Answers 2026
Definition of developmental science - Correct Answer-studying both change and
constancy throughout the lifespan
theory - Correct Answer-an orderly, integrated set of statements that describes,
explains, and predicts behavior
**used to organize observations
discontinuous development - Correct Answer-the view that development is a process in
which new ways of understanding and responding to the world emerge at specific times
continuous development - Correct Answer-the view that development is a process of
gradually augmenting the same types of skills that were there to begin with
Nature-Nurture debate - Correct Answer-disagreement among theorists about whether
genetic or environmental factors are more important influences on development
nature - Correct Answer-inborn and biological, based on genetic inheritance, stability of
characteristics
nurture - Correct Answer-physical and social world, influence biological and
psychological development, plasticity (development is open to lifelong change and
change occurs based on influential experiences)
stability - Correct Answer-persistence of individual differences; lifelong patterns
established by early experiences
resilience - Correct Answer-ability to adapt effectively in the face of threats to
development; factors include personal characteristics, warm parental relationship, social
support outside family, and community resources and opportunities
**boy's close, affectionate relationship with father who combines warmth with
appropriate expectations for maturity
age-graded influence - Correct Answer-influences on lifespan development that are
strongly related to age and therefore fairly predictable in when they occur and how long
they last
**walking shortly after first birthday, acquire native language at school, each puberty
around age 12-14, menopause for women in late 40s and 50s, etc.
history-graded influence - Correct Answer-influences on lifespan development that are
unique to a particular historical era and explain why people born around the same time
, (called a cohort) tend to be alike in ways that set them apart from people born at other
times
**baby boomers
nonnormative influence - Correct Answer-influences on lifespan development that are
irregular, in that they happen to just one or a few individuals and do not follow a
predictable timetable
**piano lessons during childhood with an inspiring teacher, battle with cancer, etc.
lifespan perspective - Correct Answer-a dynamic systems approach to development that
assumes development is lifelong, multidimensional and multidirectional, highly plastic,
and affected by multiple interacting forces
psychoanalytic perspective (Freud & Erikson) - Correct Answer-emphasis on individual's
unique life history; conflicts between biological drives and social expectations; interprets
human development in terms of motives and drives (drives are often unconscious and
influence every aspect of a person's life; stages of development occur in sequence; first
theory to consider parent/child relationship; how parents manage child's innate impulses
and drives
Freud's three parts of the personality - Correct Answer-Id: largest portion of the mind;
unconscious, present at birth; source of biological needs/desires
Ego: conscious, rational part of personality; emerges in early infancy, redirects id
impulses in acceptable ways; **mediates between id and superego
Superego: the conscience; develops from ages 3 to 6 through interactions with
caregivers
**when the id impulse to grab an attractive toy from a playmate confronts the superego's
warning that such behavior is wrong, the ego must mediate between these two forces
behaviorism - Correct Answer-development involves an increase in learned behaviors
and may vary person to person
classical conditioning - Correct Answer-Pavlov; the creation of a new involuntary
response to a stimulus that did not normally produce that response **Office episode
operant conditioning - Correct Answer-B.F. Skinner; increasing the rate of an already
occurring response through reinforcement
**Big Bang Theory episode
Social Learning Theory - Correct Answer-Bandura; learning occurs through modeling,
also known as imitation or observational learning
**2 year old watching mom get ready for work and after several mornings, 2 year old
picks up brush and rubs it against her face. monkey see, monkey do!