AP Psych Vocab Unit 6

zygote

1-2 weeks after conception

embryonic stage

3-8 weeks, organs develop and are sensitive to environment (what the mom is ingesting)

fetal stage

9 weeks to birth

teratogens

chemicals or viruses that can cause birth defects

fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)

people with this syndrome have problems with learning, memory, attention span, communication, vision, or hearing (they also might have a mix of these problems), often have a hard time in school and trouble getting along with others

imprinting

the baby marks who is their caregiver, making a mark on something or someone

visual cliff and depth perception

visual cliff activity helps researchers assess infant responses and awareness of depth perception

habitutation

the process by which a child becomes less responsive to a stimulus after repeated exposure to it

newborn reflexes (rooting)

if you touch the baby on the cheek, it will turn like it is getting food

gross motor skills

related to movements, use of larger muscles in the body (eg. walking)

fine motor skills

doing more intricate skills that require the use of smaller muscles (coloring, writing, cutting)

touch and development

infants need more than food, they need contact comfort too, A lack of close, loving relationships in infancy events effects physical growth

harlow’s monkey study

completed the monkey experiment to illustrate that attachment was not based on nourishment but instead came about through body contact

Ainsworth’s “Strange Situation”

what does it mean to be securely attached? discovered types of attachment styles in small children

secure attachment

(70% of people) this style feels comfortable with intimacy and closeness and are able to communicate their needs and feelings

anxious attachment

people with this style are often nervous and stressed in their relationships and need constant reassurance and affection. They may have trouble being alone or single and may be drawn to unhealthy or abusive relationships

disorganized attachment

people with this style may have a mix of anxious and avoidant behaviors and may have difficulty forming healthy relationships, They may have erratic patterns of seeking and avoiding intimacy and may struggle with emotional regulation

microsystem

the immediate environment in which as individual spends most of their time and engaged in face to face interactions, this includes relationships and interactions with family, friends, classmates, teachers, neighbors, and other people in their direct surroundings

mesosystem

refers to the interconnections between various microsystems in which the individual actively participates. It encompasses the relationships and interactions between different components of the microsystem and how these connections influence the individual’s development ( family-school interaction, family-peer group interaction, school-community, peer group-school)

exosystem

consists of social settings and institutions that an individual does not directly interact with but which have a significant impact on their immediate environments (microsystems), these settings indirectly influence the individual’s development by affecting the people and environments that are part of their microsystems

macrosystem

represents the overarching cultural, economic, and social influences that shape the environments within which individuals and their microsystems and meso systems operate. It includes cultural values, societal values, societal norms, laws, customs, and economic conditions that affect the individual indirectly by influencing their immediate settings

chronosystem

refers to the patterning of environmental events and transitions over the life course, as well as sociohistorical circumstances. It captures the changes and continuities in the individual’s environment over time and how these temporal dynamics affect development (Life transitions, socio-historical context, timing of events, cumulative events)