rapid transformation, change is sudden rather than gradual.
pg 5

STAGE THEORISTS assume that people everywhere follow the same sequence of development. pg 6

Question 14

Define contexts

Answer 14

unique combinations of personal and environmental circumstances that can result in different paths of change- personal include heredity and biology, environmental include settings and circumstances.

example: shy vs outgoing, non-western villages vs large western cities.

affects: intellectual capacities, social skills, feelings about self and others. pg 6

Question 15

Define mutually influential relations

Answer 15

The relationship between individuals and their contexts: People not only are affected by but also CONTRIBUTE TO THE CONTEXTS in which they develop (Elder, Shanahan, & Jennings, 2015).

Includes cultural diversity and how it impacts development PG. 6

Question 16

What major question does every theory take a stand on?

Answer 16

Are genetic or environmental factors more important? pg 6

Question 17

What is the difference between nature vs nurture?

Answer 17

Nature refers to the hereditary information we receive from our parents at the moment of conception.

Nurture references the complex forces of the physical and social world that influence our biological makeup and psychological experiences before and after birth. pg 6

Question 18

Where do theorists who emphasize STABILITY stand on the issue of nature vs nurture?

Answer 18

NATURE- individuals who are high or low in a characteristic (such as verbal ability, anxiety, or sociability) will remain so at later ages- heredity. If they regard environment as important, they usually point to early experiences as establishing a lifelong pattern of behavior. Powerful negative events in the first few years, they argue, cannot be fully overcome by later, more positive ones (Bowlby, 1980; Sroufe, Coffino, & Carlson, 2010). pg 6

Question 19

Define plasticity

Answer 19

NURTURE- development includes change in response to influential experiences. pg 6.

Question 20

What was the commonly held belief about development during the first half of the twentieth century? And how has that changed?

Answer 20

it was widely assumed that development stopped at adolescence. Infancy and childhood were viewed as periods of rapid transformation, adulthood as a plateau, and aging as a period of decline.

The changing character of the North American population awakened researchers to the idea that gains in functioning are lifelong. (Since the 1960’s) Pg 7

Question 21

How has life expectancy changed since 1900?

Answer 21

average life expectancy - gained more in the twentieth century than in the preceding 5,000 years.

In 1900, U.S. life expectancy was just under age 50; in 2000, it was 76.8. Today, it is 78.8 years in the United States and even higher in most other industrialized nations. It is predicted to reach 84 years in 2050.

People age 65 and older accounted for about 4 percent of the U.S. population in 1900, 7 percent in 1950, and 14 percent in 2013 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2015d). pg 7

Question 22

Why has life expectancy exploded in the past 100 years?

Answer 22

Because of improvements in nutrition, sanitation, and medical knowledge pg 7

Question 23

What is a developmental systems perspective?

Answer 23

a perpetually ongoing process, extending from conception to death, that is molded by a complex network of biological, psychological, and social influences (Lerner, 2015). pg 7

Question 24

1.3 Describe the lifespan perspective on development. PG 7

Answer 24

Four assumptions make up this broader view: that development is (1) lifelong, (2) multidimensional and multidirectional, (3) highly plastic, and (4) affected by multiple, interacting forces (Baltes, Lindenberger, & Staudinger, 2006; Smith & Baltes, 1999; Staudinger & Lindenberger, 2003).

Question 25

What characterizes the development is lifelong assumption?

Answer 25

no age period is supreme important events occurring during each major period and can have equally powerful effects on future change. Within each period, change occurs in three broad domains: PHYSICAL, COGNATIVE, and EMOTIONAL/SOCIAL, yet these domains are not really distinct; they overlap and interact. pg 7

Question 26

Age range and description of Prenatal period

Answer 26

Conception to birth The one-celled organism transforms into a human baby with remarkable capacities to adjust to life in the surrounding world.

Question 27

Age range and description of Infancy and toddlerhood

Answer 27

Birth–2 years Dramatic changes in the body and brain support the emergence of a wide array of motor, perceptual, and intellectual capacities and first intimate ties to others.

Question 28

Age range and description of Early Childhood

Answer 28

2–6 years During the “play years,” motor skills are refined, thought and language expand at an astounding pace, a sense of morality is evident, and children establish ties with peers.

Question 29

Age range and description of Middle childhood

Answer 29

6–11 years The school years are marked by improved athletic abilities; more logical thought processes; mastery of fundamental reading, writing, math, and other academic knowledge and skills; advances in self-understanding, morality, and friendship; and the beginnings of peer-group membership.

Question 30

Age range and description of Adolescence

Answer 30

11–18 years Puberty leads to an adult-sized body and sexual maturity. Thought becomes abstract and idealistic and school achievement more serious. Adolescents begin to establish autonomy from the family and to define personal values and goals.

Question 31

Age range and description of Early Adulthood

Answer 31

18–40 years Most young people leave home, complete their education, and begin full-time work. Major concerns are developing a career, forming an intimate partnership, and marrying, rearing children, or pursuing other lifestyles.

Question 32

Age range and description of Middle Adulthood

Answer 32

40–65 years Many people are at the height of their careers and attain leadership positions. They must also help their children begin independent lives and their parents adapt to aging. They become more aware of their own mortality.

Question 33

Age range and description of Late adulthood

Answer 33

65 years–death People adjust to retirement, to decreased physical strength and health, and often to the death of an intimate partner. They reflect on the meaning of their lives.

Question 34

3 Major domains of development

Answer 34

1. Multidimensional and Multidirectional 2. Plastic 3. Influenced by multiple interacting forces pg 9

Question 35

Define multidimensional

Answer 35

the challenges and adjustments of development are multidimensional—affected by an intricate blend of biological, psychological, and social forces.

Question 36

2 ways that lifespan development is multidirectional

Answer 36

1. over time- development is not limited to improved performance. Rather, at every period there is both growth and decline. (skills can be developed to compensate for reduced functioning- memory loss) 2. change is multidirectional within each domain of development- development of wisdom.

Question 37

In what ways is development plastic? pg 9

Answer 37

development is plastic at all ages. we will see that intellectual performance also remains flexible with advancing age. Older adults respond to special training with substantial (but not unlimited) gains in a wide variety of mental abilities (Bamidis et al., 2014; Willis & Belleville, 2016). the metaphor of a “butterfly”— continued potential— development gradually becomes less plastic, as both capacity and opportunity for change are reduced. Some children and adults experience more diverse life circumstances. Also, as the Biology and Environment box indicates, some adapt more easily than others to changing conditions.

Question 38

In what ways is development influenced by multiple, interacting forces? pg 9

Answer 38

development is influenced by multiple forces: biological, historical, social, and cultural- they work together, combining in unique ways to fashion each life course. These include age graded and history graded influences

Question 39

Explain age-graded influences

Answer 39

Events that are strongly related to age and therefore fairly predictable in when they occur and how long they last example: walk at about 1, puberty at age 12-14, menopause 40-50, can be influenced by social and cultural customs.

Question 40

Explain History graded influences

Answer 40

Development is also profoundly affected by forces unique to a particular historical era. examples: wards, pandemics, economic prosperity or depression, technological advances.

Question 41

Define Cohort

Answer 41

These history-graded influences explain why people born around the same time—called a cohort—tend to be alike in ways that set them apart from people born at other times.

Question 42

Define resilience

Answer 42

the ability to adapt effectively in the face of threats to development pg 9

Question 43

Four broad factors seemed to offer protection from the damaging effects of stressful life events- traits of resilience. pg 9

Answer 43

1. genetically influenced characteristics - High intelligence, socially valued talents (in music or athletics) Temperament including a is easygoing, sociable dispositions, the ability to inhibit negative emotions and impulses , a special capacity to adapt to change—qualities that elicit positive responses from others. In contrast, emotionally reactive and irritable children often tax the patience of people around them (Wang & Deater-Deckard, 2013). 2. A warm parental relationship with at least one parent- warmth, appropriately high expectations, monitoring of the child’s activities, and an organized home environment pg 11 3. Social support outside of the immediate family- competent caring adult- teacher, coach, grandparent, uncle and associations with rule-abiding peers who value academic achievement 4. Community Resources and Opportunities- supervision by adults, health care, social services, libraries, recreation centers, extracurricular activities, youth groups.

Question 44

How can we inoculate children against the negative effects of risk, and enhance children’s protective relationships at home, in school, and in the community?

Answer 44

attending to both the person and the environment—strengthening the individual’s capacities while also reducing hazardous experiences. pg 11

Question 45

define baby boomers

Answer 45

people born between 1946 and 1964, the post–World War II period - the largest gain in the nation’s history. The sheer size of the baby-boom generation made it a powerful social force from the time its members became young adults. Better educated than previous generations, economically privileged, social activist.

Question 46

What is a normative influence?

Answer 46

Something that is normal or typical because it affects a large number of people in a similar way.

Question 47

What is a non-normative influence?

Answer 47

Nonnormative influences are events that are irregular: They happen to just one person or a few people and do not follow a predictable timetable. pg 11 The increasing role of nonnormative events in modern day life adds to the fluid nature of lifespan development.

Question 48

What visual represents the lifespan view of development? What are the major domains that are represented?

Answer 48

tree branches extending in diverse directions. Many pathways are possible, depending on the contexts that influence the individual’s life course. Each branch in this treelike image represents a possible skill within one of the major domains of development. The crossing of the branches signifies that the domains—physical, cognitive, emotional, and social—are interrelated.

Question 49

Influence of Darwin pg 13 (1809-1892)

Answer 49

Theory of evolution- natural selection and survival of the fittest. emphasized the adaptive value of physical characteristics and behavior.

Question 50

Influence of G. Stanley Hall (1844-1924)

Answer 50

one of the most influential American psychologists of the early twentieth century, is generally regarded as the founder of the child study movement with student Arnold Gesell- regarded development as a maturational process—a genetically determined series of events that unfold automatically, much like a flower (Gesell, 1933; Hall, 1904). launched the NORMATIVE APPROACH, in which measures of behavior are taken on large numbers of individuals, and age-related averages are computed to represent typical development. pg 13

Question 51

Influence of Arnold Gesell (1880-1961)

Answer 51

His books (and Benjamin Spock's) were some of the first to educate parents about child development.

Question 52

Influence of Alfred Binet (1857-1911)

Answer 52

French - conducted the first successful intelligence test to identify children with learning problems that needed special classes with his colleague Theodore Simon. pg 13

Question 53

What was the difference between the European concern and the north American concern in the mid-twentieth century?

Answer 53

European concern - the individual’s inner thoughts and feelings North American - focus on scientific precision and concrete, observable behavior.

Question 54

What is the psychanalytic perspective and who were the most influential social scientists?

Answer 54

people move through a series of stages in which they confront conflicts between biological drives and social expectations. How these conflicts are resolved determines the person’s ability to learn, to get along with others, and to cope with anxiety. Sigmund Freud, founder of the psychoanalytic movement, and Erik Erikson.

Question 55

What is Freud's psychosexual theory?

Answer 55

how parents manage their child’s sexual and aggressive drives in the first few years is crucial for healthy personality development. In Freud’s theory, three parts of the personality—id, ego, and superego—become integrated during five stages pg 14 believed that during childhood, sexual impulses shift their focus from the oral to the anal to the genital regions of the body. In each stage, parents walk a fine line between permitting too much or too little gratification of their child’s basic needs. If parents strike an appropriate balance, children grow into well-adjusted adults with the capacity for mature sexual behavior and investment in family life. pg 15

Question 56

What is the id?

Answer 56

the largest portion of the mind, is the source of basic biological needs and desires.

Question 57

What is the ego?

Answer 57

the conscious, rational part of personality, emerges in early infancy to redirect the id’s impulses so they are discharged in acceptable ways.

Question 58

What is the super ego?

Answer 58

develops between the ages of 3-6 conscience, develops as parents insist that children conform to the values of society

Question 59

Contributions of Erik Erikson? (1902-1994

Answer 59

Built upon Freud's stages- believed that in addition to mediating between id impulses and superego demands, the ego makes a positive contribution to development, acquiring attitudes and skills that make the individual an active, contributing member of society. He also added 3 adult stages and stressed that normal development must be understood under the context of culture. pg 15

Question 60

Strengths and Limitations of the psychoanalytic perspective

Answer 60

Strengths: 1. emphasis on the individual’s unique life history as worthy of study and understanding. 2. wealth of research on many aspects of emotional and social development Weaknesses: 1. become isolated from the rest of the field because they were so strongly committed to in-depth study of individuals that they failed to consider other methods 2. many psychoanalytic ideas, such as psychosexual stages and ego functioning, are too vague to be tested empirically (Crain, 2010).

Question 61

Define Behaviorism

Answer 61

directly observable events—stimuli and responses (John Watson- 1878-1958)

Question 62

Contributions of John Watson (1878-1958)

Answer 62

Studied classical conditioning in children (Pavlov's dogs) white rat- concluded that environment is the supreme force in development and that adults can mold children’s behavior by carefully controlling stimulus–response associations. He viewed development as continuous—a gradual increase with age in the number and strength of these associations. pg 16

Question 63

Operant conditioning theory

Answer 63

B F. Skinner, the frequency of a behavior can be increased by following it with a wide variety of reinforcers, such as food, praise, or a friendly smile, or decreased through punishment, such as disapproval or withdrawal of privileges.

Question 64

Contributions of Albert Bandura pg 16

Answer 64

emphasizes modeling, also known as imitation or observational learning, as a powerful source of development. (SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY AND BEHAVIORISM) diverse factors affect children’s motivation to imitate: their own history of reinforcement or punishment for the behavior, the promise of future reinforcement or punishment, and even observations of the model being reinforced or punished. social cognitive- stresses how we think about ourselves and others develop self-efficacy- the belief that their own abilities and characteristics will help them succeed

Question 65

Pros and Cons of Behaviorism and social learning theory?

Answer 65

Pro: helpful is treating problems like poor time management or bad habits, language delays or phobias. Con: fails to move beyond a few narrow environmental influences, underestimating people’s contributions to their own development pg 17

Question 66

What is applied behavior analysis? pg 17

Answer 66

careful observations of individual behavior and related environmental events, followed by systematic changes in those events based on procedures of conditioning and modeling. The goal is to eliminate undesirable behaviors and increase desirable responses.

Question 67

Contribution of Piaget (1896-1980)

Answer 67

The most influential social scientist when it comes to child development. Cognitive developmental theory

Question 68

Define cognitive developmental theory pg 17

Answer 68

Piaget- children actively construct knowledge as they manipulate and explore their world. The biological concept of adaptation. as the brain develops and children’s experiences expand, they move through four broad stages, each characterized by qualitatively distinct ways of thinking

Question 69

Age and development milestones in Piaget's Sensorimotor stage

Answer 69

Birth–2 years Infants “think” by acting on the world with their eyes, ears, hands, and mouth. As a result, they invent ways of solving sensorimotor problems, such as pulling a lever to hear the sound of a music box, finding hidden toys, and putting objects into and taking them out of containers.

Question 70

Age and development milestones in Piaget's preoperational stage

Answer 70

2–7 years Preschool children use symbols to represent their earlier sensorimotor discoveries. Development of language and make-believe play takes place. However, thinking lacks the logic of the two remaining stages.

Question 71

Age and development milestones in Piaget's Concrete operational stage

Answer 71

7–11 years Children’s reasoning becomes logical and better organized. School-age children understand that a certain amount of lemonade or play dough remains the same even after its appearance changes. They also organize objects into hierarchies of classes and subclasses. However, children think in a logical, organized fashion only when dealing with concrete information they can perceive directly.

Question 72

Age and development milestones in Piaget's formal operational stage

Answer 72

11 years on The capacity for abstract, systematic thinking enables adolescents, when faced with a problem, to start with a hypothesis, deduce testable inferences, and isolate and combine variables to see which inferences are confirmed. Adolescents can also evaluate the logic of verbal statements without referring to real-world circumstances.

Question 73

Contributions and Limitations of Piaget’s Theory.

Answer 73

Contributions: 1. His stages have sparked a wealth of research on children’s conceptions of themselves, other people, and human relationships. 2. In practical terms, Piaget’s theory encouraged the development of educational philosophies and programs that emphasize discovery learning and direct contact with the environment. Limitations: 1. underestimated the competencies of infants and preschoolers. 2. children’s performance on Piagetian problems can be improved with training—findings that call into question Piaget’s assumption that discovery learning rather than adult teaching is the best way to foster development 3. pays insufficient attention to social and cultural influences on development 4. Lack of stages that occur after adolescence

Question 74

Define information processing pg 17 What are it's strengths and weaknesses?

Answer 74

the human mind might also be viewed as a symbol-manipulating system through which information flows information is presented to the senses at input until it emerges as a behavioral response at output, information is actively coded, transformed, and organized. steps used to perform "mental operations" Strengths: commitment to rigorous research methods 1. important implications for education 2. development of "executive" processes that enable children and adults to manage their thoughts, emotions, and actions. Weaknesses: 1. better at analyzing thinking into its components than at putting them back together into a comprehensive theory. 2. it has had little to say about aspects of cognition that are not linear and logical, such as imagination and creativity.

Question 75

Define developmental cognitive neuroscience pg 20 What are it's strengths and weaknesses?

Answer 75

methods for analyzing brain activity while children and adults perform various tasks have greatly enhanced knowledge of relationships between brain functioning and behavior (de Haan, 2015) Also includes developmental social neuroscience, is devoted to studying the relationship between changes in the brain and emotional and social development. (using heart rate, blood pressure, hormone levels etc. ) Strength: 1. Rapid progress in clarifying the types of experiences that support or undermine brain development at diverse ages is contributing to effective interventions for enhancing cognitive and social functioning. Weakness: 1. the risk that brain properties underlying human behavior will be granted undue importance over powerful environmental influences-excessive emphasis being placed on biological processes (Kagan, 2013b).

Question 76

Define Ethology pg 21

Answer 76

the adaptive, or survival, value of behavior and on similarities between human behavior and that of other species, especially our primate relatives. Imprinting- early following behavior of animal infants Critical period vs sensitive period

Question 77

Critical period vs sensitive period pg 21 (Ethology)

Answer 77

a limited time span during which the individual is biologically prepared to acquire certain adaptive behaviors but needs the support of an appropriately stimulating environment VS a time that is biologically optimal for certain capacities to emerge because the individual is especially responsive to environmental influences.- Development can occur later, but it is harder to induce.