PSY 210 Chapter 1
a science that seeks to understand how people change of remain the same over time
study of human development
As a science, the study of human development begins with__________ and__________ and then gathers ____________.
questions, hypotheses; empirical data
Researchers draw conclusions based on the __________.
evidence
confirms, modifies, or refutes the conclusions of a scientific study.
Replication
________ and _________ always interact, affected by every human characteristic.
Nature (genes), nurture (environment)
discovered differential susceptibility- that certain genes increase or decrease the likelihood that a child will be affected by the environment.
Neuroscience
Development is divided by three domains:
1. biological (body)
2. cognitive (mind
3. psychosocial (social world)
Every domain is involved in every characteristic, which makes the science of human development always _______.
multidisciplinary
The assumption that growth is linear and progress is inevitable has been replaced by the idea that ____________ and __________ are part of every life, that gains and losses are apparent at every age.
both continuity (sameness); discontinuity (sudden shifts)
Development is:
1. multi-directional
2. multi-contextual
3. multi-cultural
a crucial variable in studying human development
time
a time when something must occur to ensure normal development or the only time when an abnormality might occur
critical period
Often a particular development can occur more easily- but not exclusively- at a particular time called:
sensitive period
ecological-systems approach notes that each of us is situated within larger systems of family, school, community, and culture, as well as part of a historical cohort
Urie Brofenbrenner's
______ within a person, or in the context, affect all other aspects of the system.
changes
an important influence on human development, affecting a person's opportunities, health, and even abilities at every stage
Socioeconomic status (SES)
includes beliefs and patterns
culture
refers to ancestral heritage
ethnicity
_____ and ______ often overlap but are not identical
culture, ethnicity
a social construction, sometimes mistakenly thought to be biological
race
Developmentalists try to avoid the ___________. Differences may be alternate ways to think or act, not necessarily less beneficial than the familiar ways.
difference-equals-deficit error
human development is _______; emphasizes that it is possible for brains and behaviors to change over time, although it is also true that early experiences affect later development
plastic, plasticity
stress the legacy of childhood
Psychoanalytic theories
according to _____, conflicts associated with children's erotic impulses have a lasting impact on adult personality.
Freud
______ thought that the resolution of each crisis affects later life and that new crises appear in adulthood
Erikson
believe that scientists should study observable and measurable behavior; emphasizes conditioning, in which one stimulus may be associated with another (classical conditioning) or reinforcement and punishment may guide future behavior (operant conditioning).
Behaviorists, behaviorism
believe that thoughts and beliefs powerfully affect attitudes, actions, and perceptions.
Cognitive theorists
proposed four age-related periods of cognition
Piaget
focuses on each aspect of cognitive input, processing, and output
information processing
emphasizes the potential of humankind
humanism
proposed a hierarchy of needs, which could lead to self-actualization
Maslow
contends that genes have fostered survival and reproduction of the human species for tens of thousands of years; those genes continue to influence human behavior today, in alloparenting, attachment, and male/female behavior
Evolutionary theory
commonly used research methods are scientific observation, the experiment, and the survey; each can provide insight and discoveries that were not apparent before the research, although no method is perfect
scientific method
a challenge for developmentalists is to:
methods include cross-sectional, longitudinal, and cross-sequential
study change over time
shows that two variables are related; however, it does not prove that one variable causes the other
correlation
crucial in all the sciences; not only must participants be protected and data kept confidential (primary concerns of IRBs), but results must be fairly reported and honestly interpreted
ethical behavior
whether scientists are designing, conducting, analyzing, publishing, and applying the research that is most critically needed- a challenge for the next generation of developmentalists
the most important ethical question