STUDY GUIDE – Chapter 1

1. The field of human development is considered to be applied because

investigators often are interested in the practical implications of their
research.

2. Theories provide organizing frameworks for our observations of people.

3. ID an example of a continuous or discontinuous process - discontinuous:

steps w/unique features.

4. ID an example of nature or nurture. Nature - inborn biological givens.

Nurture - environmental.

5. ID an example of either age-graded or history graded or a nonnormative

event

6. G. Stanley Hall and Arnold Gesell launched the normative approach which
compute age-related averages on large numbers of individuals to represent
typical development

7. Binet & Simon’s intelligence test was originally constructed to ID children

with learning problems.

8. ID, Ego, Superego Id: Biological needs & desires Ego: mediator SuperEgo:
Parental societal rule set internalized.

9. In contrast to Freud, Erikson emphasized that development continues

throughout the lifespan.

10.According to the behavioristic approach, the proper focus of study for

psychology should be observable stimuli and responses.

11.Classical conditioning – a neutral stimulus is paired with another stimulus

that produces a reflexive response. Also be able to ID an example. Pavlov
associated dog hunger (salivating) to sound of bell.

12.Skinner: Reinforcement will increase the frequency of a behavior and

punishment will decrease the frequency of a behavior

13.According to Bandura’s social learning theory, children learn primarily

through modeling.

14.According to Piaget’s cognitive-development theory children actively

 construct knowledge as they interact with their world

15.According to Piaget, children’s efforts to achieve equilibrium leads to more

advanced ways of thinking.

16.Piaget derived his ideas about cognitive change during the first 2 years by
observing his own children.

17.Information-processing researchers use flowcharts to map the precise steps

children use in solving problems

18.Observations of Imprinting led to the concept of the sensitive period in

child development

19.Bowlby – behaviors such as smiling, babbling, and crying are innate social
signals that encourage parents to interact with their infants

20.Vgotsky’s theory focuses on how culture is transmitted to the next

generation.

21.Vgotsky believed that cooperative dialogues between children and more

knowledgeable members of society promote development.

22.Ecological Systems theory views the child as developing within a complex

system of relationships affected by multiple levels of the environment.

23.Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, all interactions between children

and adults are bidirectional.

24.ID an example of level – Bronfenbrenners

25.The greatest advantage of a naturalistic observation is that it can reveal

how people actually behave in everyday life

26.In Structured observations, every participant has an equal opportunity to

display the response of interest.

27.ID a naturalist or structured observation

28. Correlation does not equal causation

29.In an experimental design, the investigator manipulates changes in the

independent variable and observes its effects on the dependent
variable.

30.ID dependent or independent variable. Dependent variable is what

researchers expect to be influenced by independent variable.
31.Random assignment ensures that participants are assigned to
experimental condition in an unbiased manner.

32.In a longitudinal design, one group of participants is studied repeatedly at

different ages, and changes are noted s the participants mature.

33.