GenPsych II: Module 11-14 Terms

developmental psychology

a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social development throughout the life span

cross-sectional study

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

longitudinal study

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

zygote

the fertilized egg; it enters a 2-week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo

embryo

the developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the second month

fetus

the developing human organism from 9 weeks aftter conception to birth

teratogens

agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm

fetal alcohol syndrome

physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman’s heavy drinking. In severe cases, signs include a small, out-of-proportion head and abnormal facial features

habituation

decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner

maturation

biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience

cognitive

all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

schema

a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information

assimilation

interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas

accommodation

adapting our current schemas (understandings) to incorporate new information)

sensorimotor stage

in Piaget’s theory, the stage (from birth to nearly 2 years of age) at which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities

object permanence

the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived

preoperational stage

in Piaget’s theory, the stage (from about 2 to 6 or 7 years of age) at which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic

conservation

the principle (which Piaget believed to be part o concrete operational reasoning) that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects

egocentrism

in Piaget’s theory, the preoperational child’s difficultly taking another’s point of view

concrete operational stage

in Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about 7 to 11 years of age) at which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events

formal operational stage

in Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development (normally beginning about age 120 at which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts)

scaffold

in Vygotsky’s theory, a framework that offers children temporary support as they develop higher levels of thinking

theory of mind

people’s ideas about their own and others’ mental states—about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict

stranger anxiety

the fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months of age

attachment

an emotional tie with others; shown in young children