Exam 1

• What is development?

  the pattern of movement or change that begins at conception and continues through the human life span.
• What are the 3 aims of development?

  describe, explain, optimize
• What is aim 1 (describe) of development?

  emerging adults differ in their timing of achievement and adult roles.
• What is aim 2 (explain) of development?

  emerging adults with greater explorations of identity achieve adult roles faster.
• What is aim 3 (optimize) of development?

  what practices with help emerging adults decrease anxiety around adult roles?
• Articulate the use of age?

  age is a common marker for ordering developmental changes in behavior; age is NOT casual; age is often NOT the best indicator of development due to individual differences in rate of change
• What are the 3 main developmental issues?

  continuity- discontinuity; stability- change; nature- nurture
• What is continuity - discontinuity?

  is development gradual or abrupt? ex: language, development
• Stability change; What is stability?

  to what extent do early traits and characteristics persist through life?; stability = hereditary and possible early experiences shape development and endure throughout the lifespan.
• Stability change; What is change?

  plasticity characterizes development; ex: personality traits
• Nature nurture; What is nature?

  biological inheritance (Middle Ages 18th century / Rousseau "innate goodness")
• Nature nurture; What is nurture?

  environmental experiences (Locke 17th century / "blank tablet"); ex: intelligence
• What are the three categories for influences exerted by contexts?

  normative age graded influence, normative history graded influences, non normative life events
• What is normative age-graded influences?

  occurs in a similar way for most people in a given group at a similar age. ex: puberty or retirement
• What is normative history graded influences?

  occurrence that happened at a particular period, to a specific group of people or an entire population. ex: World War II, COVID, 9/11
• What is normative life events?

  unusual occurrences that have a major impact; do not affect everyone in the same way or at the same time and not everyone will experience it. ex: winning the lottery, losing a parent, serious illness/ disability
• What is Erickson's Psychosocial Theory?

  Primary motive for human behavior is social; sociocultural nature; development is lifelong (8 stages, experiences at all ages are important)
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of Erickson's Psychosocial theory?

  strengths: Erickson's theory talks about how people grow and change throughout life, focusing on social and cultural. weaknesses: it might not apply to everyone or every culture, some say it's too simple and lack scientific proof.
• What is the Bandura's Social Cogntive Theory?

  behavior, environment, and cognition = key to development; behavior is learned through observation and imitation; behavior of others is cognitively evaluated; selectively in what is imitated develops over time (observational learning)
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory?

  strength: Bandura's theory says people learn by watching others and thinking about what they see. weaknesses: it might ignore the role of biology and emotions, and it doesn't explain how learning happens in different situation.
• What is Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory?

  actively construct knowledge; culture and social interaction guide cognitive development: learning from social interactions, interaction creates tools to adapt culture; not a stage theory
• What is a strength of Vygotsky's sociocultural theory?

  Vygotsky's theory says learning happens through interactions with others and the culture around us.
• What is a weakness of Vygotsky's sociocultural theory?

  It might not work the same way in all cultures, and it doesn't explain exactly how social interactions affect learning.
• What is Bronfenbrenner ecological systems theory?

  development reflects the influence of several environment systems; microsystem, mesosystem, ecosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem.
• What is the strength of Bronfenbrenners ecological system theory?

  Bronfenbrenner's theory shows how people are shaped by their surroundings and the different systems they're part of.
• What is the weakness of Bronfenbrenners ecological system theory?

  It might not explain exactly how these surroundings affect people, and it could downplay the role of individual choices.
• What is the longitudinal approach to research?


  studying the same subjects over a long period to observe changes.
• What are the advantages and disadvantages to longitudinal approach to research?

  advantage: Provides info about individual change and early experiences on later development ; disadvantage: Cost, Time, Money, Attrition, Bias, and Cohort Effect
• What is the cross sectional approach to research?

  Individuals of different ages are compared at the same point in time
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of cross sectional approach to research?

  advantage: time and cost efficient ; disadvantage: No information about individual change, can only describe individual differences, does not show causation, and the Cohort Effect
• What is the sequential approach to research?

  Several groups of people at different ages are followed over the years.
• What are advantages and disadvantages of sequential approach to research?

  advantages: Reveals Cohort Effects, and is best for tracking age-related changes more efficiently. ; disadvantages: No information about individual change, can only describe individual differences, does not show causation, and the cohort effect.
• What are the 4 revolutions created for emerging adulthood?

  technology revolution ; sexual revolution ; women's revolution ; youth movement
• What was the technology revolution for creating emerging adulthood?

  transition to knowledge economy, rise in age for entering marriage and parenthood, participation in tertiary eduction (beyond high school).
• What was the sexual revolution for creating emerging adulthood?

  new tolerance for sexual relationships
• What was the women's revolution for creating emerging adulthood?

  expanded opportunities for women
• What was the youth movement for creating emerging adulthood?

  change in how young people view meaning and the value of adulthood
• What are the 5 features of emerging adulthood?

  Identity exploration, instability, self-focus, feeling in-between, possibilities.
• Emerging adulthood; what is identity exploration?

  Emerging adults engage in self-discovery, exploring various aspects of their identity including career aspirations, values, and personal relationships.
• Emerging adulthood; what is instability?

  uncertainty and frequent changes in various life domains such as work, education, and living arrangements.