The Study of Human Development – Flashcards
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What fundamental issues of development have scholars addressed throughout history? What are the basic forces in the biopsychosocial framework? How does the timing of these forces make a difference in their impact? How does neuroscience enhance understanding of human development
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Thinking about Development:Learning Objectives
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Examines how and why people change and how they remain the same over time Examines how and why people are both unique and similar to each other A multidisciplinary science based on theories and research studies
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Defining Human Development
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Nature vs. nurture Influence of heredity vs. environment Continuity vs. discontinuity Does development smoothly progress or shift abruptly ? Universal vs. context-specific development Is there just one or multiple ways in which development occurs
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Recurring Issues in Human Development
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Biological forces Genetic, health-related Psychological forces Cognitive/perceptual, emotional, personality Sociocultural forces Societal, cultural, ethnic, interpersonal Lifecycle forces Identical events, different age groups
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Interactive Forces: The Biopsychosocial Framework
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Study of brain activity-behavior relationships Helps in understanding interactions among the four forces
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Contribution of Neuroscience toHuman Development
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What is a developmental theory? How do psychodynamic theories account for development? What is the focus of learning theories of development? How do cognitive-developmental theories explain changes in thinking? What are the main points in the ecological and systems approach? What are the major tenets of life-span and lifecycle theories?
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Developmental Theories:Learning Objectives
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"An organized set of ideas that is designed to explain development" Essential for developing predictions about behavior Predictions result in research that helps to support or clarify the theory
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What Is a Theory
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Psychodynamic Freud, Erikson Learning Watson, Skinner, Bandura Cognitive Piaget, Vygotsky Ecological & systems Bronfenbrenner, Lawton & Nahemow Life span Baltes
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Major Theoretical Perspectives on Human Development
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Identity vs. identity confusion (adolescence) Intimacy vs. isolation (young adulthood) Generativity vs. stagnation (middle adulthood) Integrity vs. despair (late life) Basic trust vs. mistrust (0-1 year old) Autonomy vs. shame &doubt (1-3 years old) Initiative vs. guilt (3-6 years old) Industry vs. inferiority (6-adolescence)
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Psychodynamic:Erikson's Psychosocial Theory
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Concentrates on how learning influences behavior Emphasizes the role of experience Stresses the influence of consequences on behavior Recognizes that people learn from watching others
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Learning Theory
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Learning determines our behavior Experience is sufficient to explain the course of development Watson did little research to support his claims
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Watson's Behaviorism
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The consequences of a behavior determine whether it will be repeated A positive or negative reinforcement increases the chance that a behavior will be repeated A punishment decreases the chance that a behavior will be repeated
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B.F. Skinner's Operant Conditioning
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Observational learning, or imitation People learn by watching others Imitation is more likely when the subject of observation is seen as smart, popular, or talented Imitation is more likely when the subject of observation is rewarded for the behavior
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Social Learning Theory
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Cognition emphasizes thinking Based on cognition and experience; we understand our abilities, developing differing degrees of self-efficacy Consequences are insufficient to cause us to repeat behaviors or imitate them High self-efficacy is also needed
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Albert Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory
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Stresses development of thought processes Three approaches Piaget: we develop in discrete stages Vygotsky: societal expectations of what we should know at different ages and "apprenticeship" experiences shape development Information-processing theory: like computers, we become more efficient at processing information as we mature
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Cognitive-Developmental Theory
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Children gradually learn more about how the world works by little everyday "experiments" in which they test their understanding Cognitive development consists of stages in which children's understanding of their surroundings becomes increasingly complex and accurate
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Jean Piaget's Cognitive-Development Theory
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Sensorimotor stage (birth to 2 years) The child interacts with the world through sensation and movement Develops the ability to hold a mental representation of objects Preoperational stage (2 to 7 years) Develops the ability to use symbols Egocentric: understands the world only from his/her own perspectiv
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Piaget's Stages (cont'd)
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Concrete operational thought (7 years to early adolescence) Can use "here and now" logic and reasoning Cannot accurately consider the hypothetical Formal operational thought (adolescence and beyond) Thinks abstractly Deals with hypothetical concepts
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Piaget's Stages (cont'd)
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Uses the computer as a model of how thinking develops Mental hardware: psychological structures, such as memory capacity Mental software: cognitive abilities that process information and help us to interact with the world Both improve with developmen
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Information-Processing Theory
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Emphasizes sociocultural influences on child development Focuses on how adults convey aspects of their culture to children Views development as an "apprenticeship"
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Vygotsky's Theory
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All aspects of human development are interconnected No single aspect can adequately explain development Need to consider all factors: environmental, family, political, social, etc., and how they interact
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The Ecological and Systems Approach
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Microsystem People and objects in the immediate environment Mesosystem Influences of microsystems on each other Exosystem Social, environmental, and governmental forces Macrosystem Subcultures and cultures in which the other three systems are embedded
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Urie Bronfenbrenner's Theory:An Ecological Approach
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FIG 1.2 Bronfenbrenner's ecological approach emphasizes the interaction across different systems in which people operate.
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FIG 1.2 Bronfenbrenner's ecological approach emphasizes the interaction across different systems in which people operate.
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Adaptation, or development, depends upon The person's abilities or "competencies" Demands the environment ("presses") places on the person Emphasis is on how these factors interact
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Lawton & Nahemow'sCompetence-Environmental Press Theory
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Does development continue throughout the life span? What are the unique or specific developmental influences or issues of adulthood? How do we explain the apparent decline of abilities in later adulthood
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Questions Traditional Theories Don't Adequately Address
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Life-span perspective Many factors influence development; no one factor adequately explains it...all must be considered Selective optimization with compensation Describes choices that determine and regulate development and aging
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Current Perspectives
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The life-course perspective Examines how different generations experience and adjust to biological, psychological, and sociocultural forces within the historical time-period of their lives
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Current Perspectives (cont'd)
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Emphasizes the need to view the entire life span to understand a person's development The social, environmental, and historical aspects of one's life must be considered Learning about patterns of development influences society
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Matilda Riley's Life-Span Perspective
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Multidirectionality Different areas of development grow and decline at the same time Plasticity Skills and abilities can be improved or developed throughout the life span
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Four Features of the Life-Span Approach
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Historical context Historical time periods must be considered in examining development Multiple causation Biological, psychological, sociocultural, and lifecycle changes must be considered
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Four Features of the Life-Span Approach (cont'd
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Elective selection Making choices to reduce involvement with one goal in order to concentrate on another Loss-based selection Reducing involvement because of lack of resources or abilities Compensation Finding alternate ways of meeting goals due to loss of ability or diminished skills
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Baltes: Selective Optimization With Compensation (SOC
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Emphasizes how... personal life events interact with historical influences individual issues integrate with family issues earlier life events, and the period of history in which they occurred, shaped subsequent events and issues
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The Life-Course Perspective
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Jim was a 25-year-old firefighter in Cincinnati. On September 11, 2001, he watched the World Trade Center collapse on television. He was so moved by the need to help his fellow firefighters, he went to New York to assist in the rescue efforts. Jim now suffers from posttraumatic stress disorder after the weeks of intense work and emotion he experienced.
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The Big Picture
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How did Jim's age, profession, and choices interact to bring him to where he is today? What impact might this have on his work, family, and health? How may these forces impact Jim's future job choices, marriage, and feelings about political and racial issues?
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The Big Picture (cont'd)
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How do scientists measure topics of interest in studying human development? What research designs are used to study human development? How do researchers integrate results from multiple studies? What ethical procedures must researchers follow? How do investigators communicate results from research studies? How does research affect public policy?
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1.3 Doing Developmental Research:Learning Objectives
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Systematic observation is of two types Naturalistic observation "Real-life" observations Structured observation Researchers create a situation likely to result in the type of behavior in which they are interested
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Measurement in Human Development Research
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Sampling behavior with tasks Example: showing photos to measure emotion recognition accuracy Self-reports Example: measuring self-esteem using a questionnaire Physiological measures Example: measuring interest level using GSR and pupil dilation
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Other Behavioral Measures
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Reliability Does this method consistently measure what is being studied? Example: IQ test yielding "identical" scores when given twice over a two-week interval Validity Does this accurately measure the variable of interest? Example: personality test truly assessing level of aggressiveness
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Evaluating Research Methods
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Populations Broad groups of people in which researchers may be interested Example: adolescent African Americans of low, medium, and high SES Sample A subset of people chosen to well represent the population Example: randomly selecting 100 high school students from areas with high SES diversity
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Representative Sampling
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Correlational studies Measure how people score on two variables (e.g., GPA and SAT scores) Calculate a correlation coefficient (r) between the two variables' scores r can range between -1.00 to +1.00 r's magnitude shows how much the scores on one variable can predict the other variable's scores, regardless of r's sign r's sign indicates whether the relationship is positive or negative Correlation does not prove causation
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General Research Designs
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1.5 There are three basic interpretations of a correlation coefficient because there is no direct way to assess cause and effect.
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1.5 There are three basic interpretations of a correlation coefficient because there is no direct way to assess cause and effect.
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Studies the possible "cause and effect" relationship between two variables First manipulate exposure to different levels of an independent variable (IV), e.g., putting people in a good vs. a bad mood After exposure to the IV, measure how people score on a dependent variable (DV), e.g., how much the people help someone in need Main question is whether the DV's scores differ depending upon the level of the IV
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Experimental Studies
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Longitudinal studies Observes or tests one group of individuals at each of several time periods Expensive and a large time commitment Allows examination of (dis)continuity, because the same people were tested across time Cross-sectional studies Observes or tests groups of different ages at the same period in time More time-effective, less expensive Cannot address (dis)continuity because each age group involves different people
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Designs for Studying Development
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Sequential studies A combination of cross-sectional and longitudinal designs Allows for flexibility to collect information in several ways Avoids cohort effects of cross-sectional designs Effects due to the same generation or time in history
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Designs for Studying Development (cont'd)
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Meta analysis Analysis of multiple studies that all examined the same research questions and variables Allows scientists to verify whether the same relationships among variables are replicated across multiple studies
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Integrating Findings from Different Studies
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Minimize and warn of any risks to participants "Informed consent" Avoid deception Individual results or data must be kept anonymous or confidential
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Conducting Research Ethically
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Research results are published in peer-reviewed scientific journals To be published in journals, research results must be useful, well done, and original
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Communicating Research Results
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Driving age Stem-cell research Adoption policies
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Applying Research Results:Social Policy
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Does being a participant in a scientific study distort real-life behavior? What if the only way to collect valid information requires putting participants at risk? deception; not informing them of possible risks?
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Think about This
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a useful way to organize the biological, psychological, and sociocultural forces on human development
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biopsychosocial framework
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problem with cross-sectional designs in which differences between age groups (cohorts) may result as easily from environmental events as from developmental processes
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cohort effects
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a person's abilities
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competence
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whether a particular developmental phenomenon represents a smooth progression throughout the life span (continuity) or a series of abrupt shifts (discontinuity)
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continuity-discontinuity issue
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an expression of the strength and direction of a relation between two variables
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correlation coefficient
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study in which developmental differences are identified by testing people of different ages
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cross-sectional study
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the behavior being observed
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dependent variable
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theory based on idea that human development is inseparable from the environmental contexts in which a person develops
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ecological theory
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demands put on people by the environment
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environmental press
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in Erikson's theory, the idea that each psychosocial strength has its own special period of particular importance
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epigenetic principle
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social settings that a person may not experience firsthand but that still influence development
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exosystem
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a systematic way of manipulating the key factor(s) that the investigator thinks causes a particular behavior
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experiment
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the multidisciplinary study of how people change and how they remain the same over time
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human development
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learning that occurs by simply watching how others behave
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imitation or observational learning
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the factor being manipulated
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independent variable
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theory proposing that human cognition consists of mental hardware and mental software
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information-processing theory
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description of how various generations experience the biological, psychological, and sociocultural forces of development in their respective historical contexts
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life-course perspective
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view that human development is multiply determined and cannot be understood within the scope of a single framework
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life-span perspective
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longitudinal study research design in which the same individuals are observed or tested repeatedly at different points in their lives
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longitudinal study
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the cultures and subcultures in which the microsystem, mesosystem, and exosystem are embedded
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macrosystem
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provides connections across microsystems
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mesosystem
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a tool that enables researchers to synthesize the results of many studies to estimate relations between variables
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meta-analysis
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the people and objects in an individual's immediate environment
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microsystem
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technique in which people are observed as they behave spontaneously in some real-life situation
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naturalistic observation
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the degree to which genetic or hereditary influences (nature) and experiential or environmental influences (nurture) determine the kind of person you are
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nature-nurture issue
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the study of the brain and nervous system, especially in terms of brain-behavior relationships
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neuroscience
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learning paradigm in which the consequences of a behavior determine whether a behavior is repeated in the future
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operant conditioning
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broad groups of people that are of interest to researchers
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populations
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theories proposing that development is largely determined by how well people resolve conflicts they face at different ages
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psychodynamic theories
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Erikson's proposal that personality development is determined by the interaction of an internal maturational plan and external societal demands
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psychosocial theory
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a consequence that decreases the future likelihood of the behavior that it follows
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punishment
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method that involves gaining in-depth understanding of human behavior and what governs it
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qualitative research
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a consequence that increase the future likelihood of the behavior that it follows
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reinforcement
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extent to which a measure provides a consistent index of a characteristic
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reliability
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a subset of the population
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sample
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model in which three processes (selection, optimization, and compensation) form a system of behavioral action that generates and regulates development and aging
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selective optimization with compensation (SOC) model
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people's beliefs about their own abilities and talents
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self-efficacy
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people's answers to questions about the topic of interest
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self-reports
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developmental research design based on cross-sectional and longitudinal designs
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sequential design
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technique in which a researcher creates a setting that is likely to elicit the behavior of interest
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structured observations
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watching people and carefully recording what they do or say
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systematic observation
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an organized set of ideas that is designed to explain development
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theory
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whether there is just one path of development or several paths
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universal versus context-specific development issue
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extent to which a measure actually assesses what researchers think it does
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validity
