Myers' Psychology for the AP® Course, 4e, Unit 3

A collection of flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts from Unit 3 of Myers' Psychology, helpful for exam preparation.

developmental psychology

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

cross-sectional study

Research that compares people of different ages at the same point in time.

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.

habituation

Decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation; as infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a stimulus, their interest wanes.

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 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; also refers to the 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

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 intended to harm a person’s relationship or social standing.

X chromosome

The sex chromosome found in females and males, producing a female child when one is inherited from each parent.

Y chromosome

The sex chromosome typically found only in males; paired with an X chromosome from the mother, it produces a male child.

testosterone

The most important male sex hormone, stimulating male sex organ growth during the fetal period.

estrogens

Sex hormones secreted in greater amounts by females that contribute to female sex characteristics.

primary sex characteristics

The body structures (ovaries, testes, and external genitalia) that make sexual reproduction possible.

secondary sex characteristics

Non-reproductive sexual traits such as breasts, hips, voice quality, and body hair.

spermarche

The first ejaculation.

menarche

The first menstrual period.

role

A set of expectations 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 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.

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

In Piaget’s theory, the stage at which infants know the world mainly through sensory impressions.

object permanence

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

preoperational stage

In Piaget’s theory, the stage when a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend concrete logic.

conservation

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

egocentrism

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

concrete operational stage

The stage of cognitive development at which children can perform mental operations to think logically about concrete events.

formal operational stage

The stage of cognitive development 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.

language

Our agreed-upon systems of spoken, written, or signed words that combine to communicate meaning.

phoneme

The smallest distinctive sound unit in a language.

morpheme

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

grammar

A system of rules that enables us to communicate; includes semantics and syntax.

universal grammar (UG)

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

babbling stage

The stage in speech development where infants spontaneously utter sounds not related to household language.

one-word stage

The stage in speech development where children speak mostly in single words.

two-word stage

The stage in speech development where children speak mostly in two-word sentences.

telegraphic speech

The early speech stage where children use mostly nouns and verbs.

aphasia

Impairment of language caused by damage to Broca’s or Wernicke’s area.

Broca’s area

A brain area controlling language expression and 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 social environment’s influence on human development using nested systems.

stranger anxiety

The fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning around 8 months.

attachment

An emotional tie with others, shown by seeking closeness to caregivers.

imprinting

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

strange situation

A procedure for studying child-caregiver attachment by observing behavior in an unfamiliar environment.

secure attachment

Demonstrated by infants who comfortably explore environments and find comfort in caregivers' returns.

insecure attachment

Demonstrated by clinging, anxious, or avoidant attachments to caregivers.

temperament

A person’s characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity.

basic trust

According to Erikson, a sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy formed during infancy.

self-concept

All our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, answering the question, “Who am I?”

identity

Our sense of self; according to Erikson, solidifying a sense of self during adolescence.

social identity

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

intimacy

The ability to form close, loving relationships; a primary task in young adulthood.

emerging adulthood

A period from about age 18 to the mid-twenties when many have not achieved full independence.

social clock

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

learning

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

associative learning

Learning that certain events occur together, either stimuli or response and 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 and produces a consequence.

cognitive learning

The acquisition of mental information through observation, imitating, or language.

classical conditioning

A type of learning in which we link two or more stimuli, eliciting a response.

behaviorism

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

neutral stimulus (NS)

A stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning.

unconditioned response (UCR)

A natural 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 stimulus.

conditioned stimulus (CS)

Originally neutral stimulus that triggers a conditioned response after association.

acquisition

The initial stage of linking a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus.

higher-order conditioning

Pairing a conditioned stimulus with a new neutral stimulus to create a second conditioned stimulus.

extinction

Diminishing of a conditioned response when an unconditioned stimulus does not follow a conditioned stimulus.

spontaneous recovery

The reappearance of a weakened conditioned response after a pause.

generalization

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

discrimination

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

preparedness

A biological predisposition to learn associations that have survival value.

operant conditioning

A type of learning where behavior is influenced by consequences of reinforcement or punishment.

law of effect

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