DEP Final Exam Study Guide

A collection of vocabulary terms and definitions covering major concepts from the life-span development exam study guide, including cognitive, social, and biological development.

Social and emotional development

The study of how individuals' interactions and social relationships evolve throughout life.

Experimental method

The scientific method used to test causal hypotheses.

Cognitive aspect of development

A research area that addresses questions regarding the stability and change of intellectual skills.

Cohort effect

A unique long-term effect on a group of people who were born and live during a specific time, such as the era of social media.

Dispositional bias (Miller, 1984)

The tendency to explain deviant behavior by referring to the character or dispositions of the person committing it, found more frequently in White American adults than Indian (Hindu) adults.

Vertical individualism

A cultural orientation characterized by the endorsement of competition for distinctness and a higher tolerance for inequality.

Non-normative influence

An environmental or life event, such as divorce or parental abuse, that does not occur to everyone at a set time and influences individual development.

Lifespan approach

The perspective that human development begins at the moment of conception and continues until death.

Dispositional (attributional) bias (Religious comparison)

A bias where Protestants show more dispositional judgment regarding people's behavior compared to Catholics.

Multifactorial transmission theory

The theory that multiple genes influence personality development, which remains relatively stable over a lifespan.

Shared environment

Environmental factors that are common to siblings or individuals in the same household, such as growing up in an upper-middle class household.

Non-shared environment

Factors that lead to personality differences between identical twins raised in the same household.

Epigenetics

A mechanism by which the environment affects our genetics, which can influence development as early as before a child's conception.

Myelination

A process that speeds up the transmission of neuron impulses.

Brain Plasticity

The brain's ability to change, such as an increase in gray matter volume after practicing a skill like juggling or martial arts.

Limbic system

The brain system primarily involved in emotional regulation and stress, which reaches its peak size in late childhood or adolescence.

Critical period in height growth

A specific time during early childhood when poor nutrition can lead to irreversible negative effects on growth.

Gray matter in adolescence

The brain tissue that generally decreases in volume during the adolescent period.

Sulcus

A depression or groove in the cerebral cortex.

Object permanence

A universal cognitive concept; in infants as young as $3$ months, it can be tested using preferential looking.

Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

Vygotsky's concept regarding the range of tasks a learner can perform with guidance, which is similar to the idea of a sensitive or critical period.

Post-formal thinking

A stage of thinking where an individual agrees that right and wrong can differ based on the context.

Working memory

The part of executive function that correlates significantly with intelligence and is essential for information processing.

Implicit memory

A type of memory that does not change significantly as an individual ages.

Cognitive control

A neuro-cognitive process observable as early as infancy, often measured by the length of time it takes an infant to anticipate a stimulus switch.

Prefrontal cortex

The brain region that supports almost all processes of the executive function.

Neurophysiological state (Affect)

A raw and consciously accessible feeling.

Attachment theory

A theory influenced by ethology and Darwin's evolution theory, viewing attachment as a biologically rooted mechanism to ensure human survival.

Symbolic thought

A cognitive milestone indicated when a preschooler engages in pretend play.

Basic emotions

A set of primary emotions which includes anger.

Goodness of fit theory

The theory explaining that parental sensitivity must vary according to a child's specific needs for healthy social-emotional development.

Self-concept (Preschool)

The sense of self in early childhood, which is based mainly on physical characteristics.

Mirror and Rouge test

A test of self-awareness that children typically pass at $2$ years old.

Joint attention

An interaction that indicates a baby perceives themselves and others as goal-directed and intentional agents.

Physically self-aware

A state demonstrated in dogs using the "own body as an obstacle" paradigm by Lenkei and colleagues ($2021$).