HUMAN GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
EXAM PREP | COMPREHENSIVE
LIFESPAN DEVELOPMENT STUDY GUIDE
2026 | GRADED A+ | GUARANTEED
SUCCESS
Updated 2026 Questions and Answers | 100% Verified
Exam Prep and Comprehensive Rationales Included
,Child Development theory complete once reach adolescence
Life Span theory continues throughout life span
Universality vs. context-specific development Universality (Piaget) = same order and same age
Context-specific (Bronfenbrenner) = takes place in various contexts
Context-specific development Collectivist cultures vs. individualistic cultures changes development
Cognitive development theory Based on the notion that cognitive abilities are developed as individuals mature
physiologically and have opportunity to interact with environment (Piaget)
Equilibration of accommodation and assimilation Piaget argues that normally we are in this state, when a new stimulus presents we
enter state of disequilibrium
Accommodation Adjusting prior knowledge gained through former experiences and interactions
Assimilation Fitting together the new information with what has been previously known or
understood
Constructivism Piaget position on learning. Children construct schema, organized patterns of
thought or action, Based on the experiences that they have actively exploring the
environment
Piaget Constructivism considered a stage theory
Piaget Constructivism Four Stages 1. Sensorimotor (birth - 2)
2. Preoperational (2-7)
3. Concrete Operations (7-11)
4. Formal Operaitons (11-15)
Preoperational stage egocentrism, rigidity of thought, semi logical reasoning, limited social cognition
Concrete Operations Beginning of operational thinking, can perform transformations, understand
reversibility, inversion, reciprocity, and conservation, group into categories, make
inferences, inductive reasoning
, Formal Operations higher ordered critical thinking, adult thinking, ultimate stage of cognitive
development, scientific method, logical, abstract and hypothetical thought,
deductive and inductive reasoning
Kohlberg extended Piaget model to study of moral reasoning
Information processing approach newer approach to studying cognitive development, uses computer as metaphor
for human mind
Learning theory (or behaviorist theory) Developmental change as the product of learning
Learning To find as changes in observable behavior
Watson Found in school psychology called behaviorism or behavioral psychology
Behavioral psychology important figures Pavlov, Watson, Skinner, Bandura
Learning theory behavior is controlled by stimuli in the environment
Pavlov Classical Conditioning Learning takes place when reflexive behavior comes under the control of a novel
stimulus in the environment
Reflex unlearned behavior present at birth, unconscious
Components of Reflex Unconditioned stimulus (UCS) - automatically elicits response without training or
conditioning
Unconditioned Response (UCR) - untrained motor response
Inborn reflex result of UCS-UCR connection
Conditioned Stimulus (CS) Consistently paired with the UCS
Conditioned Response (CR) after several pairings of UCS with CS, CR happens
Generalization Observed when a conditioned response solicited by stimuli similar to the original
CS
EXAM PREP | COMPREHENSIVE
LIFESPAN DEVELOPMENT STUDY GUIDE
2026 | GRADED A+ | GUARANTEED
SUCCESS
Updated 2026 Questions and Answers | 100% Verified
Exam Prep and Comprehensive Rationales Included
,Child Development theory complete once reach adolescence
Life Span theory continues throughout life span
Universality vs. context-specific development Universality (Piaget) = same order and same age
Context-specific (Bronfenbrenner) = takes place in various contexts
Context-specific development Collectivist cultures vs. individualistic cultures changes development
Cognitive development theory Based on the notion that cognitive abilities are developed as individuals mature
physiologically and have opportunity to interact with environment (Piaget)
Equilibration of accommodation and assimilation Piaget argues that normally we are in this state, when a new stimulus presents we
enter state of disequilibrium
Accommodation Adjusting prior knowledge gained through former experiences and interactions
Assimilation Fitting together the new information with what has been previously known or
understood
Constructivism Piaget position on learning. Children construct schema, organized patterns of
thought or action, Based on the experiences that they have actively exploring the
environment
Piaget Constructivism considered a stage theory
Piaget Constructivism Four Stages 1. Sensorimotor (birth - 2)
2. Preoperational (2-7)
3. Concrete Operations (7-11)
4. Formal Operaitons (11-15)
Preoperational stage egocentrism, rigidity of thought, semi logical reasoning, limited social cognition
Concrete Operations Beginning of operational thinking, can perform transformations, understand
reversibility, inversion, reciprocity, and conservation, group into categories, make
inferences, inductive reasoning
, Formal Operations higher ordered critical thinking, adult thinking, ultimate stage of cognitive
development, scientific method, logical, abstract and hypothetical thought,
deductive and inductive reasoning
Kohlberg extended Piaget model to study of moral reasoning
Information processing approach newer approach to studying cognitive development, uses computer as metaphor
for human mind
Learning theory (or behaviorist theory) Developmental change as the product of learning
Learning To find as changes in observable behavior
Watson Found in school psychology called behaviorism or behavioral psychology
Behavioral psychology important figures Pavlov, Watson, Skinner, Bandura
Learning theory behavior is controlled by stimuli in the environment
Pavlov Classical Conditioning Learning takes place when reflexive behavior comes under the control of a novel
stimulus in the environment
Reflex unlearned behavior present at birth, unconscious
Components of Reflex Unconditioned stimulus (UCS) - automatically elicits response without training or
conditioning
Unconditioned Response (UCR) - untrained motor response
Inborn reflex result of UCS-UCR connection
Conditioned Stimulus (CS) Consistently paired with the UCS
Conditioned Response (CR) after several pairings of UCS with CS, CR happens
Generalization Observed when a conditioned response solicited by stimuli similar to the original
CS
