Psych 3.1-4

dementia

A chronic and persistent disorder that deteriorates parts of the brain responsible for thinking, memory, and behavior

Gc (Crystalized)

Our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age

Gf (fluid)

Our ability to reason speedily and abstractly with new information; tends to decrease with age, especially during late adulthood

Zone of proximal development

Vygotsky’s concept that describes the gap between what a learner can do independently and what they can achieve with guidance from a more knowledgeable person

Scaffold

In Vygotsky’s theory, a framework that offers children temporary support as they develop higher levels of learning

Lev Vygotsky

Russian psychologist (1896-1934) who emphasized how cognitive development happens through interaction with the surrounding social-cultural environment

Formal operational stage

In Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development (normally beginning about age 12) during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts

Concrete operational stage

In Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about 6 or 7 to 11 or 12 years of age) during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events

Theory of Mind

People’s ideas about their own and others’ mental states – about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict

Egocentrism

In Piaget’s theory, the preoperational child’s difficulty taking another’s point of view

Reversibility

A mental operation that reverses a sequence of events or restores a changed state of affairs to the original condition

Conservation

The 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 objects

Preoperational stage

In Piaget’s theory, the stage (from 2 to about 6 or 7 years of age) during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic

Object permanence

The awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived

Sensorimotor stage

In 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 activities

accomadation

Adapting our current schemas to incorporate new knowledge

assimilation

Interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas; tying new knowledge into our current understandings

Jean Piaget

Swiss psychologist (1896-1980) who proposed theories of children's cognitive stage development

cognition

All the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

sexual orientation

A person’s sexual and emotional attraction to another person and the behavior and/or social affiliation that may result from this attraction

gender identity

Our personal sense of being male, female, neither, or some combination of male and female, regardless of the whether this identity matches our sex assigned at birth, and the social affiliation that may result from this identity

gender

In psychology, the attitudes, feelings, and behaviors that a given culture associates with a person’s biological sex

sex

In psychology, the biologically influenced characteristics by which people define male, female, and intersex

androgny

Blending traditional masculine and traditionally feminine psychological characteristics

Menopause

The time of natural cessation of menstruation; also refers to the biological changes a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declines

Spermarche

start of sperm production

Menarche

first period

Secondary sex characteristics

Nonreproductive sexual characteristics, such as female breasts and hips, male voice quality, and body hair

Primary sex characteristics

The body structures (ovaries, testes, and external genitalia) that make sexual reproduction possible

puberty

The period of sexual maturation, during which a person usually becomes capable of reproducing

adolecense

The transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence

fine motor skills

Movements involving the small muscles and body structures (like fingertips

gross motor skills

Movements involving large muscles body structures (like hips and legs)

Sensitive period

Period of time during which exposure to a specific environmental condition (or lack of exposure) has the potential for the greatest influence; development can occur after the sensitive period, but it is more difficult

critical period

An optimal period early in the life of an organism when exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces normal development; without  exposure during this time, the development will be unlikely to occur later

rooting

A reflex movement that comes naturally to most newborns, where stimulation of the cheek leads the baby to turn its head in search of food (like its mother’s nipple)

maturation

Biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience

genetic mutations

A permanent change in an organism's DNA sequence, which can alter the genetic information, affect fetal development, and potentially lead to changes in observable traits or behaviors

fetal alcohol syndrome

Physical and cognitive function deficits in children caused by their birth mothers’ heavy drinking during pregnancy. In severe cases, symptoms include a small, out-of-proportion head and distinct facial features.

maternal illnesses

Illnesses, or symptoms of illness like severe fever, that affect the fetal environment and can impact prenatal development

teratogens

Agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm

developmental psych

A branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development throughout the lifespan

stability

The concept, in developmental psychology, that we retain many of the traits that shape our identities throughout our lives

change

The concept, in developmental psychology, that the traits that shape our identities evolve over our lifetime

Continuity (continuous stages of development)

The concept, in developmental psychology, that sees maturation as a gradual process where changes happen steadily over time

Discontinuity (discontinuous stages of development)

The concept, in developmental psychology, that emphasizes distinct steps in the maturation process, with significant changes happening between those stages

nature

The idea that our behaviors and thoughts are a result of “inborn” factors like our genetic makeup

nurture

The idea that our behaviors and thoughts are a result of our sensations of the world around us

cross-sectional

Research that compares people of different ages at the same point in time

longitudanal

Research that follows and retests the same people over time