COUN 5000

• Lifespan Development

The field of study that examines patterns of growth, change, and stability in behavior that occur throughout the entire life span. [1, 2]

• Physical Development

Development involving the body’s physical makeup, including the brain, nervous system, muscles, and senses, and the need for food, drink, and sleep. [3]

• Cognitive Development

Development involving the ways that growth and change in intellectual capabilities influence a person’s behavior. [3]

• Personality Development

Development involving the ways that the enduring characteristics that differentiate one person from another change over the life span. [3]

• Social Development

The way in which individuals’ interactions with others and their social relationships grow, change, and remain stable over the course of life. [4]

• Cohort

A group of people born at around the same time in the same place. [5]

• Continuous Change

Gradual development in which achievements at one level build on those of previous levels; change is a matter of degree, not kind. [6]

• Discontinuous Change

Development that occurs in distinct steps or stages, with each stage bringing about behavior assumed to be qualitatively different from earlier stages. [6]

• Critical Period

A specific time during development when a particular event has its greatest consequences and the presence of certain environmental stimuli is necessary for development to proceed normally. [6]

• Sensitive Period

A point in development when organisms are particularly susceptible to certain kinds of stimuli, but the absence of those stimuli does not always produce irreversible consequences. [7]

• Maturation

The predetermined unfolding of genetic information. [7, 8]

• Theories

Broad explanations and predictions concerning phenomena of interest, providing a framework for understanding relationships among facts or principles. [9]

• Psychodynamic Perspective

The approach stating that behavior is motivated by inner forces, memories, and conflicts generally beyond people’s awareness and control. [10]

• Behavioral Perspective

The approach suggesting that the keys to understanding development are observable behavior and outside stimuli in the environment. [11]

• Classical Conditioning

A type of learning where an organism responds in a particular way to a neutral stimulus that normally does not bring about that type of response. [12]

• Operant Conditioning

A form of learning in which a voluntary response is strengthened or weakened by its association with positive or negative consequences. [12]

• Cognitive Perspective

The approach focusing on the processes that allow people to know, understand, and think about the world. [13]

• Bioecological Perspective

The perspective suggesting that different levels of the environment (micro-, meso-, exo-, macro-, and chronosystems) simultaneously influence individuals. [14]

• Scientific Method

The process of posing and answering questions using careful, controlled techniques including systematic observation and data collection. [15]

• Hypothesis

A prediction stated in a way that permits it to be tested. [9]

• Correlational Research

Research seeking to identify whether an association or relationship between two factors exists (cannot determine cause and effect). [9]

• Experimental Research

Research designed to discover causal relationships between various factors by manipulating variables. [9]

• Longitudinal Research

Research in which the behavior of one or more study participants is measured as they age. [16]

• Cross-Sectional Research

Research in which people of different ages are compared at the same point in time. [16]

• Zygote

The new cell formed by the process of fertilization when a sperm and ovum join. [17]

• Genes

The basic units of genetic information. [17]

• DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid)

The substance that genes are composed of, determining the nature and function of every cell in the body. [17]

• Chromosomes

Rod-shaped portions of DNA organized in 23 pairs. [18, 19]

• Monozygotic Twins

Twins who are genetically identical, formed from the same zygote. [20]

• Dizygotic Twins

Twins produced when two separate ova are fertilized by two separate sperm at roughly the same time. [20]

• Genotype

The underlying combination of genetic material present in an organism, but invisible. [21, 22]

• Phenotype

An observable trait; the expression of the genotype that is actually seen. [21, 22]

• Behavioral Genetics

The field that studies the effects of genetics on behavior and psychological characteristics. [21, 22]

• Genetic Counseling

The discipline focusing on helping people deal with issues relating to inherited disorders. [23, 24]

• Amniocentesis

A test identifying genetic defects by examining fetal cells drawn from the amniotic fluid. [19]

• Temperament

Patterns of arousal and emotionality that represent consistent and enduring characteristics in an individual. [25]

• Multifactorial Transmission

The determination of traits by a combination of both genetic and environmental factors. [25]

• Fertilization

The process by which a sperm and an ovum join to form a single new cell. [26]

• Germinal Stage

The first and shortest stage of the prenatal period, occurring during the first 2 weeks after conception. [27]

• Placenta

A conduit between the mother and the fetus, providing nourishment and oxygen via the umbilical cord. [27]

• Embryonic Stage

The prenatal period from 2 to 8 weeks following fertilization, marked by significant growth in major organs and body systems. [28]

• Fetal Stage

The stage starting at about 8 weeks after conception and continuing until birth. [29]

• Fetus

A developing child, from 8 weeks after conception until birth. [29]

• In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)

A procedure where a woman’s ova are removed and fertilized by a man’s sperm in a laboratory. [30, 31]

• Teratogen

An environmental agent (drug, chemical, virus, etc.) that produces a birth defect. [32]

• Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)

A disorder caused by maternal alcohol consumption, potentially including intellectual disability and facial deformities. [31, 33]