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Lifespan and Development ch.1-4
Ch. 1-4
32
Psychology
Undergraduate 2
12/21/2011

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Term
Science of Human Development
Definition
the science that seeks to understand how and why people of all ages and circumstances change or remain the same over time.
Term
What are the five basic steps of the scientific method?
Definition
curiosity, develop a hypothesis, test the hypothesis, draw conclusions, report the results.
Term
What is nature?
Definition
a general term for the traits, capacities and limitations that each individual inherits genetically from his or her parents at the moment of conception.
Term
What is nurture?
Definition
a general term for all the environmental influences that affect development after an individual is conceived.
Term
What is critical period?
Definition
a time when a particular type of developmental growth (in body or behavior) must happen if it is ever going to happen.
Term
What is sensitive period?
Definition
a time when a certain type of development is most likely to happen or happens most easily, although it may still happen later with more difficulty. for example early childhood is considered a sensitive period for language learning.
Term
What is Biosocial Development?
Definition
Includes all the growth and change that occur in a persons body and the genetic, nutritional, and health factors that affect that growth and change.
Term
What is Cognitive Development?
Definition
Includes all the mental processes that a person uses to obtain knowledge or to think about the environment. i.e. perception, imagination, judgment, memory and language.
Term
What is Psychosocial? (erikson)
Definition
Includes development of emotions, temperament, and social skills. Family, friends, the community, the culture, and the larger society are particularly central to the psychosocial domain.
Term
What is life-span perspective?
Definition
an approach to the study of human development that takes into account all phases of life, not just childhood or adulthood.
Term
Multidirectional?
Definition
change occurs in every direction, not always in a straight line. Gains and losses, predictable growth, and unexpected transformations are evident.
Term
Multidisciplinary?
Definition
Numerous academic fields contribute insights like psychology, biology, education, and sociology.
Term
Multicontextual?
Definition
Human lives are embedded in many contexts, including historical conditions, economic constraints, and family patterns.
Term
Multicultural?
Definition
Many cultures--not just between nations but also within them--affect how people develop.
Term
Plasticity?
Definition
Every individual, and every trait within each individual, can be altered at any point in the life span. Change is ongoing, although neither random nor easy.
Term
Developmental theory?
Definition
a group of ideas, assumptions, and generalizations that interpret and illuminate the thousands of observations that have been made about human growth. A developmental theory provides a framework for explaining the patters and problems of development.
Term
Behaviorism?
Definition
A theory of human development that studies observable behavior. Behaviorism is also called learning theory, because it describes the laws and processes by which behavior is learned.
Term
Classical conditioning?
Definition
a learning process in which a meaningful stimulus (such as the smell of food to a hungry animal) gradually comes to be connected with a neutral stimulus( such as a particular sound) that had no special meaning before the learning process began.
Term
Operant conditioning?
Definition
the learning process in which a particular action is followed either by something desired or unwanted.
Term
Social learning theory?
Definition
emphasizes the influence that other people have over a persons behavior.
Term
Cognitive theory?
Definition
a theory of human development that focuses on changes in how people think over time.
Term
cross section research?
Definition
a research design that compares groups of people who differ in age but are similar in other important characteristics.
Term
longitudinal research?
Definition
a research design in which the same individuals are followed over time and their development is repeatedly assessed.
Term
cross sequential research
Definition
a hybrid research design in which researchers first study several groups of people of different ages and then follow those groups over the years.
Term
quantitative research?
Definition
research that provides data that can be expressed with numbers, such as ranks or scales.
Term
qualitative research?
Definition
research that considers qualities instead of quantities. Descriptions of particular conditions and participants expressed ideas are often part of qualitative studies.
Term
embryo?
Definition
name of developing human 3-8 weeks after conception.
Term
fetus?
Definition
the name for a developing human organism from start to ninth week after conception until birth.
Term
head sparing?
Definition
a biological mechanism that protects the brain when malnutrition disrupts body growth. The brain is the last part of the body to be damaged by malnutrition.
Term
Sensorimoter intelligence
Definition
piagets term for the way infants think by using their senses and motor skills during the first period of cognitive development.
Term
assimilation
Definition
piagets term for a type of adaptation in which new experiences are interpretred to fit into, or assimilate with old ideas.
Term
accmmodation
Definition
piagets term for a type of adaptation in which old ideas are restructured to include, or accommodate new experiences.
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