Studied by 12 people
Accommodation
adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information
AIDS
(acquired immune deficiency syndrome)
life-threatening sexually transmitted infection. it depletes the immune system leaving a person vulnerable to infections
Assimilation
interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas
Attachment
an emotional tie with another person
Autism spectrum disorder
a disorder that is marked by significant deficiencies in communication and social interaction along with fixated interests and repetitive behaviors
Basic Trust
a sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy; formed during infancy
Concrete operational stage
stage of cognitive development (6-11) when children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events
Critical period
an optimal period early in the life of an organism when exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces normal development
Egocentrism
the preoperational child’s difficulty taking another’s point of view
Fetal alcohol syndrome
physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman’s heavy drinking
Formal operational stage
the stage of cognitive development (age 12+) during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts
Gender
the socially constructed roles and characteristics by which a culture defines male and female
Gender role
a set of expected behaviors for males or for females
Identity
our sense of self
Imprinting
the process by which certain animal forms strong attachments during an early life critical period
Intimacy
the ability to form close, loving relationships
Maturation
biological growth process that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively influenced by experience
Menarche
The first menstrual period
Menopause
the biological changes a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declines
Object Permanence
the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived
Preoperational stage
the stage (2-6) during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic
Primary sex characteristics
the body structures that make sexual reproduction possible
Puberty
the period of sexual maturation, during which a person becomes capable of reproducing
Schema
a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information
Secondary sex characteristics
nonreproductive sexual traits
Self concept
all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves in an answer to the question “Who am I?”
sensorimotor stage
the stage (birth-2) during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities
Sexual Orientation
an enduring sexual attraction toward members of either one’s own sex, the other sex, or both sexes
Social Identity
the “we” aspect of our self concept; the answer to the question “Who am I?” that comes from group memberships
Social Learning theory
the theory that we learn social behavior by observing and imitating and by being rewarded or punished
Teratogens
agents that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm
Testosterone
a steroid hormone that stimulates development of male secondary sexual characteristics, produced mainly in the testes, but also in the ovaries and adrenal cortex
Theory of mind
people’s ideas about their own and other’s mental states
Transgender
denoting or relating to a person whose gender identity does not correspond with the sex registered for them at birth
X chromosome
a sex chromosome, two of which are normally present in female cells (designated XX) and only one in male cells (designated XY)
Y chromosome
a sex chromosome that is characteristic of male cells in species
Note 
Flashcard (25)