Unit 3.1-3.6- Development & Learning

Developmental psychology

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

Longitudinal studies

research in which the same people are restudied and retested over a long period

Cross-sectional studies

a study in which people of different ages are compared with one another

Rooting

a reflex in which a newborn turns its head in response to a gentle stimulus on its cheek

Startle reflex

a series of movements in which an infant flings out the arms and fans the fingers in response to a sudden noise

Grasping reflex

an infant's clinging response to a touch on the palm of his or her hand

Habituation

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

Maturation (stage model)

A model of human development based on the idea that people go through predictable stages of development, but each person's rate of development is unique.

Critical periods

the optimal period when an baby's exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces proper development

Fine motor development

smaller movements, such as reaching and grasping

Gross motor development

development of motor abilities including balance and posture as well as whole-body movements such as crawling

Visual cliff experiment

Infants as young as 6 months usually hesitate to crawl past the apparent edge of a visual cliff, which suggests that they are able to perceive depth.

Adolescence

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

Puberty

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

Menopause

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

Sensory abilities

as one ages, visual sharpness diminishes, and adaptation to changes in light level shows. Muscle strength, reaction time, and stamina also diminish noticeably, as do hearing, distance perception, and the sense of smell

Strength/stamina

Muscle strength, reaction time, and stamina diminish in late adulthood.

Cognitive abilities as you age

Decline: fluid intelligence, processing speed, memory

Stable/Improve: Semantic memory, vocabulary

Gender

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

Sex

the biological distinction between females and males

primary sex characteristics

the body structures that make sexual reproduction possible

secondary sex characteristics

nonreproductive sexual characteristics, such as female breasts and hips, male voice quality, and body hair

Spermarche

first occurrence of ejaculation

Menarche

the first occurrence of menstruation

Schema

a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information

Assimilation

interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas

Accommodation

adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information

Object permanence

the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived

Pretend play

make-believe activities in which children create new symbolic relations, acting as if they were in a situation different from their actual one

Parallel play

action in which children play with similar toys, in a similar manner, but do not interact with each other

Conservation

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

Reversibility

principle that objects can be changed, but then returned back to their original form or condition

Egocentrism

the inability to see the world through anyone else's eyes

Animism

Belief that objects, such as plants and stones, or natural events, like thunderstorms and earthquakes, have a discrete spirit and conscious life.

Theory of mind

an awareness that other people's behavior may be influenced by beliefs, desires, and emotions that differ from one's own

Scaffolding

Adjusting the support offered during a teaching session to fit the child's current level of performance

zone of proximal development

In Vygotsky's theory, the range between children's present level of knowledge and their potential knowledge state if they recieve proper guidance and instruction

Imaginary audience

adolescents' belief that they are the focus of everyone else's attention and concern

Personal fable

type of thought common to adolescents in which young people believe themselves to be unique and protected from harm

Fluid intelligence

our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood

Crystallized intelligence

our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age

Universal grammar

Noam Chomsky's theory that all the world's languages share a similar underlying structure

Phoneme

the smallest distinctive sound unit

Morpheme

the smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or a part of a word (such as a prefix)

Semantics

the set of rules by which we derive meaning from morphemes, words, and sentences in a given language; also, the study of meaning

Babbling

stage of language development at about 4 months when an infant spontaneously utters nonsense sounds

One word stage

the stage in speech development, from about age 1 to 2, during which a child speaks mostly in single words

Telegraphic speech

early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram—"go car"—using mostly nouns and verbs.

Over-extension

applying a word to a wider collection of objects and events than is appropriate

Under-extension

defining a word too narrowly

Over-regularization

speech errors in which children treat irregular forms of words as if they were regular

Ecological systems theory

views the child as developing within a complex system of relationships affected by multiple levels of the surrounding environment

Microsystem

the people and objects in an individual's immediate environment

Mesosystem

connections between microsystems

Exosystem

social settings that a person may not experience firsthand but that still influence development

Macrosystem

consists of cultural values, laws, customs, and resources

Chronosystem

historical changes that influence the other systems

Attachment

the positive emotional bond that develops between a child and a particular individual

Separation anxiety

the distress displayed by infants when a customary care provider departs

Permissive indifferent

parents set few limits and give little attention or support

Permissive indulgent

permissive parenting in which parents are so involved that children are allowed to behave without set limits (spoiling)

Authoritarian

Parenting style in which parents are demanding and unresponsive toward their children's needs or wishes.

Authoritative

Parenting style in which parents set clear standards for their children's behavior but are also responsive to their children's needs and wishes.

Trust vs. Mistrust

0-1

Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt

1-3

Initiative vs. Guilt

3-5

Industry vs. Inferiority

5-12

Identity vs. Role Confusion

Adolescence (12-20)

Intimacy vs. Isolation

Young adult (20's-40's)

Generativity vs. Stagnation

Middle adulthood (40's-60's)

Integrity vs. Despair

60+

Identity

our sense of self

Social Identity

the "we" aspect of our self-concept; the part of our answer to "Who am I?" that comes from our group memberships

Possible selves

representations of what we could become, what we would like to become, and what we are afraid of becoming

Diffusion stage

No clear commitment to a particular identity

Foreclosure stage

a career is chosen without much thought - usually following parents expectations - and other options are closed off

Moratorium stage

Teens more actively seek a meaningful identity

Achievement stage

needing to learn and successfully use your abilities

Gender identity

one's sense of being male or female

Social learning theory

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

Gender typing

The process of developing the behaviors, thoughts, and emotions associated with a particular gender.

Androgyny

displaying both traditional masculine and feminine characteristics