Final Exam Flashcards
(175 cards)
Nature-Nurture Issue
The debate over the relative importance of biological predispositions (nature) and environmental influences (nurture) as determinants of human development.
Activity-Passivity Issue
The issue in develop- mental theory centering on whether humans are active contributors to their own development or are passively shaped by forces beyond their control.
Continuity-Discontinuty Issue
The debate among theorists about whether human development is best characterized as gradual and continuous or abrupt and stagelike.
Universality-Context-Speficity Issue
The de-bate over the extent to which developmental changes are common to everyone (universal, as in most stage theories) or different from person to person (particularistic).
Assumptions on the Lifespan Perspective
- lifelong
- multidirectional
- highly plastic (flexible in response to outside influence)
- involves gains and losses
- influenced by biological, historical, and cultural forces
Correlational Method
A research technique that involves determining whether two or more variables are related. It cannot indicate that one thing caused another, but it can suggest that a causal relationship exists or allow us to predict one characteristic from our knowledge of another.
Experimental Design
The holding of all other factors besides the independent variable in an experiment constant so that any changes in the dependent variable can be said to be caused by the manipulation of the independent variable
Cross-Sectional Design
A developmental research design in which different age groups are studied at the same point and compared.
Sequential Design
A developmental research design that combines the cross-sectional approach and the longitudinal approach in a single study to compensate for the weaknesses of each.
Longitudinal Design
A developmental research design in which one group of subjects is studied repeatedly over months or years.
Id
A psychoanalytic term for the inborn component of the personality that is driven by the instincts or selfish urges.
Ego
Psychoanalytic term for the rational component of the personality.
Superego
The psychoanalytic term for the component of the personality that consists of the individual’s internalized moral standards.
Neutral Stimulus
A stimulus that does not naturally elicit response of interest before conditioning.
Unconditioned Stimulus
A stimulus that elicits a particular response without prior learning.
Unconditioned Response
The unlearned response elicited by an unconditioned stimulus.
Conditioned Stimulus
An initially neutral stimulus that elicits a particular response after it is paired with an unconditioned stimulus that always elicits the response.
Conditioned Response
A learned response to a stimulus that was not originally capable of producing the response.
Reinforcement
Pleasant consequence that decreases the probability of a behavior.
Operant Conditioning
Also called instrumental
conditioning, a form of learning in which freely
emitted acts (or operants) become more or less
probable depending on the consequences they
produce.
Positive Reinforcement
The process in operant
conditioning whereby a response is strengthened
when its consequence is a pleasant event.
Negative Reinforcement
The process in operant
conditioning in which a response is strengthened
or made more probable when its consequence
is the removal of an un pleasant stimulus
from the situation.
Punishment
Unpleasant consequence that decreases the probability of a behavior
Positive Punishment
The process in operant
conditioning whereby a response is weakened
when its consequence is an unpleasant event.