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Developmental Ch 1
Santhrock Essentials of Life Span Development
37
Psychology
Undergraduate 2
04/23/2010

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Term
development
Definition
the pattern of movement or change that starts at conception and continues through human life span
Term
life-span perspective
Definition
the perspective that development is lifelong, multidimensional, multidirectional, plastic, multidisciplinary, and contextual; involves growth, maintenance, and regulation; and is constructed through biological, sociocultural, and individual factors working together
Term
context
Definition
the setting in which development occurs that is influenced by historical, economic, social, and cultural factors
Term
normative age-graded influence
Definition
biological and environmental influences that are similar for individuals in a particular age group
Term
normative history-graded influences
Definition
biological and environmental influences that are associated with history. these influences are common to people of a particular generation
Term
nonnormative life events
Definition
unusual occurrences that have a major impact on a person's life. the occurrence pattern, and sequence of these events are not applicable to many individuals
Term
social policy
Definition
a national government's course of action designed to promote the welfare of its citizens
Term
biological processes
Definition
changes in an individual's physical nature
Term
cognitive processes
Definition
changes in an individual's thought, intelligence, nd language
Term
socioemotional processes
Definition
changes in an individual's relationships with other people, emotions , and personality
Term
developmental period
Definition
refers to a time frame in a person's life that is characterized by certain features
Term
nature-nurture issue
Definition
the debate about the extent to which development is influenced by nature and by nurture. nature refers to an organism's biological inheritance, nurture to its environmental experiences.
Term
stability-change issue
Definition
the debate about the degree to which early traits and characteristics persist through life or change
Term
continuity-discontinuity issue
Definition
the debate about the extent to which development involves gradual, cumulative change (continuity) or distinct stages (discontinuity)
Term
psychoanalytic theories
Definition
theories that hold that development depends primarily on the unconscious mind and is heavily couched in emotion, that behavior is merely a surface characteristic, that it is important to analyze the symbolic meanings of behavior, and that early experiences are important in development
Term
adult personality
Definition
Freud; claims that it is determined by the way we resolve conflicts between sources of pleasure at each stage and the demands of reality
Term
Erikson's theory
Definition
a psychoanalytic theory in which eight stages of psychosocial development unfold throughout the human life span. each stage consists of a unique developmental task that confronts individuals with a crisis that must be faced.
Term
Piaget's cognitive theory
Definition
the theory that children construct their understanding of the world and go though four stages of cognitive development
Term
Vygotsky's theory
Definition
a sociocultural cognitive theory that emphasizes how culture and social interaction guide cognitive development
Term
information-processing theory
Definition
a theory that emphasizes that individuals manipulate information, monitor it, and strategize about it. the processes of memory and thinking are central.
Term
behavioral and social cognitive theories
Definition
theories that hold that development can be described in terms of the behaviors learned through interactions with the environment
Term
operant conditioning
Definition
the consequences of a behavior produce changes in the probability of the behavior's occurrence. a behavior followed by a rewarding stimulus is more likely to recur. a behavior followed by a punishing stimulus is less likely to recur.
Term
social cognitive theory
Definition
the theory that behavior, environment, and person/cognitive factors are important in understanding development
Term
ethology
Definition
an approach that stresses that behavior is strongly influenced by biology, tied to evolution, and characterized by critical or sensitive periods
Term
imprinting
Definition
Lorenz: the rapid, innate learning that involves attachment to the first moving object seen
Term
critical period
Definition
if it doesn't happen during this period, then it will not take place
Term
sensitive period
Definition
Bowlby: attachment should occur in order to promote optimal development of social relationships
Term
Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory
Definition
Bronfenbrenner's environmental systems theory that focuses on five environmental systems; microsystem, mesosystem, ecosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem
Term
microsystem
Definition
the setting in which the individual lives
Term
mesosystem
Definition
involves relations between contexts
Term
exosystem
Definition
consists of links between a social setting in which the individual does not have an active role and the individual's immediate context
Term
macrosystem
Definition
involves the culture in which individuals live
Term
chronosystem
Definition
consists of the patterning of environmental events and transitions over the life course, as well as sociohistorical circumstances
Term
eclectic theoretical orientation
Definition
an approach that selects and uses whatever is considered the best in many theories
Term
cross-sectional approach
Definition
a research strategy in which individuals of different ages are compared at one time
Term
longitudinal approach
Definition
a research strategy in which the same individuals are studied over a period of time, usually several years or more
Term
cohort effects
Definition
effects that are due to a subject's time of birth or generation but not age
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