AP Psych - Developmental Unit Vocabulary

chronological development

the study of humans changing over lifespan, infancy to old age, focusing on physical, cognitive, and social-emotional changes

nature vs nurture

the debated interaction between our genetic heritage and our experiences; our understanding is that both play a role in development

continuous vs discontinuous change

the difference between gradual or ongoing development and development with distinct changes or abrupt shifts in abilities

stability vs change

the difference between changing as we age and remaining the same though life (primarily pertaining to character traits)

teratogens

agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm (examples are substances such as marijuana and alcohol)

maternal illness

a range of mental and emotional health conditions that can occur during and following pregnancy

genetic mutations

changes in DNA that can lead to variations in an individual’s traits, behaviors, and predispositions (an example being down syndrome)

fine motor skills

coordination involving only the small muscles of the body (examples include zipping a coat, writing, and using utensils to eat)

gross motor skills

coordination involving large muscles and whole body movement (examples include climbing stairs, running, or throwing a ball)

rooting reflex

the reflex in newborns to turn their head and open their mouth toward a cheek or mouth touch to latch onto a nipple for feeding

puberty

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

primary sex characteristics

the body structures that make sexual reproduction possible (ovaries, testes, and external genitalia)

secondary sex characteristics

non-reproductive sexual traits, such as female breasts and hips, male voice quality, and body hair

menarche

the first menstrual period a female experiences

spermarche

the first ejaculation a male experiences

sex

the biologically influenced characteristics by which people define male, female, and intersex (in the body - biological)

gender

the attitudes, feelings, and behaviors that a given culture associates with a person’s biological sex (in the mind - social and cultural)

schemas (Piaget)

mental frameworks or concepts that help organize and interpret information

assimilation

interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas

accomodation

adapting our current schemas to incorporate new information

sensorimotor stage

in Piaget’s theory, the stage (from birth to two) where infants know the world in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities (concept of object permanence)

object permanence

the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived

preoperational stage

in Piaget’s theory, the stage (from two to around the age of six or seven) where a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of logic (concepts of pretend play and egocentrism)

conservation

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

animism

a belief that inanimate objects are alive or have lifelike feelings and motivations

egocentrism

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

theory of mind

the ability to understand that others have their own thoughts, beliefs, feelings, and intentions, which may be different from one's own

concrete operational stage

in Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development (from age seven to eleven) where children can perform mental operations that enable them to think logically about actual events (concepts of conservation and mathematical transformations)

formal operational stage

in Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development (starting at age twelve and extending into adulthood) where people begin to think logically about abstract concepts (concepts of abstract logic and potential for mature moral reassuring)

scaffolding (Vygotsky)

the temporary support provided to a child by a more knowledgeable person to help them learn a new skill within their zone of proximal development 

zone of proximal development

the space between what a child can do independently and what they can achieve with guidance from a more knowledgeable other

language

our agreed upon systems of spoken, written, or signed words and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning

phonemes

the smallest distinctive word unit (to say “that,” English speakers utter the phonemes “th,” “a,” and “t”)

morphemes 

the smallest unit that carries meaning; it may be a word or part of a word (like a prefix). every word contains one or more morphemes (“readers” contains three morphemes: “read,” “er,” and “s”)

semantics

the language’s set of rules for deriving meaning from sounds

grammar

the system of rules that enable us to communicate with and understand others

syntax

the set of rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences

cooing

the stage in speech development, from about two to four months, where an infant produces soft vowel sounds (like “aah”)

babbling

the stage in speech development, starting around four months, where an infant utters random sounds. it is not until about ten months when these sounds hold relation to the household language (like “ah-goo”)

one-word stage

the stage in speech development, from age one to two, where a child speaks mostly in single words (like “doggy”)

telegraphic speech

the early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram mostly using nouns and verbs (like “go car”)

overgeneralization error

the error of applying a learned grammatical rule too broadly to words where the rule doesn’t apply (“mouses” instead of “mice”)

parallel play

a stage of child development where children play side-by-side with similar toys but without direct interaction

pretend play

children use their imagination to act out scenarios, roles, and stories

longitutional studies

research that follows and retests the same people over time

fetal alcohol syndrome

physical and cognitive function deficits in children caused by their birth mother’s heavy drinking during pregnancy

developmental psychology

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

cross-sectional studies

research that compares people of different ages at the same point in time

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 changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience

synaptic pruning

as the infants brain develops, some neural pathways will decay if not used

adolescence

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

x-chromosome

the sex chromosome found in both males and females. females have two whereas males have one, one from each parent will produce a girl

y-chromosome

the sex chromosome only found in males, males will get an x-chromosome from their mother and a y-chromsome from their father

menopause

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

intersex

possessing both male and female biological sex characteristics at birth

social learning theory

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

relational aggression

an act of aggression (physical or verbal) intended to harm a person’s relationship or social standing

gender roles

a set of expected behaviors, attitudes, and traits for men and for women

gender typing

the acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role

gender identity

our personal sense of being male female, neither, or a combination of both, regardless of whether this matches with our sex at birth

sexuality

our thoughts, feelings, and actions related to our physical attraction to another

sexual orientation

a person’s sexual and emotional attraction to another person and the behavior and/or social affiliation that may result from this attraction

cognition

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

universal grammar

human’s innate predisposition to understand the principles and rules that govern grammar in all languages

aphasia

impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca’s area (impairing speaking) or to Wernicke’s area (impairing understanding)

linguistic determinism

Whorf’s hypothesis that language determines the way we think

linguistic relativism

the idea that language influences the way we think