LIFESPAN DEVELOPMENT

Accommodation

Adjustment of a schema by changing a scheme to accommodate new information different from what was already known.

Adolescence

Period of development that begins at puberty and ends at early adulthood.

Adrenarche

Maturing of the adrenal glands.

Advance Directive

A written legal document that details specific interventions a person wants.

Assimilation

Adjustment of a schema by adding information similar to what is already known.

Attachment

Long-standing connection or bond with others.

Authoritarian Parenting Style

Parents place a high value on conformity and obedience, are often rigid, and express little warmth to the child.

Authoritative Parenting Style

Parents give children reasonable demands and consistent limits, express warmth and affection, and listen to the child’s point of view.

Avoidant Attachment

Characterized by child’s unresponsiveness to parent, does not use the parent as a secure base, and does not care if parent leaves.

Cognitive Development

Domain of lifespan development that examines learning, attention, memory, language, thinking, reasoning, and creativity.

Cognitive Empathy

Ability to take the perspective of others and to feel concern for others.

Conception

When a sperm fertilizes an egg and forms a zygote.

Concrete Operational Stage

Third stage in Piaget’s theory of cognitive development; from about 7 to 11 years old, children can think logically about real events.

Conservation

Idea that even if you change the appearance of something, it is still equal in size, volume, or number as long as nothing is added or removed.

Continuous Development

View that development is a cumulative process: gradually improving on existing skills.

Critical (Sensitive) Period

Time during fetal growth when specific parts or organs develop.

Developmental Milestone

Approximate ages at which children reach specific normative events.

Discontinuous Development

View that development takes place in unique stages, which happen at specific times or ages.

Disorganized Attachment

Characterized by the child’s odd behavior when faced with the parent; type of attachment seen most often with kids that are abused.

Do Not Resuscitate (DNR)

A legal document stating that if a person stops breathing, medical personnel are not to take steps to revive them.

Egocentrism

Preoperational child’s difficulty in taking the perspective of others.

Embryo

Multi-cellular organism in its early stages of development.

Emerging Adulthood

Newly defined period of lifespan development from 18 years old to the mid-20s.

Fine Motor Skills

Use of muscles in fingers, toes, and eyes to coordinate small actions.

Formal Operational Stage

Final stage in Piaget’s theory of cognitive development; from age 11 and up, children can deal with abstract ideas.

Gonadarche

Maturing of the sex glands.

Gross Motor Skills

Use of large muscle groups to control arms and legs for large body movements.

Health Care Proxy

A legal document that appoints a specific person to make medical decisions for a patient.

Hospice

Service that provides a death with dignity; pain management in a humane and comfortable environment.

Living Will

A written legal document that details specific interventions a person wants.

Menarche

Beginning of menstrual period; usually around 12–13 years old.

Mitosis

Process of cell division.

Motor Skills

Ability to move the body and manipulate objects.

Nature

Genes and biology.

Newborn Reflexes

Inborn automatic responses to specific forms of stimulation.

Normative Approach

Study of development using norms, or average ages, when children reach specific milestones.

Nurture

Environment and culture.

Object Permanence

Idea that even if something is out of sight, it still exists.

Permissive Parenting Style

Parents make few demands and rarely use punishment.

Physical Development

Domain of lifespan development that examines growth and changes in the body and brain.

Placenta

Structure connected to the uterus that provides nourishment and oxygen to the developing baby.

Prenatal Care

Medical care during pregnancy that monitors the health of both the mother and the fetus.

Preoperational Stage

Second stage in Piaget’s theory of cognitive development; from ages 2 to 7, children use symbols and language.

Primary Sexual Characteristics

Organs specifically needed for reproduction.

Psychosexual Development

Process proposed by Freud focusing on pleasure-seeking urges in different stages.

Psychosocial Development

Domain of lifespan development that examines emotions, personality, and social relationships.

Resistant Attachment

Characterized by the child’s clingy behavior and rejection of the parent.

Reversibility

Principle that objects can be changed and then returned back to their original form.

Schema

Concept (mental model) used to categorize and interpret information.

Secondary Sexual Characteristics

Physical signs of sexual maturation that do not directly involve sex organs.

Secure Attachment

Characterized by the child using the parent as a secure base from which to explore.

Secure Base

Parental presence that gives the infant a sense of safety as they explore.

Sensorimotor Stage

First stage in Piaget’s theory of cognitive development; from birth to age 2, a child learns through senses and motor behavior.

Socioemotional Selectivity Theory

Social support/friendships dwindle in number, but become closer.

Spermarche

First male ejaculation.

Stage of Moral Reasoning

Process proposed by Kohlberg where humans move through three stages of moral development.

Temperament

Innate traits that influence how one thinks, behaves, and reacts.

Teratogen

Agent that causes damage to the developing embryo or fetus.

Uninvolved Parenting Style

Parents are indifferent and neglectful; they don’t respond to child’s needs.

Zygote

Structure created when a sperm and egg merge at conception.