AP Psych Final All Terms

temperament

• individual differences in attention, arousal, and reactivity to new situations

attachment

• most important social construct an infant must develop

  • bond with a caregiver

critical period

• optimal period shortly after birth when an organism’s exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produce proper development

stage theorists

• these psychologists believe that we travel from stage to stage throughout our lifetimes

schema

• the way we interpret the world around us

  • general mental image of a concept

assimilation

• incorporating new experiences into existing schemas

accommodation

• changing an existing schema to adopt to new info

sensorimotor (stages of cog. dev.)

• in this stage, we experience the world through our senses and motor skills

  • object permanence - 9m

  • 0-2 yrs

preoperational (stages of cog. dev.)

• 2-7 yrs

• have object permanence

• begin to use language to represent objects and ideas

• egocentrism

• animism

• centration

• irreversibility

• do NOT understand conservation

conservation

• the idea that a quantity remains the same despite changes in appearance

• part of logical thinking

concrete operational (stages of cog. dev.)

• can demonstrate concept of conservation

• learn to think logically

formal operational (stages of cog. dev.)

• abstract reasoning

• manipulate objects in our minds without seeing them

• hypothesis testing

• trial and error

• metacognition

• not every adult gets to this stage

information-processing model

• says children do not learn in stages but rather exhibit a gradual continuous growth

• studies show that our attention span grows gradually over time

vygotsky’s sociocultural theory

• stresses that development is due to the interactions of interpersonal relationships with parents, teachers, and other children

• collaborative dialogues and private speech

1 - trust v mistrust (Erik Erikson)

• can a baby trust the world to fulfill its needs?

• the trust/mistrust they develop can carry on with the child for the rest of their lives

2 - autonomy v shame and doubt (Erik Erikson)

• toddlers begin to control their bodies (toilet training)

• control temper tantrums

• “No” becomes more common

• can they learn to control or will they doubt themselves?

3 - initiative v guilt (Erik Erikson)

• “NO” becomes “WHY”

• want to understand the world and ask questions

• is their curiosity encouraged or scolded?

4 - industry v inferiority (Erik Erikson)

• we are for the first time evaluated by a formal system and our peers

• do we feel good or bad about our accomplishments?

• can lead to us feeling bad about ourselves for the rest of our lives

5 - identity v role confusion (Erik Erikson)

• in our teenage years we try out different roles

• “who am I?”

• what group do I fit in with?

• can lead to an identity crisis

6 - intimacy v isolation (Erik Erikson)

• have to balance work and relationships

• what are my priorities?

7 - generativity v stagnation (Erik Erikson)

• is everything going as you planned?

• am I happy with what I created?

• Mid-life crisis

8 - integrity v despair (Erik Erikson)

• look back on life

• was my life meaningful or do I have regret?

development

• progressive series of changes in structure, function, and behavior patterns that occur over the lifespan of a human being or other organism

prenatal period

• developmental period between conception and birth

zygote

• fertilized egg

germinal stage

• first stage of gestation

• lasts about 2 weeks

• zygote migrates from fallopian tube to implant itself in the uterine wall

placenta

• organ that nourishes the embryo and fetus

embryonic stage

• second stage of gestation

• lasts about 6 weeks

• cells begin to differentiate and organs begin to develop

fetal stage

• development of human organisms from 9th week after conception to birth at or about 40 weeks

teratogens

• substances that damage the process of fetal development such as tobacco and alcohol

age of viability

• the age at which the baby can survive in the event of a premature birth

• between 23 and 26 weeks

fetal alcohol syndrome

• physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman’s heavy drinking

motor development

• the emergence of the ability to execute physical actions such as walking, crawling, reaching, and rolling

gross motor skills

• describing activities or skills that use large muscles to move the trunk or limbs and control posture to maintain balance

  • ex: waving, walking, hopping

fine motor skills

• describing activities or skills that require coordination of small muscles to control small, precise movement, particularly in the hands and face

  • ex: handwriting, drawing, cutting

cephalocaudal trend

• refers to the body’s changing growth patterns and spatial proportions over time in a top to bottom manner

proximodistal trend

• refers to the body’s changing growth patterns and spatial proportions over time in an inward to outward manner

maturation

• process by which we change, grow, and develop throughout life

reflexes

• automatic and involuntary responses to stimuli that help protect our bodies from harm or maintain balance

imprinting

• behavioral trait that certain animals experience hours after being born where they develop an extremely close bond with the face they first see

longitudinal study

• a research design that examines how individuals develop by studying the same sample over a long period of time

cross-sectional study

• a research design conducted at a single point in time, comparing groups of differing ages to arrive at conclusions about development

Harry Harlow’s research on attachment

• infant rhesus monkey clung to cloth mother during a fear test

• over the course of the experiment, monkeys became attached to the cloth mother

• research showed importance of touch in attachment

cohort effects

• influence of a person’s generation or birth cohort on their attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, and life experiences

separation anxiety

• distress experienced by individuals (usually infants/young children) when separated from their primary caregivers

secure attachment

• an individual’s ability to develop secure and trusting relationships with others

Mary Ainsworth’s strange situation

• experimental technique used to assess quality of attachment in infants and young children

• procedure subjects child to increasing amounts of stress induced by a strange setting, entrance of an unfamiliar person, and two brief separations from the parent

anxious-ambivalent attachment

• children with this attachment style become extremely upset/distressed when their caregiver leaves but reject the caregiver when he or she returns

avoidant attachment

• attachment style characterized by complete dependence on a caregiver and extreme reluctance to explore one’s environment

• the result of unresponsive parenting

disorganized-disoriented attachment

• attachment style reflecting the greatest insecurity, characterizing infants who show confused, contradictory responses when reunited with the parent after a separation

stage theory

• explains how children develop their thinking abilities as they grow

• comprised of 4 main stages

Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development

• developmental psychology theory that focuses on how children actively construct knowledge and understanding of the world through their experiences

continuous development

• the idea that development is similar to walking up a slope and there is no sudden jump in the process

discontinuous development

• the idea that development occurs in a series of distinct stages

centration

• preoperational thought pattern involving the inability to take into account more than one factor at a time

irreversibility

• inability in a preoperational child to think through a series of events or mental operations and then mentally reverse the steps

egocentrism

• tendency of an individual to focus their attention inward, concerned with how others will view themselves

• inability to see things from others’ point of views

animism

• belief that natural phenomena or inanimate objects are alive or possess lifelike characteristics, such as intentions, desires, and feelings

Lawrence Kohlberg’s moral development theory

• idea that humans can fall into 3 different stages of morality: preconventional, conventional, and postconventional morality

Carol Gilligan’s care orientation

• moral perspective emphasizing empathy, compassion, and taking into account individual circumstances when making moral/ethical decisions

pubescence

• when puberty begins

secondary sex characteristics

• non-reproductive sexual characteristics such as breasts on females and adam’s apples on men

puberty

• period of sexual maturation, during which a person is capable of reproducing

primary sex characteristics

• body structures that are specific to sex like ovaries for females and testes for males

menarche

• first menstrual cycle or first period that a female experiences in her life

spermarche

• a male’s first ejaculation of semen

prefrontal cortex in adolescence

• last part of brain to mature in a teen

• responsible for planning, setting priorities, organizing thoughts, suppressing impulses, and weighing consequences of one’s actions

james marcia identity statuses

• identity diffusion

• foreclosure

• moratorium

• identity achievement

empty nest syndrome

• feelings of sadness and grief that parents may feel when they no longer have children living with them

midlife crisis

• period of emotional turmoil in middle age characterized especially by a strong desire for change

menopause

• time of natural cessation of menstruation

dementia

• generalized, pervasive deterioration of memory and at least one other cognitive function, such as language and executive function, due to a variety of causes

fluid intelligence

• ability to solve new problems, use logic in new situations, and identify patterns

crystallized intelligence

• ability to use learned knowledge and experience

parenting styles

• overall approach or strategy that parents use to raise and interact with their children

  • authoritarian (harsh, emphasis on obedience)

  • permissive (unpredictable, lenient)

  • authoritative (consistent, discussion-based, praising)

  • uninvolved (absent)

elisabeth kubler ross stages of accepting death

• different emotional responses that people go through in response to the knowledge of death

• DABDA

  • denial

  • anger

  • bargaining

  • depression

  • acceptance

gender stereotypes

• broad generalizations about the characteristics and/or roles that women and men have or should have

gender roles

• the pattern of behavior, personality traits, and attitudes that define masculinity or femininity in a particular culture

socialization

• the process by which individuals learn the norms, values, beliefs, and behaviors of their society through interactions with others

visual cliff experiment

• a research method used to study depth perception in infants and animals

  • involves placing a glass-covered table with a “cliff” edge, creating the illusion of a drop-off, and observing whether subjects avoid stepping off the edge or not

death deferral theory

• the idea that spirit affect life expectancy

• people tend to put off dying when there is an event to look forward to

habituation

• decrease in response to a stimulus after repeated presentation

theory of mind

• a person’s general understanding that the people around them each have their own unique beliefs, perceptions, and desires

spotlight effect

• tendency to overestimate the amount of people who notice something about you

• common in embarrassing situations

homeostasis

• a dynamic state of equilibrium maintained by fulfilling drives and regulating internal conditions such as body temperature and blood pressure

drive

• a state of unrest or irritation that energizes particular behaviors to alleviate it

drive reduction theory

• theory stating that imbalances to your body’s internal environment generate drives that cause you to act in ways that restore homeostasis

incentive theory

• theory of motivation stating that behaviors are motivated by the desire to attain rewards and avoid punishments

evolutionary theory of motivation

• individuals are motivated to engage in behaviors that maximize their genetic fitness

biological motives

• physiological factors that influence our behaviors such as hunger, thirst, sex drive etc., which motivate us to fulfill our basic survival requirements

social motives

• human need to interact with others and to be accepted by them

lateral hypothalamus

• LH

• region of hypothalamus involved with hunger regulation

• lesions = stop eating

• stimulation = eating

ventromedial hypothalamus

• VMH

• part of your body that makes you feel full after you’ve eaten

arcuate nucleus

• arc-shaped collection of neurons in hypothalamus that produces hormones

• contains a center that secretes appetite-stimulating hormones and another center that secretes appetite suppressing hormones

glucostatic theory

• theory that proposes fluctuation in blood glucose level are monitored in the brain, where they influence the experience of hunger

insulin

• hormone secreted by the pancreas

leptin

• “starvation hormone”

• signals hypothalamus that the body has enough fat stored to function normally

• LOW = INC APPETITE

• HIGH = DEC APPETITE

obesity

• condition marked by excess accumulation of body fat

body mass index

• numerical scale indication adult height in relation to weight

• sometimes used to diagnose obesity

set point

• suggests our body has a pre-determined weight range to which it naturally tries to return, maintaining this ________ through adjustments in energy and expenditure