AP Psych - Unit 3: Development & Cognition

developmental psychology

a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span

zygote

the fertilized egg; it enters a 2-week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo

embryo

the developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the second month

fetus

the developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth

teratogens “monster makers”

agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm

habituation

decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. (As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner)

maturation

biological growth processes that enable orderly chnages in behavior, relatively influenced by experience.

cognition

all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

schema

mental frameworks for understanding the world

assimilation

interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas

accomodation

adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information

sensorimotor stage

in Piaget’s theory, the stage (from birth - 2 years) during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities

object permanence

the awareness that things continue to exist even when not percieved

preoperational stage

in Piaget’s theory, the stage (from 2 - 6/7) during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic

conservation

the principle that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects.

egocentrism

inm Piaget’s theory, the preoperational child’s difficulty taking another’s point of view

theory of mind

peoples ideas about their own and others mental states — about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors they might predict

concrete operational stage

in Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development ( 7 - 11 ) during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events

formal operational stage

in Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive developemnt ( beginning of the age of 12 ) during which people began to think logically about abstract concepts

scaffold

a framework that offers children temporary supports as they develop higher levels of thinking

stranger anxiety

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

critical period

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

imprinting

the process by which certain animals form strong attachments during early life

secure attachment

infants comfortably explore environments in the presence of their caregiver, then temporarily get upset when they leave, then find comfort when they come back

insecure attachment

infants are clinging, being anxious, or avoiding

temperament

a persons characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity

self-concept

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

authoritarian parents

they impose rules and expect obedience “because i said so”

permissive parents

they make few demands, set few limits, and use little punishment

negligent parents

they are not demanding or responsive. They are careless, inattentive, and do not seek to have a close relationship with their children

authoritative parents

they are demanding and responsive. they exert control by setting rules, but, especially with older children, they encourage open discussion and allow exceptions

preconventional morality

self interest; obey rules to avoid punishment or gain rewards (before age 9)

conventional morality

uphold laws and rules to gain social approval or maintain social order (early adolescene)

postconventional morality

actions reflect belief in basic rights and seld-defined ethical principles (adolescene and beyond)

intimacy

in Eriksons theory, the ability to form close, loving relationships; a primary developmental task in young adulthood

emerging adulthood

“in between” adolescents and adulthood

social clock

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

gender

the sociallly constructed roles and characteristics by which a culture defines male and female

gender role

a set of expected behaviors for males or females

gender identity

a persons sense of being male or female

gender typing

the acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role

gender schema

a framework for organizing male and female characteristics

gender expression

the communication of gender identity through behavior or appearance

aggression

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

relational aggression

an act of aggression intended to harm a persons relationship or social standing

social learning theory

the theory that we learn social behavior by observing and imitating and by being rewarded or punished

androgyny

displaying both traditional masculine and feminine psychological characteristics

primary s*x characteristics

the body structures (ovaries + testes) that make s*xual reproduction possible

secondary s*x characteristics

nonreproductvie s*xual traits (deeper voice, breasts, etc)

spermarche

the first ejaculation

menarche

the first menstrual period

habituation

decreasing responsiveness with repeated exposure to stimuli

stimulus

any event or situation that evokes a response

respondant behavior

behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus

operant behavior

behavior that operates on the environment, producing consequences

neutral stimulus (NS)

in classical conditioning, a stimulant that elicits no response before conditioning

unconditioned response (UR)

in classical conditioning, an unlearned, naturally occurring response (such as salivation) to an unconditioned stimulus (such as food in the mouths)

unconditioned stimulus (US)

in classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally — naturally and automatically — triggers an unconditioned response (UR)

conitioned responce (CR)

in classical conditioning, a learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS)

conditioned stimulus (CS)

in classical conditioning, an originally neutral stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus (US) comes to trigger a conditioned response (CR)

operant conditioning

a type of learning in which a behavior becomes more likely to recur if followed by a reinforcer or less likely to recur if followed by a punisher

law of effect

thorndikes principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, and that behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely

reinforcement

any event that strengthens the behavior it follows

shaping

reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior

discriminative stimulus

a stimulus that elicits a response after association with reinforcement

primary reinforcer

an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need

conditioned reinforcer

a stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforcer (secondary reinforcer)

reinforcement schedule

a pattern that defines how often a desired response will be reinforced

continous reinforcement schedule

reinforcing that desired response every time it occurs

fixed-ratio schedule

a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses

variable-ratio schedule

a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses

fixed-internal schedule

a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed

variable-internal schedule

a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals

example of fixed-ratio schedule

a customer getting their 10th coffee free after buying the other 9

example of variable-ratio schedule

slot machines

example of fixed-internal schedule

getting a weekly paycheck

examples of variable-internal schedule

checking your email for messages

biofeedback

a system for electronically recording, amplifying, and feeding back information regarding a subtle physiological state, such as blood pressure or muscle tension

John Garcia

tested taste aversion in rats

insight

a sudden realization of a problems solution

problem-focused coping

attempting to alleviate stress directly by changing the stressor or the way we interact with the stressor

emotion-focused coping

attempting to alleviate stress by avoiding or ignoring a stressor and attending to emotional needs related to ones stress reaction

learned helplessness

the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events

external locus of focus

the perception that chance or outside forces beyond our personal control determine our fate

internal locus of focus

the perception that YOU control your own destiny

self-control

the ability to control impulses

personal control

sense of controlling our environment

edward chase tolman

tested cogntive aversion in rats

modeling

the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior

mirror neurons

brain cells that activate both when you perform an action and when you see someone else perform the same action

prosocial behavior

positive, constructive, helpful behavior. the oppositve of antisocial behavior

What reflex is present at birth and helps infants find food sources?

Rooting reflex

what does brain plasticity suggest about development?

environment influences development

what ability develops during the sensorimotor stage?

object permanence

at what age does the preoperational stage occur?

2-7 years

in the preoperational stage, children begin to use what?

mental symbols and language

what is the basic unit of sound in language?

phoneme

what does a free morpheme refer to?

a word that stands alone

which stage involves a child using two-word combinations?

telegraphic stage

what is the term for using one word to represent multiple related objects?

overextension