PSYC MODULE 6 - Comprehensive Psychology and Human Development: Sex, Gender, Brain, and Behavior

Biological sex

Driven by genetics and physiology, characterized by chromosomes, hormones, and anatomical structures.

Sociocultural gender

A socially constructed framework of roles, psychology, cultural conditioning, and identity.

Gender identity

A person's inner sense of being a man, woman, both, or neither.

Cisgender

The state in which a person's biological sex matches their internal gender identity.

Transgender

The state in which a person's biological sex conflicts with their internal gender identity.

Gender Similarities Hypothesis

Dr. Janet Hyde's theory stating that males and females are cognitively and psychologically similar in almost all domains.

Parental Investment Theory

The evolutionary proposition that modern psychological gender differences stem from natural selection acting differently on ancestral sexes due to differing reproductive costs.

Social Role Theory

The framework suggesting that societies assign gender norms based on historical labor divisions.

Social Learning Theory

The premise that children learn gendered behaviors by imitating observable models and receiving environmental reinforcement.

Gender Schema Theory

The cognitive framework holding that children construct structures that group concepts into 'masculine' or 'feminine' categories.

Human Sexual Response Cycle

The four-stage physiological model identified by Masters and Johnson consisting of Excitement, Plateau, Orgasm, and Resolution.

SRY gene

The gene on the Y chromosome that triggers male gonadal development by initiating the release of testosterone.

Refractory period

A mandatory physiological recovery period experienced by biological males during the Resolution stage before another orgasm can occur.

2D:4D finger length ratio

An anatomical proxy tracker used to measure relative exposure to testosterone during prenatal development.

Gay Uncle Hypothesis

An evolutionary theory suggesting that non-reproducing family members enhance the survival of their genetic lineage by supporting relatives.

Vasocongestion

The biological process of increased blood flow causing tissue engorgement and vaginal lubrication.

Personality Paradox

The finding that highly progressive, egalitarian nations exhibit larger gender gaps in personality traits because social freedom allows biological differences to be expressed.

Paraphilic disorders

Compulsive, atypical sexual urges or behaviors that cause objective distress, harm, or involve nonconsensual acts.

Sexual dysfunctions

The localized inability to successfully complete a phase of the human sexual response cycle, typically rooted in biological or vascular issues.

Homosexism

Prejudice, bias, or systemic discrimination directed against homosexual individuals.

Cephalocaudal vector

A developmental principle stating that structural progression operates from the top-down, prioritizing the head and neural components.

Proximodistal vector

A developmental principle stating that structural progression operates from the inside-out, prioritizing central organs before peripheral components.

Accommodation

A Piagetian cognitive process where existing mental schemas are actively modified to incorporate new, conflicting information.

Assimilation

A Piagetian cognitive process where new environmental information is incorporated into pre-existing cognitive structures without altering them.

Zone of Proximal Development

Vygotsky's concept defining the optimal scaffolding window where tasks can be successfully performed with guidance but not independently.

Contact comfort

The physical, tactile reassurance provided by touch, demonstrated by Harry Harlow to be the primary driver of infant attachment over nutritional reinforcement.

Organogenesis

The prenatal process during the embryonic period (weeks 2-8) where all primary organ systems and physical structures are systematically mapped out.

Peak teratogen vulnerability window

The critical period during organogenesis when embryonic exposure to external toxins can cause severe anatomical damage.

Object permanence

The cognitive understanding, typically developing around 9 months of age, that physical objects continue to exist even when out of sensory sight.

Animism

A cognitive limitation dominant in the preoperational period where lifelike, intentional qualities are ascribed to inanimate objects.

Egocentrism

The cognitive processing limitation in the preoperational stage where a child is structurally unable to adopt the spatial or mental perspective of another person.

Fetal viability boundary

The gestational point at approximately 22 weeks when medical advances allow a fetus a statistical chance to survive outside the uterus.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

A condition caused by maternal alcohol ingestion characterized by facial anomalies, reduced head size, hyperactivity, and reduced intelligence metrics.

Theory of Mind

The cognitive capacity to attribute independent mental states, beliefs, and desires to oneself and others.

Fluid intelligence

The capacity to think logically, reason abstractly, and process information quickly, which negatively correlates with aging from 18 to 50.

Crystallized intelligence

The accumulation of knowledge, facts, and vocabulary acquired through experience and education, which remains structurally stable over time.

Socioemotional Selectivity Theory

A framework modeling how the perception of time left in life alters goal prioritization, causing older adults to prioritize emotion regulation over information seeking.

Longitudinal designs

Research setups that track identical individual cohorts over regular chronological intervals to directly measure stability or change.

Cross-sectional designs

Research setups that evaluate distinct age cohorts simultaneously to detect age-related developmental changes.

Id

The primitive, unconscious generator of all psychic energy in Freudian theory driven entirely by the pleasure principle.

Ego

The component of Freud's personality model that operates under the reality principle, designing rational strategies to satisfy primal impulses safely.

Superego

The Freudian personality component that internalizes familial and cultural morality, consisting of the conscience and the ego ideal.

Collective unconscious

Carl Jung's concept of a shared, inherited reservoir of memory traces and archetypes derived from our species' evolutionary history.

Self-efficacy

Albert Bandura's term for an individual's internal belief in their ability to perform successfully and exert control over events in a given context.

Locus of Control

Julian Rotter's concept defining a person's expectation regarding whether life reinforcements are controlled by internal actions or external forces.

Ascending Reticular Activating System

A cortical arousal filter that biologically influences introversion and extraversion based on baseline sensitivity to environmental stimulation.

Five-Factor Model

A trait framework organizing personality into five broad biological dimensions: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.

Reliability

The psychometric index referring to the consistency, stability, and reproducibility of a measurement tool across time.

Validity

The psychometric index referring to the accuracy and truthfulness of a measure, indicating whether it actually measures what it claims to measure.

Predictive validity

A psychometric evaluation of how well a test score successfully forecasts a specific future performance criterion.

Concurrent validity

A psychometric evaluation involving administering a test and assessing the performance criterion simultaneously.

MMPI-2

An objective self-report assessment featuring 10 distinct clinical subscales and 4 validity subscales to screen for psychopathology.

Thematic Apperception Test

A projective personality assessment consisting of ambiguous photograph cards used to prompt narrated stories and uncover unconscious conflicts.

Projection

A psychodynamic defense mechanism where an individual attributes their own unacceptable thoughts, motives, or impulses onto another person.

Self-concept

Carl Rogers' humanistic term for the organized configuration of perceptions of the self, consisting of the alignment between the actual self and the ideal self.

Positive regard

Non-judgmental acceptance, warmth, and love provided by others, which forms a secure foundation for personal growth and self-actualization.