DEP2004 FINAL KEY CONCEPTS AND
PRACTICE QUESTIONS
◉ critical period.
Answer: when things must happen for normal development
◉ sensitive period.
Answer: when developmental outcomes occur most easily
◉ cross-sectional research.
Answer: groups of people of one age are compared with people of
another age
◉ longitudinal research.
Answer: collecting data repeatedly on the same individuals as they
age
◉ Plasticity.
Answer: flexibility and resilience--> the brains ability to adapt to
change or repair itself
◉ freud's psychoanalytic therapy.
,Answer: irrational, unconscious drives and motives, often
originating in childhood, underlie human behavior. 5 psychosexual
stages, suggested early conflict resolution and determines
personality problems; nature and nurture, discontinuous
◉ Erikson's psychosocial stage theory.
Answer: 8 stages; each has challenging developmental crisis or task;
different from freud because it covers lifespan and focuses on family
+ culture, not sexual urges; discontinuous, nurture
◉ John Watson' theory of behvaiorism.
Answer: focuses on the effect of environmental experiences;
development is shaped by consequences (operant conditioning) and
learned associations (classical conditioning); development
completely due to nurture; continuous
◉ Bandura's social learning theory.
Answer: extension of behaviorism that emphasizes influence other
people have over our behavior; observational learning (watching
other people's consequences) modeling (imitating other's
behaviors); BOBO DOLL; nurture, continuous
◉ Piaget's cognitive theory.
Answer: thoughts and expectations profoundly affect actions,
attitudes... Discontinuous and focuses on changes in how people
, think over time. 4 stages in which children actively construct
knowledge as they explore the world and adapt their thinking in
complex ways; magical vs logical thinking
◉ information processing theory.
Answer: Compares human thinking processes, by analogy, to
computer analysis of data
◉ Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory.
Answer: human development results from dynamic interactions
between developing persons and their surroundings to society.
culture is key; Vygotsky stressed guided learning (zone of proximal
development); nature and continuous
◉ Evolutionary Theory.
Answer: focuses on humans' 2 long-standing biologically based
drives: survival and reproduction; traits that have adaptive value; ex-
cuteness features in offspring and natural tendency to bond with a
caregiver
◉ mono vs dizygotic twins.
Answer: mono- one fetus splits into two babies (identical)
di- two eggs fertilizes by two sperms (fraternal)
PRACTICE QUESTIONS
◉ critical period.
Answer: when things must happen for normal development
◉ sensitive period.
Answer: when developmental outcomes occur most easily
◉ cross-sectional research.
Answer: groups of people of one age are compared with people of
another age
◉ longitudinal research.
Answer: collecting data repeatedly on the same individuals as they
age
◉ Plasticity.
Answer: flexibility and resilience--> the brains ability to adapt to
change or repair itself
◉ freud's psychoanalytic therapy.
,Answer: irrational, unconscious drives and motives, often
originating in childhood, underlie human behavior. 5 psychosexual
stages, suggested early conflict resolution and determines
personality problems; nature and nurture, discontinuous
◉ Erikson's psychosocial stage theory.
Answer: 8 stages; each has challenging developmental crisis or task;
different from freud because it covers lifespan and focuses on family
+ culture, not sexual urges; discontinuous, nurture
◉ John Watson' theory of behvaiorism.
Answer: focuses on the effect of environmental experiences;
development is shaped by consequences (operant conditioning) and
learned associations (classical conditioning); development
completely due to nurture; continuous
◉ Bandura's social learning theory.
Answer: extension of behaviorism that emphasizes influence other
people have over our behavior; observational learning (watching
other people's consequences) modeling (imitating other's
behaviors); BOBO DOLL; nurture, continuous
◉ Piaget's cognitive theory.
Answer: thoughts and expectations profoundly affect actions,
attitudes... Discontinuous and focuses on changes in how people
, think over time. 4 stages in which children actively construct
knowledge as they explore the world and adapt their thinking in
complex ways; magical vs logical thinking
◉ information processing theory.
Answer: Compares human thinking processes, by analogy, to
computer analysis of data
◉ Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory.
Answer: human development results from dynamic interactions
between developing persons and their surroundings to society.
culture is key; Vygotsky stressed guided learning (zone of proximal
development); nature and continuous
◉ Evolutionary Theory.
Answer: focuses on humans' 2 long-standing biologically based
drives: survival and reproduction; traits that have adaptive value; ex-
cuteness features in offspring and natural tendency to bond with a
caregiver
◉ mono vs dizygotic twins.
Answer: mono- one fetus splits into two babies (identical)
di- two eggs fertilizes by two sperms (fraternal)
