PSYC 201: Human Development Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering human lifespan development, including cognitive, intellectual, memory, and psychosocial development theories.

Chronological Age

The number of months or years since an individual's birth.

Developmental Age

The chronological age at which most children show a particular level of physical or mental development.

Normative Investigations

Research efforts designed to describe what is characteristic of a specific age or developmental stage.

Longitudinal Design

A research design in which the same participants are observed repeatedly, sometimes over many years.

Cross-sectional Design

A research design in which groups of participants of different chronological ages are observed and compared at a single point in time.

Cross-sequential Design

A research methodology that combines cross-sectional and longitudinal approaches by tracking multiple age cohorts over time to analyze age-related and time-related changes.

Cohort Effect

The influence of shared cultural-historical conditions on a group of people born in the same time period, which can bias developmental research results.

Fluid Intelligence

The global capacity to reason, think abstractly, learn new things, and solve novel problems independent of formal education.

Crystallized Intelligence

The accumulated knowledge, vocabulary, and skills derived from prior learning, facts, and past life experiences.

Transience

A memory deficit characterized by the tendency to lose access to information across time.

Absent-mindedness

A memory deficit caused by insufficient attention, leading to a failure to remember information.

Misattribution

A memory deficit in which a fact is remembered correctly but attributed to an incorrect source or context.

Suggestibility

The tendency to incorporate information provided by others into one's own recollection and memory representation.

Alzheimer's Disease Brain Pathology

Structural deterioration of the brain marked by shriveling of the cerebral cortex, severe shrinkage of the hippocampus, and enlargement of cerebrospinal fluid-filled ventricles.

Infantile Amnesia

The inability to remember events and experiences that occurred during the first two to three years of life.

Synaptic Pruning

The developmental process following early synaptogenesis in which the brain eliminates synapses that it no longer needs, beginning around 2 to 3 years of age.

Object Permanence

The understanding that objects continue to exist and behave independently of an individual's direct physical actions or awareness.

Egocentrism

A feature of Piaget's preoperational stage characterized by the inability to take or perceive another person's perspective.

Conservation

The cognitive understanding that physical properties or quantities of a substance remain constant despite changes in its shape or appearance.

Echolalia

An odd speech pattern characterized by the involuntary repetition of words or phrases spoken by another person, commonly seen in Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Theory of Mind

The cognitive ability to attribute mental states (beliefs, desires, intentions) to oneself and others, and to recognize that others hold beliefs different from reality.

Receptive-Expressive Discrepancy

Also called comprehension-production asymmetry, a developmental phenomenon where language comprehension ability significantly outpaces language production ability.

Attachment

The emotional relationship and primary bond between a child and their parent or regular caregiver.

Marcia's Identity Status Model

A framework categorizing identity formation into four statuses (Foreclosure, Identity Achievement, Identity Diffusion, Moratorium) based on the presence or absence of exploration and commitment.

Identity Diffusion

An identity status in which an individual has neither explored options nor made commitments regarding their direction or values.

Identity Foreclosure

An identity status in which an individual commits to an identity without exploring alternative options, often adopting the values of their parents.

Moratorium

An identity status characterized by active exploration of life choices and roles prior to making a firm commitment.

Identity Achievement

An identity status characterized by a firm commitment to an identity after undergoing active exploration of choices.

Generativity

A psychosocial developmental commitment in middle adulthood to guide, nurture, and contribute to one's family, work, community, and future generations.

Stagnation

A state in middle adulthood characterized by self-absorption, narrow personal focus, and a failure to direct resources toward helping future generations.