Development

Habituation

Decreased responsiveness toward a stimulus after it has been presented numerous times in succession.

habituation procedure

A procedure that uses the principles of habituation to allow researcher to infer the cognitive processes of newborns

Schemas

A pattern of knowledge in long-term memory that helps us remember, organize, and respond information.

Assimilation

incorporating new information into an existing schema

Accommodation

The change of existing schema on the basis of new information.

Sensorimotor stage

The first stage of Piagets cognitive developmental model in which the baby perceives the environment through the sense and motor skills.

Object permanence

The ability to be aware of an objets existence even when it is not visible.

Pre-operational Stage

The second stage of Piagets cognitive development model in which begin to use language and to think more abstractly about objects, but their understanding is more intuitive and without much ability to deduce or reason.

Theory of mind

The ability to take another person’s viewpoint

concrete operational stage

The third stage of Piaget’s cognitive development model that is marked by more complex concepts, including those of time, space, and numbers.

Conversion

The understanding that changes in the form of an object do not necessarily mean changes in the quantity of the object.

formal operational stage

The fourth stage of Piagets cognitive development model that is marked by the ability to think in abstract terms and to use scientific and philosophical lines of thoughts

Attachment

The emotional bond infants develop with their primary caregiver.

strange situation

A measure of attachment in young children in which the child’s behaviors are assessed in a situation in which the caregiver and a stranger movie in and out of the environment.

Temperament

The basic foundation of personality, usually assumed to be biologically determined and present early in life, including such characteristics as energy level, emotional responsiveness…and willingness to explore.

Longitudinal research designs

Research in which individuals are studies over an extended period of time, often over multiple developmental stages.

Cross-sectional research design

A research design in which comparisons are made between samples of different people at different ages.

Cohort effetcs

Refers to the possibility that difference in cognition or behavior at two point sin time may be caused by differences that are unrelated to the change in age. The differences might instead be due to environmental factors that affect an entire age group.

Adolescence

The years between the onset of puberty and the beginning of adulthood.

Emerging Adulthood

The late teens through twenties

Puberty

A developmental stage in adolescence in which hormonal changes create rapid physical changes in the body.

Primary Sec charcateristics

The organs concerned with reproduction, including the testicles and the penis in boys and the ovaries, uterus, and vagina in girls.

secondary sex characteristics

Physical features that distinguish the two sexes from each other bit that are not involve in reproduction.

Menarche

The first menstrual period

self-concept

A schema that contains knowledge about ourselves, including our beliefs and about out personality traits, physical characteristics, abilities, values, goals, roles.

Social identity

The part of the self-concept that is derived from one’s group memberships

Gender identity

our sense of being female, male, neither or both

Nonbinary

A person whose gender identity is not solely male or solely female.

Gender expression

the gender we portray to others

cisgender

A person whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth.

transgender

A persons whose gender identity differs from the sext that they were assigned at birth.

early adulthood

late 20s and mid 30s

middle adulthood

mid-30s and mid-60s

parenting styles

Parental behaviors that determine the nature of parent-child interactions.

Menopause

The cessation of the menstrual cycle for a full year

Social clock

The culturally preferred “right time” for major life events, such as moving out of the childhood house, getting married, and having children.