AP Psychology Unit 9 Vocabulary

Developmental Psychology (9)

Developmental Psychology (9)

Branch of psychology that studies the changes from the womb to the tomb

Zygote (9)

Fertilized egg; turns into an embryo after 2 weeks of rapid cell division

Embryo (9)

The developing human 2 weeks after fertilization through the second month

Fetus (9)

A developing human from 9 weeks after conception to birth

Teratogens (9)

Things like chemicals and viruses that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm

FAS (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome) (9)

Physical and cognitive abnormalities in kids caused by pregnant women's drinking

Habituation (9)

Less response to stimulus with more exposure to stimulus

Maturation (9)

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

Cognition (9)

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

Schema (9)

Concept or framework that organizes and interprets info. An explanation for the world. (Example: All four legged animals are cows)

Assimilation (9)

Interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schema. Putting new ideas/experiences into our schemas. (Trying to call a moose a cow because it has four legs)

Accommodation (9)

Adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information

Sensorimotor Stage (9)

Stage from birth to about 2 years where infants know the world mostly through sensory impressions and motor activities

Object Permanence (9)

Knowing something's still there even when you can't see it

Preoperational Stage (9)

Stage from 2 to about 6 or 7 where child learns to use language but doesn't yet understand concrete logic

Conservation (9)

Principle that properties of mass, volume, and space/number remain the same despite changes in forms of objects (knowing that the two glasses have the same amount of liquids even though one looks taller)

Egocentrism (9)

Preoperation child's difficulty taking another point of view ("Do you have a brother?" 'Yes' "Does your brother have a brother?" 'No')

Theory of Mind (9)

An inference of one's own and other's thoughts/feelings/perceptions used to predict. Early non-egocentrism. (Example: When a kid around 4 or 5 is shown that a box of Band-Aids has pencils instead of Band-Aids, they, now being a little bit older, will anticipate that if their friend who didn't know the answer will guess that the box has Band-Aids. 3 year olds anticipate that their friends will assume that there are pencils in the box, since they have egocentrism)

Concrete Operational Stage (9)

Stage from about 6 or 7 to 11 years where kids can think logically about concrete events and understand conservation

Formal Operational Stage (9)

Stage beginning at around age 12 where kids can think logically about abstract concepts. They understand that Mary is in school if John is in school when told prior that if John is in school that Mary is in school

Autism (9)

Disorder that appears in childhood that shows deficient communication and social interaction alongside difficulty understanding other's states of mind. (Example: They might not understand that a person with a pouting face means that they're upset)

Stranger Anxiety (9)

Fear of strangers infants develop at around 8 months

Attachment (9)

Emotional tie with another person

Critical Period (9)

Optimal period shortly after birth where an organism's exposure to stimuli/experiences produce proper development. Point where children start to make attachments. Before imprinting

Imprinting (9)

Process where certain animals form attachments during critical period

Temperament (9)

Person's characteristic reactivity and intensity. How much they react (Having high of this means more crying and screaming, and low of this meaning less of the crying and screaming)

Basic Trust (9)

Sense that world is predictable and trustworthy. This is formed during infancy by appropriate experiences with responsive caregivers

Self-Concept (9)

An understanding and evaluation of who we are

Gender (9)

Biologically and socially characteristics which people define "male" or "female"

Aggression (9)

Physical and verbal behavior intended to hurt someone

X Chromosome (9)

Sex chromosome in both genders. Girls have two, guys have one. When both parents give this chromosome, you get a girl

Y Chromosome (9)

Male only sex chromosome. When the father gives this chromosome with the mother given chromosome, you get a boy

Testosterone (9)

Most important male sex hormone. Extra of this hormone in males causes penis development/growth in the fetus and development of sexual characteristics during puberty

Role (9)

Set of norms/expectations/status quo about social position. Defines how those in position ought to react

Gender Role (9)

Set of expected behaviors for males or females

Gender Typing (9)

Acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role

Gender Identity (9)

Our sense of being male or female

Social Learning Theory (9)

Theory that we learn social behavior by observing, imitating, and by being rewarded or punished

Adolescence (9)

Transition period from childhood to adulthood; from puberty to independence

Puberty (9)

Period of sexual maturation. Period where person can reproduce

Primary Sex Characteristics (9)

Reproductive organs and external genitalia. Body structures that make reproduction possible (Examples: ovaries, testicles, penis, vagina)

Secondary Sex Characteristics (9)

Non-Reproductive sexual characteristics (Examples: breasts, hips, male voice, body hair)

Menarche (9)

A girl's first period

Identity (9)

Our sense of self; Erikson says that the adolescent achieves this by testing and integrating various roles

Social Identity (9)

The "we" aspect of our self-concept; the part that comes from our group memberships. Basically, who we are in a group

Intimacy (9)

In Erikson's theory, the ability to form close, loving relationships; a primary developmental task in late adolescence and early adulthood. Basically, the ability to love

Emerging Adulthood (9)

For some people, the bridge between adolescent dependence and adulthood. Period is from late teens to mid twenties

Menopause (9)

End of menstrual cycle. Basically when you can't have babies anymore

Cross-Sectional Study (9)

Study where people of different ages are compared with one another

Longitudinal Study (9)

Research where the same people are restudied and retested over a long period of time

Crystallized Intelligence (9)

Our gathered knowledge and verbal skills. This tends to increase with age

Fluid Intelligence (9)

Our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood

Social Clock (9)

The right time/culturally preferred timing to do social events like marry or have kids