AP Psychology: Unit 3 (ALL)

Developmental Psychology

The scientific study of how and why human beings change over the course of their life.

Stability and Change

The debate regarding which traits persist throughout life and which change as we age.

Nature vs. Nurture

The debate over the relative contributions of biology (nature) and experience (nurture) to human development.

Continuous and Discontinuous Stages of Development

Theories that describe development as either a smooth, gradual progression (continuous) or a series of distinct stages (discontinuous).

Cross-Sectional Research

A research method that compares people of different ages at a single point in time.

Longitudinal Research

A research method that studies the same participants repeatedly over a period of time.

Teratogens

Harmful substances or factors that can cause developmental issues or birth defects when a fetus is exposed to them.

Maternal Illnesses

Health conditions in the mother that can impact the developing fetus and potentially cause complications.

Lifespan development

The field of study that examines patterns of growth, change, and stability in behavior that occur throughout the lifespan.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

A condition resulting from alcohol exposure during pregnancy that causes brain damage and growth problems.

Genetic Mutations

Permanent alterations in the DNA sequence that can affect development and health.

Critical periods (fetal)

Specific time frames during fetal development when certain structures or functions must develop properly to avoid long-term issues.

Zygote-Embryo-Fetus

The stages of prenatal development

Rooting/sucking

Reflexes seen in infants where they turn their head and open their mouth in response to a touch on the cheek (rooting) and suck when something touches the roof of their mouth (sucking).

Visual Cliff (+unit 2)

A tool used to study depth perception in infants, demonstrating whether they can perceive depth.

Sensitive and critical periods (infancy)

Times during early development when certain skills or abilities are most easily learned.

Developmental milestone

Key skills or behaviors that most children are expected to achieve by a certain age.

Fine motor coordination

The ability to use small muscle groups for precise movements, such as picking up small objects.

Gross motor coordination

The ability to use large muscle groups for actions such as walking, running, or jumping.

Moro (startle) reflex

An infant’s automatic response to a sudden loss of support, characterized by extending their arms and legs.

Stepping reflex

An automatic movement where newborns make walking-like motions when their feet touch a solid surface.

Grasping reflex

A reflex in infants where they grasp objects placed in their hands.

Imprinting

The process by which certain animals form strong attachments during an early-life critical period.

Habituation

A decrease in response to a stimulus after repeated exposure to it.

Maturation

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

Growth spurt

A rapid increase in physical growth that occurs during puberty.

Adolescence

The transitional period from childhood to adulthood, marked by the onset of puberty and the development of independence.

Puberty

The period of sexual maturation during which a person becomes capable of reproducing.

Primary Sex Characteristics

The body structures directly involved in reproduction, such as ovaries and testes.

Secondary Sex Characteristics

Non-reproductive traits such as breast development, voice changes, and facial hair.

Menarche

A girl’s first menstrual period, signaling the start of reproductive capability.

Spermarche

A boy’s first ejaculation, signaling the start of sperm production.

Menopause

The time in a woman’s life when her menstrual periods permanently stop, marking the end of reproductive capability.

Sex

The biological classification of male or female based on reproductive anatomy.

Gender

The roles, behaviors, activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women.

Sexual Orientation

A person’s physical, sexual attraction towards others.

Role

The set of expectations about how someone in a particular social position should behave.

Gender Role

The societal expectations for how individuals should behave based on their gender.

Gender Identity

One’s personal sense of their own gender, which may or may not correspond with their sex assigned at birth.

Social Learning Theory

The theory that we learn social behavior by observing, imitating, and receiving rewards or punishments.

Gender Typing

The process by which a child becomes aware of their gender and behaves accordingly by adopting gender-specific behaviors.

Androgyny

The presence of both masculine and feminine characteristics in an individual.

Social Script

A culturally modeled guide for how to act in various situations.

Cognition

All the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.

Jean Piaget

A Swiss psychologist known for his theory of cognitive development in children.

Schema

A mental framework that helps organize and interpret information.

Assimilation

The process of interpreting new information using existing schemas.

Accommodation

The process of adjusting schemas to fit new information and experiences.

Sensorimotor Stage

Piaget’s first stage (birth to 2 years), where infants learn through sensory experiences and actions.

Object Permanence

The understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen.

Preoperational Stage

Piaget’s second stage (ages 2 to 7), where children begin to use language and mental imagery but do not understand conservation.

Conservation

The understanding that certain properties of objects remain the same despite changes in their form or appearance.

Reversibility

The understanding that certain operations can be done and undone.

Mental symbols

Representations of objects or events that allow children to think beyond the here and now.

Abstract thinking

The ability to think about ideas and concepts that are not physically present.

Egocentrism

In Piaget’s theory, a child’s difficulty in seeing a situation from another person’s point of view.

Theory of Mind

The ability to understand that others have thoughts, beliefs, and perspectives different from one’s own.

Concrete Operational Stage

Piaget’s third stage (ages 7 to 11), where children gain a better understanding of mental operations and begin thinking logically about concrete events.

Formal Operational Stage

Piaget’s fourth stage (ages 12 and up), where individuals develop the ability to think about abstract concepts.

Lev Vygotsky

A Russian psychologist who emphasized the role of social interaction in cognitive development.

Scaffold

A support mechanism provided by an adult or peer to help a child perform a task within their zone of proximal development.

Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

The range of tasks that a child can perform with the help and guidance of others but cannot yet perform independently.

Crystallized Intelligence

The accumulated knowledge and verbal skills that tend to increase with age.

Fluid Intelligence

The ability to reason speedily and abstractly, which tends to decrease during late adulthood.

Dementia

A broad category of cognitive disorders involving a decline in memory, problem-solving, and other cognitive skills that affect daily life.

Language

A system of communication that uses symbols, such as words and gestures, combined in meaningful ways according to grammatical rules.

Phonemes

The smallest units of sound in a language that can distinguish one word from another, such as “p” in “pat” and “b” in “bat.”

Morphemes

The smallest units of meaning in a language, which can be whole words (e.g., “dog”) or prefixes/suffixes (e.g., “un-” in “undo”).

Semantics

The study of meaning in language, including how words and sentences convey ideas and relationships.

Grammar

The system of rules in a language that enables communication and understanding, including syntax and semantics.

Syntax

The set of rules that govern the structure of sentences, determining how words are arranged to form meaningful expressions.

Universal Grammar (UG)

Noam Chomsky’s theory that all human languages share a common underlying structure and that humans are biologically predisposed to acquire language.

Cooing

The early stage of language development (around 6–8 weeks old) where infants produce vowel-like sounds such as “oooh” and “ahhh.”

Babbling

The stage of language development (around 4–6 months old) where infants produce repetitive consonant-vowel sounds like “ba-ba” and “da-da.”

One-Word Stage

The stage in language development (around 12 months old) when children begin using single words to communicate, such as “milk” or “dog.”

Two-Word Stage

The stage in language development (around 18–24 months old) when children start combining two words into simple sentences, such as “want cookie” or “go park.”

Telegraphic Speech

Early speech that consists mainly of content words, omitting smaller grammatical words, resembling telegrams (e.g., “want toy” instead of “I want the toy”).

Overgeneralization

The application of grammatical rules too broadly, such as a child saying “goed” instead of “went” or “tooths” instead of “teeth.”

Aphasia (also in Unit 1)

A language disorder caused by brain damage that affects speaking, understanding, reading, or writing.

Broca’s Area (also in Unit 1)

A region in the left frontal lobe responsible for speech production; damage to this area can cause difficulty in forming words (Broca’s aphasia).

Wernicke’s Area (also in Unit 1)

A region in the left temporal lobe responsible for language comprehension; damage to this area can result in speech that sounds fluent but lacks meaning (Wernicke’s aphasia).

Linguistic Determinism

The hypothesis, proposed by Benjamin Whorf, that language shapes the way we think and determines our perception of reality.

Linguistic Relativity

The idea that language influences thought but does not strictly determine it, meaning different languages can shape how people perceive and categorize the world.

Ecological Systems Theory

A framework developed by Urie Bronfenbrenner that explains how different environmental systems interact to influence human development.

Microsystem

The immediate environment in which an individual directly interacts, such as family, school, or peers.

Mesosystem

The interconnections between different microsystems, such as the relationship between a child’s home and school.

Exosystem

The larger social systems that indirectly affect an individual, such as a parent’s workplace or community services.

Macrosystem

The cultural, economic, and societal context in which an individual lives, influencing their beliefs and behaviors.

Chronosystem

The dimension of time in Bronfenbrenner’s theory, reflecting changes in environmental systems and life events over time.

Attachment

The emotional bond between an infant and their primary caregiver, essential for social and emotional development.

Diana Baumrind

A developmental psychologist known for her research on parenting styles.

Authoritarian Parenting

A strict parenting style characterized by high demands and low responsiveness.

Authoritative Parenting

A balanced parenting style characterized by high demands and high responsiveness, often leading to positive child outcomes.

Permissive Parenting

A lenient parenting style characterized by low demands and high responsiveness.

Neglectful Parenting

A parenting style characterized by low demands and low responsiveness, often resulting in poor developmental outcomes.

Secure Attachment

A healthy attachment style where the child feels safe and confident in the presence of the caregiver.

Insecure Attachment

A less optimal attachment style, often categorized into avoidant, anxious, or disorganized attachment.

Avoidant Attachment

A type of insecure attachment where the child avoids seeking comfort from the caregiver.

Anxious Attachment

A type of insecure attachment characterized by anxiety and uncertainty about the caregiver’s availability.

Disorganized Attachment

A type of insecure attachment characterized by inconsistent and contradictory behaviors toward the caregiver.