Comprehensive Questions with
Verified Answers Graded A+
What are the 3 Domains of Development - Answer: biological, cognitive, socioemotional
Developmental Period - Answer: How people grow and change over their lifetime
What is the current understanding on the nature v. nurture debate? - Answer: That both
environmental (nurture) and biological (nature) both play roles on development. One does not
power the other.
What are the two goals of developmental psychology? - Answer: 1) The first is to describe the
behavior at each point in the person's development
2) The second is to identify the causal factors involved in producing changes in behavior
What are the periods of life-span developmental psychology? - Answer: Infancy, Childhood,
Adolescence, Early Adulthood, Middle Age, Older Age.
What are the general influences on development? (more than 2) - Answer: genetics,
environment
Normative age-graded influences - Answer: life events that are typical and based on
chronological age ... age --> event
, examples: birthdays, graduations, driving a car
Normative history-graded influences - Answer: Influences that are common to people of a
particular generation because of historical circumstances.
examples: Examples of History-graded influences economic, political and social upheavals like
the Great Depression, WWII, Civil Rights Movement, 9/11, integration of cell phones into
everyday life
Cohort - Answer: group born around the same time (generation)
Non-normative life events - Answer: unusual occurrences that have a major impact on an
individual's life; events do not happen to all people
examples: death of a parent when child is young, pregnancy in adolescence, home burned
down, winning the lottery, unexpected career opportunity
Give an example of each key principle of Paul Baltes' Life Span approach to Development -
Answer: people continue to develop throughout their ENTIRE life. People do not stop
developing when they have reached adulthood.
Development is lifelong
Development is multidimensional
Development is multidirectional
Development shows plasticity
Development is multidisciplinary
Influence of context
Development involves changing allocation of resources