Test Bank Life-span Development by
John W. Santrock (chapters 1-4).
Development - Answer The pattern of change that begins at conception and continues
through the life span. Involves growth, although it also includes decline brought on by aging and
dying.
Context - Answer The settings, influenced by historical, economic, social, and cultural factors,
in which development occurs.
Life-span perspective - Answer The perspective that development is lifelong,
multidimensional, multidirectional, plastic, multidisciplinary, and contextual; involves growth,
maintenance, and regulation; and is constructed through biological, sociocultural, and individual
factors working together.
Normative age-graded influences - Answer Influences that are similar for individuals in a
particular age group.
Normative history-graded influences - Answer Influences that are common to people of a
particular generation because of historical circumstances.
Culture - Answer The behavior patterns, beliefs, and all other products of a group that are
passed on from generation to generation.
Cross-cultural studies - Answer Comparison of one culture with one or more other cultures.
These provide information about the degree to which development is similar, or universal,
across cultures, and the degree to which it is culture-specific.
Ethnicity - Answer A characteristic based on cultural heritage, nationality characteristics, race,
religion, and language.
Socioeconomic status (SES) - Answer Refers to the grouping of people with similar
occupational, educational, and economic characteristics.
Gender - Answer The characteristics of people as males or females.
, Biological processes - Answer Changes in an individual's physical nature.
Cognitive processes - Answer Changes in an individual's thought, intelligence, and language.
Socioemotional processes - Answer Changes in an individual's relationships with other people,
emotions, and personality.
Prenatal Period - Answer The time from conception to birth
Infancy - Answer The developmental period that extends from birth to 18 to 24 months of age
Early Childhood - Answer The developmental period that extends from the end of infancy to
about 5 to 6 years of age, sometimes called the prescribed years
Middle and late childhood - Answer The developmental period that extends from about 6 to
11 years of age; sometimes called the elementary school years
Adolescence - Answer The developmental period of transition from childhood to early
adulthood entered at approximately 10 to 12 years of age and ending at 18 to 22 years of age
Millennials - Answer The generation born after 1980, which is the first generation to come of
age and enter emerging adulthood in the new millennium; members of this generation are
characterized by their ethnic diversity and their connection to technology
Nature-nurture issue - Answer Debate about whether development is primarily influenced by
nature or nurture.
Nature refers to an organism's biological inheritance, Nurture to its environmental experiences.
Continuity-discontinuity issue - Answer The issues regarding whether development involves
gradual, cumulative change (continuity) or distinct stages (discontinuity)
Early-later experience issue - Answer The issues of the degree to which early experience
(especially infancy) or later experiences are the key determinants of the child's development.
John W. Santrock (chapters 1-4).
Development - Answer The pattern of change that begins at conception and continues
through the life span. Involves growth, although it also includes decline brought on by aging and
dying.
Context - Answer The settings, influenced by historical, economic, social, and cultural factors,
in which development occurs.
Life-span perspective - Answer The perspective that development is lifelong,
multidimensional, multidirectional, plastic, multidisciplinary, and contextual; involves growth,
maintenance, and regulation; and is constructed through biological, sociocultural, and individual
factors working together.
Normative age-graded influences - Answer Influences that are similar for individuals in a
particular age group.
Normative history-graded influences - Answer Influences that are common to people of a
particular generation because of historical circumstances.
Culture - Answer The behavior patterns, beliefs, and all other products of a group that are
passed on from generation to generation.
Cross-cultural studies - Answer Comparison of one culture with one or more other cultures.
These provide information about the degree to which development is similar, or universal,
across cultures, and the degree to which it is culture-specific.
Ethnicity - Answer A characteristic based on cultural heritage, nationality characteristics, race,
religion, and language.
Socioeconomic status (SES) - Answer Refers to the grouping of people with similar
occupational, educational, and economic characteristics.
Gender - Answer The characteristics of people as males or females.
, Biological processes - Answer Changes in an individual's physical nature.
Cognitive processes - Answer Changes in an individual's thought, intelligence, and language.
Socioemotional processes - Answer Changes in an individual's relationships with other people,
emotions, and personality.
Prenatal Period - Answer The time from conception to birth
Infancy - Answer The developmental period that extends from birth to 18 to 24 months of age
Early Childhood - Answer The developmental period that extends from the end of infancy to
about 5 to 6 years of age, sometimes called the prescribed years
Middle and late childhood - Answer The developmental period that extends from about 6 to
11 years of age; sometimes called the elementary school years
Adolescence - Answer The developmental period of transition from childhood to early
adulthood entered at approximately 10 to 12 years of age and ending at 18 to 22 years of age
Millennials - Answer The generation born after 1980, which is the first generation to come of
age and enter emerging adulthood in the new millennium; members of this generation are
characterized by their ethnic diversity and their connection to technology
Nature-nurture issue - Answer Debate about whether development is primarily influenced by
nature or nurture.
Nature refers to an organism's biological inheritance, Nurture to its environmental experiences.
Continuity-discontinuity issue - Answer The issues regarding whether development involves
gradual, cumulative change (continuity) or distinct stages (discontinuity)
Early-later experience issue - Answer The issues of the degree to which early experience
(especially infancy) or later experiences are the key determinants of the child's development.
