AP Psych Unit 3

Developmental Psychology

The study of how people change and grow through their lives

Cross-Sectional Study

A study in which people of different ages are compared at one time.

Longitudinal Study

A study in which the same people are followed and assessed over a long period.

Teratogens

Substances that can harm a developing fetus.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)

Physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by prenatal alcohol exposure.

Habituation

Decreasing responsiveness to a repeated stimulus.

Maturation

Biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior.

Critical Period

A specific time in development when certain skills or abilities are most easily learned.

Adolescence

The transition period from childhood to adulthood.

Puberty

The period of sexual maturation when a person becomes capable of reproduction.

Menopause

The end of menstruation and reproductive capability in women.

Sex

The biological distinction between male and female.

Gender

The social and cultural roles

Intersex

A condition in which an individual is born with ambiguous sexual anatomy.

Aggression

Physical or verbal behavior intended to harm.

Relational Aggression

Behavior aimed at damaging relationships or social standing.

X Chromosome

A sex chromosome found in both males and females.

Y Chromosome

A sex chromosome found only in males.

Testosterone

A male sex hormone that promotes male secondary sexual characteristics.

Estrogens

Female sex hormones that promote female secondary sexual characteristics.

Primary Sex Characteristics

Body structures directly involved in reproduction.

Secondary Sex Characteristics

Non-reproductive traits such as breasts and facial hair.

Spermarche

The first ejaculation in males.

Menarche

The first menstrual period in females.

Role

A set of expectations about a social position.

Gender Role

Expected behaviors for males and females.

Sexual Aggression

Unwanted sexual activity inflicted on someone.

Gender Identity

A person’s sense of being male

Social Learning Theory

Theory that we learn social behavior by observing and imitating.

Gender Typing

The process by which children learn their gender role.

Androgyny

Displaying both traditional masculine and feminine traits.

Sexuality

How people experience and express themselves sexually.

Asexual

Having no sexual attraction to others.

Social Script

Culturally modeled guide for how to act in various situations.

Sexual Orientation

A person’s pattern of romantic or sexual attraction.

Cognition

The mental activities associated with thinking

Schema

A framework that organizes and interprets information.

Assimilation

Fitting new information into existing schemas.

Accommodation

Adjusting schemas to incorporate new information.

Sensorimotor Stage

The stage (birth to 2 years) when infants learn through sensory and motor interactions.

Object Permanence

Awareness that objects exist even when not seen.

Preoperational Stage

The stage (2 to 7 years) when children represent things with words and images but lack logical reasoning.

Conservation

Understanding that properties like mass and volume remain the same despite changes in form.

Egocentrism

Difficulty seeing things from another’s perspective.

Concrete Operational Stage

The stage (7 to 11 years) when children gain logical thinking about concrete events.

Formal Operational Stage

The stage (12+ years) when abstract and hypothetical thinking develops.

Scaffold

A framework to support learning and development.

Theory of Mind

Understanding others' mental states

Language

A system of symbols and rules used for communication.

Phoneme

The smallest distinctive sound unit in language.

Morpheme

The smallest unit of meaning in language.

Grammar

Rules for combining words into meaningful sentences.

Universal Grammar (UG)

The theory that all languages share a common structural basis.

Babbling Stage

The stage when infants produce speech-like sounds.

One-Word Stage

The stage when children speak in single words.

Two-Word Stage

The stage when children speak in two-word phrases.

Telegraphic Speech

Early speech using mostly nouns and verbs

Aphasia

Impairment in language due to brain damage.

Linguistic Determinism

The idea that language determines the way we think.

Linguistic Relativism

The idea that language influences thought but doesn’t determine it.

Ecological Systems Theory

A theory emphasizing the role of environmental systems in development.

Stranger Anxiety

Fear of strangers

Attachment

Emotional bond with a caregiver.

Imprinting

The process by which certain animals form attachments early in life.

Strange Situation

A test to measure the security of attachment in children.

Secure Attachment

A strong emotional bond with a caregiver

Insecure Attachment

An anxious or avoidant relationship with a caregiver.

Temperament

A person’s characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity.

Basic Trust

A sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy.

Self-Concept

An understanding of who we are as individuals.

Identity

One’s sense of self

Social Identity

The part of self-concept derived from group memberships.

Intimacy

The ability to form close and loving relationships.

Emerging Adulthood

The transitional period from adolescence to adulthood.

Social Clock

Culturally preferred timing for life events.

Learning

A relatively permanent change in behavior due to experience.

Associative Learning

Learning that certain events occur together.

Stimulus

Any event or situation that provokes a response.

Respondent Behavior

Automatic responses to a stimulus.

Operant Behavior

Behavior influenced by consequences.

Cognitive Learning

Acquiring information through observation or communication.

Classical Conditioning

Learning where a neutral stimulus becomes associated with a response.

Behaviorism

The study of behavior without reference to mental processes.

Neutral Stimulus (NS)

A stimulus that initially produces no response.

Unconditioned Response (UCR)

An automatic response to an unconditioned stimulus.

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)

A stimulus that naturally triggers a response.

Conditioned Response (CR)

A learned response to a conditioned stimulus.

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

A previously neutral stimulus that triggers a conditioned response.

Acquisition

The initial stage of learning when a response is established.

Higher-Order Conditioning

A conditioned stimulus is paired with a new neutral stimulus.

Extinction

The diminishing of a conditioned response.

Spontaneous Recovery

The reappearance of a conditioned response after extinction.

Generalization

Responding similarly to similar stimuli.

Discrimination

The ability to distinguish between similar stimuli.

Preparedness

Biological predisposition to learn certain associations.

Operant Conditioning

Learning where behavior is influenced by consequences.

Law of Effect

Behaviors with favorable outcomes are more likely to occur.

Operant Chamber

A device to study operant conditioning.

Reinforcement

Any event that strengthens a behavior.

Shaping

Gradually guiding behavior toward a desired goal.