After completing Chapter 1, you should be able to:

1. Explain what is meant by the study of human development.

 

2. Briefly discuss what is meant by this statement: "The field of life-span development has become multidisciplinary."

 

3. Describe the four major issues focused on by scientists who study developmental psychology.

4. Name the three major domains within which development takes place, and give an example of each.
   

5. Define the processes of growth, maturation, and learning. How is maturation different from growth, and how is learning different from maturation?

 

6. Explain what is meant by the nature-nurture controversy in terms of growth, maturation and learning.

 

7. Describe Bronfenbrenner’s ecological approach toward understanding human development. Name the four levels of environmental influence on human development as presented in this model and give an example of each.

8. Define what is meant by cultural variability.

 

9. Name and describe the five steps employed in the scientific method.
   

10. Describe the following research methods, and identify the advantages and disadvantages of each.

longitudinal

cross sectional

sequential

11. Summarize the following terms as they relate to the experimental method, and provide an example of each:

independent variable

dependent variable

control group

experimental group

12. Define the main tasks of the case study and social survey methods of research design, and critically examine the advantages and disadvantages of each.

 

13. Explain the naturalistic observation method and define time sampling and event sampling.

 

14. Describe cross-cultural studies, and give an example of this type of research. List its advantages and limitations.

 

15. Discuss what two guidelines must be followed when doing research on human subjects, and why.