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Questions and Answers
What is development?
What is development?
The scientific study of age-related changes in behavior, thinking, emotion, and personality.
Contrast the terms normative-graded influences, normative history-graded influences, and nonnormative life events. Provide an example of each.
Contrast the terms normative-graded influences, normative history-graded influences, and nonnormative life events. Provide an example of each.
Normative age-related influences are universal for a specific age range (e.g., puberty). Normative history-graded influences are common to a particular generation (e.g., baby boomers experiencing the association of JFK). Nonnormative life events are specific to an individual (e.g., death of a parent for a young child).
What are the three basic processes that underlie developmental change?
What are the three basic processes that underlie developmental change?
- Biological processes (maturation/genetics), 2. Cognitive processes (learning), 3. Socioemotional processes (changes in relationships, emotions, etc.).
According to the textbook, how many developmental periods occur during a lifetime?
According to the textbook, how many developmental periods occur during a lifetime?
What are the three different conceptions of age?
What are the three different conceptions of age?
Who founded the empiricism view of development? What does tabula rasa mean?
Who founded the empiricism view of development? What does tabula rasa mean?
What are the three basic issues used to explain human development?
What are the three basic issues used to explain human development?
How is a theory different from a hypothesis?
How is a theory different from a hypothesis?
What is the order of Piaget's four major stages?
What is the order of Piaget's four major stages?
What is the most important aspect of operant conditioning in developmental learning?
What is the most important aspect of operant conditioning in developmental learning?
What is the major idea behind ethological theory?
What is the major idea behind ethological theory?
What is the major idea behind ecological theory? Who gave us this theory?
What is the major idea behind ecological theory? Who gave us this theory?
What is naturalistic observation? What is a case study?
What is naturalistic observation? What is a case study?
What is the purpose of an experiment?
What is the purpose of an experiment?
What are independent and dependent variables?
What are independent and dependent variables?
What are extraneous variables?
What are extraneous variables?
How is an experimental group different from a control group?
How is an experimental group different from a control group?
Define the term 'life-span perspective.'
Define the term 'life-span perspective.'
What are the three types of influences in the context of development?
What are the three types of influences in the context of development?
What are normative age-graded influences?
What are normative age-graded influences?
What are normative history-graded influences?
What are normative history-graded influences?
What are nonnormative life events?
What are nonnormative life events?
What are the three major elements of Darwin's concept of natural selection?
What are the three major elements of Darwin's concept of natural selection?
What is the newest psychological approach called?
What is the newest psychological approach called?
What does evolutionary psychology emphasize?
What does evolutionary psychology emphasize?
What is the technical term for sex cells?
What is the technical term for sex cells?
How is mitosis different from meiosis?
How is mitosis different from meiosis?
Contrast the terms 'genotype' vs. 'phenotype.'
Contrast the terms 'genotype' vs. 'phenotype.'
How is a dominant gene different from a recessive gene?
How is a dominant gene different from a recessive gene?
What is the technical term for Down Syndrome?
What is the technical term for Down Syndrome?
Name three sex-linked chromosomal abnormalities mentioned in class.
Name three sex-linked chromosomal abnormalities mentioned in class.
What are the three prenatal developmental stages?
What are the three prenatal developmental stages?
What are the age ranges for each of the three prenatal developmental stages?
What are the age ranges for each of the three prenatal developmental stages?
Name three prenatal diagnostic tests mentioned in class. Which is the most common?
Name three prenatal diagnostic tests mentioned in class. Which is the most common?
Define the term 'teratogen.'
Define the term 'teratogen.'
How can cigarette smoking have a negative impact on prenatal development?
How can cigarette smoking have a negative impact on prenatal development?
What is another name for German measles?
What is another name for German measles?
Cite the three factors that pose a threat to newborns.
Cite the three factors that pose a threat to newborns.
What does the term 'small for date' mean?
What does the term 'small for date' mean?
How is cephalocaudal pattern different from the proximodistal pattern?
How is cephalocaudal pattern different from the proximodistal pattern?
Give an example of gross motor skills.
Give an example of gross motor skills.
Give an example of fine motor skills.
Give an example of fine motor skills.
What is the outer layer of the brain known as?
What is the outer layer of the brain known as?
What are the four lobes of the brain and what are their functions?
What are the four lobes of the brain and what are their functions?
What are the three parts of a neuron?
What are the three parts of a neuron?
What is another name for the cell body?
What is another name for the cell body?
What is arborization?
What is arborization?
What is myelination?
What is myelination?
What is lateralization?
What is lateralization?
What is the corpus callosum?
What is the corpus callosum?
Where is the amygdala located?
Where is the amygdala located?
What is the amygdala primarily responsible for?
What is the amygdala primarily responsible for?
What is another name for REM sleep?
What is another name for REM sleep?
What are the five different biological theories of aging?
What are the five different biological theories of aging?
What does evolutionary theory emphasize?
What does evolutionary theory emphasize?
What is cellular clock theory?
What is cellular clock theory?
What is free-radical theory?
What is free-radical theory?
What is mitochondrial theory?
What is mitochondrial theory?
What is hormonal stress theory?
What is hormonal stress theory?
Study Notes
Development and Key Concepts
- Development refers to scientific study of age-related changes in various aspects of behavior, thinking, emotion, and personality.
- Normative influences are age-related (puberty), history-graded (JFK assassination), and nonnormative life events (death of a parent) affecting individuals.
Basic Processes and Developmental Periods
- Three basic processes behind development:
- Biological (maturation/genetics)
- Cognitive (learning)
- Socioemotional (relationship changes)
- Nine developmental periods span a lifetime:
- Prenatal: conception to birth
- Infancy: birth to 18-24 months
- Early Childhood: 2 to 5/6 years
- Middle/Late Childhood: 6 to 11 years
- Adolescence: 10-12 to 18-21 years
- Emerging Adulthood: 18 to 25 years
- Early Adulthood: late teens/20s to 30s
- Middle Adulthood: 40 to 60 years
- Late Adulthood: 60/70 years to death
Age Conceptions and Theories
- Three conceptions of age: biological, psychological, and social age.
- John Locke founded empiricism; "tabula rasa" means "blank slate."
- Major issues in human development: nature-nurture, stability-change, continuity-discontinuity.
Developmental Learning Theories
- Hypothesis: educated guess on organism reactions under specific circumstances.
- Piaget's four stages of cognitive development:
- Sensorimotor
- Preoperational
- Concrete operational
- Formal operational
- Operant conditioning emphasizes consequences of behavior; Albert Bandura is linked with social cognitive theory.
- Ethological theory focuses on innate predispositions for behavior; ecological theory emphasizes environmental impacts on development.
Research Methods
- Naturalistic observation: studying behavior in natural contexts.
- Case study: in-depth analysis of a single subject without a control group.
- Purpose of experiments: confirm or disconfirm hypotheses by testing independent and dependent variables.
Genetic & Biological Concepts
- Independent variable: treatment or condition varied in the experiment.
- Dependent variable: behavior being measured.
- Extraneous variables may contaminate data collection.
- Experimental group receives treatment; control group does not.
- Life-span perspective views development as lifelong, multidimensional, and interactive between biological, sociocultural, and individual factors.
Genetic Factors and Psychology
- Gametes are the technical term for sex cells.
- Mitosis (normal cell division) differs from meiosis (cell division for gametes).
- Genotype represents genetic makeup; phenotype is observable characteristics.
- Dominant genes express traits over recessive genes, which require two copies to express.
Conditions and Development
- Down Syndrome is known as Trisomy 21 due to chromosome involvement.
- Three sex-linked chromosomal abnormalities: Klinefelter syndrome, Fragile X syndrome, Turner syndrome.
- Three prenatal stages: germinal (conception-2 weeks), embryonic (2 weeks-2 months), fetal (2 months-birth).
- Prenatal diagnostic tests: ultrasound, chorionic villus sampling, amniocentesis.
Teratogens and Early Development
- Teratogens are agents causing birth defects.
- Cigarette smoking raises CO2 levels in a mother's blood during pregnancy.
- German measles is known as Rubella and can harm fetal development.
- Threats to newborns: low birth weight, preterm birth, small for date.
Development Patterns and Skills
- Cephalocaudal pattern: development from head to toe; proximodistal pattern: center to periphery.
- Gross motor skills: crawling or walking; fine motor skills: manipulating objects with fingers.
- Brain's outer layer is the cerebral cortex; its four lobes:
- Frontal: thinking, personality, emotion
- Occipital: vision
- Temporal: hearing
- Parietal: sensory information
Neuron Structure and Brain Functions
- Neuron parts: dendrites, soma (cell body), axon.
- Arborization: dendrites forming branches during development.
- Myelination: process of developing myelin sheath around axons for better impulse conductivity.
- Lateralization: hemispheres of the brain have specialized functions.
- Corpus callosum connects the brain's two hemispheres.
Emotional Regulation and Sleep
- Amygdala, located in the limbic system, is key for emotional responses.
- REM sleep is also called paradoxical sleep, associated with dreaming.
Theories of Aging
- Five biological theories of aging include:
- Evolutionary theory: genetic makeup significance.
- Cellular clock theory: cells stop dividing over time.
- Free-radical theory: unstable oxygen molecules harm cells.
- Mitochondrial theory: decay of mitochondria reduces energy supply.
- Hormonal stress theory: endocrine system inefficiency contributes to aging.
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Test your understanding of key concepts in developmental psychology with these flashcards. This quiz covers definitions and examples of important terms related to age-related changes and influences on behavior and personality.
