Studied by 6 people
social clock
the culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement
Alzheimer’s disease
a neurocognitive disease marked by neural plaques
neurocognitive disorders
disorders marked by cognitive disorders (Alzheimer’s, brain injury, substance abuse)
longitudinal study
research that follows and retests the same people over time
cross-sectional study
research that compares people of different ages at the same point of time
menopause
the time of natural cessation of mensuration
sexual orientation
our enduring sexual attraction
AIDS
life threatening, sexually transmitted infection caused by HIV; depletes the immune system
secondary sex characteristics
nonreproductive sexual traits (female breasts and hips, male voice and body hair)
primary sex characteristics
the body structures that make sexual reproduction possible (ovaries, testes, external genitalia)
testosterone
the most important male sex hormone
y chromosome
the sex chromosome typically found only in males
x chromosome
the sex chromosome found in both males and females
intimacy
the ability to form close, loving relationships
social identity
the “we” aspect of our self-concept
identity
our sense of self
adolescence
the transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence
puberty
the period of sexual maturation, during which a person becomes capable of reproducing
transgender
an umbrella term describing people whose gender identity or expression differs from that associated with their birth-designated sex
androgyny
displaying both traditional masculine and feminine psychological characteristics
gender typing
the acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role
social learning theory
the theory that we learn social behavior by observing and imitating and by being rewarded or punished
gender identity
our sense of being male, female, or some combination of the two
relational aggression
an act of aggression intended to harm a person’s relationship or social standing
aggression
any physical or verbal behavior intended to harm someone physically or emotionally
gender
the socially influenced characteristics by which people define boy, girl, man, and woman
sex
the biologically influenced characteristics by which people define male and female
self-concept
all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves in answer to the question, “Who am I?”
basic trust
(Erikson) sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy
temperment
a person’s characteristic emotional reavtivity and intensity
insecure attachment
demonstrated by infants who display either a clinging, anxious or avoidant attachment that resists closeness
secure attachment
demonstrated by infants who comfortably explore environments in the presence of caregiver, show only temporary distress when caregiver leaves, and find comfort in return
strange situation
a procedure for studying child-caregiver attachment, a child is placed in an unfamiliar environment while caregiver leaves and returns; child’s reactions are observed
imprinting
the process by which certain animals form strong attachments during early life
critical period
an optimal period early in the life of an organism when exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces normal development
attachment
an emotional tie with another person
stranger anxiety
the fear of strangers that infants commonly display
autism spectrum disorder
disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by significant deficiencies in communication and social interaction
scaffold
a framework that offers children temporary support as they develop higher levels of thinking
formal operational stage
(Piaget) the stage of cognitive development (12+) during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts
concrete operational stage
(Piaget) the stage of cognitive development (7-11) 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 other’s mental states
egocentrism
the preoperational child’s difficulty taking another’s point of view
conservation
the principle that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects (glass test)
preoperational stage
(Piaget) stage (2-7) during which a child learns to us language but does not comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic
object permanence
the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived
sensorimotor stage
(Piaget) stage from birth to 2 years; infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions/motor activities
accomodation
adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information
assimilation
interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas
schema
a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information
cognition
all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating
maturation
biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience
habituation
decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation
fetal alcohol syndrome (fas)
physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman’s heavy drinking
teratogens
agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm
developmental psychology
a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span
zygote
the fertilized egg; 2 week period
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
infantile amnesia
our inability to remember events that occurred before we were about 4 years old
Note
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