Psychology 2040A/B Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Developmental Science, Heredity
19 Jan 2017
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Document Summary
Development: physical and psychological changes in the individual over a lifetime. Developmental psychology: systematic and scientific study of changes in human behaviors and mental activities over time. Developmental psychologists rely on research to learn about growth and change in children. Although sometimes studies do not give a clear answer about the nature of development, it has the advantage of being verifiable can be put to the test for further conformation by other researchers. Developmental science: the interdisciplinary field of research and theories concerned with studies and explanations of human development. Theories: sets of ideas or propositions that help organize or explain observable phenomena. Theories organize, or make sense of the enormous amount of information researchers have collected. Developmental scientists are interested in understanding the factors that contribute to the emergence of these kinds of behaviors and skills, and their theories are ways of articulating ideas about how these behaviors and skills develop in individual children.
