Chapter 1 - Human growth & development exam| 103 questions and answers.

Lifespan development the field of study that examines patterns of growth,change, and stability in behavior that occur throughout the life span Physical development development involving the body's physical makeup, including the brain, nervous system, muscles, and senses , and the need for food,drink,and sleep Cognitive development development involving the ways that growth and change in intellectual capabilities influence a persons behavior personality development development involving the ways that the enduring characteristics that differentiate one person from another change over the life span social development the way in which individuals' interactions with others and their social relationships grow, change, and remain stable over the course of life age ranges 1. prenatal period - conception to birth 2. infancy and toddlerhood - birth-3 3. preschool period - 3 to 6 4. middle childhood - 6 to 12 5. adolescence - 12 to 20 6. young adulthood - 20 to 40 7. middle adulthood - 40 to 60 8. late adulthood - 60 to death social construction a shared notion of reality that is widely accepted but is a function of society and culture at a given time cohort a group of people born at around the same time in the same place history graded influences biological and environmental influences associated with a particular historical moment age graded influences biological and environmental influences that are similar for individuals in a particular age group, regardless of when or where they are raised sociocultural graded influences the social and cultural factors present at a particular time for a particular individual, depending on such variables as ethnicity, social class, and subcultural membership non normative life events specific, atypical events that occur in a particular persons life at a time when such events do not happen to most people continuous change development is gradual, with achievements at one level building on those of previous levels discontinuous change development that occurs in distinct steps or stages, with each stage bringing about behavior that is assumed to be qualitatively different from behavior at earlier stages critical period a specific time during development when a particular even has its greatest consequences and the presence of certain kinds of environmental stimuli are necessary for development to proceed normally sensitive period a point of development when organisms are particularly susceptible to certain kinds of stimuli in their environments, but the absence of those stimuli does not always produce irreversible consequences nature refers to traits, abilities, and capabilities that are inherited from ones parents maturation the predetermined unfolding of genetic information nurture refers to the environmental influences that shape behavior theories explanations and predictions concerning phenomena of interest, providing a framework for understanding the relationships among an unorganized set of facts or principles psychodynamic perspective the approach that states behavior is motivated by inner forces, memories, and conflicts that are generally beyond peoples awareness and control psychoanalytic theory the theory proposed by freud that suggests that unconscious forces act to determine personality and behavior unconscious part of the personality about which a person is unaware three aspects of personality 1. id 2. ego 3. super ego id the raw, unorganized, inborn part of personality that is present at birth ego part of the personality that is rational and responsible pleasure principle goal is to maximize satisfaction and reduce tension reality principle instinctual energy is restrained in order to maintain the safety of the individual and help integrate the person into society super ego represents a person conscience, incorporating distinctions between right and wrong psychosexual development according to freud, a series of stages that children pass through in which pleasure, or gratification, is focused on a particular biological function and body part 5 stages of freuds psychosexual development 1. oral 2. anal c cy 5. genital fixation behavior reflecting an earlier stage of development due to an unresolved conflict psychosocial development the approach that encompasses changes in out interactions with and understandings of one another, as well as in our knowledge and understanding of ourselves as members of society behavioral perspective the approach that suggests that the keys to understanding development are observable behavior and outside stimuli in the environment conditioning effectively controlling a persons environment classical conditioning a type of learning in which an organism responds in a particular way to a neutral stimulus that normally does not bring about that type of response operant conditioning a form of learning in which a voluntary response is strengthened or weakened by its association with positive or negative consequences reinforcement the process by which a behavior is followed by a stimulus that increases the probability that the behavior will be repeated punishment the introduction of an unpleasant or painful stimulus or the removal of a desirable stimulus, will decreas the probability that a preceding behavior will occur in the future behavior modification a formal technique for promoting the frequency of desirable behaviors and decreasing the incidence of unwanted ones social-cognitive learning theory approach that emphasizes learning by observing the behavior of another person called a model cognitive perspective the approach that focuses on the processes that allow people to know, understand, and think about the world schemes organized mental patterns that represent behaviors and actions assimilation the process in which people understand a new experience in terms of their current stage of cognitive development and existing ways of thinking accommodation refers to changes in existing ways of thinking in response to encounters with new stimuli or events information processing approaches the model that seeks to identify the ways individuals take in, use, and store information neo-piagetian theory considers cognition as made up of different types of individual skills cognitive neuroscience approaches the approach that examines cognitive development through the lens of brain processes humanistic perspective the theory that contends that people have a natural capacity to make decisions about their lives and control their behavior free will the ability of humans to make choices and come to decisions about their lives self actualization the state of self fulfillment in which people achieve their highest potential in their own unique way