Ch. 9 AP Psych

Developmental Psychology

The study of physical, cognitive, and social changes throughout the life span.

Zygote

The fertilized egg, which enters a 2-week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo.

Embryo

The developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the second month.

Fetus

The developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth.

Teratogens

Harmful agents that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)

Physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman’s heavy drinking.

Habituation

A decrease in response to a stimulus after repeated exposure to it.

Maturation

Biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience.

Cognition

All the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.

Schema

A concept or framework that organizes and interprets information.

Assimilation

Interpreting new experiences in terms of existing schemas.

Accommodation

Adapting one’s current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information.

Sensorimotor Stage

In Piaget's theory, the stage during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities.

Object Permanence

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

Preoperational Stage

In Piaget’s theory, the stage during which children learn to use language but cannot yet perform the mental operations of concrete logic.

Conservation

The principle that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the form of objects.

Egocentrism

In Piaget’s theory, the difficulty that preoperational children have in considering another's viewpoint.

Theory of Mind

People's ideas about their own and others' mental states.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

A disorder marked by deficient communication, social interaction, and understanding of others' states of mind.

Concrete Operational Stage

In Piaget’s theory, the stage during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events.

Formal Operational Stage

In Piaget’s theory, the stage during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts.

Stranger Anxiety

The fear of strangers that infants commonly display.

Attachment

An emotional tie with another person, shown in young children by their seeking closeness to the caregiver.

Critical Period

An optimal period early in the life of an organism when exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces normal development.

Imprinting

The process by which certain animals form strong attachments during an early-life critical period.

Temperament

A person's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity.

Basic Trust

According to Erik Erikson, a sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy.

Self-Concept

A sense of one’s identity and personal worth.

Gender

The socially constructed roles and characteristics by which a culture defines male and female.

Aggression

Any physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destroy.

Gender Role

A set of expected behaviors, attitudes, and traits for males or females.

Role

A set of expectations about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave.

Gender Identity

One's personal sense of being male, female, or something else.

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.

Transgender

A term describing people whose gender identity or expression differs from the sex they were assigned at birth.

Adolescence

The transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence.

Identity

Our sense of self; according to Erikson, the adolescent's task is to solidify a sense of identity.

Social Identity

The “we” aspect of our self-concept; the part of our answer to 'Who am I?' that comes from our group memberships.

Intimacy

In Erikson’s theory, the ability to form close, loving relationships.

Emerging Adulthood

A period from the late teens to mid-20s, when many in Western cultures are no longer adolescents.

X Chromosome

The sex chromosome found in both men and women.

Y Chromosome

The sex chromosome found only in males.

Testosterone

The most important male sex hormone.

Puberty

The period of sexual maturation, during which a person becomes capable of reproduction.

Primary Sex Characteristics

The body structures that make sexual reproduction possible.

Secondary Sex Characteristics

Non-reproductive sexual traits.

Menarche

The first menstrual period.

AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome)

A life-threatening, sexually transmitted infection caused by the HIV virus.

Sexual Orientation

An enduring sexual attraction toward members of either one’s own sex or the other sex.

Menopause

The time of natural cessation of menstruation.

Cross-Sectional Study

A study in which people of different ages are compared with one another.

Longitudinal Study

Research in which the same people are restudied and retested over a long period.

Social Clock

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