Unit 6 psych terms

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