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age effects
one of the three fundamental effects examined in developmental research, along with cohort and time-of-measurement effects, which reflects the influence of time-dependent processes on development
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ageism
the untrue assumption that chronological age is the main determinant of human characteristics and that one age is better than another
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biological forces
one of four basic forces of development that includes all genetic and health-related factors
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biopsychosocial framework
way of organizing the biological, psychological, sociocultural forces on human development
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case study
an intensive investigation of individual people
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cohort
a group of people born at the same point or specific time span in historical time
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cohort effects
one of the three basic influences examined in developmental research, which reflects differences caused by experiences and circumstances unique to the historical time in which one lives
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confounding
any situation in which one cannot determine which of two or more effects is responsible for the behaviors being observed
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continuity-discontinuity controversy
the debate over whether a particular developmental phenomenon represents smooth progression over time (continuity) or a series of abrupt shifts (discontinuity)
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correlational study
an investigation in which the strength of association between variables is examined
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cross-sectional study
a developmental research design in which people of different ages and cohorts are observed at one time of measurement to obtain information about age differences
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dependent variable
behaviors or outcomes measured in an experiment
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experiment
a study in which participants are randomly assigned to experimental and control groups and in which an independent variable is manipulated to observe its effects of a dependent variable so that cause-and-effect relations can be established
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gerontology
the study of aging from maturity through old age
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independent vairable
the variable variableated in an experiment
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life-cycle forces
one of the 4 basic forces of development that reflects differences in how the same event or combination of biological, psychological, and sociocultural forces affects people at different points in their lives
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life-span perspective
a view of the human life span that divides it into two phases: childhood/adolescence and young/middle/late adulthood
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meta-analysis
a technique that allows researchers to synthesize the results of many studies to estimate relations between variables
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microgenetic study
a special type of longitudinal design in which participants are tested repeatedly over a span of days or weeks, typically with the aim of observing change directly as it occurs
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nature-nurture controversy
a debate over the relative influence of genetics and the environment on development
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nonnormative influences
random events that are important to an individual but do not happen to most people
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normative age-graded influences
experiences caused by biological, psychological, and sociocultural forces that are closely related to a person's age
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normative history-graded influences
events experienced by most people in a culture at the same time
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plasticity
the belief that capacity is not fixed, but can be learned or improved with practice
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psychological forces
one of 4 basic forces of development that includes all internal perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and personality factors
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reliability
the ability of a measure to produce the same value when used repeatedly to measure the identical phenomenon over time
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secondary aging
developmental changes that are related to disease, lifestyle, and other environmental changes that are not inevitable
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sequential designs
types of developmental research designs involving combinations of cross-sectional and longitudinal designs
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sociocultural forces
one of the 4 basic forces of development that includes interpersonal, societal, cultural and ethnic factors
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stability-change controversy
a debate over the degree to which people remain the same over time as opposed to being different
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tertiary aging
rapid losses occurring shortly before death
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time-of-measurement effects
one of the 3 fundamental effects examined in developmental research, along with age and cohort effects, which result from the time at which the date are collected
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universal vs context-specific development controversy
a debate over whether the is a single pathway of development, or several
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activation imaging approach
attempts to directly link functional brain activity with cognitive behavioral data
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Alzheimer's disease
a disease commonly found in the elderly that is characterized by a decline in memory and a progressive destruction of brain cells
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amygdala
the region of the brain, located in the medial-temporal love, believed to play a key role in emotion
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anterior cingulate
located in the front part of the cingulated cortex, this region of the brain plays a role in autonomic functions, cognitive functions, and emotion
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basal ganglia
a group of nuclei interconnected with the cerebral cortex. they are associated with motor control, cognition, and emotions
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bilateral activation
involves activation of a specific brain structure in both lateral hemispheres of the brain
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cerebellum
the part of the brain that is associated with motor functioning and balance equilibrium
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compensatory
involves the use of a behavior or function to aid in performance that has been otherwise compromised
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controlled self-generated encoding
when individuals elaborate on information by relating it to themselves and rehearse the information in this way
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correlational approach
attempts to link measures of cognitive performance to measures of brain structure or functioning
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default network
the regions of the brain that are most active at rest
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diffusion tensor imaging
the measurement of the diffusion of water molecules in tissue in order to study connections of neural pathways in the brain
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dopaminergic system
involves dopamine neurotransmission. dopamaine is a neurotransmitter and is critically implicated in multiple cognitive functions
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environmental enrichment
in animal studies, involves raising animals in large groups filled with changing arrangements of toys/objects
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executive functions
include the ability to make and carry out plans, switch between tasks, and maintain attention and focus
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functional imaging (fMRI)
examines how changes in brain activity occur in correspondence to changes in task demands and the type of cognitive functioning under investigation
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hippocampus
located in the medial-temporal love, this part of the brain plays a major role in memory and learning
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lateral occipital complex
a highly specialized neural site involved in processing the face, place, and object areas
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method of loci
a memory technique for remembering things by linking them to places
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neostriatum
receives input form the cerebral cortex and other brain areas and provides output to the basal nuclei
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neural stem cells
those that give life to new neurons throughout the life span
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neuropsychological approach
compares brain functioning of healthy older adults with adults displaying various pathological disorders in the brain
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over-recruitment
occurs when additional neurons fire and shore up declining brain structures that are inefficient
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Parkinsons's disease
a brain disease caused by an extreme drop in the neurotransmitter dopamine
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plasticity
involves the interaction between the brain and the environment and is mostly used to describe the effects of experience on the structure and functions of the neural system
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positivity effect
when an individual remembers more positive information relative to negative information
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prefrontal cortex (PFC)
part of the frontal lobe that is inolved in executive funtioning
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selective allocation of attention
when something in the environment capture one's attention and the individual allocates more resources in the attention to that item
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supplementary processes
when different brain regions are activated to compensate for lacking processing resources
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under-recruitment
occurs when neuronal firing is limited when the brain is activated
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ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC)
part of the prefrontal cortex, this may be involved in decision making and processing risk
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white matter hyperintensities (WMH)
abnormalities found in older adults; correlated with cognitive decline
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working memory performance
holding and manipulating information in consciousness
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