AP Psych Development

Term
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developmental psychology
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Terms in this set (52)
developmental psychology
a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span
zygote
the fertilized egg; it enters a 2-week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo
embryo
the developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the second month
fetus
the developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth
teratogens
Agents that damage the process of development, such as drugs and viruses
fetal alcohol syndrome
A group of birth defects caused by the effects of alcohol on an unborn child
habituation
an organism's decreasing response to a stimulus with repeated exposure to it
maturation
biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience
cognition
all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating
schema
a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information
assimilationinterpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemasaccommodationthe process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retinasensorimotor stagein Piaget's theory, the stage (from birth to about 2 years of age) during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activitiesobject permanencethe awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceivedpreoperational stagein Piaget's theory, the stage (from about 2 to 6 or 7 years of age) during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logicconservationthe principle (which Piaget believed to be a part of concrete operational reasoning) that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objectsegocentrismin Piaget's theory, the preoperational child's difficulty taking another's point of viewtheory of mindpeople's ideas about their own and others' mental states—about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict.autism spectrum disordera disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by significant deficiencies in communication and social interaction, and by rigidly fixated interests and repetitive behaviorsconcrete operational stagein Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about 6 or 7 to 11 years of age) during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete eventsformal operational stagein Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (normally beginning about age 12) during which people begin to think logically about abstract conceptsstranger anxietythe fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months of ageattachmentan emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to the caregiver and showing distress on separationcritical periodan optimal period shortly after birth when an organism's exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces proper developmentimprintingthe process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in lifetemperamenta person's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensitybasic trustaccording to Erik Erikson, a sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy; said to be formed during infancy by appropriate experiences with responsive caregiversself-conceptall our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, "Who am I?"genderin psychology, the biologically and socially influenced characteristics by which people define male and femalerolea set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behavegender idnetityour sense of being male or femalesocial learning theorythe theory that we learn social behavior by observing and imitating and by being rewarded or punishedgender typingthe acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine roletransgenderan umbrella term describing people whose gender identity or expression differs from that associated with their birth sexadolescencethe transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independenceidentityour sense of self; according to Erikson, the adolescent's task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating various rolessocial identitythe "we" aspect of our self-concept; the part of our answer to "Who am I?" that comes from our group membershipsintimacyin Erikson's theory, the ability to form close, loving relationships; a primary developmental task in late adolescence and early adulthoodemerging adulthoodfor some people in modern cultures, a period from the late teens to mid-twenties, bridging the gap between adolescent dependence and full independence and responsible adulthoodX chromosomeThe sex chromosome found in both men and women. Females have two X chromosomes; males have one. An X chromosome from each parent produces a female child.Y chromosomethe sex chromosome found only in males. When paired with an X chromosome from the mother, it produces a male child.testosteroneMale sex hormonepubertythe period of sexual maturation, during which a person becomes capable of reproducingprimary sex characteristicsthe body structures (ovaries, testes, and external genitalia) that make sexual reproduction possiblesecondary sex characteristicsnonreproductive sexual characteristics, such as female breasts and hips, male voice quality, and body hairmenarchethe first menstrual periodAIDSacquired immune deficiency syndromesexual orientationan enduring sexual attraction toward members of either one's own sex (homosexual orientation) or the other sex (heterosexual orientation)menopausethe time of natural cessation of menstruation; also refers to the biological changes a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declinescross-sectional studya study in which people of different ages are compared with one anotherlongitudinal studyresearch in which the same people are restudied and retested over a long periodsocial clockthe culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement