Lifespan Development Exam 1
Questions with Verified Answers
Lifespan human development - ANSWERSan approach to studying human
development that examines ways in which individuals grow, change, and stay the same
throughout their lives, from conception to death
Physical development - ANSWERSbody maturation, including body size, proportion,
appearance, health, and perceptual abilities
Cognitive development - ANSWERSmaturation of mental processes and tools
individuals use to obtain knowledge, think, and solve problems
Socioemotional development - ANSWERSmaturation of social and emotional
functioning, which includes changes in personality, emotions, personal perceptions,
social skills, and interpersonal relationships
Plasticity - ANSWERSa characteristic of development that refers to malleability, or
openness to change in response to experience
Resilience - ANSWERSthe ability to adapt to serious adversity
Context - ANSWERSunique conditions in which a person develops, including aspects of
the physical and social environment such as family, neighborhood, culture, and
historical time period
Cohort - ANSWERSa generation of people born at the same time, influenced by the
same historical and cultural conditions
Culture - ANSWERSa set of customs, knowledge, attitudes, and values shared by a
group of people and learned through interactions with group members
Continuous development - ANSWERSthe view that development consists of gradual
cumulative changes in existing skills and capacities
Discontinuous development - ANSWERSthe view that growth entails abrupt
transformations in abilities and capacities in which new ways of interacting with the
world emerge
, Nature-nurture issue - ANSWERSa debate within the field of human development
regarding whether development is caused by nature (genetics or heredity) or nurture
(the physical and social environment)
Theory - ANSWERSan organized set of observations to describe, explain, and predict a
phenomenon
Hypothesis - ANSWERSa proposed explanation for a phenomenon that can be tested
Psychoanalytic theory - ANSWERSa perspective introduced by Freud that development
and behavior is stagelike and influenced by inner drives, memories, and conflicts of
which an individual is unaware and cannot control
Behaviorism - ANSWERSa theoretical approach that studies how observable behavior
is controlled by the physical and social environment through conditioning
Classical conditioning - ANSWERSa form of learning in which an environmental
stimulus becomes associated with stimuli that elicit reflex responses
Operant conditioning - ANSWERSa form of learning in which behavior increases or
decreases based on environmental consequences
Reinforcement - ANSWERSin operant conditioning, the process by which a behavior is
followed by a desirable outcome increases the likelihood of a response
Punishment - ANSWERSin operant conditioning, the process in which a behavior is
followed by an aversive or unpleasant outcome that decreases the likelihood of a
response
Social learning theory - ANSWERSan approach that emphasizes the role of modeling
and observational learning over people's behavior in addition to reinforcement and
punishment
Observational learning - ANSWERSlearning that occurs by watching and imitating
models, as posited by social learning theory
Reciprocal determinism - ANSWERSa perspective positing that individuals and the
environment interact and influence each other
Cognitive-developmental perspective - ANSWERSa perspective posited by Piaget that
views individuals as active explorers of their world, learning by interacting with the world
around them and describes cognitive development as progressing through stages
Schema - ANSWERSa mental representation, such as concepts, ideas, and ways of
interacting with the world
Questions with Verified Answers
Lifespan human development - ANSWERSan approach to studying human
development that examines ways in which individuals grow, change, and stay the same
throughout their lives, from conception to death
Physical development - ANSWERSbody maturation, including body size, proportion,
appearance, health, and perceptual abilities
Cognitive development - ANSWERSmaturation of mental processes and tools
individuals use to obtain knowledge, think, and solve problems
Socioemotional development - ANSWERSmaturation of social and emotional
functioning, which includes changes in personality, emotions, personal perceptions,
social skills, and interpersonal relationships
Plasticity - ANSWERSa characteristic of development that refers to malleability, or
openness to change in response to experience
Resilience - ANSWERSthe ability to adapt to serious adversity
Context - ANSWERSunique conditions in which a person develops, including aspects of
the physical and social environment such as family, neighborhood, culture, and
historical time period
Cohort - ANSWERSa generation of people born at the same time, influenced by the
same historical and cultural conditions
Culture - ANSWERSa set of customs, knowledge, attitudes, and values shared by a
group of people and learned through interactions with group members
Continuous development - ANSWERSthe view that development consists of gradual
cumulative changes in existing skills and capacities
Discontinuous development - ANSWERSthe view that growth entails abrupt
transformations in abilities and capacities in which new ways of interacting with the
world emerge
, Nature-nurture issue - ANSWERSa debate within the field of human development
regarding whether development is caused by nature (genetics or heredity) or nurture
(the physical and social environment)
Theory - ANSWERSan organized set of observations to describe, explain, and predict a
phenomenon
Hypothesis - ANSWERSa proposed explanation for a phenomenon that can be tested
Psychoanalytic theory - ANSWERSa perspective introduced by Freud that development
and behavior is stagelike and influenced by inner drives, memories, and conflicts of
which an individual is unaware and cannot control
Behaviorism - ANSWERSa theoretical approach that studies how observable behavior
is controlled by the physical and social environment through conditioning
Classical conditioning - ANSWERSa form of learning in which an environmental
stimulus becomes associated with stimuli that elicit reflex responses
Operant conditioning - ANSWERSa form of learning in which behavior increases or
decreases based on environmental consequences
Reinforcement - ANSWERSin operant conditioning, the process by which a behavior is
followed by a desirable outcome increases the likelihood of a response
Punishment - ANSWERSin operant conditioning, the process in which a behavior is
followed by an aversive or unpleasant outcome that decreases the likelihood of a
response
Social learning theory - ANSWERSan approach that emphasizes the role of modeling
and observational learning over people's behavior in addition to reinforcement and
punishment
Observational learning - ANSWERSlearning that occurs by watching and imitating
models, as posited by social learning theory
Reciprocal determinism - ANSWERSa perspective positing that individuals and the
environment interact and influence each other
Cognitive-developmental perspective - ANSWERSa perspective posited by Piaget that
views individuals as active explorers of their world, learning by interacting with the world
around them and describes cognitive development as progressing through stages
Schema - ANSWERSa mental representation, such as concepts, ideas, and ways of
interacting with the world
