AP Psychology Vocab

The scientific study of how humans grow, change, and adapt throughout their entire lifespan is called ___________

developmental psychology

Which key concept examines whether cognitive abilities or personality traits remain consistent or shift significantly over time?

Stability & Change

The idea that development is a smooth gradual progression without sharp leaps or breaks is called ________

continous developement

Development viewed as occuring in distinct, seperate stages with clear boundaries is known as _________

discontinous development

Which research design collects data from different groups of participants at a single point in time?

Cross-sectional research

A study that tracks the same group of participants repeatedly over a long period is called __________

longitudinal research

Substance or agent that can cause harm to developing fetus

teratogen

The process of a baby’s growth within the womb from conception until birth

prenatal development

Three succesive stages of prenatal development

zygote, embryo and fetus

What development stage spans from birth to one year of age?

Infancy

Childhood is typically defined as a development period between ages?

Roughly 3 and 11 years

Domain of development encompasses changes in brain, height, weight, maturation and motor skills

Physical development

Ability to perform precise, small movements using muscles in the hands and fingers

fine motor coordination

The ability to perform large, coordinated movements such as jumping or climbing is called ______________

Gross Motor Coordination

Which infant reflex causes a baby to turn their head towards a touch on the cheek?

Rooting Reflex

What is the primary survival purpose of rooting reflex in newborns

Helping the infant locate a source of food, such as the breast

What is the experimental setup is used to test infants depth perception?

Visual cliff apparatus

The ability to perceive the world in three dimensions and judge the distance of objects is called _______

depth perception

A specific window of time early in development when proper enviorment stimulation is mandatory for normal growth is a ________

critical period

How does the sensitive period differ from a critical period?

It is a broader stage where learning is facilitated but not strictly limited to that timeframe

The rapid process where a young animal attaches to the first moving object is encounters is called __________

imprinting

Physical traits directly involved in reproduction such as ovaries and testes are ________

Primary sex characteristics

Physical features that distinguish the sexes that are not directly involved in reproduction are __________

secondary sex characteristics

Term for the first menstrual period

menarche

In Piaget’s theory, the stage where infants learn primarily through senses and motor actions in the _________ stage

Sensorimotor

From birth to what age is this stage?

2 years

Understanding an object continues to exist even when it is hidden from sight is known as ____________

Object Permanence

During which Piagetian stage (age 2-7), do children begin using symbols and language but lack logical reasoning?

Preoperational stage

Understanding that the quantity remains the same while appearence changes is _____________

conservation

Which stage do children (7-11) begin to think logically about concrete situations

Concrete operational stage

Piagets final stage, (around age 11), individuals reason abstactly about hypothetical situations is __________ stage

formal operational

Range of tasks a learner can achieve with guidance but cannot perform alone is __________

Zone of Proximal Development