History, Theories, and Methods (Chapter 1)

Define developmental psychology:  (p. 3)

What was the traditional focus to the study of development?  (p. 4)

• What approach do we use now, and what does it mean? (p. 4)

Development happens because of these processes: (from PPT – define & give examples)

1. ___________________________________________________________________________________________

            2) ___________________________________________________________________________________________

            3) ___________________________________________________________________________________________

Describe both chronological & biological conceptions of age:  (from PPT)

Four elements of human diversity that impact development: (from PPT - Describe each)

            1) ___________________________________________________________________________________________

            2) ___________________________________________________________________________________________

            3) ___________________________________________________________________________________________

            4) ___________________________________________________________________________________________

Describe the Nature/Nurture issue:  (pgs. 15-16)

• Nature means:

• Nurture means:

- Explain what the nature/nurture question is:

Theories of Development (Chapter 1)

Define theory: (from PPT)

Theoretical Orientations (pg 4-14)   Note: Don’t worry about the “sociocultural” theory at this time.

#1) What most influences our development according to the Psychoanalytic perspective?

#2) What most influences our development according to the Cognitive perspective?

#3) What most influences our development according to the Behavioral & Social Cognitive perspective?

• Operant Conditioning notes:

• Learning through Observation notes:

#4) What most influences our development according to the Ethological perspective?

#5) What most influences our development according to the Ecological perspective?

• Describe each of the 5 environmental systems according to Bronfenbrenner:

1. ___________________________________________________________________________________________

            2) ___________________________________________________________________________________________

            3) ___________________________________________________________________________________________

            4) ___________________________________________________________________________________________

            5) Chronosystem – Disregard this one for now

Studying Development (Chapter 1)

What does descriptive research do?  (from PPT)

• Observation (Describe the method, and name a benefit & limitation of the method)

• Case Studies (Describe the method, and name a benefit & limitation of the method)

• Surveys (Describe the method, and name a benefit & limitation of the method)

Define a correlation, and the correlational method:   (from PPT)

A correlation coefficient tells us:

1. the ____________________________ of the relationship between two variables. How exactly?

2. the ____________________________ of the relationship between two variables. How exactly?

So to review…. The sign (+ or -) in front of the coefficient tells us the ____________________________

of the relationship between the variables, & the where the number falls between 0 and 1 represents the _____________________________ of the relationship between the variables.

Which correlation coefficient indicates greater strength?  Choose one:      -.9        or      +.67

An important limitation of correlational research is that it CANNOT show us what?

What is an experiment?  (p. 18)

• In an experiment, the ___________________________ variable is what the experimenter manipulates, to see if it will have an effect on the _________________________ variable.
• In an experiment, the ____________________________ variable is the variable that is observed and may (or may not) change as a result of the _________________________, which is being manipulated.

What is the difference between a control group and an experimental group?

What is random assignment?  (p. 19)

• Why is random assignment important in an experiment?

• What is particularly useful about experiments?  (Check the powerpoint!)

• Besides being challenging to run, what is a drawback of the experimental method? (Check the powerpoint!)

If you’ve carefully reviewed the powerpoint, you should know:

Can you say one thing causes another in correlational research? Circle One:     YES     NO

Can you say one thing causes another in experimental research? Circle One:     YES     NO