AP Psych Unit 3

Developmental Psychology

the study of how people change physically, mentally, and socially throughout life

Cross-Sectional Study

a research method that compares people of different ages at the same point in time

Longitudinal Study

a research method that studies the same group of people over time

Teratogens

harmful chemicals that can reach the developing fetus and harm it

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

caused by women drinking excessive alcohol, leading to physical and cognitive abnormalities in the child

Habituation

a decrease in response to stimuli after repeated exposure to it

Maturation

the biological growth process that are uninfluenced by experiences and enable changes in behavior

Critcal Period

a specific time in development when certain skills are most easily learned

Adolescence

transitional stage of development from childhood to adulthood

Puberty

period of sexual maturation when one becomes capable of reproduction

Menopause

natural secession of menstruation and fertility in women around 50 years old

Sex

biological distinction between males and females based on reproductive anatomy and chromosomes

Gender

social, cultural, and psychological roles and behaviors considered appropriate for men or women

Intersex

condition where one is born with ambiguous or atypical reproductive or sexual anatomy

Aggression

physical or verbal behavior intended to harm physically or emotionally

Relational Agression

type of aggression aimed at relationships or social status

Carol Gilligan

psychologist known for her work on moral development and gender differences

X Chromosome

one of the two sex chromosomes that are involved in sex determination

Y Chromosome

a sex chromosome which is normally present only in male cells

Testosterone

a male sex hormone, though present in smaller amounts in females

Estrogen

female sex hormone, though present in smaller amounts in males

Primary Sex Characteristics

the body structures directly involved in reproduction

Secondary Sex Characteristics

non-reproductive physical traits that develop during puberty

Spermarche

the first ejaculation, marking the onset of sperm production in males

Menarche

the first menstrual period, marking the onset of fertility

Gender Role

the social expectations that guide people’s behavior as man or woman

Sexual Aggression

physical or verbal behavior of a sexual nature that’s aimed to impose one's sexual will

Gender Identity

sense of being male or female regardless whether it matches sex

Gender Typing

taking on traditional female or male roles

Adrogyny

blend of male and female roles that feel right to an individual

Gender Schema Theory

mental structures that organize incoming information according to gender categories

Gender Expression

interests and possessions regarding female or male traits

Transgender

gender identity differs from what was their birth assigned sex

Social Learning Theory

the theory that we learn social behaviors by observing others, and being rewarded or punished

Sexuality

a person’s capacity or sexual feelings and the ways in one expresses them

Asexual

a sexual orientation in which one experiences little to no sexual attraction

Social Script

culturally modeled guide for how to act in certain situations

Sexual Orientation

emotional, romantic, or attraction of the same sex, opposite, or neither

Assimilation

interpreting new experiences in terms of existing schemas

Jean Piaget

a psychologist known for theory of cognitive development

Alice Eagly

a psychologist known for research on gender roles, social influence, and leadership

Accomodation

adjusting existing schemas to include new information

Sensorimotor Stage

first stage of cognitive development, where infants learn the world through senses and motor activities

Object Permanence

the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they’re not visible

Preoperational Stage

the second stage, characterized by symbolic thinking and egocentrism

Conservation

the understanding that quantity remains the same despite changes

Concrete Operational Stage

the third stage, where children begin to think logically

Formal Operational Stage

the final stage, where individual develop abstract and hypothetical reasoning skills

Lev Vygotsky

a Russian psychologist known for socioculture theory of cognitive development

Scaffold

a teaching method where adults provide support to help a child achieve a task just beyond their ability

Theory of Mind

an ability to understand that others have different feelings and perspectives

Phoneme

in a language, the smallest distinctive sound unit

Morpheme

in a language, the smallest unit that carries meaning (prefix)

Grammar

a system of rules that enables us to communicate

Universal Grammar

human’s innate predisposition to understand rules that govern grammar

Babbling Stage

the stage in speech development, around 4 months, where infants spontaneously utter sounds

One-Word Stage

from about age one to two, during which a child speaks in single words

Two-Word Stage

beginning about age two, a child speaks in two-word sentences

Telegraphic Stage

the early speech stage where a child speaks using only nouns and verbs

Aphasia

impairment of language caused by damage to left hemishpere

Broca’s Area

a frontal lobe area in the left hemisphere that helps control language expression by directing muscle movements involved in speech

Wernicke’s Area

an area in the left temporal lobe involved in language comprehension and expression

Linguistic Relativism

Whorf’s hypothesis that language influences the way we think

Ecological Systems Theory

different environments affect cognition’, social, and biological development

Stranger Anxiety

fear of strangers that infants display at around 8 months

Attachment

an emotional tie with people; shown in young children

Imprinting

a young animal come to recognize another animal or person as a parent

Strange Situation

a procedure for studying child-caregiver attachment

Secure Attachment

demonstrated by infants who comfortably explore environments in the presence of their caregiver

Insecure Attachment

type of emotional bond where children do not trust their caregivers consistently and may show various degrees of resistance or avoidance towards them

Tempermant

an individual’s characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity

Basic Trust

a sense that the world is predictable and reliable

Self-Concept

thoughts and feelings about onselves to the question “Who am I?”

Identity

sense of self; adolescence’s task is to solidify identity

Social Identity

the “we” aspect of our self-concept

Microsystem

home, school, and communities (direct contact groups)

Mesosystem

parents and peers (relationships)

Exosystem

parents’ workplace (environments that indirectly affect a person)

Macrosystem

values, beliefs, economic and political systems (cultural influences)

Chronosystem

life stages- moving, economic recessions (life stage and related events)

Exploration and Attachment

babies get courage to explore through attachment of mother; level of exploration decreases when mom is absent

Konrad Lorenz

explored process called imprinting

Mary Ainsworth

observed mother-infant pairs at home

Imitation

the way parents combine phonemes into morphemes

Innate Mechanism

inborn wiring of the brain that allows for humans to learn and use language

Language Determination

language determines the way we think

Pragmatics

a special tone of voice used by the caregiver for infants