Glossary of Key terms in human development

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Glossary of Key terms in human development

Glossary of Key Terms in Human Development

The scientific method -- a set of steps, or a cycle of procedures that guide scientific investigation progressing (usually) from prior theory to hypotheses to observations to conclusions (and back to theory). The scientific method guides the pursuit of knowledge in science, allowing us to verify, modify and sometimes reject the theories used to explain whatever we may study --including, of course, psychology in general, and human development in particular.

Theory – an organized, logical, rational explanation of facts, observation, beliefs, assumptions and expectations about something one can scientifically study (human development, for example).

Hypothesis – a prediction of what will happen when one makes a scientific observation that is designed to verify (or falsify) a theory. An educated guess based in a theory.

Observation -- any one of the many forms of data gathering that may be used to verify (or falsify) a scientific theory or prediction.

Conclusions -- the result of examining data from scientific observations, relating them back to the theory used to predict or explain them.

Experiment – a specific kind of scientific observation in which changes in one factor or force (called the independent variable) are made in order to see if there is a corresponding, predictable change in an outcome (or dependent) variable. This sort of research is the best at revealing cause and effect relationships.

Growth – increase in number, size, ability or complexity.

Maturation -- growth that proceeds according to a particular species’ genetic. Includes growth up to and including optimum number, size, ability or complexity.

Ageing – development after passing the peak of optimum number, size, ability or complexity.

Senescence – a period of rapid decline in the few years, months, or weeks prior to death, usually only occurring after extended, advanced ageing.

Nature -- the influence of inbred, inborn forces that might produce growth, maturation, ageing, behavior, or traits. Taken mainly to refer to the influence of one’s genes

Nurture -- the influence of factors outside an organism that might affect growth, maturation, ageing, behavior, traits, states, etc. Taken to mean the social, educational, physical and/or family environment that surrounds an individual.

Free will -- the capacity to make choices, to be the cause of one’s own behavior, to act on one’s intentions (even going against the direction of other influences).

Determinism -- the principle of cause and effect. The core principle behind all scientific explanations of objects and organisms. Takes the form of simple, linear determination, and can be part of interdetermination or multidetermination.

Affect -- to cause.

Effect -- the result of forces or factors that came before to cause an outcome.

Affect -- emotional states, traits, abilities and experiences of the individual.

Emergent organization – the principle that says that increases in number, size, ability and complexity ultimately bring about increased organization, and that this produces new levels of function.

System integration – the principle of growth that says that various bodily or psychological systems grow more interrelated over time.

System independence -- the principle of growth that says that various bodily or psychological systems grow more independent of each other’s influence over time.

Continuous change – the idea that growth proceeds in a slow, steady accumulation of structures, functions or abilities. Stages, if they exist at all, are not clearly recognizable.

Discontinuous change -- the idea that growth proceeds in fits and starts, bursts of change, followed by periods of little change. Organized, predictable discontinuous change allows us to describe development in clearly recognizable stages.

Qualitative change -- changes that bring about new levels or types of ability, function, structure and complexity.

Quantitative change -- changes in the number or size of an organism’s structures, functions or abilities.

Driving -- causing growth or development, either from within or from outside the organism.

Organismic driving -- growth or development caused from within the organism. Example: genetically driven growth of tissues making up the body’s organs.

Environmental driving -- growth or development caused by forces or factors outside of the organism. Example: nutrition in one’s diet that promotes (or limits) maturation.

Epigenetic growth -- the factors in growth and maturation that cause early development to prefigure (predetermine the form of) later development.

Cognition -- thinking, knowing, remembering, and reasoning; includes believing, imagining, perceiving, predicting, expecting, planning, etc. The use of the mind to process information and/or solve problems.

Milestone -- a marker of normal development or growth. Reaching particular milestones at normal ages allows us to recognize a normal pattern of growth and maturation.

Critical period – a certain specific time frame within which key developmental events must happen if later development is to proceed normally. Impairments in growth occurring during critical periods generally can not be overcome later.

Sensitive period -- a less-than-critical period during which growth still needs to proceed normally for later development to turn out well, but in which there is less sensitivity to the environment or later effects of impaired development than there would be in a critical period as described above. A ‘softer’ version of a critical period, so to speak.

Phase -- an uncertain time frame, one that has gradual or uncertain onset and ending.

Cephalocaudal growth -- growth from the head downward; head to tail growth.

Proximodistal growth – growth from the trunk outward; near to far growth.

Agency -- The idea of there being a causal force (an agent) that effects the changes in an organism, either over time or in a given circumstance.

Vitalism -- The view (from the philosophy behind 19th century biology) that living organisms do what they do because of the power of their internal life force. In short, vitalists would locate the causes of development in the mere fact of being alive, and in seeking to preserve its life.

Mechanism -- The view that living organisms operate almost like machines; that is they follow the laws of physics in all ways and do what they do because of the physically explainable forces of physics, physiology, chemistry, etc.

Source : http://faculty.tcc.fl.edu/hss/mcguffr/Glossary%20of%20Key%20Terms%20in%20Human%20Development.doc

Web site link: http://faculty.tcc.fl.edu/hss/mcguffr/

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