Human Development, Intelligence, and Motivation Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering human development stages, moral and cognitive theories, attachment styles, intelligence frameworks, and theories of motivation based on the provided lecture notes.

Human Development

The study of physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional changes that occur across the lifespan from conception to death.

Erik Erikson

An influential psychologist known for his theory of psychosocial stages of development characterizing human growth across various age milestones.

Infancy

A developmental stage from $0-2\,years$ characterized by rapid physical growth, motor skill development, and forming early social and emotional bonds.

Early Childhood

A developmental stage from $2-6\,years$ where children develop language skills, expand motor abilities, and start to explore the world.

Middle Childhood

A developmental stage from $6-12\,years$ focused on mastering academic and social skills and developing a sense of industry and competence.

Adolescence

A developmental stage from $12-18\,years$ involving puberty, physical maturation, and the formation of a coherent identity.

Young Adulthood

A developmental stage from $18-40\,years$ involving establishing independence, pursuing career goals, and forming intimate relationships.

Middle Adulthood

A developmental stage from $40-65\,years$ focused on balancing career and family and addressing generativity by contributing to society.

Late Adulthood

A developmental stage ($65+\,years$) involving retirement, reflection on life, and managing physical and cognitive decline.

Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development

A sequential theory proposed by Lawrence Kohlberg explaining how people develop moral reasoning through three levels and six stages.

Pre-conventional Morality

The first level of moral development, typically in children, where behavior is driven by avoiding punishment and seeking rewards.

Conventional Morality

The second level of moral development, often in adolescents and adults, where behavior is about pleasing others and maintaining social order.

Post-conventional Morality

The highest level of moral development achieved by some adults, based on social contracts and universal ethical principles like justice and dignity.

Attachment Theory

A psychological theory developed by John Bowlby explaining the biological and instinctive need for a child to form an emotional bond with primary caregivers.

Internal Working Model

A set of mental images and expectations a child forms about themselves and others based on early attachment, serving as a foundation for future relationships.

Pre-Attachment Stage

Bowlby's first stage ($birth$ to about $6\,weeks$) where infants respond to anyone who provides care to ensure protection.

Attachment-in-the-Making Stage

Bowlby's second stage (about $6\,weeks$ to $6-8\,months$) where infants show preference for familiar people and start to develop trust.

Clear-Cut Attachment Stage

Bowlby's third stage (about $6-8\,months$ to $2\,years$) where the child becomes attached to specific people and exhibits separation and stranger anxiety.

Formation of a Reciprocal Relationship

Bowlby's fourth stage ($2\,years$ onward) where children understand caregivers have goals and will return after leaving temporarily.

Secure Attachment

A form of attachment where the child trusts the caregiver and is easily comforted after separation; associated with healthy relationships later in life.

Anxious/Ambivalent Attachment

A form of attachment where the child is highly dependent, distressed by separation, and remains upset or angry upon the caregiver's return.

Avoidant Attachment

A form of attachment where the child tends to ignore or avoid the caregiver and shows little emotional response to separation or reunion.

Disorganized/Disoriented Attachment

A fourth style of attachment added by Mary Main and Judith Solomon ($1986$) characterized by inconsistent, confusing, or fearful behaviors.

Jean Piaget

A Swiss psychologist ($1896-1980$) who proposed that children are active learners who construct knowledge through interactions with their environment.

Constructivism

The process by which children actively build their own understanding of the world through exploration and experimentation.

Schemas

Mental frameworks or organized patterns of thought used to interpret and respond to experiences.

Assimilation

The process of integrating new experiences into existing schemas.

Accommodation

The process of modifying existing schemas or creating new ones when new information does not fit.

Equilibration

The internal drive to maintain a balance between assimilation and accommodation to drive cognitive development.

Sensorimotor Stage

Piaget's first stage ($birth-2\,years$) where knowledge is gained through sensory experiences and motor actions.

Object Permanence

The understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen, typically developing around $8-12\,months$.

Preoperational Stage

Piaget's second stage ($2-7\,years$) characterized by the use of symbols and imagination, but intuitive and egocentric thinking.

Egocentrism

Difficulty seeing things from another person's perspective.

Centration

The tendency to focus on only one aspect of a situation, such as judging quantity by appearance only.

Animism

The belief that inanimate objects have feelings or intentions.

Conservation

The understanding that quantity remains constant despite changes in shape or appearance.

Concrete Operational Stage

Piaget's third stage ($7-11\,years$) where children develop logical thinking about tangible situations including reversibility and classification.

Reversibility

The understanding that actions can be undone, such as pouring water back and the amount staying the same.

Formal Operational Stage

Piaget's fourth stage ($12\,years$ and beyond) involving abstract, systematic, and hypothetical thinking.

Metacognition

The ability to think about one's own thought processes.

Plasticity

A characteristic of human development meaning individuals have the capacity for change and adaptability across life stages.

Biopsychosocial Perspective

A holistic approach that integrates biological, psychological, and social factors to understand human development.

Human Intelligence Heritability

The degree to which genetic factors contribute to individual differences in intelligence within a population, estimated to be around $50-70\,\%$.

Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon

Psychologists who developed the first intelligence test in $1905$ to assess a child's mental age.

Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

Developed by Lewis Terman, it is a numerical representation of performance on an intelligence test where $100$ is the average score.

Charles Spearman's 'g factor' Theory

The proposal that a single general intelligence factor underlies all cognitive abilities, complemented by specific abilities ($s$).

Thorndike's Abstract Intelligence

The ability to understand and deal with ideas, symbols, and concepts like mathematical problems.

Thorndike's Mechanical Intelligence

The ability to understand and deal with concrete objects and physical mechanisms like repairing machines.

Thorndike's Social Intelligence

The ability to understand and manage people and act wisely in human relationships using empathy.

Gardner's Multiple Intelligences Theory

Howard Gardner's model proposing that intelligence consists of distinct abilities such as linguistic, spatial, and musical intelligence.

Intrapersonal Intelligence

The ability to have self-awareness, self-reflection, and an understanding of one's own motivations and goals.

Naturalistic Intelligence

The recognition and understanding of the natural world, including plants, animals, and ecological systems.

Motivation

A form of psychological energy that activates, directs, and sustains behavior toward a specific goal.

Intrinsic Motivation

An internal state that compels an individual to engage in an activity for its own sake without external rewards.

Extrinsic Motivation

Motivation that depends on external incentives such as rewards, grades, or recognition.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Abraham Maslow's $1943$ theory depicting five levels of human needs arranged in a pyramid from physiological to self-actualization.

Self-Actualization

The pinnacle of Maslow's hierarchy, referring to realizing one's full potential and pursuing personal growth.

McClelland's Achievement Theory

A theory proposing three key human motivators: achievement ($nAch$), affiliation ($nAff$), and power ($nPow$).

Need for Achievement ($nAch$)

The desire to excel, achieve standards of excellence, and succeed through personal responsibility and innovation.

Need for Power ($nPow$)

The desire to control, influence, or have an impact on others, divided into personal and institutional power.

John Locke's Theory of Motivation by Objectives

Also known as Goal-Setting Theory, it emphasizes that specific and challenging goals drive motivation and improve performance.

Skinner's Reinforcement Theory of Motivation

B.F. Skinner's theory that behavior is a function of its consequences, repeated when followed by favorable outcomes.

Positive Reinforcement

The addition of a pleasant stimulus after a desired behavior is exhibited to increase the likelihood of repetition.

Negative Reinforcement

The removal of an unpleasant stimulus when a desired behavior occurs to increase behavioral repetition.

Positive Punishment

The addition of an unfavorable consequence, such as a warning, to decrease an undesirable behavior.

Negative Punishment

The removal of a pleasant stimulus, like privileges, to decrease unwanted behavior.

Extinction

The decrease in behavior that occurs when a previously reinforced behavior is no longer followed by reinforcement.

Fixed Interval Schedule ($FI$)

A reinforcement schedule where rewards are provided after a fixed period of time has passed.

Variable Interval Schedule ($VI$)

A reinforcement schedule where rewards are provided after varying or unpredictable time intervals.

Fixed Ratio Schedule ($FR$)

A reinforcement schedule where rewards are given after a fixed number of specific responses have been completed.

Variable Ratio Schedule ($VR$)

A reinforcement schedule where rewards occur after an unpredictable number of responses; it produces the highest levels of motivation.