Psychology and Human Development Essay

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Psych 7: Exam 1 Study Guide
Ch.1: Intro
-science of human development: science that seeks to understand how & why people of all ages & circumstances change or remain the dame over time (science-people-change)
-scientific method: way to answer questions using empirical research & data-based conclusions
-a theory: comprehensive set of ideas based on research or personal observation
-a hypothesis: specific prediction that can be tested
-empirical data: based on observation, experience or experiment, not theoretical
-replication: repeating a study usually using different participants, perhaps of another age, SES or culture
-continuous development: characteristics that are stable over time (ex: biological sex)
-discontinuous development: characteristics unlike those that came before (ex: speaking new language, quitting a drug)
-critical period: a time when a particular type of developmental growth in body or behavior must happen for normal development to occur.(ex: fetus can only develop legs & arms between 21 & 50 days after conception)
-sensitive period: Is a time when a certain type of development is most likely to happen & happens most easily, although it may still happen later w/ more difficulty. (ex: speech)
-plasticity: activities, personality & other human characteristics can change over time
-what are social constructions: terms constructed by society, that can affect how people think, but can be changed by society. idea that is built on shared perceptions, not an objective reality. Many age related terms(ex: yuppie, childhood) are socially constructions connected to biological traits but strongly influenced by social assumptions.
-what is culture: system of share beliefs, norms, behaviors & expectations that persist over time & set social behavior & assumptions
-race: group of people who are regarded by themselves or by others as distinct from other groups on the basis of physical appearance, typically skin color. But not all biological differences are not signifies by outward appearance.
-ethnic group: people whose ancestors were born in the same region & who often share a language, culture & religion
-Dynamic systems: view of human development as an ongoing, ever-changing interaction between the physical, cognitive, & psychosocial influences. Development is never static but is always affected by the affects, many systems of development
-Bronfenbrenner(who): developmentalist, who said we must consider all systems that surround each person -he proposed the ecological model:
-ecological-systems approach to development: perspective on human development that considers all the influences from the various contexts of development. -microsystems: a person’s immediate surroundings(such as family) -mesosystem: connections w/ in your microsystems(interface between school & family in parent-teacher conf) -exosystems: local institutions (ex: school & churches) -macrosystems: larger social setting (ex: cultural values, economic policies & political processes)
-cohort: group of people who were born at the same time & move through life together, experiencing the same historical & cultural events
-biopsychosocial approach to development: emphasizes the interaction of the 3 developmental domains (biosocial, cognitive & psychosocial). Every aspect of growth touches on all 3. All development is biosocial although all domains are studied separately
-scientific observation: method of testing a hypothesis by unobtrusively watching & recording participants behavior in a systematic & objective way. witnessing actual behavior, unbiased but the presence of the researcher can be a problem
-survey: collective opinion, big bang for $, lots of info, real time. But bad b/c of opinionated people, honesty, sampling
-cross-sectional research: compares groups of people who differ in age but are similar in other important characteristics
-longitudinal research: same individuals are followed over time, as their development