3.1-3.4 AP Psych Vocabulary

Longitudinal Research

A research design that involves repeated observations of the same variables over long periods of time, allowing researchers to track changes and developments.

Stability & Change

Behavior or characteristics over time, often assessed through longitudinal studies.

Nature vs. Nurture

The debate concerning the relative contributions of genetic inheritance and environmental factors to human development and behavior.

Cross-Sectional Research

A research design that analyzes data from a population at a specific point in time, allowing researchers to compare different groups.

Continuous and Discontinuous Stages of Development

Theories that describe development as a gradual, continuous process or as a series of distinct stages. Continuous development suggests a gradual change, while discontinuous development posits that individuals progress through specific stages.

Teratogens

Substances that can cause birth defects or harm to a developing fetus.

Maternal Illnesses

Conditions affecting a mother's health that can impact fetal development and result in complications during pregnancy.

Genetic Mutations

Changes in DNA that can lead to developmental disorders or diseases.

Rooting

A reflex in infants that involves turning the head and opening the mouth in response to a touch on the cheek, helping them find food.

Imprinting

The process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period shortly after birth, often to the first moving object they encounter.

Visual Cliff

An experimental setup used to test depth perception in infants and young animals, involving a glass surface that creates the illusion of a drop-off.

Critical Periods

Specific time frames during development when certain skills or abilities are most easily acquired.

Adolescence

The transitional stage of physical and psychological development that occurs between childhood and adulthood, typically ranging from ages 10 to 19.

Puberty

The period during which adolescents experience physical changes leading to sexual maturity, marked by hormonal changes and development of secondary sexual characteristics.

Primary Sex Characteristics

The physical features directly involved in reproduction, such as the ovaries and testes, that develop during puberty.

Secondary Sex Characteristics

The physical traits that emerge during puberty, such as breast development in females and facial hair in males, which are not directly involved in reproduction.

Menarche

The first occurrence of menstruation in females, marking the onset of fertility.

Spermache

The first occurrence of sperm production in males, marking the onset of fertility.

Menopause

The natural cessation of menstruation and fertility in females, typically occurring in middle age.

Jean Piaget

Best known for his research on children's cognitive development. Studied the intellectual development of his own three children and created a theory that described the stages that children pass through in the development of intelligence and formal thought processes.

Schema

A representation of a plan or theory in the form of an outline or model.

Assimilation

The process of incorporating new information into existing knowledge.

Accommodation

When new information or experiences cause you to modify your existing schemas

Sensorimotor Stage

Typically takes place within the first two years of a child's life. It is marked by the child discovering the difference between themselves and their environment. (Peak-a-boo)

Object Permanence

Describes a child's ability to know that objects continue to exist even though they can no longer be seen or heard.

Preoperational Stage

Cognitive development occurs between the ages of 2 and 7. Children build on object permanence and continue to develop abstract mental processes

Conservation

A scientific field that studies how humans relate to nature and how to encourage people to protect the environment.

Reversibility

The cognitive ability to understand that actions can be reversed, leading to the same or original state.

Egocentrism

A psychological tendency to see things from one's own perspective, and to have difficulty understanding other people's feelings.

Theory of Mind

The ability to understand that other people have mental states, like beliefs, emotions, and intentions

Concrete Operational Stage

A phase of cognitive development that usually occurs between the ages of 7 and 11. During this stage, children begin to think logically and use general rules to solve problems.

Formal Operational Stage

Characterized by the ability to think abstractly, reason logically, and solve problems using hypotheses.

Lev Vygotsky

Vygotsky's social development theory asserts that a child's cognitive development and learning ability can be guided and mediated by their social interactions.

Scaffold

Process that enables a child or novice to solve a problem, carry out a task or achieve a goal which would be beyond his unassisted efforts.

Zone of Proximal Development

The space between what a learner can do without assistance and what a learner can do with adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers.

Crystallized Intelligence

A person's general knowledge, vocabulary, and ability to reason using words and number

Dementia

A syndrome characterized by a progressive decline in cognitive functions, such as memory, thinking, reasoning, and problem-solving, that interferes with daily life and activities