E. Mavis Hetherington,
University of Virginia
Ross D. Parke,
University of California
Mark Schmuckler,
University of Toronto at Scarborough
Below are this chapter's featured key terms. The textbook's full glossary is also available for online searching.
| behaviourism | A school of psychology that holds that theories of behaviour must be based on direct observations of actual behaviour and not on speculations about such unobservable things as human motives.
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| child development | A field of study that seeks to account for the gradual evolution of the child's cognitive, social, and other capacities first by describing changes in the child's observed behaviours and then by uncovering the processes and strategies that underlie these changes.
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| chronosystem | In Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory, the time-based dimension that can alter the operation of all other levels, from microsystem through macrosystem.
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| classical conditioning | A type of learning in which individuals learn to respond to unfamiliar stimuli in the same way they are accustomed to respond to familiar stimuli if the two stimuli are repeatedly presented together.
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| cognitive social learning theory | A learning theory that stresses learning by observation and imitation mediated by cognitive processes and skills.
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| dynamic systems theory | A theory that proposes that individuals develop and function within systems and that studies the relations among individuals and systems and the processes by which these relations operate.
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| ecological theory | A theory of development that stresses the importance of understanding not only the relationships between the organism and various environmental systems but the relations between such systems themselves.
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| ego | In Freudian theory, the rational, controlling component of the personality, which tries to satisfy needs through appropriate, socially acceptable behaviours.
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| Electra complex | A primary dynamic of the phallic stage of Freudian development theory in which a girl resents her mother for having deprived her of a penis and transfers her affections to her father.
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| ethological theory | A theory that holds that behaviour must be viewed and understood as occurring in a particular context and as having adaptive or survival value.
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| exosystem | In Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory, the collection of settings that impinge on a child's development but in which the child does not play a direct role.
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| id | In Freudian theory, the person's instinctual drives; the first component of the personality to evolve, the id operates on the basis of the pleasure principle.
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| information processing theories | Theories of development that focus on the flow of information through the child's cognitive system and that are particularly interested in the specific operations the child performs between input and output phases.
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| life span theory | A theory that sees development as a process that continues throughout the life cycle, from infancy through adulthood and old age.
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| macrosystem | In Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory, the system that surrounds the microsystem, mesosystem, and exosystem, and that represents the values, ideologies, and laws of the society or culture.
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| maturation | A genetically determined process of growth that unfolds naturally over a period of time.
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| mesosystem | In Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory, the interrelations that obtain among the components of the microsystem, such as home and school, with which the child interacts.
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| microsystem | In Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory, the context in which the child lives and interacts with the people and institutions closest to her, such as parents, peers, and school.
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| Oedipus complex | A primary dynamic of the phallic stage of Freudian development theory in which the boy is sexually attracted to his mother, sees himself as his father's rival, and fears his father's retribution.
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| operant conditioning | A type of learning that depends on the consequences of behaviour; rewards increase the likelihood that a behaviour will recur, whereas punishment decreases that likelihood.
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| Piagetian theory | A theory of cognitive development that sees the child as actively seeking new information and incorporating it into his knowledge base through the processes of assimilation and accommodation.
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| psychoanalytic theory of development | Freud's theory that development that proceeds in discrete stages, is determined largely by biologically based drives shaped by encounters with the environment and through the interaction of three components of personality-id, ego, and superego.
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| psychosocial theory | Erikson's theory of development that sees the child developing through a series of stages largely through accomplishing tasks that involve her in interaction with her social environment.
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| sociocultural theory | A theory of development, proposed by Lev Vygotsky, that sees development as evolving out of children's interactions with more-skilled others in their social environment.
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| superego | In Freudian theory, the personality component that is the repository of the child's internalization of parental or societal values, morals, and roles.
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2002 McGraw-Hill Higher Education