AP Psychology Unit 6

stranger anxiety

stranger anxiety

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

basic trust

according to Erik Erikson, a sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy; said to be formed during infancy by appropriate experiences with responsive caregivers

critical period

an optimal period shortly after birth when an organism's exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces proper development

temperament

a person's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity

Mary Ainsworth

developmental psychology; compared effects of maternal separation, devised patterns of attachment; "The Strange Situation": observation of parent/child attachment

Erik Erikson

neo-Freudian, humanistic; 8 psychosocial stages of development: theory shows how people evolve through the life span. Each stage is marked by a psychological crisis that involves confronting "Who am I?"

fetal alcohol syndrome

physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman's heavy drinking

Imprinting

the process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early in life

gestation

growth process from conception to birth

Teratogens

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

Johnathan Haidt

believed that much of our morality is rooted in moral intuitions (our gut feelings).

attachment bond

Evidence of a preference for the primary caregiver and a wariness of strangers.

Konrad Lorenz

researcher who focused on critical attachment periods in baby birds, a concept he called imprinting

Schema

a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information

Lawrence Kohlberg

moral development; presented boys moral dilemmas and studied their responses and reasoning processes in making moral decisions. Most famous moral dilemma is "Heinz" who has an ill wife and cannot afford the medication. Should he steal the medication and why?

life cycle

The generation-to-generation sequence of stages in the reproductive history of an organism.

maturation

biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience

conception

the moment at which a female becomes pregnant

Epigenetics

the study of environmental influences on gene expression that occur without a DNA change

Inheritability

ability of a trait to be passed from one generation to the next

Diana Baumrind

her theory of parenting styles had three main types (permissive, authoritative, & authoritarian)

Harry Harlow

Studied attachment in monkeys with artificial mothers

Carol Gilligan

moral development studies to follow up Kohlberg. She studied girls and women and found that they did not score as high on his six stage scale because they focused more on relationships rather than laws and principles

John Piaget

developer of the cognitive development stage theory

sensorimotor stage

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

preoperational stage

in Piaget's theory, the stage (from about 2 to 6 or 7 years of age) during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic

concrete operational stage

in Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about 6 or 7 to 11 years of age) 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 development (normally beginning about age 12) during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts

preconventional morality

first level of Kohlberg's stages of moral development in which the child's behavior is governed by the consequences of the behavior

conventional morality

second level of Kohlberg's stages of moral development in which the child's behavior is governed by conforming to the society's norms of behavior

post conventional morality

Kohlberg's highest stage of morality- occurs late in life and is a personal morality, developed by the adult and which supersedes society's rules, laws. And restrictions

egocentric

self-centered

theory of mind

people's ideas about their own and others' mental states—about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts, and the behaviors these might predict.

accommodation

the process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina

Assimilation

interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas

authoritarian parenting

style of parenting in which parent is rigid and overly strict, showing little warmth to the child

authoritative parenting

parenting style characterized by emotional warmth, high standards for behavior, explanation and consistent enforcement of rules, and inclusion of children in decision making

permissive parenting

A parenting style characterized by the placement of few limits on the child's behavior.

Ethics of Care

Emphasizes the importance of understanding relationships, especially as they are revealed in personal narratives

zone of proximal development

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

biological sex

chromosomal and physical characteristics that define male and female

Gender

in psychology, the biologically and socially influenced characteristics by which people define male and female

gender identity

one's sense of being male or female

gender roles

sets of behavioral norms assumed to accompany one's status as male or female

gender expression

one's pattern of outward behavior in relation to common standards of a gender category

Intersex

individuals who exhibit sexual organs and functions somewhere between male and female elements, often including elements of both

adolescence

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

emerging adulthood

for some people in modern cultures, a period from the late teens to mid-twenties, bridging the gap between adolescent dependence and full independence and responsible adulthood

social learning theory

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

social contructionism

the belief that we construct (mentally build) our own realities and the realities we construct affect our behaviors in families