Unit 3: Development

Flashcards covering key vocabulary from developmental psychology lecture notes.

Teratogens

Harmful substances (e.g., alcohol, drugs, viruses) that can cause birth defects or developmental issues when the fetus is exposed to them during pregnancy.

Crystallized Intelligence

The accumulation of knowledge, facts, and skills gained through experience; remains stable or increases with age.

Fluid Intelligence

The ability to reason quickly and solve novel problems; declines with age.

Dementia

A cognitive disorder involving memory loss, reasoning deficits, and impaired judgment, commonly associated with aging.

Phonemes

The smallest unit of sound in a language (e.g., 'b' in 'bat' vs. 'p' in 'pat').

Morphemes

The smallest unit of meaning in a language (e.g., 'un-' in 'undo' or '-s' to indicate plurality).

Syntax

The rules that determine word order in sentences (e.g., 'The cat sat on the mat' is correct in English, but 'Mat the cat on sat' is not).

Behaviorism

A psychological perspective that focuses on observable behavior rather than mental processes, emphasizing learning through conditioning.

Classical Conditioning

A learning process in which an organism forms an association between two stimuli, leading to a change in behavior.

Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS)

A stimulus that naturally triggers a response (e.g., food).

Unconditioned Response (UCR)

A natural, automatic response to an unconditioned stimulus (e.g., salivating to food).

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

A previously neutral stimulus that, after being paired with the UCS, triggers a response (e.g., a bell after being paired with food).

Conditioned Response (CR)

A learned response to the conditioned stimulus (e.g., salivating at the sound of the bell, even without food).

Acquisition

The process of learning the association between a conditioned stimulus (CS) and an unconditioned stimulus (UCS).

Extinction

The weakening of a conditioned response when the CS is presented without the UCS (e.g., ringing the bell without presenting food, leading to no salivation).

Spontaneous Recovery

The reappearance of an extinguished conditioned response after a period of rest.

Stimulus Generalization

The tendency to respond similarly to stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus (e.g., a dog salivating to a different-sounding bell).

Stimulus Discrimination

The ability to distinguish between similar stimuli and only respond to the specific conditioned stimulus (e.g., salivating only to a specific bell tone).

Gross Motor Skills

The ability to control large muscle movements (e.g., crawling, walking, running).

Fine Motor Skills

The ability to perform precise movements using small muscles (e.g., grasping objects, writing, buttoning a shirt).

Rooting Reflex

A newborn's natural instinct to turn toward a touch on the cheek and start sucking, aiding in breastfeeding.

Critical Period

A specific time in development when exposure to certain experiences is necessary for proper development (e.g., language acquisition).

Sensitive Period

A time when certain types of learning occur more easily, though they can still develop later with effort.

Puberty

The stage of development when an individual becomes capable of reproduction.

Primary Sex Characteristics

The reproductive organs and structures that develop during puberty (e.g., ovaries, testes).

Secondary Sex Characteristics

Non-reproductive physical changes that occur during puberty (e.g., body hair growth, deepening voice in males, breast development in females).

Counterconditioning

A therapeutic technique that replaces an unwanted conditioned response with a more desirable response (e.g., associating relaxation with a feared stimulus in systematic desensitization).

Habituation

A decrease in response to a stimulus after repeated exposure (e.g., tuning out background noise in a busy café).

Operant Conditioning

A type of learning in which behavior is influenced by its consequences.

Reinforcement

Any consequence that increases the likelihood of a behavior occurring again.

Positive Reinforcement

Adding a pleasant stimulus to increase behavior (e.g., giving a child candy for cleaning their room).

Negative Reinforcement

Removing an unpleasant stimulus to increase behavior (e.g., taking painkillers to relieve a headache).

Punishment

Any consequence that decreases the likelihood of a behavior occurring again.

Positive Punishment

Adding an unpleasant stimulus to decrease behavior (e.g., receiving a speeding ticket for driving too fast).

Negative Punishment

Removing a pleasant stimulus to decrease behavior (e.g., taking away a teenager's phone for missing curfew).

Biological Preparedness

The innate predisposition of animals to learn certain associations more easily than others due to evolutionary factors.

Social Learning Theory

A theory that proposes that people learn behaviors through observation, imitation, and modeling of others, especially role models.

Schemas

Cognitive structures that help organize and interpret information, guiding the processing of new experiences.

Assimilation

The process of integrating new information into existing schemas without changing the schema.

Accommodation

The modification of existing schemas or the creation of new ones in response to new information.

Sensorimotor Stage

The first stage of Piaget's cognitive development theory, occurring from birth to around 2 years old, where infants learn through sensory experiences and motor actions.

Preoperational Stage

The second stage of Piaget's theory, from approximately 2 to 7 years of age, characterized by the development of language and symbolic thinking, but lacking logical reasoning.

Egocentrism

The inability to differentiate between one's own perspective and that of others, often seen in young children.

Animism

The belief that inanimate objects have feelings, thoughts, and feelings, commonly observed in children during the preoperational stage.

Conservation

The understanding that certain properties of objects (e.g., volume, mass) remain the same despite changes in their form or appearance.

Reversibility

The ability to understand that actions can be reversed, allowing one to return to the original state.

Concrete Operational Stage

Piaget's third stage of cognitive development (ages 7 to 11), where children begin to think logically about concrete events and understand the concept of conservation.

Formal Operational Stage

The final stage of Piaget's theory (beginning at 12 years and beyond), characterized by the ability to think abstractly, logically, and systematically.

Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

The gap between what a learner can do independently and what they can do with guidance from a more knowledgeable person.

Scaffolding

Support provided by a teacher or more knowledgeable peer to help a learner accomplish tasks within their ZPD.

Social Learning

Learning that occurs through observing others' behaviors and the consequences of those behaviors.

Crystallized Intelligence

The accumulation of knowledge, facts, and skills gained through experience; remains stable or increases with age.

Fluid Intelligence

The ability to reason quickly and solve novel problems; declines with age.

Dementia

A cognitive disorder involving memory loss, reasoning deficits, and impaired judgment, commonly associated with aging.

Phonemes

The smallest unit of sound in a language (e.g., 'b' in 'bat' vs. 'p' in 'pat').

Morphemes

The smallest unit of meaning in a language (e.g., 'un-' in 'undo' or '-s' to indicate plurality).

Semantics

The study of meaning in language, focusing on understanding words, phrases, and sentences.

Grammar

The set of rules that governs the structure of sentences in a language.

Syntax

The rules that determine word order in sentences (e.g., 'The cat sat on the mat' is correct in English, but 'Mat the cat on sat' is not).

Overgeneralization

The application of linguistic rules too broadly, such as saying 'goed' instead of 'went.'

Cooing

The early stage of language development in infants, typically producing soft vowel sounds around 2-3 months.

Babbling

An early stage of language development characterized by repeated consonant-vowel combinations around 4-6 months.

Authoritarian Parenting

A parenting style characterized by high demands and low responsiveness, often leading to strict rules and expectations.

Authoritative Parenting

A parenting style that combines high demands with high responsiveness, encouraging independence while maintaining limits.

Permissive Parenting

A parenting style characterized by high responsiveness but low demands, allowing children significant freedom with little discipline.

Secure Attachment

A type of attachment characterized by comfort with intimacy and a healthy balance between independence and closeness.

Insecure Attachment

A type of attachment marked by anxiety or avoidance in relationships due to inconsistent caregiving.

Avoidant Attachment

A type of insecure attachment where a child avoids or ignores the caregiver and shows little emotional response.

Anxious Attachment

A type of insecure attachment characterized by clinginess and fear of abandonment.

Disorganized Attachment

A type of insecure attachment where children display a lack of a consistent attachment behavior, often stemming from confusion or fear.

Parallel Play

A type of play in which children play adjacent to each other but do not interact.

Pretend Play

A form of play that involves using imagination to create scenarios, often involving role-playing.

Imaginary Audience

A cognitive distortion in adolescence where one believes that they are the center of others' attention and interest.

Personal Fable

The belief that one's experiences are unique and that they are invulnerable to misfortune.

Identity Achievement

A stage in identity development where an individual has explored options and has made committed choices.

Identity Diffusion

A stage in identity development characterized by a lack of direction or commitment regarding personal identity.

Identity Foreclosure

A stage in identity development where an individual accepts identity without exploration, often based on parental guidance.

Identity Moratorium

A stage in identity development where a person is actively exploring identity options but has not yet made commitments.

Social Clock

A societal timeline that dictates the appropriate timing for major life events, such as marriage or having children.

Primary Reinforcer

A naturally occurring reinforcer that satisfies a biological need (e.g., food, water).

Secondary Reinforcer

A stimulus that reinforces behavior through its association with a primary reinforcer (e.g., money, praise).

Reinforcement Generalization

The tendency for similar stimuli to produce the same response due to their association with reinforcement.

Reinforcement Discrimination

The ability to differentiate between stimuli that signal when reinforcement is or is not available.

Shaping

A process in operant conditioning in which successive approximations toward a desired behavior are reinforced.

Instinctive Drift

The tendency for animals to revert to instinctual behaviors that interfere with conditioning.

Superstitious Behavior

Behaviors that are believed to result in favorable outcomes due to coincidental reinforcement.

Learned Helplessness

A condition in which a person learns to believe that they are powerless to change their situation, often due to repeated failures.

Fixed Ratio Schedule

A reinforcement schedule that provides rewards after a specified number of responses.

Variable Ratio Schedule

A reinforcement schedule that provides rewards after an unpredictable number of responses.

Fixed Interval Schedule

A reinforcement schedule that rewards the first response after a specified amount of time.

Variable Interval Schedule

A reinforcement schedule that rewards the first response after varying amounts of time.

Vicarious Conditioning

Learning to associate a response with a stimulus by observing someone else's response to that stimulus.

Modeling

The process of learning behaviors by observing and imitating others.

Similarity to the Model

The degree to which the observer identifies with or resembles the model, influencing learning through observation.

Insight Learning

A form of problem-solving characterized by the sudden realization of a solution to a problem.

Latent Learning

Learning that occurs without reinforcement but is not immediately reflected in behavior.

Cognitive Maps

Mental representations of physical spaces that help in