Life Span Development - Exam 1 Study Guide
Lifespan development - Correct Answers-field of study that examines patterns of growth,
change, and stability in behavior that occur throughout the entire lifespan
What type of approach does lifespan development take? - Correct Answers-scientific (growth,
change, stability)
The vast majority of lifespan development focuses on - Correct Answers-human development
Cognitive development - Correct Answers-involves the ways that growth and change in
intellectual capabilities influence a person's behavior
Personality development - Correct Answers-involves the ways that the enduring characteristics
that differentiate one person from another change over the lifespan
Social development - Correct Answers-involves the way in which individuals' interactions
w/others and their social relationships grow, change and remain stable over the course of life
What do lifespan developmentalists typically look at which type of area? - Correct Answers-a
particular age-range
In Western culture, what age is considered adulthood? - Correct Answers-20
Cohort - Correct Answers-group of people who are born around the same time in the same
place
Age-graded influences - Correct Answers-biological and environmental influences that are
similar for individuals in a particular age group, regardless of where they are raised
History-graded influences - Correct Answers-biological and environmental factors that are
associated w/a certain historical event (bombing of Pearl Harbor)
Sociocultural-graded influences - Correct Answers-when social and cultural factors affect an
individual at a particular time and include variables as ethnicity, social class and subcultural
membership
Continuous change - Correct Answers-development is gradual, w/achievements at one level
building on those of previous levels
, Discontinuous change - Correct Answers-each stage is distinct
Critical period - Correct Answers-a specific time during development when a particular event
has its greatest consequences and the presence of certain kinds of environmental stimuli is
necessary for development to proceed normally
Sensitive period - Correct Answers-organisms are particularly susceptible to certain kinds of
stimuli in their environments, but the absence of those stimuli does not always produce
irreversible consequences
What issue has dominated much work in lifespan development? - Correct Answers-How much
of people's behavior is due to their genetically determined nature and how much is due to
nurture?
Nature - Correct Answers-traits, abilities, and capacities inherited from parents
Nurture - Correct Answers-environmental influences that shape behavior
Theory - Correct Answers-explanation/prediction concerning phenomena of interest, providing
a framework for understanding the relationships among an organized set of facts or principles
Unconscious - Correct Answers-contains infantile wishes, desires, demands, and needs that are
hidden from conscious awareness because they are disturbing
ID - Correct Answers-"pleasure principle"
What is the goal of the pleasure principle? - Correct Answers-maximize satisfaction and reduce
tension
How does pleasure shift in stages with children? - Correct Answers-oral, anal, phallic
Fixation - Correct Answers-children are unable to gratify themselves in a particular stage of
development or are over-gratified in a particular stage of development
Erikson - Correct Answers-provided an alternative psychodynamic view in his theory of
psychosocial development
psychosocial theory: emphasized that society and culture influences and shapes us - each of his
8 stages represents a crisis that the individual must resolve
Lifespan development - Correct Answers-field of study that examines patterns of growth,
change, and stability in behavior that occur throughout the entire lifespan
What type of approach does lifespan development take? - Correct Answers-scientific (growth,
change, stability)
The vast majority of lifespan development focuses on - Correct Answers-human development
Cognitive development - Correct Answers-involves the ways that growth and change in
intellectual capabilities influence a person's behavior
Personality development - Correct Answers-involves the ways that the enduring characteristics
that differentiate one person from another change over the lifespan
Social development - Correct Answers-involves the way in which individuals' interactions
w/others and their social relationships grow, change and remain stable over the course of life
What do lifespan developmentalists typically look at which type of area? - Correct Answers-a
particular age-range
In Western culture, what age is considered adulthood? - Correct Answers-20
Cohort - Correct Answers-group of people who are born around the same time in the same
place
Age-graded influences - Correct Answers-biological and environmental influences that are
similar for individuals in a particular age group, regardless of where they are raised
History-graded influences - Correct Answers-biological and environmental factors that are
associated w/a certain historical event (bombing of Pearl Harbor)
Sociocultural-graded influences - Correct Answers-when social and cultural factors affect an
individual at a particular time and include variables as ethnicity, social class and subcultural
membership
Continuous change - Correct Answers-development is gradual, w/achievements at one level
building on those of previous levels
, Discontinuous change - Correct Answers-each stage is distinct
Critical period - Correct Answers-a specific time during development when a particular event
has its greatest consequences and the presence of certain kinds of environmental stimuli is
necessary for development to proceed normally
Sensitive period - Correct Answers-organisms are particularly susceptible to certain kinds of
stimuli in their environments, but the absence of those stimuli does not always produce
irreversible consequences
What issue has dominated much work in lifespan development? - Correct Answers-How much
of people's behavior is due to their genetically determined nature and how much is due to
nurture?
Nature - Correct Answers-traits, abilities, and capacities inherited from parents
Nurture - Correct Answers-environmental influences that shape behavior
Theory - Correct Answers-explanation/prediction concerning phenomena of interest, providing
a framework for understanding the relationships among an organized set of facts or principles
Unconscious - Correct Answers-contains infantile wishes, desires, demands, and needs that are
hidden from conscious awareness because they are disturbing
ID - Correct Answers-"pleasure principle"
What is the goal of the pleasure principle? - Correct Answers-maximize satisfaction and reduce
tension
How does pleasure shift in stages with children? - Correct Answers-oral, anal, phallic
Fixation - Correct Answers-children are unable to gratify themselves in a particular stage of
development or are over-gratified in a particular stage of development
Erikson - Correct Answers-provided an alternative psychodynamic view in his theory of
psychosocial development
psychosocial theory: emphasized that society and culture influences and shapes us - each of his
8 stages represents a crisis that the individual must resolve
