Unit 3 Vocab AP Psych

developmental psychology

A branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development throughout the lifespan.

cross-sectional study

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

longitudinal study

Research that follows and retests the same people over time.

teratogens

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 function deficits in children caused by their birth mother’s heavy drinking during pregnancy.

habituation

Decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a stimulus, their interest wanes.

maturation

Biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience.

critical period

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

adolescence

The transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence.

puberty

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

menopause

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

sex

In psychology, the biologically influenced characteristics by which people define male, female, and intersex.

gender

In psychology, the attitudes, feelings, and behaviors that a given culture associates with a person’s biological sex.

intersex

Possessing male and female biological sexual characteristics at birth.

aggression

Any physical or verbal behavior intended to harm someone physically or emotionally.

relational aggression

An act of aggression intended to harm a person’s relationship or social standing.

X chromosome

The sex chromosome found in females and males; females typically have two X chromosomes.

Y chromosome

The sex chromosome typically found only in males, paired with an X chromosome produces a male child.

testosterone

The most important male sex hormone that stimulates the growth of male sex organs during the fetal period.

estrogens

Sex hormones that contribute to female sex characteristics and are secreted in greater amounts by females than by males.

primary sex characteristics

The body structures that make sexual reproduction possible.

secondary sex characteristics

Nonreproductive sexual traits, such as female breasts and hips, male voice quality, and body hair.

spermarche

The first ejaculation.

menarche

The first menstrual period.

role

A set of expectations about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave.

gender role

A set of expected behaviors, attitudes, and traits for men and for women.

sexual aggression

Any unwanted physical or verbal behavior of a sexual nature intended to harm someone.

gender identity

Our personal sense of being male, female, neither, or some combination of male and female.

social learning theory

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

gender typing

The acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role.

androgyny

Blending traditionally masculine and traditionally feminine psychological characteristics.

transgender

An umbrella term describing people whose gender identity or expression differs from that associated with their birth-assigned sex.

sexuality

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

asexual

Having no sexual attraction toward others.

social script

A culturally modeled guide for how to act in various situations.

sexual orientation

A person’s sexual and emotional attraction to another person.

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 schemas to incorporate new information.

sensorimotor stage

In Piaget’s theory, the stage at 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 at which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic.

conservation

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

egocentrism

The preoperational child’s difficulty taking another’s point of view.

concrete operational stage

In Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development at which children can think logically about concrete events.

formal operational stage

In Piaget’s theory, the stage at which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts.

scaffold

In Vygotsky’s theory, a framework that offers children temporary support as they develop higher levels of thinking.

theory of mind

People’s ideas about their own and others’ mental states.

language

Our agreed-upon systems of spoken, written, or signed words to communicate meaning.

phoneme

The smallest distinctive sound unit in a language.

morpheme

The smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or part of a word.

grammar

A system of rules that enables us to communicate; includes semantics and syntax.

universal grammar (UG)

Humans’ innate predisposition to understand grammar principles of all languages.

babbling stage

The stage in speech development during which an infant spontaneously utters various sounds.

one-word stage

The stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly in single words.

two-word stage

The stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly in two-word sentences.

telegraphic speech

The early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram, using mostly nouns and verbs.

aphasia

Impairment of language usually caused by left hemisphere damage.

Broca’s area

A brain area that helps control language expression and directs muscle movements involved in speech.

Wernicke’s area

A brain area involved in language comprehension and expression.

linguistic determinism

Whorf’s hypothesis that language determines the way we think.

linguistic relativism

The idea that language influences the way we think.

ecological systems theory

A theory of the social environment’s influence on human development.

stranger anxiety

The fear of strangers that infants commonly display.

attachment

An emotional tie with others; shown in young children by seeking closeness to caregivers.

imprinting

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

strange situation

A procedure for studying child-caregiver attachment.

secure attachment

Demonstrated by infants who explore environments in the presence of their caregiver.

insecure attachment

Demonstrated by infants showing anxious or avoidant attachment styles.

temperament

A person’s characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity.

basic trust

A sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy, formed during infancy.

self-concept

All our thoughts and feelings about ourselves.

identity

Our sense of self; integrating various roles during adolescence.

social identity

The part of our sense of self that comes from our group memberships.

intimacy

The ability to form close, loving relationships, a primary task in young adulthood.

emerging adulthood

A period from about age 18 to the mid-twenties when individuals have not yet achieved full independence.

social clock

The culturally preferred timing of social events.

learning

The process of acquiring new and relatively enduring information or behaviors.

associative learning

Learning that certain events occur together.

stimulus

Any event or situation that evokes a response.

respondent behavior

Behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus.

operant behavior

Behavior that operates on the environment to produce a consequence.

cognitive learning

The acquisition of mental information through observation or language.

classical conditioning

A type of learning in which we link two or more stimuli.

behaviorism

The view that psychology should study behavior without reference to mental processes.

neutral stimulus (NS)

A stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning.

unconditioned response (UCR)

An unlearned, naturally occurring response to an unconditioned stimulus.

unconditioned stimulus (UCS)

A stimulus that unconditionally triggers an unconditioned response.

conditioned response (CR)

A learned response to a previously neutral stimulus.

conditioned stimulus (CS)

An originally neutral stimulus that triggers a conditioned response.

acquisition

The initial stage when one links a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus.

higher-order conditioning

A procedure that creates a second conditioned stimulus by pairing a neutral stimulus with an existing conditioned stimulus.

extinction

The diminishing of a conditioned response when an unconditioned stimulus does not follow a conditioned stimulus.

spontaneous recovery

The reappearance of a weakened conditioned response after a pause.

generalization

The tendency to respond similarly to stimuli that resemble the conditioned stimulus.

discrimination (in classical conditioning)

The learned ability to distinguish between conditioned and unconditioned stimuli.

preparedness

A biological predisposition to learn associations that have survival value.

operant conditioning

A type of learning where behavior is influenced by consequences.

law of effect

Behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely.