Developmental Psychology Board Exam Review

Lifespan studies

Studies based on the idea that every portion of the lifespan is influenced by earlier events and will in turn affect later events.

Cognitive development

Change and stability in mental abilities such as learning, memory, language, thinking, reasoning, etc.

Separation anxiety

An example of interaction between physical and emotional development.

Multidisciplinary development

The interest of psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists, neurologists, and medical researchers in unlocking the mysteries of development through the lifespan.

Prenatal period

The time from conception to birth.

Infancy

The developmental period where a child is almost completely dependent on parents for wants and needs and is just beginning to acquire language skills and sensorimotor coordination.

Adolescence

A developmental stage characterized by a pursuit of independence and identity, with more logical, abstract, and idealistic thought.

Middle adulthood

A period of life represented by a senior partner at a law firm who is an important member of his church and community, with children in college.

DNA

A complex molecule with a double helix shape that contains genetic information.

Mitosis

The process during which the cell's nucleus, including the chromosomes, duplicates itself and the cell divides.

Zygote

A single cell created during fertilization when an egg and a sperm fuse.

Female indication

Sasha's 23rd chromosome pair containing two X chromosomes indicates that she is female.

Phenotype

The observable characteristics of an individual, such as blonde hair, green eyes, and fair skin.

Regressing

Acting in ways typical of a person at an earlier age of development, according to Freud.

Psychoanalysis

A therapeutic approach aimed at giving patients insight into their unconscious conflicts.

Freud's psychosexual development order

The proper order is oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital.

Trust vs. mistrust

The first stage of development according to Erikson's psychosocial theory, which occurs during infancy.

Little Albert

A famous example of classical conditioning in human development worked on by a researcher.

Freud's psychosexual development

The proper order is: Anal, phallic, oral, latency, genital.

Erikson's first stage of development

Trust vs. mistrust occurs during infancy.

Little Albert experiment

An early example of classical conditioning in human development conducted by John B. Watson.

Social cognitive theory

__ develops as children gradually establish guidelines for judging their own actions.

Piaget's developmental theory vs. information-processing approach

Piaget sees development as occurring in stages, whereas the information-processing approach sees development as continuous.

Ethological perspective

Emphasizes that species-specific behaviors enhance the survival of that species.

Qualitative research

Research involving gathering detailed descriptions from people about their beliefs.

Psychoanalytic theory approach

Freud's technique of studying several individuals in great detail for an extended period of time is referred to as the case study approach.

Down syndrome

A genetic disorder that occurs because of an extra copy of chromosome 21.

Klinefelter syndrome

A condition diagnosed in a tall man with undeveloped testes and enlarged breasts due to an extra X chromosome.

Fraternal twins

Twins formed by the fertilization of two ova by two sperm.

Autism diagnosis

A probable diagnosis for a child who has never been responsive with social stimulation, shows little language development, and engages in repetitive behavior.

Life support system for the embryo

Consists of the umbilical cord, placenta, and amnion.

Pregnancy timeline

Alyssa still has another 18 weeks to go before her baby is full-term.

Alyssa's baby movement

Alyssa's baby is able to move.

Alyssa's baby weight

Alyssa's baby weighs less than 3 pounds.

Obesity during pregnancy

Increased all of the following risks to the fetus EXCEPT: Neonatal fetus mellitus, Intrauterine fetal death, Stillbirth, Admission to the NICU.

Proximodistal pattern of growth

The sequence in which growth starts at the center of the body and moves toward the extremities.

Brain development

The brain grows exponentially from conception to birth causing the brain to be extremely developed at birth.

Cerebral cortex structure

The cerebral cortex has two hemispheres, each of which is further divided into four lobes.

Sleep apnea

A temporary cessation of breathing in which the airway is completely blocked, usually for 10 seconds or longer, is a risk factor for SIDS.

Marasmus

A life-threatening condition that is caused by a severe protein-calorie deficiency and results in wasting away of body tissues in an infant's first year.

Posture

A dynamic process that is linked with sensory information in the skin, joints, and muscles, which tells us where we are in space.

Orienting response

A technique that can be used to determine if an infant can see or hear, which involves turning one's head toward a sight or sound.

Cognitive development theory

Jean Piaget used detailed observation of his own children to develop his theory of cognitive development.

Equilibration

The mechanism through which children shift one stage of thought to the next when they experience cognitive conflict.

Sensorimotor stage duration

The sensorimotor stage of development lasts from birth until about two years of age.

Coordination of secondary circular reactions

Eleven-month old Jenny retrieves toys from under the sofa by using her toy golf club, indicating she is in Piaget's coordination of secondary circular reactions substage.

Phonology and morphology

Phonology is to sound; as morphology is to meaning.

Sequence of vocalization in infants

The correct sequence is crying, cooing, babbling, gestures.

Sudden infant death syndrome

An apparently normal infant who dies in his or her sleep probably suffered from sudden infant death syndrome.

Breast milk recommendation

Breast milk is almost always the best food for newborns and is recommended for at least the first six months.

Rapid brain growth region

The brain region that shows the most rapid growth during the first year of life is the cerebellum.

Pruning process

The pruning process of excess brain cells in order to make connections among cortical cells and improve motor and cognitive functioning.

Most developed sense at birth

At birth, the most developed sense is touch; the least developed sense is sight.

Infantile amnesia

The inability to recall early events, typically before the age of 3.

Piagetian approach

The Piagetian approach focuses on qualitative changes in cognition.

Representational ability

The ability to mentally represent objects and remember events.

Visual preference measure

The amount of time a baby spends looking at different sights is a measure of visual preference based on the ability to make visual distinctions.

Emotions

Feelings or affects that occur when a person is in a state or an interaction that is important to him/her, especially to his/her well-being.

Sense of self-worth

According to Harter's research, the single most important aspect of a child's life that will determine his sense of self-worth is positive regard from parents and peers.

Personality

A relatively consistent blend of emotions, temperament, thoughts, and behaviors.

Empathy

When a mother explains how the baby felt after Jacob took the pacifier, she was teaching Jacob empathy.

First psychosocial crisis

According to Erikson, the first psychosocial crisis we face is that of basic trust vs. basic mistrust.

Separation anxiety

A 9-month-old infant who cries when the mother leaves shows separation anxiety.

Clumsiness in puzzle tasks

A 3-year-old is still somewhat clumsy at the task of doing a puzzle.

Preoperational stage duration

The second Piagetian stage is the preoperational stage, which lasts approximately 2 to 7 years of age.

Ingrid's stage of development

Ingrid is in Piaget's preoperational stage of development.

Intuitive substage

Piaget called the second substage in preoperational thought 'intuitive' because of the absence of rational thinking in children in that stage.

Zone of proximal development (ZPD)

A toddler is likely to learn something in the zone of proximal development (ZPD) if the toddler has not mastered all of the skills necessary.

Mastered skills

The toddler has mastered all of the skills necessary.

Non-interference

Parents or teachers do not interfere.

Difficult task

The task is more difficult than the child can do alone.

Little help needed

The toddler needs little or no help from a parent or teacher.

Erikson's psychosocial stage

The psychosocial stage that characterizes early childhood is Initiative vs. guilt.

Emotional regulation

The ability to control one's own emotions is called emotional regulation.

Enuresis

Children who cannot recognize the sensation that their bladder is full often suffer from enuresis, which is commonly known as bedwetting.

Encopresis

Repeated urination in clothing or in bed is called enuresis.

Deferred imitation

When children repeat an action that they saw someone else perform at an earlier time, they are demonstrating deferred imitation.

Egocentric

Alex's question indicates that Alex is egocentric.

Single representations

The first stage in development of self-definition, in which children describe themselves in terms of individual unconnected characteristics and all-or-nothing terms, is called single representations.

Concrete operational stage

According to Piaget, children enter the concrete operational stage at about the age of 7.

Decoding

A child who sounds out a word by translating it from print to speech is decoding.

Dyslexia

Donald's reading level is about 2 years behind his age group, and it is probable that Ronald is suffering from dyslexia.

Representational systems

The third stage of development in the neo-Piagetian scheme of self-concept development involves the ability to form representational systems.

Industry vs. inferiority

Erikson's developmental crisis of middle childhood (from 6 to 12 years old) is industry vs. inferiority.

Adolescence

Adolescence is a developmental transition between childhood to adulthood.

Puberty

Adolescence begins with the onset of puberty, which involves the process that leads to sexual maturity.

Menarche

The first sign of sexual maturity in the female is menarche.

Testosterone increase

14-year-old Kyle's blood tests indicate an 18-fold increase in testosterone level over the past few years.

Abnormal male physical characteristics

Is exhibiting abnormal levels of development of male physical characteristics.

Abnormal female physical characteristics

Is exhibiting abnormal levels of development of female physical characteristics.

Adolescent sexual identity anxiety

All adolescents have a high anxiety level about sex.

Adolescent sexual arousal

A majority of adolescents are strongly aroused sexually.

Active sexual behavior in adolescents

Some adolescents are very active sexually.

Religious upbringing and sexual activity

Adolescents with a strong religious upbringing are usually sexually inactive.

Piaget's cognitive development stage

Mia is at the Formal operations stage of cognitive development according to Piaget.

Self-consciousness in teenagers

Teenagers become self-conscious because they believe that people are talking about them.

Elkind's imaginary audience

This type of thinking reflects the operation of the imaginary audience.

Problem-solving strategy

Angie is using hypothetical-deductive reasoning to solve her problem.

Adolescent egocentrism

Joni's feelings reflect the personal fable aspect of an adolescent's egocentrism.

Media multitasking

Frank's behavior is indicative of media-multitasking.