AP PSYCH - DEVELOPMENT & LEANRING (UNIT 3)

Developmental Psychology

Study of how people grow and change over time.

Teratogens

Harmful substances (e.g., alcohol, drugs) that can hurt a baby during pregnancy.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (F.A.S.)

Birth defects caused by drinking alcohol during pregnancy.

Habituation

Getting used to something so you stop noticing it.

Maturation

Natural physical and mental growth that happens with age.

Sensorimotor Stage

(0–2 years) Babies learn through senses and actions.

Preoperational Stage

(2–7 years) Kids think magically and are egocentric (can’t see others’ perspectives).

Egocentrism

Only understanding things from your point of view.

Theory of Mind

Realizing others have thoughts and feelings.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

A condition that affects communication and social interactions.

Concrete Operational Stage

(7–11 years) Kids think logically about things they can see and understand conservation.

Conservation

Knowing the amount of something stays the same even if it looks different.

Formal Operational Stage

(12+ years) People think abstractly and solve complex problems.

Scaffold

Support given to help a child learn something new.

Phoneme

Smallest sound in a word (e.g., 'ch' in 'chip').

Morpheme

Smallest unit of meaning in language (e.g., 'un-', '-ing').

Universal Grammar

Chomsky’s idea that all humans are born with the ability to learn language.

Babbling Stage

(4 months) Babies make random sounds.

One-Word Stage

(1 year) Babies speak single words.

Two-Word Stage

(2 years) Kids speak in simple phrases.

Aphasia

Difficulty speaking or understanding language due to brain damage.

Linguistic Determinism

Language completely shapes how we think.

Linguistic Relativism

Language influences but doesn’t control our thinking.

Stranger Anxiety

Fear of strangers (starts ~8 months).

Separation Anxiety

Upset when separated from a caregiver.

Ecological Systems Theory

Bronfenbrenner’s idea that different environments influence development.

Attachment

Emotional bond with a caregiver.

Critical Period

Specific time when development is easiest (e.g., language learning).

Imprinting

When animals attach to the first thing they see (e.g., baby ducks).

Temperament

A person’s natural emotional style.

Secure Attachment

Feeling safe with a caregiver.

Insecure Attachment

Feeling worried or distant from a caregiver.

Basic Trust

Feeling the world is safe and predictable, learned in childhood.

Anxious Attachment

Clingy and fearful of rejection.

Avoidant Attachment

Distant and avoids closeness.

Self-Concept

How someone sees and values themselves.

Autonomy

Independence (2–3 years).

Initiative

Confidence to take actions (3–5 years).

Competence/Industry

Feeling capable of learning and doing things (6–12 years).

Authoritative

Loving but sets clear rules.

Authoritarian

Strict with little warmth.

Permissive

Too lenient and indulgent.

Neglectful

Not involved in the child’s life.

Aggression

Behavior intended to harm someone.

Social Learning Theory

Learning by watching others.

Gender Typing

Learning society’s roles for boys or girls.

Androgyny

Having both masculine and feminine traits.

Gender Identity

How you see yourself as male, female, or neither.

Sexual Orientation

Who you are attracted to romantically.

X/Y Chromosomes

X = female, Y = male.

Testosterone

Male hormone.

Estrogen

Female hormone.

Menopause

When women stop having periods (~50 years).

Learning

Gaining new knowledge or skills.

Associative Learning

Connecting two events.

Stimulus

Something that causes a reaction.

Neutral Stimulus (NS)

Something that doesn’t cause a response yet.

Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

Something that naturally triggers a response.

Unconditioned Response (UR)

Natural reaction to a stimulus.

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

Learned trigger for a response.

Conditioned Response (CR)

Learned reaction to a stimulus.

Extinction

When a learned behavior fades.

Spontaneous Recovery

When a faded behavior returns.

Generalization

Responding to similar stimuli.

Discrimination

Knowing the difference between similar stimuli.

Law of Effect

Behaviors with good outcomes happen more.

Reinforcement

Encourages a behavior.

Punishment

Discourages a behavior.

Shaping

Rewarding small steps toward a goal.

Positive Reinforcement

Adding something good to increase behavior.

Negative Reinforcement

Taking away something bad to increase behavior.

Primary Reinforcer

Natural reward (e.g., food).

Conditioned Reinforcer

Learned reward (e.g., money).

Fixed-Ratio

Reward after a set number of actions.

Variable-Ratio

Reward after a random number of actions.

Fixed-Interval

Reward after a set amount of time.

Variable-Interval

Reward after a random amount of time.

Cognitive Map

Mental layout of a space (Tolman).

Latent Learning

Learning that shows up later.

Insight Learning

Sudden understanding of a problem.

Observational Learning

Learning by watching others (Bandura).

Bobo Doll Experiment

Kids mimic aggression they see (Bandura).

Mirror Neurons

Brain cells that help with imitation.

Prosocial Behavior

Positive, helpful actions.

Antisocial Behavior

Negative, harmful actions.

Jean Piaget

Cognitive development stages.

Harry Harlow

Attachment in monkeys.

Mary Ainsworth

Types of attachment.

Albert Bandura

Social learning theory.

Erik Erikson

Psychosocial development stages.

Edward Tolman

Cognitive maps.

Robert Rescorla

Predictability in classical conditioning.

B.F. Skinner

Operant conditioning.

Edward Thorndike

Law of Effect.

John Garcia

Taste aversion.

John Watson/Rosalie Rayner

Little Albert experiment.

Ivan Pavlov

Classical conditioning.

Diana Baumrind

Parenting styles.

Konrad Lorenz

Imprinting in animals.

Noam Chomsky

Universal grammar.