KEY TERMS

Match each of the terms on the left with its definition on the right. Click on the term first and then click on the matching definition. As you match them correctly they will move to the bottom of the activity.

Question

science of human development
scientific method
theory
hypothesis
empirical
replication
nature
nurture
differential susceptibility
difference-equals-deficit error
social construction
culture
ethnic group
race
socioeconomic status (SES)
critical period
sensitive period
ecological-systems approach
cohort
plasticity
dynamic-systems approach
scientific observation
experiment
independent variable
dependent variable
survey
case study
cross-sectional research
longitudinal research
cross-sequential research
correlation
code of ethics
In development, nature refers to the traits, capacities, and limitations that each individual inherits genetically from his or her parents at the moment of conception.
An in-depth study of one person, usually requiring personal interviews to collect background information and various follow-up discussions, tests, questionnaires, and so on.
A way to answer questions using empirical research and data-based conclusions.
The idea that people vary in how sensitive they are to particular experiences. Often such differences are genetic, which makes some people affected “for better and for worse” by life events. (Also called differential sensitivity.)
A research method in which information is collected from a large number of people by interviews, written questionnaires, or some other means.
A research design that compares groups of people who differ in age but are similar in other important characteristics.
A set of moral principles or guidelines that members of a profession or group are expected to follow.
In an experiment, the variable that is introduced to see what effect it has on the dependent variable. (Also called experimental variable.)
In an experiment, the variable that may change as a result of whatever new condition or situation the experimenter adds. In other words, the dependent variable depends on the independent variable.
The idea that abilities, personality, and other human characteristics can change over time. Plasticity is particularly evident during childhood, but even older adults are not always “set in their ways.”
A perspective on human development that considers all the influences from the various contexts of development. (Later renamed bioecological theory.)
A comprehensive set of ideas.
A time when a certain type of development is most likely, although it may still happen later with more difficulty. For example, early childhood is considered a sensitive period for language learning.
The mistaken belief that a deviation from some norm is necessarily inferior to behavior or characteristics that meet the standard. Often the “norm” is the standard for the observer, and difference is anyone unlike oneself.
A research design in which the same individuals are followed over time, as their development is repeatedly assessed.
A view of human development as an ongoing, ever-changing interaction between the physical, cognitive, and psychosocial influences. The crucial understanding is that development is never static but is always affected by, and affects, many systems of development.
A system of shared beliefs, norms, behaviors, and expectations that persist over time and prescribe social behavior and assumptions.
A method to determine cause and effect. Researchers control the participants and the interventions, which makes it easier to understand what causes what, for whom.
A group of people who are regarded by themselves or by others as distinct from other groups on the basis of physical appearance, typically skin color. Social scientists think race is a misleading concept, as biological differences are not signified by outward appearance.
A time when a particular type of developmental growth (in body or behavior) must happen for normal development to occur.
Repeating a study, usually using different participants.
A person’s position in society as determined by income, occupation, education, and place of residence. (Sometimes called social class.)
People whose ancestors were born in the same region and who often share a language, culture, and religion.
A specific prediction that can be tested.
Based on observation, experience, or experiment; not theoretical.
People born within the same historical period who therefore move through life together, experiencing the same events, new technologies, and cultural shifts at the same ages. For example, the effect of the Internet varies depending on what cohort a person belongs to.
The science that seeks to understand how and why people of all ages and circumstances change or remain the same over time.
An idea that is built on shared perceptions, not on objective reality. Many age-related terms (such as childhood, adolescence, yuppie, and senior citizen) are social constructions, strongly influenced by social assumptions.
In development, nurture includes all the environmental influences that affect the individual after conception. This includes everything from the mother’s nutrition while pregnant to the implicit values of the nation.
A method of testing a hypothesis by unobtrusively watching and recording participants’ behavior in a systematic and objective manner—in a natural setting, in a laboratory, or in searches of archival data.
A number between +1.0 and –1.0 that indicates the degree of relationship between two variables, expressed in terms of the likelihood that one variable will (or will not) occur when the other variable does (or does not). A correlation indicates only that two variables are somehow related, not that one variable causes the other to occur.
A research design in which researchers first study several groups of people of different ages (a cross-sectional approach) and then follow those groups over the years (a longitudinal approach). (Also called cohort-sequential research or time-sequential research.)