PSYC 333 Exam 1 – Psychology course exam material
Development/Developmental Psychology - ✔✔Systematic continuities and changes between
conception to death.
Orderly- patterned, enduring
Stable- reflects the past
Continual
Cumulative
Holistic -interrelationships
Changes at any phase impacts future
Maturation - ✔✔biological unfolding of an individual
biological inheritance: species and individual
Learning - ✔✔experiences producing relatively permanent changes in thoughts, feelings, and
behavior
Plasticity - ✔✔capacity for change in response to positive or negative life experiences
Historical/cultural context - ✔✔may influence development
ex.) The Great Depression---hording, not being wasteful
,Goals of Developments - ✔✔1. Describe- based on observations (normative, and ideographic
or individual)
2. Explain- address the "why" of dvelopment
3. Optimize- help people develop in a positive directions (help the human condition)
What we think we know comes from - ✔✔Folklore (word of mouth, passing down info from
generations)
personal experiences
opinions of "experts"
research strategies
Research - ✔✔Observes multiple children systematically
minimizes bias
reliable
valid
un-ambigious (only one interpretation) specification of casual factors
research concepts - ✔✔theory: set of concepts and propositions that describe and explain
some aspect of behavior
hypothesis: theoretical predictions which can be tested by collecting data
scientific method - ✔✔Objective: everyone examining the data will get the same conclusion
replicable: every time the method is used, the result and data is the same
,measures must be - ✔✔reliable: consistent info over time and across observers
valid: measures what it's supposed to
Self-report methodolities---most common - ✔✔Interviews/questionnaires
structured, same questions, same order, comparison of responses, daily studies. These are the
most common.
strengths: large data, confidentiality improves accuracy
limitations: read/comprehend speech, honest and accuracy issues, how to interpretate
questions
interviews---DISC, SCID
questionnaires ---CDI, CBCL
Observation methodology - ✔✔Naturalistic
Structured
Case study
Ethnography
Psychophysiological
Naturalistic observation - ✔✔Observing in common natural settings
, Strengths: easily applied to infants (no verbal skills needed), shows behavior in everyday life
limitations: rare or socially undesirable behaviors might not occur, difficult to isolate the cause
of action or developmental trend, observer may change behavior (videotape/time may reduce
this)
What did the meaningful differences book say? - ✔✔children in professional families expose
their children to more words than working class, which is more than welfare families
structured observations - ✔✔in the lab or a controlled setting
behavior can be observed surreptitiously (in secret)
strength: all participants exposed to same environment
limitation: results may not represent real life
case study approach - ✔✔detailed description of a single individual or group
strength: depth of info
limitation: difficult to compare subjects, lack of generalizability
ethnography - ✔✔collect data by living within the cultural community for an extended period
strength: understand cultural conflicts and potential impact on development
Development/Developmental Psychology - ✔✔Systematic continuities and changes between
conception to death.
Orderly- patterned, enduring
Stable- reflects the past
Continual
Cumulative
Holistic -interrelationships
Changes at any phase impacts future
Maturation - ✔✔biological unfolding of an individual
biological inheritance: species and individual
Learning - ✔✔experiences producing relatively permanent changes in thoughts, feelings, and
behavior
Plasticity - ✔✔capacity for change in response to positive or negative life experiences
Historical/cultural context - ✔✔may influence development
ex.) The Great Depression---hording, not being wasteful
,Goals of Developments - ✔✔1. Describe- based on observations (normative, and ideographic
or individual)
2. Explain- address the "why" of dvelopment
3. Optimize- help people develop in a positive directions (help the human condition)
What we think we know comes from - ✔✔Folklore (word of mouth, passing down info from
generations)
personal experiences
opinions of "experts"
research strategies
Research - ✔✔Observes multiple children systematically
minimizes bias
reliable
valid
un-ambigious (only one interpretation) specification of casual factors
research concepts - ✔✔theory: set of concepts and propositions that describe and explain
some aspect of behavior
hypothesis: theoretical predictions which can be tested by collecting data
scientific method - ✔✔Objective: everyone examining the data will get the same conclusion
replicable: every time the method is used, the result and data is the same
,measures must be - ✔✔reliable: consistent info over time and across observers
valid: measures what it's supposed to
Self-report methodolities---most common - ✔✔Interviews/questionnaires
structured, same questions, same order, comparison of responses, daily studies. These are the
most common.
strengths: large data, confidentiality improves accuracy
limitations: read/comprehend speech, honest and accuracy issues, how to interpretate
questions
interviews---DISC, SCID
questionnaires ---CDI, CBCL
Observation methodology - ✔✔Naturalistic
Structured
Case study
Ethnography
Psychophysiological
Naturalistic observation - ✔✔Observing in common natural settings
, Strengths: easily applied to infants (no verbal skills needed), shows behavior in everyday life
limitations: rare or socially undesirable behaviors might not occur, difficult to isolate the cause
of action or developmental trend, observer may change behavior (videotape/time may reduce
this)
What did the meaningful differences book say? - ✔✔children in professional families expose
their children to more words than working class, which is more than welfare families
structured observations - ✔✔in the lab or a controlled setting
behavior can be observed surreptitiously (in secret)
strength: all participants exposed to same environment
limitation: results may not represent real life
case study approach - ✔✔detailed description of a single individual or group
strength: depth of info
limitation: difficult to compare subjects, lack of generalizability
ethnography - ✔✔collect data by living within the cultural community for an extended period
strength: understand cultural conflicts and potential impact on development
