unit 9 part 1

developmental psychology

a branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span.

zygote

the fertilized egg; it enters a 2-week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo.

embryo

the developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the second month.

fetus

the developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth.

teratogens

(literally, “monster makers”) agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm.

fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)

physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman’s heavy drinking. In severe cases, signs include a small, out-of-proportion head and abnormal facial features.

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.

cognition

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

schema

a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information.

assimilation

interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas.

accommodation

adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information.

sensorimotor stage

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

object permanence

the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived.

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.

conservation

the principle (which Piaget believed to be a part of concrete operational reasoning) that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects.

egocentrism

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

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.

concrete operational stage

in Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about 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.

scaffold

a framework that offers children temporary support as they develop higher levels of thinking

autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

a disorder that appears in childhood and is marked by significant deficiencies in communication and social interaction, and by rigidly fixated interests and repetitive behaviors.

stranger anxiety

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

attachment

an emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to their caregiver and showing distress on separation.

critical period

an optimal period early in the life of an organism when exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces normal development

imprinting

the process by which certain animals form strong attachments during early life.

strange situation

a procedure for studying child-caregiver attachment; a child is placed in an unfamiliar environment while their caregiver leaves and then returns, and the child’s reactions are observed

secure attachment

demonstrated by infants who comfortably explore environments in the presence of their caregiver, show only temporary distress when the caregiver leaves, and find comfort in the caregiver’s return

insecure attachment

demonstrated by infants who display either a clinging, anxious attachment or an avoidant attachment that resists closeness.

temperament

a person’s characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity.

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

self-concept

all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves in answer to the question, “Who am I?”