AP Psych Unit 3

AP Psychology Module 3

developmental psychology

a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the lifespan

cross-sectional studies

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

longitudinal studies

research that follows and restests the same people over time

zygotes

fertilized eggs

germinal stage

stage in which the zygote attaches to the mother’s uterine wall and begins 37 weeks of a close human relationship

teratogens

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

fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)

physical and cognitive function deficits in children caused by birth mother’s heavy drinking during pregnancy; may result in out-of-proportion and distinct features

habituation

decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation; as infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a stimuli, their interest wanes

maturation

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

adverse childhood experiences (ACE)

difficult and traumatic childhood events

critical period / sensitive period

an optimal period in earlier life of an organism when exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces normal development

adolescence

transition period from childhood to adulthood; extends from puberty to independence

puberty

the period of sexual maturation; period that person becomes capable of reproduction

menopause

the time of natural cessation of menstruation; the biological changes of women experiences as ability to reproduce declines

sex

biologically influenced characteristics of male or female

gender

in psychology, the attitudes, feelings, and behaviors that a given culture associates with a person’s biological sex; male and female

intersex

a miniscule percentage of the population that possesses some part of both male and female characteristics at birth

aggression

physical or verbal behavior intended to harm someone physically or emotionally

relational aggression

an act of aggression (physical or verbal) intended to harm one’s social standing or relationship

X chromosome

sex chromosome found in men and women; females have 2, males have 1

Y chromosome

sex chromosome found in men

testosterone

most important male sex hormone; present in both genders, but additional amounts stimulate growth of male sex organs during the fetal period and development during puberty

estrongens

sex hormones that contribute to female sex characteristics; present in men and women, but greater amounts in women

primary sex characteristics

body structures (ovaries, testes, and external genitalia) making sexual reproduction possible

secondary sex characteristics

nonreproductive sexual traits, such as breasts, hips, male voice quality, and body hair

spermarche

first ejaculation ‘wet dream‘

menarche

the first menstrual period

gender roles

a set of expected behaviors, attitudes, and traits for men and women

role

a set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how people should act

sexual aggression

any physical or verbal behavior of a sexual nature that is unwanted or intended to harm someone physically or emotionally; can be expressed as sexual harassment or sexual assault

social learning theory

theory that social behavior is learned through observation and imitation and being rewarded or punished

gender typing

the acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role

sexuality

thoughts, feelings, and actions related to physical attraction to another

social scripts

a culturally modeled guide for how to act in various situations

sexual orientation

a person’s attraction to either a man or woman

cognition

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

schemas

a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information

assimilation

interpreting new experiences in terms of existing schemas

accommodation

adapting current schemas to incorporate new information

piaget’s theory

viewed children’s cognitive development as a process guided by biological maturation; four stages: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, formal operational

sensorimotor stage

from birth to 2 years of age; stage at which infants know the world in terms of sensory impressions and motor activities; begin to develop object permanence

object permanence

the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived

preoperational stage

from 2 to 6-7 years of age; the stage at which a child learns to use language but doesn’t comprehend the mental operations of concrete language; lack concept of conservation until age 6

conservation

the principle that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the form of the objects

egocentrism

the preoperational child’s difficulty taking another point of view

concrete operational stage

from 7 to 11; the stage when children can perform mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events

formal operational stage

begins at age 12; the stage 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

zone of proximal development

according to vygotsky, a zone between what a child can and cannot do

theory of mind

people’s ideas about their own and other’s mental stages - about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict

language

the agreed-upon system of words used to communicate meaning

phonemes

in a language, the smallest distinctive sound unit

morphemes

in a language, the smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or part of a word, such as a prefix

grammar

a system of rules that enables people to communicate with and understand others; includes semantics and syntax

semantics

a language’s set of rules for deriving meaning from sounds

syntax

a language’s set of rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences

universal grammar

theory of humans’ innate predisposition to understand the principles and rules that govern grammar in all languages

babbling stage

begins around 4 months; the stage in speech development in which an infant spontaneously utters various sounds not related to the household language

one-word stage

from age 1 to 2; the stage in which a child speaks mostly single words

two-word stage

begins age 2; the stage when a child speaks mostly in two word statements

telegraphic speech

the early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram, using mostly verbs and nouns

aphasia

impairment of language; typically caused by damage to left hemisphere: broca’s area (impairment speaking) or wernicke’s area (impairment understanding)

broca’s area

a frontal lobe brain area, typically in the left hemisphere, that helps control language expression by directing muscle movements involved in speech

wernicke’s area

a brain area, usually in the left temporal lobe, involved in language comprehension and expression

linguistic determinism

whorf’s hypothesis that language determines the way people think

linguistic relativism

the idea that language influences the way people think

ecological systems theory

a theory on the social environment’s influence on human development

microsystem

immediate, direct-contact social groups

mesosystem

relationships between microsystem groups

exosystem

environments that indirectly affect an individual

macrosystem

cultural influences

chronosystem

life stages and related events

stranger anxiety

the fear of strangers displayed by infants, beginning at 8 months of age

attachment

an emotional tie with others; displayed by infants with their caretakers by seeking closeness with them and showing distress upon separation

imprinting

the process by which animals form strong attachments in early life

strange situation

a process for studying child-caregiver attachments; a child is placed in an unfamiliar situation while their caregiver leaves and later returns; the children’s reactions are observed

secure attachment

as seen by infants, show only temporary distress when the caregiver leaves, and finds comfort in them when they return

insecure attachment

demonstrated by infants who show either clinging, anxious attachment, or avoidant attachment, resisting closeness

temperament

a person’s characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity

basic trust

according to erik erikson, a sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy; formed in infancy with the right caretakers

self-concept

all thoughts and feelings connected to the question of who oneself is

identity

sense of self

social identity

sense of self in relation to others and groups one is in

intimacy

the ability to form close, loving relationships

emerging adulthood

a period from age 18 to mid-twenties, between adolescence and adulthood

social clock

society’s preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement

learning

the process of acquiring knowledge through experiences and intake of new information

habituates

decreasing responsiveness with continuous stimulation

associative learning

learning that certain events and stimuli occur together

stimulus

any event or situation that evokes a response

respondent behavior

behavior that occurs as an automatic reaction to a stimulus

operant behaviors

behavior that operates on the environment, producing a consequence

cognitive learning

acquisition of mental information by observation

classical conditioning

a type of learning where two or more stimuli are linked

behaviorism

the study of behavior as an objective psychological science

neutral stimuli (NS)

a stimulus that produces no response before conditioning

unconditioned response (UCR)

an unlearned, naturally occurring response to an unconditioned stimulus

unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

a stimulus that naturally and unconditionally triggers a UCR

conditioned response (CR)

a learned response to a conditioned stimulus

conditioned stimulus (CS)

a originally neutral stimulus that is now associated to produce a CR