Lifespan Development – Chapter 9 (Psychology 2e, OpenStax)

Vocabulary flashcards cover essential terms, theories, stages, and key concepts from Chapter 9 on Lifespan Development, helping students review physical, cognitive, and psychosocial changes from conception through death.

Lifespan development

Field that studies how people change and stay the same physically, cognitively, and psychosocially across their whole lives.

Physical development

Domain of development focused on growth and changes in the body, brain, senses, motor skills, health, and wellness.

Cognitive development

Domain involving learning, attention, memory, language, thinking, reasoning, and creativity.

Psychosocial development

Domain examining emotions, personality, and social relationships.

Normative approach

Research strategy that seeks to establish typical developmental milestones by studying large groups.

Developmental milestone

Characteristic or skill most children achieve at a particular age, e.g., walking or speaking in sentences.

Continuous development

View that development is a gradual, cumulative process of quantitative change (e.g., steadily adding inches to height).

Discontinuous development

View that development proceeds through distinct, qualitative stages that occur at specific ages.

Stage theory

Perspective claiming that development follows a universal sequence of stages shared by all humans.

Nature

Influence of genetics and biology on behavior and traits.

Nurture

Influence of environment and culture on behavior and traits.

Twin study

Research design comparing identical and fraternal twins to estimate genetic vs environmental contributions.

Adoption study

Research comparing adopted children to biological and adoptive parents to assess heredity and environment.

Psychosexual theory

Freud’s stage model proposing that childhood pleasure-seeking urges focused on erogenous zones shape adult personality.

Sigmund Freud

Psychoanalyst who proposed five psychosexual stages and emphasized early childhood experiences.

Oral stage

Freud’s first stage (0-1 yr) where pleasure centers on the mouth; fixation may lead to smoking, overeating.

Anal stage

Freud’s second stage (1-3 yrs) focused on bowel/bladder control; fixation may cause orderliness or messiness.

Phallic stage

Freud’s third stage (3-6 yrs) in which the genitals are the pleasure zone and Oedipus/Electra conflicts arise.

Latency stage

Freud’s fourth stage (6-puberty) marked by dormant sexual feelings and focus on social and intellectual skills.

Genital stage

Freud’s final stage (puberty onward) when mature sexual interests emerge.

Psychosocial theory

Erikson’s lifespan model of eight stages, each involving a social conflict that influences personality.

Erik Erikson

Psychologist who emphasized social factors and proposed eight psychosocial stages across the lifespan.

Trust vs. mistrust

Erikson’s first stage (0-1 yr): infants learn whether needs will be met, forming basic trust or mistrust.

Autonomy vs. shame/doubt

Erikson’s second stage (1-3 yrs): toddlers seek independence; success builds autonomy, failure yields shame.

Initiative vs. guilt

Erikson’s third stage (3-6 yrs): children initiate activities; praise fosters initiative, criticism produces guilt.

Industry vs. inferiority

Erikson’s fourth stage (7-11 yrs): mastering tasks leads to a sense of competence; repeated failure breeds inferiority.

Identity vs. role confusion

Erikson’s fifth stage (12-18 yrs): adolescents explore roles to form identity; lack of direction creates confusion.

Intimacy vs. isolation

Erikson’s sixth stage (19-29 yrs): young adults form close relationships or feel socially isolated.

Generativity vs. stagnation

Erikson’s seventh stage (30-64 yrs): adults contribute to society/family or become self-absorbed.

Integrity vs. despair

Erikson’s eighth stage (65+): older adults reflect on life with satisfaction (integrity) or regret (despair).

Cognitive theory (Piaget)

Stage theory stating that children’s thinking progresses through four universal stages.

Schema (schemata)

Mental concept or framework for organizing and interpreting information.

Assimilation

Incorporating new information into existing schemata.

Accommodation

Modifying existing schemata to fit new information.

Sensorimotor stage

Piaget’s first stage (0-2 yrs) where infants learn through senses and actions.

Object permanence

Understanding that objects continue to exist even when out of sight; develops in sensorimotor stage.

Preoperational stage

Piaget’s second stage (2-6 yrs) marked by symbolic thinking but limited logical reasoning.

Egocentrism

Preoperational child’s difficulty in taking another’s viewpoint.

Concrete operational stage

Piaget’s third stage (7-11 yrs) where logical thinking about concrete events emerges.

Conservation

Understanding that quantity remains the same despite changes in shape; mastered in concrete operations.

Formal operational stage

Piaget’s fourth stage (12+ yrs) characterized by abstract, hypothetical reasoning.

Abstract reasoning

Ability to think about concepts and ideas not tied to concrete experiences.

Theory of moral development

Kohlberg’s framework describing progression of moral reasoning through pre-conventional, conventional, and post-conventional levels.

Prenatal development

Period from conception to birth, divided into germinal, embryonic, and fetal stages.

Zygote

One-cell organism formed at conception before mitosis begins.

Embryo

Developing organism during weeks 3-8 when major organs begin to form.

Placenta

Organ that supplies oxygen and nutrients from mother to embryo/fetus through the umbilical cord.

Teratogen

Any environmental agent that can cause damage to the developing embryo or fetus.

Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)

Set of physical and cognitive abnormalities caused by heavy prenatal alcohol exposure.

Newborn reflexes

Automatic, inborn responses (e.g., rooting, sucking) that aid survival in neonates.

Rooting reflex

Infant turns head toward a cheek touch, aiding in locating food source.

Sucking reflex

Rhythmic sucking when something touches an infant’s mouth area.

Grasping reflex

Automatic closing of infant’s fingers around an object placed in the hand.

Moro reflex

Startle response where infant flings out arms then retracts them when feeling a loss of support.

Blooming period

Early burst of neural connections forming during infancy and toddlerhood.

Pruning period

Reduction of unused neural connections during childhood and adolescence, increasing efficiency.

Fine motor skills

Small-muscle movements such as grasping a pencil or focusing the eyes.

Gross motor skills

Large-muscle movements like walking, running, or balancing.

Attachment

Long-standing emotional bond between infant and caregiver.

Harlow’s surrogate mother study

Research showing infant monkeys prefer comforting cloth mothers over wire ones that provide food, highlighting contact comfort.

Secure base

Caregiver presence that provides a child a sense of safety to explore, central to Bowlby’s theory.

Strange Situation

Ainsworth’s lab procedure assessing infant attachment by observing reactions to separations and reunions with the caregiver.

Secure attachment

Style where infant uses caregiver as base, shows distress on separation, and is soothed on reunion.

Avoidant attachment

Style where infant shows indifference to caregiver’s departure and return; linked to insensitive parenting.

Resistant attachment

Style with clinginess, intense distress on separation, and difficulty calming on reunion; tied to inconsistent caregiving.

Disorganized attachment

Style with odd, erratic behaviors; often associated with abuse or severe neglect.

Self-concept

Individual’s conscious sense of self including traits, roles, and personal identity.

Temperament

Innate style of emotional reactivity and behavior present from infancy.

Authoritative parenting

Style characterized by high warmth and reasonable rules; linked to positive child outcomes.

Authoritarian parenting

Style with high demands, low warmth, and emphasis on obedience.

Permissive parenting

Style with high warmth but few demands or controls.

Uninvolved parenting

Style marked by indifference, minimal involvement, and few demands.

Puberty

Period of sexual maturation marked by adrenarche, gonadarche, and secondary sex-characteristic development.

Menarche

First menstrual period, typically around age 12-13.

Spermarche

First ejaculation, usually around age 13-14.

Cognitive empathy

Ability to understand another’s perspective and feelings; increases during adolescence.

Emerging adulthood

Transitional period from 18 to mid-20s focused on exploring work, love, and worldviews.

Crystallized intelligence

Knowledge and skills acquired through experience; remains stable or improves with age.

Fluid intelligence

Ability to process information, reason, and remember; tends to decline in later adulthood.

Socioemotional selectivity theory

Idea that older adults narrow social networks to emotionally meaningful relationships.

Kubler-Ross’s stages of grief

Five-stage model of emotional response to dying: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance.