AP Psych Unit 6

Developmental Psychology

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

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 2nd month.

fetus

the developing human organism from 9wks after 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 (FAS)

physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman's heavy drinking. In severe cases, symptoms include noticeable facial misproportions.

habituation

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

maturation

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

cognition

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 experience in terms of our existing schemas. (using what we already know to analyze new things in our environment)

accommodation

adapting our current schemas to incorporate new information.

Piaget's Theory

Proposed that children progress through four stages of cognitive development, each with distinctive characteristics that permit specific kinds of thinking.

sensorimotor stage

First stage in Piaget's Theory: (birth - 2yrs)
experiencing the world through senses and actions (looking, hearing, touching, mouthing, and grasping)

preoperational stage

Second stage in Piaget's Theory: (2 - 6/7yrs)
Representing things with words and images; using intuitive rather than logical reasoning.

concrete operational stage

Third stage in Piaget's Theory: (7 - 11yrs)
thinking logically about concrete events; grasping concrete analogies and performing arithmetical operations.

formal operation

Fourth stage in Piaget's Theory: (12 - adulthood)
abstract reasoning.

object permanence

the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived. (begins around 8 months)

conservation

the principle that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects. (Piaget believed this was apart of concrete operational reasoning)

egocentrism

In Piaget's theory, the preoperational child's difficulty taking another's point of view.

Theory of mind

people's ideas about their own and others mental states- about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts and the behaviors these may predict.

autism

a disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by deficient communication, social interaction, and understanding of others states of mind.

stranger anxiety

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

attachment

an emotional tie with another person, shown in young children by their seeking closeness to the caregiver and showing distress on separation.

critical period

an optimal period shortly after birth when an organism's exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces proper development.

imprinting

the process by which certain animals (goslings, ducklings, or chicks) form attachments during a critical period very early in life. (Children do NOT do this)

basic trust

according to Erik Erikson, a sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy; said to be formed during infancy by appropriate experiences with responsive caregivers.

self-concept

our understanding and evaluation of who we are

adolescence

the transition period from childhood extending from puberty to independence.

puberty

the period of sexual maturation, during which a person becomes capable of reproducing

primary sex characteristics

the body structures that make sexual reproduction possible.

secondary sex characteristics

non-reproductive sexual characteristics, such as female breasts and hips, male voice quality, and body hair.

moral reasoning

the thinking that occurs as we consider right and wrong

preconventional morality

before age 9, most children's morality focuses on self-interest: they obey rules either to avoid punishment or to gain concrete rewards.

conventional morality

by early adolescence, morality focuses on caring for others and on upholding laws and social rules, simply because they are the laws and rules.

postconventional morality

with the abstract reasoning of formal operational thought, people may reach a 3rd level of morality. some will be able to form their own opinions on whats right and wrong.

identity

our sense of self, according to Erikson, the adolescent's task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating various roles.

social identity

the "we" aspect of our self-concept; the part of our answer to "who am i" that comes from our group memberships (who we associate with)

intimacy

the ability to form close, loving relationships; a primary developmental task in late adolescence and early adulthood

menopause

the time of natural cessation of menstruation; also refers to the biological changes a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declines.

cross-sectional study

a study in which people of different ages are compared with one another.

longitudinal study

research in which the same people are restudied and retested over a long period

crystalized intelligence

our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age.

fluid intelligence

our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease in late adulthood.

Erik Erikson

created the 8 stages of psychosocial development. he believed each stage of life has its own psychosocial task.

Infancy - 1yr

inner crisis: trust v. mistrust
description: if needs are dependably met, infants develop a sense of basic trust

Toddlers (2-3yrs)

inner crisis: autonomy vs. shame and doubt
description: exercise will and do things for themselves, or they doubt their abilities

Preschool (3-6yrs)

inner crisis: initiative vs. guilt
description: initiate tasks and carry out plans, or feel guilty about their efforts to be independent.

Elementary school (6-puberty)

inner crisis:industry vs. inferiority
description: learn the pleasure of applying themselves to tasks, or they feel inferior

Adolescence (teens to 20s)

inner crisis: identity vs. role confusion
definition: teenagers work at refining a sense of self by testing roles and then integrating them to form a single identity, or they become confused about who they are

Young Adult (20s to early 40s)

inner crisis: intimacy vs. isolation
definition: struggle to form close relationships to gain the capacity for intimate love, or they feel socially isolated.

Middle Adult (40s to 60s)

inner crisis: generativity vs. stagnation
definition: people discover a sense of contributing to the world, usually through family and work, or they may feel a lack of purpose.

Late Adult (late 60s and up)

inner crisis: integrity vs. despair
definition: reflecting on his or her life, and older adult may feel a sense of satisfaction or failure.

Psychoanalytic Theory

Sigmund Freud

Androgyny

a healthy balance of male and female psychological characteristics.

Epigenetic systems theory of gender

gender types behavior is shaped by BOTH genetic differences between male and female brains and environmental influences.