unit 3: developmental psych + learning

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developmental psychology

a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span.

cross-sectional study

research that compares people of different ages at the same point in time

longitudinal study

research that follows and retests the same people over time

continuous development

view that development is a cumulative process: gradually improving on existing skills

discontinuous development

view that development takes place in unique stages, which happen at specific times or ages

teratogens

agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm.

fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)

physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman's heavy drinking. In severe cases, signs include a small, out-of-proportion head and abnormal facial features.

habituation

decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner.

maturation

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

visual cliff

a laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

Stressful or traumatic experiences, including abuse, neglect, and a range of household dysfunction, such as witnessing domestic violence or growing up with substance abuse, mental disorders, parental discord, or crime in the home.

cognition

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

schema

a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information.

assimilation

interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas.

accommodation

adapting our current schemas (understandings) to incorporate new information.

sensorimotor stage

in Piaget's theory, the stage (from birth to nearly 2 years of age) during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities.

object permanence

the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived.

preoperational stage

in Piaget's theory, the stage (from about 2 to 6 or 7 years of age) during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic.

conservation

the principle (which Piaget believed to be a part of concrete operational reasoning) that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects.

egocentrism

in Piaget's theory, the preoperational child's difficulty taking another's point of view.

theory of mind

people's ideas about their own and others' mental states—about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict.

reversibility

the capacity to think through a series of steps and then mentally reverse direction, returning to the starting point

pretend play

make-believe play in which common objects are often used to symbolize other objects

parallel play

activity in which children play side by side without interacting

concrete operational stage

in Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about 7 to 11 years of age) at which children can perform the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete (actual, physical) events.

formal operational stage

in Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (normally beginning about age 12) during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts.

scaffold

in Vygotsky's theory, a framework that offers children temporary support as they develop higher levels of thinking.

zone of proximal development

the difference between what children can do with assistance and what they can do alone

Ecological Systems Theory

a theory of the social environment's influence on human development, using five nested systems (microsystem; mesosystem; exosystem; macrosystem; chronosystem) ranging from direct to indirect influences.

identity status theory

Marcia's theory that looks at one's sense of identity as being determined largely by the choices and commitments made. There are four identity statuses: diffusion, foreclosure, moratorium, achievement

stranger anxiety

the fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months of age.

attachment

an emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to their caregiver and showing distress on separation.

critical period

an optimal period early in the life of an organism when exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces normal development.

sensitive period

Developmental timing during which the brain is particularly responsive to certain experiences

fine motor skills

physical abilities to coordinate small body movements, especially of the hands and fingers, such as writing and picking up a coin

gross motor skills

physical abilities involving control and coordination of large body movements, such as walking and jumping

imprinting

the process by which certain animals form strong attachments during early life.

attachment

an emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to the caregiver and showing distress on separation

strange situation

a procedure for studying child-caregiver attachment; a child is placed in an unfamiliar environment while their caregiver leaves and then returns, and the child's reactions are observed.

secure attachment

demonstrated by infants who comfortably explore environments in the presence of their caregiver, show only temporary distress when the caregiver leaves, and find comfort in the caregiver's return.

insecure attachment

demonstrated by infants who display either a clinging, anxious attachment; an avoidant attachment that resists closeness; or a disorganized attachment with no consistent behavior when separated from or reunited with caregivers.

temperament

a person's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity.

basic trust

according to Erik Erikson, a sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy; said to be formed during infancy by appropriate experiences with responsive caregivers.

self-concept

all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves in answer to the question, "Who am I?"

sex

in psychology, the biologically influenced characteristics by which people define male, female, and intersex

gender

in psychology, the attitudes, feelings, and behaviors that a given culture associates with a person's biological sex.

role

a set of expectations (norms) about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave.

gender role

a set of expected behaviors, attitudes, and traits for men or for women.

gender identity

our sense of being male, female, or some combination of the two.

social learning theory

the theory that we learn social behavior by observing and imitating and by being rewarded or punished.

adolescence

the transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence.

puberty

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

identity

our sense of self; according to Erikson, the adolescent's task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating various roles.

social identity

the "we" aspect of our self-concept; the part of our answer to "Who am I?" that comes from our group memberships.

intimacy

in Erikson's theory, the ability to form close, loving relationships; a primary developmental task in young adulthood.

emerging adulthood

a period from about age 18 to the mid-twenties, when many in Western cultures are no longer adolescents but have not yet achieved full independence as adults.

social clock

the culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement

primary sex characteristics

the body structures (ovaries, testes, and external genitalia) that make sexual reproduction possible. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 546)

secondary sex characteristics

nonreproductive sexual traits, such as female breasts and hips, male voice quality, and body hair. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 546)

spermarche

the first ejaculation.

menarche

the first menstrual period.

sexual orientation

our enduring sexual attraction, usually toward members of our own sex (homosexual orientation) or the other sex (heterosexual orientation); variations include attraction toward both sexes (bisexual orientation). (Myers Psychology for AP 3e p. 549)

menopause

the time of natural cessation of menstruation; also refers to the biological changes a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declines.

language

our agreed-upon systems of spoken, written, or signed words, and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning.

phoneme

in language, the smallest distinctive sound unit

morpheme

in a language, the smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or a part of a word (such as a prefix)

grammar

in a language, a system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others

semantics

the language's set of rules for deriving meaning from sounds

syntax

the language's set of rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences.

cooing stage

at about 2 months the infant begins to make vowel-like sounds

babbling stage

beginning at about 4 months, the stage of speech development in which the infant spontaneously utters various sounds that are not all related to the household language

one-word stage

the stage in speech development, from about age 1 to 2, during which a child speaks mostly in single words

two-word stage

beginning about age 2, the stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly two-word statements

telegraphic speech

early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram—"go car"—using mostly nouns and verbs.

overgeneralization

applying grammar rules in areas they don't apply ("I writed a story"; goed; comed)

learning

a relatively permanent change in an organism's behavior due to experience

habituation

decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation.

associative learning

learning that certain events occur together. The events may be two stimuli (as in classical conditioning) or a response and its consequences (as in operant conditioning).

stimulus

any event or situation that evokes a response

neutral stimulus

in classical conditioning, a stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning

classical conditioning

a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events

unconditioned stimulus

in classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally—naturally and automatically—triggers a response.

unconditioned response

in classical conditioning, an unlearned, naturally occurring response to an unconditioned stimulus

conditioned stimulus

in classical conditioning, an originally neutral stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned response

conditioned response

in classical conditioning, the learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS)

acquisition

In classical conditioning, the initial stage, when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response

higher-order conditioning

a procedure in which the conditioned stimulus in one conditioning experience is paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a second (often weaker) conditioned stimulus.

extinction

the diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs in classical conditioning when an unconditioned stimulus (US) does not follow a conditioned stimulus (CS); occurs in operant conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced.

spontaneous recovery

the reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response

biological preparedness

a biological predisposition to learn associations, such as between taste and nausea, that have survival value

taste aversion

A classically conditioned dislike for and avoidance of a particular food that develops when an organism becomes ill after eating the food.

generalization

the tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses

discrimination

in classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus

operant conditioning

a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished if followed by a punisher

reinforcement

any event that strengthens the behavior it follows

shaping

an operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior

positive reinforcement

any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response and increases the behavior

negative reinforcement

Increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response.

reinforcement schedule

a pattern that defines how often a desired response will be reinforced

continuous reinforcement schedule

reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs