AP Psychology Unit 3

Developmental psychology

branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development throughout the lifespan 

cross-sectional study

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

longitudinal study

research that follows and retests the same people over time

tetratogens

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 function deficits in children caused by their birth mother’s heavy drinking during pregnancy.

in severe cases, symptoms include a small, out-of-proportion head and distinct facial features

zygote

 fertilized egg; grows through cell division in germinal stages of pregnancy (when developmental issues such as down syndrome develop)

embryo

organism during first eight weeks or embryonic stage after conception when it attaches to lining of uterus, embryonic stem cells (capable in forming into any organ), differentiation-cell begin to specialize in embryonic stage of pregnancy

fetus

developing embryo between embryonic stage and birth

habituation

decreasing responsiveness w/ repeated stimulation.

as infants gain familiarity w/ repeated exposure to a stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner

maturation

 a biological growth process that enables orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience.

critical period

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

cognition

 all the mental activities associated w/ thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

schema

a concept or framework that organizes and interprets info

assimilation

interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas

accommodation

adapting our current schemas (understandings) to incorporate new info

Sensorimotor stage

in Piaget’s theory, the stage (from birth to nearly 2yrs of age) at which infants know the world 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 2 to 6 or 7yrs of age) at 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 pre operational child’s difficulty taking another’s point of view

concrete operational stage

In Piaget’s theory,

the stage of cognitive development (from age 7 to 11) 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) at 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

Lev Vygotsky

-child mind grows through social-cultural environment

believed children learn best when the social environment presents them w/ something in the sweet spot between too easy and too difficult.

-young apprentice

Jean Piaget

-child mind grows through interaction w/ Physical environment

-believed a child’s mind develops through a series of stages, in an upward march from the newborn’s simple reflexes to the adult’s abstract reasoning power

-young scientist

Zone of proximal development

-zone between what a child can and can’t do

-it’s what a child can do w/ help 

Theory of mind

people’s ideas about their own and other metal states

-about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict

Language

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

Noam Chomsky

proposed that children are born w/ mental structures built into the brain that make it possible to comprehend and produce speech. 

Language Acquisition Device (LAD)

a hypothetical tool in Broca’s area that helps children learn language by applying universal grammar to the language they hear

Phoneme

smallest distinctive sound unit 

Morpheme

smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or part of a word 

Grammar

system of rules enabling us to communicate w/ and understand others

-ie. semantics, syntax

Universal Grammar (UG)

human’s predisposition to understand principles that govern grammar in all languages

syntax

set of rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences

semantics

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

babbling stage

-the stage in speech development, beginning around 4 months

-an 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

- a child speaks mostly in single words

two-word stage

-the stage in speech development, beginning about age 2

-a child speaks mostly in two-word sentences

telegraph speech

the early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram

-”go car”: using mostly nouns and verbs

Aphasia

impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage to Broca’s area (impairing speaking) or Wernicke’s area (impairing understanding).

Broca’s area

• a frontal lobe brain area, usually in the left hemisphere 

• Helps control language expression by directing muscle movements involved in speech 

Wernicke’s area

• A brain area, usually in the left temporal lobe

• Involved in language comprehension and expression

Paul broca

confirmed that after damage to a an area of the left frontal lobe (Broca’s area) a person would struggle to speak words, yet could still sing familiar songs and comprehend speech

Carl Wernicke

discovered that after damage to a specific area of the left temporal lobe (Wernicke’s area), people could not understand others’ sentences and could speak only meaningless sentences

Linguistic determinism

 language determines that way we think

Linguistic relativism

 language influences the way we think

Benjamin Lee Whorf

Benjamin Whorf’s theory is based on studying the Hopi language, which has no past tense, and thus the Hopi could not readily think about the past 

ecological systems theory

a theory of the social environment’s influence on human development, using five nested systems

-microsystem

-mesosytem

-exosystem

-macrosystem

-chronosystem

ranging from direct to indirect influences

stranger anxiety

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

attachment

an emotional tie w/ others; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to caregivers and showing distress on separation

imprinting

Process by which certain animals form strong attachments during early life

Harry Harlow

did a studies on attachment in newborn rhesus monkeys  bond w/ their mothers 

Attachment develop “tactile comfort” 

→ infants have an innate (biological) need to touch and cling something for emotional comfort 

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 a clinging

-anxious attachment:

-avoidant attachment:resists closeness

-disorganized attachment:no consistent behavior when separated from or reunited w/ caregivers

temperament

a person’s characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity

Erik Erikson

believed that securely attached children approach life w/ a sense that the world is predictable and reliable.

basic trust

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

self-concept

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

Diana Baumrind

researched what kinds of parenting helped children through nursery school observations (ie. rating self-control and independence), parent-child interactions and interviewing parents.

4 parenting styles

-authoritarian'

-permissive

-neglectful

-authoritative

Margaret Harlow

w/ Harry Harlow, did a studies on attachment in newborn rhesus monkeys  bond w/ their mothers 

Attachment develop “tactile comfort” 

→ infants have an innate (biological) need to touch and cling something for emotional comfort 

Konrad Lorenz

studied imprinting

Mary Ainsworth

-studied attachment in humans by observing young children in a variety of carefully contrived “strange situations”

-Ex.separating children from their mothers and see their reactions 

adolescence

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

puberty

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

menopause

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

identity

our sense of self; according to Erickson, 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 18 to the middle twenties, when many persons in prosperous Western cultures are no longer adolescents but have not test achieved full independence as adults

social clock

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

overgeneralization

occurs when a child applies a rule too widely and creates an incorrect form (ie. I catch it)

rooting reflex

(when touched on cheek)

-look for nipple to breastfeed and then begin sucking

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 associate w/ a person’s biological sex

continuity vs disontinuity

development is a gradual, continuous process or does it go through a sequence of separate stages.

contact comfort

the emotional and physical comfort an infant receives from being physically close to their caregiver, most often their mother

intersex

possessing male and female biological sexual characteristics at birth

aggression

any physical or verbal behavior intended to harm someone physically or emotionally

relational aggression

an act of aggression (physical or verbal) intended to harm a person’s relationship or social standing

Carol Gilligan

believed females tend to differ from males both in being less concerned w/ viewing themselves separate individuals and in being more concerned w/ “making connections”

x chromosome

-the sex chromosome found in females and males

-females typically have two X chromosomes

-males typically have one.

-an X chromosomes from each parent produces a female child

Y chromosome

-the sex chromosome typically found only in males

-when paired w/ an X chromosome from the mother, it produces a male child.

Testosterone

- the most important male sex hormone

-males and females have it, but the additional testosterone in males stimulates the growth of the male sex organs during the fetal period, and the development of male sex characteristics during puberty.

estrogens

-sex hormones, such as estradiol, that contribute to female sex characteristics and are secreted in greater amounts by females than by males.

primary sex characteristics

the body structures (ovaries, testes and external genitalia) that make sexual reproduction possible

secondary sex characteristics

nonproductive sexual traits, such as female breasts and hips, male voice quality, and body hair

spermarche

the firstt ejaculation

menarche

the first menstrual period

role

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

gender role

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

sexual aggression

any physical or verbal behavior of a sexual nature that is unwanted or intended to harm someone physically or emotionally

-sexual harassment or sexual assault

social learning theory

theory that we learn gender identity as we learn other things: through reinforcement, punishment, and observation.

gender typing

the acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role

androgyny

blending traditionally masculine and traditionally feminine psychological characteristics

sexuality

our thoughts, feelings, and actions related to our physical attraction to another

assexual

having no sexual attraction toward others

social script

a culturally modeled guide for how to act in various situations

sexual orientation

according to the APA (2015), “a person’s sexual and emotional attraction to another person and the behavior and/ or social affiliation that may result from this attraction.