AP Psychology Unit 3: Developmental Psychology

Developmental Psychology

examines our physical, cognitive, and social development across the lifespan - concerned with chronological sequence and 3 key themes; nature/nurture, stability/change, /stages and continuity

Zygote

- the life cycle begins at conception, when one sperm cell unites with an egg to form a zygote

- the fertilized egg; it enters a 2-week period of rapid cell division and develops into an embryo

Embryo

- the zygote's inner cells become the embryo, and in the next 6 weeks, body organs begin to form and function

- 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

(literally, "monster maker") agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

physical and cognitive abnormalities in children caused by a pregnant woman's heavy drinking. In severe cases, signs include a small, out-of-proportion head and abnormal facial features

Habituation

decreasing responsiveness with repeated stimulation. As infants gain familiarity with repeated exposure to a visual stimulus, their interest wanes and they look away sooner

Critical Period

an optimal period shortly after birth when an organism's exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produces proper development

Maturation

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

Adolescence

the transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence

Menopause

the time of natural cessation of menstruation; also refers to the biological changes a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declines

Puberty

the period of sexual maturation, during which a person becomes capable of reproducing

`Sex

biological and physiological determined characteristics

Gender

socially constructed characteristics

Androgyny

a blend of both male and female characteristics clearly expressed in one individual

Relational Aggression

act of aggression intended to harm a person's relationships or social standing

Aggression

physical and verbal abuse intended to harm a person

Role

a set of expectations about a social position and how a person ought to behave

Gender Role

a set of expected behaviours and attitudes and traits for male/female

Gender Idenity

one's sense of self, being male/female

Social Learning Theory

we learn social gender behaviour by observing and imitating and being rewarded or punished

Intersex

combination of male/female hormones, anatomy and possessing biological characteristics of both sexes

Gender Typing

the acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role

Transgender

an umbrella term describing people whose gender identity or expression differs from that associated with their birth-designated sex

X Chromosome

The sex chromosome found in both men and women. Females typically have two X chromosomes; males typically have one. An X chromosome from each parent produces a female child

Y Chromosome

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

Testosterone

the most important of the male sex hormones. Both males and females have it, but the additional testosterone in males stimulates the growth of the male sex organs in the fetus and the development of the male sex characteristics during puberty

Primary Sex Characteristics

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

Secondary Sex Characteristics

nonreproductive sexual traits, such as female breasts and hips, male voice quality, and body hair

Spermarche

the first ejaculation

Menarche

the first menstrual period

Estrogen

sex hormones, such as estradiol, that contribute to female sex characteristics and are secreted in

greater amounts by females than by males. Females also have testosterone, but less of it

Sexual Orientation

our enduring sexual attraction, usually toward members of our own sex (homosexual orientation) or the other sex (heterosexual orientation); variations include attraction toward both sexes (bisexual orientation)

Cognition

all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

Schemas

a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information

Assimilation

interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas

Accomodation

adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information

Sensorimotor Stage

- in Piaget's theory, the stage (from birth to about 2 years of age) during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities

- object permanence (milestone)

- baby physics (impossible scenes)

- baby math (number sense)

Object Permanence

the awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived

Preoperational Stage

- in Piaget's theory, the stage (from about 2 to 6 or 7 years of age) during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic

- language- represent items with words

- conservation - quantity reminds stable despite shape

- pretend play and symbolic thinking

- egocentrism - difficulty perceiving others perspective

- theory of mind - ability to perceive or infer others state of mind

Conservation

quantity reminds stable despite shape

Egocentrism

difficulty perceiving others perspective

Theory of Mind

ability to perceive or infer others state of mind

Formal Operational Stage

- in Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (normally beginning about age 12) during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts

- maturing moral reasoning

- think logically about abstract concepts if this...then that

Concrete Operational Stage

- in Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about 6 or 7 to 11 years of age) during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events

- grasp, communicate, and comprehend mathematical transformations

- think logically about concrete experiences

Scaffold

a framework that offers children temporary support as they develop higher levels of thinking

Sexuality

desire, sexual preference, and sexual identity and behavior

Asexual

having no sexual attraction to others

Language

- our spoken, written, or signed words - a shared system or arbitrary symbols that we combine to communicate meaning

- language is ruled by grammar: rules for communicating meaning SEMANTICS and SYNTAX (order of words)

Phenome

smallest unit of sound

Morpheme

smallest units that carry meaning (s, pre)

Grammar

in a language, a system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others

Linguistic Determinism

too extreme, suggested language CONTROLS how we think

Babbling Stage

beginning at about 4 months until about 10 months, the stage of speech development in which the infant spontaneously utters various sounds at first unrelated to the household language

One-Word Stage

the stage in speech development, from about age 1 to 2, during which a child speaks mostly in single words

Two-Word Stage

beginning about age 2, the stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly two-word statements

Telegraphic Speech

early speech stage in which a child (age 2yrs+) speaks like a telegram—"go car"—using mostly nouns and verbs.

Aphasia

impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca's area (impairing speaking) or to Wernicke's area (impairing understanding)

Broca's Area

damage: speaking words is impaired: left frontal lobe

Wernicke's Area

damage: language comprehension is impaired as is the ability to construct meaningful sentences: left temporal lobe

Universal Grammar

humans' innate predisposition to understand the principles and rules that govern grammar in all languages

Linguistic Relativism

the idea that language influences the way we think

Stranger Anxiety

the fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months of age

Attachment

an emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to the caregiver and showing distress on separation

Imprinting

the process by which certain animals form string attachments during early life

Strange Situation

a procedure for studying child-caregiver attachment; a child is placed in an unfamiliar environment while their caregiver leaves and then returns, and the child's reactions are observed

Secure Attachment

demonstrated by infants who comfortably explore environments in the presence of their caregiver, show only temporary distress when the caregiver leaves, and find comfort in the caregiver's return

Insecure Attachment

demonstrated by infants who display either a clinging, anxious attachment or an avoidant attachment that resists closeness

Temperament

a person's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity

Basic Trust

according to Erik Erikson, a sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy; said to be formed during infancy by appropriate experiences with responsive caregivers

Self-Concept

all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in answer to the question, "Who am I?"

Identity

our sense of self; according to Erikson, the adolescent's task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating various roles

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; a primary developmental task in late adolescence and early adulthood

Emerging Adulthood

a period from about age 18 to the mid-twenties, when many in Western cultures are no longer adolescents but have not yet achieved full independence as adults

Social Clock

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

Ecological Systems Theory

a theory of the social environment's influence on human development, using five nested systems (microsystem; mesosystem; exosystem; macrosystem; chronosystem) ranging from direct to indirect influences.

Learning

the process of acquiring new and relatively enduring information or behaviors

Associative Learning

learning that certain events occur together. The events may be two stimuli (as in classical conditioning) or a response and its consequences (as in operant conditioning).

Stimulus

any event or situation that evokes a response

Respondent Behaviour

behaviour that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus

Operant Behaviour

behaviour that operates on the environment, producing consequences

Cognitive Learning

the acquisition of mental information, whether by observing events, by watching others, or through language

Classical Conditioning

a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli; as a result, to illustrate with Pavlov's classic experiment, the first stimulus (a tone) comes to elicit behaviour (drooling) in anticipation of the second stimulus (food)

Behaviorism

the view that psychology (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologists today agree with (1) but not with (2).

Neutral Stimulus (NS)

in classical conditioning, a stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning

Unconditioned Response (UR)

in classical conditioning, an unlearned, naturally occurring response (such as salivation) to an unconditioned stimulus (US) (such as food in the mouth)

Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

in classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally—naturally and automatically—triggers an unconditioned response (UR)

Conditioned Response (CR)

in classical conditioning, a learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS)

Conditioned Stimulus

in classical conditioning, an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus (US), comes to trigger a conditioned response (CR)

Acquisition

In classical conditioning, the initial stage, when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response. In operant conditioning, the strengthening of a reinforced response

Higher-Order Conditioning

a procedure in which the conditioned stimulus in one conditioning experience is paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a second (often weaker) conditioned stimulus. For example, an animal that has learned that a tone predicts food might then learn that a light predicts the tone and begin responding to the light alone. (Also called second-order conditioning.)

Extinction

the diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs in classical conditioning when an unconditioned stimulus (US) does not follow a conditioned stimulus (CS); occurs in operant conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced

Spontaneous Recovery

the reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response

Generalization

the tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses (in operant conditioning, generalization occurs when responses learned in one situation occur in other, similar situations.)

Discrimination

in classical conditioning, the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus (in operant conditioning, the ability to distinguish responses that are reinforced from similar responses that are not reinforced.)

Preparedness

a biological predisposition to learn associations, such as between taste and nausea, that have survival value

Reinforcement

in operant conditioning, any event that strengthens the behavior it follows

Primary Reinforcers

an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need ex. food when hungry

Secondary Reinforcers

learned reinforcers, such as money, that develop their reinforcing properties because of their association with primary reinforcers