| A | B |
|---|
| science of human development | The science that seeks to understand how and why people of all ages and circumstances change or remain the same over time. |
| scientific method | A way to answer questions that requires empirical research and data-based conclusions. |
| replication | The repetition of a study, using different participants. |
| nature | A general term for the traits, capacities, and limitations that each individual inherits genetically from his or her parents at the moment of conception. |
| nurture | A general term for all the environmental influences that affect development after an individual is conceived. |
| critical period | A time when a particular type of developmental growth (in body or behavior) must happen if it is ever going to happen. |
| sensitive period | A time when a certain type of development is mostlikely to happen and happens most easily. |
| difference-equals-deficit error | The mistaken belief that a deviation from some norm is necessarily inferior to behavior or characteristics that meet the standard. |
| life-span perspective | An approach to the study of human development that takes into account all phases of life, not just childhood or adulthood. |
| cohort | A group defined by the shared age of its members, who, because they were born at about the same time, move through life together, experiencing the same historical events and cultural shifts. |
| socioeconomic status (SES) | A person's position in society as determined by income, wealth, occupation, education, and place of residence. (Sometimes called social class.) |
| ethnic group | People whose ancestors were born in the same region and who often share a language, culture, and religion. |
| social construction | An idea that is based on shared perceptions, not on objective reality. |
| epigenetic | Referring to the effects of environmental forces on the expression of an individual's or a species', genetic inheritance. |
| mirror neurons | Cells in an observer's brain that respond to an action performed by someone else in the same way they would if the observer had actually performed that action. |
| developmental theory | A group of ideas, assumptions, and generalizations that interpret and illuminate the thousands of observations that have been made about human growth. |
| psychoanalytic theory | A theory of human development that holds that irrational, unconscious drives and motives, often originating in childhood, underlie human behavior. |
| behaviorism | A theory of human development that studies observable behavior. |
| conditioning | According to behaviorism, the processes by which responses become linked to particular stimuli and learning takes place. |
| Classical conditioning | A learning process in which a meaningful stimulus gradually comes to be connected with a neutral stimulus that had no special meaning before the learning process began. |
| operant conditioning | The learning process in which a particular action is followed either by something desired or by something unwanted. |
| reinforcement | A technique for conditioning behavior in which that behavior is followed by something desired, such as food for a hungry animal or a welcoming smile for a lonely person. |
| social learning theory | An extension of behaviorism that emphasizes the influence that other people have over a person's behavior. |
| cognitive theory | A theory of human development that focuses on changes in how people think over time. |
| ecological-systems approach | The view that in the study of human development, the person should be considered in all the contexts and interactions that constitute a life. |
| dynamic-systems theory | A view of human development as an ongoing, ever-changing interaction between the physical and emotional being and between the person and every aspect of his or her environment, including the family and society. |
| scientific observation | A method of testing a hypothesis by unobtrusively watching and recording participants' behavior in a systematic and objective manner. |
| experiment | A research method in which the researcher tries to determine the cause-and-effect relationship between two variables by manipulating one and then observing and recording the ensuing changes in the other. |
| independent variable | In an experiment, the variable that is introduced to see what effect it has on the dependent variable. |
| dependent variable | In an experiment, the variable that may change as a result of whatever new condition or situation the experimenter adds. |
| survey | A research method in which information is collected from a large number of people by interviews, written questionnaires, or some other means. |
| cross-sectional research | A research design that compares groups of people who differ in age but are similar in other important characteristics. |
| longitudinal research | A research design in which the same individuals are followed over time and their development is repeatedly assessed. |
| cross-sequential research | A hybrid research design in which researchers first study several groups of people of different ages and then follow those groups over the years. |
| correlation | A number that indicates the degree of relationship between two variables, expressed in therms of the likelihood that one variable will (or will not) occur when the other variable does (or does not). |
| quantitative research | Research that provides data that can be expressed with numbers, such as ranks or scales. |
| qualitative research | Research that considers qualities instead of quantities. |
