Individual Development, Social Science Theories, and Life Span Perspectives

A complete array of vocabulary flashcards covering developmental theories, adult lifespan models, social science perspectives, personal choices, and demographic trends.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

A humanist theory proposed by Abraham Maslow stating that human motivation is structured across eight levels of needs, ranging from basic physiological requirements to transcendence.

Physiological Needs

The most fundamental level of Maslow's hierarchy, encompassing biological necessities for survival such as air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep, and clothing.

Safety Needs

The second level in Maslow's hierarchy, involving protection from elements, personal security, employment, resources, health, order, law, and stability.

Love and Belonging Needs

The third level in Maslow's hierarchy, involving emotional relationships such as friendship, intimacy, affection, and belonging within family, peers, and romantic partnerships.

Esteem Needs

The fourth level in Maslow's hierarchy, encompassing self-esteem, achievement, mastery, independence, status, dominance, prestige, and managerial responsibility.

Cognitive Needs

The fifth level in Maslow's revised hierarchy, driven by the desire for knowledge, understanding, and meaning.

Aesthetic Needs

The sixth level in Maslow's revised hierarchy, centered on the appreciation and search for beauty, balance, and form.

Self-Actualization

The seventh level in Maslow's hierarchy, defined as realizing personal potential, self-fulfillment, and seeking personal growth and peak experiences.

Transcendence

The highest level in Maslow's revised hierarchy, involving helping others to achieve self-actualization.

Evolutionary Developmental Theory

A perspective developed by Konrad Lorenz and John Bowlby proposing that children are biologically pre-programmed to form attachments with caregivers to enhance survival.

Social Releasers

Innate infant behaviors, such as crying and smiling, that stimulate innate caregiving responses from adults.

Monotropy

The concept in evolutionary theory that an infant initially forms only one primary attachment figure who acts as a secure base for exploring the world.

Critical Period for Attachment

A crucial time frame from approximately 0 to 5 years during which attachment must develop to avoid irreversible consequences like reduced intelligence and increased aggression.

Still Face Experiment

An observational experiment demonstrating an infant's social-emotional reaction and distress when a primary caregiver suddenly displays an unresponsive, neutral facial expression.

The Microsystem

The first level of Bronfenbrenner's sociocultural perspective, representing an individual's direct environment, including family, friends, classmates, teachers, and neighbors.

The Mesosystem

The second level of Bronfenbrenner's perspective, involving the interactions and relationships between different microsystems in an individual's life.

The Exosystem

The third level of Bronfenbrenner's perspective, representing a link between a setting where the individual has no active role and a context where they participate actively.

The Macrosystem

The fourth level of Bronfenbrenner's perspective, encompassing the overarching cultural context, including socioeconomic status, ethnicity, race, and nation.

The Chronosystem

The fifth level of Bronfenbrenner's perspective, comprising lifespan transitions, shifts, and socio-historical contexts that influence development over time.

Trust vs. Mistrust

Erikson's first psychosocial stage (infancy), in which infants must form a loving, trusting relationship with a caregiver or develop mistrust.

Autonomy vs. Shame/Doubt

Erikson's second psychosocial stage (toddlerhood), where energy is focused on physical skills and control; failure or poor handling leads to shame and doubt.

Initiative vs. Guilt

Erikson's third psychosocial stage (pre-school), where children become assertive and take initiative, but risk developing guilt if overly forceful.

Industry vs. Inferiority

Erikson's fourth psychosocial stage (middle school), where children must cope with demands to learn new skills or face feelings of inferiority and incompetence.

Identity vs. Role Confusion

Erikson's fifth psychosocial stage (adolescence to young adulthood), where teens work to establish an identity in occupation, sex roles, politics, and religion.

Intimacy vs. Isolation

Erikson's sixth psychosocial stage (early adulthood), focused on forming intimate, trusting relationships to avoid negative feelings of isolation.

Generativity vs. Stagnation

Erikson's seventh psychosocial stage (middle adulthood), centered on supporting the next generation and contributing to society.

Ego Integrity vs. Despair

Erikson's eighth psychosocial stage (late adulthood), where elderly adults reflect on life achievements to achieve fulfillment or experience bitterness and despair.

Sensorimotor Stage

Piaget's cognitive stage (ages 0-2), where infants learn through sensory experiences and object manipulation, characterized by stranger anxiety.

Preoperational Stage

Piaget's cognitive stage (ages 2-6), where children learn through pretend play and language development, but struggle with logic and taking others' perspectives.

Concrete Operational Stage

Piaget's cognitive stage (ages 7-11), where children think logically about concrete events but struggle with abstract and hypothetical concepts.

Formal Operational Stage

Piaget's final cognitive stage (ages 12 to adulthood), characterized by abstract thinking, deductive reasoning, and moral reasoning.

Seasons of Life Theory

Daniel Levinson's 1977 adult development theory proposing that life evolves through distinct 25-year seasons, including an adult season from ages 17 to 33.

Life Structure

In Levinson's theory, the overarching pattern or design of a person's life that represents a meshing of self-in-world.

The Dream

In Levinson's theory, an individual's vision of self in the adult world that forms the core of their life structure, encompassing career, family, and social roles.

Structural Functionalism

The oldest sociological theory, which explains how society is organized into institutions (law, family, education) that function together to maintain stability.

Status

In Structural Functionalism, a specific position held by an individual within a social group.

Role

In Structural Functionalism, a set of expected behaviors that an individual demonstrates within a given status.

Systems Theory

A sociological theory asserting that individuals interact as an interconnected system of parts working together to maintain family stability over time.

Feedback

A fundamental principle in Systems Theory by which system members adjust their behavior to maintain internal stability.

Symbolic Interactionism

A psychological theory formulated by Charles Cooley and George Mead examining how individuals act based on the subjective meanings they give to their interactions.

The "Me" and "I"

The two aspects of self in Symbolic Interactionism; "Me" comprises objective personal qualities, while "I" is subjective self-awareness formed through feedback.

Role-Taking

In Symbolic Interactionism, the cognitive process of imagining another person's perspective to anticipate their actions and decide how to respond.

Social Exchange Theory

A psychological theory stating that individuals in reciprocal relationships seek to maximize personal benefits and minimize costs to maintain stability.

Conflict Theory

A sociological theory originated by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels postulating that power inequalities and resource competition hold society together.

Feminist Theory

A theoretical perspective developed to examine the impact of sex and gender on human behavior from a female point of view and counter gender bias.

Androcentricity

A gender bias that assumes the male experience is the universal human experience, treating female differences as deviant.

Double Standards

Biases that apply different criteria or standards when evaluating the behavior of men versus women.

Liberal Feminism

A feminist branch asserting that discriminatory policies push women into an inferior social class, working to achieve equal rights through political reform.

Socialist Feminism

A feminist branch attributing gender inequality to the sexual division of paid and unpaid labor, challenging both capitalism and patriarchy.

Radical Feminism

A feminist branch asserting that power disparities make male-female relationships inherently exploitative, advocating complete separation.

Role Expectations

Socially constructed norms and pressures regarding career, family, and relationships that can create personal conflict and stress across the lifespan.

Demographic Trends

Population-level statistical shifts in factors like life expectancy, income, and urbanization that significantly influence individual and family development.