Developmental Psychology Review - BLEPP 2025

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering major theories, principles, and milestones of Developmental Psychology based on the provided lecture transcript.

Human Development

The scientific study of processes of change and stability throughout the human lifespan.

Plasticity

The capacity for adaptive reorganization of the neurological, psychological, and behavioral levels.

Cephalocaudal Principle

Development principle stating that growth proceeds from the head to the lower part of the trunk; literally "head to tail."

Proximodistal Principle

Development principle stating that growth proceeds from parts near the center of the body to outer ones; literally "near to far."

Social Construction

A concept or practice that is an invention of a particular culture or society.

Behavioral Genetics

The scientific study of the extent to which genetic and environmental differences among people and animals are responsible for differences in their traits.

DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)

A double-helix structure of chemicals that carries inherited instructions for the development of all cellular forms of life.

Mitosis

The process by which non-sex cells divide in half over and over again, replicating the DNA so each new cell has the same structure.

Meiosis

The process which sex cells undergo during development, resulting in each cell having only $23$ chromosomes.

Autosomes

In humans, the $22$ pairs of chromosomes not related to sexual expression.

Alleles

Two or more alternative forms of a gene that occupy the same position on paired chromosomes and affect the same trait.

Homozygous

Possessing two identical alleles for a trait, such as homozygous dominant ($RR$) or homozygous recessive ($rr$).

Genotype

The genetic makeup of a person, containing both expressed and unexpressed characteristics.

Phenotype

The observable characteristics of a person.

Epigenesis

The mechanism where genes are turned off or on as needed by the body or when triggered by the environment.

Reaction Range

A wide range of potential expressions of a genetic trait depending on the environment.

Canalized Range

A limited range of possible changes for a trait, indicating it is relatively fixed.

Socioeconomic Status (SES)

A combination of economic and social factors including income, education, and occupation.

Normative Age-Graded Influences

Experiences and changes common for individuals within a specific age group, such as puberty or retirement.

Historical Generation

A group of people strongly influenced by a major historical event during their formative period.

Imprinting

An instinctive form of learning where a young animal forms an attachment to the first moving object it sees during a critical period.

Critical Period

A specific time when a given event, or its absence, has a specific and often irreversible impact on development.

Organismic Model

A model viewing people as active, growing organisms that set their own development in motion.

Mechanistic Model

A model viewing people like machines that react to environmental input; development is reactive.

Tabula Rasa

John Locke's concept of the child as a "blank slate" shaped entirely by experience.

Quantitative Change

Change in number or amount, such as height, weight, or vocabulary size.

Qualitative Change

Discontinuous changes in kind, structure, or organization.

Ethnographic Study

A case study of a culture seeking to describe patterns of relationships, customs, and beliefs.

Practice Effect

In longitudinal studies, the risk that participants perform differently on repeated measures due to familiarity with tests.

Id

According to Freud, the part of the mind operating on the pleasure principle, seeking immediate gratification of desires.

Superego

According to Freud, the part of the mind operating on the morality principle, representing internalized standards and guilt.

Sublimation

A defense mechanism where unacceptable impulses are channeled into socially acceptable or admirable behaviors.

Core Pathology

A negative trait or pattern of behavior resulting from the unsuccessful resolution of a psychosocial crisis in Erikson's theory.

Constructivism

Piaget's view that children actively construct new understandings of the world based on their experiences.

Assimilation

Taking new information and incorporating it into existing cognitive structures.

Accommodation

Adjusting one's cognitive structures to fit new information.

Object Permanence

The realization that something continues to exist when out of sight.

Centration

The tendency to focus on one aspect of a situation and neglect others, characteristic of preoperational thought.

Theory of Mind

The awareness of the broad range of human mental states and the understanding that others have their own beliefs and intents.

Inductive Reasoning

Logical reasoning that moves from particular observations about members of a class to a general conclusion about that class.

Hypothetical-Deductive Reasoning

Characterizing formal operational thinking, it involves a methodical, scientific approach to problem solving and testing hypotheses.

Imaginary Audience

David Elkind's concept of an adolescent's belief that a conceptualized "observer" is as concerned with their thoughts as they are.

Immanent Justice

The concept in heteronomous morality that if a rule is broken, punishment will happen immediately.

Microsystem

In Bronfenbrenner’s theory, the everyday environment of home, work, school, or neighborhood involving direct contact.

Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

The gap between what a learner can do independently and what they can accomplish with assistance.

Strange Situation

A laboratory technique developed by Mary Ainsworth to assess attachment patterns between an infant and an adult.

Monotropy

Bowlby's principle regarding the need to form an attachment to one significant person.

Identity Diffusion

Identity status characterized by low exploration and low commitment; the individual has not made firm commitments.

Classical Conditioning

Learning process where a response to a stimulus is evoked after repeated association with a stimulus that normally elicits the response.

Self-Efficacy

Confidence in one's ability to achieve a certain goal or master a task.

Monozygotic Twins

Twins resulting from the division of a single zygote after fertilization; identical twins.

Organogenesis

The period of rapid growth and development of major body systems and organs during the embryonic stage.

Teratogen

An environmental agent such as a virus or drug that can interfere with normal prenatal development and cause abnormalities.

APGAR Scale

A standard measurement of a newborn's condition assessing Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, and Respiration.

Holophrase

A single word that conveys a complete thought, typical of early language development.

Social Referencing

Seeking emotional information from a caregiver to guide behavior in an ambiguous situation.

Gender Schema Theory

The view that children actively extract knowledge about gender from their environment before engaging in gender-typed behavior.

Secular Trend

A long-term shift toward earlier onset of puberty and secondary sexual characteristics.

Spermarche

A boy's first ejaculation, occurring at an average age of $13$.

Reflective Thinking

A type of logical thinking involving continuous, active evaluation of information in light of evidence.

Fluid Intelligence

The ability to solve novel problems that require little or no previous knowledge.

Crystallized Intelligence

The ability to remember and use information acquired over a lifetime, dependent on education and culture.

Assortative Mating

The tendency to mate with someone who has traits similar to one's own; also known as Homogamy.

Senescence

The period of the lifespan marked by declines in physical functioning associated with aging.

Hayflick Limit

The observation that human cells will divide in a laboratory no more than approximately $50$ times.

Filial Crisis

The process where adults learn to balance love and duty to their parents with autonomy.

Palliative Care

Care aimed at relieving pain and suffering and allowing the terminally ill to die in peace and dignity.

Egoistic Suicide

A type of suicide identified by Durkheim that occurs when a person feels extremely isolated and detached from their community.

Reciprocal Interweaving

Gesell's term for the developmental process where opposing tendencies alternate and eventually balance out.

Functional Asymmetry

A natural part of development where one side of the body or a specific behavior is more dominant, such as handedness.