AP Psych

developmental psychology

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

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.

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; refers to 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 (physical or verbal) 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; when paired with an X chromosome, it produces a male child.

testosterone

The most important male sex hormone; stimulates the growth of male sex organs during fetal period and male sex characteristics during puberty.

primary sex characteristics

The body structures (ovaries, testes, and external genitalia) 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 (norms) 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 physical or verbal behavior of a sexual nature that is unwanted or 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 and the behavior and/or social affiliation that may result.

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

The stage (from birth to nearly 2 years) at which infants know the world mostly in terms of sensory impressions and motor activities.

object permanence

The awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived.

preoperational stage

The stage (from about 2 to 6 or 7 years) at which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend mental operations of concrete logic.

conservation

The principle that properties like mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in form.

egocentrism

In the preoperational child, difficulty taking another’s point of view.

concrete operational stage

The stage of cognitive development (from about 7 to 11 years) at which children can think logically about concrete events.

formal operational stage

The stage of cognitive development (beginning about age 12) at which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts.

scaffold

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, feelings, perceptions, thoughts, and behaviors.

language

Our agreed-upon systems of spoken, written, or signed words and the ways we combine them.

phoneme

The smallest distinctive sound unit in a language.

morpheme

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

grammar

A system of rules in a language that enables communication; includes semantics and syntax.

universal grammar (UG)

Humans’ innate predisposition to understand the principles and rules governing grammar in all languages.

babbling stage

The stage in speech development, beginning around 4 months, during which infants spontaneously utter various sounds.

one-word stage

The stage in speech development, from about 1 to 2 years, during which a child speaks mostly in single words.

two-word stage

The stage in speech development, beginning about age 2, 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 in Broca’s area or Wernicke’s area.

Broca’s area

A frontal lobe brain area that helps control language expression by directing 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 using five nested systems.

stranger anxiety

The fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months of age.

attachment

An emotional tie with others; shown by seeking closeness to caregivers and showing distress on separation.

imprinting

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

strange situation

A procedure for studying child-caregiver attachment through observation of a child's reactions.

secure attachment

Demonstrated by infants who comfortably explore environments while their caregiver is present.

insecure attachment

Demonstrated by infants who display clinging, anxious attachment or avoidant attachment.

temperament

A person’s characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity.

basic trust

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

self-concept

All our thoughts and feelings about ourselves in answer to the question, 'Who am I?'

identity

Our sense of self; the adolescent’s task is to solidify a sense of self by testing various roles.

social identity

The 'we' aspect of our self-concept that comes from our group memberships.

intimacy

The ability to form close, loving relationships in Erikson’s theory.

emerging adulthood

A period from about age 18 to the mid-twenties when individuals transition to full independence.

social clock

The culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement.

learning

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

associative learning

Learning that certain events occur together; may involve two stimuli or a response and its consequence.

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, producing a consequence.

cognitive learning

The acquisition of mental information through observation, watching others, or language.

classical conditioning

A type of learning where two or more stimuli are linked, causing a behavior to occur in anticipation of the second stimulus.

behaviorism

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

neutral stimulus (NS)

In classical conditioning, 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 (but now conditioned) stimulus.

conditioned stimulus (CS)

An originally neutral stimulus that triggers a conditioned response after association.

acquisition

The initial stage of classical conditioning when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus.

higher-order conditioning

When a conditioned stimulus in one experience is paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a second conditioned stimulus.

extinction

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

spontaneous recovery

The reappearance of a weakened conditioned response after a pause.

generalization

The tendency for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses.

discrimination (in classical conditioning)

The learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and other non-associated stimuli.

preparedness

A biological predisposition to learn associations that have survival value.

operant conditioning

A type of learning where a behavior becomes more likely to recur if followed by a reinforcer.

law of effect

Thorndike’s principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely.

operant chamber

A chamber containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain a food or water reinforcer.

reinforcement

Any event that strengthens the behavior it follows in operant conditioning.

shaping

An operant conditioning procedure in which reinforcers guide behavior toward approximations of the desired behavior.