Human Growth and Development
Questions & Answers
human developmemt - ANSWERSa field of study devoted to understanding constancy
and change throughout the llifespan
theory - ANSWERSan orderly, integrated set of statements that describes, explains,
and predicts behavior
continuous development - ANSWERSa process of gradually augmenting the same
types of skills that were there to begin with
discontinuous development - ANSWERSa process in which new and different ways of
interpreting and responding to the world emerge at particular time periods
stages - ANSWERSqualitative changes in thinking, feeling, and behaving that
characterize specifice periods of development
contexts - ANSWERSUnique combinations of personal and environmental
circumstances that can result in different paths of change.
nature-nurture controversy - ANSWERSinborn biological givens vs. complex forces of
the physical and social world that influence our biological makeup and psychological
experiences before and after birth
life expectancy - ANSWERSThe average number of years an individual can be
expected to live, given current social, economic, and medical conditions. Life
expectancy at birth is the average number of years a newborn infant can expect to live.
lifespan perspective - ANSWERS(1) development as lifelong (2) development as
multidimensional and multidirectional (3) development as highly plastic (4) development
as embedded in multiple contexts
age-graded influences - ANSWERSevents that are strongly related to age and therefore
fairly predictable in whwen they occur and how long they last
history-graded influences - ANSWERSforces unique to a particular historic era that
explain why people born around the same time tend to be alike in ways that set them
apart from people born at other times
, preformationism - ANSWERSin medieval Europe once children emerged from infancy
ther were regarded as miniature already-formed adults
John Locke - ANSWERS"tabula rasa" (blank slate) children in the beginning are nothing
at all and all kinds of experiences can shape their character. Nurture to shape a child
Jean Jacques Rousseau - ANSWERSchildren were noble savages, naturally endowed
with a sense of right and wrong. Adult training would only harm children.
Tetens - ANSWERSolder people can compensate for intellectual declines that, at times,
may reflect hidden gains
Carus - ANSWERSfour periods of life: childhood, youth, adulthood, senescence
Charles Darwin - ANSWERSnatural selection and survival of the fittest
normative approach - ANSWERSmeasures of behaviour are taken on large numbers of
individuals, age-related averages are computed to represent typical development
Alfred Binet - ANSWERSfirst successful intelligence test (Stanford-Binet Intelligence
Scale)
Freud - ANSWERSAustrian-born British psychoanalyst noted for her application of
psychoanalysis to child therapy.
id - ANSWERSlargest portion of the mind; basic biological needs and desires
ego - ANSWERSconscious, rational part ofo personality; emerges in early infancy,
ensures that the id is redirected property
superego - ANSWERSconscience; develops from interaction with parents
Erik Erikson - ANSWERSneo-Freudian, humanistic; 8 psychosocial stages of
development: theory shows how people evolve through the life span. Each stage is
marked by a psychological crisis that involves confronting "Who am I?"
Jean Piaget - ANSWERS1896-1980; swiss developmental psychologist who proposed a
four-stage theory of cognitive development based on the concept of mental operations
ethology - ANSWERSconcerned with adaptive, or survival, value of behavior and its
evolutionary history
sensitive period - ANSWERSa time that is optimal for certain capacities to emerge and
in which the individual is especially responsive to environment influences
Questions & Answers
human developmemt - ANSWERSa field of study devoted to understanding constancy
and change throughout the llifespan
theory - ANSWERSan orderly, integrated set of statements that describes, explains,
and predicts behavior
continuous development - ANSWERSa process of gradually augmenting the same
types of skills that were there to begin with
discontinuous development - ANSWERSa process in which new and different ways of
interpreting and responding to the world emerge at particular time periods
stages - ANSWERSqualitative changes in thinking, feeling, and behaving that
characterize specifice periods of development
contexts - ANSWERSUnique combinations of personal and environmental
circumstances that can result in different paths of change.
nature-nurture controversy - ANSWERSinborn biological givens vs. complex forces of
the physical and social world that influence our biological makeup and psychological
experiences before and after birth
life expectancy - ANSWERSThe average number of years an individual can be
expected to live, given current social, economic, and medical conditions. Life
expectancy at birth is the average number of years a newborn infant can expect to live.
lifespan perspective - ANSWERS(1) development as lifelong (2) development as
multidimensional and multidirectional (3) development as highly plastic (4) development
as embedded in multiple contexts
age-graded influences - ANSWERSevents that are strongly related to age and therefore
fairly predictable in whwen they occur and how long they last
history-graded influences - ANSWERSforces unique to a particular historic era that
explain why people born around the same time tend to be alike in ways that set them
apart from people born at other times
, preformationism - ANSWERSin medieval Europe once children emerged from infancy
ther were regarded as miniature already-formed adults
John Locke - ANSWERS"tabula rasa" (blank slate) children in the beginning are nothing
at all and all kinds of experiences can shape their character. Nurture to shape a child
Jean Jacques Rousseau - ANSWERSchildren were noble savages, naturally endowed
with a sense of right and wrong. Adult training would only harm children.
Tetens - ANSWERSolder people can compensate for intellectual declines that, at times,
may reflect hidden gains
Carus - ANSWERSfour periods of life: childhood, youth, adulthood, senescence
Charles Darwin - ANSWERSnatural selection and survival of the fittest
normative approach - ANSWERSmeasures of behaviour are taken on large numbers of
individuals, age-related averages are computed to represent typical development
Alfred Binet - ANSWERSfirst successful intelligence test (Stanford-Binet Intelligence
Scale)
Freud - ANSWERSAustrian-born British psychoanalyst noted for her application of
psychoanalysis to child therapy.
id - ANSWERSlargest portion of the mind; basic biological needs and desires
ego - ANSWERSconscious, rational part ofo personality; emerges in early infancy,
ensures that the id is redirected property
superego - ANSWERSconscience; develops from interaction with parents
Erik Erikson - ANSWERSneo-Freudian, humanistic; 8 psychosocial stages of
development: theory shows how people evolve through the life span. Each stage is
marked by a psychological crisis that involves confronting "Who am I?"
Jean Piaget - ANSWERS1896-1980; swiss developmental psychologist who proposed a
four-stage theory of cognitive development based on the concept of mental operations
ethology - ANSWERSconcerned with adaptive, or survival, value of behavior and its
evolutionary history
sensitive period - ANSWERSa time that is optimal for certain capacities to emerge and
in which the individual is especially responsive to environment influences
