Developmental Psychology Study Guide

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering developmental psychology theories, physical and cognitive growth, linguistics, and socio-emotional milestones.

Nature vs. Nurture controversy

The debate over whether development is influenced more by genetics (nature) or environment (nurture).

Continuous vs. Discontinuous controversy

The debate over whether development occurs gradually or in distinct stages.

Stability vs. Change controversy

The debate over whether personality traits remain stable or change over time.

Cephalocaudal development

Growth that progresses from the head downward.

Proximodistal development

Growth that progresses from the center of the body outward.

Differentiation

The process of cells becoming specialized for different functions.

Developmental psychology

The scientific study of how people grow and change throughout their lifespan.

Psychosexual Theory

A theory of development developed by Sigmund Freud.

Psychosocial Theory

A theory of development developed by Erik Erikson.

Cognitive Development Theory

A theory of development developed by Jean Piaget.

Sociocultural Theory

A theory of development developed by Lev Vygotsky.

Behaviorist Theory

A theory of development developed by John Watson and B.F. Skinner.

Social Learning Theory

A theory of development developed by Albert Bandura.

Neuron

A nerve cell that sends and receives information.

Neurotransmitters

Chemicals that transmit signals between neurons.

Brain plasticity

The brain's ability to adapt and reorganize.

Motor development

The progression of physical movement skills.

Perception

The process of interpreting sensory information.

Visual preferences

The tendency of infants to naturally prefer looking at faces and high-contrast patterns.

Visual Cliff experiment

A procedure used by Gibson and Walk to test infants' depth perception using an apparent drop-off.

Active view of perception

The perspective that infants learn perception through experience.

Passive view of perception

The perspective that perception develops mainly through maturation.

Cognitive development

The development of thinking, learning, memory, and problem-solving.

Sensorimotor stage

Piaget's first stage of cognitive development, occurring from ages $0-2$.

Preoperational stage

Piaget's second stage of cognitive development, occurring from ages $2-7$.

Concrete Operational stage

Piaget's third stage of cognitive development, occurring from ages $7-11$.

Formal Operational stage

Piaget's fourth stage of cognitive development, occurring from age $12+$.

Object permanence

The understanding that objects continue to exist even when they are out of sight.

A-not-B error

A phenomenon where an infant searches for an object where it was previously hidden instead of where it was most recently hidden.

Cooing

Early vowel sounds produced by infants around $2$ months of age.

Babbling

Repeating consonant-vowel sounds produced by infants around $6$ months of age.

Receptive vocabulary

The collection of words that a child is able to understand.

Expressive vocabulary

The collection of words that a child is able to say.

Holophrastic speech

The use of a single word to express a complete idea, such as saying "Milk!" to mean "I want milk."

Telegraphic speech

Two- or three-word sentences that omit small connecting words, such as "Want cookie."

Attachment

A strong emotional bond formed between a child and their caregiver.

Strange Situation

A laboratory procedure developed by Mary Ainsworth for measuring attachment styles.

Secure attachment

A pattern where the child uses the caregiver as a secure base and is comforted when the caregiver returns.

Contact comfort

The psychological need for physical comfort and touch.

Harry Harlow's monkey studies

Research showing infant monkeys preferred soft cloth mothers over wire mothers, even if the wire mother provided food.

Ragan and Klein (1973)

Researchers who suggested children can recover from early social deprivation if placed in nurturing environments.

Emotional regulation

The ability to manage and control one's emotions.

Temperament

A person's natural, innate style of emotional and behavioral responses.