| 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 this 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 residene. (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 invividual's or a species', genetic inheritance. |
