AP Psychology Unit 3 Flashcards

Flashcards for Developmental Psychology Review

Cross-Sectional Study

A study in which people of different ages are compared with one another.

Longitudinal Study

Research in which the same people are studied over a longer period of time.

Teratogens

Agents, such as viruses and drugs, that can cause birth defects or developmental abnormalities in a developing embryo or fetus when it is exposed to them during pregnancy.

Tobacco, Alcohol, Parasites, Disease

What are some examples of teratogens?

Exposure, Timing, Genetic Susceptibility

What are the three factors that the extent of damage by a teratogen depends on?

Critical Period Hypothesis

Suggests that there is a specific window of time during which humans are most adept at learning languages. It is typically thought to end around the time of puberty.

Adolescence

Marks the phase of development from childhood to adulthood, spanning from the onset of puberty to achieving social independence.

Synaptic Pruning

When the brain eliminates unnecessary synaptic connections, focusing on strengthening the essential ones.

Myelination

Improves the efficiency of neural signaling, enhancing the speed at which information travels within the brain.

Increases until the 50s but decreases after that leading to slower processing.

What happens to white matter as one ages?

Homogeneous grouping

Groups are determined by some shared characteristic.

Continuity

Development involving gradual changes in behavior and thought processes.

Discontinuity

Development involving distinct shifts in behavior and thought processes.

Assimilation

Taking in new information but not changing the schema (placing new information into an existing schema).

Accommodation

Taking in new information and changing the schema to incorporate the new information (changing an existing schema or creating a new schema).

Object permanence

the realization that items continue to exist even when not sensed directly.

Separation anxiety

the normal distress that a young child experiences when away from the caregiver to whom they are attached.

Animism

Assigning life-like traits to inanimate objects.

Egocentrism

Thinking everyone shares their perspective.

Theory of mind

Ability to understand that others have different beliefs, wishes, emotions, and perceptions that influence their behavior

Conservation

Understanding that mass, volume, or number remains the same despite superficial changes

Reversibility

Ability to undo a sequence of events back to its original point

Abstract thinking

Examining possibilities not entirely based on tangible experiences

Hypothetical reasoning

Predicting and systematically testing ideas that lead to logical conclusions

Metacognition

Examining one's own mental processes

Zone of Proximal Development

What the learner can do with help from a more knowledgeable other

Scaffolding

Process in which the more knowledgeable other provides support to help achieve a new skill

Phonemes

The smallest individual sounds in any language.

Morphemes

The smallest unit of meaning in a language (e.g., root words, prefixes, suffixes).

Syntax

Rules to put words in the correct order in a sentence.

Semantics

Provides meaning of words and how words combine to form meaning.

Cooing

Soft vowel-like sounds by babies when happy or content.

Babbling

Consonant-like sounds, begins around 6 months.

One-word stage

Single words convey complex ideas (10-18 months).

Telegraphic speech

First multi-word speech (2-3 words) (18-30 months).

Overgeneralization

Applying grammatical rules too broadly.

Individual, Microsystem, Mesosystem, Exosystem, Macrosystem, Chronosystem

What are the components of Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Model?

Authoritarian Parenting Style

Low warmth, high discipline.

Authoritative Parenting Style

High warmth, moderate discipline.

Permissive Parenting Style

High warmth, low discipline.

Neglectful Parenting Style

Low warmth, low discipline.

Secure Attachment Style

Low anxiety, low avoidance.

Anxious (preoccupied) Attachment Style

High anxiety, low avoidance.

Avoidant (dismissive) Attachment Style

Low anxiety, high avoidance.

Fearful (disorganized) Attachment Style

High anxiety, high avoidance.

Solitary, Onlooker, Parallel, Cooperative, Pretend

What are the different Play Types?

Elements of Classical Conditioning

US, UR, NS, CS, CR.

Observational learning

Attention, retention, reproduction, motivation

Insight learning

Preparation, incubation, insight, verification