Developmental Psychology and Behavior Genetics Exam Review

These flashcards cover key terms and concepts related to developmental psychology and behavior genetics, based on lecture notes.

Heredity

The genetic transfer of characteristics from parents to offspring.

Environment

Every nongenetic influence, from maternal nutrition while in the womb to the social support of people around us.

Heredity and environment

Influences that twin and adoption studies are most helpful for separating.

Epigenetics

The biological mechanism that enables humans to express certain traits in specific environments.

Human genome

The complete set of genetic information for a human, which is largely the same across individuals.

Selection effect

Placing ourselves in environments well suited to our existing traits.

Cultural norms

Rules for accepted and expected behavior within a cultural group.

Tight culture

A culture with strict rules and norms.

Loose culture

A culture with flexible and relaxed norms.

Collectivism

A cultural orientation that emphasizes group goals over individual ones.

Individualism

A cultural orientation that emphasizes personal goals over group goals.

Sex

The biological distinction between male and female, defined by chromosomes.

Gender

The social and psychological characteristics associated with being male or female.

Developmental psychology

The branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social changes throughout the lifespan.

Nature and nurture

Major issues in developmental psychology, focusing on the influences of genetics and environment.

Continuity

The idea that development is a gradual and continuous process.

Stages

The concept that development occurs in distinct stages that are qualitatively different from one another.

Zygote

A fertilized egg that undergoes rapid cell division.

Teratogen

A substance that can cross the placental barrier and harm an unborn child.

Maturation

Biological growth processes that are relatively uninfluenced by experience.

Strange situation

A laboratory setting developed by Mary Ainsworth to assess attachment differences among infants.

Positive parenting

A supportive and nurturing approach to child-rearing, beneficial for children with difficult temperaments.

Basic trust

According to Erikson, a sense that the world is predictable and reliable.

Self-concept

All our thoughts and feelings about ourselves.

Adolescence

The developmental period extending from the physical beginnings of sexual maturity to social independence.

Puberty

The period of sexual maturation when a person becomes capable of reproduction.

Limbic system

The part of the brain that develops earlier than the frontal lobes, often leading to impulsive behavior in adolescents.

Formal operational stage

Piaget's stage of cognitive development in which logical thinking about hypothetical situations occurs.

Role confusion

A stage of development in which adolescents try out different identities.

Adult stages

It is more difficult to generalize about adulthood's stages than about life's early years.

Telomeres

Protective ends of chromosomes that wear down with age.

Antibodies

Entities of the immune system that do not diminish with age.

Terminal decline

A decrease in mental ability accompanying the approach of death.

Adaptability

The capacity to learn new behaviors that help cope with a changing world.

Stimulus

An event or object in the environment that elicits a response.

Classical conditioning

A learning process that involves associating an unconditioned stimulus with a neutral stimulus.

Acquisition

The initial stage in classical conditioning in which a response is first established.

Operant conditioning

A learning process where behavior is modified by reinforcement or punishment.

Shaping

An operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior closer to the desired goal.

Latent learning

Learning that occurs without reinforcement and is not immediately reflected in behavior.

Observational learning

Learning by observing the behaviors of others.

Behavior modeling

Teaching new skills through demonstration.

Recall

The process of retrieving information that is not currently in conscious awareness.

Storage

The retention of encoded information over time.

Encoding specificity principle

The paradox that information is best recalled in the same context in which it was acquired.