Psych Unit 3 Vocab

Development and Learning

Cross-sectional study

research that compares people of different ages at the same time

Longitudinal study

research that follows and retests the same people over time

Teratogen

any agent (like drugs, viruses, chemicals, or stress) that, when encountered by a pregnant person, can disrupt normal prenatal development, causing physical birth defects or long-term intellectual/emotional problems in the child, impacting brain function, learning, and behavior

Maturation

the process of growth and development, both physically and mentally, that occurs naturally as a person ages

Rooting reflex

an innate, automatic response where a newborn turns their head and opens their mouth towards a touch on the cheek or mouth, helping them find the nipple for feeding

Visual cliff

a research method used to study depth perception in infants and animals.

Critical period

a specific time during development when an organism is most sensitive to environmental influences or stimuli

Imprinting

a type of learning where an animal forms strong attachments during an early-life critical period

Puberty

the process of physical maturation where an adolescent reaches sexual maturity and becomes capable of reproduction

Primary s*x characteristic

the body structures, like the ovaries, testes, and external genitalia, that are directly involved in sexual reproduction

Secondary s*x characteristic

the body structures, like the ovaries, testes, and external genitalia, that are directly involved in sexual reproduction

Menarche

a female's first menstrual period

Spermarche

a male's first ejaculation

Menopause

the time of natural cessation of menstruation

S*x

the biological and physiological characteristics (chromosomes, anatomy, hormones) that define humans as male, female, or intersex

Gender

the socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for males and females

Jean Piaget

a Swiss psychologist known for his work on child development. He proposed the theory of cognitive development.

Schema

the cognitive framework that allows a person to interpret a new situation based on their experience in similar, prior experiences

Assimilation v Accommodation

Assimilation is fitting new information into existing mental frameworks (schemas) without changing them

Accommodation is modifying or creating new schemas to incorporate new experiences that don't fit existing ones

Sensorimotor stage

infants explore their environment through their senses and actions (Piagets first stage)

Object permanence

the understanding that objects and people continue to exist even when they are out of sight, heard, or otherwise sensed

Preoperational stage

the second of Piaget's cognitive development stages, characterized by symbolic thinking (words, images, pretend play) but a lack of logical reasoning

Conservation

the cognitive understanding that certain properties of an object (like mass, volume, or number) remain the same even when its appearance or shape changes

Reversibility

to mentally reverse a sequence of actions or transformations, understanding that something changed can return to its original state

Animism

the preoperational child's belief that inanimate objects (like toys, rocks, or the sun) have feelings, intentions, and human-like consciousness

Egocentrism

a cognitive limitation, especially in Piaget's preoperational stage (ages 2-7), where individuals struggle to understand perspectives other than their own, assuming others see, hear, and feel the same way they do

 Theory of mind

the cognitive ability to understand that others have their own distinct beliefs, desires, intentions, and perspectives, which can differ from your own and from reality

Concrete operational stage

(ages ~7-11) is the third of Piaget's stages of cognitive development, where children develop logical thinking about concrete events and objects, mastering concepts like conservation (quantity stays the same despite shape change), classification, and reversibility, but still struggle with truly abstract or hypothetical ideas

Logical vs systematic thinking

Logical Thinking involves step-by-step reasoning, applying general rules to specific situations (deductive) or forming general rules from specific instances (inductive) to reach sound conclusions, while Systematic Thinking (or Systemic Thinking) is a broader, holistic approach focusing on understanding how interconnected parts interact within a complex whole, often involving observing patterns and relationships rather than just linear logic.

 Formal operational stage

the final stage in Piaget's theory, characterized by the development of abstract thinking, the ability to reason logically about hypothetical situations, and use hypothetical-deductive reasoning (forming and testing hypotheses systematically)

Lev Vygotsky

a Russian psychologist who emphasized the role of social interaction in cognitive development.

Scaffolding

a teaching technique where a more knowledgeable person provides temporary support (like hints, examples, or breaking down tasks) to help a learner master a new skill or concept that's just beyond their current ability, gradually removing that support as the learner becomes more competent

Zone of proximal development

the gap between what a learner can do alone (their current ability) and what they can achieve with guidance from a more skilled person (like a teacher or peer)

Crystallized intelligence

the accumulated knowledge, skills, and understanding that a person has acquired throughout their life.

Fluid intelligence

the ability to reason, solve new problems, and think abstractly and logically in novel situations, without relying on previously acquired knowledge

Dementia

a neurocognitive disorder characterized by a significant decline in memory and at least one other cognitive function (like language or executive function), severe enough to interfere with daily life, often due to brain degeneration

Phonemes vs Morphemes

phonemes are the smallest units of sound that change meaning (like /b/ vs. /p/ in "bat" vs. "pat"), while morphemes are the smallest units of meaning, which can be whole words or parts like prefixes/suffixes (e.g., "un-" or "-ed").

Stages of language development

(cooing, babbling, etc.)

cooing (vowel sounds)

babbling (consonant-vowel syllables like "ba-ba")

one-word stage (holophrases like "milk")

telegraphic speech (two-word phrases like "go car")

complex sentences (grammar and syntax + common errors)

Telegraphic speech

an early language stage (around 18-30 months) where children speak in short, simple sentences (go car)

Overgeneralization

the process of extending something beyond the circumstances to which it actually applies

 Ecological systems theory (ALL

parts)

This theory looks at a child's development within the context of the system of relationships that form his or her environment

Microsystem (immediate),

Mesosystem (connections)

Exosystem (indirect)

Macrosystem (cultural)

Chronosystem (time)

 Parenting styles (3 types)

Authoritarian (strict, obedience-focused), Permissive (lenient, few rules), and Authoritative (demanding yet responsive, balancing rules with warmth and reasoning)

Secure attachment

an attachment where a child feels comforted by the presence of their caregiver

Insecure attachment (3 types)

Anxious/Ambivalent, Avoidant, and Disorganized

Temperament

consistent individual differences in behavior that are biologically based and are relatively independent of learning, system of values and attitudes.

Social clock

a concept that explores the timetable determined by a culture or social structure, that specifies a proper time for certain events, like marriage, graduation, employment or social status

Parallel play

a developmental stage in early childhood where young children play near each other without direct interaction

Imaginary audience/personal fable

imaginary audience (believing everyone is watching them) and the personal fable (thinking their feelings are unique)

Emerging adulthood

a period between adolescence and adulthood properly characterized by identity exploration, instability, self-focus, feeling in-between, and a sense of wide-open possibilities

Stage of psychosocial development

(all 8 stages)

• Stage 1: Trust vs. Mistrust.

• Stage 2: Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt.

• Stage 3: Initiative vs. Guilt.

• Stage 4: Industry vs. Inferiority.

• Stage 5: Identity vs. Confusion.

• Stage 6: Intimacy vs. Isolation.

• Stage 7: Generativity vs. Stagnation.

• Stage 8: Integrity vs. Despair.

Adverse childhood experiences

traumatic or stressful events in childhood (0-17 years) like abuse, neglect, or household dysfunction

Identify status (all 4)

Learning

diffusion, moratorium, foreclosure, and achievement

 Associative learning

the process where an organism learns that certain events occur together, forming connections between stimuli, or between a behavior and its consequences, enabling prediction and adaptation

Classical conditioning

the learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) Stimulus

US, UR, CS, CR ***

US (Unconditioned Stimulus)

UR (Unconditioned Response)

CS (Conditioned Stimulus)

CR (Conditioned Response)

Extinction

the gradual weakening of a conditioned response that results in the behavior decreasing or disappearing

Spontaneous recovery

when a behavior recovers unexpectedly after a period of extinction or lessening of the behavior when the stimulus is present

Stimulus discrimination

the ability of a subject or learner to behave differently in response to a specific stimulus based on distinguishing the stimulus from other stimuli

Stimulus generalization

occurs when an individual responds to stimuli that are similar to the original conditioned stimulus

Taste aversion

a strong, learned dislike or avoidance of a specific food or taste after it's been associated with nausea, illness, or a negative experience

Higher-order conditioning

when a conditioned stimulus plays the role of an unconditioned stimulus in a new association

Counter-conditioning

conditioning someone to change their response from fear to excitement or excitement to fear.

One trial conditioning

where an organism forms a strong connection between a stimulus and a response after just a single pairing

Habituation

learning process wherein there is a decrease in response to a stimulus after being repeatedly exposed to it.f

Operant conditioning

a type of learning where voluntary behaviors are strengthened or weakened by the consequences that follow them, using reinforcement (increasing behavior) or punishment (decreasing behavior) to shape actions

Reinforcement (positive and

negative)

Positive Reinforcement (adding something desirable, like praise) and Negative Reinforcement (removing something aversive, like a car's beeping sound)

Punishment (positive and negative)

Positive Punishment adds something unpleasant (e.g., chores) to stop a behavior, while Negative Punishment removes something pleasant (e.g., phone) to stop a behavior

Primary v secondary reinforcer

an unlearned stimulus that satisfies a biological need

Reinforcement schedules (ALL)

Fixed Ratio (FR) (reward after set responses),

Variable Ratio (VR) (reward after unpredictable responses, like gambling),

Fixed Interval (FI) (reward after set time, like a paycheck)

Variable Interval (VI) (reward after unpredictable time, like checking for emails)

Shaping

breaking down complex behaviors into smaller, more achievable steps and reinforcing each step until the learner reaches the desired outcome.

Instinctive drift

the tendency for an animal to revert to instinctive behaviors that interfere with a conditioned response

Superstitious behavior

the accidental repetition of a behavior because it was coincidentally followed by a reinforcer (reward), leading to a false belief that the action caused the outcome, even if no logical link exists

Social learning

acquiring new behaviors, skills, and attitudes through observing others (modeling), imitating them, and experiencing vicarious reinforcement (seeing others rewarded or punished) rather than solely through direct experience or conditioning

Vicarious conditioning

learning behaviors, attitudes, or emotions by watching others (models) and seeing the consequences they receive, without direct experience, where observing a model rewarded increases imitation and observing punishment decreases it

Modeling

learning new behaviors, skills, or attitudes by watching and imitating a "model" (another person or character)

Insight

the sudden moment that reveals the solution to a problem

Cognitive map

a mental representation or internal image of the layout and relationships within one's environment, allowing for navigation, problem-solving, and future planning

Latent learning

knowledge or skills acquired without immediate reinforcement or awareness, remaining "hidden" until there's a motivation or incentive to demonstrate it