unit three study guide terms and concepts - ap psychology - 2025/2026

developmental psychology

- the scientific study of physical, cognitive, social, emotional, and moral changes across the lifespan

cross-sectional developmental study

- a study that compares factors in the lives of people of different ages at the same point in time

stability vs. change

- stability: the idea that personality traits, temperament, and abilities remain consistent over time

- change: the idea that personality, temperament, and abilities are shaped by life experiences

nature vs. nurture

- nature: genetic, biological and inherited influences on development

- nurture: social-emotional influences on development

teratogen

- a substance or environmental agent that can interfere with prenatal development

- includes maternal illness, which can be any infection or chronic illness experienced by the mother while pregnant

gross motor skill

- large muscle movements that are used for actions and activities such as crawling, walking and running

fine motor skill

- precise movements that use small muscles, particularly those in the hands and fingers

- supports problem-solving, self-expression, attention, and planning

rooting reflex

- a reflex that supports survival in young children by reacting to external stimuli

visual cliff experiment

- an experiment that showed infants avoided a 'deep cliff' and had an innate sense of depth perception

critical period

- a specific time in which certain experiences are required to occur for 'normal development'

imprinting

- a rapid, innate form of learning that forms during a critical period; most often seen in animals

adolescent egocentrism

- an inability for children to comprehend the fact that others have opinions and lives different from their own

adolescent growth spurt

- an increase in height and weight during early adolescence, as well as an increase in sex hormones

puberty

- the period of sexual maturation during which individuals become capable of reproduction

primary sex characteristics

- reproductive organs directly associated with reproduction

- ovaries, uterus, testes ...

secondary sex characteristics

- traits that differentiate the sexes, but have no correlation to reproduction

- breast development, facial hair growth, increased muscle mass ...

identity vs. identity confusion

- a period during which teenagers seek to determine a unique sense of self

early adulthood

- ages 19-40 years old; marked by the finalization of an identity and an increase in wisdom

menopause

- the natural cession of menstruation and reproductive abilities in individuals with ovaries, occurring typically in the late forties

sex chromosomes

- x and y chromosomes; given no biological defects, xx chromosomes define one as a female and xy chromosomes define one as male

socialization

- the lifelong process through which individuals learn the social norms, values, roles and expectations of their culture or society

gender

- the socially and culturally constructed roles, behaviors, and expectations associated with being male, female, or another gender identity

social learning theory in reference to gender

- children learn gender roles through observation and reinforcement

cognitive development theory

- children actively construct knowledge as they manipulate and explore their world

continuous vs. discontinuous development

- continuous: gradual, cumulative development that occurs with no distinct stages

- discontinuous: development that occurs suddenly and only in distinct stages

theory of cognitive development

- children develop in distinct psychosocial phases

- pioneered by jean piaget

schema

- a mental framework that helps one organize information and make shortcuts

assimilation

- the process of fitting new information into pre-existing schemas without changing the schema itself

accommodation

- the process of changing schemas to accommodate new information

sensorimotor stage

- experienced ages 0-2; the stage in which children learn to interact with the world through touch, movement and other senses

pre-operational stage

- experienced ages 2-7; the stage in which rapid speech, thought and imaginative development occur

concrete operational stage

- experienced ages 7-11; the stage in which children develop logical thinking skills, but struggle to use abstract reasoning

formal operational stage

- experienced ages 12+; the stage marked by the development of hypothetical and abstract thinking skills

vygotsky's theory of sociocultural development

- describes the role of learning from a more knowledgeable other, who guides an individual through applying mental functions in the zone of proximal development

social learners

- people who prefer to learn with other people or in groups

scaffolding

- a temporary support system made up of 'more knowledgeable individuals', or m.k.o.s

zone of proximal development

- the gap between what can be done with help and what can be done without help or on one's own

crystallized intelligence

- intelligence accumulated over time and kept stable; 'book smarts'

fluid intelligence

- the ability to think logically without being prompted

dementia

- a chronic cognitive decline marked by significant memory loss, thinking impairments, and behavioral changes

language

- a system of spoken, written or signed symbols and the rules for combining them to communicate meaning

generative language

- the human ability to use a finite set of words and grammar rules to create millions of new, novels sentences

nonverbal manual gestures

- early signs or motions used to communicate before the formation of full language skills

formal language

- language that follows grammar rules and is most often used in academia and the workplace

stages of language development

- cooing, babbling, one-word stage, two-word/telegraphic stage, overgeneralization, formal language

language acquisition device

- hypothetical brain mechanisms that enable natural language learning

learning perspective of language

- language is acquired through imitation, reinforcement and conditioning

social interactionist theory of language

- language develops through social interaction with those who have well-developed language skills

phoneme

- a language's basic sounds

morpheme

- a language's basic unit of meaning

semantic

- relating to the meaning of a word or phrase

grammar

- the set of rules governing how words and phrases are formed to correctly communicate meaning

syntax

- the rules for a language's word order

ecological systems theory

- a theory stating that human development is immensely influenced by many different inter-connected social systems

microsystem

- one's immediate system of interaction; friends, family ...

mesosystem

- the inter-connected relationships between each of a person's microsystems

exosystem

- external environments that impact development indirectly; parents' careers ...

macrosystem

- larger cultural or societal influences on development

chronosystem

- the dimension of time in reference to development over one's lifespan

attachment

- one's emotional or physical connection to their caregiver

- does not need to be a parent; can be daycare worker, grandparent ...

secure attachment

- an attachment style where one balances independence and dependence on another person

insecure attachment

- an attachment style marked by anxiety or ambivalence

anxious attachment

- an attachment style where one is overly dependent on those they are attached to due to fear of abandonment

avoidant attachment

- an attachment style where one maintains social distance with those they are connected to

disorganized attachment

- an attachment style where one is often abusive and exhibits harmfully-contradictory behaviors

contact comfort

- positive emotions afforded by touch

harlow study on contact comfort

- defined the fact that nurture is most often more important than nature, as baby monkeys repeatedly became more attached to a cloth faux-mother as opposed to the faux-mother that provided food

temperament

- a person's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity

separation anxiety

- a natural emotional reaction occurring in young organisms when separated from their caregiver

adverse childhood experiences (a.c.e.s)

- stressful or traumatic experiences during adolescence and childhood that are proven by research to rapidly deteriorate health

- includes abuse, neglect, and the witness of abuse

pretend play

- a type of play where children use their imagination to create scenarios and 'role play'

- reflects a child's growing ability to use mental representations and symbols

parallel play

- the act of playing alongside someone without direct interaction

authoritarian parenting

- a parenting style marked by high demand and low responsiveness

- authoritarian parenting often leads to children with low self-esteem and social troubles

authoritative parenting

- a parenting style marked by high demand and high responsiveness

- authoritative parenting often leads to children who become socially competent and self-reliant adults

neglectful parenting

- a parenting style marked by low demand and low responsiveness

- parents lack involvement in their children and their lives, leading most often to their children becoming withdrawn, avoidant adults

permissive parenting

- a parenting style marked by low demand and high responsiveness

- often creates spoiled, entitled children with little social trouble

imaginary audience

- the childish belief that one is consistently being watched and judged for their actions

personal fable

- the childish belief that one is 'more special' than others and is, therefore, immune to harm, leading to increased risk behaviors

identity vs. role confusion

- an adolescent psychosocial crisis in which one attempts to find their own identity while also catering to what those around them and society expects of them

identity diffusion

- the status of adolescents who consider various identity alternatives, but never commit to one or never even consider identity options in any conscious way

identity foreclosure

- a pre-mature commitment to an identity without questioning or explanation

identity moratorium

- a lack of commitment to a stable identity in adulthood

identity achievement

- a commitment to values, beliefs, and goals following a period of exploration

emerging adulthood

- the transitional period from adolescence to adulthood, spanning approximately eighteen to twenty-five years of age

social clock

- the culturally preferred or expected timing for major events such as marriage or graduation

generativity vs. stagnation

- a conflict in middle adulthood in which self-interest is countered by a wish to contribute greatly to the world and 'leave an impact'

behavioral perspective

- an approach to the study of psychology that focuses on the role of learning in explaining observable behavior

pavlov's experiment

- an experiment using classical conditioning principles to train a dog to associate the chime of a bell with receiving food

unconditioned stimulus (ucs)

- a stimulus that naturally triggers a response without prior learning

unconditioned response (ucr)

- the automatic response to the ucs

neutral stimulus (ns)

- a stimulus that elicits no response prior to conditioning

conditioned stimulus (cs)

- a previously neutral stimulus that triggers a learned response

conditioned response (cr)

- a learned response to the cs

acquisition

- the initial stage of learning in relation to conditioning

extinction

- the weakening of a conditioned response when there is a repetition of the neutral stimulus with no reward/follow up to it

spontaneous recovery

- the reappearance of a previously extinct conditioned response after a rest period

generalization

- the tendency to respond to stimuli similar to a conditioned stimulus

stimulus discrimination

- the ability to distinguish between the conditioned stimulus and similar stimuli

higher-order conditioning

- a process in which a conditioned stimulus becomes associated with another neutral stimulus to produce a conditioned response

taste aversion

- a learned avoidance toward a particular food after becoming ill