PS102 Chapter Notes - Chapter 4: Lev Vygotsky, Behavioural Genetics, Synaptic Pruning
Document Summary
Developmental psychology the study of changes in behaviour and mental processes over time and the factors that influence the course of those constancies and changes. Lifespan developmental psychology involves the study of the entire course of human life, from conception to death. Study how individual, genetic, social and historical forces influence development. People of different ages are compared at a single point in time. E. g. comparing 60 yr. olds to 30 yr. olds on a memory task to see how memory changes. Easy, straightforward, & convenient for researchers and participants. Assumes that any change found is a result of age: e. g. Let"s say the memory task is computer based: the 30 year olds might just perform better because they are more familiar with technology than the older people, these historical differences are called cohort effects. A cohort is any group of people born at about the same time.
