Developmental Psychology

Schemas

Mental frameworks to organize and interpret information.

Assimilation

Using pre-existing information to interpret new information.

Accommodation

Adapting existing schemas to incorporate new information.

What is the sensorimotor stage characterized by?

Object permanence and the A not B error.

Egocentrism

An ability to view the world only through one point of view.

Conservation

Objects retain their properties despite changes in form.

Inductive reasoning

Making broad generalizations about specific observations.

What is the formal operational stage characterized by?

Deductive reasoning and 'if then' thinking.

Tetrogens

Harmful chemicals and viruses that can reach the fetus during development.

What screens out teratogens?

The placenta.

Rooting reflex

Check stimulus, head orientation, and latch.

Moro reflex

Startled, arms extended, then arms come back in.

Stepping reflex

If held upright, will mimic walking.

Tonic neck reflex

Fencing posture.

Habituation

Decreased response to familiar stimuli.

Visual cliff illusion

Depth perception and understanding social emotions.

Infantile amnesia

Forgetting everything that occurred before 4 years of age.

Secure attachment

Using the caregiver as a secure base, can explore and return.

What defines anxious avoidant attachment?

Reluctance to explore due to fear of abandonment.

Disorganized attachment

Wanting love and support but fearing and distrusting others.

Critical periods

Optimal periods early in life for learning, sensitive to environmental influences.

Delay of gratification

The ability to wait for a bigger prize, associated with higher success.

Authoritarian parenting style

Demanding and unresponsive, use punishment and threats.

What is authoritative parenting style?

Demanding but warm, responsive, set limits but allow some autonomy.

Rejecting-Neglecting parenting style

Disorganized, unresponsive, no limits, and disregard for child's needs.

Permissive parenting style

Lenient and responsive, no limits, allow inappropriate behavior.

Primary sex characteristics

Related to reproductive organs.

Secondary sex characteristics

Biological consequences of primary sex characteristics.

Telomeres

Small caps at the ends of DNA that protect from degradation.

Terminal Decline

Tendency to learn less and focus on connections as we age.